Let's play cards! In a fantasy world of swords and magic

"Enough talk, Kevin. Let's begin!"

Kaiba drew her deck from the card holder at her waist and loaded it into her Spirit Eye.

"Huh? The card holder isn't strapped to her thigh?"

Due to the recent trend among the girls at Fusion Academy, You Ling had grown accustomed to the sight of girls lifting their skirts to draw cards before a duel.

But clearly, Kaiba Seto had no intention of blending in with the other girls at the academy.

Or rather, she fully embraced her role as the eldest son of the Seto family.

"Brother. This time... this time!"

After struggling to gather his courage, Kevin finally mustered the strength to meet Kaiba's icy gaze and spoke those words.

"This time, I won't lose to you. Since coming to Fusion Academy, I've bet everything as a duelist. I've earned the Black Dragon's recognition, maintained a win rate higher than yours, and all of it has been for this moment—to surpass you!"

"Hmph↑↓ I didn't expect that after just half a year at the academy, even my foolish little brother would grow some backbone. Interesting. Bring it on!"

Kevin Seto LP: 4000

VS

Kaiba Seto LP: 4000

"Duel——!" ×2

Unlike the practical tests, official duels follow the rules of 4000 life points and a minimum deck size of 40 cards.

The duel began, and Kaiba's Spirit Eye lit up first, indicating she would take the first turn.

"Let me see just how much you've grown to dare say you can defeat me. I summon in attack position—[Amethyst Dragon]!"

[Amethyst Dragon ★★★★ Light]

[Dragon-Type ATK: 2000 DEF: 100]

"Roar!!!"

The rare and precious dragon, its body adorned with amethyst scales, roared as it soared into the sky above the duel arena.

With this first summon of the duel, Kaiba tore open the title of the strongest with the fury of a dragon.

"A level 4 monster with 2000 attack points!"

The first-year students were particularly shocked.

Without needing to tribute monsters to summon, Kaiba had brought out a monster with 2000 attack points.

This was 200 points higher than Kevin's strongest level 4 monster, [Valkyrie of Strength].

"This is the power of a second-year duelist? So strong!"

This was the most important purpose of the inter-grade challenge—to show the first-year students the higher dimensions of a duelist's strength.

With just a casual summon in her first turn, Kaiba Seto had already achieved a level that most first-year students could only dream of reaching, even with their full effort.

"I set one card and end my turn."

After completing her move, Kaiba set down her remaining four cards and ended her first turn.

If this were an ordinary first-year student, they might have already lost their will to fight.

But Kevin Seto was, after all, the acknowledged elite No. 1 of the first year.

And he, more than anyone, understood the immense pressure he would face when dueling Kaiba.

"I'm not the same as before. I've bet everything I've worked for since coming to the academy. My turn, draw!"

The moment he drew his card, a dark dragon's roar echoed, and a massive shadow appeared behind Kevin, exuding even more pressure than Kaiba's [Amethyst Dragon].

It was a familiar scene, one that had also occurred during his duel with Aisha.

The legendary Red-Eyes Black Dragon had been drawn into Kevin's hand.

Aisha muttered anxiously, "Drawing the Red-Eyes Black Dragon on the first turn... I'm not sure if that's good or bad."

The Red-Eyes Black Dragon, a level 7 monster requiring two tributes, obviously couldn't be normal summoned on the first turn.

But if Kevin didn't find a way to deal with Kaiba's 2000 ATK [Amethyst Dragon], he would never accumulate enough tributes to summon it.

"I summon in attack position—[Valkyrie of Strength]!"

[Valkyrie of Strength ★★★★ (4 stars) Light]

[Warrior-Type ATK: 1800 DEF: 1050]

Using his own strongest level 4 monster to fight back, the Valkyrie materialized with her pure white angelic wings spread wide, confronting the Amethyst Dragon in the sky.

Ilin commented, "It's no use. Even the Valkyrie of Strength can't match the Amethyst Dragon's attack power."

"Is this what you call being different? No wonder you lost to a bottom-feeder student."

Kaiba's merciless taunt showed no regard for her brother's feelings.

"If you can't even master the power of your own Black Dragon, surpassing me will only ever exist in your delusions, weakling!"

"Yikes, she's so harsh. I've never seen Kevin get scolded like this before."

Aisha couldn't help but shiver, her mind wandering into wild imaginings.

"If my sister were like this... I can't even imagine. It'd be hell!"

"If that's what you think, then I'll show you! The power of the legendary Black Dragon!"

Refusing to be belittled, Kevin's fighting spirit erupted as he drew a card and slammed it onto the duel field.

"—Spell Card activated: [Ancient Rules]!"

[Ancient Rules Spell Card Effect: Special Summon 1 Level 5 or higher Normal Monster from your hand.]

Not a normal summon requiring tributes, but a special summon. A level 5 or higher Normal Monster naturally included the level 7 Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

A magical scroll adorned with the image of a dragon slowly unfurled, releasing immense magical energy that gradually materialized the semi-transparent shadow of the Black Dragon onto the field.

"Black flames burning between heaven and earth, guide the legendary Black Dragon to descend!—Ancient Rules: Special Summon [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]!"

[Red-Eyes Black Dragon ★★★★★★★ (7 stars) Dark]

[Dragon-Type ATK: 2400 DEF: 2000]

With its massive black wings fully spread, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon soared above the Amethyst Dragon and the Valkyrie of Strength, its overwhelming presence dominating the field.

This time, it wasn't someone else—Kevin had summoned his own Red-Eyes Black Dragon with his own hands.

It was also after his duel with Aisha that Kevin realized his deck needed to focus on easier ways to summon the Black Dragon, which was why he had included the B-grade spell card [Ancient Rules].

As a dragon, the level 7 Red-Eyes Black Dragon easily surpassed the attack power of the top-tier level 4 Amethyst Dragon.

"Break through the opponent's monster, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!—Black Flame Bullet!"

The black flames erupted, incinerating everything in their path. The 2000 ATK Amethyst Dragon stood no chance and was instantly destroyed.

[Amethyst Dragon] destroyed.

Kaiba Seto LP: 4000 → 3600

"Next, direct attack with [Valkyrie of Strength]!—Holy Judgment Slash!"

Kevin roared as he followed up with a direct attack. The Valkyrie's angelic holy sword slashed through Kaiba's chest, which looked like it had several times the defense of Aisha's.

Kaiba Seto LP: 3600 → 1800