Chapter 44: Tong Shi, the King of Wild Ideas

“That truly is an incredible combo.” After sending both monsters on the field to the Graveyard, Hayato's cards failed to withstand the onslaught from a serious Pig-Head Goro, and his Life Points plummeted significantly.

【Hayato: 3000 LP → 1350 LP】

“My turn is over.” Because his hand was empty, Pig-Head Goro had no way to make a move and ended his turn. “Come on, Hayato Kobayashi, show me the limits of your potential as a Duelist!”

【Goro: Hand 6 → 7 → 0】

“My turn...” As his hand rested on the top of his deck, Hayato froze for a moment. He felt a long-lost sense of familiarity, as if the card about to be drawn was calling out to him.

Looking at Pig-Head Goro across the field, Hayato responded with a smile: “In that case, I shall show you.”

“Draw! And Summon!”

Without even a glance, Hayato drew the monster from the top of his deck and placed it directly onto the field. As expected, it was [Dark Knight Gaia]!

【Dark Knight Gaia】【ATK 2300】

“Next, I activate my face-down card, [Dragon Slayer Sword]! It raises Gaia's attack by 700 points!”

【Dark Knight Gaia】【ATK 2300 → 3000】

Seeing Hayato push a monster's attack power to such a level, the surrounding crowd erupted in amazement

“He actually reached the attack power of the legendary dream card, [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]!”

“At this level, no matter which monster he attacks, Pig-Head Goro's Life Points will be wiped out!”

“So strong!”

Hayato calmly silenced [Disturbance Black] and [Disturbance Green], who were sticking their heads out from behind the cards to flatter him, and spoke: "[Dark Knight Gaia], attack! Destroy [Hungry Burger]!"

“Hmph, not bad.”

【Goro: 600 LP → 0】

The system rewards appeared in due time

【Congratulations, you have won the Duel. Commencing settlement

Duel Victory: 2000 dp Used 3 Spell Cards: 100 dp Feeble Resistance (Single attack declaration dealt over 1000 damage): 300 dp

Total: 2400 dp

Would you like to use the Newbie Reward: Score Multiplier? (Remaining uses: 9)】

After a moment's thought, Hayato decided not to let it go to waste. As 4800 dp flowed into his balance, he watched with satisfaction as his total reached 9300 dp, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

Pig-Head Goro tidied up his deck and walked up to Hayato. However, before he could say anything, Joey and Honda swarmed over, blocking Hayato with wary expressions.

“You bastard, don't tell me you're planning to back out just because you lost!?” Joey raised a hand to stop the approaching Pig-Head Goro. “I won't let you get anywhere near Hayato.”

But Pig-Head Goro merely glanced at Joey and bypassed him. “Hmph. I may be a delinquent, but I have the dignity of a Duelist.”

With that, he walked up to Hayato and pulled out his deck. “I lost this duel. According to Mr. Bekas's gambling card rules, take your spoils from my deck, Hayato Kobayashi.”

Hayato was somewhat confused. “I don't recall that being part of our wager at the start.”

“I don't care about your rules. Just as fish live in water and birds fly in the sky, the game of Duel Monsters to me is a game where one stakes their most precious cards.” Although Pig-Head Goro felt a twinge of reluctance to let Hayato take his cards, he firmly spread his deck out. “Well, Hayato Kobayashi, make your choice quickly—unless you don't intend to let our class take the iron plate back.”

“Just as choosing spoils is the right of the winner, refusing them is the luxury of the winner. I choose to refu—” Hayato had no intention of gambling his cards, largely because none of the cards Pig-Head Goro had just used were worth his interest; there would be no point in taking them.

But just as he was about to say the word "refuse," Hayato spotted a specific card in Goro's deck: “—Refuse... it seems a bit awkward, so I'll just take this card instead.”

Seeing Hayato take only one card from the deck, Pig-Head Goro couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He was relieved both that Hayato had accepted a card and that the card taken wasn't one of his most prized possessions. “You only took such a useless card? You're a gentle guy.”

“It's hard to take a compliment like that from a big guy like you.” Hayato placed the chosen card into his card box and glanced at the iron plate that had just served as the duel stage. “Now then, can you fulfill your promise from earlier?”

“Since you lost, just get lost!” Honda added, but Joey corrected him: “That's not it. The guys from Class D have to help us renovate everything they destroyed.”

“Small fry, just shut up. The only strong person I recognize is Hayato Kobayashi; you have no right to command me.” When facing Hayato, Pig-Head Goro's attitude was significantly better than it had been before the duel, but the moment he turned to Joey, he reverted to his school bully persona.

“Speaking of which, I recall Class D's venue is right next to Class B, isn't it?” Hayato looked toward the neighboring area from their class entrance. Although Class B's venue had been trashed by Goro and his gang, since the main event of the Game Carnival was the games themselves, simple repairs would suffice without any major impact.

Meanwhile, Class D's venue was still a barren wasteland even though nearly a day had passed. With the Cultural Festival tomorrow, were they not worried about running out of time at all?

Sensing Hayato's confusion, Pig-Head Goro answered, “Our Class D project is a massive Okonomiyaki stall. There's no need for decoration because, for us, the venue's primary use is as a warehouse for ingredients and consumables.”

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese snack made by adding ingredients like ham, corn, chicken, shrimp, and bacon into a batter of flour and eggs, then frying them on an iron plate into palm-sized pancakes, topped with bonito flakes, mayonnaise, and other sauces. It is a convenient snack to eat while walking.

Class D was also running Takoyaki, skewers, yakisoba, and fried rice alongside the Okonomiyaki—all of which were takeout items. In that sense, they indeed didn't need much "decoration" for their warehouse.

“Class D doesn't need an interior, just a service window, whereas our class doesn't need a window, just an indoor play area.” Watching the Class D students being directed by Pig-Head Goro—apologizing to the Class B students while renovating their shop—Hayato thought of an idea he deemed quite good. “I have a plan!”

(End of Chapter)