Chapter 7: Let's Have a Duel, Monsters! Of course, no one in the entire village can beat me

“Everyone, my house is just up ahead.” Yugi and his group were walking home. Yugi, who was leading the way, pointed to a small shop not far ahead and turned his head to speak to the other four.

“Oh, so this is where you live, Yugi?” Although Anzu had known Yugi the longest out of the four, this was her first time coming to his house to hang out.

After all, before Yugi became friends with Jonouchi, Honda, and Hayato, he had almost never hung out with boys. Under such circumstances, even if Yugi had invited her, Anzu couldn't have come over alone; it would have been too easy to cause a misunderstanding.

Following the direction of Yugi’s finger, Jonouchi could see the giant red sign with the word “GAME” on it from afar. “Is that the shop? I wonder just how powerful the rare cards in Yugi’s grandpa’s collection are. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“I actually don’t think the strength of the cards is the most important thing. In Duel Monsters, the most important thing should be the synergy between the cards,” Yugi said, though he didn't have high expectations. Firstly, he had seen many powerful cards since he was a child, and secondly, he had already seen the true form of the card his grandfather kept in his collection.

That powerful physique and magnificent appearance were unforgettable once seen, but Yugi didn't believe that such a monster was invincible. As long as there was synergy within the deck, there was no enemy that couldn't be defeated.

“Is Duel Monsters really that interesting?” Honda asked, looking uninterested.

“Of course it is. You control all sorts of monsters to fight in a confined space. The strong can accumulate advantages to build an unstoppable army, while the weak can rely on cards with endless effects to turn the tide of battle,” Hayato explained enthusiastically. “The charm of Duel Monsters—you’ll know once you’ve played it.”

Honda was somewhat moved by Hayato’s words. Jonouchi, Yugi, and Hayato all seemed to play this game called “Duel Monsters,” and while he hadn't been interested before, since his friends were all playing, should he give it a try? Besides, Yugi’s family ran a card shop, so he could support his friend’s family business while he was at it.

As they talked, they arrived in front of the small shop. Yugi pushed open the door and called out inside, “Ji-chan, I’m home.”

“Oh, Yugi, you’re back.” As the door opened, a white-haired old man could be seen standing behind the counter, flipping through a magazine. Hearing Yugi’s voice, the old man looked up and responded, quickly noticing the others who had followed Yugi inside. “That’s rare. You’ve brought classmates home today.”

“Excuse the intrusion, Grandpa Muto,” Anzu greeted first, and Hayato and the others also smiled and greeted the old man.

Muto Sugoroku was a powerful duelist officially rated as a 4-star duelist (with 5 stars being the maximum) in both dueling skill and deck quality. His hairstyle was identical to Yugi Muto’s; the only difference was that Sugoroku wore a yellow bandana on his head and his hair was gray.

Furthermore, the height difference between the grandfather and grandson, Muto Yugi and Muto Sugoroku, was an awkward zero.

Watching Sugoroku look so gratified that “Yugi finally has friends to play with,” Anzu couldn't help but worry for Yugi—judging by Sugoroku’s stature, was their height hereditary? If so, didn't that mean Yugi had already reached his peak height?

The grandfather and grandson, both in high spirits, didn't have the Millennium Eye, so naturally, they were unaware of Anzu’s internal monologue. Before he even had a chance to put down his schoolbag, Yugi excitedly asked his grandfather, “Oh, right, Ji-chan, show everyone that super~ amazing card of yours.”

“What, you mean *that* card?” Grandpa Sugoroku tilted his head, put down his magazine, and stroked his beard, looking thoughtful.

Yugi quickly pressed his palms together and pleaded, “Please, Ji-chan.”

“Please,” Jonouchi also bowed politely.

“Sigh, there’s no helping you kids, is there? I’ll make an exception just this once.” After all, Muto Sugoroku ran a toy shop and wasn't a difficult person; his previous thoughtful look was just his natural playful personality. Seeing Yugi and Jonouchi’s request, a bright smile appeared on his face, and he walked into the back of the shop to find his hidden treasure.

While they waited, Yugi led the others around the toy shop. The shop sold all kinds of toys, but because of the growing popularity of Duel Monsters, Grandpa Sugoroku had been considering transitioning into a specialized card shop. Even though the transition wasn't complete, nearly 90% of the shop’s space was already dedicated to selling Duel Monsters cards.

“I say, are there really that many cards?” Looking at the dazzling array of cards, Honda couldn't help but exclaim, “There must be hundreds here, right? Are there really that many Duel Monsters cards?”

“Not quite.”

Seeing Yugi shake his head, Honda breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought so, there couldn't be that many.”

Hayato smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “What Yugi means is that this isn't all of them. The number of Duel Monsters cards is far greater than what’s displayed here; I’d estimate there are thousands. Some rare cards are even limited edition worldwide.”

“Thou-thousands?! That’s a bit exaggerated, isn't it?” Honda and Anzu both looked shocked, while Jonouchi said proudly, “Not only that, the number of cards is constantly increasing. Who knows, maybe in the future there will be two thousand, five thousand, or even over ten thousand cards.”

*You actually nailed it,* Hayato thought, remembering the 10,000th card, nicknamed the “Ten Thousand Dragon.” It was a special commemorative card released to celebrate the 10,000th Yu-Gi-Oh! card, which only existed in Japanese and had only one rarity level. And since some anime-exclusive cards were never released as physical cards, the number of cards in the anime was even higher than 10,000.

However, that was still a long way off.

“Duel Monsters is what’s known as a Trading Card Game. Players can build different decks according to their own preferences, and the more cards there are in total, the more interesting it becomes.”

“Wow, the illustrations are so exquisite. These cards are so pretty and cute,” Anzu seemed to really like the cards displayed in the counter. “Though there are some cards with really strange drawings, too.”

“Is this your first time seeing Duel Monsters, Anzu?” Jonouchi asked. Anzu shook her head. “I’ve learned about it before, but I’ve only ever watched others play. This is my first time seeing the cards this close up.”

Yugi seemed to think of something; he took his deck out of his schoolbag and asked Hayato, “Speaking of Duel Monsters, while collecting cards is fun, it’s definitely most interesting to battle together.”

“We’re on the same page, Yugi-boy.” Hayato also smiled and took out the metal case containing his deck. “Let’s have a duel.”