Chapter 20: The more something is in a name, the less one can achieve it

"I go first!" Hayato shouted, preemptively drawing five cards. Before his opponent, Shoji, could even react, Hayato snatched a card from his deck. Their previous duel with Yugi had been a friendly sparring match, so the two could calmly discuss who would take the first turn. After all, under the rule where "the first player draws an extra card," the advantage of going first was significant.

Shoji Manjoume didn't even know Hayato; why on earth would he hand such an advantage over to his opponent?

"Tch, how vulgar. Not elegant at all," Shoji Manjoume muttered, feeling somewhat displeased at having his first turn stolen. In his view, the cause of this duel was Hayato Kobayashi's attempt to get close to Miho Nosaka. Viewing this duel as a decisive battle for romantic victory, he felt that Hayato was implicitly suggesting he intended to "beat him to the punch."

After drawing his hand, Hayato began to inspect his cards.

Thanks to the Kameki Game Shop and the system's card pack openings, Hayato's deck had undergone a significant upgrade. His current hand was nearly perfect, featuring three Spell cards, and even the three Monster cards were quite decent—far stronger than they had been during his duel with Yugi.

"I summon this card to the field! Come forth, [Castle Guard Pteranodon]!"

Slamming a card onto the field to declare his summon, Hayato prepared to move to his next step, but the gasps from Jonouchi and the others caused him to pause. "Aaaah! What is that?!"

Following Anzu's cry, Jonouchi and Honda let out a perfectly synchronized shout: "The Duel Monsters have materialized!!!"

In the center of the field, an enlarged, face-up card of [Castle Guard Pteranodon] appeared out of thin air. Immediately after, a blue Pteranodon flew out from the card's artwork, flapping its wings and landing on the card as a foothold. It stood between the two duel platforms and roared toward the sky.

[Castle Guard Pteranodon] [4☆/WIND/Dragon/Normal][1400/1200]

"Although the duel platforms were hastily constructed, meaning the sound system lacks sufficient space and is only a simplified version, and the monster's movements are limited to a small area..." Shoji Manjoume seemed to enjoy the shocked expressions on Jonouchi and the others' faces. "Marvel at this future technology to your heart's content, you hicks!"

"I agree with the idea that Duel Monsters will be the mainstream of the future, but calling us hicks every two seconds... you really are infuriating," Hayato muttered, annoyed by Shoji's attitude. He continued placing cards on the field. "I set one card in my backrow. Turn end."

"Setting a card in the backrow? Hmph, a Duel Monster should face its opponent head-on." Completely projecting his views on romance into the duel, the spiteful Shoji Manjoume found even Hayato's act of setting a card irritating.

[Hayato: Hand 5 → 6 → 4]

"My turn! Witness the posture of my victory!"

Drawing a card and glancing at his hand, Shoji Manjoume confidently played a card. "Witness what a true noble's duel looks like! I summon [Twin Elves]!"

A card appeared on Shoji's field, and a slender, graceful elf emerged from the artwork, dancing playfully around the field. As she landed on the card, another elf with a similar appearance appeared beside her out of nowhere.

[Twin Elves] [4☆/EARTH/Spellcaster/Normal][1900/900]

"An attack power of 1900!" Honda and the others shouted in unison, playing along with Shoji's flair. "That's practically on par with Hayato's [Death Stalker]!"

*So why are you guys so impressed by a vanilla monster with less than 1000 attack power?* Hayato thought, feeling utterly bewildered. If you're going to be impressed, you should be marveling at the power of [Soul-Eating Magic Blade]. Are you guys focusing on the wrong thing?

"[Twin Elves], destroy the enemy before your master! Magical Duet!" Shoji shouted with great momentum, waving his hand toward Hayato's [Castle Guard Pteranodon]. Following his attack declaration, the two Twin Elves on his field extended their palms simultaneously, and two spheres of magical energy spiraled together as they flew forward.

As the attack reduced [Castle Guard Pteranodon] to fragments that vanished from the field, Shoji's eyes remained fixed on the face-down card in Hayato's backrow.

Despite his verbal disdain, Shoji Manjoume took this duel very seriously. On one hand, he wanted to decide the outcome of his love life by defeating Hayato in the very area Hayato excelled in—Duel Monsters. On the other hand, the pride of the Manjoume family would not allow him to lose.

In truth, he hadn't been very interested in Duel Monsters before; rather, his third brother, Jun, seemed to love them. The deck he used for this duel had been specially assembled by his subordinates, customized to his own "noble" theme because he believed nobility was elegant.

He didn't know much about Duel Monsters, but back at home, he had seen recordings of the National Duel Monsters Championship from his brother. One disgusting guy who liked using an Insect deck had left a deep impression on him; he particularly liked a Spell card that could only be activated during an attack declaration: "Messiah's Ant Hell."

This was why Shoji had been watching Hayato's backrow so closely during the attack declaration. However, since Hayato had not activated a Trap card by the end of the battle, Shoji couldn't help but feel relieved. It made sense; his opponent was just an ordinary high school student. How could he possibly perform maneuvers as spectacular as a professional player?

"A bluffing face-down card. As expected, it's useless." Spouting bravado, Shoji looked triumphant. "Your Life Points are down to three-quarters. I will finish you off within the next three turns. My turn, end—"

"Before your turn ends, I activate this card."

Hayato interrupted Shoji's declaration of ending his turn and flipped over his face-down card.

"[Time Machine]! Its effect returns the monster you destroyed this turn to the field in its original form. Return, [Castle Guard Pteranodon]!"

On the field, Hayato's face-down card stood upright, and a massive machine emerged from the artwork. As a large amount of steam poured from the machine, its front hatch opened, and the [Castle Guard Pteranodon] that had just been destroyed by the [Twin Elves] flew out and landed on the field. However, unlike its arrogant roar when it first appeared, having failed to "guard the castle," the [Castle Guard Pteranodon] merely bared its teeth at the [Twin Elves].

"A useless small fry. Even if you reappear, you cannot escape your fate of being destroyed," Shoji said irritably.

Hayato remained noncommittal. "Who knows? Maybe its soul will become fuel for its comrades to strike back?"

Shoji didn't understand Hayato's words, but Jonouchi and the others realized what Hayato was about to do next. "It's coming! Hayato's super-strong combo!"

[Hayato: 2000 LP → 1500, Hand 4] [Castle Guard Pteranodon ATK 1400] [Shoji: 2000 LP, Hand 5 → 6 → 5] [Twin Elves ATK 1900]