Chapter 254: You Can't Generalize About People's Constitutions
Just as Ryujin was about to Summon the Monster Card he had just drawn, Hayato spoke up again:
"Ah, I forgot to add something. As everyone knows, powerful Cards often come with risks." Hayato wore a smug smile. "To maintain its existence, Lava Golem, which is the same Level as Blue-Eyes White Dragon, needs to Pay Life Points every Turn, just like Psychic-Type monsters."
"During the controller's Standby Phase each Turn, Lava Golem inflicts 1000 points of Effect Damage to its controller!"
"What?!"
Ryujin was slightly stunned, then felt a wave of heat wash over him. Behind him, Lava Golem grabbed the iron cage containing Ryujin with one hand, while the other hand scooped up a large amount of Lava and poured it down on Ryujin.
"Ah, ugh—!"
[Ryujin: 3500→2500 LP]
Although he knew everything before him was just an illusion, the Virtual Simulation System's realism was a bit too high. Ryujin had just nearly thought he was going to be burned to death by the Lava, losing his previous composure and shouting out quite ungracefully.
But he quickly remembered that his current persona was supposed to be an Esper who saw through everything, and he shouldn't be so flustered. Just as he opened his mouth to make a sound, he immediately covered it tightly with one hand, only taking it away after a while.
"Th-this level of Damage is nothing, it's completely within my expectations!" Forcing his legs to stop trembling with sheer willpower, Ryujin now just wanted to end this Duel as quickly as possible, and eagerly played the Card he had just drawn from his Hand. "Attack Position Summon Krebons!"
An Esper resembling a circus acrobat clown appeared before Ryujin. However, seeing Krebons appear, Ryujin hesitated slightly. Because of the Effect of his Psychic Tuning in his Back Row, he could Pay 500 Life Points when Krebons was Summoned to increase its ATK.
'The opponent's Life Points are only 3600 now, and the total ATK of the monsters on my Field is enough to wipe out his Life Points.' Thinking this, Ryujin did not declare the Activation of Psychic Tuning's Effect.
[Krebons] [Level 2☆/DARK]
[Psychic-Type/Effect]
[1200/400]
"Enter the Battle Phase! Since you sent this Card to my Hand, I'll use it to defeat you. Lava Golem attacks directly!"
The giant Lava humanoid raised its hand, scooping up a large mass of Lava and throwing it towards Hayato. At this moment, Hayato also flipped his Set Card in his Back Row. "Activate Set Card! Trap Card Counter Gate!"
"When an opponent's monster declares a Direct Attack against me, negate that Attack, and I can draw one Card from my Deck."
A greyish-white wall appeared before Hayato, completely engulfing and blocking the Lava thrown by Lava Golem. After blocking it, the wall gradually became transparent and vanished. In its place, Hayato, whose Hand was previously empty, now held an additional Card.
"The Card I drew is a Monster Card, Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight. If I draw a Monster Card with the effect of Counter Gate, I can Summon it in Attack Position!"
Ryujin quickly said, "But Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight, being Level 7, requires two Tributes to be Normal Summoned!"
"Yes, a normal Level 7☆ monster is like that, but when Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight is the only Card in my Hand, its Normal Summon does not require a Tribute." Hayato slammed the Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight in his Hand onto the Duel Platform. "Come forth, my Tamashii, Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight!!!"
A powerful gust of wind instantly swept across the entire Field. In this dark wind, the sound of hooves echoed, and a figure appeared on Hayato's Field.
[Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight] [2300/2100]
"It appeared, the King of Games' Ace Monster, Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight!"
"He actually used the opponent's Attack to Summon a powerful Level 7 monster!"
"So strong!"
The onlookers discussed amongst themselves. Just then, Ishizu Ishtar, out of curiosity, used the Millennium Necklace to look at the future outcome of this Duel.
Although due to Hayato's guidance, Ishizu Ishtar was no longer as superstitious about the future visions shown by the Millennium Necklace as before, they could still be used as a reference.
Furthermore, because Hayato's Millennium Puzzle always interfered with the Future Sight, Ishizu Ishtar cleverly focused her Future Sight primarily on the Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight Hayato had just Summoned.
Then, Ishizu Ishtar saw Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight with his hair on fire.
"A Level 7 monster, damn it!" Looking at Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight with its high ATK of 2300, Ryujin couldn't help but look at his Krebons on his Field, which hadn't attacked yet. Just now, due to Lava Golem's Pressure, Ryujin had subconsciously wanted to end the Duel quickly and Summoned it in Attack Position.
And now, Krebons, with only 1200 ATK, had become the weak point on his Field.
"My Turn ends."
[Ryujin: 2500 LP, Hand 0]
[Lava Golem] [ATK 3000]
[Krebons] [ATK 1200]
Psychic Tuning
[Brain Development Institute] [Psychic Counter: 3]
"Then, my Turn." Hayato drew a Card and Activated it. "Spell Card, Card of Fate! Roll one Dice, and I can draw Cards equal to the Roll, then Banish the same number of Cards from the top of my Deck!"
A phantom Dice landed on the Field. The final result was a Roll of 4!
"Then, according to the Effect of Card of Fate, I draw 4 Cards from my Deck, and then Banish the same number of Cards." Looking at the Cards he drew, Hayato showed a confident smile. "It seems the Goddess of Destiny is on my side. This Duel will end this Turn!"
"Activate Spell Card, Owner's Seal! Return all monsters on the Field to their original Master's Field!" Hayato raised his hand and pointed at Lava Golem. "Come back, Lava Golem!"
"What?!" Ryujin watched in shock as Lava Golem threw him out of the iron cage, then obediently returned to Hayato's Field like a pet dog and stood there properly. It was truly hard to accept.
"It ate two of my monsters and then returned to your Field? And why was it so arrogant when it was on my Field?!"
Lava Golem glanced at Ryujin, then glanced at the several phantom figures beside Hayato, as well as Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight standing next to it. It sighed, thinking: Big brother, people really are different.