episode_0021

“‘Penetration’ and ‘Landing Point’… These are concepts I’ve never heard of before. Please explain in detail.”

Elfeldt sat upright in a formal posture, ready to listen intently.

“Arianna. Want to come listen together for a bit? It’ll be helpful for you too.”

“Ah, yes! I don’t know what it is, but I’ll listen with you!”

I brought Arianna, who had been practicing alone nearby, into the group.

“Okay. Then I’ll start. Feel free to ask questions anytime if you’re not sure.”

I cleared my throat and briefly explained “‘Penetration’” and “‘Landing Point’” to them.

“‘Hand Traps’,” the power to break through them and continue the development even when obstructed by the opponent – “‘Penetration’”.

“So it wasn’t an effect that deals damage by piercing through a monster in defense position.”

“It’s also used in that sense. The ‘Penetration’ I spoke of is building in a way that leaves room to continue development without stopping immediately when hit by a ‘Hand Trap’ or interruption during development. It literally ‘penetrates’ the ‘Hand Trap’.”

When hit by an interruption at a critical point, or something like [Earth Absorber], the “‘Landing Point’” is the spot where you stop, giving the opponent minimal advantage.

“In the second round of the duel we had today, you did well enough, but if you had made your development slightly more concise, I might not have been able to break through [Flame King of Spiritual Fire, Flame Lord].”

“At the time, I thought I’d die anyway if I stopped, so I developed as much as possible… Looking back, it would have been better to reduce the number of Special Summons even just once to give fewer cards and stop. It wasn’t enough to end the game anyway.”

These two factors were what I considered most important when dueling and building decks.

“Of course, a deck’s performance isn’t solely determined by these two factors. There are plenty of strong decks even if one of them is weak. But I build decks giving these two the most consideration.”

Above all, decks built with those two in mind feel good to use.

…Actually, factors like the ‘number of Initial Plays (cards that can start the deck’s development)’ are also important for usability, but the story would get too long if I went into that, so I only covered this much for now.

“I see. I understand well. In the era of ‘Hand Traps’, those aspects are important.”

“Well, it feels like it’s become a completely different game from the [Official] I used to play…”

Elfeldt seemed to understand my explanation well, nodding and repeating my words, while Arianna looked like she was getting a bit of a headache.

“Well, it’s just theory, after all. Ultimately, getting used to it through practice is most important. For now, there’s nothing to do but try a lot.”

“I guess so, right? I think I’ll understand as I do it! I’ll work hard!”

Still, she’s overflowing with motivation, so there seems to be no need to worry. The more I see them, motivated newbies are truly precious beings. I should cherish them.

“…I feel a bit sorry to others for saying this, but.”

Elfeldt, who had been repeating my words for a while, called out to me.

“Yes. Why?”

“Sir Gisu, aren’t you more amazing than most professors?”

And she asked with a serious expression, completely devoid of jest.

“Now I understand why you said you didn’t want to enroll because there’s nothing more to learn. I never imagined you would even create and explain concepts that didn’t previously exist… Honestly, it’s shocking.”

Elfeldt seemed greatly shocked by my lecture.

“It’s like you’re always several steps ahead, I was surprised.”

“Well… I do have future sight.”

To be honest, I felt a little awkward since I didn’t create it out of nothing myself. I just organized and explained strategies I saw online in my own way.

“Future sight…? You mean eyes that see the future?”

“It’s more accurate to say I’ve seen it and come back, rather than eyes that see it. It’s that kind of feeling.”

Thinking about it, in this world, ‘Hand Traps’ themselves are quite recent cards, and even disclosing ‘deck lists’ is taboo. Because of that, the development of the meta is bound to be slow.

‘On top of that… it seems there are many people who want to slow down development to maintain their power.’

Because duels are important in this world, the development of dueling is ironically slowed down. It’s an ironic situation.

“…Indeed. That’s why she also…”

“She?”

“No. It’s nothing.”

Elfeldt shook her head. Then she picked up her deck and examined its list again.

“Thank you for the lecture. It was a great help. So, about the deck…”

“Yes. Shall we start seriously working on it?”

“No. It’s alright.”

Elfeldt, who had asked me to build it with her, shook her head and declined.

“Could you just tell me a few ‘Hand Traps’ I don’t know and cards to counter them? And when I’ve built it myself…”

For a moment, I wondered if I had unintentionally hurt her pride, but,

“I’d like to ask for your evaluation and opinion. About the deck I’ve revised.”

That wasn’t the case.

Elfeldt wanted to build the deck herself and get my opinion.

“I’m not doubting your skill in deck building, Sir Gisu. But I guess I want to find the answer myself, or maybe get help only after that…”

“Anytime. That’s much better. It’s easier for me too, and it sounds fun.”

It’s much better than me doing everything. That way, I’ll enjoy it too. I’m already looking forward to what kind of deck she’ll bring.

‘This is fun… I wanted a dueling friend like this.’

If Arianna is the best newbie, Elfeldt is the best duelist. I’m truly happy that these two were the first people I met after coming here.

I told Elfeldt about the main ‘Hand Traps’ and cards that counter them.

“Um, Sir Gisu!!”

Just as I was about to finish, as if she had been waiting, Arianna called me.

“Yes. Do you have a question?”

“No. Well… Shall we have a quick duel?!”

And she boldly challenged me to a duel.

“I’ve practiced a bit, but I think it’s best to learn through actual matches. Of course, it’ll be hard to beat you, Sir Gisu, but I still want to try!!”

It’s a commendable attitude, looking impatient to try out the newly built deck. I hope this overflowing passion continues.

“Sure! But…”

I gladly accepted but realized one difficulty.

“My room seems too small for dueling.”

Considering the duel we had this afternoon, my room was too cramped for a duel. Even though it’s spacious, it’s definitely not as wide as the central plaza.

“You don’t necessarily have to unfold a giant duel field, do you? Isn’t it fine to do it in a small space?”

At that, Elfeldt, who was busy modifying her deck, asked with a puzzled look.

“Huh? You can adjust the size of the duel field as you please?”

“It’s determined by the distance between each other. If you’re close, it forms that much smaller.”

There was no need for it to be as wide as the central plaza.

“I see. Then, how about… like this?”

I sat across from Arianna, spread the distance to about what we’d use in a regular shop, and took out my deck. Then, a small duel field vaguely floated between me and Arianna.

“Du- Duel, please take care of me!”

“You too. Is this how it’s done? First player determined by rock-paper-scissors?”

“Ah, um, if it’s alright, I’d like to go second! You said it was a going-second deck, and honestly, I still don’t understand the going-first development very well!”

“Okay. Then I’ll go first.”

Once the turn order was decided, the decks I had set out shuffled themselves and transformed into spaces to draw cards from. It’s really convenient not having to shuffle manually. Drawing cards is easy too.

“Alright. Then… First, I’ll Normal Summon [Abyssnaut Salmon].”

“Ah! [Spirit of the Lock]!! I’ll use it right away!!”

“I haven’t declared the effect activation yet.”

“Th- That’s right!! I’ll wait a moment!!”

Amidst the tense Arianna making mistakes, the merman with a fish upper body, [Abyssnaut Salmon], was summoned at a small size that could stand on the placed card. It was cute, like a figure.

‘Hmm. Do I get summoned at this size too?’

At the same time, the voice of [Icy Mirror Marius], who was drawn in the initial five cards, was heard.

‘Does Marius not like it?’

‘No, it seems like it will be an interesting experience. It’s intriguing.’

Marius replied to my unintentional thought. Can thoughts be communicated too? Anyway, I was relieved that he didn’t seem to have any complaints.

“…Aren’t you going to use the effect?”

“Knowing that [Spirit of the Lock] is there, I’ll think about it for a bit.”

“Ugh. That’s kind of unfair! Though I can’t say anything since it was my mistake!”

And so, we dueled, built decks, revised them by looking at them, and dueled again.

Unaware that lunchtime had passed in our enjoyment, until our stomachs rumbled.

*

“It’s been a while since I skipped cafeteria food. Well, snacks are fine sometimes though.”

Feeling hungry, we left the room and had a late meal with sandwiches from the store. The student cafeteria had already finished cleaning up a long time ago.

“Ugh. I knew it, but not winning even once is still a bit frustrating… I might have won once if I hadn’t made a mistake.”

“But it was quite intense. You might not beat me, but you can definitely beat others.”

Arianna didn’t beat me once during the duels, but her deck operation itself was quite decent. Just like when she faced the Goblin, she definitely has a good sense.

“…Let’s duel next time too.”

“Okay. Anytime you get the cards. But are both of you okay with classes? Judging by the atmosphere around when we dueled this morning, today seems to be a weekday.”

I asked something that had been bothering me for a while. Arianna and Elfeldt had been with me continuously since morning. If they had classes, they would have skipped all of them, which couldn’t be okay.

“That’s not a problem. With the Headmaster’s permission, I’ll be in charge of your supervi… I mean, guidance for a while!”

It seemed they had become my overseers. Well, I don’t have any complaints about being supervised though. I mean, how many chances in life do you get to be monitored? It seems like a good experience.

“Hmm, hmm hmm… Well, since we’ve eaten, I should head out to get some cards now. I want to try out my new deck quickly too.”

Elfeldt, who had cleared her throat feeling awkward about her slip of the tongue, stood up.

“You’re going out, outside? Can’t you get them within the Duel Academy?”

“They were hidden until now, so they probably aren’t here. I’m thinking of going to the town’s card shop.”

Elfeldt said she was going to a card shop.

‘A card shop…’

What would a card shop here look like? I’m incredibly curious. Perhaps outlaws are dueling there. Maybe if you order milk, they’ll take out a secret card.

“…Want to come with me, if you’re alright?”

As if sensing my curiosity, Elfeldt asked subtly, and,

“Yes. I’ll go. I’m really curious.”

Since there was no reason not to go, I immediately accepted.

“Ah. Then I’ll go with you too! There was a card I wanted to get. Um, I forgot the name though!”

“If you forgot the name, don’t you not want to get it that much? Well, let’s get ready right away. Let’s pack our things.”

Arianna also shouted that she would go with us right away, perhaps not wanting to be left alone, and we all went to the town’s card shop together.

At that time, we had no idea at all.

While we were busy building decks and dueling, having a good time, what kind of dirty scheme was brewing behind the scenes.