episode_0002

The single card drawn with a fervent wish,

“Ah!”

“!”

LV.1 [Beginner Dual Wielder]

As if it were the backlash from the misfortune of being hit by a car and dying, it was a Level 1 monster card that could be summoned.

‘Okay. At least I can summon it.’

I breathed a sigh of relief and checked the card.

The first stats I checked, ATK and DEF, were:

ATK 100 DEF 400

“……”

These numbers were hard to believe for a monster of the same level as [Berserker Goblin]. Even combined, they were only one-fifth of [Berserker Goblin]’s 2500 ATK.

‘Calm down. Monsters with low stats often have equally powerful effects.’

I took a deep breath and calmly read the effect text written below.

“……Huuuuu.”

And then I sighed deeply again.

“You said you can only Summon once per turn, right?”

“Ah, yes. Excluding Special Summons made by card effects, you can only Summon once per turn.”

“There’s no Magic or Trap or anything?”

“Magic or Trap? That is…”

If it’s just summoning and attacking once per turn without Magic or Trap,

“There aren’t any in [Legacy]. There are in Duels at the Academy, though……”

There’s already no way to win.

If I played this, it would simply be destroyed and I would be directly attacked by the additional monster that was summoned. The opportunity to summon the Level 2 and 3 monsters in my hand would never come.

“……”

The fluffy girl who lent me the deck seemed to know that fact, her expression was dark.

I looked at my monster, [Beginner Dual Wielder], whose effect was completely unfitting for its ATK, and the [Berserker Goblin] holding an axe imperiously.

LV.1 [Berserker Goblin] ATK 2500 DEF 0

‘That’s weird.’

And I felt a strong sense of incongruity.

Would a Level 1 monster with 2500 ATK exist for no reason?

Unless it’s a poorly made TCG, such a monster couldn’t exist.

That’s why I,

“Goblin.”

“Kiek?”

“Can I look at your card?”

I asked the Goblin to check the card.

“No!!”

The Goblin flatly refused.

“If you refuse, I can’t see it? Is that a rule?”

“Th-that’s not the case. Players have the right to check their opponent’s cards according to the rules.”

“Hmph. Look if you want. Not that you can read anyway!”

After confirming with the fluffy girl that I could look, I took a step forward and looked down at the Goblin’s card placed on the floor.

“……What is this?”

The Goblin’s card had its effect box messily painted over, making it unreadable.

“Kekekek. If you’ve checked, scram! Not that you could read a single letter!”

Perhaps it’s impossible to expect a Duel adhering to rules and manners from a monster like this.

But the Goblin’s reaction gave me more certainty.

That [Berserker Goblin] has,

“I will……”

‘An effect that is better for the opponent not to know’ written on it.

“End my turn without summoning.”

And I know of a monster with such an effect.

“What?! H-h-hold on a second!!”

At my action of ending my turn without doing anything, the fluffy girl panicked and grabbed my wrist tightly with both hands. It was hot, which surprised me a little.

“Th-then you’ll be directly attacked with nothing out!! I think you should at least Summon it in Defense Position!!”

The fluffy girl whispered in a voice low enough not to be heard by the Goblin.

At first listen, it’s a reasonable statement. If I even just set this Level 1 monster in Defense Position, I could take one 2500 ATK hit.

“It’s a loss even if I play it. No, if I play it, I lose.”

But that’s no different from blocking one attack and giving up the game.

Right now, I can only win by doing nothing.

“Kekekek…… Did my hand get screwed? Of course, with a deck that’s only stupidly thick!”

The Goblin, whose turn it was, put his hand in his underwear and drew a card. It was the worst place I’d ever seen someone draw a card from.

“Kekekekeke!! One more added!”

And looking at the card he drew, he grinned and immediately threw it on the floor, summoning a second [Berserker Goblin].

“Hiiiii……”

On the Goblin’s field, two [Berserker Goblins] held massive axes and drooled. At that sight, the fluffy girl’s face crumpled, and she crouched down.

“Now, attack!! Smash him with the axes!!”

“Kyaaaaak!!”

“Kieeeek!!”

Following the Goblin’s command, the [Berserker Goblins]’ giant axes swung down at me.

Ddidiririririri-!!

I didn’t feel pain, but the moment I was attacked, my HP bar appeared in the air and decreased drastically, making the reality of being attacked intensely felt.

“Ugh…… Only 1000 HP left……”

After two attacks of 2500 ATK, I had 1000 HP remaining. The fluffy girl covered her eyes as if she couldn’t bear to watch. Her appearance, cowering and trembling, was just like a large dog.

“Now you’ll die next turn. Turn end!”

The Goblin, having finished its attack, ended its turn. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Glad I didn’t die.”

“Y-you shouldn’t be so relaxed!!”

“It’s okay.”

I replied to the fluffy girl, who was practically crying (at the same time, the card I drew was nothing special), and summoned [Beginner Dual Wielder] to the field. A rogue appeared, exactly like the illustration on the card, with a bandana wrapped around his head and daggers in both hands.

“Even if you Summon now, you can’t do anything with 100 ATK……!! [Berserker Goblin]’s ATK is 2500!!”

“You still haven’t noticed?”

I pointed at the [Berserker Goblins] in front of me with my finger.

“Those guys are in a state where they can’t attack.”

Struggling, holding onto the handles of the giant axes deeply embedded in the ground.

“Uh, uh……?”

“2500 ATK means nothing in that state.”

In [Duel Fantasia], a TCG very similar to this real-life Duel, there was a monster with low Level and high ATK that switched to Defense Position after attacking.

[Berserker Goblin] was a monster with an effect perfectly identical to that monster.

“What’s meaningful now is……”

I pointed at [Beginner Dual Wielder] with my fingertip and selected [Berserker Goblin] as the attack target, and

“Its 0 DEF.”

Chwaaak!

“Kieeeek!!”

[Beginner Dual Wielder] defeated the [Berserker Goblin] with 0 DEF using its 100 ATK.

“Ughiiiik……!! You brat!! Still one more left…?!”

Puk, Chwaaak!!

And immediately after, it instantly cut the neck of the [Berserker Goblin] next to it. The severed neck spun in the air before falling with a thud and vanishing into particles of light.

“H-hit two at once…?!”

“Wha-what?! How?! Attack is only once per turn?!”

“……’If this monster destroys a monster by battle, it can attack once again.’”

To the fluffy girl, who stood up in surprise, and the astonished Goblin, I kindly read the effect of [Beginner Dual Wielder].

“‘And.’”

“Kuuuuk!! Even so, it’s just a monster with 100 ATK!! I’ll kill you next turn!! End your turn right now!!”

I was about to finish reading but closed my mouth at the Goblin’s impatience, and then

“……Alright. I’ll end the turn.”

I swallowed my words and passed the turn as he wanted.

“Kuuuk, Kik, Kek. Kikikikikek!! There’s still one left!! I’ll kill you with this!!”

The Goblin summoned the third [Berserker Goblin].

“Now, attack!! Kill him with 2400 damage!!”

“……Looks like you still don’t know.”

[Beginner Dual Wielder] easily dodged the [Berserker Goblin]’s axe, and

“The effect text after ‘and’ is the most important part of a monster effect.”

Crossing the daggers in both hands, it cut the [Berserker Goblin]’s neck.

Chwaaaak!!

“Kieeeeeeek?! Wh-why is my [Berserker Goblin]…! Kuaaaak?! What is this damage?!”

The excess damage hit the Goblin directly, dealing 2600 reflected damage, leaving the Goblin with 3400 HP.

“W-what happened?!”

“‘And, this monster’s ATK increases by the ATK of the opponent monster whenever this monster destroys a monster by battle.’”

“Wh-what did you sayyyyyyy!!”

“[Beginner Dual Wielder] wasn’t a beginner anymore, you see.”

As a result of defeating three [Berserker Goblins], [Beginner Dual Wielder]’s ATK now reached a whopping 7600. That’s more than enough to kill the Goblin who has 3400 HP left.

“Co-cowardly!!! You were hiding such an effect!! You brrrrat!!”

“I tried to tell you. You’re the one who didn’t listen, aren’t you?”

Even if he had listened, there would have been no way to deal with it by now anyway.

“Alright. Pass the turn.”

“Ugh, Ughuk. Ughigigigigik……!!”

The Goblin knelt down in despair, and the turn returned to me.

“Alright, Direct Attack with 7600.”

Without even checking the card I drew, I immediately ordered an attack on the Goblin whose field was empty, and

Chwaaaak!!

“Kuaaaak!!”

Ddidiridididik- Kiing!

[Beginner Dual Wielder]’s sword energy sliced through the Goblin’s body, reducing its HP to 0. The Goblin’s HP counter, which had become 0, shattered like glass and scattered into particles of light.

“I-I won……”

“Looks like it.”

It was a sudden Duel that started without even knowing the rules after coming to this world, but somehow I managed to win.

“So, what do we do now?”

I feel like I saved her, but I don’t know what to do next. I’ve never learned how to restrain someone through a Duel.

“……Shall we finish him off?”

The fluffy girl asked, standing up from her spot. Her mood was completely different from when she was scared just a moment ago.

“K-Kieek. W-wait a minute. It’s this man who defeated me in the Duel, not you?! Hey. I’ll give you any card you want……!!”

The Goblin started to beg.

“If you can finish him off, go ahead.”

But I firmly refused, unwilling to even touch the card that was messily painted over and stuffed into his underwear, and

“Yes!”

As the fluffy girl extended her hand forward, a red magic circle began to appear around her.

“Oh, oooh……?”

“Hiiiiiik!!! I’m gonna die!!!”

While I was admiring and the Goblin was running away, about half a dozen magic circles that had appeared emitted intense light and created a giant fireball in front of the fluffy girl’s hand, and

“Arianna Fire!!!”

Pyushuuuuung, Tukwaaaaaang!!!

“Kieeeeeeeek!!!”

It hit the Goblin directly,

“Uwaaaaaaak?!”

Kwagaaaaaaang!!!

Not only did it reduce his body to black ash, but it also greatly scorched the forest in front in a fan shape. The strong wind pressure from the explosion was enough to make my hair flutter.

Hwaluk, Hwalulululuk……

“Huuu……Thank you!! You saved me!! That was truly a wonderful Duel!! If you hadn’t helped, I don’t know what would have happened……!!”

Leaving the Goblind turned to ash and the burning forest behind, the fluffy girl bowed deeply to me and expressed her gratitude.

“Ah, no. Well. Uh……”

‘If she’s this strong, why is she even doing a Duel……?’

While reassuring the girl that it was nothing major, I harbored this question, and this question was answered shortly after.