episode_0010

Chapter 102242.

‘Did I really have this many cards?’

Before the two of them could see, I quickly closed the ‘binder’ and took a deep breath.

Even so, the sheer number was so large that even I was slightly taken aback.

The only money I spent on hobbies was on cards, and sometimes I’d go crazy and open a carton (equivalent to 30 boxes) on installment a few times, and the space under the bed and inside the closet of the studio apartment I lived in were all filled with cards, and I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away because sorting them was a pain and I thought I might use them someday…

‘Yeah. It’s plausible I’d have this many.’

Looking back, it was plausible I’d have this many.

Considering that cards change according to duels in this world, these 100,000 cards must include all TCGs other than [Duel Fantasia].

I can understand why Neuron-nim complained about overwork. I made her do a difficult task.

“You don’t need cards? What do you mean by that?”

“I have all the cards I had in the world I used to live in. I think I can build a deck with these.”

“Cards from another world, just as they were…?”

Elfelt, who had been frowning suspiciously, her eyes sparkled as if she was very curious.

“Hmph! I would never do something so shameless as checking my duel opponent’s cards!”

“I didn’t say anything.”

And before I could say anything, she turned her head away sharply and refused. Actually, it wouldn’t matter much if she saw them, but since she reacted like that, I decided not to show her.

“Arianna. Could you help me build a deck?”

“Yes?! Me, sir?!”

However, I do want Arianna’s help. Partly to teach her how to build a deck.

“I’d be happy to be of help, but is there anything I can assist with…?”

“Have you watched many duels?”

“Ah, yes! If I get a chance to watch, I watch diligently!”

“That’s enough. I’m curious what kind of duels the Duel Academy students play.”

Before building the deck in earnest, I want to know what era of dueling people here play and build the deck to match that level. Of course, I have no intention of going easy or losing.

“To think you’d even drag Arianna into building your own deck. What on earth is up with the sense of chastity among people from that side.”

Elfelt looked dumbfounded, as if seeing a barbarian walking around naked, yet also slightly displeased at being excluded.

“Do you want to join in?”

“Ha, that’s preposterous! You two handle it yourselves!”

Then, she refused with archaic words and went out into the underground waterway, saying she’d wait outside while I built the deck.

“Alright, let’s take a look together then.”

“Yes, yes! It feels like… I’m doing something I shouldn’t be…”

Ignoring Arianna’s unnecessary chatter, I opened the ‘binder’ again.

“1, 100,000? I don’t think this is a number of cards that an individual should possess…?”

Knowing the number of cards I had, Arianna trembled as if she was scared at this point.

“It just turned out this way somehow. Hmm…”

I scrolled through the card list. Although the names had slightly changed as if they had been localized, all the cards I had were still there.

‘There are quite a few forbidden cards.’

However, for some reason, there were quite a few forbidden cards (for starters, cards from the past few years were all forbidden), which reminded me of when [Duel Fantasia] was first released as an online version.

After setting the filter not to display forbidden cards and making various adjustments, the endlessly long list of cards finally became somewhat manageable.

I took a deep breath and at the same time I started the first thing one should do when building a new deck,

“Arianna. Have you seen this card before?”

I pulled out [Spirit of the Lock], a card that is always included with 3 copies in modern [Duel Fantasia], from the binder in the air and showed it to Arianna.

It’s a ‘generic monster’ that prevents the opponent from drawing or searching through card effects, and a ‘hand trap’ that can be activated by discarding it from the hand at any time.

It’s an essential card, with a adoption rate approaching 95% except for specific decks, and it’s no exaggeration to say that the game cannot be played without it.

“Hmm. This card is…”

Arianna, who received the card depicting a gloomy-faced spirit hugging a lock as big as its body, narrowed her eyes and stared intently at it, then her eyes widened as if something had occurred to her.

“Ah, I remember! I’ve seen it!”

“As expected, you’ve seen it. Is it a card that’s used a lot?”

I wondered if it was a coincidence that it was also used in this world and wasn’t in Arianna’s deck, but,

“Not really. I’ve only seen it a few times. I don’t think it’s used very often.”

That wasn’t the case. It was just a card that wasn’t commonly used.

“This card isn’t used much?”

“Yes. I haven’t seen it much recently.”

I wondered if perhaps the meta hadn’t evolved that much yet, but,

“The user who used it received a lot of booing.”

“What? Booing?”

That wasn’t the reason.

“Yes. There were many people who got angry, saying it was impudent to interfere on the opponent’s turn. Especially nobles.”

It wasn’t being used for a surprisingly trivial and pathetic reason.

“…You mean it stopped being used for a reason like that? Just because someone got booed?”

“The booing was quite severe. It was so severe that the student who first used the card was bullied… And they ended up losing even after using it.”

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue, feeling genuinely and deeply displeased in my heart.

At the fact that dueling in this world was so far behind for such a trivial reason.

“S-Sir Knight…?”

“No. Thanks for telling me. Right. So that’s how it is.”

After controlling my displeasure,

“3 copies, full.”

“?!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I put 3 copies of [Spirit of the Lock] into the deck.

“I-Is that alright? It’s a card that everyone dislikes intensely…”

“They dislike it because it hurts when they get hit by it, because it’s strong.”

If you give up on strong cards, on strong plays, just because the opponent dislikes them, there’s no reason to duel.

They’d probably dislike me winning anyway, so I might as well just lose.

“Isn’t it strange not to use a card just because people dislike it, when there’s no problem with it according to the rules?”

“Well, that’s true, but… Still, there’s something like an unwritten rule…”

“Tell them to eat dirt.”

Unable to control my anger, harsh words came out. A silence hung between me and the startled Arianna.

“Sorry. That was a bit aggressive. I wasn’t angry at you.”

“I-It’s okay. I know you weren’t angry at me.”

Arianna shook her head vigorously.

“I just, well, felt a little fluttery… Ah, not in a bad way, but like a flutter in a good sense, that is… Haha.”

…Anyway, the next card to put in after [Spirit of the Lock] was already decided.

“How about this card?”

[Earth Absorber], commonly known as [Earth].

Like [Spirit of the Lock], it’s a ‘hand trap’, a card with a very powerful effect that allows you to draw 1 card every time the opponent summons a monster to the field.

It was restricted to only 2 copies recently, wasn’t it? Here, it was still possible to include 3 copies.

“Ah… Th-This is also a card with a very bad reputation.”

“As expected, I thought so.”

Then there’s nothing more to ask. I immediately put in 3 copies.

“Y-You’re decisive… Are you sure it’s okay? There will be many people saying it’s cowardly.”

“It’s the side that calls it cowardly for using a card that’s meant to be used that’s strange. Conversely, the side that prevents you from using usable cards for external reasons is much more cowardly.”

“That… that might be true.”

I don’t care how great the nobles are who are being abusive to prevent the use of these essential ‘hand traps’.

“Tell them to talk about their complaints with a duel.”

If need be, I can just grind them into the ground with a duel.

Besides that, I added a few more essential generic cards and then began building the deck in earnest.

I hoped there might be a theme called [Four Views], but it wasn’t there, so I first looked for cards that could support Marius the Ice Mirror, who is Water attribute and Warrior-type.

Coincidentally, there was an archetype called [Abyssnights], which is based on the deep sea and is a Water attribute Warrior-type theme that had been popular in its time, so I was able to build it more easily than I expected.

‘They have pretty useful looking faces. I’m looking forward to this.’

Just in case, I took Marius out from my pocket and showed him, and he seemed quite pleased with it.

“…Okay. Finished.”

With that, I practiced test drawing and deploying the cards a few times, then completed the deck.

“You’re already finished? That’s amazing. You didn’t seem to hesitate much…”

And belatedly, I realized that I had left Arianna hanging like a dried gourd in the middle of the process.

“Hmm. Was there anything you were curious about or concerned about?”

“Well, there was, but you were doing it so boldly that I missed the timing to ask.”

“I should have talked to you a bit more. Sorry.”

“Oh, no. No, it’s alright. Just watching was a great learning experience!”

Arianna shook her head vigorously, saying it was okay, then looked up at me intently for a moment.

“…But, Sir Knight.”

“Yes.”

“That… Are you alright with showing me your deck?”

And she asked in a small, hesitant voice.

“Of, of course, even if I knew your deck, I would never think of harming you or anything like that! Rather, well, what should I say, in another sense…”

“Arianna.”

“Yes, sir!!”

Arianna, who had been hesitant, snapped to attention when I called her name.

“If it’s a deck that loses just because what’s in it becomes known,”

“If it’s a deck that loses…?”

“That’s just a weak deck.”

Of course, knowledge, information, is important. But that alone cannot win a game.

Because a truly strong deck is not something you can deal with just by knowing about it.

“I’ll show you today. What a real proper duel is.”