Chapter Seven: Let's Duel Monsters / Of Course, No One in the Village Can Beat Me

“Everyone, this is my house up ahead.” As the group walked home, Yugi led the way, pointing to a small house not far ahead and speaking to the other four.

“Ah, so Yugi lives here?” Among the group, Anzu had known Yugi the longest, but this was her first time visiting his home. Before Yugi became friends with Jonouchi, Honda, and Hayato, he rarely played with boys. Even if Yugi had invited Anzu before, she wouldn't have come alone—it would have been too easy to misunderstand.

Following Yugi’s finger, Jonouchi spotted the huge red sign that read “GAME” in front of the little shop: “Is that the store? I wonder how powerful and rare the cards at Yugi’s grandfather’s place really are. I’m excited to see.”

“I don’t think the card strength is the most important thing,” Yugi said without much expectation. “In Duel Monsters, the key is how the cards work together.” He had seen many powerful cards since he was a child and already knew the true nature of the special card his grandfather kept. The card’s imposing form and dazzling appearance were unforgettable, but Yugi didn’t believe any monster was invincible. With a well-coordinated deck, no opponent was unbeatable.

“Is Duel Monsters really that interesting?” Honda asked, looking somewhat disinterested.

“Of course!” Hayato explained passionately. “You command various monsters in close quarters battles. The strong build unstoppable armies, while the weak can turn the tide with clever card effects. Once you play Duel Monsters, you’ll understand its charm.”

Honda was somewhat swayed by Hayato’s enthusiasm. Jonouchi, Yugi, and Hayato all played this game called Duel Monsters, though he hadn’t been interested. But since his friends were into it, maybe he should give it a try. Besides, since Yugi’s family ran a card shop, he could also help out.

Before long, they reached the small house. Yugi pushed open the door and called inside, “Chicken-chan, I’m home!”

“Oh, Yugi, you’re back.” An elderly man with white hair stood behind the counter, flipping through a magazine. Hearing Yugi’s voice, he looked up and quickly noticed the others following him inside. “What a rare sight! So you’ve brought your classmates today.”

“Sorry to bother you, Grandpa Mutou,” Anzu was the first to greet him politely, followed by Hayato and the others, who smiled and said hello.

Mutou Sugoroku, officially rated a 4-star duelist (out of 5) for both skill and deck strength, had the same hairstyle as Yugi. The only difference was a yellow headband wrapped around Sugoroku’s head, and his hair was gray-white. Moreover, the height difference between grandfather and grandson was embarrassingly zero.

Seeing Sugoroku’s pleased expression—grateful Yugi finally had friends to play with—Anzu couldn’t help but worry. With Grandpa Sugoroku’s stature, did the family’s height just freeze at Yugi’s current height? Was this Yugi’s peak?

The cheerful grandfather and grandson, lacking any mystical sight, of course had no idea what Anzu was thinking. Before even setting down his bag, Yugi eagerly asked his grandfather, “Hey, Chicken-chan, can you show everyone that super awesome card of yours?”

“That card, you say?” Grandpa Sugoroku tilted his head, put down the magazine, and stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Yugi clasped his hands earnestly. “Please, Chicken-chan.”

“Please show us,” Jonouchi bowed politely as well.

“Well, if you insist, I have no choice. Just this once.” Sugoroku, who ran the toy store and was no pushover, smiled brightly at their request and went inside to fetch his treasured card.

While they waited, Yugi led the others around the toy shop. Though it sold all kinds of toys, with Duel Monsters growing more popular, Grandpa Sugoroku was considering transforming it into a dedicated card shop. Even now, nearly 90% of the store’s space was devoted to Duel Monsters cards.

“Wow, there are so many cards?” Honda marveled at the dazzling array. “There must be hundreds here. Are there really that many Duel Monsters cards?”

“No,” Yugi shook his head.

Relieved, Honda said, “I thought so. There’s no way there’d be that many.”

Hayato laughed and patted Honda’s shoulder. “Yugi means these aren’t all the cards. There are far more Duel Monsters cards than what’s on display here—probably over a thousand. Some rare cards are even limited editions worldwide.”

“Over a thousand?! That’s insane.” Honda and Anzu looked astonished, while Jonouchi smugly added, “And the number keeps growing. Maybe someday there’ll be two thousand, five thousand, even over ten thousand cards.”

Hayato recalled that special card called “Millennium Dragon,” the 10,000th card printed to commemorate the Duel Monsters series hitting that milestone. It wasn’t just in Japanese; its rarity was uniquely commemorative. Since some cards seen only in the anime weren’t made into real cards, the total number of cards in the show was even higher.

But that was far in the future.

“Duel Monsters is a collectible card game where players build decks based on their preferences. The more cards there are, the more fun it becomes.”

“Wow, the artwork is so detailed! These cards are so pretty and cute,” Anzu said admiringly, gazing at some displayed near the counter. “Though some cards have really strange designs too.”

“Is this your first time seeing Duel Monsters cards up close, Anzu?” Jonouchi asked.

She shook her head. “I knew a bit about it before, but I’ve only watched others play. This is my first time seeing the cards up close.”

Yugi seemed to think of something and pulled out his own deck from his bag, asking Hayato, “Speaking of Duel Monsters, just collecting cards is fun, but playing duels together is the real excitement.”

“We’re on the same wavelength, Yugi-boy,” Hayato said with a smile, pulling out his metal deck box. “Let’s have a duel.”