Chapter 8: Please keep this little table in mind; this was back when he was still somewhat human.

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Having successfully challenged each other, Yugi and Hayato quickly found an empty table in the store and placed their decks in the designated deck zones on the table. After all, Grandpa Sugoroku’s toy shop was now primarily focused on Duel Monsters, so providing customers who had summoned powerful monsters a place to test their decks was only natural.

Kyoko and Honda eagerly gathered around the table, watching Yugi and Hayato concentrate intently. Seeing this, Jounouchi felt a bit jealous and said, “Come on, I play Duel Monsters with Yugi all the time, but you guys never seemed this interested.”

“Yeah, I’ve often seen you two playing together,” Kyoko added with curiosity. “Why is it different now?”

Honda teased, “It’s obvious. Jounouchi’s just too weak. He’s played with Yugi so many times and never won once. It’s always a one-sided match, so watching it isn’t very exciting.”

“Hey, Honda!” Jounouchi protested.

Their bickering didn’t affect the two duelists sitting opposite each other. After shuffling and cutting their decks, they each drew five cards. Yugi said, “Hayato, you go first.”

“Alright then, I won’t hold back, game boy,” Hayato replied confidently, ready to take the first turn.

According to Duel Monsters rules, the player who goes first cannot declare an attack but can set traps and summon monsters, while the player going second can attack but must face the traps set by the first player. Overall, this balances out as an advantage for the first player. However, in the real-life card game Hayato had played before, the first player did not draw a card during their draw phase, while the second player drew an extra card to compensate.

But in the world of Duel Monsters, all the other rules are the same except that the first player can also draw a card, giving them a clear advantage. Knowing that he wasn’t in some “first to act always loses” world, Hayato naturally seized this opportunity.

And so, Hayato Kobayashi’s first duel since arriving in the Duel Monsters world began.

“My turn. Draw!”

[Yugi: 2000 LP, 5 cards in hand]
[Hayato: 2000 LP, 5 → 6 cards in hand]

With great enthusiasm, Hayato drew a card and examined the six cards in his hand: five weak monsters with less than 1000 attack and defense, plus one mysterious spell card he had just drawn. Perfect hand.jpg

Brimming with confidence, Hayato slapped a card down in the monster zone. “I summon this monster: ‘Death Stalker’! My pride, my soul!”

Yugi, sitting opposite, was startled by Hayato’s sudden outburst. His heart skipped a beat: Could it be that Hayato drew a powerful monster on the very first turn? Trouble, I haven’t drawn any strong monsters yet.

But when Yugi looked down, he was stunned—

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“Death Stalker,” a Level 3 Dark attribute Warrior-type monster, had 900 attack but was set in defense position with 800 defense.

“Then I’ll set one card face-down in the back row. My turn ends.” Realizing he had gotten a bit too excited, Hayato quickly set the spell card he had drawn face-down and ended his turn.

[Hayato: 6 → 4 cards in hand]

Not good. Playing Duel Monsters with his idol Yugi Muto made Hayato too excited. After all, Yugi was the original and strongest Duel King; anyone would be thrilled to play against him.

But Jounouchi and the others watching soon helped Hayato out of the awkward situation.

“Huh? Death Stalker’s attack is higher than its defense, so why set it in defense position?” Jounouchi asked, puzzled.

“Do you expect me, a beginner to Duel Monsters, to explain that to you?” Honda pushed Jounouchi’s shoulder away and told him to watch closely. “Pay attention—now it’s Yugi’s turn.”

“My turn. Draw.”

[Yugi: 5 → 6 cards in hand]

Compared to Hayato’s excitement, Yugi’s draw was calm and composed. He took a card from the top of his deck and added it to his hand, then glanced at the face-down card in Hayato’s back row, hesitating slightly.

“Then, I summon this monster,” Yugi said, drawing a card from his hand and placing it on the field. “‘Dark Dragon King.’”

A distant roar echoed faintly as Hayato watched Yugi summon the “Dark Dragon King,” a monster with 1500 attack and 800 defense.

‘So it is this card,’ Hayato thought. ‘The first Dark attribute Dragon-type monster in the entire Duel Monsters game, although the Red-Eyes Black Dragon obviously gets more spotlight.’ Hayato wasn’t surprised that Yugi’s monster was much stronger than his weak cards. After all, Grandpa Sugoroku ran the card shop, so Yugi naturally had first access to powerful rare monsters.

‘But according to my calculations...’

“Why is it always this card?” Jounouchi groaned, watching the duel. “How does Yugi always manage to play such a powerful card so effortlessly? If it were me, I’d be as excited as Hayato.”

“That’s why you always lose to Yugi,” Honda jabbed at Jounouchi. In many of Jounouchi’s losses to Yugi, more than half were because Yugi’s “Dark Dragon King” had overwhelmed him.

“So, are you going to attack, game boy? I have a face-down card in my back row, you know?” Hayato teased, though it felt more like bluffing.

Yugi was unfazed by Hayato’s words and nodded. “Yes, hesitating because you fear traps isn’t my style.”

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“Then I attack ‘Death Stalker’ with ‘Dark Dragon King.’”

With 1500 attack against 800 defense, Death Stalker was clearly defeated. However, since it was in defense position, Hayato’s life points remained untouched.

“I see. So that’s why Hayato set a relatively weak monster in defense position,” Kyoko observed thoughtfully. “You have to use different monster positions to adapt to the situation?”

After declaring the attack, Yugi smiled and pointed to Death Stalker on the field. “Hayato, ‘Death Stalker’ has been destroyed and will be sent to the graveyard.”

“So many cards!” Hayato exclaimed shamelessly, quoting Yugi’s iconic phrase.

“What?!” Yugi reacted in surprise.

Hayato flipped over the face-down card in his back row and explained, “The card I set face-down is this one.”

“‘Time Machine.’”

“It’s a trap that can restore a monster’s status to what it was before battle when either your monster or your opponent’s monster is destroyed?” Yugi was familiar with most card effects, so even before Hayato finished, he already understood.

At the moment Death Stalker was destroyed by Dark Dragon King, Hayato activated Time Machine, which sent Death Stalker into a temporal rift, avoiding the fatal blow.

Yugi’s expression brightened with a radiant smile. “You’re strong, Hayato. This is going to be an interesting duel. My turn ends.”

[Yugi: 6 → 5 cards in hand]

Hearing this, Hayato’s expression suddenly darkened. Until Yugi said “turn end,” he kept his eyes fixed on Yugi’s back row, afraid Yugi would set the classic “T” shaped five-card trap.

I can handle snide remarks, but if you pull out a Magic Cylinder, I’ll just summon my fist in attack position, Hayato thought.