Let's play cards! In a fantasy world of swords and magic

"The final battle tonight is against the Pharaoh, huh?"

You Ling's emotions were more complicated than ever.

With the strength of Aisha's current deck, which was filled with weak monsters, they might have a chance against a dark duelist. But against the Pharaoh? The odds of victory were almost nonexistent.

Most people wouldn't accept a duel they knew they were going to lose.

But You Ling was different.

"This duel—I accept it!"

This was the Pharaoh Atem, the undisputed strongest duelist.

Having the chance to duel someone of that caliber—did winning or losing even matter?

Deep-rooted as a card game enthusiast, You Ling was more excited about the opportunity to fight the Pharaoh at full strength than he was worried about the outcome.

"As expected of you, You Ling. Your proud soul as a duelist is just as I imagined."

The Pharaoh, with his duel disk activated, smiled in satisfaction, his fighting spirit growing stronger.

Aisha: "Wait, why are we suddenly dueling? Isn't he, the Pharaoh, the one who helped us earlier? Isn't he a good guy?"

You Ling: "Being a good guy and being a duelist aren't mutually exclusive."

Of course, Aisha, who hadn't yet fully embraced the card game enthusiast mindset, couldn't understand this kind of "let's duel to communicate" approach.

"If the Pharaoh says we'll communicate through a duel, then I believe the answers lie within the duel itself. For now, we have to give it 120% of our effort!"

"120% effort?"

Hearing You Ling say this for the first time, Aisha sensed something unusual.

"Mr. You Ling, is… is the opponent really strong?"

"'Strong' doesn't even begin to describe it. You should use 'the strongest' instead."

"Σ(っ°Д°;)っ T-the strongest!?"

Even in her soul state, Aisha couldn't help but gasp.

"The opponent is the strongest… the Pharaoh. Mr. You Ling, can you win?"

"Winning or losing—no one can say for sure before the duel actually begins. Being afraid before the fight even starts is a duelist's greatest taboo!"

Even if the opponent was the strongest Pharaoh, You Ling wasn't willing to lose in terms of spirit.

"But I'll give you a heads-up. The chances of winning this duel are very slim. Optimistically, maybe 10%."

"Only 10% even with optimism?"

"Yeah, by 'optimistic,' I mean there's a 10% chance the opponent bricks, and I top-deck the perfect card."

"The opponent bricks, we top-deck, and the win rate is still only 10%?"

Aisha, who trusted You Ling completely, knew he wouldn't joke about something like this.

Just how strong was this opponent to make You Ling give such a low win rate under such unbalanced conditions?

"Spirit Eye, deck loaded."

Lifting her skirt to retrieve the deck from her thigh card holder, You Ling loaded it into the Elven Continent's version of a duel disk. Controlling Aisha's body, You Ling stood opposite the Pharaoh, who had activated his modern duel disk.

"Now, let us begin, inheritors!"

"Duel——!"

Pharaoh LP: 4000

VS

You Ling & Aisha LP: 4000

The first turn. You Ling's Spirit Eye didn't light up, indicating that the Pharaoh would take the first move.

"My turn, draw!"

As the Pharaoh drew his card, his cape billowed dramatically behind him, exuding an overwhelming presence.

"I summon Queen's Knight in defense position!"

[Queen's Knight ★★★★ Light]

[Warrior-Type ATK: 1500 DEF: 1600]

Clad in pink armor, the female knight representing the Queen in a deck of cards materialized on the Pharaoh's field, holding up her shield adorned with the symbol of clubs.

Unlike the real-world rules, which prohibit summoning monsters in face-up defense position, both the anime and the Elven Continent's rules allow this summoning method.

"I'll also set one card and end my turn."

With one monster on the field and one set card, the Pharaoh casually ended his first turn, which slightly eased You Ling's tension.

If the Pharaoh had started with a five-minute combo, this duel would have been over before it even began.

"Don't worry, You Ling." The Pharaoh, as if reading You Ling's thoughts, smiled kindly.

"This time, I'll duel using power that aligns with this world's standards. All you need to do is give it your all."

If anyone else had said this to You Ling, he would have felt insulted.

But coming from the Pharaoh, You Ling had no complaints.

Of course, "power that aligns with this world's standards" was still vague. You Ling had no idea what the upper limit of that power was.

Maybe this was an opportunity. If the Pharaoh wasn't at full strength, did that mean You Ling had a better chance of winning?

"My turn, draw."

Glancing at his starting hand, You Ling's mind raced as he tried to come up with a strategy to counter the Pharaoh.

"I summon Yado Karu in defense position!"

[Yado Karu DEF: 100]

Like the Pharaoh, You Ling chose to summon his monster in face-up defense position.

This time, instead of hiding the defenseless tofu block behind its card back, You Ling openly placed it on the field.

Aisha: "Ugh, this feels so embarrassing. Normally, setting it face-down is fine, but summoning it face-up just makes my monster look so weak. Why not hide it a little, Mr. You Ling?"

"Part of the strategy," You Ling replied.

For example, he hoped that the tofu block's -_- expression, which seemed to see through everything, might slightly unsettle the opponent.

"I'll set one card and end my turn."

Like the Pharaoh, You Ling ended his turn with one monster on the field and one set card. However, the difference in combat power between their monsters was stark.

"My turn, draw."

Drawing his card for the turn, the Pharaoh slammed a second monster card onto his duel disk.

"I summon King's Knight in attack position!"

[King's Knight ★★★★ Light]

[Warrior-Type/Effect ATK: 1600 DEF: 1400]

Clad in golden armor and wielding a sword adorned with the symbol of diamonds, the knight representing the King in a deck of cards stepped onto the battlefield.

"And when [King's Knight] is successfully Normal or Special Summoned, I can activate its effect—"

[If you control "Queen's Knight," you can Special Summon 1 "Jack's Knight" from your deck.]

"When the King and Queen gather on the field, they shall summon the Jack. Come forth, Special Summon—Jack's Knight!"

[Jack's Knight ★★★★★ (5 stars) Light]

[Warrior-Type ATK: 1900 DEF: 1000]

Dressed in silver armor with the symbol of spades, the final member of the trio, Jack's Knight, swung his sword as he appeared.

Aisha: "By the second turn, he's already summoned two level 4 monsters and a level 5 monster. He's really amazing!"

The inexperienced Aisha Carlos had no idea that what she considered "amazing" wasn't even a tenth of the Pharaoh's true power.

To be continued...