Who asked him to play Yu-Gi-Oh!

Note: if you want to get access to +10 Advance Chapters before everyone else and help me Translate More Chapters For You join my patreon.com/flokixy

 
"My turn..." Manjoume said in a low voice.
The situation on the field was absolutely unfavorable, and he currently had no means of counterattacking in his hand. But his life points were still ample, and he still had a chance.

"Draw."
Seeing the newly drawn card, Manjoume's eyes lit up.
"Heh, the Goddess of Victory is still on my side after all."

Manjoume drew two cards from his hand, sent one to the Graveyard, and played the other directly.
"I activate the magic card 'Cost Down'! Discard one card from my hand. This turn, all monster cards in my hand have their levels reduced by two stars!"
Cost Down, which reduced the number of tributes needed for high-level monsters in hand, allowing them to be summoned directly, was also a method commonly used by Seto Kaiba in DM.

"And the card I just discarded to activate the effect of 'Cost Down' is the magic card 'Supply Squad.' When this card is discarded from my hand to the Graveyard, draw two cards."
Yuugen: "..."
The draw engine in the anime truly was a monster. Drawing cards at the drop of a hat. If this were put in the real card environment, it would simply explode...

"According to the effect of 'Supply Squad,' draw from the deck."
With his ammunition replenished again, Manjoume smiled slightly. It seemed like things were looking up.
"You actually caused me quite a bit of trouble. It seems I underestimated you. However! That's all for now."

Manjoume raised his voice.
"According to the effect of 'Cost Down,' the level of 'Kaiser Glider,' which was originally level 6, is reduced to 4, so it can be summoned directly without tributes.
Therefore, I Normal Summon this guy. Appear —

— Kaiser Glider!"
A golden storm swept through the field. The creature that appeared from the vortex was a majestic golden dragon clad in imperial gold, its entire body covered in golden flames.
【Kaiser Glider, ATK: 2400】
"Your little tricks end here. In elite duels, only power is the key to victory!" Manjoume raised his hand. "Kaiser Glider, attack 'Spirit Extinguisher - Hai Ku'!"

The golden dragon opened its mouth, and a spiral shockwave shot from its mouth. The monk holding prayer beads was instantly pierced and blasted off the field in a cloud of smoke.
【Yuugen, LP: 1700 → LP: 1100】
"I set one more card face-down on the field, end turn!"

Manjoume took a deep breath.
Almost there, just a little bit more.
He had regained the rhythm, just a little bit more to break through the hateful guy's defense and deliver the final blow.

Manjoume himself might not have noticed that, unconsciously, his mentality had shifted from the "easily crush the opponent for victory" mentality of bullying noobs to the "only one of us can walk out of here today" state.
It felt like the duel had turned into a grudge match.
He had never been in a duel where he wanted to destroy his opponent so badly.

Thinking of the scene where the opponent's life points would soon reach zero and he would be blasted to the ground by his full-powered holographic image, he couldn't help but want to laugh heartily.
"My turn, draw." Yuugen said calmly, "First, I activate this card from my hand... the magic card 'Mystical Space Typhoon'!"
A green storm swept up, and strong wind pressure engulfed the entire field. Manjoume had to shield his face with his arms. The face-down card in his back row was also blown back into his hand.

This was one of the staple cards in Joey Wheeler's deck in DM, but in the real card environment, it was also a forbidden card that had been in the Little Black Room for many years.
"Mystical Space Typhoon is a card that can return all magic and trap cards on the field to their owner's hand."
"Tch." Manjoume looked at the card that had bounced back to his hand and curled his lip.

The arrangements in his back row were disrupted… but it shouldn't be a big problem. Kaiser Glider was a high-level monster with 2400 attack points and shouldn't be easily broken through.
Moreover, Kaiser Glider also had a powerful monster effect hidden within it. When it was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, it could also bounce any monster on the field back to its owner's hand.
In other words, even if the opponent really had the ability to immediately summon a monster that surpassed Kaiser Glider in the next turn, after defeating Kaiser Glider, it would immediately be destroyed by this deathrattle effect.

The more Manjoume thought about it, the more smug he became.
The opponent only saw the set card in the back row and must have thought that everything would be fine after getting rid of the trap. He didn't know that truly elite duels were well thought out, and he had set a double trap as insurance.
He had a huge advantage!

"I Summon 'Tomato in the Mirror' in attack mode," Yuugen continued.
(Note: Keeping the general tone, the card was edited slightly)
【Tomato in the Mirror, ATK: 1400】

Manjoume sneered: "Heh, as expected, you can only summon small fry as wall monsters... Hmm?"
As he spoke, he noticed something was wrong.
Wait a minute, Tomato in the Mirror in attack mode?

He suddenly had a bad feeling...
"Then, I activate a magic card from my hand..."
Yuugen waved his right arm, and the image of a magic card popped up in front of him.

"Magic Card - Compulsory Evacuation Device! Both players must select one monster on their own field, and exchange control of them!"
Manjoume: "What!?"
Are you kidding me? Your deck is full of this kind of crap?

Can we have a proper duel?
"The monster I choose is, of course, this one on my field." Yuugen pointed to the big tomato head on his field. "'Tomato in the Mirror.' Alright, you also choose the monster you want to exchange."
Manjoume: "..."

Heh heh, I choose your grandpa.
Obviously, Manjoume had no choice. There was only one "Kaiser Glider" on his field.
However, this magic card forcibly required both players to choose. Even if there was only one option, the system couldn't make the decision for the duelist. So, Manjoume could only tearfully click on his Kaiser Glider, watching his 2400 ATK monster be taken to the opposite field...

...and exchanged for a round, red tomato head.
Manjoume turned his head and even saw the tomato head grinning cheekily, as if mocking him mercilessly...
"Battle Phase," Yuugen said, "Kaiser Glider, attack Tomato in the Mirror."

The golden dragon opened its mouth, and its domineering dragon breath pierced the small tomato in one strike, showing no mercy to its owner from a second ago. Tomato in the Mirror exploded into pieces, and the shockwave made Manjoume stagger back half a step.
【Manjoume, LP: 3300 → LP: 2300】
"Damn it..." Manjoume muttered through gritted teeth.

But it wasn't even over yet.
"Tomato in the Mirror, effect activates." Yuugen waved his hand, "When Tomato in the Mirror is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon a DARK monster with 1500 or less ATK from my deck!"
Manjoume: "!?"

Manjoume was indeed a top student. After a moment of thought, he understood what was going on with this effect.
In the duel rules, even if the control of a monster was temporarily changed through a card effect, when it was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, according to the rules, it would be sent to its original owner's Graveyard.
The original owner of Tomato in the Mirror was Yuugen, so even if the control was changed to Manjoume's field, when it was destroyed, it would still go to Yuugen's Graveyard.

Therefore, when it was destroyed and its effect was resolved, naturally it was Yuugen who could Special Summon from the deck, not Manjoume...
Manjoume's face darkened even more after understanding this.
So I'm responsible for taking the hit, and you're responsible for searching, huh?

The monster was taken to the opposite side, he was the one taking the hit, and the opponent was still the one searching...
A normal person wouldn't be able to come up with such a blood pressure-raising combo without spending ten or eight years in hell.
But Manjoume, who felt that he had reached the ultimate level of hell, was clearly still too young.

Yuugen drew the monster card he had searched for from the deck.
"According to the effect of 'Tomato in the Mirror,' I Special Summon this card from my deck —
— Marauding Captain!"

【Marauding Captain, ATK: 1400】
"The Battle Phase is still continuing. Because it was Special Summoned during the Battle Phase, my 'Marauding Captain' can also continue to attack."
Yuugen said, waving his hand.

"Direct attack on Manjoume."
The one-eyed captain coolly pulled out two revolvers, firing both guns in succession, pa pa. Virtual bullets once again pierced through Manjoume.
"Ugh..." Manjoume gritted his teeth and tried to steady himself.

【Manjoume, LP: 2300 → LP: 900】
"At this moment, the effect of 'Marauding Captain' activates," Yuugen said. "When Marauding Captain inflicts battle damage to the opponent, you can randomly choose and discard one card from the opponent's hand.
I choose to destroy the card in your right hand."

Marauding Captain fired his revolvers again, and the bullets pierced through one of Manjoume's cards.
Manjoume looked at the "Magic Cylinder" in his hand that had a hole blasted through it, suddenly feeling his vision darken and the urge to vomit blood.
Magic Cylinder, a powerful trap that could destroy the opponent's monster with the highest attack power when the opponent declared an attack. Many duelists relied on this thing to make a comeback in desperate situations.

Obviously, this was the card that had just been blown back to Manjoume's hand by "Mystical Space Typhoon," without any chance to display its powerful effect, it was destroyed in his hand...
Manjoume sent the Magic Cylinder to the Graveyard with a sullen face.
But there was still a chance.

He had one last card in his hand.
Equip Magic, Premature Burial.
By paying 800 LP, he could revive a monster from his Graveyard. In many cases, it was a god card for a comeback.

But the problem was, Manjoume hadn't sent a single monster to his Graveyard so far; they were all sent to another dimension...
"Main Phase 2." Yuugen revealed another card in his hand. "I activate the magic card 'The Forceful Sentry.' I can see your hand, choose one card from it, and return it to your deck, then shuffle your deck."
Manjoume: "..."

His face twitched, as if trying to control his impending outburst. He silently put the last card back into his deck. But the expression of him forcefully controlling his facial muscles made him look like he was performing some kind of strange facial art...
Just like that, Manjoume's last card was returned to the deck.
In a real card duel, the match would have already ended at this point. Trying to make a comeback from this situation with just one card drawn next turn was basically a pipe dream. But considering that everyone in the anime could topdeck in desperate situations, Yuugen still chose to play it safe.

"I set a card face-down, end turn."
This was his final insurance to seal the «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» deal.
"My turn..."

Manjoume gritted his teeth, staring intently at the top card of his deck, his adrenaline pumping.
To be eliminated by a one-star rookie with no resume? What a joke?
He, Jun Manjoume, had participated in countless competitions. Although he didn't always win, this kind of experience was truly unprecedented.

He couldn't accept this humiliation, and his family certainly couldn't either.
But it wasn't over yet!
He would... bet everything on this next card!

"Draw!"
Glancing at the card he drew, Manjoume's expression instantly became complex.
Graceful Charity.

Magic card. Draw three cards from the deck, then discard two cards from your hand.
This was undoubtedly a god-draw in this desperate situation. Drawing three cards in a row could increase his chances of drawing a comeback card.
However, this made him think of the "Premature Burial" that had just been returned to the deck. If he still had Premature Burial in his hand, then with this "Graceful Charity," if he drew a high-level monster among the next three cards, he could discard it to the Graveyard with the effect of "Graceful Charity," and then use Premature Burial to bring it back, achieving a beautiful comeback from a desperate situation...

Of course, this was now impossible because of that damn "The Forceful Sentry."
Manjoume suddenly realized that dueling against this guy felt very strange. The whole duel made him feel a little angry at first glance, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he became...
But this draw gave him a chance to continue playing. Manjoume rallied himself and looked up, preparing to activate the magic card. Suddenly, he saw that the opponent's face-down card in the back row had been activated at some point.

Trap Card - Drop Off. Activate during the opponent's Draw Phase. The opponent must discard the drawn card directly to the Graveyard.
Manjoume: "............"
The final trap, Yuugen's last insurance, even the possibility of a god-draw was nipped in the bud.

At this moment, Sato Koji, the senior brother who was watching from the front row, suddenly jumped up from his seat and slapped his thigh.
"I know this! This is it!"