When Kira heard Tenma wanted to see him, he half-guessed it would be about dueling.
He was just an unknown first-year at Duel Academy—maybe a little famous on campus, but not the sort of person to attract Tenma's attention.
So, the only reason Tenma might want to see him was because he'd beaten up Tenma's card professor earlier, and rather ruthlessly at that.
Or maybe he'd heard about how Kira had trounced the AI Blue-Eyes and gained the reputation of "the man noticed by Seto Kaiba himself."
Whatever the reason, there was only one: a duel.
Honestly, Kira had kind of guessed this before coming, so he was ready for it. According to Duel Academy's card-drawing curriculum, dueling strong opponents is the best way to grow. The stronger the opponent, the more you improve.
But of course, he wasn't going to duel for nothing.
While Kira was thinking, Mokuba spoke up first: "That's fine, but if it's just a duel, isn't that a bit boring?"
Tenma replied calmly, "And what do you suggest?"
"I remember last year's Illusions tournament gave out replicas of Pegasus's 'Thousand-Eyes Restrict' as prizes, right? If I'm not mistaken, there should still be some left?"
Kira raised his eyebrows.
Wow, Mokuba already knows what I'm thinking before I even say it.
"I see," Tenma smiled. "Yes, there are two left. If you're interested, feel free to take one."
Mokuba grinned, exchanging a look with Kira.
"Well? Want to give it a try?"
Truth be told, he wanted to see Kira duel too.
There was something special about the way this guy dueled.
"Then I'll gladly accept," Kira smiled, standing up. "Please, Mr. Tenma, let's duel."
The two left the dining room and followed Tenma to the dueling arena.
"I'll go first. Draw!"
Tenma slapped down a monster card.
"I summon 'Don Turtle' in defense position!"
[Don Turtle, DEF 1200]
"When Don Turtle is summoned, I can special summon any number of Don Turtles from my hand."
He drew two more cards. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn Nove1Fire.net
"I special summon two more Don Turtles!"
[Don Turtle, DEF 1200] x2
"Next, I activate the Continuous Spell 'Precious Cards from Beyond.' As long as this card is on the field, when I tribute two or more monsters for a tribute summon, I draw two cards."
He swept his hand, and a card projection appeared on the field.
"I set a card face-down and end my turn."
Tenma, though he'd been controlled by the Wicked God back in the day, should still count as a legendary duelist.
There are levels to legends, though, and Tenma should be stronger than, say, Rex Raptor or the Paradox Brothers.
So, Kira went with his updated main deck.
"I normal summon 'Defender of Nephthys.'"
A gift from the new Dorma Three Swordsman's Shell.
A girl with long silver hair in golden armor and a burning red cloak appeared.
[Defender of Nephthys, ATK 1400]
"Defender of Nephthys's effect: destroy a card in my hand, then special summon a Level 4 or lower Nephthys monster from my hand except Defender of Nephthys."
The Defender of Nephthys swung her sword, flames consuming a card in his hand.
"I special summon 'Hand of Nephthys'!"
[Hand of Nephthys, ATK 600]
Tenma mused, "A Nephthys deck..."
He remembered that was a rare archetype.
"The card I destroyed was the Quick-Play Spell 'Silent Burning.'"
Kira took the spell from his graveyard.
"By banishing this card from the graveyard, I add 'Silent Magician' from my deck to my hand."
He searched for the card and shuffled his deck.
"'Silent Magician' can't be normal summoned, but can be special summoned by tributing a Spellcaster monster on the field.
So, I tribute my Defender of Nephthys.
Wings of silent hope, magician of light—appear now—
—Silent Magician, summon!"
The fiery swordswoman vanished in a white light, replaced by a silver-haired magician surrounded by an ethereal glow.
[Silent Magician, ATK 1000]
"I see. The Nephthys followers are all Spellcasters, so they can be used to summon Silent Magician. And discarding a card for Defender of Nephthys's effect sends Silent Burning to the graveyard, setting up the search for Silent Magician..."
"Unexpected synergy between two archetypes."
Both Silent Magician and Nephthys are rare in this world, so combining them is something new.
"I can special summon 'Jester Confit' from my hand in attack mode, so I do."
[Jester Confit, ATK 0]
"Now for Hand of Nephthys' effect," Kira said. "By tributing itself and another monster, I can special summon 'Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys' from my hand or deck.
I tribute 'Jester Confit' and 'Hand of Nephthys!'
From the ancient phoenix fire, descend under the guidance of flames—
—Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, summon!"
A burst of flames shaped like wings, and a golden divine bird appeared amidst fire!
[Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, ATK 2400]
The card professors in the back all looked shocked.
"He summoned two ace monsters in the first turn..."
Silent Magician and Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, either one could be an ace for a deck.
Especially Kirk Dixon, who'd just been beaten earlier—he stared, eyes wide.
So, you don't just use those annoying Ojama Trio, huh?
You pull out this lineup right away—this is strong.
So why did you use those cheap tricks on me?
Just to mess with my head?
Kirk's face turned darker, sinking deeper into frustration.
Here's the extra 2 Chapters!