If it was just a Duel, there was little to lose. Winning would save trouble. The only issue was that Mokuba Kaiba lacked confidence in his own Duel skills.
"Is that okay?" he asked.
"Of course. It is rare to visit the Link System, and I have not experienced a Duel here yet." Yugen looked eager.
".All right."
Mokuba Kaiba nodded and smiled faintly.
"Then I will leave it to you. Looks like I owe you another favor."
"No problem."
Yugen stepped forward. "I will be your opponent."
Kirk finally relaxed. At least someone was willing to play.
"Fine." Kirk sized him up. "You are a hired Duelist under Kaiba Corporation?"
"No," Yugen said seriously. "Just an ordinary first year at Duel Academy."
Kirk stared at him.
A first year student? He looked at Mokuba Kaiba as if asking whether this was a joke. Even if Duel Academy recruited elites, they were still students. Kirk Dixon had once faced the Duel King himself. Sending a freshman felt insulting.
"Let us make this quick, senior," Yugen said as he took his position.
"Tch. Suit yourself." Kirk narrowed his eyes. "I will show you how harsh the real world of Duel is. Come."
"Duel!" both declared.
Yugen, LP 4000. Kirk, LP 4000.
"I go first. Draw!" Kirk announced.
Kirk Dixon was the original user of the Machina Deck in the original work. The entire Machina Deck Level Series first appeared in his hands.
"Witness the full suppression of Machina!
The effect of 'Machina Fortress' in my hand lets me discard Machine monsters whose total Levels equal eight or more to Special Summon 'Machina Fortress' from my hand or Graveyard!"
He revealed another card he had drawn and sent it to the Graveyard.
"I discard Level 8 'Machina Cannon' and Special Summon 'Machina Fortress'!"
The heavy 'Machina Fortress' crashed onto the field, making the ground shake.
"I set one card and end my turn."
Kirk crossed his arms with a confident smile. "All right, first year from Duel Academy. Show me what you have learned."
"I will try not to disappoint." Yugen smiled. "My Turn! Draw.
First, I activate the Quick-Play Spell 'Hand Destruction'. We each send two cards from our hands to the Graveyard, then draw two cards."
Both sent two cards to the Graveyard. Soon, golden light flashed from Yugen's Graveyard.
"I sent the Spell Card 'Ojama Magic'. When this card is sent from my hand or field to the Graveyard, I can add 'Ojama Green', 'Ojama Yellow', and 'Ojama Black' from my Deck to my hand.
So I add the three Ojama brothers."
"Ojama?" Kirk looked surprised.
He knew the archetype, but in this era they were considered filler cards. Even Manjoume once said that only he would use such weak monsters. As a Card Professor, Kirk dealt with elite Duelists all the time. Seeing someone actually use Ojama in real combat was new.
He frowned and glanced at Mokuba Kaiba, clearly unhappy.
"Next, I activate Spell Card 'Violent Broker'," Yugen continued. "If I have at least one card in hand, I draw two cards, then return three cards from my hand to the top of my Deck in any order."
He drew two cards, then placed the three Ojama brothers back on top of his Deck.
"Then I activate Spell Card 'The Shallow Grave'! I pay 800 Life Points and reveal the top four cards of my Deck. All Level 3 or lower Normal Monsters are Special Summoned, and the rest are returned and shuffled!"
Yugen, LP 4000 to 3200.
"The top three cards are exactly the three I just placed there. They are all Normal Monsters."
He revealed the three monsters.
"So I Special Summon the three Ojama brothers!"
'Ojama Yellow', DEF 1000. 'Ojama Green', DEF 1000. 'Ojama Black', DEF 1000.
"You summoned three monsters at once," Kirk said with a frown. "It is a creative combo. But they are still weak monsters. What can they possibly do?"
For some reason, the sight of the three Ojama irritated him. Just looking at them felt like mockery.
"Do not rush. Even weak monsters have their uses."
Yugen smiled and revealed another card.
"I activate Spell Card 'Ojama Delta Hurricane'!
If 'Ojama Green', 'Ojama Yellow', and 'Ojama Black' are on the field, destroy all cards your opponent controls!"
Kirk's expression changed.
These weak monsters could do that?
The three brothers struck their ultimate move, Ojama Secret Art combined with 'Ojama Delta Hurricane'. They pressed their backsides together in their classic ridiculous pose, then spun like flaming wheels. A three colored storm swept across the opponent's field and tore through everything in its path.
"Tch, trash like this won't break my Machina Defense Line!" Kirk Dixon snapped as he reacted at once. "I activate my face down Trap Card, 'United We Stand'! I target a Union Monster in my Graveyard and equip it to a face up monster I control."
A Card popped out from his Graveyard on the Duel Disk. "I equip 'Machina Peacekeeper' from my Graveyard to my 'Machina Fortress'!" The compact 'Machina Gearframe' emerged and wrapped around the massive Heavy Fortress like a layer of red armor.
"When 'Machina Fortress' would be Destroyed by battle or card effect, the equipped 'Machina Peacekeeper' can be destroyed instead!" The three colored storm roared over the Machina on his field, shattering the Union armor in a burst of fragments. Shielded by that layer, the battered 'Machina Fortress' barely endured the storm.
"Heh. Trash is still trash." Kirk Dixon adjusted his glasses. "It seems my countermeasure is superior."
Yugen said nothing and calmly played another card. "I activate the Spell Card 'Cost Down'. I send a non-Effect Monster I control to the Graveyard and draw two cards. I send 'Ojama Green' to the Graveyard and Draw." He then set four cards onto the field. "End turn."
"Four face downs?" Kirk Dixon stiffened.
Watching from the side, Mokuba Kaiba felt a strange sense of familiarity. The layered traps and tight control reminded him of two people from the past. One was Rokusei Aoi, the cheerful boy from Duel City who had pushed himself too far. The other was the legendary Yugi Muto, who used tactics from Underworld to send opponents back to Underworld.
"My Turn! Draw!" Kirk Dixon declared. "No matter what you set up, the power of Machina will crush it. I Summon."
"Hold on. We are still in the Standby Phase." Yugen snapped his fingers. "I flip my Trap Card, 'Ballista Squad'. I tribute 'Ojama Black' and Destroy your 'Machina Fortress'!"
A massive ballista appeared. 'Ojama Black' leapt onto it, was launched forward, and spun through the air before smashing rear first into 'Machina Fortress'. The armor cracked, sparks burst out, and the huge machine collapsed into scrap.
"My 'Machina Fortress' destroyed with that thing?" Kirk Dixon growled. Still, he knew 'Machina Fortress' could always return from the Graveyard by discarding Machines whose total Levels equaled eight or more.
"Next, I activate another face down." Yugen revealed Trap Card 'Ojama Trio'. "I Special Summon three 'Ojama Tokens' to your field. They cannot be used as Tributes."
Three colored tokens popped onto Kirk Dixon's field and immediately began their antics, one snoring, one drinking tea, one reading a newspaper. Kirk Dixon frowned but forced a snort. "Giving your opponent monsters? Is that what Duel Academy teaches?"
"I am still new," Yugen replied with a smile. "My tactics may be rough. I would appreciate your advice." He flipped his final card. "Continuous Trap, 'Rivalry of Warlords'."
Both players must send monsters to the Graveyard until they each control only one Type, and as long as it remains, each player can only control one Type of monster. Kirk Dixon stared at his field and then at the three Beast-Type tokens.
"Nani?!?!" Only one Type allowed, and he was stuck with Beasts. His entire Deck was Machines.
Grinding his teeth, he set a monster face down and another card. "End turn." With his summons sealed, that was all he could do.
"In the End Phase, I activate another Trap Card, 'Self-Destruct Button'." Yugen said evenly. "You have four monsters, so take 2000 damage."