010 Venue—Equipment—Sealing, an all-in-one package!

"My turn. Draw!"

The turn returned to Yugi. This time, he drew a Trap Card with a purple border. Without revealing his intentions, he glanced discreetly at his Clay Hero, arms crossed defensively in front of him. Yugi placed the Trap Card face down in the spell and trap zone corresponding to the Clay Hero.

"I set a card in the spell and trap area. End turn."

The turn shifted to Ryuzaki.

'He only set a spell or trap, didn't use Unicorn Horn or summon a new monster...'

Ryuzaki drew his card casually, studying the layout of Yugi's field on the electronic screen before him, pondering.

'Most likely, he has no monster with higher attack than my Horned Dragon.'

Otherwise, why wouldn't Yugi summon a new monster? He hadn't even equipped Unicorn Horn again.

As he thought this, Ryuzaki finally glanced at his newly drawn card—and instantly, his mood soared.

"Yugi, oh Yugi!"

Yugi: ?

Why call me like that?

"I don't know how you defeated Kaji the Fisherman, nor if what you said is true, but one thing is certain right now! And that is—"

Ryuzaki, now grinning wickedly, slapped his card onto the duel disk. In the next moment, a thunderous, piercing dragon's roar erupted from his side!

A long blue body, orange-yellow underbelly, sharp three-fingered claws, wings oddly small for its frame, and a sinister, bird-like pointed mouth.

Ryuzaki's reward for being runner-up in the Monster Duel Tournament—the Dark Knight Dragon!

(Dark Knight Dragon, 7 stars, attack: 2350 → 2585)

"Now, my deck's second ace is on the field, and the outcome of this duel can finally be decided!"

Arrogant? Perhaps, but above all, confident! Not only was it a rare dragon-type monster, but it boasted an attack power of 2350!

As his tournament prize, the Dark Knight Dragon's strength was just 50 points shy of his "all-or-nothing trade"—the legendary monster said to rival Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon. His primary ace had only 50 points more attack!

In previous battles, as long as he summoned the "Dark Knight Dragon," victory was inevitable! Either opponents couldn't break his "Knight Dragon Combo," or surrendered at the mere sight of the beast!

Every time the Knight Dragon appeared, his "all-or-nothing" ace never got a chance to shine, and that meant Ryuzaki was always the undisputed winner!

"So what if you've summoned the 'Dark Knight Dragon'? Its attack is still lower than my Elemental Hero Clayman's defense! Without breaking through this wall monster, you'll never inflict battle damage on me!"

A defense stat of 2800—in this era, aside from ultra-rare cards like Blue-Eyes White Dragon, no single monster could defeat Clayman without special combos!

"2800 defense—I’m not blind! If I dared to summon the Knight Dragon, of course I have a way to breach your iron wall!"

With that, Ryuzaki drew a green-bordered card from his remaining three and placed it face-up in the spell and trap zone corresponding to the Dark Knight Dragon.

"The second equip spell, 'Dragon's Treasure,' for dragon-type monsters!"

As Ryuzaki played his card, a winged blue dragon appeared, bearing a massive green jewel on its back, flying in from the horizon.

Landing before Ryuzaki's ace, the Dark Knight Dragon, the blue dragon bowed its head in respect. The Knight Dragon nodded in approval, then lowered its long neck and, jaws agape, swallowed the jewel whole.

"Roar!!"

As the blue dragon vanished, the jewel's power surged within the Knight Dragon, instantly boosting its strength by 300 points!

(Dark Knight Dragon, attack: 2585 → 2885)

'Impressive!'

Yugi watched as the Dark Knight Dragon now surpassed Clayman’s defense by 85 points, his eyes narrowing in admiration.

"Hmph! You think that's all?"

As if reading Yugi's thoughts, Ryuzaki, after equipping the jewel, drew another from his remaining two cards and played it in the spell and trap area.

"This is my 'perfect plan'! An invincible combo!"

With Ryuzaki's triumphant declaration, a knight clad in blue iron armor, wielding a shield as large as his torso, appeared before Yugi's Clay Hero.

As a "?" popped over Clayman's tiny head, the armored knight lunged forward, pressing his shield forcefully against Clayman.

Caught off guard, Clayman fell back, and when he angrily tried to retaliate, the blue-armored knight had already vanished.

Muttering "unlucky," Clayman tried to crouch again as his master's wall, only to discover that his card, previously horizontal in defense position, had disappeared! Worse yet, he couldn't bend his legs to crouch anymore, meaning he could only stand upright in attack position!

"Heh heh! Rare spell card—'Defense Seal'!"

Ryuzaki's voice came, drawing Clayman's attention. Seeing his master's opponent point to the card, Clayman instantly understood why he had switched from defense to attack.

"'Defense Seal'—a rare spell that forces a monster from defense to attack position!"

Ryuzaki explained smugly:

"Its true power lies in exposing even face-down monsters, those whose stats are hidden—even they must reveal their form and data in the face of 'Defense Seal'!"

Clayman, now boosted by the "Grass" field and earth power, had his attack raised from a measly 800 to a paltry 1120. He looked back at his master in distress.

|*´Å`)ﾉ

Yugi shook his head, reassuring him not to blame himself. In Duel Monsters, the tide of battle can shift dramatically with a single card!

All this was within the expectations of a player like Yugi, seasoned by generations of future versions.

But to be honest, pulling off such a powerful combo—field boost, equip spell, position change—so early in Duel Monsters' history, it was only fitting for the runner-up of the inaugural national tournament.

Indeed, even natives should not be underestimated!

Had Yugi not transmigrated, and not used the "Elemental Hero" deck, he might have surrendered outright.

Because the current Dark Knight Dragon was only Ryuzaki's second ace; his primary ace, a legendary monster akin to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, had yet to appear!