Nonsense "Elemental Hero"!

“The first one I’ll summon is this fellow!”

As Yutai played his first card, a burst of light shot up from the depths of the seawater field on the duel platform before him. Ripples spread outward from the source of the glow.

“What!?” The four spectators watching from below stared in disbelief at the empty duel field displayed on the screen.

“Not only does it show no stat panel for the monster, there isn’t even a trace of its physical form!”

Even after careful scrutiny, the duel field remained unchanged, just as it was before the duel began—no sign that the earlier light and ripples had ever appeared.

“So, Yugi, what will you do now?” Hearing the exclamations from below, Yutai grinned in satisfaction and threw a provocative glance across the field.

Yugi responded with a soft chuckle, the phenomenon clearly not troubling him. He calmly explained the cause behind it:

“Yutai’s field is ‘seawater.’ The flash earlier signaled the materialization of a monster. The reason we saw no shadow is because the summoned monster is currently submerged beneath the water!”

“Moreover, considering Yutai’s profession as a ‘fisherman’ and the seawater field, his monsters suffer no discomfort underwater… With all these clues, it’s clear Yutai’s deck is built around Water Attribute monsters—Aqua, Fish, and Sea Serpent types!”

The five of them were stunned.

The four observers realized the truth with a start, while Yutai was shocked that Yugi had deduced the core of his deck and strategy from so little information.

“Well then, it’s my turn.” Yugi drew his starting five cards.

Glancing at his Land field and his hand, a faint smile played on his lips as he summoned one of the Four Heroes—Electro Hero.

“I summon ‘Elemental Hero: Sparkman’ in attack mode!”

As Yugi played his card, a blue-bodied warrior clad in golden armor materialized in a crackle of lightning.

(Elemental Hero: Sparkman, Level 4, ATK: 1600)

“Thanks to the Land field’s power boost, Sparkman’s attack increases by 30%!”

Though this was his first duel, Yugi knew well the hidden rules from the Duelist Kingdom arc. He declared the activation of the Land field’s hidden effect the moment Sparkman appeared, enhancing his monster’s strength.

(Elemental Hero: Sparkman, ATK 1600 → 2240)

“Whoa! Not only is Yugi using a brand new monster unseen in any store, its power, with the field’s boost, exceeds two thousand!”

The observing quartet was astonished, and so was Yutai. This so-called Sparkman was not only a new Warrior monster, but its appearance rivaled even Yugi’s signature Dark Magician!

“Wait! A 30% field boost to 1600 should be 2080, so why does your monster have an attack power of 2240?” Yutai’s question drew the others’ attention—something was off with the calculation.

“Sparkman is a Light Attribute monster. Not only does he stand upon the land, but he also basks in the world’s strongest light—the sunlight! Naturally, in addition to the field bonus, he gains a further 10% Attribute boost!”

“But if that’s the case, why doesn’t my monster gain a Water Attribute bonus?” Yutai protested. If what you say is true, shouldn’t my monster, immersed in seawater, also gain an Attribute boost from the power of water?

“Pay attention to my monster’s full name—Elemental Hero: Sparkman! Clearly, he is a hero born of elemental power, inherently attuned to Light. Of course he receives the Attribute boost! Your monster, whatever it is, may wield Water power, but it’s just a sea creature, hardly comparable to my Elemental Hero!”

Yugi’s impassioned explanation left the five of them speechless.

Elemental Hero… it did seem to make sense.

Still, even so, you can’t possibly destroy my Demon Squid! Not while it remains hidden in the water!

Confident in his tactics, Yutai’s lips curled into a knowing smile.

Unaware of Yutai’s expression, Yugi commanded Sparkman to attack the monster lurking beneath the waves.

“Sorry, Yugi!” Yutai said with a relaxed smile as Sparkman struck. “Even if your monster’s attack surpasses my defense, don’t forget—my monster is hidden underwater! If your monster can’t see its target, no matter how strong it is, it can’t hit and destroy it!”

At this, the four spectators gasped in realization. So that was Yutai’s true advantage: by choosing the Red Side’s seawater field, he not only boosted his monsters’ power, but allowed them to hide beneath the waves—making them untargetable unless the opponent had a way to detect them. Even high attack power was useless if you couldn’t land a hit!

“Heh, as I said, my monster is called Sparkman! As the name suggests, he converts absorbed light into high-voltage electricity! Even if he can’t see his foe, an electric current released into the water will spread out, dealing AOE damage!”

“And since electricity trumps water, Sparkman’s attack power rises another 30% this turn!”

The five of them were speechless—such a shamelessly bold explanation!

(Elemental Hero: Sparkman, ATK 2240 → 2720)

At this stage, attack boosts were calculated from the base value, not the current attack, or the game would be broken!

A thunderous explosion, a geyser of water—clear evidence that Yutai’s monster had been fried by Sparkman’s high-voltage attack!

“Tch! I didn’t expect you to command a warrior who manipulates elemental forces!” Yutai gritted his teeth. He had lost the first exchange through sheer unfamiliarity with Yugi’s monster. Had he known Sparkman’s power, he would never have summoned the Demon Squid.

“My turn. Draw!”