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Having discovered the correct way to enter the Spirit Realm, You Xuan felt somewhat less tense. He pondered for a moment—after all, he had entered through the ruins' stone tablet, but upon arriving here, he hadn't seen anything resembling a stone tablet or even a doorway nearby.
So how was he supposed to return?
He thought for a moment, then turned to his spirit partner. "Silent, what do you think?"
The Silent Magician shook her head, seemingly just as clueless. After all, the Spirit Realm was vast, and though it was collectively referred to as the Spirit Realm, it was actually divided into many different dimensions. This place didn't seem to be one she was familiar with. However, after tilting her head in thought, she pointed toward a distant spot below the small hill.
You Xuan followed the direction of her finger and spotted what appeared to be a town in the distance.
"Ah, I see. We'll ask the local spirits for information, then?"
For now, it seemed like the best course of action. In anime, the general populace of the Spirit Realm tended to be friendly, so perhaps the locals would know of a way out.
You Xuan descended the hill and approached the town. The streets were paved with bluestone, their surfaces marked by the passage of time. The buildings were constructed of white brick, their windows embedded with colorful stained glass. Intricate totems, patterns, and unfamiliar symbols adorned the walls.
Strangely, however, there wasn't a single soul in sight.
The shops stood abandoned, their doors and windows tightly shut. Hanging signboards swayed gently in the wind, while stray leaves skittered across the ground, producing faint rustling sounds.
"Is this normal in the Spirit Realm?" You Xuan asked.
The Silent Magician shook her head, gripping her staff tightly, her expression wary. Clearly, this wasn't normal.
She positioned herself protectively beside You Xuan, and the two continued forward. After walking for several minutes, they heard strange noises coming from behind a row of buildings.
Without showing any outward reaction, You Xuan followed the sound down an alleyway, taking cover in the shadows to observe the situation. He saw several small spirits fleeing in panic. Among them, he recognized one—a tiny figure carrying a large key on its shoulder. It was unmistakably the Key Fairy, a Level 1 monster with 400 ATK from Duel Monsters.
Chasing after these spirits were the same black goblins he had encountered earlier. The goblins screeched as they charged forward, firing arrows relentlessly.
There was something strange about those arrows—they seemed imbued with some kind of magic. Any spirit struck by them let out a pained cry before collapsing and transforming into a heavy stone slab that crashed to the ground with a loud thud.
You Xuan was stunned. What kind of twisted fate awaited those hit by these arrows? They were being turned into cards?
Though he wondered if this effect only applied to spirits.
Thinking back to his earlier encounter in the forest, he shuddered. Thank goodness he had been quick enough to summon his holy defense...
It seemed that the spirits who originally inhabited this town had been attacked by an invading species. Perhaps they had all been turned into stone slabs, explaining why the town appeared deserted.
Suddenly, the Silent Magician tensed, swiftly moving to shield You Xuan from behind. Turning around, he noticed a group of black goblins had appeared at the entrance of the alleyway.
"Boss, it's him!" one of the goblins screeched. "A duelist! A duelist has invaded our territory!"
The goblin horde parted to make way, and a sinister-looking masked spirit slowly stepped forward.
You Xuan vaguely remembered seeing this monster before.
Masked Sorcerer - Cursed Throat, a Level 4 monster with 1500 ATK from Duel Monsters, used by Marik's Ghouls under the Rare Hunters.
However, at this moment, the creature's combat stats weren't the most concerning detail. What caught You Xuan's attention was the fact that this spirit was equipped with something resembling a duel disk.
"It seems we have a foreign duelist," the sorcerer sneered. "But since you've dared to trespass into the domain of our god, you must already be prepared to become a sacrifice."
With a wave of his hand, he dismissed his minions and activated his duel disk—or rather, what resembled one. Unlike the technological duel disks of the real world, this device had an organic, flesh-like appearance, as if it had grown naturally from his arm.
"The outcome between duelists is decided only through battle rituals. You lot, stand back. This one is mine."
"Tsk, figures—it's another card battle."
You Xuan knew that duels in the Spirit Realm were akin to dark duels, life-and-death battles conducted through ritual. Though it seemed unavoidable, this duel wouldn't be too difficult. From the looks of it, only this one spirit could duel; the rest were mere minions.
"Duel!" x2
[You Xuan, LP 4000]
[Masked Sorcerer, LP 4000]
"I'll start. Draw."
The sorcerer took the first turn.
"I'll set one monster face-down and one card face-down. Turn end."
A fairly standard opening.
His goblin lackeys began cheering wildly behind him.
"Our master sorcerer is invincible!"
"How dare you challenge our great sorcerer? You're already finished!"
"..."
You Xuan ignored their taunts. "My turn. Draw."
He sent a card from his hand to the graveyard and revealed another.
"By using the effect of Trickster in my hand, I can special summon this Level 5 monster by discarding one card from my hand.
Therefore, I discard one card to special summon Trickster!"
[Trickster, ATK 2000]
"The card I just discarded to the graveyard is the Quick-Play Spell Silent Magic Blast."
The card that had just entered the graveyard re-emerged from the duel disk's graveyard zone in a flash of golden light.
"By banishing this card from the game, I can add one Silent Magician monster from my deck to my hand.
Thus, I banish Silent Magic Blast and add True Silent Magician to my hand."
You Xuan searched his deck to complete the retrieval and then played another card.
"I summon Magical Warrior - Destroyer!"
[Magical Warrior - Destroyer, ATK 1600]
"When Magical Warrior - Destroyer is successfully summoned, it gains a magic counter, increasing its ATK by 300 points.
However, I'll activate its other effect. By removing its magic counter, I'll destroy your face-down card."
The Magical Warrior swung its sword, sending a surge of magical energy toward the sorcerer's backfield.
But the sorcerer waved his hand. "I activate my face-down card, the Quick-Play Spell Scapegoat. I special summon four Sheep Tokens to my field."
Four lazy, colorful sheep hopped onto the sorcerer's field.
[Sheep Token, DEF 0] x4
"When Scapegoat is activated, I cannot summon any other monsters during this turn, and these sheep cannot be used as tribute for higher-level summons." He paused, smirking. "Of course, it's not my turn right now, so I wouldn't be able to summon anyway."
You Xuan inwardly agreed. Indeed, in this era, it was still quite primitive—summoning outside of your own turn was impossible. In modern Yu-Gi-Oh!, reciting long speeches during the opponent's turn was commonplace.
"Then I'll use Magical Warrior - Destroyer, whose magic counter has already been spent, as tribute."
The Magical Warrior dissolved into golden light, spiraling into the magic circle that opened on the ground. A burst of pure white light erupted, and a graceful figure emerged, clad in flowing white robes that swayed gently in the breeze. Her silver hair shimmered faintly under the cold light.
"Silent Magician, summon!"
[True Silent Magician, ATK 1000]
"Silent Magician cannot be normal summoned but can be special summoned by tributing any Spellcaster on my field," You Xuan explained. "Furthermore, Silent Magician gains 500 ATK for each card in my hand.
Currently, I have three cards in my hand, so its ATK increases by 1500."
[Silent Magician, ATK 1000 → ATK 2500]
The goblins watching from the sidelines began to stir.
"He summoned two monsters with over 2000 ATK in the first turn!"
The sorcerer, however, remained calm, simply commanding, "Quiet."
The minions immediately fell silent.
"..."
"Entering the battle phase." You Xuan ordered. "Silent Magician and Trickster, attack two Sheep Tokens respectively."
The sleepy sheep were no match for the combined assault of the two powerful spellcasters and were obliterated one after the other.
"Then I'll set one card face-down on my backfield. Turn end."
[Silent Magician, ATK 2500 → ATK 2000]