NOVEL NEXT Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Opening Attack 7/10
"That sound of the Millennium Ring clinking again."
Although the Millennium Ring itself remained unseen, You Ling couldn't shake his unease.
He couldn't have misheard it twice.
"Aisha, let me handle this duel."
"But didn't you say that I should take charge of the practical tests from now on?"
"This is an exception. It's just a hunch, but Luka Slint might not be as simple and innocent as she appears."
"(｡•ˇ‸ˇ•｡) You should've said that earlier! I've been nervous all night for nothing."
After the soul swap, Aisha, feeling relieved, lay back in the mental room of the Millennium Puzzle.
Luka's sapphire-blue eyes flickered with a meaningful ripple as she noticed the change.
"So that's how it is. As expected, it's the same type of stand. How exciting!"
After Luka, Kevin Seto was the second to notice You Ling's soul swap.
In fact, he caught onto the completed swap even before Ilin did.
"My instincts were right! Aisha Carlos reveals her true duelist soul during duels. She's the opponent I'm destined to defeat!"
Ilin whispered, nodding, "So, You Ling swapped with Little Ai again. It seems he's taking this duel seriously."
Luka Slint LP: 2000
VS
Aisha Yuna Carlos LP: 2000
The duel began, with Luka's Spirit Eye lighting up first, indicating she would take the first turn.
"My turn, draw!"
Unlike the trend at Fusion Academy, Luka's deck was neatly strapped to her slender waist.
"I summon in attack position—[Mystic Tomato]!"
[Mystic Tomato ★★★★ Dark]
[Plant-Type/Effect ATK: 1400 DEF: 1100]
A tomato monster with a menacing expression, resembling a Halloween decoration, materialized and bounced onto Luka's field.
"I end my turn."
After just one summon, Luka set down her hand and declared the end of her turn.
"The legendary transfer student is indeed cute," Ilena commented from the stands. "And it seems her skills aren't weak either."
Kaiba nodded. "Mystic Tomato, huh? That's a troublesome monster. You can't just attack it recklessly."
Although Luka had only summoned a monster with modest attack power and ended her turn without setting any cards, [Mystic Tomato] itself had agraveyard effect.
[When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon 1 DARK monster with 1500 or less ATK from your Deck in face-up Attack Position.]
If [Mystic Tomato] was destroyed in battle, it would trigger its effect, allowing Luka to Special Summon another DARK monster with 1500 or less ATK from her deck.
Without knowing the opponent's deck composition, recklessly destroying [Mystic Tomato] could lead to summoning who-knows-what kind of monster.
At the very least, it could summon a second [Mystic Tomato], another DARK monster with 1500 or less ATK, making it difficult to break through the defense.
Just from this first summon, it was clear that Luka Slint's skills were far superior to the first-year students who relied solely on Normal Monsters.
"My turn, draw!"
You Ling began his turn by drawing a card.
He was also familiar with floating monsters like [Mystic Tomato].
But with Aisha's deck, the worry of offense didn't seem to be a major concern.
"I set one monster in face-down Defense Position and set one card. I end my turn."
The classic one one set monster, one set card. As long as he didn't attack, he wouldn't have to worry about [Mystic Tomato]'s graveyard effect —unless Luka decided to self-destruct it.
"A defensive strategy, huh? Makes sense."
Luka thought about it. If Aisha's deck was truly as weak as the others had described yesterday, with even a single Effect Monster being considered a breakthrough, she couldn't imagine any other battle strategy besides defense.
"My turn, draw."
After glancing at the card she drew, Luka's lips curled into a smile again.
"Perfect. Since you're not attacking, I'll take the initiative. I tribute the [Mystic Tomato] on my field to Tribute Summon!"
By sacrificing [Mystic Tomato], Luka gave up its graveyard effect. The tomato monster vanished into light, drifting upward into the sky.
With only one monster as tribute, she could normally only Tribute Summon a Level 5-6 monster.
"Bloom like a blood-red rose, spread your wings!—[Frigid Angel Queen of Roses]!"
[Frigid Angel Queen of Roses ★★★★★★★ (7 stars) Earth]
[Plant-Type/Effect ATK: 2400 DEF: 1300]
The Plant-Type angelic monster with wings like crimson roses, which Luka had summoned during yesterday's summoning class, descended once more.
You Ling frowned. "She summoned a Level 7 monster with only one tribute?"
Pointing at the angelic figure descending from the Tribute Summon glow, Luka explained, "The effect of [Frigid Angel Queen of Roses]: when using a Plant-Type monster as tribute, only one monster is needed for the Tribute Summon."
Coincidentally, the [Mystic Tomato] You Ling had chosen not to destroy last turn was a Plant-Type monster.
"A Level 7 monster with attack power rivaling the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and it only requires one tribute?"
In terms of monster strength alone, Luka Slint might be even stronger than the grade's number one, Kevin Seto.
While the first-year students at Fusion Academy were still comfortably using Normal Monsters and axe warriors clashing, this transfer student from XYZ Academy showed a clear gap in skill.
And this elite duelist's first opponent after transferring happened to be Aisha, the former bottom-feeder who had defeated Kevin.
"Then attack! Let me see your battle strategy, Aisha."
At Luka's command, the angel with crimson rose wings unleashed a whirlwind of fiery red petals.
"—Rose Flame, destroy the face-down monster!"
As the battle resolved, the monster hidden beneath You Ling's face-down card was revealed.
[Gravekeeper's Priestess DEF: 2100]
The same strategy You Ling had used against Kevin: a blue-haired steel-plated priestess with a whopping 2100 DEF.
However, this time, the opponent's monster had higher attack power. In terms of raw stats, even the priestess couldn't withstand this attack.
"Fell right into the trap, Luka."
Once again, You Ling used Aisha's cute face to smirk with a scheming expression, as the set card beneath his feet slowly flipped open.