Chapter 4: Connor 4
The older man adjusts his white lab coat as he stands across from me. "I'll let you go first. Let's see what you can do," Jason says, his tone confident. "Be careful what you ask for. I'll play my spell card, Pot of Greed," I respond, drawing the top two cards from my deck and placing them in my hand. "I know what Pot of Greed does. There's no need to explain it," Jason says, surprising me. "Finally, someone else knows what it does without me having to explain it," I think to myself.
"I'm surprised he didn't ask. Why do I have a feeling I'm going to get tired of explaining it to every duelist every time I play the card?" I ponder silently. "Next, I'll play Graceful Charity. It'll allow me to draw three cards and then discard two for the cost," I announce. "Looks like Hunter Dragon and Mad Lobster will be the cost of my spell card. I should strengthen my defense since I have no idea what he's playing," I strategize internally.
"I play the spell card Enchanting Fitting Room, which will let me special summon Bunilla, Charcoal Inpachi, and my ace, Jerry Beans Man, in defense mode," I declare. My life point counter falls to 3200 life points due to the spell's cost. "Looks like it's my lucky day since those three monsters were within the top four cards of my deck," I remark. Jason grins at me, sending a chill down my spine.
"I'll place three cards in my back row. It's your turn now, old man," I challenge. "First, I use my Millennium Ring to bring out the field spell, Mountain, onto the field for my first skill effect," Jason responds. "He's using his Millennium item like speed duel skills. This can't be legal," I think to myself. "Hey judge, is this a legal move? Pretty sure he can't play the Mountain field spell onto the field," I question.
"Based on the worldwide ruling, Millennium items' effects are allowed in official duels as long as it's not a shadow game," the announcer explains. "He's not allowed to play a field spell onto the field from his pocket. I can assure everyone here that cheating is unacceptable," the announcer asserts. "That's some nonsense. Millennium items aren't cheating," I grumble internally as the field spell appears on the field zone slot, its effect now in play as if shadow magic had placed it there.
"Where did the field spell come from? I was watching him this whole time," I wonder. "This will be something I'll need to look into. I can use the knock-off Millennium items like speed duel skills," I resolve. "I'll discard my copy of Thunder Dragon to use its effect, adding two more copies to my hand," Jason declares. "I'll use my second Millennium item to fuse my two Thunder Dragons in my hand," he continues. "There must be some kind of limit on these items, right? Otherwise, he could just pull out a Mystic Mine on me," I realize with growing concern.
"You're lucky that I can only use one Millennium item effect for each item I carry," Jason retorts, his rugged hands producing a copy of the Millennium Scale. The Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, boosted by the field bonus of mountains, boasts a formidable 3000 attack points. "Not so fast. I'll use my spell card, Creature Seizure, to take your Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon," I counter. With a swift move, the monster swaps places with my Jerry Beans Man.
"It's not like you have any other options since you only have one monster," I taunt. "I'll play my Pot of Greed. Oh, looks like it's my lucky day—I've just drawn two more Pot of Greeds from my spell effect," Jason announces, surprising me. "What the fuck? No one in the anime ever thought of playing three Pot of Greeds before. Who is this guy?" I wonder. "Is this some sort of butterfly effect of the world, or is this some character in the manga?" I mull over the possibilities.
"I play my spell card, Heavy Storm. I was holding back to let you use some of your cards," Jason reveals. "Goodbye to the rest of your back row. Now I feel bad holding back against you," he adds, his demeanor unsettling."I normal summon Lord of Dragons and play the spell card, The Flute of Summoning Dragons," Jason declares confidently. "I'll special summon two dragons from my hand for its effect. Go, my two copies of Tri-Horned Dragon," he commands. The dragons, each boasting 2850 attack points, pose a significant threat.
"I can tell you're special, not like the rest of the useless subjects here," Jason remarks, sending shivers down my spine. "They're all like rats, you know," he continues, his smile sending a chill down my spine. "My Creature Swap and Mirror Force are wasted in the graveyard. This is like the Yugi-Kaiba format," I realize, feeling the weight of the duel's intensity. "He's playing meta for that era. Who the heck is this creep?" I ponder, growing increasingly wary.
"Now, my Tri-Horned Dragons will wipe out your Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon," Jason declares, as my life points drop to 3150. "My second Tri-Horned Dragon will wipe out your Charcoal Inpachi," he adds, further dwindling my defenses.
"Go, Rat King! You've got this in the bag!" the crowd cheers, but I sense something unsettling beneath their encouragement. "I know for a fact he didn't call them that as a nice nickname. He's not doing some stage act," I realize, feeling a chill run down my spine.
"Well, I end my turn by setting two face-down cards in my back row. It's your turn, Connor," Jason announces. "Very well. I play the card Pot of Greed, which I just drew. Then, I activate my spell card, Enchanting Fitting Room, allowing me to summon any Level three or lower normal monsters from the top four cards of my deck," I respond, determination flickering within me.
"I'll special summon my second Bunilla and Charcoal Inpachi in defense mode, and finally, my Giant Soldier of Stone in attack mode," I declare, my life points falling to 2350 for the cost of the spell effect. "Jerry Beans Man needs to go; otherwise, my Amulet of Ambition is useless with that card on Jason's field," I strategize. "I'll switch my first Bunilla to attack mode and equip my Amulet of Ambition to my Giant Soldier of Stone," I conclude, ready to turn the tide of the duel.
"You sure you want to attack me? It's not going to work, Connor," Jason taunts, his arrogance grating on my nerves. "I want to kick him in the nuts. His smug look is annoying the crap out of me," I grumble internally. "Now, Bunilla, attack his Jerry Beans Man!" I command. The creature launches itself towards Jerry Beans Man, aiming to destroy it.
"I activate my trap card, Mirror Force. You're going to need to do better than that, Connor. You're running out of tricks," Jason counters, waving his finger side to side.
"I use my Amulet's effect to return it to the top of my deck. Next, I set one monster and one card face down in my back row," I declare, feeling the pressure mounting. Beads of sweat form on my brow; this is shaping up to be my toughest duel yet. "Even if I don't win the grand prize, I can't let this guy get an easy win," I resolve silently.
"It's my turn. I play the spell card, Graceful Charity," Jason announces. "I get three new cards at the cost of discarding two," he explains. Jason looks at me with amusement as he discards one copy of Sangan and Mystic Tomato for the cost. "I switch my Lord of Dragons to defense mode. Well, your single Creature Swap is going to be a pain to deal with," he remarks. "How did he know what my face down card is? Does he have another knockoff Millennium item that I have to deal with?" I wonder, feeling uneasy.
"Well, let's get this over with. I set one card face down in my back row," Jason continues. "Now, Tri-Horned Dragon number one, attack his face down," he commands. The dragon sends a fireball, destroying the second copy of Giant Soldier of Stone. "It's time for your second Charcoal Inpachi to be sent to the graveyard. Second Tri-Horned Dragon, wipe that monster out," Jason orders, his strategy unfolding with precision.
"I end my turn there. You're going to need some luck, Connor, otherwise, you're done for," Jason warns. "I don't need luck. You would know that if you had a knockoff Millennium Eye," I retort. Jason responds, "I don't need a Millennium Eye to know what you're doing. I'm an expert cold reader."
"This is some kind of Butterfly effect. I know for a fact I would have heard about him on a YouTube video spoiling the manga at some point," I ponder. "I switch my Bunilla into attack mode. Next, I will normal summon my Sonic Bird," I announce, feeling a surge of determination. "Looks like I have all the cards I need then. I'll see if I can turn this around," I strategize. "He's going to be equipped with my Amulet of Ambition," I conclude.
"You're not going to win, you know. If you can speed this up. I have a big announcement regarding a tournament where Seto Kaiba is going to host this. Hurry up," Jason urges impatiently. "Now, Bunilla, attack his Jerry Beans Man," I command. Jerry Beans Man is destroyed in the attack. "Is he talking about the Battle City tournament? That's not public knowledge yet," I realize. "Sonic Duck, attack his Lord of Dragons," I continue. Lord of Dragons is destroyed by Sonic Duck. "Next, I use my Creature Swap to give you my Bunilla," I declare, hoping to turn the tide of the duel.
"Looks like you get one of my Tri-Horned Dragons," Jason remarks as a copy of Tri-Horn Dragon materializes on my side of the field. "Finally, Tri-Horn Dragon attacks Jason's Bunilla," I declare. The dragon unleashes a fiery blast, wiping out the bunny. Jason's life point counter drops to 1300 life points left.
"I can tell you know the game outside of most people's skill levels; you've played this game for a long time," Jason observes. "Wait a minute, how did he figure out that I'm a reincarnated person?" I wonder to myself. "I use my two face-down Reckless Greed, which let me draw two cards at the price of skipping my next two draw phases," Jason explains.
"As for my announcement, I call Seto Kaiba a coward for trying to pull a fast one on the world," Jason announces boldly. "He's trying to claim the title of the world's best duelist. Not that this is a problem, but he plans to do so without inviting the rest of the world's best duelists to enter his tournament," Jason continues with vigor in his voice.
"I will be pulling off a feat that will force him to accept the other duelists from around the world; otherwise, he's a coward aiming for the title of Japan's best duelist," Jason asserts. The crowd falls silent at Jason's statement, tension palpable in the air. "I've been looking for a strong duelist to pull this combo off. Everyone else here is too weak to pull this off," Jason adds.
"Well, it looks like a good game for you, Connor. You're a worthy subject to pull this card out on," Jason acknowledges. "I can tell this is a good use for this experiment. I discard my King of the Swamp to use its effect to add a copy of Polymerization to my hand," he explains.
"What is he trying to pull off? I doubt pulling out a fusion monster will get Seto to change his mind," I ponder silently. "I want to see if I can pull this off. I use my spell card, Polymerization, to fusion summon Dragon Master Knight," Jason announces confidently.
"There were only four Blue-Eyes monsters. Did more of them get printed due to a butterfly effect?" I muse internally. "You don't have a Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon on your side of the field. How are you going to bring it out?" I question, shocked.
"Well, I'm glad you asked that question, Connor. If I have a King of the Swamp in my hand, it counts as the other type of monster needed for the fusion summon," Jason explains. "Look at what I have, a Black Luster Soldier as the other monster needed for the fusion summon," he adds, a smug look on his face.
"Dragon Master Knight is such a graceful monster. I wonder if Seto would be in a fit of rage for bringing out the Blue-Eyes monster," Jason muses. "It was in a collector's binder when I bought it off him when no one else could have used it, but I am talented enough to bring it out," he boasts. "Well, it's the first time the public saw such a monster being summoned. You're a decent road stop as you play a decent game; anyone else would have been brutally destroyed before they got to this point," he concludes.
"I wasn't expecting this for a local event. How will Seto Kaiba react to this challenge?" the announcer ponders aloud. "I bet a lot of folks are recording this moment. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event," he remarks. A look of shock spreads across the crowd's faces as the powerful monster is summoned onto the field. "If you're shocked at me pulling out this monster, then you should see my next surprise," Jason teases. "I will finish this duel in one attack, also breaking a world record in the process," he declares.
"If I hadn't seen Dragon Master Knight with my own eyes, I would call you a liar," the announcer exclaims. "I think he's going to try for the highest attack point record. The current holder has 5700 attack points in a staged game," he explains. "I play Megamorph, an equip spell, on my Dragon Master Knight to give him double attack points if my life points are lower than my opponent's," Jason reveals.
The Dragon Master Knight's attack points soar to 10,000. "It's over nine thousand attack points! The world record has been broken in an official tournament of all things," the announcer announces in disbelief. The crowd watches in silence, mouths agape at the spectacle. "Dragon Master Knight, attack Connor's Tri-Horned Dragon! Destruction Burst Stream to win me the game," Jason commands.
My life points plummet to zero. "No way. This guy can't be native to this world. He must have reincarnated just like me," I conclude.
"I doubt that anything else we have tonight will top that. Give a round of applause for Connor and Jason for this game," the announcer declares. The crowd begins clapping as the duel ends. "This dude may give me a creepy vibe, but it's not my issue to deal with him unless he does some shady shit," I think to myself. Jason extends his hand for a handshake as we descend from the duel arena lift and stand face to face.
As we shake hands, Jason leans in and whispers, "It's so nice to see my test subject brought here with me. I always wanted to know if alternate reality travel was possible." "I'm glad you'll enjoy my work, living a new life in a world thought of as fiction," he whispers. Rage boils inside me. "What a piece of fucking shit," I seethe.
"He killed a bunch of people, forced me into this brat's body," I fume silently. "When I just got rid of my job dealing with them by winning the lottery. Now I'll be forced to deal with those annoying brats again," I lament. "I'll force him to put me back into my old body. I don't want to deal with brats for another 13 years and start from fresh again," I resolve. "I'll do anything to force this piece of shit to fix this. Even if I have to beat the living shit out of him later," I vow silently.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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