Vanilla Red-Eyes?
Furuta Hajime furrowed his brow, a vague sense of unease creeping into his heart for reasons he couldn't quite pinpoint.
He'd noticed something odd about Ryo Nakamuta.
Why had this kid, who moments ago lacked confidence, suddenly become so self-assured—bordering on arrogant—after checking his deck?
This was strange. Did his deck contain some ace monster he was immensely proud of?
Furuta would have to tread carefully.
If he pulled out a big surprise, it could be trouble!
"Red-Eyes? Fish-eyes, huh? So this freshman named Ryo Nakamuta's deck is Red-Eyes!"
"Uh, I think I know this one. It's the ace monster of the legendary DM dimension duelist, Mr. Jonouchi, right?"
"Yep! First we had someone mimicking Duel King Muto Yugi, and now someone copying Jonouchi! This is getting interesting!"
"But can Red-Eyes stand up to Ancient Gear? It's only got 2400 ATK, and the archetype struggles to break 3000, doesn't it?"
The surrounding new and returning students erupted into chatter after hearing Ryo Nakamuta's declaration.
The Red-Eyes archetype was practically a mandatory topic in high school dueling courses, so after their discussion, many students cast sympathetic glances at Ryo.
They all shared the same thought:
Ryo Nakamuta was headed for a second exam attempt.
They knew full well that while Red-Eyes Black Dragon was a decently rare high-level ace in the DM dimension, times had changed. This wasn't just the DM dimension anymore—it was a fused world of multiple dimensions.
Relying on old-school vanilla Red-Eyes without incorporating synchro, xyz, pendulum, or link summoning methods from other dimensions would make it nearly impossible to break through Furuta Hajime's Ancient Gear deck.
And one final point:
The Red-Eyes Black Dragon archetype was considered weak, especially after the International Illusion Society interviewed famous duelists from other dimensions and released new card packs.
This perception was starting to take root.
Even Black Magician and Blue-Eyes White Dragon were losing their prestige.
The only constants were the DM dimension's true gods—the three Egyptian God Cards.
"Alright, let's begin the duel!"
"My turn first!"
"I activate the field spell card, Geartown!"
"I set two cards face-down. My turn ends."
Furuta Hajime kept his moves minimal, summoning no monsters and focusing on setting up his field and backrow.
Sharp-eyed students immediately understood what was happening.
Some even guessed one of the two face-down cards in Furuta's backrow.
Of course, no one would spill the beans.
Not only was it forbidden to warn Ryo Nakamuta about the set cards, but no one wanted to.
They just wanted to watch a good show.
A show starring the arrival of Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon.
"My turn? Second turn, draw! Doro!"
"I activate the spell card, Red-Eyes Fusion!"
"With its effect, I can send fusion material monsters related to a Red-Eyes fusion monster from my hand, deck, or field to the graveyard!"
"Then, I special summon one Red-Eyes fusion monster from my extra deck!"
"The catch is, during the turn I activate this card, I can't normal or special summon monsters except through this card's effect."
"Here we go!"
"I send Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Summoned Skull to the graveyard!"
"Fusion summon! Archfiend Black Skull Dragon!!!"
With a single card played, the fusion symbol appeared on the field! Two cards from Ryo Nakamuta's deck were sent to the graveyard.
Then, the fused form of a demon and a black dragon was summoned to the duel field in all its glory!
A vanilla monster with no effect but a staggering 3200 ATK, it loomed like dark clouds pressing down on a city!
Its overwhelming presence left everyone on the field, including examiner Furuta Hajime, struggling to catch their breath!
The students, who had been ready to watch a spectacle, stood dumbfounded, their jaws dropped, unable to believe the dueling scene before their eyes!
Or rather, their shock wasn't just about the 3200 ATK Archfiend Black Skull Dragon.
It was how it was summoned.
Fusion? Wait!
It was a freaking fusion! No, that's not it!
Fusion wasn't the point! The point was—deck fusion!!!
A second later, the students' stunned expressions turned to fear and disbelief!
Furuta Hajime swallowed hard, momentarily dazed!
Deck fusion? No way!
Since when did the Red-Eyesarchetype have such a powerful support card?!
This wasn't right! It wasn't in the International Illusion Society's card packs!
"Fusion? Just toss materials from the deck to the graveyard, and a big monster pops out? Am I dreaming?"
"No way! That was intense! I must've missed something! Deck fusion? Impossible!"
"But Ryo Nakamuta did it with just one card! Look at his hand—he's still got five cards!"
"Give me a second to process this. Why does today's duel feel so wrong? Did the multi-world connection cause a system bug?"
After a moment of shocked silence, the students exploded into fervent discussion.
Furuta Hajime, meanwhile, wore a grim expression.
But when his eyes flicked to his two face-down cards, he quietly relaxed.
Deck fusion was beyond imagination, but a 3200 ATK vanilla Archfiend Black Skull Dragon? He had ways to deal with it.
The duel was only just beginning.
"My turn's not over yet!"
"I activate the field spell card, Mountain, increasing the ATK of Dragon-type monsters by 200!"
"Enter the battle phase!"
Ryo Nakamuta casually played a field spell from his vanilla deck, then moved to the battle phase, completely unfazed by Furuta's two face-down cards.
"Heh heh heh, Ryo Nakamuta-kun."
"It seems you lack dueling experience!"
"Activate quick-play spell card, Double Cyclone!"
"With its effect, I destroy both my Geartown and your Mountain, sending them to the graveyard!"
"When Geartown is sent to the graveyard, I can special summon this monster from my deck, ignoring its summoning conditions!"
"This dragon will shine forever! Come forth, Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon!"
Furuta Hajime excitedly activated his quick-play spell from the backrow.
As the effect resolved, a storm of mechanical dust swept the field, and the 3000 ATK Reactor Dragon descended once more!
This time, in defense position!
"Now, Archfiend Black Skull Dragon! Destroy Reactor Dragon!"
"Main Phase 2, I set two cards face-down."
"My turn ends."
Ryo Nakamuta glanced at his destroyed Mountain without a hint of regret.
If his vanilla deck had better options, he'd have ditched that field spell ages ago.
Besides, the key to victory lay in his two face-down cards.
"My turn, draw!"
"I activate my second face-down card! Continuous trap card, Ancient Gear Reborn!"
"With its effect, I can revive Reactor Dragon from the graveyard, and its ATK increases by 200!"
"Ryo Nakamuta-kun, let's both go out with a bang!"
Furuta Hajime casually issued his attack command.
The 3200 ATK Reactor Dragon and Archfiend Black Skull Dragon collided, both self-destructing and vanishing from the field.
Seeing this, the students quickly recovered from their shock over Red-Eyes Fusion's one-card deck fusion.
They knew what was coming.
Furuta-sensei's ultimate Ancient Gear infinite revival combo had been achieved.
Just as Reactor Dragon's summon declared:
This dragon will shine forever!