Who Let Him Play Yu-Gi-Oh!

The Chimeratech Fortress Dragon—at first glance, it didn't seem that impressive, but upon release, it unexpectedly shook the competitive environment with its impact.

The main reason was, of course, the Cyber Dragon.

In some sense, the birth of this card was a double-edged sword for the then-undisputed powerhouse, Cyber Dragon. It was both a blessing and a curse.

On the positive side, it meant Cyber Dragon became the ultimate nemesis of all Machine-type monsters. No matter how powerful a Machine-type monster the opponent summoned, as long as you Special Summoned Cyber Dragon, it could devour all Machine-types on the opponent's field in one gulp and transform into Chimeratech Fortress Dragon.

It was as if Cyber Dragon now possessed a built-in "Super Polymerization" field-clearing ability. Even if your opponent filled the field with five "unaffected by any effect" boss monsters, in the face of Cyber Dragon, they'd just become premium fodder.

But from a pessimistic perspective, it also meant that Cyber Dragon itself became easy prey for the opponent.

Before this card's release, it was common for a single Cyber Dragon to dominate an entire duel after being summoned. With 2100 ATK, it was an insurmountable wall for lower-level attackers, and a single Cyber Dragon's suppressive power used to be formidable.

But with this card out, things changed. The opponent only needed to play any Machine-type monster and could use it to devour your Cyber Dragon. Even the controller had to be careful not to carelessly summon a second Machine-type monster while Cyber Dragon was on the field, or risk being taken advantage of.

And you couldn't just hope your opponent didn't have Chimeratech Fortress Dragon. Unlike nowadays, the rule limiting the Extra Deck to a maximum of fifteen cards was only introduced in 2008, during the Synchro era.

The reason, supposedly, was because the official tournaments handed out card sleeves to participants, so many people would bring super-sized Extra Decks of 99+ cards just to get free sleeves. Konami decided this freeloading had to stop and imposed the card limit.

Incidentally, in the GX era, there wasn't even a written rule that the Main Deck had to be under sixty cards—only that it had to be at least forty. The sixty-card upper limit was also introduced with the 2008 Master Rule that brought Synchro Summoning.

The Side Deck rules were also changed. Previously, the Side Deck had to be exactly fifteen cards—not one more, not one less. After Master Rule, it became "up to fifteen."

That was probably the first major wave of players quitting Yu-Gi-Oh. Not just because of Synchro Summoning, but because many veteran players couldn't accept the new limits on Main and Extra Decks. In the past, you could theoretically bring a "have-it-all" deck with hundreds of cards for fun, but after the new rules, that was impossible.

In short, before the Synchro era, there was no limit on the Extra Deck. So, virtually 100% of players would include "Chimeratech Fortress Dragon" in their Extra Deck. If you dared use Cyber Dragon, you had to be mentally prepared for it to be eaten.

Of course, this only applied because Cyber Dragon was a top-tier, universal attacker that almost everyone used.

But in the anime world, things were different. Not everyone had Cyber Dragon, so the only one really affected by the appearance of "Chimeratech Fortress Dragon" was one person.

That is, Zane Truesdale, whose facial muscles were twitching at this moment.

"Chimeratech Fortress Dragon's original ATK becomes the number of fusion materials used for its Summon × 1000," Kira smiled. "Since I fused two Cyber Dragons, its ATK is now 2000."

[Chimeratech Fortress Dragon, ATK 0 → ATK 2000]

Zane: "…"

Having held fast to his beliefs up to this point, Zane finally began to seriously consider one question—

—When your opponent is a dog, is there really any need to show respect?

This felt like the toughest duel he'd ever had, the first time his unwavering approach had ever been shaken.

It seemed that in this very instant, his long-suppressed instincts and desire for victory reached their peak.

He had to win. He must win.

Friendship, respect for the opponent's tactics—all of it didn't matter anymore.

He could lose to anyone, but not to this guy.

A shadow was quietly creeping over Zane's heart.

"Battle." Kira declared. "Chimeratech Fortress Dragon, direct attack on Zane!"

[Chimeratech Fortress Dragon, ATK 2000]

[Zane, LP 1600]

Zane gritted his teeth.

Was it really going to end here—losing to his old friend?

No, absolutely not.

He refused to lose. Not today. Not now. Not in this way. Not to this opponent.

"Continuous Trap—'Miniaturize'!" Zane shouted. "Select a monster with original ATK of 1000 or more on the field; it loses 1 Level and its ATK drops by 1000!"

Kira nodded. "Chimeratech Fortress Dragon's effect sets its original ATK to the number of materials × 1000."

"Exactly! So Miniaturize applies!" Zane said. "Lower Chimeratech Fortress Dragon's ATK by 1000!"

The huge dragon visibly shrank to half its size, and even the energy blast it fired seemed weaker.

Boom!

Zane was blasted, staggering two steps and half-kneeling, black smoke swirling around him.

[Zane, LP 1600 → LP 600]

"Kaiser's Life Points are now just a candle in the wind!"

The commentator only now recovered from his shock at Cyber Dragon's sudden betrayal and resumed his commentary duties.

"K-K-Kira's tactics are just beyond shameless—er, I mean, brilliant!" he continued. "Kaiser's mighty formation was once again casually broken through. Card Trooper hasn't even attacked yet. If the attack goes through, Kaiser will lose anyway!"

He couldn't help but sound regretful.

He truly thought Zane had given his all. But there was nothing to be done—in the end, Zane was just king among students.

A king can't beat a Demon King who doesn't play fair.

"Card Trooper, direct attack." Kira said.

The three consecutive cannon shots were like a death sentence. The firelight illuminated Zane's now ashen face. The academy king no longer had the fighting spirit he had at the start; only exhaustion remained in his eyes.

He was even surprised to find, just for a moment, that he almost wanted to give up.

Just let him have this one—I don't want to keep playing.

But the moment he realized how absurd that was, he crushed the thought instantly.

No—that was unacceptable.

He was a duelist; no matter what, he had to do everything in his power to win.

Only by fighting with everything, by seeking victory at any cost, could he show his opponent true respect.

Even if it meant abandoning old friends.

"Activate Set Card!"

Zane stood up against the flames, a fierce fire rekindled in his eyes.

"Trap Card—Power Wall!!!"

Kira laughed with interest. "Oh, you're using that move?"

"When an opponent's monster's attack would deal me battle damage, I can activate this!" Zane declared. "For every 100 points of damage, I send one card from the top of my deck to the graveyard until the damage becomes zero!" (Anime effect.)

The printed card was later changed to every 500 damage.

Zane shouted, pulling a huge stack of cards from his deck, scattering them like snowflakes.

"Nineteen cards from my deck—to the graveyard!"

PS: Bonus Chapters at 1000 PS