"Within seven turns!"
Apprentice Priest Nadine admired his name that had just appeared on the stone tablet. His name was automatically inscribed at the top of the list for clearing the first level of the trial, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of self-satisfaction.
This had already been emphasized by him who knows how many times, as if he was afraid others would forget.
"It truly is an unparalleled achievement."
The Magician Gatekeeper nodded in approval.
It's indeed something worth bragging about. Except for Set, now one of the Seven Great Priests and acknowledged as a cheat, no one else had passed the first level this swiftly.
"... But it might just be temporary," the Ancient Mage said mysteriously.
The apprentice priest was taken aback and realized: "Are you talking about that outsider who just went in?"
The Gatekeeper nodded: "He is one of the strongest warriors I have ever seen."
Nadine was stunned: "Stronger than a priest?"
"Perhaps."
Nadine frowned, becoming a bit displeased.
Even though among outsiders, there were those who could harness the power of spirits, and sometimes strong travelers visited their country, until now, no one stronger than their Egyptian priests had been seen.
In fact, Ancient Egypt now basically represented the peak level of early Duelists. In this era, it would indeed be hard to find many Duelists stronger than their priests and pharaohs in the world.
Just as Nadine was about to retort, his words suddenly stuck in his throat.
Because out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the top of the list on the stone tablet that recorded the names of those who cleared the first level of the Land of Trial. His lofty name had already been trampled down!
He had just made it onto the list, not even warming his seat!
Nadine held his breath and glanced at the new name on the list.
... Youyu?
What a strange name.
Then he looked further at the time it took this person to clear the trial, and couldn't help but hold his breath instantly.
He saw clearly that it was written: it only took... two turns!?
Yes, two turns, just two rounds.
The opponent went first, Youyu went second, and within a single turn, dealt over 16,000 damage for a kill, thus it was two turns.
To Youyu, dealing 16,000 damage in a single turn wasn't something worth bragging about, but to the ancient Duelists, who were limited by the summonable spirit power and even the use of Magic Traps constrained by their level of proficiency, this was like a fairy tale.
For example, right now, the apprentice priest was dumbstruck.
Who was this outsider?
... No, before this, was he even human?
The Ancient Mage, though having anticipated that Youyu might break the record, was still somewhat surprised upon seeing the "two turns" achievement.
In their perspectives, a trial opponent with 16,000 Life Points was already absurdly tanky, and a one-turn kill was something they never dared to think about.
However, Youyu actually found it not too hard. After all, the opponent apart from having high Life Points really had nothing worth mentioning, only being able to summon a Normal Monster with mediocre Attack once per turn, much on par with the Duelists from the DM era.
With just a bit more Life Points, it wasn't that hard to land a finishing blow.
"This warrior truly is extraordinary," the Ancient Mage thought silently, "easily clearing the first level with an unprecedented—or possibly never to be repeated—performance."
Even Priest Set didn't achieve such a feat!
"However, it gets much tougher from here onward."
Although he said so, Youyu quickly discovered that the subsequent levels of the trial actually seemed like simple AIs, with the main difference being their thicker skin and being harder to defeat.
For instance, the opponent in the second level of the trial had Life Points shooting up to 100,000...
And by the second level, the opponent started using some Magic Trap Cards for combos, including ones like "Fireball" which directly damages LP, or "Fissure" which destroys the opponent's Monsters.
Because of the whopping 100,000 Life Points, many challengers barely managed to scratch the opponent's health before their own 4,000 Life Points—what seemed referred to as Soul Power in this world—were entirely drained.
However...
In just a brief moment, another line of small text emerged on the outside stone tablet.
It was Youyu's name, listed on the clear list of the second trial level.
Apprentice Priest Nadine stood frozen Sparta-style, beginning to doubt life and the world. Even the Gatekeeper was a bit dumbfounded, wanting to rub his eyes to confirm whether this sacred stone tablet had made an error.
First attempt at the challenge, and cleared the second level in one go!?
Could such a thing really happen?
This outsider... won't just go through all the way to the end, right?
Fortunately, shortly after clearing the second level, Youyu appeared from the Teleportation Gate.
The Ancient Mage let out a long breath.
This should mean a failure at the third level's challenge, right?
This little bit of realism was reassuring. Indeed, if it were really as childish as breezing through, his worldview might have collapsed too...
The apprentice priest maintained his jaw-dropped posture, looking like a fool frozen in place, unmoving for a long while. The Ancient Mage then stepped up to Youyu's side, grinning, "Truly astounding, clearing the first two levels in a single go. But you might have noticed that the trials ahead only get harder and harder..."
But Youyu seemed not to have heard.
He was focused on adjusting his Card Deck.
The boss of the third level had 500,000 Life Points. Although the explosive power of his Hero Deck was usually quite formidable, in front of such an immense 500,000 Life Points, it was practically like scratching an itch. Even if the opponent stood still and let him attack, it might take a year.
In RPG online games, clearing dungeon instances certainly can't be done with PVP gear. The same goes for card games now.
When dealing with such thick-skinned bosses, yet with card deck strength and operation just as average, naturally, a more suitable Card Deck should be used.
Once adjustments were finished, Youyu silently inserted the new deck into the Duel Disc with a "snap" and turned, diving straight back into the Trial Dungeon.
Upon reentry, he had to start from the first level once again. Fortunately, luck was on his side, and this time, he had the first move.
Youyu didn't dawdle, coming in straight with a Field Magic "Temple of the Kings." It's known that cards with the "Kings" title are mostly part of the Netherworld series, and this Temple is the most Netherworld among them.
With this Field Magic in play, Youyu's Trap Cards can be activated the turn they are Set, extremely sneaky.
Following this, he Set four cards in one go, then played the card "Card of Sanctity" to refill his hand to six cards. He then flipped his Set card "Jar of Greed" to draw a card, and activated "Pot of Greed" to draw two more cards...
A dazzling series of moves saw the thickness of his Card Deck dwindling at a visibly rapid pace. In no time, half of Youyu's Card Deck was sent to the graveyard, with a hefty hand remaining.
He then made a grand gesture—
—I'm flipping "Exchange of the Spirit!"
Swapping the Mortal World and Netherworld decks of both sides directly!
Thus, every card of the opponent's deck... oh wait, every stone tablet should be stated here, was directly discarded to the graveyard, leaving the entire Card Deck empty, not a single stone tablet remaining.
At this point, Youyu only needs to declare the end of his turn, and with the opponent having no cards to draw in their turn, they naturally suffer defeat. But Youyu showed no sign of settling at low levels, immediately activating Quick-Play Magic "Exchange of the Spirit" from hand, prompting both players to discard two cards, and then draw two cards.
Yet at this instant, with the opponent already having no cards to draw, it was declared instant defeat!
Coup de grâce!
Simultaneously, Youyu's name showed another change on the outside stone tablet again.
Cleared in a single turn!
Apprentice Priest Nadine, at that moment, felt as if he heard the sound of his jaw dropping to the floor.