One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four.
Ray counted with a steady beat. She could do this. No need to lose her head. Regardless, her body didn't seem to get the memo and refused to calm down.
She wasn't completely new to the pro dueling scene. Already she had a handful of exhibition wins under her belt. Still the fact remained this was her first time at a dueling convention this large. The best from across the country would all be gathered here.
Just remember Ray, this isn't like some tournament, just a couple of scrimmages. Even if you fail miserably at least it won't go on your permanent record.
With that slightly less negative thought, Ray stepped into the arena to met her opponent. A man in a tan jacket with a blue collar seemed to be milling around on the other side. Without further ado, Ray hurried to introduce herself first and get things over with.
"Hey, looks like we'll be facing each other first. My name's Ray." She gave a big smile, hoping he didn't ask for a surname.
"Morning, I'm Zarc," He spoke with a slight, rural accent. "I'm looking forward to our match today."
They went through the rest of the standard protocol, deciding on whether to do tournament style life points or not, who would go first, and that like. Honestly they were dull matters, but it helped Ray convert all that nervous energy into something more useful. She could do this.
The robotic voice signaled things were about to begin, and Ray strapped her goggles on.
"Duel!"
"Alright, I guess I'll start! Since I have no monsters on the field I can special summon Dragon Slayer Beowulf. Then I activate the spell, Double Summon to bring out Dragon Slayer Sigurd and sacrifice those two to summon Odd Eyes Dragon!" As the red beast began to materialize, he leaped on its back. A rather strange action, but Ray was more concerned counting up the attack points that thing had. "I think we made a good enough impression with that Odd Eyes. I set one card face-down and end my turn. Let's see what this charming lady can do," He shot a cheeky grin in her direction.
It wasn't worth the effort to roll her eyes when he couldn't see them, so Ray simply drew. He was acting like some kind of hotshot, but she could bring the heat just as well.
"My turn! I summon Natural Guardian Sharp Ears," As soon as the little fox appeared it began squealing and blathering away. Ray had to hold back a sigh.
"So big, so big, scary monster!" It curled itself up, covering its face with the flame on the end of its tail.
Why'd they even program those lines in again?
Nevertheless, Ray tried to sport a confident smile of her own. Sure summoning a 100 attack points monster in response to that 2,500 attack points dragon looked crazy, but she did have a plan.
"Battle! Sharp Ears attacks Odd Eyes!" She pointed dramatically, but her monster refused to move.
"So big, so scary!" The fox began to cry small sparks.
"Seems like your monster's better at dueling than you are." Zarc smirked.
It was easy bait, but Ray couldn't help but lose her temper at his comment. With a groan, she scooped up Sharp Ears in her arms. "Sharp Ears attacks Odd Eyes!" She threw the fox with all might.
Golden eyes widened in surprise. Whether from the fact she was really going through with the attack, or because a flying, flaming fox was coming his way, it was hard to tell. Whatever the reason, he couldn't activate his set card fast enough.
"I activate the trap, No Entry! All monsters in attack mode switch to defense mode." Zarc leaned forward and caught Sharp Ears before it could hit Odd Eyes. "There you go little buddy. I don't know what your duelist was thinking."
"Obviously you knew, if you stopped my combo."
"I don't care about whatever combo you had planned. The monster was clearly scared. It was cruel to force her to attack."
"Look she's just programmed to say those lines. Why are you getting so worked up about this?" Ray couldn't help but arch an eyebrow in confusion.
"Wait a sec, you said you heard her too?" In a flash he climbed off Odd Eyes and ran to her side, all while carrying Sharp Ears like an American football. "You can hear the monster's voices?"
Ray reacted in the most natural way she could. She stared at him like he had grown a second head.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Let's talk about this somewhere else," He unattached his duel disk, causing their monsters to fade away. "Can I buy a drink or something? Because I think we might take a while!"
A.N. I hope y'all are thankful for that duel bc you're not getting another one out of me (at least not for a long time) still I had this dork Ray in my head I had to get out