Conner's tournament was officially underway. The first duel has already started as well with it being Ichika against Track. However, it won't be an easy duel since this guy did defeat Ichika.
"All systems are a go." Mila said as she, Conner, and their workers monitored the tournament and made sure everything was going well. "All the duel disks and registered duelists are here. We also have the card recognition system operating properly. If anyone is using those two cards, Izanami and Izanagi, we'll detected it."
"Good. What about Ichika? Anything on him yet?" Conner questioned.
"Let me see..." Mila said as she did a quick look into the systems. "There is! He's dueling right now!"
"Is he? Who is his opponent?" Conner questioned.
"I'm not sure. All we got is that it's someone named Track, but we have no access to his dueling records." Mila said. "It does say here that he somehow always guesses what his top card will be and deals damage at the same time."
"Does he? This should be interesting." Conner said as he would like to see where this duel might go.
...
The Duel
The Duel between Ichika and Track has just begun, but Ichika and Senshi are in a difficult situation now. Track has his Giant Soldier of Stone in defense mode at 2000def points and had all his life points. The tricky part is that he has his Raising Stakes spell active. Now, every time he draws a card and guesses correctly what type it is, Senshi is going to take damage. He already did and now has 3700LP remaining.
"Come on, Ichika! You can't loose to this creep!" Rin cheered.
"That's right! It doesn't matter if he knows what cards he's going to draw! You can still obtain the win!" Cecilia cheered.
'The fools. They don't know that the boy is already doomed.' Track thought. 'Thanks to my contacts seeing the special ink I placed on my cards, I'll always guess what my top card will be. As long as I can withstand his attacks and keep dealing damage, I will emerge the winner.'
"Are you finished yet?" Senshi questioned.
"For now. Go on and take your turn. I like to see you try to get around my soldier." Track dared.
"My turn!" Senshi said and drew his next card. "I'll begin by bringing out my newest monster: Jetstream Alpha to the field!" He summoned out a new monster to the field. It was a silver slim mechanical warrior carrying a sword and shield in its hands with it having 1400atk points.
"A new monster?" Rin questioned.
"I wonder how it's going to help Ichika." Cecilia wondered.
"I don't know, but if he wants to beat this guy, he's going to have to try some fancy tricks." Houki said.
"Jetstream Beta's special ability activates when it's summoned!" Senshi claimed. "It allows me to add Jetstream Beta or Jetstream Gama to my hand, and I choose Jetstream Beta!" One of his cards came out of his deck and he added it to his hand. "Next, I activate Barrier Impact! With this spell card, if I happen to attack a monster in defense mode with greater defense points than my monster's attack points, it is still destroyed in battle and you take all the damage!"
"Wait! I what?!" Track said as he didn't see that one coming.
"Jetstream Alpha, attack!" Senshi ordered. His warrior flew and slid around the field with great speed, almost like a jet. It slashed against the soldier, but the spell caused the stone soldier to crumble and Track's life points dropped to 3400. "The downside to using this spell is that I can only attack with one monster this turn, but I only had one monster. I place these two cards facedown to end my turn."
"Not bad. Maybe I went a little too easy on you, but you won't win in the end." Track said. "It's my turn now!" He said as he placed his hand on his card. "Don't forget that thanks to my spell, if I guess what this card is, you'll be taking some damage. I guess that it will be a trap card." He drew his card and he ended up being right. "Look at that. I was right, and it's a trap card. That means you take damage!" Senshi took some damage as well with his life points dropping to 3400.
"Hang in there, Ichika! He's just even the score!" Cecilia cheered.
"There's no way that guy can keep guessing the right card again and again. He's got to be cheating or something." Rin said.
"I heard that, little girl. You dare accuse me of cheating?" Track taunted. "That's highly offensive. It's not my fault I'm just lucky or gifted."
"Rin, you might be right, but there's no way to prove it. We don't even know how he would be cheating." Houki said. They know he's up to something, but they can't prove how he's doing it.
"If you ladies don't mind, I would like to get back to crushing your little friend here." Track said. "I play my spell card: Painful Gamble!"
"Not that one!" Houki said as she remembered that card. "Watch out, Ichika! That card can deal some serious damage!"
"That's right. If I guess what the top card is again, you're going to take even more damage. With Raising Stakes, you'll take even more." Track said as he reached for the card. "I think it will be another spell card." He drew his card and it showed that it was another spell. "I was right again!" Senshi took some serious damage this time as his life points dropped down to 2400.
"Oh no. If Ichika doesn't figure out how to stop this guy, I'm afraid he's going to lose." Houki said.
"Don't say that. Ichika will figure something out. We just got to have hope." Rin said.
"This spell card will allow me to draw even more." Track said as he was enjoying where this was going. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards. That means I get two more guesses, and that means I could deal more damage."
"Give me your best shot." Senshi dared.
"You asked for it. I say the first one is a monster card." Track said. He drew the first card and it did turned out to be a monster. Senshi ended up taking damage again with his life points dropping to 2100. "The next card will be another monster." He drew his second card, and that one was a monster as well. Senshi took damage again with his life points dropping more with him having 1800LP left. "Have you had enough yet?" Track thought he had Senshi, but he was second guessing it when he saw Senshi smirking. "What are you smiling about?"
"It's because I know you're done dealing damage this turn, and that I can see your strategy now. That means I already know how to counter it." Senshi claimed. "Come my next turn, this duel will be over."
"Say what? You're full of it." Track said as he thought Senshi was bluffing.
"Am I? I can already tell what you're going to do next." Senshi said with Track baffled. "Your strategy to deal damage is interesting, but that also opens up what's in your hand. Based on the cards you have drawn, I can tell what cards you're going to play next."
"You're bluffing!" Track said.
"I'm afraid it's the truth. You arranged your deck to ensure that you draw cards and deal damage to your opponent when you do by guessing what type your card is." Senshi explained. "The problem is that you reveal what cards your holding in doing so. As for the cards that don't have that effect, they are either monsters with high defense or stop an opponent from attacking. You try to draw the duel out until you've dealt enough damage with those effects to win this duel. I already know what you're going to do next."
"How could you know?" Track questioned.
"You have a total of four cards in your hand now." Senshi said. "One of them is the trap card: Draining Shield. If I attack, you'll block that attack while also gaining life points. I assume that the other three cards in your hand are monsters with high defense points." It looked like Senshi got Track's number as that was exactly what was in his hand. "With those options in your hand, you'll place Draining Shield down with one of those monsters."
"So what? You still can't win." Track said. "I'm doing just what you say by placing one facedown and setting another monster to end my turn!" 'There's no way he'll end this on his next turn. Even if he stops Draining Shield, my monster is Big Shield Gardna. It has tons of defense points. There's no way he can end this like he says.' He believed.
"My turn, and watch as I will end this!" Senshi said as he drew his next card. "I'm going to start by summoning Jetstream Beta to the field!" He summoned out another new monster. It flew out looking like another slim mechanical warrior with it having a jet on it's back and had 1700atk points. "Jetstream Beta's ability activates when it's summoned! If Jetstream Gamma or Alpha is on the field when it's summoned, it gains an additional 300atk points!" It's attack points rose up to 2000 now.
"It still won't help you!" Track claimed.
"Maybe, but this will! I play Polarity Pulse!" Senshi said as he activated his trap. "Since I now have two machines on the field, this trap prevents you from activating trap cards this turn!"
"What?!" Track said as he didn't like that and saw his trap was locked down. "Well, I still have my monster with tons of life points. There's just no way you can end this now like you say."
"Good thin I had this." Senshi said. With a snap of his fingers, he played his second trap. "I play Truth Unveil! This trap card destroys all monsters that are facedown!"
"No!" Track shouted as his only line of defense was destroyed.
"With them out of the way, there's nothing protecting you from both of my monsters!" Senshi declared. Both of his monsters went on the attack with nothing protecting Track. They attacked him and knocked him down in powerful strikes as all his life points dropped to zero.
"Ichika did it! He won!" Cecilia cheered with everyone amazed by the duel.
...
Conner
"No surprise there. Ichika won his duel." Mila said.
"Of course he did. The only one who is qualified to defeat him is me." Conner said as he plans to do just that in the near future. "I'm heading out. Time to take part in my own tournament." He said as he left for his own tournament.
"Wait! I'm coming with you!" Mila said. "Everyone, let us know if you detect the cards that we're looking for!" She told her workers.
"Yes, ma'am!" They all said and got straight to work.
...
The Duel
Ichika reaped his rewards. From the tournament, a series of numbers appeared on his duel disk and it ended up becoming 970.
"It would seem Connor's little program works." Senshi said. "It would seem from this duel alone, I got a total of 970 points." He was glad he got the points, but there was something that was still bothering him. Track was still on the ground and that gave him a chance.
"Way to go, Ichika." Houki said.
"Yeah, way to beat that jerk." Rin said, but he just ignored them and checked something out. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"I think you were right about him earlier, girls." Senshi said. "There's no way he could have kept guessing what card he was about to get without there being some sort of trick." Senshi thought that was strange himself. He also took a look next to track and spotted something next to him: a contact lens. It must have fallen out from the attacks. So, he took Tracks' deck to figure it out. When he touched Track's cards, he instantly noticed something.
"What is it?" Cecilia asked.
"Something is rubbing off my fingers. These cards are marked!" Senshi claimed.
"I was right! He cheated!" Houki said.
"Not anymore!" Senshi said as he didn't hesitate to rip those cards apart so they couldn't be used for cheating again.
"Serves him right." Rin said.
"Now, I think it's time I get some answers." Senshi said as he wanted to know who Track was working for.
"Answers? I can help you with that." Track claimed, but it didn't sound like him, giving them all a good scare. Track got back up, but something was wrong. He looked limp and lifeless with his eyes blank, but he had a glowing mark on his head.
"What is with this guy?!" Houki said.
"We meet again, warrior. I believe you might know who I am from our last encounter with Bane." Track said.
"Bane?" Senshi questioned until he realized what this meant. "You're the same person that controlled Bane?!"
"That I am."
"Ichika, what are you talking about? What's wrong with this guy?" Rin said.
"He's not in control. Someone else is controlling him; the same person that controlled Bane. Who are you really?!" Senshi said as he demanded answers.
"My name is Meldrick. Remember that well for I will be the one to defeat you and claim the power that you have."
"Why do you desire this power that I have, and how are you able to control people?!" Senshi said.
"It's all thanks to the power I possess." Meldrick claimed. "You are not the only one that possess an artifact to help him. My mystic gauntlet grants me the power to control the minds of others. As for the power that I desire, I wish to make it mine and become all-powerful! In order to do that, I must defeat the likes of you!"
"That will never happen!" Senshi declared.
"Never say never. I have my minions everywhere. You could be attacked at any moment, and they will be relentless." Meldrick claimed. "You will never escape me. Eventually, the power you hold will be mine and no one can stop me!" That was all Meldrick said through Track before releasing him and Track dropping to the ground.
"That was freaky." Rin said.
"Indeed. It sounds like this Meldrick means business." Cecilia said.
"Ichika, are you okay?" Houki said.
"It would seem what Tatenashi has warned me about is coming true." Senshi said as he now sees how serious this is. "If this Meldrick wants a fight, I'll give him one. I won't, I can't back down from this challenge now. If what Tatenashi says is true, the world could be in danger because of this Meldrick. I can't let that happen. Whoever or wherever this Meldrick is, I will never allow myself to be defeated by the likes of him. He will probably take part in this tournament as well. All the more reason I must enter the finals and defeat him."
"That's what I like to hear." Houki said as she was fully supporting him. "That's why I'm going to do whatever I can to help you. I'll get those four-thousand points myself and make it into the finals. If this Meldrick is after you, you'll have me to back him up."
"I never doubted that. We'll beat him together, Houki." Senshi claimed as the two friends supported each other. "I'm confident you will make it."
"And while you do that, we get to stay with Ichika." Cecilia said as she and Rin put their arms around him. That was something Houki didn't seem to think about. "You're busy with the tournament now, Houki. It might be more productive if you and Ichika went separate."
"Yeah, but we'll cheer him on and support him." Rin said as the two of them escorted him away and took pleasure that they get to spend the whole tournament with Ichika.
"Hey! Wait a minute! You can't just..." Houki tried to abject to this, but it looks like it did no good. What none of them knew was that they were being watched by Valatin.
"There goes another poor fool." Valatin said. "When a servant is of no use to Master Meldrick anymore, he banishes their mind and soul to the shadows, just like he did to Bane. Those fools will never awake again. Better keep your guard up, Ichika Orimura. Your hour of demise is drawing near, and you can't avoid it forever." He claimed before disappearing in the shadows. Ichika is being hunted, but he won't run or hide. This tournament is now underway.