"What can I say Erick?" Ricardo asked as he sat down next to the other pro-duelists, since his duel against Chelsea had just ended he had resolved to watch the rest of the duels. "I underestimated her and it cost me the match."
"No fucking shit." Erick grunted as he folded his arms. "I'll give the girl credit, she has some talent but she'd be better off ditching that overgrown lizard for something else."
"Yeah, I know Wattaildragon doesn't exactly fit in with her other monsters." Ricardo agreed with a shrug. "Let's not dwell on the past and focus on this duel?" Ricardo offered and he and Erick turned their attention to the duel.
"If you don't mind Lance I'd like to go first." Mark offered and Lance shrugged as if to say "go for it", Mark nodded before drawing his card. "I start with a Spell Card called Heaven's Lost Property; since Ricardo used it in his duel I'm sure I don't need to remind you what it does." Mark played the card and both duelists drew three cards before discarding two.
"Heh, he just made my opening move that much easier." Lance thought as he looked over his hand.
"Now I summon Block Golem in attack mode!" Mark played the card and what could only be described as a golem made out of Lego Bricks appeared on the field (3/1000/1500).
"Man, I thought Chelsea's monsters looked cartoony but this?" Lance said as he scratched his head in confusion, he quickly regretted his choice of words when he heard Chelsea clear her throat. "No offense to a certain rock chick intended." Lance quickly added.
"That's much better." Chelsea called out to him and Lance laughed nervously.
"You're scared of a girl who's much smaller than you are?" Mark asked with a raised eyebrow and Lance sweat-dropped.
"You haven't felt the brunt of her temper." Lance pointed out and Mark nodded.
"Point taken, now let's get back to my move." Mark said before retrieving the two cards he discarded for Heaven's Lost Property. "I activate Block Golem's effect, by sacrificing it I can bring out two Level 4 or lower Rock Type Monsters in my graveyard besides Block Golem himself so….." Mark explained as his golem broke apart. "I Special summon my Level 3 Small Piece Golem and my Level 2 Rock Protector both in attack mode!" Mark played the cards and two monsters appeared on the field, the first one seemed to be a humanoid carved out of a tree trunk with a slot for its eyes (3/1100/0) and the other seemed to be a shield made out of solid rock (2/500/2000). "Only downside is that the monsters Special Summoned this way can't use their effects this turn but that isn't really a problem for me."
"What do you mean?" Lance asked with a curious look on his face.
"Well for one thing Small Piece Golem is a part of a series of Rock Monsters called the Piece Golems and his effect requires the one of the other pieces to be on the field." Mark explained before grinning. "Rock Protector's effect activates when it's sent to the graveyard for a Synchro Summon and wouldn't you know it? Rock Protector happens to be a Tuner Monster."
"You're kidding?" Lance asked with a gulp as Rock Protector and Small Piece Golem leapt into the air, Rock Protector dissolved into two green glowing rings that surrounded Small Piece Golem.
"Do I look like I'm kidding? I tune Rock Protector with Small Piece Golem to Synchro Summon Rock Giant Ruka!" Mark played the card and a bright flash enveloped the field, when it faded a monster that fit its name appeared on the field, it was a giant rock statue of a warrior that was wielding a shield and a sword (5/2200/1500).
"I2 actually released more Synchro Monsters?" Lance asked with a raised eyebrow and Mark smirked.
"Well to be precise they released an archetype of Synchro Monsters." Mark corrected him with a smirk. "Ruka and his brothers can only be Synchro Summoned using two Earth monsters and since most Rock Monsters are Earth Monsters it made sense to build the rest of my deck around that." Mark explained and Lance frowned.
"Okay but what about Rock Protector's effect? You said that it could only be activated if it's used in a Synchro Summon?" Lance asked and Mark frowned.
"I'll explain that in due time." Mark said before picking up two cards. "Obviously I can't attack since it's my first turn so I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Mark set the two cards down and Lance drew his card. "I activate Rock Bombardment; by sending a Rock Type monster from my deck to the graveyard I can inflict 500 points of damage to your life-points." Mark explained before sending a monster in from his deck to the graveyard and Lance winced as a rock hit him in the chest bringing his life-points down to 7500.
"Yeah well, you're not the only one who can take advantage of the effect of Heaven's Lost Property." Lance retorted before retrieving the Great Angus he had discarded for Heaven's Lost Property. "I remove one Fire Type Monster from my graveyard to Special Summon Inferno in defense mode!" Lance pocketed the monster and the small flame with the demonic looking face appeared on the field (4/1100/1900). "But this little guy's not sticking around; I sacrifice him to summon one of my favorite cards, Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch!" Lance played the card and Inferno vanished from the field, in its place stood the mighty monarch of fire (6/2400/1000).
"I know what his effect is so let's get it over with." Mark said before holding out his hand. "Go ahead and take your pick."
"Gladly, I choose the card on the far left." Lance said and Mark winced as Thestalos's fireball hit him in the chest before sending the card to the graveyard.
"Good choice, the card you selected was a Level 4 monster." Mark complemented him as his life-points dropped to 7600.
"Now for the fun part, Thestalos, attack Rock Giant Ruka!" Lance commanded and the monarch fired up another fireball…..
"I don't think so mate." Mark interrupted as he retrieved Rock Protector from the graveyard and pocketed it, Thestalos launched its attack at Ruka but the attack bounced off of the ghostly image of Rock Protector which disappeared as soon as it appeared. "When Rock Protector's used in the Synchro Summon of a Rock Giant monster I can remove it from play and prevent the monsters I used it to summon from being destroyed in battle for one turn." Mark said before wincing as his life-points dropped to 7400. "But as you can see I still take battle damage."
"That's going to be annoying." Lance muttered under his breath before picking up three cards. "I set these cards facedown and call it a turn at that." Lance set the three cards down and Mark drew his card.
"Well so far so good, things seem to be pretty even." Chelsea commented as she folded her arms. "At least his Rock Giant can't beat Thestalos."
"You off all people should know that high attack power isn't everything Chelsea." Tyler told her and she turned to him. "There's a good chance that these Rock Giants have powerful effects which could be trouble for Lance."
"True but I don't think he'll have too much trouble, especially considering that Rock Monsters have almost as much Support as Thunder type monsters." Chelsea commented with a shrug and Tyler frowned. "You don't look convinced."
"Martin mentioned that he came in second in the Australian National Championships, it may be true that the reigning champ was beaten by Lance's brother during the Tournament's early stages but you can't say that he had an easy time against him." Tyler pointed out and Chelsea frowned.
"Tyler, I didn't attend Battle City remember? All I did as far as that tournament was concerned was watching the Semi-Finals on TV at my folk's house." Chelsea pointed out and Tyler sweat-dropped. "But I'll take your word for it."
"Trust me, he was a tough cookie." Chloe informed her and Chelsea frowned. "Don't get me wrong, I don't want anyone among us to lose our matches but it's clear that Martin wants us to fight to stay here as you found out against Ricardo."
"And Lance is finding that out for himself." Chelsea said with a nod as the two girls turned their attention to the duel.
"Lance isn't doing too badly." Phil commented and Francesca nodded.
"Whether or not he can win is anyone's guess." Francesca responded with a nod. "Still if he has Chelsea's determination, and we know he does thanks to your duel against him, we can be sure that he will either fight for the win or go down fighting."
"I activate Rock Giant Ruka's effect, by giving up his ability to attack this turn, not a problem considering that Thestalos is stronger, I can retrieve one Level 3 or lower Rock Type monster from my graveyard and another from my Removed from Play slot, shuffle them into my deck and draw two cards." Mark explained before retrieving Small Piece Golem and Rock Protector from his graveyard and his pocket, shuffled them into his deck and drew twice.
"So it's a slightly more powerful version of Pot of Avarice in short." Lance commented and Mark chuckled.
"If Pot of Avarice was a Synchro Monster but yes, the comparison is accurate." Mark shrugged before picking up the two cards he had drawn. "I set these cards facedown and end my turn." Mark set the two cards down and Lance drew his card.
"Okay, time to finish what I started last turn, Thestalos, attack…" Lance commanded but the command was cut off by a loud roar. "What the…"
"Threatening Roar says otherwise." Mark said simply before sending his trap to the graveyard. "And to prevent any speculation about my other trap card….." Mark activated the other trap revealing it to be another Rock Bombardment.
"Not again." Lance groaned as Mark sent another monster from his deck to the graveyard and Lance was pelted with rocks bringing his life-points down to 7000. "Keep that up Mark and you'll end up decking yourself out." Lance pointed out and Mark smirked.
"Well, I'll be sure to beat you before I deck out." Mark said confidentially and Lance frowned.
"He's using Rock Bombardment for a reason other than draining my life-points; why else would he use two copies in a row?" Lance thought with a frown before looking at his drawn card. "I set a card facedown and end my turn." Lance set the drawn card facedown and Mark frowned before drawing his card.
"Maybe he's onto my strategy? Phil did say that he was a good duelist." Mark thought with a frown before looking at his drawn card. "I activate Plaque of Greed." Mark played the card and the image showed a cave painting of the infamous Pot of Greed. "This can only be activated if I the only monsters in my graveyard are Rock Type Monsters, since I do I get to draw two cards." Mark explained before drawing twice and sending his Spell Card to the graveyard, he looked at the two cards he had drawn and smirked a bit. "I set one card facedown and a monster in defense mode." Mark set the two cards and they appeared on the field. "That ends my turn."
"And that begins my turn." Lance said before drawing his card. "He still hasn't shifted his Rock Giant to defense mode despite Thestalos being the stronger of the two monsters, but why?" Lance thought before looking at his drawn card. "I summon Fire Princess!" Lance played the card and the blonde woman in the red dress appeared on the field (4/1300/1500). "Now I play Poison of the Old Man, with this I get two options, either you take 800 points of damage or I gain 1200 life-points."
"Let me guess, your choosing to replenish your life-points thus activating Fire Princess's effect?" Mark asked and Lance blinked. "Come on Lance, Fire Princess is a fairly old card and I'm pretty sure the only people who don't know her effect by now are new to the game."
"Good point." Lance admitted before his life-points rose to 8200 and Fire Princess cast a Spell at Mark bringing his life-points down to 6900. "And your about to lose some more life-points, Thestalos, attack his Rock Giant!" Lance commanded and the monarch fired up a fireball…
"Sorry but no, I activate my trap card Protecting the Ruins." Mark activated the trap which showed the ruins from the artwork for Blasting the Ruins only intact. "This trap can only be activated if you attack an Earth Type Synchro Monster on my side of the field, the attack gets negated and I get to draw a card in return." Mark said before drawing a card and sending his trap to the graveyard. "Downside is I have to skip my next Draw Phase."
"I have another monster I can attack with remember? Fire Princess, attack his defense monster!" Lance commanded and the princess cast a spell at the facedown monster…which got reflected back at her bringing Lance's life-points down to 7500. "Huh?" Lance asked but frowned when he saw that the monster was another Rock Protector. "Is that the same one you used to summon Ruka or do you have three in the wings?"
"The answer is all of the above." Mark answered and Lance frowned.
"In that case I end my turn with a facedown card." Lance set the card down and Mark didn't draw his card due to Protecting the Ruins' side effect. "Before you get any smart ideas I activate my trap card Backfire, now every time one of my fire type monsters bites the dust you get hit for 500 points of damage."
"I can deal with that." Mark shrugged before looking at the card he drew with Protecting the Ruins. "First I activate Spellbook inside the Pot!" Mark played the card and both he and Lance drew three cards. "All right Lance; you've met one Rock Giant, now it's time to meet another."
"That's not good." Lance gulped and Mark grinned.
"Not good for you maybe but me? This suits me just fine; first I summon Medium Piece Golem." Mark played the card and another golem appeared on the field, this one was more rock like in its appearance and looked quite menacing (4/1600/0). "Now I tune Rock Protector and Medium Piece Golem together!" Mark added as the two monsters leapt into the air, Rock Protector once again dissolved into the Synchro Ring which surrounded Medium Piece Golem. "So I can Synchro Summon Rock Giant Trimius!" Mark played the card and a bright flash enveloped the field, when it faded another Rock Giant appeared in Medium Piece Golem's place, this time it was a rock statue of a female warrior that was wearing form fitting armor and wielding a large sword (6/2500/1500).
"Oh crap, that thing's stronger than Thestalos!" Chelsea gulped as she exchanged nervous looks with the other students.
"Trimius attack the Firestorm Monarch, Ruka, attack Fire Princess!" Mark commanded and the two statues suddenly sprung to life before charging towards the two surprised monsters, Trimius decapitated Thestalos with a single swipe and Ruka impaled Fire Princess with his shield bringing Lance's life-points down to 6300, Mark grimaced as Backfire's effect kicked in bringing his life-points down to 6400 but Mark didn't seem to mind. "That shall do it for my turn." Mark announced and Lance quickly drew his card.
"Great, I could've used Solemn Wishes last turn in a combo with Fire Princess." Lance thought with a frown before looking at the two giants. "I could keep Backfire on the field but those two monsters are really powerful and I don't know if Trimius has an effect like Ruka does, I'll end up losing a lot more than Mark will in the long run." Lance thought before playing his drawn card. "I activate Magic Planter; in exchange for destroying Backfire I can draw two cards." Lance played the card and Backfire's hologram shattered, once it was in his graveyard Lance drew twice. "This is just what the doctor ordered!"
"Oh, did you draw some good cards with that card?" Mark asked curiously and Lance grinned.
"You could say that, I activate Swords of Revealing Light!" Lance played the card and Mark shielded himself as the three golden swords rained down pinning his monsters. "Now I set three cards facedown and a monster in defense mode and that ends my turn." Lance set the cards down and Mark nodded before drawing his card.
"Since I obviously can't attack for another couple of turns I'll pass for now." Mark shrugged as he added his newly drawn card to his hand; Lance nodded before waiting for the first sword to disappear from the field, once it did he drew his card.
"I activate a Trap Card called Reckless Greed, I have to skip my next two draw phases but in exchange I can draw two cards." Lance activated the trap and drew two cards without hesitation. "I set a card in defense mode and two cards facedown, that'll do it for me." Lance set the cards and Mark drew his card.
"Sorry Lance but Swords won't be staying around for as long as you hoped, I activate Heavy Storm to clear the field!" Lance's eyes widened as one by one each Spell and Trap Card on the field was destroyed. "Now to attack…" Mark started but winced when he felt a burn. "Huh?"
"One of my facedown cards is a recent addition to my deck called Dormant Volcano." Lance said as he held up the card. "When it's destroyed and sent to the graveyard you take 300 points of damage, it has another effect but that won't come into play until my next Standby Phase." Lance explained as Mark's life-points dropped to 6600. "Well at least my life-points are safe?"
"Wrong, you see Trimius has an effect off her own." Mark said as he pointed to his warrior. "To activate it I have to give up her ability to attack next turn but in exchange for that both her and Ruka can inflict piercing damage."
"Would any of the women present mind if I yelled out a bunch of swear words?" Lance gulped as the two warriors got ready for battle.
"I'm sure they'd only mind if you used a certain C-Word but I'm not giving you the chance, Ruka, Trimius, attack his defense monsters!" Mark commanded and the two statues sprung to life again before charging the two facedown monsters, the one Ruka destroyed was Ultimate Baseball Kid bringing his life-points down to 6300, Trimius was the next to attack and cut Lance's facedown UFO Turtle in half bringing his life-points down to 4900.
"I activate UFO Turtle's effect allowing me to Special Summon Solar Flare Dragon from my deck!" Lance played the card and the dragon made of lava appeared on the field (4/1500/1000).
"Ah yes, I remember Phil mentioning that you beat him with that card during the Battle City tournament." Mark remembered before looking over his hand. "I end my turn." Mark announced and Lance didn't draw due to Reckless Greed's side effect.
"Oh man, Lance's life-points just took a major hit!" Chelsea winced and Chloe turned to her. "Yeah, I know I made a comeback with a lower amount of life-points than that but does Lance have any monsters that beat Trimius?"
"He does but the last time he used them where during Battle City." Tyler told her with a frown. "Whether or not Lance can keep his monsters on the field long enough to summon them is another question entirely."
"Okay, now the second effect of Dormant Volcano activates." Lance said before picking up his deck. "During the first standby phase after its destruction we can both search our decks for Fire Type Monsters and add them to our hands, which I know you can't do because you're running an Earth Deck."
"Not a problem." Mark shrugged and Lance frowned before searching through his deck, he found the card he was looking for and added it to his hand.
"No but this guy will be a problem for you, I summon Royal Firestorm Guards!" Lance played the card and the strange demon appeared on the field (4/1700/1200). "Now his effect activates, allowing me to return four Pyro Type monsters in my graveyard to my deck and draw two cards." Lance retrieved the four cards, shuffled them into his deck and drew twice. "Oh boy…"
"You got a pair of Dead Draws?" Mark asked and Lance shook his head.
"Lava Golem, I thought I got rid of this thing?" Lance thought before looking over at Chloe and then back to Mark's two monsters. "Well I guess I don't have much of a choice at the mo, unfortunately I've already used up my normal summon for this turn." Lance thought before setting the other card. "I set one card facedown and end my turn activating Solar Flare Dragon's effect in the process!" Lance set the card and Mark winced as his life-points dropped to 6100, shaking it off Mark drew his card. "Go Thunder of Ruler!"
"You want to play it that way? Fine, I set a monster in defense mode and end my turn." Mark announced and Lance skipped his draw phase due to Reckless Greed. "Why did he hesitate? Thunder of Ruler is a good stall card!"
"Well, better get this over with." Lance thought as he glanced at Lava Golem before grinning. "Hey Mark, I've got a gift for ya, catch!" Before Mark could voice his confusion Lance tossed Lava Golem at him and the Australian Duelist blinked before his eyes widened.
"Oh crap." Mark gulped before sighing. "Seeing as I have no choice I sacrifice my two Rock Giants to summon Lava Golem in attack mode!" Chloe's eyes widened once she heard the name and the two rock giants where consumed by lava, soon after woods the infamous monster made its appearance and it's cage dropped around Mark (8/3000/2500).
"Err, Chloe is something wrong?" Chelsea asked once she noticed how her roommate was acting after Lava Golem was summoned.
"We'll explain later Chelsea but she doesn't exactly have the best history with that card." Brandon told her and Chelsea frowned.
"And just in case you get any ideas about damaging my life-points I switch Royal Firestorm Guards and Solar Flare Dragon to defense mode and that ends my turn." Lance switched the two monsters to defense mode and Mark drew his card before he got burnt, first by Solar Flare Dragon's effect bringing his life-points down to 5600 and then by Lava Golem bringing his life-points down to 4600.
"This card may damage my life-points each turn but you know what? You gave me a 3000 attack beatstick and I'm going to use it! Lava Golem, attack Royal Firestorm Guards!" Mark commanded and the golem's lava poured out until it consumed Royal Firestorm Guards and disappeared. "Naturally I can't inflict damage so I….." Mark started before noticing his drawn card. "Now there's an idea!" Mark thought before setting it. "On second thought I set a card facedown and end my turn." Mark announced and Lance drew his card since Reckless Greed's effect had worn off.
"All right, this is perfect! Just a few more turns and my combo will drain Mark's life-points and I won't have to worry about expulsion." Lance thought before looking up…and noticing that Lava Golem's cage was now around him! "What the….." Lance yelled out before noticing that Mark had activated a trap. "Remove Brainwashing?"
"I usually use this in combination with one of my own cards but it applies here!" Mark said with a grin. "As long as this Continuous Trap's on the field all monsters return to their previous owners!"
"WHAT? BUT THAT MEANS…" Lance's eyes widened once it hit him. "Lava Golem's going to drain my life-points unless I do something about it!"
"Well if you destroy Remove Brainwashing then it'll return to my side of the field but judging from the look on your face I'd say you lack the means to do that." Mark explained as Lance started sweating bullets. "That or Lava Golem's heat is getting to you."
"I think it's a combo of both actually." Lance answered before setting a card. "Ah who cares? It's like you said, you've given me a beatstick and I'm going to use it!" Lance said before switching Solar Flare Dragon to attack mode. "Lava Golem attack is defense!" Lance commanded and the lava poured from the golem consuming the monster, revealed to be Morphing Jar (2/700/600) which was quickly destroyed. "With a deck full of Rock Monsters I'd be surprised if it lacked that card to be honest." Lance shrugged as the two duelists tossed their cards and drew until they had five cards.
"It has its uses besides giving us a fresh start Lance." Mark answered before looking at his drawn cards, his eyes lit up when he saw three of them. "Good, I'll be able to bring out my best Rock Giant next turn." Mark thought before looking at Lance. "I assume Solar Flare Dragon's about to attack."
"You got it! Get him Solar Flare Dragon!" Lance commanded and the dragon breathed fire at Mark….which was stopped by the transparent image of a scarecrow. "Oh great, now what did you do?"
"It's more along the lines of what you did mate, by attacking my life-points directly you've allowed me to activate the effect of Swift Scarecrow (1/0/0), by discarding it from my hand when you declare a direct attack I can end the Battle Phase immediately." Mark explained and Lance frowned at that.
"Fine, I end my turn but you still take damage Solar Flare Dragon's effect!" Lance pointed out as the dragon breathed fire at Mark bringing his life-points 4100.
"It's a measly 500 points of damage, I've had worse." Mark shrugged before drawing his card. "Besides with Lava Golem on your side of the field I can now bring out the big guns!"
"What do you mean the big guns? Are you bringing out another Synchro monster?" Lance asked and Mark nodded triumphantly.
"I'm not just bringing out any monster Lance; I'm bringing out the best Rock Giant in the Archetype which, unfortunately, will be the last Synchro Monster you'll see as a Duel Academy student!" Mark said before playing a card. "But first things first I have to set things up, since you have monsters and I don't I can Normal Summon Big Piece Golem without a sacrifice!" Mark played the card and the final member of the Piece Golems appeared on the field, it was more metallic looking than the others and had a visible face (5/2100/0).
"Wait a sec, you said Normal Summon? Hah, so much for your Synchro Summon!" Lance said confidently and Mark smirked.
"Phil said you liked jumping to conclusions, now I see what he meant!" Mark said before playing a card. "Next I remove Swift Scarecrow from play so I can Special Summon Rock Apparition!" Mark retrieved the card from his graveyard and pocketed it; the monster that appeared on the field seemed to be a small ghost made out of rocks (3/900/200).
"Is that supposed to be a Rock Monster or a Zombie?" Lance asked with a look of confusion on his face, Mark smirked at that.
"Technically it's a rock type monster but you're hardly the first person to ask that and I doubt you'll be the last." Mark told him before grinning. "Oh yeah and one more think, Rock Apparition is a Tuner Monster!"
"Wait, what's with you using the golems to set up Synchro Summons? Is that another requirement?" Lance asked as the two monsters leapt into the air.
"Nah, it's just a matter of convenience." Mark told him as Rock Apparition dissolved into the Synchro Ring that surrounded Big Piece Golem. "Anyway I tune Rock Apparition and Big Piece Golem together to Synchro Summon Rock Giant Titan!" Mark played the card and a bright flash enveloped the field.
"I'll never get used to that thing!" Lance shouted out as the flash faded, when Lance looked up he saw the biggest rock giant of the three, it was a large titan which, unlike the others, lacked weapons or armor but with fists that looked like they could crush a house it was apparent that it didn't need it them (8/?/?). "Great, a question mark monster, I'm guessing its effect has something to do with the graveyard?"
"That's right Lance, you see Rock Giant Titan gains five hundred attack points with each Rock Type Monster in my graveyard, there's a lot of them in there so I'll save you the trouble of figuring it out." Mark said as Titan's attack increased to 5500. "Oh yeah and like Rock Protector before it Rock Apparition's effect kicks in if he's used in the Synchro Summon of a Rock Giant."
"What effect?" Lance asked and Mark motioned for him to turn around, he did so and noticed that a large portal had opened up behind Lava Golem and before Lance could say anything Lava Golem was sucked in.
"It removes a monster from play on my opponent's side of the field that matches the Level of the monster that it was used to Summon, in this case my Level 8 Rock Giant Titan!" Mark added and Lance frowned before pocketing Lava Golem. "And the fun's just beginning, Rock Giant Titan, attack Solar Flare Dragon!" Mark commanded and the titan pulled back it's fist before slamming it into Solar Flare Dragon squashing it flatter than a pancake and sending Lance's life-points plummeting down to 400. "I end my turn but you may as well give up mate; no-one has been able to beat my titan, in fact the only reason I'm not the Australian National Champion is because the reigning champ didn't give me a chance to summon him!"
"And give up my spot here? Not a chance!" Lance said before drawing his card. "I activate my own Spellbook inside the Pot!" Lance played the card and both duelists drew three cards. "This is risky but if it pays off I'll win!" Lance thought before picking up two cards. "First I set two cards facedown." Lance set the card and quickly played another. "Now I activate Emergency Provisions, I send my facedown cards to the graveyard and in return I gain a thousand life-points for each."
"That's still not enough Lance." Mark pointed out as Lance's life-points increased to 2400.
"Who said I was done?" Lance asked before picking up three cards. "I set three cards facedown and end my turn." Lance set the three cards and Mark grinned before drawing his card.
"Then it looks like your being expelled, Titan, end this now!" Mark commanded and the massive monster pulled back its fist before slamming it into Lance. "It looks like we're even guys!" Mark shouted out to the other pro-duelists as he went to hop off the podium.
"Leaving so soon? The duel's not over yet!" Lance called out to him and Mark blinked before turning around, indeed Lance was getting too his feet and the holograms where still there, most importantly Lance's life-points had dropped to 1400 instead of zero.
"What? How the hell did you survive an attack that powerful?!" Mark yelled out before noticing that Lance had activated two of his cards. "I see, you kept yourself in the game with Nutrient Z which explains why you used Emergency Provisions and….." Mark trailed off when he saw the second card. "Is that Inferno Tempest?"
"It's a card I save for Special Occasions and I'd consider my Expulsion Duel to be appropriate, wouldn't you?" Lance asked with a grin. "Here's the deal, this Quick-Play Spell Card can only be activated if I take over 3000 points of damage from a direct attack, it removes all cards in both our graveyards and our decks from play!"
"But that means….." Mark trailed off as he saw Rock Titan's attack plummet to zero after both duelists had pocketed their cards. "You just did yourself in mate! I can see from here that you only have one card left in your deck because of that move."
"This one card is all I need!" Lance said determinedly and Mark frowned.
"If you say so, I end my turn at that." Mark announced and Lance drew his last card.
"Now it's time to end this, I activate Return from a Different Dimension!" Lance activated the card and Mark's eyes widened once it hit him. "It may cost me half of my life-points…" Lance trailed off as his life-points dropped to 700. "But in return I can special summon as many removed from play monsters as I can so welcome back Thestalos, Ultimate Baseball Kid, Solar Flare Dragon, UFO Turtle and Inferno!" As Lance called out their names the monsters appeared on the field one by one. "I could attack with the others but honestly Ultimate Baseball Kid's all I need to win."
"Right, because he gains a thousand attack points for every other Fire Type Monster on your side of the field." Mark said with a nod as Ultimate Baseball Kid's attack increased to 4500. "Congrats on the win Lance, you have earned it today."
"Thanks, now Ultimate Baseball Kid, end this duel and ensure my place at this school!" Lance commanded and the kid launched a baseball at Rock Giant Titan sending it toppling and sending Mark's life-points down to 0.
"The winner of the duel is Ra Yellow's Lance Alvers, as a result he won't be expelled and his record will be wiped." Martin announced over the PA system and the crowd cheered, Lance breathed a huge sigh of relief as he gathered up his cards and Mark was doing likewise, once he was done Mark approached Lance and offered him a handshake.
"That move took a lot of guts Alvers, I can appreciate that." Mark said as Lance accepted the handshake with a grin.
"No kidding, there's a reason I don't use it often." Lance admitted before hopping off the podium and joining his friends. "Two down, six to go, wonder whose dueling next?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." Chloe shrugged before looking up at Lance. "Lance, about Lava Golem….."
"Sorry Chloe but I didn't have much choice; Reckless Greed's side effect was still in play so I couldn't rely on my next draw for an alternative." Lance said honestly and Chloe nodded in understanding. "If it helps I hesitated before playing it."
"Yeah, that does help." Chloe nodded and Lance sat down in the chair he was occupying prior to his duel.
"The next match will feature Obelisk Blue's Theresa Daniels taking on the Irish National Champion Philip Masters!" Martin announced and a collective gasp echoed throughout the audience, Theresa quickly grabbed her backpack and searched through it.
"You're up next, against Phil to boot." Tyler said as he turned to Theresa. "Are you going to be okay against him? I know you haven't dueled much since returning from Battle City?"
"I should be fine, as good as Philip is he never faced me in the tournament." Theresa told him before selecting and loading her deck into the deck slot, once that was done she hopped onto the Duel Field.
"Honestly I was hoping for another shot at Lance." Philip shrugged as they shuffled their decks. "But seeing as how you almost beat Eddie in the Finals I'd say you're going to be a good challenge Theresa."
"I'll do more than give you a challenge Phillip; I'll defeat you and defend my place here!" Theresa said as they drew their opening hands. "So let's duel!"