Chapter 108: Targeted: This Is What Real Targeting Looks Like!

Watching Alexis's brother build up Troop Dragons as Tribute fodder for a high-level Dragon monster, Rowan had one irresistible thought.

Did Dragon deck enthusiasts ever worry about working their Troop Dragons to death?

If he remembered correctly, Seto Kaiba, one of Duel Academy's board members, was rather fond of the same approach.

And Rowan had already guessed what the face-down trap was.

Almost certainly a continuous trap like Call of the Haunted, something that could revive monsters from the Graveyard on demand.

Darkness was clearly eager to pull off his setup and summon something powerful.

Rowan decided to be generous and help him along.

"My turn. Draw!"

He pulled from the top of his deck, glanced at the card, and placed it on his Duel Disk without breaking stride.

"I Summon Skilled White Magician, in Attack Position!"

A white light bloomed on his field.

From it stepped a mature male figure in flowing white robes, staff in hand, a glowing magical gem set into its tip.

Skilled White Magician Level: 4 Attribute: Light ATK: 1700 DEF: 1900

"Skilled White Magician?"

Alexis looked surprised.

So did Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley from inside their prison sphere above the lava, all three of them pressing closer to the surface with wide eyes.

This was a completely different deck from anything Rowan had used before.

Not the Ojamas, not the Shadow Heroes, not the Lava Golem deck from even further back.

None of those had featured anything like this.

Was this a Spellcaster deck?

Something in the vein of the Duel King Yugi Muto's Dark Magician?

"Heheheh. A Dragon versus Spellcaster showdown. A fateful rivalry, truly."

Darkness let out a pleased hum, though beneath it was a flicker of surprise.

His intelligence had indicated an Ojama deck. This wasn't that. Still, his confidence in his Dragon deck remained absolute.

Alexis and the hostage trio, on the other hand, had a single large question mark forming collectively in the back of their minds.

Rowan using a normal deck?

Really?

"I set two cards face-down. Battle Phase! Skilled White Magician attacks Troop Dragon!"

Rowan swept his hand toward the crouching green dragon across the field.

"Magical Blast!"

The white-robed figure raised its staff.

A concentrated burst of white magical energy fired from the tip and streaked across the field, slamming into the Troop Dragon and detonating it in a flash of fire and smoke.

"Hmph. So this is the extent of a famous Duel Academy duelist. Activate Troop Dragon's special effect!"

Darkness scoffed, already reaching for his deck.

"When Troop Dragon is destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon another Troop Dragon from my deck!"

Another identical green dragon materialized on his field in Defense Position, crouching low, a battered short blade in its claws.

"Enjoy yourself while you can," Rowan said pleasantly. "You'll be enjoying it even more in a moment."

"Turn end."

"Then entertain me, Rowan! My turn, draw!"

Darkness assumed Rowan meant the comment sincerely.

He pulled from his deck with obvious anticipation.

"Activate set card! Continuous Trap: Call of the Haunted! Revive one monster from my Graveyard!"

"And of course, I choose the Troop Dragon your Skilled White Magician just sent there!"

A pulse of dim light crossed his field. The Troop Dragon rose again, resuming its defensive crouch.

"Two monsters on the field. He's going for a high-level Tribute Summon!" Alexis felt the shift immediately, her expression tightening.

"Witness the power of my trump card, risen from the depths of darkness itself! I Tribute both Troop Dragons to Tribute Summon, in Attack Position... Red-Eyes Black Dragon!!"

Darkness raised the monster card in his hand. Both Troop Dragons dissolved in twin flashes of light.

The two columns of energy merged into a single eruption of magma rising from the lake below, and from within it came the silhouette of a jagged, ferocious black dragon, throwing its head back in a shattering roar.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon Level: 7 Attribute: Dark ATK: 2400 DEF: 2000

"That's... Red-Eyes Black Dragon?!"

Even the hostages jolted at the sight. That was the card used by Joey Wheeler, companion to the legendary Duel King himself.

One of the rarest cards in the entire dueling world. Maybe three or four copies in existence.

And 2400 ATK.

Comfortably above anything Rowan had on his field.

"Now face the hellfire of Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

Darkness raised his hand to direct the attack at Skilled White Magician.

In a shadow duel, that fire would be real. The burn, genuine.

"Before you attack, don't forget my face-downs. Activate set card! Continuous Trap: Dragon Capture Jar!"

Rowan's smile took on a sunnier quality as he flipped one of his two back-row cards.

The trap revealed itself: a brownish ceramic urn carved with a dragon's head, red energy sealed within it.

"While this card remains on the field, all Dragon-type monsters are forced into Defense Position and cannot change their battle position for as long as this trap remains active!"

Targeted.

This was what targeted looked like.