Chapter 161:

"Well, if you're going to put it that way, I guess I don't really have a choice but to step forward too."

At the muscle-bound Amazon Barbie's blatant baiting, the corner of Rowan's mouth twitched, and he couldn't resist a comment.

"Just so we're clear ahead of time, though, I've got absolutely zero interest in whatever those Shadow Duel terms of yours are."

He genuinely wasn't sure he could handle a woman built quite like Tania.

Especially since, from what he remembered, most of the Amazoness clan's Duel Spirits tended to run pretty similarly built to their queen here.

"In that case, you can wait your turn, kid. I'll duel you later."

Tania waved him off without a second thought.

She turned instead to consider the other two who'd also stepped forward, Bastion and Chazz, weighing which one to pick.

"Your skin's a lot closer to our Amazoness tone. Not like that spiky-haired one over there, who looks like he's got zero muscle on him. I'll take you."

Rowan genuinely wasn't sure whether Bastion should feel flattered or want to cry at that particular selection criteria.

Both Bastion and Chazz's faces went thoroughly sour at the exchange.

One had technically just been "chosen," but only by being told his skin was dark.

The other hadn't been picked, but only because he'd just been called a scrawny, powerless hedgehog.

Neither one of them could really find it in themselves to feel good about this.

"Announce your name, my challenger!"

Once Bastion had crossed to the far side of the makeshift arena, Tania called out the demand.

"Bastion Misawa! I was forced to give up my last shot at facing a Seven Stars Shadow Duelist thanks to a thoroughly underhanded trick. This time, I'm finally getting my chance to prove myself!"

Bastion pulled his deck free and slotted it into the Duel Disk he'd worn ever since setting out that morning.

"I've had this deck ready and waiting for exactly this moment. Let me show you what it can do!"

"Bastion's really fired up over there," Rowan muttered, watching from the sidelines.

Though he couldn't shake the feeling that even with Bastion's genuinely solid skill, he still might not be enough to take down someone like Tania.

After all, that Amazoness Deck had a certain... unsettling quality to it.

"Man, I'm actually jealous of Bastion right now. Too bad my Spirit Key already got wasted, thanks to Camula being a little too generous with it before."

Jaden stood off to the side, both hands raking through his own hair, staring ahead with genuine frustration.

"Huh?!"

Chazz, Syrus, Alexis, Jasmine, and Mindy all froze and turned to stare at Jaden in unison, leaning back on reflex.

The exact same thought crossed every one of their minds at once.

So this is the type of woman you're into?!

Even Rowan's mouth twitched watching this unfold.

Though he was fairly confident Jaden was simply having a full-blown withdrawal episode from missing out on a proper duel.

The jealousy was clearly aimed at Bastion getting to duel a Seven Stars Shadow Duelist.

Not, presumably, at the prospect of Tania herself.

As for actually being into a woman built like the muscle-bound Amazon Barbie...

Rowan figured that as a certified card addict, Jaden probably didn't even fully register what "marrying in" meant in the first place.

"I've got two decks here that'll decide your fate. One represents Knowledge, the other, Courage."

Meanwhile, back on the field, Tania had already raised both hands, a deck fanned out in each palm, presenting them to Bastion.

"Go ahead. Choose which one you want to face."

"Brute strength is nothing but a beast's crutch. Naturally, I'll be facing your Knowledge deck," Bastion declared without hesitation.

"Good. Then let's begin." Tania smoothly slotted the deck in her right hand into her own Duel Disk.

"Duel!"

"Duel!"

Both of them called it out at the same moment. Their Duel Disks flared with red light, unfolding at once.

Each drew a five-card starting hand from their respective decks, and their Life Point counters flickered to life on either side.

[4000 LP]

"My turn first! Draw!"

Tania seized the first move, pulling a card off the top of her deck.

She glanced at it, smirked, and set it straight onto her Duel Disk.

"Summoning in Attack Position: Amazoness Swords Woman!"

"Hah!"

A soft glow rose, and a woman warrior stepped forward, dark-skinned, deep purple hair, built entirely of muscle, gripping a curved sword, letting out a low, powerful battle cry as she took her place on Tania's field.

[Amazoness Swords Woman] [Level: 4] [Attribute: EARTH] [ATK: 1500] [DEF: 1600]

"Of course, right out of the gate, she throws down one of those effect-based Amazoness monsters..." Rowan muttered, eyeing the muscular warrior standing across from Tania, clearly cut from the same cloth.

"Effect-based, cursed monster?" Alexis, standing right beside him, caught the comment and turned, curious.

If Rowan was calling it cursed, that meant this Amazoness Swords Woman, one Alexis had never come across before, likely came with an effect that would be genuinely troublesome to deal with.

Jasmine, Mindy, Jaden, and Chazz all turned toward Rowan too, curious now, waiting for the explanation.

"Amazoness Swords Woman's effect redirects all battle damage from her fights straight to the opponent. Classic frame-job monster," Rowan said, not bothering to build any suspense, still watching the duel unfold in the distance.

He remembered now, from when he'd checked the system shop's freshly refreshed options earlier.

Among the three decks listed, alongside that Quick-Draw Deck, there'd been one labeled the cursed frame-job build.

Looked like it might be time to go ahead and redeem it.