The Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Master anime had already aired three episodes and was gradually finding its rhythm.
The Kadokawa Group had money—but having money didn't mean they wouldn't try to make more. As a result, Yu-Gi-Oh's animation carried a strangely cheap feel.
It was roughly like Tomorrow's Joe in style—Yugi Mutou looked like a high-end version of Joe Yabuki, and Anzu Mazaki resembled a knockoff of Yoko.
But at this point in time, hardly anyone complained about such an art style.
After all, everyone looked like that.
As a fourteen-year-old middle schooler, Taniguchi had come today to buy Yu-Gi-Oh cards.
With three episodes of the anime already out, Taniguchi had developed a deep fascination with the cards. Of course, reality wasn't like the anime—you couldn't strap a Duel Disk to your arm, draw cards, and project monsters in 3D.
But Taniguchi had heard that Yu-Gi-Oh cards were already being sold at Kadokawa-affiliated bookstores.
Carrying a vague sense of anticipation, he went to a retail newsstand. It was noon, and the clerk inside was dozing off, looking as though he might drop dead at any moment.
Only after Taniguchi knocked on the counter did the clerk finally wake up.
"Yu-Gi-Oh cards? Oh, right, we do have those."
The clerk casually dragged out a large cardboard box from under his feet.
"Two hundred yen per pack, three packs for six hundred, ten packs for two thousand!"
No discounts.
In this regard, Japanese people had a frightening level of stubbornness.
Deals like "three dollars for one, five dollars for two" were almost nonexistent in Japan.
Taniguchi didn't care. With something close to reverence, he pulled out his small wallet and bought a pack of cards.
"Does this have Blue-Eyes White Dragon in it?"
"Uh—" The clerk scratched his head.
He had no idea. He was just selling the stuff; he hadn't even watched the anime.
On the opaque kraft-paper packaging, the possible card series inside were simply listed.
They included the Fantasy Magician series, the Protagonist series, and of course, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon series.
All of them were random. Each pack contained ten cards, and there was no guarantee what you'd get. If you wanted specific cards to build a deck, you had to keep buying packs.
Naturally, Taniguchi didn't know any of this. With a pilgrim's mindset, he tore open the pack in his hands.
Ten cards: six effectless monster cards—so-called "vanillas"—and four spell or trap cards.
Of course, none of them were what Taniguchi wanted.
"What is this? They don't even have effects. You can tell at a glance they're trash decks only background characters would use!
I'm going to become a Duel King like the Kadokawa Otter-Man President, holding the one and only Blue-Eyes White Dragon card!"
Taniguchi clenched his fist and pushed two more coins forward.
"Give me another pack!"
The clerk leaned back in shock, inhaling sharply through the packaging.
He hadn't expected this ordinary-looking kid to buy multiple packs in a row. Such spending power—this kid had unlimited potential, a born premium customer!
"Thank you for your patronage! Here's your pack!"
The clerk leaned halfway out of the booth, enthusiastically offering advice.
"Maybe if you open it with a sense of ritual, you'll get the card you want!"
Taniguchi pondered this, nodded, held the pack between both hands, and solemnly began to pray.
"President Kadokawa, please bless me. Let me draw Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
He ripped the pack open.
Ten cards. One glance was enough—Black Forest Witch, Cannon Bird, and other random junk. No Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
Taniguchi sighed.
Guess his luck just wasn't good.
The clerk casually glanced at the packaging, his pupils tightening instantly. Without a word, he crumpled the wrapper and tossed it away.
This entire box of packs was the "Yugi Mutou" deck—specifically released as the protagonist deck.
Each pack's ten cards were selected from cards Yugi had used in the anime, combined with newly designed ones.
In other words—
There was no Blue-Eyes White Dragon in any of them.
This wasn't bad luck. Something that didn't exist couldn't be pulled in the first place.
But Taniguchi seemed fired up now and suddenly raised his hand.
"Give me more—five packs!"
The clerk was startled.
"Taniguchi-kun, I advise you to stay rational! You should stop for today and come back tomorrow!"
Because tomorrow was when the Blue-Eyes White Dragon packs would arrive.
Taniguchi instead tilted his head up smugly and showed his wallet.
"I've got allowance money!"
Several thousand yen, even!
The clerk quietly turned his head away.
Well, nothing he could do. He'd warned him already. This kid just had to have Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
Five packs. Ten packs—
By the time Taniguchi had spent all his allowance and his wallet was completely flat, he was left with more than twenty Black Forest Witches, over a dozen Cannon Birds, a pile of miscellaneous junk cards, and one seemingly rare spell card—Black Hole.
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon—! I want Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
Experiencing a no-pity system for the first time, Taniguchi nervously tore open his final pack.
At first glance, he froze in shock.
The card surface shimmered brilliantly, almost blinding him—it was a shiny card!
"Congratulations!" The clerk burst into applause.
"Congratulations on pulling the legendary rare card—a foil!"
Grabbing Taniguchi's hands, the clerk shook them hard.
"This is something even the protagonist doesn't have! With a foil card like this, you're destined to become a Duel King!"
He even pulled out the packaging to show Taniguchi the probability printed on the back.
"See? Aside from the regular cards, the chance of a foil is only 0.01%! You have to sell thousands of packs before one appears!"
Those words left the fourteen-year-old dizzy. He looked down at the foil card in his hand, then at the pile of empty wrappers on the ground and his empty wallet. A strange sense of satisfaction welled up inside him.
This was a rare foil card!
Tomorrow at school, he'd finally have something to show off to his friends.
Even if he didn't have Blue-Eyes White Dragon, he had an incredibly rare foil!
The next day at school, Taniguchi pretended to be indifferent, but he was secretly listening to his classmates chatting.
"Sonic—"
"Yu-Gi-Oh—"
"I went to buy card packs yesterday and spent all my allowance. All I got were super ordinary cards. Total scam."
Taniguchi instantly looked up, his nostrils seeming to flare with every breath.
He suddenly stood up and raised the card in his hand.
"I bought cards yesterday too! I pulled a super rare foil!"
In an instant, more than a dozen pairs of eyes shot toward him. The chorus of gasps filled Taniguchi with immense vanity.
Even without Blue-Eyes White Dragon, he had the legendary foil card!
He touched his empty pocket.
Sure, no snacks for now.
But next week, he was buying cards again.
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