After the Starborn's explosive opening turn, the field now stood as follows:
— Hand: 1— Frontline: Red Dragon Archfiend (DEF 0), Stardust Warrior (ATK 3000), Stardust Spark Dragon (DEF 2500), Formula Synchron (DEF 1500)— Backrow: None
…
"That's it? You're just ending your turn like that?" Li You raised a brow, visibly surprised.
Given everything the Starborn had just set up, he absolutely had the resources to transform Red Dragon Archfiend into Shooting Quasar Dragon. If he had, the pressure would've skyrocketed.
How did that saying go again? The player dies, but Quasar lives on.
But for some reason… he didn't go for it.
"Unless—he's saving Red Dragon to go into Scarlight Red Nova on my turn?"
That'd be nuts. A literal kill switch designed to nuke his opponent mid-turn. If the test was that brutal, why not just have Red Dragon crash the plane and be done with it?
Li You shook his head. Nah, can't be that simple. No way I randomly pissed off Red Dragon so bad it wants to send an emissary to sabotage my in-flight meal.
Thinking about it from another angle—maybe the Starborn didn't have the high-end Extra Deck pieces?
Unlikely.
Then… going back to what he'd said at the start of the duel, this was probably a trial.
Li You hypothesized that Red Dragon must have sensed some kind of looming catastrophe—one that required assembling a new generation of Signers to face it. And with this plane full of Saint Star Duel Academy's top freshmen—prodigies from across the world—it made sense. What better place to host open tryouts?
If this really was a test and not a deathmatch, then the difficulty curve couldn't be too steep. Otherwise, what would be the point of opening with triple synchro into Quasar and wiping the field? That's not recruiting—that's a massacre.
With that thought, Li You relaxed.
He looked back at the current board.
Formula Synchron could accelerate Synchro summon on his turn. Red Dragon Archfiend could tag out into another dragon of equal Level. Stardust Warrior could negate and destroy one Special Summon. Stardust Spark could protect a card from destruction once this turn.
Yeah. Not easy.
He scratched his head. "Guess we'll see what I draw."
"My turn. Draw!"
As soon as the card touched his hand, Li You's eyes lit up.
Well, well. Looks like fate's still in my corner!
He turned the card face-up with a grin. "I drew the Spell Card—Barians' Chaos Draw! I reveal it, and at the start of my Main Phase, I can activate one of its effects."
The Starborn narrowed his eyes. "What does it do?"
Li You explained casually, "It has two options. But either way, I get to Special Summon an Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck."
The Starborn's mood visibly shifted.
His Stardust Warrior could tribute itself to negate a Special Summon that doesn't use the Chain—things like Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum, Link, and Contact Fusion. Basically, anything "inherent."
But summons triggered by external effects—like Monster Reborn pulling from the Graveyard, or Seven Emperors' Sword, or Red Dragon's tag-outs—they were considered chained. In those cases, Stardust Warrior was totally useless.
And unfortunately for him, both effects of Barians' Chaos Draw triggered via chain.
Which meant Stardust Warrior couldn't do a damn thing.
Li You flashed a brilliant smile and declared:
"Main Phase 1! I activate the second effect of Barians' Chaos Draw! I Special Summon two Level 8 monsters from my Deck, then immediately overlay them to Xyz Summon a [No.] monster!"
"From my Deck—two Level 8 monsters! Overlay!"
"The roar that echoes through the stars! Awaken from the depths of the galaxy to carve the path to victory—"
"Appear now—Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon!!"
ROOOOOOOAAAAAR!!
A dark golden inverse pyramid materialized above the golden ziggurat, slotting perfectly into its apex. From afar, it looked like a cosmic funnel bridging heaven and earth.
And from within that funnel, a titanic dragon of stellar gravitas emerged, its body rippling with gravitational force—Tachyon Dragon had arrived!
The Starborn's pupils contracted. "An Xyz Monster…? And yet… its presence is as overwhelming as any Duel Dragon I've ever faced..."
Li You spread his arms theatrically. "You've got good instincts. Now then—I'm entering my Battle Phase!"
The Starborn's head snapped up. "Already?! You're going straight into battle?!"
Exactly.
Both Formula Synchron and Red Dragon Archfiend had quick effects that let them bring out monsters—but only during the Main Phase.
If Li You skipped that and entered Battle Phase instead, he could fire off Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon's effect at the start—negating every card on the field. Permanently.
Even Red Dragon wouldn't survive that timeline collapse.
This was the ultimate board-wipe tech.
The Starborn didn't know Tachyon Dragon's exact abilities, but he knew Li You wouldn't bluff for no reason. If they let this go through, every monster on their field would be little more than sitting ducks.
So—he moved.
"I activate the effects of three of my monsters—chaining them together!"
Li You nodded, waving a hand. "Go ahead. I won't interfere."
The Starborn gave a sharp nod and began to resolve the chain.
"Chain Link 3—Stardust Spark Dragon targets Stardust Warrior, granting it one-time destruction immunity this turn."
"Chain Link 2—Red Dragon Archfiend targets Stardust Warrior, returns to the Extra Deck, and then Special Summons a Dragon-type Synchro Monster of equal Level from my Extra Deck, treating it as a Synchro Summon."
"Traces of stardust carry every wish across the galaxy… let bonds shine upon this world!"
"Accel Synchro—Descend, Celestial Spark Dragon – Chronicle!'"
—"Celestial Spark Dragon – Chronicle"—LV: 10ATK: 3000
Li You narrowed his gaze at the golden warrior dragon as it descended—and then exhaled a breath of relief.
"Whew. Scared me half to death… Thought you were going to drop Shooting Quasar on me."