Dungeon Dice Monsters

Duke and Yami took their positions and the arena began changing for the game. The card table turned into a table depicting the arena which would be used as a map. In their section was a table of dice of many different colors and images, making it difficult to know which ones to play with. Duke carefully picked fifteen dice to use in the game and placed them in the shuffler. Yami did the same thing. As its name stated, it would shuffle the dice and bring three to the table with each passing turn. To use the dice, the players had to get matching crests. Each side of the die contained a different crest. The six crests were summon, movement, attack, defense, magic, and trap. To put the summoning effect into effect, all the player had to do was place the die on the table and it would unfold to create a dungeon path. As for the scoreboard, instead of life points, players had heart points. The goal was to get the monster to the opponent's side of the field and attack their heart points. The first player to lose all three heart points would lose the game.

After covering the basics of the game, Duke decided it was time to start playing. He rolled his dice and got matching summoning crests. He dimensioned the dice and unlocked Ryu-Kishin. Yami rolled, but got no matching crests. It turned out most of the dice he picked were high lever dice, making it difficult to summon a monster. If he could, it would be a powerful monster. Most of the dice Duke picked were of low lever, making it easy to summon a monster. Duke figured it would be all right to leave out a couple of basics and that Yami would catch on soon enough. After all, he was the King of Games.

With the passing of turns, Duke summoned many more monsters and expanded his dungeon path across the arena. Yami still had a hard time getting the crests necessary to summon a monster. But he wouldn't let the crests from his previous rolls go to waste, so he stored them in his crest pool. Finally he was able to build his dungeon path and summon a few monsters. Yami knew he had a few low level dice picked for the game.

As the match went on, Duke Devlin revealed that he was not only the champion of Dungeon Dice Monsters, but the inventor as well. He dedicated his life creating a whole new game he was certain players would love. After spending endless days and nights designing the game and writing his rules, he finally sent a proposal to Pegasus asking him to consider the game. Several days passed and Duke finally got a response email from Pegasus and was personally given a flight to Duelist Kingdom. When they met, Pegasus and Duke decided to play the game to determine its entertainment. Even though it was new, Pegasus played like it was no different from Duel Monsters and overwhelmed Duke. He actually enjoyed it and decided to consider making Dungeon Dice Monsters an official game to the public, but the contract wouldn't be made until after the Duelist Kingdom tournament had passed.

After hearing of Pegasus' defeat, Duke was unable to contact him. Not hearing back from Pegasus made him wonder if his mind was changed or if something happened. For all he could assume, Pegasus' spirit was broken and the only way Yugi could have possibly won was by cheating against a master gamer.

Yami tried to reason with Duke and explain what really happened, but Devlin wouldn't listen. Blinded by his pride and idolizing of Pegasus, all Duke could say was his vow of avenging him by defeating Yugi and exposing him for the fraud he saw him as.

The match wasn't looking too good for Yami. Standing on his dungeon path were the Mighty Mage and Thunderball. Duke's dungeon path expanded close to Yami's side of the arena. He also built up his arsenal by summoning Gator Dragon and Blast Lizard and they were in striking range of Yami's heart points. The Gator Dragon's Swamp Fire Blast attacked and left Yami with only two heart points remaining. With Duke's monsters so close, he was vulnerable to another attack. It was a good thing the game allowed a help screen players could use to strategize their moves and prepare themselves. Yami used his help screen and looked at his crest pool to see what he would need to protect himself from another attack. He seemed to have it all planned out. He even managed to get matching magic crests on his roll and used them to activate Thunderball's special ability. The monster curled up and bowled over Blast Lizard. Yami had Thunderball attack again with the magic crests stored in his crest pool and destroyed Gator Dragon.

Duke finally gave Yami a good compliment but actually making a good move on his part, but still gloated that Yami would never know the game as well as he did. But Yami remarked the fact that just because someone invented a game didn't mean they couldn't lose at it. He had to give Duke this lesson because it applied to Pegasus and Duke would be no different even if he was the game's champion as well as its inventor. At first, Duke thought he was being complimented and appreciated what Yami was saying, but his pride blinded him from the truth once again. It was clear he would stand by what he said about Yami cheating to beat Pegasus.

Not that it surprised Yami. He already knew that only way to open Duke's eyes to the truth was to beat him in his own game. He rolled and dimensioned the dice to summon Knight of Twin Swords. But Duke wasn't worried. He was able to summon a much stronger monster called Battle Ox. He also used his stored movement crests to position his monster close to Yami's Knight and thanks to its special ability, it received a ten point power boost when attacking all warrior-type monsters. But Yami was prepared to hold off the attack. By going into defense mode, it took twenty points of damage from Battle Ox's attack. The Knight had only ten points left, but it was enough for him to remain on the field. Yami rolled and got matching attack crests, activating the Knight's special ability of Double Slash and allowing him to attack twice, destroying Battle Ox.

The truth was losing a monster wasn't a problem. Duke's real intention was to build up his dungeon path enough to prevent Yami from building his any greater. Duke's dungeon path had coveted almost the entire arena stopping Yami dead in his tracks and dungeon paths couldn't overlap one another. Crossing into an opponent's dungeon path meant walking into an ambush of monsters also.

Duke rolled again and was pleased to see that one of his dice was black, which was rare in the game. It showed a summoning crest and Duke dimensioned the dice. But the die didn't reveal a monster. Instead, it revealed a warp panel. But Duke wouldn't be able to use the warp vortex until another black die had been played to dimension another one. Not that it bothered him. He already planned the location of the next warp panel to be close to Yami's side of the arena where he could strike his heart points.

Yami couldn't expand his dungeon path, but he could still use the remaining open spaces on his side of the field to dimension the dice and summon a monster. Strike Ninja emerged and thanks to its swift ability, it could cross three spaces for each movement crest Yami played.

Duke's three dice came out and one of them was the black die he was waiting for. Now he could complete the warp vortex, but only if he got the crest he needed. Luck was against Duke on this roll, which bought Yami a little more time.

To Yami's surprise, one of his three dice was black. If he trusted in this roll and got the necessary crest, he could use the warp vortex to his advantage. Just like how he always trusted in the Heart of the Cards, it was now time to trust in the Heart of the Dice. His faith came through and he got a pair of summoning crests, allowing him to dimension the dice and unlock the second warp panel. Strike Ninja raced through the field, dove into the warp vortex, and emerged on Duke's dungeon path. After that, the Ninja's Stealth Slash attacked and destroyed Ryu-Kishin.

Duke certainly wasn't expecting that last move. What irritated him more was that none of the crests on his dice matched, so he stored them in his crest pool for when he would need them. Yami rolled and got a pair of movement crests and used them to activate his Ninja's ability and attack Duke's heart point. But Duke didn't throw a fit about it. Rather he enjoyed it and congratulated his opponent. Duke honestly couldn't remember the last time anyone actually attacked one of his heart points. He wanted Yami to savor this small victory, because it wouldn't happen again. Duke managed to get a high level summoning crest on his roll, allowing him to bring forth Orgoth the Relentless. Next, using the stored movement and magic crests, Duke raised Orgoth's attack power to thirty and positioned him to attack. Orgoth took Strike Ninja down with his Diamond Blade Strike. That was what Duke thought before Yami found a way to save his Ninja. He used a trap crest stored in his crest pool to escape from Orgoth's attack. This was good because Strike Ninja was still close to Duke's heart points and able to take out another one.

Duke was beginning to feel shaken. He had never been attacked twice in a row before. But he wasn't going to allow Yami to attack again. He rolled and positioned Orgoth the Relentless to attack again. The trap crest Yami used last turn was the only one stored in his crest pool. There was no way for him to save his Ninja from Orgoth's Diamond Blade Strike this time. It was his turn again and he managed to roll a pair of movement crests. He positioned his Knight of Twin Swords to protect his heart points and stand against Duke's monsters. Duke rolled his dice and positioned Orgoth to the warp vortex and transported him to Yami's side of the arena. Yami had to protect his heart points, so he placed his three monsters close together to form a defensive wall. It was all he could do until he could find a way to stand against Orgoth the Relentless. Duke still wasn't going to hold back. Using his magic crests, Orgoth now had an attack strength of forty. His Diamond Blade Strike cut through Thunderball with ease.

Yami had no alternative now but to look through his help screen. It turned out his Mighty Mage could attack his opponents from two spaces away. But Duke was able to use a defense crest to have Orgoth withstand Mighty Mage's Lightning Staff and lose ten attack points. Mighty Mage took twenty points of damage, but still had a little fight left in him. Duke raised Orgoth's attack power once again. With the six magic crests stored in his crest pool, Orgoth gained thirty more attack points and cut Mighty Mage to pieces.

Joey had enough. Getting back his freedom was the least of his problems now. He saw that his best friend was in trouble and needed support. He wasn't even going to let Duke's gloating or the girl's cheers continue on anymore. He tried to speak, but the girls continued to treat him like a dog and threaten him like one. Joey couldn't take any more and said he had a right to speak. "Don't let Duke rattle you, Yugi. You've been out of tougher situations than this before and have always come through. You even beat Pegasus and he was no different. You won the entire Duelist Kingdom tournament because you were the best duelist on the whole island; better than Weevil, Mako, Mai, and even me. It was all because you kept the faith no matter who your opponent was or how tough they were. If you can beat the creator of Duel Monsters, then you can beat the creator of Dungeon Dice Monsters. Trust in yourself and there's nothing you can't do!"

"Joey's right, Yugi," said Emily.

"You've got to keep the faith," Téa told him.

Yami felt his doubt fading. "You're absolutely right, Joey. I became the champion of Duel Monsters because I believed in the Heart of the Cards. Dungeon Dice Monsters is no different. So as long as I have the same faith in my dice as I do for my dueling deck, I can win." With that, he rolled his dice with confidence and faith. The Knight of Twin Swords moved forward two paces on the dungeon path. Yami used the two attack crests along with the four crests in his pool to raise his Knight's attack power and have him attack Orgoth the Relentless.

But Duke wouldn't allow his most powerful monster to be taken down. He activated Yaranzo's special ability and transformed one of his crests into a defense crest, allowing Orgoth to protect himself from all six of the Knight's Slash attacks. Now everyone was getting the general idea of why Orgoth was known as the Relentless. He was a fighter with a 'no quit' attitude as he held off all off his opponent's attacks and kept taking them down. That was what happened when his own blades cut down the Knight of Twin Swords.

The odds were certainly against Yami, but he knew better than to surrender. Doing so would trap a person in self-pity and shame not just in playing a game, but in life. It's not just about knowing the aspects of all the games and challenges, but getting to know the people who are trying to support you or hurt you; knowing your friends and enemies. But Yami saw there was nothing he could do as he the dice showed no matching crests. Clearly, Duke could see that his philosophies were just words and meant nothing. And since Yami had nothing left and all of his monsters were gone, his heart points were next. Orgoth took out one, leaving him with his last heart point remaining.

This was Yami's last chance to make a comeback. He grasped the dice in his hand, closed his eyes, and prayed for his faith to see him through. With a roll of the dice, Yami got a pair of summoning crests. He looked down at the field and saw the space he needed to dimension the dice. He placed it on the field and it started to fall perfectly into alignment. Within the die was the Dark Magician. This was Yami's reward for believing in his dice. His most trusted monster heard his wish and came to his assistance. With only twenty defense points and no more defense crests, Orgoth was vulnerable to the mage's Dark Magic.

For Duke's move, he called upon the Dark Assailant and used it to open the treasure chest on the field. The chest opened and revealed a Monster Cannon. It looked like a dinosaur with a gun strapped to its back. The Cannon had the power to launch Duke's monsters for attack. The Dark Assailent was fired for attack, but Yami saved his mage in time with the Magical Hats. Duke's attack was a misfire and the Dark Magician reemerged as the remaining Hats disappeared from the field.

Yami was going to enjoy this. He was glad that the Dark Magician and all of his powers in Duel Monsters were the same in Dungeon Dice Monsters. Using his magic crests, Yami activated the power of Mystic Box. One Box materialized around the mage and another materialized around Yaranzo. Swords rained from the sky and skewered one Box. The contents of the Mystic Box opened and revealed a skewered Yaranzo while Dark Magician emerged from the second box and waved his finger at Duke. This move was inspired by the effects of the warp vortex. It was what gave Yami the idea of transporting his Magician close to striking range of Duke's final heart point. The game was now over.

Duke hadn't felt so devastated of his defeat since he played with Pegasus. But he remembered his promise and gave Joey his freedom back. No more dog suit, no more demands, no more humiliation. As for Yugi, he was happy he would still be able to play the game he loved for fun and for helping those in need of his help.

It was then that Duke finally realized how wrong he was about everything. Yugi proved he was a better player and won fair and square. He was finally getting taste of his own medicine as he felt humiliated. "I'm sorry I accused you of cheating," he finally told Yugi. "You really are an honest player. But now thanks to our match being broadcasted all over the world, no one's going to want to play Dungeon Dice Monsters anymore."

"That's not true," Yugi protested. "Duke, you invented a great game and Dungeon Dice Monsters has the potential to become a big hit."

His grandfather agreed. "I haven't seen a game this exciting since Duel Monsters. You've got to keep your store open." Funny, for someone who didn't like the arrival of a new game shop with all the latest entertainment, Solomon thought it wouldn't be so bad after all. There was more than enough room in town for another game shop.

"Dungeon Dice Monsters is pretty cool," Emily admitted, looking at the dice for the game. She actually liked to collect dice for fun. "You can be okay too when you're not trying to humiliate others."

"I guess I deserved that," Duke sighed, even though he already apologized. "If you guys want, I can teach you how to play." Everyone agreed with Emily about the game and Duke's attitude. But they saw he was acting like a friend this time and accepted his offer. He was actually surprised to see everyone putting behind all he had done to them so easily. "How can you let me off so easily after I was a total jerk to you and your friends?" Duke asked Yugi.

"Because revenge leaves you with nothing but bad feelings," he answered. Surely Duke would have learned that by now after his game with Yugi. "And if you're truly sorry, then the best thing to do is make amends and become friends." He was learning from what Emily did when she reached out to Rebecca and offered her friendship.

Duke smiles and nods. "And friendship is always better than victory." And he shakes hands with Yugi. This would actually be good for Duke. Now that he had some real friends, he would become less of a jerk. But that wouldn't mean he would stop wooing girls and showing off. Duke noticed his computer was flashing. He saw that he got the reply email he had been waiting for. Pegasus remembered his promise to Duke after all and decided to send the contract and take Dungeon Dice Monsters global. And Duke owed it all to his new friends. "Thanks for setting me straight, you guys. You helped me to realize that games aren't all about strategy, winning, or losing, but getting to know your opponents."

Yugi nods. "It's about putting your heart in the game and making new friends." Because you never know where you're going to find them, or once you've met them, how close they'll become, he wondered, thinking about Yami.