Yu-Gi-Oh! Dimensional War. [1]

A card shop in a certain city in Huaguo.

The shop owner was staring at the counter, bored out of his mind. Behind him, duelists were busy practicing their skills.

Suddenly, a loud and clear voice pierced the owner's ears.

"I’ll overlay Zubaba General and Gagaga Coat!"

"XYZ Summon! Appear! The Warrior of Hope! No. 39: Utopia!"

"Next, I’ll directly overlay this card onto Utopia! Rank-Up XYZ Evolution!"

"Appear! Shining No. 39: Utopia Ray!"

"And now, I’ll equip Utopia Ray with ZW - Tornado Bringer!"

"This card boosts Utopia Ray’s ATK by 1300 points, and the opponent cannot target the equipped monster with effects!"

"Next, here comes this! ZW - Lightning Blade!"

"This card increases Utopia Ray’s ATK by 1200 points, and while equipped, none of the ZW monsters on the field can be destroyed!"

"But wait, there’s more! Here comes ZW - Unicorn Spear!"

"This card increases Utopia Ray’s ATK by 1900 points and negates the effects of any monster that battles with the equipped monster!"

Shining No. 39: Utopia Ray
ATK: 2500 → 3800 → 5000 → 6900

"And with that, I end my turn!"

"Wow, he's really into it! Let’s go check it out," the shop owner said as he walked out from behind the counter and made his way to the table at the back.

...

It only took a few steps for the owner to reach the table. As he looked at the field, seven cards lay quietly in the graveyard, and a powerful monster stood on the field.

Kaiju Sea Turtle, Gamciel
ATK: 2200

The owner of this monster looked as if they had just lost a loved one, while their opponent slowly played another card.

"I normal summon Linkuriboh…"

"Oh, right, you don’t have any cards left, do you? Well, I’ll continue with my combo, using Linkuriboh’s effect to special summon from the deck…"

...

That evening, Liu Hao was walking home, dazed and dejected. He was the unlucky duelist who had eaten countless Kaijus that afternoon, and now he felt numb.

As he crossed the street, Liu Hao looked up. The green light had just turned on, signaling that it was safe to walk.

Beside him, a young girl eagerly hopped forward, skipping across the road.

But at that very moment, a large delivery truck—barreling down the road—came rushing towards her.

"Holy—!" Liu Hao gasped and, without thinking, dashed out.

...

It was unclear how much time had passed before Liu Hao groggily woke up.

"Is this the afterlife? I hope saving that girl earns me some good karma for my next life," Liu Hao muttered as he struggled to stand.

Suddenly, he felt something on his left arm. Glancing over, he saw a small box, golden with red accents.

"What’s this?" Liu Hao asked in confusion, pressing the only button on the top of the box.

With a click, the small box on his left arm activated. A black, gold-trimmed platform shot out in front of him. A slot opened near his palm, and the screen in the center lit up, with the large letters D-U-E-L flashing across it.

"This thing is… a Duel Disk?" Liu Hao scratched his head.

Do people play cards in the afterlife, too?

At that moment, a voice echoed in Liu Hao’s mind.

[Duel King Training System loading!]

[Loading progress: 20%…]

"I'm not dead? Did I just… get reincarnated? And they gave me a system?" Liu Hao felt a burst of joy.

[Loading progress: 100%]

[Loading complete]

After a short while, once the system had fully loaded, a voice once again echoed in Liu Hao’s mind.

[System loaded. The purpose of this system is to cultivate the host into the strongest duelist. Please select an initial deck and ace card.]

[1. Dark Magician Deck, ace card: Dark Magician, includes exclusive duel skill: Destined Draw.]

[Destined Draw: Can be used only once per duel. When the host is at an absolute disadvantage, the next draw can be any card the host selects from the remaining cards in the deck.]

[2. Hero Deck, ace card: Elemental HERO Flame Wingman, includes exclusive duel skill: Philosopher’s Stone.]

[Philosopher’s Stone (temporarily locked): Can be used three times, once per duel. When the host is at an absolute disadvantage, the host can fuse and summon one Fusion Monster, subject to system approval.]

[3. Junk Deck, ace card: Stardust Dragon, includes exclusive skill: Light of Salvation.]

[Light of Salvation: Can be used only once per duel. If the host is at an absolute disadvantage and Stardust Dragon is on the field, this skill places one Savior Dragon on top of the deck and adds Majestic Star Dragon to the Extra Deck.]

[4. Gagaga Deck, ace card: No. 39: Utopia, includes exclusive skill: XYZ Shining ZEAXAL.]

[XYZ Shining ZEAXAL (temporarily locked): Can be used when the host is at an absolute disadvantage, transforming into ZEAXAL.]

Liu Hao stared at the options in front of him, deep in thought.

What should he choose? The Dark Magician deck? That skill is incredibly strong, and who knows, he might even get Red-Eyes Black Dragon later on.

Heroes are pretty awesome too. Even though Flame Wingman isn’t the strongest, that skill is broken—three chances to pull any card he wants? He could totally summon Phoenix Enforcer one day.

Then there’s the Junk deck—explosive plays with Shooting Star Dragon would be so cool!

After some consideration, Liu Hao decisively placed his hand on the Gagaga Deck option.

No kidding—he was a man of Xyz, and this choice would let him summon Gundam-like monsters. Who cares about Red-Eyes or Phoenix Enforcer when you can have Utopia?

Besides, the ZEAXAL transformation skill, though not fully explained, was something Liu Hao understood well. Once he transformed, he’d be the strongest duelist, with fate itself bending to his will—even his draws would be under his control.

After making his choice, a complete deck appeared in the Duel Disk’s slot, along with three cards in the Extra Deck slot at his waist.

Picking them up, Liu Hao immediately shouted, "System, come out here! How am I supposed to play this stuttering deck!?"

"It’s full of low-tier Gagaga monsters, and all the support spells and traps make no sense. The Extra Deck only has one Utopia, one Samurai, and one Cowboy?"

Gagaga is a broad archetype with subgroups like Gogogo, Dododo, and Zubaba. The system provided critical lower-level monsters, many of which belong to two or more subgroups—like Zubaba General, which belongs to both Zubaba and Gagaga. Some monsters even belong to all four groups, crucial for chaining combos and making the deck function properly. But the system gave him none of those!

[Beginner's Gift Pack has arrived. Please check your rewards.]

Ignoring Liu Hao's complaints, the system's emotionless voice continued.

"Hurry up and open it!" Liu Hao urged.

[Beginner’s Gift Pack opened: 2 UR Dream Tickets, 4 SR Dream Tickets, 10 Random Archetype Card Packs, 1 No. Monster Xyz Draw chance, 3 Standard Xyz Monster Draw chances.]

...