“Stand up, my Vanguard!”
The declaration rang across the Card Capital table as Katsumi and Aika simultaneously revealed their starting units, placing their Grade 0 Vanguards onto the center circles of their respective fields.
Katsumi glanced down at his own Vanguard before looking across the table at Aika, who was holding her cards a little tighter than necessary, her expression betraying the mixture of excitement and nervousness that came with her first serious training match.
“Remember what I told you,” Katsumi said calmly, noticing the tension in her hands.
“Don’t worry about winning just yet.
If you spend the entire fight thinking about whether you’re ahead or behind, you’ll miss what your opponent is actually showing you.”
Aika nodded firmly.
“Right.
I’ll pay attention to the cards.”
“Not just the cards,” Katsumi corrected, his gaze settling on the field between them.
“Pay attention to the person playing them as well.”
Behind them, Aichi and Emi watched from the side of the table, their attention fixed on the two players, while Blue hovered silently behind Katsumi, unusually quiet as he waited to see how the match would unfold.
Katsumi placed his hand against the top of his deck.
“Then let’s begin.”
He drew his first card, briefly glanced at it, and moved his hand toward his Vanguard circle.
“I ride!”
The Grade 0 beneath his Vanguard was covered by the new unit.
“Savage Warrior!”
A massive ancient warrior materialized above the battlefield, its weathered armor and primitive weapon giving it the appearance of something that had stepped directly out of a forgotten prehistoric age.
Katsumi immediately reached toward the card beneath it.
“And because I rode over Dragon Egg, its skill activates.”
He pulled the Grade 0 from beneath his Vanguard and held it up for Aika to see.
“Since Dragon Egg was placed into my soul by riding, I can call it to a Rear-Guard circle.”
He placed the tiny dinosaur-like unit behind Savage Warrior, where it appeared with a sharp cry.
Aika watched the sequence carefully.
Katsumi noticed her expression and gave the little unit a light tap.
“Remember this.”
Aika blinked.
“Remember what?”
“Your Vanguard isn’t the only card that matters.
Sometimes the card you ride over can still have a purpose after it leaves the Vanguard circle, so don’t automatically think of the cards beneath your Vanguard as useless.”
Aika nodded slowly.
“So I should remember what goes into the soul as well.”
“Exactly.”
Katsumi smiled faintly.
“That’s the sort of thing that seems insignificant at first, but once you start building stronger plays, you’ll realize that even a single card can become important.”
He looked over his field once more.
Savage Warrior stood in the Vanguard circle with Dragon Egg positioned behind it as its supporter, while the rest of his cards remained safely in his hand.
He could attack, but there was little reason to do so at this stage, especially when the first turn offered him no opportunity to perform a meaningful attack.
“I can’t attack on my first turn, so there’s no reason to force anything.”
Katsumi rested his hand against the table.
“I’ll end my turn.”
The battlefield became still.
Aika looked at her Vanguard, then at Katsumi’s field, before finally looking down at the cards in her own hand.
She took a breath.
“Okay…”
Her fingers tightened around one card.
“Then I’ll ride.”
She raised the card and placed it over her Grade 0 Vanguard.
“I ride, Little Sage, Marron!”
A flash of pale light spread across her side of the field as a young scholar materialized within the Vanguard circle, dressed in the robes of a Royal Paladin sage and carrying a staff that was almost as tall as he was.
Aika’s eyes immediately shifted toward the card beneath Marron.
“And then…
Barcgal’s skill activates.”
She carefully retrieved her starting Vanguard from the soul.
“When Barcgal is ridden over, I can call it to a Rear-Guard circle.”
“Call!”
Barcgal appeared behind her Vanguard, taking the middle back-row position.
Katsumi’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Good.
You remembered the skill instead of simply riding and moving on.”
Aika smiled. Find the original chapter at g.com.
“I remembered what you said.”
“I can tell.”
She then looked at the remaining cards in her hand before selecting another unit.
“I’ll call another Little Sage, Marron.”
Another young scholar appeared on the right Rear-Guard circle, giving Aika a small but functional formation.
She looked across the table.
Katsumi wasn’t saying anything.
He was simply watching.
Aika remembered his earlier instructions and began looking at his field more carefully.
What is he trying to do?
There wasn’t much to read yet.
His field was almost empty, his hand remained relatively large, and he hadn’t made any attempt to defend the opening attack because she hadn’t attacked yet.
Aika slowly placed her hand against her Vanguard.
“Then…”
She rested Little Sage, Marron, causing the Vanguard to turn sideways.
She then rested Barcgal behind it.
The two units formed an attacking column.
Aika looked toward Katsumi.
“Now I attack your Vanguard!”
Little Sage, Marron’s staff flashed as the young sage raised it toward Savage Warrior, releasing a concentrated burst of magical energy across the battlefield.
Katsumi watched the attack approach without changing his expression.
“Good.”
Aika hesitated.
“Good?”
Katsumi gave her a faint smile.
“You’re attacking, which is what you’re supposed to do, but now comes the part I actually want you to think about.”
His fingers rested against his cards.
“Look at my hand.”
Aika glanced at it.
“You haven’t guarded.”
“Right.”
“So…
you’re letting the attack through?”
“That’s what it looks like.”
Aika frowned slightly.
“But why?”
“That’s the question.”
Katsumi leaned back in his chair.
“You don’t need to know the answer immediately.
Just remember that I’m choosing to take the attack instead of spending a card from my hand.”
Aika’s expression became thoughtful.
“So you’re giving me information?”
“Exactly.”
The attack struck Savage Warrior, sending the ancient warrior staggering backward as the magical blast tore through its defenses.
Katsumi reached toward the top of his deck.
“Damage Check.”
He flipped the card face-up.
“No trigger.”
He placed it into his damage zone.
“One damage.”
Aika smiled faintly.
“I got through.”
“You did.”
Katsumi nodded, but his expression remained calm.
“Now tell me what you learned.”
Aika looked at his field.
“…You were willing to take one damage rather than use a card from your hand.”
“Good.”
“So your hand might be more important to you right now than your damage.”
Katsumi’s smile widened slightly.
“And that’s why you shouldn’t assume that every attack has the same value.”
Aika looked confused.
“But isn’t dealing damage always good?”
“Usually.”
Katsumi paused, choosing his words carefully.
“But Vanguard isn’t just about reducing your opponent’s damage to zero as quickly as possible.
Sometimes you’re attacking because you want damage, sometimes you’re attacking because you want to force a guard, and sometimes you’re attacking simply because you want to learn how your opponent reacts.”
Aika’s eyes widened slightly.
“So this attack was…”
“A question.”
Katsumi tapped the table.
“You asked me, ‘Are you willing to spend a card to stop this?'”
Aika looked down at her field.
“And you answered by taking the damage.”
“Exactly.”
For a moment, Aika remained silent as she processed the idea.
Then her gaze shifted toward her remaining Rear-Guard.
“So if I attack with my Rear-Guard first, I can ask you another question before committing my Vanguard.”
Katsumi’s expression brightened.
“Now you’re getting it.”
Aika looked toward Barcgal.
“If you guard, I learn that you’re willing to spend a card from your hand.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then I know you’re willing to take another attack.”
“Correct.”
Aika smiled.
“And then I can decide what to do with my Vanguard.”
Katsumi nodded.
“That’s the point.
You’re not simply deciding whether to attack or not attack.
You’re deciding when to make your opponent answer you.”
Aika stared at the field for several seconds.
The cardfight suddenly seemed different.
The attacks were no longer just attacks.
They were questions.
Every guard was an answer.
Every card left in a player’s hand was another piece of information.
Katsumi leaned back slightly.
“Now, your turn isn’t over.”
Aika blinked.
“My Rear-Guard?”
“Exactly.”
She looked at Barcgal, then back at Katsumi.
A determined expression slowly replaced her earlier nervousness.
“Then I’ll attack with Barcgal.”
Behind them, Aichi watched with growing fascination, while Emi leaned slightly forward, her earlier excitement replaced by genuine curiosity.
Even Blue had stopped joking.
The dragon hovered behind Katsumi with a grin.
‘Father.’
Katsumi glanced sideways.
‘What?’
‘You’re actually teaching her.’
Katsumi frowned.
‘What did you think I was doing?’
Blue shrugged.
‘I thought you were going to beat her until she understood.’
Katsumi stared at him.
‘That’s exactly why you aren’t the teacher.’
Blue’s grin widened.
‘Fair enough.’