Seto smirked as he revealed the contents of his seventh pack.

Two-Mouth Darkruler, Mountain, Kurama, Uraby, Basic Insect, Raise Body Heat, Tyhone, Terra the Terrible, and the Rare Card Fissure. 

"In this pack I managed to secure another Mountain, now Mokuba how many do I have so far?"

"This is your third copy."

"So, exactly how likely am I to get it in my opening hand in a 40 card deck?" Mokuba paused and quickly did the math, although he didn't go through quite the extensive schooling and training that his older brother did his knowledge easily surpassed that of most college graduates. Japan simply didn't allow you to skip grades.

"About a 39% chance, and you get roughly a 5% increased chance to draw it for your subsequent draws!"

Seto smiled. Yuli also listened to the side patiently, this was reminiscent of Jameson's tutelage when he asked how to surpass his grandma.

"Now what are the odds of getting it in my opening hand at 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 copies?"

"About 49%, 58%, 65%, 71%, 76%, 80% in order." Yugi immediately ran towards somewhere just behind the store's counter and came back with a notepad, he was itching to for a while, but he just couldn't take it. Why was his heart pounding so much from this? He wasn't sure but he was sure that if he wasted any more time and missed the chance, he would regret it. The lone female in the group smirked as she saw her friends face as he began taking notes. He was showing an expression that she had never seen before, and it was probably his most charming. He looked so focused and determined but he had a soft smile, and his eyes were shining with excitement.

"What did you notice about the increments?" Seto asked, continuing the lesson with his little brother.

"They... have gotten smaller?"

"Exactly. This means that at a certain number of cards it's actually less effective to run multiples even if you want to see it every game. Provided it's not a card like Pot of Greed of course. Mountain however is a field spell and typically you would want to build around a field spell but only a single field spell can be active at a time. Because of this further copies can be dead in your hand if you've already established your field spell. So now Mokuba, tell me what number of cards I should run if I want to open exactly one copy the maximum number of times?"

"It's... um 6 or 7?"

"The answer is 6, although the difference in percentage is merely .28%. So Mokuba, how many Mountains should I open in this draft?"

"7! The percentage difference is so small for when you only want one copy in your opening hand and Yuli will likely want to establish Sogen for his Speed Jaguar! That should mean that you would have enough copies to answer his field spell while not being completely overloaded!"

Seto smiled, he would have likely accepted either answer. If he had cards that could search out his three copies instead of actual copies, he feels like the math would be different for multiple factors as well. His deck being thinner, increasing the likelihood he will be able to draw other cards when he had his mountain established and some other factors. However, just these general numbers and the concepts behind what he said should stick with Mokuba and make him a vastly better deck builder. 

"Well, you heard my little brother. I'm going to open four more copies of the field spell Mountain!" Seto proclaimed as if it was fact. Meanwhile Joey noticed exactly what his friend was doing so he covertly whispered.

"Hey, Yug, any chance I could borrow these notes later? I don't want to keep losing to Tea, I want to get really good." However, the female noticed, and soon she would pounce.

"No way am I going to start losing to Joey. Come on Yugi, you definitely have to let me borrow them first." Yugi was of course too entranced in the world of numbers and Duel Monsters. Yugi's grandpa chuckled; it was a similar state to how Yugi was when solving the Millenium Puzzle. When Yugi is focusing like that Solomon believed that there was absolutely nothing in the world his grandson couldn't accomplish. The fact that he actually managed to complete the puzzle is proof of that.

"It's no use, he's already in his own world. Here, you can both have these if you show up tomorrow in our store tournament, they are normally used to keep track of lifepoints but many Duelists also take notes on them. I think depending on how this match goes it might even be a Sealed tournament tomorrow hohoho." Joey and Tea both nodded as the old man handed them both a notepad and pen. Soon they were also taking notes and the brunette male started to panic.

"No way! Joey's taking notes! What's the deal man?"

"I want to get really good at dis Tristan! C'mon you're one of my best pals, you gotta understand! There's a lot of money in it if I can get good, and that beep meant I have da potential to be legendary! Legendary!" Tristan grumbled for a bit, but then steeled his resolve.

"Uhm... Mr. Muto sir can I also have one?" The brunette named Tristan was easily able to get a copy after a single almighty word, please and agreeing to be part of tomorrow's tournament. Soon they were all taking notes, Mokuba always had his conversations with his older brother recorded just in case.

Yuli smirked as soon as he noticed, and soon it transformed into a feral grin. These people with the potential to be Legendary Duelists... they were taking notes and getting close to that goal. What was one like? A Legendary Duelist that is. Did his sister reach that stage, did he? He wants to find out, he wants to duel them.

"I believe you, actually." Yuli's voice was light and tinged with laughter. There were so many painful feelings swirling around and he could barely make sense of what he was feeling but right now the pain was being overwhelmed by his beating heart and excitement. These new emotions Yuli felt were something he could only experience here. Although Seto wouldn't admit it, he knew exactly what was going on in that room as everyone's heart raced and excitement soared about improving at a common thing. If anyone asked his heart would be steady as always but in reality, THUMP THUMP! It was the same as everyone else's. Everone's heart was beating to the beat of a Duelist. With all of these feelings Yuli grabbed his seventh pack and revealed the contents to all.

Uraby, Kagemusha of the Blue Flame, Man Eater, Steel Ogre Grotto #1, The Furious Sea King, Laser Cannon Armor, Dark Energy, M-Warrior #1, and the Rare Card Aqua Madoor.

"Aqua Madoor is actually really awesome! This card has 2000 defense meaning it's stronger than almost all non-tribute monster's attack points! If your opponent can't remove it directly with a spell or trap, they will need to use two cards in a combination to beat it. A card like this can be useful to stall for time if you're looking for a combination of cards and with a few niche cards that synergize with it having high defense or it's typing. For example, sometimes it's a good card to have as an option to search from Mother Grizzly as a defensive wall after their final attack if you don't have Neo Aqua Madoor, it can also attack under Gravity Bind if you play A Legendary Ocean."

"Interesting, what about the other cards?" Yugi asked in excitement, thrilled at the insight he got off of just one card's explanation! He actually had a giant rat, and he heard a card was released recently called Labrynth Wall, that could function as a good searchable defensive option in his deck. The others nodded, and even Seto was listening keenly.

"What about them? Uhm... I'm sure that Uraby has won on many playgrounds and park benches?"

*Snrrrk PFFT*

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Everyone turned to look at the source of laughter, the normally always composed Seto Kaiba. Never before had he heard a card so perfectly roasted, from someone other than himself of course. However, soon he composed himself and acted as if nothing happened, and everyone had enough social intelligence to act accordingly as Seto reached for his eighth pack. 

Remove Trap, Skull Red Bird, Dissolverock, Red Medicine, The Furious Sea King, Mountain, Hinotama Soul, King Fog, and the Rare Card Shine Palace.

"Interesting. There are multiple cards to talk about here, of course we have the fourth copy of Mountain which is nice as well as the Skull Red Bird which is boosted by it. Shine Palace is also a powerful equip spell, it has the ability to increase a light monster's attack by 700 points so it will do well on my Blue-Eyes. Now let me draw your attention to Remove Trap and Red Medicine, these are cards that I would call trash but for two different reasons. Remove Trap can only remove face-up trap cards and is able to be played at spell speed one, this means that it can only remove exactly continuous traps that have already been activated, on your turn! Meanwhile the other card Red Medicine only gains you a measly 500 life points, you go down in card advantage only to stall the game instead of directly advancing towards victory like the similar Hinotama! In fact, this card's best merit is that it can counter Hinotama!"

Yuli had never heard that a card's best merit is that it could counter Hinotama and that... that was something he had to process for an entirely different reason than everyone else. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, for a moment he thought he heard growling coming from the packs. He reached for his eighth pack and opened it.

Silver Fang, Steel Ogre Grotto #1,  Armaill, Petit Angel, Misairuzame, Vile Germs, One-Eyed Shield Dragon, the Secret Rare Card Speed Jaguar, and the Rare Card Pillager.

"SPEED JAGUAR! AWESOME! Wait... Pillager, what's that?" Yuli picked up the card, perhaps a little too quickly for Seto's taste. It had a picture of a burglar running away into the night with a bag over his shoulder.

"It's one of this set's stupidest inventions, a short-printed rare. For some reason Pegasus deemed that a good idea in his 9 card sets, it's also exceptionally rare because unlike most other cards in this set it doesn't have any reprints."

Yuli nodded absentmindedly as he was wondering what the hell kind of drugs Pegasus was on when he made this card. It was a normal spell card that read, Look at your opponent's hand, select one card from it add it to your hand. That was it.

"This card must be banned in every tournament with a banlist." Yuli managed to voice in amazement.

"Hardly." Seto snorted. "The card is so hard to find that most tournament organizers don't even know it exists, much less know to ban it for their pathetic tournaments."

"Right." Yuli responded dryly. He did vaguely remember that his grandma said the power of the old sets were in the spell cards... he just didn't expect this much power from a card he never heard of. "Well honestly it probably should be, you not only get knowledge of your opponent's hand which alone is an incredible effect, but it allows you to disrupt their plays while taking their best card. Even if this card did not add the opposing card to your hand and instead exiled it, it would still be nothing short of incredible. There should be steep costs for such a powerful effect... well I'll use it. The only time it's bad is when my opponent has literally no cards in hand, and I think in most situations like that in a duel I'm quite happy."

Seto listened and thought about it, but his thoughts were interrupted by a roar that no one heard but him. He looked down and then laughed. "Come to me, my fourth Blue-Eyes!" He swiftly opened the pack, and the mighty Blue-Eyes White Dragon was indeed revealed.

Silver Bow and Arrow, Dragon Treasure, Mountain, Dark Gray, Petit Dragon, Laser Cannon Armor, Red Medicine, the Secret Rare Card Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and the Rare Card Hane-hane.

"Behold just as I said, the might of the Blue-Eyes, the strongest Monster in Duel Monsters!" Yuli decided to let Seto have this moment, in reality he felt that even if he opened three copies of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon there was no way it would be correct to play all 3, right? Yet here he was, obviously planning to play even more copies. Yuli was confident that Seto Kaiba was on a one-way trip to Brick City.

"The Blue-Eyes is a real strong monster, but if you obsess over playing it because you think it's the strongest monster and instead because of what it means to you, then you'll never unlock it's true potential."

"There is no one in the world that can unlock the true might of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon like I can!" Seto replied with confidence.

"Is that so?" Yuli internally thought about if Seto truly was the only one who could unlock the true might of the Blue-Eyes. He knew that in the future Seto would be, or at least he hoped. However, from the way he has been talking Yuli felt like he was reminded of himself about two weeks after seriously studying the game. Vaguely he heard a roar and smiled. During this duel he was also going to try and show Seto how to truly use the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Surely the spirit of the card would be fine with that, right? Grandma said it was possible in this world for a spirit to live in a card. Yuli was certain that at least Speed Jaguar and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon had spirits. He reached for his ninth pack and opened it with a strange confidence.

Dark Gray, Two-Mouth Darkruler, Hard Armor, Armored Starfish, Hinotama Soul, Monster Egg, Sogen, the Secret Rare Card Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and the Rare Card Negative Energy Generator.

However, something seemed to be different about this copy of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, well it was obviously the artwork. The art depicted the mighty dragon being showered in light underneath the night sky while in flight. Yuli recognized it as the alternate art promo version from the Dark Side of Dimensions movie, another piece of lost media. It was beautiful, and Seto Kaiba was seething that someone else had an alternate art Blue-Eyes before him.

"The Blue-Eyes White Dragon is certainly the strongest monster in the set, and such beautiful artwork! I had no clue this was even possible, LUCKY! Also Negative Energy Generator is great, it can turn any mid-sized dark monster into a game ending threat with two simple cards so having more consistency to that possibility is incredible. No matter what you get, you aren't going to get luckier than this alternate art!"

"Big deal, it's a slightly shiny version of the card, MY artwork is better anyways. We're going to duel and if you just focus on opening beautiful cards instead of strong cards you'll be left behind! Here I go!" With that Seto Kaiba tore into his tenth pack, revealing it to all. However Yuli was confused, how the hell could Seto control what he opens? Was that just a duelist thing? Wait... the luck and draw stat on the PDA are actually real and not just things grandma made up for immersion? No way, right?

Basic Insect, Mountain, Drooling Lizard, Tyhone, Skull Red Bird, Hinotama, Green Phantom King, the Super Rare Card Polymerization, and the Rare Card Pot of Greed.

"Not only another Mountain but the Skull Red Bird and Hinotama as well in the commons! My Super Rare is the powerful Polymerization, I'll make you regret letting me know about the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! The Rare Card Pot of Greed is also excellent for recouping the lost card advantage from fusing."

Yuli wondered if Seto planned that pack out, was the Old Man in on something with Seto? No way. Right? How was this happening though? Right now, although he was merely sitting down Seto Kaiba looked like a giant because of his oppressive aura. Something then started click for Yuli.

The PDAs were designed so you could grow and have a chance to be a Legendary Duelist as a regular person or for a new Duelist with the potential to be one to realize it. Then what would happen if someone that was already on the verge of being a Legendary Duelist received a PDA? This was what he was facing? Yuli reached for his tenth pack, all of his thoughts were fused and jumbled. The cards have been responding to them both, he wasn't sure what was going on because it just didn't make sense. He was sure that it was something that was impossible back in his world at the very least, though. His fingers fumbled slightly from nervousness as he opened the pack and revealed the cards.

Spike Seadra, Forest, Sparks, Green Phantom King, Vile Germs, Book of Secret Arts, Firegrass, the Rare Card Battle Ox, and the Super Rare Card Polymerization.

"YES! The cards responded to my call! Battle Ox is a decently sized monster that doesn't require any tributes, also the fact that it's a 4-star Earth Beast-Warrior just like my Speed Jaguar is awesome! Also, Polymerization will give me access to powerful monsters from outside of my main deck, LUCKY! Although with the current rules fusion monsters can't attack the turn they are summoned for whatever reason. "

"It's called balance, being able to special summon a powerful monster with 4500 attack points in one turn without even using the normal summon and then attacking immediately is obviously too powerful for most duelists to deal with, a single turn of preparation before they meet their doom is only fair." Yuli immediately took back all of his thoughts about Kaiba being on the verge of a legendary duelist, NEGATIVE ENERGY GENERATOR! THE BLACKLAND FIRE DRAGON WITH THAT CARD WAS! He took a deep breath.

"Right, that totally makes sense. A monster that requires a minimum of three cards to make is too powerful to attack the turn it is summoned, because it doesn't use the normal summon. Sure." Seto nodded, and only Tea noticed the sarcasm dripping in his voice. Yuli felt the fervent desire NOT to lose to someone with that line of thought. Seto Kaiba opened his eleventh pack and revealed the contents to everyone.

Trial of Nightmare, Beaver Warrior, Lesser Dragon, Kagemusha of the Blue Flame, Larvas, Enchanting Mermaid, the Ultra Rare Card Ultimate Offering, and the Rare Card La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp.

 "La Jinn, the Mystical Genie of the Lamp has more attack than any other 4-star monster in this set! Only the Dark Elf will outclass it without a tribute summon in Metal Raiders, and the only cards that can match its power without a tribute summon are all in Metal Raiders as well. Ultimate Offering will also allow me to pay 500 life points to normal summon multiple monsters in the same turn, this can allow me to summon the might Blue-Eyes White Dragon immediately with the right cards!"

"Well Ultimate Offering specifically allows you to pay 500 lifepoints during your main phase or the opponent's battle phase and immediately afterwards normal summon or set a monster, so it's more flexible than that. Although the opponent's battle phase thing and being able to set over normal summon isn't the most relevant part usually they are there." Yuli corrected before reaching for his eleventh pack. He opened it more carefully this time despite his beating heart. For some reason Yugi who was sitting next to them felt a shock. The cards were revealed.

Trial of Nightmare, Follow Wind, Hinotama Soul, Dark Gray, The Furious Sea King, Green Phantom King, Uraby, the Ultra Rare Card Summoned Skull, and the Rare Card Battle Ox.

"That's my Ace Monster! The Summoned Skull!" Yugi exclaimed as he looked at the cards.

"That's a great choice. Especially under the Expert Rules it's the single strongest monster right now that only requires a single monster to be tribute summoned! It's also great to have another Battle Ox."

"Both the Summoned Skull and Battle Ox are cards worthy of praise." Seto Kaiba said with a nod. "That was a good pack, but I'm sure my final pack of this set will be even better." He reached for his twelfth pack, leaving only a single one left in the box. Swiftly he opened it and powerfully but carefully displayed the cards.

Tyhone, Skull Red Bird, Lesser Dragon, Mountain, Hinotama Soul, Uraby, Follow Wind, Hinotama, the Rare Card Chasm of Spikes, and finally the Ultra Rare Card Monster Reborn.

Seto smiled as he looked at the cards and then began explaining his thought process.

"This pack is helping round out my weaker monsters, they just so happen to mostly be winged beasts which works perfect for my seventh Mountain! Another copy of Hinotama is just overkill at this point, and while Chasm of Spikes isn't as powerful as the mighty Ring of Destruction it is still a good defensive trap card that destroys an opponent's attacking monster and deals damage to them equal to a quarter of the destroyed monster's attack. Finally, Monster Reborn is an extremely powerful card that can allow me to summon powerful monsters from either player's graveyard without needing tributes or using my normal summon!"

Yuli felt that at this moment Seto had somehow paid some sort of ungodly amount of money to some Deity that could control fate itself. How? Like, actually these packs kept getting crazier with everyone it seemed. Seto looked at him and snorted, as if reading his mind, he explained.

"Isn't it obvious, I decide my own fate! If you're a true Duelist, you will do the same." Yugi nodded intently at the massive truth bomb that Seto Kaiba had dropped. These were truly words of wisdom that he would take with him, the others around the table were also likewise, similarly inspired.

Bullshit, Yuli thought. Fine, he'll try it. He'll control his own fate! He will open his third copy of Speed Jaguar! Tentatively he reached for his twelfth pack.

"Alright, fine, then right here and now I'm going to open my third copy of Speed Jaguar and a good trap card as well! Just watch!"

He attempted to do Seto Kaiba's earlier powerful but swift movements and fumbled it like an idiot. Still, he got the pack open and revealed the contents.

Basic Insect, Frenzied Panda, Electro Whip, Turtle Tiger, Dissolverock, Beast Fangs, Power of Kaishin, the Secret Rare Card Speed Jaguar, and finally the Rare Card Waboku.

"Holy crap, I actually did it." Yuli muttered absent-mindedly in awe. What... what just happened? He then shook his head briefly and figured it was time to explain an interesting card he opened. "I'm thrilled to have the third Speed Jaguar, mostly because I never have seen the card or had a chance to play with it obviously. Waboku is probably one of the best traps I could have opened, it's just infinitely better than the much worse Negate Attack."

"Oh, and why is that?" Seto asked, a slight edge in his voice. Negate Attack was one of the premier traps in his deck!