Hearing Zhongli's question, Luya thought for a moment. Explaining [Pendulum Summoning] properly to him felt far too complicated.
Right now, Luya wanted to quickly finish the day's settlement, receive his system rewards, then upgrade his [Divine Hand] skill and the shop level. Since Zhongli and the others were still in the shop, he couldn't close just yet.
[Pendulum Summon] is one of the Summoning methods in Yu-Gi-Oh!, first introduced in Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, and serves as its core mechanic.
By placing Pendulum Monsters in the Pendulum Zones to set the Pendulum Scales, a Duelist can Special Summon multiple monsters from the hand and face-up Extra Deck simultaneously.
Its defining feature is the ability to mass-summon monsters in a single turn, rapidly assembling materials to enable other Special Summons.
When Pendulum Monsters on the field are destroyed, tributed, or used as material, instead of being sent to the Graveyard, they go face-up into the Extra Deck, where they can be Pendulum Summoned again—symbolizing infinite rebirth.
The advantage of Pendulum Summoning lies in its capacity to flood the field with monsters and build power instantly. However, without enough Pendulum resources in the Extra Deck, a Duelist can easily run out of hand cards and lose momentum.
Since a full explanation was too long, Luya gave Zhongli a simplified version.
"Pendulum Cards… are used to perform Pendulum Summons," Luya said. "Pendulum Summon is a kind of Special Summon. Your [Goddess of Dust – Guizhong] has a Scale of 1. If you also had another Pendulum Card with a Scale of 11, you could Special Summon any monsters with Levels 2 through 10 from your hand all at once."
As the Geo Archon Morax, Zhongli's comprehension was exceptional; he quickly understood the new summoning method. Seeing Luya's slightly hurried demeanor, Zhongli realized he still had business to attend to, so he decided to lead the Adepti out to enjoy the Lantern Rite.
"Thank you for the explanation, shopkeeper. We shall not disturb you further. Until tomorrow."
Guizhong's phantom and Xianyun were still circling around the shop, studying the Duel Stages and arcade machines. Zhongli suggested gently, "Let us go see the Lantern Rite. We shouldn't keep the shopkeeper from his rest."
Xianyun and Guizhong finally stopped inspecting the devices. "Alright! Though I don't quite understand all this, thank you, shopkeeper!" Guizhong's phantom clasped her hands and bowed gratefully to Luya.
The thought of seeing Liyue again after thousands of years filled her with excitement. Xianyun, having reunited with an old friend and witnessed such marvelous technology, was equally delighted—yet since Luya had serious work to do, none of them lingered.
Zhongli, Xiao, Xianyun, and Guizhong exited the shop together. They were off to join the Lantern Rite at Liyue Harbor!
Meanwhile, Luya hurried to finish his system settlement—he had his own plans. Because he intended to attend the Lantern Rite himself and personally deliver Hu Tao's gift to her. It was the [Gold Legend Card] he had pulled from Hu Tao's Ghostly Spirit Card Pack. He planned to give it to her as thanks for all the help she had given him these past few days. And besides, they had already agreed to spend this year's Lantern Rite together.
So, Luya wanted to handle all the shop's business before heading to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor for their Lantern Rite rendezvous.
Once Zhongli and the others had left completely, Luya shut the shop doors. Now, he was alone.
The system voice promptly echoed:
[Ding! Congratulations, Host!]
[You have completed today's business!]
[Commencing settlement…]
[Today's total revenue: 344 million Mora!]
[Of which, Card Pack profit: 74 million Mora]
[Other product profit: 220 million Mora]
[Available Mora: 344 million]
Seeing the massive revenue from other products, Luya's eyes lit up. He had made 220 million Mora in one day! Checking the detailed report:
Simplified Duel Disks had earned 50 million Mora. He had sold 1,000 units, though 500 were preorders already paid yesterday—thus, 50 million profit. Ten thousand Card-Draw Breads were sold out, bringing in 40 million Mora. Starter Decks—500 units, bought for 100,000 Mora each, sold for 200,000.
Thanks to the festival crowd, they sold out instantly.
Profit: 100 million Mora!
Snacks, vending machines, the screening room, and arcade machines added over 30 million more.
In total—excluding card packs—he had earned 220 million Mora. Card packs added 74 million, and the 100 million reward from the system for the completed side quest. After paying 50 million Mora in prize money for the Lantern Cup winners, his available Mora totaled 344 million.
Now, upgrading the shop required 160 million—easily affordable. And afterward, he could still upgrade his [Divine Hand] skill.
With [Divine Hand]'s ability to materialize cards into reality, Luya could ensure his own safety outside the shop—and even summon monsters to work for him! Whether gathering materials or hunting monsters, it was perfect. Thinking of it that way, upgrading the skill was crucial.
In the future, he could use [Obelisk the Tormentor] to crush the Akademiya, and send [Slifer the Sky Dragon] to punch out the Whale of Star Devouring—what fun that would be. After all, he had access to every Yu-Gi-Oh! card via the system.
He could freely command all three Egyptian Gods. Once [Divine Hand] reached Level 10, he'd even be able to use Spell and Trap Cards.
Just as Luya was basking in visions of his upgraded powers, the system chimed again:
[Congratulations, Host! Your single-day revenue has surpassed 300 million Mora!]
[Generating rewards… please wait.]
As always, after settlement, the system distributed rewards based on the day's performance. Today's total was 294 million Mora. Luya eagerly listened for what he'd get.
[Reward: 1 Action Duel Stage]
[Reward: 500-square-meter shop in Chihu Rock]
[Reward: Duel Stage auto-upgrade—Pendulum Summon enabled!]
[Reward: Portable Game Console blueprints]
[Reward: Network Communication Technology Tutorial]
Luya was ecstatic! The system had given him blueprints for a [Portable Game Console]—and even a [Network Communication Technology Tutorial]!
Though he didn't understand either, with Guizhong and Xianyun, masters of mechanical arts, he didn't need to. Even so, Luya suspected they might not fully grasp the network technology part—it wasn't exactly mechanical engineering.
If anyone in Teyvat could comprehend such technology, it would have been the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
Her Akasha System worked much like a network. Yet since she was gone, if Guizhong and Xianyun couldn't figure it out, he'd have to rely on the current Dendro Archon, Nahida. Though right now, she was happily sitting in the Sanctuary of Surasthana—probably having a nice time.
So, Luya decided, it was time to plan a trip to Sumeru. Staying in Liyue forever wasn't the answer. He had already made Yu-Gi-Oh! widely known here.
Lady Yuheng Keqing had become champion of the first [Lantern Cup]. Wangsheng's consultant Zhongli had taken second. The Conqueror of Demons Xiao and Lady Tianquan Ningguang shared third.
At this point, Luya thought it was time to commission artists to make announcement posters tomorrow. He'd plaster them all over Liyue Harbor! With famous figures like Keqing, Xiao, Zhongli, and Ningguang endorsing it, Yu-Gi-Oh!'s popularity in Liyue would skyrocket once again.
Tomorrow, Luya planned to have Xianyun and Guizhong begin research on the [Portable Game Console Blueprints] and [Network Communication Technology Tutorial]. That way, he could launch online dueling and start earning Mora from the masses!
Monthly passes, Duel Passes, 6,000-Mora first-time bonuses—theme packs, promotional decks—everything would be on the table.
Luya knew that in-person dueling was still too luxurious for ordinary people, yet online duels would save them plenty of Mora. Those with wealth would still buy physical cards. He could host both live tournaments and online championships. The online version would make dueling far more convenient—anyone could play anytime. Still, all of this depended on solid technology.
For now, his next step was to produce the first batch of [Portable Game Consoles].
...
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