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Somewhere, in an unknown location.
The icy iron walls seemed to congeal into an endless darkness, swallowing every stray beam of light that tried to penetrate the room. The four walls and the ceiling were exceptionally dim under the cold light, with sharp edges occasionally glinting with a frigid metallic sheen in the shadows.
Three pairs of cold eyes lit up in the dark.
"It is almost time," one of the shadows said.
Beside him, another dark figure spoke in a deep voice. "Is this an instruction from Father, Alpha?"
The shadow known as Alpha nodded. "In two days, our objective is Duel Academy."
"Are we finally moving?" a third, much larger shadow grunted. "But the target is Duel Academy? Tsk, after all the trouble of getting me out of here, the hypothetical opponents are just a bunch of students. How boring."
The shadow next to him asked, "Then, Gamma, what kind of opponent would satisfy you?"
"The legendary King of Games, of course! That detestable Yugi... Mutooo!"
The other two immediately looked at him as if he were an idiot.
Despite their stares, the tall figure known as Gamma held his head high. "The meaning of my existence is to reach the summit of duelists. If it isn't a duel against the strongest, it's meaningless! That damn Yugi... Mutooo. Who knows where he's hiding now, but sooner or later, I'll force him out to face me..."
The other two took a stance of direct ignorance toward the self-absorbed giant.
"Beta, this is the first task Father has directly entrusted to us," Alpha said solemnly. "This operation is crucial. We have two targets; you should know that by now, right?"
"Of course," the shadow named Beta nodded. "The data has been received."
He paused for a moment, then added with a hint of doubt, "I understand the primary objective. But the secondary target, that duelist named 'Fujiki Yugen'... he seems to be just a first-year student at Duel Academy?"
"Do not look down on him just because he is a student. Since Father has set his sights on him, he naturally possesses something extraordinary. We don't need to understand Father's motives; we only need to follow orders."
Alpha paused, then gave a solemn warning.
"Furthermore, if you face the secondary target, you must be careful. Existing data shows that this person's dueling style is quite unique.
He is adept at disturbing the opponent's mind and interfering with their brain, making it difficult for them to play normally or even causing them to act erratically during the duel..."
The hulking Gamma suddenly interjected again. "Heh, nothing but petty tricks. Mind disturbance, brain interference those kinds of tactics won't work on me!"
The eyes of the other two lit up, and they turned to him in unison. "Oh? Do you have a plan against him?"
Gamma puffed out his chest. "If I have no brain at all, how can he disturb it? How will he respond then?"
The other two: "..."
A brief silence followed.
It was the kind of silence that suggested they were speechless, a quiet way of saying, "You actually have a point, you damn moron."
Gamma continued righteously, "A duel only requires ninety-nine percent strength and one percent thinking. As long as you have power, you can crush any wicked schemes or devious tricks directly..."
The other two chose to ignore him once again.
Beta muttered, "I still don't understand why Father insisted on sending this defective product along with us."
"Ahem, we don't need to understand Father's motives," Alpha said. "He surely has his reasons for doing so..."
By then, Gamma was already standing to the side with his arms crossed, letting out a long string of "Hahaha" laughs.
"...I think," Alpha added, his confidence suddenly wavering.
The School Festival was one of the most important activities of the first semester at Duel Academy.
When Yugen first heard the term, it felt a bit unfamiliar, and he instinctively assumed it would be an event themed around dueling culture. However, as soon as he arrived at the scene today, he realized the truth: this was actually a grand celebration centered entirely around eating.
The air was thick with the aroma of food; the smoke of grilled meat intertwined with the sweetness of desserts. Colorful flags fluttered in the breeze alongside ribbons, lending the area a festive cheer.
From early morning, students in their three-colored uniforms had crowded the area until it was a sea of people. Besides food, the surrounding stalls were filled with a dazzling array of merchandise, such as handmade Dark Magician trinkets, chibi Dark Magician Girl pendants, and exquisite Blue-Eyes White Dragon models.
Yugen wandered through the festive crowd for a while before spotting a familiar face.
Bastion Misawa appeared to be lecturing a fellow Ra Yellow student about something.
As he drew closer, Yugen realized the person opposite Bastion looked familiar as well.
He seemed to be called... Dimitri?
That's right, the Dimitri who stole the replica of Yugi's deck in the anime.
Bastion's evaluation of this person was that he was exceptionally gifted skilled at mimicking the tactics and even the personalities of other duelists. He could use any deck he got his hands on with ease; it was a unique talent.
Yugen felt that was true. A deck as clunky as Yugi's, with a bunch of messy systems cobbled together, was proof that only a high-level expert could pilot it.
Yet Dimitri had stolen that pile of cards and actually played it quite well without it ever clogging on him; he was indeed naturally gifted.
If there was one flaw to point out about the man, it was probably that he could never seem to win...
It was mysterious. Although Dimitri never had a bad hand regardless of the deck he used, that seemed to be the limit of his luck. He could even lose while using a deck as powerful as Professor Vellian Crowler's Ancient Gear.
Losing to others was one thing, but he had even lost to Syrus Truesdale a true unsolved mystery of the world.
"...That's why I said, Dimitri, there's no point even if I share my build with you," Bastion said, looking like he had a headache.
"A duelist's deck is powerful precisely because they spent their own blood and sweat selecting and constructing it. Your ability to mimic and learn is top-tier, but you're too constrained in actual combat. Doesn't that prove the point?"
Bastion didn't seem to notice Yugen nearby and happened to use him as an example.
"Look, take Yugen for instance. His strength is obvious to everyone. Though I'm loath to admit it, he is indeed the number one in Ra Yellow, far stronger than me.
And the source of his strength lies in the fact that he never follows the path others have walked; he always carves out a path that is uniquely his own. Even I am far behind him..."
Yugen fell silent.
Hearing WÇzĂ© HÇiyĂĄng evaluate him like that made him feel a bit unworthy. To be honest, those decks of his that looked weird to others were indeed assembled by him, but many of the ideas and concepts were actually the crystallization of the wisdom of countless predecessors from his previous world.
So, while outsiders thought he was carving out hidden, unknown paths every day, little did they know that every road he walked was a bustling highway that had already been traveled hundreds of times.
"I understand!" Dimitri nodded vigorously.
"I knew it! I also felt that Yugen's deck looked stronger and more unique by comparison. So Bastion feels the same way. Good, now I know which way to go. Thank you for the guidance, Bastion!"
Bastion started, "No, actually what I meant was"
However, before he could finish, Dimitri had already turned around and vanished into the crowd.
Judging by his stance, it seemed he no longer had any interest in participating in the festival and was going back to copy a build and assemble a new deck.
Bastion: "..."
He felt like there had been another misunderstanding.
Well, whatever. Let him be.
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