Chapter 108: The Time to Begin Has Arrived, Offer Thunderous Applause
At nine o'clock on the morning of the second day, Hayato and the others left their respective rooms and gathered in the great hall where they had eaten dinner the previous day.
After a day's rest, the four of them were full of energy. Their Decks had also been adjusted to varying degrees, hoping to adapt to any situation that might arise in a Duel.
Even the Millennium Brute Joey had, for once, included a card like Mystical Space Typhoon in his Deck, which didn't directly increase attack power.
As soon as they entered the hall, Hayato and his friends discovered that someone was already waiting there.
"Oh, has someone finally arrived?" The speaker was a middle-aged man wearing a duckbill cap. Noticing the arrival of Hayato's group, he placed the coffee cup in his hand aside, rose from his seat, and took the initiative to greet them. "Hello, my name is Sheppard. People who know me just call me Sheppard."
"Hello, Mr. Sheppard," Hayato said quite enthusiastically, shaking his hand. "I'm Hayato, just Hayato is fine."
"Hello, Hayato."
Watching Hayato warmly greet someone he had just met, Joey lowered his voice and said to Tristan, "Hey, what do you think?"
"I think they're both a little weird," Tristan said after a pause. "Hayato's not a particularly enthusiastic guy, is he?"
But Sheppard and Hayato's group were not the only ones in the hall. "Hmph, so noisy. A bunch of boring guys."
Bandit Keith leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on another. Seeing the lively atmosphere on Hayato's side, he grumbled with dissatisfaction, "First thing in the morning, and I have to see you brats chirping nonstop. It's so annoying."
Hayato's group said nothing, but Sheppard spoke apologetically, "I'm sorry, Mr. Keith, for disturbing you."
"Hmph!"
Sheppard had the demeanor of a perfectly nice gentleman. Based on what Joey and the others knew about Bandit Keith, he should have been arrogantly sneering at Sheppard, taking the opportunity to boast about his status as the All-American Champion. But for some reason, upon hearing Sheppard's words, Bandit Keith just gave a cold snort and fell silent.
*Sheppard... if nothing unexpected happens, he must be *that* "Sheppard."* Looking at the hair peeking out from under Sheppard's cap, Hayato thought with some uncertainty.
When he had heard Mai Valentine mention a duelist who used the "Cyber Style" among the Top 8, Hayato's first reaction was that he would encounter Zane Truesdale, but he quickly dismissed the idea.
After all, the story of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, which took place in 2012, was still far off. Zane Truesdale was only seventeen then. Right now, it was only the year 2000. Even a prodigy like Zane, who had displayed extraordinary dueling abilities since childhood, would only be five years old.
Following that line of thought, Hayato recalled the previous generation's Cyber Style duelist, Zane Truesdale's teacher, and also the chancellor of Duel Academy—Chancellor Sheppard. The "Sheppard" before him looked to be in his early thirties. In another ten years, he would be forty. Although going bald at forty was a bit tragic, the age did indeed match that of "Chancellor Sheppard."
"Um, Mr. Sheppard?"
"Oh, what is it, Hayato-kun?" Sheppard gave a gentle smile. Just as he would in the future, Sheppard was an exceptionally kind person and very friendly towards young duelists. Otherwise, Kaiba would never have appointed him as the chancellor of Duel Academy.
"That hat on your head is too tight. If you wear it too much, you'll go bald easily."
Just as Hayato finished his sentence, someone else chimed in from not far away, "It wouldn't matter much if that guy went bald anyway."
Turning his head, Hayato saw a man whose walk was so arrogant it could rival Bandit Keith's. Beside him, a girl dressed as a maid followed, carrying an aluminum briefcase.
As the arrogant man walked towards them, his gaze remained fixed on Sheppard. "Sheppard, you didn't expect this, did you? I told you, don't think it's over just because you beat me once. Just you wait for my revenge."
Hayato turned to look at Mai Valentine, who nodded. "He's the one I mentioned yesterday, the young master of the Garlem Corporation, Ptah Garlem. He lost to that Sheppard over there once."
"Hmph, that's in the past!" Clearly, being reminded of his less-than-glorious track record embarrassed Ptah Garlem. Glaring at the innocent-looking Mai, Ptah turned and walked away, mentally kicking himself for momentarily losing his mind yesterday and telling that woman, Mai Valentine, his business.
Yugi mentally counted the number of people present. *'Mai, me, Joey, and Hayato, that's four. Then there's Mr. Sheppard and Bandit Keith, and with that Ptah Garlem, it's seven people. The last duelist should be—'*
"My, my, it's so lively. I see everyone arrived so early." A voice suddenly appeared behind Yugi, startling him. Turning around, he saw the guy from dinner last night who had been overly familiar and joined their table standing right behind him. "I thought I would be the first one here."
"Camula." Hayato frowned, saying the name the other man had given last night.
Among the Top 8 contestants, Bandit Keith specialized in Gambling Cards and Machine-Type Monsters. Joey also excelled with Gambling Cards. Yugi's, or rather, Yami Yugi's Deck was built on Bonds and synergy.
Mai Valentine's Deck was proficient at Backrow Destroy. Even if Sheppard's Cards weren't the invincible Cyber Dragon, they were most likely centered around the Machine-Type. The only ones with unknown intel were Ptah Garlem and the man before him, Camula.
And Hayato's sixth sense as a duelist kept telling him one thing—this Camula was a formidable enemy.
"Oh my, Mr. Hayato, your glare is so scary," Camula said, noticing Hayato's gaze and putting on an act. "Or could it be that you can't wait to face me? Such a passionate Heart of the Cards for dueling."
In the hall, Bandit Keith and Joey, who couldn't stand the sight of each other, were bickering. Sheppard and Yugi were chatting about their understanding of Duel Monsters. Mai Valentine was boredly examining her nails. Ptah received his Deck from the maid. And Hayato was locked in a staring contest with Camula, playing a game of "whoever blinks first loses."
"Ahem." An elderly voice sounded. The castle's butler, Croquet, had appeared at the entrance to the hall at some point, clearing his throat to announce his presence. "It seems all the duelists have arrived. In that case, please follow me to the Duel Arena. Maximillion Pegasus is waiting for you there."
Led by Croquet, the group obediently followed him to the place where Kaiba and Pegasus had dueled the day before. Just as Croquet had said, Pegasus, dressed in his unchanging red suit, was already waiting there.
"Welcome! To all you duelists~, welcome to *my* castle." One sentence was all it took to identify him as the one and only Pegasus. "First, congratulations to *anyone* for passing the first round of the Qualifier, becoming one of the Top 8 of Duelist Kingdom, and earning the right to compete for the title of 'King of Duelists'."
"However, I'm sure *anyone* can see that there are seven other contestants standing in *your* way." As Pegasus spoke, a smile appeared on his face. "Therefore, *me* declare, the qualifying matches for the Top 8 begin now!"
(end of chapter)