The next day, when Yugen returned to the dueling dojo, everything felt different.
It wasn't just about his own changes. Of course, after winning the championship, he could clearly feel that everyone's eyes on him were different. As soon as he entered, someone immediately shouted, and then everyone swarmed him, worshipping the master.
It wasn't just that.
Stepping into the dueling arena, Yugen immediately noticed that the art style here was completely different from when he first entered.
When he first arrived, the dueling here still largely felt like the old "axe kings" chopping each other. While it wasn't entirely a "you hit one, I hit one" situation, the main offense and defense basically revolved around both sides constantly summoning stronger monsters to suppress the opponent.
But today, upon entering, he saw:
Apprentice A: "My turn, draw! I set four cards, end turn!"
Apprentice B: "Nani! Four sets right off the bat! But don't get too carried away! My turn, draw! I set five cards, end turn!"
"..."
Similar scenes simultaneously appeared on several different dueling fields.
Just a short week ago, when Yugen first arrived, dueling at the dojo without summoning a monster on the first turn would be mocked as having an improperly configured deck.
Suddenly, it seemed to have become the norm.
The dueling style now had become peculiar. Often, one side would directly pass with three backrow sets, and then the opponent would reciprocate, also passing with three or four backrow sets on an empty field.
Then both sides would stare at each other, often waiting several turns before one side occasionally played a monster, which would then, naturally, be immediately trapped and destroyed by the backrow, after which both sides would continue staring at each other.
It could truly be called a mutual prison match. The philosophy was: "I'm not playing this game today, but you're not playing either."
Yugen: "..."
These good brothers had clearly fallen into some strange misunderstanding.
Trap Beatdown is indeed a classic and enduring deck construction philosophy in Yu-Gi-Oh. However, "Trap Beatdown" doesn't just mean having traps.
At its core, "traps" are actually resistance, investing a large number of cards that can interrupt the opponent's operations and stop their plays, but this is merely a defensive strategy. On top of defense, it's even more necessary to rely on monster attacks (Beatdown) to lead to victory.
In layman's terms, it means having both offense and defense.
Therefore, this construction philosophy actually requires sturdy, well-rounded, and strong individual monster attacks, timely usage, and stability, while also needing to provide a large number of card slots. Only then can there be room to invest more traps to disrupt enemy actions.
Even heavy traps, in essence, are still resource exchanges to create an advantage for oneself. A deck that traps purely for the sake of trapping is actually just messing with people's minds; it lacks rationality and combat power.
This is why everyone knows traps are powerful, but not all decks in tournaments will be "Yin-Gian" (a term referring to sneaky or underhanded play, here meaning heavily trap-oriented). Many decks have poor synergy with traps, and many systems don't allow for the inclusion of so many slots unrelated to their core system.
Deck construction is still a very learned field. Although old decks are destined to be phased out, many tournament philosophies are truly eternal. Many structural principles still apply even in today's era of extreme speed.
Of course, it's clear that the dojo brothers don't seem to realize the problem. They only saw Yugen's traps k_ill people without consequences, and then he won the championship, so "red traps are awesome."
In just a short week, the originally "Yang-Gian" (open and direct) atmosphere throughout the dojo seemed to have become "Yin-Gian" (sneaky and tax-evading, i.e., passive and trap-heavy).
Yugen reflected.
Was it really his fault?
"Oh, right, Yugen!"
One of the apprentices remembered something and reminded him.
"Master said to find him when you arrived."
"Okay, got it."
Yugen replied, feeling a little puzzled. Why did this sound like a primary school teacher saying "come to my office after class"?
Could it be that the old man was dissatisfied with the "Yin-Gian" prevalence and "social revenge" trend that swept the dojo overnight?
But he thought to himself that he didn't teach that...
Well, at least not directly.
With questions, he crossed the main hall and went to the back. He saw Dojo Master Takeuchi already sitting cross-legged, eyes closed as if in meditation. Only when he heard Yugen's movements did he slightly open his eyes, revealing a hint of pleased smile.
"You're here."
"I'm here."
Seeing that the Dojo Master seemed to be in a good mood, it should be good news overall. Yugen relaxed and walked over to sit down.
"Congratulations on winning the championship," Dojo Master Takeuchi said.
"Master's excellent tutelage," Yugen replied appropriately, trying to be polite.
But Dojo Master Takeuchi smiled and shook his head: "Haha, kid, you're still being modest. But you and I both know, your current level is beyond what I can teach?"
He paused, then opened his eyes and carefully observed Yugen.
"You're different, I can feel it," he said slowly. "I don't know what kind of encounter you've had, but I know you're already different from us ordinary duelists.
It's very subtle, but sometimes you just get that feeling. When you see a duelist, when you see them stand on the field, their aura, their dueling posture... you naturally know they're out of the ordinary."
This statement made Yugen feel a bit new.
He had heard that warriors and assassins, even in a crowd, could recognize their own kind, perhaps because of some kind of killing intent. But could card players have that too?
What would that be called? Card aura?
But he thought to himself that he was just a transmigrator, and in his previous life, he was at most an amateur enthusiast, not a professional. In this world full of cheats, he had no cheats or spiritual backing, so could he really have a different aura?
"Actually, I'm not the first generation master of this dojo," the Dojo Master entered reminiscing mode. "Before me, my master was the truly powerful duelist.
He dedicated his life to promoting the dojo's philosophy, cultivating excellent duelists among the younger generation, and from them, seeking someone worthy of inheriting the school's legacy.
But..."
He sighed.
"A duel. I don't know who the opponent specifically was, and my master didn't want to mention it to anyone. I only know that he seemed to lose that battle.
And it was from then on that he fell ill and was admitted to the hospital. But all the doctors couldn't find the root cause, only that his body was deteriorating day by day...
Until later, he completely fell into a coma and has never woken up since."
Yugen couldn't help but slightly frown upon hearing this.
This felt a bit like the legendary "Dark Duels."
At this point, you might ask, can playing cards really k_ill people?
Then one cannot help but mention the unique characteristics of the Yu-Gi-Oh world. Dark Duels are almost omnipotent; playing cards can not only k_ill people but also capture souls, manipulate minds, and turn defeated opponents into puppets arranged in 18 different poses without a problem.
This is why, even in the extraordinary world, those with exceptional card-playing skills are absolute kings.
However, if it truly was a Dark Duel, judging from this description, the loser seemed to have lingered for a long time before falling into a coma. That opponent's Dark Duelist level, even by the standards of the original anime, seemed a bit weak...
"Before my master fell into a coma, he passed on the position of dojo master to me, along with a rare card that represents our school and serves as a symbol of its legacy.
But I knew clearly that I didn't have the talent, nor the qualifications, to inherit that power. So I sealed that deck, just as the previous master had done, waiting for a young person worthy of inheriting it to appear."
Dojo Master Takeuchi let out a sigh, slowly turned, and looked at Yugen.
"...Until today."