Next, Keihei once again generously showed Yugen their rich inventory at the headquarters.
When the combination lock was unlocked and the heavy military alloy door slowly opened before him, Yugen had to admit the scene was quite impactful.
As far as the eye could see, it was almost all cards.
Saying it's the romance of a card enthusiast might not be too much. It was the first time he had seen such a vast space almost entirely spread out as an ocean of various Duel Cards, like a tantalizing treasure cave.
Towering display cabinets lined both sides of the walls, standing like proud Guardians. The cards in the cabinets were varied, listed sequentially by year and type, from the early versions made from the Duel Monster Stone Tablets first excavated by Beckas, to more and newer series developed each year.
Rather than a warehouse, the place felt more like a library.
What you could see here was not only the rich variety of cards but also the traces left by time. The towering display cabinets stored not only cards but also froze every era the Duel Monsters have passed through, marking countless explorers' paths of discovery and progress.
Keihei didn't say how much he could take, only that he could take freely. But Yugen knew he should have some basic decency. After all, emptying someone's entire warehouse might be a bit inconsiderate...
So, prioritize what's on the list first.
However, even though cards in this world are extraordinary, not everything was available even in the standard inventory of Kaiba Company. But it's certainly a dreamland for countless duelists, containing many long-out-of-print items that even the Academy department couldn't get for some time.
For instance, a trap favoured by President Kaiba during the DM era, an ancient forbidden card, [Death Deck Destruction Virus].
Moreover, the Death Virus used by President Kaiba was different from the physical card effect.
The old effect of the physical card destruction virus was to offer a Dark Attribute monster on your field with Attack Power below 1000 as a sacrifice, to destroy all monsters on the opponent's hand and field with Attack Power above 1500 for three turns.
This effect was too powerful, leading to a ban, until it was weakened in 2015 and allowed back in play.
However, even the old version effect differs from the original animation version. In the animation, Kaiba's death virus effect would only trigger when a Dark Attribute monster on his field with Attack Power below 1000 was destroyed in battle, then destroy all monsters in the opponent's hand, field, and deck with Attack Power above 1500.
With today's perspective, this effect might not be as formidable as the old physical card effect, mainly because it requires your monster to be "destroyed in battle" to trigger it, which is somewhat troublesome.
Furthermore, "destroying all monsters in the opponent's deck with Attack Power above 1500" is like filling the entire graveyard with their deck, which, for decks with graveyard resources akin to a second hand, is almost suicide, instantly lifting yourself off the field.
But in environments where graveyard utilization wasn't as high in earlier days, the destructive power of this card deck was actually quite overpowering.
Normally favouring strong aggressive suppression, it was rare for President Kaiba to have indulged in such an underworld tactic, and he even used it more than once or twice.
After considering it, Yugen decided to pocket this card. Such a heavy weapon, though easily leading to self-destruction if used recklessly, might have miraculous effects in specific situations.
Most of the other cards he then selected needed no further explanation. They were mainly for expanding the stock of the Fusion Card Deck, though his current main force doesn't have a card deck focused on Fusion, they were designed for the system built around that Magic Card "Sudden Mutation".
The remaining collected cards were mostly identified as valuable for specific constructions or had high rarity value and could sell for a good price.
But indeed, Fusion Monsters without summoning restrictions in this era were mostly fodder; their main purpose was to ensure that the monsters commonly used in the "Chaos Mutated Phoenix God" deck with certain levels could transform using "Sudden Mutation".
Another rare card that caught his attention was a Soul Monster.
Tsukuyomi.
A Four-Star with Attack Power of 1100, its effect allows it to cover a face-up monster in face-down defense position upon summoning. Moreover, she returns to the holder's hand at the end phase after summoning.
In other words, it's basically a "Moon Book" once per turn, albeit at the cost of a normal summon. At first glance, Tsukuyomi seems ordinary but was an early staple in the physical cards, showing outstanding performance. It was later designated a restricted card due to being active in various top-tier card decks.
From her environmental impact perspective, her rising occurrence rate directly led to many players lowering their evaluations of monsters with excellent attack points and effects but with Defense Power below 1100.
Among those criticized was the renowned Emperor Card Deck series. The upper-level monsters in the Emperor series all possessed exceptionally strong effects, but their biggest weakness was that their Defense Power was uniformly 1000, awkwardly 100 points lower than the so-called humanoid Moon Book, "Tsukuyomi"...
That is to say, the upper-level Emperor summoned with a tribute could be flipped into face-down defense position by simply summoning Tsukuyomi, being easily punched out. Moreover, Tsukuyomi could return to hand for reuse in the next turn.
Equating to swapping out a big upper-level monster with just a single normal summon resource, the resource exchange is quite profitable.
In any case, this trip to Kaiba Company has yielded abundant rewards. Not only has his evolution towards complete chaos advanced another step, but he also acquired key materials for Ritual Chaos, significantly strengthening the deck terminal.
But he remembered that in those days, this deck also had another key monster, one that could overturn situations with ease in desperation and was banned at one point due to high penetration rate and the strong, straightforward Minotaur effect.
Thousand-Eyed Sacrificial Demon.
Beckas's ace monster in the Duel Kingdom chapter, it's an unusual Level 1 Fusion monster. Leaving aside the monster effect, just seeing its Attack Power and Defense Power both at 0 indicates it's not something decent.
Its iconic effect is mainly about absorbing the opponent's on-field monsters as equipment on itself and gaining that monster's Attack Power and Defense Power. It was not just for Chaos decks but also a popular choice in many competitive decks, akin to a public transport powerhouse.
Unfortunately, it seems even Kaiba Company's warehouse doesn't have it.
Yugen specifically consulted Keihei, who shook his head, indicating that indeed they didn't have it.
It makes sense, after all, it's Beckas's ace, a personal card printed by the Father of Duel Monsters himself, unlikely to be found elsewhere.
"However, I vaguely remember Beckas might have reissued it, maybe as some tournament giveaway card..."
Keihei recalled.
"The International Illusion Association might have it..."
"..."
Yugen pondered.
Though, he didn't have acquaintances at the International Illusion Association either.
Oh, he did just beat up a Professor Mecha, maybe counting as half an acquaintance. But judging by the looks of that guy, he probably wouldn't want to interact cordially.
"..."
Unwittingly, Yugen had spent most of the day soaking in the warehouse. Satisfied, he carried yet another box of cards out and went to the previous office to find Keihei.
"Looks like you selected some satisfying cards." Keihei smiled.
"Yes, thank you." Yugen replied.
Keihei, as generous as ever, waved his hand: "No problem, no problem. Just like I said, thank me by not disappointing big brother on the field.
As long as you give him a satisfying duel, this kind of small investment is nothing."
Sounds indeed like what the President would do.
After all, in pursuit of card play, he has launched satellites and even pursued souls from the underworld; if a mere investment in some cards could alleviate his card addiction, it's a negligible cost.
Keihei stood up: "Alright, I should get going."
Yugen understood: "Heading to Pegasus Nightwalker's foundation?"
"Yeah, it's been a long time since I've had direct contact with that guy; might as well see what he's up to. But surprisingly..."
Keihei scrutinized Yugen.
"That guy surprisingly named you specifically, hoping to meet you if possible."
"Me?"
"Yes, maybe the recent duel left a deep impression on him too," Keihei said, "But don't worry about it, I can refuse it on your behalf if you're not interested."
"So, are you heading back to the Academy directly? Or..."
Yugen pondered.
At this time, even if he returned to the Academy, there wouldn't be much to do, probably just heading back to rest.
"I have nothing much going on," Yugen shrugged, "So since they sincerely invited me, I might as well go and take a look."