Duel Academy, teaching building.
Two students from Ra's Dorm, one tall and one short, walked down the corridor. Halfway through, they suddenly heard the sound of hurried footsteps from the staircase opposite them. A group of Obelisk Blue students came running down the stairs, and the two sides confronted each other head-on.
The Blue Dorm students stopped and frowned.
The leader stepped forward and said coldly, "Students from Ra's Dorm are swaggering right down the middle of the corridor. Don't you know you're supposed to give way?"
The tall Ra's Dorm student frowned and stepped forward as if about to say something. But his shorter companion tugged his sleeve and whispered, "No... don't."
The tall student immediately lowered his head and stepped aside with his companion to make way.
"Hmph, that's more like it."
The Blue Dorm students, having received the elite treatment they felt entitled to, became even more arrogant and said contemptuously, "People from lower dorms should learn to know their place."
With that, they walked past, heads held high.
The short Ra's Dorm student clenched his teeth, unknowingly clenching his fists, and watched them leave with resentment in his eyes...
But less than a minute later, those Blue Dorm students returned the way they came.
The same clatter of footsteps echoed as they rushed back, shouting in panic.
"Damn, we ran into that guy from Ra's Dorm! We'll have to take another route..."
"Run faster in front! Otherwise, you'll be caught and forced into a duel!"
"..."
A group of people rushed back in a panic, sprinting past the tall and short students.
The two from Ra's Dorm were utterly bewildered.
They couldn't understand how these people, who a minute ago were so full of superiority, had seen something indescribable that scared them into running away at top speed...
But then they quickly looked to the end of the corridor and understood.
It was their Ra's Dorm legend, "that person" was here.
"..."
"Strange, I always heard that every student in Blue Dorm is arrogant, that they would love to stomp on us from Ra's Dorm?"
Yugen mused, stroking his chin.
"Why are they all chickening out like this? It's unscientific, it's not what I heard at all..."
Mitsuzawa beside him hesitated to speak.
Why do you think they're chickening out? You have no idea?
But in the end, he remained silent.
"By the way, have you heard of that Tennis Club Minister Ayakoji?" Mitsuzawa said, "Rumor has it he has strength comparable to Caesar from Blue Dorm."
"Probably just a rumor," Yugen replied casually.
He only had a vague impression. It seemed Ayakoji used some tennis-themed card deck, focusing on chip damage, with a special anime-original card that could win by rule.
His duels were more like playing tennis than card games.
"Yeah, they say that just the other day that Yuki Judai dueled with the Minister and even won. Some say they saw Minister Ayakoji crying all afternoon by the cliffside, shouting 'I hate dueling' or something..."
Yugen mused.
Hmm, maybe Judai drove him to collapse?
Poor Minister.
At this moment, they noticed the tall and short students down the corridor.
"Ohara and Xiaoyuan?" Mitsuzawa immediately recognized them and went up to greet them.
The tall one was Ohara, the short one was Xiaoyuan, roommates from the same dorm.
Yugen remembered them too. The recent rumors at the Academy about "Rare Card Hunter," a terrifying figure resembling a giant spider monster, seemed to refer to these two.
Ohara entered school with a goal to focus on research and card printing, so he wasn't good at dueling. Although Xiaoyuan's dueling skill was deemed top-tier among Ra's Dorm by Mitsuzawa, his weak will made him timid, easily overwhelmed by the opponent's "aura" in duels.
Therefore, he struggled to reach his potential in actual duels and frequently missed opportunities due to pressure causing poor performance.
Always being underestimated by the elite from Blue Dorm nurtured a sense of resentment in Xiaoyuan, leading to the idea of becoming a "Rare Card Hunter."
He would conceal himself and direct Ohara, who wore a mask, through an earpiece, acting as a "Back Spirit" style duelist.
This way, he could avoid facing opponents directly, preventing their "aura" from overwhelming him, and thus navigate the pressure and make correct plays and decisions.
So far, Blue Dorm students confronted by them have all lost rare cards.
Xiaoyuan looked up, gazed at Yugen for a moment, then sighed softly.
"Yugen... you're so fortunate."
His gaze shifted elsewhere as if speaking to himself.
"Even though you're from Ra's Dorm like me, you're so strong. Even those arrogant Blue Dorm guys are scared stiff when they see you..."
Mitsuzawa opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something, but after thinking, he remained silent.
He thought, no, certainly, if anything, "notoriety" would be a more fitting description.
Yugen smiled.
"Oh, you're too kind." he said. "But speaking of which, you two are quite famous among the Blue Dorm students now, aren't you? They've been discussing you lately."
Pausing, Yugen lowered his voice.
"The giant spider hunting rare cards?"
Both were startled.
"What... what are you talking about? I don't understand..."
Xiaoyuan quickly tugged at Ohara's sleeve.
"Ohara, let's go."
The two walked away.
Watching them disappear at the end of the corridor, Mitsuzawa couldn't help but ask, "What you mentioned, could it be that recent rumor about a giant duelist appearing only at night, hunting rare cards with banned gambling card rules..."
"Yes."
"That can't be," Mitsuzawa puzzled, "Even though Ohara is unusually tall and matches the description of a giant duelist, he focuses on card design, doesn't really duel.
And it's said that the giant duelist has defeated many Blue Dorm students..."
"Well, who knows?"
Yugen smiled, continued walking forward, and didn't elaborate.
...
...
That night.
The midnight darkness was as dense as ink, swallowing the daytime clamor. Sparse starlight struggled through the thick clouds, casting mottled shadows between the treetops. The wind howled wildly through the towering ancient trees.
It was a perfect night for some sneaky business.
A burly figure emerged from the forest.
He was masked, his eyes hidden behind deep sunglasses, the lenses reflecting faint starlight. He was draped in layers of Blue Dorm uniforms, the cascading sleeves stretching out like spider legs, making him look like a giant spider over two meters tall.
Silently, he moved, slowly closing in on tonight's prey.
Under the moonlight, two Blue Dorm-clad students stood alone.
However, as he drew nearer, one suddenly turned around.
"Finally appeared, huh, the mysterious giant duelist."
Wearing a Blue Dorm uniform, Yugen cheerfully raised his Duel Disc.
"Same old rules, betting cards? I get it. So, shall we skip the preliminaries and get started?"
But then they heard the spider giant let out a low, strange cry: "Damn! It's him! It's that person!"
He turned and ran for his life.
Yugen: "......"
Mitsuzawa leisurely commented beside him.
"See, I told you... even monsters have to run when they see you."