"What?" Marik Ishtar, seated in his chair, appeared surprised. "Even you, Rishid, lost?"
Rishid was Marik's number one confidant, akin to a shadow warrior to Marik. Rishid was his shadow, his spokesperson, often responsible for playing Marik's role externally when needed.
Marik was well aware of Rishid's dueling skills. This big guy was completely different from other members of the Ghouls Group. He was also the only one among the Ghouls who wasn't brainwashed and controlled by Marik.
Other lackeys being beaten by Youyu was one thing, but now even Rishid had fallen?
Is that Youyu really that strong?
"I apologize, Lord Marik."
Although Rishid hadn't managed to return to Marik's side yet, with the power of the Millennium Rod, the two could communicate telepathically from a distance.
"But if you had directly dueled against that Youyu, you would understand that he has unusual strength," Rishid said.
"That's a rare assessment coming from you, Rishid," Marik said. "Is that kid really worth it?"
"I believe so," Rishid replied. "My trap tactics were useless against him. His dueling completely surpassed mine. I used every move, even summoned the Guardian Divine Hall's sacred beast...
...but it was completely ineffective. He casually countered all my moves. No matter what traps I used against him, he never showed a hint of panic, as if the entire duel was under his control."
"Is he really that strong?" Marik was skeptical.
He began to ponder.
In fact, although Youyu had annoyed him before, Marik didn't really take him seriously. To Marik, these so-called Dark Duelists were just minnows, easily crushed by the power of his Divine Card.
In this Duel City, the only real potential enemies in his view were Kaiba and Yugi.
He knew his sister had taken Obelisk the Tormentor and given it to Kaiba Seto, which made Kaiba a significant threat in Marik's eyes.
Additionally, he was intrigued by why the ancient Egyptian tablets had an image resembling Priest Kaiba, which might explain why Kaiba could control a Divine Card.
As for Yugi, it goes without saying, Marik knew that the spirit of the Pharaoh resided within Yugi, who was also the target of his revenge.
And now, there's another potential threat in Marik's eyes.
"I see," Marik said calmly. "Well then, thank you for your efforts, Rishid. It seems I've been underestimating him. Sending more lowly minions to challenge him seems pointless."
Rishid's eyelid twitched. "Lord Marik, are you planning to personally..."
"Not so fast. It's not time for me to appear yet; our plan remains unchanged," Marik chuckled. "This was originally a trump card prepared for the Nameless Pharaoh, but it seems that Youyu has gotten lucky, and I'll let him enjoy this honor first."
"...Are you planning to use the puppet?"
"Indeed." Marik's voice deepened. "Soon, he will face the judgment of the gods."
...
When he led such a large group of players back to his club, Youyu initially thought that the players and NPCs would need a long time to adapt to each other – mainly referring to the NPCs.
After all, not everyone can quickly get used to a group of quirky, behaving strangely, and sometimes wildly rambling meme-lovers.
But Youyu soon realized he was wrong. They adapted to each other quite quickly...
For instance, now a few burly NPCs and some players were gathered around a round table, surrounded by a crowd of spectators, all excitedly watching.
"Queen's Knight!" An NPC slapped a Monster Card onto the table. "Attack power 1500!"
"Heh, weak!" A player who had joined less than twenty minutes ago also threw a card onto the table. "My card is 'Warrior of Zera,' attack power 1600, beats yours!"
"Hahaha, looks like this round's mine!" Another laughed, slapping down three cards. "My card is 'Turtle Tiger,' attack power only 1000, but I have three of them! Full house!"
"Nani!? You managed to draw all three Turtle Tigers? You must be cheating!" someone immediately protested.
"Hahaha, that's the bond between the Duelist and the cards!" The player was smug, reaching out to scoop up the chips on the table. "I've got this round!"
"Hmph, hold on!" It was the NPC who played first speaking. "I haven't played my remaining cards yet! I've got...'King's Knight' and 'Jack's Knight'!"
"Queen, King, and Jack? The legendary Three Musketeers." The player with the full house scoffed. "But even so, it's useless!"
"Is it really?" The first NPC grinned, "When King, Queen, and Jack's Knights are gathered, I summon from my card deck...the Straight Flush Breaker!"
The NPC slammed the card named "Straight Flush Breaker" onto the table.
Everyone around the table gasped, exclaiming, "A straight flush! You actually have such a Rare Card!"
"Hahaha!" The NPC chuckled, smugly collecting the chips. "Thanks for the game, everyone!"
...
What? You're asking how they played a Duel Monsters card game with poker rules?
Who knows about that...
Today, because Youyu had successfully fended off the Ghouls, decisively defeating their major general and dampening their spirits, along with the influx of new members, President Tosawa Mukuro was so pleased that he announced a simple welcome ceremony...
...And it turned into what we have now.
The players and NPCs in the Nightwalker World were getting along famously, some playing cards, some drinking, while a few players competed with bare-chested muscular NPCs in a wrestling game...
Youyu was surprised to discover that the player he first met, named "Inestiive," was also among them.
Unexpectedly, this big-browed guy had also gone to mix with the Ghouls. (Though he's defected now.)
Currently, Inestiive, along with a few player friends and Mr. Kuroda from the Nightwalker World and other NPCs, were happily drinking and playing a game of stripping.
To put it simply, the loser had to take off a piece of clothing.
The bunch of rough guys were all drunk, and one wore less than the other.
Especially Inestiive, who was now down to just his underwear...
...And lost again.
A tipsy Mr. Kuroda laughed heartily, pointing at Inestiive. "You... take it off! Keep taking it off!"
"Ha, I'll take it off then!"
Without a word, Inestiive took off...
...the black-framed glasses on his nose.
Then he showed a triumphant smile. "Didn't expect that, huh? This counts as an item too!"
"You've... got game!" Mr. Kuroda hiccupped. "You're... brave! Very brave!"
Players in the game can't actually get drunk, but they do suffer negative effects, and if they drink too much, they lose stamina continuously.
If their stamina runs out, they fall unconscious. Although players remain conscious in this state, they can't continue to control their game characters.
Inestiive tossed his glasses aside, patting his chest. "Not a problem! I'm super brave!" He paused, not forgetting to add, "Of course, you're brave too!"
Mr. Kuroda laughed heartily again, downing another glass that seemed to be a vintage 82 Lafite.
However, before this grand and lively welcome ceremony ended, Youyu quietly made his early exit.
Of course, it wasn't because he was afraid that staying in this environment for too long would make him weird (like bent or something), he was confident in himself about that.
He just had more matches to play, needing to continue collecting Puzzle Cards, so he left early due to limited time.
The players and NPCs seemed to be getting emotionally connected pretty quickly, shouldn't be any problem, right?
...Should be, right.