Koji Endo lay on his back, staring blankly up at the gray-white sky.
Even the deafening cheers erupting from the opposing dojo's students couldn't bring a trace of focus back into his vacant eyes.
He'd lost…
To be precise, the moment Yusaku brought out the Accelerator, he had already lost a few minutes ago.
He had mentally prepared for the possibility of defeat. After all, the whole point of him stepping up was to scout the opponent's deck for his own senpai.
But he had never imagined he would lose this fast, this completely.
As for that crucial deck information he was supposed to gather… did he get it?
No.
Throughout the entire duel, the only truly powerful monsters the opponent showed were that Blackwing assault dragon and King Scar-Dragon.
And one of those wasn't even Yusaku's card, but Fujiwara's.
Yusaku glanced once at the collapsed Koji, then raised his eyes toward the six people in the spectator seats.
"The duel's over. Which one of you is coming down? Or are you all coming at once?"
At those words, the people opposite him froze for a moment, then exploded in an uproar.
"Arrogant! You only beat one of the lower-ranked students from our dojo and you dare talk like that!"
"To deal with you, why would our senpai even need to move? I'm enough on my own!"
"And me!"
Before the shouting had even ended, three students in indigo uniforms had already stepped out from the crowd.
Yusaku swept his gaze over the three and spoke calmly.
"You're not qualified. Get back. Let your senpai come."
Then he lifted his head again toward the spectator seats, his tone carrying a faint hint of mockery.
"Fujiwara, as an old friend, aren't you going to come down and duel me? What's wrong…"
He deliberately paused, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.
"What's wrong, Fujiwara? Don't want to win your Blackwing deck back?"
On his seat, Fujiwara's expression instantly darkened. He let out a cold snort and was just about to rise when the person beside him stood up first.
"Fujiwara-kun, he's baiting you. Don't take it."
The red-haired boy's voice was steady.
"Save your strength for when this floor is cleared and we have to deal with the stubborn ones further up. Let me handle this duel."
With that, he walked down from the spectator seats, stepped onto the duel track, folded his arms across his chest, and stared sharply at Yusaku.
"I see you're using a Synchro deck too. Your dojo has a Riding Duel course as well. The venue might be a bit run-down, but it still works.
Do you know how to ride a D-Wheel?"
Before Yusaku could answer, several students from Takeuchi Dojo hurriedly spoke up.
"Senpai, don't agree to it! The rules for Riding Duels are different from normal duels!"
"Yeah, senpai, in a Riding Duel, whoever exits the first curve gets the first turn. If you're not familiar with a D-Wheel, it's really hard to be the first one out of the corner. Don't accept!"
"…"
Hearing this, the red-haired boy let out a derisive laugh.
"So that's what you're worried about? Even if I give you first turn, so what?"
He turned his head to Yusaku, his eyes full of provocation.
"Well? Do you dare?"
"Riding Duel, huh? Sounds interesting." Yusaku raised his brows.
"As for giving me first turn, that's not necessary. What I want is your D-Wheel."
"You've got guts." The red-haired boy cast him a brief glance.
"Do you need me to lend you the dedicated Riding Duel equipment, the D-Wheel?"
Yusaku didn't answer him directly. Instead, he looked toward Master Takeuchi in the crowd.
"Master, if I remember right, there's still a D-Wheel in the storage room. Does it still run?"
Hearing that, Master Takeuchi was taken aback and said worriedly,
"It runs, but that model is already very old. Compared to the ones in the Upper City…"
Before he could finish, Yusaku waved his hand.
"It's fine. As long as it moves."
Soon, the two of them arrived at the starting line of the track.
Two D-Wheels waited quietly on the launch line.
One was a bright silver machine whose metal body gleamed sharply under the lights. Its lines were sleek and aggressive, its frame spotless and flawless.
The other was dark red, its exterior covered in scratches and scuffs. The paint had peeled in many places, and spots of rust were visible here and there. It looked like something that had been dragged straight out of the junkyard.
Once they had put on their protective gear, the red-haired boy glanced at Yusaku.
"I'll admit you've got courage. You've never even done a single Riding Duel, and you still dare to ride that pile of scrap to challenge me."
Yusaku flexed his wrists a little and gave him a faint sideways look.
"Get it straight. You're the one who proposed the Riding Duel, so you're the challenger. And if I don't beat you in the field you're most proud of, how are you supposed to experience real despair?"
"Despair?" The red-haired boy snorted.
"Those two words don't exist for Kazuki Uehara."
"Oh? That might not be the case." Yusaku raised an eyebrow.
"By the way, you're on a Red Dragon Archfiend deck, right?"
Kazuki let out a cold snort.
"Trying to side into hate cards now? Too late."
"Hate cards are something only the weak rely on."
Yusaku slid a deck that shimmered faintly with red light into his duel disk with a steady motion.
"I just wanted to confirm you're using that deck."
Kazuki frowned. He didn't understand what Yusaku meant or why he would ask about his deck at a time like this.
But he disdained to question him. He believed in his own strength, and he refused to imagine that he could possibly lose a Riding Duel to someone doing it for the first time.
The arena's countdown began.
"10, 9, 8…"
Kazuki put on his helmet and gave Yusaku a mocking look.
"Kid, don't crash later. The rules don't include a 'draw by crash'. If you flip your D-Wheel, it counts as surrender. You lose automatically."
Yusaku ignored him, quietly waiting for the start.
Seeing this, Kazuki snorted again and fell silent.
"3… 2… 1! GO!"
As the countdown hit zero, both of them slammed the throttles of their D-Wheels.
"Riding Duel! Acceleration!"
Two voices echoed through the arena at the same time.
Yusaku LP: 8000
Kazuki LP: 8000
With the count finished, the engines of both D-Wheels unleashed a deafening roar, like two steel warhorses breaking free of their reins.
Their tires bit into the track and the machines shot off the starting line, shredding the heavy air.
"Riding Duel!" Kazuki, who initially held the lead, let out a cold laugh and twisted the throttle viciously.
"Whoever shoots out of the first corner gets first turn. Watch closely. This is what a real D-Wheel rider can do!"
As his words fell, the exhaust flames of his D-Wheel suddenly flared, blooming into a dazzling spray of fire. His speed forcibly climbed another gear as he rocketed toward the first curve like an arrow from the string.
But just as he was basking in his own momentum, the D-Wheel behind him suddenly exploded with terrifying acceleration.
The red machine's frame tilted sharply and actually started to climb along the wall of the arena. The friction between its tires and the wall sent a shower of glaring sparks flying.
Amid the gasps of the crowd, Yusaku completed a wall-hugging sprint that was cool to the point of absurdity, using a flawless drift to slice past Kazuki and shoot out of the first corner ahead of him.
Seeing this, the players and students in the stands all stared wide-eyed, frozen in place.
How can a D-Wheel even be ridden like that?
Kazetaro's jaw dropped open as he blurted out,
"Blade pass!?"
The students of Takeuchi Dojo snapped out of their daze a heartbeat later and erupted into thunderous cheers.
"Ooohhh! The one who cleared the first corner is senpai! By Riding Duel rules, senpai gets first turn!"
The Upper City students stared at the sudden reversal on the track, their expressions full of disbelief.
"He got first turn in his very first D-Wheel duel? Kazuki-senpai must've gone easy on him, right?"
Kazetaro shot them a vicious glare.
"Easy, my ass! If you lose, just admit you're bad. Didn't you see Yusaku-senpai ride straight up the wall?"
On the track.
Yusaku glanced back at the stunned Kazuki behind him.
"Being fast in the corner is what counts. Anyone can go fast in a straight line."
"By the rules…" He turned his head forward again. "I get first turn."
As his words fell, Yusaku twisted his fingers, catching a card in the gap between them, and snapped it up in front of him.
"Crimson Resonator's effect: if I control no monsters, I can activate it to Special Summon this card from my hand!"
"My field is empty, so I can activate that effect. Come forth, Crimson Resonator!"
Yusaku lightly swept the card across the D-Wheel's display.
In the next moment, Crimson Resonator appeared in front of him in a flash of light, holding precision tools in its hands.
[Crimson Resonator]
[Level 2 / Fiend / Tuner / Effect]
[ATK 800]
Seeing this familiar monster, Kazuki jerked in shock.
"Crimson Resonator? You're also running a Red Dragon Archfiend deck!?"
"Of course." Yusaku smiled slightly.
"I told you already. I'm going to beat you on your own turf. If I don't use the deck you're best at, how am I supposed to make you despair?"
Once he had confirmed Kazuki was on Red Dragon Archfiend, Yusaku had immediately cashed out and built the same deck.
It had cost him no small amount of UR shards.
He had even spent the 5500 crystals he hadn't been willing to touch last time just to craft it.
Only after decomposing all the useless pulls had he finally managed to complete this build.
Kazuki let out a cold snort, his eyes full of disdain.
"Showing off in front of the master, are you? I'd like to see how you think you're going to pilot this deck."
"Then watch carefully." Yusaku pinched another card between his fingers and raised it, his voice suddenly rising.
"I activate the effect of The Bystial Lubellion in my hand! I send this card from my hand to the Graveyard and add 1 'Bystial' monster other than 'The Bystial Lubellion' from my Deck to my hand!"
Bystial?
Hearing what Yusaku was searching, Kazuki sneered.
"You actually shoved Bystials into this deck? Do you even understand Red Dragon Archfiend? Strong cards come with risks. Try not to lock yourself out."
"Whether I understand it or not, you'll see soon enough. And I know exactly what risk you're talking about."
Yusaku gave him a sidelong glance.
"You mean that for the rest of the turn, you can't Special Summon anything from the Extra Deck except DARK Dragon Synchro monsters, right?"
Before he transmigrated, he had already tried this deck more than once.
Compared to other decks, Red Dragon Archfiend was infamous for those three layers of self-lock.
More than once, he had bricked himself completely because of that ridiculous self-locking.
Truly worthy of a King. Even his restrictions are three steps ahead of everyone else.
(End of Chapter)
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