It was hard to imagine such wildly different styles appearing together in one duel, let alone on one person. How could there be a Duelist like this in the world? The idea felt unreal.
Even Manjoume stood up from his seat, his eyes fixed on Yugen on the stage without moving at all. He had always known that guy was shameless and strong, but even so, the direction of this Duel went far beyond his expectations. How could someone keep pulling out so many strange combos without running dry?
Watching Yugen duel felt a bit like watching a top student solve problems. Questions that left ordinary students stuck for hours were answered by him with a few casual strokes, turning confusion into clarity in moments. It made people want to crack open his head just to see what was different inside.
Of course, if Yugen heard that, he would only smile and say he was standing on the shoulders of giants. Even if the common belief was true, that dueling in this world was truth itself and locals had to work hundreds of times harder to find rules that card players from reality took for granted, the body of knowledge behind Yugi Muto was still massive. He could only do this because he was building on years of exploration and conclusions left by countless players.
Finding combinations in such a huge card pool was like searching for needles in the sea. Making cards interact in ways nobody had imagined before, creating tricks that either blinded you or amazed you, had always been part of the charm of Yu-Gi-Oh!. That charm was on full display here.
"Alright, congratulations, Yugen. You have passed the assessment."
In the end, it was the head of the Duel Department who spoke up. His voice cut cleanly through the noise. "That is enough, Shuuichi. Come back for now."
Seeing the department head's stiff expression, Shuuichi knew at once that his performance had not impressed him. Punishment was probably waiting later. He wanted to cry and say he had really done his best, but what were you supposed to do when the opponent felt inhuman?
Even after Yugen left the field, everyone's eyes kept drifting back to him. This was only a freshman who had just enrolled. At this rate, people were already joking that the head of the Duel Department might need to be replaced soon.
"…This is your club welcome gift."
The tall senior smiled as she placed a badge into Yugen's hand. It was the emblem of the Duel Department, cool and solid. She explained that new members received five extra credits and could choose one card for free from the selection.
As she spoke, she brought over a box and let him pick. Inside, rows of cards were neatly arranged. It seemed that students who went on stage earlier really did have the advantage, since the best cards would be taken first.
Yugen glanced through them and felt none stood out. Maybe because they were free, most of them felt underwhelming. Then his eyes paused on one card.
Meteor Black Dragon.
It was a Polymerization fusion of Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Meteor Dragon, Level 8 with ATK 3500, and a normal monster. In the real card pool it was basically useless, but what surprised Yugen was that Red-Eyes Black Dragon was supposed to be ultra-rare in this world.
In the DM era, only Joey Wheeler seemed to have one, and it was his signature monster. By GX, its rarity had dropped a bit, but even then it was still top-tier rare, not something you would casually see.
"That one is expensive," the senior said with a laugh. "The Duel Department paid a huge price to get it. It is the evolved form of a legendary monster, you know."
Yugen frowned. "But the Duel Department does not have Red-Eyes Black Dragon in storage, right? Then this card cannot even be summoned."
"Right, it cannot be summoned," she replied, blinking as if that were obvious.
Yugen: "?"
"Come on, Red-Eyes Black Dragon is legendary," she said, laughing so hard her shoulders shook. "If we could actually summon it, do you think our budget could afford that? Meteor Black Dragon is less rare than the original, and its battle value is not high, so it is mostly for collection."
She added that some Duelist still used it as an ace by replacing Red-Eyes Black Dragon with King of the Swamp as the Polymerization material. Of course, King of the Swamp itself was also a Rare Card. The explanation ended with another cheerful laugh.
Yugen: "…"
So it was just a Mascot after all. Then again, he suddenly remembered a certain generic card he had recently obtained from the Academy Department. If paired with that, this card might actually have some use.
"Then I will take Meteor Black Dragon," Yugen Do said.
There really was nothing else in the box that interested him. The senior nodded and handed the card over without hesitation.
After passing the assessment and receiving his reward, Yugen exchanged contact information with the senior for future communication. She seemed unusually happy to get his details. Her smile lingered even after they were done.
"By the way, senior," Yugen asked, "where are the recruitment sites for other clubs? Are they happening soon too?"
Her expression turned a little strange. Being asked that during a Duel Department recruitment did feel awkward. Still, she explained that different clubs had different schedules, mostly concentrated within the next two weeks, and advised him not to join too many since energy was limited.
"Thanks for the advice, but it is fine," Yugen said with a confident smile. "I know my limits."
The second week after arriving at Duel Academy was coming to an end, and the exchange duels involving Yellow Dormitory were finally nearing their conclusion. Yugen had already dueled almost everyone he was supposed to, though he still felt a bit unsatisfied. Over the past two days, he could still occasionally see students from Yellow Dormitory finishing their own matches in the dorm area.
When he passed by, he sometimes stopped to watch. Overall, although quite a few students had been shaped by his Duel over these two weeks, there was nothing like the obvious Underworld-style spread he had seen back in Duel Dojo. After all, anyone who could enter Duel Academy was already an elite Duelist, and everyone had pride in their own Deck and would not change it lightly.
As he was walking past, he heard a Yellow Dormitory student shout, "My Turn!! Card Draw! I set four cards and end my turn!" Yugen fell silent for a moment. That opening felt strangely familiar.
He watched a bit more, and at the very least, the ratio of trap-heavy setups among Yellow Dormitory students seemed to have increased recently. No one was directly copying his Deck or fully imitating his builds, as everyone still stuck to their own decks and cores. Still, on top of that, there was a faint trend drifting toward the Underworld direction.
If things kept developing like this, then during any future large-scale inter-dorm exchange Duel, the other two dorms would probably feel it too. No, thinking further ahead, if this Underworld-style spread continued until it dominated all of Duel Academy, then when Saiou Takuma came to take a look, he would likely shake his head and leave within a week, saying the place was too dark and that his Light of Destruction could do nothing about it.
By the time the story reached the Yubel arc and the entire Duel Academy got sent to Different Dimension, the tone would probably shift from "teachers and students struggling to survive in another world" to "the Different Dimension Spirit disaster of the Underworld." Yugen reflected for a bit and felt that if things ever really turned out that way, it definitely would not be his fault.
Yu-Gi-Oh! was always a game with two people involved but only one person truly playing, just like Yugi Muto. Duel had always been this way.