The two stepped inside. After the same dizzy spinning as before, they soon landed back on solid ground.
It was the same place they had left, inside Abandoned Dorm at Duel Academy, in that room carved with ancient text and Millennium Item symbols.
But when they opened their eyes, the first person they saw was unexpected.
It was Kei Kaiba.
Mokuba Kaiba turned his head and lit up when he saw them land. "Ah, you're back already?"
As Yugen had expected, not long after they left, Hayato Maeda and Sho Marufuji contacted Duel Academy. A student disappearing from the Abandoned Dorm was a serious matter, so the report quickly reached the Duel Academy Board of Directors. Kaiba Corporation sent a team to investigate, and Mokuba Kaiba, who happened to hear about it, came along as well.
Yugen briefly explained their trip to the Spirit World and what they had witnessed. After giving his statement, he moved aside and started chatting with Mokuba Kaiba.
"So the Dark God from Shin Doma has already invaded multiple Dimension of different Spirit," Mokuba Kaiba said thoughtfully. "And you even ran into one of the new Three Swords? I heard none of them are easy to deal with."
"Pure luck," Yugen replied, still looking shaken. "The situation was extremely dangerous. Even with Judai Yuki and me fighting two against one, we had a hard time and barely won in the end."
Before he could continue, Mokuba Kaiba cut him off with a knowing nod. "Right, right. You should strengthen your Deck as much as possible. You need some Rare Card, don't you?"
Yugen smiled. It was always easier to deal with someone familiar, and he and Mokuba Kaiba already understood each other without saying much.
"I figured you might say that before I came," Mokuba Kaiba said with a grin. "As it happens, I heard the Research Division working on Black Luster Soldier has made progress recently, thanks to the information you provided earlier. I expect they will contact you soon."
He paused before adding, "When that happens, come by the Headquarters. I will see what we have that you can use."
Yugen's eyes lit up at the mention of Kaiba Corporation Headquarters. That was definitely worth a visit, and he was already curious about what he might find there.
Over the past few days, he had listed many ideas for different Deck. Sometimes he analyzed the weaknesses of his current builds in various matchups and came up with new structures to cover those gaps. Other times, a newly acquired card inspired an entirely new strategy, like the Abyss Control Deck he had just completed.
That Deck was relatively easy to assemble since most of its components were generic. However, many of his other concepts still lacked key pieces, and his list of missing Card had grown quite long. After obtaining Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, he felt that even his main Deck could be upgraded further.
It was the world championship build from back then, the Nephthys's Phoenix God Deck. Its core was obvious from the name: Metamorphosis, Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, and Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys.
Envoy of the Beginning was the primary attacker, one of the strongest finishers in the environment. With 2400 ATK, Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys was also impressive for its time. It had resistance to common board clearing spells and traps, could revive itself, and even carried a built in effect similar to Heavy Storm to wipe out spells and traps.
As for Metamorphosis, it allowed his monsters to transform into Polymerization monsters depending on the situation. It could easily bring out powerful fusion threats to answer almost any board, making the Deck strong both offensively and defensively.
The problem was that he still lacked many pieces. In particular, Polymerization monsters were expensive in this era. Perhaps because GX was known as the age of Polymerization, even the most basic fusion monsters cost a small fortune and were hard to find.
The ones currently available did not impress him, and even if he bought them, the price would feel unreasonable. Most of the Polymerization monsters on his wish list were simply not on the market.
That made Mokuba Kaiba's offer a perfect opportunity. Kaiba Corporation Headquarters would not be short on such resources, and he was already looking forward to a major shopping trip.
Meanwhile, specialists from Kaiba Corporation had surrounded the old dorm room. Equipment was set up everywhere as technicians moved in and out, scanning and recording data. Yugen and Mokuba Kaiba stood at the edge, chatting casually while also discussing the progress of the investigation into Shin Doma.
Mokuba Kaiba shook his head. "We have made some progress. We destroyed many of their bases and eliminated several Shadow Duelists forces connected to them. It should have disrupted their operations, but it is hard to say we have damaged their core."
He sighed before continuing. "We realized it too late. When Dartz founded the old Doma, its influence spread across the world. It reached deep into business and politics. Even though my brother and Yugi Muto defeated Dartz, an organization that large does not vanish overnight. We believe the current Shin Doma was rebuilt from those remnants, which is why it is so massive and difficult to deal with."
After a brief pause, he frowned. "On top of that, the hacker incident has been distracting us."
"The one who broke into the KaibaLand arena?" Yugen asked. "Have you found out who it was?"
"That is the problem. We have not," Mokuba Kaiba said, hands in his pockets. "It is strange. How can someone that skilled appear out of nowhere and leave no trace at all?"
He looked slightly frustrated. "And it happened right at the critical stage of developing the Link System."
"The Link System?" Yugen repeated. It was the first time he had heard the term, whether at Duel Academy or online.
"Oh, right. It has not been announced yet. Trade secret," Mokuba Kaiba said with a smile. "You will probably see it when you visit the Headquarters. Think of it as a surprise."
At that moment, one of the experts hurried over with a report. "The preliminary on site analysis is complete. Further data processing will have to wait until we return to the Headquarters."
He continued, "We believe something happened in this dorm years ago that destabilized the space here. If extraordinary power like a Spirit approaches, there is a certain probability that a Rift leading to another Dimension may appear. It should be an occasional phenomenon. Current readings have already returned to normal."
Something that happened here years ago. Based on what he remembered, Yugen guessed it referred to the Darkness incident that ran through the main GX storyline. A group of reckless students had researched dark forces here and made contact with Darkness. All of them later disappeared, and the Abandoned Dorm became a weak point between Dimension.
"Understood," Mokuba Kaiba said.
He turned to Yugen. "I am glad you are both safe. That is all for today's investigation. Go back and get some rest. We will meet again in a few days."
Yugen yawned. "Sounds good. I need to catch up on sleep."
After the unexpected trip to the Different Dimension tonight, he was exhausted. Fortunately, tomorrow was the weekend, and he planned to sleep through the entire morning.
Outside, teachers and students who had gathered to watch pointed toward him as he left the dorm.
"He is chatting so casually with Kei Kaiba. Who is that guy?"
"I heard someone say he is the man favored by the legendary Seto Kaiba."
"No way. Seriously?"