Yugen began to discover the joy of dueling in this alternate world.
However, he soon realized that true joy in this world must be preserved. Because as he became joyful, the duel enthusiasm of his fellow apprentices in the dojo seemed to wane.
In just three days, no one was willing to duel him anymore.
Yugen could only look up at the sky and let out a weak sigh.
Now he seemed to understand a little why Yugi Muto, before meeting the Pharaoh, couldn't make any friends. Indeed, "Yin" players don't deserve friends.
Later, the matter even alarmed the dojo master.
The dojo master was named Takeuchi Kageryu, rumored to have been a Top 32 duelist in a small town tournament during his youth. Master Takeuchi heard that recently, one of his apprentices had suddenly made rapid progress in dueling techniques, defeating his prized senior student in one fell swoop, and furthermore, had caused all the other apprentices to retreat into themselves within three days, making no one willing to challenge him now.
Upon hearing this, Master Takeuchi immediately felt he had to step in.
He immediately gathered all the apprentices. First, he praised Yugen's diligent study and rapid progress, then criticized the other apprentices' negative attitudes.
The master lectured them, saying that challenging and sparring was for improvement and growth. A strong opponent was clearly a good thing. Otherwise, if they just spent all day bullying newcomers, kicking the elderly out of nursing homes and kindergartens, what good would that do?
The apprentices, chastised, bowed their heads and dared not speak.
"Alright, that's enough."
The master waved his hand, smiling as he beckoned to Yugen.
"If they're unwilling, then I'll personally see how much you've improved. It's also a good chance to give you some pointers on your deck."
Finally finding someone willing to duel him, and with several structural adjustments he wanted to test, Yugen gladly accepted.
Good, so today it's a duel with the master.
The master was quite cool, directly offering Yugen the first turn, showing the demeanor of a true expert. Yugen, not being modest, immediately took the first turn.
His opening move was to directly pay 1000 Life Points, revealing the Spell Card "Confiscation." This familiar opening sequence caused the other apprentices, who had suffered enough from it for three days, to involuntarily shiver, almost triggering their PTSD.
So, Confiscation's effect activated.
"Check your hand?"
Yugen glanced over, immediately choosing and discarding the master's "Monster Reborn." Then he Normal Summoned "Green Gadget," activating its effect to search for a "Red Gadget" from his deck upon successful Summon. Next, he set three cards in his backrow and casually ended his turn.
Now it was the master's turn. The master directly played "Gearfried the Iron Knight," a four-star monster with 1800 ATK, which looked very cool. But it was useless, because the Iron Knight hadn't even found its footing before it was swallowed by Yugen's "Trap Hole."
[Trap Hole: When a monster with 1000 or more ATK is Normal Summoned, it is immediately destroyed.]
But the master was indeed a master; he still had plays. Although he didn't have his Normal Summon for this turn, he activated the effect of [The Rock Spirit] from his hand, allowing him to Special Summon it by banishing an EARTH monster from his Graveyard. He banished the Iron Knight from his Graveyard and directly summoned the Rock Spirit onto the field.
Then Master Takeuchi waved his hand, using the Rock Spirit to attack Green Gadget. But Yugen snapped his fingers, and a vivid red Trap Card in his backrow immediately flipped open.
"I activate the noble power of Han Nuo!"
[Mirror Force: When an opponent's monster declares an attack, destroy all Attack Position monsters your opponent controls.]
Master Takeuchi: "..."
Having stepped on two traps, the master reluctantly had no choice but to pass.
Then it was Yugen's turn again. Yugen glanced at the card he drew, then directly played "Delinquent Duo." Paying 1000 Life Points, the opponent had to discard two more cards.
Master Takeuchi looked down at his hand, which had instantly dwindled to just one card, and fell into contemplation about life.
Yugen then summoned the "Red Gadget" he had searched for in the previous turn. Red Gadget's effect activated upon successful summon, allowing him to search for "Yellow Gadget" from his deck. In the Battle Phase, Red Gadget and Green Gadget attacked directly, a double direct attack that immediately took away 2700 of the master's Life Points.
It wasn't even over yet. In the End Phase, he waved his hand, then flipped another set card.
[Time Seal]
[Trap/Effect: Skip the opponent's next Draw Phase.]
You might not believe it, but this terrifying "Yin" card was also a card used by the King of Games Yugi Muto. Back in Duelist Kingdom, Dark Yugi used it when dueling the Ghouls' fake card dealer who also used Exodia.
His hand was evaporated, and his Draw Phase was directly skipped by the "Crimson King." Master Takeuchi looked at his empty field, as blank as a piece of paper, then looked at the two constantly revolving gears on the opponent's field, and couldn't help but seriously consider the feasibility of a physical duel. (Translator's Note: "Phi Hồng Chi Vương" is likely a mistranslation or a play on words. Given the context, it refers to skipping the Draw Phase, possibly a pun on a card that would prevent drawing. "Crimson King" is a general powerful name, not a specific card that skips draws.)
"..."
One minute later.
With his Life Points reduced to zero, the master walked off the duel arena, looking up at the sky and taking a deep breath.
He also began to reflect on what madness had possessed him to want to duel with this kind of "Yin" player.
The spectating apprentices looked even more distraught.
Even the master fell!
Actually, before this duel began, they had all held expectations for the outcome. Each of them, more or less, felt that although they were utterly helpless against this "Yin" opponent, experiencing a sense of frustration where they had power but couldn't use it, and cards but couldn't play them, that it was mostly due to their own lack of skill. If a true master were to face him, the result would surely be different.
But the reality was, the master stepped up, the master pressed forward, and the master also conceded.
The process was almost identical to what each of them had faced against Yugen over the past few days!
For them, this was a clash of their fundamental beliefs, a collapse of their worldview. They felt endless confusion and deep concern for the gloomy future of the entire dueling world, and at the same time, a similar thought couldn't help but surface in their minds—
—The invincible master was defeated by a social retribution-inducing, self-isolating person. Why am I dreaming such a dream?
In reality, Yugen's deck concept for this test was very simple: a combination of traditional beatdown and Hand Destruction.
Anyone who played Yu-Gi-Oh! before knew that in an era where monster effects were far from as powerful as today, and deck cycling and combo capabilities were nowhere near as exaggerated, powerful Spell and Trap Cards held an extremely important position in mainstream decks.
The three Gadgets (Green, Red, Yellow) each have effects that allow them to search for each other upon successful Summon, replenishing hand advantage and preventing a shortage of monsters. Meanwhile, powerful traps and spells could continuously disrupt the opponent's resources. As the resource gap between the two sides continued to widen, it naturally became impossible for the opponent to play.
But Yugen still humbly sought guidance: "Master, what do you think of my deck? Is there anything else I can ask for your guidance on?"
Upon hearing this, Master Takeuchi snapped out of his contemplation of life and gave him a meaningful look. It was strange, really; he was clearly such a handsome and sunny young man, but now, whenever he saw that face, his heart fluttered with fear.
Guidance? Haha, what good guidance could I possibly give?
You're so amazing; you should be guiding me.
To be honest, if he wasn't feeling too embarrassed, he actually had this idea in his heart.
He wanted to learn dueling from Yugen.
Especially this kind of dueling that could make people scream in agony.
"I have nothing left to teach you."
Master Takeuchi sighed, feeling a bit powerless.
"Oh, by the way, master, I just remembered there's one more thing I'd like to ask for." Yugen said.
"What is it?"
"I want to apply for the Duel Academy entrance exam," Yugen said, "and I was wondering if I could apply for a dojo subsidy."