Somewhere, an unknown place.
The cold iron walls seemed to solidify with endless darkness, devouring every ray of light that tried to seep in. The walls and ceiling of the room were particularly dim under the cold light, with occasional sharp corners flashing cold glints in the darkness.
Three pairs of cold eyes lit up in the darkness.
"It's about time." One of the shadows said.
The shadow next to him said in a deep voice, "Is it the instructions from Father, Alpha?"
The shadow called Alpha nodded: "In two days, the target is Duel Academy."
"Finally, we're moving." It was the third, taller shadow speaking, grumbling, "But the target is actually Duel Academy?
Che, it's rare for me to make an appearance, and the imaginary opponents are just some students, how boring."
The shadow next to him asked, "Then Gamma, what kind of opponent would satisfy you?"
"Of course, the legendary Duel King, that damn Mutou ↑Game↓..."
The other two immediately looked at him as if he were an idiot.
But the tall shadow called Gamma still held his head high: "The reason for my existence is to challenge the pinnacle of duelists; a duel not against the strongest is meaningless!
That damn ↑Game↓, I don't know where he's hiding now, but one day I'll make him face me..."
The other two chose to directly ignore the boasting giant.
"Beta, this is the first time Father has directly handed over a mission to us." Alpha said in a deep voice, "This operation is crucial. We have two targets, you should know, right?"
"Of course." The shadow named Beta nodded, "The data has been received."
He paused, then added with confusion.
"I understand the primary target. But the secondary target, that 'Fujiki Yugen' duelist... seems to be just a first-year student at Duel Academy?"
"Don't underestimate him just because he's a student. Since Father values him, it naturally shows he has outstanding qualities. We don't need to understand Father's motives, just carry them out."
Alpha paused, then solemnly warned.
"Moreover, if we encounter the secondary target, be cautious. There is already data showing that his duels are quite unique, he is adept at disturbing his opponent's mind, interfering with their brain, making it difficult for the opponent to perform normally or even causing erratic behavior during the duel..."
The large Gamma suddenly interjected: "Heh, just some petty tricks. What mind disturbing, brain interfering tactics, such tricks are useless against me!"
The other two's eyes brightened, and they looked at him together: "Oh? Do you perhaps have a clever plan against him?"
Gamma held his head high: "If I have no brain, how can he disturb or counter me?"
The two: "......"
A brief silence.
It seemed like they were dumbstruck, expressing in silence, "What you said actually makes a lot of sense."
Gamma confidently asserted: "Dueling inherently requires ninety-nine percent strength and one percent thought. As long as there is strength, no evil tricks or treacherous schemes can stand against it..."
The other two chose to ignore him once more.
Beta: "I still don't understand why Father insists on sending this defective product out with us?"
Alpha: "Ahem, we don't need to understand Father's motives, he must have his reasons for doing so..."
By now, Gamma was already standing aside with arms crossed, laughing a long string of "hahaha."
"...I suppose."
Alpha suddenly lost a bit of confidence.
...
...
The cultural festival is one of the most important events in the first semester of the new school year at Duel Academy.
When Yugen first heard the term, it was somewhat unfamiliar to him, and he instinctively felt it was probably related to the theme of dueling culture. However, upon arriving at the scene today, he immediately realized that it should actually be a grand event centered around food.
The air was filled with the aroma of food, the smoke of grilled meat mingling with the sweetness of desserts. Pennants fluttered, ribbons swayed in the breeze, exuding a festive cheer.
Since early morning, students dressed in tricolor uniforms had crowded the scene into a bustling sea of people. Apart from the food, the surrounding stalls were also filled with an array of goods, such as handcrafted Black Mage trinkets, Q-version Black Mage Girl pendants, exquisite Blue-Eyes White Dragon models...
Yugen wandered among the festival crowd for a while, and caught sight of a familiar face.
Mitsuzawa Earth seemed to be instructing a fellow from the Yellow Dormitory on something.
As he got closer, Yugen vaguely remembered the person opposite.
Seemed to be called... Kagurazaka?
Oh right, it was Kagurazaka, the one in the animation who stole the game card deck replica.
Mitsuzawa's evaluation of this person was that he was exceptionally talented, skilled at mimicking other duelists' tactics and even personalities, able to use any card deck proficiently, possessing a unique talent.
Yugen thought it was indeed true. The game's deck was so cumbersome, a hodgepodge of systems crammed together, was clearly a proof that only a rather high-level expert could handle it. Yet Kagurazaka, who stole the game's deck, could play it so smoothly, without any hiccups, was indeed exceptionally talented.
If one were to speak of this person's weakness, it might just be that he never wins...
It's quite mysterious. Though Kagurazaka never gets stuck no matter what card deck he uses, it seems to be limited to the realm of "never getting stuck." Even with a powerful deck like Professor Strong Desire's Ancient Mechanism, he could still lose. And not just to anyone, he even lost to Marufuji Sho, which truly is one of the world's unsolved mysteries...
"...So I said, Kagurazaka, even if I share my deck building with you, it won't have any meaning."
Mitsuzawa said with a headache.
"A duelist's card deck is powerful because it's carefully selected and constructed with their own effort. Your ability to imitate and learn is top-notch, but in actual battles, you end up constrained, doesn't this explain the problem?"
Mitsuzawa seemed to not have noticed Yugen nearby and was coincidentally using him as an example.
"Look, for instance, Yugen, his strength is evident. Although I am reluctant to admit it, he is indeed far stronger than I am, being the first in the Yellow Dormitory.
His strength lies in never treading the paths others have taken, always forging a unique road of his own. Even I cannot reach his level..."
Yugen was silent.
Kagurazaka seemed to have such an evaluation of him, and his heart felt somewhat undeserving. To be honest, those card decks that others saw as weird and eccentric, although they were indeed self-constructed, many of the ideas and concepts were actually results of the wisdom of countless predecessors.
So while outsiders saw him continuously paving unknown secluded paths, little did they know every route he took was a bustling highway long frequented by others countless times.
"I understand!"
Kagurazaka nodded vigorously.
"Indeed, I also felt that compared to others, Yugen's card deck seemed stronger and more distinctive, and it turns out Mitsuzawa thinks so too.
Alright, now I know which path to take next, thank you Mitsuzawa for the guidance!"
Mitsuzawa: "No, actually what I wanted to say was..."
But before he could finish, Kagurazaka had already turned and disappeared into the crowd.
Judging by his stance, it seemed he had no mind to participate in the cultural festival anymore, and was heading back to dive into deck building again.
Mitsuzawa: "..."
It seemed there was a misunderstanding of some kind again.
Oh well, let him be.