*Sneeze*
Yutaka sneezed as he watched the sun rise on the deck. Even though he had changed his clothes, he still had a slight cold, which annoyed him to no end. How could anyone have such a weak body, especially in the world of Yugioh!?
After all, wasn't Kaiba someone who jumped out of planes or helicopters without any parachute and still landed safely?
Not to mention he could block bullets with his briefcase and even survive jumping off a cliff, though in the latter at least there was some logical explanation since there was water underneath, but those who really studied science would call that bs, as at that height water would be harder than cement on impact.
Anyway, Kaiba was a strict believer in 'science' and could still do things like these.
So why was he the one with a weak constitution?
We are both playing cards here, aren't we!?
As Yutaka was complaining, the cruise ship soon docked, and they started to leave for the tournament venue in an orderly manner. Yutaka thought they were rude, as they weren't even provided breakfast yet.
As if that was not enough, they were also expected to climb these stairs that looked like they were going up to heaven. He didn't even remember if they showed this scene in the anime, but it once again strengthened Yutaka's resolve that a successful duellist must have a strong body.
"Morning, Yuta," Mini Yugi greeted him enthusiastically as he passed by him.
"It's not Yuta,*wheeze* it's Yutaka."
"Meh, who cares? Yuta is way easier to remember, so your name is Yuta," Joey chimed in as he passed by him as well, which made Yutaka flare up in anger.
It felt like him and Joey were mortal enemies, as every time he saw him, Yutaka felt like he was about to die of anger. Maybe this was also why Kaiba hated him and called him a 3rd-rate duellist at every chance he got.
"Are you okay?" Tea asked as she noticed Yutaka was having trouble with breathing and looked like he could pass out at any moment.
"Tired...*wheeze*... can't think," and Yutaka proceeded to collapse halfway through the stairs. When he came to himself, Tristan was carrying him on his back up the stairs, and they had almost reached the top.
In front of them stood an ancient castle that was surrounded by a majestic aura. He didn't remember much from the anime, but it was obvious that as the inventor of the card game the show was based on, Pegasus must be filthy rich.
As he tried to get down from Tristan's back, Yutaka almost fell down along with Tristan, who didn't expect him to get lively this soon.
"Settle down, buddy. We are almost there," said Tristan as he secured him on his back again.
"Oh, thank god you woke up. You were burning up when you fainted. You must have gotten sick trying to save Joey," said Tea as she used her palm to measure Yutaka's temperature by touching his forehead.
"I am okay," said Yutaka as he swatted her hand away and got down forcefully, but as he forced himself, he felt weak all over once again. This time though he didn't fall down and stood straight. It was not a good idea to entangle with the protagonist group. If he was not careful, he could end up as a member of the Millennium Hostage group along with Mokuba and Yugi's Grandpa.
The only way for him to carve up his name and bring glory to Red-Eyes was for him to stay away from them; if not, he would be caught up in all kinds of accidents without even knowing how.
A normal transmigrator would have used their knowledge of the plot to steer the future to an outcome they desired, but in his case, his knowledge was minimal since he didn't remember much from the show or the characters.
He only knew how to play cards.
"Ungrateful," Joey scolded Yutaka behind his back, but he didn't even turn his back to glance at Joey, which made Joey even more furious. There really was nothing good about this guy.
***
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Pegasus took centre stage from his balcony with a microphone in his hand.
"Hello, dear duellists, it is your host, Maximillion Pegasus. All of you were invited to this island by me after a careful selection process to bring all the strongest duellists in the world under one banner and find the strongest. Now, let me explain the rules." Pegasus spoke with his iconic strange accent and effeminate tone, making Yutaka question how a person like him can exist in reality?
After all, the world he was in was not an anime anymore but a real flesh-and-blood world. Pegasus' accent must be one of the world's greatest mysteries, along with Yugi's starfish hair. Wait? Could it be possible that despite being real, the world still followed anime logic?
"First of all, all duels are conducted using official Duel Monsters cards using the special venues scattered around the island.
Make sure to check if you have any counterfeit cards in the deck because once discovered during a duel, the participant will be eliminated directly.
Every player will start with 2000 Life Points (LP), and you have to have a monster in the field. If you don't summon a monster in your turn and there are no monsters on your field, you will be considered to have forfeited.
Also direct attacks towards the opposing player will not be allowed, either physically or during the duel."
Hearing that, Yutaka couldn't help but chuckle since he could understand why someone would want to punch the opposing player during a duel.
Anyone playing against stall decks, or better known as underworld decks (only by Yutaka; they were called that, but he insisted it was a popular way to call them), would know the feeling.
You want to summon a monster, and suddenly a cute demon sister would jump out of the Labyrnth and kidnap your monster directly to the graveyard. He didn't remember how many times he wanted to just jump out of the screen and directly punch his opponent.
However, no one aside from Yutaka was amused as they looked at him weirdly for laughing at this juncture, including Pegasus. Seeing that, he immediately closed his mouth, and Pegasus kept on with his explanations.
"During this tournament you can change your deck at any moment except during the duel itself.
Still don't hesitate to use your strongest deck from the get-go and fight to your heart's content.
Each participant should have a Duel Glove and two Star Chips. The glove has ten slots for Star Chips. The Star Chips are proof of one being a duellist in this tournament and once you are out of Star Chips you are eliminated from the tournament, as they are used in the duels as stakes."
"Meaning, if you lose, you have to give your Star Chips to the winner. Losing all your Star Chips means losing your qualifications to duel," Yugi explained to Joey with a whisper, who seemed lost on the explanations. That was also when Yugi noticed the weight of his Star Chip.
Because he had given one of his to Joey, he wasn't allowed to lose even once, as that meant instant elimination from the tournament, so he would not be able to save his grandfather's soul from Pegasus. The same also applied to Joey, as he needed to win the prize money for his sister's treatment.
Seeing the slight murmur among the contestants, Pegasus tapped his microphone twice and continued his explanation of the rules.
"The duel stage encompasses the entire island. Only those who gather ten Star Chips in a battle royale style can open these gates. The duels will start in an hour and last for forty-eight hours. Anyone who fails to collect ten Star Chips within the time limit will be directly eliminated and invited off the island."
"Good luck, duellists; may you emerge victorious!"
Pegasus was finally done with his speech and looked at the crowd in front of him. Most of them were just cannon fodders, but a couple of them stood out to him. These were the prey he was excitedly waiting for. As long as he could steal their souls, he could bring his dear Cecelia back to life. Only two more days.
In two days they would finally be reunited.
On the other hand, the duellists were looking at each other with hostility. Anyone who stood next to them could be their enemy once the time was up.
Seeing that Yutaka was not worried but then thought about something. Since he came here, the script of the show must have changed. The so-called butterfly effect or whatever. Then what if Rex lost to someone before Yutaka could track him down and got booted off the island?
No, that cannot happen!
Yutaka took a deep breath.
Then he shouted like a mighty lion.
"REX!!!!!! DUEL ME YOU COWARD!!"