He even wondered if he was seeing things. One star was the very definition of a rookie. How could someone like that even participate, let alone make the top eight? His competition experience and public honors were completely blank.
"His record is a blank sheet. He looks like total cannon fodder," one lackey said with a dismissive curl of his lip. "How did someone like this even get into the quarterfinals?"
"Maybe he just got lucky," the other said.
"Even with luck, getting this far should still take some ability," the first replied. Besides, no matter what, reaching the top eight in a first public tournament meant he would not stay one star after this event.
"He's probably one of those dark horses making their first appearance," the second lackey said. "Sometimes there are talented players like that. But in front of Manjoume, he's still just cannon fodder."
"That makes sense," the first lackey agreed with a nod. Then he laughed and added, "But really, that guy named Yugen is pretty unlucky. Running into Manjoume this early means he can only stop at the top eight."
Manjoume smiled faintly and said nothing, trying to look calm and aloof like a true expert. However, the upward curve of his lips and his instinctive relaxed lean already gave away his satisfaction. Even without speaking, he agreed with his lackeys deep down.
Yugen Fujiki was unheard of. Even if he was a dark horse, this was his first tournament. Did he really think he could instantly defeat the number one of the middle division's elite class?
Yugen walked onto the dueling field and faced his first round opponent, Jun Manjoume, standing still across from each other.
"Duel!" both of them shouted.
Yugen, LP 4000. Manjoume, LP 4000.
The two were strangers, so there was nothing to say before the match. In Manjoume's eyes, Yugen was nothing more than a stepping stone to advancement, while Yugen was looking forward to using this chance to test how strong a story character really was in actual combat.
Among duelists, it was common knowledge that many anime decks were built more for show than for consistency. Plenty of people once copied those decks as kids, only to discover that once a duel started, their hands completely locked up and none of the cards could even be played. Six cards would just sit there doing nothing.
But anime characters in real duels were a different matter entirely. They possessed what was called deck bonds, but what it really meant was absurd topdeck luck. No matter how much the deck was shuffled, key combo cards always appeared together, and even the strangest builds could still function.
This trait became more obvious the stronger the duelist was. For example, Judai Yuki from GX was famous for miracle draws, and by the end of DM, Yami Yugi could practically draw whatever he wanted.
That said, most of Manjoume's true ace cards came from later in the story. VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon and Polymerization were provided by Professor Chronos de Medici to let him teach Judai Yuki a lesson, and Armed Dragon LV7 was something he obtained at North Academy. At this point, he did not even have the Ojama Trio yet.
So his current strength should be noticeably lower than in the anime.
"I'll take the first turn."
Yugen decisively claimed the opening move through the random selection of the Duel Disk System.
"I set one monster on the field, then set one card in the back row."
He took two cards from his hand, placing one face down in the front zone of his Duel Disk and sliding the other into the back row. Two dark card projections immediately appeared on the field.
"Turn end."
"Heh, a defensive setup. Against me, the number one of the Middle Division, that kind of caution is only natural," Manjoume shouted smugly.
At this point, before enrolling, Manjoume had not yet suffered any crushing defeats from Judai, so his confidence was overflowing.
"But it's useless. My turn, draw!"
His eyes swept over his hand, and he immediately pulled out two cards.
"I set one card. Then I activate the Spell Card, Card Destruction! Both players discard as many cards as possible from their hands, then each player draws the same number of cards they discarded!"
Yugen discarded his entire hand as instructed, exchanging cards together with Manjoume.
As soon as the new hands were drawn, Manjoume pressed the activation button. "Flip my set card, Spell Card, Silent Doom! Target 1 Normal Monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it in face-up Defense Position, but it cannot attack."
A black vortex opened on the field, and a red haired female warrior holding a sword and shield emerged from within. She landed in a crouch, her card image appearing horizontally beneath her feet as she raised her shield defensively.
Kanan the Swordmistress, DEF 1400.
"Then I activate the Equip Spell 'Legendary Sword' from my hand to equip it to Kanan the Swordmistress! The equipped monster gains 300 ATK/DEF!"
Kanan the Swordmistress, ATK 1400 to ATK 1700.
"Heh, you're probably wondering what's the point of boosting the attack of a monster in Defense Position," Manjoume chuckled.
Yugen kept a straight face, thinking that it was not completely wrong.
"Let me show you. Elite duels are beyond your imagination," Manjoume said. "The Equip Spell 'Legendary Sword' has another effect. When the equipped monster is used as a Tribute for a Warrior-Type monster, it can count as two Tributes. (ANIME EFFECT)"
White winds swept across the field, surrounding the swordswoman. Golden light wrapped around her body and blade before she dissolved into particles.
"Light of dawn, illuminate the path to victory. Cut down all obstacles with the legendary blade!"
Manjoume raised a card high as a summoning storm whipped his clothes.
"Appear. Level eight, Gilford the Legend!"
A masked swordmaster in black armor stepped out of the storm, a massive sword strapped to his back. Red hair flowed behind him, and his presence was imposing.
Gilford the Legend, ATK 2600.
Yugen gave a small nod. As expected, duelists in this world always used flashy poses and speeches when summoning big monsters.
The audience watching the match broke into excited shouts.
"He summoned something that strong on the very first turn," a red haired girl exclaimed. "That guy doesn't seem ordinary at all."
"Hahaha, of course!"
One of Manjoume's lackeys happened to be sitting behind her and immediately bragged. "That's our Duel Academy Middle Division elite class number one, Manjoume!"
"He's already guaranteed a spot in the higher division this year. Beating someone like that is nothing," the other lackey added smugly.
"Elite class. Number one?"
The two girls instantly straightened up, their gaze toward Manjoume on the screen turning into pure admiration.
They had heard that while the Middle Division was not as hard to enter as the advanced division, it still had many strong duelists. And the elite class within it was full of young geniuses.
Number one in the elite class was the real deal.
They suddenly felt a bit sorry for his opponent.
What a shame. That boy named Yugen Fujiki was pretty good looking, but it seemed unlikely they would see him again after this round.
"I'm not done yet," Manjoume continued.
"Gilford the Legend, effect activate. When this card is Normal Summoned: You can equip as many Equip Spell Cards from your Graveyard as possible to a Warrior-Type monster(s) you control."
He paused, catching the two cards that popped out from the Graveyard zone of his Duel Disk, and sneered.
"Of course, Sword Saint itself is a Warrior. I equip both 'Legendary Sword' and 'Divine Sword - Phoenix Blade' from my Graveyard to Gilford the Legend!"
The two Equip Spells layered onto the Sword Saint at once. Energy surged through the warrior as he drew his blade, which rapidly extended until it looked absurdly long.
"'Legendary Sword' and 'Divine Sword - Phoenix Blade' each increase attack by 300, for a total of 600!"
Gilford the Legend, ATK 2600 to ATK 3200.
The red haired girl was even more shocked. "Three thousand two hundred attack. And it's still the first turn. That's already higher than the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
The two lackeys felt even prouder. One of them grinned broadly and waved it off. "Relax, relax. Small stuff. For Manjoume this is basic."
But Yugen, standing in the duel, was not intimidated at all. If