Chapter 130: Bruno's Predicament
"Battle!" Jack turned his D-Wheel around again and began reversing at high speed, then pointed at Yuya, who had nothing on his field. "Red Dragon Archfiend Scarlight, direct attack!"
Scarlight let out a furious roar, then raised its head and breathed a scorching dragon flame towards Yuya.
With nothing left to block him on the field, Yuya desperately searched the trackside for an Action Card. He was lucky enough to pick up an Action Card on the track just before the dragon flame reached him. However, as soon as Yuya slapped it onto his Duel Disk, a large 'X' lit up on the screen.
"Nani?" Yuya looked at the Action Card he had just picked up in shock.
Rebound: When an opponent's monster attacks, target that monster. Negate the attack and inflict effect damage to your opponent equal to half of the attacking monster's ATK.
"An effect that targets? No wonder..." Yuya only then realized the monster effect Jack had just used. Before he could think further, the dragon flame had already struck him.
Yuya LP: 2000→0
After Yuya's life points dropped to zero, his D-Wheel also came to a halt, and cheers erupted throughout the stadium.
Jack also stopped and waved to the audience, causing the fangirls in the stands to scream incessantly.
Yuya looked blankly at everything around him, still recalling the details of the duel.
Just then, Jack approached him and said, "Your entertainment is nothing but self-satisfaction."
"Nani?" When Yuya came to his senses and tried to argue, Jack had already gotten back on his D-Wheel without looking back and accelerated away.
"Yuya..." In the Revolutionary Army's meeting room, Yuzu murmured worriedly, looking at the dispirited Yuya on the screen.
It wasn't just Yuzu; no one in the meeting room was feeling optimistic.
"Is this the strength of the top duelist in this dimension?" Serena said with a solemn expression.
"If his strength is truly as he just demonstrated, I'm confident I could win against him. But it's clear this kid from the Standard Dimension didn't force him to go all out," Kaito said calmly from the side.
"Furthermore, according to Bruno, he's a duelist who has mastered Double Tuning, which is comparable to the legendary Accel Synchro! I really want to duel him soon!" Yugo slammed his fist into his palm and said excitedly.
"Don't interrupt when we're talking about serious business," Yūga Hōzumi said, pushing Yugo's head down. He also noticed Bruno looked somewhat downcast, so he went over and patted his shoulder. "What are you thinking about?"
Bruno sighed. "Do I really have the strength to compete in the Friendship Cup? As I am now, I can't defeat anyone."
"Don't overthink it," Yūga Hōzumi said. "Your deck's true power can only be unleashed once you master Accel Synchro. Only then will you also have the strength to confront him directly."
"Alright," Bruno nodded, then stood up. "I'm a bit tired. I'm going back to sleep."
After Bruno finished speaking, he walked out, leaving everyone present looking at each other in bewilderment.
"Did we push him too hard?" After a long silence, Yuzu spoke up.
During this period, they had all sparred with Bruno more or less, but the result was that Bruno hadn't won a single duel.
However, this couldn't be helped. Without Accel Synchro, a T.G. deck was indeed quite limited in its capabilities.
Bruno was beaten during the day and even in his dreams at night. He was already on the verge of a breakdown, and today, the unfathomable strength displayed by Jack Atlas became the last straw. At this point, Bruno had completely shut down.
"You all should head back first. I want to talk to Kiryu," Yūga Hōzumi said, unable to help but interject when he saw the atmosphere grow heavier.
Hearing this, everyone nodded, then turned and left the meeting room. Soon, only Yūga Hōzumi and Kiryu remained.
"What exactly has Bruno been through?" Yūga Hōzumi asked directly. "These past few days, when I watched him practice on his D-Wheel, he was clearly on the verge of reaching that state, but he always failed to concentrate at the last moment, causing him to fall short. This must be related to something he experienced before."
"You noticed that too?" Kiryu sighed, then began, "When Bruno was little, he was a well-known genius in the Commoner District and easily secured the only entry slot for the Commoner District in the Neo Domino City Junior Duel Tournament."
"However, just like every commoner who participated in previous tournaments, Bruno was overwhelmed by the children from The Top Echelons and their rare cards, even though those kids were still dueling at the level of 'just play whatever lights up on the Duel Disk'," Kiryu said.
"After that tournament, Bruno was dispirited for a long time. It wasn't until four years ago when he joined the Revolutionary Army and received the legacy deck we were protecting that he finally regained his resolve."
"That was probably the most confident the kid had ever been. Everyone in the Revolutionary Army believed he was our future hope."
"However, Security's encirclement operation two years ago changed everything."
"That time, many of our comrades were sent to the Underground Facility by Security. Because Bruno hadn't yet mastered Accel Synchro, I didn't allow him to participate in that battle."
"After everyone escaped to a safe place, Bruno was like a changed person, practicing desperately every day."
"I asked him about it once. He believed that if he had learned Accel Synchro before that day, he could have helped in the battle instead of waiting powerlessly in the rear."
"But from that day on, he made no further progress," Kiryu said helplessly.
"I see." Yūga Hōzumi nodded in understanding, thinking to himself: *No wonder Bruno got stuck at the final step. With a mind clouded by distracting thoughts, there's no way to reach the state of Clear Mind.*
But Yūga Hōzumi had no better solution. This shitty system only provided teaching materials for Accel Synchro; as for the psychological issues, Yūga Hōzumi had to handle them himself.
But fortunately, at least he now knew the source of Bruno's emotional block, so he wasn't completely in the dark.
"By the way, from what you just said, it seems you've had dealings with Jack Atlas?" After getting the answer he wanted, Yūga Hōzumi asked about another matter.
"What, is that strange?" Kiryu laughed wryly at this. "I guess I forgot to tell you before. It's not just me; many of the old-timers in the Revolutionary Army have a history with him."
Kiryu's words surprised Yūga Hōzumi. "Don't tell me he's a traitor from our own ranks."
...
(end of chapter)