Of course, card creation could not be completely unrestricted. Even designers at Industrial Illusions had to follow certain rules, and new cards needed to be accepted by the system.
What Yugen was curious about was the threshold for card creation and what kind of cards would be recognized. If all the cards he remembered from his past life could be created, then becoming a card designer would let him bring some modern Yu-Gi-Oh! shock to this world.
He bought a series of reference books and textbooks. He did not expect to master it quickly, but wanted a basic understanding.
Titles like "Foundations of Field Spell Construction" and "Nine Common Mistakes in Monster Card Design" made it clear that card creation was a deep and complex discipline. Many universities and research institutes were dedicated to Duel Monsters development.
Even many old cards still had room for further design. A famous example was the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, developed by an independent research team personally led by Seto Kaiba. That team was the top Duel Monsters research group in the world, rumored to have created forms like White Spirit Dragon and other evolutions.
Another example was the Pharaoh's Chaos Warrior. Early on, it was just an eight-star monster with three thousand attack, but it had since been developed into Chaos Soldier Envoy of the Beginning, a legendary and extremely rare card.
"If I could learn to create cards myself," Yugen thought. For now, it was just an idea.
He remembered that Judai's roommate Hayato had joined Industrial Illusions as a card designer after graduating from Duel Academy. That made him suspect the academy might have related courses.
If he had the chance, he would definitely look into it. For now, he set himself a new short-term goal.
He would go to the Moonlight Cup and take the championship first.
The Vast Arena held the towering Ancient City of the Duel Arena. The match had not started yet, but the stands were already packed with people. Noise rolled through the arena as spectators took their seats and waited.
Yugen arrived outside the venue together with his senior brother from the Duel Dojo, Koji Sato. After getting out of the car, he looked up and immediately saw the Dark Magician statue standing at the main entrance.
Although after Yugi Muto retired, the Dark Magician as a Rare Card appeared far less often in the Main Event, it was still the signature monster of a former Duel King. Because of that, many arenas continued to use it as a symbol at their gates.
"Then I will go do my pre match preparation. The Preliminary Round should start soon," Koji Sato said. "You should get ready as well."
"Alright. I look forward to meeting you again in the arena," Yugen replied politely.
After hearing that, the senior's expression turned strange. He hesitated as if he wanted to say something, then swallowed the words and stayed silent. He really did not want to meet him again, but in the end he still said nothing.
After saying goodbye, Yugen went to the registration desk and received his contestant ID and number tag. He looked down and saw the number was 39. For card players, it was a fairly lucky number, and he nodded in satisfaction.
It looked like his luck was good today. He felt that the opening battle should go smoothly.
"This year's Moonlight Cup feels high quality," he heard someone say as he entered the main hall. "I think I just saw Makoto Kajiki from the Psychic Style Dojo. It looks like he is competing this year too."
"Kajiki? That Psychic Style rising genius?" another voice said. "Now that is worth watching."
Someone else chimed in, "I do not care about Psychic Style duels. I just hope my buddy who plays Spellcaster Type can advance." Another laughed and said, "You are not hoping for that. You just want to see them summon Magician Valkyrie, right?"
Magician Valkyrie wore a mage outfit similar to the legendary deck's Dark Magician Girl. She had a pure face and slender arms, yet carried proportions that looked out of place on her small frame. She had long been a favorite card among gentleman duelists.
The exposed fan blushed at once. "But she really is huge."
The group stopped arguing and nodded in agreement. "Fair enough," one said. "Hard to argue with that."
Yugen continued through the arena, but after a few steps he heard a young girl gasp. "No way, are you sure you did not see wrong?" The girl beside her replied firmly, "Absolutely sure. That is Rex Raptor. A Legendary Duelist."
Hearing that, Yugen slowed his steps. Rex Raptor? The one from Yu-Gi-Oh! DM? Early on he had been framed as a strong duelist and even placed second nationally in the Duel Tournament back when many top figures like Seto Kaiba did not participate.
"But is that real?" someone said nearby. "Isn't the Moonlight Cup a non professional secondary event? Why would a Legendary Duelist be here?" Another replied, "I heard he trained in seclusion for years and never showed up in public. This is his comeback match."
"Then the contestants this year are unlucky," someone laughed. "They ran straight into a big boss." Another added, "Yeah, the champion sounds decided already."
Yugen tried to recall what he knew. His impression of Rex Raptor was vague, though he clearly remembered the insect duelist who always followed him around. Both were known for doing anything to win, though Rex Raptor was slightly stronger, since the other had once thrown Yugi Muto's entire Exodia deck into the sea.
In a strange way, that act had saved every later boss in DM. If Exodia had not been thrown away, with Atem's absurd top deck luck later on, even the Egyptian God Cards and other legends would have stood no chance. Marik, Doma, and Bakura would all owe that insect duelist a deep bow.
After losing to Atem and to Katsuya Jonouchi, both of them seemed to shift from competitive duelists to comic relief. Their dueling style only became more exaggerated over time.
Speaking of which, Jonouchi's soul card, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, had been won from Rex Raptor himself. After that, Rex Raptor never won another match. DM never explained what became of him, and he never appeared in GX, but considering GX was only eight years later, running into him now was not strange.
Even though Atem had returned to the Underworld, DM era figures like Yugi Muto and Jonouchi should still exist in this time, just without clear accounts of their lives. As a veteran from that era, Rex Raptor now carried the title of someone who had fought Katsuya Jonouchi, enough to be labeled a Legendary Duelist.
These days, even former nobodies dared to call themselves legends, and some lived well off that title. Some had real skill, but others were just fishing in muddy water, and the value of "fighting the Duel King" was often no higher than bragging about fighting the First Hokage next door.
Since neither Rex Raptor nor the insect duelist appeared in GX, their current strength was hard to judge. Yugen decided to stay cautious, and if he met Rex Raptor later, he would show basic respect and adjust his deck accordingly.
Yugen bought a milk tea and sat down, casually checking the registered player list. The contestants were generally higher level than those at the duel hall, so after this event he should reach four stars without trouble. That would solve the academy application requirement.