Yugen reviewed his matches from the past few days, drawing experience and lessons from real combat against local Duelists. So far he had not run into any truly tough opponents, but the matches made him realize a flaw in his earlier thinking.
He could not directly apply the real card environment of his own era to the animated world here. Hand destruction decks had once dominated competitive play and were still very strong here, but that alone worked well against average Duelists and would lose effectiveness against top-tier fighters from the animation.
For one thing, the animated world had absurd draw engines that did not exist in real play, where a single card could accelerate draws by five or six cards. For another, strong duelists in the animation could turn the tables with just one card even on an empty hand and empty field, and that happened all the time. This was not superstition, it was part of the rules here.
As the original work put it, for true Duelists, everything was inevitable, even drawing cards could be created. In the later stages, whenever Judai Yuki faced a tough fight and put on those glowing eyes, it was not just for looks. In that awakened state, his draw power went far beyond normal, marking him as a high-level powerhouse in this system.
In that form, even if he picked forty random cards from a pool, he might still crush an ordinary person with a top-tier deck. Yugen sighed, wishing he could somehow get his hands on that kind of draw power.
At first glance, being reborn into Yu-Gi-Oh! seemed like an easy ride as long as you could play cards well. But without some extraordinary foundation, surviving in the later stages filled with monsters was not so simple.
Everyone knew that in Yu-Gi-Oh!, the simplest way to reach a higher level was not training, but finding some kind of spirit partner to back you. Unfortunately, most of the known spirits in the original story already had owners, and he had no idea where he could find one.
For now, there was no point thinking too far ahead. All he could do was study the environment, refine his deck, and improve his tactics step by step.
Yugen was still testing things through real matches, and his deck was not completely fixed yet. His next opponent was named Makoto Kajiki, a level five Duelist. The background listed several public match results and marked him as a true disciple of the psychic-style Dueling Dojo.
Psychic style made Yugen pause to think. If he remembered correctly, this style had appeared briefly in the later part of GX. It was a rival to the cyber style Duel Dojo, and near the end, a fully licensed psychic master had even come to challenge them, using Jinzo.
During the half day before the match, he had watched recordings of his opponent's recent public duels. Makoto Kajiki seemed to use a deck centered on "Mechanical King," the ace series of one of the "Big Five" villains who defected from Kaiba Corporation in the DM era.
According to that psychic-style Duelist who challenged the cyber school in the animation, their true ace should have been Jinzo. Clearly, Makoto Kajiki did not have it in his deck.
That made sense. Cyber End Dragon was called the ace of the cyber style, but Duel Dojo only had one copy, passed down to the sole true successor as proof of status. Makoto Kajiki was only an apprentice of the psychic style and was not qualified to inherit its ace.
After watching his opponent's previous matches, Yugen had a good grasp of the tactics he would face. He had already adjusted his own deck in response.
He checked his deck one last time before the match, confirmed everything was in order, and stood up. He inserted the deck into his Duel Disk, put it on properly, and walked through the dim passage toward the arena.
The host had finished warming up the crowd and making announcements. Yugen climbed the steps onto the stage and saw that his opponent was already on the opposite side. Their gazes met in midair, clashing without a sound.
Yugen took his position as his Duel Disk unfolded. It felt like this duel should not be too much trouble.
Yugen, LP 4000.
Makoto Kajiki, LP 4000.
Today Makoto Kajiki had decent luck and drew the first turn. He drew his opening hand, spread out the six cards, and his eyes lit up at once. It was the kind of hand that felt perfect the moment you saw it.
If most of Yugen's earlier opponents underestimated him because of his ugly record, Makoto Kajiki did not. He had watched Yugen's previous matches, especially the Top Eight duel against Manjoume. After reviewing it, he felt this opponent was not to be taken lightly, but still more of a trick-based player whose raw strength was limited.
"Hmph. As long as I know your routine and stay alert, you are nothing to fear," Makoto Kajiki shouted. "My turn!"
With his morale high, Makoto Kajiki slammed a card down without hesitation, making it clear he intended to fuse right away. He fused the "Mechanicalchaser" and "Machine King" from his hand, and an eight-star monster leapt straight onto the field as Perfect Machine King. The moment it appeared, it dominated the opening of the duel.
In the animated rules, Perfect Machine King was originally a Fusion Monster, and its effect boosted its attack by 500 for each Machine-type monster on the field, including itself. That meant it entered play with at least 3200 attack. The attack value climbed before everyone's eyes.
Perfect Machine King, attack 2700 to 3200.
Opening with the core monster of his deck, Makoto Kajiki felt half the win was already secured. A field with something like a Blue-Eyes White Dragon plus extra pressure was the kind of start that crushed opponents. Then the turn passed to Yugen.
Yugen stayed calm and first summoned Giant Rat. A huge mutated rat bounded onto the field, baring its teeth and letting out a low, aggressive growl. It looked fierce, but its stats were far from impressive.
Giant Rat, attack 1400.
Then Yugen raised his hand and gave an order without hesitation. "Giant Rat, attack Perfect Machine King."
Giant Rat looked utterly confused. The tiny eyes seemed to ask if its master was serious, since the opponent's attack was more than double its own. Still, an order was an order, and the giant rat charged straight into the Machine monster and was instantly blown apart.
Yugen, LP 4000 to 2200.
A suicidal opening attack left Makoto Kajiki momentarily stunned. What was that supposed to mean, was this some kind of courtesy duel. For a moment he even wondered if the Duel Dojo had secretly hired an actor to throw the match.
He quickly understood the point when the effect triggered. When Giant Rat was destroyed in battle and sent to the graveyard, it could special summon an Earth monster with 1500 or less attack from the deck. Hearing that condition, Makoto Kajiki only chuckled to himself.
"From my deck, I special summon this card," Yugen said, revealing it. "Magical Attacker!"
Magical Attacker, attack 600.
A small creature that looked like it had jumped out of a cartoon appeared on the field, waving a tiny staff. Its art style and size made it look more cute than threatening.
"Magical Attacker's effect lets it attack the opponent directly," Yugen said with a wave. "Direct attack."
Makoto Kajiki, LP 4000 to 3400.