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Titan the Dark Duelistâalthough he called himself a Dark Duelist, in reality, Jaden had exposed him during their duel as merely a charlatan.
He relied on methods similar to hypnosis to make his opponents mistakenly believe they were in a Dark Duel with their souls on the line, and he enjoyed forcibly taking their rare cards after a duel.
Such individuals were generally not recognized as true Dark Duelists on the streets but were instead known as "Rare Card Hunters," a type of person reviled by both the righteous and the wicked.
In the storyline, Titan was hired by Professor Crowler to come to the island specifically to deal with the underachieving Jaden. This was also the biggest black mark on the "Greedy Professor's" character.
However, judging from his attitude towards Dark Duels during the Seven Stars arc and his reaction when he encountered Titan a second time, the Greedy Professor at that time probably didn't believe in the existence of Dark Duels at all. His main objective was still to get Jaden expelled.
"Ooh, what a rare opportunity! Yuxuan, care for a duel?" Jaden, in the throes of his dueling addiction, exclaimed. "I've been itching for a chance to duel!"
"Eh? Here?" Syrus scratched his head. "That's not a good idea, is it?"
Chumley Huffington: "Speaking of which, I heard that if you get caught trespassing in a forbidden area, you get expelled. Big Bro, maybe we should just go back..."
"It's fine." Jaden placed his hands on his hips, inexplicably confident. "Look, even a good student like Yuxuan is here, isn't he?"
No, Yuxuan thought to himself, even if I get caught, I'll probably be fine. The only ones getting expelled will be you guys.
In the anime, Jaden and the others were clearly caught trespassing in the forbidden area along with Alexis, but in the end, only Jaden and his friends faced punishment. Alexis even proactively applied to the chancellor to share the punishment with them but was refused.
Duel Academy was a place where strength and grades determined everything.
Besides, he actually had Chancellor Sheppard's contact information, which, rounding up, meant he had connections on the school's board of directors. Getting expelled wouldn't be that easy.
Another sound of a twig snapping echoed behind them.
"Aah! The ghost really appeared this time!" Syrus and Chumley clung to each other again.
However, turning their heads to look at the source of the sound, this time it was Alexis.
"You guys?" Alexis was very surprised. "What are you doing here? And..."
She looked at Yuxuan strangely.
"Aren't you from Yellow Dorm? How come you're with Jaden and the others?"
"Just a night stroll, a chance encounter," Yuxuan said.
"This is no place for a stroll," Alexis said sternly. "Haven't you heard? Many students have gone missing in this place!"
"We heard, that's why we came to explore," the thick-skinned Jaden laughed. "Those are just rumors, right? It's fine."
"They're not just rumors," Alexis said seriously. "Many students have really disappeared in this place. And entry here is prohibited; if the school finds out, it will cause a commotion."
Jaden, with his baffling confidence: "Hmph, if you're afraid of such things, you can't go exploring."
"Listen to me seriously!" Alexis was getting a little angry. "This is a very serious matter, not a place to play around."
"What's with you? What are you doing here so late?" Jaden asked strangely.
"Forget it, do as you please."
Alexis huffed, turned, and walked away. After a few steps, she paused and took a deep breath.
"Among those missing students... is my older brother."
After saying that, she left without looking back.
Jaden's smile vanished, and he frowned in thought for a moment.
"Big Bro, the matter of the abandoned dorm... it doesn't sound like it's made up," Chumley whispered.
"Mm. It's okay, we'll know once we go in and see." Jaden said, already stepping past the blockade line. He glanced at Yuxuan. "Are you coming too?"
Yuxuan shrugged and followed.
The spirit's reaction should be inside here. It won't hurt to go in and take a look.
Of course, he hadn't forgotten that there was still a Rare Card Hunter hiding behind them.
Moonlight filtered through the sparse clouds, casting eerie shadows on the outer walls of the dormitory. The shadows twisted and contorted, sometimes stretching and spreading.
The man pushed open the old wooden door and slowly walked into the dilapidated dormitory. He was strikingly burly, dressed in a wide black robe and a tall, round-topped hat. A metal mask covered half his face, and his Duel Disk was of a rare design, mounted on his chest.
Titan, the self-proclaimed Dark Duelist, a Rare Card Hunter.
Today, he had come for this student named Jaden Yuki.
The interior of the old dormitory was exceptionally gloomy. Dilapidated beds, tables, and chairs were scattered about, covered in thick dust and cobwebs. The air was filled with a decaying stench, and gusts of eerie wind blew through, creating a series of strange echoes.
He had, of course, heard the terrifying rumors about this old dormitoryâthat many students had disappeared here, that vengeful spirits roamed, and so on. But he naturally scoffed at such things. A tough guy like him would certainly not be frightened by some ethereal ghost stories.
"Hmm?"
Titan wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
But out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to glimpse a white, ghostly figure flash past a shard of broken glass?
Titan was startled and quickly turned around vigilantly. But looking in that direction, he only saw an empty, dark corridor. Only the hollow frames of broken windows rattled strangely as the eerie wind blew through.
"Must be my imagination..."
However, just as he turned around, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of something that made his hair stand on end.
It was only a fleeting, blurry moment, but he thought he saw a woman.
A woman as white as snow, her white clothes fluttering, looked exceptionally eerie in this dim environment. She had long, disheveled white hair, and her whole body seemed to emanate a sinister aura. The sound of the cold wind blowing through the hall was like the wailing of vengeful spirits, sending shivers down one's spine.
"Aaaah!"
The tough guy screamed.
Titan cried out, taking two steps back and looking in that direction in terror. But when he looked closely, there was no one there, not even half a ghost.
Even though he considered himself strong-willed, at this moment, he felt as if half his body had plunged into an ice cellar, and his breathing became heavy.
Good heavens, the ghost stories are actually true!
Such a terrifying encounter, such a paranormal scene, scared the tough guy's decades-old firm materialistic worldview into smithereens.
Right, I heard the vengeful spirits here are all students who disappeared in the old dormitory before...
Titan mustered his courage and said tremblingly, "Um... I'm just passing by. It wasn't me who harmed you. But rest assured, once I get out, I'll definitely find someone to come back and investigate, to... to clear your names..."
After saying that, he couldn't stay any longer. He turned, about to flee.
He wouldn't do the job; he didn't want the rare cards anymore. This academy was too damn creepy; he would absolutely never come back here in his life.
But just as Titan thought this and turned around...
He came face to face with the white-clothed female ghost, who had, at some unknown point, stuck close to his back, almost right in front of him. His turn was a completely unannounced jump scare. A wave of sinister aura washed over him, and boundless terror instantly made his heart and lungs stop.
"AAAAAAAHHH!!!"
"..."
Silent Magician brushed aside a lock of her silver hair, which her master had styled so messily, and peeked at the man.
Mm, seems like he fainted from fright.
She neatened her hairstyle, pouting a little unhappily, and removed the Duel Disk from Titan's body.
Actually, she wasn't very willing to do these things.
She was clearly a noble Light Magician spirit, yet her master actually asked her to pretend to be a ghost and even snatch card decks.
She felt like she had ended up with a duelist whose style was completely off, a bit like having boarded a pirate ship...
Oh, well.
It's merely the master's mission.