Early morning, Dueling Dojo.
Yugen got up very early today, went out to buy some food, and then headed to the dojo early.
Before he even entered, he bumped into Sato Koji.
Koji's eyes lit up upon seeing him, and he quickly came forward to greet him, "Good morning, senior brother! You're really early today!"
"Uh, no need to be so formal, Brother Koji. Just call me junior brother..."
"Alright, senior brother." Koji chuckled, "By the way, you're here to see the master, right, senior brother? He's inside."
Yugen: "..."
He wasn't sure how it happened, but at some point, he seemed to have become the senior brother of the entire dojo.
In fact, Koji also signed up for the Duel Academy exam, but unfortunately, he didn't pass the written test.
Yugen couldn't understand why such a simple test would stump anyone, but apparently, the pass rate was quite low. As seen in the anime, Yuki Judai's written test rank was 110, and it was near the bottom, indicating that only about a hundred people passed in total, which was quite tough.
When he arrived at Master Takeuchi's room, he found the door wide open.
Upon entering, he saw Master Takeuchi sitting in his office chair, wearing a heavy VR headset on his nose, watching something unknown, but was giggling lasciviously, his old face slightly flushed...
Yugen pondered for a moment.
Hmm, could this be a sortie in Gundam mode?
He thought for a moment, realizing it might be impolite to interrupt at this time. So he decided to back out of the room, pretending he had never been there, and stood outside the door, knocking on the open door panel a couple of times.
Then he asked loudly, "Master, are you there?"
Immediately, there were sounds of a panicked scramble from inside, followed by a loud thud as if someone had fallen to the ground. He patiently waited a few seconds before he heard a voice from inside.
"Come in."
Yugen entered, his expression unchanged as if nothing had happened and seemed completely oblivious to Master Takeuchi's messy hair.
"Just arrived?" Master Takeuchi cautiously probed.
"Yes, just arrived." Yugen replied calmly.
"Uh...you didn't see anything strange, did you?"
"Nope." Yugen feigned ignorance, looking around, "Did something happen?"
"Oh, nothing. That's good... I was just studying card deck builds earlier." Takeuchi yawned, "What brings you here so suddenly?"
"You asked me to come find you this morning after the exam, Master." Yugen reminded him.
Master Takeuchi slapped his forehead.
"Ah...yes, that's right. Oh, my memory is failing with age…"
Yugen thought, no, Master, maybe it's not an age issue. Perhaps you've just been spending too lavishly and are worn out.
Especially with such advanced holographic technology in this world, realistic 3D imaging naturally would propel certain already highly developed industries in the Eleventh District to further rapid advancement, adding maximum pressure on the kidneys of gentlemen fighting on the frontline.
"Anyway, congratulations on passing. I've heard your exam performance was quite impressive and did not bring shame to our dojo." The master chuckled, "Don't slack off after enrolling; study hard, as the revival of our style depends on you."
"I understand, Master."
"Good, good. Actually, why I called you today isn't really important, there's just an opportunity I wanted to see if you're interested in.
You've probably been busy preparing for exams and didn't have time to watch the news, right? Have you heard about the relics in the northern outskirts of the city?"
"Relics?" Yugen asked unexpectedly, shaking his head to indicate he hadn't heard of it.
"Yes, it's been excavated by a team from Kaiba Company, conveniently located just outside the city, about an hour away. Although it's not yet open to the public, I have friends inside who said I could take my students to visit if interested..."
Yugen kinda got it.
Excavation of stone slabs, right?
It's well known in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Setting that modern card dueling originated from archaeology. Beckas went to Egypt years ago to excavate, unearthing Duel Monsters stone slabs from three thousand years ago, bringing the sleeping elves to the present, marking the beginning of it all.
Today, after years of development in the Duel Monsters system, though card production techniques have advanced and new card and monster design methods have matured, archaeological excavation remains a key pathway for new card decks.
Even after these many years, the slabs excavated are still just the tip of the iceberg of ancient Duel Monsters. Even years later in the world of "Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's," new relics were still being discovered.
Moreover, contrary to the initial belief that Duel Monsters originated in Ancient Egypt three thousand years ago, subsequent explorations revealed that ancient Duel Monsters relics are scattered globally.
For example, Dazi's Atlantis from ten thousand years ago, the later discovered Three Pole Gods in Northern Europe, Earth-Bound God slabs from Peru's Nazca Patterns, and Gemstone Elves unearthed from ancient relics of a country worshipping gemstone power, which later led to the creation of the "Jade Beasts"...
Yugen had never seen what relics or slabs looked like, definitely piquing his interest.
Several excavated relics, after being explored by professional teams, could open as tourist attraction projects. There are indeed duelists who resonate with hidden elves within the relics.
"Though the details haven't been publicly disclosed yet, my friend said this time it seems to be quite an impressive relic." Master Takeuchi said.
"Does Master have contacts within Kaiba Company?"
Yugen suddenly realized maybe Master's connections and influence were surprisingly substantial?
"Oh, that's nothing." Master Takeuchi stood proudly, "In my younger days, I was someone too, but later chose to stay away from fame and retired from the rivers and lakes, uninterested in conflict..."
Yugen was in awe: "Then is Master's friend a high executive within Kaiba Company? Or a duelist? Do they have any internal channels to buy cards?"
The air deflated from the master immediately upon hearing this.
"No, he's involved in the excavation site construction."
Yugen: "..."
"Ahem, he used to be a quite accomplished duelist but later sought a different path. Supposedly, Kaiba Company requires the entire site team, from archaeological research to excavation, to be duelists, seemingly a personal requirement from the president himself..."
Yugen thought, gosh, even joining a construction team requires dueling skills these days.
But actually reflecting upon it, it's not unreasonable either. After all, these relics often come with scientifically inexplicable supernatural forces, posing possible risks to ordinary people. Yet in this world, proficiency in dueling cards drastically reduces danger levels.
"Coincidentally, Kaiba Park is hosting the 'White Dragon Festival' event in the city the day after tomorrow; we plan to go there as a dojo outing. My friend will also be there that day, and you can talk face to face then."
"Okay..." Yugen responded casually but then noticed something odd.
Wait, there's a festival called the 'White Dragon Festival'?