Thus, the change in the punishment duel by the Academic Affairs Department was happily decided.
Yugen and Judai, the two "masterminds," teamed up to face the punishment duel.
Judai was also happy with this result. Firstly, he was always thrilled as long as there was a card game to play. Secondly, since he had only just enrolled, he wasn't very familiar with Marufuji Shou, his roommate. In fact, he hadn't even seen Marufuji Shou duel yet.
In comparison, if there's a choice, teaming up with Yugen, who had shared life-and-death gambling experiences in the Elf Realm, was definitely the more suitable option.
And Marufuji Shou was even happier. He was already such a timid person, just hearing about the duel made him half anxious. Knowing he was replaced meant he didn't have to worry about dragging his brother down, so he was instantly much more relieved.
Everyone was pleased with this decision change, achieving a world where no one got hurt.
But since the duel opponents still needed to be contacted and arranged, the duel couldn't happen immediately. Therefore, the notice from the Academic Affairs Department was that the time was still to be determined. They still had time to understand each other and adjust their card decks specifically for team battle cooperation.
According to Judai's usual habit, he didn't plan on making any adjustments. He believed that whatever opponent came, he would just play to his usual standards and that would be enough.
Even if the opponent had some special tactical combination, he didn't feel the need to think hard about it. A true Duelist just needs to trust their card deck, and there will always be a chance no matter the situation.
In other words, a mature card deck should learn to adapt to the opponent itself without extra effort from the Duelist...
But Yugen disagreed.
Although the opponent wasn't revealed, Yugen figured it was likely the Maze Brothers, who claimed to have dueled against the First Generation Duel King, Muto Yuugi.
In GX, these two used a Door Guardian card deck. Although this deck randomly got some enhancements a decade later, the Maze Brothers appearing in the GX animation shouldn't have those advanced cards.
In the animated world view, future enhancement cards should be considered undeveloped potential for this card deck.
Teaming up with Judai, Yugen's mind became active. He believed Judai's Destiny Power should surpass the Maze Brothers, so there should be a considerable opportunity for Divine Draw in this duel.
So if he could reasonably take advantage of Judai's Divine Drawing Power, he might be able to design some joyful combinations that would be hard to achieve alone...
This wasn't urgent for the moment, as the duel date hadn't been notified yet, so there were likely a few days to prepare.
Meanwhile, the freshman exchange match in the Dueling Department kicked off.
The same big senior sister was in charge of hosting the match. When she saw Yugen at the scene, she seemed a bit happy: "You're here. I heard about the team duel, and I thought you might be busy handling that duel and couldn't make it and would have to ask for leave."
"How could that be? A duel this interesting, and an opportunity to interact and bond with the new members, there's no way I would miss it." Yugen replied cheerfully.
Besides, competing earns credits, and the champion can select cards from the Dueling Department's special stock. There's no way he would miss it.
Yet upon hearing this, the new members present had varied expressions.
"Get lost, who wants to interact with you?"
The big senior sister laughed heartily: "That's good, I was afraid you wouldn't come."
She didn't finish her sentence.
If you don't come, how much less fun would this tournament have this year?
"Okay, then the Dueling Department Newcomer Cup officially begins. Everyone can prepare for the first round based on the list."
So the joyful duel time began again.
In Yugen's first match, he faced another student from the Yellow Dormitory.
He remembered this student possibly dueled him during the dormitory exchange match, but this time, the atmosphere felt different.
First, it was Yugen's turn. He directly summoned an "Abyss Soldier," set two cards facedown, then ended his turn. The opponent mocked, saying it's only this much, I've already surpassed you, let me show you my evolved duel.
With a grand gesture, the opponent set four cards facedown...
Yugen pondered.
Hmm, this scene seemed familiar.
The Yellow Dormitory student laughed heartily: "I'm different from last time. Come on, don't hold back, if you can, attack past my defenses! Aim for my face!"
Yugen said he'd never heard such a strange request, so he could only oblige.
"Activate Cover Card, Continuous Trap - Royal Palace Notice."
The Yellow Dormitory student spat out a mouthful of blood several meters high.
He stared at Yugen in disbelief.
Why do you even have such a card?
Have you actually betrayed us!?
"..."
Winning the first round smoothly, Yugen felt it was even easier than when he last dueled the opponent. A combination of Notice and Abyss Soldier almost sealed the game, the intensity instantly returning to before entering Duel Academy, like bullying at the dojo...
...
...
The friendly internal exchanges continued. The big senior sister leaned on the high gallery, most of her attention focused on Yugen's duel.
In the arena, there were screams as bikes rolled over, or the sound of Zarug's revolver. Submarine torpedoes crisscrossed, and Abyss Soldiers danced with tridents, repeatedly bringing roaring attacks to the opponent...
Others might not know, but the big senior sister was getting happier watching.
She knew that with this newcomer, the tournament could never be boring.
Looking around, this year's Newcomer Cup attracted more attention than previous years. Many senior students came over to watch, pointing and commenting on the newcomers below, with smiles on their faces contrasting sharply with the newcomers' gloomy expressions.
The big senior sister even spotted Watanabe Hideyuki, who bore the brunt of the entry battle. Senior Shuichi watched Yugen's consecutive duels below, smiling brightly, even happier than his colleagues beside him...
"..."
Winning match after match, Yugen reached the semifinals, facing a girl from the Obelisk Blue Dormitory.
"Activate Equipment Magic 'Blast Flame Piercing,' equip it to your 'Dark Demon Race Kielfa Demon' on the field.
Then activate the effect of my 'Abyss Soldier No. 1', discard the 'Assassin Snake' from my hand, and return 'Blast Flame Piercing' to my hand.
At this moment, due to the side effect of 'Blast Flame Piercing,' 'Dark Demon Race Kielfa Demon' is removed from play."
Girl: "..."
"Then re-activate 'Blast Flame Piercing' returned to my hand, equip it to your 'Warrior Raze' on the field.
Then use the effect of 'Abyss Soldier No. 2,' return 'Blast Flame Piercing' to the hand, 'Warrior Raze' is also removed from play."
Girl: "......"
Yugen: "For the third time, activate 'Blast Flame Piercing' returned to my hand, this time equipping it to my own 'Abyss Soldier No. 1,' increasing attack power by 400 points."
[Abyss Soldier (No. 1), Attack Power 1800→Attack Power 2200]
[Abyss Soldier (No. 2), Attack Power 1800]
"Both Abyss Soldiers attack directly."
[Girl, LP 4000→LP 0]
The girl who was eliminated by consecutive banishings and a direct face attack sat down on the ground, her expression as chaotic as her hair.
Who am I? Where am I? Why are we dueling?
Mom, I want to drop out...
Chazz Princeton, who also won all the way to the finals, unconsciously clenched his fists as he watched this scene.
This was the second chance he had been longing for.
This time, it must be different.