"It actually got completed..."
With just one day left until the conference, Asuka looked at the freshly minted new ritual card in her hands, still seeming to carry the scent of ink, and was momentarily lost in thought.
Even though she was admitted to the Academy as an elite student, she had never imagined that as a first-year she could achieve such an astonishing accomplishment.
First, there was the massive upgrade and enhancement of the entire Digital Angels card deck, and now a new card has been printed, one that was unprecedented...
[Electronic Angel - Nasadiya].
This was the Five-Star Ritual Angel that Yugen had previously inspired her with, known in the Electronic series for its unique effect of taking control of the opponent's monsters.
"As expected of a Tenjouin student, to succeed so quickly." Mitsuzawa Earth gave unstinted praise, "It seems I need to speed up my progress too, I can't fall too far behind."
"No, it was just by luck... and also thanks to the direction Yugen pointed out."
She felt quite incredible about it.
From what she knew, even if research could grasp a general direction in card creation, it was still a vague direction. Often, before a card is completed, even the designer couldn't say for certain what it would be like.
But up till now, Yugen gave her the feeling that he clearly knew what every card should be like.
"So, you haven't mentioned this card in your submitted article yet, have you?" Mitsuzawa asked.
"No, because when I was writing the paper, it was still in development..."
It's the perfect time to showcase this new outcome at the conference.
A few days after submission, she heard the reviewers had reacted intensely, specifically emailing her with inquiries and repeatedly emphasizing the necessity of attending.
She wondered what the reaction would be if they knew a new card was printed in these last two days before the conference...
Teacher Dade Temple also remained silent as he looked at this new Digital Angel.
This card... how to say it?
Anyway, in his impression, it was completely different from the straightforward art style of the past Digital Angels.
If he had to say, the art style somewhat reminded him of the vivid presence of a certain Yugen...
Dade Temple squinted, his gaze subconsciously drifting to the nearby table where Yugen was engrossed in literature.
Feeling the gaze, Yugen raised an eyebrow.
This isn't my fault.
Though compared to the old Digital Angels cards, the art style is somewhat off, Nasadiya is part of the Electronic series, it's not like I made it up.
This is how Digital Angels truly are.
"Hmm... truly impressive."
Dade Temple examined Nasadiya in his hand for a moment, then slowly returned it to Asuka.
Having closely monitored the lab's development, he understood that although Asuka handled the actual card printing, the overall direction of development design was always controlled by Yugen alone.
Moreover, from the new card's skewed art style, it was clear that compared to Asuka's pursuit of frontal assaults, it was undoubtedly closer to Yugen's style.
Dade Temple looked at Yugen again, playfully curling his mouth.
The more he looked, the more he felt this student had extraordinary talent.
Perhaps he was considering letting Yugen inherit his "Great Cosmos."
Teacher Dade Temple used an Alchemy Card Deck, but it was mostly animation cards, and after nearly 20 years, most still remain unprinted.
But in his hand, there was one card that, after enduring time's tests, still remained active in the foreground, seen as a heavyweight ancestor of the Underworld by card enthusiasts for years.
Continuous Trap - Great Cosmos.
The effect is simple and blunt. As long as this card is on the field, any cards sent to the graveyard by either player are banished from the game.
It's easy to imagine how significant it is to the modern Yu-Gi-Oh! game, where the graveyard has become a second hand. One card almost physically erases the concept of a graveyard, for decks that heavily rely on graveyard resources, repeatedly reviving for expansion, one card could handle the entire deck alone.
To be honest, Yugen asking Teacher Dade for guidance was indeed to learn card printing in alchemy, but also, with hopes of inheriting the mantle of the Great Cosmos from the teacher in the future.
According to the original story, he knew that the teacher was near demise. Teacher Dade was using an artificial body created by "Human Alchemy," but it was already on the verge of collapse.
Before he passed, he sought someone he deemed worthy to handle his affairs, which, in the animation, was Yuki Judai.
But although Judai was called an alchemy genius by Teacher Dade, their card deck styles were evidently completely different. So Yugen pondered it over, and felt that Judai being the heir to alchemy was no problem, but he wished to inherit the teacher's last wishes... along with the teacher's Great Cosmos.
...
...
The next day, Yugen and the other two left the island and arrived at the venue.
The venue was set at the headquarters of the International Illusion Association. In a spacious and bright conference hall, rows of orderly seats were filled with the attending big shots and researchers. In the center of the hall was a large stage, with multimedia screens displaying the conference's theme and agenda.
From the moment Asuka entered the venue, she had taken deep breaths three times, her chest rising and falling heavily.
Yugen said, "There's no need to be nervous."
"I... I'm not nervous!" Asuka hurriedly defended, "I'm just thinking about how to say things later."
Yugen smiled without saying more.
Though feeling nervous was naturally understandable. No matter how strong they were, both Asuka and Mitsuzawa were just first-year students, suddenly pulled to present among such a crowd of upper echelon figures, anyone would be nervous.
"Oh man, is that Pegasus Nightwalker?"
Mitsuzawa whispered.
Following his line of sight, indeed, they saw Nightwalker, whom Yugen had met not long ago, sitting at the end of the conference table.
"Is that Nightwalker?" Asuka was also surprised, "I heard he's the new leader of the International Illusion Association and himself a legendary Duelist, having faced off with the First Generation Duel King..."
"Indeed." Yugen nodded, "I also dueled him."
The two companions gave him incredulous looks.
You? With such a powerhouse?
"Ashamed, really." Yugen said, "I barely won by a trick or two, purely by luck."
The expressions of the two became even more exaggerated.
"Seriously?" Mitsuzawa couldn't help but ask.
Though he always knew not to view Yugen from a normal perspective, but could he really win against such a Duelist?
While they were talking, a woman approached quickly.
She wore a well-tailored dark blue suit, elegant yet dignified. Sunlight through the window seemed to gild her long hair in a golden hue.
"Excuse me, are you Asuka Tenjouin and Fujiki Yugen?"
The woman asked straightforwardly.
"Yes," Yugen responded, "may I ask...?"
"Oh, sorry for the interruption. I am Takahashi Misaki..."
"The chief Teacher Takahashi of the Digital Angels Research Association?" Asuka was startled.
That was a prominent figure in the field.
"Yes. I read your paper on Digital Angels research. Frankly... it's quite astounding," Takahashi said with a smile, "If what was mentioned in the paper is accomplished, your work is revolutionary, beyond the mere word 'genius.'"
"Thank you..." Asuka looked at Yugen, "But it was actually Yugen's idea."
Takahashi's gaze swept over them, smiling.
"Actually, I originally didn't plan to attend today, but after reading your paper, I changed my mind. Because I have a request that might be presumptuous...
You should have brought the new Electronic Angels card deck, right?"
Asuka nodded, "Yes."
"Then," Takahashi revealed a Duel Disc, "could you duel with me using that?"
"Eh?" Asuka blinked.
Me dueling the chief?