Yugen's first semester at Duel Academy ended happily like this.
The final exams also unsurprisingly secured him the top spot in the grade. Although Mitsuzawa worked hard to catch up, at one point appearing to have the momentum to overtake him, he ultimately fell short, finishing in second place.
And this was just the written exam. As for the practical battles, well, for Yugen nowadays it could be summarized in two words—
—slaughter spree.
And as fate would have it, the teacher for the final practical assessment was an old acquaintance. It was the same sunglasses-wearing examiner who had tested Yugen when he first enrolled.
"So it's the teacher again." Yugen was quite surprised at the time, standing on the stage with his Duel Disc at the ready, he laughed and said, "It seems we're really destined to meet. Well then, I'll have to ask for your guidance again, teacher."
The sunglasses examiner wore a stern expression.
Who the heck wants to be destined to meet with you...
"..."
Fortunately, the process, although torturous, at least ended quickly.
Because under the combination of "Temple Guardian" and "Transformation Pot", he had no cards left by the second turn.
In the end, Yugen was still quite polite and courteous, bowing slightly when he put away the Duel Disc: "Thanks for the guidance, teacher."
Sunglasses Examiner: "..."
The examiner began to ponder whether this person had held back during the entrance duel, or if his inhumane level had somehow upgraded over this brief semester...
So the joyous first semester came to a perfect end.
However, this didn't mean it was time for relaxation and rest. Yugen's holiday was equally packed and busy, with the most important thing being that it was time to participate in the Duel City tournament.
The six-month agreement he had made with President Kaiba back then was now just about a week away. According to the president, this year he would personally enter the tournament, making it more prestigious than previous ones.
If things go smoothly, it seems he will indeed be dueling the president.
So, using this as an excuse, Yugen visited Kaiba Company once again to casually browse the inventory to see if there were any new things that caught his interest.
After all, the world of Duel Monsters is incredibly vast and even the world's top card printing factory might not always have every card. Many cards' reprints, new card releases, and market circulation all lead to constant dynamic changes in inventory.
For instance, this time he acquired a new monarch card again.
This time it was a Water Attribute monarch, Mobius the Frost Monarch. When you successfully upper-level summon it, you can destroy up to two Magic Trap cards on the field. With its general-use clearing effects, it was one of the monarchs with the highest appearance rates during the time when monarchs were rampant.
Additionally, he also collected several cards related to the Electronic School.
"Starting to venture into the Electronic School again?" Keihei watched him pick cards while holding his chin.
Yugen chuckled: "Research purposes."
After all, he knows the Electronic School is one of the most potential card deck series in contemporary times, with plenty of parts to explore and develop. Various new iterations and auxiliary cards for Cyber Dragon belong to those that are weak in future Yu-Gi-Oh! environments but are quite effective in the current environment.
"Expanding new projects again." Keihei nodded and smiled, "Sometimes I really wonder what your thought process is like.
So many new card decks and new ideas... You know? You're becoming quite famous in our research department."
Since Yugen had continuously pointed several departments in new directions, his reputation had already spread among the related departments. Each department eagerly applied to the higher-ups, strongly urging for the expert to guide their own department.
It's said that even by receiving just a few words of guidance from this expert, the research progress could leap forward several years.
Of course, the rumors inevitably involve exaggerations. Yugen knows he doesn't have the Midas touch, unable to guide just any project or card deck.
After all, there are card decks even after twenty years that haven't caught Konami's interest and thus haven't received enhancements. Even if he went to the research of these departments, his only suggestion would be to cut, as there's no future in this...
With some free time, Yugen conveniently brought up the topic of his previous venture into the Elf Realm through the Link System with Keihei.
Keihei was slightly surprised: "Eh, you actually discovered that?"
Yugen was puzzled.
What does it mean by discovered?
Does it mean that traveling to the Elf Realm was originally a function of the Link System, and not something he had accidentally developed?
"Dimensional travel was originally one of the hidden functions in development within the Link System. Although we hadn't yet made it available for testers, you managed to find a way..."
Keihei looked at him with admiration.
"You really can't be underestimated at all..."
"The Link System... was designed with the function to connect to the Elf Realm?"
Yugen was initially impressed by Kaiba Group's advanced technology. But then he thought about how they already opened the way to the Netherworld years ago, so going to the Elf Realm didn't seem particularly shocking.
"Yes. New Doma's organization has many formations in the Elf Realm, and there are signs suggesting they are assembling an unprecedentedly large army. Naturally, we can't leave them unchecked."
Keihei paused and frowned.
"Moreover, more importantly, we recently obtained a new clue. Doma has invaded numerous planes, various dimensional realms of elves, but it seems it's not merely about enslaving or absorbing the elves' power.
They appear to be... searching for something."
"Searching for what?" Yugen asked.
Keihei didn't respond but stood up, opened an image on the tablet terminal beside him.
An ancient stone slab with a patchy and uneven surface, polished smooth and cold by time. On it was the engraved image of an inverted pyramid, with each side adorned with intricate patterns. In the center was set the mysterious and majestic Eye of Horus emblem.
Yugen had to admit, he was genuinely surprised now.
"This is... the Millennium Puzzle!?"
Could it be that what New Doma is searching for is the Millennium Puzzle?
"Not necessarily." Keihei shook his head, "It might just be something that looks similar in appearance... Anyway, that's what they're looking for, and the elves seem to refer to this object as the 'Sealing Artifact', which is our only clue.
We're accelerating the development of the Link System partly for this reason..."
Keihei paused before adding.
"You know what I mean. My brother wants to personally verify whether it is what he thinks it is."
Yugen pondered.
A few years ago, in the Dark Side of the Dimensions movie, following the Pharaoh's return to the Netherworld, the Millennium Puzzle also disintegrated into pieces again, buried deep underground.
President Kaiba excavated every piece and specifically built a cosmic space station to quickly reassemble the puzzle, attempting to pursue his eternal rival in the afterlife.
At the movie's ending, during a crisis in the Tabletop Game, the Pharaoh truly returned via the Millennium Puzzle as a medium. But meanwhile, after that, the reconstructed Millennium Puzzle dissipated into golden light along with the Pharaoh's departure once more, leaving its whereabouts unknown.
Yugen looked meaningfully at the image on that stone slab.
Could it be... the Pharaoh might resurrect again?