Hearing that, Yusaku's expression turned a little strange. "He probably… isn't that short on friends, right?"
This game kept the same setting as the anime, but its timeline had been pushed far into the future.
Back when he watched the anime, he'd wondered about it too. With Yugi's personality, making friends shouldn't have been hard.
It was only after he finished the anime that he understood: the fact that Yugi had so few friends actually wasn't strange at all.
With a deck like Yugi's, the real miracle was that he had any friends at all.
Even in the Pharaoh's final duel before returning to the Underworld, that deck hadn't managed to win for him.
Yusaku could still clearly remember that iconic scene from the anime: "So strong! Way too strong! I activate my spell ca—"
"Forget it. Thinking about this now is useless and just wears out my brain. Once we really gather all the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle, we'll find out for ourselves."
Labrynth shook her head and pulled her thoughts back. "Right…"
She shifted the topic and looked at Yusaku. "I've collected two pieces of intel about the Millennium Puzzle shards. One of the pieces is said to be in the hands of the guardian at the top of the Trial Tower in the Satellite Sector."
"At the top of the tower, huh?"
Yusaku rubbed his chin, thoughtful. "Looks like the Trial Tower is somewhere we have to go sooner or later."
"What about the other lead?"
At that, Labrynth didn't answer right away. Instead, she pulled another wanted poster for this district from inside her shirt and stepped over to show it to Yusaku.
"Who are these two supposed to be?"
Yusaku frowned at the sketches on the wanted poster. The portraits were so abstract it was hard to even tell if they were male or female.
Labrynth couldn't help laughing. "That's Sayo and Reina! I don't know what those two did, but they're wanted in the Upper City right now. Enforcers on Duel Runners chase them around every single day!"
"These… are Sayo and Reina?"
Yusaku stared at the twisted lines on the poster, completely unable to connect them with the two people in his memory. "This doesn't just not look like Sayo and Reina. I can barely tell if these are even human."
"My guess is that the people who drew these wanted posters were Sayo and Reina themselves."
Labrynth was laughing even harder now.
Thinking about Sayo and Reina's chaotic personalities, Yusaku nodded. "That actually sounds pretty plausible."
"Anyway, enough about that."
Labrynth put away the wanted poster and looked at Yusaku, asking seriously, "Now that the dojo challenge tournament is over, where are we going next? Do we look for the other sisters first, or do we go to the Trial Tower and search for the Millennium Puzzle shard?"
"Well…"
Yusaku had just opened his mouth to answer when a crisp voice rang out from outside the door. "Yusaku-senpai, the victory banquet is all set up. We're just waiting on you!"
"Got it, I'll be right there."
Yusaku replied toward the door, then turned back to Labrynth. "You coming with me?"
Labrynth tilted her head, thought for a moment, then lightly shook it. "There are too many people in the cafeteria. I'll pass. I'll wait for you here in the room."
"Then I'm heading out?" Yusaku asked again.
"Go, go. Just come back early." Labrynth waved him off, a faint smile in her eyes.
Yusaku nodded, then turned and walked out the door.
…
Takeuchi Dojo, cafeteria.
"I've got to say, K Corp really did an insane job with this game. It even simulates taste perfectly. This drumstick tastes exactly like the real thing!"
Kazetaro grabbed a glossy, oil-slicked chicken drumstick and took a huge bite, sighing in satisfaction.
Right now, to celebrate Yusaku winning the championship, Master Takeuchi had specially ordered a victory banquet in the cafeteria. The long tables were piled with food, and delicious aromas filled the air.
"Mm, it really is pretty good."
Kouki picked up an apple, but only took a small, half-hearted bite. A shadow slowly crept into his eyes.
Seeing this, Kazetaro frowned. "Boss, what's with that look? Yusaku-senpai just won the whole tournament. That's huge good news! We'll go find him later. Maybe he'll even give us some quests!"
"Yeah, Boss, how come you've been so unenthused?"
Cheese Crit grabbed another slice of cantaloupe, chewing as he chimed in.
Seeing that the two of them still had the mood to focus on food, Kouki rolled his eyes at them and reminded them, "Tomorrow is the day the game's open beta starts."
"Yeah, the open beta… wait a second!"
Kazetaro froze mid-sentence, his expression changing. "With how famous Yusaku-senpai is now, once the open beta starts, there'll definitely be a flood of people trying to approach him. When that happens, we…"
"When that happens, the few of us won't be anything special anymore."
Kouki finished for him, voice faint, with a hint of helplessness.
"I thought you were worried about something serious. So that's all it is."
Cheese Crit put down his fork, completely unconcerned.
"We're still ahead of all the people who join after the open beta. We met Yusaku-senpai before they did, and he still remembers our names. That's already enough."
"Didn't that forum expert say it?" he went on. "Yusaku-senpai is highly likely to be one of the main protagonists of this game. The fact that we got to know a main character ahead of everyone else is the biggest lead we could ask for!"
Hearing that, Kazetaro's eyes lit up and his spirits instantly lifted. "You're right! So what are we sitting around for? While we still have time, we should hurry up and hang around Yusaku-senpai more, make sure he remembers our faces!"
The noise in the cafeteria was loud enough to practically blow off the roof. Yusaku, surrounded by disciples, had just managed to sit down when he saw Kazetaro charging over, waving half a half-eaten drumstick that was dripping with grease, his other hand gesturing excitedly in front of his chest.
"Senpai! That last move of yours, 'LP 7000 → 0,' was insane! Fujiwara didn't even have time to react. You just nuked him on the spot. It felt so good to watch!"
Yusaku dodged his over-eager face with a helpless smile, picked up a glass of juice from the table, and took a sip. "I just got lucky. I happened to draw the key card at the right time."
"Oh, right, senpai!"
Kouki also squeezed his way up, eyes full of expectation. "Is there anything you need help with? Whether it's sorting decks or running errands, we can do it!"
Cheese Crit, standing to the side, immediately nodded, staring at Yusaku with equal eagerness. "We can help too!"
Seeing the three of them like this, Yusaku couldn't help but laugh. He remembered that, going by the timeline, tomorrow really was the open beta. And here they were still thinking about trying to pick up quests. They really were persistent.
He thought for a moment, then deliberately slowed his tone and smiled. "My dear juniors, the dojo challenge tournament just ended. There's nothing urgent I need done. What you should be busy with right now is enjoying the food together with the other disciples, or you'll be letting down the master's kindness."
Hearing this, the three of them instantly deflated a little. Looked like no new quest trigger after all. But just as they were about to turn away, all three of their quest logs popped up a new notification at the same time.
[New Quest: Enjoy the Feast]
[Quest Info: After winning the dojo challenge tournament, Yusaku, in high spirits, invites you to share in an important victory banquet set menu.]
[Quest Reward: EXP ×200, Yusaku Affection +5]
The moment they saw "Yusaku Affection +5" in the rewards, the three of them lit up.
With the open beta just around the corner, Affection was far more important to them than EXP. After all, only with enough Affection could they unlock Yusaku's hidden shop and buy rare cards.
After happily rushing off to enjoy the food, Yusaku glanced around the cafeteria, but didn't see Master Takeuchi anywhere. Curious, he asked the disciple next to him, "By the way, where's the master? How come he didn't come to the banquet?"
"The master?"
The boy sitting beside him thought for a moment, then replied, "He's in the head's office. He told us just now that if you came, we should tell you to go see him there."
"I see."
Yusaku put down his juice and stood up from his seat. "You guys go ahead and eat. I'll go to the head's office and be right back."
With that, Yusaku followed the boy out of the bustling cafeteria and walked toward the office building deeper inside the dojo.
Master Takeuchi was standing alone by the window, looking up at the sky outside. The already-dim sky seemed even darker now, as if soaked in ink. Even the wind blowing in through the window carried a faint, bone-chilling cold.
"A storm is coming…"
He sighed softly, voice heavy.
Yusaku quickly arrived at the door of the head's office and knocked lightly.
"Come in."
Master Takeuchi's steady voice came from inside.
Yusaku pushed the door open and saw Master Takeuchi sitting behind a redwood desk. When he saw Yusaku enter, a gratified smile immediately appeared on his face.
"Good kid, congratulations on taking the championship! I knew I didn't misjudge you. You're even stronger than I thought!"
Yusaku walked over to the chair in front of the desk and sat down, smiling. "You wouldn't have called me over just to congratulate me, right, Master? You didn't even show up to the victory banquet just now. There must be something you wanted to talk to me about."
At that, Master Takeuchi chuckled. "What, I can't call you over unless I have something to discuss? But to be honest, I know we can't keep you here. You don't belong to this one dojo. You've got a much wider sky waiting for you outside. The main reason I asked you to come is that I wanted to ask what you're planning to do next."
"Where I'm going, huh…"
Yusaku lowered his head and thought for a moment before answering honestly, "I haven't completely decided yet, but I'll probably be heading to the Trial Tower in the Satellite Sector soon."
"The Trial Tower, is it."
Master Takeuchi frowned slightly, thinking. "That place is no joke. But with your strength, you should be able to make it through."
Thinking this through, he looked back at Yusaku and smiled. "You brat, you're not being honest with me. You say you're 'just going to take a look.' When you say it like that, it usually means you're planning to challenge it for real."
"Heh heh."
Yusaku scratched his head. "Nothing gets past you, Master."
Based on the intel Labrynth had given him, the Trial Tower was a place he had to visit sooner or later. It was just a matter of when.
"Like I don't know you by now."
Master Takeuchi laughed. "When you go challenge it, let me know in advance. I'll bring the dojo disciples over to cheer you on! All right, go take care of whatever you need to. I really did call you here just to ask about your plans."
"Then I'll get going."
"Go, go."
Master Takeuchi waved his hand. "If you ever want to come back, you're welcome here any time. This place will always be open to you."
"Got it!"
"This kid…"
Master Takeuchi cursed him out with a smile, then glanced once more at the sky outside. After that, his gaze fell on a document lying on the desk, and he let out a quiet sigh.
"Let's hope this turns out to be false…"
PS: These two chapters are just transition chapters. The open beta is about to begin, and we'll officially be entering Version 1.0. After this big version wraps up, we'll move into the Version 2.0 'Satellite Sector' arc.
(End of Chapter)
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