Chapter 306: Responsibility

Boom, boom.

Tenjo Hikari sat on the train, while Tierra and Serina sat on opposite sides of the table, playing cards with card pads.

"Electronic Dragon, direct attack—I win!"

"Aaaah—why?!"

Tierra went berserk.

Six consecutive losses.

We're using the exact same deck—why is this happening?!

The two of them used a shared deck, randomly drawn, with all extra cards and the main deck identical; logically, their starting points were completely equal, yet no matter what hand Tierra drew, she always lost in the end.

Tierra was furious.

But being furious didn't help Tierra.

Even though Tierra didn't really mind losing—after all, she was just casually trying it out for fun.

But by the third match, she was utterly baffled.

She even considered secretly activating her own "values," but unfortunately, such values clearly had no effect in this casual card game.

That was only to be expected.

Tenjo Hikari often lost when playing cards with friends outside formal duels.

After all, his luck had always been terrible.

Clearly, Tierra's luck wasn't any better.

As for Serina, her luck was genuinely excellent.

Moreover, since last year, she had consistently participated in Ronghebu's recreational activities and possessed extensive experience in random duels; compared to her, Tierra naturally paled in comparison.

Of course, the most formidable was still Marufuji Ryo. In the original story, Marufuji Ryo used machines to simulate duels and ranked first in the entire school, utterly dominating everyone—even Judai was no match.

"Ding-ding—" as the two passed the time.

Tenjo Hikari scrolled through his phone and opened the newly received message: in the photo, Chui Xue's dazzlingly bright teeth and his "Yeh!" gesture appeared, beside it, Asuka looked exasperated, while Marufuji Ryo laughed heartily after defeating an opponent.

It seemed the Tenjo siblings were traveling through this dimension with Hell Kaiser.

That put Tenjo Hikari at ease.

For anyone else, Tenjo Hikari would have genuinely worried about Marufuji Ryo.

But Chui Xue? He was fine.

In the original story, after Marufuji Ryo became Hell Kaiser, Chui Xue used the power of Darkness to duel him, attempting to awaken Kaiser back to his original self.

Unfortunately, he happened to encounter the debut of the Rili Electronic Stream; his Dragon-type monsters were completely turned into Rili Electronic Stream equipment and were crushed by its counters.

But during the duel, Chui Xue, using the power of Darkness, communicated with Marufuji Ryo's inner self and quickly realized.

Kaiser had changed—but not into a madman; he had become more "mature," gaining a completely new understanding of everything.

When neither his teacher nor his brother understood, Chui Xue instantly grasped: Kaiser was still his good buddy.

One could only say Chui Xue truly deserved to be Kaiser's confidant—no wonder Kaiser had worked so hard to find him after he vanished.

Even though Chui Xue was scatterbrained in the original story and never won a duel, he could understand elders and brothers early on, comprehend Judai later, and by the story's late arc, even resisted brainwashing.

Too bad he was defeated by a time rewind at his moment of greatest glory.

Tenjo Hikari scrolled his phone and gave him a like.

Then he saw Wan Wan Zhangmu's message, glanced at it, straightened up immediately, and examined it closely.

"That brat Wan Wan Zhangmu—he actually earned a 12-star rating?"

"What? What?! That guy, without saying a word, was the first to achieve this?!" San Ze also cried out.

Immediately, he clenched his fist: "No way—I can't let them pull ahead!"

He quickly pulled out his deck and began studying it more seriously.

As for Tenjo Hikari, after reviewing everyone's recent status, he searched for information on other classmates.

The current condition of ordinary Ronghebu students was his top priority; as head of the club, he couldn't just care about friends—he had to pay attention to all members. If a classmate lost a duel, he'd occasionally offer comfort; if someone defeated a powerful opponent, he'd give a like or send a direct message.

Being head of the club is tough—ahhh—

"Oh, Shen Le Ban—he actually earned a 5-star seal? That's impressive." Reaching 5 stars meant he no longer needed to worry about grades; now it was just a matter of whether he could earn a higher star rating.

He gave a like and praised him, then kept scrolling. After a while, his expression suddenly grew grave.

One classmate reported seeing strange black clouds at the Critical Point dimension—he didn't know if it was a phenomenon of this dimension.

Another classmate said he saw a demon dripping slime; since he wasn't a Star Duelist, he didn't pay much attention.

Tenjo Hikari rubbed his chin, thinking.

There were quite a few demons matching these two traits, so he couldn't jump to conclusions.

But what if it was?

What troubled Tenjo Hikari most was that since everyone was scattered far apart, he couldn't easily deduce their current status from personal information.

If someone hadn't messaged in a long time, was it because they were busy with duels—or because something had happened? It was hard to tell.

Even among classmates who knew each other well, it was difficult to confirm their friends' conditions for this reason.

After thinking for a moment, he still composed a message and sent it to all Ronghebu members.

Fortunately—

Because Tierra had previously caused a commotion by activating her "values," everyone at the Critical Point had seen that strange phenomenon, giving Tenjo Hikari the chance to fabricate a story.

"All Ronghebu members: abnormal weather has recently erupted at the Critical Point. After consulting with Spirits, I've learned that a top-tier demon may have appeared—it's extremely dangerous and highly likely to endanger ordinary lives. All members must prioritize their safety.

Please remain vigilant at all times—monitor the time, weather, and surroundings. Avoid leaving the Seto Corporation stations to prevent loss of communication.

If you encounter any of the following situations, immediately contact or send a message…"

Tierra glanced over.

She raised an eyebrow, crossed her legs, propped her cheek with her right hand, and watched Tenjo Hikari typing.

This human, Tenjo Hikari, had too much responsibility.

On a trip, still worrying about boring mortal affairs.

But she had to admit: as a leader of a faction, Tenjo Hikari truly gave his all, never missing anything.

"Ding-ding-ding-da—"

After Tenjo Hikari sent "White Dragon x," he began reviewing his emerald, and not long after, the train's announcement sounded.

"Ji Dou Rainforest Zone, arrived."

"Passengers, please note: duels are extremely frequent in this region. Maintain your stamina."

They had arrived.

The three of them packed their things, joined the queue, and disembarked. As soon as they stepped off, Tenjo Hikari spotted a boy with short blue hair preparing to board.

It was John.

"Oh! Tenjo Hikari!" John also noticed Tenjo Hikari, saw his chest badge, noticed the five seals, and was stunned—then immediately stretched his limbs. "You already have five seals?! That's incredible—I can't fall behind!"

He had four seals.

He was heading to another mountainous region, which happened to be the opposite direction of Tenjo Hikari's group's journey. San Ze and Serina had never met a branch school student who didn't care about "fusion" at all, so they chatted with him for a while.

Of course, John also casually asked about Judai's current status. Tenjo Hikari thought for a moment, pulled out his phone, searched, and told him where Judai was now.

"Hahaha, looks like our destinations won't overlap." He laughed heartily and didn't bother seeking out Judai.

Then he remembered the situation here, his smile faded slightly, and he told Tenjo Hikari and the others: "By the way, this rainforest is extremely intense. Be careful—you never know when someone might suddenly appear from the shadows and attack you."

Really?

This rainforest was a bit unfriendly.

(End of Chapter)