Chapter 15: Finals

"Greetings, dear audience friends. You are watching the finals of the Moonlight Cup. I am commentator Xiao Du."

"I am commentator Sasaki."

The competition's logo flashed across the live television feed, and the two pre-match commentators immediately appeared on screen.

"After several days of fierce battling, the tournament has finally reached its conclusion today. To be honest, this year's competition has provided us with quite a few surprises," commented Xiao Du.

"Indeed," Sasaki agreed. "The return of a legendary figure who had vanished for many years was expected; the legendary duelist Dinosaur Ryuzaki crushing his way to the finals with unstoppable force comes as no surprise to anyone."

"However, I doubt anyone initially expected that the challenger facing this legend in the finals would not be any of the seeded players predicted before the tournament, but rather our Number 39, Fujiki You Xuan, a rookie with no record whatsoever."

Xiao Du nodded and added, "And as everyone surely knows by now, this player not only lacks any match experience but also holds a Duelist Rank of merely one star."

"To be honest, when I first saw the roster for the main tournament, I thought it must be a typo," commentator Sasaki said. "I remember thinking, 'Huh? A one-star player? Are you kidding me?'"

"Later, I checked the system, and it was indeed true."

"Such situations do occur occasionally," Xiao Du remarked. "There are precedents. Some competitors who never enter arenas or show themselves publicly might have cultivated in seclusion for many years, only to astonish the world upon their debut."

"True, but such cases are rare. We can only say we've been fortunate this year to witness the rise of a dark horse. In previous years, he might even have claimed the championship, unfortunately..."

Sasaki, having casually spoken thus far, realized he was about to misspeak and hastily reined himself in.

Sasaki took a deep breath. That was close, very close. Things like cursing competitors before a match or maliciously manipulating outcomes with mysterious powers are not behaviors befitting a professional commentator.

Even though his thoughts aligned with those of the majority.

No matter how dark this dark horse might be, could he possibly be instantly defeated by a legendary duelist?

Encountering a legend like Dinosaur Ryuzaki in such a minor tournament was an extremely low-probability event. Normally, such big shots wouldn't come to lower-level competitions to crush newcomers. Presumably, having been in seclusion for years, this master wanted to test the waters and regain his feel for dueling by starting with something simple.

But for the Moonlight Cup, the appearance of such a master undoubtedly constituted a dimensional strike.

Although this rookie's strength was stunning, and he had surely made ample preparations before the tournament hoping to accumulate power and burst forth into fame, alas, his timing was unfortunate as he collided with such a deity.

One can only say that besides strength, luck sometimes plays a crucial role as well.

"Very well, the match is now entering its countdown, and both duelists should be in their pre-match preparation phases," commentator Xiao Du announced. "Will the emergent dark horse maintain his streak to the very end, or will the legend make a triumphant return? Let us wait and see!"

You Xuan stood on the platform, facing the legendary Dinosaur Ryuzaki, and shuffled the decks.

Indeed, the figure before him differed somewhat from his memories of the anime. In his memory, Ryuzaki and his best friend Weevil were both a pair of stunted dwarfs suffering from malnutrition; You Xuan estimated they would only reach his waist back then. Judging by current appearances, nutrition must have improved significantly in the years since the Duel Monsters era concluded, allowing them to grow considerably taller.

See, now Ryuzaki could barely reach up to his chin.

Yet, although he had to tilt his head to meet You Xuan's gaze, his aura was not weak in the slightest, exuding a faint but distinct confidence characteristic of a superior powerhouse.

While You Xuan was currently observing and comparing his opponent against the animated image in his memory, Ryuzaki, noticing his gaze and undergoing some unknown imaginative processing in his mind, actually smiled slightly and struck a pose of a master: "No need to be nervous. Just perform normally as you usually do. Don't burden yourself; participation is what matters most. Just duel with style."

You Xuan paused for a moment, quickly realizing this fellow likely assumed he felt psychological pressure facing a "legend."

And what the hell did he mean by "participation is what matters"? He spoke as if You Xuan had already lost.

Nevertheless, he smiled too and played along: "Thank you, but I am fine. It's just that I suddenly recalled, back when I didn't know how to duel, I saw you battling on the stage of Duelist Kingdom on television."

Upon hearing this, Ryuzaki's eyes lit up, feeling immensely honored, and his spine straightened involuntarily: "Haha, so it turns out I was half your guide into the world of dueling."

"Yes, indeed. I was especially impressed by your ace monster, 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon.' The legendary Red Dragon that brings possibilities left an indelible mark on my young soul," You Xuan said with an expression of utmost sincerity.

However, the moment these words left his mouth, Ryuzaki's face immediately turned dark.

Damn it, bringing up the very topic one should avoid.

The Red-Eyes Black Dragon had indeed once been his proud ace, but anyone who had watched the Duelist Kingdom tournament back then would know that he lost the Red-Eyes in the very first round of that tournament to the legendary gambler Katsuya Jonouchi.

He did not believe his opponent was unaware of this; therefore, deliberately mentioning it before him was akin to slapping his face in mockery, essentially saying, "Your wife is truly wonderful, pity she ran off with someone else."

Ryuzaki's face remained gloomy; he grunted and fell silent. He was probably already contemplating how to make this ignorant rookie understand just how cruel duels between true powerhouses really are once the match began.

"Ah, right, later you continued to compete in the Battle City tournament, which I followed closely at the time as well."

You Xuan's eyes were incredibly sincere, speaking so convincingly that he almost believed himself.

"Especially when you summoned 'Evil Knight Dragon' on the Battle City stage; it was so cool..."

Ryuzaki's face instantly turned even darker.

He was now convinced this guy was deliberately messing with his mentality. It was true that Evil Knight Dragon had been his ace during Battle City, but damn it, he lost in the very first match there too, defeated by the duelist "Psychic Ryo" who wielded "Jinzo."

It felt like a double face-slap mockery: "Your second wife was also wonderful, pity she ran off with someone else again..."

No, must stabilize my mentality.

Ryuzaki took a deep breath.

In duels between masters, mentality is paramount; even in professional leagues, pre-match trash talk is sometimes part of the competition. Must stay calm; absolutely cannot let my mentality collapse before the duel even starts because of this guy.

I will use this duel to make this fellow understand my true prowess.

"Duel!" x2

[You Xuan, LP 4000]

[Ryuzaki, LP 4000]

The choice of going first or second was randomly assigned to You Xuan. You Xuan, being unceremonious, immediately claimed the first turn.

"I'll take the first turn. Draw."

You Xuan drew three cards from his deck in one smooth motion.

"I place one monster face-down on the field, and set two cards face-down in my back row. Turn end!"

(End of Chapter)