Chapter 303: Why is everyone looking at me?

A profession?

Fujiki You Xuan became slightly interested upon hearing this.

He hadn't had much contact with the professional circle in this world yet. The most direct contact he'd had with a professional player was the player named Tomoki he'd faced in the Link System previously—though to be accurate, that was only a semi-professional, not a fully regular one.

No, if he had to be precise, it seemed even "semi-professional" couldn't be applied to him anymore.

Because he later heard that the guy had apparently withdrawn from the competition before his debut, and no one knew why. The media only speculated that it was due to excessive psychological pressure from dueling for unknown reasons, possibly triggered by some external stimulus that made him unable to adapt to the pressure of the arena, resulting in a hasty withdrawal.

Fujiki You Xuan was puzzled when he saw this news. Such a good newcomer, why withdraw for no reason? He had personally traded blows with him before, and logically speaking, he felt the man's skill level was actually decent.

It only made Fujiki You Xuan feel that the mental fortitude of current duelists was truly lacking. It was just being ganked by a combo of Kuriboh and Lava Golem; where was the pressure in that?

To feel dueling pressure from that level, he really couldn't understand it.

However, that wasn't a regular professional after all. He was still interested in learning about the professional circle; it wouldn't be bad to mix into the league in the future, win a world championship, and earn some extra pocket money.

Of course, not all experts in this world play professionally; the gold content of a "World Champion" is actually not as high as the "King of Games" title.

For example, the Gravekeeper trio from the first generation, the Doma trio, and legendary duelists including Yugi and Jonouchi never entered the professional circle. Thus, there is a saying that "the true experts are among the common folk." While the professional circle certainly represents the expert tier of the Duel Realm, they aren't necessarily the absolute top.

The truly top-tier experts might not even step onto the stage to compete often.

Dragged all the way to the venue by Judai, it was already packed inside. After all, it was now winter break, and the students were already in vacation mode. Staying on the island was just waiting for the return ship, and with no classes and nothing to do, almost everyone had run to the venue except for those curled up in their dorms sleeping.

After all, a significant portion of the students in this academy hoped to break into the professional circle in the future, so most were very interested in hearing a lecture from an active professional player.

By the time they arrived at the venue, there were no seats left, so Fujiki You Xuan could only squeeze outside the arena with Judai and the others to watch the stage.

"Oh, oh! Is that a professional duelist?" Judai's eyes lit up.

It was a man dressed in exquisite attire. He wore a well-tailored black formal suit with smooth lines and a black bowtie at his chest. His facial features were sharp, he sported a meticulously trimmed mustache, and his demeanor exuded elegance and composure.

However, rather than a duelist, his getup looked more like a bartender.

"Hmm, doesn't really feel like a professional," Judai said blankly.

"Heh, then you really are blind, Judai."

It was Manjoume who spoke, appearing behind them with his arms crossed.

"This is Sommelier Baka, the eighth-ranked expert from last season's professional league," Manjoume scoffed.

"Eh? Just this middle-aged man?" Judai was surprised.

However, perhaps because they were standing a bit too close to the front, the conversation was overheard by the professional on stage. He wasn't annoyed by Judai's offense, though; he just turned his head to glance at the jellyfish-haired student and smiled elegantly.

"How impolite. It's still a bit too early for me to be called a 'middle-aged man'," Sommelier said with a smile. "Well, but a duelist is just like fine wine; the longer it's aged, the more mellow the flavor."

"Although all you students of Duel Academy clearly have extraordinary talent, you are ultimately lacking a bit of seasoning. Without the settling of time, it's still hard to become a fine wine."

Judai was confused: "Hmm, I don't really get it. What does wine have to do with dueling? It doesn't seem to have much of a connection..."

"Hahaha, the world of dueling is all-encompassing; one can realize the principles of dueling from all things in the world."

Sommelier laughed.

"And for me, what I study is the Dao of 'Wine.' My dueling is like brewing wine; not only must one be picky about the raw materials and reverent toward the craft, but one must also have respect for time."

"Raw materials are the foundation of brewing. Selecting high-quality grains, fruits, and water is the first step to good wine, just as a carefully selected deck is the only path to victory."

"Craft is the key to brewing good wine. Having a good deck without an excellent duelist to wield it won't unleash its power, just as saccharification, fermentation, and distillation all require strict control."

"And finally, the most critical part..."

He smiled slightly and picked up a goblet filled with red wine, which swayed gently with his movements.

"... is time. Good wine requires the settling and brewing of time, just as life requires the tempering and experience of years. A duelist who hasn't been sufficiently tempered can never shoulder the heavy burden alone."

"This is why I, Sommelier Baka, have been able to reach my current status in the professional circle."

Fujiki You Xuan frowned the moment he heard the man's voice, feeling as if he had heard it somewhere before.

Then, after frowning and pondering until this moment, he suddenly realized.

Damn, isn't this Madara?

This man claimed to be the eighth-ranked professional. Although he only had a bit-part cameo in the GX anime, his voice actor was the same as the famous Madara from the neighboring Hidden Leaf Village.

It made Fujiki You Xuan think of "You too want to dance,. JPG" the moment he heard the man talk about the secrets of brewing and dueling.

Now he remembered. This guy who claimed to be a professional appeared in the anime to crush Asuka's good friends Junko and Momoe, only to be immediately beaten back by Asuka, who had been brainwashed and darkened—or perhaps "whitened"—by Saiou.

In short, he was basically a background character, just a high-level background character with the loud title of "Professional Eighth."

This man was clearly a wine fanatic, with a persona like a master from traditional wuxia who loves wine and swords, then blends the Dao of wine into the Dao of the sword. The deck he used was also a "Wine" deck, which was basically original to the anime and never released as physical cards.

"Of course, just talking is empty theory after all; I'm afraid everyone still finds it hard to understand. But that doesn't matter..."

Sommelier smiled, picked up the Duel Disk from the podium, and strapped it onto his arm.

"I'm in a good mood today, so I'll make an exception and provide a practical demonstration for you Duel Academy students."

He scanned the students and asked.

"So, which student wishes to receive special guidance from the eighth-ranked professional?"

"..."

Of course, there were quite a few people whose hearts were stirred. Being able to duel a professional player was a rare opportunity.

But at the same time, this was also a chance to make a fool of oneself in front of the whole school, so many people weighed their own abilities and didn't act rashly at first.

After all, representing the Duel Academy students in battle meant that if they lost too miserably, everyone would lose face.

And when it came to a duelist everyone acknowledged as capable and whom they wanted to see perform...

"..."

A few seconds later, Fujiki You Xuan looked around and felt helpless.

"Why are you all looking at me?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 304 =====