Chapter 85: Mascot

Silent.

Until Watanabe Shuichi’s LP hit zero and he was blasted onto his back, no one spoke for a long time.

Even the host stood with his mouth open, stunned for a while, unsure what to say.

Oh my god, what just happened!?

He nearly blurted out Professor Kuronos’s catchphrase from sheer shock.

It wasn’t unheard of for a genius freshman to knock out the defending member during recruitment events. The host, having spent over two years in the Duel Club, considered himself well-traveled in such scenes—he’d seen it all.

But he’d never seen a duel like this!

“Ah, this…” A senior on the stands also stumbled over her words.

In a single duel, they’d simultaneously displayed the hellish archetype of “You’re Not Playing Today” and a dazzling infinite-attack loop theoretically capable of infinite damage.

It was hard to imagine such wildly divergent duel styles appearing in one person’s match.

How could such a duelist still exist in this world?

Even Banjōme had risen from his seat, his eyes locked unblinkingly on You Xuan, refusing to look away for a single moment.

He’d known the guy was a bastard, and he’d known the guy was strong. But even so, the duel’s progression had exceeded his expectations.

How does this guy keep coming up with so many bizarre combos?

Watching You Xuan duel felt to Banjōme like watching a top student solve a problem—those questions that made average students rack their brains to no avail, the top student solved with a few casual scribbles, instantly turning decay into magic, leaving the average student gasping, “Holy shit, you can actually do that?”

Sometimes you just wanted to crack open the top student’s skull and see what kind of structure was inside, why it was so different from yours.

Of course, even if You Xuan knew, he’d just grin and say he was merely standing on the shoulders of giants to see farther.

Even assuming the online lore—that dueling in this world is truth, so natives must expend a thousandfold effort to uncover patterns that real-world card players take for granted, and that You Xuan, as a high-dimensional transmigrator, can discover far more combinations and scientific constructions a hundred times more easily than them—even then, the game was still too vast for one person.

So many card combinations, so many acrobatics and tricks, especially those refined over decades and passed down to the present—each one was a crystallization of past wisdom. He stood on the accumulated foundation of countless card players’ years of trial and error to build his own combos.

Searching the massive card pool for possible combinations was like finding a needle in a haystack, triggering unexpected chemical reactions between cards no one had ever imagined, achieving acrobatics that either plunged viewers into darkness or lit their eyes with wonder—this had always been one of the charms of Yu-Gi-Oh!.

“Hmm, congratulations, You Xuan. You’ve passed the evaluation.”

Finally, the head of the Duel Club spoke up.

“That’s enough, Shuichi. Come back now.”

Seeing the head’s stern face, Shuichi knew his performance hadn’t pleased him—he’d likely be punished when he returned.

Shuichi wanted to cry. He wanted to say, “Head, it’s not my fault—I gave it my all!”

But how do you break against something that isn’t even human?

Until You Xuan left the stage, everyone’s gaze remained fixed on him.

He’s just a freshman.

If this keeps up, won’t the Duel Club head have to be replaced soon?

“.”

“Here’s your club membership perk.”

The senior smiled as she handed You Xuan a badge.

“This is the Duel Club member badge. Keep it safe. New members receive five extra credits and can freely choose one card from these.”

She then handed him a box to pick from.

When he opened it, rows of cards were neatly stacked inside.

So it really did pay to be early—those who went later would find the good cards already taken.

You Xuan glanced through them. Overall, nothing caught his eye—probably because they were free, they all seemed pretty weak.

Huh?

He found himself oddly drawn to one card.

Meteor Black Dragon.

A fusion monster of Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Black Dragon of the Meteor, Level 8, ATK 3500, Common rarity.

In real-card pools, this was a completely useless card—but You Xuan was surprised: wasn’t Red-Eyes Black Dragon supposed to be ultra-rare in this world?

In DM, only Katsuya Jounouchi had one, his signature monster. By GX, its rarity might’ve dropped slightly—Tenryu Shuichi used two in one duel, and likely had a third in his deck.

Even so, it was top-tier rare, not something you’d casually find on the market.

“This one’s expensive! The Duel Club paid a fortune to get it!” the senior laughed. “It’s the evolved form of a legendary monster!”

You Xuan frowned: “But doesn’t the club’s inventory lack ‘Red-Eyes Black Dragon’? Then how can this card even be summoned…?”

“Right, you can’t summon it,” the senior said, blinking innocently.

You Xuan: “?”

“Come on, Red-Eyes Black Dragon is a legendary monster. If you could summon it, how could the club afford it?” The senior giggled, her body shaking with laughter. “It’s the fusion evolution of Red-Eyes, but ‘Meteor Black Dragon’ isn’t as rare. Plus, its battle value is low—so it’s mostly a collectible.”

“Oh, but I heard some duelists use it as their ace—just substitute ‘Demon of the Swamp’ for Red-Eyes as the fusion material. Though, ‘Demon of the Swamp’ is rare too…”

You Xuan: “.”

So it’s just a mascot after all.

Hmm, wait…

Now that she mentioned it, he remembered a universal card he’d received from the Academy recently.

With that card, this one might actually be useful.

“I’ll take ‘Meteor Black Dragon,’” You Xuan said.

The rest in the box were clearly useless anyway.

“Got it.”

The senior handed him the card.

You Xuan passed his evaluation, received his reward, and exchanged contact details with the senior for future communication.

The senior seemed delighted to get his contact info.

“By the way, senior, where are the recruitment booths for other clubs?” You Xuan asked. “Also happening soon?”

The senior’s expression turned strange.

You’re asking me, from the Duel Club, about other clubs’ recruitment locations? Isn’t that a bit off?

Still, she explained: “Each club’s recruitment timing varies, but most are concentrated in the next two weeks. As a senior, I’ll advise you—don’t join too many clubs. Your energy is limited.”

“Thanks for the advice, senior,” You Xuan smiled confidently. “I know my limits.”

(End of Chapter)