Kira began to discover the joy of dueling in this other world.
However, he soon realized that, indeed, happiness in this world seems to be a zero-sum game. As he started to have fun, the other disciples in the dojo seemed to lose interest in dueling.
In just three days, nobody wanted to play against him anymore.
Kira could only look up at the sky and sigh deeply.
Now, he finally started to understand why Yugi Muto said he couldn't make friends before meeting the Pharaoh. It turns out that people like him just aren't meant to have friends.
Things escalated to the point that even the dojo master took notice.
The dojo master was named Takeuchi Kageru, who, rumor had it, was once among the top 32 in the town's Duel Tournament when he was younger. Upon hearing that an apprentice's dueling skills had skyrocketed, that this apprentice had even defeated his prized senior student, and that in just three days had made all the apprentices too demoralized to play anymore, Takeuchi felt he had to step in.
He immediately gathered all the apprentices, first praising Kira for his diligent study and rapid improvement, then criticizing the others for their negative attitude.
The master taught, "The point of challenging each other is to improve. A strong opponent is a good thing. Otherwise, if you just beat up on the weak all day, what's the point? It's like boxing in a seniors' home or kicking around a kindergarten—what do you gain from that?"
All the apprentices hung their heads in silence, not daring to speak.
The master made a sweeping gesture and beckoned Kira over with a smile.
"If they don't want to play, then I'll try you out myself. I can give you some pointers on your deck."
Finally, someone was willing to play with him again!
Kira had several deck tweaks he wanted to test, so he eagerly agreed.
So, today's duel would be against his teacher.
The teacher was cool—he even graciously gave Kira the first turn, showing the style of a true master. Kira didn't hesitate and took the first move.
He immediately paid 1000 life points and revealed the Spell Card [Confiscation]. This familiar play sent shivers through the apprentices, who had suffered from it over the past three days—some nearly had PTSD.
Now, Confiscation's effect activates.
Let's see... what's in your hand?
Kira glanced at his teacher's hand and instantly picked out [Monster Reborn] to discard. Then he Normal Summoned [Green Gadget], whose effect let him add [Red Gadget] from his deck to his hand. He set three cards face-down in his back row and passed the turn with style.
Now it was the teacher's turn. He immediately summoned [Gearfried the Iron Knight], a Level 4 monster with 1800 ATK and looking very cool. But it was useless because before Gearfried could even find his footing, Kira's [Trap Hole] sent it straight to the graveyard.
[Trap Hole: When a monster with 1000 or more ATK is summoned, destroy it.]
But the teacher wasn't done yet. Even though he couldn't Normal Summon again this turn, he activated the effect of [Spirit of the Rock – Titan] in his hand, which could be Special Summoned by banishing an EARTH monster from the graveyard. He banished Gearfried and brought out Titan.
Takeuchi then had Titan attack Green Gadget. But with a snap of Kira's fingers, a face-down card flipped up—a bright red trap.
"I activate Mirror Force!"
[Mirror Force: When an opponent's monster declares an attack, destroy all Attack Position monsters your opponent controls.]
Stepping into two traps in a row, the teacher had no choice but to end his turn.
Then it was Kira's turn again. He looked at his draw, then played [Delinquent Duo]—paid 1000 life points, forcing Takeuchi to discard two more cards.
Takeuchi looked down at his now nearly empty hand, leaving only one card, and fell into deep thought about life.
Kira then summoned the [Red Gadget] he searched for last turn, and its effect let him add [Yellow Gadget] from his deck. In the battle phase, Red and Green Gadget both attacked directly, taking 2700 LP from the teacher.
And it wasn't over. In the end phase, Kira boldly flipped another face-down card. The source of this content ɪs NoveI-Fire.ɴet
[Trap/Effect: Your opponent skips their next Draw Phase.]
You might not believe it, but this wicked card was used by the King of Games, Yugi Muto. Back in Battle City, Yami Yugi used it in a duel against the fake Exodia dealer Gurus.
With his hand wiped out and his Draw Phase sealed by the Red King, Takeuchi looked at his empty field, then at the two eager Gadgets on Kira's side, and seriously began to consider whether a fistfight was a viable dueling strategy.
With his LP at zero, the dojo master walked off the field, looked up at the sky, and took a deep breath.
He began to reflect on what possessed him to duel against such an underworld deck.
The watching apprentices were even more devastated.
Even the master lost!
Before the duel, many of them still had hope. Each had thought that even though they felt helpless and powerless against Kira, it was probably just because they were inexperienced. If they had the skills of a true master, surely things would be different.
But in reality, the master drew, the master played, and the master got GG'd.
It was almost the same as what each apprentice had experienced against Kira over the past few days!
To them, it was a complete shock to their worldview—a collapse of their understanding of dueling, casting a dark shadow over the future of the dueling world, filling them with endless confusion and deep worry. The same thought flashed through all their minds—
—If even the invincible master loses to this antisocial menace, why am I having this nightmare?
Kira's deck concept this time was simple: an early traditional combo of Trap Beat and hand destruction.
Anyone who played Yu-Gi-Oh! back in the day knows that, in an era when monster effects weren't as powerful as today and decks couldn't combo as explosively, powerful Spells and Traps played a crucial role in mainstream strategies.
The Red, Green, and Yellow Gadgets all search each other to keep their hands full, preventing you from running out of monsters. Meanwhile, powerful traps and Spells whittle away the opponent's resources, increasing the resource gap until they just can't keep up.
Still, Kira humbly asked, "Master, what do you think of my deck? Is there anything I could improve?"
Only then did Takeuchi snap out of his deep thoughts, giving Kira a meaningful look. Strangely enough, even though Kira seemed like a bright and handsome young man, seeing his face now just gave Takeuchi the creeps.
Pointers? What pointers could I possibly give?
You're so damn good, you should be teaching me.
Honestly, if it weren't for his pride, he might have considered it.
He wanted to learn dueling from Kira.
Especially how to play a deck that could make people cry out in despair.
"I have nothing left to teach you."
Takeuchi let out a long sigh, sounding a bit defeated.
"Oh, sensei, I just remembered—there's one more thing I'd like to ask," Kira said.
"I'd like to sign up for the Duel Academy entrance exam," Kira replied. "I wanted to ask if I could apply for a dojo scholarship."