"It's you!?"
Manjome instantly sat back in his chair, staring at him with wide eyes.
"You want to join the Duel Club too?"
"Yeah. Why so agitated?" Yugen looked at him strangely. "Miss me?"
"No, no, not at all!"
Manjome then realized his reaction was a bit too strong. He just glared at Yugen fiercely, sat back down, and said nothing more.
Overconfident, he should have known this guy would definitely show up.
Just seconds ago, Manjome had been thinking about using his skill to dominate the Duel Club and make a name for himself. Now, he suddenly felt that the Duel Club was nothing special, joining wouldn't mean much, and not joining was fine too.
However, at that very moment, underling A cautiously stepped forward and asked, "Big Brother, what if I don't sign up?"
Manjome immediately glared at him.
Leaving just like that wouldn't make him, Manjome, look scared, would it?
"No need," Manjome snorted, his eyes cold as he looked at Yugen. "Perfect timing. I've been wanting to duel you again for a long time. The first time, I was careless, but now I'm not the same as before. Next time, I'll be the one to win."
"Alright, alright," Yugen readily agreed.
Actually, Manjome wasn't really afraid of him. Ever since he accepted the fact that this shady guy was also at Duel Academy, he had long wanted to duel him again to wash away the humiliation. So, whether he joined the Duel Club or not, a second duel was definitely going to happen; it wasn't because Manjome was scared.
He just had a strange premonition. He sensed that once this person passed the assessment and joined the Duel Club — which would likely happen — the environment of the Duel Club might just go off the rails from then on.
This guy simply had that talent; wherever he went, he brought a thick aura of bad luck. In a way, he was practically a walking plague.
As the saying goes, "near cinnabar, one turns red; near ink, one turns black." Manjome wasn't too sure if he wanted to be in the same environment as this guy. He was afraid he'd be influenced to become just like him.
Yugen didn't know exactly what Manjome was thinking, but seeing that the other party hadn't taken his eyes off him the entire time, he knew it definitely had something to do with him.
Hmm, a child with rebellious tendencies, probably hasn't been disciplined enough.
No big deal, just find an opportunity to teach him a lesson again.
Manjome might think the last time he was just careless—perhaps that was indeed the case, or maybe he really has gotten stronger now. But Yugen had greatly expanded his card collection by acquiring spirits during this period, and he was long past the beginner stage.
A second duel would definitely teach that kid what a harsh society is like.
Looking around, Yugen was somewhat surprised not to see a familiar jellyfish head.
It was unscientific; how could there be a dueling event like this without his friend Judai?
As the main character widely acknowledged as the biggest card addict of all time, in a total of 180 TV anime episodes, Judai alone took part in 67 duels. Clearly, to Judai, if there were cards and he didn't duel, would he still be human?
But Yugen immediately thought of it.
Ah, Judai was an Osiris - Red, and the Duel Club doesn't recruit them. So, no problem.
As Duel Academy, which champions elite education, Osiris - Red students were at the bottom of the pecking order. The Duel Club's recruitment naturally wouldn't give Red dorm students a chance.
To join an elite club, one had to at least reach the Yellow dorms to qualify for registration.
"..."
"Alright, now we will begin the Duel Club's recruitment assessment."
An Obelisk - Blue senior stood on the stage, speaking into a megaphone.
"Due to limited time, I'll be brief and just state the rules. The Duel Club will arrange a few official gatekeepers, and new members can choose any senior to challenge.
Of course, the seniors of the Duel Club are all experienced elites, so we don't necessarily require you to win the duel, but we need you to display your personal style and flair.
The judging panel will score your performance comprehensively, with a maximum of ten points. As long as your score reaches six points or more, you will pass the assessment."
Wow, there's even a judging panel. Yugen wondered if dueling beautifully also meant the instructors would turn their chairs around.
"Of course, if there is an exceptional new member who can defeat a gatekeeper, they will have the right to bypass the judging process and pass directly," the host said with a smile. "At the same time, after joining the club, they will receive the highest priority resources and support from the club."
Everyone knows that dueling is something that heavily relies on talent, so it's not impossible for a genius freshman to overwhelm older members; it has happened before. However, generally speaking, these are rare situations.
Older students who have undergone systematic training in the academy naturally have stronger drawing and deck-building abilities. Moreover, staying in the academy for a year or so also means collecting more rare cards, so, barring a few exceptionally talented young geniuses, Duel Club seniors rarely lose.
"So, without further ado, the assessment officially begins."
Yugen observed for a bit, and several students took turns challenging. As expected, none of them were a match for the gatekeepers.
The first five challengers all lost, but one person barely managed to score six points, passing the assessment and entering the duel club.
While watching the matches, Yugen used a student terminal to log into the Duel Club's assessment module and checked the information of several gatekeeper judges.
For example, what honors each judge had won, which matches they had triumphed in, which activities they had represented the academy or club in, their preferred decks and strategic styles, and so on.
After getting a rough idea, Yugen stood up from his seat.
It was almost his turn to enter the arena.
"Next is contestant Fujiki Yugen, correct?" The host asked. "So, which senior do you choose to challenge?"
Yugen walked onto the dueling field and politely said, "I'd like to challenge Senior Watanabe Hidekazu, if that's okay?"
As soon as he spoke, many eyes immediately focused on him.
Watanabe Hidekazu was currently the only gatekeeper in the entire arena who hadn't been challenged. The reason was simple: he was one of the Duel Club's main forces and also the one with the most impressive resume in the assessment module.
This person had been admitted to Obelisk - Blue as an elite from the Middle School department, had represented the academy in competitions, had twice won championships in large tournaments, and had been a main player since joining the Duel Club.
"Interesting."
Hidekazu, dressed in a blue uniform, stood up from his seat, put on his duel disk, and stepped onto the field, looking at Yugen with interest.
Although he was there to be a gatekeeper at the recruitment event, he originally thought he was just there to fill a spot. He had prepared himself to be ignored all day, because normally, he didn't think anyone would challenge him.
Hidekazu smiled and said, "Don't think that if you choose to challenge me, the passing standard for the assessment will decrease. The judging panel's scoring standards will not change."
"I know, no need to go easy, Senior," Yugen smiled politely.
"Good, courageous. Our Duel Club needs talented individuals with such boldness..." Hidekazu paused, "...Provided they also have the skill."
"Well, Senior, you'll know if you try."
"Duel!" x2
"..."
Students around the arena had already begun to whisper.
"Is this new guy that confident?"
"Someone actually went and challenged Hidekazu, that's just too arrogant..."
"Haven't you heard? This year's Moonlit Flower Cup."
"No way, really? This freshman is that strong?"
"..."
However, at this moment, in the entire arena, perhaps only Manjome, who had just been sitting next to Yugen, vaguely guessed the direction of this duel.
Manjome was now staring intently at Yugen, not blinking.
Hearing people around him still seriously analyzing how strong Senior Hidekazu was, and how flawless his tactics were, he almost couldn't help but interject.
No, you all don't realize the gravity of the situation!
Just before Yugen went on stage, Manjome had personally seen him flipping through the list of several gatekeepers on the terminal, especially looking at each person's common decks and ace cards.
Then, the moment he flipped to Watanabe Hidekazu, Manjome clearly saw this guy's eyes suddenly light up.
It was as if he had discovered something brilliant, eager to jump into the game and try it out.
Although he didn't know what kind of dirty tricks this shady guy was cooking up in his mind, there was one thing Manjome could be sure of.
This guy definitely has a trick up his sleeve!