Manjome's brain was a complete mess; he couldn't figure out what exactly had happened.
After his last duel with his mentor, Kaiba Seto, he was kept within Kaiba Company, dueling against various robots prepared by Kaiba. After dozens of days, he finally had some time to see what had recently occurred.
To his surprise, every piece of news was explosive.
He really wanted to call Tenjo Hikari and Judai to ask about the current situation, but after a brief check confirming there were no major issues, he chose not to disturb his friends and instead rushed towards the train station.
There was only just over a month left before the final match.
And he only had a few stamps.
Even though he possessed a "Twelve-Star Seal" personally awarded by Kaiba Seto, trying to gather the remaining few stamps in just one short month was no simple task.
After all, traveling to the "final match" venue also takes time.
At this point, he really wanted to vent about his mentor.
The outside world was in such chaos yet he wasn't informed about it. After dueling with robots for over a month, until he was nearly sick of it, he was then thrown out with the message, "My disciple shouldn't be an ordinary person, so privileges given to other students do not apply to you!
I've informed the entire Kaiba Company, you won't receive that 20-day extra compensation. If you can't participate in the finals within this month... hehehe.
Jun, you'll have to weigh it carefully yourself."
How could he afford to waste any time then?
Collecting stamps quickly was the top priority.
Besides Manjome, there was also another person, who "knew nothing," realizing with horror that the world had changed.
That person was Mitsuzawa Daichi.
This man, staying in the Land of Beauty for so long, left the Amazoness Tribe with a muscular female spirit. Under the cold gaze of the Female Emperor, he finally "accomplished something," but once outside the village, the recent news left him bewildered.
The world was changing too fast.
Luckily, although his information was outdated, he had collected a lot of stamps early on, and without a mentor pushing him, he was under little pressure; collecting two or three more would suffice, more than enough for over a month's time.
But there was one thing that left him quite regrettable.
He hadn't been part of such a high-profile event, and no one knew his existence.
Compared to these two with outdated information, the "Elite Group" had a much better situation.
"Woohoo~~ Ryo, look, I've caught a seagull! Sea, oh!"
Tenjouin Fubuki in the ocean region held a strange-looking bird beast, calling it a seagull. The bird beast was very uncomfortable, wildly flailing its body, but Fubuki persisted, and before long, the "seagull," seemingly resigned to Tenjouin, landed reluctantly on the ground.
Once it landed, Fubuki held his camera, madly photographing.
"Onii-chan—" Tenjouin Asuka rubbed her forehead helplessly.
This was terrible.
Beside her, Hell Caesar expressionlessly flipped through his emblem; on it, there were already ten stamps, ranging from one-star to ten-star.
"Where, oh where, are the Eleven-Star and Twelve-Star Duelists?" Hell Caesar clenched his right hand, muttering to himself, completely ignoring Fubuki, his mind only filled with victory.
Seeing him like this, sweat dripped from Asuka's forehead.
Why was it that none of them were easy to please?
She looked at the tablet in her hand: "Thankfully, Judai is fine now."
"Oh dear, our Asuka is worried about her classmate now?"
"Onii-chan!! Not worrying is the problem!" Asuka got anxious, "Luckily, Judai resolved it himself; otherwise, how would he cope alone, with no support?"
Previously, with Dark World attacking the entire Critical Point comprehensively, although they weren't very remote, due to the terrain, not many students came here. With the presence of Caesar and Fubuki, they naturally were unscathed, protecting all their classmates.
Now that they've safeguarded their classmates, of course, they should aid others next, but who would've thought, having an older brother dragging behind was one thing, but Ryo always engaged in duels, and by the time they were leaving the ocean region, Tenjo-san had already sent a message saying it was over.
"Ah, Asuka~" Fubuki wagged his finger lightly, "Too naive, truly too naive, Asuka."
?
"If the junior constantly relies on seniors' help, how can they possibly grow? Besides... Shou and Kenzan are with Judai. I believe, Shou will surely help Judai, you should believe in his growth."
Asuka suspiciously eyed him.
After watching just one duel between Ryo and Shou, how could her brother be so confident?
Fubuki chuckled.
In this aspect, he had an extraordinary talent; with just one duel, he could ascertain if both duelists were genuine and had grown.
He glanced at Caesar and chuckled again.
Besides, if they were truly worried, considering Ryo's character, he would've strapped him into a machine, forcibly rushing to Judai's side long ago, not still here seeking duelists for duels.
Such a thing wouldn't happen.
Thinking of this, Fubuki couldn't help but exaggeratedly cover his eyes, saying, "Asuka~~~~ More than them, I'm still more worried about you!"
"Why are you worried about me!" Asuka looked displeased; it should be her worrying about her whimsical brother, "Compared to me, shouldn't you be more worried about Onii-chan!"
Fubuki waved his left hand.
Despite his usual mischief, he wasn't there for no reason, nor was he there for tourism. During this time, he had become much [stronger].
Moreover, he had long since figured out what he should do in the future.
In contrast, his intelligent and responsible sister seemed diligent, but in truth, she was merely following Ryo, following him around whimsically.
"Hey~~ Ryo! Stop staring there, only a month remains until the finals, we must prepare early, and head to the finals venue!" Fubuki called to Caesar, waving his hand.
Upon hearing this, Caesar stopped his muttering, furrowed his brow, pondered for a moment, then nodded lightly.
Although constantly pestered by Fubuki during this period, he had to admit Fubuki's suggestions were truly useful each time, saving him considerable effort, so he was happy to listen.
Final match—
He couldn't help but laugh heartily.
"Alright, more duels with stronger duelists, gain more and more victories!"
"Sigh——————" Asuka couldn't help but sigh.
Why were the men around her all like this?
Meanwhile, John, Jim, O'Brien, and other duelists aiming for the finals, embarked on their final adventure, and about a month later, Tenjo Hikari checked the time, finally wrapping up his lengthy experiment.
It was time to visit the DT Spirit World.
He summoned Crystal and Lapis, using the coordinates painstakingly obtained from Tierra, prepared himself.
The Dimension Gate slowly transported him, feeling a moment's daze, then he found himself standing amidst a meadow.
Then—
He saw a large group of spirits, upon their sudden appearance, acting as if facing a formidable enemy, completely surrounding them.
Tenjo Hikari was momentarily perplexed.
It was entirely different from what he had imagined!
What "welcomed" them was neither the Shaddolls nor the Gem-Knights.
Surrounding him were sticky, gooey, bizarre alien worms resembling slimes, monstrously shaped and twisted—
A term burst from Tenjo Hikari's mouth instantly.
Alien Worms!?