"Pharaoh!"
Set, the priest who finally rushed back to the palace, quickly crossed the already devastated hall and hurriedly arrived in front of the Pharaoh.
"I heard that intruders attacked the Royal Palace. Are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine, don't worry about it," Dark Yugi said.
Honestly, he wasn't in great condition. The card game with Bakura had left him mentally exhausted and physically drained. Although he had recovered a little, he still felt a bit dizzy.
But now, these issues mattered little. All he wanted was a quiet place to discuss things with AIBO and everyone else.
"It's good that you're alright."
Set seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Then he quickly held the Millennium Rod horizontally against his chest, half-kneeled on the ground, and bowed his head, saying, "I sincerely apologize, Pharaoh. As a priest, I failed to be by your side when intruders invaded..."
"It's understandable, Set. No one could have predicted this," Dark Yugi said. "Please stand up, it's not your fault."
"Yes."
Set responded and stood up, yet he still didn't raise his head to look directly at Yugi, seemingly still feeling guilty.
"It's really unbelievable," Jonouchi whispered. "Even if it's called a previous life, this guy who looks like Kaiba is so respectful to Yugi..."
Jonouchi couldn't help but cover his mouth and laugh. He had always been at odds with Kaiba, and whenever he saw Kaiba suffering, he wished to celebrate with fanfare. Seeing the proud and difficult Kaiba act so humbly in front of Yugi made him feel delightfully refreshed.
Ha! Even Kaiba, you've had your day!
Not only Jonouchi, but even Dark Yugi felt a bit uncomfortable looking at Set's familiar face.
President, I still prefer your rebellious and defiant demeanor; can you return to that...
"Prince!!!"
A lively voice shouted, and a playful girl seemed to fly over from among scattered debris and broken pillars. She jumped precisely and embraced Yugi with a tree-hugging posture.
Yugi felt a gust of fragrant wind, and in a blink, he was tightly embraced by the girl, completely immobilized and dazed, unable to comprehend the situation.
What's happening here? An enemy attack?
Then Youyu and his teammates followed behind and walked into the hall.
However, the eyes of the teammates were wide open, and the players who watched this scene through live footage were also pounding their chests and stomping their feet.
"Damn, I'm so jealous! But I don't know whom I'm jealous of..."
"Let go of that starfish head; if there's anything, come at me!"
"Wife, how can you just hug another man like that?"
"..."
Priest Mahad's expression changed dramatically as he rushed forward to grab the collar at the back and pulled the girl off Yugi.
"Mana!" He lifted the girl like a chick, "You mustn't be disrespectful to Pharaoh!"
This scatterbrained apprentice priest, Mana, was his direct disciple. For his disciple to be so impolite, moving hands and feet on Pharaoh in public, made him feel ashamed as a master.
Yugi then focused and recognized the appearance of the girl Mahad held, and her image overlapped with a certain image from his memory.
It's... Dark Magician Girl?
"Prince, are you alright?" Mana continued to express concern.
"Disrespectful! The prince is now Pharaoh!" Mahad was fuming with his scatterbrained apprentice.
"Ah, but Master, you just called him Prince!"
Mahad realized he was led astray by his apprentice and quickly lowered his head—while also pressing Mana's little head down to apologize together.
"I'm very sorry, Pharaoh..."
Yugi couldn't help but chuckle, waving his hand: "No, it's okay..."
At this moment, he noticed Youyu walking into the hall, and his eyes lit up.
"Who's this, intruding into the Royal Palace?" Priest Kareem stepped forward to question.
Set stood up, intending to explain, but unexpectedly, before he spoke, the Pharaoh greeted him with delight.
"Youyu!" Dark Yugi exclaimed with joy, "You've come too?"
Seeing his real-world companions appear in the Royal Palace one after another made him slightly feel at ease, as he had felt lonely and tense in this environment for the past two days.
"Awesome!" Jonouchi also appeared excited, "With Youyu, it's like having the power of a hundred people!"
In fact, entering with them was apprentice priest Nate, whom they encountered in the Land of Trial. However, after entering, this insignificant figure only dared to shrink in the corner, scared to death, that no one noticed him...
In truth, since encountering Set's group, he had been feeling a bit withdrawn.
Nate, the young priest, was quite nervous when the girl he admired, Mana, suddenly appeared, feeling as if he were caught with another woman by his girlfriend.
Especially when Mana noticed him, with her beautiful big eyes staring straight at him, his nervousness made him wish he could dig a hole in the ground.
Soon, Mana walked up, tilted her head, and asked, "Oh? Your outfit seems to be for apprentice priests too, are you new? We haven't met?"
Apprentice Priest Nate: "..."
She doesn't even remember who I am.
The clown is actually me.JPG.
Since then, the young priest had become withdrawn...
"I see, these are friends of the Pharaoh?" Priest Mahad nodded in understanding.
At the same time, he felt that the Pharaoh's peculiar friends were increasing... and becoming stranger.
"What are they doing?" Mana curiously pointed at the ground.
Following her finger, they saw the local figures Nora Tatsu and prisoner Zhan Jian lying on the ground like dried-up fish, muttering "Dark Magician Girl is my wife" and "AWSL"...
Mana's little head was filled with confusion.
Is this some kind of strange ritual?
"...Ignore them," Youyu didn't even want to comment.
A few groups of RPG players gathered, exchanged information, and shared their experiences, quickly understanding the current situation.
"Bakura discovered the stone slab engraved with the Three Evil Gods in this Memory World through clues left by Dartz?" Dark Yugi pondered.
"Bakura's goal is the seven Millennium Items, and these relics are currently in our hands," Yugi said. "He'll definitely come to attack proactively."
"Damn, then we'll just have to wait here for him to make the first move?" Jonouchi felt impatient.
He preferred being the one throwing punches compared to passively receiving them.
"Actually, Bakura's movements... aren't necessarily impossible to track," Youyu suddenly spoke.
Everyone's eyes focused on him.
"Eh? Youyu, do you have any good ideas?" Yugi asked.
"Um... Maybe."
As he spoke, Youyu was watching a particular live stream in the forum.
It was a temporary live stream initiated by his inexplicable infiltration into the enemy's ranks.
At this moment, the title of the live stream was, "The First Day of Wilderness Survival with the Great Evil God."