"The opponent is... me?" Asuka was a bit stunned.
"Though I don't know the reason, my instinct wants to duel with you." The man calling himself Darkness said calmly, "What, don't dare accept?"
Before Asuka could reply, Judai stepped forward, "Hey, stop ignoring others! Your first opponent is..."
"It's alright, Judai." Asuka stepped forward and smiled at him, "Since the opponent specifically called me out, I definitely can't back down.
After all, I'm also a Duelist!"
Asuka was a girl with a strong sense of pride. Last time, being held hostage by Titan and then rescued by Judai made her feel very apologetic. Now, with the opponent naming her, she couldn't hide behind Judai again.
She didn't like relying on others all the time.
"Uh... okay then." Judai stepped back.
Asuka may have thought that bravely stepping up now would mean she didn't owe Judai anything, but she didn't know that Judai was actually a bit upset about losing the chance for such an exciting duel...
If it were someone else, he might not have given up this chance. But since it was Asuka, his "good buddy," Judai thought it over and decided to let her have this rare duel...
However, they didn't expect that just as they were targeted by Darkness and drawn into the Darkness Game, Asuka's mentor, Cola Sprite, immediately received a new system mission prompt.
The mission described that her student, Asuka, was in a Darkness Game, with the location and opponent clearly marked. And since it was Asuka's first time, if she won this duel, Cola Sprite as her mentor would also receive a very generous reward.
Of course, the reward wasn't the first thing Cola Sprite focused on.
Upon seeing the mission description, Sprite Sister immediately felt a chill in her heart, her hands and feet turned cold, panicking as if her own daughter was in trouble.
This was the guild's most treasured good student!
And unlike this group who recklessly roam and won't really die, if her cute student lost the duel and died, she'd really be gone!
Sprite Sister was extremely anxious, rushing to the back mountain and immediately notifying the guild leader.
The guild leader exploded upon hearing this.
—— "What the hell, someone dares touch our student!?"
Along with the other players online at the base, a large group hurriedly rushed to the location.
They were still a bit late. By the time they arrived, the Dark Duel had already begun, and until the duel ended, no one could step into that area. They only managed to grab a front row seat.
It was thanks to the man named Darkness who generously gave Asuka the opportunity to adjust her card deck one last time before the battle, that the mentors managed to arrive just before the duel started.
Sprite Sister immediately got anxious, shouting at Darkness: "Hey! Let go of that girl, duel me!"
The guild leader, full of masculine charm typical of this moment, said: "No, if you've got the guts, don't bully a girl, duel me!"
Anyway, their silly lives weren't important, dying was just dying, at most they'd corpse run. Even if they died a few more times by accident, it'd only mean being forcibly logged off for a few days, though card cravings would be tough, it wasn't a big deal.
But if their treasured apprentice was gone, she'd really be gone!
Asuka didn't understand, seeing her teachers so concerned, she felt touched: "It's okay, teachers. Watch, and I'll show you the results of my training!"
Darkness sneered coldly: "Once a Dark Duel begins, it cannot be stopped, nor can the participants be changed midway. But rest assured, once I deal with her, you'll all have your chance."
It seems Mr. Darkness is very confident in his stamina, in such physically and mentally demanding activities he could fight multiple people in a row and last the whole night, truly extraordinary for a Dark Duelist.
Some players found it strange: "Wait, in the anime, wasn't this guy here to duel Judai? How did Judai become a bystander?"
Sprite Sister was anxious too.
Yeah, have the guts to bully that jellyfish head back there! See if he won't knock you down.
What kind of skill is it to bully our adorable Asuka?
By the way, isn't she also your sister? Are you such a beast that you even go after your own sister?
In the early part of the anime, Darkness was ranked as a small BOSS. In his hand was not only the same super rare card "Red-Eyes Black Dragon" as the one Jonouchi had, but his powers also came from the Guardian Antagonist Darkness in the final chapter of GX — you can see it from the similar names.
Judai in the early anime struggled like crazy to defeat him, and after the duel, he spent several episodes recovering in a hospital bed before getting back up.
And in person, Darkness was once as renowned as Marufuji Ryo, the king Fubuki, whose skills were equal to Ryo at the time. Now, having been engulfed by darkness, his power has surged, and he certainly can't be underestimated.
Though in the anime, Fubuki's track record was worrying, with a win rate comparable to the senior horse master, he was set up to be so strong after all.
If it were the original anime's Asuka, she might not even be able to match Darkness at this stage. And unlike Judai, who comes with a background, she could genuinely be finished if not careful.
That's why Sprite Sister was so anxious, afraid she might lose her hard-won UR student.
Now she could only hope that the card master-style special training and the supplementing of cards for Asuka this term would be effective…
"Duel!" x2
[Darkness, LP 4000]
[Tenjouin Asuka, LP 4000]
"I go first, draw!" Asuka drew her card first.
The guild leader was sweating nervously, looking sideways at Sprite. "Did you give her all those cards we paid for last time?"
"Of course, I did!" Sprite was equally flustered, "I explained each card to her, detailing the usage of every card for ages!"
"Oh, then there shouldn't be much of a problem... right?"
The guild leader said, glancing sideways at Sprite.
Sprite was almost in tears: "How would I know!"
Truth be told, if she held the card deck that Asuka had now, she definitely wouldn't be worried at all.
Most of the card deck was also originally Asuka's cards, but after Sprite's one-on-one meticulous adjustment and optimization, this card deck now has the search, explosion, and board-clearing capabilities of a top-level deck and its endurance should be decent.
Of course, it can't be compared to many later card decks, but at least in the GX era, it should be considered a top-tier deck.
But Sprite didn't dare jinx it.
After all, she had only this one precious student, what if jinxing it caused her to lose?
Asuka took a deep breath, calming her breathing, as waves rose and fell across her chest.
This duel concerning her life was also her chance to present the best answer to the mentors who had painstakingly guided her!
She wanted to let them see her strength through this duel!