When Youyu heard the news and rushed back to Duel Academy Island, it was already almost dawn.
He had received reports on the plane and was roughly aware of what had happened on the island last night. Upon landing, the principal and some campus leaders were already waiting in the conference room, briefing Youyu on the intelligence they had on hand.
Of course, they didn't know much. To be precise, they might even know less than Youyu.
According to the intelligence gathered by the leaders, it seemed that two unexpected guests visited Duel Academy Island last night. Aliens descended from the cosmos in their ship, arrogantly declaring they would conquer this planet...
...through card dueling.
And Yuki Judai encountered another friendly alien, who seemed willing to become Judai's spirit and granted him new powers.
Judai, representing the academy and all humanity, defeated the malevolent alien in a duel, securing the island.
The news spread quickly, and Judai, already a big shot in the academy, caused another wave of discussion among the students. Especially the newly enrolled juniors, many of whom might not have met this legendary senior in person, but mention Judai's name and their eyes light up with admiration.
In his debut, Elemental Hero Neos, towering over fifty meters, stole the spotlight and naturally became the hot topic of discussion.
With stellar performances, Elemental Hero Neos swiftly acquired a massive following within the academy, and it was foreseeable that the news would spread beyond the school in just one day.
Light Giant, an Elemental Hero from the stars — these keywords were enough to shake the entire world. The events of this night at Duel Academy were too significant; they were an earthquake for both the astronomical world, questioning the existence of alien life, and the Duel Monsters community.
Naturally, this also provoked controversy.
If other students had encountered this, the academy, and even the company behind the school, might have had to take immediate action. After all, no one had met aliens before, and it was impossible to judge the true intentions of duel monster spirits from the cosmos based solely on a card game, whether they posed a threat to humanity.
Perhaps temporarily seizing and controlling these new cosmic heroes and conducting further tests might be the wiser choice.
However, considering Judai's unique identity, the board decided to inform his teacher, Youyu, before making a decision.
Youyu naturally had no such concerns.
Malice from aliens?
What bad intentions could Ultraman have?
He waved his hand, saying everyone should disperse and not worry; leave it to him.
So, in the morning, Judai, still yawning from sleep, was dragged into Youyu's office.
The carefree Yuki Judai evidently didn't feel anything wrong about hosting a bunch of aliens. Life went on as normal, and he slept soundly last night.
Upon mentioning his new card deck, Judai jumped up, eagerly pulling his deck from his pocket.
"Let me tell you, teacher, this deck is amazing!" His words flowed instantly, brushing aside his previous sleepy demeanor; he seemed wide awake when it came to this topic.
"All these partners from the new cosmos, along with the miraculous Elemental Heroes connecting the Earth and the cosmos!
The key is, do you know how they came to be? Hehe, I'll tell you, but don't be scared..."
Youyu, with a blank face, responded: "Was it those submissions to Kaiba Group I had you make years ago?"
"Exactly! The drawings I made as a kid..." Judai babbled and then realized, "Eh!? How does teacher know!"
Youyu casually took his deck and started flipping through the cards one by one: "Ha, can you kid keep anything from me?"
Judai realized, well, it made sense. After all, Youyu seemed to know everything; as a kid, whenever he secretly asked Ed to do homework for him, Youyu caught him every time...
Not dwelling on such details, Judai excitedly said: "Teacher, teacher, how about my deck? I stayed up late last night working on it!"
Youyu held a thick stack of cards in hand — by estimation, there should be around sixty cards.
He quickly flipped through them, soon understanding fully.
This deck was similar to the one Judai used in the late animation, mainly consisting of two nearly unrelated systems—Elemental Heroes and the new cosmos system Judai just acquired. These two systems were completely incompatible, lacking synergy, not to mention he stuffed in a bunch of unrelated and meaningless items...
Youyu smirked lightly.
Ha, there's the style of a teacher!
Though the structure was similarly a dual-system mix, compared to Judai's incomprehensible card heap in the original, it showed significant improvements. It was evident Judai now had clear strategy and thoughts in deck configuration, unlike the chaotic mess in the original.
...Well, of course, there were still lots of red traps.
From initially saying "no, no," Judai gradually turned into a "it's unexpectedly good." Now when constructing decks, if he didn't stuff in some red traps, he felt incomplete and uneasy all over...
Though Youyu thought about it and considered some aspects could still be optimized.
After flipping through and not finding the cards he desired, Youyu looked up and asked: "Is this all?"
"Ah?" Judai was momentarily stunned and said: "Uh... there are some other cards, but I haven't figured out how to use them yet. I didn't put them in due to a lack of space in the deck..."
"Do you have a card called 'Elemental Hero Neos Alius'?" Youyu asked.
Judai was even more shocked.
He was stunned! He just printed the card last night... Ah, no, he just picked the deck last night, how does teacher know the card name so clearly?
Youyu is amazing!
"I have it, I have it!" Judai pulled out the card.
Elemental Hero Neos Alius, Level 4, Attack 1900.
Both its name and appearance clearly show it's a weaker form of Neos. As a lower-level monster, it has decent attack points but its effect is rather lackluster.
Neos Alius is a Gemini Monster, requiring a second normal summon to activate its effect, which is simply "when present on the field, it can be treated as 'Elemental Hero Neos.'"
"This card is very useful," Youyu said seriously, "If possible, it'd be best to include three of them."
Youyu spoke somewhat vaguely; discussing card printing directly wasn't quite appropriate. But those in the know, knew the implication was if Judai could have his cosmic friends print a couple more, it'd be best to do so...
Judai was puzzled: "But this is a 'Gemini Monster,' isn't it? Teacher Youyu, didn't you say that because of this system's inherent flaws, Gemini Monsters are all faulty?"
"That's true, but this one is different! Just trust me on this."
Youyu smiled and casually pulled out a few more cards, stuffing them into Judai's hands.
"Here are 'Gemini Spark,' 'Hero Blast,' etc., take them all, max them out, you'll definitely find them useful."
"Oh... okay."
Judai looked at the cards in his hand, feeling a bit perplexed, not yet comprehending how to play them.
However, since the teacher advised him to include multiple copies, it must be correct. Until now, everything the teacher suggested seemed to be right; the Lava Golem he vehemently refused to use before had become a regular in the deck...
Clearly, Judai was unaware that the system Youyu recommended to be added to the deck had a formidable reputation, known as "Hero Beat," also called "Light Duality."
It was once the glory of early heroes, a deck that flourished in the competitive environment, becoming a nightmare for countless players.
The entire deck revolved around "Elemental Hero Neos Alius" as the pivotal force, with the system built around Neos Alius, encompassing "traps" as the fundamental theme, leading opponents to defeat amidst profound doubts about life.
It seemingly resonated inexplicably with Judai's current dueling style...