"My name is Daryup Skaw."
The man on the other side of the screen calmly spoke.
"You might have heard of this name, Duel King."
Yugen raised an eyebrow, thinking carefully for a moment, then seriously shook his head.
"Sorry. Nowadays, I've defeated so many 'top-level experts' that I can't remember at least half of their names."
The man wasn't angry at this, instead, he merely laughed heartily.
"Of course. Being at the pinnacle as a king, why would you bother remembering the names of various small fries? It makes sense."
He squinted his eyes, smiling.
"But I'm different. I was once so close to the top, just a little more, and I could have claimed the peak... by defeating the one who was at the pinnacle of the Dueling Realm at that time."
He said in a deep voice.
"A man named Muto Yuugi."
"Hah?"
Yugen examined the other carefully.
Almost defeated Muto Yuugi... is there such a person like you?
After pondering for a moment, he suddenly remembered something.
"You... Professor Card?"
"Hahaha, it seems you indeed have heard of me, not bad." The man proudly smiled, "Yes, I was once one of Pegasus Nightwalker's Card Professors... no, perhaps I should say the strongest among them.
Daryup Skaw, here to challenge you, the Second Generation Duel King."
Yugen now remembered. This person also appeared in that spin-off manga as a rather important opponent in the history of Tabletop Game's growth.
That day, Dark Game Atum stormed through, defeating several Card Professors in succession, but even the Pharaoh felt a bit fatigued from the continuous high-intensity battles. So, Tabletop Game volunteered to let Dark Game rest while he temporarily stepped in for the upcoming fights.
And the opponent that Tabletop Game faced back then was Daryup Skaw.
His strength could indeed be said to be the strongest among the Card Professors, as Tabletop Game struggled for the first half of the duel. At one point during the duel, Tabletop Game even thought he couldn't win against this person and was taunted by Daryup to get out if he was just an empty vessel, expressing a desire to duel against the stronger Pharaoh behind him.
Eventually, the Pharaoh did show up but didn't take over the duel; instead, he encouraged Tabletop Game to regain his confidence. Revitalized, Tabletop Game seized the victory in one go.
According to the timeline of the plot, this was possibly the first opponent that Tabletop Game officially won against after becoming independent, marking his first step towards becoming a Duel King without relying on Atum.
In those days, this person could push Tabletop Game to nearly give up, so naturally, he did possess true strength. But Yugen felt that Daryup might have been a bit overconfident.
Back then, most duels were handled by Atum, and Tabletop Game hardly participated, nor did he have the determination to win as a duelist. Struggling in battle was also normal.
If Daryup were to confront Game now with arrogance and taunts, he'd surely be shown the true value of the First Generation Duel King.
"Pegasus's foundation was indeed severely infiltrated, even turning an ace like you into a puppet." Yugen said lightly, "Do you really not want me to return to the Academy?"
"Enough with the small talk." Daryup coldly said, "No matter what, today, only one of us will fall back to the ground. Let me see how the Second Generation Duel King compares to the First.
"Alright, if you insist..."
"Duel!" x2
[Yugen, LP 4000]
[Daryup, LP 4000]
In a flying duel, both of them piloting jets, one in the front and the other trailing, weaving through the sea of clouds. At this time, the Silent Magician and Greedy Star had engaged briefly, resulting in a draw before retreating, returning to the duelists' Card Decks.
The outcome was to be determined by cards.
"I'll go first, draw a card." Yugen said.
"Activate Continuous Magic 'Magic Race's Barrier'."
The environment surrounding the plane drastically changed, with a massive magic barrier appearing in the field.
"Magic Race's Barrier places a mana indicator on this card every time a Mage Race on the field is destroyed."
"Magic Race, huh."
Daryup was not surprised. He had done his homework, knowing that the Duel King of this generation used various types of Card Decks, with the Mage Race being one he frequently used in the early days, including the Silent Magician that just appeared. This was not surprising.
"Normal Summon 'Black Magic Refiner'." Yugen said.
[Black Magic Refiner, Attack Power 1200]
"The effect of Black Magic Refiner allows it to change from attack position to defense position once per turn." Yugen said, "And place a mana indicator on any card that can hold a mana indicator on the field.
Based on this effect, I switch 'Black Magic Refiner' to defense and place a mana indicator on the Continuous Magic 'Magic Race's Barrier'."
[Black Magic Refiner, Attack Power 1200 → Defense Power 1800]
The mage on the field shifted from attack to defense, simultaneously forming a magic seal. Magic surged, a black magic beam was infused into his backline's Continuous Magic Card, and a mana indicator lamp on the barrier was lit.
[Magic Race's Barrier, Mana Indicator 0 → 1]
"Next, activate the Magic Card 'Magic Mastery'." Yugen said, "Place a mana indicator on a card that can hold a mana indicator on the field.
Place a mana indicator on 'Magic Race's Barrier'."
The magic beam once again surged into the Continuous Magic, lighting up another mana indicator lamp.
[Magic Race's Barrier, Mana Indicator 1 → 2]
"Then afterward, you can add another Magic Card 'Magic Mastery' from the Card Deck to my hand."
Yugen drew a card ejected from his Card Deck and added it to his hand.
Daryup: "A mage relying on the operation of mana indicators, huh?"
This was different from the intelligence gathered regarding the mages Yugen used previously.
"Set a card, turn ends." Yugen politely said, "Go ahead, it's your turn."
"... My turn, draw a card."
Daryup revealed a card from his hand.
"I summon 'Alien Abductor'!" (Original Card)
[Alien Abductor, Attack Power 1000]
A small, ugly alien, a Monster Card used by Daryup in his original game.
"Then I'll immediately let you witness the power of alien abduction... utilizing the special ability of Alien Abductor!
Abduction!"
Daryup then discarded a card from his hand into the graveyard.
"By discarding a card from my hand, I can gain control of one of the opponent's monsters on the field!"
Yugen: "..."
As expected of a manga's divine card, for an otherwise ordinary 3-star monster, this effect was indeed overpowering.
He seemed to immediately comprehend why even Muto Yuugi found this guy to be troublesome back in the day...
"I discard a card from my hand." Daryup declared, "Gaining control over your only Monster Card on the field, 'Black Magic Refiner'!"