"Oh, so the card of Blood Demon D was taken too?"
Merlot, as usual, wore a white suit, sinking into the comfort of his armchair. His cane rested beside him, and his card deck lay on the table next to him.
A subordinate in the white uniform of the Light Association reported beside him.
"Yes, the information has been confirmed. Duel King Yugen personally intervened, intercepting him on the world champion DD's yacht.
The two clashed in a duel, but in the end, it seems DD still couldn't prevail, and the card was taken away..."
"I see."
Merlot leisurely sipped his coffee.
"Well, although he is a champion, his opponent was that Duel King after all... It's only natural, isn't it?"
He paused, squinting his eyes.
"Duel King Yugen, he's becoming an increasingly intriguing fellow."
The association member behind hesitated for a moment but couldn't help but say, "But... sir, Blood Demon D is an important sample, one of the earliest cards to come in contact with the Power of Light in this world.
Now that it's been taken by the Duel King, isn't that...?"
"It's nothing," Merlot said blandly. "It's just a vessel. Though it's a decent vessel, it's merely a vessel in the end. Let him have it, it's of no consequence.
More than that, I'm more interested in the duel itself."
He waved his hand lightly, and white light condensed before him as if forming a projection, depicting the scene of Yugen and DD's confrontation.
Merlot stared at the Chaos Warrior in the picture, showing a growing look of interest.
"The legendary strongest warrior does seem to be a fascinating elf... Well, this is likely still not the full extent of the Duel King's strength, is it?"
He supported his chin, pondering for a moment.
"No, we can't determine how much strength he's displayed so far or if there's been a challenger making him serious."
The association member was puzzled: "Is he really that formidable?"
"Of course, don't underestimate the duelists of this world. And this is the man standing at the pinnacle of this world; he possesses even more than you can imagine."
Merlot paused, then shifted the topic.
"What about the doctor?"
"Oh," the association member rifled through a document in his hand, "The doctor is expected to land on Duel Academy Island tomorrow and is completely one of our own now."
"Good."
Merlot leisurely picked up his coffee again and smiled.
"A man deemed to have the strongest dueling logic in the world, winner of the Duel Physics Prize for ten consecutive years. If it's his duel, it should be worth anticipating, no?"
"Of course," the association member nodded repeatedly. "It wasn't easy to persuade this doctor; even with the association's resources, summoning someone of his stature was challenging.
If he makes a move, he will surely take down that Duel King..."
"Take down?"
Merlot glanced at his subordinate and then chuckled.
"Don't be naive."
The association member was taken aback.
He then heard Merlot say, "I just hope this old man can at least hold out a bit longer, so I can see how many tricks that Duel King still has up his sleeve."
Association member: "..."
...
...
Yugen originally planned to take the card of Blood Demon D, but taking it didn't mean taking it for himself. He wanted Blood Demon D's card, but he also wanted Ed.
Just like recruiting Caesar for research on the Cyber Dragon in the lab, Ed Phoenix is the sole possessor of the Destiny Hero cards in the world, and even the Destiny Hero deck itself was designed for him by his father, making it uniquely his. From the perspective of Destiny Power, no one is more suitable than Ed to be responsible for the development of Destiny Heroes.
Blood Demon D is indeed a strong card in this environment, but Yugen is more interested in the Blood Demon D after being physicalized, rather than the original animation version.
While the animated Blood Demon D has its merits, most of its abilities require the Magic Card "D-Power" to unlock, which is honestly a bit of a pitfall.
Even with activating the Destiny Power skill "Power of 502" to permanently bond Blood Demon D and D-Power, the drawback of not being able to draw cards while D-Power is on top of the deck is a significant downside. Not being able to draw cards is quite vexing.
Moreover, the immense side effect isn't even superior to its physical card transformation. In the animation, D-Power merely prevents Blood Demon D from becoming the target of card effects, but it still gets affected by untargeted effects.
That means if the opponent plays a Black Hole, Blood Demon D would still be destroyed, and even if Blood Demon D were destroyed, D-Power would still remain at the top of the deck, leaving you in a state where you cannot draw cards, which essentially means your demise on the spot.
So overall, Yugen still favors the version he's familiar with, the physical card of Blood Demon D.
Therefore, if he wants to develop the physical card, handing the original Blood Demon D to Ed and bringing Ed onto the ship to the lab for development is undoubtedly the best choice.
Arranging for Ed to join the lab, Yugen also contacted the Kaiba Group to schedule joint work between experts. Not only does Blood Demon D require development to unlock its potential, but also a project to release the soul imprisoned within.
The next day, after everything was arranged, Yugen packed his things and prepared to leave the laboratory for the teaching building...
...to attend classes.
Alongside Mitsuzawa and Asuka, who also were leaving the lab.
Yes, even the Duel King needs to attend classes.
Of course, nobody forces him, and he doesn't attend all classes. He only goes to ones he's interested in or ones he finds beneficial.
Unfortunately, after Teacher Dade Temple's disappearance, the Alchemy class at the Academy became quite lackluster, and the new teacher replacing Dade Temple seemed to only teach by the book. Yugen quickly lost interest in Alchemy class, having only gone to half a session, and never returned.
It's quite a pity; Yugen felt that the Alchemy course had been the one he gained the most from. He discovered that Alchemy has close relations with Duel Monsters and dark forces; he learned many skills and knowledge from Dade Temple.
Although he now knows that Teacher Dade Temple resides within the cat's belly, consulting with him isn't as convenient as before.
Yugen walked into the classroom, but immediately stopped in his tracks, furrowing his brow slightly.
It was empty, not a soul in sight.
Could it be the wrong classroom?
"Strange." Asuka looked around, puzzled. "Did we enter the wrong classroom?"
Mitsuzawa stepped back into the hallway, looked at the classroom's door number, checked it against the schedule, and it seemed they hadn't entered the wrong place.
Double-checking the time, it appeared to be the start of class.
"I never get the time wrong," Mitsuzawa frowned. "Did everyone decide to skip class together?"
Or perhaps...
At this moment, a voice echoed in the classroom.
"I've taught countless students in my life, but honestly, a student as distinguished as the Duel King is truly a first."
Yugen followed the voice and saw a petite, elderly man with white hair who had somehow appeared in the classroom, donning a research lab coat and wearing somewhat comical glasses on his nose.
The little old man adjusted his glasses with a smile.
"Let me test how well you grasp Duel Physics."