Master Takeuchi heard that one apprentice had recently improved at an explosive pace, defeating the senior disciple he favored most. In just three days, he had beaten the other apprentices into complete silence, to the point that no one was willing to duel anymore.
After hearing this, Master Takeuchi immediately felt that he had to step in personally. He gathered all the apprentices together, first praising Yugen for his diligence and rapid progress, then criticizing the others for their passive attitude.
He lectured them, saying that arranging practice duels was meant to improve together, and having a strong opponent was clearly a good thing. Otherwise, spending all day bullying weak players would not lead to anything meaningful.
The apprentices lowered their heads and stayed silent, not daring to respond. The hall grew very quiet.
"That is enough," the master said. He waved his hand and smiled as he beckoned Yugen over.
"If they are unwilling, then I will personally test how much you have improved. It will also be a good chance to give you some guidance on your deck."
Finally finding someone willing to duel him again, Yugen was more than happy to accept. He had several deck adjustments he wanted to test anyway.
So today's duel was against his master. The master looked confident and stylish, and he even handed the first turn to Yugen to show his composure.
Yugen did not stand on ceremony and took the opening move. Right away, he paid 1000 Life Points and revealed the spell card "Confiscation."
This familiar opening made the apprentices who had suffered through it for three days shiver all over. Several of them nearly relived the experience on the spot.
The effect of Confiscation activated. Yugen glanced at the hand, immediately picked out "Monster Reborn," and sent it away.
He then Normal Summoned "Green Gadget," and upon its successful summon, activated its effect to search "Red Gadget" from the deck. After that, he set three cards face down and cleanly ended his turn.
Now it was the master's turn. He slapped down "Gearfried the Iron Knight," a Level 4 monster with 1800 attack that looked very impressive.
Unfortunately, it had no chance to do anything. Before it could even settle, it fell straight into a "Trap Hole" and was sent off the field.
The master, however, was still the master. Even though he had used up his normal summon, he activated the effect of "Rock Spirit Titan" from his hand, banishing the Iron Knight from the graveyard to special summon it.
Master Takeuchi waved his hand and had Titan attack "Green Gadget." With a sharp snap of his fingers, Yugen flipped over a bright red trap card.
"I activate Mirror Force."
All of the master's attack position monsters were destroyed at once. Master Takeuchi fell silent.
Stepping on two traps in a row, he could only helplessly end his turn with an empty field. There was nothing else he could do.
Then it was Yugen's turn again. He glanced at the card he drew and immediately played "Card Destruction."
He paid 1000 Life Points, and the opponent discarded two more cards. Master Takeuchi looked down at his hand, now reduced to a single card, and sank into deep contemplation about life.
Yugen continued by summoning the "Red Gadget" he had searched earlier. Upon its successful summon, its effect allowed him to search another Gadget from the deck.
Entering the Battle Phase, "Red Gadget" and "Green Gadget" both attacked directly. The double direct attack wiped out 2700 of the master's Life Points.
And it still was not over. At the end of the turn, Yugen dramatically flipped open another set card.
"Time Seal."
The effect would skip the opponent's next Draw Phase entirely. This card had once belonged to Duel King Yugi Muto.
With his hand gone and even his draw taken away, Master Takeuchi stared at his empty field. Then he looked at the two eager Gadgets on the opposite side and seriously began considering the feasibility of physical combat.
One minute later, his Life Points hit zero. The hall master stepped down from the duel platform, tilted his head back, and took a deep breath.
He began to reflect on what exactly had possessed him to duel something like this. The apprentices watching nearby all wore expressions of shared grief.
Even the master had fallen. Before the duel began, many of them had still held some hope for the outcome.
They thought that their own helplessness against Yugen came from a lack of skill. Surely, if a true expert stepped in, the result would be different.
Reality proved otherwise. The master summoned, the master attacked, and the master still lost.
The entire process was almost identical to what each of them had experienced over the past few days. It shook their understanding of dueling to the core.
The invincible master had lost to this oppressive style, and they could not help wondering why they would even dream of such a scene. The future of the dueling world suddenly felt very uncertain.
In truth, Yugen's test build was very simple. It combined early-style trap beatdown with hand destruction.
Anyone who had played Yu-Gi-Oh! in its early days knew that monster effects were far weaker back then. Powerful spells and traps played a much more important role in mainstream decks.
The red, green, and yellow Gadgets all searched each other on summon, keeping monsters flowing and preventing dead hands. Strong traps and spells steadily broke down the opponent's resources until the gap became impossible to overcome.
Still, Yugen asked humbly, "Master, what do you think of my deck? Is there anything you could point out for improvement?" His tone was sincere.
Master Takeuchi finally snapped out of his reflection and gave him a long look. For some reason, despite the young man's bright appearance, the sight of his face now made the master uneasy.
"Advice?" he thought to himself. If anything, it felt like the roles should be reversed.
Aloud, he said, "There is nothing more I can teach you." He let out a long sigh, sounding drained.
"Oh right, Master, there is one more thing I would like to ask," Yugen said. "What is it?" the master replied.
"I want to apply for the entrance exam at Duel Academy," Yugen said. "I was hoping to ask whether I could apply for a subsidy from Duel Dojo."
"Do you want to go to Duel Academy?"
Kageru Takeuchi froze for a moment. Thinking about it, the enrollment period for Duel Academy really was coming up soon.
For young duelists, Duel Academy was almost a holy place. Top students gathered there, and graduates were nearly all destined to become elite figures. Under Seto Kaiba's management, it did not matter whether someone came from a powerful family or had endless money, because without talent there was no chance at all.
Who was Seto Kaiba? He was recognized as the strongest active duelist in the world, commanding the duel spirit known as the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", said to rival the old Egyptian God Cards. There were even rumors that he was developing technology to cross dimensions and time, hoping to reach the Underworld to duel the long-sleeping Nameless Pharaoh.
He was not only the richest man in the world, but also a figure standing at the peak of both technology and the extraordinary. After Yugi Muto sealed his cards, he became the publicly acknowledged number one duelist. More importantly, he recognized nothing except card skill.