When Maximillion Pegasus stepped forward and asked only for his name, ignoring the two people beside him, Yugen was slightly surprised.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Yako Tenma, who stood behind them without saying a word. Most likely, Yako Tenma had already told Maximillion Pegasus about their previous Duel. That seemed entirely possible.
So Yugen answered politely, with a hint of teasing. "Yugen Fujiki. Maximillion Pegasus can call me Yugen Boy~"
That had been Maximillion Pegasus's classic catchphrase. In the original era, it was always Yugi Muto Boy and Seto Kaiba Boy. Now that Maximillion Pegasus was a senior and a full generation older than Yugen, calling him boy was hardly strange.
Maximillion Pegasus burst into laughter.
"Good, good, Yugen Boy~ Just as Yako Tenma said, you are a very interesting Duelist~"
Hearing that familiar tone made Yugen relax. It was exactly as he remembered.
"As Tenma said, designing Card requires not only passion, but also imagination and the courage to explore new ground."
Maximillion Pegasus turned to face the audience as he spoke.
"If we are satisfied with the present and afraid to make changes, the road will not open before us. I hope everyone here can think boldly, just like Yugen Boy, and dare to try."
With a figure of his status speaking, the experts quickly voiced their agreement.
"Maximillion Pegasus is absolutely right."
"A true model for us researchers."
Then Maximillion Pegasus turned back, patted Yugen on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "I have high hopes for you, Yugen Boy~"
After that, he left.
Beside him, Daichi Misawa, who had practically faded into the background, swallowed and gave Yugen a strange look. There had already been rumors that he was someone favored by Seto Kaiba. Now it seemed that even the legendary Maximillion Pegasus had taken an interest in him.
Daichi Misawa felt more certain than ever that his original judgment had been correct. From deck building to dueling to card printing, there was something completely unscientific about this guy. Or perhaps it was precisely because he defied common sense that big shots were naturally drawn to him wherever he went.
Still, it stung a little. They had been standing shoulder to shoulder, yet the industry titan had walked right past him without even a glance.
He was doing well academically too. He worked hard on research.
Daichi Misawa fell into thought.
It seemed that Maximillion Pegasus had not just arrived. He had likely been observing in secret during the earlier Duel. Only after seeing the cards did he finally step forward. Yugen guessed that it was not only because Yako Tenma had mentioned him, but also because the Duel itself had caught his interest.
Yako Tenma was probably involved in organizing this Student Council and may have said a few things to Maximillion Pegasus. They must have known that although Asuka Tenjoin had used Cyber Deck as the main force, the overall research direction had been controlled by Yugen.
In other words, that unusually styled Cyber Angel strategy had definitely been his idea. Judging by Maximillion Pegasus's attitude, he seemed to appreciate it.
Thinking back, it made sense. During the Duelist Kingdom era, when Maximillion Pegasus had been the final boss, his Toon Deck had revolved around stealing the opponent's monster and turning them into Toons. His trump card, the ritual line of the Level Series, had been infamous in the early Underworld environment. And there was also the time he used the Dragon Capture Jar to anger Seto Kaiba to no end.
Tracing it all back, if anyone truly embodied that particular spirit, it was him. If one were to rank figures of the Yu-Gi-Oh! world, even the famous Marik Ishtar would have to call him senior.
Yugen felt as if he understood something.
People of similar types were drawn to each other. Perhaps some shared hidden trait had caught Pegasus' attention.
If that was the case, then after today's Student Council, sponsorship from Industrial Illusions was practically guaranteed.
The Student Council officially began, with experts presenting their team's achievements one by one.
Yugen quickly noticed that achievements did not necessarily mean printing new cards. Many teams simply proposed new ideas or directions that had undergone some verification and compiled them into papers. True breakthroughs were rare, and not everyone had the advantage of knowing future developments.
There were new cards presented, of course, but in Yugen's view, most of them looked like filler pieces that had been stuffed into packs to make up numbers.
That was not surprising. With a Card Pool as deep as that of Yu-Gi-Oh!, drawing out something obscure was statistically quite likely.
The strangest card he saw that day was this one.
Trap Card - "Unfortunate Report" Effect: Your opponent conducts two Battle Phases during their next turn.
Yugen had to admit he did not even remember this card existing in the Card Pool.
It was not useless. As some had said, there were no completely useless cards in Yu-Gi-Oh!. Even the strangest pieces could find a niche application. But this one was clearly difficult to use and demanded a great deal of imagination.
Another baffling example appeared.
Spell Card - "Evil Ritual" Effect: Change the battle positions of all monsters on the field. During the turn this card is activated, monsters cannot change their battle positions. This card can only be activated during the Standby Phase.
At first glance, it seemed fine. A field wide forced position change had its uses.
Then came the second glance.
A Normal Spell Card.
Only activatable during the Standby Phase.
That single line left people stunned.
Everyone knew that in Yu-Gi-Oh!, a Normal Spell was a Spell Speed 1 effect and could only be used during one's Main Phase. During the Standby Phase, only Spell Speed 2 cards such as Trap Card or Quick-Play Spell could be activated.
In other words, this effect seemed self contradictory and impossible to use.
Yet the presenting expert proudly explained that after working overnight and overcoming numerous obstacles, their team had finally solved the issue of the card being unusable. After technical adjustments, although Evil Ritual remained a Normal Spell Card, it could now be Set on the field and activated during the player's own next Standby Phase.
Yugen said nothing.
It was, in a sense, a historic breakthrough.
In fact, in real rulings, that was exactly how the card worked. Many assumed it had been misprinted in the early days, but later clarifications confirmed that although it was a Normal Spell Card, it could indeed be Set and activated during the player's next Standby Phase. It was the only Normal Spell Card in the entire Card Pool that could be voluntarily activated during the Standby Phase.
Aside from those two oddities, the rest of the presentations were fairly ordinary. Nothing especially impressive, but nothing too absurd either.
Soon, according to the schedule, it was Yugen's team's turn.
"The results from the student team of Duel Academy were already demonstrated through a Duel before this Student Council," said Yako Tenma, who was hosting.
"Would you like to provide a more detailed report, or…"
"Of course."
Yugen stood and smiled.
"That was only part of what we brought today."
The room fell silent in confusion.
He exchanged a glance with Daichi Misawa, who understood immediately. Rising to his feet, he took out several freshly printed cards.
"Our team's research is not limited to digitalization."
"We have also conducted some studies on the relationship between Yokai and Zombie-Type, and strengthened several Yokai cards based on their original forms."
The experts stared.
There was more?