Chapter 1043: A Different History
Chapter 1043: A Different History
Skill Extraction—no need to elaborate on its greatness. The entire room fell silent; even the most powerful entities were reduced to blank slates. In the most notorious version, it once became the card players feared the most, with the highest probability of triggering a real-life Duel.
There's no need to doubt the card's overwhelming suppression. Even to this day, it remains a top-tier card, always ready to wreak havoc in the most challenging situations, a must-have for those who seek to rebel against the world.
Of course, the strength and practicality of a card can't be judged by a single standard. If Skill Extraction were truly powerful enough to dominate all players, it would have been banned long ago. But since it doesn't have a place in the Isolation Room, it means that Game King has determined that it isn't so insane as to disrupt the game environment.
Skill Extraction is strong, but it's a continuous trap without a specific field, making it hard to retrieve and lacking stability. The biggest issue is that it affects both players equally. Once activated, all monsters become blank slates, which automatically narrows down the range of decks that can effectively use it.
A deck like the Crime Deck, which relies more on high attack power rather than monster effects, is a good fit. In a situation where both players have blank slates, the Axe King's brute strength is hard to match, creating a sense of beauty in leveling the playing field and then winning with experience.
Additionally, effects like those of the Stardust Dragon aren't affected by Skill Extraction. If a deck's monster effects primarily involve sacrificing the card to activate an effect, it has a good synergy with Skill Extraction. Since Skill Extraction only negates effects while the monster is on the field, if the effect is resolved after the monster has left the field, Skill Extraction can't stop it.
In any case, Youxuan is grateful for the package delivered by Paradox across time and space. It's truly invaluable. Many things that are restricted to this dimension are impossible to obtain otherwise.
And this gift isn't just a card.
While Paradox managed to save his life, Youxuan certainly wasn't going to let him go back so easily. Even if he were lenient, Kaiba Corp was still watching, and they wouldn't let this mysterious future person escape.
That night, Paradox was given a luxurious suite at Kaiba Corp, complete with a high-tech energy field and iron bars.
Of course, the device he used to travel through time and all his futuristic gear were confiscated.
Youxuan specifically instructed the team handling the situation to leave him with nothing, not even a pair of underpants. This person came from an unknown future, a timeline that was nearly extinct but had once developed a brilliant civilization based on perpetual motion machines, with many foundational technologies far surpassing those of the present.
Modern humans know little about future technology, and the risk, though low, of a hidden escape device in his underpants was too great to ignore. So, to be safe, they stripped him down and conducted a full-body scan to ensure there were no other dangerous devices, either inside or under his skin.
Paradox: "."
He felt like he had been robbed.
The greatest discovery from his futuristic gear was likely the small perpetual motion machine.
When Kaiba Corp's scientists got their hands on it, they were ecstatic, as if they had opened the door to a new world. They quickly realized that this could be the key to a new era, a divine artifact capable of solving humanity's energy problems forever. They were so excited that they couldn't sleep, meticulously disassembling and studying each part to understand its structure.
"So, you're saying this thing is related to Duel Monsters?"
Keihei and Youxuan stood in the bustling laboratory, examining the small perpetual motion machine that had been disassembled.
"Is that so?"
Youxuan nodded.
"To put it simply, it's impossible to get this machine running without a Duel. It's not just a machine; in a way, it can read the human heart and resonate with the Duelist's mind. The right heart can guide it to create infinite value, but the wrong heart can cause it to malfunction, and in the worst-case scenario, it could lead to the end of the world."
Keihei whistled. "That's terrifying."
"Indeed", Youxuan continued. "So, we must be extremely cautious during the development process. No matter how great the potential benefits, we cannot rush things."
Youxuan paused for a moment before adding, "Of course, that's for the future. Until the Duel Monster system advances to that point, even if we create a perpetual motion machine, it will just be a piece of scrap metal."
Keihei immediately recalled the astonishing summoning method he had seen during the Duel.
"You mean that Synchro Summon?"
"Exactly."
Youxuan casually drew the "Stardust Dragon" card he had confiscated from Paradox and handed it to Keihei. Keihei took the card, examined it, and nodded. "Indeed. A white monster card, I've never seen anything like it."
"I tried it myself. If this perpetual motion machine isn't installed in a Duel Disk, the card won't react even when placed in existing Duel equipment. It won't be recognized as a card."
"So, the perpetual motion machine and Synchro Monsters are mutually reinforcing. Got it", Keihei said. "Kaiba Corp will convene experts from various fields to conduct related research. It feels like we're starting to glimpse the shape of the future world."
Youxuan asked, "So, any leads on his origin? Is this guy Paradox from the future?"
Keihei shook his head.
"Initial interrogations suggested that he might be. He answered some questions from the interrogation team, and from his initial responses, it seemed he was indeed from the future."
"But?" Youxuan sensed there was more to it.
Keihei continued, "But then our Interdimensional Research Institute examined the flying device he arrived in and compared some parameters. While they can't be entirely sure, they now lean towards the idea that he might be from the future, but not from our dimension's future."
"A parallel future timeline?" Youxuan asked. "How is that possible?"
"I don't know. He himself seems as clueless."
Keihei shook his head. "From his own account, he thought he was traveling back to the past in his own timeline. After arriving here and gathering historical information from our world, he noticed some discrepancies. Now, with the latest parameters from our team, it seems he might have accidentally traveled to the past of a different dimension."
Just then, a man in a white lab coat rushed out of the room.
"Oh, we were just talking about it", Keihei said. "This is Dr. Kondo, the head of the Interdimensional Research Institute. What did you find? Why are you in such a hurry?"
Dr. Kondo, out of breath, approached the two of them, his face flushed. He took a couple of deep breaths before speaking.
"There's a new discovery."
He adjusted his glasses and spoke solemnly, one word at a time.
"Our world might be on the verge of destruction."
(End of Chapter)
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