Chapter 34: Invitation to the Ruins
Chapter 34: Invitation to the Ruins
Early morning at the Dueling Arena.
You Xuan woke up early and, after buying some breakfast, made his way to the arena.
Before he could even step through the door, he ran into Sato Koji.
Koji's eyes lit up at the sight of him, and he quickly approached with a greeting, "Good morning, Senior Brother! You're here early today!"
"Er, Senior Brother Koji, there's no need to be so formal. You can just call me Junior Brother," You Xuan replied.
"Okay, Senior Brother," Koji said with a laugh. "By the way, are you here to see Master? He's inside."
You Xuan: "..."
He didn't know how it happened, but at some point, he seemed to have become the senior brother of the entire arena.
As it turned out, Koji had also signed up for the Duel Academy exam, but unfortunately, he didn't make it past the written test.
You Xuan couldn't understand how anyone could fail such simple questions, but it seemed like the passing rate for the test was quite low. Even in the anime, Yugi Mutou ranked 110th from the bottom, indicating that only a little over a hundred people passed. It was evidently quite challenging.
When You Xuan arrived at Master Takeuchi's room, the door was surprisingly ajar.
Upon entering, he saw Master Takeuchi sitting in his office chair, donning a heavy VR headset on his nose bridge. Takeuchi seemed to be watching something, letting out occasional sleazy chuckles and "hehehe"s, his old face slightly flushed.
You Xuan hesitated for a moment.
Hmm, I wonder if he's currently piloting a Gundam...
He thought it would be impolite to interrupt at this time, so he decided to pretend he hadn't come yet. He stepped out of the room and knocked on the open door.
Then, in a loud voice, he asked, "Is Master in?"
A flurry of hurried movements came from inside the room, followed by a "thump" as if something had fallen to the floor. After patiently waiting for a few seconds, he finally heard a response.
"Come in."
You Xuan entered, his expression unchanged as if nothing had happened, and as if he hadn't noticed Master Takeuchi's disheveled hair.
"Did you just arrive?" Master Takeuchi asked cautiously.
"Yes, just now," You Xuan replied calmly.
"Didn't you see anything strange?" Master Takeuchi inquired further.
"Nope," You Xuan feigned ignorance, looking around. "Did something happen?"
"Oh, nothing. It's good that you didn't see anything. I was just researching deck construction," Master Takeuchi said, yawning. "Why are you here so suddenly? Is there something the matter?"
"Master asked me to come find you after my exam," You Xuan reminded him.
Master Takeuchi slapped his forehead.
"Oh right, right. My memory is slipping; getting old, I guess," he said.
You Xuan thought to himself, "Master, I don't think it's an age issue. It might just be that you've been spending a little too freely."
Especially in this world, where three-dimensional imaging technology is so advanced. The realistic three-dimensional images would naturally boost the development of certain already thriving industries in District 11, creating a high-pressure situation for the gentlemen on the front lines.
"First of all, congratulations on passing the exam. I've heard about your outstanding performance, and you've done our arena proud," Master Takeuchi said with a smile. "Don't slack off after enrolling. Study hard, and it's up to you to revive our school of thought."
"I understand, Master," You Xuan replied.
"Very good, very good. Now, the reason I called you here today isn't particularly important. I just wanted to see if you'd be interested in this opportunity.
You've been busy preparing for the exam these past few days, so you probably haven't had time to catch up on the news, right?"
"Yes, a team from the Kaiba Corporation discovered them. They're located just outside the city, about an hour's drive from here. Although it's not open to the public yet, I have a friend on the inside who said he could take my students for a visit if we're interested."
You Xuan began to understand. So, it was about the excavation of stone tablets.
As everyone knew, in the Yu-Gi-Oh! world, the origin of modern dueling stemmed from archaeology. Years ago, Maximillion Pegasus went to Egypt and unearthed a three-thousand-year-old stone tablet with Duel Monsters engraved on it, bringing the sleeping spirits into the modern world, marking the beginning of it all.
Now, after many years of development in the Duel Monsters system, although card manufacturing technology had become more advanced and the means of creating new cards and monster aliases had matured, archaeological excavations remained a crucial channel for the birth of new card decks.
In fact, even after all these years, only a fraction of the ancient Duel Monsters stone tablets had been discovered. New ruins continued to be found even in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, which took place many years later in the same universe.
And contrary to the initial belief that Duel Monsters originated in ancient Egypt three thousand years ago, explorations later revealed that ruins of ancient Duel Monsters could be found all over the world.
For example, there was the Atlantis where Dartz lived ten thousand years ago, the Nordic Gods discovered in Northern Europe, the Earthbound God stone tablet found in the Nazca Lines in Peru, and the Jewel Beasts created from stone tablets unearthed from the ruins of an ancient civilization that revered the power of jewels.
You Xuan had never seen what these ruins and stone tablets looked like, and he was indeed quite curious.
Many of these ruins, after being excavated and explored by professional teams, would be opened to the public as tourist attractions. Indeed, there were cases of Duelists resonating with hidden spirits within these ancient sites.
"Although the details haven't been made public yet, my friend mentioned that this particular ruin seems to be quite extraordinary." Master Takeuchi said.
"Master, do you have connections within the Kaiba Corporation?" You Xuan asked, realizing that his master might have a more extensive network and influence than he initially thought.
"Hmph, let's not talk about that." Master Takeuchi straightened his posture proudly. "In my younger days, I, too, was a figure to be reckoned with. However, I later chose to distance myself from fame and fortune and retired from the dueling world, no longer seeking conflict with others."
You Xuan was filled with respect. "So, your friend is a high-ranking executive at the Kaiba Corporation? Or perhaps a Duelist? Do they have inside access to buying cards?"
At this question, Master Takeuchi's bravado deflated a little.
"Well, no. He works at the excavation site."
You Xuan: ". . ."
"Ahem, actually, he used to be a formidable Duelist himself. But then he pursued a different path. I believe Kaiba Corporation requires everyone involved in the archaeological research and excavation team to be Duelists. It seems to be a personal requirement set by the corporation's president himself."
You Xuan thought to himself, 'So even to get into the construction crew, one needs to know how to duel.'
However, upon further reflection, it made sense. After all, these ruins were often accompanied by supernatural forces that defied scientific explanation, and ordinary people might be in danger if they approached. But in this world, as long as one knew how to duel, the danger factor decreased significantly.
"Coincidentally, the Kaiba Land in the city will be holding a 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon Festival' the day after tomorrow, and our dojo plans to go there for team-building. My friend will be there as well, so we can discuss it in person then."
"Alright," You Xuan replied casually, but then he noticed something amiss. "Wait, there's a festival called the 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon Festival'?"
(End of Chapter)
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