https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-50-So-I-m-Actually-Really-Strong/12557057/
Chapter 49: The Ruins
Chapter 49: The Ruins
Early the next morning, You Xuan set off from the gym with the students to embark on a journey to visit the ruins.
To be honest, You Xuan was quite interested in the stone tablets in the ruins from before the cards were made in this world. Especially after learning that there was more to the ruins than just stone tablets that could be made into cards.
But that's how the world of Duel Monsters works. Things that can be made into cards are not limited to stone tablets; gems can be crafted into cards, swords and blades can become cards, and sometimes even living people can be transformed into cards.
Or, one could say that turning stone tablets into cards is not truly "card creation" but merely a "transplant" of sorts.
After all, the stone tablets were crafted by ancient people thousands of years ago, and Begulus simply transplanted the ancient cards onto a modern, new medium. The process of the ancients creating the stone tablets was when the corresponding cards were truly brought to life.
The ruins were located in the suburbs. You Xuan disembarked from the car and didn't have to walk far before reaching the excavation site, where he met Master Takeuchi's good brother, Uncle Saito.
"Yo, you're here," Uncle Saito greeted them warmly, taking a keen second glance at You Xuan.
"Young man, your duel yesterday was impressive. I bet you gained quite a few benefits from it?"
"It was alright," You Xuan smiled. "Thank you, Uncle Saito, for showing us around."
Uncle Saito waved his hand dismissively. "It's no trouble. I'm just bringing you here a few days in advance. The team has decided that if there are no new discoveries, this ruin will be opened to duelists of level four and above in a couple of days."
As Uncle Saito led the group inside, he explained, "You may have heard the rumors about spirits choosing duelists, right?"
"Yes, we have," the group nodded.
You Xuan recalled the most representative example in the original story—the Crystal Beasts. After Begulus crafted the Crystal Beast deck, he happened to be watching a duel tournament participant, John Anderson, and surprisingly, the deck in the box suddenly began to glow.
Begulus then gifted the Crystal Beast deck to John, and because of this, John formed an unbreakable bond with his deck that was unparalleled by ordinary duelists. So, it wasn't always the duelist who chose the cards; sometimes, the spirits chose the duelist.
"Master Takeuchi mentioned it too," recalled one of the gym students. "He said that duelists who are rejected by the cards cannot bring out the true power of their deck."
You Xuan listened, wondering what was meant by being unable to bring out the power of the deck.
Would the spirits purposely fill your hand with useless cards and cause you to doubt your life choices if they disliked you?
That would be terrifying.
"Yes, some ruins work in a similar way. Sometimes, research at certain ruins would be at a standstill, but when a particular duelist arrives, the ruins would suddenly exhibit strange phenomena that hadn't been seen before, as if that duelist was chosen. However, I'm not sure what the criteria for selection are."
Uncle Saito smiled. "After all, I'm just an old man moving bricks here. I only know what I've heard from others."
Sato Koji asked, "So, can you tell us now what this ruin is about? Master said it's amazing but kept the details mysterious."
Uncle Saito smiled mysteriously. "You'll find out once you're inside."
". . ."
Following the artificially excavated path, they soon arrived in a vast space. Looming on all sides were towering stone walls, intricately carved with complex patterns and mystical symbols that remained clear despite seemingly enduring thousands of years.
At the center of the ruins stood a massive stone platform, upon which loomed a yellowish-brown stone tablet that had stood the test of countless ages. Depicted in the center of the stone tablet was a sword-wielding warrior.
Although the ancient artist's style was quite abstract, everyone immediately recognized the figure, and many of the students even exclaimed in surprise.
"Chaos Soldier!"
There were exaggerated archaeological myths that spoke of the strongest warrior who cleaved open chaos, creating light on one side and darkness on the other, thus forming the heavens, the earth, and all creation. Of course, because this narrative was so far-fetched, it was currently treated as nothing more than a mythical background story.
It was also one of the well-known ace monsters once possessed by Yugi Mutou.
"Yes, the Chaos Soldier. A legendary monster that has become a key focus for many teams since the appearance of the 'Messenger of Creation'. Unfortunately, while the 'Chaos Soldier - Messenger of Creation' shocked the dueling world when it first appeared, it also became a research bottleneck.
It was so powerful that it was banned by K Corporation in 2005, and its strength was indeed formidable in this era.
Of course, as someone from the future, You Xuan was well aware that this was not the limit, and there were many more unreleased cards in the Chaos Soldier series.
Looking at the stone tablet, his thoughts became active.
In fact, even without new cards to strengthen it, the Messenger of Creation was already formidable in the early years. Speaking of which, in reality, after the Hand Destruction deck he had used before, the world champions for the next two consecutive years were both Chaos-themed, with the Messenger of Creation playing a key role.
The Chaos theme back then already had a mainstream feel to it, delivering a crushing blow to other decks in that environment. Even after the Great Chaos was locked away, and a year later, the so-called Little Chaos, the "Chaos Sorcerer," barely replaced its position, the world champion that year was still a Chaos-themed build, the Testament Chaos.
You Xuan wondered if he could somehow get his hands on the Great Chaos and consider building another championship deck.
"Then, doesn't the discovery of these related ruins help with new research?" one of the students asked curiously.
"I don't fully understand it myself," Uncle Saito admitted. "But I seem to recall the research team's experts mentioning that they didn't think so. Because the stone tablet unearthed from these ruins corresponds to a Ritual Monster, 'Chaos Soldier,' which was already crafted into a card many years ago.
It doesn't seem like there are any clues here that could lead to further evolution of the monster."
The Ritual Monster "Chaos Soldier," also known as the original disguise that Yugi Muto summoned during the Duelist Kingdom arc. With 3000 ATK and no effects, this vanilla Ritual Monster, despite bearing the title of a "legendary monster," was now outdated.
".Over here."
You Xuan: "?"
He seemed to hear someone speaking to him, but when he turned to look, there wasn't a soul around.
The students were all excitedly discussing the Chaos Soldier and the Duel King Yugi Muto from back in the day, and there was no one standing in the direction the voice had come from.
An auditory hallucination?
He looked around perplexed, unable to find any other explanation. But just as he turned back...
"Over here."
There it was again.
You Xuan turned once more, but the direction was still empty, and it didn't seem like anyone was speaking to him.
What's going on? Telepathy? Mind transmission? His gaze then landed on the direction where the voice had come from, on another stone tablet unearthed from the ruins.
Unlike the Chaos Soldier stone tablet that was surrounded by onlookers, this one was blank.
It seemed to be... this blank tablet? As if drawn by some mysterious force, he walked closer and slowly raised his arm.
As if pulled by some invisible force.
At that very moment, among the researchers at the ruins' base camp, someone suddenly exclaimed, "Leader!"
"What is it?"
The leader, clad in a white lab coat and bearing the KC logo, quickly made his way over.
"Energy! The Duel Energy readings are spiking!"
The leader glanced at the instrument readings and was equally astonished. "Is this a spirit's reaction? But how is this strength value possible?"
His expression was one of disbelief.
They had clearly not detected any spirit reactions from the ruins before, yet in that instant, the instrument readings surged like crazy.
And if it truly was a spirit manifestation, this exaggerated energy value...
"Could it be as strong as the 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon'?" the research leader wondered in awe.
Nowadays, countless ruins were being unearthed all over the world every year, and they had become quite commonplace. But spirits on par with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon were still extremely rare.
". ."
As his fingertips touched the stone tablet, You Xuan felt as though he was being pulled by a powerful force.
Caught off guard, he found himself lifted off the ground, as if sucked into a massive vortex, pulling him into another world.
(End of Chapter)
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