Chapter 8: The Duelist Times
Chapter 8: The Duelist Times
Nakamura Tsubasa's final moments in the arena were marked by a resounding cry.
You Xuan was pleased with his performance in the first round of the preliminaries, feeling that he had truly imparted the essence of being a King of Games to his opponent.
He believed that after reviewing the match, his opponent would undoubtedly gain new insights and benefit greatly, eventually thanking him for the experience.
You Xuan had engaged in several duels on the first day, facing a high volume of opponents. However, the Moon-Moon Cup was not an exclusive tournament, and the number of participants was indeed substantial. The preliminaries were designed to accommodate multiple duels simultaneously across different venues, significantly streamlining the tournament schedule.
There were no surprises, though. You Xuan didn't encounter any notable figures in his matches, and based on the anime's portrayal, the average duelists outside the protagonist group tended to have mediocre skills. He hadn't come across any innovative deck builds that caught his eye just yet.
Of course, You Xuan didn't underestimate his opponents because of this. After the first day of competitions, he still took the time to briefly observe other duels and familiarize himself with the advancing duelists' strategies.
While he felt confident that he wouldn't face significant challenges from most of them, You Xuan decided to err on the side of caution. As the saying goes in the art of warfare, knowing yourself and your enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles, and this was especially true in the world of Duel Monsters.
By anticipating his opponents' deck compositions and tactical styles, and making targeted adjustments before each duel, he could effectively increase his chances of victory.
In preparation for the Moon-Moon Cup, the gym had already provided him with a portion of the subsidy in advance, specifically for enhancing his deck and upgrading his cards.
You Xuan gladly accepted this funding without hesitation. With this budget, he was able to tweak his original strategy and go on another shopping spree to assemble additional decks.
While [Hand Destruction] had been a world-champion-worthy strategy, relying solely on this one trick in the anime world was impractical. If others caught on, they could easily counter his limited approach, which was certainly not what he wanted.
So, before the tournament, You Xuan went shopping and, based on the cards he could acquire, assembled two to three additional decks that felt competitive and fun to play.
He continually adapted his deck and strategy according to his opponents' card types and tactics, making his approach flexible, unpredictable, and enigmatic. This allowed him to maintain a positional advantage over his rivals while also making it harder for them to counter him.
Shufu Takeuchi poured himself a cup of coffee and comfortably sank into a soft sofa to enjoy the afternoon sunshine while casually flipping through the latest issue of The Duelist Times.
The Duelist Times was a publication owned by the Kaiba Corporation, covering various strange and intriguing stories from the dueling world.
He had been busy with personal matters at home for the past two days and hadn't been able to spare time to watch his students' duels. However, he had heard that both of the gym's participants had successfully navigated the first day of the preliminaries, which brought him a sense of relief and satisfaction.
As he opened the newspaper, he noticed an article about the Moon-Moon Cup preliminaries.
A near-miss of malicious assault on an opponent during the Moon-Moon Cup preliminaries.
A participant lost control of their emotions mid-duel, flying into a rage and attempting to physically harm their opponent. They were disqualified from the tournament.
"Hmm?"
Shufu's curiosity was piqued, and he read the article more carefully.
So, something like this had happened? The etiquette of duelists these days was truly declining. There were participants who, unable to accept their loss, flew into a rage and resorted to physical violence, completely lacking the basic dignity expected of a duelist.
He skimmed through the article, noting that it refrained from using real names, instead opting for aliases to protect the privacy of the duelists involved. One was named Kenjin, and the other was called Tomoki.
He continued reading.
On the third day of the Moon-Moon Cup, participant Shotaro (alias) suffered a hemorrhagic stroke during his duel with Kenjin (alias). Fortunately, he received timely treatment and is now out of danger.
A duel leading to a stroke?
Shufu was astonished. Was this year's Moon-Moon Cup this treacherous? As he continued reading, he suddenly felt he had stumbled upon a crucial detail.
In both incidents, the opponent's alias was Kenjin. Could it be the same person? While one incident could be a coincidence, two in a row suggested a pattern, and he began to wonder if the problem lay with this particular duelist.
Shufu immediately recalled his duel with the gym's student, You Xuan, a few days ago, and how his blood pressure had mysteriously risen as the duel progressed. A sense of foreboding washed over him.
Could it be that...?
Three days later...
"That's it for the quarterfinals?"
You Xuan felt that securing a spot in the top eight had been almost too easy, leaving him a bit unsatisfied.
As expected, a tournament of this caliber could only offer so much, and he couldn't expect much from opponents who were merely dubbed 'civilian experts.'
Yes, unlike You Xuan, who seemed to have an easy time dominating his way to the quarterfinals, Sato Koiji had been eliminated on the second day of the preliminaries.
With no matches to play and nothing to prepare for, he could only come and sourly watch his junior, who had advanced from the same gym.
However, the good news was that he had been eliminated before encountering You Xuan, so he wouldn't have to suffer through another open tournament match.
At least for now, he could be at the front, watching and enjoying the spectacle of other contestants being crushed.
It was strange. Whenever his junior, You Xuan, dueled, he would feel his blood pressure rise uncontrollably, but witnessing others being subjected to the same treatment filled him with joy.
Humans were indeed peculiar and contradictory creatures.
"By the way, junior, have you seen your match list?" he asked from the side, "Who's your opponent in the quarterfinals?"
He was eager to welcome the first victim.
"Oh, he's a student from the Duel Academy's middle school division."
"His name is Manjoume Jun," You Xuan replied.
"Manjoume is so strong it's ridiculous!"
Manjoume Jun, from the prestigious Manjoume Group's third son, was currently lounging on a sofa with his legs crossed, basking in the adoration of his two underlings, who were skillfully flattering him.
Manjoume, from the renowned Manjoume Group, was currently the top student in the elite class of the middle school division and was set to be fast-tracked to the high school division of the Duel Academy as a super elite this year.
Since childhood, Manjoume had been groomed by his family to become a dueling elite. According to the family's plan, one of his brothers was destined to become a business tycoon, while the other was to enter high-level politics. As for Manjoume, their expectation was for him to reign as the King of Games, becoming the pillar of the Manjoume Group in the future.
At first glance, the ambition to "become the King of Games" might seem a bit laughable compared to his brothers' paths. However, looking at Kaiba Seto, it became clear that in this world, excelling in dueling held far more promise than pursuing business or politics.
Thus, it was no surprise that Manjoume had been entered into various competitions from a young age, amassing countless championships and medals.
His participation in the Moon-Moon Cup was also per his family's wishes, serving as his final test before moving up to the high school division of the Duel Academy.
As with many previous competitions, his brothers' instructions were clear: he was there to win.
For the Manjoume family, anything less than first place was tantamount to defeat. There was no point in participating if you couldn't secure the top spot.
However, even Manjoume felt a bit of pressure this time around.
Among the contestants was none other than Dinosaur Ryuzaki, the legendary former national runner-up who was said to have dueled with the infamous Jou Kenzan! Could he truly defeat such a legend? Manjoume's fingers fidgeted as he stared at the floor, deep in thought.
"But speaking of which, I've never heard of your opponent in the quarterfinals, Fujiki You Xuan. Is he a newcomer?"
"Hmm?"
Snapping out of his reverie, Manjoume checked his opponent's information.
Duelist Rating:
One star?
He wondered if he was seeing things.
Wasn't a one-star rating the epitome of a novice? How did someone like that even qualify for the tournament, let alone make it to the quarterfinals? On top of that, his public honors and competition experience were blank.
"His resume is blank; he seems like a complete unknown," Underling A scoffed, "How did someone like that even make it to the quarterfinals?"
"Maybe he just got lucky?" Underling B offered.
"Even if it's luck, you'd still need some skill to make it this far."
Moreover, regardless of how he got there, the fact that he had made it to the quarterfinals in his first public competition meant that he wouldn't remain a one-star duelist for long.
"He's probably just a dark horse, a naturally talented newcomer," Underling B speculated, "But in the end, he's just another stepping stone for Manjoume."
"Makes sense."
Underling A nodded in agreement, then added with a laugh, "But speaking of this You Xuan guy, he's really out of luck. To face Manjoume so early means his journey ends at the quarterfinals."
A slight smile played on Manjoume's lips, but he remained silent, attempting to maintain an air of aloofness. However, the upward curve of his lips and his instinctive tactical lean back betrayed the satisfaction he felt.
Though Manjoume didn't voice his agreement, he shared his underlings' sentiment.
Fujiki You Xuan, he'd never heard of him.
Even if he was a dark horse, he was still a newcomer. Could he really take down Manjoume, the top student in the elite class?
(End of Chapter)
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