"Really, considering this is a Doma base, why is there only this kind of stuff..."
Yugen walked out from the dim base and returned to the sunlight, counting the spoils he had confiscated during the raid.
To be honest, he wasn't very satisfied.
It's not that there are no Rare Cards, but most of these people's Rare Cards were the kind that were considered strong and valuable to the locals but were useless to him.
Take the "Electric Blade Insect" as an example. It's a Four-Star with an exceptionally strong hit point of 2400, with only a "negligible" side effect of allowing the opponent to draw a card during battle.
Though it could be sold for quite a sum.
With this, the force stationed by New Doma locally was eradicated.
"But... is it really okay?"
Judai was a bit worried.
He hadn't thought much when he was engrossed in the game earlier, but now that the duel was over, he couldn't help but feel anxious recalling the information he overheard.
"What were they saying earlier, something about the people from headquarters arriving in Duel City, or something like that." Judai glanced at Yugen. "Sounds like they're pretty formidable, huh?"
He remembered Sher, one of the Doma Three Musketeers, who they had to team up against to defeat.
If it were someone like that, the threat level clearly wouldn't be on the same level as the opponents they had just faced at the base.
"Who knows, maybe." Yugen shrugged. "Anyway, we've done what we can already, the rest is to take things as they come... How's your Puzzle Card collection going?"
"Oh."
Judai reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of Puzzle Cards.
"Four cards," he said. "Two more to go."
"Ha, I've got five already." Yugen showed five cards.
This raid against New Doma not only gained them cards and eliminated threats but also earned them a lot of Puzzle Cards. Mainly because there were only a few people with qualification to participate left in the vast base, and the remaining fodder had none.
"Alright, time to find the last opponent." Yugen waved his hand and smiled. "See you in the finals... well, we've gotta hurry. It'd be amusing if we don't even make it to the playoffs."
The two bumped fists then separated.
"Just one match left..."
Yugen walked down the street, looking around.
Finding a participant in such a large city isn't that easy.
Especially since most participants would intentionally hide themselves. During Duel City, walking around with a Duel Disc is basically presenting yourself as prey. Others could easily identify you as a participating duelist and assess whether they should challenge you.
But by hiding and observing from the shadows, one takes on the role of the hunter, striking only when encountering prey that's easy to bully, and staying hidden if they estimate the opponent to be too powerful.
So Yugen and Judai, running into a spot filled with duelists and swiftly collecting five cards, was quite fast. Others merely wandering the streets may not easily find an opponent anytime soon.
Not to mention, ninety percent of duelists would struggle to win every match even if they got the chance for consecutive duels. The higher the Duelist Level of the renowned expert, the more likely they are to encounter opponents of equal or superior strength. Others would recognize him and steer clear.
So although it seems like just one card left, the last opponent may be elusive.
After walking a block without encountering any contestants, Yugen felt a bit hungry from all the morning activity, deciding to buy some food.
Just then, by sheer coincidence, as he entered the restaurant, he bumped into someone.
Duel Academy's Caesar, Marufuji Ryo.
Both of them froze.
They met eyes; it was the right person.
A half second later, Yugen smiled: "What a coincidence, you're here for food too."
"Yeah." Marufuji Ryo smiled casually and asked, "How many cards you got?"
"Five."
Yugen displayed his Puzzle Cards.
"Just one more."
"Really, what a coincidence."
Marufuji Ryo chuckled, also pulling out his Puzzle Cards.
He had five cards as well.
Yugen speculated it was related to his academy uniform. Though Marufuji Ryo was one of the strongest in GX, his Caesar title was primarily in school, not widely known outside before graduation.
Many contestants in Duel City likely hadn't heard of him, mistaking him for an inexperienced student merely experiencing the tournament atmosphere due to his academy uniform, allowing him to win five rounds quickly.
"So, we're both at match point." Yugen said with a smile.
"Indeed." Marufuji Ryo showed a glint of challenge in his eyes. "It seems one of us will complete our advancement here."
"Oh, right here?"
"Since our goal is to keep advancing, we'll meet in the arena eventually. We've never had this opportunity at the Academy... But we'll inevitably battle it out, won't we?"
"Hmm, that's true."
Yugen chuckled.
"Indeed, since there's this opportunity..."
Marufuji Ryo nodded, stepping back to prepare his Duel Disc.
But Yugen raised his hand with a stop gesture.
"Hold on."
He said earnestly.
"I have to eat first."
Marufuji Ryo: "..."
A few minutes later, Yugen was dining in the restaurant while Marufuji Ryo patiently waited across from him.
"The food here is pretty mediocre, the beef's a bit tough... Want some?"
Marufuji Ryo waved it off: "I just ate."
"No problem, order more, it's on me." Yugen politely offered.
"No need."
Marufuji Ryo smiled.
"Anyway, you won five cards quickly too, impressive."
"Haha, just luck." Marufuji Ryo chuckled, "I merely give my all in each duel, fighting to the best of my abilities."
Yugen nodded: "I understand."
He was aware of Marufuji Ryo's philosophy, a key characteristic of this character early on, namely the "respect-the-opponent duel" he learned from Jiaodao.
Marufuji Ryo was the idealistic duelist in the animation, a highly positive figure, valuing the honor of a duelist even more than the desire for victory itself.
The bond with the Card Deck, respect for opponents, and the duel itself were his ultimate pursuits. Just as in the original, during his darkening at the underground duel's life-and-death moment, he introspects that merely respecting the opponent is enough, and victory becomes secondary.
This belief made him strong but also became his weakness.
In school, he was the invincible Caesar, even undefeated against the protagonist Judai. He never lost, so he didn't crave victory since it was readily available to him.
But on the professional stage, after being defeated almost effortlessly by the genius Ed Phoenix, he for the first time desired victory deeply.
However, due to his habitual thinking, he deliberately suppressed that desire. He repeatedly emphasized retaining his beliefs, trying hard to suppress the thought of "winning at any cost," leading to his total breakdown as a duelist.
This further validated that in the anime world, when a duelist wavers, the cards also falter. Even as strong as Caesar, after losing to Ed and experiencing a mental collapse, he went on to face defeats even against low-ranking professional opponents, never winning a match again.
Only later, driven to underground dark duels, facing life-and-death threats, did his long-suppressed desire explode, completely abandoning his previous principles of "respecting opponents," and resorting to unscrupulous means for victory.
Though Yugen saw this as somewhat heretical in the eyes of mainstream duelists in this world, he favored the path taken by Hell Caesar after darkening over idealistic early Caesar.
Because dueling itself is ruthless, destined to have only one victor. He couldn't accept the notion of "respecting the opponent, winning or losing doesn't matter," because here dueling outcomes determine everything, the loser loses it all.
Yugen squinted, assessing Marufuji Ryo.
The reputed Caesar, once among the strongest in GX, unfortunately lost his way, rendering his body frail, becoming the rare capable teammate amidst GX's rainforest of lackluster teammates.
If he could guide him through this duel, making him aware of the ruthless nature of the Duel World, perhaps he wouldn't need such a harsh lesson in the professional circle, nor venture into dark duels, enhancing the team's strength in later stages significantly.
Decided, Yugen wiped his mouth and stood up: "Thanks for waiting, shall we?"