For example, there was one habit he felt ready to break. He could finally try expanding his Deck beyond forty cards. It was a small change, but one he had avoided for years.
Night fell along the city shoreline. A helicopter slowly descended, like a giant steel eagle touching the ground, its rotors humming loudly in the dark. The lights reflected off its metal body as it settled.
A blond man jumped down calmly, a cigarette in his mouth and sunglasses on his face, hands in his pockets. He took out his phone and dialed a number, blowing out two lazy rings of smoke while waiting. The call connected almost immediately.
"It's me," the man said casually. "I've landed."
"Good. Our people have already checked some basic information about the ruins," the cold voice replied. "You'll get the report before tonight."
"Got it."
The blond man took another deep drag. On the other end, the voice continued without emotion, "Be careful. I just received a report that 'Blood Moon' has already been dealt with."
The man paused. "By who?"
"'Blood Moon', one of our subordinate Shadow Duelists groups."
"Oh, those were just cannon fodder," the blond man laughed. "You don't think those trash were on the same level as me, do you?"
"The report says Seto Kaiba personally handled it," the voice said.
The smile vanished from the man's face. "Seto Kaiba is in the city?"
"It seems so. That's why I told you to be careful and not get caught."
"Tch. If I get caught, so be it," the blond man snorted. "I've wanted to see how I compare to Seto Kaiba now. I'm nothing like I was back then."
"Mission first," the voice said flatly. "Don't die."
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
The blond man cursed under his breath, hung up, and crushed the cigarette under his foot. He looked into the distance and muttered, "Seto Kaiba. What a pain."
Early the next morning, Yugen set out from Duel Dojo together with the trainees, beginning their trip to visit the ruins. The bus ride was steady, and the mood was relaxed as everyone talked about what they might see. For most of them, it was just a field trip, but for him it carried a different meaning.
To be honest, Yugen was very interested in the stone tablets from the time before cards were made in this world. After learning that ruins could contain more than just tablets that became cards, his curiosity only grew stronger. He wanted to see how those ancient creations really worked.
This was simply how the world of Yu-Gi-Oh! functioned. Things that could be turned into cards were far more than stone tablets. Gems could become cards, weapons could become cards, and sometimes even living people could become cards.
In fact, turning stone tablets into cards was not true card creation at all, but more like transplantation. Those tablets were cards already made by ancient people thousands of years ago. What Maximillion Pegasus did back then was only move ancient cards into a new modern medium.
The real process of creating those cards happened when the ancients first carved the tablets. That was when the cards were truly born. Compared to that, modern reproduction was only a technical step.
The ruins were located on the outskirts of the city. After getting off the bus, Yugen walked only a short distance before reaching the excavation site. There, he met Hall Master Takeuchi's Sworn Brothers, Saito Ojisan.
"Yo, you're here," Saito Ojisan said as he came over with a warm smile. His eyes lingered on Yugen for an extra moment.
"That Duel you had yesterday was really impressive," he added. "You must have gotten quite a few benefits afterward, right?"
"It was alright," Yugen replied with a smile. "Thanks for bringing us to visit, uncle."
Saito Ojisan waved his hand. "It's nothing. I just brought you here a few days early. If there are no new discoveries, this ruin will probably open to level four and above Duelist in a couple of days."
He led the group inside while explaining as they walked. His tone was casual, like someone used to repeating the same stories.
"You've probably heard the rumors," Saito Ojisan continued. "Sometimes a Spirit chooses a Duelist on its own."
"I've heard that," the group answered, nodding.
Yugen remembered the most famous example from the original story, the Crystal Beasts. After Maximillion Pegasus created the Crystal Beasts Deck, he once watched a tournament match where Johan Anderson was competing. The Deck stored in its case suddenly began to glow.
After that, Maximillion Pegasus gave the Crystal Beasts Deck to Johan. From then on, Johan shared a bond with his Deck that ordinary Duelist could not compare to. Many times, it was not the Duelist choosing the card, but the Spirit choosing the Duelist.
"Kageru Takeuchi has said the same thing," one trainee from Duel Dojo recalled. "He said that if a Duelist is rejected by cards, they can't use their Deck at full power."
Yugen listened and thought quietly. What exactly did it mean to not use a Deck's power properly? Did that mean if a Spirit disliked you, it would keep filling your hand with useless cards until you doubted your life choices?
That thought was honestly terrifying. He shook his head slightly to clear it.
"Yes, some ruins work the same way," Saito Ojisan said. "Sometimes research makes no progress at all, then a certain Duelist arrives and strange phenomena suddenly appear, as if the ruin chose them."
"But what the selection is based on, I really don't know," he added with a laugh. "I'm just an old guy moving bricks here. I only hear people talk."
Koji Sato asked, "So can you tell us what kind of ruin this is today? Master said it was amazing, but he wouldn't explain anything."
Saito Ojisan smiled mysteriously. "Once you're inside, you'll understand."
They followed the artificial excavation path and soon arrived in a massive open space. Towering stone walls surrounded them, carved with complex patterns and strange symbols. Even after what seemed like thousands of years, the carvings were still clear.
At the center of the ruin stood a huge stone platform. On it rose a yellow-brown stone tablet that had clearly endured countless ages. Carved into its center was the image of a sword-wielding warrior.
Even though the ancient style was abstract, everyone recognized it at a glance. Several trainees cried out in surprise. "Black Luster Soldier!"
According to exaggerated myth records, he was the strongest warrior who split chaos with his sword, one side light and the other dark, opening heaven and earth. Because the story was so extreme, it was treated as background mythology. He was also one of the famous ace monsters once used by Yugi Muto.
"Yes, Black Luster Soldier," Saito Ojisan said. "A legendary monster. Ever since the 'Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning' appeared, it has been a major research topic for many teams. Unfortunately, that card also became a dead end for research."
"Many years have passed without breakthroughs," he continued. "Some expert teams even believe that the Envoy already represents all of Black Luster Soldier's potential, with no further evolution possible."
That idea made sense. Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning had extremely simple summoning conditions, three thousand ATK, and powerful effects like banishing an opponent's monster or attacking twice in one turn. It was so strong that it was banned in 2005 in reality, and in this era it was still overwhelming.
Of course, as someone from the future, Yugen knew this was not the limit. There were many undeveloped LV Series cards related to Black Luster Soldier. Just looking at the tablet made his thoughts start racing.
Even without later support, the Envoy had already been strong enough in the early days. In reality, after the Hand Destruction Deck he once used, the next two world champions both ran Chaos themes with the Envoy as a core card. Back then, Chaos decks crushed almost every other Deck in the environment.