Thus, the change in the Administration Office's penalty duel was happily decided.
Yugen and Judai, the two "masterminds," would team up to accept the penalty duel.
Judai happily accepted this outcome as well. Firstly, Judai-kun was always happy as long as he got to duel. Secondly, he had only just enrolled and wasn't particularly familiar with Marufuji Sho, who was just his roommate. Besides, he actually hadn't even seen Marufuji Sho duel seriously even once.
In comparison, if he had a choice, Yugen, with whom he had gone through life-and-death betting situations together in the Spirit World, was a much more suitable teammate.
And Marufuji Sho himself was even happier. He had been scared stiff, and the uncertainty of the duel date had already made him half-wilted. Now hearing that he had been replaced and didn't need to worry about holding his big brother back, he immediately felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.
Everyone was very happy about this change in decision. A world where no one was injured was achieved.
But since the duel opponents still needed to be contacted and scheduled, it was naturally impossible to arrange the duel immediately. Therefore, the notice given by the Administration Office was also that the time was to be determined. They still had time to get to know each other and specifically adjust their decks for tag team coordination.
According to Judai-kun's habits, he naturally didn't intend to adjust his deck. He felt that no matter who the opponent was, it was the same as always, and he just needed to perform at his usual level.
Even if the opponent really had some special tactical combination that needed to be countered, he didn't need to put in extra effort to rack his brains. A true Duelist only needed to believe in their deck; no matter the environment, there would always be a chance.
To put it another way, a mature deck should have learned how to deal with the opponent itself, without requiring the Duelist to put in extra effort.
But Yugen didn't agree.
Although the opponents hadn't been publicly announced, Yugen knew that it was likely the Maze Brothers, who were called "having dueled the first Duel King Muto Yugi" in the original work.
In GX, these two used the Gate Guardian deck. Although this deck inexplicably received a power-up wave more than a decade later, the Maze Brothers in the GX anime should not have those overpowered cards.
From the perspective of the anime's world, the future power-up cards should belong to the potential that this deck archetype had yet to fully develop.
Dueling with Judai, Yugen's mind immediately became active. From his perspective, Judai's luck should overwhelm the Maze Brothers' duo. This duel should have a relatively large amount of room for divine draws to play out.
So if he could reasonably borrow the power of Judai's divine draws, maybe he could design some fun combinations that he wouldn't be able to easily achieve on his own under normal circumstances.
This wasn't urgent for the time being; even the duel date hadn't been announced yet, so there should still be a few days to prepare.
On the other hand, the first-year freshmen's inter-club exchange meeting for the Duel Club began.
It was still that very tall senior who was in charge of hosting the competition. When she saw Yugen at the venue, she seemed quite happy: "You came. I heard about the tag team duel. I thought you might be too busy dealing with that duel and might have to ask for another leave of absence."
"How could that be? Such an interesting duel, and it's also a chance to interact and mingle with the new club members, how could I miss it?" Yugen chuckled.
Besides, there were academic credits for participating in the competition, and the champion could even choose a card from the Duel Club's special stock. There was no way he could miss out on that.
However, the new club members who heard these words had different expressions.
Get lost, who wants to interact with you?
The senior laughed until she couldn't close her legs: "That's good, I was afraid you wouldn't come."
She didn't finish the second half of her sentence.
If you didn't come, how much less fun would this year's competition be?
"Alright. Then, the Duel Club's new members' cup competition officially begins. Everyone can now prepare for the first round of matches based on the list."
So, the happy dueling time began again.
Yugen's first opponent was still one of his own, a student from the Yellow Dorm.
He remembered that this student seemed to have dueled him during a dorm exchange session, but the style this time was different from the last time.
First was Yugen's turn. He directly played "Abyss Soldier" and set two cards, then passed. The result was that the opponent actually started taunting, saying something like that was all he had, that he had now surpassed him, and would let him see his evolved duel.
After speaking, he waved his hand, and in one go, he had four cards set in his back row.
Yugen pondered.
Hmm, this scene seems familiar somewhere.
The Yellow Dorm student laughed heartily: "This time I'm different from last time. Come on, don't hold back. If you can, surpass my defenses and attack me! Right in the face!"
Yugen indicated that he had never heard such a strange request, so he had no choice but to respectfully comply.
"Open face-down card, Continuous Trap - Royal Decree."
The Yellow Dorm student spat out a mouthful of old blood, several feet high.
He stared at Yugen with an incredulous expression.
Why do you have something like that yourself?
Could it be that you actually led the betrayal!?
"."
The first round was easily won. Yugen felt it was even simpler than the last time he dueled the opponent. A Royal Decree plus Abyss Soldier combo basically suppressed him to death, the intensity instantly returning to the new student-tormenting situation in the dojo before he enrolled in Duel Academy.
The friendly interaction within the club continued. The senior leaned against the railing of the high platform, most of her attention focused on Yugen's duel.
In the arena, sometimes there would be the sound of a bicycle being run over followed by a miserable scream, sometimes the gunshot of One-Eyed Don Zaloog would ring out. Submarine torpedoes crisscrossed, and Abyss Soldier wielded his trident, bringing screams of despair to the opponent time and time again.
Others didn't know, but the senior was getting more and more happy as she watched.
She knew that with this newcomer in this year's competition, it would definitely not be boring.
Looking around, she discovered that the new members' cup's attention this year was higher than in previous years. Many of the club's high-ranking members had rushed over to watch after hearing the news. The seniors pointed and gestured at the newcomers who were letting out a chorus of groans below, the smiles on their faces contrasting sharply with the newcomers' tearful expressions.
The senior even spotted Watanabe Hidekazu, who had been on the front line of the club's founding and suffered a lot of trouble. Senior Hidekazu watched Yugen's duels one after another without blinking, his smile so radiant it seemed even brighter than his colleagues beside him.
"."
With consecutive victories, Yugen gradually entered the semifinals, facing a female student from the Obelisk Blue dorm.
"Activate Equip Spell 'Big Bang Shot' to equip to your 'Archfiend of Gilfer'.
Then activate the first effect of my 'Abyss Soldier' on the field, discard 'Sinister Serpent' from my hand to send 'Big Bang Shot' back to my own hand.
At this moment, due to 'Big Bang Shot's' side effect, 'Archfiend of Gilfer' is banished."
Female Student: "."
"Then activate the returned 'Big Bang Shot' again to equip to your 'Field-Commander Rahz'.
Next, use the second effect of my 'Abyss Soldier'. Send 'Big Bang Shot' back to my hand again, and 'Field-Commander Rahz' is also banished."
Female Student: "."
Yugen: "The third time, activate the returned 'Big Bang Shot', this time equipping it to my own 'Abyss Soldier' number 1 on the field, increasing its attack power by 400 points."
[Abyss Soldier (No. 1) ATK 1800 → ATK 2200]
[Abyss Soldier (No. 2) ATK 1800]
"Two Abyss Soldiers, direct attack."
[Female Student, LP 4000 → LP 0]
The female student, having been banished twice and then instantly defeated, sat there blankly, her expression almost as messy as her hairstyle.
Who am I? Where am I? Why am I dueling?
My mom wants me to drop out.
Manjome Jun, who had also won consecutive battles to reach the finals, watched this scene and unconsciously clenched his fists.
This was the opportunity he had been waiting for for a long time, his second chance.
This time, he absolutely had to be different.