The real reason Hayato handed Man-Eater Bug to Yugi was naturally not what he told Yugi. That was merely a pretense to make him accept it. This story begins with Hayato's purchase of a Custom Booster Pack, a decision he still regretted to this day.
In the description of that Booster Pack, it was clearly stated that all the cards in the box were supplementary cards that could be added to Hayato's existing card pool, and there was a guaranteed minimum of 1 UR, 3 SR-rank rare cards, with all 100 booster packs also having an R-rank guarantee.
In other words, no matter how bad Hayato's luck was, he would at least open 100 R-rank cards, 3 SR-rank cards, and one UR, and they would all be cards that could be added to his own card pool, so he wouldn't end up playing a Harpie Deck but opening a bunch of Black Luster Soldier support cards.
Hayato originally thought the same, but what he never expected was that the very feature he valued most—"supplementary cards based on the current card pool"—actually turned out to be the biggest pitfall. This was because the booster pack's basis wasn't his "Deck," but his entire card pool.
When he bought the booster pack, the most abundant cards in Hayato's Deck were Warrior-Type monsters, followed by four Dragon-Type monsters and Ojama Trio, and the most common monster attribute was EARTH.
Therefore, the first booster pack Hayato opened yielded an extremely powerful SR-rank card—Grandsoil the Elemental Lord.
Grandsoil the Elemental Lord [Level 8 / EARTH Attribute] [Beast-Warrior / Effect] [ATK/2800 DEF/2200]
Although this monster boasts impressive stats, it comes with restrictions: "Cannot be Normal Summoned," and "Can only be Special Summoned when there are exactly 5 EARTH Attribute monsters in your Graveyard." Furthermore, after leaving the field, it has the negative effect to "skip your next Battle Phase." However, its first effect is powerful enough to compensate—
It allows you to Special Summon one monster from either player's Graveyard to your field, essentially a monster effect version of Monster Reborn.
Drawing such a card, and it being a lucky start, Hayato was naturally quite happy. But starting with the very next booster pack, the smile on his face vanished.
He opened thirty booster packs consecutively, and without exception, all the guaranteed R-rank cards inside were EARTH Attribute Normal Monsters, ranging from Insect-Type, Warrior-Type, to Machine-Type, Rock-Type, and even a few Dragon-Type.
The only thing that brought Hayato some relief was that in the thirty-first pack, a card he had set his sights on earlier finally appeared—Gaia the Dragon Champion.
Although it was just a Normal Fusion Monster, this was Hayato's first Fusion Monster Card to date, and it was also a Dragon-Type monster. The Dragon's Mirror that had been gathering dust in his inventory for a long time finally found its purpose.
Subsequent booster packs followed a pattern of one good, one bad. In the end, from the pile of cards Hayato opened, he recycled about fifty, recovering only 500 DP. However, the remaining cards weren't all useless. The Megamorph Hayato had used before, and the Man-Eater Bug he gave to Yugi, were the two UR cards he opened.
Although Hayato opened two UR cards despite only being guaranteed one, the number of SR cards was exactly ten—no more, no less. Besides Gaia the Dragon Champion and Grandsoil the Elemental Lord, there were also several generic support cards for Warrior-Type monsters, and an Ojama Country that could be used in an Ojama Deck. It's worth mentioning that the System also classified the Polymerization Spell Card as SR-rank, and Hayato opened one this time.
When Hayato opened his fortieth booster pack, he remembered he still had a quest to "collect R-rank or higher cards." After claiming the 1000 DP reward, the quest refreshed, and a new quest appeared—
[This Guy Wants to Go to Your Side]
Gift another person a Card of UR Rarity or higher
Reward: 1000 DP, one random Kuriboh series card.
After claiming the reward for completing this quest from the System, Hayato didn't check which Kuriboh card he had randomly received. After confirming his DP had returned to 4500 points, he looked at the figure on the television.
"So, shall we continue the topic we were discussing before, Mr. Pegasus? What do you think of my previous suggestions?" He swirled the glass of soda in his hand as if it were a wine glass, but after realizing this action would only make the bubbles escape faster, he immediately put the glass back down.
"Oh Hayato-boy~, truly, I am simply amazed by the novel ideas in your mind." Even though what was playing on Hayato's television was merely a prerecorded videotape, Pegasus in the video spoke with Hayato as if it were a live video call. "Continuous Spell Cards, Equip Spell Cards, Field Spell Cards, and Quick-Play Spell Cards that demonstrate Spell Speeds."
"What amazes me the most is the 'Trap Card' you conceived! I always felt that Duel Monsters was missing something, and that was the existence of Traps! The ability to interfere with an opponent and counter their interference—the introduction of Traps will make Duel Monsters even more tactical, truly splendid!"
"However, realizing these ideas requires more than just concepts. On one hand, I am incredibly excited by your novel ideas, Hayato-boy, but on the other hand, I am racking my brain for inspiration to design Trap Cards. It's truly perplexing~"
As he spoke, Pegasus in the video feigned a headache, clutching his head dramatically.
"Although the initial work is tough, thinking about how much more interesting Duel Monsters will become, I'm sure you, Mr. Pegasus, are also looking forward to what the future holds, aren't you?" Hayato said with a smile. "As for designing cards? I wouldn't doubt your title as the 'Father of Duel Monsters' for a second."
"Chatting with you truly is an interesting experience, Hayato-boy~" Pegasus in the video smiled elegantly. "Originally, I only sent this gift out of curiosity, but I never expected to stumble upon such a huge surprise. Are you interested in joining Industrial Illusions? I can offer you a high salary~"
"Although I'd really like to accept, my interest lies more in using cards than designing them. Besides, I only came up with these few ideas after researching Duel Monsters for a long time. Even if you tempt me with a high salary, I don't have any more 'juice' left to squeeze out, Mr. Pegasus."
"Providing me with such brilliant ideas for free, it's clear you're also someone who truly loves the game, Hayato-boy~" Pegasus looked at Hayato, nodding with satisfaction. "Do you have any wishes you'd like to fulfill? My Industrial Illusions still has considerable financial power, you know?"
Hayato smiled. "Mr. Pegasus, you're truly amazing, almost as if you have the ability of mind-reading. I actually happen to have one favor I'd like to ask."
"I heard from someone I know that you have a 'Duelist Kingdom' project, don't you?"
PS: Because I wrote too smoothly, I naturally forgot to write the post-Duel settlement after the escaped convict's Duel. He got 2000 DP but didn't use the double reward, so just assume I wrote it, hehe.
PPS: The recommendation votes rose again early this morning. Although I don't know why, despite it clearly being a derivative fanfiction, it's categorized as 'transformation/body swap'?
Finally, please recommend.
(end of chapter)