Seeing Mai Valentine's Life Points indeed reach zero, Hayato couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
Among all the Duels he had experienced so far, this one brought the highest level of tension; he nearly lost several times. Before this, whether it was a Duel with Yugi or with anyone else, even Weevil, or even a Duel with Dark Bakura, none had been as thrilling.
Although she hadn't placed in an official Match, Mai Valentine's strength didn't need such an achievement to prove itself. Even without having dueled them, Hayato could tell who was stronger between Weevil and Mai Valentine.
"I won, what an interesting Duel indeed~" With the Duel won, Hayato collected the Cards from the Duel Stage, a smile appearing on his face. The System's settlement popped up just in time. From this Duel, he earned 500 DP and was also lucky enough to get a Card drop—[Special Hurricane], which Mai Valentine had used in the Duel earlier.
While in this era, methods of Special Summon are still not abundant, lacking the richness and mainstream presence of later GX, 5Ds, Zexal, etc., this doesn't diminish the power of the [Special Hurricane] Card. Especially since it's a field-wide Destroy-type Card, similar to [Dark Hole] and [Torrential Tribute], it can not only be used to eliminate an opponent's Monsters but also to detonate one's own Monsters.
And looking at his Balance, which finally reached 11000 DP, Hayato accepted a long-standing Quest from the System before stepping off the Duel Stage. He hadn't had much confidence in completing that Quest before, but now that he had accumulated so many DP, if he used it all on buying Cards, Hayato was quite confident in completing that Quest.
Stepping off the Duel Stage, the first person to greet Hayato wasn't Bakura, who had been observing from the side for a long time, but the man in black who had refereed the outcome of the Duel. This Industrial Illusions employee held a new pair of gloves and respectfully approached Hayato, saying, "Mr. Hayato, congratulations on collecting ten Star Chips. Here are your new Duelist gloves."
Hayato didn't take them immediately. Instead, he asked with interest, "Oh, how did you know I intended to continue Dueling? You see, I've already collected ten Star Chips, so I have the qualification to enter Pegasus' Castle, don't I?"
"Lord Pegasus instructed me to give them to you. Lord Pegasus said that your ability to qualify for the top eight is beyond doubt, and that after winning enough Star Chips, you would certainly not waste the opportunity to Duel other Duelists."
"Though I'd love to see that Pegasus guy proven wrong, I have to admit, he really hit the nail on the head." Hayato still took the new gloves and removed his previous Star Chips from the old gloves. "I just embed them directly into these, right?"
The original seven Star Chips were embedded one by one into the gloves by Hayato. The old gloves were taken off. Just as Hayato was about to put on the new gloves, a hand reached out from the side. On the open palm lay three Star Chips and a green Spell Card.
Hayato turned his head to see Mai Valentine, her face filled with reluctance. Hayato offered a kind smile and accepted the Star Chips and the Card. He didn't say any words of thanks; these were the Stakes he had won, what he deserved. Rather, saying thanks would be looking down on Mai Valentine.
"That was a good Duel, wasn't it? Also, I'll make good use of this Card you gave me." Hayato raised the [Harpie's Feather Duster] in his hand and added it to his Deck. Although Hayato had quite a few random Spell and Trap Cards, he genuinely didn't have many that could clear the Field. This Card from Mai Valentine came at a very opportune moment.
"Just accepting the Stakes I lost." Seeing Hayato accept her Star Chips and the [Harpie's Feather Duster] she lost as Stakes, Mai Valentine sighed and looked down at her Dueling gloves. Before, they had eleven chips perfectly embedded, but now only eight remained, not even enough to complete a circle.
"Don't be discouraged, Miss Mai. I believe you can gather ten again soon." Hayato looked at his Dueling gloves, now with a complete circle of chips, feeling his compulsive tendencies greatly satisfied. "After all, only a few hours have passed since the Match began; there's still over a day left."
"I'm just annoyed that I lost to such a disgusting Monster." Mai Valentine glared at Hayato. If she had been finished off by majestic Monsters like [Gaia] or [Curse of Dragon] earlier, Mai Valentine wouldn't be this upset.
Anyone who's been subjected to a close-range Attack by disgusting [Ojama] Monsters, with their snot, tears, butts, and stubby legs, would find it hard to remain cheerful.
"They called us disgusting!" "Hateful woman!" On Hayato's shoulder, the newly joined [Ojama] Five clamored.
Feigning indifference, Hayato brushed the dust off his shoulder and flicked away the buzzing [Ojama] Five from his ear. He spread his hands helplessly. "Though those guys are noisy and disgusting, there's no denying they're actually a bit useful. If it weren't for the [Ojama] Monsters, I might not have been able to beat you, Miss Mai."
"Can I take that as sarcasm?" Mai Valentine was in a bad mood, finding everything displeasing, especially Hayato, who had won against her and still maintained such a nonchalant, victorious attitude.
"Don't misunderstand, I just wanted to continue asking a question." Hayato waved his hand, his expression serious. "Miss Mai, now can we talk about why you wanted to Duel me in the first place? Or, let me rephrase that,"
"What exactly are Duel Monsters to you?"
Mai Valentine paused slightly. She was about to answer that they were "a tool for wealth and prosperity" or "a means to earn money." But for some reason, she didn't want to say that. Subconsciously, she looked at the Deck in her hand.
After the Duel, while she was organizing her Cards, she hadn't placed her [Harpie Lady] Monsters at the front of her Deck. Instead, it was the [Harpie Lady] that had been Sent to the Graveyard by [Harpie's Feather Duster] in the previous Duel that was at the very front.
Looking at the delicate girl on the Card, Mai Valentine murmured, "I... I'm not sure."
Duel Monsters are tools. Money is reality. Greater power is everything.
Wanting to Duel powerful Duelists like Hayato, Yugi, and Kaiba, it was all born from her own desire for money.
For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to say these words.
Hayato hinted, "If you're feeling lost, I have a small suggestion. As for Duel Monsters, besides the person who invented them, probably only the strongest person truly understands them, right?"
(end of chapter)