Upon seeing the results produced by Yugen's newly established small laboratory, Daidoji, who usually maintained an impeccable calm and composed demeanor, almost fell into silent disbelief.
He wanted to say, this is a bit too... well, you know.
"Teacher, would you kindly check if there was any mishandling in our research work?" Yugen politely inquired, "Please guide us."
Daidoji: "..."
Guide you? About what?
My suggestion is that the principal might consider shutting down the research department of the Academy, and you all should start working today.
People always say, living long enough to see everything, and Daidoji thought to himself he had never seen such an unusual situation in his long life.
Mitsuzawa and Asuka actually found it a bit strange why Yugen invited Daidoji to be the main guiding teacher. After all, in their eyes, he was just idling around, but out of respect for the teacher, they did not voice their thoughts.
However, considering Yugen's behavior so far, whatever he said or did clearly had its reasoning. Many times, his actions initially seemed unconventional and somewhat unreasonable to the Duelists, but the end result often proved he had his own logic.
Slowly growing accustomed to his ways, they accepted this setting, including during research when Yugen often proposed commands that they might initially find incomprehensible, yet they would follow through, and generally, Yugen would be right.
Daidoji pondered for a moment and said, "I actually have a suggestion."
He then picked up the chubby Pharaoh King and started petting it as he spoke.
"I have a friend who has also made considerable accomplishments in card creation, and has quite a few connections." Daidoji coughed.
Yugen nodded listening, not bothering to delve into whether this friend was his own problem.
"In any case, it seems that recently, the International Illusion Association is hosting an academic event, something like a conference?" Daidoji slapped his forehead, "Oh well, there's just this event.
If we can present our results at that conference, we could gain sponsorship from the International Illusion Association, and apparently even capture the attention of the Father of Duel Monsters, Mr. Beckas.
Although the registration deadline for the conference had long passed, my friend knows some people in the International Illusion Association. If we ask them, participating now shouldn't be too late..."
"I see." Yugen pondered.
Securing sponsorship from both the International Illusion Association and Kaiba Company is quite beneficial; participating in a public conference can also expand the influence of their laboratory, facilitating more manpower resources to improve development efficiency.
Yugen considered that he was somewhat familiar with the International Illusion Association, and perhaps there would be more opportunities to visit their warehouse in the future...
"Then thank you, Teacher."
Mitsuzawa and Asuka suddenly found the situation a bit surreal.
No matter how you look at it, they're just students who haven't been at the Academy for long; who would have thought they'd suddenly be attending events in the academic circles? And they actually had quite a few accomplishments in their hands...
Meanwhile, the trio of Digital Angels, "Benten", "Vajra Heaven", and "Tujini" from Asuka's animation had already been strengthened from animation to physical cards.
Asuka viewed this as an astounding achievement she hadn't imagined before, but Yugen thought it was merely the beginning.
The enhancement from animation cards to physical cards was just the first step in development; he continued to guide Asuka to expand her horizons.
"I feel our thinking has become a bit fixed," Yugen said, "Including current mainstream research, all viewing Digital Angels as representatives of strong offensive ritual types."
Asuka doubted, "Isn't that right?"
As the master of the Digital Angels, she should be the one with the most authority, yet after following Yugen in research for a while, she no longer felt confident about it.
"It is, and it isn't. Digital Angels excel at strong offensives, but precisely because of this, their potential has been overlooked." Yugen said, "Recently, I discovered a new approach,
Digital Angels' new Ritual Monsters need not possess auxiliary unfolding or offensive-type capabilities; I believe Digital Angels have untapped potential in defense capabilities that everyone has neglected thus far..."
Indeed, he referred to "Electronic Angel - Nasadiya".
A Level 5 Digital Angel Ritual Monster, with only a thousand points in attack and defense; the three effects it possesses are defensive compared to other Digital Angels.
The first effect allows the player to select a monster on their field, restoring Life Points equal to half the monster's Attack Power.
The second effect negates attacks against Ritual Monsters on the player's field.
The third effect is crucial. While this card is in the Graveyard, by banishing other "Digital Angels" from the Graveyard, it can be Special Summoned, and even gain control of an opponent's monster on the field.
Compared to fighting, Yugen found such Minotaur effects more intriguing. Unfortunately, nobody seemed to consider this direction for the enhancement of this card deck at all now.
Yet he looked up to Asuka. Though Asuka's Destiny Power was far lesser compared to Judai's, who can summon at will based on the atmosphere in battles, it still stood out compared to ordinary people.
Giving her a hint, pointing a direction, who knows, maybe something surprising will be summoned?
When the world sees a Digital Angel with a quirky style compared to the past, they'll surely feel delighted.
...
...
Duel Academy, at night.
An unknown room, seemingly a forgotten corner of the Academy. Flickering candlelight swayed as if controlled by invisible forces, resembling a restless eye peering at everything.
In the dim candlelight, three figures in white robes sat around an old wooden table, their hood's shadows concealed most of their faces, the robes shimmering eerily in the dark.
Their movements were slow and solemn, as though conducting some ancient ritual, operating on the table...
... a Spirit Summoning Disc?
Indeed, it resembled the Yu-Gi-Oh! Card "Spirit Summoning Disc" used by Bakura during a Duel City showdown. When the five letters "DEATH" are assembled on the field, a rule victory is declared.
However, what the three figures were manipulating now wasn't the holographic projection of the Spirit Summoning Disc, but rather what appeared as a physical object modeled after the card.
This was a spirit summoning ritual.
"Great Artificial Human, if you can hear our devout calling... Please appear here!"
An icy wind blew through the cracks in the window. The candlelight flickered violently, then suddenly extinguished, and the three white-robed silhouettes weirdly swayed and were quickly engulfed by darkness.
Within the shadowy darkness, a pair of dark red eyes lit up.
Eyes full of greed and hunger.