Even after the Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning was banned, the so-called lesser Envoy barely took its place, and that year's world champion was still a Chaos build. Yugen wondered if getting his hands on the real Envoy might let him try building a championship-level Deck himself.
"Then wouldn't uncovering related ruins help new research?" a trainee asked in confusion.
"I don't really understand the details," Saito Ojisan replied. "But I heard from the research team that it doesn't help. The tablet found here only corresponds to the ritual monster Black Luster Soldier that was made into a card years ago."
"It seems there are no clues here about further evolution," he added. "That's what they said."
The ritual monster Black Luster Soldier was the original version Yugi Muto summoned during the Duelist Kingdom arc. With three thousand ATK and no effects, it carried the title of a legendary monster but had long fallen behind the current era.
"Here."
Yugen paused. He felt like someone had spoken right beside his ear, but when he turned around, there was no one there.
The other trainees were gathered in the opposite direction, excitedly discussing Black Luster Soldier and the former Duel King Yugi Muto. People moved around the hall, and no one stood where the voice came from. Was it just his imagination?
As he turned back, the voice sounded again. "Here."
Yugen looked once more, but the area was still empty. No one seemed capable of speaking to him like that. His gaze finally fixed on another excavated tablet nearby.
Unlike the Black Luster Soldier tablet surrounded by people, this one was completely blank. A plain slab of stone stood there in silence. For some reason, it felt like it was calling to him.
Almost without thinking, he walked closer and slowly raised his arm. It was as if an invisible force was guiding him forward.
At the same time, someone in the research camp shouted, "Leader!" A man in a white lab coat with the KC logo hurried over.
"What is it?" the team leader asked.
"The readings," the researcher said urgently. "Duel energy levels are suddenly spiking!"
The leader looked at the instruments and froze. "Is this a Spirit reaction? But these numbers… that's impossible."
They had detected no monster Spirit activity here before. Yet in a single moment, the readings skyrocketed like they had gone mad. If this really was a manifestation, the energy level was absurd.
"Isn't this on the level of 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon'?" the leader said in shock.
Ruins were discovered every year across the world and were nothing special anymore. But a Spirit on the level of Blue-Eyes White Dragon was extremely rare.
The instant Yugen's fingers touched the stone tablet, he felt a powerful pull. His feet left the ground before he could react, and his whole body was drawn in as if into a massive whirlpool. In the blink of an eye, he was being dragged toward another world.
As his awareness slowly returned, Yugen felt warm sunlight on his face, a light breeze, and a faint scent in the air. He opened his eyes and was briefly dazzled by the brightness, raising an arm on instinct to shield himself. Beneath him, his body seemed to be resting on damp grass.
When he tried to sit up, a hand supported his arm and helped pull him to his feet. He let out a small sound of surprise as he steadied himself. The sensation was strange but reassuring, as if someone had been watching over him the whole time.
Yugen turned his head to look, then snapped his gaze back in shock. Standing beside him was Silent Magician, her white robe fluttering softly, concern clear in her eyes as she examined him. She probably thought her master had hit his head.
The moment their eyes met, the girl startled as if shocked, quickly letting go and retreating a few steps. She lowered her head and clutched her staff, looking restless and unsure. At least she did not immediately run back into the Deck, which made Yugen feel that their relationship had improved a little.
Then something felt off. Yugen frowned and stepped forward, his expression turning serious as he stopped in front of Silent Magician. He reached out and gently pinched her cheek, pale as fresh snow.
It felt soft and warm, vivid enough to seem completely real. There was nothing ghostly about it at all. That made no sense.
Silent Magician stared at him in confusion, gripping her staff and clearly not understanding what her master was trying to do. She froze in place, caught between embarrassment and panic.
"So that is how it is. Spirit can be touched as solid matter," Yugen muttered. He lifted his head and began to look around at his surroundings. The scene around him slowly came into focus.
Threads of golden sunlight filtered through dense forest canopy and fell across the ground in broken patterns. Tall trees stood thick and straight, their branches and leaves spreading wide like enormous green umbrellas. Everything looked vivid and alive.
Normally, even though a Spirit could take physical form, maintaining it in the real world through Release was difficult and could not last long. Yet his own Spirit was shy by nature, and now she was neither returning to spiritual form nor hiding in the Deck. That left only one possibility.
"Am I in the Spirit World?" Yugen guessed aloud. Silent Magician nodded in confirmation. It really was the case.
He had made the guess so quickly because similar events existed in the original story. Yugi Muto and Yami Yugi had once been transported to the Spirit World and asked by Dark Magician Girl to defeat The Seal of Orichalcos and save that world. There was also the scene in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5DS where the young girl Luna went to the Spirit World to rescue Ancient Fairy Dragon.
"So the stone tablet in the ruins was a gateway to the Spirit World?" Yugen thought. The research team at the excavation site had not noticed anything unusual, which suggested the reaction only occurred when he approached it. He was certain that before being pulled in, he had heard a voice from the direction of the tablet calling to him.
Something had been summoning him. As he was thinking this through, a rustling sound suddenly came from the forest behind him. He turned around and saw several dark humanoid figures emerge from the bushes, each holding a spear-like weapon.
They looked like some kind of dark-skinned goblins. The one in front shrieked loudly and shouted, "Human!" For a brief moment, Yugen was surprised that he could understand a Spirit speaking.
He quickly remembered that in Yu-Gi-Oh!, the languages of different dimensions were generally shared with humans, so it was nothing special. He was also sure that the shout was a warning about an intruder, not a friendly greeting. Almost immediately, more cries answered from all directions.
A large group of dark figures rushed out together, spears raised as if they planned to turn him into tonight's meal. Genshin Yu was startled. These natives had no sense of fair play at all, jumping straight into a group attack without even giving him a chance to duel.
Silent Magician charged forward first, swinging her staff to release a ring of light that exploded and sent the leading goblins flying. Someone shouted, "Take down that magic guard first!" Instead of retreating, the goblins became even more aggressive.
Silent Magician pointed her staff again and again, magic blasts exploding across the field. The enemy numbers were overwhelming, and goblins with javelins and bows began appearing on both sides. These natives even had different unit types.
While continuing to cast spells, Silent Magician also had to watch over her master, putting her under heavy pressure. At that moment, Genshin Yu's thoughts raced, and an idea suddenly flashed through his mind. If this really was the Spirit World, where card power could manifest directly, then everything was different.