Out of curiosity, Genshin Yu walked closer and listened for a while, gradually piecing together what had happened. In short, the master was unhappy that Duel Dojo had become a place where gloomy behavior spread everywhere, and the students had started to take pleasure in dragging others down with them. At first that was all, but soon they realized that when everyone around them was the same, the fun dropped fast.
Because of that, they shifted their targets to the nearby Duel arenas. Rumors began spreading through several surrounding arenas about the silent school of Duel Dojo. People said that every Duelist from there was a messenger from hell, taking joy in pulling all opponents they faced into the abyss, win or lose, as long as the other side could not play like Yugi Muto.
Even worse, this trend spread like a sickness wherever they went. Hall Master Takeuchi probably never imagined that one day the silent style would truly flourish, but not in the way he had hoped. Instead, it was "using Duel to beat the other side into silence."
By now, the build Yugen had used in the Moonlight Cup had been fully analyzed by the students of Duel Dojo. At this point, nearly everyone there had stuffed their Deck with cards like Solemn Judgment, Bottomless Trap Hole, Torrential Tribute, and the three hand destruction staples. It was pure homework copying.
Of course, Yugen had expected this sooner or later. Right now he was still a nobody, at most someone who had caused a small upset by beating Rex Raptor in a local amateur cup, so only people around him bothered to study his build. If one day he became famous like Yugi Muto or Seto Kaiba, countless people would dissect his Deck, with some looking for counters and others copying it outright.
After so many recent Duel and research sessions, and with a deeper understanding of the anime environment, Yugen had started to realize something. In this world, a Duelist's Deck was not strong just because its construction was strong on paper. The early GX example made this clear.
Back then, a Slifer Red student stole Yugi Muto's Deck and dueled Judai Yuki, only to be completely crushed. Later, both Judai Yuki and Kaiser Ryo explained the reason in their own ways. According to Kaiser, a Duelist must use a Deck built by their own hands and filled with their feelings, or it would not respond to them with its full power.
Using someone else's Deck in a Duel meant that no matter how closely you copied the tactics, it was never truly yours. Because of that, you could not win important duels. Yugen understood this as copying homework lowering a Duelist's own "fate power."
You might copy a stronger Deck, but your bricks would increase and your miracle draws would drop. In the end, it might not improve your true strength at all. That was why anime duels often chased "soul," not just for style, but because lacking it made you more likely to lose against experts.
These thoughts had been on Yugen's mind for the past two days. Ideally, he wanted to keep a competitive mindset, using pressure tactics and even mental disruption, while also finding ways to bring out the advantages of Spirit. In other words, he wanted a balance between competition and soul.
That balance mattered in fights between top players. For the level of the students at Duel Dojo, though, he felt that copying homework and winning duels was not such a bad thing. From his observation, their fate power was average at best, and most of them lacked the talent to make big progress over a lifetime.
Switching to a stronger build, however, really did raise their win rates in a visible way. Over the last couple of days, the brothers who copied the build had decent results in the arenas. The only downside was that it hurt Duel Dojo's reputation.
"All of us Duelist should believe in our own Deck!" Hall Master Takeuchi shouted as he scolded the students. "A Deck built with your own heart is unique to each person."
Even though he spoke with righteous force, one student could not help but whisper while poking his head up. "But Master, I saw you accept a 'Confiscation' the other day, and three days ago you took a 'Prankish Delinquent Duo.'"
Hall Master Takeuchi fell silent. He pondered for several seconds, then put his hands on his hips and lifted his chin. "That just means I happened to think the same as student Yugen. Strong Duelist naturally make similar card choices. That's perfectly normal."
The students said nothing.
Yugen got up very early the next day.
He took the already packed Luggage, several models of Duel Disk, multiple completed Deck, and a backup side Deck that had expanded to over a hundred cards. After checking everything one last time, he headed out with a calm pace. There was nothing left to prepare.
He boarded the freshman-only plane specially sent by Duel Academy and flew toward the legendary destination for new students, the island where Duel Academy was located.
It had to be said that the Duel Academy funded by Seto Kaiba was truly extravagant. The island was enormous, so large that in the second year of the anime, when Judai Yuki returned with the Neos Deck, he got lost on Duel Academy Island for several days without finding the school. Looking across the entire series, the island also hid ancient Ruins, secret research facilities, and many other structures.
Even though it was called a school, it clearly covered an area at least the size of a small town.
As the plane approached, Yugen looked through the window at the isolated island below. From above, he took in the shape of the island, the dense green forest, and the massive volcanic crater at the rear, all of which felt strangely familiar. It was as if he had seen this view somewhere else before.
A spark of realization flashed through Yugen's mind.
Wait a second, this aerial view looked a bit like Fire King Island.
Fire King Island was a core Field Spell from a Fire King Deck, but it should not have existed in the GX anime. He had never noticed it before, and only now, personally arriving above Duel Academy, did he realize how similar the island was to the card artwork. The resemblance was almost complete.
It was probably just a coincidence, right?
At nine in the morning, the freshmen gathered in the auditorium to attend the opening ceremony and listen to Principal Samejima's speech.
"Welcome, all you elite Duel duelists."
Principal Samejima stood at the podium, smiling into the microphone.
"You have all opened a very narrow door through your own strength to arrive here."
"Hrnnng… hrnnng…"
Snoring from the front rows drew a wave of sideways glances from nearby students.
Without even looking, Yugen could guess it was Judai Yuki. By the time the principal finished his second sentence, that student was already asleep. To be fair, Yugen genuinely admired this talent.
All freshmen were standing in front of the stage, and Judai Yuki was even positioned close to the front. Ignoring the pressure of facing school leadership and the loud speakers was one thing, but falling asleep while standing was truly a unique skill.
Thump.
This time Judai Yuki seemed to mess up and tilted sideways, falling to the floor with a loud noise. The commotion caught everyone's attention.
Professor Chronos de Medici behind him could not stand it anymore. "The principal is speaking, you know. Are you calcium deficient or something, you failing student?"
"Oh, sorry, sorry." Judai Yuki sat up, grinning as he scratched his head. "Just a tiny mistake."
Professor Chronos de Medici's old face flushed red, going from Pot of Greed straight into something even angrier. Sleeping during the principal's speech was bad enough, but calling it a mistake instead of apologizing properly was even worse.
Just as he was about to explode, Principal Samejima spoke again with a smile. "Well, it is the first day. Don't be angry, Professor Chronos de Medici-sensei. The students have traveled a long way, so some fatigue is understandable."
With that, Professor Chronos de Medici had no choice but to swallow his anger for now.