"Hello, dear viewers! You are watching the finals of the Moonlight Cup tournament. I'm commentator Kogashi."
"And I'm commentator Sasaki."
The tournament logo flashed across the TV broadcast, and the two commentators appeared onscreen for the pre-game warm-up.
"After several days of fierce battles, the tournament has finally reached its conclusion today. To be honest, this season's competition has surprised us," said Kogashi.
"Indeed," agreed Sasaki. "A legendary duelist, Rex Raptor, who had vanished for years, has returned to the arena. He bulldozed his way to the finals, which I don't think surprised anyone.
But I doubt anyone expected that the challenger in the finals would be someone completely absent from pre-tournament predictions—our No. 39, Fujiki Kira, a newcomer with no records whatsoever."
Kogashi nodded, "And as everyone's already heard, this duelist not only has zero tournament experience, but his duelist rank is only one star."
"Honestly, when I first saw the player list, I thought it was a typo," Sasaki added. "I was thinking, huh? A one-star duelist? Is this some kind of joke?
But I checked the system and, sure enough, it was true."
"Well, sometimes it happens," Kogashi said. "There have been cases where a player who never shows up in tournaments quietly trains for years and then bursts onto the scene, making a name for themselves in an instant."
"It's rare, but it does happen. We're lucky this year to witness a real dark horse rise. Maybe if this were a previous tournament, they might even have a shot at the championship. Too bad..."
Sasaki suddenly realized he was about to jinx things and stopped himself in time.
He took a deep breath. That was close! Professional commentators don't curse players or claim mystical influence over matches.
Even if his thoughts matched most people's...
No matter how much of a dark horse this kid is, is he going to instantly defeat a legendary duelist?
Running into someone like Rex Raptor at a small tournament like this is an extremely rare event. Usually, big-name duelists don't come to these lower-level events. He probably just wanted to test the waters after years away from the scene.
But for the Moonlight Cup, the appearance of such a big shot is like a dimensional reduction blow.
Though the newcomer is impressive and must have prepared to make a splash, he just had the bad luck to run into a pro.
It just goes to show, that besides skill, sometimes luck is important too.
"Alright, the match is counting down now. Both duelists should be in the pre-match prep phase," Kogashi said. "Will the dark horse go all the way, or will the legend return as king? Let's wait and see!"
Kira stood on stage, face to face with the legendary Rex Raptor, shuffling their decks.
Sure enough, the man before him didn't quite look like the short, underdeveloped character from the anime he remembered. Back then, Rex and his buddy Weevil were the shorties of the group, barely reaching his waist. Now, after the end of Duel Monsters, it seemed Rex had a growth spurt.
He could almost reach Kira's chin now.
Even though Rex had to look up to meet his gaze, his aura was undiminished, radiating the confidence of a top-tier duelist.
Kira was noting the differences between Rex and his anime self, but Rex, seeing Kira's look, seemed to have misunderstood and smiled graciously, "No need to be nervous. Just play as you usually do. No pressure—participation is what counts, just show your spirit."
Kira blinked, quickly realizing Rex thought he was feeling the pressure of facing a legend.
And what nonsense about participation is what counts—as if he's already lost.
But Kira just smiled and replied, "Thanks, but I'm fine. I was just remembering how, before I ever knew how to duel, I saw you battling in the Duelist Kingdom on TV..."
Rex's eyes lit up with pride, his back straightening. "Haha, so I was half a mentor to you?"
"Yeah, especially your ace, the 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon.' The legendary dragon of possibility—it left an indelible mark on my young heart," Kira said sincerely.
But Rex's face darkened.
Of all things, he had to mention that.
Red-Eyes Black Dragon had been his pride, but anyone who watched the Duelist Kingdom knows he lost it to the legendary gambler Joey Wheeler in the very first round.
No way Kira didn't know that—he was teasing, like saying, "Your wife is great—too bad she ran off with someone else."
Rex's face was stormy. He was probably already planning to teach this newbie a harsh lesson about the realities of high-level dueling.
"Oh, and I kept following your matches in Battle City, too."
Kira's eyes were so sincere, that even he was starting to believe it.
"Especially when you summoned 'Serpent Night Dragon' in Battle City. That was so cool."
Rex's face got even darker.
Now he was sure this punk was messing with his head. Serpent Night Dragon was his ace in Battle City, but he lost it in the first round too, to Esper Roba and his Jinzo.
It was like saying, "Your second wife was awesome too, but she ran off as well."
No, must keep calm.
Rex took a deep breath.
The higher the level, the more important your mentality. Even in pro leagues, trash talk is part of the game. Stay calm, don't get tilted before the match starts.
He'd show this kid what real dueling was all about.
"Duel!" x2
[Kira, LP 4000]
[Raptor, LP 4000]
Turn order was randomly given to Kira, who didn't hesitate to take the first move.
"I'll go first. Draw."
Kira drew three cards.
"I set a monster in the front row, and two cards in the back. End turn!"