"Ding-a-ling~"
The bell for class dismissal rang. Lin Shun, seated at his desk, closed his book and silently began to organize the notes he had taken in class. On the podium, the teacher hadn't even finished tidying their lecture materials when several restless students couldn't sit still any longer. Before the teacher had even left the classroom, they had already excitedly gathered together.
"Hey, did you hear? That 'Demon Prefect' apparently went crazy and was sent to a mental hospital."
"Tetsu Ushio? That's great news! When did this happen?"
"Just this morning by the tree at the school gate, Ushio was lying in a pile of fallen leaves and trash like a lunatic, mumbling 'money' non-stop. Lots of people saw it."
"And I heard, he very likely got messed up like this because he bullied someone he shouldn't have at school and was dealt with by people from outside."
Listening to the voices from behind, Lin Shun thought to himself: "He definitely bullied someone he shouldn't have, but the one who messed him up wasn't some gang from society. You absolutely wouldn't guess who it was."
Thinking this, Lin Shun turned his head and looked to the other side of the classroom. There sat a short, colorful-haired boy with a starfish-like hairstyle, who looked nothing like a high school student. At this moment, the starfish-haired boy was sitting opposite a blonde boy, holding several cards in his hand, seemingly playing some kind of card game.
"Alright, it's Joey's turn."
A boy with an unremarkable haircut, who clearly didn't know how to Duel, approached the two boys sitting opposite each other. He naturally extended his arm, draped his right hand over the blonde boy's shoulder, wrapping around his neck, and inserted himself into their game: "What are you playing, Joey?"
"Ugh." The blonde boy, whose neck was being pulled, used his free hand to push away the other boy's arm, then twisted his neck before triumphantly holding up the several cards in his hand to show them. "What? You don't even know this? It's Duel Monsters, of course!"
"What 'Duel Beasts'?"
The blonde boy quickly grew impatient after just a couple of sentences: "You're so annoying! Just stand aside and watch quietly. If I lose to Yugi this time, it'll all be your fault."
With that, the blonde boy pushed away the boy leaning on him and refocused his attention on the cards in his hand.
The boy who was pushed away didn't get angry over such a minor thing, indicating that his relationship with the blonde boy was quite good. Watching the two focused individuals, the boy scratched his head, a little puzzled. "Seriously, is this thing really that interesting? I don't see it at all."
Lin Shun, who had stood up to go to the bathroom, overheard the boy's mumbling. He turned his head to glance at his hairstyle and thought to himself: "It can't be helped, Tristan. Your hairstyle is just too ordinary. It's not even as wild as the unicorn from the Conan universe next door. It's not your fault you don't 'get' the fun of Dueling."
As Lin Shun walked out of the classroom, he could still hear the girl standing beside the boy (who had been pushed away by the blonde boy) speaking from inside the classroom: "What's called 'Duel Monsters' is a game where you Summon Monsters to the Field, then use Spell Cards for proper support to engage in offensive and defensive Battles against each other. It's a very popular and famous game!"
"And in the future, Dueling can even save the world, and not just once," Lin Shun added in his mind.
The name "Duel Monsters," though it sounded quite unfamiliar, became much more familiar when called something else: "Yu-Gi-Oh!"
Originally, this was just a fictional game that the author of a manga series devised because he had given his protagonist the ability to "excel at all sorts of games." There were many other similar games. But unexpectedly, as the manga serialization continued, many readers became particularly interested in "Duel Monsters," leading to a complete overhaul of the manga titled *Yu-Gi-Oh!'s* setting, with later chapters focusing entirely on the "Duel Monsters" game.
And so, the manga title *Yu-Gi-Oh!* became synonymous with this game.
After a day, Lin Shun had grudgingly accepted the fact that he hadn't been reborn through body snatching, but had Transmigrated into the Yu-Gi-Oh! World and become an ordinary student at Domino High School. Even his name had changed from "Lin Shun" to "Hayato".
What offered some comfort to Lin Shun — or rather, Hayato (from now on, only the name "Hayato" will be used) — in his mind was that his name from his previous life hadn't disappeared; it had merely been embedded into his new name.
Furthermore, Hayato's luck was quite good; his class happened to be the same class as the protagonist of *Yu-Gi-Oh!*, Yugi. The people in this class could be described as hidden talents:
The officially designated strongest (Shadow Realm) Duelist, Yugi;
Yugi's mind mentor and pseudo-heroine, Téa Gardner;
The genius inventor and heavily Duel-addicted secondary protagonist, Seto Kaiba;
Lv. Common Bone, the supreme Gambling King, and tertiary protagonist, Joey Wheeler;
The Great Evil God's human host, who appeared in the first episode and even survived until the very end as the final boss, Ryo Bakura;
And Tristan Taylor, who once famously beat up the aforementioned individual with his iron fist, Joey's best friend, and who wants to become his brother-in-law.
Now *that's* a luxury lineup!
His mind filled with random thoughts, Hayato finished relieving himself and walked out of the restroom, drying the water from his palms with a handkerchief.
Honestly, Hayato didn't have many complaints about Transmigrating into the Yu-Gi-Oh! World. In his previous life, his parents had passed away early, leaving no elders to care for, and he had never married. He hadn't left behind any other regrets.
At most, it was the regret of not waiting for GTA6, not getting to play with the pre-ordered Kamen Rider toys, and not having time to clean his D drive... The more he thought, the worse Hayato's expression became.
Change of pace, change of pace.
At least one thing was certain: while the Yu-Gi-Oh! World was dangerous, it was safer than those purely combat-focused anime series.
Even an ordinary person without the strength to tie a chicken could have a sliver of a chance to resist when facing an aggressor, although it was more likely they'd be taken out by someone's God Draw, Card Creation, or OTK. But at least it was better than going to worlds like *One Piece* or *Bleach* and being casually wiped out by wild pirates or Hollows, right?
After confirming that no one in the hallway was paying attention to his side, Hayato cautiously raised his hand and, with a seemingly casual motion, "tapped" the air in front of him with his finger.
A voice sounded in Hayato's ear: [Beep-beep, you rascal — Your Starter Pack has arrived!]
Almost simultaneously with the disappearance of the mysterious voice, Hayato felt his clothes pocket become heavier. Reaching his hand inside, he touched a square metal object.
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(This chapter is complete)
(end of chapter)