Chapter 1. Master Duel Video Link! The Shocked Veterans!
"Whew!"
"So it really isn't easy to get into KONAMI."
"Do I need better card-design talent and wilder ideas?"
"..."
Sei Yuki took a deep breath and stared blankly at the text message on his phone informing him that he had failed the interview.
Faced with an outcome like this,
he was already used to it.
He hadn't graduated from a prestigious university,
so he basically had no chance of getting into KONAMI.
If not for his love of Yu-Gi-Oh!,
he wouldn't even have thought about sending a résumé to KONAMI.
"'Ideas'? As in card-design ideas?"
"And they still want work experience."
"Give me a break—aren't I trying to find a job precisely because I don't have work experience?"
"And your platform even labels it as 'for fresh grads.'"
"So why are you saying you don't want that now?"
"Finding a job these days is really tough."
"..."
After reading the entire message, Sei Yuki muttered a complaint.
Bored,
he was just about to lock his phone when a strange pop-up appeared.
Right after that, a system notification sound chimed from the phone.
[Ding! Congratulations, you've received a closed-beta slot for the Yu-Gi-Oh! MASTER DUEL app!]
[Join now—just finish watching one short video to receive a mysterious reward!]
[Tap the link to download and participate!]
[....]
MASTER DUEL?
A new KONAMI video app?
Weren't Yu-Gi-Oh! DUEL LINKS and MASTER DUEL already making enough money for them?
They rolled out a new one?
Looking at the pop-up, Sei Yuki grumbled inwardly,
but still, as if bewitched, tapped the link.
Thirty seconds later, the software finished installing.
When he opened it, the feed was wall-to-wall Duel videos related to Yu-Gi-Oh!.
[He'll never guess what I'm playing next!]
[There's a limit to 'printing' cards! So I'm going to surpass the limit!]
[Opening hand: 5 Eldlich—who else can do that?]
[You said "Fusion," right? Then I must "Super Polymerization" right now!]
[....]
Already a diehard Yu-Gi-Oh! fan,
Sei Yuki quickly got hooked and started scrolling.
.....
Meanwhile, virtual data across every Duel world began to link.
The DM world and the GX world!
The 5D's world and the ZEXAL world!
The ARC-V world and more—everything connected successfully!
Accompanied by an electronic chime,
virtual screens appeared in the skies over every Duel city.
Other large broadcast displays also began to show images and sound.
...
DM world.
During the KC stage, Duelists all noticed something wrong with the KC ranking screen.
The display was no longer showing each Duelist's points and live rankings.
Instead, it was Duel footage they had never seen before.
What they could be sure of was
that these Duels didn't belong to any of them.
"What is going on! Roland!"
"Roland, handle the emergency—now!"
"Why is the KC broadcast playing unknown Duel footage?"
Seto Kaiba's face was already etched with fury.
He had finally put on a large-scale tournament,
only for a fiasco like this to happen.
"President Kaiba! I can't resolve it!"
"It seems to be code and safeguards beyond our time....."
Roland's answer made Seto Kaiba's face go pale.
Code beyond their time?
What was that supposed to mean?
Looking back at the Duel screen,
cards he had never seen before flashed by one after another.
Seto Kaiba stared, dumbstruck, as the cards scrolled past.
Yugi Muto, Joey Wheeler, Téa Gardner, Mai Valentine, and the others likewise watched in shock as the footage played.
...
GX world.
Jaden Yuki's graduation ceremony had just ended.
The giant screen that was supposed to play a recap of Jaden's three years at Duel Academy suddenly showed footage of other Duels instead.
The sudden turn of events left Chancellor Sheppard, Dr. Vellian Crowler, and the others dumbfounded.
"Mamma mia, Chancellor Sheppard!"
"What is happening!"
"What are those Duel clips supposed to be!"
Dr. Vellian Crowler was the first to shout his questions.
The commotion
immediately drew the eyes of the students about to graduate and those who already had.
"'Immediately Super Polymerization'?"
"You're mixing Destiny HERO into Elemental HERO?"
"Who taught him to play like that?"
Jaden Yuki stared, utterly baffled, at the flashes of Duel footage on the big screen.
The shorts were playing incredibly fast,
but Jaden—and Yubel within him—still caught the text overlays in the video.
"Interesting."
"Teaching HERO to play 'degenerate'?"
"A pro-player Duel VOD?"
Aster Phoenix watched the footage with a cold smile,
his mind also stirring, clearly thinking about something else.
"Cyber Angel splashing Drytron?"
"What does that even mean? Why can't I follow this?"
Already long graduated, Alexis Rhodes pressed her lips together in a daze,
full of curiosity about these short Duel videos.
Syrus Truesdale, Zane Truesdale, Bastion Misawa, Jesse Anderson, and the others all adopted serious expressions as they watched the Duel shorts before them.
Not just because they were curious,
but because the shorts were packed with unknown combo lines and card information.
...
[Endless Blue-Eyes White Dragon Fusion into Xyz stacking, "Dark Magician" Ritual-Fusion into "Red-Eyes" Dragon Magician]
Yugi Muto: "The plays in this video are even more outrageous than me 'printing' cards?"
Seto Kaiba: "Blue-Eyes Synchro with 'Galaxy-Eyes' Xyz? What is there that I haven't seen yet?"
[HERO blowout into Link then 'Destiny HERO - Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer'; Cyber Dragon 'wheelchair' struggles into Fusion]
Jaden Yuki: "Cross-attribute HERO mix-ups and you even drop Obelisk the Tormentor? And what on earth is 'Tearlaments Elegy' supposed to be?"
Zane Truesdale: "Cyber Dragon Infinity? So you're all the heads of the 'Cyber' school now?"
[Stardust Accel—surpass-the-limit Synchro; Utopia's secret art—transform and finish with one slash]
Sei Yuki: "So all my Synchros were fake Synchros? This video is the true speed-of-light breakthrough?"
Yuma Tsukumo: "Exorsister, ..."
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