The task location is still some distance from Dream Card Shop. Youyu passed through most of the city area and returned to the card shop; it was already close to two in the morning.
To his surprise, the shop was still lit at this hour.
The entire street was in a deep slumber, the lights along the street extinguished, and there wasn't a single shadow on the road. Only the corner shop remained bright with incandescent light, like a lighthouse on an endless ocean under the night sky, guiding passing ships.
Youyu pushed open the glass door and walked in; Chinai was still dressed in her maid outfit, sitting behind the counter.
In front of her was an open magazine; her right hand was supporting her cheek, looking half-asleep, her small silver head nodding like performing the long-lost "Nodding Mastery."
Youyu remembered mastering that skill during his student days, especially during advanced math classes. Back then, he could meditate and nap, maintaining his posture, occasionally nodding slightly as if comprehending the lecturer's content...
Enough of that, those are all past; a hero doesn't boast of past glories.
Chinai suddenly woke up as he pushed the door open, sitting upright in a daze: "Wel... Welcome."
Then she realized that it's late at night.
"Why aren't you asleep at such a late hour?" Youyu asked, closing the door behind him.
Chinai rolled her eyes at him.
You wonder why I'm not asleep now?
Isn't it because someone went out in the middle of the night with a strange man, leaving me worried?
Lately, there's a saying...
Lonely men, something's bound to go wrong!
Meaning when two men are alone, one is bound to suffer!
"Where's that man?" she asked.
Youyu knew she meant Xue Lang and shrugged: "He had an urgent matter and left first. He'll probably be back in a few days."
Once the game's officially launched in half a month, he'll definitely be back.
"Alright, it's late today; go get some sleep. We can talk tomorrow," said Youyu.
"...Okay."
...
After a simple wash-up, Youyu returned to his bed, lying sprawled.
Dueling with Mr. T is not like ordinary duels; after such a match, his endurance meter was almost depleted.
Though his stamina has improved significantly since he traversed, it still seems insufficient. Otherwise, at this development rate, he might get drained easily in the future...
Ahem, what am I thinking? I'm talking about gambling with cards; definitely needs more physical training, which is beneficial.
...Absolutely has nothing to do with the beautiful female spirit he just brought back!
Speaking of this, this new spirit is currently floating in the room in a near "spirit body" state, looking around curiously.
"Is this where you live, Master?" She blinked, "Seems a bit smaller than I imagined."
Youyu: "..."
Sorry for living poorly and unable to afford a house.
Now that he has some free time, Youyu suddenly realized some issues.
Having a spirit companion is definitely a good thing; it means he possesses extraordinary combat power in this world besides playing cards.
Moreover, it's well-known that having a spirit is also a mark of a strong player in Yu-Gi-Oh World. Throughout Yu-Gi-Oh's history, characters with spirits are top duelists, always drawing the right cards at the right time.
(In Yu-Gi-Oh, spirits typically refer to spiritual entities sharing the protagonist's body, like Pharaoh's Dark Yugi within Muto Yugi, Spirit Yubel within Yuki Judai.)
With "You" in his name and a spirit companion, Youyu felt he's only one step away from invincibility, needing just a sea creature hairstyle like Yugi...
However, a problem he never realized while watching the anime is that having a spirit around can sometimes be troublesome.
For example, when going to the bathroom, taking a shower, or browsing educational materials and releasing excess protein on the computer...
Youyu suddenly wondered how Muto Yugi handled these issues, or have Yugi and the King reached a level of openness and candor together over time? If that's the case, he could only express admiration.
But Youyu thinks...
He turned his head, glancing at the Dark Magician Girl leaning on the windowsill watching the night view.
...This is still a bit too stimulating.
In the past, players presumably didn't face such issues. After all, players are just mission and card-playing machines in the game, with no need to eat or have any demands. Even with a spirit companion, such problems don't exist.
Youyu felt he might have many things to gradually adapt to in the future.
"By the way, Master!"
The Dark Magician Girl floated back from the windowsill with an earnest expression, seemingly recalling something suddenly.
"Although that enemy was defeated, the matter isn't over yet."
As expected.
Youyu perked up. Before fading away, Mr. T mentioned "Darkness has infiltrated the human world," indicating a hidden side quest with a continuation, according to his gamer instincts.
"I was going to ask." He said, "What's the origin of that guy?"
Dark Magician Girl shook her head: "Exactly I'm not sure, but I think... it's probably malice from another dimension, a manifestation of pure dark energy.
It harnesses human's inner darkness to grow stronger, becoming powerful through devouring.
Its true form is likely very weak, sending subordinates like the one earlier to the human world to gather sustenance.
If left unchecked, it'll devour more duelists and become too strong! By then, no one may be able to stop it!"
Youyu nodded to indicate understanding.
Concerning Darkness's origin, someone who's watched GX and played later versions of Linked World knows possibly even more. Linked World's storyline eventually involves confronting Darkness, but that's in GX's timeline, far from now.
"So we need to find all of its avatars infiltrating reality and eliminate them quickly, right?"
"Yes!" Dark Magician Girl nodded forcefully.
As expected, at this point Youyu's task interface updated again.
"Task: With Dark Magician Girl's assistance, locate other Mr. T's within Domino City and defeat them one by one!
Task reward: Unknown."
As with the previous "Challenge of Ghouls" series, it's a chain task!
For players, tasks involving Darkness Games and supernatural powers are advanced ones, not every player can trigger them.
The reward for these tasks, typically high risk and high reward, is also the most generous.
Like this time, after defeating Mr. T, Youyu directly received the spirit of the Dark Magician Girl.
However, speaking of which, if the original player triggering this task, Xue Lang, hadn't come to find him, he might not have had this opportunity.
Moreover, Xue Lang was forcefully logged out at the last minute, unable to gain any task experience...
Hmm...
Youyu decided next time when he returns, he would give him some benefit as thanks.
For instance, offering him a 50% OFF discount at the private shop.
Xue Lang would surely be touched then... probably.