<<<[New Fanfic Poll Start!! These Are The Contestants!!]>>>
[One Piece: Since I Can't Be A Celestial Dragon, Then A Villain It Is!]
[Shokugeki: Starting With The Dark Cooking Society Legacy]
[Yu-Gi-Oh!: Undefeated and Ultra-Meta!]
<<<[How To Make Your Favorite Fanfic Win!?]>>>
[Most Power Stones = 1 Point]
[Most Reviews = 1 Point]
[Most Votes On Poll = 1 Point]
<(The Poll Is On P@tr3on! For Free To Everybody!! And It Will Only Last A Few Days!!)>
===========
"Battle!"
"Dark Magician, direct attack!"
Dark Magician vaulted high, the green staff leveled. A transparent vortex coiled at the tip—then the surge of magic pierced straight through the opposing duelist.
Student A: "Uwaaahhh!!!"
[Student A: LP 2000 → 0]
Gasps rippled through the onlookers.
"So strong! As expected of Yusaku–kōhai. That's the fifth duel, right? Every time he goes second, it's an OTK!"
"How can there be such a gap when we're from the same dojo!"
"Too strong. I don't think we'll be bottom at the Ranking Battle this time!"
"…"
After the last fight, Yusaku exhaled and stepped down from the plaza platform.
With the dojo tournament tomorrow, the master suggested everyone challenge Yusaku—both to get stronger and to have him spot weaknesses in their lists.
Since dueling gives EXP, Yusaku didn't refuse. Hence the scene just now.
"Um… Yusaku–senpai." A slightly baby-faced girl shuffled up, a little shy. "Is there anything lacking in my deck?"
"Hmm, let me think." Yusaku twisted open a water bottle, took a sip, and considered. "You're running a few too many monsters. Trim the count and add some Traps that actually remove threats."
"Okay—thank you, Yusaku–senpai!" She bowed and trotted off.
"And me, Yusaku–senpai—any upgrades for my build?"
"…"
After helping the last guy, Yusaku let out a breath.
"Tiring. Good thing I didn't agree to be 'big brother'—I'd die of exhaustion. With yesterday afternoon and this morning's duels, EXP should be enough for Level 5."
He called up the system panel.
Name: Yusaku.
Class: ?
Level: LV 5
EXP: (100/500)
Before Level 10, each level needs 500 EXP; after Level 10, it's 1000.
As he leveled, his Stamina rose from 45 to 50.
Likely a hard threshold every ten points—at 50, he no longer felt that initial fatigue when Summoning Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon.
He could now duel five times a day instead of three.
The level-ups also came with a decent pile of Crystals.
Players get 300 Crystals per level. With that and quest rewards, he had 2100 Crystals—enough for 21 packs.
Class was still a question mark, but he figured he was basically an NPC with a player panel.
…
…
The player with the ID "Candle-in-the-Wind" opened his eyes and found himself in a shabby alley.
He scratched his head. "So I'm in-game? Why does it feel like the real world?"
Seeing the Duel Disk on his arm, he finally accepted it—no such thing IRL.
"Holy—this is really the game!"
He grabbed his own cheeks and kneaded hard.
"Hiss—this tactile feel! It's like a real face. Way too realistic!"
"Uh… if you're going to rub a face, please rub your own. Otherwise it feels kinda gay."
Candle-in-the-Wind froze and let go fast. The guy in front of him was also a player, ID "Joy-of-Fire."
"Er… Bro, you spawned here too?"
"Mm."
Joy-of-Fire nodded. "First time in the closed beta, yeah?"
"Yeah," Candle-in-the-Wind said quickly. "You must've been in the last two tests—could you carry me, aniki?"
The "aniki" flattered Joy-of-Fire nicely. He glanced around and lowered his voice.
"Follow me. The last two tests were in Upper City; this one's in the Satellite. We're on Level 27.
"Per the pretest notes, there are four dojos on this floor. First we roam the streets and see if we can trigger any quests, then pick a dojo to join. Grind out enough Crystals for a deck this week.
"By open beta, we'll have the advantage and complete a first list before the masses."
"Genius, aniki!"
They emerged onto the street.
It was Candle-in-the-Wind's first test, so everything was novel—like a country cousin entering a royal garden. He ogled everything.
Crowds flowed by, Duel Disks glinting—scantily dressed onee-san duelist types in the mix—and he was stunned.
This detail work is insane! Is this really a card game?
It felt… real.
"If it's this realistic… then that should be here too!"
He reached toward his waistband.
Joy-of-Fire's face darkened. He yanked the hand down. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm checking whether the 'tool' is still there!"
"Relax," Joy-of-Fire deadpanned. "Your tool is present. Good thing you didn't actually drop your pants, or you'd be in a cell—and your test progress would be done."
"Couldn't help it." Candle-in-the-Wind rubbed his head, embarrassed. "In every game I'm curious if I can take the pants off…"
Joy-of-Fire sighed. First player he meets—and it's a Pants-Dropper.
They circled the city for a while. No quests. So they headed to Red Sun Dojo.
From prior tests, Joy-of-Fire knew it ranked first on Level 27.
"What's wrong, aniki?"
At the door, Candle-in-the-Wind saw Joy-of-Fire stop.
"Someone beat us to it." Joy-of-Fire frowned. "We'll try another dojo."
Candle-in-the-Wind looked. Two garishly dressed players were taking the entrance trial.
"Let's go. Asahi Dojo's too far; someone will get there ahead of us. We'll try the third-ranked—Takeuchi Dojo."
"Why not join Red Sun together instead of a lower-ranked dojo?" Candle-in-the-Wind asked.
"Resources."
Joy-of-Fire talked as they walked.
"A dojo's resources are limited; so are quests. Too many players and there's not enough to go around.
"And I heard tomorrow is the annual Dojo Ranking Battle. Given our strength…
"We might stand out at the third-ranked dojo and get selected to compete. Rewards could be big."
Hearing the logic, Candle-in-the-Wind nodded, impressed.
"No wonder you were in two tests, aniki. You think ahead."
Half an hour later, they reached Takeuchi Dojo.
"You two here to join?" a student called, noticing they weren't in uniform.
Joy-of-Fire nodded quickly. "Yes, senpai—we want to join and learn to duel!"
"Come with me and register."
Candle-in-the-Wind blinked. "We just… register? No entrance test?"
"No test." The student smiled. "Anyone who wants in is welcome."
They entered the central plaza.
Instantly, they noticed the crowd packed around the duel stage, three-deep, blocking everything.
"Excuse me—what's going on over there?" Candle-in-the-Wind asked.
"Oh, that." The student grinned. "The Ranking Battle is tomorrow. Yusaku–senpai is helping everyone 'patch the gaps' so we're ready."
"That senpai must be the dojo's big brother then?" Joy-of-Fire asked.
"Nope." The student shook his head. "He only arrived a few days ago. But don't be fooled—his dueling is nuts. Asahi Dojo's big brother didn't last a turn."
Surname You (Yusaku)? Just joined, already a monster?
Candle-in-the-Wind and Joy-of-Fire traded a look. This was not simple.
"Can we watch? We'd love to see his dueling," Joy-of-Fire said.
"Of course. Register later."
They hurried over but couldn't get through. They peered between shoulders to see the two duelists.
The moment they saw the duelist on the left, both froze, eyes lighting up.
Damn, he's handsome.
The art style screamed "special NPC"—clearly different from the masses.
Could this be a key character for the upcoming 1.0 open beta?
Joy-of-Fire wondered silently.
A friend working at the game company had told him: Version 1.0 focuses on the Upper City vs. Satellite conflict—irreconcilable tensions, war inevitable.
Each side would have a central figure.
…
With a face like that, this had to be a special NPC—maybe he could trigger a hidden quest.
Candle-in-the-Wind had a different angle but the same conclusion.
He remembered the pretest briefing:
High freedom. Players can explore the map, duel NPCs or other players, or accept NPC-posted tasks for rewards.
It's open-world. Players can explore freely and build decks card by card.
And the devs wanted players to treat the game as a world—even the devs couldn't predict how the story would branch.
So there were no fixed quests or fixed NPCs—guides were useless; you had to trigger things yourself.
He was sure he'd stumbled onto a hidden quest—and a special NPC.
Just then, Yusaku's voice rang out.
"Battle! Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon, direct attack!!!"
What???
At the monster name, both men jolted. They'd been watching the people—not the board.
When they finally looked at the field and saw the aura crashing down from Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon, their eyes went wide and they just… stopped.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 500 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]