Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

After a long while, he sighed helplessly, clearly annoyed, glared at Hayato with a frustrated look, and left the dueling ring without saying a word.

Was he going to stay and say a few harsh words? Ameruda understood perfectly well that this was just an ordinary duel.

Although Ameluda had initially intended to engage in a deadly game of darkness and eliminate Hayato Kobayashi before he was "lucky" enough to face him, he was now somewhat relieved that the barrier had been broken for unknown reasons.

Otherwise, now that he has become a loser, his soul would not be preserved.

Besides, after a duel, although most of his thinking ability was used in the duel, Ameruda also had some doubts about the breaking of the [Orichalcos Barrier].

The great one who bestowed upon him the [Orichalcos Barrier] said that only the three of them who possess the "Orichalcos Fragment"—the emerald stone that Baron, Ameruda, and Raferu wore around their necks—and that great one himself, possessed the power to break the barrier.

Just who exactly is this Hayato Kobayashi?

"Forget it, even if we get an answer to that, it has nothing to do with my revenge." The defeated Ameruda stepped off the dueling platform, glanced back at Hayato, and thought to herself:

"I'll remember this duel, Hayato Kobayashi. I'll get my revenge one day!"

Thinking this, Ameruda recalled Hayato's words, "Duel can bring smiles." Combining this with the cards he had used in this duel, his lips twitched slightly, and he turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that Kobayashi Hayato's duel only brought him a smile. Whether it's Samejima Iemitsu or Kobayashi Hayato, who both play Cyber ​​Dragon, their hearts are so dirty!

He suddenly didn't want to get revenge anymore; playing cards with people who were "electronic" was just not a fun game at all.

Hayato, on the other hand, was quite interested in why Ameruda, Baron, and Rafael were participating in the KC Cup. Rafael's earlier claim that their presence was merely a coincidence, and Ameruda's assertion that he wanted to profit from Kaiba, were not convincing enough for Hayato.

However, compared to those things, Hayato is most concerned about the system panel that pops up after his duel with Ameruda ends.

On the system's [Tasks] panel, since Hayato won the Duel City championship and became the true Duel King, there haven't been any new main quests for a while. Even participating in the KC Cup only resulted in an additional side quest called [World Martial Arts Tournament], with the content "rewards are calculated based on rankings in the KC Cup".

However, after defeating Ameruda, the long-dormant main quest was finally filled with a new piece of text—

[Mission Name: I, Hayato, am the Emperor, and that will never change!]

[Mission Description: Having become the King of Duel Monsters, you discover someone is plotting against you while concealing your identity. As the absolute emperor, thwart their schemes, unless you desire immortality.]

Task Details:

Defeat the person behind the scenes 0/1

Defeat someone in front of the stage 0/1

Defeat the Three Musketeers 1/3

The extent of the opponent's defeat: 0.1%

[Additional Note: This task can be settled at any time, and rewards will be distributed based on the progress made]

[Hint: Durant.jpg]

[Mission Reward Preview: 10000 DP, 5 UR Exchange Tickets, Pre-built Deck with Specified Attribute]

Looking at the long list of tasks and the generous rewards, Hayato couldn't help but click his tongue.

This system is so busy that it doesn't do anything for half a year, but when it does, it makes a fortune. It's a real surprise that it suddenly launched such a big project after such a long hiatus.

Although the mission descriptions always made Hayato Vision think of himself as some moldy pink octopus with a Riddler vibe, Hayato could also understand that the mission objective was practically written out in plain sight: "Go, get Domayan."

Although he didn't understand what "someone in front of the stage" and "someone behind the scenes" meant, at least one of them was that old geezer Dartz. Instead of guessing here, Hayato was now eager to confront him.

Putting everything else aside, even ignoring the "pre-built deck with specified attributes" and the full 10,000 DP points, there are a total of five "UR exchange tickets." Hayato has been eyeing those ridiculously expensive UR ​​cards in the shop for a long time.

However, the only thing Hayato couldn't understand was that the system had unusually inserted a "hint" into the mission, and it was a strange hint like "Durant.jpg".

Could it be that the system is reminding itself that, besides playing cards, it can also defeat its target through hand-to-hand combat?

With this question in mind, Hayato rearranged his deck and looked at his next opponent stepping onto the dueling stage.

Compared to Ameruda, this opponent showed significantly less fighting spirit. Despite being a Black man, he unusually lowered his head timidly instead of shouting arrogantly, and his hairstyle was just an ordinary buzz cut, clearly indicating that he didn't know how to play cards.

Inserting his deck into the Duel Disk, Hayato casually tossed his hair back and arrogantly declared, "Heh heh, instead of running away, you've come close to me, Dan Kuroto? Muda, muda, muda! Cyber ​​Dragon is the strongest monster; defeating you is as easy as plucking a withered petal from a roadside flowerbed!"

"Alas!"

Seemingly startled by Hayato's imposing presence, the short-haired black man let out a weak cry and abruptly raised his hands in a French military salute. However, he quickly remembered that Hayato wasn't a policeman with a gun who would suffocate him, so he timidly withdrew his hands and tremblingly inserted the Duel Disk into his deck.

Without fighting spirit, no matter how strong your fighting ability is, it's useless, especially since this black guy's strength isn't that great either.

"One after another!"

"Double!"

"Triple tap!"

"Four in a row!"

"Five in a row!"

"Do you dare disobey me, who possesses the [Chimera Overload Dragon]?!"

Before long, facing the invincible Sebastián, the short-haired black man was completely unable to organize a strong enough defense. Hayato's fatal five-hit combo wiped out his basic points in one go, and he ran away crying with his face covered.

After the points were tallied, Hayato's ranking climbed back to tenth place, where he had previously been.

Looking at the familiar names ahead of him on the leaderboard, Hayato grinned excitedly: "Alright, let's just keep going and climb to the top! With my invincible Sebastián!"

Following the rampage of [Kaiju] in arena number 4 during the first day of the preliminary rounds, rumors circulated on the second day of the KC Cup preliminary rounds that [Cyber ​​Dragon] had appeared in arena number 44. Thanks to the widespread circulation of information among the spectators, the information about contestant number 114514, "Dan Kuroto," also spread.

From the enormous [Kaibaku] never heard of on the first day to the [Cyber ​​Dragon] of unknown origin on the second day, Dan Kuroto's name raced up the leaderboard to break through to third place, and Dan Kuroto was also taken in by countless duelists who were looking forward to the KC Cup.

Although the KC Cup adopted the rule of open qualifiers and those with the highest scores qualifying, the truly famous duelists actually held back during their duels and did not go all out to climb the rankings. Under such circumstances, they were not really interested in their rankings on the leaderboard; as long as they could qualify for the 64th place, that would be enough for them.

What they're doing now is controlling their rankings and using voluntary surrenders to leave their current arena and travel to other arenas to gather intelligence on other duelists. Under these circumstances, many powerful duelists are hovering around the 40th or 50th rank.

These professional duelists did not take note of all the information about the finalists as seriously as the overly cautious Amon Garlem did. They were unimpressed by the name "Dan Kuroto," which they had never heard of before.

After all, the points system primarily tests a duelist's speed and consistency in defeating opponents. Even legendary duelists like "Katsuya Jonouchi" and "Yugi Muto" are currently only ranked in the teens. Only Kaiba, who uses an extremely aggressive "Blue-Eyes" deck, has consistently held the top spot.

They felt that "Dan Kuroto" was only able to advance so rapidly because he had his own tricks for dealing with the weak. When it came to the real competition that tested their ability to overcome difficulties, this kid would definitely not go far.

It was precisely because of this mentality of professional duelists that not many people deliberately tried to probe Hayato's side for information. As a result, Hayato was full of enthusiasm in the morning, but by the afternoon he was already a bit tired.

Throughout the day, aside from Kaiba, who was paired with the young Amon Garrum by the opening lightning strike, and Ameruda, whom he unexpectedly faced, Hayato did not encounter any duelists of sufficient strength. They were all weaklings. Sometimes, with a good hand and a starting hand of Power Adhesive + three Cyber ​​Dragons, many of them could not even last a turn.

No matter how interesting the Duel Monsters with virtual projections are, a back-and-forth duel is what makes it interesting; too many easy wins just get boring.

After all, not everyone can enjoy playing against AI opponents like President Kaiba.

——————Seahorse: Stomping noobs is so much fun——————

That evening, in his hotel room, Hayato, who had just finished showering, covered his head with a towel to dry his hair and came out of the bathroom.

Hayato slapped the mischievous [Disruptive Yellow] away from the room, pulled out a chair and sat down. He then solemnly took out his card case from his belt and began to take out the cards one by one.

Normally, Hayato's deck is kept in the system's warehouse, and he takes it out using the card box at his waist as a cover whenever he needs it.

The advantages of doing this are twofold: first, it prevents the loss of one's deck or theft by some mischievous person (Keihei: Achoo!); second, it allows one to adjust the deck directly in the system at any time without having to put or take out cards one by one.

However, the card box used as a cover wasn't empty; it contained quite a few cards, and in some ways, the cards in this box were far more valuable than the deck Hayato was using.

[Grantor the Earth Spirit], [Veracocha Raska the Earthbound God], [Hamon the Thunder God], [Rabiel the Illusionary Demon God], and the three Egyptian Gods: [Osiris the Sky Dragon], [Obelisk the Titan], and [Ra the Winged Dragon of Ra].

Rather than saying they are "the most valuable," it would be more appropriate to say they are "the most powerful cards among all cards." Although Hayato even included [Gransol, the Earth Spirit God] to complete the "god" category, it is no exaggeration to say that these cards represent the strongest power wielded by Hayato.

Hayato hadn't forgotten that before the duel with Ameruda began, that idiot had planned to use the power of the [Orichalcos Barrier] to launch a Dark Game and take his life, but the barrier unexpectedly dissipated.

Ameruda was confused, but Hayato clearly heard a very distinct cracking sound coming from his card case when the power that dispelled the [Orichalcos Barrier] appeared.

However, at the same time, Hayato was also very clear that the power did not come from the Duel Monsters he was familiar with.

The Earth Spirit God is really just there to make up the numbers.

The [Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] certainly has a certain air of superiority, but when Hayato fed it with the magic of the [Millennium Wisdom Wheel], he always kept a minimum level of caution, ensuring it wasn't satiated and instead kept it constantly hungry. With its power completely restored, it was impossible for it to break through the [Orichalcos Barrier].

Hayato, the three Egyptian Gods, was quite at ease with them and willing to provide support, but they were still a bit short of being able to break through the [Orichalcos Barrier]. If they could have done so, they wouldn't have been sacrificed to the god Orichalcos by Dartz in the original timeline.

As for [Thunder Emperor] and [Phantom Emperor]? Although they have the strange setting that "the three Phantoms appearing together can destroy Duel Monsters", their prestige is nowhere near that of the three Egyptian God cards. And to say that they would rescue Hayato?

It's good enough if they don't stab you in the back.

Hayato took out the cards one by one and placed them aside, leaving only the card at the very bottom of the card box.

Hayato recalled that the card seemed to be the one that Lemuria had given him before leaving Pegasus's castle after losing to Samejima back in the Duel Kingdom.

That seems to be the same name as that guy Lemuria, [Forgotten City - Lemuria].

Although Hayato uses a wide variety of decks, none of them seem to have a use for this card, and for some reason, the system can't reclaim it, so Hayato simply keeps it. Who knows, maybe one day Hayato will start playing a seafood deck?

Although this card is not usually included in aquatic decks, it is used by [Water Sprite] decks to assist in Xyz or Synchro Summoning.

Hayato reached into the card case and took out the card "Forgotten City - Lemuria". He slowly turned it over and looked down, but was stunned.

Just then, [Disruption Yellow] and his gang of brothers, who were always blindly trying to bully [Rainbow Kuriboh], were completely wiped out by [Rainbow Kuriboh]'s "ball" attack, and came to Hayato to complain loudly while pretending to cry.

As she climbed onto Hayato's shoulder, [Disruption Yellow] shouted, "Annie, look at that rainbow bastard! He's so mean, so mean! He's bullying us again! Annie, you have to stand up for us!"

But [Disruption Yellow], which had climbed onto Hayato's shoulder, was also stunned.

All Hayato could see was the card image of [Forgotten City - Lemuria] held in his hand. It didn't look like a drawing printed on a card at all, but rather like a real landscape. The temple, half of which was submerged in the sea, was dynamically changing and gradually collapsing!

"Snapped."

[Disruption Yellow], who lost her balance, fell off Hayato's shoulder and landed on the table. Clutching her bottom with both hands, she said to Hayato in a panic, "N-nothing with me, Annie! The card was already like this when I saw it!"

Gazing at the completely collapsed [Forgotten City - Lemuria], now submerged in the sea, Hayato silently turned to look at the tense [Disruption Yellow], and sighed: "I know, it really has nothing to do with you. Alright, go away."

As he spoke, Hayato raised his finger and pushed the [Disruption Yellow] card, frowning as he looked at the [Forgotten City - Lemuria] card in his hand, which no longer had a temple.

It was quite unexpected that [Disruption Yellow] was treated so calmly by Hayato.

"Huh? Ani didn't teach me a lesson this time?" [Disruption Yellow], with his index finger and thumb spread, rested his chin on his hand. He conjured a deerstalker hat and a yellow plaid cloak from who-knows-where, and a pipe appeared in his hand. Dressed like a famous detective, [Disruption Yellow] clowned off, saying to himself, "There's only one truth!"

"I see, I see. No wonder Annie hasn't been using that rainbow bastard much lately. Men really are fickle. Annie must be tired of drawing that guy in duels."

"And considering how nice Anige's tone was today..." [Disruption Yellow] looked like she'd figured something out, and laughed smugly, her eyes narrowing into slits. "Waaaaah, Anige finally understands that only I am his eternal Tamashine~"

Unwavering in its reasoning, [Disruption Yellow] nodded firmly, climbed back onto Hayato's head, and suddenly taunted [Rainbow Kuriboh], who was chasing other members of the [Disruption] clan in another corner of the room: "Kings have kingly talents, chefs have chefly talents, but Rainbow Bastard, your abilities are the most useless!"

"The ability to merely block attacks is utter garbage. As expected, I am Annie's only trump card, hahahaha!"

Overjoyed, [Disruption Yellow], standing atop Hayato's head, laughed loudly with his hands on his hips, completely ignoring the pity and sympathy in [Rainbow Kuriboh's] eyes as if looking at him as an idiot. He also failed to notice that Hayato had already put down the [Forgotten City - Lemuria] card, his face darkening as he clenched his fists.

"Gnawing..."

Hearing Hayato's displeased voice from below, [Disruption Yellow] froze. Just as she was about to jump off Hayato's head to escape, [Disruption Yellow]'s body was caught and held in Hayato's hand.

Held up in front of Hayato, seeing Hayato's displeasure, [Disruption Yellow] subconsciously swallowed.

"Ah, Ani Gei?"