Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Seth knew that Aknadi had slept in his stone temple last night, apparently having stayed up very late until he could no longer stay awake. Seth also sensed that Aknadi's efforts seemed to be for his request, and that he wanted to be in good condition today.

Therefore, Seth did not want to let down the priest Aknadi's efforts. The awakening of the spirit in his heart should not be delayed until tomorrow. Before the Pharaoh set off, he should finish the matter as soon as possible so that Aknadi could go back to rest and catch up on his sleep.

After thinking for a moment, Yami Yugi did not refuse Seth. He nodded and turned back into the main hall to wait for Seth to arrive.

Although I could sense that something falling from the giant Millennium Puzzle was important to me, I figured it should be landing soon anyway, so there was no difference between setting off earlier or later. I might as well finish dealing with the political affairs that I, as the Pharaoh, had to handle first before setting off.

Moreover, the place where that thing fell seems to be in the desert outside the city. Who knows how long it would take to find it by myself alone? Bringing troops along would increase the efficiency of the search, and the time I have to deal with government affairs is a good opportunity to order the troops out of the city first.

Following the Dark Game, the priests returned to the main hall, and soon after, Set also entered the hall through the passage.

First, Seth bowed to Yami Yugi, who had returned to his throne. After standing up, Seth's gaze immediately turned to Aknadi and Shada beside him. Seeing that the two nodded to indicate that he was in good condition, Seth began to tell Yami Yugi about what had happened yesterday.

Of course, even if Seth insisted that his previous idea was correct and that he would indeed put it into action if it weren't for Hayato, he didn't reveal his plan to "indiscriminately use the power of the Millennium Key on innocent civilians."

Although his emotional intelligence was low, it wasn't entirely nonexistent; he knew that saying such things would only anger the Pharaoh.

Upon hearing Seth say that Hayato, with the help of the Millennium Key, had actually awakened a card spirit called "Summoning Exophysis" from within himself, Yami Yugi's lips twitched slightly, and he genuinely exclaimed, "It really isn't surprising at all. If it's Hayato, the awakened spirit would indeed be 'Summoning Exophysis.' I don't even want to complain that it's a magic card."

"Magic Card?" The priest Simon, who was closest to the Dark Game next to the throne, naturally heard his mutterings and was somewhat puzzled by the unfamiliar term.

"No, it's nothing." Since he couldn't tell Simon that it was actually a term from Duel Monsters that evolved from the Stone Tablet Monster three thousand years later, Yami Yugi casually brushed Simon off and then looked at Set and said, "So that means, Priest Set, you want to promote this experiment, right? So that our people can also awaken their spirits and improve their combat power like Hayato."

"The power of spirits is different from that of the stone tablet monsters. In yesterday's experiment with Hayato Kobayashi, we discovered that the appearance of spirits can be achieved without the aid of the Gladiator's Disk. Therefore, not only us priests, but also the court mage corps and even the army could try to awaken spirits if conditions permit."

Seti nodded and shared his vision: “In that case, even if the soldiers encounter Bakura’s minions amplified by his magic again, there won’t be a one-sided battle like before. And after we priests awaken our elves, we will once again be qualified to fight against Bakura, so that you, Pharaoh, will no longer have to put yourself in danger.”

"To demonstrate its feasibility, I would like to invite you to witness our second experiment."

Following Seth's words, Shada and Aknadi stepped forward and stood on either side of Seth.

Dark Game nodded, a look of great interest on his face, and said, "Alright, I give permission. You may begin."

"Yes, Pharaoh."

Upon hearing Dark Game's words, Set glanced at the two people beside him and stepped back to give them space. Shada also turned around to face Aknadi, who was also looking in her direction.

Reaching down to remove his hood, Aknadi subconsciously stroked the unusually well-functioning Millennium Eye, activating its power, and pointed at Shada, saying, "Bear with it, Priest Shada, I'm coming in!"

"Mind Unlocking!"

Chapter 745 Everyone is Like a Dragon

As Aknadi activated the power of the Millennium Eye, Shada, who was standing opposite him, trembled violently, and the Millennium Key in his hand shone brightly.

As the holder of the Millennium Key, Xia Da cannot use its power on herself. However, with the resonance of the Millennium Eye, the power of the Millennium Key is also guided out and released towards Xia Da herself.

The "Eye of Ugato," which appears when the power of the [Millennium Artifact] reaches a certain level, appeared on Xia Da's forehead. Accompanied by a "click" sound, as if a lock had been opened, a ball of light emerged from Xia Da's chest.

Seeing this, Seth, though expressionless, secretly cheered in his heart, happy for the success of the experiment.

After all, although Hayato had succeeded once before, it was not impossible that it was just an isolated case. If only Hayato could successfully awaken the spirit while others could not, then Seth would have just wasted his time.

However, it's clear that Xia Da has succeeded, which shows that Kobayashi Hayato's plan has the potential to be widely adopted and won't limit the power of the spirits to just the priests. Perhaps one day in the future, all people will be able to possess powerful spirits, and everyone will be like a dragon.

After that, all you need to do is confirm the minimum requirements for awakening a spirit, and once you get the Pharaoh's permission, you can start promoting the power of the spirits.

"Of all the priests, though it may be hurtful to say so, Priest Shada is probably the weakest. This isn't just true of his use of the Millennium Item, but also of his Stone Tablet Monsters—they're not very high quality." Standing beside Yami Yugi, Priest Simon spoke eloquently.

"However, judging from the current situation, the power of the elf that Priest Aknadi helped Xia Da awaken, although I don't have the 'Millennium Eye' that can see through the details of the other party's abilities, I can judge from my intuition that this elf is probably more powerful than all the stone tablet monsters that Priest Xia Da had before combined."

Hearing what Priest Simon said, Dark Game couldn't help but say with some curiosity, "Simon, I feel like you know Priest Xia Da very well."

“Hehe, after all, Xia Da can be considered my successor, Pharaoh.” Simon rubbed his nose and said with a smile, “When I was a priest by the side of the previous Pharaoh, the [Millennium Artifact] I possessed was also the [Millennium Key]. Xia Da passed my test to successfully inherit the [Millennium Key].

"Back then, in order to quell the war that plagued the kingdom, the previous pharaoh and we priests were all badly injured because we used the [Millennium Artifacts] that we had obtained hastily and were not very familiar with. This included myself, Aknadi, and the previous pharaoh Aknamkanon."

Looking at the unknown spirit hovering not far in front of Xia Da, gradually dimming its light and about to reveal its true form, Simon said with some emotion, "After we have completed our respective responsibilities, it is naturally time to hand over the mission to the Council."

"Just as I chose Shada and Aknadi favored Priest Set, the previous Pharaoh also entrusted his mission to his beloved son, that is, you, Pharaoh."

The light completely faded, and Xia Da's [Millennium Key] and Aknadi's [Millennium Eye] simultaneously stopped glowing. The two of them collapsed to the ground, exhausted, staring at the ball of light in front of them.

The sphere of light, larger than a human head, gradually extended short, claw-like limbs. A pair of bird-like wings extended from both sides of its body, but they were still quite short. The elf that appeared before everyone after the light faded was a purple, spherical monster.

"This is... Kuriboh?"

Because of their strikingly similar appearances, Yami Yugi initially mistook Shada's awakened spirit for her. However, he quickly realized that the spirit in front of him, who was hairless and had a golden tattoo on its head, was clearly not Kuribo, who had helped him more than once.

"【Kuriboo】, is that the name you, Pharaoh, gave my elf?" Looking at the elf with its pure, big eyes that came close to her and rubbed against her palm affectionately, Xia Da felt a sense of warmth from the bottom of her heart. "However, I think it might be more appropriate to call him 【Anka Kuriboh】."

“Oh, you actually have the ‘Anka’ symbol on you. What a coincidence, Xia Da.” Simon looked at the elf next to Xia Da, whom she called [Anka Kuriboh]. “The shape of the [Millennium Key] is based on the ‘Anka’ symbol, which represents ‘life’. This little guy even has the ‘Anka’ symbol on him. It’s perfect for you.”

"Curry~" Upon hearing Priest Simon's words, [Anka Kuriboh] gave Simon a "you're so sensible" look, nodded, and then continued to cuddle with Xia Da.

As Xia Da got up from the ground while holding [Anka Kuriboh], she felt a wonderful connection between her body and mind with the other.

Previously, when she experimented with Hayato, she had only tried a portion of it. Now, after awakening [Anka Kuriboh] herself, Shada has further confirmed that the spirits that are not sealed in the stone slab but awakened from within a person's heart are indeed powers that can be summoned without the aid of alchemical crystals—the Gladiator's Disk.

Moreover, unlike the Slate Monsters, which are born from evil thoughts such as resentment and desire, and who claim to possess great power and only occasionally have special effects, the power of the Heart Spirit is not strong and can even be described as extremely weak. However, at the same time, its special abilities are fully discovered.

Just as the "Anka" rune represents "life," the [Anka Kuriboh], which bears the "Anka" mark and is directly named "Anka" by Xia Da, has the ability to grant others the ultimate vitality. Even if someone is on the verge of death, it can heal them as if time has been reversed in one go, and can even replenish their "soul," which is equivalent to the "basic points" in the future!

So cool! How can there be such a cool elf in the world? He exudes a kind of beauty called "strength" from head to toe!

Xia Da banished the thought that "it looks a bit ugly" that arose when she first saw the [Anka Chestnut Ball]. How strange, how could I have such a tasteless thought?

Seeing Xia Da so affectionate with her elf, An Yuqi said to Seth in front of the throne with some pleasure, "Very good, it seems your plan is correct, Priest Seth. Then go ahead and do it. I hereby grant you permission to awaken elves for other priests."

After a pause, Yami Yugi added, "However, I remember that one needs a certain level of training to see the existence of spirits, so let's focus on those who already have the ability to see spirits first. Let's postpone the popularization among ordinary people and the military for now."

"Yes, Pharaoh." Seth had no objection to Yami Yugi's order; his thoughts were actually not much different from Yami Yugi's. Although the ultimate goal was to enable everyone to possess spirits and make everyone like a dragon, one must eat one bite and walk one step at a time. Even without the Pharaoh's order, Seth was thinking of first helping the kingdom's top combat force, the priests, awaken their spirits.

The so-called "let some people get rich first" policy.

Chapter 746 Darkening

Seeing that Xia Da had awakened his spirit, Aknadi was very happy for him. He stood up, but felt weak and almost fell to the ground again.

Fortunately, Priest Set noticed his condition and immediately helped Aknadi up, standing right next to him: "Lord Aknadi, are you alright?"

"It's nothing serious. I probably underestimated the burden of using the [Millennium Eye] and overestimated my physical condition." Aknadi shook his head, believing that his exhaustion was simply due to the slight exertion he had put in while helping Priest Shada awaken her spirit.

Looking at the Dark Game before the throne, Aknadi respectfully apologized, "Pharaoh, I am feeling a little unwell and I'm afraid I cannot accompany you out of the city."

As he spoke, he bowed slightly, seemingly about to kneel again. Seeing this, Dark Game, who was standing before the throne, quickly said, "No, it's alright, Priest Aknadi. Your body hasn't fully recovered yet, so it's really unnecessary for you to come out of the city with me. Besides, using the [Millennium Eye] to help Priest Shada must have taken a lot of your energy. You can rest assured and go get some rest."

After glancing at Xia Da and Seth, An Yuqi continued, "I believe that Priest Seth and Priest Xia Da can protect me."

"Yes, Pharaoh." Upon hearing Yami Yugi's words, Shada, who had awakened [Anka Kuriboh], immediately declared, "My strength has greatly increased since I awakened [Anka Kuriboh], to ten or even nine times what it was before. Coupled with Priest Set's immense power, no one can harm you under our protection!"

Seth crossed his arms, looking confident: "Just stand behind me, and I will protect you, Pharaoh, with my life."

Aknadi felt somewhat relieved upon hearing the promises the two made to Yami Yugi, and bowed to Yami Yugi again: "I am at ease knowing you are like that. Please excuse me for taking my leave now, as I can no longer accompany you, Pharaoh."

Having received a nod of permission from the Dark Game, Aknadi bowed again and took his leave of the council hall, walking slowly towards his residence outside the palace, intending to go back and get some rest.

Watching Aknadi's departing figure, Priest Simon, standing beside Dark Game, sighed, "Of the six priests who once served under the previous Pharaoh Aknamkanon, only Aknadi and I remain. Even the previous Pharaoh has gone to the underworld. Time truly waits for no one."

"Speaking of which, Priest Aknadi seems to have maintained this unsociable lifestyle ever since he served the previous Pharaoh, with the exception of Seth. It's truly intriguing to wonder what qualities Priest Seth possesses that attracted Priest Aknadi..."

As Priest Simon grew older, he gradually began to talk to himself. He was just speaking casually because of his feelings. Dark Game, who was next to him, just listened casually and did not delve too deeply into the information in Priest Simon's words, nor did he take it to heart for long. Instead, he instructed Seth and Shada to prepare for leaving the city later.

On the other hand, although he was feeling slightly unwell, Aknadi recovered quite quickly and soon returned to his residence in good condition.

As a priest, and a highly respected and powerful one at that, who had served from the previous pharaohs to the current one, Aknadi had the means to provide for his life in various ways, including but not limited to luxurious ornaments and clothing, expensive food, spacious residences, and slaves and servants.

Most of the other priests did the same, but Priestess Isis, who was a woman who loved beauty and knew how to dress herself, went the far way. While the others might wear gold bracelets or pendants around their waists, she went and wore an incredibly heavy headdress on her head, and the edges of her clothes were all trimmed with gold.

However, this is not considered abusing power for personal gain. On the contrary, the more the priests under the Pharaoh display their dignity, the more it highlights the majesty and power of the Pharaoh who rules them.

However, Aknadi was different from all the priests. Apart from the "Millennium Eye," which appeared to be gold but was actually made of some strange material, he had no other ornaments. Every day, he would go out wearing a robe and a hood, and he was like a socially awkward person who did not communicate much with others.

Even his residence was unusually low-key; it wasn't even a two-story house, which is becoming increasingly common among ordinary people, but simply a small one-story house.

Unless someone knows Aknadi, no one would think anything is wrong if they saw an old man dressed in extremely simple clothes walk into a humble house. They wouldn't even believe that the person living in such a house could be a high-ranking priest second only to the emperor.

His humble dwelling naturally couldn't accommodate too many useless decorations, let alone servants and slaves to take care of his daily needs. Compared to Akhenaten's status, his life was like that of an ascetic.

Because he had stayed up all night in his stone temple and was going to meet the Pharaoh early this morning, Akhenaten was not one of those ascetic monks who fasted. He was somewhat hungry and did not overeat. He simply took out a piece of bread and a bottle of beer for his breakfast.

Although it's called beer, ancient Egyptian beer and modern beer are completely different things. Hayato was also misled by the name. The contents in the earthenware bottle were more like rice porridge than liquid. Ordinary families would add a few pieces of meat to this to supplement their fat intake, but Aknadi ate beer and bread with great satisfaction.

After finishing a piece of bread that wasn't enough to fill him up, Aknadi's meal was over. Sitting at the table, he drank a few more sips of the beer he hadn't finished, needing to digest what he had eaten before going to catch up on sleep.

But just then, a strange laugh rang out from the hut that should have been empty except for Aknadhi.

"Hehehahaha..."

The sudden laughter startled Aknadi. He turned around sharply and looked around, but couldn't see any place where someone could hide.

Is anyone there?

As if talking to himself, Aknadi said, thinking he was probably just feeling listless and hallucinating, and hadn't really expected a reply.

To his surprise, the laughter just now actually answered him: "Hehe, someone's here."

Aknadi now understood that what he had just heard was not a hallucination; there really was someone in his house!

"Who goes there!"

Aknadi rose warily, and heard the voice continue, "Oh, don't do that, Aknadi, don't pretend you're a stranger to me."

Aknadi surveyed his room, unable to discern the source of the sound. He wandered aimlessly, his gaze sweeping over insignificant decorations as he secretly channeled his magic towards the Millennium Eye.

In addition to revealing the true abilities of monsters, Aknadi has also developed the power of the Thousand-Year Eye to manipulate people's minds. Although he failed when he used it on Bakura last time and was even injured by the rebound, this power is still not something that ordinary people can resist.

The moment that source of laughter, that charlatan, appears before him, Aknadi will not hesitate to use the power of the Millennium Eye to attack him!

However, the biggest problem was that Aknadi couldn't find where the sound was coming from. It sounded as if it was coming from all directions at the same time, but where in the house could there be so much space to hide people?

"Where are you?"

Aknadi took a deep breath and said in a deep voice.

"You've always known..." The voice seemed to be toying with Akhenaten, answering only after Akhenaten asked a question, and the source of the voice remained unreadable. "I can feel the trembling in your spine, can I?"

Upon hearing this, Aknadi suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back, as if something had pierced through it.

I'm injured, and that's the voice attacking me?

The moment Aknadi had such a thought, he rejected it himself.

No, the wound feels fresh, but it doesn't feel like I just got injured. Although I don't know where or when I got injured, it wasn't that voice that attacked me.