Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

The sun's flames, carrying almost infinite light and heat, completely incinerated the [Dark Cube God - Crimson Nova - Trinity] on Blue God's field and landed on Blue God's body. His body, which had become deformed due to falling into the dark side of the dimension, was shattered under the attack of [Ra's Winged Dragon], revealing the original human face beneath that ugly exterior.

Having suffered excessive damage and lost consciousness from the impact, Lan Shen was sent flying, performing a difficult 7200° spin on the ground before falling motionless, his fate unknown.

At the same time, the system's settlement interface popped up in front of Hayato's eyes.

[Congratulations on winning another duel! DP points are being calculated...]

[You have earned 1000 DP points in this duel (click to view details)]

Because he had summoned a "god" and defeated his opponent with a lower base score, the DP points he earned this time were quite good, enough for Hayato to exchange for ten card packs. However, just when he thought the system, which rarely appeared, was going to disappear again after refreshing its presence, he saw the system panel pop up again:

Congratulations on completing the achievement: "World Destroyer"

[Achievement Details: Defeat a specified number of beings from other dimensions (5/5)]

[Reward: 1000 DP points, random "Otherworldly Power" pre-built set]

The existence of other dimensions? Hayato looked at the "5/5" displayed on the system panel with some confusion. According to the description of this achievement, the Blue God who was defeated again was obviously counted in the achievement's progress, and was the so-called "existence of other dimensions".

This is understandable. Although the previous Blue God was Prana, he was still human at heart, just a revolutionary who had evolved ahead of ordinary people—a "Newtype." However, after being defeated by Kaiba and falling into the dark side of the dimension, his twisted, inhuman form could no longer be categorized as "human."

And since the power that turned Blue God into that state came from the dark side of the dimension, it is reasonable to say that Blue God, who was born in the current dimension but was monstrous under the power of another dimension, would be regarded as "an existence from another dimension".

However, no matter how you look at it, the monstrous Blue God should only be considered an indicator, but the achievements say that Hayato has defeated at least five such beings, but how come he never remembers such things?

It was at this moment that [Summoner - Aleister] from Hayato's deck, which he had put away but hadn't had time to return to the system's storage, spoke up to remind Hayato: "Master, next time, if possible, don't always fuse me with monsters that don't have human form. I'd rather communicate with humans."

Oh right, there's also [Summoner-Aleister]. Back in the Pyramid of Light, he was taken to another dimension where three legendary dragons slept because of the [Gate of Illusion] opened by Anubis. There, he defeated many elves living there before returning to the human world with the help of the legendary dragons.

—Although Dartz seemed to have put in a lot of effort to weaken the barrier between dimensions so that he could return, that was an unimportant part.

Upon closer reflection, the four spirits that Hayato defeated—[Demon Lizard Yihao], [Shining Black], [Wilderness Warrior], and [Jera]—perfectly met the achievement's criteria.

But a new problem arises: before defeating those spirits, Hayato encountered [Summoner Aleister] and fought him before subduing him. So why didn't [Summoner Aleister] increase the achievement progress?

Looking at the deck he had organized but hadn't yet put back into the system warehouse, the [Summoner - Aleister] at the top, unaware of Hayato's thoughts, was complaining to him: "Master, if possible, could you please not put me in these decks full of monsters next time? I'd rather interact with people if possible."

"Of course, it would be even better if the deck had more female characters."

"climb."

Hayato rejected the scumbag Alai's request without hesitation, put the deck back in the warehouse, and was not in a hurry to accept the display of the so-called "otherworldly power" pre-built deck stored in the system warehouse. Instead, he planned to do something that he had wanted to do for a long time and had actually tried twice but failed once.

Just like how a giant beast in Monster O Man loses body parts when its parts are destroyed, after defeating Blue God, the Duel Disk composed of several golden cubes that he had been wearing on his wrist also fell to the ground. Hayato picked up the Duel Disk, which was already floating with golden particles and seemed to be about to disappear at any moment, examined it from left to right, and then, imitating Blue God, reached out towards what seemed to be the deck area.

Hayato's fingers slipped effortlessly into the golden cube, his fingertips touching the cards. After checking the thickness with his fingertips, he found the bottom of the deck, lifted it up, and easily pulled the entire deck out of the Duel Disk by pinching the top and bottom.

However, as Hayato moved, the Duel Disk dissipated into scattered golden particles in the blink of an eye, as if the energy that sustained its existence had vanished.

This made Hayato feel a little regretful. Although he had always been using the duel disk that Keipai had specially customized for him, he actually had a hobby of collecting duel disks with unique designs.

From Kaiba's Duel Disk prototype during the Duel Kingdom era, to the first version of the Duel Disk in Duel City, to the Duel Disk released by Chigurhfrid in Europe that used a completely different virtual projection system, and then to Daz's Doma Limited Duel Disk, Hayato's collection of Duel Disks has grown larger and larger over time.

Hayato was a little disappointed that he couldn't keep the Duel Disk of Blue God, which, regardless of anything else, had top-notch special effects and visual effects. But at least he still had this deck of Moro in his hand... a deck that he had obtained reasonably as loot, which was some consolation.

While [Cube] is only so-so in the hands of Blue God, it's a different story in the hands of Hayato—well, still so-so. It's the kind of deck that gets beaten up even in casual play. Hayato has decks like [Shadowdome], [Half-Dragon Maid], [Silver Castle], [Predator Plant], [Inferno], and [Dragonlight Trickster], so why would he bother playing with [Cube]?

If that's the case, then there's only one answer—

"All my achievements today are due to myself; I have never relied on anything else." Holding the deck that once belonged to the Blue God but is now his, Hayato stretched out his hand. "System, take back these cards."

[In the statistics, the card recycling results are as follows: 10 cards with rarity "R", 20 cards with rarity "SR", and 5 cards with rarity "UR". Cards with rarity below "R" will not be recycled. Should all cards be recycled?]

Five? That's more than I expected.

Hayato, who thought the Blue God's deck wouldn't have many high-rarity cards, skipped the long list provided by the system and went straight to the last page to see which UR-level cards were in the Blue God's deck.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that four of the cards were the three [Dark Cube World God - Crimson Nova] cards that Blue God had previously used in the duel, as well as the card with the ridiculously long name [Dark Cube World Evil God - Crimson Nova - Trinity].

Rolling his eyes, Hayato threw the four cards, along with the SR-rarity cards that were specially marked as (fake), such as [Harpie's Feather Duster] (fake), [Sacrifice Seal Mask] (fake), and [Mysterious Chinese Pot] (fake), into the recycling section of the system shop.

These cards, extracted from the collective consciousness by the Blue God with the help of the Quantum Cube, possess abilities comparable to the original cards and can be used normally in duels. In fact, apart from the Winged Dragon of Ra, the other cards are indistinguishable from the original cards when placed together, and are virtually indistinguishable when mixed together.

However, the system is really strict. It doesn't even allow Hayato to exploit this small loophole. It directly stipulates that although the store can recycle these cards extracted from the collective consciousness, it can only recycle one card at a time, and the DP points obtained from recycling are the same as those from recycling an R card.

Hayato had originally planned to try extracting cards from the collective consciousness after obtaining the Blue God's [Quantum Cube], and then resell them to the system store for recycling to make a profit without any cost. However, the system seemed to have anticipated Hayato's idea, causing his plan to earn DP points to die in the womb before it even began.

In the blink of an eye, apart from a few N-level cards whose rarity was so low that the system didn't even bother to glance at them, Hayato only had one UR-rarity card left in his hand—the [Dimensional Attractor], which surprised Hayato quite a bit.

This is the first time Hayato has ever seen this card. It's not that it's not in the system, but it's the first time he's seen someone use this card in real life. You know, this card can be said to be the nemesis of graveyard-filling cards like [Inferno] and [Shadowdome]. Playing one can turn the opponent's boastful words of frantically filling the graveyard into a bewildered silence.

However, even after including this card in his deck, he still couldn't beat his own "pure [Shadowdome]" deck. Moreover, the [Cube] deck didn't synergize well with this card, which made Hayato feel a bit unsure about how to evaluate Ayaka's ideas. He didn't quite understand this kind of duel build.

But then again, how many times has Blue God lost now? Losing to others is one thing, but he even seems to have lost to Malik. Now, the title of "Legend of the Unbeatable" is undeniably on Blue God's head, and his position as the person with the lowest win rate is unshakable.

Now that Blue God has been defeated, it's about time to deal with the mess he left behind—

Just as Hayato was about to turn around, he saw a dazzling golden light suddenly blaze up from a certain spot in the stands below, which was shrouded in the black mist released by the Quantum Cube, transforming into a pillar of light that shot into the sky!

Hayato was taken aback at first, then looked at the location where the pillar of light appeared with some confusion. If he remembered correctly, that should be the location that Kaiba had arranged for Yugi and Jonouchi.

What happened there? But I've already defeated Blue God, so who else would cause trouble?

Amidst a dazzling golden light, Hayato heard a familiar voice: "Where is the one who harmed Aibo?! Step forward and face me!"

Chapter 984 Hitting the Winner

Hayato wasn't the only one who recognized the voice. Even though the light hadn't faded yet, Kaiba excitedly stood up and looked at the location where the pillar of light had risen, his eyes burning with excitement.

"game!"

Although he had long acknowledged that Yugi was a true duelist, in Kaiba's mind, "Yugi" and "Yugi" were different. Although Yugi Muto, as a high school student, was also a powerful first-class duelist, in Kaiba's mind, the only person he could regard as an opponent and who was called "Yugi" instead of "Yugi Muto" was the Pharaoh who had already passed away.

Even though the pharaoh's true name has been found, for the seahorse, the term "game" will only be used when referring to the other party.

The black mist that shrouded the giant seahorse dome was briefly dispelled by the holy golden light. Kyoko, Jonouchi, and the others, who were sitting next to the game's location, looked at the location of the pillar of light with surprised eyes, their eyes filled with not only surprise but also a longing for a long-awaited reunion.

Meanwhile, on the system panel in front of Hayato, who was standing on the high platform, another message popped up, which he hadn't had time to close:

[Side Quest: [The Pharaoh's Soul Returns to the Underworld, Unity and Friendship] Progress Updated]

In exchange for the first rare "UTR" level card [Tragodia] that Hayato acquired, Hayato's system activated this limited-time side quest. However, although it was called limited-time, the quest description was quite vague and did not give any time limit.

[Mission Description: On this land, life constantly vanishes, while new life is constantly born, as if life is born only to perish. But this is not the case at all. In the cycle of life and death on this land, things beyond life and death are left behind. Pick up your card.]

[Mission Requirements: Unknown]

[Mission Reward: A Mysterious Surprise]

Translate this for me: what does "surprise" mean?

After starting the mission, Hayato wanted to curse. After all, this riddle-like person seemed to say a lot, but what important information could be extracted from it? Sorry, it was impossible. This mission description was just nonsense. God knows what the criteria for completing the mission are.

Aside from the trap card "Pharaoh's Judgment" that he received when starting the quest, Hayato didn't get any other hints.

What's even more frustrating is that, judging from the name, Hayato thought this mission would be somewhat related to the Duel Ritual, which was the main reason he abandoned the other [Tragodia] recovery plans and chose to start this mission. However, even after defeating Atem in the game, the mission's progress remained completely stagnant.

In other words, Hayato obtained this mission by exchanging [Tragodia], and because he was unwilling to suffer a loss, he kept this mission in mind. Otherwise, he would have almost forgotten about this mission with its extremely low profile.

But just as Hayato defeated Aogami, with the appearance of that pillar of light, this quest popped up again and updated the quest interface:

[Mission Description: When the dimensional gate opens, the mortal world and the underworld will be connected. The Pharaoh's soul returns driven by its desire to protect. This is a golden opportunity. Will you defeat the Pharaoh's soul to maintain the dimensional gate and drag the world into destruction, or will you fight alongside the Pharaoh's soul to save the world? The choice is yours.]

[Quest Requirements: Defeat the Pharaoh's Soul (0/1); Close the Dimensional Gate (0/1). Completing either requirement will allow you to submit and complete the quest.]

[Special Note: Santa Claus reaching out his hand.jpg]

[Task Rewards: Vary depending on the task completion requirements]

Hayato also saw the [Special Note] appear in the mission for the first time in a long time. The last time such a reminder appeared was in the Doma incident mission, when the system gave him a picture of a basketball star as a reminder. This time, the system gave him a picture of a so-called "Santa Claus".

However, although he is called Santa Claus and does have a white beard and a red hat, no matter how Hayato looks at it, it is a picture of a movie star from his previous life, not the so-called "Santa Claus". Moreover, just looking at this picture makes Hayato recall the classic... cough, I mean, the classic line that this actor has worked with many actresses.

But then again, although the mission has finally given the conditions for completion, seemingly offering a choice, Hayato wouldn't choose to destroy the world just to complete the mission. If that were the case, wouldn't the mission only have one condition to be met...? No, it doesn't seem so.

The towering beam of light gradually thinned, seemingly about to dissipate. Hayato watched as the beam disappeared, and the game moved from the audience below to the platform where he was now.

And standing beside him, Atum, dressed in the same clothes he had seen in the world of the King's Memories, his skin now brown!

"Another me?" Looking at Atum beside him, Yugi and the audience members, including Kyoko, had the same expression. "You came out of the underworld?"

"The barrier between the underworld and the human world suddenly disappeared. Perhaps it was because of the black mist here? In any case, I was just lucky to be able to return to the human world from the underworld." Atum turned his head and smiled at Yugi when he heard Yugi's words. "We meet again, Aibo."

"Yo, long time no see, Atum." Hayato waved to Atum and greeted him, "It's only been a month, but it feels like ages."

"How does it feel to be in the underworld?"

"Well, the specific feeling is similar to the experience when I was still in the mortal world, when I switched places with Aibo. However, I no longer have that empty feeling of only having a soul like when I was in the Millennium Puzzle. Instead, I always have a real physical body. Also, there are still quite a few troublesome people in the Underworld." Spreading his hands with a hint of helplessness, Atum smiled at Hayato. "Long time no see, Hayato."

“However, there should be enough time for catching up later. Right now, there’s something I feel I need to take care of first.” Atum said, his eyes gradually turning murderous. With a wave of his hand, a dueling set appeared out of thin air on his wrist. “I saw someone use Dark Games on Aibo in the Underworld. Who attacked Aibo? I’m going to teach them a lesson!”

"Uh..." Hearing Atum's words, Yugi scratched his head and said somewhat embarrassedly, "So, in the Underworld, your other self can see things in the human world?"

“Not everything. To observe the mortal world from the underworld requires a certain amount of concentration. I only learned it about half a month ago with the help of other pharaohs in the underworld.” Atum recalled the price Ramses II paid for teaching him this ability, glanced at Hayato with a somewhat subtle look, and continued, “Then, the first thing I wanted to do was check on you, Aibo.”

"As it turns out, I saw it. Someone pretended to be a complete novice who knew nothing about Duel Monsters and deceived you. They took advantage of your gentle heart, which wanted to guide others into the world of monsters with relatively peaceful battles, and took the opportunity to start a dangerous dark game."

"That despicable behavior tarnished your gentleness and enraged me. I will never allow anyone to humiliate a duel, or to humiliate someone stronger than me, with such vile means!"

Atum said with a hint of anger, "In that dark game, I sensed that the barrier between dimensions seemed to be loosening, so I immediately borrowed Ramses II's Gate to the Underworld and waited for the opportunity to come to the mortal world. The moment the barrier between the mortal world and the underworld disappeared, I seized the opportunity and came here."

"So Aibo, where is the person who hurt you? You don't need to lift a finger, let me defeat him in this rare duel!"

“Although your momentum is quite good, Atum…” Hayato shrugged, glancing at the Blue God who was still lying face down on the ground not far away, “You seem to be a little late. Just a few minutes ago, I defeated the culprit who hurt your important Aibo and the one who made the barrier between the human world and the underworld disappear.”

"Huh?" Atum's fighting spirit vanished instantly upon hearing Hayato's words. Somewhat bewildered, he followed Hayato's gaze and saw Ayane looking utterly defeated. "Huh?"

"It's probably a delay between the underworld and the human world. There's nothing we can do about it, hahaha." Noticing that Atum's angry expression had faltered, the game quickly found an excuse for him.

Having traveled all the way from the underworld of Egypt to Domino City, he made a grand entrance that shocked everyone, and declared with great fighting spirit that he would defeat the Blue God who had hurt him. However, the information he learned was from several weeks ago, and only after the Blue God had already been defeated.

What a loss of composure! If it were someone with a thinner skin, they would probably have committed suicide out of shame by now—although Atum can't commit suicide, after all, how can someone who died three thousand years ago die again?

However, it was clear that Atum's skin was much thicker than he had imagined when he was in the game. Although he was somewhat embarrassed, he regained his composure after looking away from Blue God and looked at Hayato, saying, "Hmm, I can tell at a glance that it was you who defeated the opponent, Hayato. You did a good job, you did a good job!"

As Atum tried to cover up his embarrassment with exaggerated words, Jonouchi excitedly said from the audience on the ground, "It really is another game, no, it really is Atum! I had a feeling it was him just now."

"Isn't it said that there's a barrier between the underworld and the human world?" Bakura scratched his head, somewhat puzzled. "Why is Atum here? Did he escape on his own?!"

“Those things don’t matter. What matters is that Atum is back from the underworld.” Honda patted Bakura on the shoulder, and together with Jonouchi, they stood up and excitedly looked up at the high platform in the sky, exclaiming, “Yay!”

The two of them were so excited they couldn't sit still, but the audience behind them remained quite calm.

"Are these young people so naive? Those virtual projections before were much more realistic. This is just a close-up look at Haima Group's special effects. Is it really necessary to get this excited?"

"Because I'm still a kid. And although I don't want to admit it, even I've made mistakes because I'm young."