Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"The stage is all set, let's go, teacher!" Jaden exclaimed excitedly. "Entering the battle phase, I'm going to use [E·hero Flame Wingman] to attack your [Ancient Mechanical Giant]. Because of the [Skyscraper] effect, [E·hero] only increases damage calculation by 1000 points when fighting monsters with higher attack power!"

"Then wouldn't that mean—" Chronos's eyes widened as he looked at the [E·hero Flame Winged Man] standing atop the tall building under the moonlight, "3100 attack power?!?"

"Mamma mia!"

"It's exactly 100 points higher than your [Ancient Mechanical Giant], teacher." Jaden waved his hand. "Alright, Showtime! [E·Hero Flame Wingman]!"

"Skyscraper Strike!"

With a powerful leap, [E·hero Flame Wingman] soared from the top of the skyscraper, his single wing propelling him to an even higher position. Using his dragon tail to adjust his posture, he swooped down from the sky to attack [Ancient Mechanical Giant].

Flames and wind intertwined, forming a protective shield around [E·hero Flame Winged Man], which collided with the [Ancient Mechanical Giant] who swung his iron fist on the field!

"boom!"

[Kronos: 2700→2600LP]

Seeing his base score drop again, Chronos scratched his head in frustration: "My [Ancient Mechanical Titan]! This is terrible! To be suppressed to this extent by a weakling, how utterly humiliating!"

The Ancient Mechanical Titan was destroyed without any controversy by E. Hero Flame Wingman. However, when the smoke and dust from the destruction of the Ancient Mechanical Titan dissipated slightly, Chronos found that E. Hero Flame Wingman, who should have returned to the Jaden's field after the attack, was now standing in front of him with his arms crossed.

Chronos, who was thinking about getting revenge in the next round, suddenly felt a pang of anxiety. He vaguely remembered that Principal Hayato had mentioned a card that could kill monsters with 3000 attack power before, and the name seemed to be [E·Hero Flame Wingman].

I remember its effect was something like this—

"The effect of 【E·Hero Flame Wingman】 is to inflict damage to the opponent's duelist equal to the original ATK of the destroyed monster after it is destroyed in battle." Jaden told Chronos the answer, then smiled and waved his hand, saying, "I'll get Da☆ze for this duel, teacher!"

"The sparks shattered!"

【E·hero Flame Wingman】extended his right arm and aimed it at Chronos. The dragon's head opened, and flames and storms mingled together, passing through Chronos's body and blowing him into the ruins left after the 【Ancient Mechanical Giant】 fell. The remaining life points were completely wiped out.

"Ugh... What a loss of composure, no way..."

[Kronos: 2600LP→0]

Although he already knew it was Jaden's victory, Daichi Misawa was still excited when Chronos's Life Points were completely wiped out: "He actually won! He defeated that Professor Chronos!"

"That kid is surprisingly interesting." Asuka Tenjouin was equally surprised that Jaden could actually defeat Chronos, and she looked with great interest at Jaden, who was waving to the crowd as if he had won a world championship.

In contrast, Ryo Marufuji only glanced at Judai's performance a couple more times. After confirming that he had seen the performances of all the new students this year from beginning to end, he stood up and left without looking back.

Meanwhile, Manjoume, who had never doubted that Jaden could defeat Chronos, actually had a furrowed brow since the start of Jaden's second round. Even after seeing Jaden win, he didn't relax, which made his underlings wonder if Jaden was too strong, to the point that even "that person" felt threatened.

But in reality, what Manjoume thought was completely different from what others thought.

'That jellyfish-headed guy, he just used those low-level minions the whole time, and his only effect monster was that [E-Hero Bubble Man]. He didn't even use the remaining ordinary monster [E-Hero Electro Man], let alone the other [E-Hero] effect monsters.'

'Furthermore, the trap card configuration is only about one-tenth of what it used to be; very few trap cards were used throughout the entire duel. This is nothing like the [E·hero] deck I remember. Was that guy holding back?'

'Or is it that after being away from Domino City for so many years, without the intense dueling atmosphere, all the dueling bacteria on that jellyfish-headed guy have died out, and his dueling skills have deteriorated?'

"I won! What an interesting duel!" Thinking this, Manjoume smiled as he watched Jaden taunt the defeated Chronos. 'That's my perfect chance for revenge. Jaden, I, Manjoume, will defeat you!'

'The Emperor of Duel Academy is none other than Manjoume Jun, and that has never changed!'

Chapter 1062 The Light of Materialism

"I am the principal, Hayato Kobayashi! That has never changed!"

Hayato looked at Manjoume's arrogant expression on the screen and said, "That's probably what he's thinking, right? I can pretty much guess what he's thinking just by looking at his expression."

"Manjoume... the youngest of the three Manjoume brothers from the Manjoume Group, right?" Beside Hayato, Kaiba sat ramrod straight, watching a video of a duel practice session playing on Hayato's phone. "I remember the newly appointed mayor of Domino City..."

"That's right, it's Manjoume Masaji, who graduated from the same year as us. He got an offer from the International Illusion Company right after graduating from the game. He's not bad either; he got a job in Domino City through connections. You can only say that the Manjoume Group is quite something."

Holding a bamboo skewer, Hayato picked up a takoyaki and put it in his mouth, saying jokingly, "This is all thanks to the Kaiba Group. Because of the long-term cooperation with the Kaiba Group and even the connection with the International Illusion Society, the Manjoume Group has been thriving."

"Are you praising the Manjoume Group or cursing them? I always feel that the phrase 'thriving' isn't a good thing." Compared to Hayato's numerous small but varied dishes in front of him, Kaiba only had a simple glass of water in front of him, but he didn't even drink it. "As for you, you specially called me out of the lab just to show me this kind of boring stuff?"

"And it was even in a small pub, sitting at the bar eating."

Hayato shrugged: "Oh well, let's just make do. It's only in small places like this that it's quiet. If we went to public places, we would have been recognized long ago, and we wouldn't be able to have a proper conversation. Besides, I'm just showing you the excellent performance of the new students on the entrance exam."

"Hmph, I have absolutely no interest in those naive duelists."

"You really had better be." Hayato picked up a piece of grilled eel and glanced at Kaiba. "Knowing that it will be a long time before Judai grows up to the point where he can defeat you, I don't know who couldn't wait to bully the weaker one first and suddenly wanted to build a hot spring at the school."

“A considerable portion of the island that belongs to the Duel Academy is empty. It would be a waste to use it only as a warehouse, dock, and airport. Building a recreational area with multiple functions would also help guests who have traveled a long way to the island to rest better,” Kaiba explained seriously.

"And what about that alternate dimension beneath the hot spring, which someone somehow managed to create?"

Kaiba's reply to Hayato was: "Hmph!"

Duel Academy Island was once the base of the alchemist Diablo. On this island, he conducted various experiments for his chosen research topic, "human transmutation," including but not limited to research on biological modification and life force conversion. He even created artificial spirits resembling those in monster movies, the "Unbounded Realms," and a large-scale alchemical array called "Seven Spirits Unlocking Gate" on his own. The former were freed by Hayato destroying the cards that bound their souls, while the latter were suppressed and buried underground on Duel Academy Island.

However, the absence of the experimental products does not mean that the impact of Diablo's experiments has been completely erased. Due to the influence of his experiments on artificial spirits and the gathering of life force, Duel Academy Island has become very prone to attracting tiny alternate dimensions, that is, small alternate worlds similar to "Avalon" that Hayato encountered in Victoria. This may be what is known as "gravity".

The "gravity" of Duel Academy Island is drawing those special small worlds closer, eventually causing the entrances and exits of those alternate dimensions to appear on Duel Academy Island.

As far as Hayato knows, there are three known entrances to other dimensions on Duel Academy Island, including a new dimension beneath the pool of the hot spring resort hastily built by the Kaiba Group before the start of the school year. No matter how you look at it, the appearance of this new dimension is inextricably linked to Kaiba.

"I have absolutely no interest in supernatural things like 'spirits,' and I don't understand any of that nonsense you're talking about," Kaiba retorted with a serious expression. "Besides, what do the things that Kaiba people do have to do with me, Seto Kaiba?"

"...I didn't say I saw a guy in that alternate dimension wearing a Blue-Eyes White Dragon helmet, with a voice like some kind of demon residing in a belt that steals people's lifespans and turns them into 80-year-olds, and dressed in a white trench coat, who called himself 'Kaiba Man'." Hayato teased Kaiba, who suddenly self-destructed, only to receive another cold snort in return.

"Humph!"

"Whatever, the island's alternate dimension won't miss you anyway. In fact, even if you don't create one on the island, that location might attract other worlds in the future. That island is perfect for opening doors to other worlds." Thinking about what would happen in the future in the original timeline, Hayato picked up his glass and took a sip. "But I'm a little curious, how did you do it?"

"Do you remember that 'Dragon Wheel' that I didn't finish before?" Kaiba asked, getting excited when Hayato mentioned it, and proudly showing off to him.

"Isn't it 'Series D'?"

"Hmph, I don't remember that awful name. Can inventions be called borrowing?" Hearing Hayato's words, Kaiba pretended to have amnesia and changed the subject. "I've checked the basic functions of that 'Dragon Wheel,' and they all work normally. In fact, with sufficient and stable power, it can even accelerate to exceed the speed of light, breaking through the limitations of space and time and ascending to a higher dimension."

"However, it was the lack of a stable and sufficient power supply that prevented the 'Dragon Wheel' from being completed. A stable enough power supply was not enough to fully drive the device, and the high energy that Haima Group's technology could produce was not stable enough. In the end, I had to put the device on hold for the time being."

“That’s normal. The earliest human technology was born from a flame, and energy science is the main driving force for technological development.” Hayato nodded, able to understand Kaiba’s words to some extent, unlike Malik or Jonouchi who could only reply with “born of a mother.” “As for the ‘D-Wheel’… well, the original ‘Dragon Wheel’ was powered by the interaction between active asteroid particles that could carry human emotional energy and a perpetual motion machine used to convert this energy. Now that the asteroid particles are not active, it can only be used as decoration.”

It's like a time traveler bringing a computer back to the steam age of the First Industrial Revolution. No matter how good the computer's performance is, it's meaningless in an era when even alternating current hadn't been invented—or rather, discovered—by Tesla, if it couldn't even be turned on.

However, nothing is absolute. If what Hayato heard from Dartz wasn't just bragging, Dartz would have already created a large server and even backed up himself long before the steam engine appeared at the exhibition. But that's an exception and doesn't count, just like when Fudo Yusei used the power of the Red Dragon to travel from the future back to the past, he also brought with him a considerable number of active Yusei particles.

"Why are you suddenly bringing this up? Have you found the active asteroid particles that can power the 'D...Dragon Wheel'?" Hayato asked Kaiba curiously. If the asteroid particles are becoming more active, does that mean a Synchro Summon will be possible soon?

Unfortunately, the seahorse shook its head: "There is no such thing, and even if there were, it should be called 'hippocampal particles'."

"After stealing the 'D-Wheel,' you're now stealing 'Astrop Particles.' Are you Edison, Seth?"

"I think I am a genius and have made many inventions, but I am not a businessman who is only interested in profit and fame."

After a pause, Kaiba pointed to the live feed of the Duel Academy entrance exam's practical assessment being played on Hayato's phone, which was playing inside the Kaiba Dome, and continued, "That guy named Deva who dueled with you there before, also known as 'Blue God,' and his gang of companions who call themselves 'Plana,' in order to make up for the economic losses they caused to the Kaiba Corporation and Domino City, each of them has to work for me."

"Through my research on their bodies, I finally found a special way, combined with the device on the 'Dragon Wheel,' to effectively reduce the energy required to open up other dimensions. So, during the construction of the hot spring pavilion on the island attached to the Duel Academy, I chose that place as the experimental site. Although the success rate was not high and it was difficult to replicate, I did succeed. That space was a successful case."

"If we continue the research, soon..."

Kaiba didn't continue speaking, but instead frowned and looked at Hayato, saying, "What kind of look is that? Why are you looking at me like that?"

“If you do anything inappropriate to your own kind, you'll be sentenced to death on Jupiter,” Hayato sighed. “It’s also my fault for not keeping a closer eye on you, Seth, which led you down this path of crime. Come with me to turn yourself in and beg the government to be lenient with you for daring to conduct human experiments…”

"What nonsense are you spouting? You don't actually think I dissected and analyzed those people, do you? Hmph, how much do you underestimate the technological level of the Haima Group? Those people didn't even need blood drawn from me. I only conducted basic examinations on them from beginning to end, and even cured some of them of their early-stage cancer," Haima said proudly. "The Haima Group's science and technology are number one in the world!"

"It's impressive that you were able to achieve such results. You're truly a shining example of materialism in this world where gods and demons descend, divine artifacts display their power, and superpowers run rampant." Hayato's lips twitched as he retorted after hearing that Kaiba hadn't conducted any research or even drawn blood.

Since the "Dark Side of Dimensions" incident, all of Prana's special abilities have disappeared with the silence of the Quantum Cube. They only retain their most basic emotional sensing and super intuition, but can no longer perform spatial teleportation as before. They have transformed from superhumans back into slightly different humans, that is, "new humans" in the true sense.

Hayato's forehead will have a special mark of Prana appearing when he uses the Quantum Cube. He only kept it without removing it because he thought the pattern looked nice.

Even for Hayato, opening the gate to another dimension with the Quantum Cube would be troublesome. If it were the underworld, it would be easier, as the difficulty could be reduced by using Ramses II's underworld gate in Egypt, allowing Atem to occasionally return to the mortal world for a visit. However, Kaiba managed to open up another dimension using only technology, without even having the Quantum Cube.

This is very much like the Kaiba Group, reminding Hayato of the future in the original timeline, where after Duel Academy was transferred to another world, it was even possible to use technology to communicate between the other world and reality, and even to transfer specific items.

In other worlds, technology often fails and is rendered useless in the face of supernatural forces such as magic due to reasons like "mystery." But Kaiba is different; he can actually use technology to create things that even magic cannot do.

Kaiba was actually keeping something from Hayato: the alternate dimension beneath the hot spring was indeed an experiment he conducted, but it wasn't Kaiba's original purpose. It was merely to verify a hypothesis, and the success of the experiment confirmed that his hypothesis was correct.

With the help of Prana—no, with the power of the even more advanced Quantum Cube—and by providing the Dragon Wheel with sufficient speed, the combination of these two forces might be able to achieve something the Quantum Cube currently cannot: open the gates of the underworld. That way, I could go find that hiding Atum guy and play cards anytime, anywhere!

"Speaking of medicine, do you know anything about that Kagemaru?" Because Kaiba mentioned that he could even cure cancer, Hayato couldn't help but think of an old man who was involved in the founding of Duel Academy. That Kagemaru runs a pharmaceutical company. "I remember he went into their company's life support pod three or four years ago. How come he's still alive and making money?"

"What grudge do you have against him?" Kaiba glanced at Hayato, took a sip of water from his cup, and didn't notice the sudden brightness in Hayato's eyes. He continued, "Although he's not dead yet, he'll be soon. In the end, while Kagemaru Pharmaceutical Group's medical technology is good, it's only good for the low-to-mid-range market. They can do cheap and good work, but when it comes to high-end technology, they're no match for Kaiba Group."

"There's not even a need for me to intervene. Before I took over the Haima Group, Haima Gangzaburo's investments in the medical field alone were stronger than the technology of Yingmaru Pharmaceutical Group."

Hayato nodded: "That's true. Kaibania caused us a lot of trouble back then, especially since he dared to interrupt my Ten-Hand opening move, which was simply unforgivable!"

Even now, Hayato still remembers how, during Duel City, his perfect starting hand was about to wipe out Yugi, Jonouchi, and Kaiba in one fell swoop, when Noa infiltrated Kaiba's Duel Airship, forcibly shutting down his own game and interrupting his actions.

However, that Noa Kaiba was someone who had already died long before Seto Kaiba was adopted by Gosaburo Kaiba, and had been transferred to the virtual world by Gosaburo Kaiba. In fact, before the transfer, Gosaburo Kaiba forcibly kept Noa Kaiba's life, which should have died, alive using a life support pod.

In comparison, Kagemaru's technology is simply inadequate. Even though Kaiba Noa was declared dead after all attempts to save him failed, Kaiba Gosaburo was able to forcibly maintain his vital signs so that he wouldn't die completely. So many years after Kaiba Gosaburo died, Kagemaru Group's technology couldn't even keep Kagemaru alive.

However, upon hearing that Kagemaru was almost dead, Hayato knew that he probably couldn't wait any longer and would have to start his operation in order to survive, so he could start making preparations.

Hayato finished the last sip of cola in his glass, popped the last takoyaki into his mouth, took out his wallet, and said to Kaiba with a smile, "So, shall we split the bill?"

Looking at the pile of empty plates in front of Hayato, and then at the water in front of him that he had only taken a sip of, Kaiba had a curse word about to be uttered.

Chapter 1063 Card Exchange Meeting

A luxury cruise ship sails on the sea, the ceaseless waves crashing against its steel frame, yet unable to budge the giant vessel.

"It is said that in the Duel Kingdom, the legendary duelists traveled on such a cruise ship to the island where Pegasus, the father of Duel Monsters, the founder of International Illusion, a genius game producer, and also a legendary duelist, lived."

On the deck, the green-haired little guy, Marufuji Sho, showed off his knowledge to Yuki Jaden, who was leaning on the railing enjoying the sea breeze. "For example, legendary duelists who are still active in the professional duelist circle, such as 'Dinosaur' Ryuzaki, 'Fisherman' Kajiki Ryota, as well as Jonouchi Katsuya, Peacock Mai, etc., have all been on that cruise ship. It even includes Mr. Muto Yugi and Mr. Duel King Kobayashi Hayato."

"Wow, that's impressive. So many famous duelists. I wonder if this cruise ship we're standing on is the same one from back then?"

Upon hearing Judai's words, Marufuji Sho shook his head: "How could that be? Duel Kingdom was five or six years ago. The cruise ship we are on was specially purchased by Mr. Seto Kaiba, the founder of Duel Academy, from the famous international shipping group Anasis, specifically for us students going to Duel Academy."

"This is probably one of the few opportunities for ordinary people like us to ride on such a luxurious cruise ship."

Jaden nodded, seemingly understanding, but didn't explain to Sho that he had actually ridden similar cruise ships quite a few times. When Sho said that this cruise ship wasn't the one from Duel Kingdom, he seemed somewhat uninterested. Compared to Sho Marufuji, who was concerned about the "luxury" cruise ship, Jaden was more interested in the fact that it was "similar to the ones that the legendary duelists of yesteryear rode."

Misawa Daichi, who was also standing on the deck, put down the freshman handbook in his hand and looked at Marufuji Sho curiously, saying, "These things are from the academy introduction published on the Duel Academy's official website, right? Marufuji, your memory is pretty good, but why were you ranked 119th in the exam?"

The first half of Misawa Daichi's sentence made Marufuji Sho feel praised and he was about to get proud, but when he heard Misawa's last sentence, he visibly wilted in an instant and awkwardly changed the subject: "In short, although this is not the cruise ship from the Duel Kingdom back then, I remember that the academy arranged a special event on this cruise ship based on the experiences of the legendary duelists."

"Oh, that sounds interesting! Let's go over there!" Upon hearing Marufuji Sho's words, Judai didn't even want to feel the sea breeze anymore and immediately wanted to drag Marufuji Sho along to the venue of the special event. Misawa Daichi glanced at the two noisy people. Although he was somewhat interested in Judai, the "No.1", he still preferred the deck with only the sound of waves and wind.

After departing from the Domino City pier, the academy's teachers allowed the new students free time. It was because the deck was quiet and not crowded that Daichi Misawa chose to look at the new student handbook there. It contained a lot of important information for new students, such as how many clubs were available to join, what elective courses were offered and which teachers taught them, which dangerous areas on the island were off-limits to students, and even details about how often the Duel Academy replenished its supplies and when.

Although there was a lot of useless information, such as being demoted for skipping classes for more than a month without a valid reason and being expelled for entering prohibited areas without permission, there was also a lot of useful information. So Misawa wanted to finish reading the freshman handbook before the cruise ship arrived at the school and did not go back to the ship with Judai and Sho.