Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

The only special facility there was the school clinic. After all, for patients, being secluded was not a disadvantage but a rare advantage, and its proximity to the warehouse made it easy to access supplies.

Marufuji Ryo suddenly felt a sense of unease. Now that the "Seven Stars" incident had completely ended, the academy seemed to have returned to peace, but he still remembered one thing: when Marufuji Ryo asked Principal Hayato about how Tenjouin Fubuki had disappeared, Hayato had told him that the mastermind behind the "Seven Stars" incident, Kagemaru, was actually just using Fubuki, and that Fubuki's disappearance had little to do with him. The real cause of Fubuki's disappearance was someone else.

Moreover, although Fubuki has returned, another person who disappeared with her was Fujiwara Yusuke. According to Hayato, there is an even greater darkness hidden behind the disappearances of Tenjouin Fubuki and Fujiwara Yusuke, but that is something Marufuji Ryo doesn't need to worry about.

No need to think about it? It would be difficult for Marufuji Ryo to do that, because looking at the man and woman ahead who were unaware of his following, Marufuji Ryo couldn't help but doubt their identities.

The keywords "pretending" and "asleep" in the words, the strange sense of unfamiliarity and familiarity, and the destination the other party was heading towards, immediately made him think of something - could the other party be someone related to the disappearance of Tenjouin Fubuki, who was worried that Fubuki would implicate them after she fully recovered and woke up, and came to silence Fubuki on purpose!

Without thinking twice, Marufuji Ryo immediately took a shortcut based on his familiarity with the academy, intending to reach the school clinic where Fubuki was before the other person. Before long, he successfully arrived in front of the path that the two people were on.

Having put on his Duel Disk, Ryo Marufuji stood in the middle of the passage, blocking the two of them, and said, "Although it was just a guess before, now that we've come this far, there's no doubt that your target is the school infirmary, or more precisely, Fubuki, right? You two with unknown origins."

"Are you the kid who sits in the last row during Hayato's class?" The blonde woman in the boy and girl pair recognized Marufuji Ryo as he blocked their way and admitted it frankly, even poking the arm of the man next to her. "Is the infirmary just ahead? I told you I remembered the map and didn't go the wrong way, but you didn't believe me."

"You can memorize a map after just a few glances? Your memory is still as ridiculous as ever. No wonder you used to be able to cheat by marking cards with perfume... Hmm! I get it, I won't bring up your past embarrassing history."

Rubbing his waist, the blond youth looked at Marufuji Ryo and said, "So, young man, why did you stop us...?"

"I will not allow you to lay a hand on Fubuki." Pushing his deck into the slot like loading a magazine into a gun, and lifting the unfolded Duel Disk to wait for the deck to automatically shuffle, Ryo Marufuji looked straight at the man and said, "Here, Accelerator."

Although he didn't know what Marufuji Ryo meant, the blond youth could tell that the other party had clearly misunderstood something. Instead of explaining, he said with great interest, "A duel? I also want to see what level the students in the academy are at. It's been so long since I've had a duel, I can warm up in advance."

“However, I’ll stick with this deck. I don’t want to be seen as a bully who’s shameless.” The blond man took out a deck and inserted it into his Duel Disk. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Ah, you can call me K.”

For duelists in the arena, greetings were a sacred and inviolable ritual. Those who knew the other's name were obligated to return the greeting and also inform the other of their own name, as recorded in the Kojiki (I am certain).

“Obelisk-Blue, Ryo Marufuji”.

Upon hearing Marufuji Ryo's words, Katsuya glanced at his uniform: "I see. Blue is Obelisk. Tsk, it really does have that annoying guy's style. What a coincidence."

"So......"

"Duel!"

[Katsuya: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand]

[Ryo Marufuji: 4000LP, 5 card in hand]

Chapter 1211 Youth Spent with "Mortal Bones"

"I'll take the first turn. Draw a card!"

Using the [Cyber ​​Dragon] deck, Ryo Marufuji had no need for going first. In fact, he would just voluntarily give up the first turn and had no intention of competing with Katsuya for the first turn, watching his opponent draw a card from his deck.

The blonde woman named "Mai" behind Katsuya didn't stand far away. With her excellent eyesight as a duelist, she immediately saw Katsuya's hand, which he hadn't bothered to conceal. She said with slight surprise, "These cards? It's been a while. But is it really okay to duel with these cards?"

"Let's hope it doesn't crash."

"Hmph, the key to deciding the outcome of a duel isn't the performance of the Duel Monster cards. There's a saying, right? I'm pretty strong, you know." Katsuya pointed to himself with his thumb and said confidently, "Besides, they're old friends who have fought alongside me for a long time, so don't underestimate them."

"During my Main Phase, I activate the Normal Spell Card 'Reinforcement' to add one Level 4 or lower Warrior-Type monster from my Deck to my hand. I chose this Level 4 'Fighting Flame Swordsman'."

"Then, the attack indicates that the [Flame Swordsman] is normally summoned."

When Ryo Marufuji heard Katsuya's words, he remembered the card "Flame Swordsman". He remembered that the card was a Level 5 fusion monster. However, in the early days of Duel Monsters, there seemed to be a normal monster version as well. It was not very rare, so there were many users. But the most famous one was the legendary duelist, the Black Dragon Katsuya Jonouchi.

However, with the ever-changing landscape of Duel Monsters, the once-reliable "Flame Swordsman" is now outdated. Surprisingly, we can still see an upgraded version of "Flame Swordsman" today.

In the corridor, flames began to spread beneath Yu Keye's feet, rising in a ring like a fire dragon. Within it, a warrior appeared, pulling out a heavy sword made of flames stuck in the ground. The red skirt wrapped around his waist fluttered in the air heated by the flames.

"Blazing sword drawn! When the blazing dragon and the fiery sword clash, the crimson sword will pierce through evil!" After a somewhat ambiguous announcement, Katsuya placed the card on the Duel Disk. "Come forth, [Flame Swordsman]!"

The flames around the warrior wielding the heavy sword engraved with the words "Fighting Flame" subsided slightly, allowing Ryo Marufuji to see his specific data and appearance. However, before checking the monster's data, Ryo Marufuji's gaze lingered on the face of the [Fighting Flame Swordsman].

Does this face look familiar?

"So that's why you were all excited all of a sudden. So it was because of this card." Behind Katsuya, Mai couldn't help but rub her forehead. "I really don't understand you men. Are you that excited to fight with a card that looks just like you?"

"Of course! Immersion, that's the important thing! Isn't it cool to fight with cards that are exactly like your own?" Although he's not young, Katsuya still couldn't help but smile excitedly like a child. "Just thinking about it is awesome, isn't it? Especially this, Mai, look, the attack and defense of the card 【Partner of Justice - Kaiba Man】 are very low, right? But my 【Flame Swordsman】 has higher attack and defense, and its effect is also higher."

"Then why don't you mention that [Partner of Justice - Kaiba] also has the ability to Special Summon [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]? In the end, aren't you just trying to outdo that annoying president?"

While the woman named Mai was talking to Katsuya, Marufuji Ryo put aside his question about why the card looked so much like her and started looking at the specific stats of [Flame Swordsman].

【Flame Swordsman】【4☆/Flame】

[Warrior Race/Effect]

[1800/1600]

"1800 ATK and 1600 DEF are pretty good stats for a 4-star monster," Ryo Marufuji said to Katsuya. "Besides that, does that card seem to have any other useful effects?"

"Of course! This card was made based on me, and I'm no ordinary person or mediocre talent," Katsuya said with a smile. "The [Flame Swordsman] card has two effects, each of which can be used once per turn."

"If [Flame Swordsman] is successfully Summoned or Special Summoned, I will add one Spell/Trap Card with the name [Flame Swordsman] from my Deck to my hand. I choose the Continuous Spell Card [Flame Sword Domain]."

"And activate this Continuous Spell Card [Flame Sword Domain], when I successfully Summon a Warrior-Type FIRE monster, my opponent cannot activate card effects."

The flames that had slightly subsided did not go out. Instead, they rose up again with the help of the newly activated Continuous Spell Card, transforming into a winding, ascending vortex of flames around Katsuya's [Flame Swordsman] on the field. And at the highest point of the flames, an almost solid head had actually condensed, which was clearly a coiled fire dragon!

"Activate this Continuous Spell Card only after a monster has already been summoned?"

Hearing Ryo Marufuji's question, Katsuya wiped his nose with his finger and smiled confidently, "Hehe, there's no rule that a card can only have one effect, right? Besides the first effect of being permanent, [Flame Sword Domain] has two other effects. And now, I'm going to activate its second effect."

"I can only activate its second effect by sending one face-up monster from my hand or field to the Graveyard. The monster I send to the Graveyard is the [Flame Swordsman] in Attack Position on the field." Without hesitation, Katsuya sent his identical [Flame Swordsman] to the Graveyard, then showed a purple-bordered monster card to Ryo Marufuji. "Then, I Special Summon this identical [Flame Swordsman] from my Fusion Deck as a Fusion Summon!"

"A fiery sword is drawn! The crimson blade will pierce through evil and burn everything!"

"Fusion Summon! [Flame Swordsman]!"

The engulfing flames surged into the body of the [Fighting Flame Swordsman] on the field, and the subdued flames erased the "Fighting" character on the greatsword in his hand, leaving only the simple "Flame" character. However, his specific attack and defense values ​​remained unchanged, only his level increased from 4☆ to 5☆.

【Flame Swordsman】【5☆/Flame】

[Warrior Race/Fusion]

[1800/1600]

Watching Katsuya transform the monster on the field into a vanilla Fusion Monster after a series of maneuvers, Ryo Marufuji inexplicably felt underestimated. After all, his deck's cornerstone monster—Cyber ​​Dragon—was also a Level 5 monster, yet it could be Special Summoned directly from his hand without consuming a Normal Summon attempt, and even with comparable DEF, its ATK was 300 points higher than Flame Swordsman.

“Ah, that’s the feeling.” Without warning, Katsuya suddenly said, looking at the silent Ryo Marufuji, “Although you didn’t say anything and your gaze towards the [Flame Swordsman] was calm, deep down you were looking down on the [Flame Swordsman].

With one hand hanging down and the other on his hip, Katsuya sighed with a rather wistful tone, "It seems like a long time has passed without me realizing it. It feels like just yesterday that I was having duels with my friends during breaks, using our desks as dueling grounds. But in the blink of an eye, it's been so long."

"Young man over there, do you know someone named Jonouchi?"

Hearing Katsuya's words, Marufuji Ryo was somewhat puzzled, but still gave his answer out of politeness. Because he had been classmates and friends with Tenjouin Fubuki, who was a fan of Jonouchi, Marufuji Ryo knew quite a bit about the world champion Jonouchi's achievements, even though he hadn't actively sought it out.

“I respect him greatly. That man bore the burden of his parents’ divorce alone, determined to make something of himself, and eventually became a world-class professional duelist.” After a pause, Ryo Marufuji continued, “But as far as I know, his dueling style is purely intuitive, and he often resorts to brute force and luck, to the point that he has never defeated another legendary duelist, Seto Kaiba, even once. In this respect, I think he is a person who can even be called ‘stupid’.”

Katsuya was initially pleased with the first part of what he heard, but the second part made him look embarrassed and ashamed. He scratched his cheek and said in a strange tone, "Very, very accurate evaluation."

"But do you know that his dueling style was ultimately formed because of his personal experiences and personality, and it's not something that can be changed just by wanting to. Rather, every duelist has his own unique style, and there is no path to follow that can be taken by predecessors."

Katsuya's words were completely different from the education Marufuji Ryo had received in the past. In his earliest education, the first thing to do in the "Cyber ​​Flow" duels was to master the use of [Cyber ​​Ogre], [Cyber ​​Dragon], and finally [Cyber ​​Terminator Dragon]. This path of growth was the way that the "Cyber ​​Flow" had passed down from its predecessors over many years.

However, this man, Katsuya, said that no one can walk the path of those who came before.

No, Ryo Marufuji understood that there was more to his words than met the eye. It wasn't that there were no duelists who could follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, but those duelists were not true duelists. Ryo Marufuji understood what Katsuya meant.

Surprisingly, he did not refute Katsuya's theory, but listened quietly.

Looking at the [Flame Swordsman] on the Duel Disk, the man named Katsuya smiled nostalgically: "Some people are just born to use tactics like releasing monsters or stealing cards."

Some people are not good at attacking, so they excel at defense and counterattack.

"Some scoundrels take advantage of their money and do whatever they want, stuffing their decks full of powerful cards and often drawing out matching sets of cards without shuffling them."

Although there seems to be a bit of personal bias in the comments, Katsuya finally put it into practice: "As for some people, they don't have enough money to buy powerful cards, nor do they have enough emotional soul to easily resonate with the cards. They can only use cards pieced together from various sources to gradually gain their own unique growth through repeated failures."

"If we represent the pinnacle of life numerically, with the highest being 100, some people start from 99, some from 0, and some are forced to start from a negative position, even if they work hard for a long time, they only end up going from a negative number to 0."

"If I were to use cards to represent the four types of people I mentioned earlier, the first type would be represented by Spell Cards, the second by Trap Cards, and the third by Powerful Effect Monsters. But the fourth type would be represented by Weak Normal Monsters, which are derogatory terms for 'ordinary monsters'."

"My youth was spent with the derogatory term 'mortal bone' and the monster of 'mortal bone'."

After a pause, Katsuya suddenly extended his right fist and revealed a confident smile, saying, "However, there has never been a reason why 'ordinary bones' cannot defeat the powerful 'monsters' who are high above. Don't underestimate ordinary bones, young man, even ordinary bones have a burning flame in their hearts."

"Ignite it, [Swordsman of Flames]!"

With the appearance of the fused monster [Flame Swordsman], the gradually extinguished flames suddenly surged again at Katsuya's shout, transforming back into a single, winding dragon of fire!

"The second effect of 'Flame Swordsman' can be activated when this card is sent to the Graveyard!" Katsuya showed a card to Ryo Marufuji, "From my Deck/Fusion Deck, send one monster other than 'Flame Swordsman' with the 'Flame Swordsman' card name to the Graveyard. The card I sent to the Graveyard is this 'Flying Flame Dragon - Flying Dragon Flame' from my Deck!"

If Marufuji Ryo remembers correctly, the card name "Flying Dragon Flame" seems to be from a very early Equip Spell Card. Not only "Flame Swordsman," but even the early Equip Card "Flying Dragon Flame" has evolved into an Effect Monster?

The card 【Flying Flame Dragon - Flying Dragon Flame】 was sent to the graveyard, but the flames on Katsuya's field remained unchanged, still burning fiercely. Katsuya continued, "The 【Flying Flame Dragon - Flying Dragon Flame】 that was sent to the graveyard by 【Fighting Flame Swordsman】 still has an effect that can be activated. When this card is sent to the graveyard, add one 【Flying Dragon Flame】 Spell/Trap Card from my Deck to my hand. I chose 【Flying Dragon Flame Fusion】!"

"Next, activate the Equip Spell Card [Flying Dragon Flame Fusion]!"

Listening to Katsuya's series of actions, Marufuji Ryo secretly analyzed the situation. It seemed that the opponent had used up quite a few cards in this series of actions, but upon closer inspection, it could be seen that the opponent had only used one [Reinforcement] card to search for [Flame Swordsman] from beginning to end, and had been using one card at a time to search. Katsuya still had a full five cards in his hand.

However, using a Fusion Spell Card will still result in a significant loss of cards in your hand, so it's not a big deal—hmm?

Even Ryo Marufuji was somewhat surprised when he saw the card Katsuya inserted into the Duel Disk: "Equipment Spell Card, [Flying Dragon Flame Fusion]?"

Both the card art and the name clearly have a "fusion" style, so how could this card be an Equip Spell Card?

"No one says you can't have 'Fusion' in the name of an Equip Spell Card, right? That's what they say, but I actually have to complain about the name of this card too." Kyo said helplessly, pointing to the only monster on his field, "Only Warrior-Type FIRE monsters can equip this [Flying Dragon FIRE Fusion]. It increases the equipped monster's ATK by 700 and replaces one destruction."

"But each of the previous cards has more than one effect, so how can [Flying Dragon Flame Fusion] be a hindrance? If the monster equipped with [Flying Dragon Flame Fusion] is a Fusion Monster on my field, I can send this card and the Fusion Monster equipped with this card to the Graveyard to activate its second effect, which is also the 'Fusion' effect that truly lives up to its name!"

"I will Special Summon a Fusion Monster from my Fusion Deck as a Fusion Summon, either a single 'Flame Swordsman' or a Fusion Monster with the 'Flame Swordsman' card name. The monster I want to Special Summon is this one, a mortal who rivals the gods, and who has evolved all kinds of fiery flames, such as Azure Flame, Fierce Flame, and Steel Flame, to their ultimate form!"

"A fiery sword is drawn! A miraculous path forged by perseverance to protect what is precious at all times! The hero rises!"

"Fusion Summon! [Extreme Flame Swordsman]!"

(Sorry, wrong scene, this is the next one)

(Yes, they look alike, very alike.)

Chapter 1212 Deceiving Kang and then unfolding the story is common sense in a duel.

【Swordsman of Extreme Flame】【8☆/Flame】

[Warrior Race/Fusion/Effect]

[2800/1600]

The blond hair beneath the helmet grew rapidly with the surging power within him, eventually transforming into long, flowing golden hair.

The blades on his shoulder armor were melted and reforged by flames, and the two blades on each side pointed to the sky like the soaring fighting spirit on his body.