Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Because he knows that no matter how well-intentioned parents are, and how they want to use their past life experience to help their children avoid detours and setbacks, the generation gap will ultimately prevent the children from fully heeding their advice. Some things are just like that; no matter how much others remind you, it's useless. Only by trying and failing yourself can you appreciate the good intentions behind others' advice.

Maeda Hayato's ability to get into Duel Academy was actually the limit of his talent. Maeda Kumzo, who knew long ago that his son's talent was far inferior to others, never stopped his son from trying Duel Academy because of this. It was only after Maeda Hayato was held back a year at the end of last year due to poor grades that he gave his son a choice: whether to give up everything about Duel Monsters or continue to struggle in the darkness with no hope of success.

By then, Maeda Hayato's illusions had been shattered by everything at Duel Academy. He promised Maeda Kumazo that he would no longer fantasize and thus gave up everything about Duel Monsters. This semester was Maeda Hayato's first and last time repeating a grade, because according to the agreement between father and son, Maeda Hayato would drop out of school after this semester.

Originally, Maeda Hayato had accepted everything and wanted to finish his last semester at the academy before completely letting go of Duel Monsters and facing the reality of his lack of talent. However, his encounter with Jaden led Maeda Hayato to live a life completely different from before.

The passionate duels, the fascinating world of card monsters, the tense Dark Game—everything, good or bad, was an experience Maeda Hayato had never had before. His dream, which had been dormant due to his own lack of talent, was reawakened. He greedily fantasized about whether he could see more Duel Monsters if he could go a little further.

But the bubble of fantasy eventually bursts, and Maeda Kumazo's arrival unearths the reality that Maeda Hayato had deliberately forgotten, bringing it into the open. Torn between the cold reality on one hand and his love for Duel Monsters, struggling to survive, Maeda Hayato is conflicted and unable to give an answer to anyone, including himself.

"The job of a Duel Monsters card designer is indeed demanding, to the point that even the card design department at Mirage International is often short-staffed," Yugi said gently, looking at Maeda Kumazo. "But yes, the gaps can truly be filled with 'passion,' Mr. Kumazo."

"These materials are all the information compiled by the academy about Maeda Hayato since he enrolled. Although Maeda's grades fluctuated and even gradually declined during his first year, his grades have been steadily rising this year, which shows that he has been studying and improving himself."

Picking up a few sheets of paper in front of him, Yugi continued, "While card designers need to understand the rules of Duel Monsters and even the general trends in the duelist world, what's even more important is a love for cards and the 'heart' that's poured into them. The former can make one a qualified card designer, but only by possessing the latter can one become an excellent card designer!"

In the previous game, he had actually communicated with Maeda Kumō, who was invited to the academy. However, at that time, he only had a superficial understanding of Maeda Kumō through Kobayashi Hayato. He was easily refuted by Maeda Kumō in just a few words. After all, although Maeda Kumō's personality was gentle on the outside but firm on the inside, he was always mild-mannered unless he encountered any fundamental conflicts. Even if he was several years older, it did not mean that his personality would change.

However, if it were Atum instead, he might be able to persuade Maeda Kumazo with his nonsense.

In short, after being at a disadvantage in the initial exchange, while waiting for Maeda Hayato's arrival, Yugi went to the archives with Marufuji Ryo. With Kobayashi Hayato's authorization, Yugi printed out all the information about Maeda Hayato from the database and brought it to the principal's office. On the way, Yugi also carefully reviewed Maeda Hayato's information.

Although his performance after entering the university was terrible, Maeda Hayato has shown a completely different performance this year since repeating a year last year. Not only was he able to pass the targeted test given by Professor Chronos smoothly, but his mind was also much clearer than it was last year when he was in a daze. He was able to recall and apply the knowledge he had learned in the past in real combat, and he was even much more energetic and no longer had his head down without confidence as before.

After learning about Maeda Hayato's paintings and understanding his artistic skills, the game player was completely certain that he was the talent he wanted. Having gained a better understanding of Maeda Hayato, the player player was even more determined to persuade Maeda Kumazo to let Maeda Hayato join the International Illusion Society.

Unfortunately, although Maeda Kumazo was also a duelist, there are differences between duelists. He shook his head and still denied Yugi's words: "I also know that passion can bring people special motivation, but I know even more clearly that people's hearts can change. No matter how passionate a heart is, it cannot support a person to keep moving forward forever in the repetition of day after day."

"He might maintain his passion for a month, a year, three years, or even five years, but how long can he maintain his passion for Duel Monsters? When passion becomes work, enthusiasm fades faster than anything else. As someone who's been through it, I know this reality better than anyone!"

"But when his passion fades and he's reached an age where he can no longer regret his past, can he continue as a card designer? Or, without the talent to keep up with the times, how long can the cards he designs out of 'passion' survive without being rejected?"

If the game is positioned to support Hayato Maeda's pursuit of his ideals, then Maeda Kumzo did not negate Hayato's ideals; he simply raised a real-world question for the game to answer.

Just as programmers need to constantly "recharge" to learn new technologies and prevent their knowledge from falling behind as times progress, card designers also need to learn. Only after thoroughly understanding the current state of Duel Monsters can the cards they design fit the environment of Duel Monsters.

You can't design some humorous buff cards that can't be Special Summoned and are only Level 5 when the environment has accelerated to the point where other players can summon six big cards with counters in one turn, or fill a deck in one turn, or completely block your field.

(Ancient electronic dragon (confirmed))

Marufuji Ryo watched as Muto Yugi and Maeda Kumazo spoke. Each of their points made sense, and they both understood that the other's ideas were correct, yet they remained locked in a debate, unable to reach a single conclusion. Rather, their argument seemed to exist solely to allow Maeda Hayato to arrive at his own answer.

Well then, let me see how much you've grown after a year of working with Jaden Yuki.

Although he made a certain decision earlier today by watching Marufuji Sho's duel, it is not yet time for Marufuji Ryo to put his thoughts into practice. He wants to take one last look at everything at school in the month or so before graduation.

"Ultimately, who can say for sure what the future holds for Duel Monsters? Even though Duel Monsters is so popular now, wasn't the bubble economy a few years ago in a similar situation?"

Upon hearing Maeda Kumazo's words, Yugi knew he was referring to the East Country real estate under the Plaza Accord at the end of the last century, and immediately denied it, saying, "Duel Monsters is completely different from that time; the two are not the same thing in essence. I see, is that the reason? So, Mr. Kumazo, although you became a professional duelist because of the profits from Duel Monsters, you are still running your family dojo and businesses?"

“Unlike you people who don’t have to worry about income, we ordinary people can’t just be duelists, or even just do our best to make a living.” Kumazo said, no longer talking to Yugi, but turning to look at Maeda Hayato. “In the end, it’s this kid who can make the decision. There’s no point in us saying anything more.”

"So, your final choice is to give up everything in Duel Monsters as agreed and go home to help, or to continue pursuing your dream in the world of Duel Monsters?"

"I..." Faced with the question posed by his father, Maeda Hayato hesitated again, unable to utter a word. He closed his eyes, wrestling with his inner turmoil.

Although Mr. Game's high regard for her made her ecstatic and she fantasized about accepting the invitation to become a card designer for the International Illusion Society, her father's words kept reminding her of her own limitations.

Can I become a good card designer? Can I design cards that people love? Can I continue pursuing this passion?

Moving forward only leads to the unknown and darkness. None of my three questions have been answered. Wouldn't it be easier to give up the Duel Monster and go home to help, as promised, instead of struggling like this?

Even as he thought this, Maeda Hayato clenched his hands, recalling the experiences of the past year. He enjoyed the time he spent living with Jaden and Sho, and he felt his blood boil with excitement as he witnessed the duels. Although he didn't have the talent to stand in the dueling arena, just watching the dueling monsters made his heart surge with emotion.

The image of Jaden laughing heartily and giving a thumbs-up after each duel flashed through his mind. Maeda Hayato took a deep breath and said, "...I've never felt happy helping out at my family's restaurant."

"Huh? What did you say?" Maeda Kumazo raised his thick eyebrows and looked at Maeda Hayato, who had his head down, and asked.

Looking up at his father, Maeda Hayato said earnestly, "I don't want to give up on Duel Monsters. Even if it means breaking my promise to you, Dad, I want to continue watching Duel Monsters!"

"I want to see my feelings transformed into cards, I want to see my hand-designed cards made, and I want to see other people like the cards I make!" Maeda Hayato looked directly at his father. "I want to become a card designer!"

Seeing Maeda's resolute expression, which was appearing for the first time in front of him, Kumazo couldn't help but want to smile, but his face remained even more serious than before: "Even if it means breaking the promise? Do you know what that means?"

"I don't know, but I do know that I can't let go of everything related to Duel Monsters as promised. Even if I'm battered and bruised, I'll try, and I'm willing to do anything for it!"

"Willing to do anything? You're just a student. What kind of mindset led you to say such a thing?" The one who spoke was neither Yugi nor Maeda Kumazo, but Hayato, who was sitting upright in his seat, looking at a sunrise painting of Ayers Rock in his documents. He casually put the painting down, stood up and said, "Although since it was Yugi's invitation, no recommendation letter is needed for employment, there still needs to be a basic assessment."

"You have one day to create a card. Then, use the deck that contains that card to defeat any one of the people I've designated. Whether you get help from someone else or play yourself, if you succeed, you'll be considered qualified."

Chapter 1257 Playing with XX

"Do we have to make a card from scratch first?" Manjoume frowned.

"We also have to defeat a duelist designated by the principal?" Marufuji Sho looked horrified.

"They even require it to be done within a single day?" Asuka's expression turned somewhat serious.

After listening to Maeda Hayato explain his so-called "conditions," Misawa couldn't help but say, "Although it's an exception to recruit you, Maeda-kun, as a card designer for the International Illusion Society, are you serious about these requirements and not joking?"

"The entrance exam for the International Illusion Society isn't really that complicated. After all, the person who invited me was Mr. Yugi Muto, and a recommendation letter from the Duel Academy is more than enough," Maeda Hayato replied. "Although Professor Chronos seems to have some objections, Principal Kobayashi said that his power as principal is unlimited."

"The main problem is that I need to prove myself to my father, since he's on the list of duelists given by Principal Kobayashi. So, despite the stringent requirements, I want to do my best to achieve them!"

Jaden patted Maeda Hayato on the shoulder and said with a smile, "That's the kind of spirit you need. Don't worry, we'll all help you."

"Wait a minute, please explain what you mean by 'we' first, Jaden Yuki?" Manjoume frowned and said to Jaden, "I came to your Red Dorm because you told me that I might be able to get a strengthening card that fits my deck. Don't drag me into your plan to be a laborer."

“What do you mean by ‘condescending’… You’ve been here quite often, haven’t you?” Marufuji Sho complained from the side, while Judai casually put his arm around Manjoume’s shoulder and said with a grin, “Don’t be so cold, Manjoume. I’m not lying to you. Maeda hasn’t decided what kind of card he’s going to make yet, so he can definitely help you make one. That way, if you help out a little, you can get the card sooner.”

“That seems to make sense…” Manjoume nodded subconsciously, feeling that what Judai said didn’t seem to be wrong, but the next moment he put on a stern face, angrily shook Judai’s arm off his shoulder, and said with dissatisfaction, “It’s Mr. Manjoume!”

"Are all you boys idiots?" Asuka said helplessly, rubbing her forehead. "Shouldn't we be thinking about which duelist on the list to challenge first, then deciding whether to let Maeda duel by himself or ask someone to help him, and finally hurry up and design and make the cards?"

"The time limit is only one day, and not even a minute of spare time can be wasted."

"Tenjōin-kun is absolutely right." Marufuji Sho grinned like an idiot, mindlessly echoing Asuka's words. Although he had grown somewhat after his duel with David Labbour that morning, he was clearly not mature enough and still had some sycophantic traits in his bones.

He looked at Maeda Hayato and said, "So Maeda, who exactly is on the list that Principal Kobayashi gave us? Shouldn't we first investigate what decks each of them is good at?"

“There’s no need for that.” At this moment, Misawa, who had been ignored by everyone, put down a piece of paper with a list on it, closed the cap of his marker, and tapped the blackboard that had been filled with writing. “I have written all the information I know about the people on the list on the blackboard.”

Jaden scratched his head, somewhat puzzled: "Huh? Shiseido? When did you get here?"

In one sentence, Misawa broke down, saying with a frustrated expression, "Didn't you ask me on the way if I was free to come and help? I only came because you managed to pronounce my name correctly back then. It's one thing that you only noticed me now, but why did you pronounce my name wrong again now that you could pronounce it correctly before?!"

"Never mind, I'm almost used to it." Suppressing his sadness, Misawa tapped the blackboard again. "Principal Kobayashi has five duelists for Maeda to choose from. We can first cross out Principal Kobayashi's name, which is obviously just for show, and Aoki-sensei's name, who is currently on a business trip."

"The remaining three candidates are Professor Chronos, the Dean of Students; Mr. Ameruda, the head chef of the cafeteria; and Maeda's father, Maeda Kumazo."

"Why is there Mr. Ameruda from the cafeteria? Isn't he a chef?" Marufuji Sho asked, puzzled, then suddenly realized, "Could it be that Principal Kobayashi deliberately left a loophole, giving us an easy target to defeat? Then we should just choose Mr. Ameruda without a doubt."

However, Misawa shook his head and tapped the information he had written next to Ameruda's name: "Although he seems to be an ordinary chef, I accidentally saw the legendary Seto Kaiba meeting with Ameruda last time. At that time, Seto Kaiba was able to communicate with Ameruda in a tone that was almost equal, with only a hint of arrogance."

“At that time, I noticed that Mr. Ameruda was no ordinary person. Later, I spent a little time gathering information about him and found that he was at least a powerful duelist who could rival Mr. Seto Kaiba. You could even say that he was stronger than Professor Chronos, and he was the most difficult of the three options.”

"Really?! He's even stronger than Professor Chronos, the Mr. Ameruda who'd come out and fight me like a madman the moment he heard I was putting pineapple on a pizza?"

Judai looked quite surprised, while Asuka said helplessly, "It's lucky that Professor Chronos didn't hear you, Judai, otherwise they would both be after you."

“In that case, it’s just Professor Chronos and that Maeda Kumazo, right?” Manjoume said casually. “If Judai can defeat Chronos, then I should be able to do it easily too, Mr. Manjoume. I’ll just use the card that was specially made for me to defeat Professor Chronos.”

“Professor Chronos is actually a very strong duelist, but he has never shown his true strength in duels against us students.” Asuka said this, but she was also eager to try. “If it were Professor Chronos, I would also like to duel him and test my strength.”

As the game brought the deck to the island, a batch of new card packs from the International Illusion Society were among the supplies that came with the ship. Asuka bought a few packs of cards this morning and was lucky enough to get some enhancement cards that she could use. She's quite interested in finding someone to test the level of her adjusted deck.

If it weren't for Jaden's desire to help Maeda Hayato pass the exam, Asuka, whose personality had been gradually influenced by Jaden to the point of being somewhat of a battle maniac, would have already dragged Jaden into a duel, instead of sitting in this empty classroom discussing with others how to help Maeda Hayato pass the exam.

“Professor Chronos, knowing he was holding back in his duels with us before, I really want to duel him again, against Professor Chronos when he's truly giving it his all.” Not only Asuka and Manjoume, but Jaden also agreed with choosing Professor Chronos, speaking with some eagerness. However, he still looked at Maeda Hayato and asked, “But ultimately, it's up to you, Maeda, to decide. Who do you prefer?”

Looking at Professor Chronos's name on the blackboard, and then at his own father's name, Maeda Hayato hesitated, unable to make up his mind, and shook his head: "I...I'm not quite sure either."

“Is that so…” Without pressuring Maeda Hayato to make a decision quickly, Jaden thought for a moment, and his extraordinary wisdom suddenly gave him a special idea. He said, “In that case, why don’t we start over from the very beginning? That is, to make a card first.”

"After all, no matter who ends up dueling with whom, the prerequisite is still that you, Maeda, create the cards, right?"

When the topic of his greatest interest came up, Manjoume immediately perked up and said, "That's right, card making is very important. Maeda, quickly make me a monster that can negate ten of the opponent's random effects in one turn, cannot be released by Tribute, cannot be affected by any effects, cannot be destroyed by battle, has a level of only 1, and can be Normal Summoned!"

"By the way, it must be a dragon, and its attribute doesn't matter, either light or dark is fine!"

"Here's what you'll do: go back to your dorm, turn on your computer, and download a game called 'Duel Monsters League.' Enter ranked mode, choose the mid-lane position, and once you're matched, immediately select the monster 'Elf Swordsman' as your character." Asuka looked at Manjoume with disdain and retorted, "That way, if anyone says you're crazy, you can just tell them you play 'Elf Swordsman.'"

"Huh? But I was clearly playing the top lane [Armed Dragon]!" Manjoume didn't understand Asuka's meaning, and only realized it a moment later, "Wait, are you saying I have something wrong with my brain?"

"That's about right. After all, what normal person would create such an outrageous card? Even a third-rate card designer wouldn't come up with such a design, right?"

As Asuka finished speaking, Maeda Hayato also spoke up to Manjoume, explaining, "Although Principal Kobayashi opened up a special card-making channel for me, allowing me to quickly create cards by submitting designs and settings at school, creating Duel Monsters cards is not as simple as just making whatever you think of."

"Even if you don't need to draw cards based on ancient stone tablets like Mr. Pegasus, designing a successful card still requires a self-consistent and balanced design. The kind of monster you described, Manjoume, could never be made."

"In other words, the strength can only be within a certain range, and the card art and other settings must also be corresponding and conform to certain rules," Misawa summarized. "It is impossible to activate a card that requires drawing two cards, and the effect is to draw two cards, but the negative effect is that you need to draw two more cards. The same principle applies to the monster you mentioned, Manjoume."

"Also, although it's a bit mystical, Mr. Game told me that card making also requires a lot of dedication. The more effort the user and designer put into a card, the more likely it is to be successfully made. Otherwise, even if it is successfully made, the card is just an empty shell."

Once again displaying his extraordinary wisdom, Judai had a flash of inspiration: "I completely understand. In other words, if we design a prototype first, and then you, Maeda, make it, the card, which reflects the efforts of both of us, will be more likely to be successfully made, right? And it will be much easier to design the effect after we have the card first."

Hayato Maeda thought for a moment and nodded, "That's about right."

"Then what are we waiting for? I've had an idea for a while now!" Marufuji Sho said excitedly. "I've always felt that the [Machine] deck can be further strengthened. Besides toy cars like [Decoy Machine], maybe toys like yo-yos and spinning tops can also be [Machine]-ized. Cards with real-world prototypes might be easier for you to create, Maeda."

Manjoume glanced at Marufuji Sho, who was already drawing old-fashioned toys from the last century on a blank sheet of paper, trying his best to make their style resemble that of "Machine Monsters," and said disdainfully, "Doesn't that look even weaker? Do you think a 'Machine Monster' designed with a spinning top can be a monster like 'Cyber ​​Dragon' that can be Special Summoned without a Normal Summon? Adding an effect that searches the Deck for cards when it is successfully Special Summoned would barely be enough, right?"

"Instead of designing that kind of thing, you might as well take fire trucks and other similar cards a step further and turn them into super fire trucks or some kind of rescue force."

As he casually remarked, Manjoume also picked up a sheet of white paper and started drawing: "Speaking of which, I remember Keith, who was active in last year's World Professional Duelist Tournament. His [Revolver Dragon] was a pretty good subject. Although the name has 'dragon' in it, it's actually a machine race. If you ask me, the gun element can be kept, but the race must be changed to dragon. Light attribute would be good, but dark attribute is also acceptable. And you can create all sorts of different dragons by changing the ammunition instead of the gun..."

Seeing Manjoume also scribbling and drawing, Asuka struggled, shaking her head helplessly: "It's a real shame, I probably don't have the talent for this. It's really difficult for me to imagine cards out of thin air..."

While drawing something on the paper, Jaden said to Asuka, "It doesn't have to be out of thin air. Hayato-sensei said that he has created cards based entirely on a specific person more than once. He can easily create a new card by combining the person's appearance with the type of card he wants. It's just that it gives people a slightly subtle feeling of 'How come you've become a card too?'"

Upon hearing Judai's words, Asuka also showed a look of sudden realization.

Seeing that Jaden's paper simply contained a group photo of many of his favorite heroes, Asuka was inspired and started drawing Jaden's profile on the paper.

—Based on Jaden's appearance, slightly modified to resemble a girl, and dressed as a lively shrine maiden, it would be even better if the effect could be as closely related as possible to the equipment card [Beloved Hero] that led her to meet Jaden... In Asuka's writing, there is also a prototype of a Duel Monster created by her, which is being created little by little.

(Change the hair color, and he's practically Jaden himself!)

Seeing everyone else creating with such inspiration, Misawa was stumped. It wasn't that he lacked inspiration; although he had the mindset of a science student, that didn't mean his imagination wasn't rich. The problem was that Misawa actually had six decks in hand, and he had some inspiration for each attribute, but when it came to actually using them, he didn't know which one to choose.

Consequently, he lost much of his motivation to work on his own. Instead, he watched what the others were drawing with Maeda Hayato, while also noticing that Maeda Hayato seemed to be lost in thought as he looked at the other people's drawings.

Chapter 1258 The elder who used the Beast deck was also known as the Beast Senior.