Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"The earliest [Cotton Candy] could deal 1000 points of effect damage when attacked, and the [Macaron Cotton Candy] would split into more when destroyed. This time, it's a new [Cotton Candy] that just puts on [Cotton Candy's Glasses]? Do you really like [Cotton Candy] that much, game?" Jonouchi complained. "What kind of weird effects does this new [Cotton Candy] that suddenly appeared have?"

"It's alright, aren't the [Marshmallows] all pretty cute?" Yugi scratched his head sheepishly.

"This isn't a compliment, you know!"

Hayato, having seen this monster in his previous duel with Yugi, knew its effects. Raising an eyebrow, he said in surprise, "【Increase Cotton Candy】: As long as 【Golden Coffer of Light】 is present, it gains resistance that cannot be destroyed by battle and forces the opponent's monsters to not target other monsters. Although it cannot attract attacks from monsters with direct attack capabilities, it is still a pretty top-tier wall monster."

"The problem is, in the game, I had no idea that the monster could be Special Summoned at Speed ​​2 during my turn."

"Hehe, it's rare to find a card whose full effects you don't know, Hayato. That means I didn't put all my effort into designing the [Golden Coffer of Light] card." Yugi said with a smile. "In the last duel, although I used [Brotherly Bonds] to bring out [Increased Cotton Candy] and [Silent Swordsman Zero] together to protect my opponent, I also managed to keep their effects a secret from you, Hayato."

"During your opponent's turn, if [Golden Coffin of Light] is on my field, I can activate this effect, allowing [Incremental Cotton Candy] to be Special Summoned directly from my hand. Furthermore, its third effect resets the original [Cotton Candy] effect: if this card is destroyed by an effect, I can Special Summon another [Incremental Cotton Candy] from my hand, Deck, or Graveyard, and inflict 1000 effect damage to my opponent!"

"All I can say is that Hayato, you used the effect of [The Great Director of Death Prison Village] too early. If it hadn't been negated, [Incremental Marshmallow] wouldn't be destroyed in battle, and even if it was destroyed by an effect, it could Special Summon another [Incremental Marshmallow] and inflict 1000 points of effect damage on you. It was an almost invincible defense that was impossible to break through!"

Looking at the bright smile on Yugi's face, Hayato couldn't help but say, "That's it! It's that weird feeling of not letting others play cards properly. As expected, it has to be you, Yugi. Although you honestly told me that you didn't have any graveyards, you didn't say that you didn't have any hand traps, right?"

"If combat destruction and effect destruction are both impossible, and another self can be pulled in to deal effect damage, what's the point of playing? I can't win, how am I supposed to fight this? I'm just forced to end the combat phase, aren't I?"

With a sigh, Hayato, under the watchful eyes of the game and the other two, actually ended his battle phase just like that.

"To be honest, that [Increased Marshmallow] is really disgusting. The old [Marshmallow] could gain effect destruction resistance thanks to [Marshmallow Glasses], but it was still easy to deal with when it was separate. But now it's integrated into one card?" Jonouchi said with a bitter face. "Even if you want to deal with [Golden Coffer of Light], it also has resistance to being destroyed by monster effects."

"We can't beat it, how are we supposed to fight this?" Jonouchi repeated Hayato's words, feeling that he himself would also have a hard time dealing with this card from the game.

Kaiba also looked annoyed, but he wouldn't tell Jonouchi that Blue-Eyes was even harder to beat this card. Instead, he chose to express his disdain for Jonouchi to prevent this guy with beastly instincts from bringing up his Blue-Eyes deck, saying, "Hmph, you can't destroy 'Golden Coffin of Light' with monster effects? Is your 'Harpie's Feather Duster' just for show?"

"And the [Red-Eyes] deck can also deal higher effect damage than [Increased Cotton Candy], yet he can't even fully utilize his own cards? He's really just a mediocre talent, Jonouchi."

"You're right, but Seto Kaiba is the kind of guy who'd get dragged down with a mediocre player like me in a card game and end up losing together."

"Kisama!" The seahorse gave him a look as if he had heard "you've been beaten by a monkey." This mediocre person only knows how to fixate on this point.

Jonouchi wore a smug, punchable expression. "If I'm mediocre, then Kaiba, you're on the same level as mere mediocre. Wait, no wonder you suddenly called me a 'first-rate duelist with a second-rate deck' before. So, since you can't belittle me, you're calling me 'first-rate' too, huh?"

As for the game, I didn't pay attention to Jonouchi and the others' conversation at first, but I had a strange feeling because of Kaiba's words to Jonouchi, "higher effect damage," as if I vaguely sensed that there was something related to it that I had forgotten.

“Although I’ve ended my battle phase, Yugi, who says you can’t kill someone without a spearhead?” Hayato drew the last mystery card from his hand, besides [Shaddoll Fusion], and showed it to Yugi, saying, “Just as you said, the ace is played last, so it’s time for me to play my final ace—although what you actually played last wasn’t [Dark Magician] but [Increase Cotton Candy].

"In short, during my Main Phase Two, I activate this Continuous Spell Card. Come forth, my ace! [Summoning Exophysis]!"

(The real Tamashi)

"Let us sacrifice ourselves to achieve final victory; this is a sacrifice for the greater good, a necessary sacrifice!"

Seeing Hayato play the [Summoning Exosome], which was completely different from what he had expected—"Hayato clearing out the game's life points with a strong attack"—Kaiba subconsciously showed a displeased expression: "In the end, he used that kind of card again? Hmph, sacrificing his own monster is as despicable as ever."

Kaiba thought Hayato would use some kind of sophistry to refute him, but to his surprise, after hearing his casual remark, Hayato actually showed a reflective expression and said, "Come to think of it, it seems that it is true. Have I been too harsh on my monsters all these years? Thinking about it carefully, my monsters trust me so much, yet I always send them to the graveyard. Sigh, it really shouldn't be like this."

"I...made an irreparable mistake..."

Behind Hayato, the Saintess of Teaching - Acrisia, who wasn't included in the deck, looked surprised, then smiled and said, "Well, it's good that you can repent, even though you did a lot of things that made people angry before."

"This is the confidence that Kobayashi Hayato has given me!" [Temple's Mizuki] said with a look of approval. "Madam, do you have a moment? I'd like to introduce you to the greatness of our savior and hero—Kobayashi Hayato."

However, compared to the newly arrived foodie saintess and the brainless fan and cult leader, on the other side, Xiao Lan and [Disruption·Yellow] looked at [Teaching Saintess-Acricia], who was becoming more and more interested in Hayato after listening to [Sanctuary's Water Rescue]'s recommendation, and pointed at her with disdain: "She's a fan of Kobayashi Hayato."

“Because he’s just a kid.” [Disruption·Huang] confidently pointed the way, “I knew as soon as Ani opened his mouth that he was definitely thinking of doing something bad again.”

“I’ve realized it, Seth. Thanks to you, I’ve decided to stop unleashing my monsters for victory. It’s not worth it. Thank you, Seth.”

Hearing Hayato's solemn words, Kaiba, knowing Hayato's personality, guessed, just like [Disruption Yellow], that Hayato was definitely plotting something again. A sense of foreboding gripped him, and he frowned, saying, "You rascal, what are you going to do now...?"

"I didn't do anything. What could a pure and innocent duelist like me do?" Hayato said with an innocent expression. "And why do you think I thanked you, Seth? It's because I'm specifically thanking you for lending me the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon."

"What—!?" Kaiba's eyes widened instantly because he saw that the "Death Prison Village Actor - Proscenium Stage Dragon," which had been deprived of its chance to perform after appearing on the field due to the "Increased Marshmallow," actually spewed a breath of dragon fire onto the ground, forcefully opening a mouth from the ground and extracting a phantom figure that Kaiba was extremely familiar with!

He reached out and grasped, and the phantom of the three-headed white dragon shrank and coalesced in Hayato's hand into a card with a purple border. He flipped the card over and showed Kaiba the figure that he knew all too well.

"During the main phase for both sides, 'Death Prison Actor - Proscenium Stage Dragon' can be activated to target Fusion Monsters in the Graveyard, either banishing them or Special Summoning them to my field. Although Seth and Jonouchi have been eliminated, your Graveyards are still in the game." With a slap of his hand, under the glaring gaze of Kaiba, 'Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon' was Special Summoned to Hayato's field!

Then, as Hayato raised his hand to announce the end of his turn, the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, which had just appeared on Hayato's field and hadn't even realized what was happening, was chosen as the target of the Summoning Exophysis. Ignoring the helpless Dark Magician on Yugi's field and the weak but tanky Maximal, it bombarded the equally helpless Yugi!

"Onole Kobayashi Hayato!"

With a roar from the seahorse, the game's remaining 700 life points were reduced to 0 by the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's self-destruct attack!

I've revised 500 words in the chapters before Chapter 1297 to make it round again (hands on hips).

"Gotcha!"

Holding a card in his hand, Hayato bent over dramatically, grinning smugly. "This is absolutely terrifying! My talent!"

"So, what is that card?" Jonouchi looked at Hayato with some doubt, who had suddenly started laughing arrogantly while holding a card after winning the duel.

"Perhaps it's because I was dueling with Yugi and Jonouchi at the same time, and also faced the crystallization of your bond in the duel - [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider], that a brand new card was born in my [Tears of Elegy Tribe].

Looking at the red mermaid in his hand, Hayato said, "Although I obtained the invincible teardrop before, the system shop just won't let me exchange for [Kusan's Wrath]. They draw it but won't sell it; they're so narrow-minded!"

"But now, with my defeat of the [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Knight], which represents a 'powerful alliance,' this invincible monster, which also represents a 'powerful alliance,' has come into my hands. The [Kusan's Wrath] in the shop is finally available to me. Hehehehe!"

(Beautiful, powerful, and immortal!)

Looking at Hayato, who was standing with his hands on his hips and laughing uncontrollably, Jonouchi scratched his head, looking puzzled: "You're just spouting nonsense that nobody can understand. By the way, Hayato, are you still using that chuunibyou setting of having a shop system where you can exchange cards?"

"Ahem, let me translate Hayato's words. It's roughly like Hayato's 'Tears of Elegy Tribe' deck evolved after his duel with us, gaining a completely new form, right? 'Kusan's Wrath' and such, maybe it's another deck of Hayato's?" Yugi, who had been defeated and had run out of Life Points, said as he walked over.

He brushed the dust off his clothes from the self-destruction of the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Realizing that he was not in reality but in a virtual world, he awkwardly opened the control panel and selected to refresh his character model, making his clothes look brand new. In an instant, he returned to the state he had just entered this virtual world.

None of the virtual worlds I've entered before, including those of the Five Elders and Kaiba Noa, have given me this feeling. Has Kaiba made the virtual world too realistic? Even in the game, it's almost impossible to distinguish between the virtual and reality.

“Oh~ I understand now, Game. It’s the same principle as when we used bonds to create [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider].” Jonouchi tapped his palm with his fist and said with sudden realization, “If Hayato had said that earlier, we would have understood.”

"I was just telling the truth, but you all insist on interpreting it differently. It's so lonely." Pushing away the Narcissus Mermaid who was trying to cling to him after the duel ended, Hayato watched her being dragged away by [Temple's Water Destroyer] and [Radiant Dragon Girl], and sighed helplessly, "In this world where only I understand what I'm talking about, only Isis can bring me a little warmth."

“I might have thought you were just showing off your love, Hayato, but I’m not afraid anymore,” Jonouchi said smugly, hands on his hips. “Are you free next month, Hayato? Remember to come visit my new home in Domino City.”

"It's all Kaiba's fault. He made Domino City develop so fast that the housing prices have increased several times compared to five years ago. Even with the prize money from several world championships and the endorsement fees, it's barely enough to make ends meet."

Hearing Jonouchi's complaint, Yugi smiled sheepishly. Unlike Jonouchi's family, the Muto family had purchased real estate in Domino City many years ago. In recent years, due to the Kaiba Corporation's various openings up Domino City, his family had been a direct beneficiary. After all, who could resist the Kaiba Corporation, which was willing to spend huge sums of money to acquire real estate for the construction of various large-scale commercial plazas, research bases, and emerging technology factories, paying several times the market price?

It's one thing for Yugi to hold shares in International Illusion and to be the head of the card design department at International Illusion; it's another thing for him to have made money buying real estate in Domino City in the past. After all, the former is Yugi's skill, but the latter is Sugoroku's skill. Over the years, Sugoroku has often boasted to Professor Arthur about his good eye for real estate in Domino City.

Of course, although several properties were sold to Haima Group, Guiji Game House is still preserved to this day. Even though other shops next to it have either closed down or moved away, Guiji Game House still exists in its original location. Over the years, it has only undergone simple renovations and maintenance, but its appearance has not been changed.

After all, the Kameji Game Shop, or rather the Kameji Card Shop specializing in Duel Monsters, is no longer just a simple Duel Monsters card shop. It has become one of the iconic tourist attractions in Domino City, and tourists visiting Domino City always make sure to visit the Kameji Card Shop.

The reason is simple: in the tourist guide to Domino City, "Duel! Domino City Tourist Route - The Footprints of Legendary Duelists!" written by Sugoroku on a whim when he had nothing better to do, he detailed the stories related to his family's Kameji Card Shop, including, but not limited to, the first duel between the two legends, Hayato and Yugi, took place here, and how the legendary duelist, Jonouchi Katsuya, trained to fight monsters, etc.

As a result, the number of visitors to Kameji Card Shop who are interested in Duel Monsters has reached the same level as the Kaiba Corporation headquarters located here, making it the most visited place in Domino City.

Looking towards the city, Kaiba snorted disdainfully and wrote a note on the document in front of him to complete the task.

Although Seto Kaiba is the kind of person who does whatever he wants and is unrestrained by anything, even if he doesn't lose his mind to the point of "Getsuga Tenshou," he still has the personality of "I'll do whatever I want," and what others say can hardly change his mind. However, there are two people in this world, and only two people, who can influence him.

One is Hayato, against whom he has a perfect record of defeats and has never been able to defeat or surpass, and the other is naturally his younger brother, Keihei.

Despite Kaiba's strong personality, at home, Keihei is the one who decides what to have for dinner. Recently, because Kaiba has been messing around with Duel Monster tournaments and completely neglecting the development and management of the group, Keihei has directly and firmly demanded that Kaiba can cause trouble, but he must also take on half of the Kaiba Group's affairs that should be handled by him.

Otherwise... he would ignore the seahorse!

Although it gave people the feeling of "you've kicked a cotton ball," Kaiba still agreed to Keihei's request and diverted some of the energy he used to research Duel Monsters and game devices to handle company affairs, such as the cooperation agreement from the Kingdom of Mizgarzon.

This small country, still using an outdated kingdom system, intends to cooperate with Haima Group in order to use Haima Group's rocket launch channels to launch their own "communication satellite" into space.

For developing small countries, or even developed countries like England and Japan, not to mention today, even ten or twenty years from now, launching rockets is still an unreliable endeavor with a high success rate. Mistakes and even fatalities can happen from time to time. However, for the Haima Group, which has already built a space elevator, launching satellites is an incredibly simple matter. It's even less difficult than drawing three [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] and [Fusion] cards in the initial card draw.

However, simplicity does not mean that Haima will agree. After a simple investigation, Haima discovered that the country's main economic pillar in the past was actually the Paradis Group—the former world's largest group, which was once wholly owned by Daz and chaired by him, and was divided up by other conglomerates, mainly Haima Group and International Illusion Society, after the complete collapse of the "Doma" organization.

Even their kingdom's emblem is a giant serpent that coils around the world—the World Serpent "Jormungandr," corresponding to the "Orichalcos God"—Leviathan—that Darzalsha awakened during his final struggle.

Five years ago, this kingdom had planned to launch a satellite, but on the eve of the launch, Dartz, after stealing the cards of the three Egyptian God cards from Yugi, Kaiba, and Isis, unexpectedly became Hayato's coordinates to return to the real world...

Then, the Mizgaruzon Kingdom, which was looking forward to rockets launching satellites into space, was met with the reality that the massive Doma organization was crushed by a few people in just a few days through card games. The shock they received was no less than hearing a story about "a minor kid who killed and replaced the leader of a mafia organization that could influence a country in just nine days".

Not only did the satellite fail to launch, but with the collapse of Doma, the Paradis Group was also completely divided up. The Kingdom of Mizgaruzeng was like a vertebrate that had been attacked with the "spinal cord sword" technique, almost breaking out into civil war and perishing. It was only in the last few years that it recovered from the shock of that time and rebuilt its economy domestically.

With some spare capacity, they were unwilling to let the satellite they had completed five years ago sit in the warehouse as scrap metal. They had to make use of it, so they approached Haima Group, hoping to use their resources to launch their satellite into space.

Surprisingly, the person who approached the Seahorse Group was not the trade minister or other official from that small country, but the king's eldest son—Prince Ojin Mizgaruzeng. According to the intelligence Seahorse had gathered, the collapse of Doma five years ago had caused the king to fall seriously ill, and it was this then-young prince who took on the heavy responsibility and revitalized the kingdom.

Kaiba wasn't really interested in who the other person was, but the prince claimed in the communication that he was a huge fan of Duel Monsters, and had even commissioned the International Illusion Company to create a custom card for their satellite that they planned to launch into space. He also claimed that the satellite would be used for domestic communications and Duel Monsters data transmission.

He ignores the other seahorses, but if you talk to him about Duel Monsters, he won't be sleepy anymore, especially if the other person says that his most admired duelist is the seahorse.

Hmph, that kind of boring flattery has no effect on me; it's just annoying. With that thought in mind, the seahorse casually signed the agreement and closed the document.

"This duel yielded a lot of data that can optimize the virtual world. Hmph, although the process wasn't entirely satisfactory, the result was pretty good." Looking at Hayato, Kaiba said, "We can conduct some other tests to complete the final adjustments, but there's no need for another duel."

“Especially that mediocre guy over there. We don’t need him.” As he spoke, Kaiba waved his hand, making a gesture as if he didn’t want to see the man inside the castle anymore.

"Huh? That tone of voice, using someone and then looking down on them, is awful!" Jonouchi glared at Kaiba, annoyed. "You jerk, your attitude is terrible!"

Hmph, it's already a miracle we didn't kick you out of this world, you mere mediocre talent.

Kaiba thought to himself, glancing at Jonouchi, whose expression was unfriendly.

As Kaiba manipulated something in the air in front of them, the environment of the virtual world changed several times. First, the group left the area [Dark World - Shadow Detour -] that Hayato had previously set up and returned to the "Saint Anne" airship. Then, the airship's speed was suddenly accelerated countless times, and in the blink of an eye, it actually withstood the attack on Devil's Island, which had previously served as the battlefield for the Duel City.

Then, without stopping, the airship sped along as if it had been equipped with rocket boosters, covering a vast distance and circling the globe in just a few breaths before returning to its takeoff point, Domino City.

"Could this be... Kaiba, you've created a 1:1 scale replica of the entire Earth in this world? And it's a completely seamless loading process," the knowledgeable gamer exclaimed in surprise. "And if I'm not mistaken, Devil's Island is the old version, but Domino City is the current version?"

"It's not just about space; this virtual world can even manipulate time. It's easy to go back to a certain place in the past for a duel, like using the [Volcano] deck in Pompeii or fighting with dinosaur monsters in the Jurassic period. It's quite interesting to think about," Hayato nodded.

Hearing Hayato's praise, Kaiba's lips curled into a smile, unable to conceal his inner joy. He thought to himself, 'This is the power of the 'Duel-Links' world—a pure dueling world that transcends time, space, and even life and death; an eternal stage for intertwined destinies.'

'When this world is completely finished, that will be the moment I truly challenge you, Hayato Kobayashi. Let's duel for a lifetime!'

Hayato suddenly shivered, not knowing why, but he felt a sudden heaviness on his body.

Chapter 1298 The Quarterfinals Begin!

Duel Academy Island, Osiris-Red Dormitory on the coast.

"Today is another day full of hope... cough cough!"

As the rising sun cast its rays into the room through the gaps in the curtains, Judai, with no intention of staying in bed, jumped out of bed with great enthusiasm, shouting slogans to welcome the new day.

Marufuji Sho, who shared a room with him, had also been somewhat awake for a while, but was still lazily curled up in bed, not wanting to come into contact with the chilly air outside. Seeing Judai get up so energetically, he rubbed his eyes, squinting because he wasn't wearing his glasses and couldn't see very far due to nearsightedness, and said, "Big brother is really energetic, even though it's still so early and there aren't any classes today..."

"Although there are no classes today, Sho, you haven't forgotten why there are no classes today, have you?" Maeda, who was on the top bunk, looked big, but he folded the blankets on the bed very gently, without making any swaying noise for Sho Marufuji below. "You were working hard to get into the shortlist just a few days ago."

"Ah, I remember now, the qualifying rounds ended today, right? Then, the official quarterfinals will begin." Maeda Hayato's reminder made Marufuji Sho realize what day it was. "No wonder my brother was so excited, because he made it into the quarterfinals as the second-place finisher."