Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Amidst Professor Chronos's conflicted shouts—a mix of regret for Misawa's defeat and joy for Asuka's victory—the referee declared Asuka the winner of the fourth duel, advancing her to the final four of the Duel Academy Exchange Tournament and securing her place in the next round.

Looking towards Judai in the distant stands, Asuka, whose eyes met his, smiled and imitated Judai's signature move, saying, "You won! What an interesting duel."

Behind her, [Dragon Goddess - Saphira], somewhat annoyed that she had forgotten that the strength of human bodies and elf bodies are not the same, glanced at Misawa, whose eyes had rolled back, and muttered to herself, "Can knocking someone out really be considered an interesting duel?"

Fortunately, the Duel Academy had a professional medical team for this duel. Even though Ms. Ayukawa Megumi had been called away by Marufuji Ryo when she returned to the arena and seemed to be busy with something, the medical team was capable of handling Misawa, who had only been unconscious for a moment and hadn't even been put on a stretcher before waking up on his own.

Although Misawa himself emphasized that he was fine and hadn't slept well last night because he was too excited about today, which is why he had fallen asleep after being attacked, the medical staff were obviously similar to Ayukawa Emi-sensei in personality. Regardless of how he felt, since he showed signs of something being wrong, he should come with them for a check-up first.

Despite Misawa's own roar of "At least write my name correctly on the medical record card, you bastard!", he was still forcibly put on a stretcher and carried away.

In just one morning, the first round of the Duel Academy Exchange Tournament had already completed four duels. To most students who were not quite clear about what was so special about this exchange tournament, they thought that the final four duels might be finished this afternoon, and that the two eliminated contestants might even be able to determine the third-place winner. At most, the finals would be postponed until tomorrow.

—After all, it's the final. Giving the champion and runner-up a night to prepare not only allows the players to give full play to their strength but also allows the audience to see a wonderful duel.

However, when they finished their lunch break at the time Professor Chronos had announced in the morning and returned to the venue to take their seats, they discovered that Professor Chronos, who had been acting as a referee in the morning, was actually sitting in the audience section near the Obelisk-Blue dormitory, while the person holding the microphone in the front row of the referee's seat was Vice Principal Samejima.

"Ahem, Principal Kobayashi has something come up, so I'll be explaining the remaining procedures for the competition to the students from now on." Clearing his throat, Vice Principal Samejima continued, "After a morning of hard work, we have selected four winners from the eight contestants who have advanced to the official competition to continue participating. They are Asuka Tenjouin, a first-year student from Obelisk-Blue at the main campus; Fubuki Tenjouin, a second-year student; Ryo Marufuji, a third-year student; and Judai Yuki, a first-year student from Osiris-Red."

"In the past, the exchange and competition matches would often end in the afternoon by the time the first round of elimination matches was over. However, this year, the contestants accelerated the duels while maintaining their excitement. This also shows that the students' dueling skills are getting stronger year by year, which makes all of us teachers, including teachers from other branches, very gratified, because your growth is the best reward for us."

“In previous years, the second round of the competition would usually be held on the second day, but this year the format will be adjusted. The semi-finals will continue this afternoon, still in this venue.” After a pause, Samejima suddenly started to say something cryptic, “But, it’s not in this venue.”

"Now, please return to your seats and sit down."

Samejima didn't explain what his riddle was, because right after he finished speaking, the center of the dueling arena, which had been empty, suddenly cracked and contracted, revealing the internal mechanical structure. At the same time, a rather magical-looking anti-gravity device lifted a person up slowly under everyone's gaze.

That person was none other than Seto Kaiba, the founder and biggest supporter of Duel Academy, and one of the legendary duelists in the world who are aiming for the top three and striving for the top two!

Wearing the same white trench coat that hadn't changed much in style for the past five years, with only minor adjustments to details and size, Seto Kaiba looked arrogantly at the students around him who were staring at him with looks of surprise, envy, or admiration. He glanced at Jonouchi, who was muttering something like "what an arrogance," and snapped his fingers.

The next moment, the building that the Kaiba Group had specially built for this exchange competition began to change. The students sitting in their seats clearly felt the ground beneath their feet rise and begin to split along with Seto Kaiba. Countless mechanical arms extended from the floor, installing mysterious and impressive devices on each seat.

The ceiling opened up, revealing a cloudless sky after the use of special cannonballs to disperse clouds and rain. The students, whose seats had been raised from the first floor to a height of about five floors, found that the distance between their seats and the others had been increased. At the same time, their seats were completely enclosed by an egg-shell-like device, so that when they looked around through the transparent glass, they could clearly see the "eggs" where the others were arranged in an orderly manner, just like rows of chicken eggs.

"This venue, built by the Kaima Group, is not merely for ordinary duels using the Duel Disk. Gentlemen, this is the true stage where the strongest warriors of this Duel Academy Exchange Tournament will fight—the new-era fully immersive virtual reality game pod 'The Legendary White Stone,' and the virtual world it leads to, 'Duel-Links'!"

"Come forth, duelists, on that stage of destiny where no one can predict the future, burn yourselves brightly and engage in exquisite duels!"

"I declare that a new world has arrived! Links-Start!"

Chapter 1324 The goal is Pokémon... cough cough... the end of the world!

After sitting in his seat and having the game pod activated by Kaiba, Jaden felt a flash of white light before his eyes.

Then, when he opened his eyes again, he saw that the game pod that had just been assembled on site had been disassembled by the robotic arm and returned to the ground. He was still inside the venue.

"Huh? Did something happen?"

He looked around in confusion and found that not only him, but also Asuka, Maeda, and Misawa, who had been taken to the hospital for a check-up at noon and was discharged before the start of the match, all had blank expressions and did not know what had happened.

It was already surprising enough that they suddenly said the afternoon's duel would be conducted using a virtual gaming pod, but the bigger surprise was that the high-tech gaming pod seemed to have malfunctioned; it just flashed white light in their faces and then disassembled.

"It's really baffling what's going on." Manjoume frowned as he looked around. Not only them, but the other students were also looking around blankly after leaving the game pod. A small number of them were even staring blankly at the sky, seemingly looking at something. Curious, Manjoume also looked up, and then he, like the others, began to stare blankly.

"Even the technology from Haima Group can malfunction? It feels so unrealistic, considering it's Haima Group." Misawa said, glancing at Judai with a surprised expression. "Judai? Who's that next to you—?"

"Huh?" Jaden subconsciously turned his head and found Winged Kuriboh floating beside him. He scratched his head in confusion. "It's Winged Kuriboh? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? This is a big problem, Jaden! Didn't you notice?!" Asuka said in surprise, "Not only Misawa, but I can see your card spirits too!"

"Huh!? Asuka, you actually pronounced Misawa's name correctly!?" Judai exclaimed in surprise.

Asuka covered her forehead: "Is this the time to care about that? It's not a big deal if Misawa Sora pronounces her name correctly, is it?"

Misawa, who had just been suddenly happy, suddenly had a bitter face again and complained, "Life really is full of ups and downs."

"Not only [Winged Kuriboh], [Death Koala] has appeared too." Looking at the [Death Koala] sitting in the empty seat next to him, chewing on eucalyptus leaves and offering him two, Maeda Hayato waved his hand to refuse his card spirit's offer, then looked around and saw Manjoume looking at the sky. "Where's Manjoume's [Dragon of Light and Darkness]?"

"That's because that guy has already gone up to the sky to find 'people' to fight," Manjoume replied, still looking up at the sky.

"The sky?" Upon hearing Manjoume's words, Marufuji Sho was the first to look up at the sky, his eyes widening instantly and his jaw dropping.

The Jadens and the others also looked up at the sky, gazing out through the open ceiling at the vast expanse of the sky. What unfolded before them was not the clear, cloudless sky of the daytime, but rather a night sky filled with stars.

In the darkness of the night, a "meteor shower" is falling, but if you look closely, you can see that what are moving are not "meteors" at all, but clearly fighting monsters that are entangled together!

The white dragon unleashed a devastating torrent of light, sweeping across the surrounding area and clearing out the minions. Within this torrent of light, a black dragon, wreathed in black flames, cleaved through the dragon's breath and slammed its claw against the white dragon's body, swimming upstream. While the two giant dragons were locked in combat, the gear-like monsters on the ground embedded themselves into the mechanical fortress, driving it to fire cannons that shot down both dragons.

But just as the two dragons were about to land, a magician used a magic circle to intercept and capture them halfway. Little did he know that in the story of "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind," there was also a hunter aiming a slingshot at the oriole. A large number of vines broke through the ground and entangled the magician, the dragons, and the mechanical fortresses, giving birth to a purple poisonous dragon.

That scene was merely what appeared within a "shooting star".

The golden chests release the power to expel the dead and bury the gods who have submitted to the king.

The three sword-wielding knights transformed into dragons and beheaded a giant sea serpent as large as the mythical Leviathan.

The sacred white dragon transformed into a shooting star, shattering the two sphinxes and destroying a radiant pyramid;

The darkness unleashed by the Thousand-Eyed Demon God enveloped the surroundings, but it was broken by the magic unleashed by the two magicians working together.

One "meteor" after another streaked across the sky. Even with Jaden's dynamic vision, he could only barely make out the images shown in a few of the "meteors." When the scenes in the "meteors" ended, the monsters broke free of the "meteors'" constraints and appeared in the sky, looking down at the students on the ground.

Meanwhile, the Dragon of Light and Darkness, Wan Zhangmu, had already rushed into the sky to try to fight those beings. However, after discovering that the number of the opponents was increasing, she quickly returned, citing the reason that "she still needs to protect Wan Zhangmu." She simply circled around the open-air arena and roared at the sky, like a cowardly little devil who didn't want to lose face, so she still made some threats.

Could they have arrived in another world? Like the Valley of Royal Sleep where the [Gravekeepers] clan resides, or the Elf World where the [Seahorse People] live beneath the hot springs? Otherwise, why are the Card Spirits able to manifest on their own without the assistance of a virtual projection system?

Furthermore, Jaden noticed that the concrete where Manjou's [Dragon of Light and Darkness] stood had been crushed, indicating that these spirits were not just images but had actually gained physical form!

Just as the ferocious spirits in the sky were about to swoop down to the ground, and chaos was about to break out among the students, the seahorse, who had been standing in the center of the field from the beginning, sneered contemptuously and shouted, "Come out, Wagatsumashi! Blue-Eyes!"

"Then... annihilation Burst Stream!"

Behind Seto Kaiba, the legendary Duel Monster Blue-Eyes White Dragon was summoned like a Stand user's Stand, unleashing an attack on the monsters in the sky. The destructive Gale Blast instantly tore apart all the monsters in the sky, with Red-Eyes Black Dragon howling the most pitifully, as if Kaiba himself had added his own personal touch.

[Red-Eyes Black Dragon]: "(Talking Tom screams.mp3)"

"That Kaiba guy, he definitely did it on purpose, right? It's one thing to let his Blue-Eyes White Dragon save the day and show off, but why use Red-Eyes as a stepping stone?" Jonouchi looked at the scene in the sky without panicking at all, because he had more than one experience with this kind of thing, so even he noticed Kaiba's little trick immediately.

The game explained to Kyoko, "What Kaiba did was actually..."

"Although I was invited by the president to check the program with him and his brother before it was actually run, I knew in advance that this would happen." Rebecca squeezed her palm, then touched the face of the game next to her, and then slid her hand down to touch the chest and even abdominal muscles that the game had developed using the fitness methods of Honda and Jonouchi. "It really feels very realistic."

"I know this is your first time experiencing the virtual world, but you'd better stop this groping!" Kyoko slapped Rebecca's wandering hand away in annoyance. "If you haven't had enough, go touch yourself, you little vixen!"

“Darling clearly didn’t have any objections.”

(Game: Yes, kids, I have no objection)

Normally, Rebecca would only touch the game's abs to check if his development was normal, but when she saw that Kyoko had slapped her hand away and then touched it herself, Rebecca's jealousy was bound to flare up. She immediately grabbed Kyoko's hand and said, "You dare to break the contract and sneak away! Didn't we agree that no one was allowed to get ahead of us?!"

"No, that's not necessary!"

Beside Jonouchi, Mai rubbed her head and the chair behind her, marveling, "I can't feel anything at all, like I'm wearing something or sitting on something. Compared to the virtual worlds I visited several years ago, has the technology advanced to this extent?"

"Although I really dislike Kaiba, I still need to correct this point. It's not that the technology of this era is so advanced, it's just that Kaiba himself has mastered this level of technology. Just like Yugi is a genius at developing games, and Hayato has dueling skills that are ahead of his time, Kaiba is quite talented in developing black technology."

"Your Domino City High School is really full of hidden talents, even in the same class. And you, Jonouchi, your talent isn't just rolling dice and coins, is it?" Mai teased her husband.

"Hmm, although I want to refute it, I can't come up with anything at all. It's really disheartening to think my talent is only this limited..."

"...You, are you showing off your frustration?" As she spoke, Mai hugged Jonouchi, trying to crush him with her pectoral muscles. Just like the game in front of him where two women were rubbing his abs until they hurt, Jonouchi was experiencing both pain and pleasure.

Compared to adults like Jonouchi, Yugi, and Rebecca, who had experience with program checks, Jaden and his friends' experiences only led them to think of everything happening before them as supernatural. The students, who were almost about to riot after the monsters were defeated, were relieved for a moment. Jaden and his friends, who had also visited the world beneath the school's newly opened hot spring, couldn't help but connect President Kaiba with Kaiba, who also used the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

However, it should just be an illusion. Putting aside the fact that one is a human and the other is a card Pokémon that exists in the Pokémon world, how could a legendary duelist have so much free time to go to the Pokémon world on Duel Academy Island, hide his true identity, just to play a game of cards with Jaden?

Judai hadn't offended him before... that should be the case, right?

Just as Jaden and his friends were fretting about how the teachers and students of their school had all been transported to another world, Kaiba, who was standing high up, moved his footing from the elevator platform to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon soaring in the air and said, "Five years ago, I asked the world a question: What exactly is battle!"

"At the Haima Group press conference at that time, a duel disk capable of next-generation virtual projection was showcased, but due to the constraints of the world, that kind of next-generation duel that could fully immerse people in the game did not become widespread."

At the time, the next-generation Duel Disk launched by Haima faced three main problems. In addition to the high price that was still unaffordable for ordinary people even if the cost of the hardware was recovered, the cost-effectiveness of the next-generation Duel Disk was far inferior to that of the general-purpose Duel Disk. The maintenance cost was too high, and it required data support from Haima Group's satellites. At the same time, the battery life was relatively low.

But the most important problem is that the monsters in regular duels are already realistic and scary enough. Next-generation duels will allow monsters to move freely around and fight instead of being confined to the arena between duelists. Such next-generation duels will have higher requirements for the surrounding environment, otherwise the moving monsters could easily cause traffic accidents and scare passersby.

The Duel Disk, which was supposed to be used freely outdoors, has instead become a device that can only be used in large indoor environments. This is the main reason why Kaiba has shelved the launch of the next-generation Duel Disk.

(Author's note: It's basically a patch where GX was released earlier than the Dark Side, resulting in a significant technological gap.)

After a pause, looking at the students below, Kaiba spread his arms wide: "However, the situation is completely different now. This is a vast world where unrestrained duels can be held freely, a world born for duels, a world destined to become a place where all the strongest people throughout history gather to fight for the title of 'Absolute Strongest'."

"A stage of destiny that no one can predict! A stage where anyone can participate in the battle that belongs to the strong!"

As he spoke, the seahorse clenched his fist and raised it into the air.

Beside him, the other two Blue-Eyes also appeared. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon carrying the seahorse flew forward, while the two Blue-Eyes followed closely behind, spiraling around the former.

The light emanating from the three white dragons surrounded the open-air arena. The three white dragons, accelerated to their maximum speed, converged together. After another burst of light, under everyone's gaze, the three [Blue-Eyes White Dragons] merged into one, transforming into the strongest, most powerful, and most evolved dragon race—[True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon]!

"Now, with aspirations for the strong, begin your battle, all duelists!" Standing atop the middle head of the three-headed white dragon, Kaiba's cloak fluttered as he shouted, "In this virtual world, 'Duel-Links'!"

"Huh? When did we enter the virtual world?" Jaden asked in surprise, subconsciously.

Although he was some distance from Kaiba in the air, Kaiba heard Jaden's voice clearly. Without any amplification equipment, Kaiba shouted loudly enough for the whole audience to hear: "When did you all start to have the illusion that you haven't entered the 'Duel-Links' world?"

"I hereby declare that the official tournament of the 2005 Duel Academy Exchange Tournament has officially begun. The four finalists, march toward the throne of heaven and determine your strongest along the way."

"The goal is the World Tree, which stands tall at the edge of the world!"

The instant Kaiba finished speaking, he and his Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon transformed into golden specks of light, dissipating and drifting away on the wind. Following the direction the light traveled, Jaden, Asuka, Fubuki, Caesar, and other students, located in different parts of the arena, all noticed the colossal tree reaching towards the sky at the far end of their vision!

The next moment, a light screen that seemed to be visible only to each of them suddenly popped up in front of everyone, whether they were ordinary students or contestants who had advanced in the competition, and a notification sound rang out.

[Ding! The boot system has been activated]

[General tasks have been released]

[Mission Name: Reaching the End of the World]

[Mission Description: Arrive at the venue of the finals]

[Quest Hint: Drasill, Odin's Horse]

Chapter 1325 World Tree Yggdrasill

After Kaiba announced the start of the match, the students spontaneously walked out of the venue and came outdoors without anyone having to guide them. They found that only they and the building itself had been "transferred" there; the rest of the Duel Academy was not present in the surrounding area.

Replacing the original environment is a vast grassland, with no paths to follow; one must forge their own way. As for whether any dangers might lurk within the waist-high grass...

There's nothing to be afraid of, is there? After all, President Kaiba said that this is a virtual world!

Some people were still jumping around, experiencing physical sensations completely consistent with the real world. Some even squatted down and lay on the ground to carefully observe that it was not a fixed model but the soil on the ground with real collision volume and even material properties. Others had already run towards the towering tree in the distance and started crossing the grassland.