Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

“Come to think of it, we didn’t need to run away at all. Maybe it’s just some kind of monster that can transform into the characters we imagine.” Marufuji Sho also realized that he had nothing to be afraid of in the virtual world, and suddenly became brave. “Maybe I can easily take care of it without my brother even having to do it.”

Unlike their previous journey, this time Marufuji Sho led the way into the forest, heading towards the clearing they had discovered earlier. They soon returned to the vicinity where they had escaped.

However, just as he was about to reach the open space, Marufuji Sho suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around in a panic, saying, "I... I suddenly feel that this opportunity to perform should be given to you, my older brother."

"It's not because I heard crying."

Judai and Maeda listened carefully and also heard a faint sobbing sound hidden in the sound of the wind and the rustling of leaves. They mustered up their courage and peeked out, only to see that the "mysterious person" who looked like Daitokuji Temple was squatting in the same spot where they had just been, crying with his back to them.

“I’ve seen this scene before when I was playing games. We’d better not alert the Witch.” Maeda Hayato glanced at Marufuji Sho. “I’ll leave it to your [machine]. Sho, use firepower to tell him that times have changed.”

"No, no, what if the opponent isn't afraid of physical damage? Maeda, your [Death Koala] can be used too."

"I think the Death Koala will only feed me eucalyptus leaves."

Neither Marufuji Sho nor Maeda Hayato dared to make a move against the rather eerie-looking "mysterious person," but Jaden was not afraid of the rather supernatural atmosphere. Instead, he stood still, closed his eyes, and recalled the past.

Memories of my time with Master Daitokuji flooded my mind. The last image was of his face, cracked like shattered porcelain, smiling at me: 'Don't forget the feeling of having your comrades by your side when you fought me, Jaden. Walk the path of light—'

“I will never forget the feeling of traveling with my companions, Daitokuji-sensei. But I will also never forget you.” To herself, Judai said to Maeda and Sho, “Leave it to me, I’ll take care of their business. But before that, I want to see Daitokuji-sensei again.”

"That sounds way too dangerous!? Big brother, won't you reconsider?"

"Yes, Judai, if it really doesn't work, we can take a detour."

It wasn't just because he was worried that Jaden's actions would alert the opponent before he could launch an attack, putting Jaden in danger. As one of the few people who knew the final outcome of the "Seven Stars" incident, Maeda and Sho both knew that the person who defeated the final "Seven Stars" was Jaden. In a sense, Jaden was the one who sent Daitokuji to the end of his life.

Asking Judai to destroy "Daideku-ji" again, even if that "Daideku-ji" is very likely a fake? That would be putting Judai in a really difficult position!

But Jaden was determined to leave. He refused Maeda and Sho, and as he walked out from behind the tree where he was hiding, he called out to them from a distance as he approached Daitoku-ji Temple.

"Master Daitokuji? Do you remember me?"

“Remember? Of course I remember…” Upon hearing Judai’s words, “Daidekuji”, who was squatting on the ground, stood up, revealing a face stained with blood of unknown origin that looked rather ferocious, and said to Judai, “How could I possibly forget you, meow!”

"It's one thing that we haven't seen each other in so long and you didn't even greet me properly, but what's with each of you punching me, meow!" Pointing to the symmetrical panda eyes on his face, Daitokuji said excitedly, "The worst part is that you didn't just hit my eyes, who just punched me in the nose? I'm bleeding all over my face, meow!"

Marufuji Sho glanced at the bloodstain he had accidentally gotten on his hand, casually wiped it on a nearby tree, and whistled as if nothing had happened.

"Really? You're quite energetic, Daitokuji-sensei. Seeing you like this really brings back memories." Jaden smiled, raised his hand, drew a card from the appearing Duel Disk, and said, "That's enough. Now, I'll send you on your way once more and let you rest in peace."

"【E·hero Winged Warrior】, unleash Wing Storm on 'Teacher Daitokuji'!"

Seeing that Judai had summoned [E·hero Winged Warrior] to attack him, Daitokuji panicked and hurriedly said, "Wait, wait a minute, Judai, why are you attacking me, meow! Teacher, I'm really your teacher, meow! You should be able to recognize me, meow!"

"Could it be... could it be that you punched me in the nose just now, and you're planning to kill me now, meow!?"

Chapter 1344 Traveling through time and space, exerting all my strength, I will come to your side~

Jaden, who had an expression that said, "Master Daitokuji, I'm back to kill you," hesitated for a moment upon hearing the words of the person in front of him.

"He said he's Daitokuji-sensei? Is that true?" Marufuji Sho and Maeda Hayato, who had been hiding behind the tree, were also somewhat doubtful and incredulous when they heard Daitokuji's words.

Maeda suggested, "If it really is Master Daitokuji, why don't we just ask him questions that he can definitely answer?"

Hearing Maeda's words behind him, Judai looked at Daitokuji, who was giving a "French military salute," and after thinking for a moment with his extraordinary wisdom, asked, "What was the first thing Daitokuji-sensei said in the first alchemy lesson he taught us?"

"Wait a minute, meow, let me think." Daitokuji made a thinking expression and answered somewhat uncertainly, "I remember it was something like, 'The Duel King, Hayato Kobayashi, said that powerful cards are often accompanied by great risks, which contains the most basic principle of alchemy—equivalent exchange. Welcome to this class, everyone. I am your teacher, Daitokuji, meow.'"

Even the students in the Red Dorm, who were academically weak, were still able to listen attentively to their first class with the excitement of being new to school. Therefore, even Marufuji Sho, who later became similar to Judai and could only sleep in alchemy class without understanding anything, still had some impression of what Daitokuji-sensei said in the first class.

"It seems that Master Daitokuji really did say that?" He was somewhat uncertain, but also lowered his guard a bit, and asked from behind the tree, "What is the Pharaoh's favorite food?"

“Most people might guess it’s something like fish, but Pharaoh is different from ordinary cats!” Daitokuji said confidently. “Pharaoh’s favorite food is fireflies. He would even give up canned fish for it. Nobody knows Pharaoh better than me, meow!”

Maeda scratched his head: "Fireflies? I didn't even know that. Could it really be Master Daitokuji?"

"By the way, does Mr. Daitokuji really know how Sho's favorite poster of [Dark Magician Girl] got damaged?"

"Huh? Wasn't that broken by Jaden, meow?"

Judai raised an eyebrow and decisively said, "Wrong answer. Looks like you're a fake Daitokuji-sensei. You born evil imposter, I'll personally—"

"Wow! It was clearly Judai who did it, and you're so angry that you want to kill me to cover it up. That's too much, meow!" Daitokuji crossed his arms in front of him in fear, trying to block Judai's seemingly impending attack, shouting loudly that he hadn't changed his answer despite Judai's threat.

But to his surprise, Jaden didn't let the monster attack him at all. Seeing that Daitokuji still didn't change his mind under these circumstances, he relaxed and let his arm drop, causing the Duel Disk that appeared on his left arm to disappear again.

"It seems to be the real Daitokuji-sensei." Judai smiled as he looked at Daitokuji.

"Huh?" Daitokuji looked at Judai and realized what was happening. "Judai, did you do that on purpose? That's so mean! I was almost scared to death by you, meow!"

"He said he wanted to be a hero, but when he gets fierce, he's so intimidating, he's almost a third as evil as Principal Hayato, meow..."

Listening to Daitokuji's rambling, Judai scratched his head sheepishly and apologized, "Because I wasn't sure if it was really Daitokuji-sensei, I deliberately scared you a little. I'm so sorry, sensei."

"And... welcome back, Daitokuji-sensei."

"...Yes, I'm back."

It wasn't just a verbal welcome; Daitokuji and Judai had always felt like family. Daitokuji, who considered Judai his disciple who could inherit his alchemy, also regarded Judai as family, and family should embrace each other.

Seeing Jaden and Daitokuji embracing, Marufuji Sho interrupted, ruining the atmosphere: "So, you really were the one who ruined my Dark Magician Girl poster, big brother!?"

"I knew the tear didn't look like it was made by the Pharaoh's claws. Did you, brother, lift the Pharaoh onto the poster you ruined? Why did you buy me the same one later? You're making me pay back for my gratitude!"

"Ahem, don't worry about the details, Sho. Anyone who worries about details is an idiot." Abruptly skipping the topic, Judai looked at Daitokuji and said, "Speaking of which, Daitokuji-sensei, shouldn't you have died by now, and vanished into thin air right in front of me? How come you're appearing in this virtual world?"

"It's obvious you didn't take my explanation to heart, Judai." Daitokuji stood with his hands on his hips and pointed a finger at his head. "The human body has an absolute limit. No matter how much you extend your lifespan, you can only live to be 140 years old. That's the limit of a human body, meow."

"However, that is only the limit of the physical body. Just like how I had to create a second self and transfer my consciousness through human transmutation because of a past illness, the human soul is quite resilient. As long as there are suitable preservation methods, living for another five hundred years is not a problem, meow."

As he spoke, Daitokuji gave a spirited "V" sign to Judai and the others. Compared to the old Daitokuji who used to hug a cat like an old man, Daitokuji now had regained the energy of a young man in his twenties, which matched his appearance.

Compared to Maeda Hayato and Marufuji Sho, Judai quickly grasped what Daitokuji was saying and subconsciously asked, "So, Daitokuji-sensei, you created a new body for yourself and then resurrected yourself by transferring your consciousness?"

Judai's casual remark caused Daitokuji to suddenly become depressed. He squatted on the ground, drawing circles with a twig, and muttering incomprehensible words such as "Kaiba Corporation's technology is too much," "Human transmutation is obviously so difficult," and "If Diavolo were alive, he would probably hang himself on the spot if he saw this."

It took Daitokuji a long time to recover before he replied perfunctorily, "I guess it's what you meant, Jaden? And since my 'resurrection' this time was aided by a 'little bit' of help from the Kaiba Group, just like how I served Kagemaru in the past to repay him, I'm also temporarily working under the Kaiba Group, serving that President Seto Kaiba, meow."

Seeing his students looking at him with joy and admiration, Daitokuji could no longer bring himself to say the truth that "his resurrection was entirely due to the clone created by the Kaiba Group using a mere 180,000 yen worth of materials in just over ten minutes."

"Anyway, alchemy is amazing, isn't it? Let's take a look at what's under our feet first, meow." Just like when Jaden transferred the topic of "ruining Sho's poster," Daitokuji awkwardly shifted the topic to "his own resurrection." It can only be said that the teacher and the disciple are indeed the same. "Those things you found before are the famous 'runes'."

“Although you said Daitokuji-sensei is very famous, none of us have ever heard of him,” Marufuji Sho said. “I prefer science fiction, my older brother is a huge fan of tokusatsu and superhero movies, and the only one who knows a lot about mythology is Maeda, but even Maeda has never heard of this ‘rune script’.”

“Actually, I have heard of it, but I’ve only heard the name. I wouldn’t know what the specific ‘runes’ are or what they look like, since I’m not a professional researcher in this field,” Maeda corrected, then looked expectantly at Daitokuji, “Daitokuji-sensei, do you recognize these ‘runes’?”

"Unfortunately, the loss of 'rune script' is not a recent phenomenon, but rather something that has been lost for more than one or two hundred years. Even I don't know how to read these characters. Although I have conducted special research on the mysterious 'rune script' in the past for the purpose of studying longevity-related research, I have only managed to barely understand the meaning of a small part of the 'rune script'."

Daitokuji spread his hands and pointed to the ground, saying, "For example, that small piece you just found, when put together, roughly means 'Wave of Ice.' To be honest, I don't understand what it means just by looking at it, meow. However, besides that, there seem to be some other characters hidden by grass on the side. If you're interested, I can help you decipher them, meow."

"Are we going to waste our time pulling weeds here?" Marufuji Sho asked, though his tone was rather helpless, as if he already knew the answer. Turning around, he saw Judai enthusiastically pulling weeds along the trail of runes they had discovered earlier.

Maeda, on the other hand, was quite a heavyweight. His "Death Koala" had somehow managed to escape again. Seeing its owner and Jaden squatting on the ground diligently pulling weeds, it leisurely picked up the weeds that Jaden and the others had already pulled and started eating them. Unlike the original koala, which has a very strict diet, the "Death Koala" is not picky at all. If it needs to, it can even eat insects. In this respect, it is more like a wombat than a koala. Even its excrement is cubic.

Marufuji Sho naturally didn't just watch Judai and Maeda work; he immediately joined in pulling weeds. On the other hand, Daitokuji shamelessly watched the students pull weeds while he himself did the easy task of cheering them on.

Before long, thanks to the efforts of the three members of the Judai group and Daitokuji's slacking off, the weeds around the clearing were cleared away, revealing a whole circle of runes hidden in the ground.

Just like how the marks left by Jaden and his friends when they poked holes and drew pictures here would quickly disappear, these words on the ground, although they also looked like they were carved by someone with a stick or something, would quickly return to their original state and keep the words in their original form no matter how Jaden and his friends stepped on them or modified them. Even when Jaden asked [E·hero Wingman] to dig out a piece of soil, the missing and sunken ground still recovered like the rise of water.

This further highlights the extraordinary nature of this land, and even Marufuji Sho couldn't help but wonder what they would discover after spending so much time here.

After looking at the text, Daitokuji began to find out where to start reading the runes, since there were no dividing marks between them. After roughly determining that a certain position should be the starting point, he began to walk along the text on the ground, reading it as he went, with the three of them, including Judai, following behind him.

"Hmm, 'Before the world was born, the cauldron was boiling', no, this passage should mean that a 'boiling cauldron' existed before the world was born. Does it refer to the Hevagmir Spring in Norse mythology?"

"And then there's this, 'The vanguard of darkness dwells here, its venom drips here and flows to all corners of the world,' if we were to slightly revise it, 'the vanguard of darkness' should refer to the venomous dragon Nidhogg?"

“‘The rivers of the nine realms all originate from it, from which the primordial giants were born, and from which the antlers of the stag Ekturnir dripped water, which became the Wave of Ice.’”

“'The gate to the Nine Realms stands here; call forth the name to which Vimur belongs.'”

Upon reaching the last sentence, Daitokuji pondered with some confusion: "I thought this would be some kind of special magic incantation, something that would activate upon translation. Is it because I can only understand the meaning but not pronounce it?"

“This sounds more like a riddle than an incantation,” Judai said. “By the way, Daitokuji-sensei, what does Vimur’s affiliation mean?”

"Vemur is the name of a river in Norse mythology, from which Ymir, the primordial giant, was born and created the world from his body after his death. However, although it is a riddle, it is surprisingly simple. It is the kind of riddle that anyone who can read 'runes' can easily solve. The difficulty is as simple as reaching out and picking a leaf from the roadside grass. In fact, the answer is written directly on the riddle itself, meow."

As Daitokuji spoke, he proudly pointed to the rune that the first Judai and his group had discovered: "That's it. The origin of Vimur is the inexhaustible spring Hvaghmir in Norse mythology. The spring water that flows from it supplies twelve great rivers, and the glaciers formed by the freezing of these twelve rivers have the alternative name 'Waves of Ice'. But these twelve great rivers also have a collective name."

“That is, ‘Elivagar.’” When he pronounced the name, Daitokuji even showed off a bit of Irish he had picked up while learning runes, and it must be said that his accent was quite authentic.

However, the moment the word "Elivargar" was uttered at Daitoku-ji Temple, spring water suddenly gushed out from the gaps in the runes on the ground, which had been translated and had not responded to any touches or alterations. The water filled the depressions where the runes were located and covered the empty space with a thin layer of water.

Before Judai and the others could react, they suddenly sank into the water, which was less than a centimeter deep! In a panic, almost everyone clung to Judai, and then disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving only ripples in the water.

The weeds that had been pulled up on the edge of the open space absorbed the stagnant water and then grew back as if time had been accelerated, quickly growing back all the parts that had been pulled up and restoring everything to normal in a very short time.

Only [E·hero Winged Man] and [Death Koala], who hadn't been standing in the open space to begin with, remained, staring blankly at the spot where Jaden and the others had disappeared.

"I haven't gotten on the bus yet!" [E·hero Winged Warrior] was saying when he suddenly felt something furry touch his arm. He turned his head and saw [Death Koala], who looked calm, or perhaps hadn't realized what was happening at all. It was stuffing grass into its mouth while offering him eucalyptus leaves.

Looking at the eucalyptus leaf in his hand, [E·hero Winged Man] stared blankly at the empty space where Jaden had disappeared. For some reason, he subconsciously imitated [Death Koala] and stuffed the leaf into his mouth.

Not long after, [E·hero Winged Warrior] fell into a coma and collapsed to the ground, pointing his finger forward.

With a loud "bang" and the sound of a monster being destroyed, [E·hero Winged Warrior] vanished from the scene, leaving only [Death Koala] happily grazing.

Chapter 1345 Kingdom Teleportation Room

Before the sinking Jaden and the others, many fantastical scenes flashed by.

A giant rose from the river, only to be surrounded and killed, falling to become the earth; a strong man, impervious to weapons thrown by many, calmly withstood attacks, only to be easily killed when a blind man threw a mistletoe; a magician weaving a net, exposed as a fraud, attempted to transform into a fish to escape, but was caught in his own web...

There were so many scenes that they could only see a few moments clearly and couldn't remember what they saw. However, the scenes quickly disappeared from their sight. Just as they realized they were falling and tried to scream, they found themselves standing on solid ground, as if they had always been there.

In the center of the magnificent palace, a hollowed-out "tree" grows, surrounded by a pool. The roots of the "tree" not only extend into the pool to form a platform that is not very wide, but also extend out of the pool to form a bridge made of roots, which faces the direction where the Tenth Generation and his companions are.

"Waaaaah! We're going down—wait, we're not sinking?" Marufuji Sho's legs were off the ground, and he was clinging to Maeda Hayato, looking like a baby koala being carried on a koala's back.

However, Maeda Hayato wasn't much better off. When he sank into the water, he immediately grabbed Jaden's arm tightly, and even now, still recovering, he held onto Jaden's hand tightly, finding some sense of security in that. As for Jaden's other arm? It was being held by Daitokuji; despite being a teacher, he was awkwardly hiding next to his student.

On the contrary, Judai, although he was also frightened at first, felt at ease after arriving at the palace. Although the palace appeared dark and mysterious due to the lack of light, it was still better than a crude cave, wasn't it?

Yes, Jaden's extraordinary wisdom immediately reminded him of his recent experience. He and a few others were enjoying a relaxing soak in a hot spring when they were dragged into another world beneath the hot spring. They were forced to play cards with a guy who called himself "Kaiba Man," and not only did they lose, they lost badly. Jaden had kept this in mind ever since, always thinking about when he could go back and play cards with "Kaiba Man" to win it back.

Now, similarly, he was sinking from the surface of the water to the bottom and then suddenly entering a closed environment. He didn't seem to have been soaked in water and was in a dry state. How could Judai's amazing wisdom not connect what he was experiencing with the spirit world under the hot spring?

This must have been done by the "Seahorse Man" again!

Although the process was completely wrong, the answer was correct in a way. The shrine that Jaden and his friends entered was indeed related to the true form of the "Kaiba Man"—Seto Kaiba.

Although the overall framework of the virtual world "Duel-Links" was handed over to AI to automatically generate and populate content, Kaiba still arranged an overall storyline to guide players entering this world. He himself directly pointed out that their destination was the World Tree, so as long as they traveled normally, it wouldn't be long before someone would easily discover this strange empty space along the way, as well as the runes hidden all around.