Duels should be played with a smile.

After waiting for a long time without any other response from the system, Leyou was completely baffled.

This system used to be quite easy to understand, but since we reached the quarterfinals, it's become increasingly confusing. Even distributing rewards is so unclear now. Did they learn something from the operations team of some mobile game?

“Here,” Ella, who had been silent all along, suddenly reminded him.

"Ok?"

“Here,” Ella reminded her again, pointing to her chest…

Then Leyou followed the gaze and looked over there.

Oh no, I shouldn't be looking at hers, I should be looking at my own.

But... it wouldn't hurt to take a second look, right?

In short, she's quite fair-skinned.

After lingering for a couple of seconds, Leyou, with immense willpower, finally managed to bring her attention back.

She pulled it back to her chest, revealing the jade-colored crystal pendant.

It is glowing.

It looks no different from the light emitted when it's fused with the Duel Disk.

But at this particular time, Leyou finally discovered something was wrong.

It seems that, in my memory, I have been carrying this pendant with me since I was very, very young.

What's even stranger is that I've never lost this pendant, nor have I ever felt that there's anything special about it.

At times like these, the most extraordinary thing is the ordinary.

"So, this awakening refers to the awakening of this pendant?"

Subconsciously reaching for the crystal pendant on her chest, Leyou felt a burning sensation in her palm. When the heat dissipated and she opened her hand, the pendant that had been with her for countless years had vanished without a trace.

Or rather, have you become one with yourself?

So here's the question: according to the initial hints when the system first appeared, the system's carrier seemed to be this crystal, right? Now, will the system simply disappear, or has the carrier become itself?

I'm actually a system?

What kind of outrageous development is this?

The system still didn't react, but Ella next to him remained unchanged, and Leyou could also sense that Aeus's spirit was still present beside him.

So, elves are something unrelated to the system, but it's hard to say about card decks.

Just as Leyou was still troubled, the system that had been playing dead finally reappeared.

Upgrade complete

[Existing features retained, some features enhanced]

Please check it yourself.

And that's it, highlighting its simplicity and clarity.

You have to find and read all the information yourself.

It's just like more than a decade ago, when you had to search everywhere for resources, download patches, install Chinese localization, and solve all sorts of startup problems and errors before you could finally play a game.

Leyou is very dissatisfied and even wants to file a complaint.

And he really wants to confirm one thing right now.

"Hey, Zaima? Am I still a normal person in this state?"

【Yes】

"That's all."

It was as if a dog-headed penguin appeared in my mind, its face beaming with a smile, the meaning of which couldn't be clearer.

"Since that's the case, let's touch it then. We can talk about everything else tomorrow."

"Ella~ Let's take a break~"

Happiness is often something you can grasp completely, but dedication is often hidden.

……

Returning victorious, using an incredibly outrageous deck, and acquiring a Millennium Item along with other miscellaneous loot, Leyou, in a great mood, naturally slept soundly.

But at this moment, there were three other people on this airship who were not able to sleep.

"They are all so strong!"

The deck cards were neatly arranged on the table, but Jonouchi was somewhat agitated.

Advancing to the semi-finals was a very happy thing for him, but after the joy came even greater pressure.

Having gone through the trials this afternoon and the duel tonight, he has grown a lot in just one day compared to before.

Both mental fortitude and the strength of a duelist.

Even so, after watching the other three duels tonight, he had to admit that he was the weakest of the three.

Putting aside the fact that he was the only one among the four who didn't have an incredibly powerful God Card, he had fought against all three of them before, and the results were always the same: he lost.

Past wins and losses cannot be taken as the same as present wins and losses, but they can still serve as a reference.

Ironically, the person whose judgment is now closest to his own strength is Kaiba, whom he used to think was unapproachable and completely invincible.

The reason is simple: after tonight's duel, he has no way of judging the relative strengths of Game and Leyou.

He and the game are good friends, but their familiarity with each other doesn't give him a deeper understanding of the game's strength; in fact, the more he learns, the more confused he becomes.

Every time there's a game duel, it's easy to find yourself in a dangerous situation, but just when the enemy seems to have victory in their grasp, the game will turn the tables and kill them at the crucial moment.

This strange state left Jonouchi with no way to judge it, and since his mind wasn't actually that sharp, he simply gave up thinking about it.

As for Rakuyu... Jonouchi wasn't very familiar with Rakuyu, but he was still somewhat grateful to him.

In duels, Rakuyu gave Jonouchi a completely different feeling than in games.

The two duels I've witnessed so far both appeared perilous, yet I had complete control. This domineering style of dueling made it impossible for Jonouchi to guess Yuu's strength—not to mention that the decks used in those two duels were of no reference value whatsoever.

"They are all very strong, and my current deck was built under their guidance. Some of the cards were even given to me by them. It would be too difficult for me to surpass them."

After a while, Jonouchi seemed to have made up his mind and put several cards that he used to hate into his deck.

"At a time like this, I can't let some concerns make me give up cards that could help me in a critical moment!"

After spending a considerable amount of time reorganizing his deck, Jonouchi, who was about to pack up and go to bed, suddenly heard footsteps outside the door, and...

Are you asleep, Jonouchi?

"dance?"

"What are you doing...?"

Upon opening the door, Jonouchi stared at the card in Mai's hand, speechless.

"Take it."

"No, this is too expensive."

"But this card can help you make up for some of the gaps in your deck's strength, right? That should be very important to you, shouldn't it?"

"But this is also very important to you, isn't it?"

After a brief exchange, silence fell over the room.

"Anyway, just take it. You can always give it back to me after the match!"

Peacock Dance's smile was so gentle that even Jonouchi, who was still an innocent young boy, was almost stunned.

Since things had been said to this extent, Jonouchi couldn't refuse. After expressing his sincere gratitude, he accepted the gift and added it to his deck in front of Mai.

"Keep up the good work, and make sure you show your true colors as a duelist!"

"A true duelist... in all his glory..."

He muttered those two words to himself, and by the time Cheng Nei came to his senses, the beauty outside the door had already left.

I will do it!

……

In the room, Yugi Muto looked at the three different Exodia parts in his hand, recalling Leyu's previous duel.

He had never seen such a bold and outrageous deck, so novel that it was practically bizarre.

I have never seen a dueling style that puts everything in its hands before.

"My other self, we can collect all three God Cards, right?"

"Yes, Aibo, you can definitely do it."

He must collect all three God Cards, as they are related to his memories.

Moreover, it's not just the three God Cards; besides the Millennium Puzzle that resides within him, all the other Millennium Items are also in Leyou's hands.

During the previous celebration, he tentatively mentioned to Leyou the importance of these Millennium Artifacts to him, and Leyou agreed to lend them to him.

But there are two conditions before that.

The first thing is to lend him the Millennium Puzzle later, and the second thing is...

"Let's do everything we can to beat him... He's incredibly confident, almost blindingly so!"

"This must be very challenging for you, right? Another version of me!"

"That's right, Aibo, I can't wait to face him!"

"But before that, we should be fully prepared, another version of myself!"

"Ah! Let's adjust the deck again. I think it would be more suitable to duel him using your method, aibo?"

"Hmm...I think it's a good idea!"

……

In the airship's main control room, Kaima Guiping had fallen asleep without realizing it, his brother's coat draped over his body.

Seto Kaiba's fingers flew across the keyboard, issuing commands and receiving data that was displayed on the screen in front of him.