Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

Inside the ring, on the concentric staircases, stood students from the Duel Academy dressed in various uniforms.

At this moment, they were like farmhands under landlords in the old society, doing the most basic manual labor in this circular arena, using various tools to clear away the rubble and stones inside the arena...

Beside them, a large, ferocious-looking tiger lay in the center of the circle, its eyes half-closed, watching their actions.

Once the tiger discovers someone slacking off, it will approach the slacker and roar intimidatingly.

Those startled by the roar would scramble to their feet, frantically squeezing out their last bit of value to avoid being devoured by this grumpy beast...

Unlike the stereoscopic image projected by the Duel Disk.

Whether it's the tiger, the arena, or the "missing persons" present, they are all real, existing entities.

Only at this time does the color of the uniform seem less important.

After all, we're all just laborers forced here by someone to work...

"Is that... Kawada, who's been missing?"

"Ah! Goto-kun is here too!!!"

"Hey... isn't that blond guy over there who's shouting 'Mamma Mia!' while moving stones... isn't that Professor Chronos? Was he also captured and brought here?"

"Tsk tsk tsk... No wonder that person came looking for Daitokuji-sensei instead of Professor Chronos... It turns out they really couldn't find him!"

"--roar!!!"

Just as everyone was chatting and lamenting the current situation, the tiger, which had been half-closing its eyes, suddenly got up and rushed towards Yusei and the others after noticing the intruders.

That fierce demeanor seemed to suggest he intended to entice those who had come here to join the ranks of laborers...

"Whoaaaaaah... That thing is charging this way!!!"

"Forget about these people for now, we need to escape first!"

"Eek! Professor Chronos! What on earth is going on?!"

While dodging the tiger's pursuit, the group questioned Professor Chronos, who looked completely bewildered.

"Um...everyone was brought here by that tiger..."

Somewhat embarrassed, Professor Chronos, noticing the presence of the crowd, slowly began to explain.

As the number one person under the principal of the Duel Academy, essentially a dean of students, Chronos was actually the first staff member to be arrested...

This is incredibly embarrassing!

However, using human strength to fight against wild beasts seems even more absurd...

He, Chronos, isn't Wu Song of Jingyang Ridge, capable of killing a tiger with his bare hands...

In a direct confrontation, all he could do was use gua sha (scraping therapy) to provoke the opponent, and then become its snack...

A true man can bend and stretch. Coming here to do hard labor in order to save his life is called enduring hardship and bearing humiliation, you know?

"Teacher... are you fucking kidding me?"

What the hell? You think this is some kind of tiger demon?!

Yusei replied that he wouldn't believe a single punctuation mark of Professor Chronos's words.

"That guy is right! It's because of everyone's help that this building was able to be completed so quickly..."

Accompanied by this sudden sound, a brown-skinned female warrior with a high ponytail, a muscular build, and claw marks on her right cheek, who looked like she had stepped out of the JOJO movie set next door, suddenly leaped into the air and appeared in front of everyone. Then, she stretched out her muscular and powerful arms to block the attacking tiger in place of Yusei and the others.

"roar……?!"

The enormous tiger, which had been ferocious and ready to devour people, transformed into a docile and obedient big cat the moment it saw the woman, as if it had seen its owner's pet. It stopped its sprint and chase abruptly, then began to kneel and lick the woman's heels, quietly lying down beside her.

"Hey... Bass, you did a great job! Thanks to your supervision, the work was completed so quickly!"

The woman, who had been stroking the tiger's head and calling its name, glanced around and a satisfied expression appeared on her face: "Alright, everyone, you can stop now! Come and collect your wages!"

"Huh?...Salary? Did I hear that right?"

"What? There's actually money to be paid out?"

"Damn... I thought we were here to do free work..."

"Hehehe... Now I can buy a few more girl cards, right?"

With expressions of surprise on their faces, the crowd stopped what they were doing upon hearing the good news and gathered in front of the woman, then lined up in a row.

Even Professor Chronos, who had looked embarrassed earlier, seemed completely unfazed, happily following at the back of the crowd.

"...Ahem! Everyone, thank you all for your help...and it's all thanks to you that this arena was able to be built so well~"

Clearing her throat, the woman, who looked somewhat fierce, then took out a stack of envelopes containing payment from behind her.

373 Yosawa Sora Doesn't Want to Be Forgotten (5K)

The woman who suddenly appeared before everyone, seemingly the owner of a tiger, and with a slightly wild appearance, walked towards the direction where the passersby were waiting.

Judging from her appearance, it seemed that she intended to personally hand over the rewards to them and express her gratitude.

Meanwhile, Yusei and the others watched her actions with bewildered expressions.

This guy……

Who is she? What is she doing?

And what was her purpose in instructing the tiger to kidnap so many people to build this massive arena for her?

These are all mysteries that are still unknown at present.

Out of caution, Yusei and his group chose to hold back for the time being... and began to observe the woman's behavior.

"Young man... this is just a small token of my appreciation~ Arigato (thank you)~~~" The woman patted a passerby on the shoulder, handed him the envelope, and then told him that he could leave safely at any time.

The boy who received the envelope immediately became excited and ran towards the exit without looking back.

Judging from his expression, he didn't seem to have heard the second half of the sentence.

However, he was indeed not harmed at all.

"Hey~ You've worked hard~ Remember to get some rest when you get back~"

"Oh... um..."

Seeing that the tiger hadn't caught up with the boy who had left earlier, the second student who received the envelope hesitated for a moment before nodding and leaving the place of trouble.

In short, consider it a short-term job...

Shaking his head to banish those chaotic thoughts, the second boy also successfully left the place.

"...Here you go, thank you~~"

"Hehehe... It's not much, but it's a small token of my appreciation~"

"Oh? I remember... you put in quite a bit of effort, so this big red envelope is for you!"

And so, the woman, while expressing her gratitude, handed the envelopes in her hand to each person in turn.

"...Thank you~~~"

Following the direction of the crowd, the woman soon handed over the last envelope in her hand.

Then, she went to Professor Chronos at the back of the group.

"I'm so touched~ I never thought this job would actually be paid~ Here! Give it to me quickly~~" Professor Chronos clasped his hands together in front of him, a genuine smile spreading across his face.

However... given his face, which resembled a pot of greed, his smile just looked somewhat awkward...

"Um..."

Looking at Professor Chronos, who was staring at her with a smug grin, seemingly waiting for his reward, the woman raised an eyebrow and stopped what she was doing: "...You're not good-looking, so I won't give it to you! Besides, I don't have any extra envelopes on me."

Everyone: "..."

What nonsense are you talking about?

Faced with the woman's blunt comments, the onlookers exchanged bewildered glances and fell into silence.

While that is indeed the case, isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to say it so directly to the person involved?

"What?! Is that even possible... Judging people by their appearance is unfair! I protest!"

Professor Chronos, who was criticized for his appearance by the woman in front of him and had not received his share of the payment, couldn't help but complain.

He used to be the one criticizing others, but he never imagined that one day he would become the one receiving special treatment...

I'm so angry and cold! When will I, Professor Chronos, finally be able to stand up again?!

"How could this be? I also want the compensation I deserve!"

Professor Chronos, feeling resentful, tried to persuade the woman before him to pay the reward he deserved.

However, the response he received was a tiger's roar that nearly terrified him...

Seeing the enormous beast guarding the woman like a bodyguard, Professor Chronos swallowed hard, abandoned his plan to continue, and scurried over to Yusei and the others.

He worried that if he continued to entangle himself like this, he might very well be attacked by a wild beast and die on the spot...

If it really turns out like that, it will be very awkward...

"Who...are you?"

Yusei glanced at Professor Chronos, who had run away in fear, out of the corner of his eye, then raised his arm and asked the woman not far away who she was.

Enemy... or friend?

Based on her answer, Yusei will also change his attitude.

"Oh... I almost forgot, I haven't introduced myself yet."

The wild woman Yusei pointed at chuckled, stopping the tiger from getting up. Then, she raised the Duel Disk in her hand and said with a smile, "...My name is Tania, and I am the last queen of the Amazons..."

At this point, the wild woman who called herself Tania suddenly lowered her head slightly and changed the subject: "At the same time... she is also a member of the Seven Star Kings, your enemy!"

Above Tania's raised palm, a black glove with an eye icon can be seen.

Clearly, like Darkness's dark mask and Camilla's golden collar, this glove is a mafia item representing her status as the Seven Star King of Tania!