Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

These past few days, the Osiris Red Dormitory has been filled with Marufuji Sho's wailing and howling every now and then.

Even from a great distance, that irritating voice was still so unique and full of mockery that those who couldn't stand it came over to give Marufuji Sho a buff (the physical kind).

Since Marufuji Sho still intended to struggle and duel with his brother instead of giving up, Yuki Judai, who was always willing to help others, would naturally not give up on his little brother.

After transforming their inner selves into demons, Yusei, possessed by Dark Claw, and Jaden, possessed by Ultraman, used various methods to thoroughly transform their underlings in response to Hell Caesar.

Fubuki, who had fought Hell Caesar midway through the battle, came over and conveyed Hell Caesar's tactics to everyone.

Curious, Manjoume, encouraged by his brothers, happily joined the fight to beat up Sho, giving Marufuji Sho a real taste of his teammates' formidable strength.

When he was helping out as Yusei's teammate, Marufuji Sho felt an unprecedented sense of security. Anyway, if the sky fell, the tall guy would hold it up. He didn't need to do anything. He just needed to win without lifting a finger. He was happy with that.

However, after standing on the opposite side, everything reversed, becoming an insurmountable barrier that Marufuji Sho could never overcome.

The more reliable it was in the past, the more cruel it will be now!

In the past few days, Marufuji Sho has witnessed firsthand the cruelty of hell. With the help of everyone, he briefly became a ruthless player who only cared about playing cards.

In conclusion, judging from the results, Marufuji Sho's progress in these few days almost surpasses that of the entire previous semester...

Although he still can't beat tough guys like Yusei and Jaden Yuki, he's not as easily defeated as he was at the beginning.

……

"Aba aba... (in a dazed state)"

With a clear liquid of unknown meaning lingering at the corner of his mouth, Marufuji Sho, having experienced an unimaginable shock and with the light gone from his eyes, lay dazed on the floor of the Osiris Red dormitory room.

Standing opposite Marufuji Sho was Yusei, who had just beaten him up with his [Hero Deck] and was now holding his deck as if deep in thought.

With the end of this duel, the special training that everyone had given to Marufuji Sho also came to a close, bringing a joyous and successful conclusion.

"Hmm... I'm watching, doing this and that... this way, Brother Xiang can at least last three to five rounds against Caesar."

Yusei rebuilt a targeted deck for Marufuji Sho, adding some broad-based trap cards. Looking at Sho, whose eyes had lost their sparkle and who lay on the ground like a corpse, Yusei nodded, a satisfied expression on his face: "To be able to drag that hopeless little Sho-san to this level, I'm truly worthy of my reputation..."

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and tomorrow morning will be the day of the decisive battle that the Marufuji brothers agreed to.

If it were before, Marufuji Sho would only be easily defeated by his brother, and even making progress would be a luxury. But now, he probably won't face such a tragic ending.

"Hmm... Although it's unlikely we'll win, if we can hold out for a while longer, it shouldn't be a problem."

After putting the deck back into Marufuji Sho's pocket, Yusei walked out of the room and closed the dormitory door behind him. He then walked towards the dormitory exit with Yuki Judai and Manjoume, who were waiting at the door.

After dealing with Marufuji Sho's problem, their next target was the strong individuals who remained after the constant competition and elimination process.

Most of them came from outside the island, from all over the world, including Edward's predecessors, those top ten players in the professional league.

Kenzan: "Phew~ Our mission is now complete!"

Manjoume: "...Hmph! What happens tomorrow depends on his own fate."

After finishing his special training, Marufuji Sho was left alone in the dormitory to rest, having close contact with the cold floor.

These past few days, he has been subjected to a hellish torment by various powerful figures who have forcibly taken him in and even made him feel like a man on top of another man.

Although he wasn't physically harmed and his chrysanthemum still belonged to him, Marufuji Sho was mentally exhausted.

According to the original plan, today was supposed to be spent watching the matches between students and professional players from the Duel Academy, and also to find some opponents to spar with.

However, exhausted, Marufuji Sho clearly lacked the physical strength and the mental state for it, so in the end, he could only lie there alone in his dormitory, looking completely dazed...

And tomorrow, he will face his final judgment.

"Yusei...is Sho alright?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. He probably just fainted from excitement."

Seemingly noticing Marufuji Sho's obviously abnormal state, Yuki Jaden, who was leaving the Osiris Red Dormitory, couldn't help but turn back from time to time and ask Yusei, who was leaving the dormitory last, a curious question.

Upon hearing this question, Yusei paused for a moment before patting Jaden Yuki on the shoulder reassuringly, indicating that he didn't need to worry too much.

Putting other aspects aside for now, at least Xiang, who is as resilient as a cockroach, is quite tenacious in terms of vitality, so they don't need to worry about him too much.

Don't let his current pitiful state—like he's on the verge of death, barely clinging to life—deceive you. Tomorrow, he'll be back to life, sporting that smug, punchable expression...

That's how incredibly resilient Xiaoqiang is.

"Is...is that so? Since you've said so, Yusei, then everything should be alright!"

"That's right, that's exactly it, don't worry about Brother Xiang~"

"..."

……

--boom!

"...Ughhhhhh!!!"

"Ha, I've won. This duel is my victory... So, who will be my next opponent?"

Along with the explosion of the monster being destroyed and the notification sound of the Duel Disk indicating that the monster's life points had reached zero, came a mournful cry signifying defeat.

Casually stretching out his arm, he grabbed the GX badge that flew up with the explosion. The man in the red suit, dressed like an artist, who had just defeated a random classmate from Obelisk Blue, slightly raised his head.

After stylishly tidying up his distinctive, card-player-style haircut, the man in the suit looked around at the timid crowd: "Is no one willing to listen to the lecture by Matti Motica, the tenth-ranked player in the Professional League—'Mathematics Professor'?"

As Matti Motika's gaze swept over them one by one, the onlookers all showed expressions of fear and quickly fled in different directions.

"—Hey! Run!"

"...If you lose here, the angry teachers will give you a failing grade and make you repeat the year!"

The strength of players ranked in the top ten of the professional league is something that ordinary students cannot compete with.

The previous fool who refused to believe in the superstition had already become a defeated opponent of Mattimotica, losing his badge and thus his qualification to continue the competition.

605 The Ultimate Weapon of Duel Academy

"Hmm... Only a small percentage of students are able to participate in and win duels. Most students just barely get by by having to duel with their classmates once a day."

Inside the principal's office at the Duel Academy.

As Principal Samejima observed the students' competition information constantly appearing on the screen, a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes: "It seems that most of the students don't have any intention of winning the championship, but just plan to get through this competition and barely make ends meet..."

"Well, after all, their opponents aren't just students, but also duelists who come from all over the island!"

With a mocking expression squeezed onto his handsome face, which resembled a pot of greed, Professor Chronos picked up where Principal Samejima left off and continued, "...Think about it carefully, how could our students possibly be a match for professional duelists!"

"...If this continues, it will damage the reputation of Duel Academy."

Beside Professor Chronos was Coach Napoleon, who looked like a sycophant.

Despite his short stature, he was actually full of wicked ideas. After rolling his eyes, he suggested to the worried Principal Samejima, "Principal, I think we must find a way to retaliate against those arrogant professional duelists!"

"...Winning or losing is not my original intention. I just want to raise awareness among the students of this school through these high walls."

After a moment of silence, Principal Samejima gave an ambiguous answer.

Upon hearing these words, Napoleon and Professor Chronos exchanged a glance and simultaneously noticed the helplessness in each other's eyes.

Coach Napoleon: "What Principal Samejima said is all too idealistic."

Professor Chronos: "...That's right. If we don't come up with something soon, everyone will think that Duel Academy's level is just so-so, nothing special~ Look!"

After leaving the principal's office, the two whispered their thoughts to each other in the corridor.

"Speaking of which... we did target the Osiris Red Dormitory before, didn't we? If we investigate this incident as well, the principal could dismiss us!"

"What...what nonsense are you talking about!" Professor Chronos, hearing this, instinctively stopped and maintained a polite social distance from Instructor Napoleon: "...I don't want to be fired! Speaking of which, wasn't it clearly your idea, Instructor Napoleon, to target the Osiris Red Dormitory? I'm innocent!"

"Hmph! Do you think Principal Samejima will listen to your excuses?"

Without even looking up, Coach Napoleon spoke in a low voice: "...Professor Chronos, we're in the same boat now!"

“…You bastard!” Professor Chronos gritted his teeth, his face grim, and began to consider a solution: “In that case, I have no choice but to use the Academy’s [Ultimate Weapon]!”

When they first enrolled, Professor Chronos released Mogi, who had made a contract with Yuuyu, while dealing with Yusei and the others.

Professor Chronos's plan to use Mogi's sedative aura to make Yusei and the others lose interest in dueling ended in a crushing defeat, as expected. Mogi himself, along with Yuyu, was once again isolated in his own island resort, where he continued to enjoy a life of lying down and waiting to die.

At this rather awkward moment, Professor Chronos made up his mind to unleash this sealed power once again.

……

"As expected of the King of the West, he specially invited Prince Aujin to participate in the duel."

"But... apart from that initial duel with Prince Auchin, he hasn't engaged in any other duels..."

After Coach Napoleon and Professor Chronos left, Principal Samejima silently opened the webpage in front of him in his empty principal's office.

Displayed there were the personal battle achievements of Saiou Takuma, the leader of the Society of Light.

Unlike other duelists, Saiou's record remained unchanged: he fought one duel and won one.

This means that after dueling with Prince Okin of the Serpent God Kingdom and winning the briefcase containing the satellite controller from him, Saiō did not duel with anyone else.

This situation clearly does not comply with the rules of the GX competition.

As a result, Saiou Takumi was naturally included in the list of those who would be forfeited by Principal Samejima, thus losing his qualification to win the championship.

"...Of course."

Just as Principal Samejima was pondering Saiou's intentions, the automatic door to the principal's office opened automatically due to a sensor.

The female secretary who had been accompanying Prince Aukin then gracefully walked into the principal's office and stood before Principal Samejima.

"I remember...you're Prince Auchin's secretary, Lingduo, right?"

Principal Samejima waited for the newcomer's questioning gaze before she could speak.

“Yes, what that man got from Prince Aujin…” Nodding, Secretary Lingduo continued, “It was… the control device for the laser satellite [Sura] that could lead the world to destruction.”

"What...did you say?!" Principal Samejima's eyes widened suddenly upon hearing this, and he instinctively stood up, his face showing shock.

……

Meanwhile, deep in the jungle near the Duel Academy.

Having sensed the formidable strength of the professional duelists, everyone scattered and fled in all directions.

"Oh dear~~ These kids haven't even grown up yet... is this all the strength they've got?"