Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

【Scarred Scale Knight】

(Warrior/Dark/4-star/Attack: 0/Defense: 0)

effect:

This card is destroyed while it and its name are on the field.

An opponent's monster in Attack Position must attack this card.

This card in Attack Position cannot be destroyed by battle.

Place 1 "Scar Counter" on the monster that battles this card in Attack Position. At the end of the Battle Phase, you gain control of the monster with the "Scar Counter".

While this card is face-up on the field, both players' Life Points recovery effects are negated.

-

"...My turn, draw a card!"

"Entering Main Phase 1, I change all the monsters on my field to Attack Position."

At the moment when it was his turn, Mr. Sato, who habitually adjusted his glasses, quickly took the opportunity to change all the monsters on his field to attack position.

As the [Scarred Scale Knight] retracted his crouching stance, which signified defensive posture, the ominous black mist reappeared once more on the tattered armor covering his standing body.

[Requester] (Attack Power: 800)

[Summoner Aleister] (Attack Power: 1000)

【Scarred Scale Knight】(Attack Power: 0)

"If powerful people cannot discover the truth, then for humanity, this world is like hell..."

The long-haired man, Sato-sensei, who felt the advantage in the duel had returned to his side after repeatedly opening and closing his free hand, did not rush to launch an attack or command the monsters to attack. Instead, he spoke to Yusei, explaining his thoughts: "...Yusei, let me tell you what exactly you did wrong."

"A mistake? Teacher... In my opinion, it's you who made a huge mistake by standing on the opposite side of Duel Academy and helping Professor Cobra, isn't it?"

Without sparing any mercy, Yusei, who had been unjustly slandered, raised an eyebrow and said this.

You traitor, what right do you have to say I made a mistake? Are you kidding me?

"Even if the former principal Samejima treated you badly and neglected you, making you think about finding another path, you shouldn't have betrayed him and joined the enemy so quickly, right?"

"Ha... betrayal? I see. Is that how you see me?"

With a shrug and a smile, a look of reminiscence appeared on Mr. Sato's face.

At this point, he began to explain why he made this choice: "Yes, standing in my current position, blocking your path forward, I certainly have no right to blame you."

"For someone like me, born into a poor family and who studied hard for many years to finally become a teacher, opportunities are often something we yearn for but can never obtain..."

"To support my family, I used my talents on useless performances and social engagements for the smallest rewards, engaging in meaningless and numb duels with those clowns."

After hearing that I, a former professional duelist, possessed the strength to rival the league champion DD, but had failed to fully realize my potential due to excessive energy spent on trivial matters, Professor Cobra approached me and offered me a significant role. In return, I received an unimaginable sum of money as payment.

"After receiving this reward, the lives of both myself and my family improved dramatically, and we completely escaped the miserable state of poverty we had in the past."

"Tell me, did I make a mistake by joining this place? If I had chosen to stay at the Duel Academy, I'm afraid I would never have made it big in my life and would only have remained an unknown background figure, right?"

"Well..."

Yusei, who had previously used this long-haired teacher as a background figure, was momentarily speechless and unable to refute his words.

"Heh... Yusei, the adult world isn't as simple as you think."

Adjusting his glasses, Professor Sato smiled and said, "Sometimes, what determines a person's stance is not something as simple as good or evil, but rather tangible interests... There is no right or wrong, it is not static, but changes with the surrounding circumstances."

"...To put it bluntly, isn't it all about money?"

Holding a grudge against the teacher who hurt Yusei, Rei crossed her arms and directly pointed out the true nature of Sato-sensei's behavior.

No matter how high-sounding their words may be, in the end, it's all for their own benefit.

"Money? I guess so... In your eyes, I might be a traitor who defected to the opposing camp for personal gain, but in the eyes of my family who benefited from it, I am the hope of the whole village who has finally made it... Ha, this kind of contradiction is the reality of this world."

"Just as I see you guys as people who are deliberately looking for trouble, different people will have different opinions about me."

Ignoring Xiao Li's sarcastic remarks, Ms. Sato, who was already prepared, responded with a smile without saying a word.

"Well...that's true."

That's absolutely right.

If the positions were reversed, Yusei believed that he might not have been able to do better than Sato-sensei.

Perhaps, given his position as a teacher, he might try to gain more benefits.

However, there are no "what ifs" in this world, and Yusei is not lacking in these material possessions at all.

"We've strayed a bit from the topic. Anyway, having given up professional dueling, I was prepared to dedicate my life to the younger generation of duelists when I came to this academy."

"In my opinion, my tactics and knowledge, honed through countless real-world battles, will definitely help those who are just starting out to avoid making the same mistakes I did..."

At this point, Mr. Sato sighed slightly: "However, to my disappointment, most of the students here are good-for-nothings who can't be helped!"

"There are only a handful of people who are worth considering. The so-called gathering place of elites, Obelisk Blue, is nothing more than a meeting place for a bunch of spoiled brats!"

"Having come from privileged backgrounds, they lack the motivation to strive for improvement, the desire to change themselves and become stronger, and are arrogant and unwilling to listen to the opinions of others... During this period, they have even stopped attending classes..."

"Ah, teacher... this is because..."

Remembering the students who collapsed due to exhaustion, Asuka, who was watching the game, seemed to want to explain something to Mr. Sato.

However, Mr. Sato waved his hand and interrupted her speech: "No need to say anything! Asuka... As an honor student, you don't need to plead for those lazy guys. I have been holding back for a long time and have already made up my mind to take revenge on those guys. I will let those students who are arrogant and do not take class seriously see my true strength!"

"And Yuxing..."

Teacher Sato's gaze swept around, finally settling on Yusei: "You, who have resolved the Three Phantom Demons incident and the Society of Light incident, defeated the Seven Star King and Saiou, and who wastes your talent by not taking classes seriously, will become my first target to be defeated!"

"If you were just an ordinary, unknown person, that would be one thing, but what I find most unforgivable is that you clearly possess the identity of a 'hero' who can save the academy and even the world, yet you fail to set a good example for the younger students!"

"After seeing that you, who are lazy and unserious, can become a hero, everyone started to imitate your behavior, which severely challenged the order of teaching!"

"Feeling that your attitude has caused the students to lose their motivation one after another... Even now, don't you think you're wrong?"

His eyes widened suddenly, and he pointed forcefully at Yusei's location. Sato-sensei, who once possessed unparalleled strength as a professional player, now had a look of anger flashing in his eyes.

Yusei, you bastard!

I only attend the required courses to ensure I get passing grades; otherwise, attendance is entirely based on my mood.

Even when he comes to class, he doesn't seem to take it seriously, only slightly better than Jaden Yuki, who openly ignores the teacher and sleeps soundly.

The exam results, regardless of difficulty, were deliberately stuck at the passing mark, a direct challenge to the dignity of the examiners...

Recently, rumors have circulated that he has a chaotic private life, has been involved in ambiguous relationships with multiple female classmates, and has even spent the night in the girls' dormitory...

Looking at Tenjouin Asuka and Saotome Rei, who were worried about Yusei, Sato-sensei's anger intensified as she glanced at them.

Damn it! Even model students like Tenjouin and Saotome have been influenced by you?

Unforgivable! Unforgivable!

"Huh? You can blame me for that? Those guys lack motivation, isn't it because they're lazy, or because your class is too boring?"

Pointing to his nose, Yusei, who had just been scolded by the angry teacher Sato, couldn't help but show a bewildered expression: "Besides, I'm not those guys' father. What do I care what they do? Do you expect me to clean up their messes if they make a mistake?"

"You resolved the incident involving the Three Phantom Demons and saved the world from the threat of the Light of Destruction... Whether you like it or not, having accomplished these feats and become a hero of this academy, you have become an object of admiration and a role model for everyone."

Shaking his head to himself, and speaking with a tone of disappointment, Mr. Sato continued to Yusei, "With great power comes great responsibility. While possessing such great power, Yusei, you also have responsibilities that you must bear. You have an obligation to guide these weaklings and lead them onto the right path!"

"I have no obligation whatsoever..."

Yusei rolled his eyes helplessly, speechless at the righteous words spoken by Sato-sensei, who was currently playing the villain. He shrugged and said, "Sensei, I don't intend to be a model student. I'm just doing what I like."

The path Yusei chose was neither the "royal path" of Duel King Yugi Muto, nor the "domineering path" of his nemesis Seto Kaiba, but rather the "my path" that is as unrestrained as the wind and represents freedom.

They act entirely on impulse, unbound by common sense or morality, possessing flexible bottom lines, and defying conventional judgment...

This is the path Yusei chose, and the principle he has always believed in.

The reason why Yusei would take the initiative to resolve the aforementioned issues was simply because those people's ambitions happened to affect his life and disturb his peaceful existence.

As for saving the world and becoming a role model for all students, those were just incidental gains.

"Gulp! Allowing yourself to wallow in self-pity without remorse is also your sin, Yusei!"

Unable to reach a consensus with Yusei on words and thoughts, and in a state of rage and near-madness, Mr. Sato let out a deep sigh: "Yusei, if it weren't for your influence, perhaps even more students would have been able to unleash their talents!"

"Who knows? Maybe even if it weren't for me, someone else would have done something similar."

For example, Yuki Jaden. I'm sure Sato-sensei has a lot to say to him, since he's also giving up.

"It seems you have no intention of changing your mind."

Noticing Yusei's nonchalant attitude, Sato-sensei narrowed his eyes, adjusted his glasses, and raised the Duel Disk on his arm again: "Alright, let me defeat you completely first, and then we can talk about what comes next."

"Yusei, you only have one monster on your field, a Defense Position [Neo-Tex Space Ranger Sky Hummingbird] (DEF: 600). Get ready for another attack from your monster!"

Are 700 heroes such an inconvenient thing?

The "another attack by the monster" mentioned here refers to the direct attack launched by Aleister, who had previously defected from Yusei's side.

Due to the Minotaur effect inherent in the [Scarred Scale Knight], [Summoner Aleister], who had initiated an attack on this monster, was influenced by the armor fragments attached to his body, betraying Yusei and joining the opposing Sato-sensei's camp.

At that moment, Mr. Sato commanded the monsters, including Aleister, to launch an attack on Yusei's direction.

"...Battle begins, Yusei! I'll use [Needer] (ATK: 800) to attack your [Neo-Spatial Hero Sky Hummingbird] (DEF: 600), and then have [Summoner Aleister] (ATK: 1000) launch a direct attack on you!"

It must be said that although the monsters on Sato's side generally don't have very high attributes, with virtually none having an attack power exceeding 1000, these monsters all possess some rather strange effects.

When these effects are combined, they often lead to some unexpected final results.

[Required] Once per turn, change one of your opponent's monsters from Defense Position to Attack Position.

When [Scarred Scale Knight] is on the field in Attack Position, all of its unreasonable effects will be triggered, forcing the opponent to send their monsters to attack it, allowing the indestructible [Scarred Scale Knight] to activate its effects and instantly destroy the monster that attacked it...

At that moment, as Mr. Sato finished speaking, the [Requester] immediately extended its grappling hook and shattered the Sky Hummingbird in defense position into golden specks of light.

Following closely behind him, Aleister, whose eyes glowed red, also raised his twin serpent staff, gathering energy as he aimed it at Yusei's location.

It seemed that Yusei was about to suffer another 1000 points of combat damage from Aleister's attack...

"...Don't even think about it!"