Yu-Gi-Oh!: This is the real duel!

Night, on a cruise ship.

A triumphant and excited laugh rang out from one of the rooms. Sitting in front of the computer, Insect Moth chuckled as she took out her deck and star chips, rubbing her hands together expectantly.

"Hehehe! This kind of human-machine battle is still too easy for this champion!"

"I wonder what kind of rare card I'll receive?"

The screen's reflection illuminated the wicked, smiling faces of the insects and moths.

His final score was a staggering S-level!

"Sizzle s ...

The computer emitted a hissing sound, and soon, three brand-new cards were ejected from the card slot.

The insect moth squinted, picked it up and looked at it. It saw that it had the following titles: "Level Up", "Ultimate Insect Lv3", and "Ultimate Insect Lv5".

The AI's reward mechanism for dueling is that you will receive a reward card if you achieve an A rating, and you will receive additional rewards if you achieve an S rating.

"Is it an insect capable of evolution? Perfect!"

As a user of insect decks, the Ultimate Insect series is the perfect fit for Insect Moth.

After adding the new card to the deck, the insect moth looked out the window at the night sky and smiled slightly.

A dozen minutes ago, what he said in the dormitory room about "having a headache over Yuzuru's Armed Dragon" was actually a lie. He had already come up with a way to deal with Armed Dragon when he saw the duel video of Yuzuru and Seto Kaiba.

Now, with the addition of new cards, the Insect Moth has even greater confidence in defeating the Wanderer.

Seeing that it was still early, the sleepless insect moth decided to take a walk on the deck and see if those ridiculous third-rate duelists had made any fools of themselves.

however……

When he returned to that dormitory, he was shocked to see something that utterly horrified him!

"That, that's... the sealed Exodia! How is that possible! That guy actually collected all five cards!"

Looking at the card in Yugi Muto's hand not far away, Insect Moth turned ashen-faced.

He had ways to deal with the roaming armed dragons, but he was helpless against Exodia.

"Tsk! What to do... With a card that can instantly kill any opponent, there's no point in preparing any tactics in advance!"

The insect-moth frowned, but soon he revealed an evil smile.

"Since I can't win in a duel, I'll settle it before the duel... Judging from that guy's appearance, he should be pretty naive, hehehehe!"

The insect-moth grinned wickedly and walked towards Yugi Muto.

........................

Duel Kingdom, Castle.

The real duel had already begun before the match even started.

Everything was proceeding as Pegasus had predicted.

Sitting in the restaurant, Pegasus enjoyed desserts and red wine while watching recordings of duelists battling against AI on a large screen.

As the duel began to load, Pegasus put down the cake in his hand and sat up straight.

"Hum~"

"Youchaser Boy~ Hurry up and use your armored dragon to fight~"

"Although it's just a dueling AI simulating real duelists, you can still glean some insights from the battles."

Pegasus never fought Yugi Muto in person, but he did duel him via videotape.

This seemingly ordinary, short boy possesses astonishing fighting prowess.

Although it was just a simple duel in the dark, it was enough for Pegasus to conclude that Yugi Muto's strength was by no means inferior to Yuzuru's.

In order to distinguish the strength of the two, and to determine which of the two spirits, Armed Dragon and Dark Magician, has stronger energy, Pegasus designed the Duel AI component, attempting to collect and analyze their data through computers.

However, Pegasus was too confident.

He didn't know the full composition of Yugi Muto's deck, only what cards he used in the Dark Duel that day.

Therefore, the deck used by the duel AI is actually a half-finished product, and it is far from the deck used by Yugi Muto himself.

From the very beginning of the human-machine battle, Youche realized that Pegasus seemed to have some special purpose, so he deliberately concealed his strength and chose not to reveal too many tactics while ensuring that he could win the duel.

Ultimately, Pegasus obtained almost no information he wanted.

"Hmph~ You cunning little rascal~"

Pegasus picked up his wine glass again, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"If it weren't for the five old guys from KC insisting that you lose the Duel Kingdom tournament, I would only be interested in your Armored Dragon Spirit~"

"Fine~ Consider this just some entertainment before the dinner party~"

"It's getting late, time to rest~"

Pegasus wasn't interested in the other people's duels. He waved his hand, turned off the screen, and left the restaurant step by step with his wine glass in his hand.

........................

Final score: 13650.

Rating: Grade A

After the duel ended, the computer emitted a voice announcement.

Youche didn't know what Pegasus's true purpose was, but he was certain that the guy must have some kind of conspiracy.

In order not to reveal too much information, Youche chose to finish the battle quickly, ending the fight in just a few rounds. However, due to the lack of any outstanding moves, the system only gave him an "A" rating.

"Sizzle s ...

The computer was running at high speed, and soon, a room card and a reward card were dispensed by the machine.

Youche looked at the reward card and saw that it was a very ordinary Lv series monster - "Dark Treasure Mimic Lv1".

Is this it...?

It seems to have little combat power, and the effect is rather mediocre...

However, You Che didn't pay much attention to it. He took the room key and prepared to find a room.

Tomorrow and the day after will be very physically demanding, so getting a good rest tonight is especially important.

By the time Youche left the dormitory, almost none of the duelists were still interested in dueling the AI. After trying it out, many duelists found that the AI's level far exceeded their expectations. Many either lost a star chip directly or failed to achieve an A-level rating even if they won, ultimately only receiving a room card but no reward card.

After the first wave of duelists finished their battles, many people gave up and chose to stick to exchanging cards in the main hall instead.

However, some exceptionally talented individuals won impressive rewards, including some Lv series cards that Youche had never seen before in his previous life. These cards not only had impressive stats but also unique abilities.

After leaving the dormitory, You Che quickly found his own room. When he opened the door, he saw that the room was not only fully equipped, but also had a lot of snacks and drinks.

Yu Che put down his backpack and prepared to go find Yugi and Jonouchi.

Just as he was about to close the door, a large, wet hand suddenly reached out from around the corner and braced itself against the railing.

"Youche! Help me!"

The one speaking was none other than Hiro Honda, the best friend of both Yugi and Jonouchi!

He and Kyoko helped Jōnei, whose body was soaked by seawater, as they walked slowly and laboriously.

Looking at Jonouchi, who was soaked to the bone, and then at Yugi Muto beside him with a worried expression, Yuzuru was stunned and realized what had happened in the past few minutes.

Is it...

Did the insect, the feathered moth, finally make its move?

Chapter 30 The King's Confidence

Fortunately, Yugi had been given the right to use a single room. After taking a hot shower in the bathroom, both Jonouchi and Yugi had recovered quite a bit and were no longer as weak as before.

After some conversation, it was learned that Yugi Muto and Jonouchi were exchanging cards with other duelists in the dormitory when the insect moth came over and said it wanted to make a deal with Yugi and wanted to see what cards were in his deck.

The simple-minded Yugi Muto agreed without even thinking.

The next second, the insect moth threw five Exodia cards directly into the sea.

Jonouchi originally wanted to rush up and teach the insect and moth a lesson, but seeing that the card, which was extremely valuable to the game, was slowly sinking into the sea, he had no choice but to let the despicable guy go for the time being and resolutely jumped into the sea.

If Honda and Kyoko hadn't been worried about the two of them and hadn't secretly boarded the ship, and hadn't discovered the situation in time, Jonouchi and Yugi would probably be in danger by now.

"I'm sorry... about the game... I only got three cards back..." Wrapped in a blanket, Jonouchi said dejectedly, "Tsk! I'm so useless..."

The washing machine with drying function kept making noise, and looking at the only partially recovered cards in front of him, Jonouchi was in a very bad mood.

His insistence on participating in the competition has already dragged down the game, but when the game needs help and protection, he can't do anything about it.

"Don't say that, Jonouchi," Yugi comforted with a smile. "Companions are far more important than cards. It's still early before dawn, so let's make the most of this time and get some rest."

"But it's a game!" Jonouchi was still somewhat agitated. "Duelists need at least forty cards to participate! If you're missing those five cards, you'll be disqualified from dueling!"

With that, Jonouchi took out his deck and picked out a few cards that Yugi had given him before: "Yugi, you can have these cards back..."

Yugi quickly refused: "No, Jonouchi, your deck needs these cards. I have two spare cards, and with these three Exodia cards, that's enough forty."

"What are you talking about? Games!" Jonouchi's eyes reddened. "I can raise money for my sister's surgery through other means, but if you want to save Grandpa, you have to defeat Pegasus! Every card in your deck is extremely important to you, how can you put three useless cards in there just to make up the numbers!"

"Wait a minute!" Honda couldn't stand it anymore. "Wasn't it that despicable national champion who lost the game cards? Can't we just steal his deck?"

“But… he’ll probably be hiding until the official match, and with so much security, we can’t do it…” Kyoko was relatively rational.

After pondering for a moment, You Che offered a suggestion: "Actually, there is another way to make the game's deck have forty cards."

Everyone was taken aback and looked at You Che.

The game realized: "You mean dueling AI?"

“Hmm.” You Che nodded. “If we can get an S-rank rating in the human-machine battle, we can get three reward cards. Obviously, Lv series cards will be the mainstream in this tournament. No matter what reward card we get in the end, it will definitely be more useful than the incomplete Exodia!”

Upon hearing this, Jonouchi's mood plummeted, but he still firmly said, "Yugi! Use my star to duel the AI! Although I believe you will win, even if you lose, you can still participate in the competition."

Before he finished speaking, the Millennium Puzzle on Yugi Muto's chest seemed to faintly glow with golden light. In the blink of an eye, the gentle but somewhat timid Yugi became sharp and confident.

"No, within the city."

"That's just a boring machine set up by Pegasus. I will definitely defeat it and win the three cards!"