Night at the school store.
"Draw!"
Jaden drew a card from the two remaining in Syrus's hand.
Ace of Hearts.
Syrus was left holding a single Joker.
"Won again." Jaden leaned back in his chair, looking satisfied.
Syrus sighed. "As expected of you, big bro. No matter what kind of draw game, you're unbeatable. You're basically cheating at Old Maid."
Jaden turned toward Kira, who was busy typing away at his report on the computer. "Hey, Kira, don't you want to play a round? It's fun."
"I'll pass." Kira smiled. "Still need to finish a bit more of this theory report."
The Slifer Red Dorm trio instantly deflated like punctured balls.
"Ugh, still have that report…" Jaden scratched his head.
Syrus: "Big bro, maybe we should go back and work on our reports…"
"No way!" Jaden shook his head. "We can't just let that bread thief get away, can we?"
"But it's just bread! I think the report is more important…"
Jaden was adamant: "We don't have to turn it in until the day after tomorrow, right? There's still all day tomorrow. We can start writing then."
Syrus sighed. "You always say that, big bro…"
Jaden then looked curiously at Alexis, who was also sitting at the back reading. "By the way, why are you here? You after the bread thief too?"
"Don't be silly. I just happened to have free time," Alexis replied.
Kira glanced at her but didn't say anything.
Ms. Dorothy brought out a tray of rice balls. "Thanks for your hard work, everyone. Come have dinner."
"Oh! Rice balls from Ms. Dorothy!" Jaden was excited.
Ms. Dorothy beamed. "There's pickled plum, beans, and salmon. But on the outside, they all look the same."
"I get it—so we're drawing rice balls now. Alright, watch me pull a salmon one!"
Jaden rubbed his hands together.
"My turn—draw rice ball!"
Without hesitation, he picked one, took a bite, and then triumphantly showed his filling: "Summoned salmon successfully!"
Syrus was amazed. "Big bro's god right hand is as strong as ever…"
Jaden, proud of his form, grinned at Kira. "How about it? Want me to pull a salmon one for you too?"
"Thanks, but I'm good." Kira smiled, walked up, and casually picked one.
Also salmon.
"Ha, not bad!" Jaden patted him on the back. "See, strong duelists have things in common."
Kira just smiled without comment.
...
Late at night.
The school shop was closed and dark, surrounded by silence except for the occasional insect chirp and the whisper of the wind. The metal shutter was tightly shut, like a sleeping fortress.
Until a faint sound broke the silence.
Under the moonlight, the heavy shutter began to tremble, creaking softly.
Then, bit by bit, someone began to force it up with brute strength.
A shadowy figure crouched outside, using raw muscle to lift the locked, heavy shutter, just enough for a person to slip through.
Everyone hiding in the darkness was shocked.
What kind of strength is this?
Lifting a locked metal shutter by arm strength alone—is this human?
Even Kira fell into thought.
So it's true what the anime said about dueling building physical strength. Training at cards really can make you superhuman. No wonder President Kaiba can free-fall from helicopters and land like a superhero—must be all from dueling.
"That's far enough!"
The lights snapped on as Jaden leaped out.
Sure enough, standing in the middle of the shop was a wild, muscular man, with messy long hair and a bare, tanned torso—like Tarzan himself.
Startled, the wild man turned and ran, darting out the way he came. Everyone hiding burst out and gave chase.
But the scene outside was even more shocking.
The wild man dashed out, leaped into a tree, grabbed a vine, and swung into the woods. At the top of the arc, he let go, soared forward, grabbed a thick branch, did a nimble flip, and swung again, further and further away.
Syrus was dumbfounded. "What is this, Tarzan?!"
That strength, those moves—could a human do that?
"Kuri!" Winged Kuriboh floated out.
"Yeah, I got it, buddy," Jaden nodded. "Let's take the shortcut!"
Now that the thief had revealed himself and was being tracked by a Spirit, there was no way he could escape for long.
After swinging through the forest for a while, the wild man hopped down to catch his breath, only to hear voices in the bushes.
Jaden and the others quickly caught up.
The wild man, startled, was about to run again when Ms. Dorothy called out: "Damon? Is that you?"
He stopped.
"It really is you!" Ms. Dorothy was surprised.
Jaden was confused. "You know him?"
"Damon, used to be an Obelisk Blue student," Ms. Dorothy explained. "He disappeared a year ago. I never thought he'd turn up here."
Alexis immediately took note.
She'd suspected this incident might be related to the Academy's missing students.
Could this person be connected to her missing brother…?
"It wasn't disappeared. I was training," Damon said gruffly. "Compared to a year ago, I'm a changed man.
Back then, I always ranked first in Obelisk Blue's written exams, but when it came to actual duels, I could never draw the cards I needed—no, it was worse than that!
The more crucial the duel, the stronger my opponent, the more I'd draw exactly the wrong cards for every situation!"
He seemed lost in painful memories.
"The turning point was a year ago, in a critical practical test. My opponent summoned Jinzo on their first turn, and I… I drew five Trap cards for my opening hand!"
Everyone: "..."
That's rough.
Kira could relate.
Yeah, a hand-brick streak like that could drive anyone crazy.
And in this world, bricking isn't just about probability—it's almost metaphysical. According to the school curriculum, Damon's aura was too weak.
Whenever he faced a stronger opponent, their aura would suppress his, so he'd brick more often.
"Later, I realized—the secret to drawing cards is hidden in nature! So I spent a year training in the mountains, becoming one with nature. Now, I've mastered it!"
"Is that so?" Kira smiled.
"What?" Damon frowned.
"You've drawn the golden egg bread every day for a week, but you always come before the event even starts. What does that prove? You didn't even have competitors, did you?"
Kira smiled.
"If you take the bread before anyone else can, isn't that just playing single player? Dueling isn't a solo game—how can that prove you're better than others?" (Yeah right...)
"What?"
Damon's voice was heavy.
"Are you doubting my training?"
"Not at all. I'm just saying your test method isn't very scientific."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"My suggestion? Only practice proves the truth. Only dueling can validate your training."
Kira lifted his duel disk, smiling.
"How about it—care to test yourself?"
"Oho? Interesting." Damon grinned. "You make sense. It's all for winning duels. If I can't improve in real combat, then a year of training is meaningless.
Fine, I accept."
"Duel!" x2
Jaden opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but realized too late he'd missed his chance.
Wait—Kira just said exactly what I wanted to say.
Feels like another duel I missed out on…
PS: Read advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode