# Chapter 90: If You Feel Lost, Just Clap Your Hands
Seeing that Kujaku Mai's Life Points had indeed dropped to zero, Hayato couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
Among all the Duels he had experienced so far, this one was the most intense, and there were several times he nearly lost. Before this, whether it was his Duel against Yugi or others, even against Weevil, or even Dark Bakura, none were as stimulating as this one.
Although she hadn't placed in any official Match, Kujaku Mai's Strength didn't need such a ranking to prove itself. Even without having competed, Hayato could tell who was stronger between Weevil and Kujaku Mai.
"I won, that was truly an interesting Duel~" With the Victory secured, Hayato collected the Cards from the Duel Platform, revealing a smile. The System's Settlement also popped up at the right time. In this Duel, he gained a total of 500 DP, and was also very lucky to get a Card drop—the [Special Hurricane] that Kujaku Mai had used in the Duel before.
Although in this era, there weren't many ways to Special Summon, unlike the rich and mainstream methods in later eras like GX, 5D's, and Zexal, this didn't affect the Strength of the [Special Hurricane] Card. Especially since it was a field-wide Destruction type Card, similar to [Dark Hole] and [Torrential Tribute], it could not only be used to eliminate the opponent's Monsters but also to detonate his own Monsters.
Looking at his Balance which had finally reached 11000 DP, before stepping off the Duel Platform, Hayato accepted a Quest that the System had issued long ago. He hadn't had much confidence in completing that Quest before, but now that he had accumulated so many DP Points, if he used them all on buying Cards, Hayato was quite confident in completing that Quest.
Stepping off the Duel Platform, the first person to greet Hayato wasn't Bakura, who had been watching from the side for a long time, but the Staff member who had served as the Referee for this Duel's Victory or Defeat. This Industrial Illusions Staff member held a new pair of Duelist Gloves in his hand and walked respectfully to Hayato, saying, "Mr. Hayato, congratulations on collecting ten Star Chips. This is your new Duelist Glove."
Hayato didn't take it immediately, but asked with interest, "Oh, how did you know I planned to continue Dueling? You see, I've already collected ten Star Chips, which qualifies me to enter Pegasus's Castle, right?"
"Lord Pegasus instructed me to give it to you. Lord Pegasus said that there's no doubt you'll qualify for the top eight, but after winning enough Star Chips, you would definitely not waste the opportunity to Duel other Duelists like this."
"Although I really want to see that guy Pegasus get slapped in the face, I have to admit, he really did say it right." Hayato still accepted the new Glove and took out his previous Star Chips from the old Glove. "I just embed them directly into this, right?"
Hayato embedded the original seven Star Chips into the Glove one by one. He took off the old Glove and was about to put on the new one when a hand reached out from the side. On the open palm were three Star Chips and a green Spell Card.
Hayato turned his head to look. It was Kujaku Mai, looking unwilling. Hayato showed a kind smile and accepted the Star Chips and the Card. He didn't say any words of thanks; these were the Bets he had won, what he deserved. Saying thanks would instead be looking down on Kujaku Mai.
"That was a good Duel, wasn't it? Also, I'll make good use of this Card you gave me." Hayato held up the [Harpie's Feather Duster] in his hand and added it to his Deck. Although Hayato had quite a few messy Spell and Trap Cards in his hand, he really didn't have many that could clear the field. Kujaku Mai's Card came quite timely.
"A Bet is a Bet." Seeing Hayato accept her Chips and the [Harpie's Feather Duster] she lost as a Bet, Kujaku Mai sighed and looked down at her Duel Glove. Before, it had exactly eleven embedded, but now only eight remained, not even enough to complete a circle.
"Don't be discouraged, Miss Mai. I believe you can collect ten again soon." Hayato looked at the Duel Glove with a complete circle, his OCD greatly satisfied. "After all, only a few hours have passed since the Match began. There's still more than a day left."
"I'm just annoyed that I lost to those disgusting Monsters." Kujaku Mai glared at Hayato. If she had been finished off by majestic Monsters like [Gaia] or [Curse of Dragon], Kujaku Mai wouldn't be so upset now.
Anyone who had been attacked up close by the disgusting [Ojama] Monsters with their short legs and butts mixed with snot and tears would find it hard to stay in a good mood.
"How dare you call us disgusting!" "Hateful Woman!" On Hayato's shoulder, the newly joined red and blue [Ojama] five-member group yelled.
Pretending to casually brush off the dust on his shoulder and sweeping away the buzzing [Ojama] five-member group near his ear, Hayato spread his hands helplessly: "Although those guys are noisy and disgusting, there's nothing I can do, they are indeed a bit useful. If it weren't for the [Ojama] Monsters, I might not have won against you, Miss Mai."
"Can I interpret that as mockery towards me?" Kujaku Mai was in a bad mood and found everything unpleasant, especially Hayato, who had won against her, still maintaining the composure of a Winner.
"Don't misunderstand, I just wanted to continue asking a question." Hayato waved his hand and said seriously, "Miss Mai, now can we talk about the reason you wanted to Duel me in the first place? Or, let me rephrase the question,"
"What exactly are Duel Monsters in your eyes?"
Kujaku Mai was slightly startled. She was about to answer that it was her "tool to Wealth and Status" or "a means to earn Money." But for some reason, she didn't want to say that. Subconsciously, she looked at the Deck in her hand.
After the Duel ended, when she was organizing her Cards, she didn't put the [Harpie Lady]s at the very front of the Deck. Instead, the [Harpie Lady] that was sent to the Graveyard by [Harpie's Feather Duster] in the previous Duel was at the very front.
Looking at the weak girl on the Card, Kujaku Mai murmured, "I... I'm not sure..."
Duel Monsters are tools. Money is real. Greater Power is everything.
The desire to Duel strong Duelists like Hayato, Yugi, and Kaiba was entirely born from her craving for Money.
For some reason, she couldn't say these words out loud.
Hayato said meaningfully, "If you feel lost, I do have a small suggestion. As for this thing called Duel Monsters, besides the person who invented it, perhaps only the strongest person understands it the most, right?"