Who Let Him Play Yu-Gi-Oh! novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - 7: Preliminary Round

The vast arena was enormous, with a majestic ancient castle standing tall as the dueling venue. Even though the matches hadn't started yet, the stands were already packed with people.

Kira arrived outside the venue with Sato Koji. Getting out of the car and looking up, he immediately saw the Dark Magician statue towering over the main entrance.

Although the appearance rate of the rare card Dark Magician in official matches had plummeted since Yugi Muto retired, as the ace monster of the former King of Games, it still served as a symbol at many venues.

"Well, I'm going to do my pre-match prep. The preliminaries should start soon," Sato Koji told him.

"Kouhai, you should get ready too."

"Okay. Looking forward to seeing you on the field, Senpai," Kira replied politely.

But Sato Koji's expression turned odd at these words, as if he wanted to say something but stopped.

I don't want to see you again,

But in the end, he didn't say it out loud.

After parting with him, Kira went to the registration desk and collected his participant badge and number from the receptionist. Looking down, he saw his number: 39.

To a card player, that was quite a lucky number. Satisfied, Kira pocketed it and nodded.

Looks like my luck is good today. I should be able to start off strong.

"This year's Moonlight Cup seems to have a high level of competition."

He'd just entered the venue lobby when he overheard some audience members chatting.

"I think I just saw Kaimaki Makoto from the Psychic Flow Dojo. Looks like he's entering too!"

"Kaimaki? That new dueling genius from Psychic Flow? Oh man, this is going to be interesting."

Then someone else chimed in, "I don't care about Psychic Flow dueling. I just hope my buddy who plays Spellcasters makes it through."

"Is that really what you want? Pfft, I'm embarrassed to call you out, but you just want to see him summon Magician's Valkyria, don't you?"

Magician's Valkyria, with her outfit similar to the legendary Dark Magician from Yugi's deck—pure face, slender arms, but unexpectedly carrying more weight in certain places than her petite frame should bear—has long been a favorite among gentleman duelists.

Exposed, the guy blushed. "But she is huge!"

His friends nodded in agreement.

"No lies there, honestly."

"Hard to argue with that."

"..."

As Kira walked through the venue, he soon heard an excited exclamation from a girl.

"Oh my god, really? Are you sure you didn't see wrong?"

"Absolutely!" her friend replied firmly. "No mistake, that's Rex Raptor! The legendary duelist!"

Kira paused in his tracks.

Rex Raptor? The one from Yu-Gi-Oh! DM?

He was once depicted as a top-tier duelist, runner-up in the national tournament, back before Yugi, Kaiba, and the other big names showed up in late DM.

"Is that for real? Isn't the Moonlight Cup a non-professional, secondary tournament? Why would a legend like him show up?"

"I heard this is his comeback match."

"Damn, tough luck for the other contestants—he's like the final boss."

"Yeah, looks like the champion is already decided."

"..."

Kira tried to recall. He didn't remember Rex Raptor too well but did recall his inseparable buddy from the anime, Weevil Underwood. Both were notorious for their unscrupulous tactics, though Rex Raptor was a tad stronger. After all, Weevil once threw Yugi's Exodia deck into the ocean.

But in a way, that move made him the savior of all later DM bosses. If Exodia hadn't been dumped, with Pharaoh Atem's late-game "just draw what I need" powers, even the Egyptian Gods and Legendary Dragons wouldn't have stood a chance.

Marik and Dark Bakura should bow to Weevil three times each, no question.

But after their respective losses to Yugi and Joey Wheeler, both transitioned from competitors to comic relief, with their dueling becoming ever more outlandish.

Speaking of Joey, his soul card [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] was won from Rex Raptor. After that, Rex Raptor never won another match.

The DM series never explained what happened to him, and he didn't show up in the GX sequel either. But thinking about it, GX takes place only eight years after DM's ending, so it's not strange for them to meet now.

So, even though the Pharaoh has returned to the afterlife, DM-era characters like Yugi and Joey should still be around; it's just unclear what they're up to.

As an old hand from the DM era, Rex Raptor now bears the title "faced Joey Wheeler," and is even called a "legendary duelist."

These days, even the minor duelists Yugi defeated in seconds claim to be legends, and some make a living off that reputation.

Some might really be strong, but others are just riding the hype—having "faced the King of Games" is about as valuable as the ninja in Naruto who bragged about fighting the First Hokage once.

Neither Rex nor Weevil showed up in GX, so it's hard to judge their current strength. Still, Kira made a mental note to show at least basic respect if he faced them, and to tweak his deck accordingly.