Who Let Him Play Yu-Gi-Oh! novel Chapter 8

Chapter 8 - 8: Duelist Times

Nakamura Tsubasa finally left the stage with a wail.

Winning his opening match in the preliminaries, Kira was quite satisfied with his performance this round. Once again, he had taught someone firsthand what it truly meant to be a King of Games.

He believed that after reviewing the match, this opponent would surely gain valuable insights and, eventually, would come to thank him for it.

Kira played several matches on the first day, with a match density that was nothing to scoff at. The Moonlight Cup wasn't an event with high entry barriers, so there were plenty of participants. Preliminaries were held at multiple venues simultaneously, greatly saving time.

But nothing was out of his expectations. None of his preliminary opponents were notable figures, and based on the anime, most duelists outside the main cast were pretty average. He hadn't seen any deck builds that wowed him yet.

Of course, Kira didn't underestimate any opponent. After his matches, he took a quick look at other games to get a feel for who was advancing.

Though his odds of losing to most opponents were low, Kira thought it best to play it safe. As the saying goes, "If you know your enemy and yourself, you need not fear a hundred battles"—and that's even more true in Yu-Gi-Oh.

If you can learn your opponent's deck list and tactics in advance and make targeted adjustments before the match, your chances of winning improve significantly.

The dojo had already given him part of his tournament stipend, telling him to use it to upgrade his deck.

Kira accepted without hesitation. With this budget, he could tweak his original strategy and went on a shopping spree, trying to assemble a few more decks.

[Card Destruction] might have once been a world champion card, but in the anime world, relying on a single trick would get you nowhere. If your opponents know what's coming, it's too easy to counter—something Kira wanted to avoid.

So, before the tournament, Kira hit the card shops, and with what he could find, managed to cobble together two or three more fun and competitive decks.

He kept switching decks and builds based on his opponents' tactics, making his strategy unpredictable and flexible. This kept him at an advantage and made him harder to counter.

...

Teacher Takeuchi brewed a coffee, sat comfortably on a soft sofa in the afternoon sun, and casually picked up the latest issue of the Duelist Times.

The Duelist Times, a publication under the Kaiba Corporation, reported all sorts of strange and wild stories from the dueling world.

He'd been too busy at home to watch his students play, but he'd heard both had made it through the first day of prelims, which made him quite pleased.

Flipping open the paper, he saw coverage of the Moonlight Cup prelims.

["A malicious attack on an opponent almost occurred at the Moonlight Cup prelim site."]

["A contestant lost control during a duel and tried to physically attack his opponent, resulting in disqualification."]

"Hm?"

Takeuchi looked closer, curious.

Was this for real?

Duelists these days sure had no class—lashing out physically when they lost, with no basic dignity as duelists.

He skimmed the article. Real names were omitted for privacy, with aliases like "Kenjin" and "Tomoki."

He read on.

["On the third day of the Moonlight Cup, contestant Shota (alias) suffered a hemorrhagic stroke mid-duel with Kenjin (alias). Fortunately, he was saved in time and is no longer in mortal danger."]

A stroke from playing cards?

The teacher was shocked. Was this year's Moonlight Cup really that dangerous?

Wait, he noticed something odd.

Both incidents involved someone with the alias "Kenjin." Surely it couldn't be the same person?

If it was, one time might be a fluke, but twice in a row...

Maybe the problem was with this "Kenjin" guy?

Takeuchi recalled his duel a few days ago with Kira from the dojo when his blood pressure mysteriously climbed as the match went on.

A bad premonition crept in.

No way, right?

...

Three days later—

"So I've made Top 8 already?"

Getting his Top 8 ticket felt almost too easy; Kira didn't even feel satisfied.

As expected, this level of tournament wasn't much. Most opponents were local experts at best. Maybe the Top 8 would be a bit more challenging.