Celebration Scenery

In this world, buying cards is not a simple matter.

Even wealthy tycoons, when buying cards, could only obtain so-called "rare cards" that appeared impressive but were actually just high-ATK Normal Monsters.

And for those truly knowledgeable, like duelists such as Crowler, there were still cards they could never buy, even if given an abundance of money.

For instance, the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon," of which there were only three copies in the world; the legendary God Cards known as the "Egyptian Gods"; or the limited-edition "Destiny HERO" cards, completed by a designer who died immediately after their creation.

Beyond these legendary and out-of-print cards, there were also cards that, though not "legendary," were so popular and beloved they became icons known to everyone—

Dark Magician Girl.

Originally, it was a card "only owned by Yugi Muto."

And indeed, it was a card solely possessed by Yugi Muto, with only one copy existing in the entire world!

It's no exaggeration to say that in this world, Dark Magician Girl was a universally adored "Duel Monster idol," inspiring countless works starring her each year. However, no matter how many creations emerged, no one could actually obtain the "Dark Magician Girl."

Because this card belonged exclusively to Yugi Muto.

Even "Dark Magician" and "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" existed in multiple copies, yet "Dark Magician Girl" was unique, meaning that whenever a "Dark Magician Girl" appeared, it unquestionably signified the presence of the "true Dark Magician Girl," "Yugi Muto's spirit," "Dark Magician's disciple."

Initially, Hikaru had been pondering how to fuse "Master of Chaos."

The simplest method would be to offer a Level 8 monster as tribute for Metamorphosis.

But Level 8 monsters in this era weren't weak, and summoning them wasn't easy. Therefore, Hikaru thought since he had obtained so many gems, he could use half of them to try—

Unfortunately, Professor Crowler told him he couldn't afford it—fair enough.

In his original world, the joke of 87 million copies of "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" was absurd. In this world... well, it was probably a meme too, though in another way.

After all, Seto Kaiba bought KaibaCorp for far less.

In short, the price of "Dark Magician" was certainly astronomical, especially after it became the signature card of the first King of Games, Yugi Muto.

Those who owned "Dark Magician" would never sell it unless absolutely desperate.

However, when the school started hosting its School Festival, Hikaru suddenly remembered, in cannon, Dark Magician Girl's spirit once happened to pass by the school, felt the festive atmosphere, and joined the "cosplay duel" event.

Although he wasn't sure whether, due to changes in this world's history, Dark Magician Girl would still appear.

If she did, wouldn't there be some changes caused by the world's alterations?

Or perhaps… even Dark Magician himself might show up?

In light of that, Hikaru decided to take this opportunity to wander around during the festival.

"Polymerization Club? What's that? Some kind of urban-rural integration program?"

"No, no, Chazz, it's 'Fusion,'—uh, I mean, 'Polymerization'!"

"Polymerization Club is recruiting new members?"

Different from the original story, since Professor Banner hadn't disappeared, Jaden was lively, hanging out with Chazz at the festival. As they walked, they spotted a strange club and started chatting, drawing Hikaru's attention.

"Polymerization... that's sneaky, isn't it?" Alexis, who had been tagging along, frowned. "Even though they lost to Hikaru..."

"Yo, Hikaru, you're here?" The group waved when they saw Hikaru.

Hikaru walked over and saw a bunch of students wearing purple uniforms, smiling as they handed out prizes to "visitors."

These "visitors" were actually students from various dorms, mainly female.

By the way, only Obelisk Blue had female students.

Hikaru glanced at the sign.

'Polymerization Club?'

So they renamed themselves from "Fusion" to "Polymerization Club"?

'That bald guy came up with a pretty clever loophole.'

In Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, "Fusion" is sometimes written as "Polymerization" or something similar, though there's no clear distinction yet—but effectively, "Fusion" encompasses "Polymerization."

Yet, after all, all Fusion Monsters are "Fusion Monsters," not "Polymerization Monsters."

"Jaden, what are you doing here? Isn't Slifer Red preparing for an event?" Hikaru remembered that Slifer Red's traditional event was "cosplay dueling," dressing up as Duel Monsters to duel.

As Slifer Red's rep, Jaden should have been participating.

"Syrus got interested. He's making a Dark Magician Girl cosplay costume," Jaden scratched his head. "What about you? Shouldn't Fusion Club be recruiting now?"

"Well... no rush."

By now, Fusion Club had plenty of members. In fact, most first-years interested in Fusion had already joined Hikaru's Fusion Club. Those remaining in the Polymerization Club were either privileged Obelisk Blue students, bullies, or a handful of bullied students Hikaru couldn't easily help.

Given that, he had no reason to recruit aggressively like Polymerization Club.

Ultimately, the Polymerization Club needed new members desperately, whereas the Fusion Club, with its reputation and prestige, especially after officially taking the "Fusion" name was the top choice for most ordinary students.

As a result, Hikaru was more focused on finding Dark Magician Girl.

But suddenly, an uproar exploded from the Polymerization Club's booth. A bunch of purple-uniformed students, wearing masks and animal costumes, panicked and bolted toward the Slifer Red area.

Hikaru and the others exchanged looks, realizing something unusual was happening, and quickly gave chase.

When they arrived at Slifer Red's duel arena, they saw Syrus, standing at the referee stand, holding a microphone, looking unusually energetic and lively.

"Wow, perfect tactics! With two Valkyria on the field, the opponent can't attack!"

"That gives Dark Magician Girl an absolute advantage!"

"Ohhh!!"

A crowd of students had surrounded the Slifer Red arena, cheering wildly.

"Hehe~ I'll do my best!"

Meanwhile, in the center of the duel field, a golden-haired girl with a bright, angelic smile waved her wand happily to the audience.

Hikaru even spotted Professor Crowler among the crowd, shouting excitedly.

"That duelist actually has a real Dark Magician Girl on the field?" Bastion, dressed in a tiger costume for cosplay, said in surprise.

"That's the real one!" Zane, who was familiar with Duel Spirits, immediately realized.

Something was strange.

Hikaru promptly looked for Dark Magician Girl's opponent.

If it wasn't Jaden, then…

Scanning the field, his pupils contracted.

Standing opposite Dark Magician Girl was a girl with her blonde hair tied in a single ponytail with a yellow ribbon, wearing a modified Slifer Red jacket. She frowned, deeply troubled by her hand cards.

Wasn't that, Celina!? Leo Akaba's "daughter"!