The puzzle of the magic science

Magical Scientist.

A Level 1 monster with only 300 ATK.

It can pay 1000 LP to Special Summon a Level 6 or lower Fusion Monster directly from the Extra Deck, with the only restriction being that the summoned monster can't attack and returns to the Extra Deck at the end of the turn.

It left an indelible mark on Yu-Gi-Oh!'s history, the Magical Scientist Catapult Turtle FTK deck.

With just Catapult Turtle and Magical Scientist, it could FTK the opponent on turn one with ease.

Because of this card, Yu-Gi-Oh! once became a coin-flip game, as whoever went first won. Alongside it, cards like Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning made many players question, what's the point of LP? If you're not dead, you're fine.

And it didn't stop there. As Yu-Gi-Oh! evolved with Synchros, Xyz, and Links, Magical Scientist only became stronger. After the release of a few enabler monsters, unrestricted formats saw brutal FTK decks that required only a Scientist and an Extra Deck to kill.

Until a new era-defining archetype arrived, Magical Scientist FTKs could still reach the top 4 at high-level events.

Hikaru followed Magical Scientist into a factory completely different from the rest of the Village of the Spellcasters.

Inside, he found a familiar face seated at a desk.

"Eh? Bastion?" Hikaru was surprised to find Bastion had ended up in the same place.

"Hikaru!? You came too?" Bastion looked up in surprise, then nodded. "Ah, well, Magical Scientist is a monster that specializes in straight-up Fusion. I suppose it suits you."

After that, he bowed his head and started frantically scribbling on a stack of papers. Next to him, Mathematician stroked his beard, nodding approvingly.

Hikaru peeked, just math problems.

At this rate, he might not even need a Duel. Mathematician might leave with him just for solving these.

"We have quite a few science-themed Spellcasters here," Magical Scientist said as he led Hikaru forward. "That Mathematician's been cooped up too long. He's eager to get out."

Down the hall, Hikaru saw more Mathematicians arguing over a chalkboard.

"Impossible!"

"There's a 1% success rate!"

Clearly, their opinions differed.

Just like Dark Magician had red and black armor versions, these Mathematicians weren't all the same.

"Mr. Magical Scientist!"

"Director!" Some passing Spirits respectfully greeted them.

'Wait, Magical Scientist is the director of this lab?' Hikaru felt both excited and a little let down.

Excited, because the Spirit's strength must be top-tier. Let down, because Spirits with leadership roles rarely leave their subordinates. If he joined Hikaru, he'd be leaving his post, which would rarely happen unless the entire crew came along or he delegated entirely.

That's just how Spirits worked.

But since Catapult Turtle didn't exist in this world, Magical Scientist wasn't especially broken for him, so Hikaru wasn't too bummed.

And since Scientist brought him here, he surely had some resources to offer.

Hikaru followed him into an office full of monitors displaying data, surveillance, and statistics. On the desk, a photo frame held a picture of a monster card, Rare Metal Dragon.

Nearby was a simple experimental conveyor belt. At its end were finished products:

Green-patterned cup noodles and yellow-packaged snacks were both labeled with "FUSION" designs. In card lore, these represented "Instant Fusion" and its lesser successor, "Ready Fusion."

In real-world terms, these products symbolized Konami trying to make money while avoiding reprinting broken cards. They released Instant Fusion, which got hit by the banlist, and then printed Ready Fusion as a weaker replacement.

A freshly opened noodle cup gave off an enticing aroma.

"If you like them, I can send you a few cases before you return to the human world," Scientist offered casually.

'A case of Instant Fusion!?' Hikaru's eyes sparkled, then he snapped out of it.

'Oh, right. Not the card. The actual noodles.'

Still. He had always wanted to try Instant Fusion's flavor. "Sure. Thank you, Magical Scientist."

Of course, he knew these noodles wouldn't be free. If he didn't impress Scientist, they probably wouldn't leave with him.

"Well then..." Scientist tapped a panel. The monitors flashed brightly. The environment around them slowly dissolved into a digital grid.

Panels and cards began appearing midair.

A dark carpet unfurled, the card art of Skyscraper.

Across from Hikaru, a massive three-headed dragon appeared: Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. On his side were Avian and Burstinatrix.

He glanced at his Duel Disk:

[Magical Scientist, LP: 6000]

[Hikaru, LP: 1400]

Floating before him were card projections: King of the Swamp, Premature Burial, Rescue Cat, Miracle Fusion, Avian, and Polymerization.

His Extra Deck had Flame Wingman and Shining Flare Wingman.

"What's this?" Hikaru arched a brow.

"My custom puzzle! You can view both sides' fields, GYs, and Decks. You only get one turn to win, a Fusion Duel puzzle!

There are 30 puzzles in total. Anyone who clears 10 is an elite. Clearing 20 in a short time is ultra rare. No one has ever cleared all 30!"

He pointed to a shelf lined with rare cards. "Clear one puzzle, win a card. Clear 15? I'll trade you a super rare. Clear all? You pass my trial, come here anytime!"

"Don't underestimate this one. The key is that you only get one Battle Phase—"

"Got it. Too easy," Hikaru cut him off. He had already checked the last card in the Deck: another Polymerization.

"Discard King of the Swamp to add Polymerization. Use it twice: first summon Flame Wingman, then fuse again for Shining Flare Wingman. With 4 HEROes in the GY, his ATK becomes 3700. Then use Premature Burial to revive King of the Swamp (800 ATK), Normal Summon Rescue Cat (500 ATK).

Since HERO monsters gain 1000 ATK when attacking stronger monsters thanks to Skyscraper, and Shining Flare inflicts damage equal to the destroyed monster's ATK, we total 4700 + 800 + 500 = 6000 exact."

As he explained, Hikaru rapidly executed the combo.

Tierra had just appeared, thinking she'd give it a try, only to see Hikaru blitz through the puzzle and move on.

"Well then..." Magical Scientist fell silent, watching in awe.

The puzzle wasn't particularly hard, and many Spirits had solved it.

But so quickly? That was rare.

Hikaru felt no pressure. Because to him, this was just a "Duel Puzzle."

Konami often included these puzzles in their games. Back when he played Master Duel, he sometimes preferred these to PVP, more fun, less stressful.

In the actual Yu-Gi-Oh! world, though, Duel Puzzles were hard.

Most people had limited knowledge, didn't recognize all the cards, or lacked playstyle flexibility.

In Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, when the protagonists encountered such puzzles, even pros like Crow Hogan and Jack Atlas struggled. Only Bruno solved it, thanks to his calm mind and deep understanding.

And those two were among the top Duelists of their world.

In this world, most players freeze up at puzzles.

After all, they'd never even seen Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon in person.

But Hikaru?

He played with mechanics far harder than this pre-reincarnation. He had to work through negates and grindy boards. Compared to that, these puzzles were child's play.