The Legendary Duelist

The company interested in signing a contract with Hikaru was a ramen company named 'Funglow'.

In scale, it was tiny—barely making a dent on the global market—but precisely because of its size, it was willing to meet Hikaru's demands.

After all, Hikaru's proposal was a 'new recipe', already branded as 'Instant Fusion' cup noodles.

A technical investment like this was not something they had prepared for prior to visiting Duel Academy. Who would expect a dueling-focused academy to produce something like this?

Hikaru felt they were too naive.

In this world, a "Duelist" was synonymous with elite and genius. He was confident that their Ra Yellow's Professor Sartyr, the 'Curry Demon' himself, could create curry they'd never even dreamed of.

Anyhow, once they heard that Hikaru had acquired the recipe from "another dimension", their attitude shifted.

On one hand, Hikaru—though still a student—had literally participated in world-class duels, and had become the first in recent years to defeat a cross-dimensional Duelist.

His fame, for the time being, was significant.

On the other hand, the 'other dimension' was the new gold rush. A recipe from there, obtained from a Duel Spirit? As long as it wasn't inedible, it was guaranteed to attract attention.

Finally, there was a bit of prestige involved. Hikaru was only a freshman, yet he'd already dueled on a global stage, while Zane Truesdale had just claimed his first win in the pro circuit.

Undoubtedly, Duel Academy's students were worth investing in.

Plus, if it were for someone like Hikaru—who had gone viral for saying "Fusion is the noblest summoning method"—found future success, the company could boast they recognized his potential first.

One afternoon, after getting Professor Crowler's signed permit, Hikaru took a boat to Funglow's southern island factory, there to tour the facility and test his flavor prototype to see if it was actually edible.

While Hikaru was being shown around, a loud argument erupted from the other side of the factory.

"Wasn't it agreed that I would be the face of the brand!? Who the hell is this random kid!?"

"Ah, so sorry, Hikaru," the woman escorting him said with an awkward smile. "That's one of our promotional Duelists. We planned to invite him tomorrow to meet you. Didn't expect he'd show up unannounced. This way, please—"

But it was too late. Staff failed to restrain the man, and he came storming over.

Hikaru blinked.

The man looked familiar. His red cap, scruffy hair, and green coat over a yellow shirt tugged at some distant memory.

'Hmm…'

'Hmm…'

'Ah!'

"Mr. Rex, you're here today?!" the woman tried to ease the tension. "Your presence truly honors our humble factory—"

"Cut the crap! We agreed I'd be the lead spokesperson! What's going on here!?"

"Mr. Rex, yes, that was the plan. That said, our company needs to grow, and this doesn't mean we're canceling your contract."

Hikaru finally recognized him.

Rex Raptor.

A character from the original Yu-Gi-Oh!, known for his Dinosaur deck—and also for one very unfortunate stat: never winning.

In the manga, Rex was humble even in defeat, warning Joey Wheeler to be cautious of psychic powers after losing to Espa Roba. Despite constantly getting duped by Weevil Underwood, he still considered him a friend.

All in all, he was a straight shooter who knew how to lose with grace.

Hikaru vaguely remembered that near the end of the series, Rex was living on the streets in pretty dire straits.

While Rex was arguing with the staff, another explained things to Hikaru.

Turns out, when Funglow was starting out, they lacked a Duelist face for the brand and were mocked for it. Therefore, their promotional campaigns flopped until they partnered with a then-struggling Rex Raptor.

Despite his poor rep, Rex was still a legendary Duelist!

'A legendary Duelist?' Hikaru raised an eyebrow.

'Seriously?'

Then again, the Paradox Brothers only dueled Yugi and Joey once and were called legends, while Rex had dueled Joey multiple times and even held the "Red-Eyes Black Dragon" at one point, so it wasn't too much of a stretch.

He only got wrecked because he always fought top duelists—Against weaker foes or pros, he probably performed decently.

Hikaru asked a few questions and learned that ever since Rex began endorsing Funglow's products, his win rate had improved. He also took his image seriously now, cut ties with Weevil, and lived a disciplined life, occasionally helping Weevil find work but keeping his distance otherwise.

After thinking it over, Hikaru concluded:

Rex Raptor had done nothing to deserve being sidelined.

"In that case, I think Rex-senpai is right."

"Huh?"

"Huh? Kid?"

Rex stopped mid-rant and turned to face him.

Hikaru cleared his throat. "It's simple. If you're willing to dump a decade-long contract just because I'm currently more popular or came from another dimension, what's to stop you from buying me out in the future for someone even shinier?

Why should I accept that risk?"

"We'd never do that, Hikaru!" the staff panicked. "We never said we were ending Mr. Raptor's contract! Didn't we say we'd talk terms tomorrow—"

Everyone rushed to explain: how long the contract was, how it had never changed, how much they valued Rex, and so on.

Eventually, even Rex began to cool down.

He had gotten worked up fast.

After years of homelessness, he had a new outlook. Thanks to Funglow, he got his life back; Losing this role might not put him back on the street, nonetheless, it scared him.

And when he saw that the rising star in front of him was that Amagi Hikaru, who'd defeated an interdimensional Duelist, he panicked even more.

He never expected Hikaru to defend him.

For someone who had nothing but the title of "legendary Duelist", that support meant everything.

Despite that, one matter still remained.

This company was his new home.

"Oi, kid," Rex called out.

"Yes, Rex-senpai?" Hikaru replied respectfully.

"Let's duel." He raised his arm, and his old-school Duel Disk clunked into action.

Hikaru didn't hesitate—He put down his backpack and strapped on his own Duel Disk.

"Mr. Raptor, Hikaru?"

"No need to duel now, seriously—"

"We really just want you both on board—"

The staff started panicking again.

"Quiet," Rex smirked. "Let Duelists speak with duels. When it ends, the answer will be clear."

"Kid, you feel the same, right?"

"An honor to duel a legendary Duelist!"

"Then... Duel!"

[Amagi Hikaru, LP: 4000]

[Rex Raptor, LP: 4000]