Yuei Vu recognized it at a glance that the blond boy who walked in front of the door was Katsuya Jonouchi, one of the protagonists of Yu-Gi-Oh DM.
The DM protagonist group is full of force in the later generations of Yu-Gi-Oh! Even an average guy like Jonouchi was highly appraised by Pegasus, the founder of Industrial Illusions, the "Father of Dueling Monsters", and became a legend in the eyes of later generations.
So obviously, those who came in behind him were naturally his inseparable friends.
Yugi Mutou, Anzu Mazaki, and Hiroto Honda – especially Yugi Mutou, the starfish head with unique characteristics comparable to a Super Saiyan were absolutely impossible to be mistaken.
It's just that Yuei Vu remembered that in the animation, they seemed to go to a card shop opened by a rare card hunter to buy a Duel Disk, and in the animation, the release of the new Duel Disk of Kaiba Corp seemed to start a week after the opening of Battle City, which was three weeks away from now…
...But after all, this was a different world, and it was normal to have slight discrepancies with the development of animation.
"Ah, welcome." Chika returned to the back of the counter, "We also sell Duel Disks in our store. According to the requirements of the Kaiba Corp, the level of representative strength of all duelists is sent to our computer. Level 5 or higher Duelists will receive a free new Duel Disk and the entry to the Duel Tournament."
"Huh?" Yugi Mutou showed a surprised expression, "Kaiba… ah, I understand. In this way, the level of participating duelists can be effectively guaranteed."
"Then can you tell me your names?" Chika asked.
"My name is Yugi Mutou."
"Yugi…Mutou…"
Chika muttered as she typed into the desktop computer on the counter. Suddenly, she moved, and raised her head with a surprised expression: "Are you a Yugi Mutou… the Duel King?"
Yugi Mutou won the championship in the Duelist Kingdom not long ago, defeated Pegasus, the founder of the duel monster game in a duel, and received the recognition of Pegasus as the title Duel King. Almost everyone knows this.
"Um… um, it's me." Yugi lowered his head, still a little embarrassed.
According to the ranking system of the duelists of the Kaiba Corp, the highest level seemed to be 8. Yuei Vu remembered that in the original animation, Kaiba gave Yugi Mutou a rating of 8…
"Huh?" After Chika recalled the duelist information on the computer, she seemed a little surprised.
"What's the matter?" Yugi Mutou came to the counter curiously, leaning over to see what was on the screen.
"That… It stands to reason that the upper limit of a duelist's level should be only level 8…"
Chika reluctantly turned the computer screen around to show them.
The name of Yugi Mutou was displayed on the screen, and next to him is a photo of his ID card with the Millennium Puzzle. The ace monster message on the left was the famous "Dark Magician", and the duelist level was given below…
…it's 10.
"It's amazing!" Jonouchi began to rub the starfish head of Yugi Mutou excitedly, "Because of the Duel King title, right? That's why Yugi Mutou's level is unique! Ha, that guy Kaiba understands it quite well!"
Chika nodded: "It seems that Yugi Mutou is the only level 10 duelist…"
Yuei Vu was a little speechless. He seemed to see President Kaiba laughing with his arms crossed, saying something like "This is the only way to be worthy of my arch enemy"…
Chika Jiang didn't say anything, but she glanced at the sharp-eyed and domineering ID photo of Yugi Mutou on the screen, and then looked at the boy himself, who was rubbing his head and looked harmless...
...There was always a feeling that "the picture does not match the real thing".
He seems a little different from the Duel King in her impression.
Of course, it's just a thought.
At this moment, Yuei Vu had already taken a brand new box of Duel Disk from the warehouse at the back at her suggestion and handed it over to Yugi Mutou. Yugi took the box cautiously, and politely owed his lower body: "Thank you!"
"What about me, what about me?" Jonouchi can't wait to squeeze up, "My name is Katsuya Jonouchi, I'm the runner-up of the Duelist Kingdom!"
"OK, just a second."
Chika entered his name earnestly, and gave a strange "Huh" again, as surprised as when she checked Yugi Mutou's level just now.
Jonouchi's eyes lit up: "What's wrong? Am I level 10 like Yugi Mutou? Oh, that stinky boy Kaiba, on the surface it looks annoying, but there's still something to be desired…"
"Hey, that…" Chika looked at the screen and inside the city as if she didn't know how to speak.
Yuei Vu came up and coughed: "About this… you seem to be level 2, and the remarks at the back… is 'horse bone'."(1)
Jonouchi's expression was sluggish, he blinked his eyes, and his brain crashed for more than five seconds in this state.
"…Huh!?? H…Horse bone???"
The hair in the city was instantly fried, and it looked like he was desperately trying to find Kaiba.
"That bastard Kaiba, what do you mean by horse bone? Why can't I, the runner-up of the Duelist Kingdom, participate in the tournament?"
Honda desperately held on from behind: "Okay, calm down. You scared the lady behind the counter…"
"Yeah…but it's really strange." Chikai held her chin and said to herself, "Katsuya Jonouchi also…I remember that he is really the runner-up of the Duelist Kingdom. Level 2 is indeed a little bit… strange..."
"Yes… yes!"
Jonouchi seemed to see hope approaching from the counter excitedly, causing Chika to take a step back subconsciously.
"But…but this is the rule of the Kaiba Corp. Even if you say so, we can't do anything about it."
"Damn…" Katsuya Jonouchi continued to grit his teeth.
Yuei Vu, who has been eating melons and watching, said, "But it's not that there is no other way."
"Ah? What?"
"Duel with me. " Yuei Vu smiled and said, "If you beat me, we can turn a blind eye and let you pay for the new Duel Disk."
According to the current regulations of the Kaiba Corp, Duel Disks were not for sale before the Battle City competition, and only recognized duelists could get them for free. Because this was not only a prop for playing cards but also an entry ticket for the competition.
But it didn't matter if you just sell one.
Of course, the reason why Yuei Vu said this was not because he was addicted to cards and wanted to find someone to play with, but because…
...This was a living source of experience!
Katsuya Jonouchi was already a legendary duelist in the DM (although he couldn't be considered that for the time being). Winning a game against him gave EXP comparable to that of an entire week in the duel arena.
Moreover, playing cards with the protagonist group characters was also helpful to trigger special quests, and there was even hope to participate in the main plot of Yu-Gi-Oh!. There were always a bunch of players circling around the protagonist group in the World Link Online.
It's just that the chance to play cards with the protagonists was hard to come by. The system did not allow players to go directly to the protagonists and grab them to play cards. Only when certain conditions are met in certain situations could they get the chance to duel with the protagonists.
Chika turned her head to look at Yuei Vu in surprise: "Are you sure?"
Although she didn't intend to question Yuei Vu's skills, after all, Jonouchi was the runner-up of the Duelist Kingdom, and logically should be the duelist second only to Yugi Mutou.
"It's okay." Yuei Vu smiled at her, "Don't look at me like this, I'm very strong."
...
[Favorability +8]
Yuei Vu: "…"
TL's note:
1. This term is commonly used by Seto Kaiba to insult Katsuya Jonouchi. It referenced a card in Jonouchi's deck – Value of a Horse's Bone (known as "White Elephant's Gift" in TCG)