Summer vacation ended and class resumed.
"Class, we have a new student today!" And a new student joined their class.
An innocent-looking boy with long white hair entered the classroom and wrote his name on the blackboard, "My name is Ryou Bakura, it's a pleasure to meet you!" He gave them a polite smile, making half of the girls in the class squeal.
"Now where can I put you…Oh, the seat besides Jonouchi-kun is free!"
"Here!" Katsuya waved at the new boy while pointing at the seat beside him with the other hand.
"Eh? Jonouchi? He'll corrupt Bakura-kun!" A girl yelled.
"Sensei, please! Don't let him sit near that degenerate!" Another one cried.
"I'm not a degenerate!" Jonouchi defended himself while Ryou sat on his new desk.
"Jonouchi-kun, right? Nice to meet you, I'm Bakura."
"Same here! Let's be friends!" The class resumed with no further incidents, but this quickly changed during recess when the whole class swarmed the new student's table.
"Bakura, those are my buddies!" Katsuya introduced Ryou to his friend group. Yugi, Hiroto and Anzu smiled at him.
"So…what do you like to do? Any hobbies?" Anzu asked.
"Well, I don't have many friends so I just play games alone."
"Really? Yugi here is a true king of games!" Hiroto put his arm around Yugi's shoulders.
"My grandpa has a game store, that's all. What kind of game do you like, Bakura-kun?"
"I really like RPGs, have you ever heard about Monster World? It's my favorite game!"
"What's that?" Katsuya asked.
"It's a mix of a board game and a RPG! One player is the 'Dark Master', he's both the D.M and the final boss! The other players are a group of adventurers that have to act out a story, the Dark Master wins by defeating the adventurers and the adventurers win by defeating the Dark Master!" Yugi explained, "But that's not all! The best thing about Monster World is the board! The board is made of many different blocks that can be connected in any way! You can buy more blocks to expand the board as much as you want with villages, castles. dungeons and all kinds of terrain!"
"Sounds very cool! Why don't we play it together?" Hiroto asked.
"I don't have it, just the main module is very expensive!" Yugi rubbed his head in embarrassment.
Yugi noticed that Ryou got really silent all of a sudden, "Is there something wrong, Bakura-kun?"
"No, I was just thinking about something I noticed…Muto-kun, Mazaki-san, where did you get your pendants? They look very unique."
"This? It's called 'The Millennium Puzzle'! My grandpa got it from a pharaoh's tomb!"
"And this is called 'The Millennium Key'! I got it from an egyptian man with mind controlling powers that tried to kill us all!"
The new student stared at her.
"I'm joking! I got it from an antique store!"
"Can I see it?" Yugi gave his pendant to the new student, "It looks alot like my…URGH!" Ryou grabbed his chest in pain.
"Bakura-kun? What's wrong?" Yugi asked with concern.
"Nothing! Here's your pendant!" He gave it back.
"Bakura-kun! Come with us!" A random girl pulled him by his arm.
"Let us show you the school, handsome!" Another girl locked arms with him.
"Sorry! See you guys later!" The female crowd took Ryou away.
"Tsk…guys like him take all the hot girls…" Katsuya said in annoyance.
"You'll find your sweetheart someday, man," Hiroto rubbed his friend's back.
"Bakura-kun looks like a nice guy!" Yugi said.
"Yeah! He seems like a good friend!" Anzu smiled.
"Here's the bathroom!"
"This is the music room!"
Ryou sighed, "I'm not good with fangirls…"
"Hey, you! What are you? Some kind of playboy? You think you can carry around a flock of girls? What class are you in?" A tall and muscular man yelled at him.
"That's Karita-sensei! The P.E. Teacher!" One of the girls whispered to him.
"You're that transferred student, right? I heard a lot of rumors about you…"
Ryou frowned.
"However, we have regulations here! Long hair for boys is strictly forbidden!" He pulled Ryou's hair, "Listen here, Mister Fashion Statement…Or should I say, Miss Top Model? I want you to have a crew cut by tomorrow, or I'll shave your head in the courtyard! Only then, I'll treat you like a man!" The teacher released him and walked away.
"Bakura-kun! You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine…I need to be alone for a second, okay?" Ryou left the group.
Ryou splashed water on his face, "What's wrong with me today? My chest keeps hurting…Ever since I touched Yugi's pendant…"
He heard a laugh, "Who's there?" He asked.
No one answered.
"Bakura-kun!" Yugi ran to Ryou. The boy left as soon as the class ended!
"Oh…hey!" He waved half-heartedly.
"Wanna play something with us tomorrow? We can go to your house! Or to mine, if that makes you uncomfortable."
Ryou frowned.
"You don't want to?" Yugi asked.
"No! I mean, yes! I mean…it's complicated. At my old school, I used to call my friends home to play RPGs, but something really strange happened every time…Everyone who played with me went into a deep coma…Maybe you won't believe me, but it's the truth. Even my grandma fell into a coma, I've been living alone since then. I want to be your friend, I want to play with you guys, but…I've decided that no one would ever suffer because of me again, no one. So you should leave me alone," He turned around and left while Yugi and his friends stared at his back.
"Going into a coma because of a game…It can't be that, right?" Yugi frowned at his puzzle.
Ryou was writing a letter to his deceased sister like he did every night.
Writing the letter was almost therapeutic, he liked to think that if he wrote them with all his heart, his words would reach her in heaven.
"I'm such a whiny loser…"
"You're back! Who are you? Why are you in my head?!" Ryou screamed at his empty apartment, things were going so well! He thought he was free!
"Free of what? I should seek professional help," The voice mocked him.
"You're not getting through me again! I know that you're not me! Who are you, demon?"
The voice laughed, "Tired of our little game, Ryou? Well, to be fair I was starting to get a little bored of this…I have more interesting things to do now, dear host! Especially now that we met another Millennium Item bearers! Not only one, but two!"
"Millennium Item? T-The ring! I have to take it off!" Ryou ripped his shirt open, but what he found scared him.
The Millennium Ring's spikes were piercing his chest.
Ryou stared at the seeping blood, "W-What? How did I not feel that?"
"I've decided to take you as my permanent host…Your body is the perfect fit!"
"Get out of my body! Leave me alone!"
"Now, it's not that bad! You wanted to play with your friends everyday, right? And now you do!"
"Play…wait! You don't mean-"
"The Millennium Items are powerful mystical objects…relics buried in tombs to be found by those who are worthy, but if there's a tomb, there's always a grave robber! And besides? You're not in control for quite some time already!" The voice laughed while Ryou lost consciousness.
Karita was doing his usual rounds around the school, it was way past the end of classes but some delinquents always stayed hidden to smoke and do drugs in the school grounds.
"Hey, you! What are you doing here?" He found a familiar white mane sneaking around, "I told you to get a crew cut, didn't I? I'm still expecting it by tomorrow morning!"
The figure laughed, "Penalty game!" He said as he turned around, and Karita was no more.
"It's really weird to miss school on his second day…" Yugi said as the group approached the informed address.
"We know the plan, right? Let's play with him and prove that those people entering comas was just a coincidence!" Jonouchi smiled as they entered the apartment building.
"Jonouchi, did you hear that the P.E. Teacher was found in a coma?" Anzu frowned.
"That asshole? Serves him right!"
They knocked at Ryou's apartment. The boy answered after a few seconds, "Yes? Oh, it's you guys…"
"We came to play!" Anzu smiled.
"We can play that 'Monster World' thing, it sounds really fun!" Hiroto said.
"NO! GET-right in! I can brew some tea for you! I'm really happy that you came to check on me," Ryou changed his attitude suddenly.
Yugi frowned, "His change of demeanor was like mine…I should keep a close eye on him."
"I felt that you guys would come over, I even set up the board!" Ryou led them to another room where a big Monster World board was ready to be played,"This is my custom board, now, why don't we play a little?
"What a cool board! I can't wait to play it!" Yugi smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Yeah…me neither! Why don't you create your characters?" Ryou smirked.
After about 20 minutes, they were done with their character sheets, "Great! Now I'll just do some final touches on your custom miniatures…" Ryou did some alterations on some dolls and gave them to the players. They looked exactly like them.
"Wow, you're a good sculptor!" Katsuya admired his miniature.
"I do pride myself in my attention to detail. Now, I'll just input your character data in my laptop and we can start playing," He typed for a few seconds and they started the game.
The group of adventurers approached the tavern, "I'm sure that we'll find more information about the dark lord here!" The elf mage Anzu said.
"It was a long journey, I hope that this small town can shed some light on our enemy," The half-elf beast tamer Yugi's eyes shone with determination.
The group entered the building, surprised to see so many people in such a small town, "Hey, Old Man! As you can see, we're a highly skilled group of adventurers! Is there any way that a group such as us could earn some coin?" The human warrior Jou leaned on the balcony, smirking at the bartender.
"Money is the first thing you think about?" The human gunner Honda glared at his companion.
The old man looked at the group and sighed, "If money could solve all our problems, I'd give you everything I have, but you would be dead before you could collect your reward," The man turns around to leave the bar.
"Wait! You sound like you got a story! We're all ears!" The warrior slammed the bar.
"Some years ago, our village was peaceful, but everything changed when the evil Zorc murdered the king and turned the castle into his evil den…" The old man said in a heavy tone, "After that, monsters started appearing in the valley…many of my friends and family have fallen prey to them."
"We'll take care of him!" Jou yelled.
"We can't let him get away!" Anzu nodded.
"Before you start your journey, you should talk with the gentleman in that corner! He can tell you the safest route to the castle!"
Honda approached the man and touched his shoulder, "Excuse me, we were told that you could tell us how to get to the castle!"
The man turned around and looked at them with scared eyes, "P-Please…help me…"
"Wait, doesn't this miniature look a lot like Karita-sensei?" Katsuya asked.
"Please, help me!" The miniature said.
"Did he just talk?" Anzu frowned.
"Don't be ridiculous! It's just Bakura doing the voice, right?" Hiroto asked the white-haired teenager.
"Of course…" Ryou answered while glaring at the miniature, "Let's continue, shall we?"
Yugi frowned at the miniature, "It looks way too alive…things are getting weird…"
"Z-Zorc's castle is in the north, outside of the village, but stay away from the forest! It's full of monsters!"
"Let's head to Zorc's castle!" Jou led the party to the evil lord's den, after a few minutes, a creature jumped them.
"A goblin!" Yugi yelled as the group took their weapons out.
"Stand back!" The warrior jumped in front of the monster and attacked it with his sword, cutting the opponent in half.
"That was kinda easy…" Honda said while holstering his gun.
"Be careful with what you say! We don't want to meet stronger enemies!" Anzu scolded her companion.
The group headed to the north, eventually coming across an unconscious person.
"We should help!" Anzu said.
"It could be a trap…" Yugi said.
"Let me check!" Jou approached the fallen figure and poked them with his sword, "Hey! Wake up!"
The figure slowly got up, still disoriented, they seemed to be a young man. As soon as he understood the situation, he crawled away desperately.
"Calm down! We're not your enemies!" The warrior said.
"P-Please, help me! A monster attacked me in the forest and stole my treasure!"
"What treasure?" The gunner asked.
"It's a holy sword! The only weapon able to kill Zorc! I was on my way to give it to the village's hero when I got attacked! Please, I beg of you! Help me retrieve the sword!" The mysterious man begged.
"We'll help you!" Yugi smiled.
"Thank you! I'll take you to the forest," The man led them to the forest, where 5 monsters jumped them.
"Follow my lead!" Jou yelled as he rushed at an enemy, before tripping and falling face down. The monster took advantage of the situation and attacked the fallen warrior, but Honda shot the enemy, killing it and saving his companion.
"My turn!" The beast tamer cast his spell at an enemy. A large hand grabbed the monster, purifying his heart of all evil and turning him into an ally,
"Poki~!" The monster said.
"Out of my way! Apprentice Final Big Bang!" The mage finished casting her spell, blowing up the last three enemies.
While the group was distracted by Anzu's magic, their new companion started laughing, "So you are the four heroes who dare defy me…You fell for my trap! This forest will be your grave!" He took his disguise off, revealing himself to be a dark being of pure evilness.
"Dark Master Zorc!" The group took their battle stances.
"Before we start…I'll let you in on a secret! There's no holy sword! There's no weapon in this world that can defeat me!" Zorc shot a powerful magical attack.
"And his target is you, Honda!" Bakura rolled the two ten-sided dice, "It's super critical!" The result was 00.
Honda's eyes went blank and he fell on the table, "Honda? What's wrong?!" Katsuya shook his friend, but he didn't react.
"So I was right! You have a Millennium Item too!" Yugi got up and pointed at Ryou.
The other teenager laughed, "I'm merely following the rules…But this is the ultimate role-playing game, it's a game where you become the character! But don't worry, he's still alive! In the 'Monster World'!"
"Guys, over here! What the hell is happening?!" Hiroto's miniature screamed.
"I wasn't imagining things! The miniature just yelled!" Anzu said.
"This is a game where your destiny is determined by dice rolls…If Zorc rolls a super critical 00 or if the player rolls a fumble 99, the player's soul is sealed into their figurine! This is the power of darkness!" Ryou, no, whatever was possessing him, laughed.
"Damn you! Die, Zorc, die!" Katsuya rolled his dice.
99
"Not only a critical failure but it wasn't your turn either…you're a horrible player, Jonouchi…" The creature smirked while Katsuya fell unconscious.
"Bakura!" Yugi roared.
"Don't lose your cool, Yugi…if you and Anzu fail, there will be no one to play and I win by default, you'll be trapped forever in this game until I decide to lure another victim…And we don't want that, right?" Their enemy smiled maliciously.
"It's no use! We have to play! Yugi, Anzu, you two will roll for us!" Katsuya said.
"Very well, Anzu, your turn. At the start of every turn, you might be frozen in fear by Zorc's presence, we have to test your courage first. Roll your dice, Anzu."
The girl gulped, "Fine!" She rolled.
96
"What?"
"The mage grasps her staff, failing to conquer her fear…Zorc takes advantage of her inaction and attacks first," Bakura rolled the dice, resulting in a 00.
"Two super criticals in a roll? You're cheating! What have you done to the dice?!" Yugi slammed his hands on the table.
"I did nothing, Yugi. The dice don't lie," Zorc attacked Anzu, engulfing her figurine in shadows, "Not even your Millennium Item can protect you from me, just like Shadi couldn't."
"You know Shadi?" Yugi frowned.
"Where the hell do you think Ryou got this?" Bakura opened his shirt, revealing the Millennium Eye stuck on his chest.
"A Millennium Item?!"
"Let's keep playing, Yugi! You must roll the dice for the whole party, and don't forget that if their HP hits 0, they die! Not only in the game but in real life!"
Yugi looked at his Puzzle, "Before that, transfer my soul to my miniature as well!"
"What the hell are you saying?" Bakura frowned in confusion.
"I'll fight with my friends! If they're putting their lives on the line, so will I!"
"...Fine, but who is going to throw the dice? Well, not my problem, the game master is a servant of his players after all! Game over!" Bakura did his magic.
Yugi felt the dark magic hit his body and his conscious fading. In the next second, he was inside the figurine.
"All players have been turned into figurines! This is the perfect vic-eh?!"
"We're still on Anzu's turn, if I recall correctly," Dark Yugi smirked.