"We're going to pick up your younger cousin. There's been a situation with him," I said as we drove."Aah," Rebecca huffed. "I don't want to pick up some snot-nosed Cousin! He probably stinks!" She crossed her arms and gazed out the window, watching the trees rush by."Well, he's a dueling prodigy just like you and has completed elementary school. I figured I'd give him an apprenticeship similar to yours," I sat up in her seat, suddenly intrigued. "Just like me? What if he's better than me? I don't want my stupid Cousin stealing my spotlight," she said."Listen, Rebecca. I figure you're mature enough for us to have this talk. Duel Monsters is a lot more dangerous than you think. It's not just some sport where you try to get all the spotlight for yourself," I turned to face me, her frown quickly disappearing. Her jaw dropped slightly in shock. She wasn't expecting a lecture from me right now."Wait a minute," she interrupted, throwing her hands in the air. "Are you implying that I'm being selfish or something? Because I am a great duelist," she said, crossing her arms defiantly, ready to fight for her dueling reputation."No, the exact reason I'm having this talk with you is because you are a good duelist. No random guy off the street could ever get close to what you've done in your lifetime," I 's defensive stance relaxed slightly as she listened to my words. Her expression softened a bit, and she cocked her head to the side, trying to hide how touched she was by the praise."Well, of course I am a great duelist! I never lose," she said with a prideful flip of her hair."When you get to such big leagues as yourself, there will be people seeing you as a threat and will try to harm you. They will not play fair and will try to attack you with multiple duelists at a time," I looked at me, her expression shifting from pride to concern. "Wait a minute," she said, her brow furrowing with worry. "Are you saying I might get ambushed by a bunch of jealous losers who can't handle my skills?""It's more that they are threatened by your skills since the only way you can harm someone is by beating them in a duel. There are groups that would either want to use you or remove you since they know you would try to stop their plans. Your cousin has been targeted by such a group. He was the only survivor of his school."Rebecca's eyes widened in shock, her mouth dropping open in astonishment. "Wait a minute," she said, her voice rising in alarm. "Are you telling me that people are not only intimidated by my skills but are willing to go as far as attacking me? And my cousin was attacked because of that?"Her heart started racing as she realized the gravity of the situation."When a duel can decide the difference between life and death, they have a reasonable fear of what you can do," I began, my voice steady but grave. "You know Yugi, the King of Games, right? He has fought off multiple attackers trying to kill him before.""Wait, you're saying that Yugi has been attacked by multiple people because of his skills?" Rebecca asked, her voice filled with a mixture of shock and awe. "That's insane! I know he was a great duelist, but I never realized he had to deal with people trying to harm him. It's hard to imagine anyone having the guts to go up against a powerhouse like that.""There were many attempts," I continued, "but they seemed to slow down once he dealt with them decisively. A new age of dueling is here. The game has been around for hundreds of years, but with Yugi's emergence, there seems to be a massive uptick in powerful duelists like the world has never seen before."Rebecca's eyes went wide in surprise. She leaned in, intrigued by the revelation, and nodded thoughtfully. "I can see how that would make Yugi a target," she said grimly. "He has the skills and the fame. If there are people out there who see him as a threat to the status quo, they would try to eliminate him any way they could. It's just like what happened to my cousin, right?""You would be correct," I replied, glancing at her to gauge her reaction. "Now, I figure I should tell you the story of how I met my best friend, Solomon Muto."I paused for a moment, letting the memories flood back. "Back when I was young, there weren't many powerful duelists like there are today. I could count on my fingers the number of powerful duelists on both hands. I thought I was invincible since I never lost a duel until I met the Duelist Exterminator."Rebecca sat up a bit straighter in her seat, her expression serious and intent. "Please tell me what happened," she said, her eyes fixed on my face. "I want to know everything."I took a deep breath, remembering the intensity of those days. "This man was no ordinary duelist. He was a hitman who only wanted money. He studied the duelists he was hunting and made a perfect counter to their deck. He never failed in killing his targets, and he decided to take the bounty on my head."Rebecca leaned in even closer, her eyes wide with anticipation. She could sense that my story was about to take a turn for the worse."He was known as the Duelist Exterminator because he could dismantle any strategy, nullify any deck. He was meticulous, always ten steps ahead. When he came after me, I remember the fear gripping my heart like a vice. I had never faced anyone like him."Flashback"So you're the American champion, Arthur Hawkins," the Duelist Exterminator sneered, his eyes gleaming with malice. "Hand over the Blue-Eyes, and I'll let you live."
A tall man stands across from me, clad in a trench coat and a white cowboy hat, his jeans slightly faded. He wears a metal chain around his neck, adorned with several bronze Millennium necklaces hanging from it.
I squared my shoulders and met his gaze. "So you're the Duelist Exterminator? You don't look that tough," I said, my voice dripping with confidence. "I should be able to beat you quite easily and head back home."He laughed, a cold, mirthless sound. "I'll take the first turn. I'm not going to let you have any room to breathe.""Fine by me," I shot back."I'll start this duel off with a normal summon—Cyber-Tech Alligator in Attack Mode, with 2,500 attack points," the Duelist Exterminator said. The metallic reptile roared to life on his side of the field. "I'll also place two spell and trap cards in my back row. I end my turn there.""Not bad," I said, my smirk never wavering. "I'll normal summon my Blue-Eyes White Dragon in Attack Mode." The mighty dragon appeared, its piercing eyes locked onto his Cyber-Tech Alligator. "I'll also use my spell card, Heavy Storm. It allows me to destroy all spell and trap cards on the field. Say goodbye to your back row.""I chain my trap cards—Jar of Greed and Waboku," the Duelist Exterminator said calmly. "Jar of Greed allows me to draw one card, and Waboku prevents my monsters from being destroyed this turn. I also take no battle damage.""Smart move," I muttered, gritting my teeth. "I end my turn. It's your move now.""I'll start my turn by setting three face-down cards in my back row," he announced, flipping the cards into place with a flourish. "I then play the spell card Fissure, which destroys the weakest monster on your field. And since the only monster on your field is Blue-Eyes…""Oh shit, this is not good," I thought as my mighty dragon shattered into pieces. His Cyber-Tech Alligator lunged forward, slashing at me directly. My life points plummeted to 1,500."So this is the great American champion? I am not impressed," he mocked, his voice dripping with disdain."I'll show you," I muttered under my breath. I glanced at my hand and saw Shadow Ghoul. "Perfect, Shadow Ghoul will become a powerful monster once my graveyard is filled with monsters," I thought. "I just needed to stall for time while I built up my graveyard," I thought."I play the spell card Graceful Charity, which allows me to draw three cards and then discard two.",I exclaim."I chain my trap card, Macro Cosmos," he interrupted, a sinister smile on his face. "While this card is face-up on the field, any card sent to the graveyard is removed from the game instead.""No!" I gasped. "That's my backup plan. I'm going to lose at this rate."I discarded Witch of the Black Forest and Sangan to the banished zone, my heart sinking."I enjoy that look on your face," the Duelist Exterminator taunted. "That look of despair when you realize that your reliance on the heart of the cards to pull your key cards has failed you. I am disgusted with duelists like you, relying on such crutches for your piss-poor skills."His words stung, but I knew I couldn't let him get to me. I had to think, to strategize. "I won't go down that easily," I said through gritted teeth, my mind racing to find a way out of this dire situation. The duel wasn't over yet, and I wasn't about to give a deep breath, I surveyed the field and my remaining cards, determined to turn the tide. This duel was far from finished, and I was ready to fight with everything I had.I placed one monster in face-down defense position. "That will be the end of my turn," I said, trying to mask the anxiety in my Duelist Exterminator smirked. "I normal summon Amphibian Beast in attack mode with 2,400 attack points. Now, Cyber-Tech Alligator, attack his face-down monster!" he face-down card flipped over, revealing Millennium Shield with 3,000 defense points. The Duelist Exterminator's life points dropped to 3,500. He frowned but quickly composed himself. "I end my turn here," he said, a hint of frustration in his our heads turned as we noticed a short figure approaching—a Japanese man wearing a bandana around his head. "Looks like you need some help. I'll be happy to assist," the unknown man Duelist Exterminator's eyes widened with recognition. "Look at this, it's my lucky day. It's the Japan Champion Duelist, Solomon Muto!" he activated his duel disk and joined the duel. "I'll take my turn now. I normal summon Dark Magician Girl with 2,000 attack points. I'll play a spell card, Sage's Stone, which allows me to special summon Dark Magician from my hand or deck if I control a face-up Dark Magician Girl," Solomon explained. The iconic Dark Magician appeared on the field."Now, Dark Magician, attack his Amphibian Beast!" Solomon commanded. Dark Magician rushed forward to finish off the monster."Not so fast," the Duelist Exterminator interrupted. "I use my trap card, Magic Cylinder. The effect of my trap card negates your attack and deals damage equal to Dark Magician's attack points right back at your life points," he explained. Solomon's life points fell to 1,500 due to Dark Magician's 2,500 attack points."During your second main phase, I'll activate my trap card, Ring of Destruction, to destroy your Dark Magician Girl, Solomon Muto," the Duelist Exterminator continued. "Also, we both take damage equal to the monster's original attack points, which is 2,000." The explosion rocked the field, and both their life points dropped—Solomon's to zero and the Duelist Exterminator's to 1,500. Solomon collapsed from the sudden loss of life points."If Solomon hadn't shown up, I would have been killed," I think.. "Looks like it's my turn," I said, gritting my teeth. "I'll play a spell card, Shield & Sword, which swaps the attack and defense points of every monster on the field. Now my Millennium Shield has 3,000 attack points. I'll switch it to attack mode. Millennium Shield, attack Cyber-Tech Alligator with its now 1,600 attack points!" I commanded. The Duelist Exterminator's life points plummeted to 100."I'll go to my main phase two and normal summon Cannon Soldier. I'll use its effect, which allows me to tribute one other monster on my field to do 500 damage to your life points. I'll tribute my Millennium Shield to finish this game," I declared. The Duelist Exterminator's life points fell to a second thought, he turned and fled, running full sprint in the opposite direction. I took a step to chase him, but then I saw Solomon Muto lying on the ground, heavily injured from the duel. I quickly rushed to his side. "Are you okay?" I asked, my voice laced with concern."I really hate that I have to let that scumbag go, but I can't leave Solomon here," I thought. "If he didn't step in to help, the Duelist Exterminator would have won the duel and killed me."I noticed a nearby ambulance and waved it down. As the paramedics arrived, I slipped my Blue-Eyes White Dragon card with my contact number into Solomon's pocket. "I hope you make it. We'll celebrate with drinks when you survive," I said, trying to keep my voice weakly pushed the card back to me. "No, that's a gift from me. You earned it," he said, his voice barely a duel wasn't just about cards—it was about the lengths we would go to protect each other. As the ambulance doors closed, I knew that this wasn't the end. It was just the beginning of a new chapter in our journey. A mix of gratitude and determination covered my face as I watched theBack to Present Day
"That's the story of how I met my best friend, Solomon Muto," I concluded, my voice tinged with nostalgia. "Take it as a lesson that, no matter how skilled you are, there will always be someone out there who can beat you in a duel."
Rebecca leaned back in her seat, her eyes fixed on me as she absorbed my words. I saw the realization dawn on her—a recognition that being a great duelist doesn't make you invincible. Humility was evident in her eyes as she understood the importance of acknowledging one's limitations.
"Thank you for sharing your story, Grandfather," she said respectfully. "I'll remember your words and use them to grow as a duelist."
I nodded approvingly, satisfied that my message had resonated with her. "That's why you need friends to cover your back," I added, emphasizing the value of camaraderie. "They can help you overcome weaknesses and shield you when you need it."
Rebecca nodded in agreement, her determination visibly strengthened. It was clear she was already thinking about how to apply this new perspective to her own life.
"You're right," she affirmed, her voice steady with resolve. "I need to start building a strong network of friends and allies who can support me and help me grow as a duelist. Thank you for opening my eyes to this, Grandfather."
As we pulled up in front of the school, I noticed the heaviness in Connor's expression as he entered the car. Rebecca, ever perceptive, reached out to comfort him, which warmed my heart.
"Hey, Connor," she said softly, concern evident in her voice. "Are you alright? You seem like you've had a tough day."
"It's been rough," Connor replied, his voice weary. "I just need some time alone, that's all."
Rebecca nodded empathetically, understanding the need for solitude to process difficult emotions. She offered her support, reminding him that she was there whenever he was ready to talk.
Connor acknowledged her offer with a nod. As we drove, an awkward silence settled over the car, thick and palpable.
The tension was palpable, casting a shadow over our earlier conversation. I glanced at Rebecca, noting the furrow in her brow as she mulled over the unspoken heaviness in the air. It was clear that Connor's emotions were weighing on all of us.
Rebecca gave him a reassuring smile, silently conveying her support. I shared a knowing look with her, recognizing the gravity of Connor's situation. It was evident he was struggling with today's events, and I hoped he would find the strength to overcome it in time.