The dark duelist Titan, although he called himself a dark duelist, was in reality just a fake who was exposed by Judai during their duel.
He relied on a similar hypnotic technique to make his opponents mistakenly believe they were in a dark duel wagering their souls, and he liked to forcibly snatch rare cards from them after duels.
People like him on the street were generally not acknowledged as true dark duelists, but rather belonged to the "Rare Card Hunter" type – someone everyone, both good and evil, wanted to beat up.
In the scenario, Titan was hired by Professor Cronos on the island to specifically deal with the underperforming student Judai. This was also the biggest black spot in the greedy professor's character design.
However, judging from his attitude towards dark duels in the Seven Star Book and his reaction when he encountered Titan for the second time, the greedy professor at that time probably didn't believe in the existence of dark duels at all. His main goal was still to get Judai to drop out of school.
"Ah, a rare opportunity! Student Yugen, would you like to duel?" Judai leaned forward, his duelist instincts kicking in. "I've long wanted a chance to duel sometime."
"Huh? Here?" Hayato scratched his head. "That's not a good idea..."
Marufuji Sho: "Speaking of which, I heard that anyone caught sneaking into the restricted area has to drop out of school. Big brother, maybe we should still head back."
"It's nothing." Judai put a hand on his hip, inexplicably confident. "Look, even a good student like student Yugen is here, isn't he?"
Yugen thought to himself, No, even if I get caught, I'm probably eight out of ten times going to be fine. Dropping out is only for you guys.
In the anime, Judai and his group and Asuka were clearly caught sneaking into the restricted area together, but in the end, only Judai and his group had to face punishment. Asuka actively requested to the principal to take responsibility together with Judai's group, but was refused.
Duel Academy was a place where strength and grades determined everything.
Besides, he actually still had Mokuba's contact information. Considering Mokuba was practically on the school board, trying to get him to drop out really wouldn't be that easy.
Another sound of a branch being snapped underfoot rang out behind them.
"Ooh! This time the ghost really appeared!" Hayato and Sho hugged each other again in a ball.
However, turning their heads back towards the sound, this time it was Asuka.
"You guys?" Asuka was very surprised. "Why are you here? And also..."
She looked at Yugen strangely.
"Aren't you from the Yellow dorm? How come you're with Judai and them?"
"Just taking a walk at night, met by chance," Yugen said.
"This isn't a place for taking walks," Asuka said sternly. "Haven't you heard? Many students have gone missing here!"
"Heard of it, yeah, that's exactly why we came to explore!" The thick-skinned Judai laughed heartily. "Those are just rumors, right? Nothing to worry about."
"It's not just rumors," Asuka said seriously. "Many students have really disappeared here. And it's forbidden to enter this place. If the school finds out, there will be trouble."
Judai oozed confidence: "Heh, if you're afraid of that kind of thing, then forget about exploring."
"Listen to me seriously!" Asuka was a little angry. "This is a very serious matter. It's not a place to play around."
"What is it? You're the one who came here so late, what for?" Judai said strangely.
"Fine, go ahead and do as you please."
Asuka snorted, turned around and walked a few steps before stopping slightly, taking a deep breath.
"Among the missing students... is my older brother."
After saying that, she walked away without turning her head back.
Judai stopped smiling, frowning in thought.
"Big brother, the old dorm thing... doesn't sound like it's made up," Marufuji Sho said softly.
"Yeah. It doesn't matter, we'll know once we go in," Judai said, already stepping past the blockade tape, looking at Yugen. "You want to come along?"
Yugen shrugged and followed.
The spirit's reaction should be right inside. There's no harm in going in.
Of course, he hadn't forgotten the rare card hunter hiding behind all this.
Moonlight seeped through the sparse cloud layer and scattered onto the dormitory walls outside, casting eerie shadows that sometimes twisted and deformed, and sometimes expanded and spread.
The man pushed open the ancient wooden door and slowly stepped into the dilapidated dormitory. He had a striking, robust figure, dressed in a wide black robe and wearing a high-domed hat. A metal mask covered half of his face, and his duel disk was a rare chest-mounted type.
The self-proclaimed dark duelist, the rare card hunter, Titan.
Today, he came for the student named Yuki Judai.
The interior of the old dormitory was exceptionally gloomy. Broken beds and scattered tables lay on the ground, covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. The air was filled with a decaying smell, and gusts of wind blew through, carrying a series of eerie echoes.
He had naturally heard of the terrifying rumors surrounding this old dormitory, saying that many students had disappeared here, and that vengeful spirits lingered. But he naturally sneered at such things. A tough guy like him couldn't possibly be frightened by some misty, unfounded ghost stories.
"Hmm?"
Titan didn't know if he was seeing things.
But out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to catch a glimpse of a white ghost figure flashing past a corner of the shattered glass on the upper floor?
Titan was startled and quickly turned his head vigilantly. But looking in that direction, he only saw the dark, empty corridor, with only the shattered window frames making strange rumbling sounds as the wind rushed through.
"Must be my imagination..."
Just as he turned back, he inadvertently glanced at a scene that made his hair stand on end in an instant.
It was only a fleeting glimpse, but he seemed to briefly see a woman.
A woman as white as snow, her white clothes fluttering, eerily present in this pitch-black environment. Her white hair was loose, and her whole body seemed to emanate a chilling aura. The sound of cold wind blowing through the outer room was like the wailing of vengeful spirits, sending a chill down his spine.
"Ooh!"
The macho man screamed.
Titan cried out and took two steps back, looking at that direction in fright. But looking closely, there was no one there, not even half a ghost figure.
Even though he considered his will firm, at this moment he only felt half of his body fall into an ice cellar, and his breathing became heavy.
Damn it, the ghost stories were actually true!
Such a terrifying encounter, a supernatural image, scared the macho man's decades of firm materialistic worldview into scattered fragments in an instant.
Right, it was said that the vengeful spirits here were all students who had previously disappeared in the old dormitory.
Titan mustered his courage, his voice trembling. "That... I was just passing by, it wasn't my fault. But don't worry, I'll definitely find someone to come back and investigate after I get out, and... and clear your names."
After saying that, he finally couldn't take it anymore and turned around to run for his life.
The mission was off, he didn't want the rare card. This academy was too strange, no matter what, he would never come back in his life.
But just as Titan thought this and turned around.
He immediately encountered the white-clothed ghost woman who had unknowingly pressed close behind him, almost right in front of his face. This turn of his directly resulted in a sudden, silent jumpscare. A gust of cold air rushed straight towards his face, and the immense fear made his heart and lungs suddenly stop.
"Aaaaaah!!!!"
"."
Silent Magician lifted a strand of the silver hair that had been turned into this messy style by her master, and sneaked a glance at the man.
Yeah, seems like he fainted from fright.
She tidied her hairstyle, pursed her lips somewhat unhappily, and removed the duel disk from Titan's body.
Actually, she wasn't very willing to do all this.
She was clearly a noble spirit of the light magician, yet she was actually required by her master to play the role of a ghost and even steal cards!
She always felt like she was in a different art style from the serious duelists, feeling a bit like getting on a pirate ship.
Oh well, oh well.
Just a task master's duty.