Shameless?
Suzuki Mina's frustrated outburst cracked Ryo Nakamuta up.
Was this really the heiress of the Suzuki Group?
Her mentality crumbled just like that?
He couldn't even figure out what part of this duel could be called shameless.
Because he had a god-tier hand with two Inferno Fire Blast cards?
"Look, little miss, you're not making sense here."
"First, I didn't cheat. Second, I didn't make up card effects. Third, I didn't print fake cards."
"How can you call me shameless?"
"Or is it that Miss Suzuki's still not convinced?"
"Oh, I get it—you're just being a sore loser."
Ryo Nakamuta smirked, not indulging Suzuki Mina's tantrum. His words predictably drew strange looks from the surrounding students, who now eyed Suzuki Mina oddly.
"You… I…"
"Shameless is shameless!"
"You couldn't beat my Quintet Magician, so you resorted to filthy graveyard burn tactics!"
"Hmph!"
The more Suzuki Mina spoke, the redder her cheeks grew with embarrassment.
Experiencing defeat for the first time, she ignored everything else, stormed off in a huff, and slammed the door under everyone's gaze.
Bang.
The door shut with a loud thud, giving Asuka a headache.
As the pampered heiress of the Suzuki Group, Suzuki Mina was undoubtedly adored by her family and company, likely undefeated in duels. Now, getting crushed by Ryo Nakamuta here…
Asuka had a bad feeling.
The Suzuki Group was probably going to come knocking.
Meanwhile, some of Suzuki Mina's admirers among the onlookers grumbled about Ryo Nakamuta, saying it was shameless to use a burn combo against a girl.
But others supported Ryo, arguing that Suzuki Mina had picked the fight and provoked him, and her refusal to graciously accept defeat was a disgrace to the Suzuki Group.
"Ahem! Alright, alright!"
"Let's continue the class meeting as planned. The principal will handle Suzuki Mina's situation."
"Our Phantom God Blue class president is officially Ryo Nakamuta-kun."
"Now, let's head back to the classroom for the lesson."
Seeing the argument escalating out of control, Asuka quickly stepped in to calm both sides.
As a renowned homeroom teacher with exceptional skill, her authority quieted the students, who followed her back to the classroom and took their seats.
Ryo Nakamuta and Ikeda Hiromu stuck to their usual spot by the window in the back.
Their views on class were surprisingly aligned.
Who cared about lessons when you could sleep or duel?
Of course, that's what they said, but when Asuka wrote the day's lesson topic on the board, both Ryo and Ikeda couldn't help but look up curiously.
The topic? Campus Dark Duels!
As expected, even in this world, dark duels existed, huh?
Ryo Nakamuta wasn't surprised by the topic. In fact, it would've felt odd if dark duels didn't exist.
"Huh? Dark duels? Sensei! This isn't what I expected from the curriculum!"
"Whoa! That's intense! Do you really die if you lose a dark duel?"
"I heard it's true. It's supposedly tied to the seven Millennium Items from the DM world."
"No, no, no, not just the Millennium Items. They say it's also linked to some evil spirits!"
Students who'd been uninterested in the lesson suddenly perked up at the topic, buzzing with excited chatter like they'd been injected with adrenaline.
Through their discussions, Ryo Nakamuta, who'd been listening quietly, began to understand what dark duels were in this world.
Basic dark duel rules: Damage taken in the duel was real, causing actual pain, and losing all Life Points meant actual death.
Additional dark duel rules: Death didn't mean complete nonexistence. Instead, the loser's soul would be sent to the Spirit Duel World, where they might have a chance at rebirth, though most likely, they'd never return.
Winners were said to be able to make a wish to the dark evil god Zorc, which would come true soon after—though whether this was true was unknown.
Dark duels could be initiated by duelists or spirits, often tied to dark-powered spirits or objects like the seven Millennium Items, the Millennium Stone, the Three Phantom Demons cards, or Yubel.
As for the Spirit Duel World, Ryo Nakamuta wasn't surprised by its existence.
In the GX world, Manjoume had the Ojama Trio spirits helping him, and many duelists' cards were manifestations of spirits.
This was also why no one was overly curious or suspicious about Ryo's unfamiliar Red-Eyes cards.
"Not bad, not bad! Looks like our Phantom God Blue class knows quite a bit about dark duels."
"That puts my mind at ease!"
"In short, here's the key point: If you encounter someone or a spirit inviting you to a dark duel, whether on campus or out in the world, absolutely refuse!"
"Don't think you can beat a dark duelist. Don't assume defeating one is something to brag about. And definitely don't believe rumors about Zorc granting wishes."
"Recently, several upperclassmen have gone missing and remain unaccounted for, likely due to dark duels. That's why I'm holding this themed class meeting today."
"Have you all got that?!"
Asuka's cold gaze swept the room, her words silencing the class. Some students' eyes showed fear, while a few trembled visibly.
"Dark duels are that scary?"
Ryo Nakamuta rubbed his chin, more curious than afraid about these so-called dark duels.
"My gosh, Ryo-bro!"
"You don't get it! Back in high school, I heard all about it."
"Plenty of cocky duelists vanished after dark duels—gone without a trace, no body, nothing!"
"Even reporting it to the security officers was useless. They couldn't find a thing!"
"And there's more…"
Seeing Ryo Nakamuta's fearless attitude, Ikeda Hiromu launched into a passionate recounting of every dark duel rumor he'd heard in high school.
Spittle flying, he rambled on, but Ryo, with a sour expression, tuned him out.
A dark duel-themed class meeting?
Back at his old university, this was just a safety education seminar—take a photo, check the box, and move on. Did it really need to be this complicated?
Besides, couldn't you just win a dark duel and be fine?
Was there really a need to be this scared?
"Alright! Now for the final part of the class meeting: task assignments."
"Ryo Nakamuta-kun! Your first class mission is here!"
"Please organize capable classmates to assist the academy in investigating campus dark duel incidents!"
"The requirement is simple: Just find people or objects related to dark duels."
"The academy doesn't expect you to resolve the issue completely. Just report any findings to me immediately."
"Do not engage in duels under any circumstances."
"Understood?"
First class mission! Investigate campus dark duels?
Ryo Nakamuta froze, a sinking feeling in his gut.
What the heck was this?!
They'd just been talking about how dangerous dark duels were, and now they'd dumped this rotten job on him!
Could he quit being class president?
He should've just thrown the duel to Suzuki Mina!