Over the years, Kaiba Corp had proven more than once that if they wanted to, even the oldest and weakest Deck could leap several generations in strength with just a few powerful new cards.
It was unwise to underestimate a top Duelist with global fame.
"Haha, Judai Yuki is different," Daidouji said with a smile. "That child has a natural gift. Very few things make him nervous.
"But there are rumors that your opponents in the team Duel might not be simple. Do you have a plan?"
"More or less." Yugen smiled.
He already had a bold idea. If things went smoothly and he borrowed a bit of Judai Yuki's topdeck luck, he could probably bring double the joy to Meikyu Brothers.
"Anyway, I've finished here."
Yugen stood up and handed a card to Daidouji.
"Please give me your guidance, Sensei."
Daidouji adjusted his glasses and took the card. "Let's see."
Yugen had not been studying card creation for long. Although he showed unusual talent and received private guidance from Daidouji, his skill was still at the replication stage.
At this point, he was only attempting to copy relatively low rarity Cards. More advanced design would come after mastering the basics.
Daidouji glanced at the card. "This time you tried copying a bike? I heard you really like this one. Not bad. You managed to replicate it so quickly. Hmm?"
His usually narrowed eyes widened slightly, and his glasses almost slid down his nose.
He had clearly seen the effect of the Twin Bike Mech.
"This card can attack directly."
Wait. Wasn't it supposed to lose five hundred ATK?
He looked up at Yugen in surprise, suddenly realizing something.
I told you to practice copying. Did you just achieve a research breakthrough instead?
Yugen simply smiled.
He had confirmed a hypothesis he had long held.
Many fans of Yu-Gi-Oh! knew that in the animation, the same card often showed contradictory effects in different scenes.
A classic GX example was Jinzo. In DM, its effect was that while it was on the field, all face down and face up Trap Cards were Destroyed, and the activation and effects of Trap Cards were negated.
In GX, however, when Jinzo appeared again, its effect matched the real card version. Trap Cards could not be activated and their effects were negated, but it did not automatically Destroy all set cards like in DM.
There were many other examples.
Back when he was only a viewer, such inconsistencies were just minor entertainment. Now that he was living in this real Yu-Gi-Oh! world, that explanation was no longer enough. Especially after studying the principles of card creation, a new thought had formed.
As he had learned, a card's effect was not something written freely by the designer. It was a manifestation of the card's inherent power.
What if, when designing the same card, one designer only awakened part of its ability, while another designer unlocked more of its potential? Wouldn't the resulting versions naturally differ in strength?
Or perhaps some cards possessed hidden potential that had never been fully explored. During replication or redesign, could there be room for improvement?
While learning from Daidouji, he had been researching this idea.
The results suggested he was right.
For example, after persistent experiments, he found that Twin Bike Mech was relatively easy to modify. It was not a particularly strong card to begin with. All he had done was remove the restriction that reduced five hundred ATK. It was not a huge enhancement, so development was manageable.
But it proved his theory.
Some animation cards that were weaker than the versions in his memory had room for further development.
"Remarkable," Daidouji-sensei said quietly, adjusting his glasses again. When he looked at Yugen this time, there was a faint light in his narrowed eyes.
Removing five hundred ATK from a bike was not a massive change. But it was still a research breakthrough. Achieving that at the beginner stage of card creation was something even Daidouji had rarely seen.
Was this what true genius looked like?
"You might truly have talent in alchemy."
"You flatter me, Sensei. I only followed your teaching and treated the card with care," Yugen replied with a grin.
In truth, it helped that he knew which direction to pursue. With countless Cards in this world, no one else knew which ones still held untapped potential.
"By the way, Sensei, I tried making a few other cards as well."
Yugen quietly took out several more.
"Take a look. These two are also a little different from the usual versions."
Daidouji fell into complete silence.
There are more?
Even someone as experienced as Daidouji was stunned.
After a long pause, he finally looked up and spoke slowly.
"Yugen."
"Yes, Sensei?"
"Have you ever considered becoming a professor?"
"?"
Yugen took out another card, Carbon Dragon. It was a cheap card to begin with, and he had been reminded of it when Daichi Misawa used it in a Duel before, so he chose it for testing.
In the original anime version, Carbon Dragon could activate while it was in the Graveyard and at least ten cards were stacked above it. By banishing it from the Graveyard, you could Special Summon Diamond Dragon from your hand or the Graveyard. However, Diamond Dragon was only a 2100 ATK Normal Monster, and the condition was troublesome while the summoning range was limited, making it awkward to use.
After upgrading it to its real card effect, the requirement of stacking ten cards in the Graveyard was removed. Now, simply banishing it from the Graveyard would activate the effect. The Summon target was no longer limited to Diamond Dragon but any Level 7 or lower Dragon Normal Monster, and it could even be Special Summoned from the Deck, which was a huge improvement.
The other card he presented was the Ritual Spell Machine Angel Ritual. Its first effect was standard, allowing you to perform a Ritual Summon by tributing monsters from your hand or field until their total Levels met or exceeded the Ritual Monster's Level, just like in the original work.
After a period of experimentation, he successfully added a hidden second effect to this Ritual Spell Card. If a LIGHT monster on his field would be Destroyed by battle or card effect, he could instead banish this card from the Graveyard. That extra layer of protection against Destruction was a strong boost for the Cyber Angel Deck used by Asuka Tenjoin.
When the idea of strengthening Anime-Original Cards first came to him, the first thing Yugen thought of was Cyber Angel. The Deck was sold in the Academy Department, and compared to its anime version, the real card route showed some of the most obvious upgrades. If developed along the real card path, the entire Deck had the potential to leap forward by a whole generation.
Naturally, his first attempt had been Cyber Angel Benten. In the real card version, Cyber Angel Benten could search any LIGHT Fairy monster from the Deck when it was used as a tribute, making it an extremely powerful core card. After only a few trials, he realized that researching this monster was far more difficult than expected.
He quickly concluded that, in general, Monster Cards were harder to develop than Spell and Trap Cards. The higher the Level and the stronger the monster, the more difficult the research became. In the end, he only managed to successfully upgrade this Ritual Spell Card.
Even so, it was enough to shock Daidouji-sensei. He adjusted his glasses and returned to his usual smiling expression.
"I didn't expect that Yugen is not only talented in Duel but also a genius in research," Daidouji said as he stroked the cat. "With just these results, you could already publish several solid papers. I am honestly jealous. I have been at Duel Academy for so long and still have not produced any results."
Yugen smiled. Here it was again, the expert pretending to be a beginner.
He did not expose him and simply said, "It is thanks to your guidance, Sensei. Actually, I have another idea. Do you think it would be possible for me to apply for my own laboratory at Duel Academy and maybe form a research team?"