The first day of the Fortune Cup concluded without incident.
As far as the task of "maintaining the course of history" went, Kira felt it had been quite a success. Even the unexpected developments had remained consistent with the history he knew.
For instance, the Security Maintenance Bureau had invited some fairly famous duelist called the Grim Reaper or something, only for the man to be intercepted on his way there.
A duelist named Hajime had secretly knocked out the Grim Reaper, put on his coat, and entered the tournament under his name. His motive was that he had previously failed to challenge Jack's King's Title and refused to accept it, wanting a rematch but never receiving a spot in the Fortune Cup.
Naturally, just as in the original history, he was eliminated by Fudo Yusei.
Still, Kira found Hajime's Speed Counter Deck rather interesting.
Hajime's Deck had also been created specifically for the anime, designed for Riding Duels.
Aside from playing cards while riding motorcycles, the biggest difference between Riding Duels in the anime and traditional Duels was the introduction of the "Speed Counter" concept.
It was similar to the "cost" mechanic in other card games. Both players automatically gained one Speed Counter each turn. Traditional Spell Cards could not be used in Riding Duels; only Riding Duel-exclusive "Speed Spells" were allowed.
And using Speed Spells required the corresponding number of Speed Counters as a cost.
Hajime's Speed Deck rapidly accumulated Speed Counters, widening the cost gap between himself and his opponent before using the advantage of Speed Spells to win.
Although he had lost, Kira could see potential in that Deck.
He felt Hajime's Deck simply had not yet encountered the version best suited for it. By the latter half of 5DS, the Riding Duel rules would be