The Gaming Club

This argument only died down after increasingly powerful decks appeared, along with board-breaking cards like Lightning Storm and A Drop of Enchanting Wave, weakening the Revenge Deck's suppression.

Then the argument became, "Giving up and playing meta are part of Yu-Gi-Oh! If you don't like it, don't play."

Later, all duelists unanimously acknowledged how awful the format was and came to one conclusion: only one person got to play Yu-Gi-Oh! in any given duel.

And that person was me!

Back to the topic: what exactly was a deck built to take revenge on society?

It was a deck that somewhat countered the current format and put pressure on every deck in the environment. It usually ran Surfing Inspector to lock effects, Thunder King to stop searching, Pachycephalosaurus or Enchanting Idol to lock Special Summons, and various Pots to increase draw power and card advantage. Finally, it paired Crimson Lotus Beast and Devourer of Millions Gluttonous Beast as beaters.

Every remaining slot was filled with Red Traps and hand traps. Sometimes, board-breaking cards like Lava Golem were used in place of hand traps.

The exact build varied depending on each duelist's understanding of the current format.

No wonder the Head Teacher hadn't thought much of him. Going first would be fine, but if he went second, he had no chance of winning.

"Looks like you understand how terrifying Crimson Lotus is now." Julie noticed Hara Shichi's grim expression and teased, "So? Are you giving up?"

"I won't."

"Oh? If I'm doing this to atone for my sins, then why are you doing it? Standing up against injustice? Speaking up for the victims? I don't think you're that kind of person." Julie pressed him relentlessly.

"You and I are the same kind of person." Hara Shichi stared straight at Julie. "People who only care about themselves."

"I wanted to do it, so I did. Is that reason enough?"

The two began a long stare-down under Yukikaze's baffled gaze. Just as Yukikaze was about to ask, "What are you doing? Is this a game where whoever looks away loses?" Julie averted her eyes.

"Hmph. That's enough." Julie closed her book and rose from her chair. "In that case, let's get moving."

"Moving? To do what?" Hara Shichi asked in confusion.

"Aren't we still short two people? I'm taking you to recruit teammates." Julie spoke as if it were only natural.

"But..." Hara Shichi hesitated. He really wanted to say, Didn't you say you had no friends? But after thinking it over, he decided it was better left unsaid.

"You were definitely thinking, 'This girl doesn't have any friends at all, so how can she say something as stupid as taking us to recruit members?' Weren't you?" Julie grabbed Hara Shichi by the collar, her face dark.

"No." Hara Shichi turned his face away.

"Look at me!" Julie gritted her teeth.

"I don't really want my face that close to yours."

"Alright, alright, stop fighting." Yukikaze pulled the two apart.

"Everyone needs to get along." Yukikaze took Hara Shichi's hand, then took Julie's.

The three hands stacked together.

"From now on, we're all partners. Let's do our best together!"

"Yeah."

"Mm."

The two replied listlessly.

"So, do you know anyone willing to help us?" Hara Shichi asked.

"No. But if there's anyone else in this academy who can stand against those five... we can only look in that place."

"That place?"

"Simply put—clubs."

As an academy, clubs were naturally indispensable.

However, for certain reasons, many clubs had already shut down or were on the verge of shutting down.

And that certain reason was—the Crimson Lotus Society.

"Because of funding," Julie explained. "The amount the school allocates to clubs is fixed, but as more and more clubs appear, each club gets less and less."

"So the clubs have constantly fought over funding. But usually, everyone knows when to stop. No matter what, they leave some funding and resources for smaller clubs, like training rooms and activity rooms..."

"But Crimson Lotus is different. She doesn't know what mercy means."

"Winner takes all describes her perfectly."

"Any club that can survive under those circumstances definitely has something special about it."

"That makes sense." Hara Shichi nodded.

"Then... let's start with this club."

Hara Shichi looked at the sign reading "Water Attribute Monster Research Society" and lightly knocked on the door.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Bang!

The door was yanked open, and a blue-haired girl with short hair appeared before the three of them.

The girl wore a cool black short-sleeved shirt, with a loose white school uniform draped over her petite frame. She wore denim shorts below, exposing her long legs.

"What is it? Joining the club?"

The girl glanced sideways at the three of them.

"Hello, Senior. I'm Hara Shichi, a first-year student..." Hara Shichi decided to greet her politely first.

"Are you joining the club?" the girl asked coldly.

"Uh... no."

Bang!

The door slammed shut.

Hara Shichi: "..."

"Ah, I know her. She's in my class, and she's a loner too. There's no way she'd help us. She's too lazy to do something so boring," Julie explained from the side.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Hara Shichi twitched a smile.

"Alright, alright, let's go to the next club," Yukikaze said.

"Muscle Man Society."

"Is that really a club Duelist Academy allows?" Hara Shichi said, but he still knocked on the door.

Then he saw—

A group of bare-chested muscular men doing finger push-ups in a cramped room.

"Excuse me... what are you doing?"

"Training our finger muscles!"

A muscle man who didn't look like a student at all shouted.

"What does that have to do with dueling?"

"What are you talking about?! You need your fingers to draw cards in a duel! As long as you have powerful, vigorous fingers, you can easily draw powerful cards!"

"Isn't that... a bit of a stretch?"

"You wouldn't know, would you? A Duel King once trained like this without stopping and mastered the legendary divine technique—Flash Draw!"

"..."

Bang.

Hara Shichi silently closed the door and turned to the other two with a dark expression.

"Next."

Game Club

"Dueling Rules Research Society."

"I see. I understand your purpose now." The man looked troubled. "But I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."

"I'm no match for them. Find someone else."

And so, the three were shown out.

"Julie, are there any other clubs?" Hara Shichi had gone from somewhat hopeful to utterly numb.

"Let me think. Probably not," Julie said wearily. "I didn't expect so many clubs, yet not one was willing to help."

"Everyone probably has their own difficulties," Yukikaze said, handing the water she had just bought to the two of them.

"What difficulties? They just don't want trouble." Leaning against the wall, Julie took the water and poured it straight down her throat.

"So we got nothing after an entire afternoon?" Hara Shichi looked at the setting sun. It had just been a leisurely afternoon, yet night was almost here.

"Wait, there's one more club." Julie seemed to recall something. "That girl... she might work!"

"Who?"

"Just follow me."

Hara Shichi and Yukikaze followed Julie to a corner on the second floor. A somewhat shabby door bore the words "Game Club."

Knock, knock, knock.

Hara Shichi still knocked first. Then a lazy female voice came from inside. "Ah, I know, I know. Stop knocking. Just leave it outside."

"Don't get the wrong idea, Sera. We're not cafeteria staff bringing you food," Julie said irritably.

"Huh? Is it the Crimson Lotus Society again? I don't care about the funding. Just leave this activity room to me," a lifeless voice came from within.

"Open up. We'll talk face-to-face." Julie tried to force the door open, her little black leather boot slamming hard against it.

"Wait! Whatever it is, just say it like that! Don't be rough with my door!"

Crack!

With a crisp sound, the door was kicked open, and the afterglow of the setting sun spilled into the dim room.

"Ahhhhh! I told you! Don't open the door! Sunlight! The sunlight's going to burn me to death!"

On a floor covered with a bedsheet, a lump beneath a blanket rolled painfully from side to side.

"Aren't you completely wrapped in that blanket? The sunlight can't reach you at all," Hara Shichi pointed out.

"It seeps through! Sunlight seeps through! Close the door! Close it!"

"Huh? Is that how it works?" Yukikaze, who had entered last, hurriedly reached out and shut the door.

Then the blanket lump seemed to sense something and stopped rolling before standing upright.

Only then did Hara Shichi notice something, following the room's sole source of light.

"You... were actually playing games in the clubroom?" Hara Shichi pointed at the faintly glowing television screen. A pixel game was displayed on it, and a game controller sat beside the TV.

"What's wrong with that? Since it's the Game Club, of course it's a club for playing games. Besides, I'm the president. The president can do whatever she wants, right?" The blanket wriggled.

"So? What do you want from me?" the blanket asked. "Just so you know, our club isn't recruiting members. If you want to join, hurry up and leave. I won't share this free space with anyone else!"

By the faint light of the television, Hara Shichi scanned the entire clubroom. Empty meal boxes had been tossed across the floor. Game discs and novels lay scattered messily across the bed. A set of what seemed to be a school uniform was crumpled off to the side, as if it had not been worn in a long time.

"Don't worry. No one besides you would want to stay in such a filthy space," Julie said coldly.

"That's so cruel! You said something so cruel about my little nest! I'm angry!" The blanket bared its teeth and claws at Yukikaze.

"Um... I wasn't the one who said that," Yukikaze said awkwardly.

"Huh? Sorry, wait a second." The blanket hesitated, and then a small head poked out from beneath it.

"A kid?" Hara Shichi couldn't help saying as he looked at a face that might have been even more childish than Ai's.

"Hm? What an ignorant guy. Don't you know what a loli is?" The little girl proudly raised her smooth chin. "A woman like me, who's already seventeen but still as cute as a child, is a very rare existence, you know."

How terrifying. Did this other world have the term "loli" too?

"Alright, Sera. You haven't forgotten me, have you?" Julie stepped forward and spoke to the little girl.

"Of course not." Sera tilted her head up at Julie, her little face full of vigilance. "No matter what you say, I won't play against a stun deck. Give up!"