Duelists Never Surrender!

The arguments continued until the emergence of increasingly powerful decks and board-clearing cards like Lightning Storm and A Drop of Enchanting Wave caused the pressure applied by the newspaper decks to decrease, bringing the disputes to a halt.

Then, the arguments shifted to accepting "playing poorly" and "meta decks" as part of Yu-Gi-Oh!, with the sentiment being "if you don't like it, don't play."

Later, all Duelists unanimously acknowledged the harshness of the environment and concluded that only one person could truly play Yu-Gi-Oh! in a duel.

And that person is me!

Returning to the topic, what exactly constitutes a "revenge on society" deck?

These are decks that, to some extent, counter the current meta decks and can exert pressure on decks across the entire environment. They typically include cards like Surfing Inspector (effect negation), Thunder King (search negation), Pachycephalosaurus or Enchanting Idol (special summon negation), and various Pots for drawing and gaining advantage. Finally, they use Crimson Lotus Beast and Devourer of Millions' Gluttonous Beast for damage.

The remaining card slots are entirely filled with Red Traps and hand traps. Sometimes, board-clearing cards like Lava Golem might be included instead of hand traps.

The specific build will vary depending on the Duelist's understanding of the current environment.

"No wonder the Head Teacher doesn't think highly of me," he thought. "If I go first, it's fine, but if I go second, I can't win at all."

"It seems you've come to understand the terrifying nature of Crimson Lotus," Julie observed with a smirk, noticing Hara Shichi's grim expression. "So? Are you going to give up?"

"I won't give up."

"Oh? If I'm atoning for my sins, then what about you? Are you fighting for justice? Speaking up for the victims? I don't think you're the type," Julie pressed him.

"I'm the same kind of person as you," Hara Shichi replied, not looking away from Julie. "Someone who only cares about themselves."

"I want to do it, so I'm doing it. Is that reason enough?"

The two engaged in a long stare-down under Yukikaze's bewildered gaze. Just as Yukikaze was about to ask, "What are you two doing, is this a game where whoever looks away first loses?", Julie broke the gaze.

"Hmph, that's enough," Julie said, closing her book and standing up from her chair. "In that case, let's get started."

"Started? With what?" Hara Shichi asked, confused.

"Don't we still need two more people? I'll take you to recruit teammates," Julie said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"But..." Hara Shichi started, then stopped. He wanted to say, "Don't you not have any friends?" but decided against it.

"You were just thinking, 'This person has no friends, how dare they say they'll take us to recruit teammates,' weren't you?" Julie grabbed Hara Shichi's collar, her face darkening.

"No," Hara Shichi averted his gaze.

"Look at me!" Julie gritted her teeth.

"I don't really want to be that close to your face."

"Alright, alright, stop arguing," Yukikaze said, pushing them apart.

"Everyone, let's get along," Yukikaze said, taking Hara Shichi's hand and then Julie's.

Their three hands were stacked together.

"From now on, we're all partners. Let's work hard together!"

"Okay."

"Mhm."

The two responded listlessly.

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

"No, but if there's anyone in this academy who can stand against those five people... we'll have to look in that direction."

"That direction?"

"Simply put, it's the clubs."

As an academy, clubs were, of course, indispensable.

However, for various reasons, many clubs had already closed or were on the verge of closing.

The reason was the Crimson Lotus Society.

"It's because of funding," Julie explained. "The school allocates a fixed amount to clubs, but as the number of clubs increased, the amount distributed to each club became smaller."

"So, the clubs constantly fought over funding, but generally, they'd stop short of completely depleting resources, always leaving some funds and resources for the smaller clubs, like training rooms or activity rooms..."

"But Crimson Lotus is different. They don't understand the meaning of holding back."

"Winner takes all is their motto."

"Any club that can survive under these circumstances definitely has its unique strengths."

"That makes sense," Hara Shichi nodded.

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

Hara Shichi looked at the sign in front of the door that read "Water Attribute Monster Research Society" and gently knocked.

"Hello, is anyone there?"

Bang!

The door was suddenly pulled open, and a short-haired girl with blue hair appeared before them.

She wore a revealing black short-sleeved shirt, with her white school uniform loosely draped over her petite and slender frame. She wore denim shorts on the lower half, revealing her long legs.

"What is it? Want to join the club?"

The girl glanced sideways at the three people in front of her.

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

"Are you here to join the club?" the girl asked coldly.

"Uh... no."

Slam!

The door shut forcefully.

Hara Shichi: "..."

"Ah, I know her. She's in my class, and she's a real loner. Asking her for help is impossible; she wouldn't bother with such trivial things," Julie explained from the side.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Hara Shichi twitched the corner of his mouth.

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

"Muscle Man Society."

"Is this a club that can be established at Duelist Academy?" Hara Shichi said, but he still knocked on the door.

Then he saw

a group of bare-chested strongmen doing push-ups with their fingers in a small room.

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

"Training our finger muscles!"

A muscular man, who looked nothing like a student, shouted.

"How is that useful for dueling?"

"What are you talking about?! Dueling requires using your fingers to draw cards! With strong, powerful fingers, you can easily draw powerful cards!"

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

"You wouldn't know, would you? There was once a Duel King who, through constant practice like this, developed the legendary divine skill – Flash Draw!"

"..."

Thump.

Hara Shichi silently closed the door and turned to the two behind him with a grim expression.

"Next."

Chapter 49: Game Club

"Duel Rules Research Society."

"I see. I understand your objective," the man said with a troubled expression. "But I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."

"I'm no match for them. Please find someone else."

The three of them were then politely shown the door.

"Julie, are there any other clubs?" Hara Shichi's initial anticipation had turned into numbness.

"Let me think, probably not," Julie said, also tired. "I didn't expect so many clubs, and not a single one willing to help."

"Everyone must have their own difficulties," Yukikaze said, handing the water she had just bought to the two.

"What difficulties? They just don't want to cause trouble," Julie leaned against the wall, took the water, and chugged it down.

"So we got nothing all afternoon?" Hara Shichi looked at the setting sun. It had been a leisurely afternoon just now, and now it was almost evening.

"Wait, there's one more club," Julie seemed to have thought of something. "That person... might be able to help!"

"Who?"

"You'll know if you follow me."

Hara Shichi and Yukikaze followed Julie to a corner on the second floor. A somewhat dilapidated door had "Game Club" written on it.

Knock, knock, knock.

Hara Shichi still knocked on the door first. Then, a lazy female voice came from inside the room: "Ah, I got it, I got it. Stop knocking. Just leave it outside."

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

"Eh? Is it people from the Crimson Lotus Society again? I don't care about the funding or anything, just leave this activity room to me," came the weak voice from inside.

"Open the door, let's talk face-to-face," Julie tried to force the door open, stomping her small black boot on it.

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

Crrack!

With a crisp sound, the door was kicked open, and the lingering rays of the setting sun streamed into the dim room.

"Aaaaaaaah! I told you! Don't open the door! Sunlight! I'm going to be burned by the sunlight!"

On the floor covered with a bedsheet, a lump of blankets was rolling back and forth in agony.

"Aren't you completely wrapped in the blankets? The sunlight can't reach you at all," Hara Shichi quipped.

"It's seeping in! The sunlight is seeping in! Quickly close the door! Close it!"

"Huh? Is that so?" Yukikaze, who was the last to enter, quickly reached out and closed the door.

Immediately after, the lump of blankets seemed to sense something, stopped rolling, and stood upright.

It was then that Hara Shichi, following the room's only light source, noticed something.

"You... are actually playing games in the club room?" Hara Shichi pointed at the dimly lit TV screen, which displayed a pixelated game. Next to the TV was a game controller.

"What does it matter? Since it's the Game Club, it's obviously a club for playing games. Besides, I'm the president, so I can do whatever I want, right?" the lump of blankets wiggled.

"So? What do you want from me?" the blankets said. "Let me make it clear, our club doesn't recruit members. If you want to join, you should leave quickly. I won't share this free space with anyone else!"

Hara Shichi scanned the entire activity room by the dim light of the TV. Empty lunch boxes were tossed on the floor, game discs and novels were scattered haphazardly on the bed, and next to them was a set of what looked like a school uniform, crumpled up as if it hadn't been worn in a long time.

"Don't worry, no one besides you would want to stay in this dirty space," Julie said coldly.

"How mean! You said such mean things about my little nest! I'm angry!" the blankets flailed their "arms" at Yukikaze.

"Um... it wasn't me who was speaking," Yukikaze said awkwardly.

"Ah? Oh, sorry, hold on a sec." The lump of blankets hesitated for a moment, and then, a small head poked out from inside.

"A child?" Hara Shichi couldn't help but exclaim as he looked at a face that might have been even younger than Ai's.

"Hmph? Ignorant fool, don't you know what a loli is?" The little girl proudly lifted her smooth chin. "A woman like me, who is already 17 but still looks as cute as a child, is a rare existence."

Scary, does this other world also have the term 'loli'?

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

"Of course not." Sera tilted her head to look at Julie, her small face full of wariness. "No matter what you say, I don't play with deck-building decks, so give up!"