Where did you bring me?

Wandering skeletons, rampant decay.

Lost souls drift, demons rage.

This is a hell for the unfortunate, an arena for the wicked.

Abandon salvation, forget forgiveness.

This forgotten land holds nothing but endless struggle and slaughter.

Welcome to the Land of Eternal Undead, welcome to the "Undying World" ruled by the Necromancer King!

"I'm down on my luck, folks. Please, kind souls, sponsor me fifty bucks for card packs so I can play in the Resurrection Tournament."

Static

Crack

Inside the gloomy cave, a bonfire burned quietly.

The fire provided a little warmth, and also a bit of sanity for Yu Ming, allowing him to think calmly after a long period of arduous travel.

However, after piecing together information about this world, Yu Ming felt no relief whatsoever.

Good news: He had transmigrated into the world of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime. While he didn't know everything about it, he at least had some impressions.

Bad news: His original body seemed to have already died during the transmigration.

Worse news: He didn't know what kind of messed-up thing his original body was, but after dying, it directly fell into hell.

After understanding his predicament, Yu Ming suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

"You must save this world."

Shadi's words still echoed clearly, but the problem was, this damned place was just ridiculous.

"Roar—"

Peering out of the cave, what greeted his eyes was literally a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

Rotting flesh and skeletons battled, phantoms and demons danced.

More importantly, Yu Ming recognized these guys:

Skull Servant

Vampire Lord

The creatures Yu Ming could name wandered about, announcing one thing to him with their terrifying howls and endless slaughter:

"Save my ass."

Did this damn world look like it could be saved?

This was the Undying World, after all. Even the scattered card lore proved it was an endless battlefield.

Just looking at those things that couldn't even communicate made Yu Ming feel like he couldn't breathe.

Why did everyone else transmigrate and happily play cards, able to use tricks and scheme, and even leverage foreknowledge to build good relationships, while he not only transmigrated to this godforsaken place but also had to figure out how to play in the Resurrection Tournament?

He knew no one.

There were no good people either.

Seriously, I can't breathe, bro.

Shadi, you son of a bitch, if you can't do it, find someone else. I don't want this Millennium Scale!

Though he said that, Yu Ming ultimately didn't throw the golden scale away.

After all, complaints were just complaints.

After venting his emotions, he still had to focus on the immediate matters at hand.

"So, you don't mind if I re-evaluate the current situation, do you?"

Taking a deep breath, Yu Ming asked.

He looked back into the cave, where the warm bonfire, seemingly able to maintain his sanity, burned quietly.

And illuminated by the firelight, a scoundrel's face appeared—Keith Howard. This guy was Yu Ming's only source of information right now.

"First, there's a very powerful entity in this world, called the Necromancer King."

Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise; even having fallen into this so-called hell, some things here weren't completely unknown to him.

Just as the lore books briefly described, the Undying World was connected to the Necromancer King, but unlike the 'eternal struggle' he knew of, the Necromancer King here seemed to have advanced to the next stage.

"But now, it not only rules the entire Undying World but is also expanding its influence outwards?"

"Yes, though I'm not sure when it started, this entire wretched place is under his control now."

"Sounds like a traditional story of a demon king ruling the world."

"Indeed, but unfortunately, this world has no brave heroes, no kingdoms to fight the demon king. Everyone is just waiting to die."

Clearly, Keith had played his share of games; he could keep up with the conversation.

However, in the flickering firelight, there was no kindness on the American thug's face, only a hint of malicious mockery.

Yu Ming ignored it.

"And then? You're the only resistance fighter willing to stand up to the 'Great Demon King' now."

Yes, just as there are always those who chafe under an oppressive tyranny when a demon king rules the world.

When the world falls into chaos, those who can no longer survive will always band together.

It's just that the choice of who that person is, is debatable.

Even the person himself couldn't quite keep a straight face.

"Ha, resistance fighters."

Keith couldn't help but reveal a gloating smile.

"They're just a bunch of weaklings, a bunch of ambitious opportunists huddling together for warmth. If you're expecting someone to step up, I suggest you give up on that idea early."

"I see."

Yu Ming nodded expressionlessly, his calm demeanor making Keith feel a little disappointed.

"How boring..."

Clearly, this guy with a twisted sense of humor wanted to see something else, but Yu Ming obviously wouldn't give him what he wanted.

"Anyway, no matter what, you're still active, even looking for opportunities to resist the Necromancer King."

"Just getting by," Keith said.

"But you're still doing something."

"Because there's nothing else to do."

"..."

"Listen, kid, aimlessly wasting away here, you'll gradually lose your mind too, and become one of those rotting ghouls we've seen."

Well, how should I put it, Keith was such an unyielding person that Yu Ming couldn't even offer him some encouraging words to lighten the mood.

But for now, it didn't really matter.

"So, that's enough for the basic background. What's important now is why you're in a place like this."

"What else could it be? Of course, it's because I died."

"That's not what I meant."

Keith's sudden death wasn't entirely unexpected, after all, he did die in the original story.

Now, Yu Ming was concerned about something else.

"Why are you here?"

Listening to the wailing that lingered in his ears like background music, Yu Ming gradually turned his gaze to the distance.

Beneath the miasma and dark clouds, the carcass of a giant dragon was clearly visible, and centered around that dragon, countless bones were piled up, forming a strange yet massive temple ruin.

That was the place they had just escaped from, and this is what the people here called it:

"Crimson Ruins."

Yu Ming narrowed his eyes.

"You're not here for a picnic, are you?"

"Just looking for something," Keith didn't evade the question.

"Looking for what?"

"Red-Eyes."

"The Red-Eyes Black Dragon?"

"If it were just a card, that would be great. Unfortunately, it's not that simple."

Keith shrugged, also looking out of the cave at the dragon's carcass.

"You can still see it from here; that carcass is the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, long dead. It's said to have fallen here many years ago, and what I'm looking for is its eye."

"The Red-Eyes?"

"Exactly. Everyone here says the reason the Necromancer King has such power now is because he took one of the black dragon's eyes."

Keith stretched, then lay down flat on the ground.

"Though it sounds strange, here, some things that were originally just descriptions on cards seem to have become rare treasures... Isn't that interesting?"

What else could be said?

"It is."

That's just how Yu-Gi-Oh! is.

Some seemingly ordinary, exaggerated descriptions can become terrifying once you delve into their underlying settings.

However…

"Red-Eyes, huh."

Yu Ming looked at the System interface, visible only to him. In career mode, that sole name was glowing brightly:

Legend of Red-Eyes Undead

He probably understood what the main storyline was now.

"You know, kid, there's an interesting legend here."

"What legend?"

"They say that one day, Red-Eyes will achieve a balance between light and darkness, awaken the slumbering king, and ultimately bring peace and order back to the Underworld."

"..."

Where did you take me?

Is this still Yu-Gi-Oh!?