Adjusting His Mindset

"What's wrong?"

At the sound of that familiar voice, Yu Ming could not help but freeze.

As his senses, nearly scorched numb, gradually returned, he discovered that he was sitting at the dining table.

"No, what the hell is this...?"

Just as his thoughts fell into inexplicable chaos, he suddenly saw a beautiful black-and-blue butterfly.

It fluttered through the air, seeming to guide him as it made him look around.

In the corner, an air conditioner hummed softly, bringing a touch of coolness to the sweltering summer day.

A flat-screen television was embedded in the wall to his left, playing an anime.

Beyond the tightly shut floor-to-ceiling windows, freshly washed clothes were still hanging out on the balcony.

Under the bright sunlight, Yu Ming suddenly came to his senses.

"This is my home? I'm back?"

Yet the instant that thought surfaced, an inexplicable sense of discord arose in his heart.

"No... it isn't, is it?"

"The card I set in my back row was Illusionist of Imitation!"

A voice suddenly came from the television.

Though he could not see everything playing on the screen from his seat at the dining table, a sidelong glance still let him catch sight of a blond man wearing a confident smile.

And the card in his hand—a Level 5 Monster Card.

"This card can copy a card you have used, and the one I'm copying is Metalmorph: Magic Reflection Armor!"

He could recognize this scene with his eyes closed. It was the semifinal match between Joey Wheeler and Keith Howard during Duelist Kingdom.

As a duel near the end of an arc, the match had actually been quite exciting in terms of story structure.

But because the early rules were different, and the cards released in real life differed from those in the original work, some bizarre situations had emerged.

Like setting monsters in the back row as Spells, or effects that did not copy cards from the Graveyard but instead copied cards the opponent had used.

DM was undeniably a classic, and he still revisited some episodes from time to time, but parts of the Duelist Kingdom arc really were hard to take seriously.

But perhaps that was precisely why he had carried that sort of mindset?

"What's wrong? You look awful, and your clothes are all torn up too."

The voice echoed again.

This time, Yu Ming looked straight ahead and saw a woman gazing at him.

"Mom..."

Facing the woman's gentle yet worried eyes, Yu Ming spoke instinctively, only to feel something lodged in his throat.

After quite a while, he finally forced a bitter smile.

"How should I put this? I tripped and fell while I was out..."

"You fell?"

"Yeah."

Yu Ming nodded stiffly.

It was laughable. He even felt like some delinquent who had secretly gotten into a fight outside, then returned home too afraid to tell the truth.

"So, earlier, I saw a pit outside."

"A pit?"

"Yeah. Then I thought it wasn't that big, so I was humming a tune and figured I could just step over it."

"And then you fell?"

"That's right."

Yu Ming nodded.

"That pit was wider than I thought, and deeper too..."

He could not help scratching his face.

"How should I put it? It hurt quite a bit."

"Are you angry?"

Yu Ming froze at her question.

He closed his eyes, trying to search for something within himself.

But in the end...

"A little, but not much."

"How so?"

Faced with that question, Yu Ming merely sighed.

"More than anger or resentment, I think what I feel is shame?"

"How so?"

"Because I've always been looking at things through tinted glasses."

He could not help closing his eyes as he sorted through his brief memories of transmigrating.

"I kept stressing that it was dangerous, but when trouble actually came, I instinctively let my guard down. My deck was clearly not that good either, yet I still had the leisure to mock other people's decks and deckbuilding."

Having calmed down, he slowly laid bare his heart.

"I presumptuously guessed how others would play, while danger was right in front of me and I noticed nothing... Come to think of it, I kept mocking others for being arrogant, but the one who kept criticizing people's character settings was the most arrogant one of all."

Thinking about it carefully, that seemed to be the biggest problem.

"I had already transmigrated, yet I still instinctively saw things from the audience's perspective. I knew I was in an anime world, yet I still clung to the superiority complex of a physical-card player."

At that point, Yu Ming could not help drawing a deep breath.

Some things were still quite difficult for him to admit.

But the facts were right before him, forcing him to face them clearly.

"To put it more extremely, maybe I should be glad I got knocked awake."

"Knocked awake?"

Looking at the woman's gentle smile, as though she understood everything, he pursed his lips.

At this point, there was clearly no need to take back a slip of the tongue like that.

When all was said and done, only one thing mattered.

"There won't be a next time."

Whether it was such a low-level mistake as letting down his guard in the middle of a fight, or the experience of being slapped awake by someone else, he truly did not need a second time.

So...

"You're leaving?"

Just as Yu Ming stood up, the woman asked.

"Yeah. No matter what, I still have to deal with the trouble outside."

"Then... is it really okay to use that kind of deck?"

Yu Ming paused and lightly raised an eyebrow.

Then...

"It's fine. There's no problem."

He walked to the entryway, but just as he touched the familiar doorknob, he could not help turning back.

Gazing at that seemingly unchanging concern and acceptance, he took a deep breath.

"Mom."

"Hmm?"

"I'm heading out."

"Mm. Be careful on the road, and remember to come home early."

"Yeah..."

Click.

Thud.

As the door opened and closed, the living room seemed to return to its former silence.

Looking around once more, the woman lifted her teacup and took a light sip.

As she gazed at the distant, unreachable sunlight, a smile appeared on her face.

"Thank you, System."

Darkness.

Coldness.

Amid darkness that seemed to swallow even the world itself, Yu Ming felt as though he were swimming through the deep sea, where sunlight could never reach directly.

Perhaps such an environment should have stirred instinctive unease, yet all Yu Ming felt was calm and peace.

Without needing to do anything, he felt a mysterious force lifting him steadily upward.

Like breaking the surface of the water, the world welcomed a faint gleam of light—though it might not have been especially clear or bright.

Heart Room has been closed

Under the System's prompt, what came into Yu Ming's sight was still that dim, enclosed space.

And likewise, the duel that had not yet ended.

"Oh? You still managed to stay conscious?"

Following the voice, he looked ahead. Behind the Machine Cannon, that man was still standing there.

Keith Howard.

His arms were folded across his chest, and a mocking gleam showed beneath his sunglasses.

"Honestly, at a time like this, it would be better to just pass out decisively. At least then you wouldn't have to suffer in this hell."

"Don't kid..."

Yu Ming instinctively opened his mouth, but what followed was searing heat that seemed to burn even his heart, pain like flesh being sliced apart by a dull blade.

Within that nearly boiling heat, Yu Ming even felt as though he could smell scorched flesh.

Perhaps... his internal organs had already been burned black?

He did not know about that, but no matter what, he was not dead yet.

Not only because of the System's assistance, but also because of something else.

"The duel isn't over yet."