Just as he was wavering in uncertainty...
Yami Yugi asked his friends curiously, "By the way, didn't you all go off to duel earlier? How did it go?"
Joey Wheeler flexed his biceps, looking smug. "With our skills, of course we won. Piece of cake."
"That's right," Tristan Taylor and Anzu replied together. "Our hard work wasn't for nothing. From now on, nobody gets to call us weaklings! Not even Seto Kaiba!"
"Nice work. You've all improved." Tetsuhiro glanced at the stars they had won, each holding around four to six, and was about to praise them some more.
But Mai Valentine cut in first. "Oh-ho-ho-ho! Getting full of yourselves already? Interested in a duel? You, kid."
"Me?" Tristan Taylor pointed at himself.
"That's right. Let me see what you lot are made of. I'll wager both my stars."
"Are you serious? I thought we were all friends."
"Who said I was your friend? I only tagged along to gather information. Don't forget, we're competing!"
"Fine, then. Don't blame me if you lose."
Mai Valentine curled her lip. "Just don't cry when you lose."
The two stepped onto opposite sides of the dueling arena.
Before long...
Tristan Taylor stepped down, utterly crestfallen.
Unsurprisingly, Mai Valentine had won.
Although Tristan Taylor had been working hard lately and had improved considerably, he still fell short against Mai Valentine's cohesive strategy. He had neither an ace monster nor cards that complemented one another.
He had gained an early advantage by relying on powerful effect monsters, but after carelessly letting Harpie's Feather Duster destroy three cards in his back row, he was essentially finished.
"Thanks for the game. Let's do it again sometime." Mai Valentine happily collected her two stars.
"Don't get cocky! I'll duel you!" Seeing his good friend lose, Joey Wheeler challenged