Genshin Yu thought that if they were caught, he would probably be fine. The ones expelled would likely be the others.

  In the anime, Judai Yuki and the others were caught trespassing in the Forbidden Zone together with Asuka Tenjoin, yet only Judai Yuki and his group faced punishment. Asuka Tenjoin even asked the principal to share the penalty with them, but her request was refused.

  At Duel Academy, strength and grades decided everything. Besides, he had Mokuba Kaiba's contact information, which was almost like knowing someone on the board. Getting expelled would not be so easy.

  A branch snapped behind them again.

  "Ah! This time it's really a ghost!" Hayato Maeda and Sho Marufuji clung to each other once more.

  When they turned around, they saw Asuka Tenjoin instead.

  "You guys?" Asuka Tenjoin looked surprised. "Why are you here? And..."

  She glanced at Yugen in confusion.

  "Aren't you from the Yellow Dormitory? Why are you with Judai Yuki and the others?"

  "Just a night walk. We ran into each other," Yugen replied.

  "This isn't a place for a walk," Asuka Tenjoin said seriously. "Haven't you heard? Many students have disappeared here."

  "We heard. That's why we came to explore," Judai Yuki laughed. "Those are just rumors, right? It's fine."

  "They're not rumors." Asuka Tenjoin's tone turned firm. "Students really have disappeared here. And this place is off limits. If the school finds out, it will cause trouble."

  "If you're scared of that, you can't go on an adventure," Judai Yuki said.

  "Listen to me." Asuka Tenjoin sounded annoyed. "This is serious. It's not a playground."

  "Then what about you? Why are you here so late?" Judai Yuki asked.

  "Forget it. Do whatever you want."

  Asuka Tenjoin snorted and walked away. After a few steps, she stopped, took a deep breath, and spoke without turning back.

  "My brother is among the missing students."

  She left without another word.

  Judai Yuki stopped smiling and frowned.

  "Bro, the old dorm story... it doesn't sound fake," Sho Marufuji said quietly.

  "Yeah. It's fine. We'll know once we look inside." Judai Yuki stepped past the barrier line and glanced at Yugen. "You coming?"

  Yugen shrugged and followed.

  The reaction of the Spirit seemed to be coming from inside. There was no harm in checking. Of course, he had not forgotten that a Rare Hunter was hiding nearby.

  Moonlight filtered through thin clouds and cast twisted shadows on the dorm's outer wall. The shapes stretched and bent with the wind.

  A man pushed open the old wooden door and walked into the run-down building. He was tall and broad, dressed in a loose black robe and a round hat. A metal mask covered half his face, and his Duel Disk was mounted unusually on his chest.

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  The self-proclaimed Shadow Duelist, the Rare Hunter known as Titan.

  Tonight, he had come for a student named Judai Yuki.

  The interior of the dorm was grim and cold. Broken beds and desks lay scattered under thick dust and cobwebs. The air smelled rotten, and the wind through shattered windows made hollow sounds.

  He had heard the rumors about students disappearing and restless spirits wandering here. He dismissed them. A tough man like him would not be scared by ghost stories.

  "Hmm?"

  Out of the corner of his eye, Titan thought he saw a white figure flash past a piece of broken glass.

  He jumped and turned sharply, but the corridor was empty. Only the wind rattled the window frames.

  "Must be my imagination..."

  As he turned back, he caught another glimpse.

  For a split second, he saw a woman.

  She was dressed in white, her long white hair loose over her shoulders. In the dim hallway she looked unnatural, almost glowing. The wind through the corridor sounded like distant crying.

  "Wah!"

  The tough man screamed.

  Titan stumbled back two steps, staring at where she had stood. When he focused, there was nothing there.

  Even with his supposed strong will, half his body felt frozen. His breathing grew heavy.

  The ghost rumors are real.

  His long-held materialist beliefs shattered in seconds.

  He swallowed and forced himself to speak. "I was just passing by. I didn't hurt you. I swear. When I get out, I'll find someone to investigate and clear your names."

  He could not stay any longer. He turned to run.

  Forget the job. Forget the Rare Card. There was something wrong with this Duel Academy. He would never come back.

  But the moment he turned around, the woman in white was suddenly right in front of him. He nearly ran straight into her. A cold chill hit his face, and fear seized his heart.

  "Ahhhhh!"

  ...

  Silent Magician brushed aside her silver hair, which her master had deliberately messed up, and peeked at the man.

  He seemed to have fainted.

  She adjusted her hair and pouted, then removed the Duel Disk from Titan.

  She had not been eager to do this.

  She was a noble LIGHT-attribute Spirit, yet her master had ordered her to pretend to be a ghost and even take his Deck.

  Sometimes it felt like she had followed a very strange Duelist and boarded the wrong ship.

  Still.

  It was just her master's task.

  "Is it settled?"

  Yugen took the Deck that Silent Magician handed over and slid it into an empty card case hanging inside his jacket. When he went out, he usually carried several cases with different Decks, one for his Side and a few empty slots reserved for seized spoils. Daichi Misawa normally wore six cases across his chest, while Judai Yuki carried two behind his back, so counting the Deck loaded in a Duel Disk, walking around with nine Decks was nothing unusual.

  He opened the newly acquired Deck and gave it a quick look. The Duelist called Titan was nothing more than a con artist, and even in the anime he had relied on sneak attacks and hypnosis tricks instead of real dueling. Once exposed, he would immediately try to run.

  With no skill and no honor, someone like that did not deserve courtesy. Having a Spirit knock him out was enough. This was simply confiscating criminal tools.

  As expected, Titan used a Fiend Deck. It at least belonged to a named Level Series, but there was nothing inside that impressed him. Even so, the cards could fetch a decent price.

  Yugen had already sold many spare cards from previous Decks he had picked up. He discovered that collecting and reselling unwanted cards was steady income, and the extras plus a few spare Duel Disks were enough to support him for quite some time.

  "Good work. Thanks."

  Yugen smiled and patted Silent Magician on the head.

  Silent Magician, who had been pouting, froze in surprise. A faint blush crossed her face, and in the next second she turned into a streak of white light and slipped back into the Deck.

  Yugen stared at his hand suspended in midair. Why did that reaction feel like she disliked it?

  From the corridor outside came Judai Yuki's voice. "Nothing in this room either. Yugen, did you find anythi... huh!?"

  He had apparently caught sight of the white figure disappearing into Yugen's Deck. He blinked twice and rubbed his eyes hard.

  "I am not seeing things, right? That just now was..."

  Winged Kuriboh fluttered out and flew to Judai Yuki. "Kuri kuri~!"

  "So I was right!" Judai Yuki looked delighted. "You can see Spirits too, can't you?"

  Winged Kuriboh nodded vigorously, which looked like its whole body bouncing. "Kuri! Kuri kuri!"

  Judai Yuki nodded back. "Yeah, I know, partner."

  Yugen fell silent. He truly wanted to know how they understood Kuriboh when every syllable sounded the same to him.

  Excited to meet someone similar, Judai Yuki grabbed his arm. "Ever since I was little, I could hear strange voices. At first it happened in the middle of the night, like someone calling my name, and I would get up to check my Deck."

  "And then a Spirit appeared?"

  "No, nothing happened." Judai Yuki scratched his head awkwardly. "Guess it is not that easy to meet a Spirit. After that I stopped hearing them for a long time. But recently, I started hearing them again."

  He turned to Winged Kuriboh, who happily rubbed against his cheek. "Kuri kuri~!"