Chapter 1246: The Rookie Director

Over the next few days, Kira completed the remaining two matches of the WRGP preliminaries.

The results were, of course, completely unsurprising—he continued to win smoothly without any ripples.

During the WRGP preliminary stage, the name Fujiki Kira shone like a drawn blade, its edge fully revealed. Before the tournament, he had no record or fame whatsoever. Yet in just a few short days, he had become the most talked-about "rookie" of the entire WRGP.

His stunning performance in the first match against Team Psychic was only the beginning of the legend. In the next two preliminary matches, although his opponents were not as noteworthy as Team Psychic, they still couldn’t stop his advance.

The two teams were named "Steel Gears" and "Gale Wings."

In the dueling world, they were merely obscure second-tier teams with mediocre tactics and unremarkable deck builds. Their dueling style was by-the-book, lacking the rapid overwhelming offense of Team Psychic or any trump monster capable of turning the tide—at least, Kira never let them summon anything noteworthy.

In fact, all six duelists from the two teams combined barely summoned any decent monsters. They were essentially trapped the entire time in Kira’s endless chain of traps.

These two teams were average to begin with, far inferior in strength and reputation to Team Psychic from his first match. Facing an endless barrage of traps, they had no effective countermeasures and were basically pit-trapped to death.

The dueling world began to see numerous so-called famous experts and commentators analyzing this unusual phenomenon. Some experts claimed that Kira’s dueling style remained as sharp and precise as ever, dissecting his opponents’ tactical weaknesses like a surgeon before delivering the fatal blow in the simplest way possible.

In these six duels, it might have looked like he was just endlessly setting traps, but in reality, he made targeted adjustments based on each of the six opponents’ deck styles. He ensured that every single one experienced a personalized chain of traps perfectly suited to immobilize them.

Across two matches and six duels, Kira never allowed his opponents even one clean counterattack. He ended every game with overwhelming dominance, piercing through all three opponents single-handedly.

Such a record was unprecedented in the history of Turbo Duel team competitions.

After all, team competitions were inherently about collaboration and tactical coordination. Yet Kira had single-handedly turned the team format into a personal showcase.

His deck construction was flexible and varied, his dense defensive lines airtight. What was even more deadly was that across his three preliminary matches, he had used three completely different deck themes.

This was also extremely rare in tournaments. While some duelists in the past had held back their main decks for the finals, deliberately using non-core builds in early stages, switching decks for every single match like this was truly unheard of.

This left the teams scheduled to face Kira next in a major headache—you couldn’t reference previous match reports at all. In fact, even Kira himself probably didn’t know what deck he would use next until the last moment.

Sometimes he chose his deck purely on a whim; he only knew ten minutes earlier than the audience and his opponents what he would be using.

As the preliminaries progressed, Kira’s name began stirring waves throughout the dueling world.

The media took notice of this mysterious lone wolf. Combined with his position as Director of the Sector Security, any media outlet with even a bit of insight seized the chance to lavish praise on him. They reported his achievements with titles like "Lone Wolf" and "One-Man Army," practically trying to hype him to the heavens.

On forums, discussions about him remained red-hot—some speculated on his true identity, others analyzed his deck construction, and some studied his duel footage trying to crack his tactical logic. His fanbase grew exponentially. The Sector Security’s related social media accounts saw follower counts skyrocket overnight, with every post flooded by enthusiastic supporters.

However, Kira himself remained indifferent to all the commotion. He accepted no interviews and posted no victory messages on social platforms, seemingly completely uninterested in the external frenzy.

Yet this cold reaction only heightened the sense of mystery, further amplifying his charm among the uninformed onlookers. Many saw him as the "dark horse of the dueling world," and some even predicted he would stir up an even greater storm in the main tournament.

As for Kira himself, he wasn’t deliberately pretending to be uninterested in the outside noise and his fans’ fervor—he genuinely didn’t care.

First, he was just a traveler in this dimension. He had business to handle here, and once it was done, he would leave. Any additional honors would be nothing more than illusions.

Second, in his own dimension he had long been the Duel King. Wherever he went, he was already worshipped by the masses—he was used to it. On the contrary, being constantly labeled a "rookie" or "dark horse" in this new dimension felt somewhat awkward to him.

If this were his own world, three consecutive matches with three consecutive one-through-three sweeps would probably only earn a simple "Nice" from outsiders. Neither opponents nor spectators would find it surprising, and it certainly wouldn’t dominate headlines across various media outlets like it did here.

Because he was the Duel King—achieving such feats was only natural. No one would find it unbelievable.

...

Far from the clamor of the WRGP, Kira appeared inside the Card Research Institute under the Sector Security.

The institute’s corridors were spacious and bright. Behind glass walls on both sides, busy researchers were either hunched over calculating data or debugging complex instruments. Occasionally, someone would look up, spot Kira passing by, and immediately nod respectfully. Kira nodded slightly in return, his steps never slowing as he headed straight for the central laboratory.

Pushing the door open, a test of some card technology was underway inside. Several holographic projectors floated in mid-air, simulating the energy flow of cards, while researchers gathered around recording parameter changes. Kira stood to the side, scanning the data panels. He occasionally spoke up to suggest adjustments to certain details or to encourage the staff on their hard work.

After immersing himself in the sea of research for most of the day, a phone call came in.

Kira raised a hand to signal the researchers to continue, then walked to a corner to answer.

"It’s me."

"Director Kira? Sorry to disturb you—it’s me, Mina," an anxious female voice came through.

Kira nodded. "I know."

Mina Simington—a blue-haired, long-legged Sector Security Secretary. She had previously served in a role equivalent to Director Godwin’s secretary and had naturally become Kira’s now.

"It’s like this... I feel I must report something to you directly. It concerns Lord Jack Atlas."

Mina Simington spoke urgently.

"The Sector Security is now considering arresting Lord Jack Atlas."

Kira: "Huh?"

...