"Ding-a-ling~"
The bell for class dismissal rang, and Hayato Kobayashi, sitting at his desk, closed his book and silently began to organize the notes he had taken during class.
On the podium, the teacher hadn't even finished tidying up the lecture notes when several restless students below couldn't sit still.
Before the teacher even left the classroom, they had already excitedly gathered together.
"Hey, did you hear? That 'Devil Disciplinarian' seems to have gone crazy; someone sent him to a mental hospital."
"Ushio Tetsu? That's great news! When did this happen?"
"Just this morning, by the tree at the school gate. Ushio was lying in a pile of fallen leaves and garbage like a madman, muttering 'money' non-stop. Lots of people saw him."
"And I heard that he might have been targeted by someone he shouldn't have provoked in school, and people from society messed him up like this."
Listening to the voices from behind, Hayato thought to himself, "He certainly provoked someone he shouldn't have, but the one who messed him up wasn't some gang from society; you guys would never guess who it was."
Thinking this, Hayato turned his head and looked to the other side of the classroom.
There, sat a short boy with colorful, spiky hair like a starfish, who didn't look like a high school student.
At this moment, the starfish-haired boy was sitting opposite a blonde boy, holding a few cards, seemingly playing some card game.
"Alright, it's Jonouchi's turn."
A boy with a very ordinary hairstyle, who clearly couldn't play cards, approached the two who were sitting opposite each other.
He naturally put his right arm around the blonde boy's shoulder and neck, inserting himself into their game: "What are you playing, Jonouchi?"
"Ugh, ah."
The blonde boy, whose neck was being pulled, used his free hand to push away the other boy's arm and twisted his neck before proudly raising the cards he held to show them.
"What, you don't even know this? It's duel monsters, of course."
"What duel monsters?"
The blonde boy became a bit impatient after only a few words: "You're so annoying! Just watch quietly from the side. If I lose to Yugi this time, it'll all be your fault."
Saying this, the blonde boy pushed away the boy leaning on him and refocused his attention on the cards in his hand.
The boy who was pushed away didn't get angry over such a small matter, showing that his relationship with the blonde boy was quite good.
Looking at the two focused players, the boy scratched his head, slightly troubled: "Seriously, is this thing really that interesting? I don't see it at all."
Hayato, who stood up to go to the restroom, heard the boy's mumble.
He turned his head and glanced at his hairstyle, thinking to himself: "No wonder, Honda, your hairstyle is just too ordinary, not even as wild as the unicorn from the Conan series next door.
It's not your fault if you don't get the fun of playing cards."
As Hayato walked out of the classroom, he could still hear the words spoken by the girl standing next to the boy who was pushed away by the blonde boy in the classroom: "'duel monsters' is a game where you summon monsters on the field and then battle each other with appropriate combinations of Magical Cylinder.
It's a very popular and famous game."
"And in the future, playing cards can even save the world, more than once," Hayato added internally.
The name "duel monsters," though it sounds quite unfamiliar, becomes much more familiar with a different name: "Game King"!
Originally, this was just a fictional game an author came up with in a manga, where the protagonist was set to be "good at various games," and there were many other similar games.
However, unexpectedly, as the manga continued, many readers became particularly interested in this "duel monsters" game, leading to a major change in the manga's setting, titled "Game King," which later focused entirely on the "duel monsters" game.
And the manga title "Game King" thus became synonymous with this game.
After a day, Hayato had reluctantly accepted the fact that he hadn't been reincarnated by taking over a body, but rather had transmigrated into the world of "Game King" as an ordinary student at Domino High School.
Even his name had changed from "Lin隼" to "Hayato Kobayashi."
What brought Hayato—or rather, Hayato Kobayashi (hereafter referred to solely as "Hayato")—some comfort was that his previous name hadn't disappeared but was embedded within his new name.
Additionally, Hayato's luck was quite good; his class happened to be the same class as the protagonist of "Game King," Yugi Mutou.
The people in this class were truly extraordinary:
The officially designated strongest (underworld) Duelist, Yugi Mutou;
Yugi's spiritual mentor and pseudo-heroine, Anzu Mazaki;
The genius inventor, a severe card game addict, and the second protagonist, Seto Kaiba;
Lv. Commoner, Supreme Gambler, and third protagonist, Katsuya Jonouchi;
The human vessel of the Great Evil God, the final boss who appeared in the first episode and survived until the end, Ryo Bakura;
And Honda Hiro, who beat up the above-mentioned person with his bare fists, is Jonouchi's good buddy, and wants to become his brother-in-law.
What a luxurious lineup (tactical lean back).
Lost in thought, Hayato walked out of the restroom after finishing his business, wiping his hands dry with a handkerchief.
Honestly, he didn't have too many complaints about transmigrating to the world of "Game King."
In his previous life, his parents had passed away early, so he had no elders to support, and he had never married.
He had no other regrets.
At most, it was not being able to wait for GTA6, not playing the pre-ordered Kamen Rider toys, and not having time to clean his D drive...
The more he thought, the worse Hayato's expression became.
Change of perspective, change of perspective.
At least one thing is that the world of "Game King," though dangerous, is safer than those pure combat-focused anime.
Even an ordinary person with no power can have a sliver of a chance to fight back against an aggressor, although it's more likely they'll be instantly defeated by a lucky draw.
But at least it's better than being casually killed by wild pirates or Hollows in worlds like "One Piece" or "Bleach," right?
After confirming that no one on the corridor was paying attention to him, Hayato cautiously raised his hand and seemingly casually "tapped" the air in front of him with his finger.
A voice sounded in Hayato's ear: 【Beep beep, you king--- Your initial card pack has arrived】
Almost at the same moment the mysterious voice disappeared, Hayato felt his clothes pocket sink.
Reaching into it, he touched a rectangular metal object.