"Please, give me another chance! I'm begging you, I'm begging you!!"
On the other side, before the towering gates of Saint Fusion Academy, Terry—who had been expelled—still knelt at the entrance, pleading for one more chance.
Regardless, just as the instructor who had overseen the Summoning Test said earlier, every boy and girl in the kingdom who met the entrance requirements and were of age had a single chance to change their fate. As long as they could Spirit Summon a Level 3 Duel Monster Spirit, they could proceed to the second round, the "Duel Test."
And so long as they passed the Duel Test, they could enter Saint Fusion Academy—the strongest dueling academy in all of the Bredt Kingdom.
Even if they failed the Duel Test, as long as they had passed the Summoning Test, they would still gain at least a Level 3 Duel Spirit and a minimum of 60 Credits—equivalent to 6 Magic Gold Coins—to purchase the cards they needed at Saint Fusion Academy.
In other words, for those who failed the second-round Duel Test, the academy not only returned their registration fee but also granted them a Duel Spirit rarely encountered in the outside world.
Judging by these points alone, Saint Fusion Academy's rules could be called exceptionally generous to examinees—especially commoners.
However, if—while drawing on the power of the Grand Magic Array inscribed by the Great Sage—and using one of the most complete surviving pages of the Book of Summoning (a page unique to Saint Fusion Academy and perhaps the most complete across the three continents) to increase the chance of summoning a Duel Spirit—you still failed to summon a Level 3 or higher Spirit…
Then it was precisely as the instructor had said—though you possess mana, you do not qualify to become a Duelist of Saint Fusion Academy.
This is because, in this world, if you wish to duel, you must meet the minimum mana threshold required to operate the special alchemical device that enables Duel Monster summoning—the Duel Disk.
For Saint Fusion Academy, the benchmark is whether, at the age of fourteen, you can use the Book of Summoning to call forth at least a Level 3 Duel Monster Spirit.
Given all the supportive conditions above, summoning a Level 3 Spirit is exactly the minimum mana standard needed to use a Duel Disk.
Otherwise, even if you possessed a powerful Deck, if your mana could not flow through a Duel Disk to manifest Duel Monsters for battle, then having cards would be meaningless.
And that is why Terry failed the test: his mana was simply too weak to meet the minimum standard for dueling with a Duel Disk at his age.
It's true that humans in this world see their total mana increase with age until it begins to wane in old age. Yet, for Saint Fusion Academy and the Bredt Kingdom—both seeking to cultivate elite Duelists—if you cannot meet the Duel Disk's minimum standard at fourteen, the most active growth stage for youthful mana, then even if you become a Duelist in the future, your ceiling will only be so high.
There are late bloomers, yes—despite that, compared to born geniuses, such cases are far rarer.
Perhaps, when Duel Disks are invented that further reduce the mana requirement, boys like Terry—whose mana is scant—will be able to duel.
Nevertheless, in the present era, Terry could only accept fate's unfairness.
"Please, give me one more chance! I'm begging you—please… sob, sob…"
Terry's voice was hoarse from crying, yet still he was not granted another attempt. Rules are rules. Without the power or conditions to break them, none can tear them up.
Just then, a shadow fell over Terry, and a familiar birdsong sounded by his ear.
Chirp!
"You're Terry, right!?"
Terry looked up, his reddened eyes focusing on the girl standing beyond the academy gates, looking back at him.
Her short golden hair gleamed like gold under the sunlight. Hidden in shadow, her adorable, doll-like face did not seem childish at all, for the pearl-like eyes within it shone with a cool indifference.
At that moment, the girl held a card between her pale fingers. Terry saw at a glance—it was the "Slower Swallow" he had summoned earlier.
Inside the card, the Spirit was chirping happily to its master, telling him what a good person Alicia was for bringing it back.
Seeing this, remembering that it was because of this Duel Spirit that he had lost his chance to change his destiny, Terry's already flushed eyes burned redder with fury.
"Who are you? Are you here to mock me!? Take that weak piece of trash away! Because of it, the life of wealth and glory that should have been mine is gone! It's all because of it!!"
Terry's hysterical roar stunned the Slower Swallow within the card. It had truly believed Terry had only abandoned it in a moment of anger.
…Now it seemed Terry blamed it for failing the Summoning Test.
It had responded to his call from the brink of death, traveling from the past into the present. It had been grateful… eager to become his Duel Monster Spirit, ready to charge into battle for him without a shred of doubt.
But now, it seemed it had ruined everything for him…
At that thought, tears once again shimmered in the Swallow's lovely eyes.
Looking at Terry's twisted face, Alicia couldn't help recalling those revolting adults she had encountered while wandering with Yuui. Back then, they had looked at her with that very same distorted expression.
A dark emotion welled up inside her. A rune like an "X" slowly surfaced upon her forehead. The mental and physical discomfort made Alicia step back—then Yuui gently embraced her from behind and whispered, "Sleep a while, Alicia. I've got this."
"Mm, thank you, Yuui-san."
The girl closed her eyes. The dark power sank back into silence, and the rune on her forehead faded away.
Yuui sighed softly at the sight, then once more entered Alicia's body and took control.
When the girl's eyes opened again, the pearl-like pupils now held a hint of killing intent. Yuui looked at Terry as if at garbage.
"Your name is Terry, right?"
"Yeah, I'm Terry—what of it!!!"
Terry stared at Alicia with bloodshot eyes. In other circumstances, he might have fallen for this girl whose first impression felt as warm as the sun. Nonetheless, now, consumed by despair and rage, he only wanted to vent his fury on everything.
Seeing him like a rabid beast, Yuui raised the Slower Swallow card and said with utter disdain, "Nothing much. Only that you're unfit to be a Duelist—and unfit to possess the Spirit 'Slower Swallow.'"
With a snarl, Terry leapt up and lunged through the bars at Alicia, but Yuui stepped back, easily dodging.
Terry seized the gate's bars and shook them violently, roaring at Yuui.
"Unfit? Who are you to say I'm unfit!? My mana's just lower than yours—for now! One day, I'll become a Duelist—one that surpasses all of you! Then I'll have Spirits far stronger than that piece of trash! I'll grind you, you—"
Before he could finish, a glint of murder flashed in Yuui's eyes. Controlling Alicia's body, he clamped a hand around Terry's throat.
The crushing force robbed Terry of breath in an instant. His already flushed face turned a deeper red, as if blood would burst through the skin.
"Too bad I haven't got a Duel Disk yet… and trash like you can't use one anyway. So I'll have to teach you this way for now." Alicia's pearl-bright eyes stared at Terry like twin abysses. The killing aura plunged the fourteen-year-old into an icy hell.
Watching Terry's face blanch, Yuui spoke, each word cold and clear: "You have no idea who you're talking to, kid. Mind your mouth.
"And when I say you're unfit to be a Duelist, I don't mean your low mana. That instructor named 'White' didn't throw you out because your mana was low, either.
"He drove you out—and I'm treating you like this—for a very simple reason: because you, bastard, have no respect for your own cards or Spirits.
"Duel Monster Spirits answer a Duelist's call because they trust them—because they respond to that call from the past to the present.
"They were living beings of this world in ages past. They—like humans—are children of this world. There is no inherent rank or worth that separates them from us.
"So no matter how strong or weak they are, that's no excuse to pin your failure on them."
With that, Yuui flung the already asphyxiating Terry aside.
Hack, hack… cough, cough… haa… haa…
Regaining the right to breathe, Terry coughed nonstop. Now, however, he looked at Alicia as if she were a monster.
Yuui ignored the look and went on calmly, "You refuse to see your own problem. The moment you blamed the Spirit for your failure, in that instructor's eyes—and in mine—you lost the right to be a Duelist.
"Even if you do become one someday, you'll only ever be the weakest kind.
"One more thing."
Yuui held up the Slower Swallow card. "In ancient times, 'Slower Swallow' actually symbolized 'good fortune.'
"When it sensed a person—or any creature—was about to be blessed with luck, it would come to them and present a flower from its satchel, hoping they'd share a little of that fortune with it.
"Few turned it away, because the Swallow's arrival meant good luck was near. That's why, in ancient times, it was also called 'Lucky Swallow.'
"By summoning it, you were on the verge of 'good fortune.' Even so, you threw it away—meaning you cast aside your own luck.
"What happens to you from here on… that depends on whether your fate is tough enough."
"'Lucky Swallow'? I don't buy it!" Terry howled like a stray cur. "How could something that weak represent 'good fortune'!? Only powerful Spirits represent power—that's all that matters! The weak don't even have the right to choose their fate!!"
"Hmph. Stubborn fool. We'll see."
Yuui had no desire to waste more breath. Those who cared only for power and had no respect for Duel Spirits were unworthy to command Duel Monsters—or to use the Duel Cards he had created.
Then Yuui looked down at the card in his hand. "Little one, faced with a master like that… do you still wish to follow him?"
The Slower Swallow looked at the boy sprawled on the ground, his face twisted like a feral dog. Remembering the words he had just spewed, it shook its head.
Then it looked up into Alicia's regal eyes, spread its wings, lowered its head, and performed a gesture of fealty.
"Good. From today on, you are my vassal. May you bring this child some good fortune."
Yuui touched a finger to the Swallow's brow. A red crystal embedded itself upon its forehead, and the Slower Swallow became Yuui's vassal.
Feeling the bond between them, the Swallow lifted its head—and at last saw the being controlling Alicia's body, one like itself.
Its round eyes widened slowly. It could scarcely believe that the one in control was a Spirit.
And before this Spirit, it felt as small as a mote of dust.
…Who in the world was this man?
...
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