"hehehe!"
"hehehe!!"
"hehehe!!!"
"Alright, that's enough!" Yuui looked helplessly at Alicia, who was walking along, grinning like an idiot while rubbing her face against the Deck in her hands.
"But, Yuui-san, our Deck is way stronger than before now!" Alicia's eyes sparkled as she looked at the six brand-new cards added to her Deck. "The Academy's Card Shop has so many good things—so many HERO cards we couldn't buy back in Mia Town.
"Especially this one… Elemental HERO Flame Wingman. It's one of the favorite cards of our commoners' hero, Mr. Allen Felix! (⁎˃ᴗ˂⁎)"
As she spoke, Alicia pulled out the purple Fusion Monster card and showed it to Yuui. On the artwork was a handsome hero with only one wing, a right arm shaped like a fire dragon's head, and a crimson dragon tail behind him.
[Elemental HERO Flame Wingman (Fusion)] Level 6│WIND│Warrior│2100 ATK / 1200 DEF
Summoning Condition: Elemental HERO Avian + Elemental HERO Burstinatrix. Cannot be Special Summoned except by Fusion Summon.
Effect: When this card destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's original Attack.
Yuui looked at the wind-attribute hero he had seen countless times in his previous life and said, a little helplessly, "Alright, alright, I get it. Once I've stockpiled a bit more magic, I'll help you make a new form of Flame Wingman. So hurry up and get to the Academy—we don't want to be late!"
"Eh, really?! A new form of Flame Wingman?!"
"Of course! Avian and Burstinatrix don't only fuse into Flame Wingman, you know."
"That's awesome… thank you, Yuui-san! (✪ω✪)"
Seeing the girl's adorable smile, Yuui couldn't help smiling too. Then he noticed a certain shop by the roadside and pointed, chuckling. "Alicia, look over there."
"Hm?" Alicia followed his finger and saw a nearby baozi shop selling steamed buns. The steaming meat buns immediately captured her gaze.
"Meat buns!! (o▽o)"
"Mm, buy five. Consider it your 'pre-exam power-up meal.' And remember—only five."
"Long live Yuui-san!! (๑>◡<๑)"
Cheering, the girl pulled out her little wallet and hurried to the shop, bought five piping-hot meat buns, and cheerfully munched on them as she made her way to the Academy.
…
Half an hour later, in the Duel Plaza of Saint Fusion Academy, all 401 examinees who had passed yesterday's first-round Summoning Test had gathered within the space ringed by ten Duel platforms.
This was a massive Duel Plaza built specifically for Duel-related events. At its center was a circular Duel field with a diameter of three hundred meters, surrounded by ten additional platforms for daily Duel classes.
"What a huge Duel field… I've never seen one this big before!"
"So this is Saint Fusion Academy's Duel field? Amazing!"
"I can't wait to start dueling!"
"I wonder what the Academy's Duel Test will be like. I'm so excited!"
"Hey, do you think we'll get Credits if we pass the Duel Test?"
"If we do, that'd be great! I exchanged for a bunch of strong cards at the Academy's Card Shop yesterday—just you wait, I'm gonna dominate!"
On the Duel Plaza, the examinees were noisy and excited. Some eagerly anticipated the upcoming Duel Test, while others discussed the new cards they'd redeemed yesterday at the Academy's Card Shop.
Up above, the instructors watched them with smiling eyes.
"What do you think… if they knew today's exam content, would this cheerful mood vanish instantly?"
"Can't be helped. That's the cruelty of a Duel."
"By the way, White, I heard you punished a student by making her go last in yesterday's Summoning Test. Did she pass?"
"She did. And she summoned a brand-new HERO Monster Spirit," White said mildly, pushing up his glasses.
"Oh! A brand-new HERO Monster Spirit?" The teacher who'd asked was taken aback, then asked excitedly, "Now that's interesting! A new HERO… how many years has it been since we saw one?
"What's the kid's name? I want to watch her Duel later."
"Alicia. Her name is Alicia."
"Alicia? No surname… a Nameless One?" The teacher blinked, then gave a wry smile. "Sounds like she's had it rough."
"Probably."
"Alright, the Headmaster's here."
At that, one instructor gave a reminder, and everyone looked down. An elegant, white-haired old gentleman approached from a distance, wand in hand, brimming with energy.
He stopped before the examinees and gave a light wave. Ten enormous Magic Mirrors appeared in midair above the Duel grounds.
This sight astonished many rookies. Though they were no strangers to magic in daily life, special types like Magic Mirrors were still a first for most of them.
The mirrors displayed the old man's face—aged, yet still handsome enough to suggest he had charmed many hearts in his youth.
Then he spoke slowly: "Greetings, examinees. I am the Headmaster of Saint Fusion Academy—Crowley Aleister Bredt."
"That's the Headmaster!"
"Bredt… the Headmaster is from the Bredt family!?"
"Idiot, haven't you heard? The Headmaster is of the same generation as His Majesty, Augustus Bredt—the strongest Duelist on the continent in his prime, once one of the Three Sages!"
"What!! The Headmaster was one of the Three Sages?! That means a supreme Archmagus… one per continent!"
"Exactly! Because of the Headmaster, Saint Fusion Academy is the strongest Duelist academy on the entire continent!"
"I also heard Headmaster Crowley was the Academy's very first Headmaster!"
"Huh?! No way! Saint Fusion Academy has been around for over a century! If Headmaster Crowley was the first, wouldn't that make him over a hundred years old?"
"No idea. I only heard rumors."
"Heh heh heh, seems many of you still remember the old legends about me."
Hearing the students discuss his past and speculate about him, the Headmaster stroked his graying beard with a genial smile.
Then he continued, "Alright, examinees. As delightful as it is to hear the praise of a new generation of Duelists, what matters most now is the second round of your entrance examination—the Duel Test."
At those words, hundreds of examinees fell silent at once—no one wanted to miss a single detail.
Seeing the instant hush, the Headmaster nodded slightly and continued, "The second round is very simple. You will be divided into ten groups to draw lots in batches. Those who draw the same number will face each other.
"Winners will remain at the Academy as new students. Losers, unfortunately, will part ways with Saint Fusion Academy."
"What!! Losers are disqualified on the spot?!"
"My god… that harsh? They're cutting half of us!"
"That's way too brutal!"
"Damn it, that means everyone's an enemy! I shouldn't have bragged about the cards I redeemed yesterday!"
"Crap, I shouldn't have strutted around saying I summoned a Level 5 spirit… I just revealed my trump card!"
As the Headmaster finished explaining the rules, the plaza erupted into clamor once more.
"Silence!!!"
At his word, a terrifying pressure of magic slammed down from above onto the noisy examinees. In an instant, every loudmouth's face reddened.
"I expect you not to interrupt me again. Age makes one's temper fickle… next time, the punishment won't be so light."
With that, the Headmaster released them from the restraint.
A chorus of stifled coughing followed. No one dared make another peep.
Among the crowd, Yuui—standing beside Alicia—grew sharply alert.
"What terrifying control over magic. He silenced every noisy one in an instant without harming anyone else… that's the mastery of the former strongest Archmagus on the continent, one of the Three Sages.
"Truly formidable… top-tier even in my era."
Alicia didn't dare answer Yuui out loud. She glanced around at the coughing examinees with lingering fear. Luckily, she'd heeded Yuui's advice and kept quiet, or she'd have suffered with the rest.
At that moment, the Headmaster seemed to notice Yuui's presence and looked toward where Alicia stood.
Yuui's hair stood on end. He immediately turned into a streak of light and slipped back into Alicia's Deck.
Seeing this, the Headmaster let the faintest smile touch his lips before continuing: "I know these rules are harsh. Cutting half the outstanding candidates is a difficult choice.
"However, this, examinees, is the reality of a Duel.
"From the very beginning, Duels were never mere entertainment. They are not the spectacles you watch in arenas to amuse the crowd. They are a means to settle disputes—to defeat an enemy with minimal bloodshed!
"I hope you savor the joy of Dueling in daily life, but I also hope you never forget its essence!
"So today's Duel Test will be your first lesson from me, Crowley Aleister Bredt, as incoming students… and perhaps the last I give you.
"A Duel allows only one side to claim victory… a brutal game.
"In this world, so long as you are Duelists, so long as you possess a Deck, any dispute—any war—can be decided by a Duel!
"This is the world's law, decreed by Star-Creating God Sophia. That is why Duel Academies exist, why Duel Nobles exist, and why the three great Duel nations came to be!
"Whatever future you choose—as long as you are Duelists—you can seize everything through Duels!
"Honor, wealth, status, beauty, power—all of it can be claimed through those small cards and the Duels inscribed into the world's rules!
"Now… begin your lives as Duelists!"
As his speech ended, every examinee's hair stood on end; a fiery passion surged within them, and thunderous applause followed.
Above, the instructors commented:
"The Headmaster's been using that speech for years, hasn't he? I hear it every year… my ears have calluses."
"Same here. I heard it when I enrolled, then again after I joined the faculty, and I'm still hearing it now."
"Still, you have to admit, whoever helped the Headmaster craft that speech did a fine job. From my years as a teacher, every freshman class that hears it spends the whole first semester like a pack of wolf cubs… challenging everyone and improving at a breakneck pace. Things only calm down in the second half."
"Let's just hope this year's newbies don't cause too much trouble."
"They're just fourteen or fifteen. What trouble could they possibly—"
"This year's different. The kingdom's Third Prince is enrolling."
"The Third Prince? Oh, right… His Highness is about that age now."
"Not only that… among this year's freshmen is the youngest daughter of the Tutt ducal house, one of the three great dukes. She's been surrounded by nasty rumors for a while."
"Tutt's youngest… the little witch? Tch. Hope she doesn't land in my class. I don't fancy being her plaything."
"Alright, time to head down," White said suddenly from the front.
At his words, the teachers realized the Headmaster was smiling up at them. Cold sweat broke out along their backs at once.
When he'd said his temper could be bad, he hadn't been joking. If this old man truly got angry, the sky might as well fall.
...
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