As the instructors stepped down, the 401 examinees were split into ten groups to draw lots. Pairs who drew the same number took the field at the same time to Duel.
"Go, Deva—direct attack!!"
"Behold the might of the JQK Three Knights¹—JQK Three Knights: Royal Sword Slash!!"
"Blowback Dragon, direct attack—Cannon Round!!"
"Gemini Elf, show them the power of you two sisters—Twin Burst!!"
Across the ten Duel platforms, clash after clash between Duel Monsters dazzled the eyes.
Though the students' monsters weren't very high-Level and most matches were little more than axes smashing into each other, Alicia still watched from below with mounting excitement.
Just then, Instructor White made his way through the crowd and found Alicia.
"Alicia, do you remember what I told you yesterday—that your Duel Test difficulty would be raised?" he asked the bewildered girl.
At his words, Alicia recalled the previous day and nodded vigorously.
"Yes, Instructor White, I remember. So… will my opponent just be a stronger examinee?"
"At first… that was the plan. That said, after the Headmaster learned of your situation, he changed the opponent I'd assigned you to someone else."
White looked a bit embarrassed, then continued, "So I'm here to bring you to the test. And one more thing: you'd better give it everything you've got. If you lose, you won't be able to enter Saint Fusion Academy."
Hearing that, Alicia—who hadn't been very nervous—suddenly tensed up.
The Headmaster knew about a nobody like her, and even changed her opponent? It felt… targeted.
With unease in her heart, the girl followed White to the center of the Duel Plaza, where a young man in a luxurious purple school uniform already waited, looking thoroughly impatient.
Led to the very center, Alicia's face went blank with shock. She could guess where her test would be held—even so, seeing that her opponent was clearly an Academy student left her speechless.
She turned to White. "Instructor… I'm not taking my test in the middle of the Duel Plaza… against an Academy student, am I?"
"Erm… yes," White nodded. "To be precise, a second-year—and a strong one at that."
Alicia kept staring at him, her big eyes plainly saying: 'Teacher, I've never even been to school. Don't tell me the difficulty is ramped up this much.'
White felt his cheeks burn. He didn't know why the Headmaster had asked about Alicia all of a sudden, nor why, after hearing what she'd done yesterday, he'd set her opponent as the problem child standing ahead.
The boy's name was Kexi Arce, fourth son of the Arce marquisate—one of the kingdom's five marquis houses—and a second-year at Saint Fusion Academy.
As White had said, he was among the stronger students in his year—and a troublemaker.
"Hey, you're Alicia, right? The geezer told me about you," the boy called out. "If we're dueling, hurry it up. I'm busy. Getting dragged out to test a freshman isn't exactly on my schedule."
Alicia looked at the boy—likely only a year older than herself. His ash-brown hair was tied back with an expensive-looking headband. He was fine-featured and well-proportioned; though impatience filled his face, there was none of the usual contempt for Nameless Ones in his eyes.
She glanced back at White, hoping he'd tell her this wasn't really happening.
Uneasy under her gaze, White fished a bronze bracelet from his pocket and handed it to her. "This is a Duel Bracelet—an essential alchemical device for formal Duels. Put it on and it will resize to fit your wrist. Inject magic into it and it will transform into a Duel Disk, letting you Duel.
"Also… as compensation for breaking my promise to you, consider this Duel Bracelet a personal gift from me."
Looking at the bracelet, Alicia knew the matter was settled. A quiet helplessness rose in her chest.
"So… we still can't control our own fate, huh?"
"It's fine—just beat him. As for our fate, we'll carve it out through Dueling," Yuui's voice sounded beside her ear.
Startled, the girl's face bloomed into a radiant smile. "Mm. Thank you, Yuui-san."
Seeing her sudden smile, White felt even more guilty, mistaking it for resignation.
However, when Alicia accepted the bronze bracelet, slipped it onto her fair wrist, and lifted her head, White realized he'd been wrong.
Her smile was as warm as sunlight, free of any shadow.
"Thank you for the gift, Instructor White."
Her smile was so healing it was almost purifying. White stared for a heartbeat, then said, "Alicia, besides raising your test's difficulty, the Headmaster also said he'd prepare a reward for you. I don't know what it is, but since it's from him, it won't be shabby.
"So do your best… and earn it."
Alicia blinked. Then her gentle eyes sharpened, predatory, and her voice dropped a shade lower.
"Oh, I'll be looking forward to it."
With that, Yuui—now in control of Alicia's body—poured magic into the bracelet. The bronze band unfurled and reshaped itself into a Duel Disk, not unlike the one he'd seen the protagonist Jaden Yuki use in GX in his previous life.
The sight didn't surprise him. He'd used better Duel Bracelets than this.
He drew out the new Deck they'd built together last night from the case at Alicia's waist, then called across to the boy, "Come on—if you're short on time, let's make this quick!"
"Huh? A bit cocky, freshman," Kexi sneered, arching a brow at Alicia's suddenly altered aura.
The Headmaster had told him the girl was a Nameless One who'd broken school rules yesterday, so her entry test needed to be tougher—hence calling him here.
Albeit compared to the meek Nameless Ones he was used to, this girl had guts.
That piqued his interest. His family was on good terms with the Headmaster, so he had a decent guess why he'd been singled out.
"Hmph. Maybe this won't be so boring after all." A feral grin tugged at Kexi's lips.
White, baffled by Alicia's abrupt change in presence, nevertheless proceeded.
"Examinees, please exchange Decks to shuffle and cut."
Kexi and Alicia stepped forward, swapped Decks, shuffled and cut, then returned them, slotted them into their Duel Disks, and took their positions.
White glanced at both and announced, "Standard rules. Each Duelist starts at 4000 Life Points. When one Duelist's Life Points hit zero, the Duel ends and the other wins.
"As for who goes first…"
"Let her have it, Uncle White," Kexi cut in, eyes fixed on Alicia like a tyrant lizard sizing up prey. "She's a freshman, and it's been a while since I had an interesting hunt. Letting her go first is fine."
"Don't call me 'Uncle'," White sighed. "Any other objections to the rules?"
"Nope. Let's get started, Uncle White," Kexi shot back.
"No objections, Instructor White," Yuui said.
White shot Kexi a look and raised his hand. "Then—Duel!!"
"Duel!!" ×2
[Alese, LP: 4000]
[Alicia, LP: 4000]
"Huh? Someone's dueling in the middle of the Plaza!"
"Yeah, aren't we supposed to use the platforms? Why the center?"
"Isn't that the Nameless One from yesterday? So this is her ramped-up test?"
"Bro, you know something? Spill!"
As Yuui and Kexi began their Duel in the plaza's center, other students noticed.
On Platform One, Autrys Bredt also looked over. It wasn't his turn yet, so he decided to observe the duel of the girl whose magic was only slightly weaker than his own.
"My turn—draw!!"
The girl's pale fingers tapped her Deck, then snapped a card free; the surge of magic kicked up a gust.
Sensing Alicia's magic far beyond her peers, Kexi's grin deepened.
"Not bad. For a freshman your age to have that much power… you're no small fry."
Yuui glanced over his hand. Alicia's spirit, standing at his side, exclaimed, "Yuui-san, that card!"
"Yeah, a new one. Perfect chance to test yesterday's plan." He slapped a card onto the Disk.
"I Normal Summon 'Marauding Captain' in Defense Position!"
A warrior in bronze armor, twin blades in hand, appeared on the field.
[Marauding Captain, DEF: 400]
"Effect of 'Marauding Captain'—on Summon, Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monster from my hand. I Special Summon the Level 3 'Card Trooper'."
A red-and-blue turret-bot rolled out.
[Card Trooper, DEF: 400]
"Then I activate 'Card Trooper'. Once per turn, send up to 3 cards from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard; this card gains 500 Attack for each until the end of the turn."
Yuui drew three cards from the top of his Deck, glanced at them, and sent them to the Graveyard.
"Three sent—so Card Trooper gains 1500 Attack!"
[Card Trooper, DEF: 400 | ATK: 400 → 1900]
"Boosting Card Trooper while it's in Defense… just to mill?" White raised a brow.
The clueless examinees had already started laughing.
"Hah! Is that Nameless One so green she doesn't know the rules? Powering up a monster that's in Defense—what a waste of cards!"
"Maybe she really doesn't know. She is a Nameless One, after all. Heh."
"A 1900-Attack body stuck behind 400 Defense? I pity her monster."
White frowned at the jeers, but there was little he could do. Contempt for Nameless Ones was bone-deep in the kingdom. Orphans, disgraced lines, even Shadow Duelists… such people were mocked regardless.
He could only sigh.
Kexi also frowned at Yuui's line.
Like White, he suspected the goal was Graveyard setup… perhaps a Deck that bounced between field and Graveyard?
Then Yuui played a card that made White blink.
"I activate the effect of 'Slower Swallow' in my hand. If there are 2 or more monsters on the field with the same Level, I can Special Summon this card from my hand. Take the stage—Slower Swallow!"
A gentle breeze blew as a blue-and-white swift with flowers fluttered down.
[Slower Swallow, DEF: 100]
White stared at the tiny swift—one of the weakest creatures among Duel Monsters and Duel Monster Spirits alike.
"So she really did put the little one in her Deck…"
…
¹ JQK Three Knights: If it wasn't obvious (cuz it actually took me a min), this refers to: Jack's Knight, Queen's Knight, and King's Knight.
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