Before the card game started, Yuichi Yamamoto was full of ambition. He couldn't wait to be the first to step into the arena and fire the opening shot in this dormitory exchange battle.
At the time, he planned to perform his first victory triumphantly in front of everyone before the freshmen gathering ended. However, instead of stealing the limelight, he found himself with an early defeat...
After the game, his first thoughts weren't about regretting his defeat, nor was he replaying his tactical shortcomings and mistakes. Instead, he began soul-searching.
Like, why did he have a card match with a dog, especially under such a watchful crowd...
Perhaps it was an illusion, but he felt that everyone was oddly happy after this game. The surrounding freshmen gasped in amazement, pointing and chattering. They seemed especially joyful when he was hit twice by a bicycle and submarine combo.
However, clearly, the joys and sorrows of people are disconnected. Yuichi just found everyone so noisy...
So he quickly retreated in frustration, shrinking back into the crowd without saying a word.
"Ahem... Ahem."
Professor Huashan, the dormitory head, cleared his throat and stepped forward.
"Well, um... Classmates Yugen and Yuichi just gave us a good demonstration, setting a fine example for this year's freshmen exchange competition.
I hope everyone else will also duel actively, get to know each other quickly, and foster friendships for a harmonious college life in the next three years..."
Hopefully.
However, to be honest, after watching that duel, Professor Huashan felt a bit less confident.
Initially, he hoped that this welcoming exchange competition would allow new Duelists to pour their hearts out and soon become partners. However, he never expected the first match would turn out so differently from what he imagined.
With this trend, he wasn't sure about bonding, but after the card game, it would likely be a cold war...
Thinking of this, the dormitory chief couldn't help but glance at Yugen again. By now, Yugen had already put away his Duel Disc and stepped aside, respectfully listening to the professor's speech.
Such a sunny, handsome, and well-mannered kid, how could this...
Professor Huashan sighed deeply. Indeed, appearances can be deceiving.
He suddenly had a bad feeling. The future trend of this year's Yellow Dormitory freshmen might be a bit unpredictable.
...
...
That night, back in the dormitory, after washing up, Yugen flopped onto the bed like a salted fish, turned on the dormitory's central heating system, and lay cozily in the soft bed, squinting his eyes comfortably.
The hardware in the Yellow Dormitory was top-notch, much more comfortable than where he lived before. However, theoretically, the Obelisk Blue seems to be even better, and he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like.
But there's no rush, moving up is just a matter of time. Maybe soon enough, he would have the chance to experience it himself.
Feeling a bit bored lying alone, he fished out the Silent Magician card, trying to summon the spirit.
Maybe they had grown a bit closer, and Silent wasn't as withdrawn as in the beginning. At least she would pop out when the master called.
Though theoretically, spirits don't need to go out often, Yugen thought that communicating occasionally to maintain a stable relationship was essential. Even Judai chatted with spirits often, which could be the secret of his Divine Draw.
But today, when called, Silent didn't react right away.
Yugen was a little taken aback. What was going on? Did the hard-earned affinity score drop again? Was she playing dead?
Come on, ignoring the master's call, didn't that mean she needed some educating?
Yugen felt this undermined his authority as a master, so he called a couple more times. As if unable to resist his persistence, the Silent spirit finally came out, appearing like... hiding behind a book?
He unexpectedly found the Silent lady holding a book today, seemingly too engrossed in reading to notice him. Even now that she came out, she was still concentrating on the book.
Curious, Yugen leaned over her head to sneak a peek.
Great, he couldn't read a word of it.
It looked like some hieroglyphics, accompanied by complex magic arrays and rune marks, almost like a heavenly script.
"What are you reading?" he curiously asked.
Silent lifted her eyes from the book, gave him a somewhat resentful look, then turned back to her book.
Yugen: "?"
This look as if he were a heartbreaker, what's up with that?
But as if sensing a subtle connection with the spirit, he seemed to understand a bit.
She might be worried that Yugen would need her less if he had a new spirit, so she was studying hard...
Yugen: "..."
He recalled reading somewhere in his research that a spirit's card deck might evolve not just with a research team's help, but also through the spirit's efforts, especially when the bond with the duelist upgraded, leading to a new form.
Sometimes, during a duel, a player's extra deck might suddenly glow, revealing a new additional card, which might be just that situation...
Many spirits fear being abandoned by their masters. The most representative is GX's number one yandere, Sister Yubel, who crossed galaxies to find her previous master, Judai, to express her twisted love. There's also Cheating Ernest from the final season, who, feeling abandoned, traveled from the Elf Realm to the Duel Academy to find his missing master.
If spirits could evolve on their own without doing anything, Yugen would definitely laugh in his sleep. But he still coughed and comforted her: "Don't worry, you're my first spirit; we'll always be companions."
Silent peeked from the Magic Book, as if asking with her eyes, really?
Not lying?
"Of course," Yugen smiled, "You're all my wings, how could I abandon you?"
The spirit seemed genuinely simple. Hearing this, the magician girl's frosty face finally broke into a smile, nodding vigorously as if showing her resolve to always be one with her master.
However, Yugen was not just bluffing. He had been thinking before about finding a chance to print some support cards for Silent if possible.
In the Duel Academy's curriculum, courses like card deck building and practical teaching weren't much of his interest, mostly attending with the mindset of understanding other duelists' thoughts. But it didn't mean he saw nothing worthwhile to learn at the Academy.
Firstly, card-making lessons were courses he highlighted and had always focused on. The Academy should systematically explain card design from basic knowledge, surely much faster than finding books to self-study.
Courses related to dueling spirits, Duel Monsters archaeology, and duel history were also of his interest.
Moreover, there seemed to be a card drawing practice course. The anime showed students at the Electronic Style Dojo practicing card drawing day and night like martial arts. In GX, a student claimed to have learned the Secret Technique of Divine Draw from nature.
These imply that even without relying on Divine Artifacts and hacks, divine draws might be achievable through training. Yugen was also interested in this, marking it early as a course focus.
Summing up, there's quite a lot to learn, and three years are very brief, so one must seize the opportunity to work hard.
Though having taken on a side quest to save the world from the Elf Realm, he had no clue where the mastermind behind New Doma was located, possibly anywhere in any country. Besides, Yugen himself was far from the level of the Pharaoh King, making the side quest level too high and still distant from him.
Anyway, the investigation was now headed by Kaiba, who was both capable and resourceful; no one was better suited. Yugen felt his immediate task was to study and develop steadily, upgrade his card deck and personal skills, starting with small matters at hand.
Like beginning with his second round of exchange matches tomorrow.
Striving to continue bringing smiles to the new friends in the Yellow Dormitory with duels.