Professor Chronos's office.
The sunlight streamed gently through the windows, casting a warm golden glow over the entire space. The green plants by the window thrived under the sunlight, their leaves shimmering with a crystal-clear sheen.
To be honest, when Professor Chronos first summoned Yugen to the office for afternoon tea, Yugen was quite surprised. He thought to himself that his academic performance seemed to be consistently good, and he hadn't offended the professor, so he shouldn't be receiving special treatment like a poor student.
However, he quickly realized he was overthinking.
"You've been at the Academy for two weeks now, how are you settling in?"
The professor seemed eager to appear kind and gentle, smiling warmly in the sunlight. However, his unique appearance made him look like a grinning Pot of Greed, despite his efforts.
"Pretty good, professor," Yugen replied with a smile.
Although, my classmates seem to be having a bit of trouble adapting...
"That's good, that's good," Chronos said gently, "If there's anything you're not used to, make sure to let me know. Feel free to talk to me about any problems, whether they're academic or personal."
To be fair, Yugen's impression of the professor was quite positive. In the past two weeks, part of his rapid credit accumulation was thanks to the professor's help. Chronos loved giving him opportunities to answer questions and demonstrate in class, and if he performed well, he would be rewarded with extra credits.
In stark contrast, Yuki Judai had his already meager credits deducted to zero in just two weeks for reasons including, but not limited to, skipping class, sleeping in class, snoring in the front row, and failing pop quizzes...
Yugen suspected that most of the deductions were probably imposed by Chronos, possibly due to some personal grudge.
Even if both were sleeping in class, to the professor, Judai might be seen as "sleeping in class all the time," while someone like Yugen would be considered "so diligent that even his sleep is filled with study."
"I've already applied for the school's excellence program for you, and the principal has approved it," Chronos chuckled, "As long as you keep all your subject scores above ninety, you'll receive extra credit income each month.
Even though you're still in Winged Dragon of Ra, once you join the program, your priority for purchasing cards on campus will automatically be elevated to the same level as Obelisk-Blue students...
...Well, with your grades, advancing to Obelisk-Blue is probably just a matter of time!"
"Thank you, professor."
Just as Yugen was speaking, something came to his mind.
"Oh, by the way... I do have some questions."
"Oh? Go ahead, feel free to ask," Chronos leaned his fingers against his chin, and his smiling expression made him look even more like a Pot.
Yugen tried hard not to think about the Pot: "It's nothing much, just some cards I've been eyeing, but they've been unavailable from the Academy for quite a while. I wanted to ask if the professor knows of any other channels..."
"Ah... this..."
Chronos hesitated for a moment.
"You could start a list, and I could help you inquire about it. But don't get your hopes too high, because even for teachers, card purchases are generally done through the Academy's channels. If the Academy itself doesn't have the cards, other channels likely won't either."
"I see," Yugen nodded.
That's true. If there were easier ways to get Rare Cards than at the Duel Academy, everyone wouldn't be fighting to get in.
"However, it seems that the campus clubs are about to start recruiting," Professor Chronos thought, "You might want to find one that interests you to try."
Yugen was taken aback: "Clubs?"
What do Rare Cards have to do with student clubs?
"Oh, you might not know this as a new student. Many student clubs have their own stock of cards," Chronos explained with a smile, "The clubs often use their stock as prizes for events or as membership benefits to attract new members.
Among these are some discontinued or temporarily out-of-production cards, some that the Academy's store rarely stocks, and some niche cards needed only by specific Card Decks, among others..."
Upon hearing this, Yugen began to feel interested.
Thinking this way, some cards that only appeared a couple of times before being bought up might have ended up in some student club's inventory. By joining a specific club, not only could he acquire them, he might even get them for free...
"Student clubs also receive budgets and credit limits, so joining club activities gives you a chance to earn extra credits,"
Chronos contemplated.
"For you, I still recommend the Dueling Department, the most popular club focused on dueling combat. Often sparring with the top students in the Academy is more beneficial for improvement."
Indeed. Not to mention, Divine Draw is something that requires practice. Dueling against stronger opponents, performing under greater "pressure," would be more effective for improvement.
"Alright, thank you, professor."
After finishing his afternoon tea, Yugen exited the professor's office.
The Dueling Department...
He remembered seeing the advertisement earlier stating they had a recruitment event scheduled for tomorrow at noon.
Maybe he should check it out.
...
...
The next day, at the Duel Field.
It was the same classic field that Yugen had seen countless times in his previous life in the anime, but when he was actually there, the venue looked even larger than in the anime.
The massive square field was surrounded by circular spectator seats, and it was already quite lively when he arrived.
Today, the Academy's Dueling Department had rented the field to hold a recruitment event. And since it was an event organized by the Dueling Department, there was inevitably going to be card games involved.
The event hadn't started yet, as it wasn't time. Yugen scanned the surroundings and soon spotted a familiar face in one of the seats.
"Chazz is insanely strong, just unbeatable!" the two underlings praised enthusiastically.
"Hmph, that's obvious."
Chazz reclined arrogantly with his legs crossed, sitting domineeringly in his chair.
"With the man known as 'Caesar' not around, this is as strong as the Dueling Department gets. Well, whatever, once I join, it'll naturally reach a new level. Just hope the others don't drag me down by then."
Marufuji Ryo, known as Caesar, was acknowledged as the top duelist in Duel Academy and was once a member of the Dueling Department. However, now that he's in his third year, he has his own matters to attend to and rarely makes appearances.
While Chazz was basking in his own grandiosity and the flattery from his underlings, a familiar voice suddenly spoke from behind him.
"Chazz, you've been in good form lately, quite confident, huh?"
That teasing voice, could it be...
Chazz spun around quickly, only to see that sunny, charming smile.
And with a thud, he toppled out of his chair due to the sudden movement.
The cries of his underlings echoed in his ears.
"Boss! Why are you under the chair again!?"