Nobunaga: "Damn it… just you remember this! Swimsuit form, Xyz—sooner or later, I, the Sixth Demon King, will claim them all!"
With the duel over, she vented her pent-up resentment by firing off all her remaining ammunition. Unwilling to accept defeat, Nobunaga vanished from the battlefield.
[Rank Level Increased — Current Rank: 1 → 3]
Hoshino's rank skipped straight past Rank 2. It was probably similar to traditional game modes—lower levels were easier to raise. It might also have been because she defeated Rank 9 Zane. Challenging someone far above your level was like fighting an overleveled boss; the experience rewards were usually far more generous.
"So I lost… completely, huh. I was mentally prepared before the duel, but… honestly, it still hurts."
Setting down his Duel Disk, Zane—having finally acknowledged the gap in their abilities—felt his pride as the academy's king take its first real blow.
"Cyber Dragon Is the Best, losing to a Rank 1 little girl?"
"What kind of strategy was that? Xyz Summoning only appeared yesterday, didn't it?"
"So this is the mysterious duelist 'Eggplant'? Even stronger than Cyber Dragons!"
"As expected of Eggplant—just hearing the name sounds powerful."
(╯°Д°)╯ Annoyed!
Is it really necessary to keep bringing that up just because I picked a weird ID?!
In her irritation, Hoshino opened the room's system settings and kicked out all the onlooking spectators who were only there for the chaos.
Besides, she didn't have time to deal with irrelevant people right now. There was something far more important—confirming whether online duels could grant Saint Quartz just like real-life duels.
[Duel Victory Detected. Evaluating Duelist Rank]
"Yatta ze!"
It went super smoothly. Looks like as long as it was a duel, no matter the format, it would still be converted into Saint Quartz.
"Eg— I mean… Headmistress."
Now that all the other players had been kicked out of the room, Zane didn't need to awkwardly censor himself and could address her directly.
"== What do you mean 'Eggplant Headmistress'? Zane, are you asking to get punched?"
"No! I have a request—please, you have to accept it!"
"A request from one of my students is always welcome… but hold on a second."
Drawn by the system's notification sound, Hoshino quickly opened the completed Saint Quartz evaluation screen.
[Duelist Rank Evaluation Complete.
Duelist: Zane Truesdale
Overall Rank: A-
Victory Saint Quartz Reward: 40]
An A– rating. Slightly lower than Banner's A+ rank, but among the academy students Hoshino had encountered so far, it was the highest.
[Virtual Duel Format Detected. Deducting 50% of Saint Quartz.
Remaining Saint Quartz: 22]
…Huh?!?!
ヽ(●-`Д´-)ノ What kind of development is this?!
System, on what grounds are you openly skimming off my hard-earned rewards?!
To think that after defeating Zane, she still couldn't even scrape together a single ten-pull. When she remembered Da Vinci's inexplicably awful drop rates—and that painful experience where she nearly went bankrupt with 200—Hoshino's liver started trembling again.
It seemed that farming Saint Quartz through online battles wasn't going to be easy either. If she wanted to grind out another Xyz-exclusive Heroic Spirit like Okita Sakura, who knew how long it would take?
Still, there was an upside. While the quality of online "leeks" couldn't compare to academy students, their quantity was practically infinite. In the truest sense—harvest one batch, and another grows right back. As long as Hoshino (or rather, her liver) was willing, she could farm here until she graduated from the gacha pool.
"So then—what's your request? Let the Headmistress hear it~"
Sometimes, interacting with students as the academy head really did make Hoshino feel like she was on the elder side of things—rather than experiencing reverse growth like her body seemed to be doing.
"Headmistress, please duel me again! I know the gap in our strength won't be easy to close, but I want to take this opportunity to receive special training from you!"
"S-spe… special training?"
Did this guy awaken some kind of masochistic trait like Uria after getting beaten so thoroughly? Losing that badly and still wanting another duel?
Hoshino felt conflicted. Zane's request went against her original plan. She had already been preparing to hardcore grind Saint Quartz in this software, and based on the system's usual behavior, it wouldn't give rewards from the same person twice.
But she'd already made such a cool promise to Kaiser… leaving her unsure how to refuse.
"I want to become stronger, Headmistress. Please—I don't want to lose anymore!"
Unlike Uria's pleasure-filled masochistic gaze, Zane's eyes held something different—resolve.
"I don't want to lose."
This was the first time he had ever voiced those feelings to someone. And aside from Hoshino, no one had ever pushed the academy's king to say such words.
"I want to learn Xyz Summoning from you, Headmistress. This brand-new summoning method is sure to bring limitless possibilities to Duel Monsters."
After just a single duel, Zane had already understood it—Xyz Summoning would define the next era. Even if it could only be used twice per duel for now, it was enough to completely overturn the flow of battle.
["Aibo, it's hard to say no to a hot-blooded kid like this, huh? How about deciding it that way~?"]
"That way?"
Hoshino raised an eyebrow at Hoshino Alter's sudden interruption.
Hoshino Alter explained, "Aibo, didn't you want to pull the gacha? Then let's gamble on whether you can draw a new Xyz Heroic Spirit this time~ If you do, sparring with Zane wouldn't be completely out of the question."
"Pulling something with just 25? That probability is way too low. And rejecting Zane for a reason like that—doesn't it sound a bit ridiculous? No matter how you look at it, it's pretty flimsy."
Hoshino Alter smiled mysteriously.
"=w= Heh heh heh, not necessarily. I've got a bit of a hunch, you see. Those aren't just any 25—they're 25 stones carrying Zane's resolve."
Hoshino frowned.
"Carrying Zane's resolve? That's way too superstitious."
"Just think of it as being tricked by me and give it a try, aibo. If you really do pull something, I'll personally take responsibility for training Zane. Honestly, I'm quite interested in him myself… of course, as a duelist~"
Hoshino suddenly understood.
"So that's how it is. Another me—you noticed it too. The emotions Zane has been hiding… no, suppressing for a long time."
"Yes. A powerful desire for victory—if it's overly suppressed by the person themselves and not guided properly—can easily lead them down a dark path."
When it came to understanding what it meant to fall into darkness, Hoshino Alter—who had once caused chaos in Chaldea and was highly proficient in using Alter decks—could be said to have plenty of experience.
"And besides, it's totally unfair that only you, aibo, get a student like Jaden," Hoshino Alter complained. "Jaden's incredibly talented, sure—but if Zane were trained properly, I absolutely don't think he'd lose to Jaden!"
"Oh? It's rare to see you this motivated. Well, I guess it's not impossible~"
Since Hoshino Alter wanted to personally train Zane, Hoshino was more than happy to take it easy.
"But the prerequisite is that these 25 Saint Quartz actually get a hit. Without even a ten-pull, the odds are still a bit too low."
[Super Special Featured Banner! XYZ Xyz Summoning – Specialized Heroic Spirits, Rate-Up Now Live!]
Opening the Xyz-limited banner, the words "Rate-Up Now Live!" were unexpectedly eye-catching.
According to Da Vinci's earlier explanation of a 0.5% pull rate, eight pulls would amount to roughly 4%. For Hoshino, casually rounding that off meant… 0%.
Da Vinci had also conveniently passed the blame, saying that the banner's rates weren't subjectively set by her, but were instead determined by the amount of energy consumed by the banner.
In simple terms, the Saint Quartz system existed to collect the energy of this world's rules and concepts, which could then be converted into cards.
And what were this world's rules?
Obviously—dueling.
Duel energy was gathered, converted into Saint Quartz, and finally drawn by Hoshino to become Heroic Spirit cards. A system that looked simple on the surface, yet had to operate under extremely strict rules.
Which also meant that the energy consumed by the Xyz banner was double that of a normal-rate banner.
In situations like this, relying on luck was worse than relying on sheer numbers.
[Single Pull Cost: Saint Quartz ×3]
"Doro—!"
Completely beyond Hoshino's expectations—a one-shot hit. Rainbow light burst forth.
["As expected. Quartz taken from Zane just hits different."]
Hoshino could hardly believe it, but the facts were right in front of her. Not 25—she got a hit with just 3.
"I knew it, Master. You still can't do without me! Hahahahaha!"
Nobunaga's bold laughter echoed in Hoshino's ears. As the rainbow light faded, the card in her hand finally revealed its true form.
[Heroic Spirit – Oda Nobunaga Demon King of Midsummer ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)]
[FIRE][Warrior/Effect][ATK 3500/DEF 2500]
[①: You can banish 1 'Heroic Spirit' monster from your GY; Special Summon this card from your hand in Defense Position.]
[②: If this card is Special Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 'Heroic Spirit' monster from your hand. That monster's Level becomes 8, and its effects are negated. After this effect resolves, you cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck this turn, except 'Heroic Spirit' monsters.]
"I swear, Nobu—you and Okita really do feel like a married couple. Even your Xyz-mode effects are practically identical."
Okita paired with Rank 7 Xyz, and Nobunaga with Rank 8. If the current network didn't limit Xyz Summoning to two uses per duel, Hoshino felt like she could stack overlays straight into the heavens.
"Demon King of Midsummer, huh? Not bad. Very not bad. I'm quite satisfied!" Nobunaga grinned smugly, perfectly embodying the saying good fortune lifts the spirit.
"I literally just swore I'd obtain both a swimsuit form and Xyz Mode—and now they're both on one card. Hmm… how should I sum this up? I suppose it's streamlined practicality."
Honestly, Nobu, aren't you a bit too easy to please?
If swimsuit form and Xyz Mode are combined into one card, didn't you just lose out on an entire extra form?
Still, seeing how happy she was, Hoshino chose not to point it out and quietly slipped the card back into the deck.
["So? Told you so, aibo. I won the bet, right~?"]
"It was unexpected, but I'm happy with the pull. Then, as promised, I'll leave Zane to you, my other self."
With a light tap on the radiant pyramid at her chest, Hoshino temporarily handed over control of her body to Hoshino Alter.
"Feels like it's been ages since I stretched my legs. This time, I'm going to raise some real hell!"
Already cracking her knuckles, Hoshino Alter turned toward the quietly waiting Kaiser.
"Are you prepared, Zane? My special training is very strict!"
"So you're agreeing, Headmistress?!" Zane lit up. He had thought her earlier hesitation meant she was about to refuse. "We can start anytime—please don't hold back!"
"Then first, change how you address me!"
"Change how I address you?" Zane asked, confused. "You mean… call you, Eggpla—"
"Call me Instructor Hoshino!" Hoshino Alter snapped. "If this is special training, then act like it. Don't expect me to go easy on you—what lies ahead is hell!"
"Instructor… yes, Instructor Hoshino."
"Not loud enough!"
"Yes, Instructor Hoshino!!"
Hoshino: "This doesn't look like duel training at all—you're just messing with him."
"That's where you don't get it, aibo. Only by drawing out the desires Kaiser has suppressed can his strength undergo a qualitative leap."
Reactivating the Duel Disk and entering standby, Hoshino Alter pointed straight at Zane.
"First, we need to correct your attitude! As the academy's king, what's with that deliberately nice-guy persona? If you want victory, train your mind and body first."
"Train my mind and body? Instructor Hoshino—what exactly does that entail?"
"For starters, try smiling more arrogantly. It better conveys the dignity of a king."
With that, Hoshino Alter recalled Kaiba's signature grin and demonstrated it for Zane.
"—See that? That's the smile a duelist obsessed with victory should have."
Hoshino: "You really went through a lot just to imitate Kaiba's unrestrained, maniacal laugh."
"A smile that pursues victory…"
Deep in thought, Zane found that Hoshino Alter's few simple words had easily struck the deepest part of his heart, resonating with the desires he had suppressed for so long.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Hoshino & Hoshino Alter: "Holy crap—it fits perfectly!"
While Hoshino Alter and Kaiser's "hellish training" continued at full throttle, Hoshino suddenly felt like she had forgotten something. Ever since earlier, it felt as though something important had been missing.
Akasha: "(つД｀)･ﾟ･ Hoshino-nee, let me back in! Why did you kick me out of the room?!"
Kicked out together with the spectators, Akasha never did manage to find a chance to get back in.