"Nani?"
In the high-level meeting room of Duel Academy, Dr. Vellian Crowler slammed his hands on the table and stood up, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Why must we change the selection, na-no-ne? The friendly exchange duel between Duel Academy and North Academy should be handled the same way as last year. Isn't Zane Truesdale the perfect representative?"
As he spoke, he pointed toward Zane Truesdale, who was standing quietly off to the side of the room.
"I strongly demand that Zane Truesdale be sent again this year to maintain our winning streak!"
The bald head of Chancellor Sheppard leaned back in his chair. "However, North Academy has explicitly stated that they are sending a first-year student this year. If we send a senior student, it might look like we are bullying the younger ones, don't you think?"
"A f-first-year student!?" Crowler gasped.
"Indeed," Sheppard nodded. "For that reason, it is more appropriate for us to send a first-year student as well."
He turned his gaze toward Zane. "What do you think, Zane?"
Zane replied indifferently, "It makes no difference to me."
Sheppard nodded. "Then the question is who will be the new representative. Does anyone have any opinions or recommendations?"
The teachers looked at each other, but for a moment, no one spoke.
"Jaden Yuki," Zane was the first to break the silence.
"Eh!?"
Crowler's face was the first to turn sour. Selecting a slacker from Slifer Red as the representative?
"Oh?"
Chancellor Sheppard also looked at Zane with some surprise, seemingly not expecting him to take the initiative to recommend Jaden.
Professor Lyman Banner sat back with his usual smile, stroking his beloved cat, Pharaoh. "It seems like things are becoming quite troublesome."
The other teachers in the room also wore strange expressions and began to whisper among themselves.
"Jaden Yuki? Are you serious?"
"Is that appropriate?"
Everyone knew Jaden was a capable duelist, and no teacher doubted his practical combat ability. But no matter how good he was, he was still a student from Slifer Red. Historically, there had never been a case of a Slifer Red student representing the academy.
Furthermore, Jaden was famous even within the red dormitory for being a total slacker. He had failed nearly every subject, slept in class, never turned in homework, and was frequently absent. In the eyes of the faculty, he was a problem student with a terrible reputation.
Thus, at the mention of sending him as the representative, the teachers' first instinct was that something was wrong.
"I have dueled him," Zane stated. "I believe he can show us a very interesting duel."
"Stop joking around!" Crowler's face was practically contorting with rage. He had always been a staunch supporter of the elite system. If they let a dropout boy from Slifer Red who failed every class represent the school, where would the academy's prestige go? Such a ridiculous proposal should obviously be rejected immediately
"Hmm, that is a good idea," Chancellor Sheppard nodded with a smile. "His strength is evident to everyone. Having him represent us is indeed a good suggestion."
"Nani?" Crowler was stunned. "Chancellor, please clear your head! How can this be a good idea? How can a slacker be the representative?"
Sheppard continued, "Then, if there are no other candidates..."
Crowler finally snapped out of it. Right, the decision wasn't final yet. As long as someone could rival Jaden Yuki...
"In that case, I recommend Fujiki Yugen!" Crowler said hurriedly.
"Oh? A student from Ra Yellow this time?" Sheppard showed a look of approval. "He is indeed a very special and powerful student."
It was unexpected that the two most anticipated rising stars of this year's freshmen were in Slifer Red and Ra Yellow. In previous years, the "Rookie King" almost always came from the top of Obelisk Blue.
"Exactly! Let the two of them duel. Whoever wins will represent the academy. What do you think, Chancellor?" Crowler was incredibly excited.
"Hmm? Well, I suppose..." Sheppard turned to Zane once more. "What do you think, Zane?"
No one present found it strange that the Chancellor would consult a student before making a decision. It wasn't just because Zane was the Kaiser of the academy and the undisputed strongest student representative, but also because everyone there knew his hidden statushe was Chancellor Sheppard's personal disciple.
Before coming to Duel Academy, Sheppard had been a master of the Cyber Style dojo, and the one who had finally inherited his mantle and become his proudest student was Zane Truesdale.
"Of course, I have no objections," Zane said with a smile.
And so, the matter was settled.
During the Alchemy Class, Professor Banner officially announced the school's decision for the first time: a duel between Yugen and Jaden would determine the representative. The time was set for this weekend.
The two parties involved had already been informed beforehand, so they weren't surprised. Jaden, however, was extremely excited; it seemed he had been looking forward to this duel since the day he entered the academy.
Yugen remained quite calm, going about his business throughout the week as usual. His laboratory had been continuously expanding, adding more staff and even some resident researchers from the academy. The departments were now modularized, with several teams developing in the directions he proposed.
Recently, some new results had emerged.
They mainly came from two cards he had obtained from KaibaCorp. One was the "Crush Card Virus" that President Kaiba used to use frequently.
To be honest, Yugen wasn't used to the original anime version of the virus. While destroying all monsters in the opponent's deck with 1500 or more ATK sounded cool, it required destruction by battle to trigger and carried the risk of filling the opponent's graveyard.
By contrast, he preferred the older TCG/OCG effect of the card.
[Trap Card: Crush Card Virus]
[Effect: Tribute 1 DARK monster with 1000 or less ATK. Check your opponent's hand, their side of the field, and all cards they draw for the next 3 turns, and destroy all monsters with 1500 or more ATK.]
This version of the effect had been a long-standing Forbidden card for years, only being released in 2015 after it was weakened and errataed. However, before it was banned, Crush Card Virus had specialized top-tier decks that had a significant impact on the competitive environment. Yugen was already working on constructing one.
The other card he obtained from President Kaiba was even more interesting. The original version was a card used by Kaiba during his famous duel against Yami Yugi at the Sky Arena.
Spell Card: Lullaby of Obedience.
The anime effect allowed one to pay 1000 Life Points and declare a monster's name of Level 8 or higher. If the opponent had that monster in their deck, it was added to the player's hand.
The actual OCG-ified effect was even stronger. It required paying 2000 Life Points, but one could declare a monster name regardless of its level. If the opponent had the declared monster in their deck, the player could choose to either add it to their hand or Special Summon it to their field in Attack Position, ignoring its Summoning conditions.
Being able to "steal" a monster directly from the opponent's deck was a unique and incredibly rare effect. If successfully utilized with knowledge of the opponent's deck information, it would undoubtedly be a devastating weapon for psychological warfare.
Through classes, scientific research, and daily duel practice, a week passed quickly.
The day for the representative duel against Jaden Yuki had finally arrived.
(Warning: Long Duel Ahead)
🚨 Note: Consider supporting this story on Patreon.com/Flokixy to access 400+ advance chapters and 2 new chapters daily! (Full story bundles also available without a subscription).