AN: leave your idea for theme decks for a upcoming tornement arc
A couple of days later.
Walking to the main building through the forest i thought about my plans for the day: first, get through the classes; second, explore the library for any more knowledge for dule alchemy and spirits. third send-out pluto, Freki, and Geri to find where Light and Darkness Dragon was hidden, and lastly i will explore the rest of the island to figure out what i can find here that was not shown in the anime or manga. Before that, though, Hugin, would you do me a favor and go fly around the island and leave some pins on the map in the room with places of interest to check out later? And Munin, would you find the abandoned dorm and make a copy of the murals that are in it? After I asked, the cards belonging to both of them began to glow in my pocket before they flew out in their raven forms and went in different directions.
Five minutes later, I arrived at my first class of the day a few minutes early. As I walked into the room, I noticed that only a few other people had also shown up early. Looking over, I said, "Good morning, Dr. Crowler." After saying that, I see he stopped reviewing his lesson plan and said, "Yes, yes, good morning; take a seat in the middle rows with the rest of the yellows," before going back to reviewing his lesson plans.
After 10 more minutes, everyone else arrived, and the class started. "Now, who can name all the card types?" he asked, looking around the room before pointing at Alexis, who stood up without missing a beat and began listing, "Dual monster cards can be grouped into normal monster cards, fusion monster cards, ritual monster cards, effect monster cards, trap cards, and spell cards." "Trap cards can be divided into normal traps, counter traps, and continuous traps. Spell cards can be separated into normal spells, continuous spells, equip spells, quickplay spells, ritual spells, and field spells."
'well it seems like it's the day of the duel at the lake between her and jaden atleast i know i wount have to deal with crowler or any of the original cast while i explor the island tonight, and i can just have slayer watch it incase anything changes from what should happen,' i thought as she finished listing out all the card types. "Perfect. Well done, Alexis. Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less from one of my blue obelisks," he said with a large smile. "Yes, Dr. Crowler," she said before sitting back down in her seat.
"You, Cyrus Trusdale. Explain to the class what a field spell is, please," he said, pointing at cyrus "Um, a field spell is, uh, it's the thing that affects the thing that is—" of at the top row someone called out, "even pre-duelists know this, you slifer slacker," causing a burst of laughter from the rest of the obelisk blue students. "No, I know it's—uh, uh." "relax. You totally got this." Jaden said this while trying to reassure his friend. "I think not. Sit down now. Would someone please give me the answer? Preferably someone not wearing red. Thank you."
"You know something, Teach? You really shouldn't go and make fun of us Slifers like that. I mean, I'm a slifer and I beat you. So, when you make fun of us, you're really making fun of yourself. Jaden said with a confident smile. 'He makes a valid point about himself, but he is an exception to the rule. not the norm; no other slifer could beat crowler and in the future no other slifer will beat someone more skilled than them without help,' i thought after he gave a sly comeback. 'Now starts the crowlers' plan to git rid of him at all cost.' i can't allow that until i get Elemental HERO Terra Firma from him. Plus, if he does get expelled, he would be brought back because he is the key to awakening the sacred beast.
After about 45 minutes, the class came to an end, and Dr. Crowler left, still in a sour mood. After a few minutes of everyone talking, the door opened, and in walked the next teacher. "So, as some of you students know, my name is Professor Lyman Banner. I specialize in some of the lesser-known tactics and strategies in the world of dual monsters, some that a few might even consider to be unnatural. Dual alchemy
is not only about tactics, no, no… It's about origins. Many believe Duel Monsters is just a game created for entertainment, but the truth is far older and far more mysterious. The creatures we summon are echoes, born from ancient rituals, myths, and yes… even alchemical principles.
The Egyptians, for instance, practiced a form of spiritual transmutation, binding the essence of gods and beasts into tablets and carvings. Over centuries, those ideas, those very spirits, have filtered into the game you all know today. When you set a trap or call forth a Monster, you are not simply playing with cardboard. You are reaching into a tradition older than any of us, stirring forces that alchemists once called prima materia… the raw stuff of creation."
A murmur rippled through the classroom. A few students leaned forward in their seats, eyes bright. One girl scribbled hurried notes, while another boy whispered, "So… the cards really do have spirits?"
Banner smiled faintly. "Some of you already sense it. Those who are sensitive may feel… a presence. A resonance. Not every duelist perceives it, but for those who do, it becomes an undeniable truth."
From the back row, Chazz Princeton scoffed, folding his arms. "Hmph. Please. Spirits, alchemy, ancient rituals—it's all just a story to make this game sound fancy. The only thing that matters is skill. Strategy. And of course… talent, which I have more than enough of." He smirked at his words, not bothering to hide his disdain.
Across the aisle, Bastion Misawa sat up straighter, his analytical tone cutting through the chatter. "With all due respect, Professor, Mr. Princeton has a point, at least partially. Mathematics, probability, and synergy can explain the principles behind Duel Monsters. Ratios, statistics, and careful calculations are the true foundations of strategy. There's no need to dress it up with mysticism."
A few heads nodded in agreement, but others still seemed enthralled by Banner's words.
Banner turned to the class, his expression calm yet unreadable. "Ah, yes. Science and logic are powerful tools indeed. But remember, what is now called 'science' was once considered 'mysticism.' Alchemy itself gave birth to chemistry. What you dismiss today may be the foundation of tomorrow's truths. Whether you choose to believe it or not, the forces behind Duel Monsters are… very real."
Chazz rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath, while Bastion tapped a pencil against his desk, deep in thought. Meanwhile, the curious students leaned in further, as if drawn by some invisible thread to Banner's words.
The rest of the day was just regular classes like math, history, and PE. After the afternoon's last class, I return to my room to complete the assigned easy homework. As I finished the last assignment, two ravens flew through my window before changing into their more human forms. The first raven was Hugin, who flitted to the map on the wall and began placing different colored pins on the island's map, while Munin approached my desk and used a large piece of paper to magically create a perfect copy of the murals from the abandoned dorm.
"Thank you both for helping out," i said with a smile. both just nodded in acknowledgment. Looking over the murals, the first one was going over the different Millennium items, mostly just their names and what they were used for nothing that i did'nt already know the other one wasn't that helpful. Just a list of the priests and pharaohs who used them, with a clear gap where a name was missing; from what I know, it should be Atem, who was not included. After rolling the paper up, I put it in the closet for now and walked over to the map where Hugin was finishing his task.
As I walked up, I noticed that there were a good number of pins, mostly in three different colors according to the paper: red pins indicated places where he spotted different duel spirits. The yellow pins indicated items he could not identify, and the blue pins marked areas where he sensed a large amount of unidentified energy.
"So are there any that you would suggest we check out first?" i asked he pointed at one of the red pins out in the forest and then to a yellow one right next to a second red pin close to the cliffs across from the yellow dorm, and the third one was a cluster of pins of one red, one yellow, and one blue about 3 miles behind the yellow dorms, but there are plenty of others to investigate in the future.
Going over to my closet i pull out my gloves and wrap Gleipnir around my arm before going to the food hall and eating a quick meal as i was eating, came walking in. "Good afternoon, Jason," he said before getting himself some food and sitting across from me. "So, do you have a favorite class?" he asked. "Yes, I enjoyed Professor Banner's class the most. What about you?" I said between bites, "I enjoyed both the science class and the math class." He then asked, "Do you have any plans after this?" while continuing to eat. "I intend to explore the library now that I have already finished my homework." After saying that, I took the tray back to the drop-off and made my way toward the door, saying, "See you later, Bastion," as I walked out.
As I walked into the library, I began to look for more history books and other magic or occult books. After about an hour, I found a couple of books that seemed intriguing; however, most of the magic books contained different spell circles, many of which I recognized from other cards. I even found some in the history books from around the world, and I will have to test them out later.
After finishing in the library i made my way to the single red pin that was out in the forest on the waay there i passed a couple of other students dueling and others just walking around finally i got close to where the pin was looking around it looked like there was a lot more life in this area; the plants were more vibrant and sturdier and the animals seemed to be more at ease, not even reacting to me some even let me get close to them. Finally i find a small shallow pond in a clearing and at its shore was a tall elf woman with purple hair after a ssecon i recognized her as Witch of the Black Forest.
As i walked closer, the eye on her head moved and locked onto me. "a mortal comes to my grove," she said with a small, soft voice. "Hello, there. I did not intend to intrude. I was just investigating different areas of the island," i said, trying to be respectful. "There is no need to apologize. i do not mind; this is the first time in a very long time that a mortal could see me, let alone speak to me," she said in a melancholic voice.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I do not mind speaking with you for a while," i offered. "that would be lovely; please take a seat." She said she was using a bit of magic to pull up a stone from the ground for us to use. "So tell me why a mortal has the energy of death in their soul?" She asked, "Well, I will say that a goddess took an interest in me and offered me a deal to work for her in exchange for a boon that many throughout history have sought out." I said this with a bit of amusement, recalling how I arrived in this world. "So what brings you to the human world? I know that some are born here, while others come for different purposes?" I said.
"I was banished from the spirit world by my old coven," she said with a sad look. "That sounds a little harsh; why would they do that?" I asked, a bit confused and frustrated. I failed to protect the part of the forest I was assigned, which was only defeated after a young soldier fought the flaming golem. The only way I could help was by making it rain to extinguish the flames, but by that point, it had already burned most of the forest," she said, with tears beginning to form in her closed eyes.
After allowing her a minute to collect herself, she continued, "After that incident, they banished me from the forest and my senses. I have wandered the human world for almost 200 years; only one other person has been able to see and speak with me. However, when they were in danger during a shadow duel at this very spot, I couldn't help them either. I feel like such a failure," she said with a broken voice.
"I'm confident that you did everything possible to help, and I believe they would want you to move on and grow stronger so you can assist others, just as you have done here; the vegetation is vibrant, and the animals are thriving," I said, trying to lift her spirits. "Maybe you're right, but would you mind if I joined you? Being with someone like you might help me grow stronger. Before that, can you please help me set up a small grave for my friend?" she said with a slightly more determined voice. After an hour of setting everything up, we give them a proper burial where she gives her final goodbye.
"So, with you joining, I will have to introduce you to everyone later." I said this as we walked toward the next area, where the yellow and red pins were located in the small forest across from the yellow dorm. "There are others?" she asked. "Yes, there are others. Most of them are still in their cards for now, but I think you will get along well with all of them, especially Hugin and Munin," i said as we crossed the path. after about 10 more minutes of walking, we made it to our destination.
As we made it closer to the center of the small forest, I was hit with a feeling of great sadness, and I could see that a lot of the plants ahead were mostly yellow from their deaths. "Something's wrong; something is draining the lifeforce from this area." witch said with worry, "we have to figure out what's causing this." i said before running to where i could feel the source of sadness coming from but as i got closer, the feeling got stronger and stronger, changing from sadness to sorrow while the plants got worse, then it grew again from sorrow to grief, and the plants tuned black then as i made it to where the source of the feeling was, it was strongest, turning to despair.
And there at the center was a cherry tree that was struggling to survive with a sickly green ax in it.