The day of the first phase test finally arrived.
Like the entrance exam, the phase test had both a written and a practical section. For a dueling academy, the school cared surprisingly a lot about written scores.
After all, Jaden Yuki, Celina Hiiragi, and Yumi Uzushi had always been top-tier duelists since enrollment, but thanks to their poor written scores, the three were thrown into the Slifer Red Dorm.
The written test was scheduled for the morning, with the practical in the afternoon.
Celina kicked open the door to the testing room, panting slightly. She froze when she saw the students had only just begun to take their seats, the test hadn't started yet.
She let out a breath of relief. "We made it…"
The room turned to stare. Because, of course, she was carrying Yumi in her arms, princess-style.
Ignoring the confused glances, the two hurried to their seats to begin the test.
As students scribbled away frantically, even model students like Misawa and Alexis furrowed their brows in focus, Yumi was... sleeping.
Celina facepalmed.
She'd physically dragged him out of bed, and here he was, snoozing during the test.
Then, all of a sudden, Yumi sat up, eyes snapping open. He picked up a pen and started writing at high speed.
Everyone: "!!!"
Well, more accurately, Roze was sitting on his lap, holding the pen with him, effectively doing the test herself.
Unlike Raye, who was better suited for combat, Roze excelled at academics. Mostly because when Celina didn't do Yumi's homework for him, it was Roze who picked up the slack. So naturally, she studied more than her so-called master.
Professor Lyman, watching the test while gently petting Pharaoh the cat, nearly fell over when he noticed the Duel Spirit taking the test.
Professor Midori's eyelid twitched. She looked at Roze sitting calmly on Yumi's lap, helping him write.
She wanted to say something, but... there were no rules against having your Duel Spirit assist you, especially when most couldn't see Duel Spirits in the first place. Complaining about it would just make her look crazy.
With a long sigh, she looked away. She didn't want to deal with this troublesome Slifer Red student any more than she had to.
This is like seeing a student cheating on a test, but you're unable to prove that he is actually cheating.
Still, the moment Yumi started scribbling, tension rose across the room. Everyone could feel the pressure.
Exactly thirty minutes in, Yumi stood up and handed his paper to Professor Lyman, who stared at him with an odd expression but said nothing.
Yumi left the room casually, as if none of it mattered.
To the others, it might've seemed like he didn't take the test seriously at all, but watching someone finish early and walk out effortlessly only made the pressure worse for everyone else.
Shortly after Yumi left, Jaden finally arrived, slapping the dozing Syrus awake.
"Inexcusable, Syrus! Sleeping during a test? What a waste!"
"Huh!? B-Brother?"
"Cheer up, Syrus!" Jaden grinned brightly. "The real battle's just beginning!"
His words earned him a few strange looks from nearby students.
Alexis narrowed her eyes, wondering if he really thought this was just a game. Could he really ace the test so easily?
Misawa was equally confused. If this guy was so strong, why did he never appear to take things seriously? Then again, he remembered the other top Slifer student who didn't seem to take anything seriously either...
Celina glanced at Jaden, then shook her head and went back to her test.
At the back of the room, the Slifer Red head professors exchanged glances.
This year's academy has some real talents.
One student had just left, the other had just arrived, and each had the ability to mess with their classmate in their own way.
Yet despite Jaden's confident march to his seat… he didn't last long.
Ten minutes later, he joined Syrus in snoring until the very end of the exam.
Professor Crowler, passing by the back door, peeked in and nodded in satisfaction.
Just as expected. Bad students don't need help to fail the written test. All I have to do is rig the practical.
...
After lunch, Yumi and Celina arrived at the Duel Arena, ready for the practical portion of the test.
The second phase was primarily set up for students to duel others within their dorm, simple, controlled matchups. But what do you do when one dorm already has a clear top dog?
Yumi raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the dueling bracket. Jaden Yuki had been paired against Chazz Princeton, one of the strongest Obelisk Blue first-years. That wasn't what surprised him, though.
Standing across from him was a first-year girl clad in the Obelisk Blue uniform, her arms crossed as she stared him down. She had shoulder-length black hair in a neat bob cut, piercing red eyes, and dark skin that stood out among the usual Obelisk crowd.
"So you're the so-called 'Strongest Slifer Red' who defeated Alexis Rhodes," she said with a flat, cold tone
Yumi narrowed his eyes. "And you are?"
"Julia Krystal." Her voice was calm, but her posture said otherwise. "I'm here to avenge Alexis!"
Alexis: "!!?"
Yumi faked shock, "What? Is she dead!?"
Alexis standing on the duel arena right beside him: "..."
Julia's eyelid visibly twitched. "You dare to mock the great Alexis like that!?"
Standing nearby, Alexis suddenly wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it.
Julia Krystal, another minor character in the Arc-V anime.
Yumi was surprised to see her here of all places, but now that he thinks about it. Although this world is a mix of the GX anime and manga, with Celina and the Tyler sisters, Yumi has suspected that this world also has people from Arc-V, too, mostly from the Fusion Dimension, the Dimension based on GX.
But Julia Krystal is from the Standard Dimension.
Celina's sisters were an exception since the four of them in the Arc-V anime were originally the same person split into four.
Though... why does she sound like an over-the-top fangirl?
Yumi gave a lazy shrug. "She's not that special."
Julia's eyes twitched. "Excuse me?"
After all, who is Alexis Rhodes?
She is just an Obelisk Blue female student, over-hyped at the start of the GX anime, but her dueling skill is only so-so, like her brother. When dueling with minor characters and cannon fodder, she wins, but against actual threats, it's Jaden who has to come and save her.
To Yumi, Alexis isn't that important. If she is only good for being beaten by actual threats, then what makes her any different from the other deadweight in GX?
She just has a pretty face, but that won't help her win duels against antagonists.
Hmm, now that he thinks about it, the only antagonist she ever defeated is Titan, a one-off villain that got taken down by his Kuribohs.
During the final parts of Season 4, even the lackey of the final boss could beat her, sure, they were endless, and they keep reappearing stronger after defeat, but she couldn't even win one match?
Failure!
Julia's brow furrowed, a vein visible on her forehead. "Tch! You think you're hot shit, huh?"
Yumi ignored her insult and began thinking about who could actually hold their own in important duels and who was just deadweight.
Yumi isn't Jaden. He wanted strong and reliable allies who could have his back when he really needed it.
Then Julia barked, "You pink-haired bastard! You only won because you set her up!"
That snapped Yumi out of his thoughts. He stared at her, blinking once before letting a slow, mocking smirk stretch across his face.
"Let's get this over with. I have no time to argue with insect."
Gasps echoed from the surrounding students.
Julia's eye twitched. "You-!?"
She snapped her duel disk into position. "Let's go, freak."
This somewhat hostile exchange caught the attention of not just the other students but also the teachers.
"Duel!" x2
[Yumi, LP 4000]
[Julia, LP 4000]
"I'll go first. Draw!" Yumi declared, swiftly drawing his card before picking another one from his hand.
"Spell card, A Hero Alives! By paying half my Life Points, I get to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Elemental HERO monster in my deck."
[Yumi, LP 4000 -> 2000]
"Show yourself! Elemental HERO Shadow Mist!"
A swirl of dark mist gathered on his field, materializing into a slender heroine in black armor. Her long blue hair flowed behind her, face hidden beneath a white mask that revealed only her glowing crimson eyes.
[Elemental HERO Shadow Mist, 1000 ATK]
"When Shadow Mist is Special Summoned, I can add one Change Quick-Play Spell from my deck to my hand. I'll add Mask Change."
He pulled the chosen card from his deck, adding it to his hand.
Pulling out two more cards, Yumi placed them down.
"I'll Normal Summon, Sky Striker Ace - Raye! And since a Sky Striker Ace monster is Summon, I get to Special Summon Sky Striker Ace - Roze from my hand!"
Two beams of radiant energy circled the field, data streams forming into two young women.
Raye appeared in her usual dress, holding her futuristic katana. Standing beside her, a girl of similar height, dressed in a full black military dress like Raye. The girl has silver white hair that is tied in twin tails, wearing a black military cap, her black scarf fluttering in sync with the wind.
[Sky Striker Ace - Raye, 1500 ATK]
[Sky Striker Ace - Roze, 1500 ATK]
Cheers erupted from the crowd.
The Raye Fan Club was loud enough to shake the stands as they spotted another Sky Striker Ace joining the field.
The two look like sisters, one dressed in bright colors while the other wears all black.
Yumi ignored those simps and continued.
"Quick play Spell, Mischief of the Time Goddess!" Yumi activates another card.
A goddess with twin tails and a mischievous grin materialized, spinning her staff before tapping it forward.
"Skip directly to my next Battle Phase!"
Everyone: "!!?"
The turn quickly shifted.
In a regular duel, the Player starts on Turn 1, can't even enter their Battle Phase, unless they are under the effect of a few specific cards. Attacking during the first turn is not possible. Starting at Turn 2, the Player could enter the battle phase and start attacking.
The Quick play spell, Mischief of the Time Goddess, directly skipped to the next Battle Phase of the person who activated it. Since Yumi used it during Turn 1, it directly jumped from turn 1 to turn 3, while ignoring the draw, standby, main, and end phases of both players.
This was originally a powerful card used in the DM anime, but it was only used in the hand of a minor antagonist who wanted to bring down President Kaiba, who failed, and the card was never to be seen again.
"Impossible..." Julia whispered, eyes wide.
"Battle!" Yumi's voice cut like a blade. "Shadow Mist, direct attack!"
The black-armored heroine sank into the ground, vanishing into the shadows.
"Shadow Scratch!"
Reappearing behind Julia, Shadow Mist slashed with swift precision, then flickered back beside Yumi.
[Julia, LP 4000 -> 3000]
"Raye, Roze! Direct attack!"
The two Sky Striker Aces raised their weapons, swords crossing before they leapt forward in perfect sync.
"Double Ace Striker!"
"Gahhh!" Julia cried as the blow landed, knocking her off balance. Sending her falling back, her cards fell out of her hand and deck.
[Julia, LP 3000 -> 0]
The room went silent, another FTK.
Yumi didn't even say his usual catchphrase; he just turned and walked out.
Upon leaving the dueling arena, Yumi's mood was a bit down.
The topic of his hair color had always been a mild annoyance, something he could laugh off when it was clearly in joke or an accident.
During his tag duel against Gloria and Grace, Gloria had brought it up, but there was no malice behind her words. It felt more like she was putting on a show. So Yumi didn't get mad about it and just played along.
However, when Julia gets angry seeing him spacing out when she talks about the school idol, Alexis, she says those words like an insult, which annoys him. So he decided to beat her up.
Every action has consequences that follow.
You can't just go around insulting others and think that you won't get beaten up for it.
"AIBO!" A familiar voice called from behind, followed by quick, eager footsteps. He didn't even have to turn around to know who it was.
Then...
"Did my baby brother get upset~?" Came the teasing voice, right before he was pulled into a playful headlock, his face smushed awkwardly against the very generous chest of his older sister.
"Momo-nee… let me go," Yumi muttered, peeking up at her smug grin.
"What? Still can break free? You're still too weak, little brother. Been slacking off on your training, huh?" Momoyo chuckled, effortlessly lifting him off the ground.
As he was hoisted up, Yumi noticed it wasn't just her and Jaden approaching. Celina was jogging over too, and right behind her, Zane Truesdale. The strongest male duelist at Duel Academy, and Syrus's older brother.
"AIBO, are you alright?" Jaden asked, clearly worried. Even he could sense Yumi was actually angry, a rare sight.
"I'm fine," Yumi said with a wave, completely unfazed by being cradled like a plush toy. "Just needed to cool off."
Celina let out a low whistle. "Remind me never to piss you off."
"That depends. I don't get mad easily," Yumi replied with a shrug.
If it had been someone close to him, Momoyo, Celina, or even Jaden, making the same comment Julia did, he wouldn't get angry. Maybe a snarky retort, sure, but never actual anger, unless they actually meant it.
That's just how people are.
You treat those close to you differently. If you're closer to someone, they can get away with stuff that a stranger couldn't.
Even though Yumi knew who Julia Krystal was, that doesn't mean he sees her as a friend or even someone important.
Yumi didn't see himself as some noble savior with future knowledge, who should actively stick his nose into other people's business.
He'd only act if they mattered to him.
That's why he had no problem leaving his parents behind in this world. They were strangers to him in all but name, never around, never asking what he liked or even what kind of person he was. So in his eyes, they weren't really family.
But Momoyo... For all her teasing and antics, she treated him like family. She joked with him, protected him, even tried to cheer him up when he was down.
So in turn, he accepted her as family too.
Unlike the heroic protagonist, who would do everything in their power to save everyone.
Yumi is the type of person who would prioritize those closest to him first.
"I'm gonna cheer you up the best way I know how," Momoyo announced, turning toward Zane. "Zane! Didn't you say you wanted to duel my baby bro?"
Zane stepped forward, arms crossed.
Yumi blinked. "You wanna duel with me, Senpai?"
"I've heard a lot about you," Zane said, looking down at the shorter boy with a calm, tired gaze. "So yeah... I'm interested."
Yumi tilted his head. "Uh… Senpai, did you not sleep last night?"
Zane's face darkened a bit.
He said nothing.
Last night...
Zane had just finished his nightly training and was getting ready to rest when a very bored Momoyo had kicked in his door with a duel disk in hand.
Which led to the two playing cards before going to bed.
"I Fusion Summon Cyber End Dragon!"
[Cyber End Dragon, 4000 ATK]
Zane roared, and the massive three-headed chrome dragon erupted behind him, its core glowing with electric menace.
"I set one card and end my turn!"
A face-down appeared behind his menacing dragon before folding his arms like a boss.
The great beast loomed overhead as silence settled.
"Cyber End Dragon on the first turn, amazing." Momoyo murmurs, before a smirk forms on her lips.
"Not bad, Zane." She said before drawing a card in her hand and activating it. "Spell card, Raigeki! Destroyed all of your monsters!"
Zane blinked.
Thunder cracked from the skies as bolts rained down, reducing the proud Cyber End Dragon to smoldering debris in seconds.
Zane: "..."