Back at Duel Academy, Hikaru slacked off for a day. The next day, the school's opening ceremony began.
Today's ceremony had two key announcements.
The first was welcoming students and professors from each branch campus.
It was only at this point that the students at Duel Academy's main campus realized just how many branch campuses existed around the world.
Northern Branch, Arctic Circle Branch, North American Branch, Nordic Branch. There were four with "North" alone. Beyond those, there was the Western Branch, Southern Branch, Eastern Branch, South African Branch...
Each school had sent at least one student representative and a supervising professor, so the opening ceremony began with introductions of all these professors and students.
There were some Hikaru was fairly familiar with, like Jim. Others were people the rest of the group knew better, like Jesse, who Jaden had brought to the venue after guessing he would get lost.
Axel Brodie also exchanged brief nods with them, a simple greeting. Compared to the other two, he was far too serious, standing at rigid attention on the stage.
Then there was Adrian Gecko.
Compared to how he had looked when Hikaru last saw him, he showed virtually no change. He appeared perfectly calm, standing on the stage with nothing remarkable about him.
These people more or less matched Hikaru's impressions of them.
But the others were a different story.
By "others," he meant the professors.
Aside from Professor Viper, several other professors had come for evaluations, each looking quite formidable.
Professor Seraph from the North American Branch. Professor Paladin from the Nordic Branch. Professor Fierce General from the Central Branch...
These professors whose names alone sounded impressive had Hikaru's eyebrows twitching.
None of them had appeared in the original story, but the world was different now. The "professor" position at Duel Academy was an excellent career path for many skilled duelists looking to break into the upper echelons of society, and a prime opportunity to meet dimensional duelists. Competitors from around the world were constantly vying for positions.
For teachers, the job was exhausting, grueling, and poorly paid. But for ordinary duelists, it was a dream position.
So it was perfectly normal for other academies in this world to produce some powerful duelists.
The second matter...
"Our esteemed Professor Leo Akaba has passed away."
Hikaru raised his eyebrows slightly. The corners of his mouth lifted irresistibly, and he almost wanted to applaud.
Here it was.
It had finally come!
The words he had most wanted to hear had finally arrived!
Although Hikaru had done the deed himself, nobody had been entirely sure until now. Hearing Crowler say it, the entire school erupted into discussion like a pot boiling over.
Because of this news, Professor Viper on stage couldn't help glancing at Hikaru.
After all, Leo Akaba's death was almost certainly connected to Hikaru.
Everyone knew about the leaked footage showing Hikaru defeating Leo Akaba in a duel. Though it was only a brief clip, he could tell that extraordinary powers had been involved in that duel.
It wasn't just him. Several other professors also turned their gazes toward Hikaru to varying degrees.
Duel Academy's main campus "ace," "trump card," Crowler's "secret weapon"...
Many of them now understood clearly that Crowler's behavior at past faculty gatherings had been a deliberate act to lull them into complacency!
It was simple. Just look at the records that emerged after Leo Akaba's death!
The duel logs, experiment records, the hostility toward Crowler, and the schemes targeting him in certain plans...
Clearly, Crowler hadn't been oblivious to Leo Akaba's conspiracy. He hadn't failed to resist Leo Akaba. He had simply been waiting for an opportunity.
Waiting for the moment he could defeat Leo Akaba in one decisive stroke and emerge as the "savior"!
Now Leo Akaba was dead. Hikaru had taken his place, becoming the very embodiment of "Fusion" worldwide. The principal of Duel Academy's main campus had resigned in disgrace, and Crowler had become the academy's general administrator and acting principal, potentially becoming the real principal at any time.
Not to be underestimated, Crowler!
Had all those performances at faculty gatherings been a deliberate strategy to numb their vigilance?!
Perhaps precisely because of this, because of the cautionary tale of Leo Akaba, many of the professors here were extremely careful. Especially at this juncture, where professors from Duel Academies worldwide had been invited for evaluations, they were particularly guarded.
For all they knew, this could be yet another one of Crowler's schemes, an attempt to ensnare them all at once!
As a result, the more calculating professors were all scrutinizing Hikaru at this very moment, trying to read something from his face.
This left Hikaru rather confused.
Why was everyone staring at him? What was going on? Did each of them have a Yubel possessing them?
In that case, they should be looking at Jaden. Go stare at him.
Of course, not every professor was watching them. Quite a few were frowning at the noisy students below, and some couldn't care less about the announcement.
"Quiet, quiet!" Professor Crowler called twice into the microphone. The students' voices gradually died down.
Whatever else could be said, Crowler's authority at the school was quite solid these days.
After covering these two opening matters, Professor Crowler moved on to another topic.
The single most important matter of this semester, both for him and for the other professors.
The Faculty Performance Evaluation.
At first glance, this had nothing to do with the students. A faculty evaluation meant professors would be assessed however they were meant to be assessed. Students might even get the chance to watch professors taking written exams in a classroom.
But faculty evaluations were inevitably tied to the students as well.
Because one thing would never change, no matter what.
And that was: a teacher's "ability" lay not in personal skill, but in teaching students.
If a teacher couldn't even teach students properly, what business did they have being a teacher?
And these professors were the heads of each academy, responsible for managing all branch campus instructors. If they couldn't demonstrate basic competence, what right did they have to guide other teachers in educating students?
Therefore, the logic of this faculty evaluation was built on exactly that: teaching students.
Next came the key point.
Quite a few professors and students swallowed nervously.
After all, from the sound of Crowler's words, these professors were going to teach them!
"Over the coming semester, special professorial courses will be offered." Professor Crowler held the planning document and spoke deliberately. "The academy's main conference hall will host one special course per day. Each professor may freely choose their subject. Students of every year and every dormitory may freely choose whether to attend any given course.
At the end of term, additional exam content will be offered. Each student may choose which to participate in, with each course exam scored separately. And the final results will factor into each professor's evaluation score."
So that was how it worked!
"Hey," one student suddenly had a flash of inspiration and whispered to the classmates beside him, "doesn't that mean we could find a really easygoing professor, have them teach something simple, then ace the final exam? Wouldn't that be a win-win?!"
In theory, the evaluation logic would make that seem reasonable.
But if a teacher cut corners with students just for their own scores, could they truly call themselves "excellent" in the teaching profession?
Hikaru didn't know whether Crowler would leave such a loophole, but thinking back to how that fallen angel teacher had been scored, Hikaru felt confident.
Even if Crowler's usual thoughts revolved around making money and expanding the academy's scale, he had absolutely prepared for this. There was no way he would let professors get away with going through the motions.
The incidents with Leo Akaba and other teachers had left too deep an impression on Crowler.
So the "character" of teachers and their "attitude" toward students were certainly within the scope of evaluation.
"Of course, beyond this category, there will also be separate dueling examinations, which I won't go into detail about here." Professor Crowler tucked away the proposal, cleared his throat twice, and finally finished conveying everything he wanted.
In the past, his colleagues would have rejected these ideas outright. After all, they were all professors, equals. But now he was the nominal acting principal and effectively the next real principal, so he could push things forward according to his own vision.
"I see..."
"Heh, professorial courses? How simple."
Several professors couldn't help but chuckle.
Though everyone here had started as duelists, becoming a professor on "merit" was never purely about dueling ability. They were plenty capable across the board.
More than a few professors had already decided what to teach in an instant.
And among them, some were even more aggressive...
"This is too simple, Professor Crowler." A figure suddenly stepped forward, standing before all the professors. He was tall and imposing, wearing a dark purple professor's uniform. He opened with, "For our Duel Academy, the most important thing is teaching students to duel, imparting dueling knowledge...
So I believe every student studying at Duel Academy must be eager.
Eager for the simplest, most fundamental, most direct content!
Dueling!"
He raised his right hand in a fist. "Regardless of dormitory, regardless of year, regardless of whether their grades are outstanding, there is only one most important course for measuring a Duel Academy student...
And that is dueling!
Therefore, Professor Crowler, I've already decided on my course. It will be a practical combat class."
"Practical combat?" Crowler repeated.
"What a snake." "Typical of that Viper. As cunning as his namesake." Several professors who disliked Viper muttered internally.
Exactly.
For Duel Academy students, the simplest, most intuitive, most improvement-driving thing would always be "live dueling."
But if Viper could offer this course, so could they.
After all, for former powerhouse duelists turned teachers, live combat was the most straightforward thing.
Hikaru smiled to himself in the audience.
Because he knew Crowler would definitely reject this.
"Professor Viper, you make a valid point." On stage, Crowler nodded gently. "For our distinguished Duel Academy, teaching every student to duel is an indispensable part of the curriculum.
And precisely because it is indispensable, the instructor for this most important class naturally cannot be changed on a whim."
Hmm?
"Therefore, practical combat classes will continue to be handled by the homeroom teachers responsible for each year and each class."
Tch.
Viper cursed silently, his hand freezing mid-reach for something.
He had been about to pull out the Duel Energy wristbands to present to the students and professors as a "supplementary" teaching tool for practical combat instruction.
After all, as long as Duel Energy improved, anyone could see the students' levels had risen, and he could conveniently harvest Duel Energy in the process.
He hadn't expected Crowler to have come prepared, sealing off this avenue entirely.
Behind him, several stifled laughs rang out.
Trying to be clever?
Didn't he know that Professor Crowler had spent years matching wits with Leo Akaba and had ultimately schemed the man into his grave?
Hikaru watched Viper's awkward expression and couldn't help grinning again.
Crowler naturally wouldn't discuss the faculty evaluation with a student like Hikaru, but if Hikaru offered suggestions, Crowler would absolutely take them into consideration.
Something like "practical combat class" was paramount for students. Hikaru had only mentioned it briefly to Crowler, and Crowler had immediately agreed and adopted his suggestion.
The faculty evaluation must not interfere with students' growth!
Although this semester's circumstances were different, having shifted from a simple student exchange to a faculty performance review, the people involved were different too. Crowler was no Chancellor Sheppard. He might be a bit less bold, but he wasn't as lenient as Sheppard either. He had his own principles.
Anything that could potentially hinder students' growth would be vetoed by Crowler.
In the end, the professors submitted their chosen courses under the students' watchful eyes. Then, following the teaching schedule Crowler had arranged well in advance, the courses were slotted into the days ahead.
There were many courses, and they were varied.
Demonology, Chivalry, Tactics. Each looked nothing like what ordinary students were supposed to study.
But then again, Duel Academy students had already taken alchemy classes. Their tolerance for unusual subjects was naturally quite high.
Hikaru studied the schedule, stroking his chin, and looked at Viper's course with curiosity.
Spirit Power Studies?
He had originally just wanted to see what Viper would teach. But seeing this subject, his interest was immediately piqued.