By the time Morgan woke up, it was already noon.
Her stomach, unsurprisingly, growled loudly in hunger.
Glancing around instinctively, she was surprised to find a lunch box sitting on the table, the food inside still faintly warm.
Sweet and sour ribs, fried pork fillet, mashed taro, and yam...
All her favorites!
A nurse doing rounds on the equipment explained that Belle had come by earlier at lunchtime. But seeing that Morgan was still asleep, she left the lunch box and rushed off again.
After all, Belle's tailoring job kept her constantly busy, leaving her little free time.
Hugging the lunch box close, Morgan felt a wave of warmth as the heat from the food seeped into her hands.
After a hearty meal, she strapped the Duel Disk back onto her arm and booted up her computer to begin another day of rank climbing.
To prevent point manipulation, the Virtual Duel software didn't have an in-game chat system. So Morgan had no idea what kind of impact her win streak yesterday had caused.
That said, she didn't care either. Her only goal was to earn more Duel Points.
Hitting the matchmaking button, she launched her first Duel of the day.
Meanwhile, over on the Virtual Duelist Forums, Morgan had already become the center of attention. Swarms of people flooded into her Duel rooms to spectate.
⟨SunshineStriker is back! Will the win streak continue today?⟩
⟨Good grief! After two rounds of Hand exchanges, the opponent's got the Pain Face on already!⟩
⟨Looks like Silver rank Duelists still can't handle it. Isn't there anyone who can crack this burn strategy?⟩
⟨Probably not anytime soon... Honestly, I don't think this is even their full power. Haven't you noticed? They haven't touched their Extra Deck this whole time!⟩
As the Duels continued, more and more spectators piled in, and soon the room hit maximum spectator capacity.
Some streamers saw the opportunity and started broadcasting the match in their own streams.
Viewership skyrocketed.
Ian, who had once been "sunshined" by Morgan, was also quick to rebroadcast her Duel.
Watching yet another poor soul get absolutely locked down, Ian wore a schadenfreude-filled grin.
Meanwhile, pro Duelists drawn by the hype began analyzing Morgan's Trickstar Deck.
"Pretty unique build. Both her Monsters and Spells/Traps deal burn damage."
"Each hit may only be 200, but stacking that with Dark Room of Nightmare... it adds up fast!"
"And I bet this is just the tip of the iceberg. She's ending games with just a few cards every time."
"She has Extra Deck Monsters, too. And if it's a complete Deck, there must be higher-level Monsters in there."
The more they analyzed, the more shocked everyone became.
They realized this Deck far exceeded their initial expectations. The burn chains shown so far were only a fraction of what Trickstars could do.
Silver-rank Duelists... weren't even worthy of seeing the rest.
By evening, after grinding all afternoon, Morgan successfully ranked up to Gold.
She also earned a hefty amount of Duel Points.
Her Calm Mind Talent had leveled up to LV2—Maybe thanks to Calm Mind's boost, she didn't feel nearly as tired today.
Just then, the hospital room door suddenly opened. However, it wasn't a nurse or Belle.
It was a petite figure.
Wearing a crisp school uniform, she was Morgan's age, but her chest had already started to develop, and her pale legs beneath the pleated skirt looked toned and strong, complementing her graceful figure.
Her name was Jade—Morgan's only friend at Duel Academy.
And also... her childhood friend since they were little.
"Morgan, you're finally awake!"
Jade tossed her schoolbag aside and, with teary eyes, lunged at Morgan, hugging her head tight to her chest.
"I'm so glad you're okay! When I saw you nosedive off that Duel Skateboard, with your right leg bending at that freaky angle... I was scared to death!"
Feeling the suffocating softness, Morgan's face immediately turned dark.
"You really don't need to help me relive that moment..."
Just from Jade's quick description, her right leg started to ache again.
Jade grabbed Morgan by the shoulders, carefully inspecting her all over. Once she confirmed that, aside from the right leg, Morgan had only some scrapes and bruises, she finally relaxed. Then she frowned and said sternly:
"Hmph! It's all that Isla witch's fault! Insisting on some wager Duel! She knew full well you weren't used to Duel Skateboards yet and still pushed for a Speed Duel! This accident is totally on her!"
Hearing Jade's furious words, Morgan could only smile helplessly.
Isla was considered the goddess of the Duel Academy's Middle Division. Waist-length golden hair, delicate features—but always cold and aloof, like an ice queen. That's why the students called her the Snowflake Goddess.
Not only was she beautiful, but her Dueling skills were top-tier, consistently ranking in the top three of their year.
Despite that, oddly enough, for reasons unknown, she and Morgan (or at least this body's original owner) never got along. The two often clashed, usually settling things with Duels.
Naturally... Morgan always lost.
If not for the accident, this Speed Duel would've ended in yet another defeat.
However, as a semi-outsider now, Morgan had discovered something strange in the girl's memories.
Right before she fell off the Duel Skateboard, she seemed to glimpse... a trace of worry and... sadness in Isla's eyes?
...
If you want to support, please consider Patreon, and read advanced chapters! Your support keeps this series going!
[Patreon.com/RedZTL]