KaibaLand stood ahead. The arena was shaped like a white dragon, its surface made of countless small mirrored panels that fit together like scales and reflected colorful light. People moved in and out nonstop, and the mood was lively while still tense.
This was the annual practical entrance exam site for Duel Academy. The exam was split into a written test and a practical duel, and only those who passed the written portion could enter the practical stage. The admission ticket number for the practical exam was ranked by written score, and that ranking also decided the difficulty of the practical assessment.
The final admission score was based on both the written and practical results. Duel Academy followed an elite education system that stressed strength in every part of life and study. After enrollment, students were assigned dorms by ranking, and top students enjoyed better facilities, food, and services than lower-ranked ones.
Credits, priority to buy Rare Card cards, and discounts were also different. The academy dorms were divided into three tiers, each named after one of the legendary Egyptian God Cards at the peak of Duel Monsters. The highest tier was called Obelisk Dorm Blue, the middle tier was Ra Yellow, and the lowest, most looked-down-on dorm was Slifer Red Dorm Red.
Every time he saw this setup, Yugen felt there was clearly some bias from the academy founder, Seto Kaiba. Back in Battle City, Obelisk the Tormentor was the god card owned by Seto Kaiba himself, while Slifer the Sky Dragon belonged to his rival Atem (Yami Yugi). It was easy to imagine the president grinding his teeth while making the dorm divisions and muttering insults under his breath.
The written test results had come out a day ago. As expected, Yugen took first place with little trouble, earning admission ticket number 001. When he received it, he briefly tried to remember if someone else had originally held that spot in the TV series.
Was it someone called Four Operations, or maybe Daichi Misawa? He recalled it was Daichi Misawa, but it did not really matter. From what he remembered, that person was just a smart background character and had little impact on the story anyway.
Yugen soon arrived at the exam entrance. Before entering, all examinees had to complete check-in and registration. Sitting at the desk was one of the teachers from Duel Academy, the school nurse Emi Ayukawa, wearing an Obelisk Blue jacket and a short skirt.
Her crossed legs pressed together, giving a sense of fullness that made people suddenly realize how different childhood memories could be. She was the kind of person who made you wonder why you only paid attention to card games back then. However, Yugen felt nothing at all, because his mind was filled with thoughts of which Deck to use and what configuration to bring into the exam.
A true card player stayed focused. With no distractions in his heart, there was no fear, and with only cards in mind, duelist and deck could act as one.
"Name?" "Yugen Fujiki." "Admission number?" "001."
"So you are this year's number one. Impressive," she said with a smile. Seeing a slightly handsome student seemed to put her in a better mood.
"Alright, please register your usual Deck," she said gently. She had volunteered for this job out of curiosity, wanting to see what the new students looked like this year. The first-place student had already left a very good impression on her.
"We have to register the Deck too?" Yugen asked, a bit surprised. Duelists in this world usually had signature decks and ace monsters, but he constantly changed his builds to avoid being countered. He had planned to decide only after seeing the examiners' decks inside.
"Student?" she tilted her head in confusion. She then added kindly that it was not a strict check, just a simple record. Many students had mixed decks, so race, attribute, or tactics were all acceptable descriptions.
Yugen thought for a moment. "Then my usual cards are spell cards as an engine, trap cards as an engine, Spellcaster Type as an engine, plus Warrior and Machine as engines." She stared at him in silence, clearly questioning whether that could even be called a Deck.
She laughed awkwardly and suggested he name his ace or favorite card instead. Yugen fell into thought again. No matter how his monster lineup changed, general-purpose traps, interruption, and heavy draw power never did.
He reached for Pot of Greed, then suddenly froze. A faint sense of danger washed over him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the usually withdrawn spirit Silent Magician floating beside him in a form only he could see.
She said nothing and made no move, but her quiet gaze felt like a question of betrayal. Yugen took a deep breath. Some instinct for survival made him put Pot of Greed back and pull out Silent Magician instead.
"Silent Magician?" the teacher exclaimed. "The super Rare Card used by the Duel King Yugi Muto?" Her expression turned much more respectful at once.
After finishing the registration, Yugen felt a weight lift from his chest. When he looked back, the spirit that had been floating behind him was gone. He let out a long breath, thankful he had reacted quickly enough.
This should deepen the bond with the Spirit, he thought with relief. Even if he might not actually need Silent Magician in this exam, it did not matter. Silent Magician could win duels without even appearing, because our Silent Magician Deck was just that strong.
Yugen entered the exam hall and stood high in the stands, scanning left and right until he quickly spotted several familiar faces. On a nearby platform he saw a Duel Academy student, Zane Truesdale, and also the GX girl who always seemed to appear early on, Asuka Tenjoin. In the adjacent seats were Jun Manjoume and his followers, already dressed in the blue uniform of Obelisk Dorm.
People like Manjoume and Asuka Tenjoin were admitted through recommendation, having been top students of the Duel Academy Middle Division. Only students admitted that way could enter school and go straight into the highest tier, the Obelisk Dorm Blue dorm. Other examinees, even with perfect scores, would only be assigned to Ra Yellow, which explained why Daichi Misawa entered with top marks yet still started there.
Yugen looked around again, and although it was already time for the exam, he did not see a certain familiar jellyfish hairstyle. If nothing went wrong, Judai Yuki was probably late because his train was delayed. Around now, he should have bumped into Yugi Muto on the way, received a Winged Kuriboh, and gained his first Spirit card, which protected him through many early Shadow Duel.
If one only watched the GX story, there was no explanation for why Yugi would randomly meet someone and hand over a lucky jellyfish Spirit. But combined with the later movie Bonds Beyond Time, it was reasonable to guess that Yugi had already met a future version of Judai Yuki long ago. Because of that, in the present day, he treated Judai Yuki as a comrade he had never formally met.
"Examinee number 001, Yugen Fujiki."
The exam finally began. Yugen stood up and walked toward the duel field. While watching earlier matches, he had already observed that the examiners rotated through a few standardized exam Deck, and he had more or less figured them out. There was nothing he could not handle.
A minute earlier, Jun Manjoume and his two followers had been sitting calmly in the stands. One of them said, "According to the order, the 001 examinee should be up next. I wonder who ranked first this year." The other laughed and replied, "Whoever it is does not matter. This year's first-year king is already decided. It is Brother Manjoume."
Manjoume curled his lips into a smug grin and let out a low chuckle. "There is only one ruler in the academy. If that guy is good enough, he can serve as my opponent to kill some time. Otherwise, three years here would be far too boring." The three of them laughed together.