After standing back up, Judai Yuki actually started nodding off again. For the rest of the speech, Professor Chronos de Medici's gaze never left him.
Yugen suddenly understood a bit why the professor disliked Judai Yuki so much in the early days. A privileged student who skipped lectures, ignored assignments, yet fought extremely well was bound to become a bad example. Even if the methods were harsh, the motivation was not hard to grasp.
After the opening ceremony, the freshmen followed guidance from Duel Academy to receive their uniforms, student IDs, and other items. Upperclassmen volunteers led them through a series of LV Series procedures and then brought them to their respective dorms.
As expected, Yugen received the yellow uniform and student card.
Before arriving on the island, he had briefly wondered if Seto Kaiba would be petty enough to send him to the red dorm just because he beat an AI with Blue-Eyes White Dragon. After all, the chairman was famously narrow-minded, and even now still mocked others over that incident in Duel City involving Blue-Eyes White Dragon. In the end, it seemed the chairman was not quite that bored.
Entering as the absolute top-ranked student, Yugen was naturally assigned to the yellow dorm and marked as an elite candidate with a chance to advance to Obelisk Dorm-blue quickly.
If dorm rank were only a title, he would not have cared even if he ranked last. However, higher dorms meant priority card purchases, better cafeterias with better chefs, and top-grade single rooms with superior facilities. Living conditions were simply far more comfortable.
By comparison, the red dorm was small and old, and its cafeteria was disliked by almost everyone except the strangely resilient Judai Yuki. Staying there would have been a real pain.
The yellow dorm, while not as luxurious as Obelisk Blue, still offered single rooms with solid facilities. After seeing his own room, Yugen was quite satisfied.
He moved all the Luggage inside, and the first day quickly passed with simple cleaning and organizing.
Dinner on the first night was also the freshman meet-and-greet for each dorm, and the time to meet their dorm head teacher.
Yugen recalled that in the original story, the head of the Slifer Red Dorm red dorm was Professor Daitokuji, who seemed unreliable on the surface but was actually a hidden member of the Shadow Duelists and one of Duel Academy's strongest forces. The head of Obelisk Blue was, well, not Greed, but Professor Chronos de Medici, whose presence was always strong.
But who was the head of the yellow dorm?
"."
"Wahaha!"
At the freshman banquet, all students stared in shock at a man wearing a paper bag over his head, with the character for curry written on his chest, striking a heroic pose and laughing loudly.
"I am the Curry Man, your dorm head!"
"Submit to the power of curry!"
The freshmen exchanged confused looks.
This was their dorm head?
For a moment, they could only see confusion in each other's eyes, along with deep concern for their future in this dorm.
Yugen stayed silent.
Now he remembered.
The head of the yellow dorm was Professor Kabayama, a fanatic of curry. Even the Deck he used was a curry Deck, an anime-only set that never received real card versions.
"Ahem. My name is Kabayama, and I am your dorm head. First, on behalf of the yellow dorm, I welcome every one of you. As students assigned here, you are all elites among elites.
"Normally, we would have each newcomer introduce themselves or perform a small talent. But this is Duel Academy, where everything is decided by Duel. That brings me to what I am about to say, which will also be your first trial after enrollment."
He waved his arm dramatically, his curry cape fluttering.
"Duel!"
Kabayama explained the agenda of the Yellow Dormitory Orientation Session in a clear and direct way. Put simply, it was an internal dorm exchange match. The goal was to let new students get familiar with one another through real play rather than formal introductions.
People in this world often said that a Duel was not only about winning or losing, but also a way for Duelists to understand each other. A Duel was a clash of minds, and through it both sides could grasp the other's thoughts and style. This belief was clearly one that Kabayama held firmly.
In his view, having everyone step up to say a few dry words only led to names being forgotten right after. Playing cards together was far more effective in helping everyone remember each other quickly. Because of that, he chose this exchange match as the first activity.
The list of new students had already been handed to the dorm head ahead of time. Professor Kabayama had therefore prepared the matchups early and arranged direct duels between students. Everything was organized before the freshmen even realized it.
"The match period will be the first two weeks after enrollment. Of course, there are too many freshmen for everyone to play a match, and there's no need to chase victory to the very end." Kabayama paused, then smiled in a mysterious way and waved his hand. "As special encouragement, for every win in this dorm exchange match, you will receive one extra credit outside the regular curriculum of Duel Academy!"
The freshmen's eyes immediately lit up. Everyone knew that credits at Duel Academy were more than just numbers. They could be converted into internal "DP points" used throughout Duel Academy for food, shopping, and all kinds of facilities, including buying cards.
As expected of Duel Academy, the very first day was already about playing cards. With rewards like that, winning felt mandatory. The freshmen's fighting spirit surged at once.
Of course, there was still dinner to eat before dueling. It was said that Kabayama had personally joined the kitchen staff to welcome the newcomers and had prepared a variety of elaborate dishes. These included curry beef, curry chicken rice, curry fish, and curry tofu.
The freshmen fell silent. The food tasted quite good, but it also made everyone deeply aware of the dorm head's unusual and intense love for curry. By the time everyone had eaten their fill, the banquet still had not fully ended.
Before people could disperse, a thick-browed freshman in a yellow uniform stopped in front of Yugen. "Yugen Fujiki?" he asked. Yugen paused and looked him up and down.
"Yuichi Yamamoto?" Yugen asked cautiously. That name matched the opponent assigned to him in the first round on the list. "That's right," the boy said with a grin.
"I checked the list. You're this year's first place, right? I'm fifth. I stayed up too late the night before, so I didn't do well on the written test." He shrugged, still smiling. "But that doesn't matter. If we're talking real combat, I'm definitely number one."
He raised his arm, showing the Duel Disk already fitted to his wrist. "Even if it's random, I'm pretty happy with this matchup. We're going to duel sooner or later anyway, so why not start with the strongest? What do you say, a little exercise after dinner?"
"Sure," Yugen replied as he stood up and brushed off his clothes. Since the duel was inevitable, getting it done early was simpler. The banquet had just ended, and the freshmen were still around.
It did not take long for others to notice the challenge. "Huh? A Duel already? That fast?" "And it's between first and fifth place this year? Right from the start?"
Students quickly gathered around the open ground outside the dorm to watch. "Did you see the first place guy's entrance exam duel?" one asked. "No. Was there something special about it?"
"It's not about special or not," the student scratched his head. "He's just… really different. I can't describe it well. You'll understand if you watch." Nearby, Daichi Misawa stood with his arms crossed, silently observing Yugen with narrowed eyes.
Many students had not noticed before, but Daichi Misawa had seen Yugen's entrance exam Duel. He had been curious about the person who ranked above him and had looked into it afterward. To his surprise, he found that this freshman had defeated the legendary Rex Raptor before enrollment.