Many gazes were drawn to that field, since by the exam rules this pairing seemed improper. But Professor Chronos de Medici had his own explanation.
"With Judai Yuki's excellent practical record, there is simply no suitable opponent in Osiris Red," Professor Chronos de Medici said firmly. "Only Manjoume is appropriate as your opponent."
That reasoning was not entirely wrong. Although his written scores always failed, Judai Yuki's practical results were obvious to everyone, and he truly dominated within Osiris Red. Professor Chronos de Medici claimed he was maintaining the academy's elite ranking system, and chose Manjoume not only for strength, but also because of his status as a top student headed for Obelisk Blue.
"As an exchange, if Judai Yuki wins this Duel, he can be promoted early to Yellow Dormitory. Any objections?" Professor Chronos de Medici asked.
"No problem at all!" Judai Yuki answered instantly.
He probably did not even hear the full explanation. He only heard that there was a duel. The professor announced the start and quickly withdrew from the field.
The first duel of the day was between Judai Yuki and Manjoume.
Yugen paid a bit of attention. If the timeline had not changed, this should have been Manjoume's debut of VWXYZ, but that deck was now in Yugen's hands. He was curious what Manjoume would bring out instead.
Manjoume opened by setting a DEF 2300 Stone Dragon and confidently placed three cards face down before ending his turn. Without VWXYZ, it seemed he had shifted toward Dragons. Still, with only one monster, it was too early to say.
Those three face-down cards looked ominous. Yugen decided it had nothing to do with him.
Then it was Judai Yuki's turn. His opening was as steady as ever, Winged Kuriboh and Elemental HERO Burstinatrix together with Polymerization, the familiar combo. Naturally, he wasted no time.
"I activate Polymerization!"
Elemental HERO Flame Wingman, which had shined during the entrance exam against Professor Chronos de Medici, appeared on the first turn. Just as Judai Yuki raised his hand to attack, Manjoume suddenly threw his head back and laughed loudly.
"You fell for it, Judai Yuki!" Manjoume shouted. "I flip my Trap Card, Chthonian Polymer. When your Fusion Monster is Fusion Summoned, I Tribute 1 monster to take control of it!"
"Huh?" Judai Yuki blinked.
Manjoume's grin grew twisted. "I take control of Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"
So this was your favorite hero. Come over here.
Red traps really did bring joy, and stealing with them brought even more. Manjoume was smiling from ear to ear.
Yugen thought it over. Chthonian Polymer had always been Manjoume's card, and in the anime he had used it to steal Elemental HERO Flame Wingman the first time they fought. It truly had nothing to do with him.
Several turns of offense and defense followed. Judai Yuki stubbornly held off the pressure, while Manjoume summoned Genesis Dragon, a Level 6 Dragon with 2200 ATK that he had used in the manga. It really did look like he was moving toward a Dragon-focused Deck.
Using a classic anime combo, Judai Yuki activated the Trap Card Hero Signal during an attack and special Summoned Elemental HERO Blade Edge (ANIME EFFECT) to destroy Genesis Dragon. One turn later, Blade Edge fell straight into Manjoume's Mirror Force and was sent away.
After a short while, Judai Yuki seized another chance. "I activate the Spell Card Fusion Recovery, returning Elemental HERO Burstinatrix and Polymerization from the Graveyard. Then I activate Polymerization again, fusing Elemental HERO Burstinatrix with Elemental HERO Clayman from my hand."
"That will not do, Judai," Manjoume said with another warped smile. "Counter Trap, Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell. I discard one Spell Card to negate and destroy that Spell Card. And for the rest of this Duel, you cannot use that card again."
Yugen reflected quietly. This was the Polymerization lock tactic developed by Daichi Misawa in the anime, and it made sense for Manjoume to use it. As expected, it had nothing to do with him.
"Eh?" Judai Yuki said. "I cannot use Polymerization anymore?"
Manjoume laughed loudly. "You are completely in my hands now, Yugi Muto Judai. Tremble before my power. My turn! Elemental HERO Flame Wingman, attack his Elemental HERO Sparkman!"
"I flip my Trap Card, Mirror Gate," Judai Yuki said. "When my Elemental HERO monster is attacked, we swap control until the End Phase!"
"Nani?!!?" Manjoume shouted.
Even Jellyfish Hair like you had this kind of stealing trap?
Yugen raised an eyebrow. After being printed, Mirror Gate was limited to Elemental HERO targets and temporary control, but this anime version seemed to steal monsters permanently. It looked surprisingly useful, and he made a mental note to get one if possible.
Red traps were never too many.
"Do you think I do not have traps?" Manjoume snorted. "I activate Trap Card Chthonian Blast. When a face-up monster I control is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, destroy the face-up monster with the lowest ATK and both players take damage equal to half its ATK. There is only Elemental HERO Flame Wingman, so it is destroyed!"
"My Elemental HERO Flame Wingman," Judai Yuki said weakly.
Caught in a storm of red traps, Elemental HERO Flame Wingman was stolen, stolen back, and then sent straight to the Underworld. It had lived a legendary life in a single duel.
The Life Points now stood at 450 for Manjoume and 850 for Judai Yuki. Both were on the edge, with Judai Yuki having no cards in hand, while Manjoume still held two.
"I set two cards and end my turn," Manjoume said with confidence.
His back row held Bottomless Trap Hole and Magic Cylinder. Monsters with over 1500 ATK would fall into the Different Dimension, and weaker ones would be finished by Magic Cylinder. Against an empty hand and field, he saw no way through.
Could you really print a card on the spot and win?
"My turn, Card Draw!" Judai Yuki shouted. "I Summon Elemental HERO Wildheart!"
Manjoume sneered, ready to use Bottomless Trap Hole. Then his eyes widened as he remembered the effect.
This card was unaffected by Trap Card effects.
Manjoume nearly spat blood.
With a full Deck, an empty hand, and a single draw, you hit this?
"Go, Wildheart!" Judai Yuki cheered, punching the air. "Direct attack!"
The strike landed, and Manjoume's Life Points hit zero. His smile vanished along with his joy.
As he fell backward onto the cold floor of the Duel field, he grasped a harsh truth. In this world, only one thing ruined the mindset as badly as the Underworld.
That thing was topdeck luck.
"I won!" Judai Yuki said, striking a pose. "What a fun Duel!"
Manjoume said nothing.
"Judai Yuki, as expected, he really does have something special that others don't."
Daichi Misawa looked down at the stage, where Judai Yuki was flashing a proud V sign and almost teasing Manjoume into silence.
"It isn't analysis, and it isn't calculation. He duels purely on hot blood and impulsive instinct, yet he has a talent that surprises everyone."
Genshin Yu thought it was being overcomplicated. Stripped down to the core, it was just godlike draws.
With Innate Card Affinity, Judai Yuki was born better at pulling the right cards than anyone else. Early in the story, his Elemental HERO build looked like it only had seven or eight monster cards, each one a single copy with no backup, most of them normal monsters, and the rest of the Deck filled with spells and traps that seemed to have no clear purpose.
If a seasoned card player saw that build, their first reaction would be, "Can this thing really fight?" But if you assumed he could always draw exactly what he needed, stuffing the Deck with dozens of support cards for every situation suddenly looked impressive.
"There will definitely be a duel with Judai Yuki someday. But before that."
Daichi Misawa stood up from his seat and looked seriously at Yugen.
"First, I will deal with the problems inside Yellow Dormitory. I am not planning to give up first place so easily."
"Then you had better work hard to keep up, second place," Yugen said as he also stood, joking lightly.
"Of course." Daichi Misawa smiled. "I have prepared for today for a long time. I completed a Seventh Deck built specifically for this Duel."
From certain angles, Yugen could see his own reflection in Daichi Misawa.