Chapter 51: The Superior Summoning Method
Academy City occupied a full third of Eden Tower's mid-level district.
It was a comprehensive functional zone integrating all student necessities—living quarters, entertainment, transportation, education, and housing—into one massive complex.
Within Academy City stood six Duel Academies.
Divided by student age, there was the elementary division for ages 5 to 10, middle school division for ages 11 to 14, and high school division for ages 15 to 17.
Then came the three most prestigious academies, open only to students 18 and older: Fusion Academy, Synchro Academy, and Xyz Academy.
Looking at it this way, Academy City's enormous footprint made perfect sense.
After all, in this world full of duelist brains, every mid-level resident had to master card game skills. Academy life practically consumed the first half of most mid-level citizens' lives.
Academy City's primary transportation system relied on floating trains running through the city's airspace.
Fast, efficient, stable, safe. Most importantly—completely free.
For someone like Amano right now, every bit of savings counted.
The enrollment procedures and dormitory arrangements for himself, Shio, and Kikawayu had all been handled and paid for by Finesse.
But Amano knew full well that Finesse wasn't actually wealthy.
Combined with the cost of installing Shio's auxiliary prosthetic limbs, Amano estimated the young miss had burned through her entire share from that underground family duel contract.
As a grown adult, he really couldn't bring himself to keep troubling Finesse for money.
Once he officially enrolled, he'd need to find some way to earn income in the mid-level district.
Before that, however, Amano and the others needed to visit the Academy City Service Center to register tomorrow's enrollment information and select which academy they wanted to join and test for.
Of course, academy selection only applied to the higher division students—Amano, Kikawayu, and Finesse.
Shio's middle school division didn't require any of that, didn't even have entrance exams.
Though at 13 years old, Shio couldn't start from first year—she'd have to transfer directly into a third-year class.
Amano wasn't worried about his little sister. With Shio's personality, she wouldn't end up on the losing end anywhere. More importantly, purely in terms of deck power, Shio had more than enough to dominate.
Though they wouldn't be at the same academy, at least the dormitories were arranged together.
In Academy City, even students from different academies all lived in the city-provided dormitory district, single occupancy rooms that functioned like small apartments.
Finesse must have pulled some Wein Family strings—not only were the four of them in the same dormitory building, their room numbers were even consecutive.
Amano was 501, next door was Finesse's 502, Shio's 503, and finally Kikawayu's 504.
This room arrangement—if Finesse claimed she didn't have ulterior motives, Amano wouldn't believe it for a second.
Talk about sandwiching herself right between them.
As for Kikawayu, being assigned to the most isolated room didn't bother him at all. He actually seemed pleased about it.
"Kikawayu, why's a grown man like you lugging around so much luggage?" Amano asked curiously.
"Just life necessities." Kikawayu's face filled with wariness, clutching the massive suitcase in his arms with a death grip. "You're not allowed to peek, Rei. If you peek, we're done being friends!"
"You already set a password lock on it. How am I supposed to look?"
Amano was genuinely curious what kind of stuff Kikawayu had brought.
If not for the password blocking him, even friendship termination wouldn't stop Amano from taking a peek.
After all, ending a friendship with your best bro? He hadn't tried that playstyle yet.
Because they'd been delayed by Akira mid-journey, Amano's group arrived at the Academy City Service Center slightly late. The line of students registering had already become a sea of humanity.
Every single student in front of them was a duelist.
In the impoverished lower districts where duelists were scarce, this sight was simply unimaginable.
A complete deck that poor people in the lower levels could spend a lifetime failing to assemble was standard equipment here in the mid-level.
"Hey, look!" Shio seemed to spot someone familiar. "It's Miss Nanki'in!"
"Nanki'in Sakuya? I'm impressed you could spot her in this crowd..." Amano followed where Shio's finger pointed.
Super conspicuous!
As the sole generational heir of the Nanki'in Family, the yakuza young miss's public appearances came with maximum passive presence.
Why passive?
Even though Nanki'in Sakuya herself didn't care, to ensure the heir's safety in such crowded venues, uniformed subordinates had forcibly surrounded her in a protective circle.
Leading the security detail was Ryoma, who'd been following Sakuya that day.
As if drawn by some "arch-rival" magnetism, Sakuya somehow noticed Amano's group in the vast crowd.
"Amano Rei, so you came after all."
Well, "arch-rival" probably wasn't the right term.
Finesse complained: "Why are you ignoring me and talking straight to Amano, Nanki'in Sakuya!"
"Oh, Finesse. Didn't realize you were here too."
"I've been here the whole time! Standing right next to Amano—there's no way you didn't see me!"
"I did it on purpose."
"..."
Sincerity was always a critical hit. Sakuya's response left Finesse completely speechless, grinding her teeth audibly.
Both being family young misses, compared to Sakuya's maxed-out presence, Finesse had become so down-to-earth she was poor enough that nobody would recognize her as a young miss anymore.
Sakuya turned to give orders. "Ryoma, have some people hold their places in line. It's too crowded over there—Amano, you all don't need to go."
Seemingly aloof yet unexpectedly considerate.
Though before standing in line for them, one thing needed clarifying.
Nanki'in Sakuya inquired: "Which academy are you planning to register for?"
"Fusion."
Amano, Finesse, and even Kikawayu all gave the same answer.
"As expected."
Sakuya had dueled Amano before—she knew he could Fusion Summon monsters on the level of Elemental HERO Great Tornado. Not enrolling in Fusion Academy would be a complete waste.
Plus there was the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Kaiba Chiaki, who also possessed a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, was Fusion Academy's undisputed strongest duelist.
"What about you, Sakuya?" Finesse asked in return.
"Synchro." Sakuya didn't bother hiding it. Amano had already predicted as much—what else would someone running Shiranui play besides Synchro?
"Then we'll be rivals from now on." When saying this, Sakuya's gaze was clearly locked on Amano.
"I'd prefer getting along as fellow students." Sakuya at least had some affection points attached. Meeting up just to duel wouldn't help with obtaining system rewards.
"Getting along? That's probably impossible."
"Impossible? Why?"
As if answering Amano's question, commotion erupted from the front of the registration line.
"You just arrived, so you might not know—this is already the third time they've started fighting."
"Third time? Fighting?"
At the very front of the line, the upperclassmen handling registration for their respective academies wore purple, white, and black uniforms. Right now they'd grabbed each other and were brawling.
"Dammit, Fusion Summoning is the noblest summoning method!"
"Bullshit, Synchro Summoning has the right to create the future!"
"Screw you, Xyz Summoning has infinite possibilities!"
The scene was brutal, their language absolutely loaded with profanity.
The three great academies' relationship had been like oil and water for a hundred years.
Every year, fighting over which was the superior summoning method, starting from student registration day itself, the academies constantly sparked fierce friction with each other.