In the freezing Arctic, the sky was a deep, gloomy shade of gray. Thick, heavy clouds hung low over the massive academy buildings, while rolling thunderheads churned like great waves in a bottomless abyss.
This was the site of the North Academy of Duel Academy.
"Thunder! Thunder! Thunder!"
Below the high platform, every student had gathered. They pumped their fists toward the figure standing above, shouting the name of the new king who had come from the main branch and swept through the entire school in a single day.
Lightning arced across the sky, its light slicing through the thick clouds like a silver sword. Chazz stood beneath the storm, the hem of his black robes fluttering behind him like a cape in the electric glare.
He raised his fist high and led the cry: "Manjoume Thunder!"
The response was instantaneous. Every student followed suit, waving their fists and shouting in unison: "Manjoume Thunder!"
Remarkably, not a single soul seemed to find the situation embarrassing.
"Excellent."
The Principal of North Academy, Principal Foster, adjusted his glasses as he stepped forward to present Chazz with a deck.
"Principal, this is..."
"This is the most precious rare deck kept by this school. If anyone can bring out its true potential, it is you." Principal Foster placed the deck into his hands. "Take this, and fight with everything you have, King Chazz! Or rather... I should say, Manjoume Thunder!"
The principal intentionally raised his voice at the end, triggering another roar of cheers from the crowd.
"Thunder! Thunder! Manjoume Thunder!"
Chazz took the deck and scanned it quickly. He looked up in surprise. "This deck is"
"Heh, precisely."
Foster adjusted his glasses again. The reflection on his lenses obscured his eyes, giving him a look that was almost sinister.
"It means we must win this by any means necessary. Listen closely, Chazz. We have lost the annual Inter-school Duel against the main branch for several years running. This time, no matter what happens, I will have victory! Even if it is just for Ms. Dorothy's... cough, I mean, for the honor of this school!"
Chazz blinked. "Wait, did you just say something strange?"
But the principal gave him no chance to question him. "So, this time, you must win no matter what!"
With that, Foster raised his fist again.
"Manjoume Thunder!"
The rhythmic shouting of the students drowned out the venue once more, cutting off Chazz's confusion.
Chazz fell silent, glancing at the deck in his hand. Then, he reached for his own deck box at his waist and stared at the cards he had carried with him. These were the incredible cards he had encountered during his journey from the main branch to the freezing North.
The power residing within them was something he had never imagined before.
As if sensing his thoughts, a soft white light emanated from the deck as he gazed at it, rising toward the stormy sky.
Chazz looked up, staring into the thunderclouds. There, the brilliant light coalesced into a massive, shimmering phantomthe form of a dragon.
Woven from light and shadow, its body seemed split down the middle by an invisible boundary. One half was bathed in radiant brilliance, while the other was submerged in deep, fathomless darkness.
Light and darkness coexisted miraculously within the same body.
Chazz stared at the phantom dragon, lost in thought.
"Thunder? Why are you dazing out?"
The principal's voice snapped him back to reality.
"Principal..." Chazz blinked, asking with a strange expression, "Can't you all see that?"
Principal Foster followed his gaze into the sky, looking confused.
"See what? Did you see something?"
The principal scratched his bald head, staring at the empty air.
"...It's nothing."
Chazz withdrew his gaze.
The crowd erupted into another round of cheers, chanting his name, but Chazz remained preoccupied. When no one was looking, he pulled a specific card from his deck box.
It was the mysterious card he had found on his long journey, inhabited by a spirit: "Light and Darkness Dragon."
"So this is a spirit... I see. Do you intend to lend me your strength? To give me the power to defeat that guy and return to the top?" he whispered to himself.
Just then, another translucent phantom drifted out. It was an ugly yet cute yellow figure, a miniature creature that looked like a keychain, wearing a pair of exaggerated red underwear. It hopped onto Chazz's shoulder.
"Big Bro! I'm a spirit too, you know! Look at me!"
Ojama Yellow covered its blushing face, wiggling its butt in those red underwear.
A vein instantly popped on Chazz's forehead.
"Get lost!"
A day later, a massive submarine fortress surfaced at the coast of the main Duel Academy island. Chancellor Sheppard personally led a large group of students from the Student Council to meet them at the shore.
"Chancellor Sheppard!"
"Principal Foster!"
The two bald principals met and shook hands cordially, creating an atmosphere that seemed, on the surface, very harmonious.
Sheppard smiled. "You look well."
"You too, haha! You're looking younger every day," Foster replied.
"I look forward to your school's guidance once again."
"No, no, the pleasure is mine."
"..."
After the formulaic pleasantries, Foster adjusted his glasses, his gaze suddenly turning sharp. "By the way, how has Dorothy been lately?"
Sheppard's smile vanished instantly. He narrowed his eyes in a defensive stance. "Hmph, she is fine, of course. Ms. Dorothy is indispensable for this competition, after all."
A few new students nearby looked on in confusion.
Dorothy? The plump lady from the school store? Every student knew hershe was kind and a great cook, but she didn't know the first thing about dueling. What did she have to do with the Inter-school Duel?
Yugen, however, knew exactly what was going on. To the principals, Ms. Dorothy was the core of the entire event.
The reason both principals were so obsessed with winning "at all costs" was that the reward for the winning principal was a kiss from Ms. Dorothy.
Yugen figured that Ms. Dorothy must have been a legendary beauty in her youth, and there was likely some grand, dramatic history between her, Sheppard, and Foster.
While the exact details of the past were unknown, the results were clear: Ms. Dorothy remained at the main branch under Sheppard's watchthere was even a secret passage from the store directly to the space under the Chancellor's desk. Poor Principal Foster, on the other hand, had been exiled to the barren wasteland of North Academy.
It was hard to say who had truly "won" back then, but it was obvious who currently held the high ground.
"Yu-Gen!"
Chazz appeared in the distance, his voice reaching them before he did. He approached with a cold, stern expression.
"Chazz," Yugen greeted him with a smile and a nod. "It's been a while. You look like you've been through a lot."
Another vein popped on Chazz's forehead.
"And whose fault do you think that is?!"
Just as he was about to explode, a piercing roar interrupted him. A sudden hurricane-force wind kicked up, forcing everyone on the shore to shield their eyes.
The roar shook the air, and the wind felt like a transparent cyclone. Everyone squinted at the sky, where a massive, black steel bird was slowly descending, reflecting the sunlight.
It was a helicopter.
Painted clearly on the bottom of the fuselage was a single character: "Princeton."
A helicopter from the Princeton Group.
Chazz gasped in shock. "My brothers?!"
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