Kaiba Park.
The venue, shaped like the White Dragon, had countless small mirror glasses pieced together to form a dragon scale-like structure, reflecting multicolored light. Outside the venue, people came and went, creating an atmosphere that was lively yet not without tension.
This is the site of Duel Academy's annual practical entrance exam.
The entrance exam is divided into written and practical tests, and only those who pass the written test can participate in the practical exam. Moreover, the exam number for the practical test is determined by the ranking of the written test scores, and the difficulty of the corresponding assessment is based on these scores.
The final combined score from the written and practical tests serves as the admission score. Duel Academy follows an elite education system, emphasizing strength in all aspects from life to learning. After students enter the school, they are assigned dormitories based on their scores. Outstanding students' dorms are not only luxurious in hardware facilities, but also have cafeteria meals and services that are unmatched by those for poorer students.
Of course, there are also differences in the rewards for credits, priority in purchasing rare cards, discount levels, and so on.
The academy dormitories are divided into three levels, named after the legendary Three Phantom Gods at the pinnacle of Duel Monsters. The highest-level dormitory is named "Obelisk-Blue," the next is "Winged Dragon of Ra," and the last, which is the most looked down upon in the entire academy, is "Osiris Red."
However, every time Yugen sees this setup, he feels this must be a conspiracy by President Kaiba, the founder of the academy.
Because in the Duel City arc, Obelisk was the Phantom God held by Kaiba himself, while Osiris was the one held by his rival, Dark Game Atum.
So it's easy to imagine that when President Kaiba was dividing the dormitories, he must have been gnashing his teeth with a sinister face: "Damn you You↑gi↓, you won against me and then just ran off without a word.
List You↑gi↓'s dormitory... uh, no, list the Osiris dormitory as the lowest class!!!"
Lackey: "Yes! President!"
"..."
The written test results came out a day ago. Unsurprisingly, Yugen easily took first place, which is exam number 001.
When he got this entrance exam number, Yugen recalled something.
He remembered that in the original TV series, there seemed to be a character who was the first place, did he snatch his position?
Was it called Arithmetic? Or Six Waters Heaven?
Oh, got it, Mitsuzawa Earth. But it's not important, anyway, he seemed to be just a high-achieving passerby in the memory, and deleting him would have zero impact on the plot... Of course, at least he didn't hold back Judai, in GX's lineup of teammates who were vying for who could slack off more, he was already a rare find.
Yugen then arrived at the entrance of the examination hall. Before entering, all candidates had to complete the candidate reporting and registration work.
Sitting at the door was one of Duel Academy's teachers. The health teacher, Nakagawa Emi, was wearing a Obelisk-Blue vest and short skirt, her crossed white legs pressing together and accentuating some fullness.
She belongs to the kind of D-Class Powerhouse that you suddenly realize "actually so big" when trying to recall childhood memories, and begin to wonder "why did I only see card playing before."
But there was no wave in Yugen's heart, because at this point, his mind was entirely preoccupied with what card deck configuration to use and how to play in the upcoming practical test.
Determined players are unflustered. Only when one's mind is free of distractions can one be fearless, and only by focusing on cards can one truly become one with them.
"Name?"
"Fujiki Yugen."
"Exam number ready?"
"001."
"You're number one this year? Impressive."
Teacher Megumi smiled with her eyes.
It seemed that seeing a student who was a little handsome lifted her mood considerably.
"Alright, register your usual card deck," Teacher Megumi said amiably.
She had volunteered to do this candidate registration work out of curiosity about the appearance of the new students enrolling this year.
The first place this year left a good impression on her so far. Not only were his scores excellent, but he looked good, and he appeared to be a polite and graceful child, surely a sunny-type youth...
"I have to register my card deck too?" This somewhat caught Yugen off guard.
In this world, duelists seemingly all have their signature card decks and ace monsters that represent their identity. But Yugen thought that to prevent others from studying and targeting his builds, he was always changing, and for later, he planned to decide on the specific configuration after observing the examiner's deck.
Could it be that once registered, it can't be changed?
"This student?" Teacher Megumi tilted her head curiously.
Aren't we all duelists who got into Duel Academy? Do you still have to think about the card deck you use?
She thought about it and reminded him thoughtfully, "Oh, this isn't a very strict review, just a simple registration. Many students have card decks without a clear series or theme, so you can register based on the races, attributes, or tactics you often use..."
Yugen pondered for a moment.
"Hmm, then my usual deck should be a Magic Card with Trap Card and Mage Race, with Warrior Race and Mechanical Race..."
Teacher Megumi: "?"
Are you sure what you said is called a card deck?
"Ha... Haha, this student is really humorous." Teacher Megumi laughed dryly, "Some students' decks might be diverse. Then just mention your ace or your favorite card."
Yugen pondered.
Even though the monster axis of his deck changes, no matter the configuration, the generic red pits, breaking the opponent's defense, and violently drawing cards for more are constant.
Thinking of this, he silently took out a Pot of Greed... then abruptly stopped.
Because at that moment, he seemed to sense a hint of malice.
Out of the corner of Yugen's eye, he noticed that the usual reclusive Silent Magician girl had floated out silently, in a spirit body form only he could see, quietly standing beside him.
Without making a sound or any movement, but her resentful little eyes seemed to say, so I am not your favorite...
Yugen took a deep breath.
Some unknown survival instinct made him retract the half-drawn Pot of Greed and instead drew out the Silent Magician.
"It's actually the Silent Magician!?" Teacher Megumi was shocked, "The super rare card used by Duel King Muto Yuugi?"
The teacher immediately became more respectful.
After completing the registration, Yugen felt an invisible weight lift from his heart. He looked back to see the spirit body floating behind him had indeed disappeared.
Yugen let out a long sigh of relief.
So close, so close, thankfully my response was quick enough.
By doing this, the bond with my elf should also strengthen, right?
Great!
Even though he might not need to use the real Silent Magician in this exam.
But that's not really a problem.
The real Silent Magician doesn't even need to appear to win a duel. Our real Silent Magician deck is truly too powerful.