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The next morning, You Xuan woke up early.
Packing his already-prepared luggage, various models of duel disks, several completed decks, and the super-expanded side deck that now numbered over a hundred cards as backup...
He boarded the private jet specially dispatched by Duel Academy and flew toward the legendary sanctuary for newcomers—the location of Duel Academy.
It had to be said, the school funded by President Kaiba was truly extravagant. The island was enormous in size. In the anime's second year, when Jaden returned with his Elemental Hero deck after drifting at sea, he got lost on the island for days and couldn't find the school. Furthermore, throughout the series, this island housed ancient ruins, secret research facilities, and other hidden installations.
Though it was called a "school," its size likely rivaled that of a small town.
As the plane approached, You Xuan peered out the window, surveying the island from above. He gazed down at the lush green forests and the massive volcanic crater in the distance. A strange sense of familiarity washed over him...
A flash of insight struck him.
Wait a minute—this aerial view... didn't it look eerily similar to Pyrorex Island?
Pyrorex Island was a core Field Magic card in the Pyrorex deck, though such a thing didn't exist in the GX anime.
You Xuan hadn't noticed this before, but now, seeing Duel Academy's island from the air for the first time, he realized it bore an uncanny resemblance to the card artwork—perhaps even 90% similarity.
It was probably just a coincidence... right?
At 9:00 AM, the freshmen gathered in the auditorium for the opening ceremony to listen to Principal Samejima's speech.
"Welcome, elite duelists!"
Principal Samejima stood on the podium, smiling warmly into the microphone.
"All of you have proven your worth by passing through the narrow gate to arrive here..."
"Snore... snore..."
The loud snoring from the front row drew curious glances from the surrounding students.
Even without looking, You Xuan could guess it was Yuuki Jaden, who had fallen asleep just as the principal began his second sentence.
Still, You Xuan couldn't help but admire Jaden's unique talent. During these speeches, all the freshmen were required to stand at the front of the stage, and Jaden was positioned near the front.
Not only did he ignore the pressure of facing the school leadership, but he also managed to sleep standing up despite the booming noise from the speakers—a skill exclusive to Jaden.
Thud.
Jaden suddenly stumbled, losing his balance and collapsing noisily.
Professor Cronos, watching from behind, couldn't contain his frustration: "Principal is speaking, you know! Are you calcium-deficient, slacker?!"
"Ah, sorry, sorry!" Jaden sat up, rubbing his head with a sheepish grin. "Just a little mishap..."
Cronos' face turned as red as a kettle, transitioning from Pot of Greed to Pot of Desires.
What kind of nonsense was this? Falling asleep during the principal's speech, and instead of apologizing sincerely, he dared to joke about it being a mistake?
But before Cronos could explode, Principal Samejima chuckled and said, "Well, let's not get upset on the first day, Professor Cronos. The students are tired from their journey—it's understandable."
With no choice, Cronos swallowed his anger and held back his frustration.
However, after standing back up, Jaden started dozing off again. For the rest of the ceremony, Cronos kept a hawk-like eye on him, refusing to look away.
You Xuan suddenly understood why Professor Cronos had such a strong dislike for Jaden early on.
A privileged student who didn't pay attention in class, didn't submit homework, yet excelled in dueling—it was easy for other students to idolize him.
Though Cronos' methods were harsh, his motives weren't entirely unjustified.
After the opening ceremony ended, the freshmen followed the academy's guidance to collect their uniforms, student IDs, and other materials. Upperclassmen volunteers led them through various procedures before escorting them to their respective dorms.
Unsurprisingly, You Xuan received the Ra Yellow uniform and student ID.
In fact, before boarding the island, he had briefly wondered if President Kaiba might've sent him to the Osiris Red dorm as a petty punishment for defeating his AI-controlled Blue-Eyes White Dragon. After all, Kaiba held grudges—ever since Yugi defeated him with a Blue-Eyes in Duelist Kingdom, Kaiba had mocked him as "ordinary trash" for years.
But it seemed the president wasn't so petty after all and didn't bother meddling in such trivial matters.
As the top-ranked freshman, You Xuan was naturally assigned to Ra Yellow and became one of the elite candidates most likely to advance to Obelisk Blue quickly.
If dorm rankings were purely symbolic, You Xuan wouldn't care—even if he were at the bottom. However, higher-tier dorms offered better perks: priority access to rare cards, superior dining halls with excellent chefs, single-occupancy rooms with top-notch facilities, and overall more comfortable living conditions.
By comparison, the Osiris Red dorm was cramped and outdated. Its cafeteria was despised by everyone except Jaden, whose bizarre taste made him immune to complaints. Living there would've been quite unpleasant.
While Ra Yellow wasn't as luxurious as Obelisk Blue, it still provided single rooms with decent amenities. You Xuan was quite satisfied after inspecting his room.
After moving his luggage in, the first day passed quickly as he cleaned and organized his space.
Dinner on the first night served as a meet-and-greet for the new students in each dorm, as well as an opportunity to meet their respective dorm leaders.
You Xuan recalled that in the original story, the leader of Osiris Red was Professor Daitokuji—a seemingly scatterbrained pushover who was secretly a powerful dark duelist and one of the strongest forces in the academy.
The leader of Obelisk Blue was Professor Cronos—though his presence often paled compared to his antics.
But who was the leader of Ra Yellow...?
"...?"
"Hahaha—WOW~!!!"
At the freshmen banquet, all the students stared in disbelief as a man wearing a paper bag over his head and sporting the kanji "Curry" on his chest struck a pose reminiscent of Action Kamen from Crayon Shin-chan, laughing uproariously.
"I am the Curry Demon! Your dorm leader!"
"Bow before the power of curry!"
The freshmen collectively thought: ???
This... thing... is our dorm leader?
The students exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes reflecting confusion—and deep concern for the future of their dorm under such leadership.
You Xuan: "..."
Now he remembered.
The leader of Ra Yellow was Professor Kayama, a die-hard curry enthusiast.
His entire deck was even themed around curry—an anime-exclusive deck with no real-world cards ever released.
"Ahem, ahem. My name is Kayama, and I am your dorm leader. First, on behalf of Ra Yellow, I welcome each and every one of you. As students assigned to the Yellow dorm, you are all elites among elites.
Normally, we'd have each newcomer introduce themselves or showcase a small talent.
But! This is Duel Academy—everything is decided by duels! So here's what I'm announcing next, which will serve as your first trial upon enrollment—"
With a dramatic flourish of his arm, his curry-themed cape billowed dramatically.
"Duel!"