Professor Cronos's office.
Soft sunlight streamed through the window, casting a warm golden glow over the entire space. The green plants by the window were vibrant under the sun, their leaves shimmering transparently.
To be honest, when Professor Cronos first personally summoned him to his office for afternoon tea, Yugen was quite surprised. He thought his grades had always been very good, and he hadn't offended the professor, so he shouldn't be receiving special treatment like a bad student.
But he quickly realized he had overthought things.
"Student Yugen, it's been two weeks since you enrolled, have you settled in?"
The professor seemed eager to appear kind and gentle, smiling broadly under the sunlight. It was just a pity that he looked so unique; no matter how hard he tried, he still only resembled a lewdly smiling Pot of Greed.
"Very well, Professor," Yugen said with a smile.
It's just that my classmates don't seem to be adapting very well.
"Mm-hmm, that's good then," Cronos said gently. "If there's anything you're not used to, be sure to tell me. If you have any problems, whether in your studies or daily life, you can always reflect them to me."
Fairly speaking, Yugen's current impression of the professor was actually very good. The reason he earned so many credits so quickly in the first two weeks was partly due to the professor. Cronos loved answering his questions and giving him opportunities to demonstrate, and each time he performed well, he received credit rewards.
However, in stark contrast, his classmate Yuki Judai had all his meager starting credits deducted within two short weeks. The reasons included, but were not limited to, skipping class, sleeping in class, snoring in the front row, and failing pop quizzes.
And Yugen guessed that more than half of those deducted points were probably by Cronos, indicating a bit of personal grudge.
Perhaps, even if they both slept in class, Student Judai would be seen by the professor as "sleeping all day in class," while an excellent student like Yugen would automatically be transformed into "sleeping in class but still learning, truly hardworking."
"I've applied for the school's top student program for you, and the principal has approved it," Cronos chuckled. "As long as you maintain a score of 90 or above in all subjects, you'll receive additional credits every month.
At the same time, although you are currently still in Ra - Yellow, after joining the program, your priority for purchasing cards at the school will automatically be raised to the same level as Obelisk - Blue students.
Oh, but with Student Yugen's academic performance, being promoted to Obelisk - Blue is surely just a matter of time!"
"Thank you, Professor."
As Yugen was speaking, he suddenly thought of something.
"Ah, right, speaking of which. I actually do have a few questions."
"Oh? Go ahead, it's fine," Cronos said, lacing his fingers and propping up his chin, his smiling expression looking even more like a teapot.
Yugen tried hard not to think about the teapot: "Oh, it's nothing, really, just some cards I'm interested in, but I've been waiting a long time and the academy department still hasn't seen them. I wanted to ask the professor if there's any alternative way..."
"Oh, about that..."
Cronos hesitated for a moment.
"You can make a list first, and I can help you inquire about them. But don't have too high hopes, because even professors usually buy cards through the academy department's channels. If cards can't be bought even within the academy, other channels are very difficult to find."
"I see," Yugen nodded.
That's true. If there were other channels that made it easier to acquire rare cards than Duel Academy, everyone wouldn't be crowding in.
"However, it seems the school clubs are about to start recruiting new members," Professor Cronos mused. "You could go and check out one you're interested in."
Yugen was stunned: "Clubs?"
What do rare cards have to do with student clubs?
"Ah, Student Yugen is a new student, so you don't know yet. Many student clubs have their own inventory," Cronos explained with a squinting smile. "Club inventories are often used as rewards for some activities, or as member benefits to attract new members.
Among them are quite a few cards that have been discontinued or temporarily out of production, some cards that are currently relatively rare in the academy department's inventory, and also some less common cards that are only needed for specific decks, etc."
Upon hearing this, Yugen began to get interested.
In that case, some cards that appeared new in the academy department and were immediately confiscated might have been put into the inventory of a certain student club. If he joined a special club, not only would he have a chance to get them, but he might even be able to get them for free...
"Student clubs will also receive funding and credit limits, so participating in club activities also provides opportunities to earn additional credits."
Cronos thought for a moment.
"If it's Student Yugen, I would still recommend the Duel Club, which is the top club in the academy focused on dueling.
Regularly sparring with top-tier students in the academy is also more conducive to improvement."
Indeed. If nothing else, quick drawing is something that requires a lot of practice. Dueling with strong opponents, being able to duel under a stronger "pressure" will be more effective for improvement.
"Okay, thank you, Professor."
After the afternoon tea, Yugen left the professor's office.
The Duel Club, huh...
He seemed to have seen advertisements for it before; they were holding a recruitment event tomorrow afternoon.
Might as well go take a look.
The next day, the dueling arena.
It was the classic arena Yugen had seen countless times in the anime in his previous life, but when he was actually there, the arena seemed even larger than in the anime.
The huge square arena was surrounded by circular grandstands, and it was already quite lively when he arrived.
Today was the day the academy's Duel Club had rented the arena, specifically for their recruitment event. And if it was a Duel Club event, then dueling was naturally a given.
It wasn't time yet, so the recruitment hadn't officially started. Yugen looked around and quickly spotted an acquaintance in one of the seats.
"Big Brother Manjome is truly unbelievably strong!" His two underlings flattered him as usual.
"Hmph, that's a given."
Manjome crossed his legs, leaning back in his chair with a very arrogant posture.
"The man known as 'Kaiser' isn't here, so the Duel Club's strength is just so-so now. Oh well, it doesn't matter; once I join, I'll naturally take it up a notch. I just hope the others don't drag me down."
The man known as Kaiser Marufuji Ryo, widely recognized as the number one in Duel Academy, was once also a member of the Duel Club. It's just that now, in his third year, Marufuji Ryo has more and more personal matters to attend to and rarely makes appearances.
Manjome was engrossed in his own bragging and the flattery of his underlings when he suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind.
"Little Manjome, you're in good form recently, very confident, huh?"
This annoying voice, could it be...
Manjome suddenly turned his head, and what met his eyes was, of course, that sunny, handsome smiling face.
Then, with a thud, his entire body tumbled out of the chair due to the excessive movement.
Following that, the exclamations of his underlings rang in his ears.
"Big Brother! Why did you go under the chair!?"