Entering the end of the second week at Duel Academy, the Yellow Dorm's exchange battle was also nearing its climax.
Yugen had fought basically everyone he needed to on his side, although he felt it was still a bit unfulfilling. These last two days, he could occasionally see some Yellow Dorm classmates still finishing their individual duels in the dorm area.
Yugen would sometimes stop and watch the duels as he passed by. In short, although quite a few students had been "adjusted" by his duels during these two weeks, there hadn't been any obvious "Underworld person successor" phenomenon like in the dojo.
After all, everyone who could enter the academy was considered an elite among duelists. Each person had a certain persistence and pride in their own deck and wouldn't easily change it, which was different from the students in the dojo.
Later, as he passed by, he saw a Yellow Dorm student: "My turn, draw! I set four cards face-down on the field, turn end!"
Yugen: "."
He suddenly felt like he had seen this development somewhere before.
Well, there's always an exception.
He observed, and putting everything else aside, the luck rate of the Yellow Dorm students in recent duels seemed to have increased. Although no one directly copied his homework or his deck, the students were still insisting on using their own decks and ace monsters, but based on this, there was an imperceptible tendency to lean towards the Underworld direction.
If this continued to develop, if there was a large-scale inter-dorm exchange duel opportunity in the future, then the students in the other two dorms...
No, if it was stretched out a bit further.
If the "Underworld person successor" phenomenon continued to spread until one day it dominated the entire Duel Academy. By the time Saio came to inspect, he wouldn't last a week before shaking his head and bidding farewell, saying that this place was too gloomy and his Light of Destruction was powerless.
By the time Yubel's book transported the entire academy to another dimension, the entire story's style might change from "Academy teachers and students struggling to survive in another world" to "Underworld catastrophe of other-dimensional spirits."
Yugen thought for a moment and felt that if that day really came, it definitely wouldn't be his fault.
Yu-Gi-Oh was originally a game played by two people, but only one person could play the game.
Duels were inherently like this.
In the afternoon, Alchemy class.
Before the second week was over, the number of students attending Alchemy class had visibly decreased by a quarter.
However, this was understandable. In the eyes of most students, alchemy was inherently something vague, and it didn't seem to offer any obvious help in dueling.
Moreover, the course director, Professor Daitokuji, looked like the easy-to-bully type. He didn't take attendance, didn't care how many people were absent, just went up and recited his lines, and left when the time was up. Therefore, Alchemy was also regarded by the students as the easiest course to skip.
However, Daitokuji also noticed that even though he presented this kind of image, that student Yugen from the Yellow Dorm still kept his back straight the entire time and kept taking notes. In the entire classroom, there was no one as serious as him.
That dedicated attitude made even Daitokuji himself wonder——
——I mean, is it really that good?
Not only that, but this student actually chased him out after class to ask questions!
Logically speaking, since Daitokuji came to Duel Academy, he had never seen such a serious student in all these years. Even outstanding students like Tenjoin Asuka and Marufuji Ryo, when they attended his classes in the past, were at most just listening seriously and respecting the teacher; they didn't show such great enthusiasm for Alchemy.
"Teacher, I felt very interested after returning from the first class, so I went to the school library to look up a lot of related materials."
Yugen blocked Daitokuji in the corridor outside the classroom, even specially taking out the list of questions he had compiled.
"I actually found some clues in many ancient documents. Alchemy developed in ancient Egypt, and there are unearthed relics and artifacts from the same period that have a relationship. There are also some other things. I specifically listed them out; please see if they are correct, Teacher."
Professor Daitokuji held his fat cat named "Pharaoh" in one hand and accepted the list Yugen handed over with the other, examining it through his narrowed eyes.
"All clues indicate that Alchemy and Duel Monsters have been connected since ancient times, right, Teacher? Is this also why our academy offers an alchemy program?"
Daitokuji carefully looked at the content of the documents Yugen had extracted, and then examined him through his lenses for a moment before the corners of his mouth slightly lifted.
"Oh dear, this. Is that really the case? Student Yugen is indeed very studious." He thought for a moment, "Well, there are indeed many theories that suggest that the origin of Alchemy is closely related to Duel Monsters, but it's just one school of thought. There are still many debates in the academic world at present."
He was acting.
Yugen understood that Daitokuji was giving an official answer because this was indeed an issue that was still being debated in the academic world. But in the anime, Daitokuji explicitly told Judai before his death that he firmly believed that the ultimate answer to Alchemy lay within Duel Monsters, and he believed that Judai was a born top-level alchemist.
"I've also read a lot of textbooks and introductions related to Alchemy and feel that Alchemy and 'Fusion Summoning' are very similar, aren't they, Teacher?"
Yugen continued to act humble, saying.
"This is just my personal opinion. Please forgive me if I'm wrong. But I feel that the methods of Alchemy mentioned in the books, and in duels, fusing two originally ordinary monsters to create a new, powerful existence...
Isn't this process of researching and developing fusion monsters similar to turning stone into gold? Isn't it a miracle in itself?"
Daitokuji: "!?"
Even Professor Daitokuji, an Oscar-worthy actor, couldn't hide the surprise on his face for this brief moment. His eyes, which were usually narrowed into slits, almost widened in shock.
He couldn't help but be surprised because this student's words truly spoke to his heart. This was the research insight he had gained over many years as an alchemist, but he had never mentioned these things in class or shared them with anyone.
This student actually gained such similar insights to him just by reading documents and self-study...
However, this was natural.
Because Yugen had just heard this theory from Daitokuji himself. It was in the anime, during the Seven Stars arc, the content that Daitokuji spoke to Judai. Of course, he had long forgotten the exact words, but the meaning was about the same.
Perhaps it was for the first time in front of a student, Daitokuji put away his usual silly and timid image, narrowed his eyes, and seriously scrutinized Yugen.
"Fujiki Yugen. Is that right? You're very interested in Alchemy?"
"Yes, Teacher," Yugen said sincerely. "I hope to receive your guidance frequently in the future as well."
The truth was revealed; he laid his cards on the table.
He just wanted to learn card printing from the academy's hidden number one card printing master.