"You want to go to Duel Academy?"
Master Takeuchi, the dojo leader, was momentarily stunned.
Now that he thought about it, it did seem like the time for Duel Academy's enrollment period was approaching.
To the younger generation of duelists, Duel Academy was practically a holy land. It gathered the most exceptional students, and nearly every graduate was destined to become an elite figure.
Under Seto Kaiba's management, whether you were the heir of a world-class conglomerate or a second-generation official with a powerful family, if you lacked talent, no amount of wealth or influence could get you in.
Who was Seto Kaiba?
The world's top duelist, wielding the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon," a duel spirit rivaling the legendary Three Egyptian Gods of old. Rumors even claimed he was developing technology to traverse dimensions and time, attempting to use science to open a gateway to the underworld to challenge the long-dormant Nameless Pharaoh in a duel.
Not only was he the richest man alive, but he also stood at the pinnacle of both the supernatural and technological realms. After Yugi Muto retired from dueling, Kaiba was universally recognized as the greatest duelist of the era.
And he acknowledged nothing but skill with cards.
So when Seto Kaiba said there were no backdoors—only strength mattered—he meant it. No matter how influential or prestigious someone was, they had to take the entrance exam like everyone else; there was no room for underhanded dealings.
Kaiba revered power and championed elite education. This was evident in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, where Duel Academy's strict hierarchy and the school-wide disdain for underperforming students were on full display.
Many dueling dojos offered subsidies for students applying to Duel Academy. Successfully enrolling meant the student would become a valuable alumnus in the future, bringing excellent publicity to the dojo.
Master Takeuchi's dojo had such a subsidy, though the slots were limited each year.
Given that Yugen had defeated everyone in the dojo—including the master himself—over the past three days, he naturally qualified.
If approved, the student would receive tuition assistance, and the dojo would provide a budget for deck-building. The dojo master would personally guide the student, helping them purchase new cards and optimize their deck.
Of course, in Yugen's case, the guidance part could be skipped—he just needed the money.
"Wait a sec."
Master Takeuchi had just agreed when something occurred to him.
"What's your duelist rank again?"
"…One star."
The master: "…"
Honestly, even though he'd seen it with his own eyes, he still found it hard to fathom how a one-star student had suddenly progressed to this level, as if enlightened overnight.
But having personally experienced Yugen's current dueling prowess, he felt confident that Yugen had a strong chance of getting in.
"But one star doesn't meet the registration threshold…"
"I know," Yugen nodded. "That's why I'm planning to head to the arena tomorrow and climb the ranks as quickly as possible."
"Hmm, but there's only a month left until the entrance exam. Time's a bit tight," Master Takeuchi mused. "It'd be much easier if you could top a public tournament."
Winning a ranking in a public tournament would allow a duelist to jump straight to a high star rank, bypassing the slow grind of regular arena matches.
Plus, it'd add a tournament record to their resume, benefiting their future dueling career.
"Here's an idea," Master Takeuchi said, turning to Koji Sato. "I recall Koji was preparing to participate in this year's Moonlight Cup, right?
"Though the registration window might've closed, I know someone on the organizing committee. Slipping one more person into the preliminaries shouldn't be an issue. The dojo will cover the entry fee—how's that sound?"
This year, Koji was the only one in the dojo to reach three stars, so he'd been the sole candidate slated to apply for the Duel Academy. He'd joined the Moonlight Cup to pad his resume before enrollment, and a good placement would be a bonus.
"Then thank you, Master," Yugen said.
Koji Sato, standing nearby, couldn't help but suck in a breath.
This guy's joining too?
What if he ended up facing him in the tournament? The mere thought sent a shiver down his spine, making him feel queasy.
But then he reconsidered. With so many participants, the odds of matching up were slim. Better yet, he might get to watch other unsuspecting duelists suffer the same fate he had at Yugen's hands.
Imagining that scene, a grin crept onto his face, growing increasingly perverse.
Dueling really does bring joy.
It just depends on whose joy it is.
...
The first rays of morning sunlight fell like gentle poetry, draping the tranquil world in a golden veil. Darkness retreated, replaced by the fresh, bright dawn, the air tinged with the faint scent of morning dew and blooming flowers.
At 6:20 a.m., Yugen lazily stirred from his comfortable bed. Sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, casting dappled patterns on the white sheets and soft bedding.
He'd stayed up late and slept poorly, plagued by fragmented dreams. He vaguely recalled encountering the Grim Reaper in his sleep.
The man had ominously declared his time was up, but then, with a flourish, they each whipped out duel disks and decks, claiming he could extend his life if he beat him in a duel…
"Why would I dream something like that?" Yugen rubbed his temples.
It seemed he was gradually adopting this world's card-centric mindset: there was nothing a duel couldn't solve.
After five minutes of shaking off drowsiness, Yugen leapt out of bed, quickly dressed and washed up, and began his day of study.
You could never imagine how terrifying a disciplined card player could be.
With a month until Duel Academy's entrance exam, it was time to start preparing.
He'd initially figured a dueling exam couldn't be that hard—just the study and application of rulings, right?
Things like distinguishing whether a card effect targets or not, the order of chain resolutions, or advanced timing lessons.
None of that was included.
The conceptual questions were basic, like "Explain what a Normal Spell Card, Equip Spell Card, and Field Spell Card are"—the kind of stuff Professor Crowler asked in the GX class.
Then came memorizing card effects. This part, Yugen soon found, was unexpectedly tricky. He couldn't possibly remember the classifications and effects of ancient real-world cards that hadn't been used in twenty years, let alone the plethora of anime and manga cards that had never been printed in reality.
He also noticed differences from the real-world card environment of twenty years ago. Many cards that were only printed later existed here now.
That made sense, though. Even Judai's key "Miracle Contact" card from the Neo-Spacian deck, which had tantalized Elemental HERO players for years in the anime, felt like it took a lifetime to get printed by Konami.
So it wasn't surprising that this world had cards unavailable back then.
The question bank, in Yugen's view, was mostly fluff—lacking the core awareness and techniques that defined true dueling skill.
This reminded him of a fan theory he'd seen online in his past life. In many films and anime, reality is a higher dimension, but in Yu-Gi-Oh!, cards are the foundation of creation, and dueling represents the world's most fundamental laws—not just a card game like in reality.
So, for people in this anime world, exploring dueling rules was akin to cutting-edge research in reality—a pursuit of truth. Learning to duel might not be hard in the real world, but here, it demanded immense talent and effort.
Yugen bought study aids like Fundamentals of Duel Theory and Duel Academy Exam Questions Bank, spending most of the day grinding questions. He also took time to research card design.
In Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, the focus was always on duelists' stories, glossing over card creation. It was known that Pegasus, the "Father of Duel Monsters," discovered ancient stone tablets in Egypt and turned them into cards, forming the modern Duel Monsters system.
Later, Pegasus's Industrial Illusions Society handled most card printing, though it wasn't a monopoly. Kaiba Corporation printed plenty of cards too, circulating in the market.
Then there were prodigies like Yugi Muto and Jaden Yuki, who could whip up cards on the spot based on the situation. Sometimes they'd shamelessly print themselves or their opponents into the card art, no subtlety required.
These custom cards were recognized by the system and rules, perfectly legal.
After all, Yu-Gi-Oh! was a supernatural world, and dueling was its supernatural expression. When a "seafood-headed" prodigy shouted about friendship and bonds while printing a blank card with effects on the fly, it was a lawful application of this world's rules—a display of extraordinary power.
It's not cheating when a Duel King does it.
Divine draws and card printing were part of dueling. Don't like it? Don't play.
That said, card creation in this world clearly wasn't free rein. Even for Industrial Illusions Company designers, new cards had to align with some rules—not just whatever they fancied.
Yugen was curious: What were the requirements for card-creating? What made a card valid?
If he could print cards from the real-world pool, he'd become a card designer and shake up this overly tame dueling scene with some modern Yu-Gi-Oh! storytelling flair.
He bought some introductory texts and materials—not expecting to master it easily, just to get a basic understanding:
Basics of Field Spell Construction: Intro to Environmental Modeling and
Nine Common Pitfalls in Monster Card Design
Unsurprisingly, card-making here was a profound discipline. Many university labs and top research institutes were dedicated to Duel Monsters development.
Even old cards held untapped potential. Take "Blue-Eyes White Dragon," for instance. Seto Kaiba personally led a world-class research team, reportedly creating evolutions like "Dragon Spirit of White," "Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon," and "Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon."
Or the "Black Luster Soldier," originally an eight-star, 3000-ATK vanilla monster from a stone tablet.
It'd since been upgraded into "Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning," known in reality as "Big Envoy," a rare and legendary card.
"If I could learn to make cards myself…" Yugen mused.
For now, it was just a thought. He recalled Chumley Huffington, Jaden's dormmate in GX's first season, who joined the Industrial Illusions Company as a card designer after graduating. Perhaps Duel Academy offered card-designing courses.
If he got the chance, he'd dive into it.
For now, he set a new short-term goal:
Winning the Moonlight Cup championship first.