For some reason I've developed writer's block with most of my current stories, and I'm starting to get some ideas for this one, so maybe if I pull this one off that'll quit. So, my last Yu-Gi-Oh fic messed up because I had limited knowledge of the season I was basing it upon, so while I'll still use elements from the show for this one, it's likely gonna be more along the lines of an original work. It's set more in GX since I always thought Duel Academy was awesome. Summoning methods and other rules will be kept to the modern standards, and I may factor in elements from other seasons, but I'm not sure yet. Anyhow, disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh in an way, shape, or form, nor am I going to lie by claiming otherwise. That honor goes to the actual creators at Konami.
A boy in his late teens with dark hair that looked like it'd been cut recently charged towards the high school, sidestepping around another guy around the same age with red hair. I turned back around to face my friend and apologized. "Sorry, Ray! But you should hurry, we're gonna be late!" With that, I turned back around and ran at the open door.
Guess some explanation is due, huh? Hey, the name's Aadyn. I'm the aforementioned dark haired goof that almost steamrolled his best friend. As for why I'm going nuts, well... Yu-Gi-Oh had finally gotten a huge kick off that I've been waiting for since I started playing at 3, though at the time playing was a rather loose term. But popularity had boomed, and with it came some epic innovations, including a number from the show, one of which was a real life version of Duel Academy. I'll give you three guesses how that tied in to my excitement.
Ha, that's right! Representatives were currently borrowing my school to check for talent. Pretty awesome, right? And I wasn't missing out on this opportunity. The timing was opportune, too. Summer break meant the place wasn't being used anyway after all!
I'd packed all five of my decks into the pockets of my jacket and had to hold my hands over them to make sure none fell out. Lucky for me, the gym, which was where the testing was going on, was right by the door I'd used to get inside. Next to the doors, a pair of men were looking at some paperwork that was part of a depressingly small pile. There weren't a lot of fans in my hometown, even with the recent high rise. At any one time, there had never even been a full dozen people who enjoyed the game at my school, even counting myself. Heck, I'd been bullied for enjoying the game, that's how bad it was!
"Welcome to the DA exams. Please fill out this form, and then my colleague will show you to where the written exam is taking place." I took the form and began reading, filling it out as I went. Once I finished, the other examiner got up and had me begin following him at about the same time as Ray started on his own form. He led me down the hallways to a classroom I was very familiar with, since it was where my biology class had been freshman year. A couple of my friends that I'd gotten interested in the game, Nick and Chandler, were already testing. I went to my old seat and began going through the test. After about 12 questions, Ray was led in as well.
Now, here's a funny thing. I'm known for not only loving to read, but also being an extremely quick reader. I finished To Kill A Mockingbird weeks before most of my classmates did, and that was with me only reading it in class while about half took their copies home with them. But the funny part is that it's because of Yu-Gi-Oh. When I was 4, I was tired of making up what went on with my cards and wanted to really use them. So, I convinced my mom to teach me how to read and some basic math. I'm pretty good at working out problems in my head, and the speed reading was so I wouldn't spend too much time if I needed to activate a card quickly. As such, I finished the test first, and turned it in.
The rules stated the dueling part wouldn't start until everyone had finished the written exam, so I sat on the rather comfy couch that was against one wall, chuckling as I remembered a few times I had faked sleeping until the bell to start class rang just for fun, and overlooked my friends.
Nick is a year younger than the rest of us, and still a rookie, but he has fun playing the game, though more frequently he's also borrowing books of mine and taking suggestions. He has a slightly darker skin tone than the rest of us, so I'm pretty sure he's Hispanic, but I haven't ever asked. He has glasses, as do the other two, and brown eyes with black hair. Like Ray and I, he also has a habit of usually wearing a jacket. He's also the only one of us who didn't look like he needs to lose a few pounds.
Chandler hadn't started playing until I'd asked him to in the recently ended school year, but he is a decent player. I'm fairly sure he's the tallest of us. He has blond hair and, if I remember right, blue eyes. He's as much a friend to me as the others, but sometimes he has a habit of fading into the background a bit.
Ray is my best friend, and though he'd known about the game already, wasn't really that into playing until I'd tricked him into a match that had gotten him hooked. He has a habit of throwing his metaphorical weight around, taking it upon himself to boss the rest of us around if he thought we needed a push in the right direction, and he enjoys making jokes that would cause me to freak out. Like I said before, he has red hair and tends to wear a jacket, like me. Behind his glasses he has blue eyes.
After a while they began wrapping up, and I began twitching in anticipation. Well, twitching more than I had, anyway. Well, when I'm bored I get twitchy, and they took a bit to finish. The examiner who'd been in the room to watch us for cheating led us back to the gym. Once we were there, we were asked who had cards of our own and who didn't. Everyone but me raised their hands. Problem is, while I'd gotten them interested, they had other things to think about and weren't willing to buy decks of their own during the school year. That, and while my decks are mostly original creations of mine, they work pretty well, so they weren't willing to accept something thrown together from my random scratch cards either.
Then I stopped to consider Nick. Normally it showed that he wasn't completely sure of what he was doing, but then, when he used a certain one of my decks, his skills skyrocketed, and it wasn't really a deck I used all that often, either. "Hang on a sec." I went to Nick and handed him a deck in a ziploc bag. "Keep em. They don't get the use they deserve with me anyway."
Nick's hand went down, leaving just Ray and Chandler holding up their hands. The examiners reached into a bag that I'd assumed was holding one of their lunches, and pulled out five decks. "Both of you pick out one of these decks. You can look to see if it's one you like. But unless you pass the exam, we get them back after your duel. Understood?" They both nodded and began looking at the cards. Unfortunately I couldn't see them myself, which meant I would have to wait until their duels started. Speaking of...
There were only three examiners, so one of us would have to wait until at least one duel had ended before they could have a chance. Well, guess I'm going last. Maybe it'll help my nerves settle down, and unless they switch out the cards they use, I'll also get a glimpse at what cards my opponent will use. After the others picked out their cards, we were lead inside the gym and given duel disks, honest to goodness duel disks! I could scream! They were like the ones used in GX, which may tie in to the whole Duel Academy theme. We were told they were specially designed for the testing, but had some pretty standard yet cool functions. Like in the first few generations, they projected holographic images of the cards on the field and had a life point counter, plus a function to shuffle the cards. He showed us where to put our extra decks, the graveyard, and our main deck, two of which I knew from the show, the extra deck though? Not so much.
I sat on the bleachers, showing I'd go last, while the others started. This should be good! The disks were activated with some instruction from the examiners, and then some cheering startled me. On the other set of bleachers across from me, a few relatives were seated, likely to watch. I gulped. That crowd could make my stage fright act up...
(Nick's Duel)
"I'll take the first move. I draw and activate Water Hazard and use its effect to Special Summon Lost Blue Breaker." A creature resembling an overgrown blue crayfish with two heads was washed onto the field. "But now, with Sharkraken's effect, I tribute him to Special Summon it." A mutant cross between a shark and a squid devoured the poor thing and began circling ominously. "Then I'll Normal Summon Crane Crane and use its effect to resurrect my Breaker." A large construction crane resembling the bird that shared its name appeared and dropped a hook into the examiner's graveyard, pulling out the two headed beast. I had to keep myself from letting my jaw drop. I thought the examiners were supposed to use slightly weaker decks than that. "Using the effect of Sirenorca, I now Special Summon her and change the level of all my monsters to three." A weird mermaid that seemed to be a mix of dolphin, person and tropical bird appeared and began singing, which likely caused the levels to change. This can't be good for Nick.
"Now, I'll use Crane Crane and Breaker to build the Overlay Network! Come forth from the deeps and devour my enemies! I Xyz Summon Number 47: Nightmare Shark!" A black and gold (which also happen to be our school colors, so that's sorta funny) vortex formed, turning the crane and sea serpent into specks of light that were sucked in before spitting out a shark that had a long snakelike tail, arms with sharp blades fixed to them and large wings. This was a nasty card. I have a copy somewhere in my scratch cards box. "Using its ability, I add Sirenorca to it as an Xyz Material, then end my turn."
Examiner:
LP: 8000
Hand: 1
Field: Number 47: Nightmare Shark; Rank 3, ATK/ 2000 DEF/ 2000
Sharkraken; Level 3, ATK/ 2400 DEF/2100
Spell/Trap Zone: Water Hazard
Nick:
LP: 8000
Hand: 6
Field: Empty
Nick was starting to look intimidated as he drew. Can't blame him, but... "Hey, Nick! Quit being a chicken and just give it all you've got! You're great with that deck!" I called out to him, and he jumped, then gave me a grateful grin. Good.
"Alright, I'll start off by setting a card. Now I summon Noble Knight Artorigus, and equip him with Noble Arms- Excaliburn." A face down appeared on Nick's field, along with a knight in plate mail holding a large sword that was blue on one side, red on the other. "Then, since I have a light attribute normal monster, I can special summon Noble Knight Gawayn in defense mode, then build my own Overlay network." Another heavily armored knight appeared, kneeling before his lord, before they were absorbed into the new vortex, shattering Artorigus' sword in the process. "Great knight, answer my call to battle. I Xyz Summon Artorigus, King of the Noble Knights!" Artorigus returned in somewhat bulkier armor and with a new sword.
"I'll equip Artorigus with Noble Arms- Caliburn from my hand, and with its effect, not only does Artorigus get a boost of 500 attack points, but I gain 500 life points as well. Then, since he has a Noble Arms spell equipped, I can destroy your spells or traps up to the number of equipped cards by removing a Material. Bye, Water Hazard. Now, destroy his kraken!" No! It may have higher attack points, but Nightmare Shark is the bigger threat! But I couldn't speak up without perhaps disqualifying us both, and Artorigus used both of his new blades to carve the beast into sushi. "I end my turn."
Nick:
LP: 8500
Hand: 1
Field: Artorigus, King of the Noble Knights; Rank 4, ATK/ 2000 + 500 DEF/ 2000
Spell/Trap zone: Noble Arms- Caliburn, Face down
Examiner:
LP: 7900
Hand: 2
Field: Number 47: Nightmare Shark; Rank 3, ATK/ 2000 DEF/ 2000
The examiner looked at Nick with a hint of respect, despite his mistake of target. Does he know about Artorigus' and Excaliburn's effects? If he does, he'll do all he can to eliminate one or the other. "I draw. Hmph. I'll summon Atlantean Attack Squad, and his attack goes up by 800 since Nightmare Shark is a Sea Serpent." An armored humanoid fish drew his sword and, seeing its monstrous ally, raised its blade. "Now, I put Nightmare Shark in defense mode and by removing an Xyz Material, my Squad can attack you directly." True to his word, the shark devoured one of the three lights orbiting it, and the fish man leaped directly at Nick, carving away plenty of his Life Points. "End my turn."
Examiner:
LP: 7900
Hand: 1
Field: Number 47: Nightmare Shark; Rank 3, ATK/ 2000 DEF/ 2000
Atlantean Attack Squad; Level 3, ATK/ 1400 + 800 DEF/ 0
Nick:
LP: 6300
Hand: 2
Field: Artorigus, King of the Noble Knights; Rank 4, ATK/ 2000 + 500 DEF/ 2000
Spell/Trap zone: Noble Arms- Caliburn, Face down
Nick groaned when he realized his mistake, and I shot him an "I told you so" look that he didn't see. "Draw. I activate the effect of Excaliburn in my graveyard, and by banishing it after it's been there for at least one turn, I can target a Noble Knight Xyz monster and use it to bring out another one that's a rank higher." Artorigus leaped into the vortex and reemerged once again. Caliburn had been destroyed with his previous form, but now he had his new sword and and a slightly different Excaliburn in hand. "Say hello to Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus. Activating the effect of Caliburn, when it's destroyed I can equip it to a Noble Knight from the graveyard." There was the awesome specialty of the Noble Knights I always messed up on. "Now I also equip him with Noble Arms of destiny from my hand, then summon Honest in attack mode. Activating Artorigus' effect, I remove an Xyz material and destroy 1 monster on the field. I pick Nightmare Shark!" Artorigus pointed one of his swords at the number monster, and it shattered. "Now he'll attack your Attack Squad before Honest hits you directly." He struck down the gillman before the angelic monster struck the examiner directly. "Then, with its effect during my second Main Phase, I return Honest to my hand. Then I use Caliburn's effect to recover 500 Life Points. Your move."
Nick:
LP: 6800
Hand: 1
Field: Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus; Rank 5, ATK/ 2200 + 500 DEF/ 2200
Spell/Trap zone: Noble Arms- Caliburn, Noble Arms of Destiny, Face down
Examiner:
LP: 5500
Hand: 2
Field: Empty
"That's impressive work, kid. No wonder your friend gave you that deck. All I can do is set a monster, then end my turn." A horizontal face down card appeared. Guess his rush of summons before backfired. Phew!
Examiner:
LP: 5500
Hand: 1
Field: Face down
Nick:
LP: 6800
Hand: 2
Field: Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus; Rank 5, ATK/ 2200 + 500 DEF/ 2200
Spell/Trap zone: Noble Arms- Caliburn, Noble Arms of Destiny, Face down
It was becoming pretty clear that the duel was starting to go in Nick's favor. "I draw, and activate the effect of Gwenhwyfar, Queen of Noble Arms. I equip her to Artorigus, and he gets another 300 attack points. Now I summon Honest." The angel returned while Artorigus' beloved took her place beside him and adding her strength to his own. "I remove a Material to activate Artorigus' effect again, and destroy your face down card. Now both he and Honest will attack directly!" The unknown card was smashed to nothing as the two charged forward, each striking the examiner personally. "I return Honest to my hand once again and end my turn after boosting my Life Points once again."
Nick:
LP: 7300
Hand: 1
Field: Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus; Rank 5, ATK/ 2200 + 500 + 300 DEF/ 2200
Spell/Trap zone: Noble Arms- Caliburn, Noble Arms of Destiny, Gwenhwyfar Queen of Noble Arms, Face down
Examiner:
LP: 1400
Hand: 2
Field: Empty
"Urk! I draw. Heh, I set this face down and end my turn." A spell or trap appeared and I began to wonder if he knew about some of the other effects Nick's cards had.
Examiner:
LP: 1400
Hand: 1
Field: Empty
Spell/Trap zone: Face down
Nick:
LP: 7300
Hand: 2
Field: Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus; Rank 5, ATK/ 2200 + 500 + 300 DEF/ 2200
Spell/Trap zone: Noble Arms- Caliburn, Noble Arms of Destiny, Gwenhwyfar Queen of Noble Arms, Face down
"I draw. Artorigus, attack directly and end this!" But the examiner burst out laughing.
"Nice try, but I activate Mirror Force! Bye bye Artorigus. Ha!" But then the shield strapped to Artorigus' back simply absorbed the rebounded strike. "Huh?"
I spoke up. "Noble Arms of Destiny keeps the equipped monster from being destroyed once per turn, by either battle or card effect. And even without that, Gwen's ability when the monster she's equipped to is a Light attribute allows her to be destroyed by the card effect instead. Either way, your card is wasted and the attack gets through."
A quiet exclamation of "crap" seemed to echo across the room as Artorigus carved through the last of the examiner's Life Points.
"Good work, kid. You're in." Nick gave a cheer and came to sit next to me as I pulled the deck I was planning to use from my pocket.
"Great work, Nick. You're way better with the Noble Knights than I could hope to be. Something about it just always trips me up." The I got up and began walking towards the examiner, whose deck was currently being shuffled by his disk. "Now, then. Let's kick things up a notch!"
(Ray's Duel)
As Ray took one last look through his borrowed deck I wondered what he'd chosen. He was pretty good with most of my decks, and some that a friend of ours had made specifically so Ray could beat me. Yeah, I know, someone making decks that were literally designed to take out my own seemed like a big rival who'd be here with us, right? Well not so much.
"I'll go first, then. I draw then summon Command Knight." Ray quickly brought out the lady officer and she drew her sword. "Now with Reinforcement of the Army I'll add another one to my hand. Now, I activate Double Summon and bring out the new one." A second knight appeared and I mentally praised Ray for good strategy. Their effects would keep either one from being targeted, and they both got an attack boost that was doubled due to having a second. Nice! "And I set a card then end my turn."
Ray:
LP: 8000
Hand: 2
Field: Command Knight; Level 4, ATK/ 1200 + 400 + 400 DEF/ 1900 X2
Spell/Trap zone: Face down
Examiner:
LP: 8000
Hand: 6
Field: Empty
"Draw. I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior. With Graceful Charity, I draw three cards and discard two from my hand." The red armored monster blurring the lines between knight and sorcerer took a stance and glared at the two warriors. "I then activate Monster Reborn to resurrect Gagaga Magician. Now I activate the spell Gagagabolt to destroy one of your two Command Knights." Ah, crap! There goes his loop, and she can use Breaker to destroy his facedown card. "Now I activate Spell Wall on Breaker, who will attack your remaining Knight, followed by Gagaga hitting you directly. Spell Wall means your face down can't be activated on Breaker's attack." There's that too. Oh, boy... Breaker split Command Knight in half before Gagaga hit Ray with some sorta spell. "I end my turn."
Examiner:
LP: 8000
Hand: 2
Field: Breaker the Magical Warrior; Level 4, ATK/ 1900 DEF/ 1000
Gagaga Magician; Level 4, ATK/ 1500 DEF/ 1000
Ray:
LP: 6200
Hand: 3
Field: Empty
Spell/Trap zone: Face down
Ray was beginning to get ticked. Oh, boy. Sometimes when he has a great strategy set up and it gets ruined, he ends up getting mad and when that happens, well, it's not pretty. "I draw! I summon Gagaga Gardna in attack mode and equip him with United We Stand. Now destroy Breaker!" The man with a large shield charged forward, smashing Breaker aside like a rag doll. "I end my turn."
Ray:
LP: 6200
Hand: 1
Field: Gagaga Gardna; Level 4, ATK/ 1500 + 800 DEF/ 2000 + 800
Spell/Trap zone: United We Stand, Face down
Examiner:
LP: 7600
Hand: 3
Field: Gagaga Magician; Level 4, ATK/ 1500 DEF/ 1000
"Draw. I summon Silent Magician LV4 and set two cards, then put Gagaga in defense mode. That's all." The youthful looking mage glared at Ray with the one eye not hidden by long bangs.
Examiner:
LP: 7600
Hand: 0
Field: Gagaga Magician; Level 4, ATK/ 1500 DEF/ 1000
Silent Magician LV4; Level 4, ATK/ 1000 DEF/ 1000
Spell/Trap zone: Face down, Face down
Ray:
LP: 6200
Hand: 2
Field: Gagaga Gardna; Level 4, ATK/ 1500 + 800 DEF/ 2000 + 800
Spell/Trap zone: United We Stand, Face down
"Draw." As Ray did this, Silent's effect added 500 attack points. "I activate Warrior Returning Alive to put one of my Command Knights back in my hand, then summon her." Epic. Her effect adding attack plus United We Stand will give Gardna a total 2000 attack point boost. "Command Knight will destroy Gagaga, and Gardna will-"
"I activate Negate Attack, ending your turn." Ray grumbled as she activated one of her face downs.
Ray:
LP: 6200
Hand: 1
Field: Gagaga Gardna; Level 4, ATK/ 1500 + 1600 + 400 DEF: 2000 + 1600
Command Knight; Level 4, ATK/ 1200 + 400 DEF: 1900
Spell/Trap zone: Face down, United We Stand
Examiner:
LP: 7600
Hand: 1
Field: Gagaga Magician; Level 4, ATK/ 1500 DEF/ 1000
Silent Magician LV4; Level 4, ATK/ 1500 DEF/ 1000
Spell/Trap zone: Face down, Face down
"I draw, and activate Cards of Sanctity, which makes us both draw cards until our hands becomes 6." Urgh, clever. She's forcing him to accelerate Silent Magician's ability. With each card Ray drew, Silent became stronger until it hit 3500 attack points. And now she also has a full hand when before she was on her last card. "I set a monster and now, using Rush Recklessly, I'll have Silent Magician destroy your Gardna."
"I've got a trap, too. I activate Kunai with Chain, putting your magician in defense mode and giving Gardna another 500 attack points." The trap activated, with the chain wrapping around Silent and the other part going to Gardna's free hand. The examiner ended her turn.
Examiner:
LP: 7600
Hand: 4
Field: Gagaga Magician; Level 4, ATK/ 1500 DEF/ 1000
Silent Magician LV4; Level 4, ATK/ 3500 DEF/ 1000
Face down
Spell/Trap zone: Face down
Ray:
LP: 6200
Hand: 7
Field: Gagaga Gardna; Level 4, ATK/ 1500 + 1600 + 400 + 500 DEF: 2000 + 1600
Command Knight; Level 4, ATK/ 1200 + 400 DEF: 1900
Spell/Trap zone: Kunai With Chain, United We Stand
"I draw and summon Marauding Captain, before using his effect to bring out another one." Two of the captains appeared, creating a loop and further enhancing Gardna's attack. "Now one of them will attack your Silent Magician and the other will destroy Gagaga." Each one surged forward, slashing their respective targets to nothing. "Now Command Knight will get rid of your face down." The unknown card was flipped up as Command struck, revealing Magician of Faith. Snapdragons!
"I'll use my destroyed Magician of Faith's ability to add Gagagabolt back to my hand." If she manages to use that, bye bye Gardna.
"Now Gardna, attack her directly!" Once more the shield bearer came charging in like a juggernaut, which he rather was at this point. "I'll end my turn."
"Now that the attack is done, I'll use Miracle's Wake to bring back Gagaga Magician!" The oddly dressed Spellcaster returned to the field.
Ray:
LP: 6200
Hand: 5
Field: Gagaga Gardna; Level 4, ATK/ 1500 + 3200 + 400 + 500 DEF: 2000 + 3200
Command Knight; Level 4, ATK/ 1200 + 400 DEF: 1900
Marauding Captain; Level 3, ATK/ 1200 + 400 DEF: 400 X2
Spell/Trap zone: Kunai With Chain, United We Stand
Examiner:
LP: 2000
Hand: 6
Field: Gagaga Magician; Level 4, ATK/ 1500 DEF/ 1000
"I draw, then activate Gagagabolt to destroy your Gardna." A great clap of thunder heralded a blast that reduced the enhanced warrior to ashes. "Now I'll summon Gagaga Girl in attack mode and use Gagaga Magician's effect to change his level to 7, and use Gagaga Girl's effect to mirror it. Now I'll use them to build the Overlay Network!" Once more the great vortex formed, and out came a monster resembling Dark Magician, but instead of purple it was dark blue all over. "Master of magic and deception, behold Dark Magician of Illusions! Using the effect of Gagaga Girl when the only materials are her and other Gagaga monsters, I reduce the Special Summoned Marauding Captain's attack to zero. Now, by removing an Xyz Material, I can bring out a normal Spellcaster from my deck. Say hello to Cosmo Queen!" As the odd looking monster entered the field, Ray started to look worried. I couldn't blame him, though. "Since I can't attack yet, I end my turn."
Examiner:
LP: 2000
Hand: 4
Field: Dark Magician of Illusions; Rank 7, ATK/ 2500 DEF/ 2100
Cosmo Queen; Level 8, ATK/ 2900 DEF/ 2450
Ray:
LP: 6200
Hand: 6
Field: Command Knight; Level 4, ATK/ 1200 + 400 DEF/ 1900
Marauding Captain; Level 3, ATK/ 1200 + 400 DEF/ 400
Marauding Captain; Level 3, ATK/ 0 + 400 DEF/ 400
Ray drew, and grinned a bit. "I activate Dark Hole, destroying every monster on the field!" A great void opened in the center of the field, and its gravitational pull heaved every monster inside before closing back shut. "Then I set two cards and summon Goblindbergh in attack mode." The little green creature in a biplane began doing loops in the air. "Since I did that, I can put him in defense mode with his ability and Special Summon a level 4 or lower monster. Go for it, Blade Knight!" Yes! This game is done! The classic looking knight leveled his blade at the examiner and looked to Ray for the command. "Cut her down!"
Maybe it was my imagination, but I could've sworn the knight said "with pleasure" but if I didn't imagine that, then I'm handsome. And cause of his ef- "And with only one card in your hand, his attack increases by 400 from his ability. Well done! And perhaps more to the point, DA would be proud to have you." Then the sword fell and her Life Points disappeared like a watermelon left unattended in my presence. Epic!
(Aadyn's Duel)
I drew my start hand and looked it over. Several of my draw related cards, and two I had yet to use that were recent additions. I hope this works out well. "You go first, kid. Show me if you're Duel Academy material!" I nodded and drew.
OK, I drew White Night Dragon. I have Red-Eyes, Pot of Greed, Graceful Charity, Skilled White Magician and Sacred Sword of Seven Stars in hand. First, then... "I summon Skilled White Magician in attack mode, the activate the spell Sword of Seven Stars to banish the Red-Eyes in my hand and draw two new cards." Felgrand and Trade-In. Hmm... "I then use Pot of Greed and draw two cards again." Darkstorm, Eclipse. Ugh, could be going better. Wait, actually... "Now for Graceful Charity! I draw three, then drop Lightpulsar and Darkstorm. Using Lightpulsar's effect, I discard Eclipse Wyvern and Rare Metal Dragon to Special Summon him back. Ability of Eclipse, I banish Darkness Metal Dragon." Wow, a constant stream of complex combos, talk about epic luck! "I activate Trade-In and drop White Night Dragon to draw two cards again." By this point my hand has become Hand Destruction, Herald of Creation, Felgrand, and Mirror Force. Well, then. "I use Hand Destruction, which makes us each discard then draw two cards. Yeah, both of us. Then I set a card and activate the effect of Skilled White Magician, who's been gathering counters this whole time to destroy him and bring out Buster Blader from my deck. And that's my turn." Yeep! That was long! But likely worth it, considering the dragon slayer and dragon ironically standing side by side on my field.
Aadyn:
LP: 8000
Hand: 2
Field: Lightpulsar Dragon; Level 6, ATK/ 2500 DEF/ 1500
Buster Blader; Level 7, ATK/ 2600 + 2500 DEF/ 2300
Spell/Trap zone: Face down
Examiner:
LP: 8000
Hand: 6
Field: Empty
"Not bad, kid. Draw! I set a monster and two cards then end my turn." That was a rather sad turn in comparison. He's up to something, or I'm handsome. Well, then. I'll have to keep him from springing any traps!
Examiner:
LP: 8000
Hand: 3
Field: Face down
Spell/Trap zone: Face down X2
Aadyn:
LP: 8000
Hand: 3
Field: Lightpulsar Dragon; Level 6, ATK/ 2500 DEF/ 1500
Buster Blader; Level 7, ATK/ 2600 + 2500 DEF/ 2300
Spell/Trap zone: Face down
I drew and looked. Now I have Odd-Eyes, Speedroid Menko, and Herald of Creation. Since Odd-Eyes is a Pendulum card, and every level 7 or higher in my graveyard is a dragon anyway, I can't use Herald discarding him to boost Blader's attack. Better to keep Menko for defense, and maybe leave the others as a cost to resurrect Lightpulsar if necessary. "Lightpulsar will destroy your face down monster." A single lash of its tail was enough. "Now, Blader will hit you directly!" As the blade came down, my opponent smiled, and I realized this may backfire on me.
Aadyn:
Aadyn:
LP: 8000
Hand: 3
Field: Lightpulsar Dragon; Level 6, ATK/ 2500 DEF/ 1500
Buster Blader; Level 7, ATK/ 2600 + 2500 DEF/ 2300
Spell/Trap zone: Face down
Examiner:
LP: 3900
Hand: 4
Field: Empty
Spell/Trap zone: Face down X2
"Draw. I summon Raidraptor-Vanishing Lanius in attack mode, then activate Raidraptor-Call to bring out another copy from my deck in defense mode. Now I build the Overlay Network and Xyz Summon Raidraptor-Blade Burning Falcon, then equip him with Raptor's Ultimate Mace and add 1000 attack points." A metallic bird of prey with a huge flaming sword across its torso flew out of the vortex before grabbing something that more resembled a scepter than a mace. "Since you have at least 3000 more Life Points than I do, he gains 3000 attack points! Now destroy Lightpulsar!" The creature dived at my dragon, piercing right through him.
"With Lightpulsar's effect, when he goes from the field to the graveyard I can bring out a Level five or higher dark attribute dragon my grave to replace him. Let's go, Darkstorm!" Now what resembled a hybrid of tornado and dragon entered the fray, giving the avian opponent a defiant roar.
"So what? When Blade Burner destroys a monster, I can remove any number of Xyz Materials and destroy as many monsters as materials I discarded. So good bye to both your monsters." I gasped as both my allies were incinerated, leaving me on my own.
"Why, you...! I activate Compulsory Evacuation Device to put that overcooked sorry excuse for a pigeon back in your Extra Deck!"
"Raptor's Gust negates and destroys your card, then I use Booby Trap E to put it back on the field." A tempest halted my trap before the card was returned face down. Why that wretched little-!
Examiner:
LP: 3900
Hand: 1
Field: Raidraptor-Blade Burner Falcon; Rank 4, ATK/ 1000 + 3000 + 1000 DEF/ 1000
Spell/Trap zone: Face down, Raptor's Ultimate Mace
Aadyn:
LP: 6500
Hand: 4
Field: Empty
"I draw, then activate Mystical Space Typhoon to take out your Mace!" Even if he negates that with Raptor's Gust, which he did, I'll have evened the field slightly. "I end my turn."
Aadyn:
LP: 6500
Hand: 3
Field: Empty
Examiner:
LP: 3900
Hand: 2
Field: Raidraptor-Blade Burner Falcon; Rank 4, ATK/ 1000 + 3000 + 1000 DEF/ 1000
Spell/Trap zone: Raptor's Ultimate Mace
"Too bad, kid. My Falcon attacks directly!" As it swooped down at me, a gust of wind nearly forced it from the skies and managed to extinguish its flames.
"With Menko's effect, your direct attack is halted, your monster switched to defense, and I summon it in attack mode. How about that?"
Examiner:
LP: 3900
Hand: 2
Field: Raidraptor-Blade Burner Falcon; Rank 4, ATK/ 1000 + 3000 + 1000 DEF/ 1000
Aadyn:
LP: 6500
Hand: 3
Field: Speedroid Menko; Level 4, ATK/ 100 DEF/ 2000
OK, let's keep going! "I use Lightpulsar's effect to resurrect him, then summon Mythical Beast Cerberus." I looked over at the machine, two headed beast, and shiny dragon. Full steam ahead. "Using Cerberus and Menko, I Xyz Summon Maestroke the Symphony Djinn to destroy your falcon!" The new monster lunged forward with her sword, piercing the bird and destroying it. "Lightpulsar, hit him directly!" A blast momentarily engulfed the examiner and I prepared myself to end it on my next turn.
Aadyn:
LP: 6500
Hand: 0
Field: Maestroke the Symphony Djinn; Rank 4, ATK/ 1800 DEF/ 2300
Lightpulsar Dragon; Level 6, ATK/ 2500 DEF/ 1500
Examiner:
LP: 1400
Hand: 3
Field: Empty
"Urgh... I set a monster and end my turn."
Examiner:
LP: 1400
Hand: 2
Field: Face down
Aadyn:
LP: 6500
Hand: 1
Field: Maestroke the Symphony Djinn; Rank 4, ATK/ 1800 DEF/ 2300
Lightpulsar Dragon; Level 6, ATK/ 2500 DEF/ 1500
"I draw. Perfect! I summon Vylon Prism. Now Maestroke, destroy that facedown." When it shattered, a shriek sounded. "GYYAAHH! What in the name of all things was that?!"
"When Speed Bird is destroyed, I can pick up to two level two monsters in my graveyard and Special Summon them. Say hello to Slushy." A little puddle of a monster appeared.
"Really? Lightpulsar will take it out, then Vylon will do the same to you!" Turns out the monster was made of the same semi frozen treat that shared its name. My dragon literally drank it in one gulp before Vylon crashed into the examiner, knocking him back.
"Ugh... Well done, kid. That wasn't half bad, though there were definite chances for improvement." I held back a retort. "I look forward to seeing you at-" A yell from Chandler cut him off.
"I use Judgment Dragon's ability and pay 1000 Life Points to destroy every other card on the field, and then I'll have him attack you directly!" Chandler was crushed by the powerful Lightsworn monster, totally pulverized by it. I'd seen what that card could do on my old Stardust Accelerator game. Whenever it got out, I could try any move and nothing would save me. I imagine Chandler had to experience that ferocity with one heck of a hard lesson. I ran over to him.
"Jeez, you ok? That card's a nightmare, which is the greatest understatement in existence. I don't think I've seen many, if any, cards that are harder to beat. It's been described as the ultimate Lightsworn card, and with good reason." Yeah, I was rambling. But I couldn't help it. Outside of a couple rough patches, I'd been sure we would all get through. Guess I was wrong.
"I'm fine. But I hope I never see a Lightsworn monster ever again. Why didn't you give me one of your decks, like you did for Nick?"
"Ever heard no use crying over spilt milk? It was about time you guys got your own cards, but I only gave Nick the Noble Knights cause they're cards he seems to be some kinda prodigy with. That and I can barely use them myself anyway." He didn't seem mollified and kicked at the floor.
"Try again next time, kid. We'll see how you do next year. Or rather, see how well you lose despite another year of experience." The examiner stalked off, and I began to lose it. I was angry at myself for not giving Chandler one of my decks, angry at him for blaming me, and that twit for treating one of my friends like trash.
"Hey, lackwit! First chance I get, I'll steamroll you in a duel you won't ever forget!" He stopped and turned back to face me, and something struck me. I think I've found my Dr. Crowler equivalent.
"In your dreams. The day you can beat me will be the day I offer up my Judgment Dragon in an ante. But if you're that dumb, prove yourself at the Academy, and I'll show you what a real duel is." I gave him my best death glare, which has caused absolute terror and the receiver being mistaken for a ghost (which isn't easy with tans like a couple victims had) but he was barely fazed. Mentally I filed away the arrogant gray eyes and stark white hair for the day I eliminated him. I'll enjoy seeing that arrogance turn to horror and despair.
"You've made several mistakes today. One, you made me lose my temper. And unlike my classmates, with you I have no reason to hold back that anger. Two, you insulted my dueling skills. I've played this game since before I was old enough to attend school. And three, which is the fatal mistake, you messed with one of my friends. I swear, I will make you regret this. Got that?" He gave a sarcastic wide eyed look before turning away again and walking out the gym. That pathetic-!
"Well done to the three who passed. In a few days, come back here and we'll take you to the Academy. Until then, get ready. As for you, mister Balthus? I hope you try again next year." I looked at the examiner Nick and I had faced, glad he wasn't like his colleague.
"We look forward to attending. Thank you for giving us this chance. I know I'll love it at the Academy!" The words were sincere enough that even my recent rage couldn't taint them. See, funny thing is, I'm no teacher's pet or star studded student, but Duel Academy itself was one of the reasons GX was my favorite season. I can't wait to attend, no matter what lies ahead.
Well, that was lengthier than I imagined. I'd planned to put more non dueling content after the exams, but those three duels alone were seriously lengthy. Just... WHEW! And I didn't do Chandler's duel for several reasons. One, same as why I cut into other content. Two, to leave some of the examiner's cards a surprise. Three, I realized partway through that all of us passing would be a bit far fetched, so, yeah. I cut him out because I feel like it'll be better to wait and the other two will have more critical input during the early stages. Anyhow, I think that I'll try to make things more resemble the world of the anime in the coming chapter, but how far I'll go I'm not yet sure. And that crazy bunch of cards I got? I genuinely got those from my deck as I worked through my duel, card for card. Cool, huh? Well, until chapter 2, later!