As I entered the Duel Academy main building, the clear, beautiful weather I had been observing up until now provided a rather ironic contrast to my current state of mind: nothing seemed to be plain to me, and yet I couldn't help but have a sense of guilty excitement at the situation I had found myself.
Hell… how often does one step into a dream like this…?
I was now properly dressed in the rather snazzy yellow jacket I had been given before the flight, but hadn't really felt the compulsion to wear until we had arrived at the academy itself. It had some kind of effect on me, to be honest, like wearing a Ra Yellow jacket cemented the fact 100% that I was actually a student at Duel Academy. The shoulders were, honestly, somewhat tight, but it was to be expected: I hadn't exactly been fitted for one…
The first surprise today came when, rather than Chancellor Sheppard giving their start-of-term speech, CROWLER was the one up there doing so, after a brief explanation that during Chancellor Sheppard's absence, he would be in charge of the academy.
Wait… he's not here…?
The rest of the speech hadn't been anything informative, just the typical bluster one would expect from the proud, elitist professor about what he expected from the students who had proven themselves worthy to be here.
There was only one point in time that Sheppard was conspicuously absent at the beginning of the year… that means…
Oh, joy… means I'm due a visit from a cult at some point…
However, even then, I hadn't been able to leave with Kyle to go see our dorm building, as, when I was starting to exit the hall, a rather strange voice called out to me "Excuse me! Mr. Kolstet! Marcus Kolstet, you are required to report to the Chancellor's office after the assembly! Toute de Suite!" tilting my head to notice the source, a rather short, partially-bald man with a downright-comical pencil moustache was currently looking at me from the upper part of the hall.
"Very well, sir…" I responded, managing to keep my tone respectful as I remembered that this odd man was Vice-Chancellor at the moment.
"Probably gotta talk about how to cover up his terrible dueling…" a snide voice from closer to the door mocked, taking off before I could retort.
Don't you worry, Reggie, you pompous brat, you'll get yours… much sooner than you think…
"What do you think Crowler wants to see you about?" Kyle asked, attempting to veer the subject away from that last comment.
"Honestly, I've got no idea… I probably forgot to cross a 't' or dot an 'I' on the application forms or something like that… you go on ahead, I'll see you at the dorm…" I requested, in an attempt to sound reassuring.
I didn't lie. I had ZERO idea what he wanted with me. I obviously did well enough to be placed into Yellow, so I doubt it's anything to do with me being stupid… but he wanted to see me, so I might as well get this over with…
Standing just outside the office now, I now stepped over to the door and knocked politely.
That crass, sharp voice called from inside "Yes? Who is it?"
"Marcus Kolstet, sir. You requested me." I answered simply, trying to retain a sense of normality despite the strangeness of my situation.
"Ah, yes. Very good. Come in." came the reply through the door, before I opened it and stepped inside.
It had been one thing seeing Dr. Crowler while he was delivering his speech, but with his full attention on me now, I almost gave an involuntary shudder at how unsettling he could be. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Ah yes, please, sit down, Mr. Kolstet. This won't take long… we just need to go over your application…" Crowler informed me, before sitting back down behind the large desk in this office.
Must be a rather satisfying outcome for him, having Sheppard away for an undisclosed amount of time, leaving him completely in charge. If this had happened earlier, things would have ended badly, both for Jaden, and for the academy for lack of said Jaden. "Oh? I was told everything was in order at the examination…" I responded, sounding surprised as I looked over the form he placed in front of me.
"Yes, it was… and that is the point… part of this application seems to have been written by you, while the rest of it was clearly detailed by someone else… I would just like to confirm the content for your file…" Crowler then stated, sounding annoyed he had to be bothered with such a monotonous task.
"Very well, sir… ask away…" I responded, while hurriedly trying to memorize the parts that weren't written by me with the brief time I had to look it over. His demonstration of the difference might have given me the opportunity to survive his grilling…
After roughly 15 minutes of back-and-forth over the content of my application, I came away with not only an impression of how thorough my benefactor was in filling in the blanks of my life here, but also with Crowler being rather more thorough than I would have expected. He was an amateur at interrogation, given that he let me see the document before grilling me on it, but still, he was quite detailed in his questions, to the point that I nearly fumbled it more than once.
"All right… your story checks out, Mr. Kolstet. I must say, I was surprised at how well your performance on the written test was, considering how long I gave to write it… but be that as it may, there is NO special treatment here… the only thing that gets you through at Duel Academy is your own ability, and willingness to work hard…" I was surprised how downright encouraging Crowler was actually being: perhaps being put in the big job for a while is giving him a change in perspective… or perhaps he was merely trying to impress the freshman by acting more like someone in charge should "…enjoy the rest of your day." He finished formally, before I finally left the office.
One thing was clear: he would be watching me… it probably sticks in his craw that I got in while doing the tests in reverse order… despite only having half the normal time to do the written portion!
"Oh, well, nothing I can do about that…" I commented to myself, before resuming my walk down the hall, making to leave the building and get to the yellow dorm.
On my way out, I passed a girl in an obelisk blue uniform: her slightly pointed face, long sheet of white hair and wide-rimmed glasses struck me as rather familiar, as was the almost detached look on her face as she walked past me – I could swear I'd met her before somewhere…
"Are they right about you?" a cold female voice then spoke from behind me as she passed.
Turning on my heel, I called back to her "What are you talking about!?" however, she didn't break pace at my question.
Speaking of unsettling…
Shaking my head, I turned back and now, thankfully, made my way to the yellow dorm without any further complications.
Once I made my way into my room, I finally had enough of a lull in everything that was going on that I could try to piece together what was going on…
My voice was higher than normal… even when I simply thought out loud, I could notice the difference from my usual tone, and not only that, but my bag was more difficult to lift, just like back in the city, but with the addition of the duel disk I had been given on arrival, my arms and shoulders were actually somewhat strained from my walk today.
Stepping toward the large mirror in one corner of the room, I decided it couldn't hurt to check, and besides: I wanted to see how I look in this uniform.
However, I'd only gotten halfway into frame before realizing something was wrong. It didn't… look right.
I didn't look right…
Taking the last step needed to reveal myself in my entirety, my eyes were now wide with shock: I was visibly younger! This wasn't me! It was… not myself… I…
Stepping back, my thoughts were rather incoherent as I tried to process what I was seeing, tripping over the desk chair and falling to the ground with a loud thud, the chair adding to the noise: the new pain in my legs as well, but right now, I was too engrossed in what I just realized.
But even when I was on the way here… when I broke down that wall… I was normal…! What the hell happened!? What kind of nonsense is this!?
Then again… taking stock of what happened, it made enough sense that something had happened: after all, no one had given me a second look when I turned up at a Duel Academy Entrance Exam, and the students here are all rather younger than I am-
Was.
I should have expected it, really. Otherwise, I'd have been drawing stares like when that reporter tried to infiltrate Duel Academy last year…
Truthfully, it's something most people would wish for… what was that phrase?
'If I knew then what I know now.'
I suppose I can put that theory into practice now…
My thoughts were interrupted by the sudden arrival of people in my room "Marcus?!" I knew that voice… turning to see Kyle, with someone else having come in behind him.
"Are you all right!?" the second voice, a clipped English accent toned with concern, was easily recognizable, as I got up slowly, wobbling back up to my feet.
"Perfectly fine, Bastion… just got tripped up a bit when I turned around without looking…" I stated in an attempt to brush off the sharp pain in my legs.
"Oh? You're okay? Good." Kyle then inputted. "Well… here we are… I was going to introduce you two, but it seems you already know Bastion…"
"Indeed I do. I've heard of him. Marcus Kolstet…" I then confirmed for him, extending a hand to try to salvage the situation from my slip of the tongue.
"Indeed? Well then, I was unaware I had such a reputation to precede me…" Bastion then stated, though he sounded mistrustful of my declaration. He was justified in such: there was little chance I would have heard of any individual student, except perhaps Jaden, prior to arrival at Duel Academy… After all: the Kagemaru incident with the Sacred Beasts would have doubtless made the rounds, at least at the academy if not outside of it, and Jaden would have been mentioned.
"I am quite thorough in my research, Bastion…" I told him, having decided on an approach, I was going to stick with it. Not doing so would start putting holes in my story already.
"Really?" Kyle asked, looking amused at this "Didn't look like you thoroughly researched the examination rules to me…"
Heaving a sigh, I retorted "Anyone can have a slip-up, buddy… just because I know what to do doesn't mean I'll always remember to do it…"
"Right… anyway… if you are all right, I should be getting back to my room… I must crack a problem I have been having with a summoning calculation… good day, Marcus…" he finished, before turning back to the door, starting toward it.
"Hang on a second, Bastion!" I called back to him before he left the room. Once he turned around, I informed him "There's going to be a duel between Chazz and one of the new students in my year, Reggie… Crowler told me when I was in his office earlier… want to go see it later? And on that note, Kyle, did you want to go see it?"
True, I lied about how I knew about it, but it spared me having to comment on how I knew Chazz.
"Why'd you ask me second?!" Kyle then asked annoyed "You've known me longer!" he then protested.
"Firstly, not much longer, the time of the flight over… just saying. Secondly, because he was leaving, so if I'd asked you first, I wouldn't have gotten the chance to ask him…" I then retorted to Kyle's rather childish statement.
"Hmm… if I finish my calculations before the match, perhaps. But in the meantime, I must attend to it… Hopefully I will see you there!" Bastion then told the two of us before going back toward his room.
That guy really IS dedicated to his math studies…
"…anyway, Kyle…" I then resumed "…did you want to go see it, or no?"
"Well, I really ought to check my schedule, I'm really quite busy…" Kyle started to say with a mock snide tone, miming scanning through his new PDA, before nodding "I suppose I can…"
"Keep that up, and you might fit in with Reg and his buddies…" I then told him with a slight smirk.
"Yeah, no. Don't wanna do that… but I did promise I would call home when I got the chance… so I'll talk to you later, Marcus!" Kyle then stated before rushing out of the room, though I could swear I heard him think aloud "Now where were the phones again…?"
Once the other two had finally left the room again, I closed the door again behind me, to give myself the chance to think about what was going on.
Because, as nice as it was I would get to spend SOME time here, I really needed to think about how I was going to get home from here… I may have gotten here by happenstance, but it DEFINITELY wouldn't be as simple the other way around…
There was, really, only one way that immediately sprung to mind, and unfortunately, it required a lot of patience: I would have to find my benefactor, the one who had helped me get into this situation, most likely by playing along with whatever little game they had in mind, and once I knew who they were, use whatever method necessary to get them to help me get home…
Until then, however, there wasn't really much I could do beyond consider who they might be… It would have to be someone influential enough to bend the rules and get me into Duel Academy…
Kaiba?
Probably not. He wouldn't have a motive… though my benefactor might have manipulated Kaiba somehow…
Sheppard wasn't even here, so it was doubtful he would…
Perhaps, on the other hand, it was someone who knew I was coming?
Sartorius?
He was, so far, my lead suspect. He had motive, in serving the Light of Destruction, and the capability, in having the ability of foresight to know exactly when I was coming…
The only problem was that light wall… that could have been the Light of Destruction… and it wouldn't have been trying to kill me if it wanted me there… Not to mention the fact that I'd never willingly help him…
Perhaps it wasn't simply prediction, but execution, whoever it was being the one that BROUGHT me here, as opposed to simply knowing it, before manipulating the structure themselves…
Rubbing my temples, I shook my head as it was starting to hurt my brain attempting to ponder through such supernatural concepts for my own sake… because there was no real reason anyone would want me here THAT badly… at least, none that I could see…
There was quite an impressive view from my window: the endless seascape leading out to the horizon just past the cliff, and the lightly-clouded blue expanse of sky above it, I decided to optimize the deck I had come up with. I hadn't had long to come up with the deck I'd used in the exam, and that was only based on the first cards I found that conformed to the timeline rules, so I still had to fix it. Since I had enough time to dig through the box for anything that might work more effectively, I set about doing just that.
I'll admit, after all the strange happenings that had led to my arrival here, I rather enjoyed the mundane simplicity of deck-building in comparative silence. I also inserted a fun extra card which was more of a laugh than anything else, but might come in handy for that final push.
Not long after I finished, I heard a knock at the door "Marcus? Marcus, the match is going to start soon, we should get going if you wish to get a decent seat…" It wasn't Kyle, who I expected to show up first, but Bastion.
Going over to the door after inserting my new deck into the deck box which I'd rigged to fit into my belt, I opened the door to see him standing there. I've got to admit, even though I'd met him before, it still unsettled my sense of reality to see someone I'd considered a fiction just standing there talking to me. "Figured out your equation, then?" I asked him, curious now to see if he'd made the progress he wanted.
"If I hadn't, I wouldn't be talking to you yet…" he then responded matter-of-factly. It made sense, but he seemed to grating without intending to, something I well understood. "I will thank you for informing me, though. I was able to adequately inform my friends about the match, and they wished to watch with us as well… assuming that is all right with you…"
I had the feeling that if I didn't want that, he'd end up going with them anyway, as between his friends of more than a year and a near-brush with both death and cataclysm, and two relative strangers he'd never met before today, there really wasn't any choice at all. "That's all right, Bastion. I would like to meet more people while I'm here, anyway… just need Kyle to get out here…"
"He was right behind me a moment ago…" Bastion commented, before turning back toward the hall leading to his room.
"It's okay! I'm here! I'm here!" Kyle then shouted, rushing back out into the hallway. "I just wanted to finish up with my computer! It's supposed to be updating while I'm gone!"
"Not a problem, bud." I informed him, in an attempt to sound reassuring. "Bastion was just about to introduce us to his friends, I think… or are we meeting them there?" I informed Kyle before asking Bastion the situation.
"Oh, no, they're right outside. We might need to get moving though, or Jaden will get impatient and head there anyway… a little impetuous, that one…" leading to an involuntary nod of agreement from me.
Wow… the proctor was right, I need to work on my poker face…
Luckily, though, he didn't comment on it, so the three of us went out to meet Bastion's friends, while I attempted to act surprised at the group we met just outside.
Jaden… Syrus… Alexis… and Chazz is dueling, so he's probably there already…
"Good afternoon, everyone. These are two new friends I met today from the new first-year students. Kyle Stettin, and Marcus Kolstet. Kyle, Marcus, this is Jaden Yuki…" leading to an excited "Heya!" from Jaden, before Bastion resumed "…Syrus Truesdale…" getting a light wave and a "Hey." from Syrus.
So Syrus is still a red at the moment… that won't last long… though I couldn't tell HIM that…
"…and Alexis Rhodes…" Bastion then gestured to Alexis.
"Hello. Welcome to Duel Academy!" Alexis chimed pleasantly, clearly trying to be the encouraging upperclassman, or woman in this case. I was having a hard time looking at her at the moment, as I suddenly understood why seemingly every guy to step into this academy at least developed a crush on this girl. Lovely didn't seem to cover it, the word I was looking for to describe her eluding me at the moment. Her skirt, only about three times the width of her BELT, certainly didn't help things.
Eyes up… Eyes up…
Once Jaden started to speak again, I quickly turned to him, if only to keep my current expression calm "Yeah! I'm certain you guys are going to like it here!"
"Greetings." I started casually, looking over the group again, "As he said, I'm Marcus Kolstet. Thank you for your gracious welcome. I look forward to dueling each and every one of you at some point later…" I then told them, unable to come up with anything better at the moment, as I was still having trouble containing my excitement at meeting all of them.
"Oh, you're on!" Jaden declared enthusiastically.
"Hey, you two, don't get carried away. We're still going to watch Chazz's duel." Alexis then interjected. I'd actually been wondering when someone would be the voice of reason.
"Right, right! But later, we'll definitely be getting our game on!" Jaden then ceded, while still declaring intent to duel at the same time.
I barely managed to keep myself from cringing at that phrase. It was still so strange to actually hear him say that aloud.
"Just gonna say, if we don't get moving, we won't be able to sit together!" Kyle informed nervously, Syrus nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, let's get going!" Syrus affirmed, the group now starting to get moving, walking toward the main building, and our goal of the arena complex.
Once we stepped into the arena building, I hadn't expected to see much of a crowd built up yet, but wow! The place was almost completely packed right now! I didn't even think there were this many students at the academy IN TOTAL!
As we looked around, I commented "Let me know if you spot an open section…" trying to find one. However, it surprisingly only took a moment before Jaden pointed to a section "Hey! Over there!" the rest of us then following him quickly through the building and into the section of stands where there had been a big enough gap for at least half of us to get into one row of seats, Alexis, Jaden and Syrus ending up a row up, where Alexis' normal cohorts… what were their names again…? Mindy and Jasmine, I'm pretty sure… had been sitting when we showed up.
However, at the moment, it wasn't really practical to do introductions over the ambient noise of the arena crowd waiting for the match to begin.
You know, something about know how the match was going to end already took something away from the anticipation, but I looked rather forward to watching Chazz take Reggie down a peg or two.
Not really willing to take part in conversation that required me to shout over the din, I remained rather quiet, merely looking down at the arena, though I did notice Mindy and Jasmine glance back at our row to see Kyle and myself, likely curious about the new people. I couldn't catch what they said after that, but I could swear I heard them giggling about something after that…
This whole thing was somewhat strange, as seeing these people in person had a completely different impact from just seeing them through a screen. If I wasn't careful, I'd become completely sidetracked from what I had to do by attempting to get a date or something of that sort...
Thankfully, I was spared further thoughts about this by the fact that Chazz and Reggie were now on the arena floor, and the duel had finally begun.
Over the course of the duel, I tried my best to remain detached, even as shockwaves from various attacks were sweeping over the audience, pushing me back into my chair more than once, though, as the duel wound down to an end… something seemed… off…
Did their duel actually end that quickly…? I could have sworn Reggie at least had Chazz on the ropes for part of the duel… but, despite Chazz lecturing him on the nature of his elitism, Chazz utterly crushed him despite a weak attempt at a counterattack… that surprise actually left a bad taste in my mouth in regard to how anticlimactic that duel was…
Though, it seemed I was the only one to get this impression, as Jaden and Syrus had rushed the field, along with most of slifer red, whilst the rest of the audience had begun shouting 'Chazz it up!', which had done it for me, and I couldn't contain myself from breaking out laughing at how absurd it sounded.
So much for keeping myself controlled…
"Are you all right?" Bastion then managed to ask over the noise of the event.
"Y-yeah…" I managed to get out, still chuckling a bit about it myself "…it's just… a bit ridiculous… isn't it?" shaking my head somewhat, as I seemed to be the only one not taking things seriously at the moment, the way people were speaking here taking away a great deal of tension that I had been feeling up until now.
"It is a tad unusual, I'll grant you, but it is something that Chazz takes very seriously, so you may wish to keep such opinions to yourself when speaking to him… just a word of advice." Bastion then informed me, not really looking as amused as I was.
Then again, Chazz didn't look that amused, either, as he was currently being hefted into the air by the reds.
All's well that ends well, I suppose… but it still didn't make that much sense…
Starting to leave without saying anything to anyone else, I found the sun was already starting to set as I left the building, casting an orange hue over everything outside.
"Hey! Wait a minute! Get back here…!" a voice then called out from behind me. Turning to identify the source, I saw Jaden rushing out of the building to catch up to me. "…where ya going, newbie? You still owe me a duel!"
I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the fact that he was ALREADY up for it. Perhaps I wasn't the only one that was quite content with the results of the last duel…
"Really? I would have thought you'd be celebrating with the rest of the reds over Chazz's victory… Left early to beat the exit congestion…" I then informed him. I regularly did my best to avoid being in crowded places like narrow hallways after big events, foot traffic could be as bad as the roads in some places…
"Well, I might have been… but I never turn down a challenge…" Jaden then declared, activating his duel disk "…so let's throw down!"
Still not quite used to Jaden's verbiage, I couldn't help but smile a bit at this "All right then, let's do this!" opening the bag I brought with me to reveal I'd been carrying my duel disk as well, activating it and getting ready for the duel.
"Game on!" we both got out at the same time. (My LP: 4000 / Jaden LP: 4000)
"All right, let's see what you've got, Marcus!" Jaden then stated encouragingly.
"Very well then. I draw!" Remembering to take my first draw, I looked over my hand. This wasn't good. I was used to going second, having geared the deck heavily toward offence. But, there was something I could do right now… there was always an option. "I'm going to set a monster face-down, then set one card face-down. Your move."
"Hmm… kinda plain opening, but not bad, I guess. I'll draw! I'll open with Elemental Hero Burstinatrix!" (ATK: 1200)
Really…? He actually does summon the low attack heroes…? I must have forgotten that… then again, he actually does things with them…
"…now I'm going to have her attack your face-down monster! Burst strike!" now Burstinatrix sent a volley of fireballs at my face-down Ryko.
"You destroyed my Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter, but your attack activated its effect! I send three cards from the top of my deck to my graveyard, and I can destroy one card on your side of the field…" now looking at the three cards I sent: Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner, Heavy Storm, and Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior, before declaring "…and now I destroy your Burstinatrix!" before watching an explosion remove Burstinatrix from the field.
"…tricky monster… but… your deck works by throwing your top cards away…?" Jaden then asked, sounding a little surprised. "…why would you disrespect your cards like that?"
Shaking my head a little, I replied "You don't quite get it, Jaden… even in my graveyard, my monsters support my deck's goal… I'm going to give you a spoiler… there are even some monsters in my deck that can only be played once I have certain things in my graveyard… so you see… I'm not really throwing them away… I'm bringing them into my plan in a different way…"
"Oh… um… all right… I guess… I'll throw down two face-downs, and call it a turn…" Jaden concluded, not sounding convinced by what I told him, but ending his turn nonetheless.
"So THIS is where they went!" Syrus declared, making his way out to where Jaden and I were duelling.
"Just finished watching a duel, but couldn't keep from starting up? So like Jaden…" Alexis observed.
"Before the end of your turn, Jaden, I will activate my face-down card! Royal Decree! This trap card is essentially Jinzo's effect… while it is face-up on the field, all other trap cards are negated!" I then informed him. "Now it's my turn! I draw! I activate the spell card Solar Recharge! By discarding Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress, I draw two more cards, then send two cards from the top of my deck to the graveyard!"
"Why not just play Pot of Greed?" Kyle asked, sounding confused.
"Because it allows him to cycle through more cards than just the ones he drew… the other two cards that go to the graveyard…" Bastion replied.
"So just play Graceful Charity then…" Chazz inputted, annoyed.
"Oh, I do." I retorted. "Not enough, though…" I commented, before looking at the cards I milled. "Now, since I milled Wulf, Lightsworn Beast, its effect allows me to summon it to the field!" (ATK: 2100) The beast now appearing in front of me, before I stated "But it shall not stay on my field for long, as I tribute Wulf in order to summon Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon!" (ATK: 2300) The large, white dragon now appearing in front of me. "Now, allow me to tell you what it does. For every lightsworn monster in my graveyard with a different name, Gragonith gains 300 attack and defence points! I have Lumina, Lyla, Ryko, Garoth, and Wulf in my graveyard, so my dragon gains 1500 points! (ATK: 2300 - 3800)
"Whoa! Now that's a nasty dragon!" Kyle responded, shocked by what I'd managed to get onto the field.
If only he knew what else I had in my hand… looking down at the 'Judgement Dragon' in my hand, I pondered whether or not I should use it in this duel… not yet… I had the feeling I shouldn't just yet.
Either way…
"Gragonith! Attack Jaden directly!" I declared, sending my dragon to hit Jaden. I half-expected him to suddenly flip up a spell card just in the nick of time, but he didn't move to do anything, before getting blasted by a burst of light that Gragonith charged up from its mouth. (Jaden LP: 4000 – 200)
"Whoa! Jaden's just about out from one hit!" Kyle declared.
"Hey… if there's one thing I've learned…" Alexis started "…it's NEVER count Jaden out…"
Ain't that the truth?
"I now end my turn. At the end of my turn, Gragonith requires me to send three more cards from the top of my deck to the graveyard…" sending more cards to the graveyard, but not getting any new lightsworns, merely more of the same monsters, leaving my dragon at its impressive 3800.
"You know…" Jaden started. "As impressive as your monster is… you made a very important mistake… you left yourself without any other kind of protection! I draw! Now, I activate the spell card Pot of Greed! This allows me to draw two more cards!"
As I tried not to laugh while he explained pot of greed to me, he continued his turn. Now I activate the spell card polymerization! Fusing the Sparkman and Clayman in my hand to summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!" (ATK: 2400)
Well, there goes my dragon…
"Your dragon's pretty cool, but you haven't won yet! I activate the effect of my Thunder Giant! By discarding the H-Heated Heart from my hand, I can destroy a monster whose original attack is lower than his! Since your dragon started at 2300, you know what that means!" now watching the thunder burst shatter my dragon. "…after that, I normal summon Elemental Hero Ocean!" (ATK: 1500)
Wait… Ocean…?!
Looking across at the bident-wielding aquatic hero, I started to wonder just what was going on here. I knew what it was, but I'd never seen this version of Jaden actually make use of it! I was starting to think I'd be able to predict my opponents, but with a single card, Jaden just showed me that was not going to be the case.
"Now… you're gonna have to learn the hard way! Ocean, you're up first!" The bident-wielding hero now throwing its weapon at me, the hologram passing through me, surprisingly not the painful sensation I'd initially expected. (My LP: 4000 – 2500) "Now, Thunder Giant! Attack next!" (My LP: 2500 – 100)
"Well, I'll let you go now…" Jaden then told me.
We were fairly close in terms of life points: 200 to 100, but he gave me a target to actually beat him with that ocean. As long as I can draw one other monster…
"My turn! I'll draw!" looking at the card now, I heaved a deep sigh, not sure what I should do.
I could easily win if I summoned Judgment Dragon, even without use of its monster effect… But I still didn't want to show off my ace monster… yet…
"I'll summon Jain, Lightsworn Paladin!" (ATK: 1800) "…now! Jain! Attack his Elemental Hero Ocean! When she attacks, Jain gains an extra 300 attack points!" (ATK: 1800 – 2100)
"He's got this!" Kyle declared.
"Not yet!" Jaden reacted, revealing his face-down card "I activate emergency provisions! Now, by sacrificing my other face-down card, I gain 1000 life points!" (Jaden LP: 200 – 1200)
"But now, Jain still destroys your monster." I then reminded him, Jain cutting ocean in half. (Jaden LP: 1200 – 600)
"But now his Jain's just going to get destroyed by Jaden's Thunder Giant next turn!" Chazz thought aloud. "This freshman's toast…"
Wow, they sure do like their commentary…
"Actually, Chazz… there isn't going to be a next turn… sorry Jaden, that I'm ending the duel like this, but I now activate the spell card Tremendous Fire!"
"Wait, what!?" Chazz then looked at me like I was nuts, the rest of the group on the side looking outright shocked.
Then again, Jaden had the same expression on his face: utter shock "Wait, doesn't that deal damage to BOTH of us!?"
"Yeah… it does… Tremendous Fire deals 1000 damage to your life points, while at the same time dealing 500 damage to mine… I included it today on a whim, actually… didn't think I'd need to use it like this…" chuckling a bit, I then smiled across at him as the field caught fire, both of our life points reducing at the same time. (Jaden LP: 600 – 0) (My LP: 100 – 0)
From their perspective, THIS probably would have been the anticlimactic duel, though to me, I thought it was epic. "That was a great duel, Jaden!" I declared. "…but trust me, next time, I'll be winning outright!"
"You're on! You've got game, Marcus! You just gotta learn to defend yourself a little better…" he stated, in an obvious attempt to be encouraging, though not saying anything I hadn't already considered.
Turning and leaving the area, I heard Kyle and Bastion catch up to me "That… could have gone better…" Bastion started, rubbing the back of his head "…I wouldn't have thought you to be such an impulsive duelist…"
"No." I replied. "…that duel went fine… though he was right about one thing, I've got to include some kind of protection cards to keep myself from getting destroyed should I lose my immediate monsters… and I've got a couple ideas of how to fix that…"
Kyle then spoke next "Why did you include a card like that in your deck, anyway?" looking a little confused by my last play.
"Well, considering the fact that each player starts with 4000 life points, I figured any card that just cuts a quarter of your opponent's life points might be handy…" I explained.
Though a card that would completely finish them with a direct attack from Judgment Dragon is worth a look, I think…
"That is certainly something, but such a strategy is hardly something I would recommend…" Bastion said, sounding rather uneasy with the way I planned out my duels.
"Yeah, I know it's impulsive… but it's just the way I've always duelled… either way… have a good night, guys… I'm headed to bed…" politely taking my leave once we got to the dorm building.
Unexpected duel results… widened card pools… supernatural conspiracy…
It seemed things here were going to be far more interesting than I'd initially expected…