I've posted and reposted this one a couple of times due to math and detail errors during the duel. Let me know if you find any more, OK? But I think I got them all now.

"Umm... blazer, please. And room key."

"Oh? Haven't heard that one all day." The line at the housing office was insane, but I supposed that was something I'd have to get used to. It was probably a yearly occurrence. Hey, at least I eventually made it to the front, though I could have done without the British lady's sass.

"Yeah, yeah... hey, are you sure I was assigned to the correct dorm? I think someone made a mistake."

"All dorm assignments are final, young man. If you don't like your dorm assignment, then prove to your professors that you deserve to be reassigned through your classwork and duel skill."

"No, no, it's not that at all!" I defended, "No slight against your dorm! I just-"

"Young man, I'm sorry, but you're holding up the line. Please step out." Well, I wanted no trouble, so I submitted reluctantly. "Well, that sure is some bull crap, ain't it, Runner?" By Runner I meant Wild Tribe Bull Runner, a bull monster with a satchel eternally draped over his shoulder. I assumed his job around the Wild Tribe was as a messenger or delivery person... basically a mailman. Who was a bull. "No offense to bulls." By this point I had mastered the art of making snide side comments to the spirits without getting caught. I had a month of practice, after all. But our relationship hadn't evolved beyond me making snide comments to them and then going back to ignoring them. "Well... I guess dorm assignments are final. Better embrace it." I reluctantly put on the blazer, but I let the Rob Zombie T-shirt beneath it show. Metalheads have to shout out at each other, after all. Hopefully no faculty would try to give me crap about it.

One thing I was thankful was the signs around the campus were extremely clear. Finding my way was easy. One thing I wasn't thankful for was that the campus was so damn big, it took me twenty minutes to walk from the housing office to my dorm. "I wonder if Vice Chancellor Hart had something to do with this. I know my demonstration didn't earn me this place," I mumbled as I arrived in the commons outside the dorm. "Hopefully I'm not the only one in Obelisk Blue who isn't a prep school snob. Maybe I'll be really lucky and not get a roommate!" The Obelisk dorm was essentially a five-star hotel tower, only it only went five floors up. I guessed it didn't have many students since it was so exclusive. At least I was on the second, which meant going up and down so many stairs wouldn't be a hassle.

Actually, it turned out stairs weren't an issue at all; the ornately decorated indoor commons came stock with elevators! Yeesh, rich kids were so spoiled! But hey, that worked for me; now I was gonna be spoiled, too! I even got the elevator to myself, which worked for me just fine. I had two big suitcases of clothes and personals, and while they fit the huge elevator fine with enough room for ten more with the same load, I still wasn't too interested in being social right then anyway. That could wait until my crap was all unloaded, and until then I wanted to be left alone and not distracted.

I swiped the key card to my door, which unlocked it, and opened it up - about two inches. After that it refused to budge, and the reason why was obvious; a chain latch wouldn't let it go any further. "Hey!" I shouted inside indignantly. My bovine companion looked as pissed as I was and even tried to kick the door down. Of course, he was a spirit, so his foot went straight through the door as if he was made of nothing (which he kind of was). "Runner, I don't think that's gonna help. But hey, thought that counts and all that." I banged on the door some more. "Yo, anyone inside? I'm locked out!"

"Sorry, sorry!" I was relieved to find the voice sounded urgent, meaning it was both remorseful and soon to let me in. The door shut with no help from me, at which point I heard the room's other occupant unlatch the chain and open the door back up, this time all the way. "Hey, sorry, man! I was expecting some bad company to show up before you." He was flattening himself against the door to let me pass by him.

"What kind of bad company? You got a hitman after you or something?" I quipped.

"Worse. Stick around - maybe you'll find out!" I passed by the guy. "I don't care which bed you take. They're both the same, anyway. But do me a favor and put your clothes in the closet closest to the one you pick for convenience's sake."

"Works for me." I take the one closest to the bathroom for tactical reasons. And damn, it was nice! I was looking at a Queen-sized bed with curtains on all sides on posts and the world's softest blue blankets laid out perfectly before more pillows than any one human could possibly need or even want. I whispered to myself, "Damn. It's the royal treatment." My roommate's was the same size and on the other side of the room with plenty of walking room between the two. The closets, which I assumed were the same, were walk-in closets. Additionally, there was a sliding glass door that led out to a balcony. "One day I've gotta stop by the Slifer dorm and see the difference."

"So, hey, I'm Henry. You?"

"Yusef. Hey, do you mind if I hang a couple-"

"Henry!" I don't know why some strange girl felt the need to slam her fist against the door and make it swing open. It wasn't locked or even closed. It didn't take a genius to put together she was pissed, though, or that it was at Henry. I assumed this was the 'bad company' he had mentioned earlier. From this inference I concluded that the two were more than likely a couple, and not one of those lovey-dovey ones. From the way they descended straight into a shouting match, I decided that was proof enough of my hypothesis. I still had business to settle, though.

"Hate to interrupt, but can I post this-" I don't know why I bothered trying to get a word in edgewise. They completely forgot I was there. "Hey, Henry! Tell me now if you don't want me to hang a Dying Fetus poster on the wall!" First off, don't freak out; it's a band, not a picture of an actual fetus. You know how metal bands are these days: they all have to have the most obscene, grotesque names they can possibly think of. Anyway, my existence still wasn't acknowledged. "...thanks, man! You're the best!" And so, the poster made it on the wall. Not that Henry had real choice in the matter anyway.

I looked over my shoulder as I was taping it to find Runner with his hands over his ears. "I'm with you pal." The longer the couple went, the more contorted Runner's grimace became until he eventually gaze up and disappeared. "Oh, so that's how it is, huh? It's so hard to find loyal hallucinations these days." When I felt at home in my half of the room, I caught sight of a note on my bed with a fancy letterhead. Glancing at Henry's, he had one, too. I guessed they were some general announcement, so I took mine outside to read it.

ALL STUDENTS: Please be advised that at exactly 2:15PM the term commencement ceremony will begin. Punctuality and attendance are mandatory for all first-year students and any other students who may wish to duel in the commencement. Cool! Well, I had no other social plans, so why not check out a few duels? I'd probably go if it wasn't mandatory. Thing was, it was already 1:45. I didn't want to risk being late because of getting lost, so I figured I'd leave right then. The arguing was starting to bug me as much as Runner anyway.

Blah, blah, blah, welcome new students. Blah, blah, blah, welcome back old. Cheer from the Slifers (boos from the Obelisks), cheer from the Ra's, cheer from the Obelisks (and boos from the Slifers). A note from the chancellor apologizing for his absence. Then a couple of themed duels. A medieval due (the duelists wore bad knight costumes and had even worse knight dialogue), a teacher-on-student duel (the teacher won), a tag duel (in an upset, the red students beat the blue ones), and finally some grand championship duel. I assumed it was for the title of top duelist in the school, and Jason Crowley's Skull Servants totally wiped the floor with Mina Trescu's Morphtrons. I was impressed; I hoped I'd never face either of them in a fight.

After that was the freshman duel, and frankly I had no idea why they'd put that after the champ duel. Maybe it was some afterthought nobody cared about like the closing credits, because there were already students leaving when it came around. Still, I stuck around. What else was I gonna do? "Now let's initiate the fresh meat by throwing a couple of them straight into the fire! Beside me," the student MC announced from the court, "is a hat with the name of every first-year student inside it. I will pick two names out of this hat, and the victims can either step up or step down. It's time to duel or die for..." the MC used both hands to pull two names out.

Boy, I hoped it wasn't me. See, I brought both decks with me, but something told me the Vice Chancellor wouldn't be happy if I used my old deck. Unfortunately, I hadn't really gotten a chance to test out the new guys. And by'hadn't gotten a chance,' I mean I had been avoiding it at all costs. I didn't feel like it was quite perfect yet; something still bothered me, and I never would have admitted it was just my reluctance to accept that these live spirit cards belonged to me. Destiny, however, forced my hand. That bitch. Speaking of bitches - "Yusef Musk, and..." - Destiny apparently brought a friend. "...Molly Pratt! Come on down, you two. Time to be initiated!"

I stared Molly down as we simultaneously emerged from opposite tunnels. "So that's how it is, huh?" I goaded, "Who are you to make fun of prep school snobs? Because I know there is no way you earned the rank of Obelisk Blue on your exam skill alone." Hey, it was a duel. What kind of duel didn't have trash talk?

"Yeah? Well I've seen your deck, Musk. And believe me, I'm prepared for your Blowback Dragon. Come at me!" We simultaneously activated our duel disks then, but on that note I figured there was no way I could use my old deck today. Well, at least it would be a good experiment to unleash the beasts and see how it went, and catching Molly of guard may even grant me an extra advantage, too. So I loaded my new deck.

"Well, guys... if this goes well, maybe we can think about being friends. Deal?" I whispered to the cards as discreetly as I could. "Game on!"

"Normally," the MC announced, "The student from the lower ranked dorm goes first. But in the event of a tie, the first turn goes to the duelist with a last name that comes earliest in alphabetical order. First move goes to Musk!"

"Thank you very much!" I deftly drew six cards at once from my deck. I wished I had time to memorize my cards to form a more long-term strategy, but I supposed it was too late now. "What have I got...? Alright! I'll summon Wild Tribe Grey Wolf Trapper in attack mode!" Trapper is a wolf with a rope over one shoulder, a net over the other, and a hunting knife on a belt around his waist. He's a level three beast type effect monster with 700 attack points and 1,500 defense points. "And you better not let him him do battle damage to you, Molly. If he does, I can summon his pack mates. Now before I pass the turn to you, I'll leave a landmine on the field." A face-down spelltrap appeared behind the Trapper. "You're on, Pratt."

"Draw!" She declared. "Can't say I've ever seen that card before, but playing an attack monster was a blunder. I summon Jain, Lightsworn Paladin!" Well, I was hoping Molly would summon a monster with more than 700 attack points but less than 1,500. She came out swinging, though, choosing a monster with 1,800 attack points. Even worse, it was a monster that gained 300 more points during a damage step when it attacks. This was going to hurt. "Jain, poach that wolf!" I scowled, but there was nothing I could do. Janis stabbed my wolf, who growled in pain and shattered like glass. My disk sucked the card up into the graveyard like a vacuum, and my lifepoint counter dropped to 2,600. "That's it for me. I'll lay a card face-down and end my turn. But during my end phase, due to Jain's effect, I have to send the top two cards of my deck to the graveyard." I got to see the cards before they went to her grave: another copy of Jain and Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter.

"Fine then! My move!" Now I was frustrated. My first move was a clear blunder, plain and simple. Had the monster been weaker, my face-down could have caught her off balance. Oh, well. Now I'd have to get defensive. "I'll set a monster on the field in defense mode, and that'll be that."

"Hmph." Molly drew. "I sacrifice Jain to summon Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon!" That definitely wasn't good. I remembered seeing her use that as her finisher against her examiner, but I didn't remember what it does. At least I could see its card stats: Level six, Light attribute dragon type with 2,000 attack points, same as my defending monster's defense points. That was a relief-

"Hey! What's going on?" After being summoned, the dragon's attack points rose to 2,600. "Why did his points just go up?"

"Gragonith gains 300 attack and defense points for every Lightsworn monster in the grave with a different name. There are two right now: Ryko and Jain." Well, I wasn't happy about that, but thanks to my monster's ability I wasn't concerned, even if I wasn't thrilled either. "Gragonith attack that defense monster!"

I thought Molly was going to be disappointed. The monster flipped over to reveal Wild Tribe Grizzly Guard, a grizzly bear armed with a spear and a wooden buckler shield. "You're wasting your time, Molly!" I boasted, "Your dragon may have more points, but nobody can defeat Grizzly Guard in a one-on-one fight. Twice per turn, if he's in defense mode, he can't be destroyed by battle! And since you only have one monster on the field, you won't be getting past my guard today." The hologram showed me an animation of the bear warrior using his buckler and the dull end of his spear to push the dragon back to its side of the field, holding it off. But I could have sworn I also saw him turn back and nod at me.

"Maybe so, but Gragonith is one tough dragon: when he attacks a monster in defense mode, the difference in points is dealt to you as battle damage!"

"What?" I cried. It turned out to be true I noticed a scoreboard on the wall, and it tracked my duel disk's counter down to 2,000 life points while Molly's had yet to be touched. The bear suddenly cringed as if he felt the pain of the piercing blow (and it was a little hard to watch).

"That's just too bad, Yusef. But before the turn goes to you, Gragonith demands payment: the top three cards from my deck to the grave." Oh, man, I knew that this supposed cost could turn out to be her advantage if new Lightsworn monsters were added to the grave. It was pure luck that none were. They were the traps Lightsworn Barrier and Lightsworn Spiral along with a monster called Judgement Dragon.

I wasn't even sure if I had a monster in my deck who could beat 2,600 points, let alone if it got any higher. My next draw would allow me either to turn this duel around or take another pounding next turn. "Yes!" Perhaps it was a bad idea to lose my cool, but what did it matter when I was going to play the card I just celebrated anyway? "I'll begin by summoning Wild Tribe Black Wolf Stalker in attack mode!" I'd have to rely on some straight muscle this turn, so it was a good thing Stalker, wielding dual hunting knives, had 1,900 attack points. Not quite enough, but it was a nice start. Even better, with a wolf on my field, my pack building strategy was back in effect. "Next, I activate the spell card Pack Mentality! With this equip spell, I can target one Wild Tribe monster in the graveyard and add its attack points to a monster on the field as long as the field monster is a Wild Tribe Wolf. Black Wolf fits the bill, so Grey Wolf's 700 points make a grand total of 2,600 attack points for Stalker. He's even with your dragon now." I was getting excited now. "Impressed yet? Because that's not all. If the monster in the graveyard for this effect is also a Wolf, that monster is immediately special summoned to the field. The special summoned Wolf can neither attack nor be attacked, but as long as his pack mate is equipped with Pack Mentality, the two fight as one. Their attack points are pooled together in the equipped Wolf, but if you destroy one in battle then you destroy them both. Also, if the special summoned monster is removed from the field, the equipped monster loses the attack bonus. Did you get all that?" I punched the air with my free arm. "Basically, the pack fights together, wins together, and loses together."

"Not good enough!" Molly declared, "Even two-on-one you just barely break even. It'll be a double-knockout."

"Not quite, Molly. Activating trap: Fight Or Flight!" The graphic of the card was a standoff between a white and black wolf, but it's the effect that matters: "I can choose to either switch a Wild Tribe monster to defense mode or give it 500 attack points. Additionally, either choice I make reverts to normal during the End Phase. But I choose to grant those points to Black Wolf Stalker!" The great board on the wall was also tracking monsters and stats in addition to life points, and it acknowledged that my Stalker's points rose to 3,100. Molly scowled. "But before my battle phase begins, I'll switch Grizzly Guard to attack mode for extra damage. And let me tell you, those extra 1,100 attack points will hurt. Now let's rock!" The giant board with our faces on it indicated that the battle phase had begun. "Black Wolf Stalker destroy Gragonith!" Both wolves nodded in affirmative and blitzed the dragon together, forcing him to fall over and disappear. Even better, I finally managed to hit Molly for 500 points of damage. "Ouch. Hope that didn't hurt too much, because my Grizzly is running you through next. Attack!"

Grizzly Guard's spear as he charged was straight and true - until it bent as if it hit an invisible wall. "I have my own trap!" Molly declared, and her facedown card rose. "This is Sakuretsu Armor. When it's activated-"

"Yeah, yeah, an attacking monster of mine is destroyed." I watched Grizzly guard look surprised before exploding and going to the grave.

"Something... is wrong..." I heard some voice painfully speak to me. "Her dragon... she didn't save her dragon." Looking over my shoulder, there stood the spirit of the Grizzly Guard. But when he pointed it out, it was so obvious! How did I miss it? She could have wiped out the Stalker and kept her ever-strengthening dragon on the field. Why didn't she? I'd probably find out next turn, but I thought I had a card to help me prepare for it in my hand.

"It's my second main phase this turn, and I'll use it to lay another landmine on the field just to scare you! Now it's my end phase-" the board acknowledged that. "And the effect of Black Wolf Stalker activates. By his effect I can complete the pack by special summoning White Wolf Hunter from my deck." The card stuck out from my deck thanks to the disk technology, and as I played it a great white wolfman wielding a bow and quiver with 1,000 defense points took the field. I thought a big move was coming and thought he would be best off in defense mode. "This comes with a cost, though: I send the top card of my deck to the grave if Stalker's effect activates in the same turn that he battles." So I did that and lost Wild Tribe Leopardess Weaver. Perfect, I thought, since I was hoping that card would be a monster. "Also, I have to pay 300 life points because I used Grizzly Guard's effect and battled during your last turn."

"Your strategy comes with a high risk for a high return," Molly noted.

"Yours, too," I retorted. "Your move." As my turn came to an end, Stalker's attack points dropped to 2,600.

"I draw!" This was actually going quite well for me. I thought I was prepared for a counterattack, but there was also the possibility I misread the situation, in which case I was ready to make a power play. I just needed one surviving monster... "I'll summon Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner in attack mode." She appeared with her 1,000 attack points. "And with her ability, I can discard Rinyan, Lightsworn Rogue to the grave to resurrect Jain, Lightsworn Paladin!" I growled. "Jain, wipe out the Hunter!" The two monsters briefly scuffled, but Jain overpowered my Wolf. At least my life points were safe. "And I'll leave you with a facedown. During my end phase I have to send five cards from my deck straight to the graveyard, three because of Lumina and two for Jain."

"Wanna destroy your own deck? Fine by me." I drew, leaving me with three cards in my hand while thinking, maybe I miscalculated. Perhaps she had simply blundered during my last turn. I didn't bother tracking the cards in her graveyard; I didn't think they'd matter. Boy, was I wrong. "Trapper, you've been great, but you served your purpose. I'll send him to the grave to tribute summon Wild Tribe Lion Warrior!" Lion warrior was a proud and noble lion with a painted face and a tomahawk in hand. He needed a tribute because he's level six, but his 2,500 attack points made it well worth it. Sure, that was weaker than Stalker had been, but not after his ability. "Cry havoc, and let slip the lions of war! Lion Warrior will defend his tribe all his proud heart, and he's not happy that you defeated so many of his friends." I wasn't sure if anyone else could see it, but I saw his teeth bared as he growled. Scary, no joke. "His attack points are boosted by 100 for each Wild Tribe monster in the graveyard there with a different name. So, headcount: we've got Grizzly Guard, White Wolf Hunter, and Grey Wolf Trapper. Don't forget the Leopardess I milled earlier, either, and Black Wolf Stalker. I've got a total of five for 3,000. How's that sound?"

Molly had no need to respond. Her face said it all. "Alrighty, Simba: teach Lumina a little lesson about the circle of life!" Almost before I could give the order, Lion Warrior threw his axe and struck Lumina head on. Lumina fell, and 2,000 points of life point damage were dealt. "You're next, Stalker! Wipe the floor with Jain." And yet she didn't fall. "Hey, what is this?"

"A Barrier blocked your attack!" Molly informed me. "Lightsworn Barrier!" her facedown card revealed itself. "I can negate any attack against a Lightsworn monster by sending the top two cards of my deck to my graveyard!" And then she did just that.

Lion and I both growled. "...fine then. I expected more than defense from you, though. And now you're running out of cards, Molly. I'll proceed to my end phase, and since Stalker didn't battle this turn, his end phase effects don't apply, but I'll have to discard one spell from my hand to keep Lion on the field." I sent Harmony, a card that wouldn't have helped me right then anyway. "Now you better have a big move planned," I taunted, "Because very soon you'll be out of a deck!"

Molly drew in the most nonchalant way I had ever seen. "You've played right into my hands. Do you think your savages scare me?" Oh, hell no, bitch! Maybe I was just figuring out these cards, but look at my field position! The two strongest monsters on the field were mine with 3,000 and 1,900 points respectively. Her 1,800-point Jain couldn't stand up to them. Now that our life points were nearly tied at 1,500-1,700, her only defense was a trap that destroyed her own deck while I had my own face-down insurance policy. Given how well these special cards were working with me, I was not happy for her to put them down like that - especially when I knew they were alive. She continued, "This duel needs a more sweet and innocent monster. I'm thinking... Minerva, Lightsworn Maiden."

A little girl. She summoned a little girl. With a pet owl on her arm. "Ummm... I'm so scared?" She definitely wasn't for combat. She only had 800 attack points.

"Minerva is only the means to an end. You see, I wanted all those cards in my grave, Yusef. Specifically? The monsters. As many with different names as possible. And after that last attack, I got just enough to break you." She then dug through her deck and showed me a dragon. "This is Judgement Dragon, the instrument of your defeat. When Minerva is summoned, I may add to my hand a Light attribute dragon whose level is less than or equal to the number of different Lightsworn monsters in my grave." She then extracted eight different monsters from her graveyard. "I have eight. Judgement Dragon is level eight. Follow so far?"

"Get on with it, Molly." I may have made my move too early, I began to realize. And I also realized then why she didn't save Gragonith when she could have.

She shrugged. "Well, I can special summon Judgement Dragon - no sacrifice required - as long as there are four or more different Lightsworn in my graveyard. Check." The great feathered dragon was indeed a mighty beast. I was glad it wasn't a spirit, else it would have really scared the shit out of me. It almost did anyway; it was packing 3,000 attack points. The shock of such a monster just appearing was unnerving. "Time for the endgame: I activate Judgement Dragon's effect: by paying 1,000 life points-" Her score dropped to 500. This move was a gambit. "Judgement Dragon destroys all cards on the field except itself."

"You've gotta be kidding me!" I cried incredulously.

"Does this look like kidding? Judgement Dragon, wipe the field clean!" Shit, shit, shit! So much for my excellent field position! Lumina, Jain, the Barrier, Black Wolf Stalker, and Lion Warrior were just... Wiped out. Like nothing. So I was staring down a 3,000 point monstrosity with an open field. I only had one saving grace.

"You destroyed my trap card, Shaman's Last Rites! When Shaman's Last Rites is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the grave, all cards in the graveyard with 'Wild Tribe' in their names must be removed from play. At that point, I gain a thousand life points for each one I choose to remove as long as it doesn't go above 4,000." I sighed out of relief then. Stalker and Trapper would be removed from play, leaving my life points at 3,700. "I hope you have another monster in your hand, because I'll survive this turn if you don't."

Molly's face was eerily straight. But I think she had no playable monster, because she proceeded from there to her battle phase. "Judgement Dragon, strike at him directly!" As the beast launched its beam of light at me, the spirits of the two banished wolves ran in front of me and threw themselves before the blast.

"No!" I cried as they were obliterated with most of my life points. It was a close match again, 600-700. But what did I care? I just saw two of my guardian spirits fall to save me. I was starting to feel things for them, it seemed... There was something between us, I began to acknowledge.

"Your reluctance won't spare you from damage, Yusef. I'm sending the top four cards of my deck to the graveyard per Judgement Dragon's effect. Which do you think will run out first, Yusef? Your defenses or my deck?" I wasn't comfortable with the persona Molly was putting out there anymore. She was acting like a ruthless killer, not the flirtatious mystery girl I had first met. Psychological warfare, maybe? I sure hoped so.

I knew for fact I didn't have a monster with a flat 3,000 points, and my draw didn't give me a card that could rid the field of the dragon. I frowned and mumbled, "I set a monster facedown... and hope it'll buy me another turn, I suppose."

"We'll see." Molly drew, and unfortunately for me it was the monster Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid with 1,200 attack points. That would be enough to wipe me out. Maybe I'd have to try some psychological warfare on my own.

"Interesting position we're in!" I remarked, "Who knows what my facedown monster may be? If you attack it with Aurkus, it may have enough defense points to survive the hit. Judgement Dragon could then probably put it away, but I'll survive another turn. On the other hand, you could attack with Judgement Dragon first and mop up my points with Aurkus, but the monster may have an effect that completely turns the duel around if the dragon attacks it." The truth was I personally needed one certain monster to attack first in order to survive. Otherwise it was over for me. Could I get her to make the move I want? It all came down to one 50/50 choice.

"Judgement Dragon. Win me this duel." The facedown monster was obliterated, and it had no flip effect that could save me. My field was open to Aurkus, and it looked like the fat lady was about to sing. Unless you were me, who knew what was about to happen.

"We're done here, Molly. You destroyed Wild Tribe Lamb Sacrifice. And when she's destroyed in battle, the controller of the monster who declared the attack takes 100 points of damage times the level of the monster that destroyed her. Remind me, Judgement Dragon's level was...?" I asked smugly.

"8." What I think happened was she planned to attack with the dragon first anyway but wasn't sure, except she took my goading as an attempt to make her change course, thinking I didn't want Judgement dragon to attack. Because of that she was resolute in making the move she thought I didn't want - which I did. Now she would take 800 points of lifepoint damage when she only had 600 to spare.

"My, oh, my, did you all see that?" The MC managed to convey over the PA despite the crowd's roar. Apparently, more stuck around to watch the freshman duel than I anticipated. "Even the freshmen are pulling out all the stops to deliver us dueling at a very high level! I think it's clear which two duelists rank at the top of the first year, but in the end the title of hotshot freshman goes to Yusef Musk!"

I took the victory with poise and dignity... is a sentence that you'll never hear me say in my life. No, I went wild, flashing the devil horn hand gesture with both hands at the crowd and sticking my tongue like a madman. The MC approached me and asked while speaking into her mic, "Yusef, anything you wanna say before random matchups begin?" I assumed that was when all students present who hadn't dueled yet were selected at random to do so.

Originally I wasn't going to say anything, but all the monsters I had used in the duel had apparently formed behind me and looked to me expectantly. Did they want me to address them? I was hesitant, but I guessed they finally earned it. How to go about it while not looking insane, though? I took the microphone offered to me and, after a moment of thought, acknowledged, "I couldn't have done it alone." Nobody else knew I was looking right at my monsters, but I did. Satisfied, they returned to wherever they went when they weren't following me around. That was all I had to say, so I gave the mic back and yelled, "Molly!" after her just as she became invisible under the shadows of the exit tunnel. I guessed she didn't want to talk.

"Alright, duelists and duelettes, watch the scoreboard carefully! If you see your picture up there, you better get on down here and duel. Unless, of course, you don't think you can follow the freshmen's act!" I guessed I might as well make nice with the duel spirits then. Maybe I wasn't stuck with them, but if dueling together felt like that every time, then I'd want to do it again. I was sure I felt my deck trying to give me what I needed when I needed it, but I couldn't have explained to you why I thought so.

"Hmm. Well, you guys might not be Blowback Dragon, but you'll more than suffice in my book. Let's see if I can live up to being the special duelist you all seem to think I am."