Staying in the Background
Early Days – The First Confrontation
There is a principle in nature. If a wolf challenges the alpha for the pack and loses, they will be cast out. They become what is called a lone wolf. They will be forced to either go out and form their own pack or, on rare occasions, join another existing pack.
I got bored and began watching one of those nature documentaries last night after the Slifer teens left last night. We'd exchanged numbers but I doubted I'd use them often. I'll admit, yesterday was a setback in terms of my background life but there was still time to make amends. Distance makes the heart grow weaker and all that.
Anyway, the wolf thing. They are territorial beasts. They mark their homes and aggressors generally stay away, wary of challenging a possible stronger opponent. If an alpha needs to defend their territory alone, they use their sharp teeth, aggression and stamina to overpower their enemy, going for the throat for a decisive victory.
There's nothing really significant about this information, I had just found it interesting. And as me and Dimitri walked to the academy that morning, bright-eyed and semi-bushy tailed, these are the facts I regaled my fellow Ra with. Much to his credit, he did seem interested at first but by the time I was finished, his eyes had gone glossy.
"Dimitri?" I called once he stopped replying.
"Yeah, wolves. Cool," he answered robotically.
"Okay, okay, I can take a hint," I said, a smile tugging at my lips. "You looking forward to today? Any first day jitters?"
He gave a shrug, but a grin was plastered on his face. "Not really. More excited than anything, I guess. We're finally going to learn how to become professional duelists! It's like – no it is everything I've wanted since I was a kid. Don't you feel the same?"
His honesty and enthusiasm were infectious. However, he did bring up a good point. Maybe it was because I'd already gone through school once in my past life, but the concept of going through it again, even one focused on card games, was a little depressing. Mountains of homework and insecurities about girls. Oh, joy. Bring it on.
"Yeah, it's going to be sweet," I said, trying not to stamp on his good cheer.
We parted when we got inside the academy. Each year group was separated into three different classes. Unlike the secondary school experience I previously had; teachers would come to us rather than the other way around. That would make a refreshing change. If I remembered correctly, all the main characters apart from Zane had classes together. I didn't know if Dimitri had been a part of that class. I hope he was. That would mean I wouldn't be in it. I could avoid all the canon classroom events that started mini-adventures in the anime.
I had a two in three chance. The odds were finally in my favour. I'd had my fun meeting Jaden and the others but now it was time to step back into the shadows and regain my anonymity. Yeah, the easy life.
My lecture hall was on the bottom floor alongside the other freshman classes. When I entered, it was like taking a step into the past. Rows and rows of seats, all sloping down to a single desk in front of a giant screen. From where I was standing, I could see that each desk placement had some sort of computer embedded in the table. I assumed this was for the lecturers to project any images they might need for the lesson. Fairly clever. Kaiba really went to every expense for his students.
There were a few students already in the room, cliques of students sticking to their dorm colours. Red students at the bottom of the steps, where the lecturer could see them. Ra students in the middle and at the top were the Obelisk Blues. Whether these were official placements or just social hierarchy, I didn't know and I didn't care. I was busy trying to see if I knew anyone.
Much to my sadness, I spotted Bastion had already found a seat squarely in the middle row in the seat that I assumed gave him the best view of the lecture podium. He hadn't spotted me yet for his head was down in a textbook. If I was careful, I could sit down on the opposite side of the hall and avoid him. It was a shame, he really seemed like a good guy, but he was just too close to the canon. Our friendship is not meant to be.
I had barely taken two steps when Bastion's head suddenly snapped up and he turned towards me. His eyes widened ever so slightly before he gave a small smile and a wave.
"Ah, Ren, there you are. I saved you a seat just in case we were in the same class," he said cheerily.
"Yeah… thanks, man…" I managed to say as I trudged my feet down to his row.
'It's me, isn't it? I'm jinxing myself.'
I took the seat to his right, flopping my books down onto the desk and collapsing on top of them, silently cursing my own bad luck. Bastion, of course, looked upon my little display with an amused smile.
"Surely you can't be tired already? The lesson hasn't even begun yet."
"It's school, I get tired just by walking through the front gate. And don't call me Shirley."
"What?"
"Nothing…" I grumbled, rising so I was sat properly. "It's from a movie."
"Ah, I see," Bastion said before returning to his textbook.
We sat in silence for another few moments, him reading and me moping before it became somewhat unbearable. He had saved me a seat, may as well try to make conversation.
"So did you do anything interesting last night," I asked.
"I went over the particulars of our duel," he replied, his gaze briefly flicking to me from his reading. "I believe I see where I went wrong with my strategy and have devised a counter that should work in future."
"That was fast," I mused.
"Yes, well, with school not having started, I had some spare time. I'm looking forward to our next duel. I assure you; the outcome will not be the same as the first." He said this with a cocky smirk, putting down his text to look me full on. I really did prefer this attitude to the more bumbling genius persona he would come to adopt. It was such a shame how underused Bastion was in the anime. The man in front of me was witty, confident and determined to be the best around. I still didn't plan on duelling him again. Repeated battles meant a rivalry. Background characters don't have rivals.
"We'll see," I replied cryptically before turning to look at the rest of the class. More people were beginning to stroll in. I spotted Chazz Princeton come in with his cronies surrounding him. They took the seats near the back row, probably so that they wouldn't be noticed slacking off during lessons. I noticed that Chazz had a look of smug satisfaction on his face. He must be feeling happy about his duel with Jaden. According to Jaden's story, Chazz thought he would have beaten the Slifer if their match continued. He was a victor in his own mind. He'd be facing a much-needed reality check soon.
Alexis and her friends, Jasmine and Mindy entered the room next. I was once again stunned by her beauty. In fact, it wasn't just me. Many people in the room turned their heads as she walked to her seat. Whether she knew people were looking and was ignoring them, or she was just oblivious to it, she kept her focus on the conversation she was having with her friends. Although, whatever she was discussing with them couldn't have been a happy subject. She looked downright pissed. An expression of exasperation on her features. I wonder what happened?
They too sat close to the top. As Alexis sat down, she noticed me looking at her and her friends and, if it were possible, her frown further soured. Did she have a problem with me? No, we'd never met before. Then again, I suppose I had been staring. I quickly turned away to not further earn her ire. Hey, just because I had no plans to talk to her, it didn't mean I wanted her to dislike me.
Lastly, the Slifer boys raced in, panting for breath as they took their seats at the very front of the lecture hall. And when I say 'the' what I mean is all. Jaden, Syrus and Chumley were all there. It was my first time seeing the koala-like teen. He was fairly imposing. I could see why Jaden and Syrus screamed when they initially met him. Fun fact I remember from my past life. Chumley was conceived to be fairly muscular in the sub. However, when the dub was made, they removed his muscle tone, making him look obese. A bit harsh if you ask me. I wonder what the case was in this universe.
Of course, in addition to the scarlet trio, there was one more. Logan Evans. I watched him as he descended the stairs. Unlike Jaden and the others, who had come down in a panicked joy, all smiles and giggles, Logan looked remarkably sullen. It was the first time I'd seen him since the exams. Even as he sat with his dorm mates, he didn't try hard to make conversation.
At that moment, Dr Crowler walked into the lecture theatre and introduced himself. He would be taking our 'Dueling 101' module for this semester. I noticed his brow twitch when he spotted the students who had bested him in the front row but managed to maintain his composure. For the time anyway.
That first class proceeded just as any would. An outlining of the course, what we would be studying and finally an idea of what our future assignments would be that would go towards our grade. In fact, all the lessons of the day followed a similar pattern. While I took interest in the more duel related courses, I practically slept through the more normal classes. I'd done them all before and knew their content. Although it was nice to see Kaiba cared about students getting a somewhat normal education.
In those lessons, I secretly searched what recent cards had come out and I had taken a particular interest in the cards from the pack, Soul of the Duelist. After lessons, I resolved to find the card shop and see if I could score myself a pack.
However, there was one other thing in class that caught my interest. As each lesson went on, Logan grew more and more fidgety. It started off with the light rapping of his pen on the desk. Then he began tapping his foot. Even during the lunch breaks, I noticed bobbing up and down in anticipation. As the last lessons of the day commenced, he was outright glaring at the clock, willing for the end day bell to ring.
It all made me quite nervous. Just what was he waiting for. There should be no canon events happening until Jaden pissed of Crowler in a class about spell cards. He should have no reason to be so angsty. When the final bell did ring, he was first out of his seat, hurrying out the door as quickly as his feet could carry him.
I had to know what he was doing. Giving a flimsy excuse to Bastion as to why I had to hurry out, I hurried after him. I managed to just catch him in the corridor heading downstairs towards the main entrance hall. I fumbled out apologies as I barged past the other students leaving their own lessons.
Once I made it downstairs, I momentarily thought I lost him until I spotted his red blazer just outside the main gates. He was standing next to one of the many statues that had duel monsters carved into them. I watched him from the doors as he leaned against the stone, trying out various positions. He went from sitting on top of it to leaning up against it with arms crossed and head down and even just using one arm to support his entire body as he leaned into it. Basically, if you can imagine a scene from anime where the main character exits a building and there is someone waiting for him in a cool but impractical position, he tried it.
"What on earth is he doing?" I said to myself. I myself had chosen to grab a lemonade from a nearby vending machine sat down on a seat by the door where I could see him. Much more innocuous.
Finally, just as I was about to give up and head to the card shop, I heard people around me gasp and the sound of shuffling feet. I turned to find students hurrying to the side to allow none other than Zane Truesdale and a posse of his friends through the main lobby. His group walked as if no one around them could touch them.
I found myself mesmerised by the aura that Zane projected. The crowned king of Duel Academy, the undisputed Kaiser. His very visage oozed confidence. I had beaten him in the games, but they were just computer Ais. The person in front of me was flesh and blood, had a mind of his own and wouldn't make a misplay. With my current deck, I was years from being able to face him.
He and his group walked past without sparing me a glance and made their way outside. I watched them leave, only to have my jaw drop when Logan suddenly called out.
"Zane Truesdale! You owe me a duel!" he declared, loud enough that I and all the other students leaving the academy heard him.
'What is that idiot doing?! You don't just challenge the Kaiba of a series!'
There was a loud gasp from the onlookers as they scrambled to see who would dare challenge their champion. Thankfully, I was able to make my way outside and joined the formed crowd so that I could hear everything that would be said.
Zane's entourage looked enraged as they stepped forward to give the lowly Slifer a tongue lashing when the Kaiser stopped them by raising his hand. "I owe you nothing," he said simply, his eyes narrowing.
The confident smile that had been on Logan's face dropped as he took a step forward. "When I challenged you yesterday, you said no too but today is different!"
'He challenged him yesterday as well? Just what is he thinking? I get maybe challenging Jaden to a duel, he stated in the series he rarely loses, giving wiggle room; but Zane!?'
I kept my eye on Zane, gauging his reaction. His face was still, betraying no emotion. He didn't seem to care that a crowd had formed around him, he was entirely focused on Logan. "And why is today different?"
"I'm calling you out!" Logan declared. "Maybe you could say no in front of… of that girl, but you wouldn't dare back away in front of your adoring public!"
'That girl? He must mean Alexis,' I mused. At least he was smart enough not to use her real name if he hadn't been introduced properly yet. That was good at least. He had some sense. It also explained why she looked pissed this morning. This guy had probably interrupted them when they were discussing something important.
The crowd began murmuring about the audacity of Logan for being willing to challenge Zane in such a brave, or stupid, way. When Zane remained quiet, Logan pushed further. "C'mon, don't be a coward. You're supposed to be the best this school has to offer! Defend your title! Take me on!"
Oh shit.
For the first time during the conversation, Zane's face showed a flicker of anger. Once again, his entourage tried to interject and again the Kaiser stopped them. He stepped forward until he and Logan were right in front of the other, his height easily eclipsing Logan's by a few inches.
"My answer is still no."
"Why?" Logan growled. "Is it because I'm a Slifer?"
"No. It's because it's clear you do not understand what being a duelist is about," he answered, walking past him and stopping. He now stood with his back to the Slifer. As the Kaiser spoke his next, his voice was raised, but he did not shout. "Being a duelist is about having respect. For your cards and your opponent. And it is clear you have neither. Rank does not matter; you could be in Obelisk blue, and my answer would not change. During your match with Crowler, you were arrogant. You disrespected the academy rules by allowing Crowler to take the first move. The test was for your benefit, not his. It is clear you try and manipulate situations to suit you. That is the reason you are challenging me in front of the other students, correct? To force my hand?"
Logan scowled, he turned towards the older teen, but Zane still did not face him. It was clear from Logan's silence that Zane's reasoning was spot on.
"So no, I won't accept your challenge. Not today, or any other day. Not until you understand the most basic principle of the game." With that, the Kaiser walked on, never looking back. His friends hurrying after him and singing his praises for handling an 'upstart'.
Logan was left alone, standing in a circle of people who had just watched him embarrass himself. His skin turned pale as he looked around at the other students, all of whom avoided his gaze. The upstart had tried to challenge the king of these parts and had been firmly put in his place. I almost felt sorry for him. But he had brought this on himself. Seeing that he had no allies, Logan turned and slunk away as quickly as he could in the direction of the Slifer dorm.
As the others around me started to murmur about how they thought Logan had been foolish, I kept my eyes on the Slifer. He was like me. He knew the plot and so he must have known the character's characterisation as well. And yet he had chosen to try and attack Zane's pride as a duelist. It was becoming clearer to me that he viewed this world as a playground. Hopefully, this reality check would set him straight. Hopefully.
By the next day, the whole of the student body knew of Logan's humiliation. The hallways were awash with rumours about how and why Logan had decided to challenge the school's top duelist.
In the Ra dorm, there were people laughing about how a Slifer could be so full of himself to think he deserved a fight without proving himself. Even Dimitri found the whole thing ridiculous as we discussed it during our lunch break.
"I mean, can you believe it? What was he thinking?" he laughed before taking a bite of his sandwich.
"I'm wondering the same thing myself," I mumbled, replaying the conversation in my head. Logan had seemed to think Zane would just accept his challenge like he would have done in the Tag Force games. Reality had bitch slapped that notion right out of him.
"He's in your class, right?" Dimitri continued. "How was he today?"
"How do you think? The entire school thinks he's a fool and he was forced to sit at the front of a class who were literally talking shit behind his back. He spent the entire lesson with his head down, talking to no one."
"Damn, talk about killing your reputation before it even started," Dimitri said shaking his head.
"Yeah." I took out my PDA and checked the time. Lunch was almost over and Crowler's class was next. We'd been told in the previous lesson to meet in the gym with our duel disks rather than the classroom for this lesson. With no canon events to guide my knowledge, I couldn't help but wonder what we'd be doing. "I've got to go, man," I said, pocketing the device before hurriedly munching down the rest of my food. "I don't want to get in Crowler's bad books for being late to class."
The copycat king shot me a quick thumbs-up, his mouth full. "No worries, I'll catch you later," he said once he'd swallowed it down.
"See you in a bit. Let's hit up the card shop after school. I still haven't checked it out yet."
"Sounds like a plan."
Giving him a lazy salute, I headed off towards the gym. I was one of the last students to arrive. I noticed Bastion standing a little off to the side, observing the others. Once again, he saw me walk in and gave a wave. We'd been sitting together every lesson so far. It seemed I wasn't going to escape him so may as well accept the inevitable.
"Hello there," I said as I joined him by the wall. "You have any idea what Crowler wanted us here for?"
"Well, we were told to bring our duel disks so I couldn't hazard a guess," he said, flashing me a cocky smile.
"Okay, I get that we're going to be duelling. But why?" I said, suppressing my urge to smile. It would only give him gratification.
"That I actually don't know," Bastion admitted. "Perhaps the good doctor wants to evaluate our skills on a battlefield."
"Maybe… That doesn't seem like Crowler's style though."
"Oh?" Bastion quirked a brow. "And you have already gauged our teacher's personality after a single lesson? Very astute of you."
"Well, I like to think of myself as a people person," I said, doing my best to look normal. I needed to be more careful. If I let too much of my future knowledge slip through, I'd either make myself look suspicious or crazy.
Looking across the room, I spotted Jaden chatting animatedly with Syrus and Chumley. The hero duelist had clearly also worked out we'd be duelling and made sure he turned up early. A bit out of character to be so interested in a lesson but I suppose it was natural for him to want to duel so it evened out.
Across from them, I noticed Alexis, standing with Jasmine and Mindy again, sneaking looks towards the excitable Slifer with a smile on her face. In fact, I think it was the first smile I'd seen on her in this reality. It seemed her interest in Jaden had already begun. There was no doubt in my mind that they would be having their duel on the lake soon.
Logan slunk into the gym alone moments before Crowler entered. He'd been doing this all day, arriving last to avoid listening to everyone talk about him. He stood apart from the rest of the students, watching as Crowler took his place at the front.
"Okay everyone, gather around. I don't want to waste time," Crowler called. Once everyone had gathered, the good doctor started the lesson. "Now today you will be duelling against each other so that I can evaluate the knowledge you already possess. I encourage you to use every skill in your arsenal so that I can properly assess your abilities."
It seemed Bastion had hit the nail on the head about the purpose of the lesson, but something seemed wrong. Thankfully, it seemed I wasn't the only one who noticed. Alexis raised her hand and Crowler was all too happy to answer one of his precious Obelisks. "Dr Crowler why are we doing this?" she asked. "Didn't the entrance exam serve to test our abilities?"
"You make a fine point, Ms Rhodes, but I do not believe the entrance exam to be a true test of your skills. Students may not have had the chance to express themselves in the way they desired, or some may have just gotten lucky." He said the last bit shooting a dirty look towards Jaden, who merely smiled back obliviously. "Next month, there will be a promotion exam for freshmen to re-evaluate dorm placements. Depending on your performance, you may find yourself either rising or falling in the dorm structure, so this exercise will also serve as training towards that event. As such, your opponent will be selected at random." At this point, Crowler produced a top hat from God knows where which was filled with slips of paper. "We have nine arenas so 18 of you will be playing at any one time. Try to duel quickly as we have limited time. Let's begin."
Crowler began producing names. He'd call out one and then whoever he called next would be their opponent. Within the first of the matchups, Bastion was called to face an Obelisk student I didn't recognise and Syrus was lucky enough to duel a fellow Slifer. Both managed to defeat their opponents, although in the latter's case it was extremely close. During Syrus's match, he kept taking glances towards Jaden as if the hero duelist held all the answers to his game.
All the while, Crowler walked around the gym making notes in a small book. He seemed to take great joy in watching his Obelisks duel whereas he didn't bother to hide his disdain towards the Slifer students as most of them struggled. After a match ended, he would call for the next two students to come forward. As the duels persisted, I snuck a look at Logan. He was still leaning against the back wall away from everyone. He was once again tapping his foot impatiently against the floor. He was watching the duels like a hawk, waiting for his turn. He must have been desperate to take his anger out on someone. To show everyone that despite what happened the previous day, he was powerful. I felt bad for whoever had to face him. They would be in for some punishment from his Lightsworns.
"Logan Evans and Ren Cambell, please come forward," Crowler called.
'It is me! I am jinxing it!"
Logan wasted no time in walking over to the newly empty field. He stood waiting for me with his arms crossed and his gaze piercing. Bastion shot me a sympathetic glance before I walked forward to face him.
Taking my spot across from him, I brought up my duel disk. "Umm… Hi. I'm Ren. I look forward to the duel."
"I'm Logan. Sorry in advance, I'm going to be taking out some frustration here." Well, that was certainly clear. He seemed to have forgone his gentlemanly persona that I'd seen at the exam hall now that he was in a bad mood. A little childish honestly. He clearly assumed I was just one of the other background characters and saw no need to put on airs with me.
However, this was an opportunity to see just how skilled a duelist he actually was. Assuming he'd used a Lightsworn deck regularly in our previous world, he was going to be a challenge. Then again, considering the Gary Stu attitude he was putting on, maybe he had just chosen it because he knew it was an overpowered archetype in this time period. Time would only tell.
As one, we inserted our decks and activated our disks.
"DUEL!"
(Ren: 4000 LP/ Logan: 4000 LP)
"I'll be taking the first move," Logan declared, drawing his card without bothering to do a roshambo.
'No, that's fine, I wanted to go second anyway. Dick.'
"I'll T-set and end my move," he said simply as the two cards appeared on his field.
"Surprisingly simple," I remarked, drawing my first card. "I saw your match against Crowler. Can't help but have expected something… more."
"Not every duel can be flashy," he growled. He really wasn't in the mood for lip. Fine with me. Just meant I could concentrate. He was playing Lightsworns, which meant I had a pretty good idea what it would be. Luckily, I had just the card to deal with it.
"I use the effect of my Gilasaurus (1400/400) to special summon itself to the field." Next to me appeared a small, brown scaled velociraptor. I wasted no time going into my battle phase. "Attack his face down!"
My dino raced forward, opening its jaws wide and taking a bite of Logan's face down. Before it was destroyed, I briefly saw the image of a small white dog donning white armour. The beast let out a howl before exploding into pixels.
"The monster you just destroyed was Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter (200/100)," Logan growled. "When he's flipped, I ditch three cards from my deck and destroy a card on the field." The top cards of his deck went to the graveyard. I recognised one of them as being Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress. Afterwards, the spectral image of Logan's monster appeared behind my dino, slashing at it with its claws. Gilasaurus let out a screech before disappearing right alongside the ghost dog. Logan's eyes narrowed in disappointment. He'd clearly been hoping I'd have something more powerful to get rid of.
"Well, that sucks," I said, giving a nonchalant shrug. "I guess I'll just take a page from your book and set both a monster and a facedown. Your move."
"In that case, I'll show you just what I'm capable of!" Logan cried, ripping his next card from his disk.
"Woo! That was fun!" Jaden said with satisfaction as he made his way back over to his friends. He'd just had a particularly tough battle against an Obelisk student playing a Destiny Board deck. Despite the odds, he'd managed to pull out a win with his ever-trusty Flame Wingman.
"You were awesome, Jaden!" Syrus was quick to greet him, singing his praises.
"Thanks, Sy. Your match looked good too! Who knew you could throw down like that! We've got to have another match sometime."
The smaller boy chuckled. "Maybe…" he said noncommittedly.
"That was a good match, Jaden." The Slifer's turned to see Bastion walking over. "I must say, I'm looking forward to when we have our own duel."
"Same here," the hero duelist cheered. He was always up for a new challenge and after seeing Bastion and Ren's duel the other day, Jaden knew the Ra genius had some serious skill. "So how are the other duels going?"
"As well as could be expected," Bastion replied. "I must say, I am rather interested in the match between Logan Evans and our mutual friend, Ren."
The hero duelist cast his gaze over to the match between the Lightsworn and dragon users. Gilasaurus had just taken out Logan's facedown monster only for the dinosaur to be destroyed itself. "That looks like a sweet duel!" he cried excitedly.
"And it seems the game is still in its infancy," Bastion observed. "Perhaps we should cheer them on."
"Oh yeah! From what I've seen, they've both really good!"
"Indeed. This is sure to be a good match," Bastion replied with a nod.
"To start off my move, I'll activate Charge of the Light Brigade!" Logan declared. "I send three more cards to the grave and add a level 4 or lower Lightsworn from my deck to my hand. So, I'll be adding Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner." As he sent his three cards to the grave a shining portal appeared on the floor beneath him. From it emerged a humanoid, white wolfman wearing the same white armour as Ryko and wielding a long spear. "One of the cards that was just sent to the grave was Wulf, Lightsworn Beast (2100/300). When it's sent there from the deck, it is immediately summoned to the field."
"That guy looks strong," I said. It was best I act like I'd never seen these cards before. I had a Lightsworn deck in my past life, so I was intimately familiar with their effects. However, if they were supposed to be one-of-a-kind cards for Logan's use only, he'd begin to suspect me if I knew about them.
"Oh, you haven't seen strength yet," Logan said, a smug grin plastering his features. "I'll now summon, Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner (1000/1000)!" The same beautiful blonde used in his duel against Crowler appeared on the field. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at me. It seemed I was going to have no luck with blondes in this universe. "I'll use Lumina's effect! By sending discarding a card, I can call forth a Lightsworn from the grave. Now, Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress is already in the grave, but I'll be reviving the monster I just discarded. Come, Jain, Lightsworn Paladin (1800/1200)!"
Lumina brought up her hands and cast a purple magic circle. From it emerged a warrior draped head to toe in white holy armour, a flowing white cape with red lining attached to the back. The warrior brought up their sword, pointing it towards me. They had white hair and ambiguous features; I couldn't tell if it was a man or woman. That was always something I'd wondered about in my previous life too.
"Finally, I play Lightsworn Sabre, and equip it on to Wulf! With this, its power raises by 700!" A rapier with a blade made of light appeared before the beast warrior. Discarding his spear, the wolfman took the sword and gave it a few practice swings before letting out a howl. (2100 - 2800 ATK)
"That move was sweet!" Jaden cried, pumping his fist. "He went from no monsters to three powerful ones!"
"Yeah, and with that sabre, his Wulf has gotten even stronger," Syrus murmured. "It's not looking good for Ren. Logan seems really angry for some reason."
"Wait, you didn't hear?" Chumley asked, quirking his brow. "Logan tried to challenge the academy's best duelist and got a tongue lashing for his efforts. Everyone has been talking about it and laughing about it."
"Really?" Jaden asked. "That's just not cool. No one should be made fun of just because they tried to challenge someone."
"I think there was more to it than that," Bastion added. "Either way, it seems Logan wants to take out some aggression, and Ren is the one unfortunate enough to be his way."
"Aggression? But duelling is supposed to be fun," Jaden remarked. "You shouldn't use a duel to take out your anger."
"I agree. And with the Lightsworn's seemingly powerful effects, this is quite an unfavourable matchup," Bastion agreed. "But I believe my fellow Ra has some tricks of his own."
As they spoke, Syrus had gone quiet. His eyes were wide, gazing at Logan in shock. 'He challenged Zane? Why would he do that?'
Little did the boys know, but other students were beginning to pay attention to the match as well. The students who had been earlier criticizing Logan for his audacious challenge towards Zane were now complimenting him for being able to go from no monster to three in the space of a single move.
"I'll warn you now, this is going to hurt," Logan said with a sneer. "Go, Jain, attack his facedown monster."
Letting out a threatening war cry, the armoured paladin leapt forward, bringing their sword down upon my set card. However, rather than shattering, a pink blob sprouted out, surprising the warrior.
"What?" Logan cried, his eyes bulging.
"Sorry, that was a nice try, but as you can see, my Marshmallon (300/500) is invulnerable to your attacks," I said, my lips tugging into a smirk. "Not only that, but much like your Ryko, when flipped, you take 1000 points of damage!"
Logan's eyes bulged and teeth grit as a red aura surrounded him, sapping him of his life points. (Logan: 3000LP)
"Lucky move," the Slifer growled.
"Not really," I said with a shrug. Was he trying to be dramatic? I'd just set a monster. There was no luck involved. "Either way, unless you've got a way to destroy my monster, I think you should end your turn."
"Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do," Logan growled, his glare bearing into me like a knife. "I end my turn. Now that my turn has ended, Lumina and Jain's effects activate. I must send cards to the grave from the top of my deck." He sent three cards for Lumina and two for Jain. As I watched him pitch the cards, I saw several more Lightsworns go to the grave. It really was both the greatest strength of the archetype and its greatest weakness.
"Then it's my turn to take a stab at it," I said, drawing my next card. Much to my chagrin, the cards in my hand would cause me to stand out a little bit, not too much hopefully. I'm jinxing this on purpose so that negates the bad effects. Right? "Let's start this off by playing Summoner's Art. I add a level five or higher normal monster to my hand. I choose the Summoned Skull!" As the card was added to my hand, I heard the murmurs of other students about the 'legendary' card I possessed but pushed them to the back of my mind.
Logan, on the other hand, seemed unimpressed by the monster in my hand. "I'll admit, that's a good card. But you'd need to sacrifice your marshmallow to summon it, and it doesn't have enough attack points to destroy Wulf. It seems that play was for nothing."
"You're right," I said, taking my next card in hand. "Then it's a good thing I wasn't going to play it just yet. Rather, I'm using it to create something greater."
"Excuse me?" Logan gasped.
"I'm activating Polymerization! I'm sure I don't have to explain what it does, but I'll do so anyway. I use two monsters to create a fusion monster! So then, I'll be using the Summoned Skull and King of the Swamp in my hand to call forth a creature beyond both of them!"
My skull and a beast made of living swamp water briefly appeared on the field. The latter suddenly shifted, taking on the form of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon before disappearing into a swirling vortex. "Fiend of lightning, merge with the dragon possessing infinite potential and bring me victory in this fight! I fusion summon! Come, Black Skull Dragon (3200/2500)!"
On my field appeared the dragon famous for defeating the Paradox Brothers in their duel against Yugi and Joey during Duelist Kingdom. Much like the cards used to summon it, Black Skull Dragon appeared to be the Red-Eyes Black Dragon with the skin and bone plating of the Summoned Skull. However, the bone armour was smeared black, giving it a more demonic appearance. Again, there was another wave of murmurs but I again ignored them in favour of looking at my dragon in awe. This was the first of the cards my father had given me on the morning of the exam. I planned to put him to good use. But first…
"Furthermore, I'll activate the last card in my hand! Monster Reborn! With it, I'll revive the Summoned Skull (2500/1200) I just sent to the grave." In a flash of lightning, my fiend was back on the field, sparks of electricity pulsing all over its body.
"Two high powered monsters at once?" Logan gasped.
"Yep! And I'll be putting that attack power to use right now. Black Skull Dragon, attack Wulf!" My dragon reared back its head, an orb of electrified plasma forming before it launched the blast at Logan's beast-man.
"Grr… Not so fast! I have a trap! Lightsworn Barrier! By sending the top two cards of my deck to the graveyard, I can negate your attack!" A barrier made of hard light suddenly sprung up around Wulf, deflecting my dragon's assault. As he sent his cards to the grave, I noticed he looked particularly pleased with one of them. "Oh, and I can use this effect every time you attack so there is no point in attacking ag-"
"Summoned Skull, attack Lumina!" I cried, interrupting Logan's little rant.
"Wait! Stop!" my fellow reincarnate cried. "There's no point, I'll just negate it again."
Summoned Skull rose its arm, shooting out a cascade of lighting towards the blonde beauty and again a barrier formed between the two monsters. Logan had sent two more cards to the grave.
"With that, I'll end my turn."
"I don't get it. Why did he attack with Summoned Skull?" Syrus asked.
"Yeah, it didn't make sense," Chumley agreed. "He knew it would be negated."
"Nah, he's doing fine," Jaden said, a sly smile on his features.
"Indeed, it was a fairly shrewd move," Bastion agreed. When the other two Slifer's gave him a funny look, he continued. "It appeared the Lightsworns have great synchronicity with each other. They send cards to the graveyard in the hopes of stacking it with other Lightsworns so that the boss monster, Judgment Dragon can be summoned. However, this is a double-edged sword. The more cards that go to the graveyard, the fewer recourses Logan will have to work with."
"Not only that, but when you run out of cards, you instantly lose the game," Jaden added.
"Oh, I get it. So, by attacking, he's forcing Logan to give up more cards that could be used later."
Bastion nodded. "Exactly. However, what might not make sense in the short term could have devastating effects later in the game."
"Go, Cyber Blader, finish this!" As her monster finished off her opponent, Alexis couldn't help but wish that Jaden had been her sparring partner. The Obelisk student she had faced had spent more time checking her out than his own cards. It had been a triviality to defeat him. After watching the Slifer's game against Dr Crowler, she had become interested in his duelling style.
He was so passionate. It was unlike anything she had seen. While others duelled for fame or for power, Jaden seemed to duel simply for fun, enjoying every moment of the experience. While a simple reason, it was somewhat enticing. She just had to duel him herself. Just how to go about it? For some reason, it felt weird to just outright ask him.
"Come, Black Skull Dragon!"
Alexis was broken from her thoughts as the famous, terrifying dragon took the field in the arena to her right. She was initially amazed that someone owned such a powerful card. At least, until she saw who was using it. Ren Cambell stood with a confident smirk on his face and his eyes piercing. She had to do a double-take. This wasn't the person she remembered from all those years ago.
The one she recalled was a coward who lacked pride in his own duelling when the going got tough. This image contradicted with the boy in her memory.
Looking at his opponent, she groaned to see it was the guy who had challenged Zane the previous day. Unlike Jaden, Alexis wanted nothing to do with him. She agreed with Zane's assessment; he lacked respect. Furthermore, he was just like every other boy she'd encountered since everyone's hormones began to run wild.
They just wanted to play with her 'monsters' and had no interest in the girl behind the duel disk, if you get the analogy. Still, she couldn't help but wonder who would win this confrontation.
"You have some powerful cards," Logan complimented, the first honest one I'd heard him say.
"You're in a better mood," I said. "All game, you've looked like you've been ready to tear me a new one."
"I can appreciate a good move. Especially when you've given me just what I need to win this game."
"Oh… great…"
"Yes! I activate Monster Reincarnation! I'll toss this and add a monster back to my hand. I choose my Judgment Dragon! And thanks to you, there are more than enough Lightsworns in the grave to summon it!"
Above him, the spectral images of four cards appeared. Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter; Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress; Rinyan, Lightsworn Rogue and Ehren, Lightsworn Monk. The cards became four pillars of light that converged into one.
Logan raised his hands towards the sky as he began chanting. "Descend from the heavens and cascade true judgement upon all of us foolish mortals. I call upon you, Judgment Dragon (3000/2600)!"
From the pillar, two feathered wings emerged. With a single flap, the light dispersed to reveal the gigantic grey feathered dragon. Wisps of steam flowed from its maw, and I was immediately overcome by a sense of dread.
"Well… This looks bad…" I gasped, taking an involuntary step back.
"Oh, it's worse than you think," Logan said with a cruel grin on his face. "By paying 1000 life points, my dragon wipes out every other card on the field!" (Logan: 2000LP)
Judgment Dragon reared its head and let out a harrowing roar, the shockwaves reverberating around the gym and wiping out not only my dragon and skull but also all of Logan's monsters as well!
"And now with your field laid bare, my dragon will attack!" Logan cried, thrusting his hand forward as light gathered in Judgment Dragon's mouth. I raised my hands to protect myself as the blast was let loose, completely enveloping me and demolishing my life points. (Ren: 1000LP)
I came out of the attack with smoke rising from my uniform. Despite only being holographic, I still felt a little crispy. Meanwhile, Logan was looking at me condescendingly.
"I'll end my turn there," he said. "Due to my dragon's effect, I now need to cast away four cards." After doing so, he gestured for me to make my move.
"That dragon's effect must be cheating," I laughed half-heartedly.
"Maybe, but I can still use it one more time, so it looks like this is going to be my win," Logan declared with a shrug. He no longer seemed interested in me, instead favouring to look across the gym. I followed his gaze to see he was looking towards Alexis, who was standing off to the side. The Slifer smirked as if showing off his current advantage over his opponent.
'This guy is ignoring me to rubberneck?' I seethed. 'Zane was right, he does have no respect. Fine, let's see what my deck has in store for him.'
I drew my only card.
"I'll set a card and end my turn," I declared, snapping Logan from whatever, undoubtedly crude, thoughts he'd been having.
"Then it's my move." He drew his card without bothering to look at what it was, instead merely pointing his hand forward. "You think your obvious trap can protect you? Judgment Dragon, let's end this! I use your effect again! Destroy it!" (Logan: 1000LP) Once again, his dragon reared back its head to roar, but this time I was ready.
"I'll chain your dragon's effect with my obvious trap! Go, Waboku!" Three nuns in blue and green robes suddenly appeared around me, each chanting quietly. "For this turn, I take no damage from your monsters. Looks like I'm surviving another round."
I relished my joy as Logan's jaw dropped. He'd cast away his life points and now had nothing to show for it. He took a moment to look around his field before lowering his head to scowl at me. "I end my turn with a facedown," he said through gritted teeth.
Oh, scary.
I drew my next card. "I'll set this monster in defence mode and end my turn," I declared, quickly passing on the baton. This could very well be my last move. It all depended on whether he drew another monster.
Much to my fortune, it seemed that Logan was disappointed with his next draw. The fact he wasted his life points must really be burning him now. If he had waited, he could have won this move. An unfortunate misplay.
"I'll attack your monster with my dragon!" he said dispassionately.
As his dragon let loose another blast of light energy, my monster flipped to reveal a woman in purple and red garb holding a staff with a moon-shaped tip. "You've activated my Magician of Faith's (300/400) effect! When flipped face-up, I can add a spell from my grave to my hand! I choose Monster Reborn. Before she was destroyed, my magician raised her staff, returning the spell back to my hand.
Seemingly with nothing else he could do; Logan was forced to end his turn.
"Make your move," Logan growled, his eyes narrowing dangerously. It almost made me laugh. His calm façade was gone the moment things looked bad for him. This guy had lost the mystique that had initially made me wary of him. His actions reminded me of a child who would quit a game just because he was about to lose so they could keep their precious no loss statistic. Not someone to be feared. He knew how to duel but made mistakes as he relied too heavily on doing damage and appearing strong. It would cost him down the line if he tried to take on an opponent who figured out his strategies. Definitely not the hero he wanted to pronounce himself to be.
With a sigh, I drew my next card.
Alexis watched as Ren drew. His field was again bare, and he had an extremely intimidating monster staring him down. However, he and Logan were so entranced in their duel that neither had noticed they were now the last people in the arena. Everyone else was now watching them with a respectful quietness.
As Ren looked at his card, Alexis noticed a change within the dragon duelist's attitude. The expression that had been sharp and determined went slack as he stared dispassionately at Logan and his ace. Alexis felt a rage begin to grow within her like a hot poker. A memory replayed itself inside her head of a young boy duelling an opponent on a big stage, everything at stake. He had what he needed, and then he merely put down his hand and ended his turn.
Was history about to replay itself?
Ren looked at his hand for a few moments, as if he was weighing the pros and cons of his next move before finally, held up his duel disk.
"I play Monster Reborn," he said with nowhere near as much flair as he had in his previous moves. "I'll revive my Black Skull Dragon." A portal opened in front of the Ra student and his dragon flew through it, landing just to the left of its owner.
Logan's eyes went wide as he realised his dragon was no longer the strongest card in play. "Attack Black Skull Dragon," Ren said calmly. Opening its mouth, his monster shot out a charged blast of electrified plasma that struck Logan's prized creature head-on, causing an explosion that had everyone protecting themselves from the blast. (Logan: 800LP)
"My dragon…" Logan gasped in disbelief. "You destroyed it…"
"That is how the game works," Ren replied. "I'll set a card and hand it over to you."
The situation was now reversed. Ren now had the powerful monster whereas Logan only possessed one card facedown and two cards in his hand. The duel had seemingly been non-stop so far and while others seemed quite into it, Alexis found herself unable to. As she looked at Ren's unimpassioned stare, she knew that he no longer cared about the result of the duel and was just going through the motions. She couldn't bear it. Someone needed to teach Cambell a lesson about having some pride in his own duelling. And she felt she was more than up for the task.
I kept my gaze on Logan as he drew his next card. Suddenly, the despair on his face turned to joy. He turned to me with a confident smirk.
"Well this has been fun but I'm going to end this now."
My brows raised ever so slightly. "Oh? Last I checked your most powerful card was in the grave."
"For now," he said ominously. "I begin by activating Dian Keto the Cure Master to regain 1000 life points!" (Logan: 1800LP) A green aura surrounded him as his points raised. "Next, I reveal my face down, Beckoning Light! I discard my entire hand, and then add the same number of light monsters as the cards I discarded. So, I'll add two Judgment Dragons!"
'Two? He has two of those things? I suppose that makes sense with the deck but still, a bit excessive.'
"Now, I'll resummon my first dragon!" Logan declared as there was another pillar of light and his Judgment Dragon re-emerged, just as powerful as ever. "And with my life points replenished, I can use its effect again! (Logan: 800 LP) Go Judgment Dragon, destroy his pitiful monster!"
I watched as his monster brought back its head, taking in a breath in preparation. I reached for my duel disk.
RINNNNNNNNNGGGGGG!
Before Judgment Dragon could fulfil its effect, we were suddenly stopped as the bell announcing the end of the period rang. Our cards paused and both me and Logan looked around in confusion. It was then I became acutely aware that the entire class had been watching our duel. We'd been surrounded on all sides.
'When did this happen? I thought the duels were all still going on! No, not again! I don't want the spotlight!'
While I felt extremely nervous and out of place, Crowler took the moment to step forward. "All right, that's enough. This duel is over. I announce that it was a draw. Please all move on to your next classes students. I'll be speaking to each of you soon about how I believe you can improve."
The other students let out cries of disappointment but nonetheless followed the doctor's instructions in fear that they might incur his wrath if they stayed. However, Logan was less than happy.
"What do you mean a draw?" he demanded, hurrying over to Crowler as the holograms of our monsters disappeared. "I was about to win! My dragon's effect would have wiped the field and then I would have taken the rest of his life points."
I felt a shiver run down my spine as Crowler glared at Logan. I knew the man was not to be trifled with at this early stage and kept my mouth shut. "Mr Evans," he began, his tone icy, "while I respect your belief you may have won, I would like to point out that Mr Cambell still possessed a face-down card. For all you know, it could have stopped your assault."
"It wouldn't have done anything!" Logan countered. He turned, pointing at me. "What was it?" he demanded. "Tell me!"
Remaining quiet, I removed the card from my disk's spell and trap card zone. Giving it a look, I reinserted it into my deck. "It doesn't matter. A draw is a draw." I could have told him what it was, but after all his cracks about my cards, I really just wanted to piss him off. And I was rewarded as Logan's expression went from anger to disbelief.
"Why did you do that?"
"Because I don't really care," I replied. "I could have won, I might have lost. In the end, this duel was for the purpose of our education."
I added the last bit for Crowler's benefit, who nodded approvingly. I got the feeling he was looking to piss off Logan too for defeating him. The irony is, if Logan hadn't chosen to be in the red dorm and stayed in Obelisk, Crowler's pride would have caused him to announce Logan the victor by default. Crowler would never allow one of his obelisks to be shown up by a Ra Yellow student after all.
Logan looked like he wanted to say more, but at that point, he noticed that the students who hadn't yet left were staring at him due to his outburst. Even Jaden, Bastion, Syrus and Chumley were gazing at him worriedly. Logan looked at them nervously before turning and walking out of the gym as quickly as he could.
I noticed that Jaden tried to follow him, bless him, but Bastion stopped him. "Give him time," the Ra said. "He's been through a lot the last couple of days. He might just need to work out some things himself."
"I guess…" Jaden said, still looking in the direction of the door.
"As for you, that was a spectacular duel, Ren," Bastion commended as he and the others walked over to me. "I honestly thought you had lost at several points."
"I got lucky," I replied. "If I hadn't drawn what I needed, I would have lost fairly quickly. His Lightsworns are no joke." I wasn't downplaying this. Sure, it was close, but the outcome of the game could have fallen on either side of the fence.
"So, what was your face down?" Syrus asked curiously.
I thought about it and there was no reason not to tell them. "It was Dimension Guardian. It would have protected my dragon from his Judgment Dragon's effect but would have been destroyed itself. After that, it's anyone's guess what could have happened. In this case, it really was a draw."
"Well, that sucks, but at least you had a good time, right?" Jaden asked, his usual smile having returned.
"Yeah, of course," I said.
Nope. While no one else may have known it, that had been about me testing out Logan. To see what his cards were like, how he understood them and if he knew how to use them. If anything, I'd learned that he put an over-reliance on Judgment Dragon. That last move had been stupid. Rather than recalling two judgment dragons with his trap, he should have brought back one and Lyla, Lightsworn sorceress. With Lyla's effect, my facedown would have been destroyed and then Judgment Dragon could have done the rest.
If he continued to play like that, and he interjected himself into canon events, then he was going to struggle, especially against opponents like the Shadow Riders.
No, this had not been fun. It had been work. And I was sure now more than ever that I needed to keep my eye on Logan and stop him from messing with the canon. And if he ever found out who I was, then this precursor duel may just be the first of our quarrels. And who knew if I would be so lucky in future?
The moment he was alone, Logan realised he was trembling. He was angry, positively livid. When he had reincarnated in this world, he had been confident everything would go his way. In his past life he'd played the games, followed the anime, invested time in learning about the characters through the wiki pages and during the ten years before the academy, it had all gone right!
His new father was a card designer at Industrial Illusions. Logan had given him the ideas for the Lightsworn cards, his favourite archetype in Yu-Gi-Oh, early so that he would have the perfect thing to take on any challenge at the academy.
He beat Crowler, purposely showing up late so he could duel the professor. But once he got to the academy itself, everything went tits up. He'd wanted to challenge Zane as soon as possible. Even if he didn't win, he wanted to show off his strength. That was why he'd done it in front of Alexis at first, to try and get her to notice him in the same way Jaden had in the canon. But that had failed because Zane had been 'busy' with Alexis. He'd tried sparking his duelist pride, only to become the laughingstock of the school, only two damn days into the school year!
And now, this background character had the nerve to embarrass him again in front of the class. In front of Alexis and all those other girls! He knew he had won that duel. But because the Ra had not shown his face down, no one would believe it.
"Stupid Ra, stupid dorm system. He was probably just trying to save face," he reasoned as he began pacing.
He needed to do something to turn this all around. The next canon event was coming up fast and if he wanted Alexis to notice him, he needed to intercept Crowler's letter to Jaden before Syrus could. That way, he could challenge Alexis to a duel and impress her with his skills.
Yeah, that would definitely work.
"I don't want to waste this chance," he muttered to himself. "I won't allow anyone to ruin my second life!"
In his mind, Logan had a list of people he needed to beat to prove he was the best. Jaden; Chazz; Zane. They were all on there. But now, there was a new name he had added. He had to beat that mob who stole the victory that was rightfully his. That's what protagonists do, right? They go back to finish old scores, proving themselves victorious in the end.
Yes. He would prove himself to be the new hero of this island.
No matter who got in his way.
Another chapter down :)
I hope you guys enjoyed Ren and Logan's first confrontation. I thought it would be best to force it upon them rather than Ren or Logan actively seek it from the other. I know some of you may be disappointed that there wasn't a definitive result, but I assure you it will be solved in time. This was more of a warm-up if you get what I mean.
We're still in the early days of Duel Academy life so I'm sticking fairly close to the main story at the minute but will begin to branch out soon.
Once again, I hope you enjoyed and please leave a fav, follow and a review so that I know how I can improve and what you enjoyed. There is no development without feedback. Also, if you haven't already, please take a look at the poll on my page as I would love to know your thoughts on whether I include more modern cards later down the line. This is very important as it could drastically affect the plot later on.
Either way, please all stay safe and have a great day! See you soon!