Ok so I didn't actually intend for it to take a full year for this to get done. A lot of stuff has happened since the last update. Left my job, became a carer, quit playing competetive Yugioh, global pandemic, all that lovely stuff. It's only in the last couple of months that I've started writing again. I took a bit of a break after a badly scheduled SN6 chapter that took up way too much energy, and I had the urge to finish this chapter.
Anyway, enough about me, let's entertain you!
Chapter Four - A Quizzical Encounter
"What are the three types of trap cards?"
"Uh, Normal Trap, Continuous Trap and…Counter Traps?"
"Correct!" Asuka gave Yasuhiro an encouraging smile, causing the boy to look away with a blush. "How about the types of spell cards?"
Meanwhile.
"So, if someone activates a Quick-Play Spell card, can you respond with a Normal Spell?"
"No. I know that much."
"Yes, but do you know why?"
"Uh…" Naruto's face went blank. His eyes edged towards the text book in front of him.
"Don't look," Misawa said, covering the book with his hand. "It's not enough to simply know, you need to know why. So, why can't you respond to a Quick-Play Spell with a Normal Spell?"
"Ugh…"
The unlikely quartet were gathered in the library, sat around a table as they studied together. They were a group that got odd looks; an Obelisk, a Ra, and two Slifers all interacting without issue. The sight of Slifer Reds studying itself earned more than a few double takes.
Since Naruto's duel with Takada, the four of them started gathering in the library every other day to study. Asuka had been shocked to hear Naruto actually ask to study, but after hearing how he wanted to help his roommate she was more than happy to lend a hand. It was something she wished more of her peers in Blue would do, rather than keep up the petty rivalry and bullying. Misawa hadn't been too hard to convince, either. Having already made the offer to Naruto on their first day he was thrilled to have it accepted.
Still, perhaps he was regretting his decision as he pulled the textbook closer. "Try to remember this, because it's important. Every card in the game has what is called a Spell Speed. A card with a Spell Speed lower than another cannot react to the one with the higher Spell Speed."
Naruto groaned, rubbing his hands in his hair. "I remember those things, I think. Can never remember what card has what, though."
"Then allow me to go through them. At the bottom we have Spell Speed 1. Normal Spell cards and Continuous Spell cards, as well as most Effect Monsters, are Spell Speed 1. Normal Trap cards, Continuous Trap cards, Quick-Play Spell cards, and some Effect Monsters are Spell Speed 2."
"Wait, hold up," Naruto held up a hand. His face was scrunched up, forcing his eyes shut. "How do you know what monsters are Spell Speed 1 or Spell Speed 2?"
"Well, usually in their text it will say 'On either player's turn' or, 'On your opponent's turn', followed by a colon. This implies that the effect is a Spell Speed 2, and can be activated during the opponent's turn. And that is where Spell Speed 2 shines. Spell Speed 2 effects are effects that can be activated on your opponent's turn, as opposed to Spell Speed 1, that can only be activated on your turn. Another benefit to Spell Speed 2 effects is that they can be chained to other card effects."
"Right…"
"Well, if you still aren't sure, I'll give you an example. Say someone was to activate the effect of the Continuous Spell card, Earthquake, which changes the opponent's monsters to defence mode. This card is Spell Speed 1. If you were to respond with a Mystical Space Typhoon - Spell Speed 2 - during the activation of Earthquake upon the summoning of a monster, Mystical Space Typhoon would chain to the activation- "
"Wait, I thought you said that Spell Speed 1 cards can only activate in your turn."
Misawa sighed. "The card itself can only be activated on your turn, but a card being activated and an effect being activated are two different things."
"…"
"As I was saying. If you chain Mystical Space Typhoon to the activation of Earthquake's effect, Earthquake would be destroyed, thus removing it from the field before resolving. As it wasn't on the field when it resolved, the effect doesn't occur, as a Continuous Spell card needs to be on the field to resolve its effect," Misawa paused, then added, "unless the card text says otherwise- "
"URGH!" Naruto covered his head, cowering beneath his arms. "No more, my head hurts! Why is this game so confusing!?"
"Come now, it isn't that bad."
" -and that's how Effect Monsters work." Asuka said to Yasuhiro, before sighing and closing her textbook. "Well, I suppose that's all for today. I've studied with Naruto enough to know that any more will just leak out of his brain."
"Yes, I've started to gather as much," Misawa said, putting his books away.
Yasuhiro turned to Naruto, blinking. "I thought you said you'd had Spell Speeds drilled into your head already?"
Asuka raised a brow at that. "Oh, did he put it like that? Still, he has a point, you told me that you understood Spell Speeds already." She narrowed her eyes. "Unless you were lying to get out of more studying?"
Naruto sat upright. "N-No, not at all! I, er, understood them at the time…sorta, but I guess I forgot again." He rubbed the back of his head, looking to the side with a shaky laugh.
Asuka shook her head, choosing not to grill him on it…this time. Still... "I would suggest finally getting Spell Speeds down, Naruto. This is the kind of thing you'll need to know by heart if you want to get into Ra Yellow."
"I concur. Not only that, but truly understanding Spell Speeds will only further improve your duelling." Misawa said, finished with putting his stuff away. "I would advise you to find the time to look through your card texts and see which monsters might have Spell Speed 2 effects. Especially as we have the first of our monthly exams coming up soon."
Naruto groaned, but didn't complain. As much as he hated tests and studying, he needed to suffer them if he didn't want to be nothing but talk regarding his goal.
"Honestly, with how skilled you are at duelling, I can't imagine you not getting into Ra Yellow whatever your grade is," said Yasuhiro, fiddling with his bags zip as he tried to close it.
Naruto frowned at that. Something about that statement didn't really sit well with him. "You think so?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, you beat Takada, right? He's an Obelisk Blue and you were good enough to beat him."
"Excuse me, did I hear that right?"
The unlikely foursome paused what they were doing at the new voice. Looking to the next table over, they saw another Slifer Red sitting in a chair. It was clear he had only just got there, what with his books only half out of his bag. Realising he had paused in place, he finished taking them out and put them on the table. He then took out his stationary and started placing them.
"What did you say?" Naruto said, after a minute of stationary arrangement.
"Hmm?" The boy looked up from where he was adjusting pencils, staring through his glasses. "Oh, right. I asked if I had heard right. About you defeating an Obelisk Blue, that is."
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Hmm." He went back to his pencils, making them parallel. "If it's true, then that's impressive. Yet, you are wearing a Slifer Red jacket, which would imply that you don't have the skills to pull off such a thing."
"Says the guy wearing a Slifer Red jacket," Naruto said, looking at said jacket.
"Hm," the boy finished with his pencils before nodding and moving on to his eraser, "I would have easily passed the exam with a high enough score to be in Ra Yellow. However, I had an awful cold at the time which hindered my performance."
"Impressive, if it's true," Naruto fired back, resting his face on a fist, "but seeing as you've got that jacket on…"
"Ah, mockery through mimicry. I see you have the same sense of humour that chimps possess."
Naruto's brow twitched, leaning over to Yasuhiro. "Hey, you know who this guy is?"
Yasuhiro nodded. "That's Hazama Reiji, he sat at the same table as Sumi and I at the first day meal. He was one of the few guys there who wasn't all depressed."
"There's no need to be upset over my position," Hazama said, leaving his eraser at a forty-five degree angle away from his leftmost pencil, "After the upcoming test, the faculty shall see the egregious error that has occurred, and I will be joining my intellectual equals in Ra Yellow." Seeing that the group was still unimpressed, he said, "How about I prove myself? A pop quiz, perhaps? Me against you in a sort of duel, you could say."
"Oh yeah? I'm not falling for that one," said Naruto, folding his arms behind his head and leaning back in his chair. He narrowed his eyes, "You're the one who brought it up, so I'm guessing you've got one prepared. You'd already know the answers."
"Trust me," the boy said, pushing his glasses up, "I'd know the answers regardless. But very well. I assume that someone like you would have a pop quiz prepared, Misawa-san?"
Naruto turned to give Misawa the stink eye, but the boy genius was already rooting in his bag. "As it happens, I do. I had been hoping to end today's session with it, but I can easily repurpose it for this."
Naruto shook his head. "Unbelievable."
"Surely you're not against this?" Hazama said, folding his arms. "It's only a friendly challenge. Or maybe you're worried that you'll expose yourself as brute with all power and no intelligence."
"Hah!?" Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Ok, now you've just gone and made it personal, pal."
Asuka shook her head. "Come on, Naruto, you don't need to prove yourself to this guy. No one's going to think less of you."
Naruto turned to her; brow furrowed. "Think less of me about what? Turning this guy's challenge down, or losing in the end because I'm just that dumb? Because that's obviously what's going to happen?"
It was Asuka's turn to narrow her eyes. "Don't you put words in my mouth, Uzumaki Naruto. What I mean is that you don't need to act like some testosterone driven idiot just because some random guy challenged you to something."
"Something that you don't think I can win!"
Asuka rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't think any less or more of you if you won or lost, but keep this up and I just might."
"Oh my, I didn't intend to cause such a drama," Hazama said, pushing his glasses up. "Perhaps we should call this little challenge off. I wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of your lady friend."
Naruto's brow twitched, and Asuka sighed. Any chance of resolving this with common sense was gone. For that, she looked askance at Hazama.
"All right, let's do this then!" Naruto got up and moved over to Hazama's table, dropping into the opposite seat. One of Hazama's pencils moved from the force, and Hazama's brow twitched. Like a snake, his hand shot out to grab the pencil. He put the stray stationary back in place with careful precision.
Naruto gave him a weird look.
Hazama adjusted his glasses.
"Ok then, let's get this pop quiz started!" Misawa said, a strange enthusiasm coming over him. He stood on another side of the table, between the two contestants. Meanwhile, Yasuhiro watched with a lost expression, unsure how this had come to place. Asuka wasn't even looking, having decided her PDA was more worthy of her attention.
"I will ask each of you a question in turn. If you get the answer wrong, or simply cannot answer it, I will ask the other contestant the question again. Every right answer will earn you a point. To keep this short, the winner will be the first to get three points, and then answer what I consider the most difficult question correctly to win. But be warned, if you get that question wrong then your opponent can take it, even if they don't have enough points. Yasuhiro-san, would you mind keeping score?"
"Huh?" Yasuhiro blinked, knocked out of his stupor. "Um, sure," he said, getting out a pencil and some paper from his bag.
"Very well, I'll start by asking Naruto a question, then Hazama-san, and so forth. Are both contestants agreeable with these conditions?"
"Fine by me," Naruto said, giving Hazama his best game face.
"They are acceptable," said Hazama.
"Marvellous! Then, Naruto, question one!"
"Bring it on!"
"What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen sw—hold on a moment, these are my personal notes!" A tinge of red appeared on his cheeks as he put the paper away and pulled out the right one. "Ahem. Question one; how many types of spell card are there?"
"Easy one! Normal, Quick-Play, Field and Continuous!"
"Is that your final answer?"
"Ye—wait, no, I forgot Ritual. Those and Ritual, that's my final answer."
"Correct."
"Hah, got it!"
"Barely," said Hazama, folding his arms. "If this is what I can expect, then this will be easy."
"Oh, lay off it," Naruto said, giving Hazama the stink eye, "I don't even use Ritual spells, so of course I'd forget for a moment."
"You must constantly forget about your own brain, then."
"You!"
"Question two!" Misawa cleared his throat, a bead of sweat appearing on his brow. "Hazama-san, how many kinds of monster cards are there?"
"Do you mean monster types, the attributes, or the cards themselves?"
"The cards themselves."
"In that case there are Normal monsters, Effect monsters, Fusion monsters and," he glanced at Naruto, "Ritual monsters; and yes, that is my final answer."
"Correct!" Misawa said, ignoring Naruto sticking his tongue out at his opponent. "Question three! Naruto, what kind of cards can be activated in the graveyard during the opponent's turn?"
Naruto grinned. "Easy, Trap Cards can. I've got a Trap or two that can do that."
"Is that your final answer?"
"Yep!"
"Incorrect, Haz—"
"Wait what!?" Naruto leant back in his chair. "How is that wrong?"
"Allow me to educate you," Hazama said, adjusting his glasses. "Trap cards can be activated during the opponent's turn, if the effect allows it, of course, but so can monster cards, again, if the effect allows for it. For example, if my opponent has destroyed a monster like, say, Shining Angel, by battle, then Shining Angel's effect activates in the graveyard, allowing me to summon a Light monster from my deck with 1500 or less attack points. Final answer."
"Correct!"
Naruto's forehead met the table. "Gah, why didn't I know that!? I have a monster that does something like that!"
"Question four. Since Hazama-san answered question three, I will give this question to you, Naruto."
Naruto raised his head, eyes narrowed and fists clenched.
"If I activated the Equip spell Premature Burial, and my opponent activated the Counter Trap Magic Jammer, would I still have to pay the 800 life points cost to activate Premature Burial?"
Naruto stared. He frowned. "Um, no? Because Magic Jammer negates Spell Cards?"
"Is that your final answer?" Misawa said, putting extra stress on 'final'.
"…Yes?"
Misawa's lips twisted down a little. "Incorrect."
Naruto grabbed his head in his hands.
"Hazama-san, same question."
"Yes, because cost does not equal activation." At Naruto and even Yasuhiro's blank stares, Hazama sighed. "Honestly… Some cards activate simply by playing them, but some cards, when played, have a cost to pay before activation can begin. Premature Burial has a cost of 800 life points to activate. It is the activation of the card that Magic Jammer responds to. So, after paying the 800 point cost to activate, Magic Jammer in turn activates, negating the activation of Premature Burial, thus not only have you stopped your opponents play, but you have made them waste a precious resource."
"Correct. That makes three points, right, Yasuhiro-san?"
Yasuhiro shook the shock and awe from his skull, looked down, and nodded.
"The final question. Hazama-san, if you get this question right, then you win. But if you get it wrong, then Naruto will get the chance to win it all."
Asuka snorted at the idea that they were winning anything. She was now looking up from her PDA, curious as to what Misawa considered to be the hardest question.
"If I summon a monster with a Built-in Special Summon, how will my opponent prevent that summon from occurring?"
Asuka winced. It wasn't exactly a hard question, but only if you knew about the more in-depth details of Duel Monsters. She glanced over at Naruto, and winced again.
Naruto just stared; his eyes glazed over. He didn't even understand the question, never mind trying to answer it.
Hazama blinked. "Is that all? Easy, they can't. A Built-in Special Summon, also known as an Inherent Summon, are Special Summons that are either done by game mechanics, or the monster's own effect, and they do not start a chain. There are two sub-types of Inherent Summon, Summon by conditions and by effect that does not activate. The first is covered by all Nomi and Semi-Nomi monster cards, also known as monsters that can't be Normal or Special Summoned, except by their own conditions. The second covers monsters that can be Normal Summoned, and the effects to Special Summon them are optional. The second are also considered Unclassified Effects, as they do not activate, nor are they Continuous Effects."
Asuka could have sworn that there were swirls in Naruto's eyes.
"C-Correct," Misawa said, taken aback by the in-depth explanation. He looked lost for a moment, glancing at Naruto for a moment. He had realised, it seemed that maybe this whole thing wasn't such a good idea. "Well, I suppose this means you win, Hazama-san."
That snapped Naruto out of his daze. He looked down at the table, avoiding eye contact.
"Well, that was mildly enjoyable," said Hazama, going back to his bag and taking out some more stationary. "Now if you don't mind, I've got some more, in-depth, studying to do. I believe you all were about to leave? I'm afraid I might absorb something from the present company that would leave my studying ineffective."
Naruto stood up and started gathering his stuff. He threw his bag over his shoulder and left. Yasuhiro hurried to do the same and follow after him.
Asuka watched him go, sympathetic but also aware that he had brought it on himself. Still, that didn't mean she didn't have something to say to someone else. "You know, you're pretty smart, Hazama-san."
Hazama gave a half-hearted hum, trying to align his ruler with his pencils.
"Pretty smart, a shoe in for Ra, certainly. But with an attitude like yours, you'll fit more in with the majority of Obelisk Blue."
That made him look up. "What do you mean, Tenjoin-san?"
Asuka didn't answer him, for a moment. She took her time to put her own stuff away, and only addressed him when she had turned to leave. "Obelisk Blue is the top dorm in the school for the top students, true. It would be humble to the point of insulting for me to say otherwise. But a lot of my peers are nothing but bullies who lord their status over those in lower dorms. A lot of them only got in because they automatically qualified by attending Duel Academia's middle school branch. Entitled brats who think it gives them the right to belittle others. I'd hate to see someone with the ability to one day be promoted to Blue on their own merits act like them, just because they know more than someone else."
With that said she left. Soon enough, she heard Misawa catch up with her.
"Do you think that I might have messed up, back there?" He asked her, rather sheepish looking. "I thought it was all in good fun, but maybe I jumped the gun a bit."
Asuka sighed. "No, Naruto shouldn't have let himself get riled up so easily. However, he's a bit sensitive about his intelligence. He's not stupid, he just doesn't think sometimes, and he's pretty hot headed too."
"Still, I didn't mean for him to get so down. After all, it was originally meant to judge where he was at for future study sessions. When Hazama-san suggested a contest, I let myself get too caught up in the idea and used the pop quiz for something it wasn't intended for."
Asuka huffed, "Well. I meant it when I said Hazama-san would fit in with some of my Obelisk peers. He was like a shark smelling blood back there. Naruto doesn't help himself, either, getting fired up so easily. Still," she shook her head, "he wouldn't be Naruto if he didn't. He's passionate, and that's one of his strengths, as much as it can be a weakness at times."
Misawa hummed, and gave her a sidelong look. "You think highly of him."
It was a simple statement, but enough to make her cheeks warm a bit. "He might not be the smartest or the most level-headed person, but he tries harder than just about anyone else. I've seen him give Duel Monsters his all over the years; he's not the most talented duellist around, but he makes up with it with sheer effort. How can you not admire that kind of dedication?"
"You don't need to justify yourself to me, Tenjoin-san," he said, smiling slightly. "I might not have known him as long as you, but I saw his entrance exam duel, and I can tell that his efforts have paid off. His perception and ability to see through bluffs and work around his opponents is stellar."
Asuka's brow twitched, thinking back to that duel. She decided not to break the illusion; she knew Naruto well enough that he hadn't even thought about what his opponents face-down might have been.
"Anyway, do you not want to go and see if he's alright?"
Asuka shook her head. "No, he'll cool off soon enough. Besides, I don't think he needs to hear an 'I told you so', right now. I doubt I could say anything that he wouldn't take as one, at the moment."
Misawa hummed. "I can see that." Once they reached a fork in the corridor, Misawa clapped his hands together. "Well, I still have some private study I wish to do, so this is where we part ways for now, Tenjoin-san."
Asuka nodded. That was fair enough, she had stuff to do, too. After telling him as much, the two went their separate ways. As she walked, she thought about Naruto. He'd be alright, she knew. He'd get himself together sooner or later, and she'd be there for him when he did.
"Naruto-san, wait up!"
Naruto huffed, slowing his pace enough for Yasuhiro to catch up. He hadn't realised he'd been walking so fast. He'd just...needed to get out of there.
"Are you alright, Naruto-san?" Yasuhiro asked, after a moment's hesitation.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Naruto said, glancing at Yasuhiro.
"Don't let that guy get you down, Naruto-san. He's just like Takataro and his friends. Don't let him win!"
Takataro? Oh, right. "You mean Takada?"
"Was that his name?"
Naruto shook his head, a small smile pulling at his lips. "Nevermind...and yeah, you're right. Just another jerk lauding himself over others." His smile faded as he thought back on what just happened. As true as that might be, it didn't change the fact that he failed miserably. Academics might not be his strong suit, but he needed to improve on them if he was to leave Slifer Red.
Maybe he should have listened to Asuka after all...this was a hell of his own making.
"Hey, how about we have a duel or two?" Yasuhiro said, perking up at his own idea. "Studying is only one part of duelling, right? I want to get more practical practice in, too."
Naruto paused. A duel sounded pretty good right now. "You know what, sure, that sounds great. Let's grab our disks."
Grabbing their disks from their room - and ignoring a grumpy Sumi - the two made their way to the bottom of the cliff by the Slifer Red dorm. It was a great area for duelling, out of the way and the crashing waves against the rocks added a real sense of drama to duels.
Wasting no more time, the two declared as one, "DUEL!"
"Feel free to go first, Yasuhiro," Naruto said, waiting patiently.
"Right, draw!" Yasuhiro looked at his hand, thinking. "I summon Pyramid Turtle in attack mode." Pyramid Turtle was, as the name might suggest, a turtle with a pyramid as a shell.
#Pyramid Turtle - Zombie - 1200/1400#
"I end my turn," Yasuhiro said, after a moment.
Naruto hummed. "My turn, draw. I activate the effect of SPYRAL Super Agent in my hand."
Yasuhiro gulped. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple.
"I declare Monster, and if the top card of your deck is a monster card, I can special summon SPYRAL Super Agent from my hand."
Yasuhiro put his hand on his deck. What were the chances that it really was a monster card? Taking the top card, Yasuhiro wilted at the sight. "M-Monster card…"
"Alright! Come on out, SPYRAL Super Agent!"
#SPYRAL Super Agent - Warrior - 1900/1200#
"Attack Pyramid Turtle!"
And as the super spy attacked, Yasuhiro realised his mistake.
#Naruto - 4000#
#Yasuhiro - 3300#
"Ah, why did I put it in attack mode!?" Yasuhiro cried, holding his head.
"Yeah, even I spotted that one," Naruto said, not unsympathetic. "Still, now you know, yeah?"
"Yeah," Yasuhiro sighed. "Oh! But even so, Pyramid Turtle's effect activates!"
Naruto blinked, but then remembered Hazama's lecture. "Oh, is that thing like, er...Shining Angel?" The reminder of Hazama threatened to bring Naruto's mood down, but he shook the feeling off.
"Yes, when Pyramid Turtle is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon one Zombie monster from my deck with two thousand or less defence points."
Naruto whistled. "Not bad."
"Yeah! I summon Skull Servant in defence mode!"
In a flash of light, a kneeling skeleton in a blue robe was before Yasuhiro.
#Skull Servant - Zombie - 300/200#
Naruto blinked. Pretty weak monster, right there. Come to think of it, did he know what Yasuhiro's deck was? All he knew so far was that it had monsters. Still, he had something that might help him figure it out.
"I play the Spell card The Inexperienced Spy!" Naruto said, placing the card in his disk. "This card lets me choose one card in your hand and look at it. I choose the leftmost card!"
Out of the hologram of the card emerged a small figure in a trench coat, with a fedora and black glasses. Leaping over to Yasuhiro, the figure grabbed the designated card and jumped back over. Yasuhiro stood, gaping at the surprisingly acrobatic figure.
"Hmm, let's see," Naruto muttered, bending down to look. His face went blank. "Another Skull Servant? So...a Normal Zombie deck?" He scratched his head. "That doesn't really tell me much," he said. Shaking his head, he waved his hand and the small spy ran to give Yasuhiro his card back, who took it, still bemused. "Aight, I'll just set one card face-down and end my turn."
"M-My turn, draw," Yasuhiro said, getting over the bizarre event.
"I activate my Trap card!" Naruto raised his hand, which signalled the card to flip over. "Mind Crush! Send your Skull Servant in your hand to the graveyard!"
Yasuhiro did so, not looking too fussed about it. In fact, he was grinning. "I-I'm not going to complain, Naruto-san. In fact, I'll thank you instead."
"Eh?"
"I play the Spell card, Polymerization! I send the Skull Servant on my field with the Battle Warrior in my hand to Fusion Summon Zombie Warrior!"
Skull Servant and a man in blue armour swirled together in the vortex of Polymerization, fusing together to become a skeleton with a sword, blue pauldrons and a blue shield.
#Zombie Warrior - Zombie/Fusion - 1200/900#
"Erm, okay?" Naruto said, looking at the not that impressive monster.
"I'm not done yet. Next I summon the King of the Skull Servants in attack mode!"
The monster looked a lot like Skull Servant, the main difference was its robe was a bit more tatty.
#King of the Skull Servants - Zombie - ?/0#
Naruto raised a brow. "No attack points?"
Yasuhiro grinned. "King of the Skull Servants' attack points are determined by the number of Skull Servants in my graveyard times by one thousand!"
"Ah."
#King of the Skull Servants - Zombie - 2000/0#
"Ahhh," Naruto blinked. "Crap, probably shouldn't have sent a Zombie monster to the graveyard, now that I think about it."
"Now you know, yeah?" Yasuhiro said, grinning.
Naruto's brow twitched. "Cheeky bastard," he muttered.
"Now, King of the Skull Servants, attack SPYRAL Super Agent!"
Skull chattering, the King raised his hands and a mass of black miasma spewed forth. SPYRAL Super Agent shattered upon contact, and the dark cloud hit Naruto unhindered.
#Naruto - 3900#
#Yasuhiro - 3300#
"Zombie Warrior, attack him directly!"
With the clattering of armour and bones Zombie Warrior ran, slashing Naruto's chest with its sword.
#Yasuhiro - 3300#
#Naruto - 2700#
"Damn, not bad, Yasuhiro," Naruto said. "I might start getting a little worried."
Yasuhiro grinned, almost vibrating from excitement. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."
"Draw!" Looking at his hand, Naruto grinned. "Nice!" Putting his new card in his hand, he selected another. "First, I activate the Spell card, The Warrior Returning Alive. This card lets me take one Warrior monster in my graveyard and add it to my hand. Obviously, I'll take back my SPYRAL Super Agent."
Yasuhiro's grin faltered a smidge.
"Next," he said, grabbing the card he just drew, "I summon SPYRAL GEAR- Drone in defence mode!"
Yasuhiro's grin trembled as the little drone appeared on the field.
#SPYRAL GEAR - Drone - Machine - 100/100#
"Since it was summoned, I can look at the top three cards of your deck, and arrange them in any order I like."
Yasuhiro's grin dropped entirely as the drone took the three cards.
Naruto hummed as he looked them over. Dissolverock, Book of Life, and Tutan Mask. Nothing that he felt he had to worry about, but Book of Life could be somewhat annoying. Deciding the order, Naruto sent the cards back over to Yasuhiro.
"Next, I activate the effect of SPYRAL Super Agent in my hand. I declare, Trap card!"
Yasuhiro half-heartedly checked, revealing Tutan Mask. "Yeah, Trap card."
"And so, SPYRAL Super Agent returns!"
#SPYRAL Super Agent - Warrior - 1900/1200#
"Since SPYRAL Super Agent was summoned by its own effect, it can destroy your face-down card!"
SPYRAL Super Agent shot the hologram card, and Yasuhiro sullenly put Call of the Haunted in his graveyard.
"Next I activate the effect of Drone to give SPYRAL Super Agent five hundred attack points for each card you control."
SPYRAL GEAR - Drone faded into pixels, which flowed into Super Agent.
#SPYRAL Super Agent - Warrior - 2900/1200#
Naruto looked at the cards in his hand. If Super Agent had only five hundred more… Regardless, it had enough for this. "SPYRAL Super Agent, attack King of the Skull Servants!"
With a cocky smirk, SPYRAL Super Agent ran forwards and, grabbing the skeletal king by the arm, threw it over his shoulder. It burst into pixels on impact with the floor.
#Naruto - 2700#
#Yasuhiro - 2400#
Snapping out of his shock, Yasuhiro moved his hand to his graveyard. "W-When King of the Skull Servants is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I can either banish another one, or a Skull Servant, in my graveyard and special summon the King that was just destroyed." A Skull Servant ejected from the graveyard, followed by the King, which he promptly summoned in defence mode.
#King of the Skull Servants - Zombie - 1000/0#
"I end my turn," Naruto said, grinning at the turn the duel had taken.
"M-My turn, draw," Yasuhiro said, not even bothering to look at the Tutan Mask he drew. "Erm…" Yasuhiro stared at the field in panic, eyes darting from each monster. Looking at the two cards in his hand, he grimaced. "I set one card face-down and play Silent Doom. This summons one Normal monster from my graveyard in defence mode. I choose Battle Warrior."
The humanoid that made up half of Zombie Warrior appeared, kneeling with his arms crossed.
#Battle Warrior - Warrior - 700/1000#
"I put Zombie Warrior in defence mode and...and end my turn."
"My turn, draw." Naruto didn't bother looking at his card either, instead grabbing another. "I activate Infected Mail!"
Yasuhiro groaned. It was over.
The duel wrapped up quickly with a direct attack on Yasuhiro's life points, courtesy of Infected Mail's effect.
#Naruto - 2700#
#Yasuhiro - 0#
Yasuhiro sat down as the holograms faded, heaving a huge sigh. "I really thought I had you there, Naruto-san."
"You kinda did, sorta," Naruto said.
"Only because you made a small mistake," Yasuhiro said, shaking his head.
"Hey, that's part of duelling too, ya know, exploiting your opponent's mistakes," Naruto dropped down next to Yasuhiro and started putting his deck back together. "When I was learning every single mistake I made was capitalized on by the guys who trained me." His brow twitched at the memory. "They didn't like holding back, that's for sure…"
Yasuhiro looked at him curiously. "Trained you?"
"Well, more like they duelled me into submission until I kinda knew what I was doing," Naruto said, huffing. "Then they made me go over every single mistake that I made so I could learn from them."
Yasuhiro hummed. "Like when I summoned Pyramid Turtle in attack mode."
"Yeah, exactly," Naruto said, nodding. "Or when I sent a Zombie monster to the graveyard. I didn't think it would matter because it was a Normal monster, but I should have known that the graveyard was the best place for a zombie."
Yasuhiro looked up, thinking over the duel. "Even so, I don't think I could have done anything differently there. That was the best I could do…"
Naruto shrugged. "With that hand, maybe. I lucked out in drawing both Super Agent and Drone so close together. Getting over that King would have been a lot tougher if I didn't." He sighed. "Still, I could have ended it sooner if you'd had one more card on the field. Shame that Super Agent's effect destroyed your Trap card before Drone could give it the five hundred extra attack points."
Doing some quick maths, Yasuhiro winced. "Ah, yeah." After a minute of silence, Yasuhiro blinked. "Hey, Naruto-san?"
"Hmm?"
"Have you ever read Drone's effect more closely?"
"Huh?" Naruto turned to Yasuhiro. "What do you-"
"HEY! NARUTO-SAN, YASUHIRO-SAN!"
The two flinched and looked up. Standing at the cliff's edge was Shou, hands cupped over his mouth.
"DINNER'S ABOUT TO BE SERVED! APPARENTLY WE'VE GOT EXTRA RICE TODAY!"
"Extra rice!? Hell yeah, I'm starving!" Naruto said, jumping to his feet. "And since I won that duel, I get your extra rice too!"
"Huh!? Since when was that a thing!?" Yasuhiro exclaimed. He scrambled after Naruto as the blonde ran off. "Hey, Naruto-san, I never agreed to that!"
"Too bad, so sad!"
"Hey! Ante duels are against the rules, you know!"
"Ahahahahaha!"
Chapter End
That's chapter four done. I didn't want the monthly exam to be more than one chapter, but this chapter is long enough as is, and it's been a long time coming so here we are.
I wonder just who Naruto will be facing in the practical. Truly a mystery. Hopefully this chapter was enjoyable...and hopefully people are still interested. But eh, what can you do...except update more often...I'll shut up now.
If you'd like to yell at me to write more, you can do so on my Discord server that I recently made. I think you can just search for it, I don't know much about Discord. Just look up NinjaGogeta on there, I guess.
Welp, until next time everyone. Take care!