A/N: Hey everyone! I'm happy to announce that the story's Underworld Arc is finally over! Before we start with the next arc, let's answer a few questions and address a few issues that were raised since the last chapter:
Will Cenric now work for Mr. White?
No, Cenric only made a deal with White. During White's tournaments, Cenric has to defend his title as the Red Hood. Every time he wins, he gets 5,000$ and 5 cards of his choice from the pool of cards that the tournament contestants put up as ante.
How will Cenric's new title affect his future in Duel Academy?
No effect whatsoever at this point. Firstly, Cenric's new title is known only to the underground, meaning no one who isn't associated with the underground will know that there is a King of the Underworld and will have no idea who he is. Second of all, Red Hood is the King of the Underworld. As far as the people of the underground know, Cenric Cross is a simple orphan who knows how to duel.
How often will Cenric duel during White's tournaments?
Since White has very high standards, he demands that only elite underground duelists be allowed to participate in his tournaments. His people will need a lot of time to find enough underground duelists who fit the description and convince them to participate in these tournaments. Also, White needs to arrange for his VIP clients to take the time from their schedules to attend the tournament. Therefore, White can organize around one tournament annually, usually in the summer. This doesn't mean the arena is closed till then. Duels still occur every day for regular clients to watch, but they will be single duels without a tournament.
So Cenric can still go to Duel Academy and return to defend his title as the Red Hood during the holidays.
Now we return to the story! With 50,000$ in his possession and the tournament behind him, our hero is finally ready to attend Duel Academy! We now see him take on the Duel Entrance Exam!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Yu-Gi-Oh except my OC(s). Everything else belongs to Konami and Kazuki Takahashi.
"You're going down!" = Normal speech
'Hope he's not hearing my thoughts' = Speaking Mentally
"I will end you!" = When a character is using some form of power or is possessed.
(ATK: 2500, DEF: 2000, LV: 4): level 4 monster in Attack mode
(ATK: 2500, DEF: 2000, LV: 4): level 4 monster in Defense mode
*Edited on 23/08/2022: Had to fix a serious dueling blooper. Thank you MORBG for spotting this and letting me know.
Somehow I'm in GX!
Chapter 8: Entrance Exam!
SI POV:
After I woke up from my forced nap, Misako proceeded to tear me a new one for not bothering to call her even once to let her know I was fine. I stood there throughout the entire verbal beat-down with my shoulders hunched around my head as if I was imitating a turtle.
After an hour of yelling at me for being so irresponsible, Misako finally calmed down enough for me to explain why I didn't call her. I couldn't tell her the truth as that would result in her calling the police, and I did not doubt White would bribe his way out of an investigation. Also, if he finds out who placed the call, then all of our lives would be forfeited so I couldn't give her a stupid reason like 'I forgot' because she still had the frying pan in her hand. Misako was calm now, but if I set her off with a bullshit excuse, then it'll be back to Dreamland for me. Luckily, I managed to convince her that I was so tired from winning the tournament that I fell asleep before I could call her last night.
This seemed to mollify Misako somewhat as she lowered the pan, but that didn't mean that I was out of the woods yet. She congratulated me with a sickly sweet smile on winning the tournament before telling me that I was on dishwashing duty for the next month. I nodded fearfully with sweat rolling down my face as she then cheerfully went back to the kitchen while still holding the damn frying pan.
"I'd say things turned out pretty well," Joe told me cheerfully as he munched down on some scrambled eggs Misako cooked for him as thanks for helping me in the tournament.
"Shut up, Joe," I grumbled as I stood at the sink while washing what was probably the twentieth dish. Washing the dishes might seem like a harmless chore in a normal household, but I was living in an orphanage with more than a dozen kids who all had bottomless stomachs, so every meal leaves a pile of dirty dishes that needed to be washed. Our dishwasher also decided that now was the best time to malfunction, so that left me washing a giant pile of dishes three times a day by myself.
"Watch your tone with me, brat." Joe jokingly threatened, "Or I'll tell Ms. Takahashi to bring out the frying pan again."
"You're soo not going to let me live this down." I groaned in annoyance as I slaved over the sink.
"Not a damn chance, kid." Joe chuckled, "Serena will get a kick out of this when I tell her. Maybe I'll use this as an example to teach her a lesson on obeying your seniors."
I bit back a comment on where Joe could shove those lessons and decided to just focus on finishing the dishes so I can finally sleep in my bed. My back already felt like it was about to snap and I wasn't even halfway done with the pile next to me.
To make things worse, one of the orphans walked in carrying another pile of dirty dishes and stacked them on top of my pile. He chuckled nervously as I stared at him bug-eyed, "Sorry, Big Bro, but Ms. Takahashi said that you're going to wash the plates we used for desserts too."
Joe burst out laughing at my expression as the kid then ran back toward the hall. I just silently kept on working in despair as I vowed to never piss off Misako Takahashi again.
EVER.
One month later:
After paying the deposit and signing up for the Entrance Exams, I spent the last month dueling at the bar/underground arena, which is called "The Club" by the underground.
How original.
I spent that time hoping to win some extra money and some rare cards while fine-tuning my deck in duels. Unfortunately, word got out in the underground on how I, or rather Red Hood, won the Underworld Tournament. When you add that to my winning streak, then my reputation as an underground duelist skyrocketed. As a result, the odds placed on me winning my duels went from 1/10 to 1/100 (1).
Aside from destroying any hopes of winning any cash or rare cards, my new title of "King of the Underworld" did come with some benefits. Being the only person to ever win the most dangerous underground tournament around caused the underground to treat me like I was some celebrity.
This became apparent the first time I returned to the Club after the Underworld tournament. Before winning the tournament, I was treated as any other underground duelist. Now, people quickly stepped out of my way wherever I went. I no longer had to wait my turn to duel since I would immediately be jumped to the front of the queue by the organizers.
There was even one time when I went to the bar to get something to drink, but all the seats were full when I got there. As soon as they saw me, some patrons quickly jumped out of their seats to offer them to me. I was surprised even more when the bartender, who is usually a no-nonsense grumpy man, quickly abandoned whatever drinks he was already making and rushed to get my order. I almost choked on my drink when he insisted that the drink be placed on the house while nervously addressing me as "sir".
At first, I enjoyed being treated like an actual king and all the privileges it came with. Who wouldn't like to have free drinks and never have to wait in line for anything? After a while, I realized that all this new-found fame came with a cost. Every time I came to the Club, people would just stop and stare at me like I was some kind of alien. I would always feel people looking at me and whispering about the "Red Hood", the "King of the Underworld", or even the "Red King" as some people started to call me. While I still liked the title and its benefits, the lack of privacy was getting on my nerves. The fact that I barely won any money made things worse.
'It's my last night here. Can't I have some peace before I apply to Duel Academy?' I thought with a growl of frustration as I sat at the bar drinking a soda can. The two patrons sitting on either side quickly scooted away in response to my anger. 'Great' I thought miserably, 'Now I can't even drink in peace.'
It wasn't all bad though. While I didn't manage to win a sum of money, I did manage to get my hands on some cards including De-Fusion and Battle Fusion which I won from some opponents who put them up as ante during our duels. I also managed to buy some staple cards like Pot of Greed and Mirror Force from the trader in the arena for 50$ and 10$ respectively.
'Who knew Pot of Greed was so expensive' I thought, 'the trader DID explain that the demand for this card is always higher than the supply, so its price is always pretty high.'
I finally finished my drink and call it an early day before heading back to the orphanage. I nodded on my way out to Joe's substitute on his days off. The man nodded back in respect before unlocking the door for me to go home.
I walked through the rundown streets with the sun setting in the neighborhood while feeling slightly nostalgic. This place may be a dump and not the safest place for kids to run around in, but I called this place home for 3 months now. Also, it was the original Cenric Cross's hometown, and it didn't feel right to disrespect the guy's home while living in his body.
Once the orphanage was in sight, I noticed Kevin, one of the orphans who I saved from a gang of punks when I first got to this universe, standing in the orphanage courtyard and constantly looking back and forth like a lookout. Kevin then spotted me and gasped before running back into the orphanage.
'That was weird ' I thought with confusion as I made my way toward the orphanage. As I began to get closer to the orphanage doors I heard loud whispers and giggles before one voice whispered loudly, "Quiet! Here he comes!", and all the other voices went silent.
Finally, I entered the orphanage doors to find the whole place shrouded in darkness. I blindly looked for the light switch and flipped it only to be immediately assaulted with cacophony.
"SURPRISE!"
I stared gobsmacked as the orphans all cheered around a large table that had snacks and a cake that read "Good Luck With Duel Academy, Cenric!" while Joe and Misako clapped with beaming smiles.
After my shock wore off, I laughed at how the other orphans were jumping up and down in excitement. I turned to Joe and asked teasingly, "I thought you said you were going to be out of town. Does your boss know you're still here?"
"What the boss doesn't know won't hurt him." Joe answered with a chuckle, "Serena sends her love and says she's sorry she's not able to make it. Her train got delayed so she's staying at her mom's relatives for one more day."
"It's alright." I replied with a bright smile, "Tell her that I'll be waiting for her when she applies to Duel Academy next year."
Joe nodded with a smile as I turned toward the others and spoke, "Thanks everyone, but you really shouldn't have gone through all that trouble."
"You're going off to Duel Academy tomorrow. That's more than enough reason to celebrate." Misako exclaimed cheerfully.
"That's if I pass the entrance exam, Misako," I reminded her with a smile.
"Oh please." She scoffed, "If it's anything like the written exam, then you can pass it with your eyes closed. Besides, the kids will use every reason to convince me to bake them a cake."
"CAKE! CAKE! CAKE! CAKE!" The orphans chanted in a tribal fashion as they stared at the cake with hungry eyes like wolves surrounding a lamb.
"Fair enough." I conceded as I remembered the written exam which was last week. The exam started as pretty easy with questions like "How many different types of Spell Cards are there?" or "Name all the Monster Types."
However, the exam didn't turn out to be as easy as I first thought it would be. The questions became harder as I progressed with some of them even testing my memory on the effects of specific cards and their weaknesses. The hardest part of the test was the dueling scenarios: These were questions that gave me a hypothetical hand/field, and asked me how to win the duel. Some of these questions even gave me a turn limit of 2 or 3 turns.
Luckily, I had my meta-knowledge which gave me a huge advantage, and with some work, I managed to get a score that was ranked in the top 10% of all the contestants. All I had to do now was pass the entrance exam and I'll be on the next helicopter ride to Duel Academy.
"Alright, that's enough!" Misako's raised voice snapped me back to reality as she managed to calm the kids down, "No running around the table and no pushing each other to be first in line. You don't want a repeat of what happened last time, right?"
"No ma'am!" The kids and I all shouted back with a shudder of fear at the memory of what happened the last time we had cake in the orphanage. To make a long story short, it involved kids running around with a sugar rush, a snapped table leg, a ruined cake, and a furious Misako swinging her frying pan.
Thankfully, we didn't have any incidents as the cake was cut into slices which were distributed amongst everyone. After we finished eating, the orphans then all ran off somewhere while I chatted with Misako and Joe.
A few minutes later, the orphans all came running back while smiling and grinning in excitement. Kevin then stepped out of the group holding a small blue gift box and said, "It's time for your present, big bro!"
Curiously, I took the box and tore through its wrapping before opening it to reveal two cards that made me stare at them with wide eyes.
The first was a Spell card that depicted a large blooming purple rose with whitish energy coursing through it with a bud at its center that was shaped like Elemental HERO Knospe's head. The second card was a Monster card that showed a beautiful purple-skinned woman with elven ears. She was wearing a green dress that looked like it was made up of large leaves put together and a crown that resembled a White lotus flower with its petals cascading downwards like hair.
I looked back at Kevin in shock, "Elemental HERO Poison Rose and Rosebud? How did you guys-?"
"We knew you used Elemental HERO cards when you taught us how to duel." Kevin explained with a grin, "So we all pitched in to order those cards from a shop nearby. Do you like it?"
I was at a loss for words as I stared back at him while trying to reign in my emotions. I already knew that the original Cenric was close enough with these kids to call them siblings, but I never quite expected their bond to be so tight that these kids would spend nearly all the money they collected for the past few months just to get their elder sibling two cards for his deck. I just couldn't help but feel warm at how these kids regarded me and each other. A family.
I smiled softly at Kevin, "I love it. You guys are the best, you know that?"
The orphans' smiles and grins were even wider as one of them called out haughtily, "Heck yeah we're awesome!" which caused all of us to laugh. "How about we try these out? Who's up for a duel?" I asked brightly and the orphans cheered in response. We spent the rest of the night dueling each other as I gave each of them pointers on how to improve their decks and dueling styles.
The next morning:
"Did you pack all your stuff? All your cards?"
"Yup."
"Did you make sure to charge your duel disk?"
"Yes."
"What about your deck? Did you-"
"Misako!" I cried out in exasperation, "I packed everything and double-checked. You don't have to keep reminding me!"
"Sorry." Misako replied with a laugh, "It's just that this is the first time one of you kids is leaving for such a long time. As your guardian, I think it's my right to be worried."
After I woke up to my alarm early in the morning, I checked to make sure I had everything packed before going through the regular morning ritual of brushing my teeth, washing my face, and getting dressed. I considered wearing my trusty red hoody but ultimately decided against it. I needed to make sure nobody ever suspected of a connection between Cenric Cross and the Red Hood, so I decided to wear a simple white shirt covered by a black jacket with blue jeans, a belt that had a deck holster, and white sneakers.
I then grabbed my bags and headed out of my room toward the hall where I ran into Misako who woke up early to see me off. It was still early in the morning, so the other kids were still fast asleep. I looked around the place which I came to regard as home before looking back at Misako.
Despite reaching her middle-age years, she still retained the beauty of her youth. Even now, she can be described as a "traditional Japanese beauty" with her petite stature, pale skin, long black hair that was always neatly tied into a knot, large blue eyes under double eyelids, and soft red lips. The only thing that time changed was the addition of a few crow's feet around her eyes, and some strands of her hair turning gray which did nothing to diminish her beauty.
Despite that, Misako was still an incredibly pretty woman who could leave men drooling. If she wanted to, she could have easily found a new partner to start a new life with. But she chose us instead, and that made us love her all the more for it.
Misako smiled sadly at me, "Well this is it. Make sure to call every chance you get."
"I will." I smiled back
"And I expect you to show model behavior at the Academy. God help you if I get a call from the administration about any shenanigans you get up to." Misako threatened jokingly with a smile.
"No promises," I teased with a grin that made her laugh. I then took the opportunity to take out a small bag and handed it to her, "There's just one last thing to take care of."
Misako looked at me in confusion, opened the envelope, and gasped in surprise when she saw what was inside it. She pulled out 12,000$ which was arranged as three large stacks of hundred-dollar bills, 4,000$ dollars each, before looking back at me with wide eyes.
Before she could say anything, I quickly explained, "It's a part of the prize money I won back at the tournament. I know we're behind on the mortgage loan payments, so I figured that this'll make sure we don't have to worry about it for the next 3 months."
"Cenric… I… I can't take this." Misako hesitantly said as she tried to give the envelope back only to stop when I gently pushed it back to her, "Yes you can. This isn't just for me, Misako. It's about all of us. This place is our home. It's the only home the kids and I've known our whole lives, and I'll be damned if I let anyone try to take it from us."
Misako grew misty-eyed as she slowly tucked the money back into the envelope. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around me in a giant hug which made me blink in surprise before returning the hug just as tightly.
"Cheeky little brat." She sniffled with tears streaming down her face, "Always not doing as you're told."
"I know," I replied softly as I hugged the woman I came to regard as a mother figure in this new life of mine. We stood there for a few moments before Misako looked at the clock and gasped, "Oh my God! Cenric, you need to go now, or you'll risk being late for the exam!"
I then quickly took my bags and began to walk toward the doors. Just before passing through them, I looked back at her and smiled, "See you around, Misako."
Misako smiled back, "See you around, Cenric, and good luck in the exam. I know you'll make us proud."
I then turned back around and walked out onto the street where Joe was waiting with his motorcycle to give me a ride to the exam.
"Ready to go, kid?" He asked once I finished tying my bags to the back of the motorcycle.
"Let's go!" I replied cheerfully before hopping on the motorbike behind him. Immediately, I regretted those words as Joe hit the gas and sped along the road in the direction of the center of Domino City while I hung on for dear life.
"Dude, slow down!" I shouted in alarm as the wind whipped around us, "I want to get there, but I want to get there alive!"
"Don't be such a wimp, brat!" Joe laughed in reply, "Just have some faith in my mad skills, and you'll get there safe and sound."
"More like your crazy-ass driving!" I cried out before my eyes widened as I saw an old lady with a walker slowly crossing the street in front of us, "Watch out for that lady!"
Joe then swerved the bike around the poor lady who didn't seem to notice her near-death experience. "Relax, kid. I saw her like a mile ago." He retorted as he cut in front of a car which earned us a honk and a cuss from the enraged driver.
"Then why the hell didn't you stop? How the fuck do you still have a driver's license?" I screamed in horror as we sped through a crossroads and avoided a collision with not one, but two cars who both honked in outrage.
"I know a guy." Joe simply shouted back, "Now hang on, kid. I'm gonna take a little shortcut."
"FUUUUCCCCK!" I screamed for my life as Joe went through his shortcut which turned out to be a tiny open-ended alley that was NOT meant for any vehicles to pass through unless the driver was named Joe Black.
After a dizzying 15-minute ride, which I'm pretty sure managed to shave a few years off my lifespan, we managed to arrive at Kaiba Corp's Headquarters thanks to Joe's "mad skills". Once I presented my examiner ID to the security at the gate, we were waived through and told to go towards a large Kaiba Dome which was situated on top of a steep hill.
A few minutes later, Joe then drifted his motorcycle to a stop at the top of the hill in the parking lot next to the dome. "See?" He bragged with a smug grin, "We managed to get there safe and sound with plenty of time left thanks to my driving."
"Next time, I'm taking a damn cab." I gasped with a ghost-white face as I numbly got off the motorcycle and walked a few unsteady steps on the ground.
"Ungrateful brat." Joe scoffed as he began to unstrap my bags from his bike, "I give you a free ride so you don't end up being late for your exam, and this is the thanks I get?"
"Senile old man." I grumbled as I tried to get my bearings and ignored Joe's outraged shout "I heard that you brat!"
Joe then unstrapped the last bag from his bike before adding it to the pile of luggage next to me. He looked up at the Dome and whistled appreciatively, "So this is where you take your test, huh? Not bad. I remember watching the King of Games duel here a couple of times. The place's got some good seats."
"Since when were you interested in Duel Monsters?" I asked in surprise as I took my duel disk out of my backpack and strapped it to my right arm.
"I enjoy watching a good duel every once in a while." Joe answered, "Besides, after being a bouncer at the Club for so long, it's hard not to appreciate a good duel."
I couldn't help but agree as I looked at the Dome with him. It was huge. With a pristine white roof that positively gleamed in the sunlight, Kaiba Dome could give the biggest football stadiums in my home universe a run for their money in terms of size.
After a few seconds, Joe broke the silence as he climbed back on top of his bike, "See you around, kid. Good luck with the exam."
"Wait!" I called out before he could go. Joe looked back at me in surprise and confusion as I pulled out another small paper bag before handing it to him, "I have something for you."
Joe took the bag and opened the bag and nearly dropped it in shock when he saw how much money was in it. He reached in and pulled out two stacks of money that amounted to a total of 10,000$. With a gaping mouth, he looked at the money in his hand and then back at me for an explanation.
"It's your share of the prize money." I told him, "That's 10,000$ to cover Serena's application to Duel Academy."
"Kid, I can't take this!" Joe tried to protest, "You won this money fair and square in the tournament. I didn't do anything-"
"Yes, you did." I interrupted him firmly, "You were there for me when I needed someone to watch my back in the tournament. You knew the risks, and you still came along. When I was at my lowest point, you were there to help me get back up. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be where I am today."
"But what about your tuition?" He asked incredulously.
"Let me worry about that. Besides, did you forget that little arrangement I have with White?"
"But-"
"No buts, Joe." I told him seriously, "This isn't just about me paying you back. You helped me get closer to my dream, and I'm going to do the same for Serena, so just take the damn money."
Joe stared at me wordlessly as if he couldn't believe that I was just handing him 10,000$ like it was free candy. After a few moments, his gaze softened, "You're something else, kid. You know that?" he asked.
"Tell me something I don't already know," I replied with a smirk as I shouldered my bags while Joe chuckled in response. He reached out with his hand and I did the same. Clasping my forearm, Joe smiled at me, "You're a good kid. Thank you, Cenric."
"Don't mention it," I shrugged my shoulders, "Take care, old man."
Joe nodded at me and revved his motorcycle while I began to walk toward the reception desk. "Hey, kid!" he called out which made me turn around to look back at him.
"Give 'em hell." He grinned at me.
"You got that right." I laughed with a thumbs up.
After that, Joe sped down the hill and I was left alone in the parking lot. I walked toward the reception booth where a security guard was standing with his hair slicked back into two chopped points that made it look like he had a duck's ass stuck to the back of his head. That thought made me snicker quietly as I got closer. 'Trust anime universes to come up with the weirdest hairstyles and colors.' I thought with amusement.
Sitting on a desk next to the guard were two girls wearing special yellow-and-white Duel Academy blazers and more normal hair. The one on the left had light brown hair that was cropped short in a boys' haircut. The one on the right had long burgundy hair that cascaded down to her shoulders with her bangs separated in two.
The trio looked at me as I arrived at their desk and dropped my bags to the ground. "I'm not late, right?" I asked nonchalantly.
"You made it just in time," The security guard answered as he checked his watch, "Another 10 minutes and you would have been late."
"Perfect." I grinned and handed the brunette my test ID. She inspected my name and test number before checking for them on her computer. "Cenric Cross… Ah! There you are!" she exclaimed after a few seconds of searching, "Hmm… your written score is excellent. You're ranked within the top 10% of the applicants. All you need to do now is pass the field exam and you're in. Now if you could please give my partner your deck to make sure it's up to Kaiba Corp regulations. "
"Sure thing," I responded while unclipping my deck holster and giving it to the redhead who immediately began to sift through my cards. After a few seconds, she frowned, "That's weird. I've never seen these cards before."
My heart immediately froze as I saw her show me my Masked HERO Monster and Spell cards with a suspicious look on her face, "Where did you get these cards?"
Shit.
I racked my brain for an answer while trying not to panic. 'Stupid!' I inwardly scolded myself,' Of course, she hasn't seen them before! Your stupid ass got them from another universe. Think, man, think!'
Finally, I answered, "Umm… I won them in a tournament?" in a hesitant voice. Immediately, I cleared my throat and tried to repeat myself with more confidence, "Yeah, I won them in a tournament."
"Mhmm." She said skeptically with narrowed eyes, "Well, I'm going to have to check our database to see if they're registered as official cards or not."
Fuck!
I was sweating bullets as she began to type in my cards' names on her computer. 'Death, I don't know if you can hear me,' I prayed inwardly, 'but please tell me that these cards aren't going to get me disqualified or arrested! Give me a sign! Anything! Please?'
Unfortunately, Death remained silent while I was this close to having a full-blown panic attack. After an agonizing couple of minutes, the clerk stopped typing into her computer.
"Well, looks they all check out." The registration clerk said as her frown was replaced with a look of awe, "Wow, these are pretty rare cards. It says here that they're a part of a limited edition group of cards that haven't been released to the public."
She looked back at me and blinked in surprise at my pale-white face, "Umm… Are you okay?" she asked hesitantly.
"Y-yeah! I'm totally fine! W-why do you ask?" I answered with a high-pitched voice that was oh so very convincing.
"You look like you've seen a ghost." She responded with a worried look as she returned my deck.
I hastily put it back into my holster while trying to come up with a logical explanation, "Oh that? That's because I uh…um… have a little bit of test anxiety! Yeah, that's it! I'm just a little bit nervous about the exam." I stuttered as my cheeks were becoming tomato red from sheer embarrassment. Oh God, what is wrong with me?
"Don't worry, you'll be fine!" The redhead tried to encourage me with a sympathetic face.
"Just stay focused, and you'll pass the exam." Her friend helpfully added with a smile.
I just nodded wordlessly since at I didn't trust my voice at this point. The security guard then coughed to get my attention and pointed towards the entrance, "Please put your luggage in the first room on the left. Don't worry, our colleagues will make sure to look after them. If you fail your exam, you can return there to collect them immediately. Otherwise, it'll be shipped off to your dorm in Duel Academy should you manage to get in."
"If you pass the exam, please don't forget to pass by registration to confirm your attendance at Duel Academy. Also, please don't leave the area. There will be buses waiting after the exams are over to take all the passing applicants to the airport." The brunette added.
"You got it," I replied quickly before going to the entrance and dropping off my bags in the room assigned for luggage storage. After that, I began walking toward the dueling field where the exams were already taking place. As I walked through the corridor with its shining metallic walls, I could hear the sounds of dueling and the cheers of a crowd getting louder with every step that I took. My excitement also began to grow step by step as I grew closer to living my dream.
Finally, I reached the dueling field which was divided into four smaller ones by large metallic fences arranged to form rectangular open cages. In the center of the dueling field was a large jumbotron displaying Duel Academy's logo. Occasionally, it would show clips of duels when one of the duelists won their duel or pulled off a good move. Already, I could see several duels were already taking place simultaneously between applicants and proctors.
Surrounding the arena were the stands which would usually hold spectators. Instead, today the stands were divided into two halves. The half where I was standing was filled with applicants who already passed their exam or were waiting for their turn. As I looked around, I saw applicants who were anxiously waiting to duel, or celebrating their victories.
The opposite half was filled with returning students or first-year students who got in without having to take their exam since they graduated from Dueling Prep School. Throughout the exam, some of these students were watching the duels to see which applicants showed the most promise. Others were simply cheering or taunting applicants in their duels.
One particular duel caught my attention as I saw the proctor summon a large purple centipede monster on his side of the field (ATK: 300, DEF: 350, LV: 1). 'A Leghul.' I thought to myself as I recognized the monster from a duel I had with some amateur back at the Club. The proctor then used Leghul's special ability to directly attack the applicant who turned out to be a short kid with cyan hair.
Cyan hair?
I took a closer look and recognized one of the biggest underdogs in the entire Yu-Gi-Oh universe: Syrus Truesdale, who was none other than Jaden Yuki's future best friend, and he was still reeling from the attack he just received from the proctor as he went down to one knee before getting back up.
Things were not going well for Syrus as I saw that he was down to 300 LP, while his proctor still had 1900 LP. The proctor had Leghul on his side and Messenger of Peace which was a Continuous Spell Card that stopped monsters with at least 1500 attack points from attacking. Syrus, on the other hand, only had his Steam Gyroid (ATK: 2200, DEF: 1600, LV: 4), which looked like a Cars cartoon steam train mixed with a helicopter, on his side of the field.
I curiously watched to see how Syrus would win his duel as the anime never gave the fans anything other than the fact that he was barely able to win. I didn't have to wait long to find out as Syrus then summoned Jetroid (ATK: 1200, DEF: 1800, LV: 4) before playing De-Fusion to split Steam Gyroid back into Steamroid (ATK: 1800, DEF: 1800, LV: 4) and Gyroid (ATK: 1000, DEF: 1000, LV: 4). Syrus then ordered Jetroid to destroy Leghul and Gyroid to wipe out the rest of his opponent's Life Points.
After he won, Syrus began to look hopefully at the students' half of the stadium as if he was searching for someone before deflating in disappointment. 'He must be looking for Zane' I realized. Suddenly, a cultured British voice sounded out next to me, "That was a close one. Another turn and he would have failed."
I turned around in surprise to see another teenage boy, neatly dressed in an immaculately clean zipped-up white school blazer and matching pants, standing next to me while watching Syrus who was leaving the dueling field and returning to the stands. He turned towards me and after I saw the neatly combed-back black hair and grey eyes, I instantly realized who was talking to me. Bastion Misawa, Duel Academy's math genius and another one of Jaden's future friends.
"Where are my manners? My name is Bastion Misawa." He said as he held out his hand for me to shake.
"Cenric Cross. Nice to meet you." I replied as I shook his hand. Bastion then turned to look at Syrus who was glumly climbing the stairs before asking me, "So what do you think of our young friend here?"
"I think his main problem was his test anxiety," I answered him honestly, "He looked at the crowd almost as much as he looked at his opponent."
"Correct," Bastion nodded in agreement, "I think he would have a lot less trouble if he just had a little more confidence."
"Who knows?" I told him with a knowing smile, "He might surprise everyone one day."
Bastion looked at me curiously before asking, "Pardon me for asking, but did you duel yet?"
"I'm still waiting for my turn," I answered with a shrug before smiling at Bastion, "What about you? Are you nervous?"
"Why would I be nervous?" Bastion smirked confidently, "I already passed my exam."
NANI!?
Wasn't Bastion supposed to be the last applicant to duel? He should've been just about wrapping up his duel when Jaden arrives for his exam. I looked around to see any signs of a Kuriboh-haired boy, but Jaden was nowhere to be found.
"Is something the matter?" Bastion asked with a raised eyebrow when he noticed me looking around the stadium.
"Not really," I said with a deep frown as I kept looking, "Just wondering how many applicants are there that still haven't dueled."
"Very few I'd say," Bastion informed me, "In fact, I think your name is bound to come up any moment now."
As if by unspoken command, the stadium's PA system turned on as a monotone male voice spoke, "Cenric Cross, please report to exam field 2."
Shit.
"Well, it seems I was right." Bastion remarked, "Good luck in your duel."
"Thanks," I replied absent-mindedly as I kept looking for Jaden to show up only to despair as I didn't manage to glimpse the series' protagonist and the most character in the show. How could this happen? How could the timeline have changed without me even doing anything?
'Maybe Joe ran him over with his motorcycle by accident? Oh God please let him just be a few minutes late.' I thought in alarm as I slowly began to walk down the stands while trying to think of a way to save the timeline and give Jaden enough time for him to duel Crowler.
Thankfully, I was almost down at the bottom of the stands when I heard a boisterously loud voice cry out, "I'm here! Where's the duel!?" which stopped me dead in my tracks. I turned my neck so fast I could've gotten whiplash as tried to see if the person who arrived was the one I'd hoped for.
Sure enough, standing at the top of the stands in a red shirt with grey pants/blazer was Jaden Yuki, the protagonist of this universe and one of my favorite characters in the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise.
'Oh thank God.' I cheered inwardly with a sigh of relief. 'He made it!'
The PA system once again turned on with the same monotone voice speaking, "I repeat, Cenric Cross, please report to exam field 2."
'Looks like that's my cue.' I thought as I began to jog down to the field where my proctor waiting impatiently. He was an elderly man with completely grey hair (even his eyebrows were grey) swept neatly to a point at the back of his head. He was sporting a small mustache (which was also grey) that barely went beyond his upper lip. Like the other proctors, he was wearing a purple version of the Duel Academy blazers with long coattails.
"You know it's rude to keep people waiting, young man." He frowned disapprovingly, "Especially if they're your opponents in duels."
I had to hold a wince at his words. Deciding to be polite for a change, I bowed in apology, "Sorry about that, but I was so excited that I forgot my duel disk back at the top of the stands. " I lied smoothly.
The proctor's frown then softened and he sighed in exasperation, "The eagerness of youth. Well, what matters is that you're here now so let's get on with the duel. My name is Professor Patrick Irving, and I will be your drama teacher at Duel Academy should you manage to get in. What's your name, son?" he asked.
"It's an honor to meet you, sir. I'm Cenric Cross." I sincerely replied as I took out my deck from my holster and began to shuffle it to prepare for the duel.
My apology and enthusiasm seemed to win Irving over, as he smiled at me, "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Cross. I must say, you seem like a polite young man when you're not late that is." He joked while taking out his test deck and shuffling it.
"I don't suppose you'll let it slide this time, professor?" I laughed in embarrassment as I scratched the back of my head.
"I suppose I could let this go provided you don't repeat it." He replied cheerfully before turning serious, "Now, Mr. Cross, I will be your opponent in this duel exam. As your proctor, I will be assessing your dueling knowledge and skills in this duel as well, so the better you duel, the higher will be the grade I assign to you. However, to pass this exam, you must win this duel. If you fail, you will have to reapply to Duel Academy next year. Are you ready?"
My expression turned serious as I put my deck in my duel disk before holding it up, "Ready, sir."
"DUEL!"
Cenric: 4000
Irving: 4000
We both drew our opening hands before Irving called out, "As the applicant, you get to make the first move."
"Thank you, sir. Draw!" I drew my sixth card and added it to my hand which turned out to be: Phantom Magician, Elemental HERO Solid Soldier, Skyscraper, Elemental HERO Heat, Breakthrough Skill, and Impenetrable Attack. After considering my options, I made my movie.
"I set one monster face-down in Defense Mode. Then I set two cards face-down, and end my turn." I called out as I placed the three cards on my duel disk, and the holograms of those cards appeared.
"An adequate starting move, Mr. Cross," Irving commented before drawing his card, "Let's see how you handle this. I summon Axe Raider (ATK: 1700, DEF: 1150, LV: 4) in Attack Mode!" A muscular warrior bedecked in golden armor with red highlights then emerged on Irving's field. His armor consisted of a chest plate, pauldrons, and a spiked round helmet. His double-sided axe looked so sharp that it could through steel like butter.
Irving then continued, "Next I activate the Spell Card Fusion Sword Murasame Blade, and equip it to Axe Raider to give him 800 attack points!" Axe Raider's axe then disappeared and was then replaced by a gleaming steel chokuto sword that did not have a hilt. Instead, the sword was fused to Axe Raider's forearm (ATK: 1700 – 2500).
Irving then held up another card, "I now activate Mystical Space Typhoon which destroys one of your face-downs!" I bit back a curse as a hurricane blew the face-down on the right which was showed Impenetrable Attack before it was destroyed.
Pointing at my monster, Irving called out, "Axe Raider! Destroy his monster!" the warrior then jumped into the air before stabbing down at my monster which flipped to reveal a skeleton dressed in a red-and-black cloak and holding a white staff before it was destroyed.
"You just destroyed my Phantom Magician!" I called out, "which lets me activate his special ability: when he's destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can summon a HERO monster from my Deck in face-up Defense Mode, so rise Elemental HERO Woodsman (ATK: 1000, DEF: 2000, LV: 4)!"
Woodsman then emerged on my field before settling into Defense Mode. 'If he stays on my field until my Standby Phase, then I can bust out a Fusion Monster to win the duel.' Unfortunately, Murphy's Law decided that now was the best time to screw me over.
"Not bad." Irving admitted before smiling at me, "But I'm not done yet! I activate the Spell Card Shield Crush!"
I groaned in frustration as a greenish beam of light then smashed into Woodsman before he exploded into shards of light. "I now set one card face-down and end my turn," Irving said as a face-down appeared on his field.
Up in the stands, Jaden grinned in excitement as he watched the duel begin, "Sweet! Another Elemental HERO user and I thought I was the only one around here who uses them! After I make it to Duel Academy, I'm gonna duel him first!"
Syrus frowned next to him as he watched the duel, "That's if he gets in. Poor guy, the proctor's got him on the ropes."
Sitting in the row below them, Bastion put in his own two cents, "Indeed. By the look of his face, though, I'd say he has a plan."
On the opposite side of the stadium, three Obelisk first years were also watching the duel. One of them, a lean boy with curly dark blue hair and glasses, asked the one sitting next to him, "Pretty tough spot to be in right now. I don't think he'd be able to make it out. What do you think Chazz?"
Chazz Princeton sneered down in disdain at the applicant in question, "He's just another punk to go with all those other losers. He can't even beat the proctor who's using a lousy test deck."
Above him, Alexis Rhodes watched in interest at the duel that was currently going on. "What do you think, Zane? Can the new guy turn this around?"
Next to her, Zane Truesdale stared at the applicant appraisingly, "It's still too early to tell. I need to see more before I decide."
Alexis frowned in confusion, "He seems pretty calm considering he's facing a monster with 2500 attack points."
"His next move will show whether that's confidence or arrogance he's displaying," Zane responded seriously.
'Okay, now I need a good card to turn this duel around.' I thought grimly to myself before I drew a card and smiled as my Deck responded to my desire by giving me Elemental HERO Stratos.
Strangely enough, after my duel with Panik, I noticed something new whenever I dueled. I started to find my duels easier whenever I went to the Club. It didn't mean that I suddenly magically knew every opponent's weakness, or that I could use my deck to pull combos out of my ass like I was the main character of the show. It felt more like a string that kept me apart from my deck was cut, and now I sometimes feel like I could ask my deck to give me a card and it would respond.
"I don't mean to rush you, Mr. Cross, but it's your turn." Irving's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. My cheeks quickly turned red after getting caught having an internal monologue. Forcing down my embarrassment, I started my move, "Alright! First, I summon Elemental HERO Solid Soldier (ATK: 1300, DEF: 1100, LV: 4) and activate his special effect: Whenever he's Normal Summoned onto the field, I can Special Summon another HERO monster that's level 4 or lower, so come on out Elemental HERO Stratos (ATK: 1800, DEF: 300, LV: 4)!"
Solid Soldier and Stratos then appeared in their battle stances on my side of the field. "I activate Stratos's special effect! When he's summoned on my field, I can destroy Spell or Trap Cards up to the number of HERO monsters I have other than himself! Stratos, destroy his facedown card."
Stratos's turbine wings then generated a gust of wind at Irving's facedown and revealed it to be Negate Attack before destroying it.
"Good move, Mr. Cross." Irving admitted with a gleam in his eyes as I got the feeling that he was testing me, "But shouldn't you have destroyed my Murasame Blade instead? You have two monsters on the field, but Axe Raider is stronger than both of them."
"Nice try, professor." I smiled, "But I know all about that Spell's effect: Once it's been equipped to a monster, it can't be destroyed by card effects."
"Impressive, my boy." Irving praised with an approving nod.
"Not bad. That kid sure knows his Duel Monsters." Alexis commented with a raised eyebrow.
Zane, however, was not so easily impressed, "It takes more than knowledge to be a good duelist, Alexis." He responded, "Let's see if he has the skill to go with it."
Alexis only hummed in agreement as they both continued to watch the duel.
"I didn't know about that spell card's effect," Syrus gasped in shock before looking at Jaden, "Did you know about it?" he asked curiously.
"Umm.. yeah, sure, of course, I knew about it." Jaden nervously answered. He immediately panicked as Syrus became depressed about being the only person who didn't know about the card and tried to cheer him up with little success.
"So it appears that he has the intelligence in dueling," Bastion wondered out loud, "But does he have the fortitude to go with it?"
Still smiling, I continued, "As for your Axe Raider, I have just the thing to take care of it. I activate the Field Spell Skyscraper!" All around us, tall buildings erupted around us, and pretty soon we were in the middle of a holographic metropolis.
Irving looked around him with a confused frown, "Interesting Field Spell. What does it do?"
"What it does is give my Elemental HEROs a home-field advantage. Whenever they attack a monster that has higher attack points, Skyscraper gives them a boost of 1000 attack points! Stratos, why don't you show how it works, and attack Axe Raider!"
Irving gasped in shock as Stratos then took to the air with his mechanical wings before diving toward Axe Raider with a drop kick (ATK: 1800 – 2800). The warrior tried to raise his sword in defense, but Stratos was too fast for him. With a shout, Stratos's kick connected with Axe Raider's abdomen and destroyed him.
Cenric: 4000
Irving: 4000 – 300 = 3700
"My turn isn't over yet, professor," I called out to Irving who was still reeling from his monster's destruction, "Solid Soldier, attack him directly!"
Solid Soldier then jumped at Irving before delivering a blow with one of his elongated gauntlets.
Cenric: 4000
Irving: 3700 – 1300 = 2400
"I now end my turn. How am I doing so far, teach?" I asked with a grin.
"Alright! He used Skyscraper!" Jaden cheered, "Oh I can't wait to duel this guy!"
Beside him, Syrus was looking down in awe, "Wow! He managed to destroy that monster and deal a huge hit to the proctor's life points! Talk about a comeback!" he exclaimed.
"Good show," Bastion hummed in approval, "He's showing both dueling knowledge and skills at the same time."
On the other side of the stadium, Alexis raised both of her eyebrows in surprise, "Good move. He managed to take the lead in one turn," She said before looking back at Zane with a smirk, "Did you make up your mind yet, Kaiser?"
Zane only grunted at her use of his title, "Not yet," He declared, "I need to see if he can hold on to that lead."
"Not bad, my boy." Irving chuckled as he recovered from my monster's attack, "Not bad at all. Let's take this up a notch. Draw!"
Seeing his card, Irving let out a positively evil chuckle which took me aback. "I play the Spell Card Monster Reborn to bring back my Axe Raider," he began as his monster then returned to the field, "But he's not staying around for long because I sacrifice him to summon Judge Man (ATK: 2200, DEF: 1500, LV: 6)!"
Axe Raider then quickly vanished into pixels of light and was then replaced by a large yellow-skinned orc who was dressed in a fancy high-collared purple cloak and wielded a large hammer that was shaped similarly to a judge's gavel.
Irving then smiled at my scowl, "Judging from your expression, I think you know what happens next. Judge Man, attack his Stratos!"
Growling, Judge Man then raised his gavel-hammer before bringing it down on Stratos's head who was quickly destroyed since he no longer had his bonus (ATK: 2800 – 1800).
Cenric: 4000 – 400 = 3600
Irving: 2400
"Don't think I forgot about your little Field Spell, Mr. Cross." Irving continued, "I activate my second Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Skyscraper."
I gritted my teeth as another hurricane destroyed my field spell. With a scowl, I removed Skyscraper from its slot before putting it in the Graveyard.
"I now end my turn. What will you do now, Mr. Cross? You can always quit and re-apply next year." Irving taunted me with an evil smile that could make any villain weep in envy.
'No wonder he's the drama teacher.' I sweat-dropped, 'That's some pretty good acting right there.'
"Proctor's sure not letting up. Right, Chazz?" The blue-haired crony commented as they watched Irving take back the lead.
"He's showing that amateur why he doesn't belong in the academy." Chazz grinned in satisfaction, "If only they'd give the same treatment to all those slackers who applied here."
"Oh man, the proctor took back the lead again." Syrus moaned out worriedly.
"Don't sweat it, bro!" Jaden grinned, "He can still turn this around again. The duel's not over until the last card is played!"
Bastion contemplated silently as he watched the duel unfold, "What will you do now, Cenric?" He asked himself.
"This duel's not over." I decided to join in on the fun by getting into character, "Draw!"
'All I need is just one card, and this duel is mine.' I thought to myself while hoping that I drew the right card, and then I laughed in joy when I found out that I did.
"Good game, professor, but this duel's over!" I declared to Irving who looked back warily at my words, "I now summon Elemental HERO Blazeman (ATK: 1200, DEF: 1800, LV: 4), and when he's summoned on the field, I get to add one Polymerization Spell Card from my Deck to my hand!"
After taking the card out of my Deck, I began my finishing combo, "I now activate Polymerization, and fuse Elemental HERO Heat in my hand with Solid Soldier who's an Earth-Attribute Monster to summon the earth-shaker himself, he who causes evil to tremble in fear! Rise, Elemental HERO Gaia (ATK: 2200, DEF: 2600, LV: 6)!"
Heat and Solid Soldier then merged in a vortex that was in the ground. Suddenly, the ground shook as if a large earthquake suddenly hit us in the duel. Then, the earth cracked in exploded outwards as a large armored hand rose from the ground. The crowd gasped as Gaia emerged from the earth. I couldn't help but get awe-struck at how cool he looked as he made his entrance. He was armored from head to toe in plated armor that had the same color as graphite.
Gaia then swung his arms, which were outfitted in giant gauntlets that were about as big as his legs, and roared challengingly at Judge Man who trembled as he looked at the enemy who towered above him.
Irving's shock at my monster's appearance quickly wore off once he saw Gaia's attack points. "How is the duel over, Mr. Cross?" He asked in confusion, "Our monsters have the same strength. If you attack now, then they'd destroy each other, and your Blazeman isn't strong enough to finish me off."
"My Gaia has one hell of a special effect, professor," I explained with a grin, "When he's successfully Fusion Summoned he can target one of your face-up monsters, halve its attack points, and gains the same amount of points your monster loses!"
"What?!" Irving gasped in shock.
"That's right! Elemental HERO Gaia, do your thing! Tectonic Shift!" I called out. Gaia then smashed one of his enormous arms into the ground which caused the ground to shake. Large fissures then opened up and traveled until they reached Judge Man who groaned as one of his legs got stuck in a large fissure (ATK: 2200 – 1100).
Gaia's ability then kicked in as his form was surrounded by energy (ATK: 2200 – 3300). "Gaia! Attack Judge Man with Earthquake Fist!" I shouted. With another roar, Gaia then launched a devastating punch at the weakened Judge Man and smashed him to pieces.
Cenric: 3600
Irving: 2400 – 2200 = 200
"Like I said: this duel is over! Blazeman! Finish him off with a direct attack!" I ordered. Blazeman then rushed towards Irving and delivered the final blow which knocked the proctor flat on his ass.
Cenric: 3600 (WINNER!)
Irving: 200 – 1200 = 0 (LOST!)
The crowd then cheered at the duel's ending. All I could do was smile in joy as I finally managed to achieve what many people only dreamed of in my universe. Finally, I was going to go to Duel Academy!
"Alright! He did it!" Syrus cheered, then tumbled forward as Jaden thumped his back in celebration, "See? I told you there was nothing to worry about!" He laughed, "Now I can't wait for my duel!"
"Bravo. Good show," Bastion commented with a smirk, "It's good to see that I'll have some competition at the academy."
"Wow, that kid's pretty good." The spiky-haired minion sitting on Chazz's other side, "Don't you think, Chazz?"
"Good? He just got lucky that's all." Chazz growled in annoyance, "He wouldn't be able to last a minute facing me."
"Nice win." Alexis complimented before looking at Zane curiously, "So what do you think?"
Zane closed his eyes in thought for a few seconds before opening them again, "He's got potential," He decided, "Only time will tell whether he'll fully reach it or not."
Alexis's eyes widened in surprise as this was the first time Zane Truesdale, the Kaiser of Duel Academy, actually complimented an applicant today. She looked back at the applicant who was slowly making his way to the proctor. "Looks like I'll have some interesting classmates this year." She smiled.
I walked to Irving who began to stand back up from my last attack. "Good match, sir," I said cheerfully with an outstretched hand. After dusting off his blazer, Irving smiled back as he took my hand and shook it.
"Phenomenal work, my boy." He praised, "You didn't break under pressure, and showed excellent dueling skills in this match. Welcome to Duel Academy, Mr. Cross. I'm looking forward to seeing you in my class this year!"
After I made my way back up the stands, I was immediately met by none other than Jaden Yuki himself. "Sweet duel, bro! My name's Jaden Yuki. What's your name? Where'd you get those cool cards? Oh, we gotta duel when we have the chance. I wanna see how I do against another Elemental HERO duelist. Do you think we could trade?" He spoke so fast that I had problems keeping up.
"Jaden! Let the guy breathe!" luckily, Syrus came to my rescue, "He just finished a duel." With an embarrassed laugh, Jaden then slowed down.
"Sorry," He said more slowly, "I kinda got carried away in all the excitement. But seriously, that was a pretty awesome duel back there!"
While I was overwhelmed at first by his enthusiasm, I couldn't help but laugh at how Jaden reminded me of the other orphans back home whenever they had too much sugar. 'Only an anime character can act like this ' I thought with amusement.
"Thanks, man. I'm Cenric Cross. It's nice to meet you too," I replied warmly, "For your other questions: I collected those cards from here and there, and I don't see why we can't duel or trade cards."
"Sweet!" Jaden cheered, "Then all I have to do is win my duel exam!"
"Jaden, I already told you. That was supposed to be the last duel," Syrus reminded him before looking back at me, "I'm Syrus by the way. It's nice to meet you." He greeted and I replied with a smile and a nod.
"Say what!?" Jaden panicked comically, "But I haven't dueled yet!"
"Don't worry, man." I held back another laugh at how he was acting, "I'm pretty sure they'll let you duel if you checked in already."
Jaden sighed in relief before he brightened up again, "Thanks, dude!" he said, "From the looks of things, you might just be the second-best duelist here!"
I stared at him in shock. He was supposed to say that to Bastion, not me! 'But he didn't watch Bastion duel.' I realized uneasily, 'He saw me instead. Shit.' The PA system then blared out, "Jaden Yuki please report to exam field 4."
"It's Go time! Wish me luck, guys." Jaden exclaimed as he made his way down. Realizing I needed to preserve the timeline, I called out, "Wait!" which caused Jaden to stop in his tracks and look back at me in confusion.
"If I'm the second-best duelist, then I suppose you consider yourself to be the first?" I asked with an uneasy smile.
Jaden then raised his thumb and pointed at himself with a smile, "You betcha!" before walking down the stairs, leaving Syrus and me to return to our seats.
"Wow, he's so confident!" Syrus spoke in awe, "I wonder if he's just that good?"
"He's going to need to be. Look at who he's dueling," Bastion piped up from where he was sitting before congratulating me as I sat down next to him.
"Something tells me he might just be," I told Syrus with a knowing smile before looking down at the field to see Dr. Vellian Crowler, the Vice-Chancellor of Duel Academy and the guy who will try his hardest to expel Jaden from the academy. I tried to suppress a laugh at how ridiculous the guy looked in all his make-up and weird fashion.
However, I couldn't help but feel uneasy about the upcoming duel. 'I hope there won't be any other major changes to the timeline.' I thought worriedly. Thankfully, the only difference that occurred between this duel and the one in canon was that Jaden summoned Burstinatrix on his first turn instead of Avian. However, he still used Winged Kuriboh to buy himself some time before winning the duel with the Flame Wingman. Once he won his duel, I couldn't help but cheer alongside Syrus out of sheer relief.
Not only did I manage to go to Duel Academy, but I also didn't fuck up the timeline while I'm at it.
All in all, today was a good day.
A/N: That's all for now, folks! Our MC has finally made it to Duel Academy! However, he's also starting some changes occurring in this universe's timeline. How big will those changes be, and how will our MC deal with them? Only time will tell! As usual, feel free to leave constructive feedback and advice in the reviews section. Before I go, I'd like to thank Emblemfan1 for advising me on improving my storytelling. If you guys haven't read his story Staying In The Background, then I suggest you do. Hands down it's one of the best Yugioh SI stories I have read so far, and its character development is super realistic. As always, feel free to follow the story and ask questions. Constructive criticism will be appreciated. See you guys later!
(1): Mathematically, you calculate your profits from a won bet by multiplying the amount you bet with the odds' numerator before dividing by the denominator. In this case, if Cenric all his prize money (50,000$) on a single duel, then he'd win a measly 500$ as profit.
(2): It's been a while since I showed the updates to Cenric's deck. So this will be his deck so far:
Main Deck (40 cards total):
Monsters: 20 cards total:
2 x Elemental HERO Shadow Mist
2 x Elemental HERO Stratos
2 x Elemental HERO Blazeman
2 x Elemental HERO Knospe
1 x Elemental HERO Poison Rose
1 x Elemental HERO Woodsman
1 x Elemental HERO Ocean
1 x Elemental HERO Prisma
1 x Elemental HERO Bladedge
1 x Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier
1 x Elemental HERO Solid Soldier
1 x Elemental HERO Captain Gold
1 x Elemental HERO Ice-edge
1 x Elemental HERO Necroshade
1 x Elemental HERO Heat
1 x Phantom Magician
- Spells and Traps (24 cards total):
- Spells (15 cards total):
3 x Polymerization
2 x Mask Change
1 x Mask Change II
1 x Form Change
1 x Mask Charge
1 x Miracle Fusion
1 x De-Fusion
1 x Future Fusion
1 x Pot of Greed
1 x Skyscraper
1 x Skydive Scorcher
1 x Rose Bud
- Traps (5 cards total):
1 x Skill Breakthrough
1 x Paradox Fusion
1 x Impenetrable Attack
1 x Staunch Defender
1 x Elemental Recharge
- Extra Deck (15 cards total):
1 x Elemental HERO Nova Master
1 x Elemental HERO Great Tornado
1 x Elemental HERO Gaia
1 x Elemental HERO Absolute Zero
1 x Elemental HERO Terra Firma
1 x Elemental HERO The Shining
1 x Elemental HERO Core
1 x Contrast HERO Chaos
1 x Masked HERO Dark Law
1 x Masked HERO Acid
1 x Masked HERO Blast
1 x Masked HERO Goka
1 x Masked HERO Dian
1 x Masked HERO Anki
1 x Masked HERO Koga
Side Deck (15 cards total):
1 x Elemental HERO Flash
1 x Elemental HERO Lady Heat
1 x Elemental HERO Voltic
1 x A Hero Lives!
1 x Legacy of a Hero
1 x Pinpoint Guard
1 x Change of HERO- Reflector Ray
1 x Hero Counterattack
1 x Spell Absorption
1 x Fusion Gate
1 x United We Stand
1 x Hero Signal
1 x Elemental HERO Escuridao
1 x Masked HERO Divine Wind
1 x Masked HERO Vapor