Chapter 9: A Bit of Guidance Through the Placements
The cafeteria was mostly empty when Cary arrived. Only pockets of duelists occupied a couple of the tables. Almost everyone today sat down, ate a small volume of food, and then left for the library. Few wanted to spend the time hanging around when they could review their cards instead (and that was intended by the gods to be a solo activity). The food volume tended to be moderate so as to appease any hunger pangs but also to avoid reaching levels of discomfort that could interfere with concentration during the final round. One guy who did not adhere to that guideline succumbed to the anxiety and vomited in the nearby bathroom. Cary was unconcerned with her ability to concentrate on future duels, but she definitely preferred to be alone. Seeing the cafeteria so empty helped her relax.
Her enjoyment didn't last long, however. Kasumi entered soon after with three friends in tow. All of them grabbed their food and sat down with Cary, and then two more girls settled in. Cary toyed with the idea of running away, but somewhere inside she heard her cousin's voice reminding her that making friends with other duelists can pay dividends in the long term. Surely she could stand to be around others for a few minutes while she finished her meal.
Kasumi was the first to admit aloud she had lost both of her duels so far. She and the others grumbled and moaned about how their entire placement rank was being graded too heavily on luck. Cary felt bad that she didn't care more about their problems. She liked Kasumi and everyone as people well enough, but their problems were losing card games. It didn't feel like the end of the world for a bunch of kids.
Cee-Cee was the only one with a smile on her face. She lost in the first round, but she pulled off a commanding victory in her second duel, which put her in a good mood. Cary noticed inconsistency in the discussion from then on. It's easy to blame "bad luck" for a loss because it preserves one's ego when, in reality, winning was mostly about skill and preparation. Luck was only a factor in which cards came next—skill was how a duelist determined what to do with it.
"Hey, everyone." Cary's daze was broken by an unknown girl wearing a green jacket. Hadn't she met all of Dave's housemates yet? Obviously she missed this one. Heterochromia was a difficult trait to forget. This fair-skinned lady had one brown eye and one blue, both lightly shaded as if the color were masked. Her hair was long and full with just the right amount of bounce every time her neck turned even slightly. It had a shine to it that can only achieved by regular attention from a higher grade product than shampoo and conditioner. Cary already hated her.
"Hi," said Kasumi. She pursed her lips as if struggling to remember the newcomer's name. "Elizabeth?"
"That is correct, but call me Jade. Jade is less common so you will not mix me up with someone else as easily."
Kasumi said, "Would you like to sit?" and motioned toward an open space in the opposite corner from Cary. It was the optimal spot as Cary could check her out from a distance and not get caught as easily. The immaculate appearance of her uniform screamed about someone trying to make a good impression. But who was she trying to impress? Guardians didn't even have to participate in the placement exams.
Cee-Cee asked the newcomer, "Why Jade? Is that your favorite color?"
"It is a beautiful hue," said Jade with a smile, "but my middle name is Jadelyn. According to Dr. Kerr's social psychology lectures, I probably have an affinity for the color because it is part of my name. How are all your duels going so far?"
That struck Cary as a weird question to ask straight out like that. Furthermore, Jade didn't have any food with her. Was she not eating? Seemed like a weird decision for someone assisting with the placement exams to skip lunch.
It didn't take psychic powers to interpret everyone's hesitance to respond as a sign that duels were a struggle so far. Cee-Cee had no problem saying, "Bad luck on my first duel but I killed it in the second."
"That is good news. Are you ready for Round 3?"
Cee-Cee shrugged without changing her expression. "As ready as I always am."
"Good to hear." Jade looked to Kasumi next. "How about you, Kasumi?"
Cary thought about rescuing her roommate after a moment of hemming and hawing, but her phone buzzed and stole her attention. How was it two o'clock already? The day was flying by. She couldn't help a sneer as she looked at the message that just hit her inbox. Now Cary knew her next opponent, and she was bothered by the timing. She only had ten minutes to prepare and meet up with her third-round opponent! That was hardly enough time to research his deck and strategy and then respond accordingly with her side deck. And her opponent was Jim Martel—not only a top-ranked Obelisk Blue but also a former Guardian Duelist before he lost Uria, Lord of Searing Flames to Yul Tan.
But on the upside, she noticed the room. Her final duel was to take place in the basement arena—the big leagues! She was finally going to get to show off in the only room filled with stadium seating for spectators to see how well she dueled. This was her chance to claim an immutable rank and show the entire school that she meant to be the absolute best.
She showed her phone to Kasumi.
Kasumi understood as soon as she read the message and didn't object. "Oh, no. You've got to get going." She turned to explain to the others why Cary was eagerly bolting from the table so no one else would be offended by it. Jade would have to limit her student psychologist roleplay with the other girls.
Phone in hand as she scrambled, Cary began searching for information. I know the name Jim Martel. That's the guy who tried to take Dave's god card during the first area duel of the semester. He struck me as overrated, but Dave claimed he was nervous the whole time.
Son of a bitch! There's no need for four people to walk side-by-side down the aisle. Excuse me, Mr. Entitled. Walking to the cafeteria exit was impossible the way some people walked, like there was no one else in the world.
Okay, Martel used a Ghostrick deck against Dave, but he used to run a Shaddoll theme. If he built the Ghostrick deck just for Dave, will he use that again here? Scrolling through the Duel Academy app and clicking buttons related to the placement exams, she continued, Where are the results from his previous rounds?
Oh, come on. The best place you could find to stop and talk to each other was right in the middle of the fucking doorway? Thank you, jackass. Cary never said a word, but anyone who saw her facial expressions would know exactly what she was thinking about the crowds and the obnoxious way they drifted, oblivious to other people around them.
Scrambling to the arena, she gave up researching Jim's deck. The app was too complex to present the information straight to her fingertips, and she didn't have the time to navigate. It was safe to assume he was committed to the Ghostrick deck. If he thought it was good enough to beat Dave and Exodia, then he must believe it was also sufficient to beat most of the other students on campus. Now the question was what cards she should use against him. Trading a few cards with her side deck had helped against Mitch Zielinski. But how to disrupt Jim's play style...? Ghostricks mostly relied on flipping face-down and changing battle positions. Did she have any cards to prevent that? She could swap in Dark Simorgh. Was that enough? Not a lot of her Dragunity support offered the right kind of benefit to stop Ghostricks. Maybe she should leave her deck alone and just hope to get out another one-turn kill.
She had been to the basement arena several times to witness area duels, yet stepping past the threshold as a competitor still gave her a sense of awe. The change in her role this time gave her brief, emotional pause. Suppressing the lump in her throat was harder than she expected. No matter how many times the banners and the colors came into view, the feeling was totally different now that she was going to be on the stage at the center of attention.
Technically, the room had three duel stations set up for placement exams, each one smaller than the primary arena but still large enough to see the cards on any of them from the stadium seats. She found her name at the third station where Dr. Houtz had everything all set up for her. Duel Academy's Gothic professor invited her to sit while they waited for Jim to show up, but Cary was more comfortable standing and reviewing her deck.
They didn't wait long for her opponent to arrive. He sauntered in at a slovenly pace right at the scheduled time. Being early was not an option for Jim Martel. Doing so was only a waste of the time he could be doing something more interesting and enjoyable. His eyes indicated he would make an exception in Cary's case, however.
"Wow, look at you," he said, his gaze clearly guided lower than her eyes.
"Excuse me, young man," said Dr. Houtz. "Don't be rude."
He looked away from Cary's breasts long enough to smile at her eyes and at Dr. Houtz. "Believe me, it's a compliment. You are too cute to be related to Dave Strickland."
Cary rolled her eyes. "Charming."
"Settle your hormones or you'll face the counselor's office, understood? Let's get the duel started," said Dr. Houtz. She glanced at Cary. "Your fans are waiting." Cary turned to the stands to see what kind of "fans" were actually there. A few Neanderthal-looking guys must have been there to support Jim, as was a small pocket of girls several rows away. She caught sight of Bryan and Matt waving in her direction like excited children, but after she scowled at them, she averted her gaze to avoid the misconception that she actually cared whether anyone was there to cheer for her.
Jim leered. "No chance you want to bet a date on my win here?"
"A regular date, or an intimate date?" asked Cary.
"I kinda prefer the latter, but either works," he said.
She smirked, but not because she was intrigued. More like she found the request so pathetic she barely contained herself from laughing at him. "Pass."
"Your loss, Baby Dave," he said. He slid into his seat and produced his deck from his belt. "Want to shuffle for me?"
To avoid unnecessary innuendo, Dr. Houtz claimed the deck from him. "I'll take care of that." She shuffled Jim's deck while he wore a forlorn expression, and then she shuffled Cary's deck while she smirked. "You two know the rules. Jim gets the first turn," she said, pointing to the duel monitor. "Good luck."
The duel station lit up, humming as the hologram projectors and the immersion sensors activated. Sitting here, in the stadium, with so much empty space around her, it may have been the first time since her earliest duels that Cary even noticed the sound. She squeezed a fist to settle her nerves. Senior duelist or otherwise, Jim was just a lecherous, teenage boy. He wasn't someone to fear.
Jim pulled a card from his hand. "I'll set one monster and two other cards." He leaned back in his seat, slouching heavily enough to topple the chair over backward.
"Is that all?"
"For now, yeah. Were you hoping to get something outta me?"
Cary shook her head. "Just making sure I don't knock you out too soon. Dragunity Brandistock (1: 600|400)." Her monster was a small, blue-skinned dragon wearing pointed armor that gave it the impression of a spear. "Tribute Brandistock to summon Dragunity Arma Mystletainn (6: 2100|1500)." Her small dragon was replaced by a larger dragon equipped with golden armor and a lengthy, curved blade. After loosing a roar, Mystletainn equipped itself with the armored body of Brandistock as a gauntlet.
"Neat trick," said Jim.
Cary rolled her eyes. "Like you don't know by now." As a senior, he should have plenty of knowledge of the Dragunity series of cards. She continued her turn by setting a card face-down and activating Synchronized Realm. A small opening appeared in the sky over her monster.
And she smiled when she realized she had her support to counter the Ghostrick cards. If Jim was going to set every monster in defense mode, she was going to pierce that shell. "Fairy Meteor Crush." A meteor fell from the sky and collided with the ground right behind Mystletainn. Cary thought she smelled fire and sulfur. The glow from the meteorite passed into her monster, giving it the ability to strike through to Jim's Life Points even when his monsters were in defense mode.
As Mystletainn (2100) moved to strike, Jim enacted his countermeasure. "I'll use Ghostrick Scare." He flipped face-up his Ghostrick Jiangshi (3: 400|1800), a child-like, pale-skinned vampire that jumped into the air and floated in a supine position, as if sleeping were a defensive measure. The initial behavior shocked Cary's monster so that it retreated inside its own armor, switching into face-down defense position. The Fairy Meteor Crush and Dragunity Brandistock disappeared into the graveyard. "On toppa that, Jiangshi's effect moves Ghostrick Lantern (1) to my hand."
Cary bit her lip. She had tried to take the initiative, but Jim had managed to undercut her for a turn. She would have to count on her future turns giving her the cards she needed. "That's all."
"Alright," said Jim. He sat up to draw his next card and lean over the table while he thought about what to play. He shrugged his shoulders and sat slumped over with a hand on both sides of his cards like someone trying to prevent kibitzing. When he made a move, he moved the one card to his right hand and shifted the rest to his left.
"Let's play Ghostrick Mansion." When he placed his card in the field spell zone, the entire field transformed into a haunted house. Dusty furniture resembled what everyone saw in the Duel Academy lounge every day, save for the torn upholstery and lopsided screws and the lights were permanently out. It was the perfect environment when he turned his Ghostrick Jiangshi (3: 400|1800) back into attack mode.
"Next up, I'll get some more cards when I summon Tour Guide From the Underworld (3: 1000|600)." He summoned a uniformed lady who stood in front of a ghastly-looking bus. She carried a speaker by her side to make sure she could be heard when she spoke. "With her effect, I'll add a second one to the field." An identical bus pulled up, and the Tour Guide's twin stepped out. But then the two buses merged into a single parking space. "I'll overlay the two so I can play Ghostrick Alucard (3: 1800|1600)." Humanoid in shape, the ghostly being had glowing eyes and fangs like a vampire. The creature curled in one arm and then popped out the elbow, snapping his fingers. In the same instant, Cary's face-down trap card caught fire. "By removing one Xyz material, your face-down card is destroyed." Not that it was helpful to Cary with her monster face-down, anyway.
Jim's smile was somehow dopey and smug at the same time. Maybe it was only smug because it annoyed Cary that someone so simple was in control of the duel. She felt each direct attack from his two monsters as pangs of frustration that she tried to hide—tried in vain, considering her best feature was her expressive face. Jim was far from offended. The school was dedicated to raising the anxiety levels of the best duelists. He was used to seeing that kind of reaction.
Cary 5800: Jim 8000
"Before I end my turn, I'll put Jiangshi face-down again."
The Ghostrick Mansion was a challenge for Cary. It was that ability which let Jim's monsters bypass hers for two direct attacks. In addition, all attacks she landed would be cut in half while the Ghostricks were free to deal full damage. A normal Dragunity OTK suddenly became a two-turn kill by necessity. More reason Jim Martel annoyed her.
"Junk Synchron (3: 1300|500)," she said, summoning a mechanical monster that looked a bit like a mechanic himself. "Special summon Dragunity Brandistock (1: 600|400)." Junk Synchron brought back the armored dragonling from the graveyard, giving Cary more available weapons. "Flip Mystletainn (6: 2100|1500) face-up again." Her dragon with the golden armor reappeared, ready to strike against Ghostrick Alucard (1800).
"Sorry, babe. Flip it right back down again," said Jim as he revealed a second copy of Ghostrick Scare. He flipped up his Jiangshi, and the shock and awe of the event forced Mystletainn to retreat face-down. "And since my Jiangshi flipped up again, I get to bring Ghostrick Specter (1) to my hand."
Cary grunted, clearly annoyed by the situation. When Jim kept her monster face-down, she couldn't do anything to gain momentum. Attacking with and even synchronizing her monsters were both off the table. Grudgingly, she waved the turn player over to Jim.
He smiled at her. "Don't take it too hard. I was ready for you coming into this duel." She couldn't believe that! How could he prepare for a duel in less than ten minutes when he barely even sauntered in on time? He had to be jerking her around just to play on her frustrations.
"I'll throw Ghostrick Witch (2: 1200|200) into the mix here. Her effect lets me turn any of your monsters face-down." His new monster was a tiny girl in black witch's clothes with a broom in hand. She pointed her broom at Junk Synchron and released a stream of magical energy. The energy was so heavy it forced Cary's monster to fall to the ground and turn face-down. "I'll also reuse Alucard's effect to destroy your big dragon." It wasn't specific, but he tapped the monitor to indicate Mysteltainn as the target of Alucard's magic; the card shattered and left the field. "Gotta finish building my army, so Jiangshi (400) moves to attack mode again.
"Unfortunately, Ghostrick Mansion won't let me attack directly as long as you have a monster face-up, so I have to send Witch (1200) to destroy your Brandistock (400) character." Witch swung her broom out again and tossed a ball of magic. The spell transformed Cary's dragon into a small toad, which scampered off the field and disappeared. Alucard (1800) and Jiangshi (400) landed two more direct attacks afterward, amplifying the frustration Cary felt: toward the cards, toward Jim, and toward herself for not playing this hand better. Jim set Jiangshi face-down again to end his turn. Despite her ability to do the same, Witch remained face-up.
Cary 3600: Jim 8000
As soon as her turn started, Cary flipped Junk Synchron (1300) face-up, but she found herself unable to attack with him because of Alucard's effect: The vampire was so entrancing that all monsters could only focus their attention on him. And at the moment, Cary had no other cards in hand that would clear the field. On the other hand, Alucard had no more Xyz materials, so his effect was complete. Cary had one trap she could set, and just maybe that would hold her for one more turn. She just had to pray that next card would give her the swarming effect she needed.
"Sorry to see you can't do more than that," said Jim, "but I guess my Ghostricks did sorta stall you for a bit with all the face-down flipping, huh?" He actually waited a moment for a response, but Cary wasn't offering anything beyond a raised eyebrow. "Don't worry, Baby Dave. We're almost done. First, Witch's effect puts your monster face-down again." Once more, his Witch cast a spell that pulled her monster to the ground and then face-down. "Next I flip Jiangshi (400) and use his ability to get Ghostrick Stein (3) to my hand.
"Now we get to the best part. I'll play Ghostrick Mummy (3: 1500|0)." A poorly-wrapped corpse appeared, tongue lolling out of its mouth. "This one's effect gives me a second summon for the turn so I can play Ghostrick Specter (1: 600|0)." This monster looked like a little kid's effort to make a ghost costume: just a sheet over the head with two eyes drawn on in marker. Mummy (3) grabbed Jiangshi (3) and held the young vampire over its head. "Now I overlay these two monsters to summon a second Ghostrick Alucard (3: 1800|1600)."
"No," said Cary. "Compulsory Evacuation Device." Triggering her face-down card, an air cannon sucked in his monster and blew it straight into the sky and, in theory back to his hand—except players can't hold Xyz monsters, so Alucard actually returned to the extra deck.
"Good thinking," said Jim. "Without an Alucard that has his xyz materials, your monster is safe from instantaneous destruction. The only problem on your end—and it's a very nice end, if your legs are any indication… What was I saying?"
Oh, my god, Cary groaned to herself as she rolled her eyes heavily.
"Oh, right. Ghostrick Mansion still lets me attack directly as long as your monsters are face-down." His surviving Alucard (1800), Witch (1200), and Specter (600) each landed direct attacks that had the devastating effect of bringing Cary's Life Points and her self-pride all the way to 0.
Cary 0: Jim 8000
Cary all but froze in place. For once, her expression was completely blank. She didn't know how to react. By no means was this her first-ever loss in dueling, but it was exceedingly rare with her Dragunity cards. And she never expected it against Jim Martel. The guy was practically a womanizing boozehound, which was an impressive reputation for a dry campus. No one was even sure how he procured alcohol on an isolated Pacific island.
"Good game there, Baby Dave," said Jim. He extended his hand again, first with an overhand grip like he wanted to grope her but then shifting his wrist for a legitimate handshake. "I'd be happy to spend some private time with you going over our respective strategies and discussing how this duel went. Maybe you could wear something slinky."
Dr. Houtz cleared her throat. It was an effective method of disrupting Jim's train of thought and stopping the verbal foreplay before it got any further. She berated Jim's behavior, but Cary missed every word of it.
Cary's mind was a torrent. All her hard work fell short for a duel that potentially counted the most. Was it better that she won her first two duels and lost the third, or would she achieve a higher rank if she had lost the first round and won both subsequent duels? Even better would be winning all three duels. How did she lose against a pig like Jim Martel?
Dr. Houtz asked her, "Everything alright?"
Finally Cary responded. All she could muster was a shallow nod.
Jim muttered, "Your eyes look like they're on fire."
"Helping or hurting, Jim?" asked Dr. Houtz. She placed a comforting hand on Cary's shoulder. "Losing is nothing to be ashamed of. Every opponent on this campus is on the level of professional duelists. You've already achieved high ranks just by coming to the main arena."
Cary looked up into the stands. Matt and Bryan were looking elsewhere in the stadium, commenting on another duel. Bryan caught her eye and wave excitedly, followed by a thumbs-up. What a putz.
Dr. Houtz urged her not to look at everyone else. "No one else matters. Your skill speaks for itself. Why don't you take a seat right here in the front row and watch some other people duel?"
"I'm okay," said Cary. She collected her cards slowly.
"That's good to hear but your eyes say differently, sweetie." She helped Cary up and led her to the stands, keeping a calm hand on her even though Cary tried eagerly to pull away. "Sit right here and let's talk for a minute. What are you thinking right now?"
Cary shrugged, but her face told the whole story. She was pissed. "I hate Martel right now."
Dr. Houtz nodded. "Because of the outcome?"
"Yeah. Dave beat him."
"Don't compare yourself to Dave. That's not fair to yourself."
Cary made a face. What kind of advice was that, to tell Duel Academy students not to compare themselves to their classmates? That was literally the point to duels. Cary watched the next two duelists wander up to the duel station she had just left.
Dr. Houtz gave her shoulder a squeeze. "I need to proctor the next exam, alright? I will be around and available to talk. In the event I'm busy and you want to talk to someone, please find another faculty member or one of the students in the green jackets, okay?"
She hated being patronized, but worse was hating that she brought it on herself. How could she have gotten so emotionally invested in this exam that a single loss devastated her so? It was a scenario she had seen a thousand times in people she viewed as pitiful, and yet here she lived it out herself. Disgraceful. Cary nodded her acknowledgement and watched Dr. Houtz head back to the duel station. Getting over this loss would be no easy accomplishment, but she needed it to happen.
Kenny didn't look intimidating from the outside. He wore a big smile, accented by his dimples. The collar of his jacket looked brand new—possibly it was a jacket he broke out specifically for the placement exams or else he was the only freshman boy who knew how to iron his clothes. His reputation as the top-rated Slifer duelist preceded him, but his appearance undermined the impression.
"E-Hero Bryan," said the guy. His hands were big—chubby compared with Bryan's football player hands. His grip was far from strong, yet Bryan noticed no tremble at all, like confidence was not a lacking trait.
"Cowboy Kenny," replied Bryan.
Kenny chuckled. "You musta seen my hat."
"It is your most prominent feature." In fact, it was the only way Bryan could identify Kenny without getting to know him. He had first spotted him in the Intro to Dueling class, curious why anyone would wear a Stetson indoors. Even though Bryan had never spoken directly to Kenny yet, he always knew how to find him in a crowded room. For just a moment, he hadn't recognized Kenny today without the hat.
"Yeah, I guess it would be," said Kenny with a hardy chuckle.
Bryan bobbed his head slowly—not really a nod but accepting the behavior Kenny was exhibiting. "You're nothing like what I expected when I was told you had the top exam scores of all the incoming Slifers."
Kenny waved off the implied praise. "Scores don't mean much in the long run. I just do what I can in the moment and see where it takes me. On that one day, it put me at the top of the test-takers. So far today it hasn't availed me to the same extent."
"Oh, really?"
"I won the first round against a Ra Yellow duelist, but then I lost to Fats. You know him, right? I think he's in your suite."
"He sure is. Funny story: I lost to Fats, too. Maybe that's how we got paired up for this final duel."
"I bet that's it. You wanna get started?" Kenny glanced at the screen. "Looks like I'm up first. Sorry 'bout that." He looked over his cards for a second. As soon as he placed a card on the duel station, Bryan's field burst into flame. Heat licked him from the immersion sensors. "Don't know if you heard about my deck yet. It's called Burn style."
"Makes sense," said Bryan. He looked up the card info on the monitor. Ookazi was a spell with only one effect: 800 LP damage to the opponent.
Bryan 7200: Kenny 8000
When Kenny laid down a second card, another fire raged throughout the field. This one was uncontrollable, leaving Kenny's side almost just as badly burned as Bryan's. The card was Tremendous Fire, hitting Bryan for 1000 LP and Kenny for half that.
Bryan 6200: Kenny 7500
Kenny put one card face-down in the spell zone and then he placed another one face-up. A bright light shone in the sky over Bryan's field just before three swords rained down in triangular formation. Each sword was made of pure light and blinded Bryan when he looked directly at them. Swords of Revealing Light was a card so classic that even he didn't need to look it up. Kenny aimed to make sure he could throw as many fires as he wanted while Bryan couldn't fight back.
He ended his turn playing a monster wearing a blue skirt, a red mantle, and a giant mirror over its chest. Six additional mirrors circled its body from head to shoulder to arm to stomach and back up, plus two mirrors were spotted on its palms. Reflect Bounder (4: 1700|1000), Bryan read on the monitor—another card intended to deal direct damage his way if he outlasted the Swords and bothered to attack.
"Not much of a talker when you play, are you?"
"Nah. I'm more a thinker then. Makes the duel go a bit smoother mosta the time."
"Got it. Maybe I'll give that a shot." In reality Bryan loved talking. He had found his way to lead roles in every school play since the first grade because he loved having all the speaking lines. For reference, first grade was a circus play, and he was the ring master, one of very few speaking parts at all and one he still recalled fondly.
Taking his turn and trying not to say a word, Bryan merely placed a monster and one other card face-down. That was all he had since he couldn't attack anyway. One of the Swords blinked out, but the other two were just as blinding as ever.
Kenny set a second monster and then had his Reflect Bounder (1700) attack by focusing reflections of light onto a single spot like a mirror death ray. Bryan's defense monster was Elemental Hero Avian (1000), not strong enough to withstand the attack. His solar destruction was not without merit, however; Bryan flipped his face-down card and threw an elaborate Hero Signal into the cloudy sky over his field. Responding to the call, the blocky form of Elemental Hero Clayman (4: 800|2000) made its way to the field, striking a defensive pose like a mud wall to protect Bryan.
Bryan was surprised to see himself get to the second turn without additional damage. Maybe the weakness to Kenny's Burn style was that his deck wasn't as fast as, say, Tamah's deck with all the special summoning. He felt some of Dave and Andy's advice from earlier actually sinking in, and the thought excited him. No matter the outcome of this duel, he couldn't wait to start rebuilding his deck into something more solid.
"I've got nothing," said Bryan. He was gambling on Kenny carrying mostly weaker monsters that dealt direct damage instead of fighters that could overcome Clayman's defense points.
Kenny couldn't prove Bryan's theory in one turn, but he did support it by playing another Reflect Bounder (4: 1700|1000) to duplicate the efforts of the first one. But that was the only move he had to make. Either Kenny was building up something heavy, or his deck was already out of steam.
"Still nothing," said Bryan. "I mean, uh…" He sliced the air horizontally with his hand to suggest he was finished. Clayman was still stronger than both Reflect Bounders, plus he couldn't attack with any monsters while those Swords remained on the field. Fortunately, the instant Bryan's turn ended, the third Sword burst, fading away and leaving the field looking much grimmer than when it was illuminated seconds earlier.
For Kenny's follow-up, he did nothing but to set one card in the backfield for spells and traps. Bryan wondered what that could be. Probably something to deal direct damage.
Now that the Swords were gone, attacking was an option again. Kind of, anyway. Most of the Elemental Heroes weren't as strong as a Reflect Bounder, and Bryan was struggling through another hand full of spells that weren't offering the versatility in play that he wanted. Yet another reason he couldn't wait to rebuild after the conclusion of the event. All he had to play that turn was E – Emergency Call to retrieve Bladedge from his deck. Not only would that put a monster stronger than the Reflect Bounder in his hand, but it also removed one card from his deck. Now any card he drew was two percent likelier to be something he needed.
Bladedge needed two tributes to summon, though. The Warrior Returning Alive brought him Avian back from the graveyard. Mentally crossing his fingers, Bryan put Avian on the field in defense mode with the hope that if he placed a card face-down in the trap zone, he could bluff his way to summoning Bladedge next turn.
Kenny picked up his next card and barely glanced at it before he placed a card on the table. Turns out Bryan had stepped right into his trap by putting two monsters on the field: Clayman and Avian both disappeared and the Lava Golem (8: 3000|2500) rose in their place. Towering over the field, the giant was nothing more than a mass of molten lava, dribbling its essence everywhere.
Bryan balked. He couldn't believe that Kenny would bother giving him such a powerful monster for free. But then he remembered the stories of the Lava Golem and knew that its strength level was just a side effect: The focus was all that lava dripping from its lumbering arms that would damage Bryan with each passing turn. On top of that, with Reflect Bounder as the only attack target, all of that strength would mirror right back onto Bryan's LP if he did battle.
But the decision whether or not to attack was made without him. Kenny brightened the field again with another copy of Swords of Revealing Light, restraining Bryan's massive monster for three more turns. Bryan's turn came and went without a play for him to make except for dodging a stray glob of lava.
Bryan 5200: Kenny 7500
Kenny decided to wait another turn, too. Between the Swords, two Reflect Bounders, and puddles of lava drizzling over his opponent, he didn't see a need to rush through the rest of his cards.
When Bryan looked at his next card and watched more Lava melt his side of the ground, he broke his silence again. "Ye-heah!" he blurted, stretching the word into two syllables. "O – Oversoul, baby!" A giant O formed in the center of the field, acting as a portal straight into the underworld. Avian (1000) flew through the opening and found footing back in the world of the living beside the Lava Golem. Now that he had two monsters, he swept them both aside to summon Elemental Hero Bladedge (7: 2600|1800). His warrior bore an entire suit of golden armor, with bladed wings on his back and two, curved cleavers protruding from his elbows. But even though one of the Swords had faded, the other two were still strong enough to hold Bladedge in place.
Bryan 4200: Kenny 7500
For all his talk of Burn style, Kenny did nothing except place one more card face-down. He still hadn't even activated the last one.
"Your deck not coming through for you?" asked Bryan.
"It's a slow duel, to be sure."
"Same here. Some duels are better than others, no doubt."
As Bryan checked his hand, he found himself going a little crazy wondering what Kenny's cards were. How was a guy with such a reputation taking this duel so slowly? Did he even have a real trap? As soon as Bryan's turn ended, that last Sword would fade away and he could finally attempt the offensive.
Kenny took another pass. If anything, watching Kenny pass and pass again further encouraged Bryan to increase the speed of his deck. The ability to draw a card and feel like it didn't help was his worst situation. He never realized how rough, boring, and frustrating such an outcome was until he dueled an opponent with the same deficit. No wonder so many people hated watching him duel.
On Bryan's turn, he finally put together a strategy to attack, and it wouldn't involve the risk of reflecting his monster's attack strength back at him. "Raigeki!" he said, perhaps with too much excitement. A thunderstorm broke out across the field, striking down each of Kenny's mirrored monsters in turn. The voltage was too high for the mirrors to be any use; they melted before any damage could reflect. "Now I can summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (3: 1200|800)." A pale-skinned lady in red tights hit the field like a ball of fire—the first fire of the duel that didn't harm Bryan.
It was time to force Kenny's hand. If his face-down cards were meant as protection, now was the time to use them. First Burstinatrix (1200) hurled a fireball at Kenny, and then Bladedge (2600) sliced his way across the field. At no point did Kenny make a move to defend himself.
Bryan 4200: Kenny 3700
Kenny shook his head once, partly to stretch his neck and partly to indicate that he didn't have a strong move ready. All he could do was to set one monster face-down.
"Let's do this," said Bryan. "I'll play The Warrior Returning Alive to pull Avian back into my hand." Avian clawed his way back out of the graveyard again, this time not assuming a position on the field but in Bryan's hand.
"There we go," said Kenny. "I play Skull Invitation." A rift opened in the air of Kenny's backfield. Beyond the rift was pitch blackness, but the head of a horned demon leaned out into the open air. With a single finger, the demon beckoned Bryan to join the darkness.
Since Kenny wasn't a talker, Bryan had to check the monitor to remember what the effect was of that card. Whenever a card went to the graveyard—including The Warrior Returning Alive—the owner would suffer 300 points of damage.
"That's a…nnoying," said Bryan, hesitating through the word. "I'll also play Polymerization to fuse Burstinatrix with Avian." Watching the spatial rift that absorbed the bodies of his two monsters and merged them into a single warrior with winged and draconic features, Bryan smiled at his Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (6: 2100|1600) while grimacing at the 900 points of damage inflicted by the demon that took his three fusion components into the darkness.
"Guess I forgot about that part," he noted. But then he sent Flame Wingman (2100) to attack. Whatever Kenny's monster was, its destruction would still result in LP damage because of Flame Wingman's effect.
Unless the attack failed to destroy the monster involved: a skeletal figure clad in purple robes and carrying a powerful scythe. Spirit Reaper (3: 300|200) was a known card to anyone who ever ran a stall strategy. Among all its effects, the most common and popular was its ability to defend. Unfortunately, it could not defend against the knives of Bladedge (2600), which overran the tiny reaper and pierced through to Kenny's Life Points.
Bryan 3000: Kenny 1300
Kenny looked at his hand and smiled while he played Ookazi, setting fire to Bryan's field again, and then he set one monster face-down.
Bryan 2200: Kenny 1000
"Um… Bladedge (2600) can still attack again," said Bryan. He didn't make any other moves except to watch his warrior slice and dice the Grim Reaper once more. As an ending, it felt somewhat anti-climactic—a feeling he realized had plagued his deck at least as far back as his practical application exam and probably long before.
"Fact of the matter is," explained Kenny, "sometimes the cards just aren't there. Slow duels like this one are actually the most common."
"Really? I feel like that hasn't been my experience. Every major duel on TV seems like someone plays a crazy-rare card every turn."
Kenny laughed. "Well, the guys on TV are experts, masters of the game. That's what we're trying to get by schooling here. At the amateur level, however, slow duels are commonplace."
Bryan shook his head. "I still can't think of many. Most of my duels are over quickly, and Matt basically destroys everybody in only a handful of turns."
"In Matt's case, he has the fast, powerful deck, I s'pose. But in your case, I'd guess you're the one gettin' beat. If your deck is that slow, it don't matter how slow someone else is."
Making a face in response to the veiled insult, Bryan said, "Hey. I just beat you, ya know?"
"I remember. It was 'bout thirty seconds ago. Just sayin'. Anyway, good duel. I hope your rank comes out where you want it. I obviously got a lotta work to do." The funny thing was how sincere Kenny struck him during that exchange. There was no sarcasm or veiled malignancy at all. Was Kenny inordinately nice? Or did Bryan maybe need to spend less time with Matt to remember how the average person behaves around human beings?
But Kenny's remark reminded him: He had won. For the second time since arriving on the island, Bryan had dueled to victory! Matt grinned at him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Way to go, bro. You're the man."
"Thanks!" He had forgotten that Matt was in the back of the room watching the whole time, except for the moments when he chatted up Kasumi. "Have I finally found my groove?"
"You know what you have? This morning you won a duel. Now you have two in a row. If you win one more time, that's a winning streak."
"Sweet! I've always wanted one of those. You think this will be a habit for me now? Will I be as good as you?"
"Possibly. You might be putting the cart before the horse. Didn't Arbus warn you to start with small goals and slowly build up? Your next goal should be for one more win, probably against another Slifer."
Bryan knew he was right. He solemnly listened to the words and nodded. "No, fuck that. Slifers are boring. I want a god card."
Matt didn't berate him or even roll his eyes. He just smiled. "Then do it." He looked at his phone for the time. "Probably time for me to head downstairs."
"What time does your duel start?"
"If I account for Daylight Savings Time and the adjustment of Pacific time zones compared with home, it was five minutes ago."
"Shit, dude. You'd better run."
"Actually that's a safety violation. I'm confident the duel won't start without me. I'll just have to make up the time by skipping the small talk with my judge and opponent." He snapped his fingers, a sarcastic maneuver meant to imply he was saddened-but-not-saddened. He offered Bryan a quick, two-finger salute that mutated into him pointing into the air as he walked out of the room.
Bryan wanted to see Matt's duel, but he was brimming with excitement and needed to burn off some of it. Lucy was the only Guardian Dueler currently in the room, busy observing the closing plays of another duel. He would have preferred to talk to Erica or Andy, but she would do. Better to make friends with all of them if he wanted to move into their Guardhouse.
"Hey," he said excitedly as he tapped her shoulder. She only glanced in his direction at first, but she did a double take and smiled brightly. She must have picked up on his energy. "I just won my second duel."
"Congratulations," she said.
"I'm going to challenge a Guardian Dueler."
"Do it," was her only reply. And that pretty much sealed the decision for him.
By the time Matt returned to the basement arena and found Stage 2, his opponent was looking pretty ragged. He knew the face from around campus, but their first meeting was actually a brief one from the cruise ride to the island. Rikuto wore a long, blue coat. He was to be Matt's second opponent dressed in Obelisk Blue. Much like Mitsuro before, he looked unhappy—but that might've just been her neutral expression showing at the time. Rikuto looked like he was sucking on a Sour Patch Kids.
So did Dr. Lankford. He barely broke his scowl as Matt skirted by. "Running late, Mr. Luther."
"I had to watch the end of Bryan's last duel."
"He'll have other duels."
"But the stakes won't always be as high."
"We all adhere to the schedule."
"Perhaps next year the schedule can be blocked instead of streaming to allow for breaks and more structured viewing of other duels."
"Your suggestion is noted. Unfortunately, you only have fifteen minutes left in your time block."
Matt smirked. "Thirteen more minutes than I need." He let the boast stand, but he secretly hated himself for using hyperbole. That made him easy to disprove. His victory might take only two minutes if they didn't use the hologram tables. Those lights really slowed things down between plays.
When Rikuto accepted Matt's handshake, he sneered. "Dueling a Slifer."
"Had no idea you'd fallen so far in the rankings, did you?" asked Matt in self-deprecating reply. "I'll get a complex if that's the only way everyone sees me."
"Why you do not zip your coat?" True to his question, Matt was the only student wandering around in anything less than full, professional Duel Academy appearance. He grudgingly wore the Duel Academy garb, from black pants and shirt to the red jacket, but he had refused to zip any of it up that morning… until the moment his pants fell from his waist, and then he had agreed to zip them up. But the coat was a suffocating presence, he claimed.
"I can't breathe with it on."
"Get a bigger size."
Matt chuckled. "Do you think I'm just made of money?"
"Trade-in."
"And wear someone else's armpit stains for the rest of the year? I'd rather be stuck living in the girl's dorm." At least that was no lie.
Rikuto was disappointed in himself and in the ranking system for matching him against such a slovenly, crude opponent. "You must have done something impressive to get this far. Or paid off a judge, but I guess not if you can't afford a jacket that fits."
Matt smiled. "No payoffs. All talent here, as I suspect is the case with you. Aren't you a member of Team OTK?"
Rikuto studied him momentarily. "I've not seen you before. Did you research me?"
"Not intentionally. We met briefly on the Philyra. I didn't stick around, but my pal Bryan talked me up a bit as a contender for the team. You told him you would check me out sometime."
A knowing nod pulled at the opponent. "Okay, somewhat familiar. Dark Magician deck, right? I know why I never followed through. Pretty sure I was just being polite."
Matt met the veiled insult with a smirk. "I'm intrigued to see how your OTK works. I've come close with my magicians a few times during these exams, but I never quite went the distance. Maybe I'll figure out how to finish cleanly if an expert shows me how."
"Happy to oblige a rookie. Too bad it can't be someone who can push my rank up higher along the way."
With a shrug, Matt said, "I guess you'll just have to settle for schooling a Slifer. I'm ready for the first lesson."
All the lights on the duel station lit up, and both duelists grabbed their opening cards. Given a single look at his hand, Rikuto said, "I set one monster and end my turn."
Matt flinched. "That's it? I learned that much from just one episode of any Yu-Gi-Oh! Gaming TV show."
"The identity of the monster is the key," he said.
"I guess that makes sense. Well, I don't know if I can handle setting a monster correctly, so instead I'll summon Magician's Rod (3: 1600|100) in attack mode." A tall, blue staff appeared on the field, standing without a hand to hold it as if suspended by the will of one not present. The jewel on top began to shine. "Now I get a card from my deck as long as it mentions Dark Magician. It's a tough choice here, but I'm going to take Eternal Soul. Of course, I don't even know how to summon a Dark Magician in my first turn, so I'll settle for using Polymerization to fuse Dark Magician with Buster Blader and summon Dark Paladin (8: 2900|2400)." A spatial rift on the field sucked in the spell caster and spit out a tall, lean magician whose black robes hardened into dragon-scale armor.
"Time to clear the field, right?" The standalone Rod (1600) blasted an energy wave onto the enemy monster, barely revealing the image of a pink watch battery with legs before said creature dissipated in the attack.
Rikuto said, "That was Batteryman Micro-Cell (1: 100|100). You flipped it, so I summon Batteryman AAA (4: 0|0)." Instead of a watch battery, now Rikuto was defended by a thin battery with tiny arms and legs.
"That seems like a profoundly un-intimidating monster. Does anyone even use triple-A batteries anymore?" With a single swipe of his glaive, Matt's Paladin (2900) deftly cleaved AAA (0). "Not even any battery acid to clean up."
When Matt gave over the turn, Rikuto looked shocked. Matt knew exactly why. He held Eternal Soul in his hand, so why not put it on the field? Holding off for a turn was Matt's attempt at strategy. The opponent knew about his card, so hiding it briefly might help to protect it.
Rikuto's turn was quick again. "I set two cards and another monster."
"You aren't going easy on me as a protest for dueling a Slifer, are you?" Rikuto's expression told an entire story of its own, a story ending in Matt's loss at the hands of misunderstanding the way a deck comes together. "Just in case you aren't, I'll tribute Rod for Apprentice Illusion Magician (6: 2000|1700)." His female spell caster appeared on the field, showing a lot of leg and already charging a spell. She immediately swung her wand and tossed a ball of dark magic at Rikuto's monster.
Suddenly a monster cannon appeared beneath Matt's Paladin. A moment later, the Dark Paladin was launched into the air and returned to the extra deck, no longer a threat to the enemy. "Compulsory Evacuation Device," said Rikuto. "Your monster goes back to your hand, or to the extra deck since you can't hold a fusion card."
"I got it." Matt was annoyed when he looked at the field. Rikuto's monster was still present and Apprentice still looked ready to rumble. Rikuto's trap had changed the number of monsters and triggered a Replay: The attack was nullified and the field reset, minus the missing Paladin. He had to watch again while his Magician threw another magic attack at Rikuto's Batteryman AAA (0).
"You flipped my monster again, so I can summon another one." Once more, his spindly battery appeared to defend his Life Points.
"Three triple-A batteries," Matt muttered. "You must be ready to power the remote control now."
Rikuto grumbled, "Man, you never stop talking, do you?"
Matt smirked. "Just looking forward to this OTK of yours. You still plan to show me, right?"
"Seriously, wow. If you're trying to mess with my head, you're wasting time. A Slifer Slacker can't get to me. I use Monster Reborn to bring back Batteryman AAA (1: 0|0)." As soon as his monster hit the field, he played another card. "Now I use Inferno Reckless Summon to bring out two more." Now all three Batteryman monsters lined up like they were ready to fight… with zero attack points.
"Doesn't that card also let me duplicate a monster?" asked Matt. He placed another Apprentice Illusion Magician (6: 2000|1700) on the field. "I know mine are more girly, but my monsters are a lot bigger than yours."
"The remote control crack? Short Circuit activates only when there are three Batteryman on the field." Electricity erupted across the field, striking down both of Matt's monsters and leaving nothing but electrical wasteland behind. "Now I summon Thunder King Rai-Oh (4: 1900|800) to attack you directly." The spark plug monster generated two massive rings of lightning that shot straight through to Matt's end of the duel station, giving the player a slight shock.
Matt 6100: Rikuto 8000
Matt made a face at the field. Those three Batteryman had no attack points at all, yet they broke his field worse than anything since Shane nearly trounced him. He was just lucky he hadn't wasted his Eternal Soul. Once again, that gut feeling of his paid dividends.
"I'll set one card and play my own Monster Reborn to summon Dark Magician (7: 2500|2100) from the graveyard." Standing tall and wielding a staff the same height, Matt's purple-clad spell caster glared down at his opponents. He picked out one Batteryman AAA (0) and lunged, releasing a wave of dark magic that engulfed the field. Rai-Oh resisted the effect and the other AAAs barely slipped away from the ensuing explosion.
Matt 6100: Rikuto 5500
"Feel better now that you found your ace monster?"
"A smidge. I'm curious to see what else you can do with your batteries now that one is gone. Can you replace it with a pickle and an electrical current?"
"You're funny."
Matt smirked. "I'm no stranger to sarcasm."
"I'll put all my monsters in defense mode and add one more, face-down. One more card face-down, too. Go ahead."
Matt responded to the onscreen prompt and triggered his Eternal Soul during Rikuto's end phase. As the stone monolith rose from the ground, the enchanted etching shone in the same form as Matt's monster. "I'll use the effect to get Dark Magic Attackfrom my deck." Rikuto grumbled something under his breath. Clearly he was annoyed to have let Matt bring his real ace card to the game.
"My turn," said Matt. "I'll start with Dark Magic Attack." His Magician swung his staff like a lacrosse stick and hurled a ball of black magic into the backfield. Rikuto's face-down card evaporated, leaving his monsters as his only defense. Eternal Soul shone once more. "I'll move Thousand Knives to my hand and activate it." Knives multiplied through the air and rained down on Rikuto's hidden monster, skewering it instantly. "One more attack." His Magician (2500) cast a magic attack that swallowed Rai-Oh (800) and faded away with him.
Rikuto nodded at his cards. "One more face-down and a monster in defense."
"This OTK is really underwhelming."
"Just remember who's wearing blue here."
"Yeah, right. The effect of Eternal Soul summons another Dark Magician (7: 2500|2100) this time." One in purple and one in black, two powerful wizards stood back-to-back in the light of the shining monolith, closing in on victory.
"And for my turn, Eternal Soul brings me another Dark Magic Attack to use." His Magicians teamed up, launching simultaneous waves of black magic to wipe out Rikuto's potential trap. Matt considered the two known entities staring him down from defense mode, but he wasn't terribly intimidated by 0 attack points. Rikuto's face-down monster, on the other hand, was a risk. "Let's attack that one." Magician P (2500) threw a spell, forcing the pink watch battery to reveal itself an instant before it was obliterated. "That was another Micro-Cell (100)," he recognized.
"It was," said Rikuto. "That means I can put Batteryman AA (3: 0|+1000) in defense." Sized bigger than the other batteries with a 3 on its central body, this Batteryman had orange limbs and a head jolting with electricity.
Matt made a face. He didn't like the look of the new guy with the fluctuating defense points. His instinct told him this card was the key to Rikuto's OTK. "Finally a more common battery. Better eliminate that, too, for good measure." Magician B (2500) made short work of it with a single, overwhelming spell.
Rikuto smiled. "I hope that was fun. I'm summoning another Thunder King Rai-Oh (4: 1900|800)." While the spark plug came to life on the field, Rikuto played another card. A pod-like capsule appeared on the field, brimming with electricity until the moment the pod opened and Batteryman AA (0) popped out. "Battery Charger lets me revive a Batteryman from my graveyard. And then I'll play another Inferno Reckless Summon and call two more to the field." Three Batteryman AA (+3000) stood side-by-side, feeding off one another's charge and growing ever-stronger as a result.
Matt 6100: Rikuto 5000
Matt grimaced as his third Dark Magician (7: 2500|2100) hit the field, this time in defense mode. It was nice to see his three together again, but he knew Rikuto's play wouldn't stop there. As dangerous as three AAs were, they wouldn't end the duel alone.
"Here's some Batteryman support," added the OTK champion. A stone tablet appeared on one of the monsters, and its body grew larger. "Unstable Evolution makes AA (+5400) start with 2400 points, but he still gets bonus points from the extra charge. Let's see the attacks." The large Batteryman (5400) reached out to a Magician (2500) and shocked it until it shattered and disappeared. Each of the Batteryman followed by destroying another Magician until the field was clear. Finally, Rai-Oh (1900) struck Matt directly with a piercing shock that escaped the table.
Matt 800: Rikuto 5000
Shaking off the shock was easy. Luckily the duel station didn't hit the player with a charge much higher than taking off a sweater in the winter. Anything worse would be a legal nightmare if the player had a pacemaker, after all. But Matt smiled as he shook his hand. "Did I accidentally mitigate your OTK?" he asked.
"For the moment. Few opponents get anything as strong as Dark Magician when I use Inferno Reckless Summon. You still have to fight three AAs, though."
"Yeah, but one of them lost 1400 points. Your Unstable Evolution card seems… I'm struggling to think of a word that means the points change."
"Unstable."
"Exactly!"
"Well, that happens when your Life Points drop below mine. But AA (+4000) still has a point bonus so there's no real downside."
"Cool story. Before you end your turn, though, I'll activate Eternal Soul." As the monolith shone, the purple Dark Magician (7: 2500|2100) rose from the grave. "Was I correct? Is that the end of your turn?"
"Yes."
"Oh, good. Then I'll send my Dark Magician to the graveyard so I can summon Dark Magician Girl (6: +2900|1700)." In place of his wizard came a witch wearing similar clothes, although showing much more skin. Her wand crackled with the same level of dark magic as her mentor's staff. "And for good measure, Eternal Soul brings back Dark Magician (7: 2500|2100) one more time." Side-by-side, his two Magicians faced down the army of thunder-powered batteries. There's an odd sentence.
"Question: How much damage do I have to do for it to count as an OTK?"
Rikuto opened his palms as if to shrug off such an obvious answer. "8000 points."
"Oh, well, I can't hit that much right now. But I can fix the glaring hole in your strategy. You played Short Circuit too early and didn't clear my field first. I'm going to play it instead. I mean, not that card, but one that works the exact same way when my monsters are together. It's called Dark Burning Magic. You heard of it?"
"No."
"That's because it's new. This was my prize for finishing first in the state championship tournament back home. In a way, it was my ticket to attend Duel Academy. But I digress. By the power vested in this card, Dark Magician (2500) and Dark Magician Girl (+2600) combine their magic to obliterate all the cards you control." The usual black magic cast by either lone Magician was amplified by their dual presence. Magic built upon magic, creating ever-strengthening layers until it consumed everything in Rikuto's possession, and then it slowly faded to nothing. Matt just smirked. "Nice, right? Now they combine attacks—figuratively speaking, obviously." Paired attacks that were actually separated by the limits of the hologram projectors struck heavily on the field, dimming the lights and dropping Rikuto's Life Point counter.
Matt 800: Rikuto 0
Matt smirked evilly. "If I win, does that mean I'm in charge of Team OTK now?"
"Don't be a dick. Maybe you were misplaced when they sorted you into Slifer or maybe you just got lucky. You beat me in a single duel that could have just as easily gone my way."
Eyes darted back and forth as if looking for someone to translate. "Is that a yes or a no?" He could see the contempt growing in Rikuto's eyes. "In your defense: How much higher can your rank possibly get than captain of Team OTK?"
Rikuto guffawed. "I'm only vice-captain. Haruki Yagawa is the captain."
"Is that so? I'll have to look him up for an area duel."
"Do that and you'll realize just how lackluster your skills really are."
"Awesome. I hear that a lot. It'd be nice to find someone for once who can actually show me this level of suck everyone keeps promising to demonstrate."
Rikuto rolled his eyes. He just wasn't a big fan of the sarcasm when it came from someone else.
"At least your current rank explains how you ended up against a Slifer. You don't have much higher to rise whereas I have all of the room. All it takes is for you to lose once and have to face someone lower. That sets you on course to intercept my meteoric rise." He made face. "Kind of a weird phrase, don't you think? I understand that meteoric is in reference to speed only, but gravity still affects them. They fall, not rise!"
"Go read a book," grunted Rikuto as he stormed away.
Matt made a face. "That was possibly the most polite 'fuck off' I've ever heard."
Minutes later, Matt had reconvened with Bryan and Justin. The Guardian clapped hands with him and then gave a friendly, excited bump on the shoulder. "That was great stuff out there. I used to be on Team OTK. Nothing drives those guys crazier than having all the cards and failing to pull the win."
"That's just Matt," said Bryan. "He oozes luck from every orifice."
"You paint such a pretty picture of me." Bryan hooked his arm around Matt's neck and tousled his hair.
Looking to Justin and his greater Duel Academy experience, Bryan asked, "So what's next? When do we find out if Matt is moving into Obelisk Blue?"
Matt pushed him away, rejecting the notion. "It'll probably take all weekend. Why do you think they do this on a Friday?"
Justin shook his head. "Not at all. That algorithm I told you about? It already has a score for you and a rank that constantly shifts based on everyone else's current total. It'll have your final score seconds after the judge's inputs are all added. You're looking to know your rank no later than seven o'clock at the exam debrief."
Had to leave off on enough of a cliff-hanger to keep you wondering what everyone's rank will be, but I'm so glad to be finished with the placement exams. I feel like these nine chapters have offered a good introduction to Bryan and Matt for sure, plus a decent start for Cary's character. Now we can finally get into the meat of the story plot.
Thanks again to my readers and all who have contributed OCs. My opponents were all of my own creation this time (mostly callbacks to my previous version), but I did introduce Cee-Cee Silva from HardWrapping and Jade Kincaid from KingofJokers23. As the story grows, so will the characters and the character base, so stay tuned!