Authors Note:
If you guys have any idea how long it took to write down this chapter you would call me crazy. I had to write it most of it inside of a bus, since the Christmass work into a toy store, never allowed me to have time to concentrate, and many ideas I had before was shune down from all the work I had. But I managed to write everything I wanted to place on this chapter.
I want to dedicate this chapter to all my friends: Defender (Chaos Defender) Who inspired me to develop Bandit Keith. Nereyd and Valkoor, my friends who always has been in my side debating ideas about yugioh, Zeon who also has been giving me some ideas and has been a beta reader in some part.
I wish you all a very good Christmass... And I hope you all like this gift I have.
The chapter before the episode 4 of Yugioh GX.
Enjoy.
Everything starts with a logo, and in Arjeplog - Sweden (1122 kilometers North of ÄNGELHOLM) A well-bulked man walked around the snow, searching for something, until he paused, and crouched to see a green well-painted egg.
With a basket full of colorful eggs, the man walked step by step, with the rhythm of the violins giving a heroic and suspenseful song after his journey. His face was covered with a mask to protect himself from the reflection of the snow, but his sunglasses also protected his eyes. The same man walked around the coldest river covered in ice. Until he found an ice dome that seemed to be a lab.
The door with a simple name: Koenigsegg Facility.
The person opened it and got inside immediately. The heroic and awesome violins became like a powerful orchestra, as the man himself undressed the heavy winter coat, and ready to go into action, he took his favorite United States of America bandana and placed it over his golden hair, as he saw the car which sembled a perfection.
The lights went black… until like a powerful azure eyes, the lights of the car turned on. With the good name on the side, JESKO. The sound of the motor roaring like a powerful animal ready to run.
And with that, the car went into full speed in the snow. Doing drifts and making impossible curves like it was child's play. Everywhere this car went, the cloud of snow went behind it, showing how fast the car was.
As the basket filled with eggs was still shaking from the speed. The driver smirked as his face showed at the camera.
"Koenigsegg JESKO, The real King of Ice, is here. This car is only for winners. So stay out of the way, losers." Bandit Keith commented as he stepped on it to make it faster. And in the end… The logo of Koenigsegg appeared on the television…
One blonde duelist was staring at the television incredulously, with his mouth dropped. His eyes were twitching to see something that he couldn't believe.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Joey Wheller shouted in disbelief. "FROM ALL PEOPLE THEY CHOOSE BANDIT KEITH? I must be dreaming."
And with that, he took control and changed the channel.
Days around the academy passed like a blink. Since the incident of the love letter fiasco happened, Professor Crowler managed to be on his toes every time he glanced at Alexis, or even when he tried to approach the nursery ally from the Dueling Academy.
Every single day, the group of students continued learning from the classes as each of them managed to try to bring their own best… One student decided to past most of his day after class studying around the Library, most specifically, the VHS dueling section area.
And from all his research, from looking towards the internet, the rumors, and even all possible championships of Dueling Monsters… Zane Trusdale remained watching every single championship. Looking for one specific person.
"Oh, there you are." Then a female voice was able to take him out of his thoughts, which was nobody less than the sister of his best friend. "You have disappeared for a few days, and I started to think something happened to you."
"Hello for you too Alexis," Zane replied as he kept watching the video championships from other countries, and while some professionals seemed to show very unique strategies, neither of them seemed to be the ones Syrus had been awestruck nor afraid of them. "I'm watching around to see the championships across the world."
"Well, what are your thoughts so far?" Alexis asked as she then looked at a very well-experienced duelist managing to make a very interesting combination of fusion of monsters to create FGD and then using another card to use DNA transplant to make all the enemy monsters to be dark type, meaning unable to destroy the monster of 5 thousand attacks. "Whoa."
"They have solid strategies, however, it doesn't seem the ones I was looking for," Zane replied, as he pointed at the whole group of VHS collections borrowed from Chancellor Sheppard, and he seemed to be almost on the edge of losing his hope. But Alexis walked towards the last 4 who seemed to be untouched. "Do you think Syrus lied?"
Alexis looked at every single one of them, and glancing at her brother's best friend, she raised her eyebrow…
"Well, if you are looking for a tape named Renan Sparrow - Championship Brazil winner on it, then you must have a break because it's right here," Alexis replied as she gave a green tape which the Blue Obelisk student froze… and blinked for what would be a minute…
"Don't tell anyone about this," Zane commented as he took the tape from the Obelisk girl who was smiling like a cat who ate a canary.
At the time Zane placed the tape inside the VHS, both of them looked in anticipation of what was going to happen. It started with a narrator explaining what was happening around a championship.
"I've always been good at predicting decks, of course, I also didn't want to, but never in my life I could have imagined to see a deck like this. Renan just switched his deck. TO A LAVA GOLEM DECK." The narrator of the championship said which made both Zane and Alexis stare at the screen with surprise. Then Michael Scott from the office meme appeared. "NO, OH GOD PLEASE NO, NOOOOOOOOOOO."
Never inside of their minds or hearts, they would be surprised by something like that.
"AHAHAHAHAHA, HOJE É DIA DE BURN. Eu estou aqui para lhes dizer como eu consegui mostrar no campeonato queue eu sou um pro duelista que deveria ser tratado seriamente. E eu acho que eu exagerei um pouco, e isso pode causar uma banlist no future... foi mal, desculpa. ( AHAHAHAHAHAHA TODAY IS THE DAY OF BURN. I came here to tell you guys that I managed to make sure to show at the championship I'm a pro duelist who should be treated seriously. And I think I may have overboard a bit, and this would cause a banlist in the future… so my bad, sorry.)" A man with a mustache, a black hoodie, and black hair was laughing evily as he placed his evil intentions making both the duo look at him wary. But then he took off his hoodie and acting silly made them glance at Renan who seemed to just be trying to play a villain before showing his true self… Until they heard his iconic shout scream. From hearing the Portuguese voice, there were also subtitles under the video for them to read. "FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALA DUELISTAS (WHAAAAAAAAAAATS UP DUELISTS. Everything right with you all?)"
Alexis cringed at how loud the duelist shout was, while Zane looked amused at the way the duelist acted.
"Aqui é o Renan, para mais um video de Monstros de Duelo. E bom pessoa, aqui você verá o meu deck e o meu ranking do ultimo campeonato que é o Dueling Monsters Remote Duel Invitatio. É, um nome long. Mas é o nome official do campeonato, eu não escolhi. (Here is Renan, for one more Dueling Monsters video. And well guys, so here you will find my deck and my ranking on the last championship I became a champion which is Dueling Monsters Remote Duel Invitation. Yeah, that's a long name. But that was the official name of the championship, I didn't choose it.)" Renan started talking while Alexis couldn't help but sit down and keep watching the professional duelist who seemed to have good charisma, and even in his charm way managed her interest in hearing his story.
"So this is him," Alexis commented as she finally could see why Renan became such an idol. He was a very likable man who was very sincere and showed his passion for being a professional.
"Yes, so there is he," Zane said, as he was also relieved and very interested in knowing about the championship.
"Bom, eu tenho que dizer que eu não sou um professional muito bom de todas as pessoas do mundo que são, mas eu posso mostrar para else que eu tenho minhas maneiras de me fazer ser conhecido. Especialmente se eu usar o meu deck de burn, Lava Golem como Ás. Estava ai o moment que disse, okay, eu não ligo se eu vencer ou perder, mas que isso vai ficar marcado para a historia dos monstros de duelo isso vai. (Well, I have to say I'm not the greatest professional as most people around the world are, but I can show them I can have some good ways to make myself known. Especially by showing my Burning Deck, Lava Golem, it was that moment I said, okay I don't care if I win or Lose, this one is going to be marked on the story of the duels.)" Renan said which made Alexis and Zane, even more, dragged into seeing the championship. "E para as pessoas que gostarem, por favor fale para os seus amigos, compartilhe com else, e tente dar um like, e se inscreva no forum que eu estou, tentando te ajudar com meus conselhos, estratégias e até mesmo fazendo um unboxing de cartas. Agora vamos para o video do campeonato. (And for people who like it, please talk to your friends, share with them, try to give a like, and subscribe into the forum I'm on there, trying to help you out with advice, strategies and even doing an unboxing of cards. So now let's start the championship video.)"
"Wow, he really is awesome," Alexis commented as she could see why the younger brother of Zane seemed to treat Renan as a hero, most beginners would try to find any kind of help, and for someone who is a pro and willing to help, that would be a good way to treasure names for future fans.
"E aqui está, a minha receita de deck De Lava Golem que eu tenho. (And there it is, this is the recipe of the Lava Golem deck I have,)" Renan then suddenly showed on the screen the pictures of the cards which made both Alexis and Zane stare at the duelist like he was crazy.
"Did he just share his deck recipe? Wouldn't that give away the element of surprise for people who would do that in the championships as well?" Alexis asked stunned, to have never seen someone so ballsy to share to everyone, and even give tips and help around the duelist who want to play it. "Kyteroid, Kuriboh, wow wait, what does that 6 traps do? There are also skeletons. Every single card of the deck seems to be so crazy, that it can be too strong."
"Someone always willing to adapt and grew up stronger by changing constantly his deck, Alexis, he may use new cards and futures to make his deck stronger, especially with the banlist which came after the championship," Zane commented as he could understand the point of giving the recipe to the others, sharing the knowledge and for making himself on the edge to grow up stronger in the future. "So that's what means to be a pro."
"E agora para o tempo que todos queriam ver. (And now for the time everyone wants to see.)" Renan smiled as he commented excitedly.
*Static.*
"And Renan Sparrow already started the first turn by activating a spell card Shadow Game Burning. A continuous spell that at the end of the turn will inflict 100 damage points for each card on the graveyard of the duelist." The narrator explained which made Alexis and Zane stare at the iconic smile from Renan, while the other duelist seemed to be glaring into realizing what kind of terrible ways it would end the fight. "And he is trying to take advantage of that because the other duelist is using a deck of Invoked."
"Invoked?" Both Zane and Alexis asked while they never heard about the archetype before.
"Let's see how it would go into a deck of Invoked/Neos." Then the user activated a quick spell that both Alexis and Zane never heard before. Cosmic Cyclone. "Oh, he launched a Cosmic Cyclone."
"Oh boy," Renan said as he could see one of his cards banished which was a Canadia, which both Alexis and Zane stared at, with the curioisy in their minds. And later they saw the finalist opponent lost 1000 points.
"Already lost 1000 life points right away, and with Renan with a burn deck, this could be a terrible mistake." The narrator explained, which made Alexis and Zane agree with the rushed decision of the pro-duelist. "Also a card that he had on the graveyard will add more 100 points, so he already suffered because of the Shadow Game Burning."
"Certainly, this will cost 1100 damaged on this turn in fact. The time a duelist of burn needs must have an advantage is very short. It needs to give the maximum damage as he can, while you must have cards like Kuriboh to have help to not receive damage while suffering attacks." And with that, The narrator explained until the pro-duelist decided to place Neos Fusion on the field. "And then you can see your opponent starts losing slowly. And you better watch out for cards like Wall of Disruption?"
And then at that moment, the opponent showed what would be a giant heroic monster who they don't have any idea of the actual name and a fire monster who just went together to fuse into a sparkle and an even more heroic monster, who they don't have any collection of the name of the said card.
"This could be bad for Renan because if he doesn't have a very good draw, he could lose this turn." The narrator said which made Alexis and Zane glance as they couldn't comprehend what was happening.
"Wait, doesn't that other guy losing? What does that mean that this monster can destroy Renan on this turn?" Alexis asked confused, but then Renan smiled as he showed the trap card, which made the opponent pale, and then cursed loudly.
"Oh never mind Renan just activated Floodgate." The narrator talked like the duel was just a normal day of their lives. While the public was going frenetic.
"Is this how they duel in Brazil?" Alexis asked as she glanced at Zane observing and with a notepad in his hands. He has been keeping notes.
"Yep, the Floodgate will turn the first Neos the Courageous turn upside down, and he cannot flip the monster until he gets attacked by Renan." The other commentator described the trap card, which made Alexis and Zane keep in mind the danger of having this trap card in the field.
"That was a great hit from Floodgate trap on the field. But now Javier is going to use the Volcanic Shell to bring back by paying 500 life points." The commentator was describing which more they can see, that it was still on the turn 2.
"All of this is happening in turn 2?" Alexis could see how quickly was the duel, and yet it seemed that both were dragging out the long as possible.
"Javier is going to shuffle his deck as his Life Points are dropping, he must be careful, he already has 4 cards on the graveyard." The frustration of the opponent and Renan rubbing his hands like he was liking to see how the duel was going. Made Alexis chuckle.
"Okay, now I can see how Syrus decided to have his antics." Alexis could see that Syrus was trying to follow the dueling style of Renan to express himself weirdly and funnily.
"Javier started summoning Keeper of Dragon Magic. And used his effect." The narrator then described the moment until something hit Alexis in the face…
"THAT WAS THE ACTUAL NORMAL SUMMONING? ALL OF THIS HAPPENED BEFORE HE NORMAL SUMMON?" Alexis shouted as she couldn't believe it, then like Syrus described the time she made a mistake… It was supposed to special summon first, then a normal summon later.
"Yeah, I think Syrus always focused on special summon, so maybe that's the way the pro duelists are doing right now. I found some pro duelists who did that before." Zane concluded that the card Keeper of Dragon Magic was something strange to him, but he was also keeping notes on what kind of effects that would do. "By discarding one card he can bring a fusion spell to his hand, and by taking Neos fusion again, he now is placing face down on the field. Renan needs a Kuriboh or some sorta of to stay inside of the game, these finals are going crazy. Oh hey, Renan is going off course to avoid this attack, he doesn't want to take any damage. OH IT'S A KYTEROID."
The same animation of the flying mechanic Kyte appeared to avoid hitting the Renan, and the hateful glares from Javier. This made Alexis and Zane realize how Syrus now understands the concept of always protecting himself with Kyteroid.
Javier had to suffer 500 damage from having 5 cards on the graveyard, and now with the time into hearing the narrators explaining.
"In one turn, Javier already lost half of his life points," Alexis said in shock, which Renan gave his draw.
"It's over," Zane commented, as he understood how Renan won the game. "He now has Kyteroid on the graveyard and can protect himself from another attack."
"It's no wonder Renan made burn decks to be wary on the banlist. Now let's see how it will end." Alexis watched amused by how the pro world went far beyond what she ever expected. And the narrator also replies to her mind.
"Let's see if Renan is going to have enough Defense to hold the next Javier's attack. Or if Javier is going to win and become the winner of the championship… OH NO!" Alexis and Zane's eyes went wide open as Renan just turned his hand, and showed nobody other than Lava Golem, and at that moment Javier went on his knee… destroyed. "He just tributed both his monsters and now summoned Lava Golem. And now Javier just has 1000 Life Points, and he needs to win at full speed. Or it's over."
"His only hope is to draw an Aleister, and then he will be able to fuse Lava Golem with him, to give himself the Purgatrio. That would be the only way Javier could take himself off from this pickle. Or he will just lose the championship." And in time like that Javier had to draw his card, and already received damage of 1000 Life points, and at the end of the turn 700 more. "It will be difficult to win with that Kiteroid on Renan's Graveyard. And also Renan placed another facedown card… It can possibly be the end of the duel. He must make a damage of 3800 to win the championship. And OH IT'S ALEISTER THE INVOKER."
And with that the whole group went crazy, while Alexis and Zane watched the duel in anticipation, wanting to know what the card would do.
"By having Aleister in the field, things can change since the effect of the card is. During either player's turn: You can send this card from your hand to the Graveyard, then target 1 Fusion Monster you control; it gains 1000 ATK and DEF until the end of this turn. If this card is Normal Summoned or flipped face-up: You can add 1 "Invocation" from your Deck to your hand." The narrator explains that Javier took what would be an invocation and already placed it on the dueling disk. "With the Shadow Game Burning, Javier is in a difficult spot, it's his only chance."
"I think he is going to use Lava Golem as fusion material." The other narrator commented which duo watched the fusion already happening, and when appeared what would be a monster made of flames, it made Alexis and Zane not blink over the duel. "Let's see if the face down card be a
Fiendish Chain or a Draining Shield."
"If is a Draining Shield I would give up. I don't know about the fiendish chain and what does it, but I would hate myself if was a Draining Shield." Alexis commented as she saw that card happening before. And it looks like her fears were right.
"AND IT WAS DRAINING SHIELD, THAT'S IT, RENAN LAID THE FOUNDATIONS OF BURNING, AND THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE JAVIER COULD DO. IT'S OVER, THE GAME IS OVER." The duo of narrators commented, as Javier himself, couldn't help but face his hand over his deck. "And Javier also realized it was pointless. He gave up. WE HAVE OUR CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER, RENAN SPARROW."
Renan raised his hand as he tipped his cap and shouted in happiness. And with that, the video was over…
With only two students of the academy watching it…
"So this is how Renan Sparrow managed to make a burning part of the banlist." Alexis nodded to herself. "Renan is a freaking monster."
"That I agree. A deck like that I would have to think about what I could do with my cyber dragons, and think if I had the opportunity to duel against him someday." Zane commented in a serious tone, but Alexis also noticed something hidden in his voice.
"You are excited." Alexis could see Zane forcing himself to not smile, but a duel like that was something he always wanted to find.
"A duelist who knows how to play every single one of them. And shows respect and is charismatic with his opponents, I think that's the bar on how the pro duelists should get over the top… And all those cards… Floodgate, Neos the Courageous, Invokage… Purgatrio, and so others did not show, which that cards could do, and how I must find a way to counter any of them." Zane said as he looked at the notations he had on his hand.
"Well, what about you ask Syrus? I think the best person who knows all of that, could be the person who has him as an idol and even dueled against him." Alexis said which made Zane stop and ponder about the idea. "Heck, even I'm going to talk with Syrus today since the first exam is next week, and I think the Slifer Dorm would allow me and the girls to visit ours after class. To study for the exams."
"Hmm… That's a reasonable thought. I'm going to try to find my research, but later I will ask Syrus about those cards. I don't know why, but I think this kinda of professional duel is 10 times more difficult than the videos I watched before. It was like there was a group far more professionals than our standard pro duelists." Zane theorized and Alexis couldn't help but scoff and roll her eyes.
"And what would you call them? Super Pro or something like that? For me, Syrus was right about having Renan Sparrow show how the pro world was difficult. I think now I get it why was right to give up the duel when it was in a situation so terrible like that? I think I'm too green when it comes about ever imagining myself against Renan, reck, all of this happened in turn 5." Alexis commented, as she never thought a duel would end up so quickly like that, and it seemed like a 30-minute video. It was far beyond her understanding.
"THAT'S INSANITY. PLEASE END MY SUFFERING." The chubby Slifer Red shouted towards the window as the blue-haired boy ignored him.
"Now now Chumley, you know the rules. Once you get the question, you just need to do more 10 pushups." Syrus rolled his eyes, as the laziest student from the group stared angrily at him.
"It's fine for you to say, you are the smartest student around here, and all the questions you have are very difficult. I mean, you are the only one who is crazy to guess this card while you keep jumping the rope." Chumley complained as he went back to the floor and started once again doing one pushup but it was too much difficult for him to do more than 5.
"You have more 5, rest for 2 minutes and then continue from 5." Syrus glanced at his roommate who just kept looking at him like he was a monster.
"You are a slave driver," Chumley said to the blue-haired boy, who seemed to ignore the insult. "Why can't Jaden be with us to study?"
"Because he thinks it would be more important playing Baseball than studying for the exams, but we are not him Chumley. That's why we need to study... But okay Chumley." Syrus decided to stop doing his rope jump, just to focus on his friend who was in need. "What has made it difficult for you to not answer well the questions?"
"I don't know, usually I have no idea how to solve a duel like usual on the written exams." Chumley sighed as he had most of his time trying to find good ways to help it understand, but every single time Syrus asked a question about any card, was difficult for him to say about it.
Syrus remained quiet until something passed on his mind… One idea that helped him to memorize and understand how it works was the way he dueled when he played Yugioh on NDS…
"Okay Chumley, how about I play a little game with you? It's called 10 questions." Syrus said as he cracked his neck, and proceeded to give himself a good time to rest his body.
"10 questions? Is it not about a questionnaire right?" Chumley felt uneasy about the idea of Syrus asking questions, but to his relief, the blue-haired Slifer shook his head.
"It is different. Let me explain… In my mind, I have a dueling puzzle. And you have 10 questions to ask about anything about the puzzle, but not how to solve it. After these 10 questions, you will have all the information you asked for, and you will try to solve this puzzle on your own." Syrus smiled as he took his notebook and with a pencil he decided to make a draw on it. But only he would be able to see it.
"Hmm, it sounds fun. But wasn't that also going to be difficult?" Chumley found the idea interesting to pass the time, but he wasn't right if he could solve it.
"Only if you ask the right questions, so, want to give it a try?" Syrus said as they both needed to find a way to relax. And with the beast deck user who needed something to make him less worried about the exam, the better.
"Alright, so any question I have about the puzzle? Like how many turns do I have to solve this puzzle?" Chumley asked and suddenly he realized what he had done.
"You have just 1 turn to solve the duel. 9 questions remaining." Syrus replied as he made a serious face and from the idea of Chumley just started to sweat.
"Okay, so I have only one turn to solve the puzzle, so that means I have to use all my cards to defeat him right?" Chumley then asked which Syrus gave a gesture with so-so with his hand.
"Usually it would be best if you end the duel with your victory, but if you want to use your entire deck for that, so go for it. 8 questions remaining."
"Wait, that was another question I did about the duel?" Chumley suddenly realized that he was starting to get panicked and then another question got out of his mouth.
"Yep, 7 questions remaining," Syrus commented, and Chumely slammed his head on the floor.
"I think this game is gonna suck hard," Chumley commented. As he knew that the end of such a game.
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.
"So in the end, you just managed to find out that you have 4 cards in your hand, a fiend level 2 monster in your field. And 3 monsters in the field of the opponent. Do you want to give it a try?" Syrus asked as Chumley felt humiliated to not be able to achieve anything. And from the shameful act, Syrus then just smiled. "Oh relax Chumley. The first try is always difficult for everyone, and nobody is an expert on puzzles into solving for the first time… You just need to ask the right questions, and sometimes, need to think outside the box. Do you want to know how to play this game?"
"I do." Chumley sighed as he never knew that such 10 questions would be impossible to solve a duel, and wouldn't have an easy way to gather all the information. So Syrus decided to give what would be one of the written questions in the former exams from Chumley's last exam.
"Alright, I want you to materialize everything you read from this exercise inside your mind. And I'm going to use my 10 questions to try to solve it." Syrus decided to make Chumley pass one minute into reading completely the way the exam explained, and with a nod, Syrus had the green light to start to make a question. "Alright, First question, what are the cards from both my and my opponent's hands?"
That question alone made Chumley's mouth just drop, and staring at his friend, just made him stop and stare at the question once again…
"Err… in the opponent's hand, there is no cad. While in your hand, you have Recurring Nightmare, Steelswarm Causcatag, and double summon." Chumley realized that with that in his hands, Syrus already had a good grasp on what he had in his hand.
"Question number 2, what are the monsters on the field, both mine and the opponent's side?" Syrus went further and made sure that Chumley got a way to think out of the box, to make him know that if all the questions unless how to solve the puzzle were free to use, he would make a question so vague that he could take the grasp all the details of the puzzle with just a few questions.
"You have Steelswarm Cell in your field, while the opponent has 3 marshmallows." Chumley started to understand how Syrus was taking a good idea into learning from the questions about what was happening.
"Back row. What is on the back row of mine and the opponent's field?" Syrus used the third question, which made Chumley look at him like he was one of the smartest students from the academy.
"You have a Raigeki Break, while the other duelist has a gravity Bind," Chumley answered as he clearly could see Syrus figuring out all the questions.
"Okay, our decks and graveyard, what is in each?" Syrus commented as he took a piece of paper and a pencil, he drew the board to be exactly like he was doing the challenge.
"Well, there is a monster in your graveyard, Steelswarm Sentinel, but only that, both your decks and his graveyard are empty," Chumley replied as he could see Syrus concluded his mind.
"Okay, the next question should be how many Life Points each of us have, but I'm not going to need it. Firstly I use Rageiki Break, to discard Steelswarm Causcatag to destroy the Gravity Bind, then I use Recurring Nightmare which allows me to bring back both my Steelswarm monsters, since both of them have 0 Defense." Syrus then explained as he showed the drawing to Chumley who can see the names of the cards as squares, and then signaling where each of them should go. "Then I will normally Summon Steelswarm Sentinel, and then I will use double summoning which allows me to do another normal summon. So I use the normal summon to tribute both Stellswarms Sentinel and Cell to summon Steelswarm Causcatag. And from what I remember Causcatag at the moment he was summoned by tributing 2 monsters, his effect allowed him to destroy all the monsters in the field except him. So I use my battle phase to attack directly with him, and that's it. There is nothing else I can think of."
Chumley looked at Syrus, who seemed to have solved the entire puzzle, never in his mind thought to find such a possible way to solve puzzles like that.
"Syrus? Can you teach me how to do it?" Chumley asked sheepishly, and seeing his friend smiling at him, made him have a bit of relief.
"It's going to take a while, but I think we have time. Since Jaden is still playing Baseball, we still have some hours before his excitement of duels gets over us." Syrus chuckled as he took a page of paper and decided to help Chumley by drawing.
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.
.
"Alright Chumley, it seems now you get the concept of observing the problems by asking the right questions. Do you want to try again with the same puzzle?" Syrus went to prepare himself to make tea, and the chubby roommate was feeling happier into finally having some progress.
"Yeah, I think I can do it now." Chumley closed his fists and decided to be determined to do the puzzle right.
"Okay, 10 questions remaining." Syrus smiled as now he found a way to help Chumley focus on his studies… And now a tip on how to such questions would help him find the best logical way to solve it.
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"This card." Chumley raised a trap which Syrus kept jumping on his rope, and while he did it with full concentration to keep working out, he gave a glance at the card and immediately knew what it was.
"Trap jammer, a 5 of 10 cards, a negate trap card, but only when your opponent uses a trap in the battle phase. I don't recommend using it." Syrus kept doing his jumps while Chumley could not help but whistle.
"Woa, Syrus that's the 10th card you guessed in a row, and while I don't understand some of the slang, your explaining it made sense to me. How do you memorize all these cards?" Chumley couldn't help but be terrified by how smart his friend was, and while knowing the basics as the first semester was a good way, the blue-haired student seemed to explain things that even the teachers didn't know.
"Dueling Chumley, you learn those things by trying to add to your deck and watching and dueling a lot." Syrus kept doing his jumps until both of them heard some knocks on the door. "It's open, come in."
At the time the door got opened, showed a person from his dorm, who they didn't have much interaction with. His iconic red-brownish hair and a look of curiosity in his eyes.
"Heya guys, not want to bother you, but you have been jumping above my room, and the constant jumps are making me unable to relax." The Slifer student decided to politely explain the problem he had, which made the shrimp student stop doing his exercise.
"Oh hey, Hiro. Sorry about that. We are just studying for the exam the next week." Syrus decided to drop the rope and place it above his bed.
"That's fine. I'm just curious about how you guys seemed to be so serious about studying for the first exam, usually, nobody would care about the first results." Hiro said as he approached the duo who seemed to be still focusing on studying.
"Well, that's because we have one objective in mind," Syrus explained as he pointed at Chumley and then at himself. "Chumley, Jaden, and I are going to Ra until the end of this semester... Or hopefully go to become Obelisk the quickest as possible."
Hiro whistled as he sat on Jaden's bed.
"Seriously? Wouldn't you guys be being too harsh with yourselves? I mean, from the schedule we have 3 exams until the end of the semester." Hiro explained that Chumley got a smile on his face and was about to agree when...
"4 cheese grilled sandwich" Syrus commented immediately, which Chumley's stomach growled as it remembered their pact, making the chubby student without hope.
"Damn you, stomach, why do you always betray me like that?" Chumley lamented helplessly, knowing that his tummy would make sure to do any kind of torture to fulfill its dream, of a good quality grilled cheese.
Hiro stared at the bear and looked student weirdly.
"Don't mind him Hiro, but while we appreciate your concern, I think surprising the teachers by taking the studies seriously would help us to achieve Ra quickly," Syrus commented as he went to offer tea to the neighbor of the dorm who seemed to accept it. "I mean, it's not like one Slifer could be a Ra immediately after one test, but at least we can hope."
"Well, you are right I guess?" Hiro tilted his head, so he shrugged. "Well it's a written and practical exam, and while I did enough to pass on writing, I made some mistakes which I won the duel by pure luck... Maybe you can help me with this?"
Syrus smiled, as he could see that someone wanting to take the tests Seriously is always a good start for the semester.
"Sure, let me have a duel with you. But without using dueling discs." Syrus commented as he went into his drawer and took his level 1 desperado deck. "It couldn't be that bad right?"
A long time ago
"I can't believe I bought Yugioh Tag Force. I can't wait to see how my friends are so hyped because of this." A kid commented as he brought with himself a CD to play on his PlayStation 2 console.
In a few hours...
"Okay, now I understand how to duel, I wish that they would do it like the anime thought. But that's the only thing I can do... Hey, what is this kid on the cardstore?" The boy asked as he kept playing and with his raised eyebrow he proceeded to talk. "Hiro? Hmm, nice to meet you, now let's duel."
.
.
.
"SERIOUSLY? THAT WAS YOUR DECK?" The kid shouted as he looked at the duel and his victory in disbelief. "Okay, I need to duel again, just to be sure... There is no way this could be that easy."
Years later
The man who was wearing a black suit and following a very important person suddenly heard his coworkers calling him.
"Simon, wait up." The voice was familiar, as the black-suited man stopped and waited to see his coworker. "Check this out the game I bought for my niece. She wanted to learn how to play Yugioh, so I bought what you recommended"
Simon stared at the CD cover and couldn't help but smile.
"Nice, learning from Tag Force is always a good start, "Simon replied as he smiled in nostalgia from playing that game for a lot of hours.
"Yeah, but I'm also asking for advice, can you give me some tips to bring to her?" The man looked sheepish at the black suit Simon who seemed thoughtful...
"Well... Leo, I have some. Treat Nova and Hiro as your best friends..." Simon commented as he noticed the confused look from his coworker. "They are the ones easiest NPCs in the game since it was the easiest way to defeat them. Nova is always giving himself a disadvantage with his constant discards, and he will get stronger on Tag Force 2... That's why some players like to bully them for fun, but you could easily treat him as your best friend since he is practically giving money to you to buy cards."
"But what about the other one?" Leo asked Simon took a cigar and started to drag on that moment.
"Hiro is your best friend, because even if he had the weakest monsters on his deck. He would always help you to test your deck from every single card you have... You would only need one monster of 1600 or above... And you won the game." Simon commented as he then glanced at the game cover once again. "One of the easiest NPCs of the game."
"Hiro" Syrus' went wide open, at the time he looked at the board... And there was one signature move which was always a case of digging your grave movement... One card that Syrus remembered since as a kid from another life, used, abused, and made fun of... And now he stared the same card and the duelist as they were a sickened and kicked puppy without anywhere else to go...
"Croackroach knight goes back to the top of my deck every time he is destroyed." Hiro smiled as the card went back from destroyed to back to be draw on the next drawing phase "And on the next turn I'm going to use him in defense position again"
...
Syrus remained quiet... As that his board showed 4 monsters who didn't even attack yet.
"I will attack with Desperado Barrel Dragon for the game." Syrus simply said as he took his card and instructed the direct attack, which made Hiro surprise.
"Oh...well. I'm not going to cry, you can finish the duel dude." Hiro smiled as he showed optimism over the fact he lost... Badly.
Syrus looked at the Slifer student...
That wasn't GG, it wasn't a good game at all.
"Hiro, can I take a look at your deck for a moment?" Syrus asked as he placed all his cards on his deck.
Hiro nodded his head and gave the blue-haired Slifer what would be his pride... And like a gong inside Syrus's mind, it was exactly like he remembered.
The strongest monster of Hiro's deck.
"Hiro, why your strongest monster is a normal monster insect with 1500 attack points?" Syrus had to ask since he looked at the most absurd thing... A duelist that would lose badly to anyone with a monster of 1600 and above.
"Oh," Hiro noticed what Syrus meant, which made him smile sheepishly and look away. "Well... I love insect cards, but I never had good luck to have stronger insect cards..."
Syrus remained quiet, while Chumley also palled.
"Wait, aren't you the one who always was inside of the card store after class?" Chumley asked because he, Syrus, and Jaden did find a day or another they would go to the card store because Syrus would take his sandwiches.
"Yep, and I took a lot of boosters, but in the end. It was also a different type of monster, and it wasn't my fort." Hiro commented as he shrugged. "I have some good cards in my room, but I don't want to focus my cards around them."
Chumley and Syrus looked at each other. Until they asked again.
"How much do you have?" Both of them asked since Syrus could have in mind and with Chumley they could have in mind that they would try to help the poor boy.
"20 thousand dueling points" Hiro commented happily which made Chumley's mouth drop while Syrus didn't realize it yet.
"Oh, that's a fair amount, if we take 3 sec...Wait a minute... 20 THOUSAND DUELING POINTS?" Syrus shouted in disbelief. "Wha...bu...How?"
"Oh that, well. I have a childhood friend who is my rival, his name is Nova, and we have been practicing together and we have a win rate of 65-65. " Hiro smiled as Syrus's face looked confused.
"Nova? Why does this name ring a bell? Well, if Hiro is here. I know I dueled a duelist from Tag Force with that name before. But who would be in a win-and-lose duel with Hiro all this time? Who would lose to Hiro?" Syrus had his mind this most important question, while Chumley took that moment and went on under his bed.
"Well, I know this isn't much, but these were all the cards I have from the packs I bought for these 3 years," Chumley commented as he brought with himself what would be an entire box full of cards, which made Syrus and Hiro looks at Chumley like he was holding a really heavy box.
"By Kaiba's horniness of Blue Eyes White Dragon, Chumley, what the hell?" Syrus said as he was really surprised, while the duo stared at the blue-haired boy weirdly.
"Kaiba, you m..."
"I know what I said, now. Explain this Chumley. This box. What the hell?" Syrus once again asked, which made the chubby student scratch the back of his head while he blushed.
Syrus stared at the roommate, as he had never seen in the anime about Chumley having all these cards inside of the big box in either of the episodes.
"Well, I spent years trying to find good cards in this academy, but neither of them seemed interesting to me. So I placed all down on this box." Chumley blushed, as Syrus took a deep breath, and calmed himself down.
"Okay, fair enough. Let's see what w...IS THAT A BLUE EYES ALTERNATIVE DRAGON?" Syrus shouted as he looked at the card in disbelief. Which made Hiro suddenly go and check the box as well.
"And Blue eyes twin Burst dragon? How the hell did you get these cards?" The insect-type duelist stared at Chumley like he was Seto Kaiba, a man who had blue eyes white dragon was a signal of status on the academy.
"Oh, I already have them, it was last year since there was a promotion at the time I was there to try to find another Giant Coala... Didn't manage to get to... But yeah, I placed all of them inside of the box." Chumley replied as Syrus stared at his friend in silence.
"Must, not kill him." Syrus was holding both his hands to not go after his friend who by pure ignorance had just opened both a treasure and also a pandora's box... which one would be depending on how angry Syrus would be when he found out that some staples had been inside of the box.
"Hey Syrus, just to came here to ask you a fe... what are you guys doing?" Alexis managed to pass the door from the Slifer Dorm, still uneased from the stares of lovestruck and disbelief from the Slifer students of the area.
But never inside of her mind she would see the blue-haired boy doing a leg-lock on Chumley who seemed to be crying for mercy.
"SORRY, I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T KNOW, I SWEAR I DIDN'T KNOW," Chumley shouted as he was terrified of his friend who just became a monster at the time he saw some trap cards that he didn't seem to be giving value and decided to let it inside of the box.
"Syrus stop this, he didn't know. It was an honest mistake." Hiro was doing his best to make the blue student release from the strong grip he was having on his roommate.
"Sorry? You will be if I find out from now on, that you don't have at least one of Floodgate, Cosmic Cyclone, and Canadia inside of your deck Chumley. Repeat after me. Triple C, Triple C, Triple C." Syrus said as he pressed further to the chubby roommate who kept tapping on the floor.
"TRIPLE C, TRIPLE C, TRIPLE C," Chumley screamed as a good reminder, and with that, Syrus sighed and dropped the leg lock, but he still looked furiously.
"I can't believe it Chumley, cards like that are staples, you always should have them." Syrus sounded disappointed with his friend who once again tilted their heads.
"Staple?" Alexis and Chumley asked and Syrus just sighed.
"Cards which should be a must to most of the decks for every time you use... It's your excuse to use the pot of greed. He is one of the staples." Syrus said which made both of his friends understand and nod their heads. "Also, hey Alexis didn't see you come."
"Ops, sorry. I came here to ask something. But now I want to know the reason of what's this fight going on?" Alexis never saw Syrus go fiscally brawling against someone, especially a friend of his.
Both Syrus and Hiro glanced at each other and then decided to show some cards to her.
"Oh, wow. A Cyber Angel Dakini, I heard they are pretty rare, I think that's the first time I saw one in the first place, where did you find it?" Alexis after taking a look at the card, both boys slowly turned their heads at the chubby student who seemed to be flinching from their gaze. "Wow Chumley, didn't know you had a card like that. Hey, do you mind if I change some of my cards with you? I think Mindy has some Koala cards, and she may help you to find a good way to make your deck."
"Oh really?" Chumley said happily, while Syrus couldn't help but ask.
"Yeah, that's a reasonable idea. But Chumley, why didn't you try that when you were studying before us? This box seemed to have so many cards, that you could make exchange around all the students, and you could have many types of decks you want." Syrus couldn't help but ask. Which made Chumley look away.
"Well..." Chumley hesitated. And while in a good minute in silence, he decided to answer. "I was afraid... of people wanting just to be my friends because I have such cards. And maybe they would be using me because of the cards I bought. So I decided to hide it inside the box. And I tried to find all the good beast cards I could have... And trust me Syrus, if I ever found an Elemental Hero card or a dark machine coin flip monster card, you and Jaden would be the first guys I would ever tell." Chumley solemnly spoke the truth, as he could see Syrus calming down. "There is some rares, ultra rares, secret rares. But for me I lost my duel with them, so I think it was the best to not use them..."
"Until you know how..." Syrus could see... Chumley's heart was with a bit of distrust... after failing 2 years in a row, his reputation as a Slifer Student would never become legit, so he would always be the one guy who had the cards they wanted... And that sucked. "Okay, it seems now everything makes sense... I hate it, but it makes sense. I believe you."
"I'm so glad." Chumley sighed in relief, and Syrus once again decided to take a look at the box, and Hiro seemed to be checking the cards as well.
"Did you find some good insect cards, Hiro?" Syrus commented, and the Slifer student from the room under them nodded his head.
"Yeah, but there are so many good cards that I think that would be unfair to Chumley. Since he got all these incredible insect cards. And I have no idea from where to start." Hiro commented as he took from the pile, a good among of cards. And Syrus by checking them out, could see why he was worried.
"Well, the minimum you can do is bring all the cards like Chumley did, and we made a good card trading, and if that wasn't enough, we can go at the card store and you buy all the boosters Chumley wants. It would be fair for him." Syrus explained which seemed to be a good idea for the student who seemed to be eager to make a new deck of it.
"Yeah, we can make the deck on there too. There is a place on the card store where students can be in private with a group of friends to debate and make their decks." Hiro explained as Alexis seemed to be interested in the conversation.
"Is that true? I didn't hear about it." Alexis commented as Hiro took a step back from being intimidated by the strongest Obelisk girl from the academy.
"It was what Sally told me." Hiro raised both his arms in surrender. Which made Alexis look weirdly at him.
Syrus rolled his eyes and opened the door which left Hiro surprised.
"You better catch the cards, we have class tomorrow and we have exams next week, every kind of help is welcomed, so go." Syrus pointed outside while Hiro happily went to his bedroom on the lower floor. Then Syrus glanced at the female student who seemed to be surprised. "Can you talk to Mindy and bring all the Australian beast cards you can have? Or even better, some good flip cards too?"
Alexis listened to the request, and with a smile, she nodded her head to him.
"Sure, I will be here quickly." Alexis smiled as she accepted the request, and after a good 10 minutes of walking towards her dorm, suddenly a question appeared on her mind.
"What I was going to do at Slifer Dorm again?" Alexis remained quiet, as she forgot the reason she went there in the first place. To ask about some cards. "Well, later I will remember. Now, cards for Chumley."
While inside the bedroom, Syrus sat on the bed and placed both his hands on his face.
"Chumley, ughhhh, what am I going to do with you?" Syrus commented as he could feel a headache coming to his head.
Chumley sat sadly as he felt disappointed with himself.
"Are you angry with me Syrus?" Chumley asked, as he could see the look of the only person he feared to have such angry with him by making a mistake… his father.
"No, no, no no… I mean… yes, but I don't blame you." Syrus said as he looked at the cards he had in his hand… "Comporta… I mean, Floodgate, is a very powerful trap Chumley, if you understand how many people would be willing to kiss your feet or get on their knees and cry of helplessness when they get hit by this card. Canadia also is a great trap to help you not only act as a book of moon, but you can bring it back just for a new tribute summon… And Cosmic Cyclone is by far a card that can be a reasonable price for your life points in exchange for banishing a card from your opponent's back-row. Meaning, you can banish it at the moment it was set on his turn."
Syrus explaining it as the reason why it was such a big deal, made Chumley notice how precious the blue-haired boy seemed to treat them.
"Are they really that powerful?" Chumley seemed convinced but he couldn't help but ask once again…
Syrus paused, as he then glanced at the box… And then an idea came to his mind.
"You have no idea. 9 questions remaining." Syrus once again decided to teach Chumley… But this time with a practical puzzle on his side.
"Man, nothing like a great baseball match to keep up the good spirits, it was an awesome game. 7-5 was a close match." Jaden stretched himself as he felt happy for having another good time doing sports after another long napping class he was having at the Academy. "Hey guys, guess who gave the victory homerun for the Slifers?"
Jaden got inside the bedroom but he was surprised to see Chumley sitting on the floor, Alexis standing up with her first touching her mouth, Jasmine staring at the window in contemplation of the view, Mindy with her head in the wall, and Hiro staring at the ceiling, all of them in deep thoughts. While Syrus was drinking tea and enjoying the thought process every single one of them was having.
"What's going on?" Jaden asked which made the trio jump from their places in panic.
"NO!" The group shouted as Syrus smiled widely.
"Nothing, just a dueling puzzle. 9 questions remaining." Syrus was enjoying the groaning sounds from the group of boys and girls who seemed to be angry for not getting the right good info for the process of finishing another puzzle.
"Really? A dueling puzzle? Awesome, can I participate?" Jaden seemed so hyped, while the group of students looked even more angry. "And what's wrong guys? You seemed very angry."
"JADEN NO, STOP." The group shouted as Syrus seemed to be chuckling.
"Yes really, yeah a dueling puzzle, and you can participate. But the game is related to asking 10 questions, and you already asked 5 questions. 5 questions remaining." Syrus could see the glaring of the group towards the hero duelist who realized what had he done…
"Ohhh, ops," Jaden said not just at the next moment, the Obelisk trio, Alexis, Jasmine, and Mindy, tired him up on the chair and with tape covered his mouth. "Hmmm, hmmm."
"Sorry Jaden, but that's for the best," Alexis said as she looked at the blue-haired boy. "Syrus promised that the first who got to solve the puzzle would give the legendary golden egg sandwich. And I'm willing to take the chances."
"Yeah, Sadie and Dorothy said it was the best sandwich from the school, and I have no idea how Syrus did that on the first try, but I've always wanted to have it," Jasmine commented as she looked at the Truesdale youngest sibling, and on his hands was exactly what she was aiming for.
"Hmmmm." Jaden pouted, as he wanted to participate…
"Yeah, it would be awesome to have a try, but you screwed up a big time. Now shut it." Mindy commented as she was angry at the Slifer slacker who was pouting in disbelief.
"Alright, guys. Five questions, the first one to solve the puzzle with these 5 questions, is going to be the winner of the sweet and awesome golden egg sandwich." Syrus said as he brought with his hand a very good wrapped sandwich with the Academy of Duel's log on it. "And after this, we are going to the card store and prepare the decks for our practical exam, so who is going to be the first one to ask the question?"
And with that, a new group of studies were formed.
"98…" A female voice commented at the sound of someone moving his own body, using his strength to push himself up from the floor. The woman smiled as she saw the same determined voice from the same boy who kept insisting on doing exercises every single morning. The boy went down which made her keep counting. "99."
The blue-haired boy was using a towel around his neck and kept doing pushups to remain focused while he did the workout since the first day of class.
"100." The female adult smiled as she clapped her hands, making the boy finish his matinal workout. "I have to say Syrus, I'm impressed, for whole 16 days you managed to come here every morning, with nothing more than doing exercise. Since the first day of class, you seemed to be determined to keep your body and mind in shape. "
"Thanks, Professor Fontaine." The bluenette student thanked the teacher as he stretched himself. "Working out makes me relax. And since most of the time we just have to focus on our studies, I think having working out as a hobby would be a good way to distract myself."
"I heard about it." Professor Fontaine mused as she gave a water bottle to the student from the Slifer dorm. "Are you ready for the exams tomorrow?"
"Well I would say yes, but to be completely honest, I never actually did a writing exam related to the Academy of Duels. I forgot my glasses, and now it will be the first time I will be doing the test." Syrus was honest, since from his world, he never thought about how truly the questionary related to Yugioh would be if was far more difficult than the version he played on the Tag Force… since most of the questions on that game were so easy that most of the time he got 100% on his exams. But now he was nervous about it."
"Hmm, it seems it's a fair concern, but from what I heard from the other teachers. You have been a very interesting student since you have brought a lot of attention to the group around you. I remember that since after that incident, Alexis, Jasmine, and Mindy have been around you, Jaden, and Chumley like a part of the group." Professor Fontaine smiled as she could see how the group of friends had been working. "Also I heard you all formed a group of study and even had Hiro on there. I'm sure that you all are going to be fine."
"Are you sure Professor Fontaine?" Syrus asked as he hoped that it was indeed the situation…"To be honest with you, me, Jaden and Chumley made a pact, and we are doing our best to be promoted to Ra the quickest way possible. So every opportunity would be good for us."
The nurse and the professor of Physic Education listened to the explanation of her student. And humming with herself, she decided to keep that information in mind, in case the other teachers or even Principal Sherpard had that in mind.
"Well, break time is over, let's go back to abdominals, and then you can go to take a shower. You have to prepare for class, and then tomorrow will be the right day…" Professor Fontaine explained, and the blue-haired boy went on his back on the floor and obeyed her instructions. "1…2…"
And for the next day, it would be the start of the test that every single student was anticipating too.