Duel Academy Island: Sunday, Morning…
The first week of freshman year has come and gone. Now, it's the first day off where students had free time; however, Kai was not content to utilize it as such. All this week he's been putting in the research for his deck only to hit a road block.
He's narrowed down the selection of cards necessary to truly make the deck he now wields his own; however, he wasn't quite certain which of those left would better serve him. Ultimately, he reasoned that dueling was the answer to ascertain what he was missing.
To ensure he found his answers, Kai had settled on two opponents today. Jaden Yuki was the first, and he ultimately ended up departing the Ra dorm early since it seemed the Slifer liked to sleep in. This essentially ensured he would not miss Jaden.
No matter the result of their duel, he then intended to seek out Zane Truesdale. Preferably, he'd catch the strongest duelist on the island away from the Obelisk dorm. From what he overheard; the guy wasn't like practically every other Obelisk male Kai has seen.
It seemed like a long shot to get a duel with the best, but he felt his odds were improved should he catch the man alone and away from another Obelisk. There was a side goal to today which Kai wanted to shoot for, but that was even more of a longshot than potentially dueling the Kaiser.
Regardless of how outlandish anything he wanted to achieve today was, Kai was determined to at least try. This heroic deck was the first time he felt a deck could truly be his own, and he wasn't about to let that slip through his fingers for any reason.
Slifer Dorm
Kai found a place underneath a shady tree and took his deck out of his duel disk to begin looking through it as a way to pass the time. He was there for a while, prepared to explain himself to any other Slifer that may ask what he was doing here.
Rather than one of them being the first to come across him, Lyman Banner had been coming down the path from the academy before noticing him. "Hello there." Kai suddenly sprang up to his feet, not expecting such an older voice to greet him. "What are you doing here Kai?"
"I'm awaiting Jaden Yuki, sir." Kai answered. "I wish to duel him, which is no reason to go waking him up early, so I decided to await him stepping out here."
"I see." Banner smiled. "Well, seems he's stepping out of his room now."
Kai saw the Slifer he'd come for had stepped out of his room. Jaden stretched and grinned before making his way for the stairs down to the first level.
"Thanks Professor Banner!" Kai called out as he made his way over and met the Slifer at the stairs. "Jaden, I've come to give you that duel you asked for last week."
"Alright, first there's dueling first period yesterday." Jaden grinned, as he fortunately already had his duel disk and deck with him. "Now, I get to throw down in the morning today." He nodded. "Come on, we can take this path down near the water and duel there."
Under the Cliff
"Get your game on!/Let's duel!" Jaden/Kai declared.
(Kai 4000/Jaden 4000)
"I'll kick things off." Jaden drew and grinned. "Alright, I'll summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman(LV 4/800/1200)." A warrior in dark blue spandex and light blue armor appeared. "No matter how he's summoned, provided I have no cards on the field, I can draw two cards.
Then, I'll activate Polymerization to combine the Water attribute Elemental HERO Bubbleman with Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier from my hand. I call forth the ice HERO. Fusion summon Elemental HERO Absolute Zero(LV 8/2500/2000)." A warrior wearing white armor appeared.
"Well, that's certainly a big start." Kai voiced.
"Sometimes, it's just how I roll." Jaden grinned. "The best part of this move is I'm not even done yet. See, when Liquid Soldier is used as fusion material and sent to the grave, I can draw two cards before then discarding one card from my hand. I'll then set one card to end my turn."
"That's quite the set up." Kai noted, knowing he'd have to play well with the cards he had to keep up with such an advantageous start. "Let's just see what I can manage." He drew. "Alright, I summon Heroic Challenger – Night Watchman(LV 4/1200/1000)."
A leather armored, blue caped warrior appeared. "Since I control a Heroic monster, whose not level 1, I can special summon Heroic Challenger – Knuckle Sword(LV 1/600/200)." A gold and silver armored warrior, wielding a knuckle sword, appeared.
"Not bad." Jaden commented.
"You haven't seen anything yet." Kai declared. "No matter how Knuckle Sword is summoned, he can target another Warrior monster I control. Then it or that monster becomes the other's level. I'll target Night Watchman and grant Knuckle Sword his level."
Heroic Challenger – Knuckle Sword(LV 4/600/200)
"Two level four monsters, this is going to be good!" Jaden thought excited.
I now construct the overlay network with my two level 4 monsters. The most noble of knights is clad in lights! Xyz summon Heroic Champion – Excalibur(R 4/O 2/2000/2000)." A red and silver armored warrior, wielding the blade, appeared.
"Now, it's time to rise above. By detaching 2 overlay units, Excalibur can double his attack until the end of your next turn." Heroic Champion – Excalibur(R 4/O 0/4000/2000 effect). Destroy Absolute Zero with Shock Sword Slash!"
Excalibur held his sword aloft to collect electricity before surging forth and slicing clean through Absolute Zero, destroying him (Kai 4000/Jaden 2500).
"That was sweet move, Kai; however, Absolute Zero wasn't much of a fan of it." Jaden grinned. "In fact, he's not particularly fond of leaving the field at all, and any time he does, all the monsters you control are destroyed!"
"What!?" Kai exclaimed stunned.
The next moment, Excalibur blew up.
"That's not all as I'm revealing my set card Change of Hero – Reflector Ray." Jaden continued. "When a Fusion Elemental HERO is destroyed by battle and sent to the grave, this little number dishes out three hundred life points of damage times his level."
"Your monster had eight levels." Kai voiced in shock.
"Yep." Jaden grinned. "Like I've said before, math isn't exactly my forte, but I'd wager that should be a good 2400 life points worth of damage coming your way."
A circle of light appeared around Kai's feet before shooting up as a beam of light which took a rather large chunk of life points (Kai 1600/Jaden 2500).
After losing his monster and such a massive blow, Kai perused his hand to see what he could do and ultimately nodded. "All I got is this one set card. Your move Jaden."
"Alright, here goes!" Jaden drew. "I'll summon Elemental HERO Blazeman(LV 4/1200/1800)." A warrior in black, red, and blue spandex appeared. "I then activate one of his effects allowing me to send any 1 Elemental HERO I wish from my deck to the grave.
I choose Elemental HERO Bladedge. Then, until the end of this turn, Blazeman's attribute, ATK, and DEF becomes the sent monster's." Elemental HERO Blazeman(LV 4/Fire-Light/2600/1800 effect). "He'll now launch a direct attack to end this."
"This isn't over yet!" Kai declared. "I activate my trap card, Spiritual Swords of Revealing Light. Once per attack, when you initiate an attack, I can instead pay 1000 life points to negate it."
Three swords of light shot down from above and fell around Blazeman before glowing brilliantly to cease his attack (Kai 600/Jaden 2500).
"I got nothing left to play at this moment, so I'll end my turn there." Jaden declared.
Elemental HERO Blazeman(LV 4/1200/1800)
"You're one challenging duelist Jaden, but if I got life points, this duel isn't over!" Kai declared.
"That's the spirit!" Jaden grinned. "Show me what else that deck of yours can do!"
"You got it!" Kai drew. "I normal summon Heroic Challenger – Spartan(LV 4/1600/1000)." A beige and gold spartan appeared. "I then activate Heroic Chance. In exchange for being unable to attack directly, I can target any Heroic monster I control and double their ATK this turn."
"I target my Heroic Challenger – Spartan(LV 4/3200/1000 effect)." Spartan doubled in size. "Now, Spartan will destroy Blazeman." Spartan rushed forward and slashed through Blazeman (Kai 600/Jaden 500). "I'll then end out my turn with one set card."
Heroic Challenger – Spartan(LV 4/1600/1000)
"That was great Kai." Jaden laughed. "Let me show you something more in return." He drew before grinning. "Alright, better hope that face down is something good because this combo of mine sure is."
"Does he have some way to rid my field of Spartan or my set Half Unbreak?" Kai wondered.
Jaden took Mirage of Nightmare from his hand and set it. "First, I'll set this card before then normal summoning Elemental HERO Avian(LV 3/1000/1000)." A green suited, white winged warrior appeared. "Now, I follow it up with Miracle Fusion.
By banishing materials from my field or grave, this allows me to Fusion summon any Elemental HERO I wish. I'll banish Avian from my field and Bubbleman from my grave. Fusion summon Elemental HERO Mariner(LV 5/1400/1000)." A green skinned warrior appeared.
"That monster has two hundred less ATK than Spartan." Kai noted.
"What Mariner lacks in raw strength, he more than makes up for with his sweet effect." Jaden declared. "Provided I have at least one set spell/trap on my field, this monster can bypass any monster you got to launch a direct attack!"
"Half Unbreak can't defend against that!" Kai thought stunned.
"Mariner, end this duel with a direct attack!" Jaden declared.
Mariner lept into the air before unleashing and hurling his chained anchor at Kai, which passed through him (Kai 0/Jaden 500).
"That's game!" Jaden declared as the holograms vanished. "Man, that was a sweet duel!" He laughed good naturedly. "You got some serious skills Kai."
"Dang, looks like I got to make up some distance to catch my fellow students working for Kaiba." Despite that thought, Kai did smile. "It was a good duel." He nodded before turning away from the Slifer. "One day, I'll come back around to challenge you again."
Jaden grinned. "I'll be waiting."
As Kai proceeded up the path to depart, Syrus peered over the cliff to look down at his fellow Slifer. "There you are Jaden!" He was a tad distraught. "I thought you said you were just stepping out for a moment, but you were gone all this time!"
"Oops." Jaden chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry Sy, I ended up getting challenged to a duel!" He started running, ending up bypassing Kai. "Hold on, I'll be right up there!"
Slifer Dorm: Greg's Room
As it was the sole day off, most students would be doing normal things. Things like playing video games, dueling, heading to the hot springs, and so on. Greg was different. He had his headphones on as he revisited the recordings he had made during the week on his PDA.
Not many at his old Duel Prep knew how Greg managed to graduate given how terribly he'd done in his first year there. That first year's performance was due to dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning disorder involving difficulty reading.
Its problems in identifying speech sounds as well as learning how they relate to letters and words. Also known as a reading disability, dyslexia is a result of individual differences in areas of the brain that process language. As such, he took to learning via audio books.
Not many had issues with this since it saw him get the grades necessary to be a standout student. It all resulted from that tournament Chazz mentioned. While Greg couldn't recall anyone there, like Chazz had been able to with him, he still remembered it.
It was there a few teachers caught onto Greg's learning issues, and they suggested audio books to help him adapt. He was thankful for that advice and has maintained his learning habits since. He also downloaded Deck Strategy Guides which detailed cards and their effects.
This was helpful when he eventually got his Gladiator Beast Deck. Whereas before he would have failed to truly grasp this deck, the methods shown to him helped Greg succeed in learning his deck. Now, when he lost, it wasn't because he had trouble knowing his cards.
Still though, maybe the reason why he couldn't remember Chazz from back then was because that tournament had been a near breaking point. He felt his dream of being a Pro Duelist slipping further and further away. After all, what duelist couldn't use their deck as it was meant to be?
The feeling of his dream slipping further and further way had been especially devastating because dueling was all he ever wanted to do. In the end, he made it through and graduated in the top ten from his duel prep. It was through hard work and dedication he made it this far….
Because he was so enthralled with his audio lessons and thoughts, Greg had had failed to notice Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley knocking. When they let themselves in to see if he was okay, they got a look at his room. They saw trinkets and memorabilia regarding the Gladiator Beasts.
This included a mannequin adorned with gladiator attire. Syrus eventually made his way over and tapped Greg on the back. He yelled and turned only to see his fellow Slifers looking startled. He went beat red upon realizing they were seeing his admiration for the Gladiator Beasts.
To break the silence, Jaden turned his gaze to the gladiator attire. "That's a sweet costume."
"It's not ready yet." Greg mumbled before standing and moving to put the thing back in his closet. "Anyways, what are you guys doing here?"
"Well, we'd planned to come see you sooner; however, Jaden got caught up dueling Kai." Chumley voiced.
"Kai was here?" Greg asked.
"Yeah, the guy came to the dorm and challenged me to a duel." Jaden grinned. "That Heroic deck of his is something else."
"Who won?" Greg inquired.
"I beat him, but it was a close duel." Jaden chuckled.
"I see." Greg nodded. "Anyways, what are you guys doing in my room?"
"Oh, we came to see if you wanted to hang out with us." Syrus voiced. "We were actually knocking for a while only to receive no answer."
"Oh, that's my fault for not mentioning you guys should call me." Greg voiced. "Sundays are usually when I go over the recordings I make of our classes."
"Come to think of it, after that first day, you've always had your PDA out." Jaden realized.
"Yeah, why is that?" Syrus asked.
"It's because of my Dyslexia." Greg answered, seeing no shame in admitting this.
"Dyslex-what?" Jaden asked.
"Dyslexia." Syrus corrected. "It's a learning & reading disorder where one has problems identifying speech sounds as well as learning how they relate to letters and words."
"Even with that, you graduated from a duel prep?" Chumley asked, genuinely curious.
"I've had to work twice as hard as most people, but I ultimately graduated in the top ten." Greg smiled fondly as he nodded. "It's also because of the hard work I put in that I was able to win my Gladiator Beast deck."
"That only makes me question again why, after putting in all that work, you wouldn't want the reward of being placed in Obelisk?" Syrus voiced. "Sounds to me like you earned it."
"Maybe, but I've never had the luxury of taking the easy road." Greg shook his head. "Perhaps it's a sense of stubbornness, but I want to continue to earn everything in my life."
"Even the hardest workers should take a break." Jaden declared with a grin. "Like we said, we were coming to ask you to hang out."
"You make a good a point." Greg nodded. "I could probably use a break anyways."
Duel Academy Island
"Dueling Jaden has given me ideas concerning what cards I'll be keeping on that list of mine; however, it's still not perfected." Kai thought as he walked back down the path away from the Slifer Dorm. "I need one last tough duel, and it's got to be against the best."
This is where Kai would start to take some longshots, but he felt it in his gut. The things he was attempting to shoot for now would set him on the right path to realize his potential.
Beach: Afternoon…
Kai scoured every lead he'd managed to overhear or gleam over the week before ultimately heading to the beach. There he spotted the man he'd been searching for, Zane Truesdale, looking over the ocean. Just as he hoped, the Kaiser was alone.
"Zane Truesdale." Kai spoke firmly, drawing his attention. "My name is Kai Delmar, and I've been looking for you because I want a duel."
Zane started firmly at this freshman, one of three to have caught his eye in the entrance exam, for a good minute. "Duel a freshman Ra practically one week out from when you arrived." He ended up giving a small smile. "If you're serious about it, meet me at the lighthouse after sundown."
The top duelist of Duel Academy then immediately turned away from him and strolled away leaving Kai stunned. He honestly hadn't expected getting a duel with the man would be that easy. Regardless, he knew this was a golden opportunity.
"I'll be there." Kai thought, knowing he wouldn't waste this opportunity.
Ra Dorm: Dinner…
Kai took the rest of the day walking around the island to ensure his head would be in the right space to duel Zane Truesdale. After a loss, he's never dueled on the same day; however, the Ra already weighed holding off only to determine his present course as the correct course.
He was so close to ascertaining how best to make this deck he received his own. In fact, between the end of dinner and his duel with Zane, Kai had the intention of reducing the potential list of cards down based on what he's already reasoned from his earlier loss to Jaden.
"…Kai."
The heroic user jolted as Dimitri had shaken him to get his attention. "Huh?"
Dimitri grinned. "There we go, someone's paying attention now."
"Seems like it." Bastion nodded. "What's going through your head? We've been attempting to grasp your attention all this time, yet you've just been sat there eating."
"Sorry, I was just thinking about the duel I had with Jaden." Kai responded.
He was intentionally leaving out the fact he managed to get a duel with Zane. While it seemed most people on this island might brag about that, Kai could care less what simply dueling the man meant for his credibility compared to what else he stood to gain.
"You dueled Jaden and didn't invite me!?" Dimitri shouted, offended. "I would have loved to see that!"
"Sorry." Kai chuckled. "I simply felt the need to go it alone. Starting tomorrow, I'll keep you posted when I plan to duel in advance."
Cleverly, this would cover him heading out alone tonight to duel the Kaiser. Though, part of him did wonder if anyone would believe he actually did duel Zane.
"You better." Dimitri voiced.
"Speaking of this duel you had, how did it go?" Bastion inquired.
Kai went about giving his friends a play by play as they continued to eat dinner.
Lighthouse: Sundown…
As the sun fell, Kai arrived at the lighthouse and came to stand across from Zane. The pair exchanged no words as they simply picked right back up where they technically started. Both activated their duel disks and drew their starting hands.
"Duel!"
(Kai 4000/Zane 4000)
"Since you challenged me, I'll decide who goes first." Zane declared. "That will be you."
"Understood." Kai drew. "Despite what I have overheard, people weren't too keen to go blabbing about what his deck is. Still, you don't just get made the best of the school for nothing." He knew he'd have to play his cards to their best if he wanted even a one percent chance of victory.
"I'll begin by summoning Heroic Challenger – Spartan(LV 4/1600/1000)." A beige and gold spartan appeared. "Since I control a Heroic monster, whose not level 1, I can special summon Heroic Challenger – Knuckle Sword(LV 1/600/200)."
A gold and silver armored warrior, wielding a knuckle sword, appeared. "No matter how Knuckle Sword is summoned, he can target another Warrior I control. Then it or that monster becomes the other's level.
I'll target Night Watchman to grant Knuckle Sword his level." Heroic Challenger – Knuckle Sword(LV 4/600/200). "Time to see just what this unused number my brother had is really made of." He nodded. "Now, I construct the overlay network with my two monsters.
I call forth the king of wishes. Xyz summon Number 39: Utopia(R 4/O 2/2500/2000)." A gold and white warrior appeared, drawing Zane's gaze. "To conclude my turn, I'm setting this one card before turning things over to you."
"That's how you choose to start? Okay." Zane drew. "For my first move, since you control a monster while I do not, I special summon Cyber Dragon(LV 5/2100/1600)." A serpentine, machine dragon appeared.
"That's the same effect as my Assault Halberd; however, his is more impressive since that's a Level 5 monster." Kai noted.
"I'll then normal summon Cyber Dragon Zwei(LV 4/1500/1000)." A mechanical serpent rose up alongside the original Cyber Dragon. "Now, by showing you a spell in my hand," he revealed Polymerization. "Cyber Dragon Zwei's name changes to Cyber Dragon."
I'll follow things up by utilizing Polymerization to unite the two Cyber Dragons on my field. Fusion summon Cyber Twin Dragon(LV 8/2800/2100)." A twin headed version of the mechanical dragon appeared. "This dragon can attack twice every turn."
"Utopia could block both of those, but I'd prefer him keeping at least one overlay unit." Kai shook his head. "Not if I activate my face down Forbidden Chalice. Until the end of this turn, this quick-play spell will grant your monster an extra 400 ATK but negate his effects in return."
Cyber Twin Dragon(LV 8/3200/2100 effect)
"A clever counter; however, you still powered up my monster in the process." Zane declared. "We'll take that added power and destroy your Utopia with Double Strident Blast." Both heads fired on Utopia.
"By detaching one overlay unit from Utopia, I can negate any one attack." Kai countered. "Go, Lightwing Shield!"
Number 39: Utopia(R 4/O 1/2500/2000) produced a golden shield which took the attack.
"He managed to counter my Twin Dragon." Zane gave a small smile. "Very well, I'll set this one card and end my turn."
Cyber Twin Dragon(LV 8/2800/2100)
"Alright, here goes!" Kai drew. "This has the potential to do some damage." He added the card to his hand before selecting another. "First, I'll activate Overlay Regain which can become an overlay unit for any one Xyz monster I control, and I only have Utopia."
Number 39: Utopia(R 4/O 2/2500/2000). "Now, Utopia will attack your Twin Cyber Dragon. Before the attack can go through, I'll activate his effect to negate that attack." Number 39: Utopia(R 4/O 1/2500/2000)
"Why would you negate your own attack?" Zane inquired.
Granted, that was the wise course of action given Utopia had three hundred less ATK in the first place, but this move was a strange one compared to his first.
"It's because from my hand I'm playing the quick-play Double of Nothing." Kai declared. "Whenever a monster's attack is negated, they get to attack again at double their strength." Number 39: Utopia(R 4/O 1/5000/2000 effect)."
Utopia drew twin blades which he used to cut Cyber Twin Dragon down (Kai 4000/Zane 1800). Number 39: Utopia(R 4/O 1/2500/2000)
"Can't remember the last time someone on this island made me take life point damage first." Zane thought, a little impressed. "You clearly understand the difference between playing your cards and simply using them."
"I've had a great deal of practice through countless decks before this one." Kai responded. "Anyways, I'll be ending my turn there."
Zane drew. "First, I'll fix my hand with Graceful Charity allowing me to draw 3 cards before then discarding 2. Ah, this should do nicely. I'll now activate Cyber Revsystem to special summon 1 Cyber Dragon from my hand or grave.
I'll take the one used for my fusion summon." Cyber Dragon(LV 5/2100/1600). "Next, I'll activate my set card Cybernetic Revolution. By tributing one Cyber Dragon from my field, I can call upon any Fusion in my extra deck that list it as material.
What I summon can't attack directly and is destroyed on your next turn. Though, you're unlikely to have that next turn anyways. I tribute Cyber Dragon to bring Cyber End Dragon(LV 12/4000/2800) from my extra deck." A three-headed, machine dragon appeared.
"That monster's ATK is nearly as much as Kaiba's Ultimate Dragons!" Kai thought stunned. "Well, Utopia still has an overlay unit. I can weather this turn and things will fall back in my favor."
"I'm not done there." Zane continued. "I now equip my Cyber End Dragon with Super Strident Blaze before entering the Battle Phase. Due to this equip, you now can't activate cards or effects during my Battle Phases."
"That means Utopia's effect is rendered useless!" Kai thought.
"Cyber End Dragon, destroy Utopia with Super Strident Blaze!" Zane declared resulting in all three head firing beams at Utopia, destroying him (Kai 2500/Zane 1800). "I'll end my turn."
"Okay, I'm facing down a monster with 4000 ATK, nothing currently on my field, and two spell cards in my hand." He put his hand on his deck. "I need something good to keep up." He drew. "Alright, here goes everything!
I summon Heroic Challenger – Extra Sword(LV 4/1000/1000)." A green and white armored warrior, wielding two blades, appeared. "Then, I activate Monster Reborn to special summon Heroic Challenger – Knuckle Sword(LV 1/600/200) from the grave.
Once again, no matter how Knuckle Sword is summoned, he can target another Warrior I control. Then it or that monster becomes the other's level. I'll target Extra Sword and this time grant him the level of Knuckle Sword."
Heroic Challenger – Extra Sword(LV 1/1000/1000).
"Hm, this time he's going for a rank 1 monster?" Zane questioned.
"I build the overlay network with my two level 1 monsters." Kai declared. "I call upon the best support Heroic around. Xyz summon Heroic Champion Jarngreipr(R 1/O 2/700/1800)." A red and silver armored warrior appeared.
"Any Xyz monster who uses Extra Sword as a material gains a permanent 1000 extra ATK while on the field." Heroic Champion – Jarngreipr(R 1/O 2/1700/1800 effect). "That doesn't begin to scratch the surface of his effects.
By detaching two overlay units, Jarngreipr targets any Level or Rank 4 Warrior in my grave, special summons them to the field, and gain ATK equal to that monster's ATK. I bring back Number 39: Utopia(R 4/O 0/2500/2000)."
Heroic Champion – Jarngreipr(R 1/O 0/4200/1800 effect)
"So, this is the power of someone capable of controlling a duel without the aid of spell cards." Zane thought, remembering Kai's duel with Ryuga.
"Just wait as I got one last card in my hand, the deciding factor." Kai declared. "I activate Heroic Chance. I target one Heroic monster and double their ATK this turn in exchange for not attacking. I only got the one." Heroic Champion – Jarngreipr(R 1/O 0/8400/1800 effect) doubled in size. "Time to battle."
"You are a good duelist, Kai." Zane thought with a small smile.
Suddenly, a transparent, machine turtle appeared.
"What!?" Kai exclaimed.
"That was my Electromagnetic Turtle, which I discarded thanks to Graceful Charity." Zane informed. "By banishing him from my grave, I end the Battle Phase."
"I have nothing more to play." Kai declared.
Heroic Champion – Jarngreipr(R 1/O 0/4200/1800 effect) was reduced to his prior size while Zane's Cyber End Dragon, due to Cyber Revolution, exploded.
Zane drew. "You've played extremely well but not well enough."
"If you got the cards to end this, then I'm ready for them." Kai declared firmly.
"I'm sure you are." Zane smiled. "With my field empty once more, I can simply throw out another Cyber Dragon(LV 5/2100/1600). He won't be sticking around. I banish him along with the 2 Cyber Dragons, Twin, End, and Zwei from my grave."
"That one Cyber Dragon I can't account for must be the second card he discarded with Graceful Charity." Kai noted.
Zane proceeded. "I special summon Cyber Eltanin(LV 10/?/?)." A large Cyber Dragon head with a Cyber Dragon sticking out of the top and multiple, smaller Cyber Dragon heads floating around it appeared.
"A Cyber monster with question mark ATK/DEF?" Kai questioned.
"Those are determined by the number of monsters banished for his special summon." Zane informed. "Additionally, I must always banish all Light machine monsters from my field and grave to special summon him. To my count, I banished 6 monsters."
"3000 ATK/DEF." Kai voiced.
Cyber Eltanin(LV 10/3000/3000 effect)
"That's not all there is to this monster." Zane declared. "If he's special summoned, all other face up monsters on the field are sent to the grave."
"That's not a destruction effect, so Jarngreipr can't defend against it with his effect!" Kai went wide eyed. "Not to mention, ending the last Battle Phase before I could even declare an attack means I couldn't utilize his remaining effect to restore life points beyond where I sit."
"Cyber Eltanin, end this with a direct attack!" Zane exclaimed.
Every Cyber Dragon head fired as one, wiping out the heroic user's life points (Kai 0/Zane 1800).
"So, this is the power of the strongest duelist on Duel Academy Island." Kai thought, and as Eltanin vanished, the cyber dragon user approached. "Zane, thank you for this duel. Through competing against you, I broke limits and utilized cards I haven't had the chance to yet."
"You performed rather well." Zane smiled. "It's been a long time since someone pushed me as you have."
Now, Kai only had his side goal of today to achieve. In accordance with that, he got on his hands and knees before bowing his head low. Zane raised an eye brow at this.
"With the result of this duel clear, I have one last request." Kai declared as water lapped against the nearby stone. "Zane Truesdale, please train me."
Zane raised an eyebrow. "You want me to train you?"
"Yes." Kai answered. "I don't care what you put me through, I want you to make me a more skilled duelist."
"Stand up." Zane crossed his arms as the Ra rose to his feet. "Why do you want me to train you?"
"Part of it has to do with the fact I one day hope to duel people like Yugi Muto, Seto Kaiba, and Joey Wheeler." Kai answered. "Like a lot of people, I'm aiming to be the next King of Games. For the most part, I'm essentially working off an assumption."
"An assumption?" Zane questioned.
"Over a year ago, my brother passed away in a hospital from an unknown disease." Kai voiced. "Back then, I bought into that; however, he pretty much had it seemingly the second he was taken by paramedics after being discovered unconscious in a park.
It was too sudden. The last time I saw him, he was perfectly healthy. I've mulled it over, and my mind turns to the strange occurrences surrounding events like Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, and how people would fall unconscious not long after.
The thing about most of those instances is that someone else was usually involved. An opponent. Whoever dueled my brother may have dumped him at the park after stealing his deck. It's all assumption and theory; however, it's those which gave me more conviction to come to here.
Rumors of more strange occurrences surround this place around the same time my brother's health took a turn for the worse. Perhaps I'm reading into it, but there might be a connection. While it's baseless, I believe I need to be a better duelist. That's why I want you to train me."
Zane absorbed what Kai had to tell him, contemplating on it for a good few minutes before reaching his conclusion. "Your reasoning is fine; however, I'm not going to agree to this like I did a duel. I have stipulations."
"Name them." Kai declared immediately.
"Before that, have you lost to anyone since arriving on the island?" Zane inquired.
"Aside from you, Jaden Yuki and Bastion Misawa." Kai answered.
"I'll trust you'll be honest with me, as your first stipulation is to defeat them in rematches. As well as potentially anyone who may beat you before you ever get to my third stipulation. Secondly, whether it happens at the coming exam or later, work your way into Obelisk Blue.
Lastly, only after completing the prior two in any order, will we have a rematch. I'll expect you to show improvement on tonight. If you manage all three stipulations, I'll reveal a fourth. Manage that final stipulation, and I give you my word I'll train you."
Kai stuck out his hand without hesitation. "I accept."
Zane shook the hand, sealing the deal, before taking his leave without a word. Today, Kai saw just how far he had to go and came out of it with stipulations he'd be working on. They weren't going to be easy, but he wasn't opposed to hard work.
This chapter essentially came about because of a review from Vital Info. It got me thinking about how to structure Kai's growth, and I ultimately settled on having him duel Jaden followed by Zane. As things stand right now, he's just no match for either of them; however, now he has a firm understand of what it'll take to bring his deck to the next level. All he needs is to completely refine his list of cards and tweak it a bit before acquiring them.
Vital Info: I don't know if you'd agree, but I'd say this chapter sure as heck gets the point across for Kai. I'm glad you like that little tidbit of character that I added to your OC. Greg's more or less owning what he is in the present, a Slifer.