Chapter 13: Battle Royale
For the first time since the School Duel Festival began, Bryan actually grabbed a program as he and Matt wandered from their dormitory onto the festival grounds. After how many duels occurred during the past two days, he was eager to keep track of at least a few names for the singles tournament. Maybe he wouldn't memorize them all—names were tricky sometimes—but at least having an idea of who was competing seemed like a great way to track anyone whose style he liked.
"So the fact that the Egyptian God Cards managed to win the tournament against the other god cards implies that maybe they really are the originals. No power lost, everything in the Kaiba Corp programming chip registers exactly as they should."
"Are you still on that?" asked Jack. "I was sure you'd given up your Nancy Drew tendencies."
Matt made a face. "Hardy Boys, please. But if you must compare me to a girl, I prefer Veronica Mars."
"Nah, she's too badass for you."
Kenny added, "She is beautiful, that Kristen Bell."
"Those are my two best qualities," Matt insisted.
Bryan put his hand on Matt's chest and pushed, stopping him from moving. Matt's eye traced Bryan's arm from hand to shoulder. "What, are you the immovable wall all of a sudden? Don't make me unleash my unstoppable force. That's how we lost the train station."
"You're keeping secrets from me," said Bryan.
Matt squinted at him, trying to figure out the code. "Um…?"
Flipping around the program, Bryan pointed out Matt's name among the list of participants. "You didn't mention that you were the one representing first-year Duel Academy students for this tournament. You said that girl-woman Sydney was."
"Yeah, that was who I suspected they would choose."
Kenny chuckled from beneath his ten-gallon hat. "I knew he was in it. They posted the names on the website Monday last. The main restriction is they don't let anyone participate who was part of the teams tournament."
"Plus they base the selection on the Slifer with the highest rank," said Jack. He smirked at Bryan. "I know he told you it was based on age, but it isn't. Sometimes they select someone from the girls' dorm to use in place of the other students, but not a Slifer. They'll only replace a Ra or an Obelisk boy. Slifers are part of the tournament specifically to be ridiculed."
"How do you mean?" asked Bryan. The idea of throwing any student into a tournament just to laugh at him seemed unreasonable, even if Matt was unbothered by it.
"Since we're at Duel Academy – Central Primus, everyone naturally assumes we get the home field advantage, possibly even cheating to make sure we win. Throwing in a Slifer is a show of good faith since it's common knowledge we're the lowest ranks on the totem pole."
Matt threw out there, "How hard would it be to put a red jacket on an Obelisk?"
"Nah, the chancellors from the other schools get to review the basic records of the students participating," said Kenny. "They at least know your name, school rank, and home residence. Maybe a bit more, but you c'n bet the other schools checked up on you to make sure you're a real Slifer."
Thinking for another moment, Matt offered, "What about a body double? Surely my measurements aren't part of my permanent record."
Kenny shrugged and Jack looked away. They didn't have a counterpoint for that possibility. Bryan was the one who said, "Can you think of one person who looks enough like you to pass scrutiny in the hundred-fifty people who go here? And I'll do one better: Given your snarky personality, is there even one person who likes you enough to win a tournament in your name?"
"Touché," said Matt. "Fine. I confess that I am dueling today." He muttered under his breath, "In front of everyone."
Bryan chuckled. "You're going to tell me you get stage fright? You? The same guy who shouted a made-up story to Christina Anch in the cafeteria in the hopes that making her laugh would convince her to go out with you?"
"Stage fright isn't the issue," he said. "I'm all too happy to show off a bit. Especially if it gets Lucy's attention or gets Kasumi wet."
Jack asked, "So what's the problem? Maybe if you win a duel, you can get a little foreign strange. Some of the visitors are even cuter than Lucy." That was a hardcore lie. Jack just wanted to turn Matt's attention away from his crush. Bryan was still trying to pretend there was no potential drama there because he didn't want to be in the middle of feuding roommates.
When Mitsuro Itachu walked by, Bryan jumped at the chance to get away. She liked to talk about the Navy, so there would definitely be a different conversational track. He almost tripped over himself as he cut her off. "Hey, Mitsy. Nice bandanna. How you doing this morning?"
She made a face. "What do you need?"
"What? I have to need something just to say 'hi' to a friend?"
"You're coming on a little strong. We're not really that close, and you're not my type."
"What? I mean we're study-buddies for stats. Isn't that good enough?"
Mitsuro cracked a smile. "I'm messing with you. I'm doing fine. Still a little frustrated by losing the teams tournament, but recovery is closing in. Anyone who can't deal with defeat won't last long at this school."
Bryan chuckled and pointed to himself. "You're talking to a master at recovering from loss."
She nodded solemnly. "Sorry. Not what I meant."
"No apologies needed. Just get me away from Matt and his obsession with the stolen god cards from last year and we'll call it even. Actually, I'll even owe you one."
"Deal. Follow me. But seriously, shouldn't Matt be getting ready? At least putting on his uniform?" Matt was dressed in blue shorts and a red t-shirt with a tyrannosaurus logo that was meant to resemble the uniform of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.
Bryan sighed. "No, I suspect he intends to duel exactly like that."
After following along and joining up with a few of Mitsuro's friends, Bryan found himself sitting beside a group of students from North Academy when Matt finally reached the duel station. Whether as an attempt to avoid embarrassment or by authoritarian pressure from the faculty, Matt had finally donned his red jacket—although he half-assed it by tying the sleeves around his neck like an ascot. His opponent was a guy from East Academy who looked a few years older—maybe twenty years old or so.
"You find it funny that the American academy is called East Academy when America is supposed to be the prime example of western culture?" asked Bryan.
Emily Li turned from her seat in front of him. She was short to begin with; being a row down made her look downright tiny to him. "I'm not sure the US is the best example of western civilization these days," she said.
He conceded that point. "Yeah, I can't really argue. I can restate my point and describe America as traditionally the exemplar of western society."
She shrugged. "Better, I guess, for an American. Imagine if you were British and heard an American saying his culture represented the best."
"Are you British? I didn't mean to offend."
"No, offense is natural for Americans," said Mitsuro. Bryan thought about arguing, but he remembered that she was definitely half-American, despite having a Japanese name. Her American side was the source of her obsession with the US Navy. She further cemented her status as an American when she added, "But we're all a little bit British. They're the Great Colonizers."
Emily chuckled. "That's true enough."
Bryan looked at Emily and smiled. He hadn't intended to be creepy, but he held the grin a second too long and she winced. "What?"
"Sorry. It's just that I never figured you two to hang out together."
Mitsuro said, "Emily doesn't hang out with pretty much anyone, which is what makes us perfect friends. We're both here for school first, personal development second, and socialization a distant third."
"Maybe build a minor reputation before leaving school," Emily added.
"That, too."
Bryan listened closely as Dr. Arbus introduced the singles tournament. "As the welcomes were extended more than two days ago, I will forego the boring pleasantries you have heard many times already. Following the grandeur of the Tournament of Teams, the School Duel Festival presents the Duel Academy Singles Competition. Know first that every competitor has proven himself or herself to be outstanding in the field of dueling.
"This competition begins with every duelist bracketed by school dormitory. Although requirements for each dorm vary, the essence of the original Duel Academy exists. We will complete two brackets today; the third will conclude tomorrow morning, and the festival will finish with a battle royale between the three bracket winners."
The murmur through the crowd took almost five minutes to quell. Bryan had to ask, "What's a battle royale?"
Mitsuro was first to respond. "Basically, three duelists play at a time with no additional restrictions. It's up to the duelists themselves to decide how to battle. You can end up with two players teaming up against the third, or everyone just aims for whoever has the least Life Points."
"Fewest," said Emily, correcting her.
"Right. The point is: There's no telling how a battle royale will play out."
Bryan whistled impressively. "I wonder how Matt will handle that."
"He has to win first," said Mitsuro.
Matt's opponent was an older-looking first-year student from East Academy. Garry Daher was a hairy guy who looked like he had to shave three times a day just to keep a five o'clock shadow. If he had a superhero identity, all he'd have to do is wear a beard for a disguise and then shave it off when he was out of costume.
Bryan was trying to pay close attention to the duel, but he noticed movement out of his peripheral vision and turned to see Sydney King wading through the bleachers in his general direction. He was sure she had another target besides him—why would a woman that attractive and a few years older want to talk to him?—but between moments of staring at her feet to make sure she didn't step on anyone or their things, Sydney would look up and lock eyes with Bryan. All doubt faded when she sidled onto the bleachers right beside Emily.
Sydney said, "Got something for you to think about with this duel."
"Oh?"
She motioned to Matt's opponent. "That guy is a former pro. You might not know him already since he's a minor leaguer. But trust me, he is not a beginner."
Bryan scoffed as a rush of emotions filled him. "Are you sure?"
"Of course. Don't ever doubt me."
Emily scrambled on her phone. A moment later, she turned the screen toward Bryan. "Yep. There he is. Different last name but it's easily the same guy. My guess is East Academy picked him as a ringer, exaggerating someone's inexperience in order to put him in a lower bracket. Looks like he is actually enrolled as a student, at least. They figure as long as they win the lowest round, then they'll have a great chance at the grand prize."
"Is that why you aren't the Duel Academy rep for this?" asked Bryan.
Sydney frowned. "I'm not on the same level with everyone else here. As a former pro, there's no contest. My role in this tournament would be to make Duel Academy look good through cheating. That's not what I'm here for."
Mitsuro shrugged. "Wouldn't surprise me to find out a little bit of light cheating is a tradition for this festival. There have been times when I wondered whether Matt was actually just a plant to make the school look good."
"No way," said Bryan. "I'm the one who taught him how to duel. I mean, we've been together ever since sixth grade when I moved. He never spent enough time away from home to be a secret dueling pro."
"What about before you met?" asked Mitsuro.
Bryan hesitated, but he did shake his head. "No. No, I don't think so. He'd have to make some kind of national headlines to be that kind of child prodigy. At least one TV interview or something."
Sydney tilted her head to the left and then to the right. "Maybe. Usually there are interviews with anyone capable of high-level dueling at that age. But the fact that no one here ever saw it or heard of him is hardly proof. His pro career could have been short and quiet. It happens sometimes."
"Not with him, it wouldn't," said Bryan.
Emily sheepishly added, "No offense to Matt, but his arrogance and overconfidence are consistent with someone who used to be a pro and thinks he's currently playing below the level he deserves."
"I'm just saying there's no way." He hemmed and hawed as he struggled to figure out how much information he could divulge without excessive embarrassment. "Matt's family is not rich, and his dad is the kind of guy who wouldn't think twice about exploiting his son if it might bring him any kind of monetary benefit. If Matt was ever a pro, his dad would ride those coattails forever. I would know by now."
To himself, he added, I think. After all, Matt didn't start hiding things from him until they arrived at Duel Academy. He couldn't have been lying all along, could he?
Down at ground level: Matt drew his opening hand, made a face, and then played a card to give him more options. "Thank god this was my opening hand," he said. He exaggerated every word as if he were putting on a really bad stage performance. "If I drew these cards in the same sequence late in the duel I'd be so screwed. Maybe if I draw two more cards I'll be okay." He activated Allure of Darkness. The field turned black under a veil of shadows that swirled around his deck. "I'll take two cards," he said as he checked out his new hand, "and then I'll banish Dark Magician (dark). He can nullify the darkness so we can see the field again."
Garry chuckled. "Are you always this dramatic?"
"Just wait," said Matt, smirking.
Matt: 5 cards, 8000 LP
Garry: 5 cards, 8000 LP
Making a face of his own, Garry asked, "Did you mean to end your turn without playing anything?"
Matt leaned across the table horrorstruck. "What? Oh, shit! I must have hit the wrong button. Can I have a do-over?"
Dr. Kerr made a face as she shook her head. Garry looked just as confused as to how someone like this could be allowed to perform in the School Duel Festival.
Sitting back in his seat, Matt put his arms behind his head and relaxed so much that it seemed like his former outburst was an entirely different personality. "Oh, well. I guess it's your turn, then. As long as you don't pull off an OTK, I'll have a chance to come back."
Garry assessed his cards carefully, ultimately taking much longer than Matt had to regard each of them and consider their effects. By the time Matt yawned theatrically, Garry was ready. "I normal summon Machina Gearframe (4: 1800|0). Summoning that lets me move a Machina card from the deck to my hand." An orange Transformer-type figure appeared on the field. For the life of him, Bryan was unable to figure out what it was supposed to transform into.
"Next I special summon Machina Fortress (7: 2500|1600) by discarding monsters totaling seven stars." This blue Transformer was far easier to identify; between the treads and the enormous cannon hanging off its shoulder, this "fortress" was clearly more of a tank. "And I special summon a second one." Now two tanks aimed their cannons directly at Matt.
"Uh oh," uttered Matt in a fearful tone. Three attacks launched his way and devastated his Life Points. When the holographic smoke cleared, Matt was still in his exact same position. He wiped fake sweat off his brow. "Whew. That wasn't as bad as I thought."
Bryan blushed from secondhand embarrassment. He felt the need to remind everyone around him, "He had too much coffee this morning, probably."
But on the field, Garry laughed. "You're a weird guy. But at least you get one more turn, like you wanted. One more thing, first. Invoking Machina Gearframe's effect as a union monster, I'll equip it to one of my Machina Fortress." The orange transformer jumped onto the back of the left-side tank and flattened out. Its body became an extra plate of armor.
Matt: 5 cards, 1200 LP
Garry: 1 card, 8000 LP
Bryan wasn't sure that Matt would approve, but he sent a silent prayer to the dueling gods for Matt to make some kind of comeback.
"Alrighty. I'll begin my turn with Elemental Hero Prisma (4: 1700|1000)." The only E-Hero in Matt's deck fell to the field in a superhero landing as if it had been flying overhead the whole time. As Matt discarded, Prisma's reflective body turned from a glassy, prismatic hue to a darker, purple color. "Since I discarded one, Prisma becomes a Dark Magician for this turn, more or less."
"He doesn't have the same attack points," said Garry.
"That's very perceptive," Matt pointed out. "That's very good. Nothing gets past you at all. Are you sure you're a first-year student?" He winked at Garry dramatically. It was so overacted that Bryan wondered if Matt already knew about Garry's past, which Sydney had just confessed.
"But Prisma is just enough Dark Magician for me to play Dark Magic Attack." Unfortunately for Garry, Prisma's imitation attack was able to wipe out all of his spells and traps, including Machina Gearframe since it was equipped to another card.
"Good enough, right? Wrong. Prisma can also use the magic of The Eye of Timaeus." A massive, emerald-colored dragon emerged onto the field. Both of its eyes gleamed. "Fusing these two gives me Amulet Dragon (8: 2900|2500)." More teamwork than fusion, the monster that resulted resembled the Dark Magician standing on Timaeus's back while golden runes encircled the dragon's skin.
Garry whistled. "That's a pretty rare card."
"Literally the only thing I could find that works with Timaeus," said Matt, not even looking at the field. Considering the versatility of the card, he didn't sound serious. He dug through his graveyard and pulled out the Allure of Darkness from earlier. "This is the only spell in either graveyard right now, so I banish it to give Amulet Dragon (+3000) another hundred attack points. And now we attack the unguarded Machina Fortress (2500)." Timaeus loosed a powerful blast of blue energy so focused that it ripped straight through the tank's thick armor and triggered an internal explosion. Fragments struck the dragon's massive hide and caused Timaeus to disappear.
"Whenever Machina Fortress is destroyed by battle," said Garry, "I get to choose a card on your field to destroy. Naturally I choose the only card you have in play."
"Good call," said Matt. "Luckily for me, Amulet Dragon's disappearance lets me summon Dark Magician (7: 2500|2100) from my graveyard as backup. Ah! That move gives me another idea. I'll equip Dark Magician (+3200) with Bound Wand. It gives him 100 more points for each level. That way you can't kill him so easily with that other Fortress (2500)."
"Good call," said Garry.
Matt said, "Hey. Are you mocking me?" Garry just shrugged. What a strange conversation between two lunatics. Matt added, "I see what you're doing. I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."
Matt: 0 cards, 1200 LP
Garry: 1 card, 7500 LP
When Garry drew, his face remained completely stoic. Of all the opponents Matt ever dueled, this guy was the hardest for Bryan to read. "I normal summon another Machina Gearframe (4: 1800|0), and then I initiate battle."
"Battle?" Matt repeated. "But my monster is bigger than yours."
"For now. Machina Fortress (2500) attacks Dark Magician (3200)." The cannon fire emerged at speeds enough to level a mountain, but the Dark Magician was ready for it. Empowered by the Bound Wand, he was able to generate enough magic to grab the tank shell in the air, spin around with it, and hurl it straight back at the attacking tank. The Fortress exploded much like the previous one had... and just like in that explosion, its shrapnel fragments struck the Dark Magician and made him disappear, wand and all.
"Remember that when my Fortress is destroyed I get to pick a card on your field to destroy with it," said Garry.
Matt smirked. "Remember that Bound Wand also has a second effect in which it revives the equipped monster whenever they are both sent to the graveyard." Once again, his Dark Magician (7: 2500|2100) leapt to the field out of the jaws of defeat. "Now you can't attack me with that Gearframe thing."
Unfortunately for Garry, Matt was right. Dark Magician (2500) was stronger than Machina Gearframe (1800) and prevented an attack that might otherwise have depleted the remainder of his Life Points.
Matt: 0 cards, 1200 LP
Garry: 1 card, 6800 LP
Matt drew, scanned the full field with a circular roll of his neck, and then played a card. "I'll summon Breaker the Magical Warrior (4: 1600|1000)." His monster wore armor that resembled red magician's robes, hardened for close-range battle. A shining Spell Counter was embedded on the hilt of his sword, raising his attack power by 300 points. "Let's get Breaker (+1900) to destroy Gearframe (1800)." After channeling magical energy into the blade of his short sword, Breaker completed a series of swift swipes to dismember each of Gearframe's limbs before it disappeared.
"That leaves you wide open for attack by Dark Magician (2500)." A powerful wave of black magic from the Magician's staff smothered Garry's side of the field. "That's all."
Matt: 0 cards, 1200 LP
Garry: 1 card, 4200 LP
Garry was finally slowed by the lack of cards in his hand. According to Sydney, Garry never struggled with figuring out how to play his two cards; he just wasn't sure of the best move. Bryan couldn't blame him for being thoughtful against an opponent like Matt, but ever since he started listening to the advice Bryan was getting from Dave and Andy, Bryan was more aware of dead draws. The fact that Garry was getting cards that he could barely use at a critical juncture in the duel was testament to the weakness of the deck itself. No wonder Garry never made it out of the minors.
Finally he placed a spell in the field spell zone. "I'll play Geartown." A highly industrialized city sprang to life on all sides of the field, each building marked by cogs helping to support its structure.
Matt: 0 cards, 1200 LP
Garry: 1 card, 4200 LP
"That's it?" asked Matt. He made a face and appeared to scrutinize the field. "Obviously you look wide open, but as long as you have a card in play, the field can be deceiving. I'll use Breaker's effect to destroy Geartown." Breaker held his sword high. The magic in his sword's spell counter grew so bright that it burst and the light faded. A moment later, all of Geartown crumbled into debris.
Slowly the rubble began to slide along the ground. Taking shape with each passing second, the rubble transformed into the patchwork Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon (8: 3000|2000). Smiling, Garry said, "When you destroy Geartown, I can summon any Ancient Gear monster from my deck."
Matt nodded. "Sneaky. That's a good play. Big dragon. Strong, too. But not immune to stuff. I play Dark Renewal." He turned over his face-down card from earlier and created a gilded coffin on the field. Breaker and Gadjiltron Dragon both turned sheer and see-through. "When you summon, I sacrifice your monster and mine to summon a dark spellcaster from my deck. Let's see if I can come up with one." He coincidentally pulled the very next card from his deck and placed it on the field. "Why not? I'll play another Dark Magician (7: 2500|2100)." A duplicate Magician appeared on the field, twins with their purple magician's robes and immaculate facial features.
Up in the stands: Bryan reacted out of nowhere, which caught Mitsuro's attention. "What's wrong?"
For a second, he wasn't sure if he should say. It was kind of a secret, maybe, that Matt owned five different copies of Dark Magician. He had three of the classic purple-robed cards, but he also owned one each of the red and the black versions. Sometimes he liked to mix the three colors in his deck, unless he was worried about his opponents learning too much about his cards. After some statistical explanation that went over Bryan's head, Matt specified that he only played three different versions when he felt there was little effort needed. If he was worried at all about the opponent cracking his deck's code, then he played all purple magicians instead.
"Just surprised," he said. "Matt seems to actually be taking this tournament seriously." He pointed at the field and added, "Looks like =a couple of big direct attacks should end the duel."
As if the duelists had the same conversation, Garry shook his head. "Normally it would, except I have Swift Scarecrow (1: 0|0)." A scarecrow constructed from scrap metal and given the Hogwarts Sorting Hat plus two sticks for defense sprang up from the field as if it had been hiding the whole time. Somehow those two sticks managed to absorb the dark magic and demoralize both Dark Magicians. "When you attack directly, I discard this guy to negate the attack and end your battle phase."
Frowning, Matt said, "Bummer. I guess that ends my turn, then. You must have been holding that card for a while. Here's hoping you get a countermeasure." He held up his hand with two fingers crossed.
Matt: 1 card, 1200 LP
Garry: 0 cards, 4200 LP
Garry sighed with defeat when he looked at his next card. Inevitably, it was an Ancient Gear monster too big to summon right away. "I end my duel," he quipped.
"Nice word play," said Matt, smiling and chuckling. "I like you. This is definitely not personal at all." Both of his Dark Magicians (2500) filled the field with dark magic that choked and eliminated the remainder of Garry's Life Points.
Matt: 1 card, 1200 LP
Garry: 1 card, 0 LP
Matt's victory brought actual cheers from his classmates. Despite not having any social bond between them, they were all united by their association with the school, which carried between them a natural appreciation for anyone capable of defeating the players of another school. The next round went just as well for him, even if it was a bit more sluggish.
In the fourth round, Matt showed signs of slowing down. His wit lost some of its point as he struggled to a near loss against a deck built with Satellarknights. As far as Bryan could tell, a win was a win. But Mitsuro insisted Matt would have soundly lost if the other player had not misplayed his last move. Based on the look on Matt's face, it was true and Matt was fully aware of it.
Knowing he should have lost an earlier duel made the fifth round even tenser than it should have been. Despite one poor showing, Matt had made it to the final round of the 3rd-tier singles tournament. As if spitting in the face of all the people who mocked him for applying to Duel Academy with a deck based on the Dark Magician, his opponent used the same deck theme.
Matt hated looking Leo in the face because he knew that Leo should be facing a different opponent. Nonetheless, Matt was the one who walked away with the win and made his way into this final round. He may not have won the way he wanted to, but a win only had one meaning no matter how it came about.
Leo—more accurately his name was pronounced like "Reo" if you discounted his Japanese accent—was excited to find out that he was facing another Dark Magician deck. Never in his life did he guess the final round would be between classical decks, no matter how prestigious the tournament was.
"Isn't this intriguing?" he asked Matt.
Rolling his eyes, Matt replied, "I think a better word is ironic."
"Oh, sorry. Is that because the Dark Magician is one of the first cards ever and it's weird that such a classic card is still relevant?"
"No. It's because everyone thinks that classic card sucks," said Matt flatly.
"Oh. Well I don't think so. It just needs the right support to be good, like any card does."
"Yeah, yeah. We might as well show them what happens when two Dark Magicians face each other. Looks like I'm up first."
As soon as he looked at his deck, Matt hesitated. He fidgeted for a moment, which popped the lesser knuckles on his right hand. He suddenly realized he had zoned out and was brought back rapidly to the moment. With a jolt, he looked up at Leo and forced a gentle smile. Finally he grabbed his cards and gave them a look, his expression falling again.
With nary more than a nod, he set one card face-down in the spell zone. "I'll play Prisma," he said while the field generated the reflective body of Elemental Hero Prisma (4: 1700|1000). He flipped over the top card of his extra deck to show Dark Paladin, and that effect sent Dark Magician from the deck to the graveyard so that Prisma reflected the spellcaster's image. "The Eye of Timaeus," he added, watching a dragon with gleaming, emerald scales merge with Prisma. The result was Dark Paladin (8: 2900|2400) on the field. Matt waved his hand briefly to indicate his turn was over.
Matt: 2 cards, 8000 LP
Leo: 5 cards, 8000 LP
"That's a good opening move," said Leo, trying to rekindle Matt's excitement from a second ago. "Not sure if I had the same luck in my opening hand. I'll use Pot of Duality." A large ewer bore a stoic, serene face on one side as it offered three cards. The opposite face showed a greedy goblin that demanded to have two of the cards returned. After doing that and watching his deck get shuffled, Leo continued. "I set one card face-down and one monster in defense mode. I play Onomatopaira to move two monsters from my deck to my hand." He had to discard to activate the effect, and Matt noticed that he discarded a Dark Magician.
After grabbing his new cards, Leo said, "Your move."
Matt: 2 cards, 8000 LP
Leo: 4 cards, 8000 LP
Matt sighed at his hand, which suggested that he had far fewer cards available to play than he actually did. "E - Emergency Call," he said, which let him move another copy of Prisma to his hand. After another hesitation, he said, "Paladin attacks."
Leo grinned. "You activated my trap card, Fiendish Chain." Before Dark Paladin could position himself for attack, he was ensnared by copper from all directions. Not only could he not move, his power was drained so that he couldn't use his other effects anymore.
With a shrug, Matt said, "Okay. Another Prisma." Repeating the effect from earlier, he sent another Dark Magician to his graveyard to have Prisma take on a resemblance. But the resemblance soon faded as Matt ended his turn there.
Matt: 2 cards, 8000 LP
Leo: 4 cards, 8000 LP
Leo eagerly said, "I play Gagaga Magician (4: 1500|1000)." His magician wore blue and red magician's robes and wielded a chain as both a weapon and an accessory. But he didn't get to strut his stuff before the ground swallowed him whole.
"Bottomless Trap Hole," he said.
"Oh, lucky move," said Leo. Matt scoffed at the comment, but Leo continued anyway. "I'll set another card and end my turn."
Matt: 2 cards, 8000 LP
Leo: 3 cards, 8000 LP
With hardly any consideration to his hand, Matt sent Prisma (1700) to destroy Leo's Gagaga Girl (800). The field was wide open, but he had nothing to attack with since his Dark Paladin was immobilized. He dropped (almost literally) two cards face-down and ended his turn.
"During your End Phase," said Leo, "I'll chain Eternal Soul. I'm sure you know this one." Matt nodded while a stone monolith rose to prominence on Leo's field. Slowly the shape of a Dark Magician etched into the stone, and then a Dark Magician (7: 2500|2100) appeared on the field.
Matt: 1 card, 8000 LP
Leo: 3 cards, 8000 LP
"Now I use Eternal Soul again," said Leo, this time taking Thousand Knives from his deck. "First I use Thousand Knives to destroy Dark Paladin." Matt's chained monster was quickly skewered by flying blades. "Next I summon another Gagaga Magician (4: 1500|1000). His effect lets him change to level seven for the duration of the turn, and that means I can overlay Dark Magician (7) and Gagaga Magician (7) to summon Ebon Illusion Magician (7: 2500|2100)." His monster looked like a shorter Dark Magician with black robes, darker skin, and long, blonde hair. But this monster emanated tremendous power. "I activate Ebon's effect by removing one xyz material to summon Dark Magician (7: 2500|2100) from my deck." The taller Dark Magician appeared on the field beside his more powerful counterpart.
"When Dark Magician (2500) attacks, Ebon banishes one of your face-down cards at the same time." Prisma (1700) was shattered beneath the dark magic while a separate, piercing wave of magic shattered a Mirror Force wall before it could even activate. "So now Ebon (2500) attacks directly." He smiled through the blast of magic and sat back in his seat. "That ends my turn."
Matt groaned as he sat up and flipped over his face-down card: Eternal Soul. A monolith identical to the one on Leo's field stood up and towered over his deck. The shine of the etching brought out another Dark Magician (7: 2500|2100), this time on Matt's side of the field.
Matt: 1 card, 4800 LP
Leo: 2 cards, 8000 LP
Before Matt even drew, he said, "I'll summon another one." A second Dark Magician (7: 2500|2100) sprang from his graveyard. "Dark Magic Attack." When the Dark Magician attacked, he targeted not the opposing monsters but the very monolith that shared their power with them. Even though the stone generated a great deal of power on its own, Matt's card overloaded that power and brought the monolith to crumble. As it did, the ruptured magical energy disintegrated all of the monsters on Leo's side of the field.
Matt was left with a perfect opportunity to strike with both Dark Magicians (2500) and take the lead, yet part of him didn't care. "One card face-down," he added. He knew he sounded pretty sullen for a guy who just wiped out his opponent.
Matt: 0 cards, 4800 LP
Leo: 2 cards, 3000 LP
Leo took in a deep breath as he drew, and apparently he was pleased with the level of luck his breathing habits gave him. "I play Mystical Space Typhoon," he said. A dangerous whirlwind whipped up around Matt's copy of Eternal Soul, ready to duplicate the monster-destroying effect Matt had just demonstrated.
Suddenly both of Matt's Magicians stepped in. They cast a spell from their staves that circled the monolith and balanced the energy so that it would not rupture. "Dark Magic Expanded," he said. Expanding briefly on his own words, he grumbled, "Two Dark Magicians, so you can't destroy my spells and traps this turn."
"Aw, man," moaned Leo. "That is such a lucky draw. I guess I just set one monster and end my turn."
Matt: 0 cards, 4800 LP
Leo: 1 card, 3000 LP
He probably didn't mean those words in the way Matt took them, but hearing just the briefest level of deflection from Leo got Matt feeling defensive. He thought his loss wasn't his own fault? Well, how was he going to like it when Matt used the effect of Eternal Soul to play another Thousand Knives to skewer Leo's last line of defense and then let the two Dark Magicians (2500 x 2) go to town on him? With two thunderous waves of dark magic, Leo's Life Points disappeared as quickly as Matt's patience.
Matt: 1 card, 4800 LP
Leo: 1 card, 0 LP
Amid the roar of the crowd, Matt flashed a cocky smile to those around him. He waited long enough to collect his cards and hear Dr. Kerr announce him as the winner of the third-tier tournament. The second his name was mentioned, and before the announcement concluded, Matt ambled away from the stadium. Basking in the temporary fame and glory of winning a low-level tournament didn't thrill him. All he wanted at that moment was to get out of the spotlight.
Before he reached the Duel Academy building, he received a text message from Bryan asking why he ran off so quickly. Matt hesitated a moment and then texted back, Too hot. Getting out of the sun for a while. I'll be back.
But that was an exaggeration. He had no intention of returning to the festival today. He cut straight through the building to the vending machines outside the cafeteria, grabbed himself a sandwich and a soda, then made his way to the Slifer dorm. He avoided the main paths so he wouldn't have to see or talk to anyone. After snaking through the trees behind Ra and strafing the harbor, Matt slipped into his room, certain he got there unnoticed.
He lay in his bed and stared at the ceiling unthinking as he read through his textbooks. He knew he was missing the most exciting bits of the tournaments—the top-tier students dueling it out—because Bryan kept texting him a play-by-play. He hoped that Kasumi would reach out looking for him, but there was radio silence from her apart from a single text of "Congratulations!" She was probably having too much fun with her friends to realize he wasn't around. It would be easy enough for him to text first, but he didn't want to disrupt her fun.
Bryan was getting a little too excited about the tournament during the final match. Kai Jackson was taking his Blue-Eyes cards to task up against a Dark World deck when everyone pretty much expected him to be a shoe-in for tournament champion. Matt decided to ignore the live-texting just as there was a knock at the door. He remained quiet and pretended not to hear it. Soon thereafter, the ID reader outside beeped and the knob began to shake. Based on the string of texts, Bryan was still at the festival, and he couldn't imagine Jack leaving early. Who else would have access?
Dr. Arbus and his striking nose came through the door. It occurred to Matt in that moment that he hadn't seen his guidance counselor in profile before. He could chop wood with that nose. Once he flicked on the light, his nose matched his face much better.
"I didn't realize faculty had free reign of the dorms," said Matt.
With a gentle smile, Dr. Arbus said, "We're expected to maintain the peace. That's why they give us access to watch over our students."
"Universal dorm access makes sense. What's unusual is the lack of personal space afforded to the students."
"I knocked."
"And I didn't answer," continued Matt. "Some linguistic experts interpret that as an invitation to go away and not come in."
"After the way you legged it away from the festival following your victory, I wondered if it wouldn't be necessary to check in on you. A more typical response to adoration is a swelling sense of self-worth. Your reaction appears to be the opposite."
Matt swung his feet and dangled them over the side of the bed. He put on an expression as sincere and undisturbed as he could muster. "I'm perfectly fine. It's hot outside, and I don't like crowds. Call me introverted."
Dr. Arbus nodded. "Scarcely have I heard a greater understatement. Is your downturn in attitude related to that misplay by Mr. Glover in the semifinal round?"
Matt showed no visible reaction except to ask, "You noticed that, too?"
"Almost everyone noticed, I'm sure. What baffles me is that your opponent got overeager and forgot to declare an attack, yet you appear to be the one suffering from embarrassment."
"It's not that confusing. You said it yourself: Everyone knows that I only won that round because of a fluke mistake by my opponent. I'd say that's plenty embarrassing. Maybe I just don't want people judging me right now—looking at me and thinking about how I'm not truly qualified to participate in tomorrow's battle royale duel."
Dr. Arbus folded his arms over his chest. He squinted, which accented his crow's feet. His age was starting to show, and here he was trying to understand the mindset of a teenager. Most annoying—he seemed to know Matt was lying.
"You don't strike me as one bothered much by public shame. I have heard you discuss quite private matters among your friends in between classes." He winced with a shy grin. "And honestly, I would have expected more resistance from you if you felt ashamed."
"Maybe I'm just honest."
"But not with yourself. And not with me."
Matt sighed and rubbed his face. His gaze drifted to the cards stacked on his desk. Arbus noticed.
"Your deck? Are you so distraught over being in a situation where you felt helpless to duel out of your situation?"
"No," said Matt gruffly. "Jesus. If this shuts you up… I'm feeling disillusioned with dueling. Okay? Happy now?"
Dr. Arbus pulled out the wooden chair at Matt's desk and sat, facing the triple-stacked beds. "Is it the prospect of loss that gets you?"
"Of course not. I've lost before. Not often, but no one wins all the time. The problem is I won by luck." He stopped and corrected himself. "Actually, it wasn't even luck. It was a moment of absentmindedness by another duelist. He was stupid for two seconds, and I needed that in order to win. There was no way for me to win without his stupidity."
"So it is that feeling of helplessness that got to you."
"No, it's wondering how many other times I should have lost but won by some kind of sheer, dumb, unconventional luck. Am I even good enough to be where I am, or does everyone else keep making mistakes at the exact moment I need it? I'm not saying being a loser is my long-term goal, but the truth is far more interesting to me. If my deck needs to be different in order to win legitimately, it's important to know that."
Dr. Arbus smirked. "Would it make you feel better to duel against me? I guarantee I will not misplay. Perhaps Dr. Lankford or Dr. Kerr would prove a swifter, more dangerous opponent than I. Even so, the associate professors of Duel Academy carry nearly the same strength. I have many years of experience under my belt."
Matt sat still for a moment. Halting the swing of his feet didn't really aid the thinking process, but it felt like the thing to do while he considered the offer. Dueling against a professor was a great way to make a point about his skill. On the other hand, there was no way Dr. Arbus was going to duel his best right then. No matter his words, he was going to let Matt win. Matt couldn't see the duel ending any other way.
"I'll pass this time."
"Suit yourself." Dr. Arbus stood and walked to the door. "Bear this in mind. In all my years of dueling—study, practice, and witness—I have learned that a duel victory comprises the following factors in proportion: fifteen percent cards in the deck, ten percent how you play the cards, fifteen percent the cards in your opponent's deck, ten percent how your opponent plays, and a whopping fifty percent random chance. There's no getting around it. As long as the principles of physics and probability hold up, random chance will heavily influence the outcome. Think on that while you finish sulking." He pulled open the door and flicked the lights back off as he left Matt sitting in solitude in the dark.
Matt obviously didn't want to agree with Dr. Arbus and his views, but he had to admit the role of random chance in a duel. He questioned the exactness of the figures, though. Maybe after he solved the mystery of who stole the god cards, his next project could be creating a legitimate statistical formula for how to win a duel, though he'd probably have to study up on linear regression or something high-level to build a formula that complex.
The next morning, Bryan knew there was something wrong with Matt when he bothered to get fully dressed in the school uniform. He zipped his jacket completely and even borrowed an iron from Fats' roommate to press his pants. That was a skill Bryan didn't even know Matt had. He tried confronting Matt about his sudden interest in abiding by school policy and presenting himself with full professionalism. He sat with perfect posture throughout the entire morning tournament where Duel Academy's representative from Ra—a guy of Indian descent named Joel Chakkal—lost in the semifinals. Matt was the only remaining duelist representing Duel Academy. After lunch, he was all set to face off against a second-year student from North Academy and a third-year from West Academy.
"I'm excited to be here with you gentlemen," he said as he shook their hands.
Sergiu Luca was short and slender. He had a distinct Slavic accent when he said, "A deck with Dark Magicians is decent for first-year. You think it will help against us?"
"I think that's what we're about to find out," said Judge Morgan. He was also not too tall, but he was bulky like he lived in the gym, like a smaller, flesh-toned version of the Incredible Hulk. He was clearly older (than Matt, not the Hulk), and his Irish accent gave away his school even more than the blue and silver colors of his uniform. "It's refreshing to see a deck based on one of the very first monsters do even this well."
"Remember when that guy who used Dark Magician in Grand Prix tournament two years ago?"
Judge whistled. "Oh, man. That was a disaster. He lost Round 1."
Matt knew they were psyching him out, but he refused the bait. With only a smile, he said, "Today we find out if he would have performed better with a Duel Academy education."
Both Sergiu and Judge snickered at the comment. The difference was Sergiu expressed derision whereas Judge was legitimately entertained. He slapped Matt on the back. "Let's see what you can do with one semester passed. May the best man win, yeah?"
Moments later, Judge was given the first turn. With him seated to Matt's left side, that meant Matt would take the last turn in the sequence. In order to balance the field for three separate players, the first player to go would skip his Draw Phase, and no players were allowed to attack on their first turn. After that, the players were free to attack whomever they chose—even to form secret alliances, if so inspired.
Judge was the type of guy to describe his moves in detail. "During Main Phase I, I'll set two cards face-down." He thought for a moment further. "I'll also normal summon Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World (4: 1600|1300)," a demonic monster armored in bone and wielding a lengthy polearm. "End Phase."
Matt: 5 cards, 8000 LP
Sergiu: 5 cards, 8000 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 8000 LP
Sergiu was up next. Contrasting Judge's approach, Sergiu chose to say as little as possible. "Allure," he said, referring to Allure of Darkness. While the holograms shrouded his deck in shadow, he drew two new cards and banished a monster from his hand. Summarizing the rest of his turn briefly, he said, "Set five. Summon Beast," which referred to the dark-colored, canine monster known as Infernity Beast (3: 1600|1200).
Matt gaped at the five cards he set, but Judge only snickered and sent a few verbal jabs his way. It wasn't a surprise to see the Infernity strategy after Sergiu won the 2nd tier tournament before lunch, but now Matt was left to wonder what was under all five of those cards.
"I chain the activation of Mystical Space Typhoon," said Judge. He indicated the card in the middle space. A whirlwind whipped up around it before lightning struck, and then Sergiu was left with only four face-down cards. He smirked at Judge, perhaps building the desire for a one-on-one duel between the two of them.
Matt: 5 cards, 8000 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 8000 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 8000 LP
For his first turn, Matt felt more overwhelmed than usual. Infernity and Dark World were among some of the fastest deck types—something to dwarf the speed of his Dark Magician build. As he considered all the cards in his hand, he came up with one strategy that would impair the remainder of the duel for all three of them. Was it the best possible move or the worst?
Why not find out? "I also play Allure of Darkness." The same shadows surrounded Matt's deck as he drew new cards and banished a monster. "Now I'll drop one card to summon The Tricky (5: 2000|1200)." His monster was the size and shape of a man, wearing a full-body jumpsuit including a mask. The question marks on his chest and face gave him the air of a jester.
He ignored the rumbling of the crowd and the few stray comments he heard about how The Tricky was a useless card that furthered his pathetic imitation of Yugi Mutou. Despite their comments, he had a different use in mind. "That was a special summon. For my normal summon, I play Night's End Sorcerer (2: 1300|400)." His card turned into a small, pale boy carrying a heavy-bladed scythe. He wrapped the blade around The Tricky, and both monsters began to glow. "I'm going to synchronize these two into Black Rose Dragon (7: 2400|1800)." A storm of rose petals swarmed the field and created a flowery dragon. Suddenly the grumbling about a Yugi-themed deck stopped cold.
"You know this card, right? I don't normally put a lot of synchros in my deck, but this just felt right for today. You see, after the two of you cover the field in cards, Black Rose obliterates everything, including herself." When the dragon exploded, rose thorns rained down and pierced the field. Every card placed on the field by any player was instantly destroyed.
Sergiu and Judge grudgingly shoved all their cards straight to their graveyards. Judge commented, "That one's gonna hurt you, ain't it, Serge?"
Sergiu was unimpressed, dismissing the situation with a huff. Fortunately for him, Matt didn't have anything else to play at the moment. That move was kind of a faith call, hoping for something else later to swing the duel his way.
Matt: 3 cards, 8000 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 8000 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 8000 LP
Judge couldn't help but smirk now that the field was wiped completely clean. "I got nuthin' but to set one card for my Main Phase," he said, placing a card in his spell|trap zone. "End Phase. You're up, Serge."
Sergiu didn't look any more pleased, considering the only card he had to play was the one he drew. At least that one card put him at an advantage. "Beetle," he said, in reference to his Infernity Beetle (2: 1200|0), which resembled a Hercules beetle with exceptionally large horns. Sergiu didn't indicate his attack target verbally, but his eyes flicked in Matt's direction just before the beetle buzzed Matt directly. Given that was Sergiu's only card, his turn ended automatically.
Matt: 3 cards, 6800 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 8000 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 8000 LP
Given the situation, and knowing that Sergiu thrived on having no cards in his hand, Matt knew he was taking a risk by emptying his hand. But at least it would tilt the duel in his favor.
Starting out, he said, "Mystical Space Typhoon," and a small storm on the field destroyed Judge's face-down card beneath the crackle of lightning. "Next, I'll summon Effect Veiler (1: 0|0), but only so that I can play Magical Dimension." His small, winged spellcaster disappeared inside a massive sarcophagus, suspended above the ground by chains. "My monster disappears inside the sarcophagus, but then another monster takes her place. Meet Dark Magician (7: 2500|2100)." When the chains receded and the sarcophagus opened, the famed magician with the purple robes appeared, powerful and ready for battle. Magical energy spilled out of the sarcophagus and infected the Beetle. Seconds later, the Beetle crumbled. "As a bonus, opening the sarcophagus destroys one monster."
"We get it," grumbled Sergiu. "Is not a unique card."
"Sorry to offend. I only wanted to be thorough. And fair, I suppose. I'll have Dark Magician (2500) attack you to pay back that Beetle attack earlier." A wave of powerful magic emerged from the end of his staff and slammed hard into Sergiu. "That ends my turn."
Matt: 0 cards, 6800 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 5500 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 8000 LP
"Well, this is a difficult set of circumstances," said Judge. "I guess I have to start Main Phase I by playing The Gates of Dark World." Towering doors appeared in the front of Judge's field, separating him from his card zones. As the doors slid open on creaky hinges, a low fog spilled onto the field. "I get to banish Beiige from my graveyard to discard a monster and draw a new card. And I discard Broww, so I get to draw again." A new card emerged from the gate, face-down on the field. "Ah. Gotta set one card and enter the End Phase."
Matt: 0 cards, 6800 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 5500 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 8000 LP
Sergiu was equally unimpressed with his hand. He set his only card face-down as well. For a moment, Matt thought it funny how much luck was involved in this duel. As much as he struggled from time to time, so did even the best of duelists, as long as the cards weren't there. He hoped Bryan learned the same lesson.
Matt: 0 cards, 6800 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 5500 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 8000 LP
Matt drew his next card and played it immediately. "Elemental Hero Prisma (4: 1700|1000)."
"Nah, that's no good," said Judge, opening his face-down card. "Chain Bottomless Trap Hole. Can't have you attacking with two monsters now." An endless abyss opened underneath Prisma's feet and dragged him from the game.
"That's fine," said Matt. "Dark Magician (2500) will pay you back for that." Another wave of black magic burst from the staff, this time parting the fog on Judge's field and smothering his Life Points.
Matt: 0 cards, 6800 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 5500 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 5500 LP
Judge drew again. "Better," he said. He didn't strike Matt as the type to let something like that slip unless he was ready to make a play. "Dark World Lightning." Lightning filled the air between the three fields, crackling indistinctly before it struck Sergiu's face-down card.
"Infernity Break," he replied, chaining the activation of his card before it could be destroyed. He banished an Infernity Beetle from his graveyard, and the spread of Infernity energy from the Beetle's remains infected the Dark Magician this time, destroying it in kind.
Judge smiled. "Even better. When I discarded—" as part of Dark World Lightning's effect "—Goldd, he then summons himself." Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World (5: 2300|1400) emerged from the graveyard, his fiendish body shimmering in the fog. "Also summoning Gale," which referred to Blackwing – Gale the Whirlwind (3: 1300|400), a bird the size of a young boy with a head of green feathers and a body in blue feathers.
Grinning at Matt, Judge continued, "Since you're the reason we're in this mess, I think I'll let both my monsters take out our frustrations on you."
Matt endured both attacks, completely defenseless to do anything about it.
"In Main Phase II, I'll summon Stardust Dragon (8: 2500|2000)." His two monsters tuned together, transforming from gold and blue into a bright white, shaping itself into a celestial dragon on the field. "That ends my turn." And it was a great way to end it; Stardust Dragon ensured Judge had protection against a wealth of damaging effects that might come his way. It had only been a matter of time before luck carried the duel into someone else's favor again.
Matt: 0 cards, 3200 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 5500 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 5500 LP
Sergiu drew his card and, without a twitch in his facial muscles, let loose a slight gleam in his eye. He turned his card around for the others to see and then dropped it on the duel station. Infernity Archfiend (4: 1800|1200) was special summoned thanks to Sergiu holding no other cards in his hand. Unlike Matt's deck, Sergiu was better off without cards in his hand because Archfiend's effect also let Sergiu pull another Infernity monster from his deck to his hand. He chose another copy of Infernity Beetle (2: 1200|0), which he immediately normal summoned.
He stared at the field for a short time. Matt got the distinct impression that Sergiu would attack him directly if he could deal enough damage to remove all his Life Points—for no other reason, perhaps, than to get rid of the Slifer Red jacket. But since he would come up shy, he was considering the actual level of threat offered by Stardust Dragon. As a card capable of protecting other cards, it would pose a difficult challenge in the remainder of the duel. When all was said and done, Sergiu seemed inclined toward eliminating the real threat.
"Synchro Gaia," he said. Archfiend and Beetle resonated from the sound waves of the vibrating Beetle horns and transformed into Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth (6: 2600|800). A warrior armed with heavy armor and dual lances raced along the ground astride his armored horse and thrust his lance through Stardust Dragon's bony exoskeleton.
Judge grinned and leaned back. "Yeah, that was probably the right choice." The two guys exchanged a few friendly jabs while the system closed out Sergiu's turn.
Matt: 0 cards, 3200 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 5500 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP
No matter how Sergiu and Judge approached the duel, Matt just assumed he was going to be on the difficult end of it. Maybe Sergiu attacked him first as revenge for the Black Rose Dragon, or maybe it was because he preferred to let Judge reach second place. The two guys knew each other already, even though they attended different schools. As he gazed through the crowds, he realized a lot of the students knew people from the other schools. He felt like the only person who consciously chose not to affiliate with anyone else, including the people of his own, small campus. In all possible ways, he was the outsider for this duel. He had gotten here by luck, and he never felt less like the person who should be on-stage.
Matt drew and responded by instantly ending his turn. In the best case, he wished that he actually could disappear. Sergiu and Judge would be better off having this duel without him, anyway. Besides, what was Magician's Rod going to do against Gaia Knight?
Matt: 1 card, 3200 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 5500 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP
In a contrasting decision, Judge drew and immediately announced, "Dark Hole." Sergiu's powerful monster was drawn into a void in the center of the field and consumed. Grinning, Judge continued, "Gates of Dark World's effect: Banish Goldd, discard Beiige, draw one card. Then Beiige special summons himself." A second copy of his fiendish spear-wielder joined the field. "Now you get payback for destroying Stardust." Lumbering across the field, Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World (4: 1600|1300) thrust his spear into Sergiu's Life Points.
"You should take out the other guy," said Sergiu, finally proving that he just wanted Matt out of the duel.
"If you wanted to focus on him, you shouldn't have killed Stardust," said Judge.
Sergiu shrugged. It was hard to argue with that.
Matt: 1 card, 3200 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 3900 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP
Unfortunately Sergiu couldn't return the favor. He placed a card face-down to end his turn.
Matt: 1 card, 3200 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 3900 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP
And then Matt did the exact same thing. He wanted to disappear, but he didn't necessarily want to lose. Leaving himself wide open was definitely not his preference. So one face-down card was all he had to offer.
Matt: 1 card, 3200 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 3900 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP
Judge chuckled when his turn started. "Me again so soon?" He groaned at his hand, probably filled with high-level monsters or something, considering he was holding onto them for a while. "I guess this time I'll attack the new guy."
"I'll chain Scapegoat," said Matt. Four fluffy sheep bounded into existence on his field, each covered in different-colored wool.
"Ah, you're kidding," said Judge. "I probably should go after Serge now, but I'd rather get rid of the sheep." Beiige (1600) bounded across the field and destroyed one of Matt's Sheep Token (1: 0|0). "End Phase."
Matt: 1 card, 3200 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 3900 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP
Though they offered him a decent defense for now, the Sheep were defenseless themselves. That point was driven home again when Sergiu summoned his third Infernity Beetle (2: 1200|0) and destroyed another one of them.
Matt: 1 card, 3200 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 3900 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP
Suddenly Matt got the feeling he would be less the center of attention if he had just not made a play last turn. On the other hand: Two turns passed since he practically gave up and his opponents had made no significant moves at all. The amount of luck involved in the game was ridiculous.
Or was it really that much luck? Maybe everyone else was just worse at dueling than they touted themselves. Literally, Matt just needed one card to reclaim the duel. Since he didn't draw it the first time, maybe he would draw it if he played one more card. "Let's do Pot of Desires," he said. A two-sided ewer hit the field, but this one didn't have a dignified face like the Pot of Duality played by so many other duelists. One side had the green face of a goblin with golden teeth, but the other side had a face more like a pink orc with cut gems for teeth. In total: an ugly dish desirable only by the utterly extravagant.
"I draw two cards, and the next ten cards from my deck are immediately banished." Matt barely took notice as a chunk of his deck flew away from him. He bust out laughing when he looked at his new cards. Only Judge seemed to care which cards were banished, too. He searched the list through his monitor.
"You lost two Dark Magicians and two Dark Magician Girls, plus a bunch of other Dark Magician support," he commented. "I see Prisma in there, too. You certain that was a good move?"
"Statistics means never having to say you're certain," said Matt, quoting a t-shirt he saw one time in a novelty shop. "But yeah, I'm sure. I'll put one card face-down and end my turn."
Matt: 2 cards, 3200 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 3900 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP
Judge rolled his eyes. The Gates of Dark World weren't too helpful without monsters to banish. Whatever else he was holding wasn't doing what he expected, either. What was he waiting for? Surely with so many cards in his hand, he had something worthwhile. Maybe he was waiting until someone else played something devastating so he could counter it appropriately? Or maybe he really did have a series of dead draws.
First he set one card. An obvious ploy at this point. Then Beiige (1600) ambled across the field to fillet another Sheep Token (0) before Judge ended his turn.
Matt added, "I might as well bring this up now. I play Eternal Soul." His familiar monolith sprang to life, emanating magical energy as Matt collected Thousand Knives from his remaining deck.
Matt: 3 cards, 3200 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 3900 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP
As soon as Sergiu touched his deck, Matt activated Eternal Soul again. "This time I'll take Dark Magic Attack." Even though no one asked, he shrugged at Sergiu. "Just in case you try to get rid of it this turn."
Groaning, Sergiu sent his Beetle (1200) to destroy Matt's final Sheep Token (0), and then he placed his only card face-down.
Matt: 4 cards, 3200 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 3900 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 5400 LP
Matt pursed his lips as he nodded. "Bad luck, guys. Your turns could not have gone any better for me." Judge tilted his head in curiosity while Sergiu only scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Would you believe the luck?" He put heavy emphasis on the word, aware that Judge and Sergiu were not privy to his internal monologue. I drew this on my previous turn. Would have played it then, too, if not for the restriction." He slapped down a second Pot of Desires and watched another ten cards fly out of the game. But at least he got to draw two new cards. His deck was running thin by this point, and he couldn't care less.
"The real fun starts now, by discarding a card to special summon Apprentice Illusion Magician (6: 2000|1700) from my hand." She bore a striking resemblance to Dark Magician Girl if she were a bit younger, had darker skin, and wore lavender robes. "I'll also summon Magician's Rod (4: 1600|1000)," which was bizarre as a Dark Magician's staff that stood and hovered through the air as if held by someone invisible. "Summoning this card lets me move Dark Magical Circle from my deck to my hand. And I'll activate it now." A glowing, runic circle appeared on the field in his spell zone. "With this card, I look at the top three on my deck…" He did so. "…select one of them that mentions 'Dark Magician'…" He showed Dr. Lankford as proof. "…and put the other two back.
"Now, for the coup de grace…" He intentionally mispronounced all three words a la Bugs Bunny-style. "Eternal Soul activates to summon that Dark Magician (7: 2500|2100) from my Graveyard." The glowing images on the monolith gave rise to the familiar and powerful wizard, adorned in black. "Let's show the audience what you bring to the table, starting with Dark Magical Circle." The runic circle was empowered by Dark Magician's rise. The magic coursed over Infernity Beetle and banished it from play.
"Next up: Dark Magic Attack." As he laid down his spell card, Dark Magician blasted a wave of darkness across both Judge's field and Sergiu's field, wiping away their face-down cards. Neither of the duelists was able to chain their effects. "Now it's time for Thousand Knives." Dark Magician appeared to chant some minor spell to himself which created uncountable numbers of knives in the air. With a flick of his wrist, the knives all skewered Beiige and destroyed it.
"Time for the Battle Phase. Dark Magician (2500) takes the lead by attacking you, Judge." As the Dark Magician pulled back his staff to cast a spell, Matt placed another card on the field. "I'll add to it Dark Magic Expanded. Since I have one Dark Magician on the field, he gains 1000 attack points for this turn." Judge was forced to endure an even stronger wave of dark magic than ordinary. "And right behind him is Apprentice Illusion Magician (2000)." She swung her scepter and cast an attack that depleted all of Judge's points. The lights dimmed dramatically on his side of the duel station.
That left Matt with one target. "Your turn, Sergiu. Magician's Rod (1600) goes first with a direct attack." The floating staff cast a spell similar in scope to that of the Dark Magician.
Sergiu reached for his deck, but Matt interrupted him. "Oh, no. You don't get a turn. See, I have one more card." Suddenly his Dark Magician disappeared in a veil of swirling light and shadow. "I play Dedication through Light and Darkness to transform my Dark Magician into the Dark Magician of Chaos (8: 2800|2600)." The new magician wore black leather decorated by belts along his arms and legs. His headdress was enormous and did little to tame his wild hair. He wielded an ebony staff longer and sleeker than that of his smaller incarnation, yet still just as devastating when he launched a concentrated ball of dark magic straight into Sergiu's Life Points.
Matt: 0 cards, 3200 LP
Sergiu: 0 cards, 0 LP
Judge: 2 cards, 0 LP
There was a moment of stunned silence as the lights dimmed on Sergiu's corner. Matt's corner powered down last, followed by bright images of celebration as Matt's name was displayed on the arena screen with the word "CHAMPION" emblazoned in fancy font.
Matt collected his cards and offered a bright smile. "Thank you, gentlemen. That duel was tremendous fun. I do look forward to the next time we meet up. May we all be better duelists then." He left his two opponents to their momentary stupor. Sergiu appeared to be flustered beyond the capacity to speak while Judge was only disappointed in himself. He at least managed to put on a dissatisfied grin and nod his acceptance of Matt's skill.
Ushered away from the crowd by Dr. Lankford, Matt was able to duck away from the bulk of the collective gaze coming his way. For the next few hours, at least, most of it would a mixture of adoration and awe over winning the School Duel Singles. Tomorrow, everyone would be back to their intense study habits and building decks to beat him back down to Slifer level. He would only enjoy their respect until curfew at the end of the closing ceremony after-party.
He eventually caught up with Kasumi, who embraced him excitedly, and with Bryan, who embraced him with just as much excitement. Both of them questioned his use of cards they hadn't seen in his deck before. He refused to tell, saying only that he changed the synergy of his deck when he realized he would duel in a battle royale.
Instead of the usual dinner buffet, Duel Academy staff put together a hefty banquet as part of the closing ceremony for the School Duel Festival. Dr. West stood in front of everyone thankful for a successful festival in fostering intermural camaraderie, demonstrating tremendous skill and sportsmanship, and in granting him bragging rights over the other chancellors for one more year. Matt suspected from the level of disgust on the faces of Dr. West's counterparts that some form of gambling accompanied his bragging rights—something they didn't want to advertise or encourage to all the students.
Following the speech was a catered dinner of dishes not normally available to Duel Academy students: fancy cheeses, meat from animals not normally eaten in the States, vegetables that tasted good without gallons of dressing, and the kinds of fancy desserts that normally cost a week's paycheck. The problem with four-course meals on an island in the Pacific is that few other cultures offer serving sizes the same as in the States. While Matt was sated by his meal, Bryan grumbled about wanting a few more calories for free.
Dinner was followed by dancing and general merriment, but remarkably few students took the opportunity to dance. Pockets of students moved to the dance floor in clusters of slight twitching and spasming that could be labeled as "dancing" if one were so eager for it. Bryan wandered off in the hopes of cutting a rug, joined by a few of the Guardians and some of the South Academy students. Matt was content to remain seated by himself. He checked the time and figured that thirty minutes was plenty for him to claim he partied before he headed back to the dorm.
Unfortunately for him, Cary was not much of a dancer. She slid into Bryan's empty seat and immediately made a face that suggested the seat had been warmed by a large, quadrupedal mammal, such as a buffalo or a hippopotamus.
"Are you here for your cards?" asked Matt.
Cary shrugged. "Not sure yet. They aren't doing anything for me."
"You're actually considering letting me keep them?"
"In trade, perhaps. Nothing is free."
"Fair enough."
It turned out Justin was also not a fan of dancing, but he was plenty fond of cracking sarcastic jokes with Matt and generally being near Cary. If he was trying to be subtle, he failed.
"Dude, you realize that winning that tournament will only make you a bigger target than the placement exams did, right? You beat a bunch of the best duelists from all of the Duel Academies worldwide. Everyone's gonna want a piece of you."
It was mostly luck, Matt thought to himself. "It was all a demonstration of my impeccable skill," he said out loud. "People would be crazy not to come after me."
Cary snorted. "Don't count on it, Slifer Slacker." Her expression made it clear that she only mocked him to make it clear that a lot of people were still incapable of looking past the color of his jacket… even if he wore it by choice.
"Okay, maybe some people. But check out Kai."
The contact was brief, but Matt just barely caught Kai Jackson eyeing him from across the room before he pointedly looked away.
"You see that?" asked Justin. "Kai wants to pitch an old-school duel."
Cary shook her head. "No, he doesn't. He's completely unconcerned with Matt compared with Haruki and you and Dave. He thinks this doofus just got lucky and isn't worth the time to challenge."
Justin frowned. "He just became singles champion of all the Duel Academy campuses. How can someone like that not be worth challenging?"
"Like you said: He's old-school," she said with a shrug. "As an Obelisk, he'll never deign to issue a challenge against a Slifer." She cast a sidelong glance at Matt, which he immediately took to mean that she wanted him to challenge Kai instead.
He smiled. "A duel between the Dark Magician and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon would be interesting. Nice throwback to old stories of Yugi Mutou. Maybe one of these days. For now, I'm considering whether or not to change up my deck entirely."
"Oh, yeah? Why the sudden change of heart?" asked Justin.
"Just something I'm considering. No decisions yet."
I know I say it a lot, but I seriously need to dial back the duels a bit. Having so many duels in a single chapter is why it takes me so dang long to write this stuff. Seriously, I'm better at banter; those sections just roll right off the fingertips. Thanks go to the readers who contributed characters making an appearance in this chapter and help to support Bryan and Matt along the way.
The next chapter will focus on the semester finals and thinking about what's to come over the break. Anyone who read my previous attempt at this story will have an idea what that is. 80)