Chapter 23: Classes in the Spring Semester
Matt was amazed how quickly people could fall back into the same routines. Despite spending a whole month away from Duel Academy—most of it in a time zone fourteen hours off—Bryan managed to sleep all the way up to the point where he actually had to be up or risk missing class. Luckily Jack Hansbury had the same kinesiology class, so he was there to shake the frame of the bunk bed so Matt didn't have to.
"Get up, Moose," said Jack.
Bryan mumbled something to the effect of "heard Matt say it one time". He didn't love the nickname. But at least he flopped out of bed and lumbered into the bathroom to get ready.
Matt was already awake, dressed in his uniform, and killing time before class by reading. Jack leaned over the end of the bed so he could glance at the cover. "Are you reading the chemistry textbook?"
Tilting it back to see the title Basics of Chemistry, Matt stared blankly for a moment. "No. I have a dirty magazine hidden in here."
"You're giving it an awfully clinical look."
"Miss Christmas earned it. You should see the work she had done." Unfortunately, Jack had become mostly accustomed to Matt's snark during the fall semester. He just shook his head, likely assuming there was no dirty magazine. And there wasn't, but it was more fun when he didn't know that.
Bryan stumbled out of the bathroom with his eyes closed and a small toothpaste goatee. "Why is class so early?"
"You did't have a problem in Italy."
"Don't compare. That's apples to croquettes."
"At least we don't need to shower before first class this semester," said Jack.
"Unless you have bedhead," said Matt. He enjoyed the slight look of panic on Jack's face as he jumped to the mirror on the front door.
Actually, Jack had been commenting on the kinesiology class he and Bryan shared during morning session on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. They signed up for the weightlifting focus, so they were likely to get sweaty anyway.
Bryan looked to Matt. "Which class is first again?"
"I have Chemistry," said Matt. "You have kinesiology."
"Oh, yeah. Weightlifting, right? This should be a piece of cake."
Jack said, "That's right! You and I are headed up to the rec center for three hours instead of some lecture hall."
"Don't be too sure of that," said Matt. "Your kinesiology focus might be weights, but there's a solid component of health and wellness to the coursework. This is a school full of out-of-shape nerds, remember? There will still be plenty of time for you to spend studying so you can make your bodies into a house of glass. No, wait: a lump of clay. No, that's still what I'm looking for."
While he pretended to be lost, Bryan fake-laughed. "Yes, I get it. Studying won't help because we're soft like dough boys."
"Still not it, but you're on the right track. Don't forget that you were the one who said you would start exercising routinely again."
"I'm going to PE class, aren't I?"
"It's a start."
Jack scoffed. "Who needs more than that? All you need is to do one hundred push ups, one hundred sit ups, one hundred squats, and one hundred-meter dash every day."
Matt made a face. "Shouldn't that be 'run ten kilometers'?"
"Who has that kind of time? That's like, six miles. Besides, my way keeps it all one hunnit!" He waited for validation. Unfortunately, Bryan gave it to him in the form of a high five, which hid Matt's displeasure.
As Bryan finished zipping his Academy pants, he asked Matt, "Didn't you finish that book already?"
"You're right. I'm so far behind schedule already. How will I ever catch up?"
Bryan made a face. "See, that feels like a dig at me, seeing as I haven't read all of my textbooks yet for this semester. But the professors here don't have the expectation that we've read and understand the material perfectly before the first class even begins. So in reality, one of us has an unrealistic expectation of the semester, and the other is keeping himself stress-free until he understands what the professor wants."
Jack patted Bryan on the shoulder. "Nicely put. Shall we hit the gym?"
"Now? It's only seven-fifteen."
Matt smirked. "Do you know where your gym class is?"
Bryan pointed at the wall of their little dorm room. "In the secondary building, next door to the Duel Academy building."
The smirk continued. "Might check again on the definition of 'next door'."
Jack said, "We're going all the way across the island, buddy. Like, right in front of the volcano."
Bryan made a face. "But that'll take twice as long to walk."
"Exactly why we're leaving now and not in twenty minutes."
Matt continued reading while Bryan scrambled to gather his backpack, notebooks, and gym clothes. As soon as the backpack zipped up, Matt hopped down off the top bunk, stepped into his shoes at the same time Bryan did, and slipped his own backpack over his shoulder.
"You're coming with us?" asked Jack.
"Why not?"
"It's really early for just going to the main building."
Matt shrugged. "I want to get a good seat."
The air in January had a lot more bite to it than ever before. Matt usually handled temperature shifts well, but even he zipped up his jacket and considered wearing an extra pair of gym shorts underneath his uniform just for the added layer. He walked with Bryan and Jack just past the Ra Yellow dorm where they reached the main academy building. Matt split to enter the lecture halls.
The Takasugi lecture hall was on the second floor and primarily assigned for math and science courses. It had been the same lecture hall Matt attended for biology class in the fall semester, but today, it felt smaller. The partitions in the wall were set up to divide the lecture hall into a smaller section, with Takasugi A dedicated to chemistry class and Takasugi B and C dedicated to the more popular geometry and trigonometry class. Matt assumed the popularity was that Dr. Kerr was more student-friendly than Dr. Apple was. She had a tendency to repeat herself on important points and answer questions when asked—both points where Dr. Apple was a bit scatterbrained.
In fact, Dr. Apple was already in the hall to set up a tray full of glass containers. Matt wondered if they would get the baking soda volcano demonstration on their first day. The nutty professor was dressed the same as always: unbuttoned black Duel Academy coat, four-button suit that was missing two buttons, and a striped necktie in a loose Windsor knot. Did he even own a second outfit?
"Good morning, Mr. Luther. I do hope your winter break was satisfactory," said Dr. Apple without ever looking up. Matt vividly remembered making eye contact a few times last semester, but he still assumed Dr. Apple had autism or something.
"Thank you. It was satisfactory. How about yours? Did you get off the island?"
"As it happens, I absconded on a brief sojourn to Darwin, Australia."
"That sounds warm. Do you have friends or family in the area, or do you just enjoy cuddling baby crocodiles?"
"You've been to Crocosaurus Cove?" asked Dr. Apple.
"Only through the internet. Duel Academy was my first time leaving the US east coast. Florence was my second time."
"For the Deck Limitations Tournament," said the professor. "Congratulations on your performance. As unconventional as the tournament itself, you rose to the occasion. Quite impressive in your first year here."
Matt was surprised to hear a compliment related to dueling. Dr. Apple was always so devoted to science that, in any other setting, you'd never guess he even knew anything about Duel Academy. "Thanks," was all he could think to say.
Dr. Apple continued, "I'll admit that I had not expected anyone to arrive this early. Pardon me for continuing to set up whilst we chat."
"My roommate has class in the secondary building, so I walked out with him."
"No need to defend yourself," he said. "To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, and to be late will result in revocation of my tenure if the behavior persists."
Matt flinched, partly from the whiplash of that sentence and partly because he had never known Dr. Apple to be late for class. "You have a habit of being late?"
"Not anymore."
"But you used to?"
"Sometimes it can't be helped, regardless of what others say about it."
It wasn't the first time Matt had heard that excuse. There were several people back in middle school and high school who were always late for everything. They gave every excuse they could think of, citing traffic jams, rescuing kittens from trees and burning buildings, losing track of time, and constant deaths in the family—sometimes twice for the same person. It had all led Matt to the conclusion: "Some people just have a different relationship with time."
Dr. Apple stopped setting up so he could look at Matt with a wry grin. It seemed oddly affectionate, but not in a creepy way. Kind of like Matt was the first person who made Dr. Apple feel understood. "Exactly."
Matt found his preferred seat in the farthest corner in the front of the room. Even with the lecture hall split into a third of its full size, he felt more comfortable knowing he'd be able to lean back and see everyone else—their behaviors and reactions to Dr. Apple's idiosyncrasies—but also able to turn his body and shut them all out, if needed.
It wasn't long before the other students showed up. He recognized Shane Pricer and Jeri Fleig, both second years who Matt suspected might be dating or at least into each other. Shane was a Ra and a cocky pain-in-the-ass who barely contributed to the statistics study group last fall. Yul Tan and Gima Utamuro were both third years from the Guardhouse—Uria and Dreadroot, perhaps? Matt never really stopped to consider whether there would be Guardian Duelers in his classes. They were accompanied by a girl Matt recognized but didn't know, so he couldn't think of her name. Other students he recognized included Mitch Zielinski from Ra, Laura Guertin and Emily Li, and Kai Jackson from Obelisk, plus two more students whose names he hadn't learned yet.
And he wasn't likely to, because Dr. Apple never called roll. "Good morning, class." His inflections with those words were so consistent with the previous semester that Matt couldn't possibly take them seriously. Did Dr. Apple practice them in front of the mirror?
"Welcome to Chemistry I. For those of you who have not been in my class before, I am the professor. Being the diligent students that you are, I trust you all reviewed the syllabus without me, and you are not children; therefore, I need not read it to you. Therefore, we can immediately begin with the introductions."
That was a feint. Instead of going around the classroom, or even officially announcing his own name, Dr. Apple pointed to the display board, which showed the periodic table with images of the Elemental Heroes on it. "You all know the Greek, classical elements." The Elemental Heroes began to dance. "We'll go even deeper. You see, chemistry is the magical potion that makes the universe dance."
He walked over to the beakers and containers he had set up on the desk. "Allow elements and compounds to waltz—" He dropped a handful of raisins into a glass of Sprite. The carbon dioxide bubbled around the raisins, making them rise and fall within the glass. "—and see what wonders they bring. In this class, you'll be alchemists of the future, unraveling the mysteries of matter and energy."
Such an interesting metaphor from the consummate scientist Dr. Apple had proven himself to be during biology class. He was approaching chemistry as if it were an art class, where assignments would be up for interpretation rather than rote learning.
In fact, Matt had started his chemistry textbook already and found it to be more dense than usual. At first the concepts seemed to build on each other, similar to statistics and other mathematics, but chemical concepts are more difficult to observe. Matt had enjoyed biology class partly because the rules of biological science were consistent and verifiable. So far, chemistry seemed to be full of rules that only worked some of the time. He hoped the second half of the book would make more sense, but he didn't hold a lot of hope.
"Seeing as only twelve students were enthralled by the wonders of chemistry this term, we should be able to move much faster than usual, which gives us more time for hands-on demonstrations even during our two lecture days." He picked up a small piece of candy. "Who remembers Mentos and diet soda?"
Maybe this class wouldn't be so bad after all.
When he finally entered the Duel Academy secondary building, Bryan remembered that he had, in fact, been there before. He had a guided tour on his first day on campus that covered the majority of the island, including both academic buildings. The vestibule was unimpressive yet still memorable. Maybe it was the turnstiles blocking anyone from going more than ten feet without an ID card. But who else, besides students, would ever show up to this facility on a remote island in the Pacific?
The lobby looked comfortable with plush seating arranged in a circle around a table and a long, L-shaped bench, but it had to be mostly for presentation. Who at Duel Academy was going to just sit around while at the gym? Especially a space that felt so closed-off. Bryan didn't like having a wall with opposing hallways right in front of the entrance. Even the fitness center in the Denkard hotel had a more open floor plan.
"Bryan Knight." He followed the voice to see Kenny Stewart sitting on the L-shaped bench. As always, he wore his Academy uniform on his body, a stetson on his head, and cowboy boots on his feet.
"Hey, Kenny. Good to see you."
"Good to see you, too. I been lookin' forward to it."
"Why is that?"
"I heard you're the only freshman who was named champion of some big tournament. Seems like maybe you'd be up for an area duel in the near future."
Bryan was nervous. Kenny had been the top-rated Slifer when the fall semester started… until Matt took that rank away from him. Of course, Bryan had beaten Kenny during the placement exams in the fall, but he had lost to Kenny on multiple other occasions. And like everyone else his age, Kenny was also a student at Duel Academy: He had been practicing the game for years. There was no guarantee he wasn't growing faster than Bryan was.
The guy sitting with Kenny was shooting daggers at Bryan. He was an Obelisk who Bryan had never met before. From his bedhead, he either wasn't a fan of getting up early for the gym, he wasn't a fan of combs, or he stuck his face in the fan on a regular basis.
"You're kidding. This guy is Bryan Knight? Champion of the Deck Limitations Tournament?"
After a beat passed, Bryan asked, "Who are you?"
"Don't worry about it. From what I hear, we share the only class in the whole school where you might be able to put up bigger numbers than me."
Bryan looked for Jack but realized he lost his roommate. He said, "Okay. I'm gonna go find the classroom." And then he eagerly left the lobby. Lucy's words about people challenging him because of his tournament laurels came back to him. It kind of made sense for Kenny to challenge him since they were both Slifers, but it was unusual for anyone else to bother challenging down—a Slifer, no less. His heart rate rose as he finally started to feel the paranoia sink in.
He followed the signs to reach the classrooms. Along the way, he passed the entrance to the atrium and the toilets on the left, an activity room and a small study room on the right, and another classroom along the wall. His classroom was the second one, all the way at the end of the hall.
When he stepped into the room, everyone's eyes latched onto him. He almost found the pressure pushing him out of the room when Dr. Nagell looked his way. She was writing out key points from the syllabus on her digital projector. "Good morning. Take a seat anywhere." She had a friendly smile, either oblivious to the other glares or just not part of that. Hostile whispers filled the room as if Bryan had done something worthy of hatred. It was like everyone knew about the Deck Limitations Tournament, and they hated him for it. Even stepping inside the room felt like entering an active war zone. He picked the closest open chair he could find, right next to Kasumi and behind Mitsuro.
"Hi, Kas. How are you doing?"
She looked shy. "Why do you ask?"
Somehow her level of paranoia made Bryan relax. "Just because it's the first day of class and it's early in the morning and I hope you're feeling healthy?"
"Oh. You're not just asking me about Matt?"
"No, I can ask Matt about Matt, although the fact that you and he are getting closer does make me feel more comfortable around you. I hope that's okay. Just that everyone here seems to be staring at me?"
Mitsuro shifted in her seat so she could see him when she said, "I told you they would."
"Hey, Mitsy."
"Nope," she said.
"Sorry, Mitsuro. I thought you were exaggerating. But now it feels like whatever weight I try to lift will be doubled by the weight of judgment pushing down on me."
Kasumi said, "It's just… hard to believe. I'm happy for you, but it's… hard to believe." Props to her for trying not to be blunt, even if it meant repeating herself. "And the rules were weird, so it feels like you didn't really deserve it. Like, you didn't even participate in the whole tournament. Matt did most of the work for you."
"There were a couple of rounds Bryan played in, though," said Mitsuro. "Does that mean Matt didn't deserve the championship, either?"
"That's different," said Kasumi. "Everyone knows Matt's a great duelist." That line was exactly what Bryan predicted and exactly what broke him. He wondered whether Kasumi even realized how thoroughly she nailed Bryan's greatest insecurity: that his best friend was the one carrying him through his dueling career.
Mitsuro shrugged. "I suppose everyone is entitled to their opinion."
"Well, what's yours?" asked Kasumi. She almost seemed offended, which made Bryan regret his seating decision.
"The whole tournament was filled with weird rules, like you said. You can hardly compare it to regionals. Who cares who won? Just be proud of the fact that the winners of such a bizarre tournament came from our school. Better than having that random finance guy win, right? Or the social media lady?"
Bryan said, "Exactly. None of them were professional duelists, so it's not in the same league. It's only a championship by technicality."
Kasumi slumped back into her seat. "Still technically an award on your record." It wasn't until that moment that Bryan realized he had never seen Kasumi slouch. She always had such perfect posture… except when she was upset, apparently.
In an effort to change the subject, Bryan glanced quickly around the room. He tried to ignore the other jealous stares that bore down on him. Almost everyone was in their first or second year. The only person he knew was a senior named Jim Martel, a guy who looked decidedly bored by the idea of P.E.: physical exertion. There were only four girls in the class: Mitsuro, Kasumi, Sydney King, and Jade Kincaid. They were all lean, so he wasn't surprised they would sign up for a weight lifting class.
"Is Jim the only senior here?"
Mitsuro said, "Joel is also a senior."
"Really?" Not the guy who lived in the room underneath Bryan's at Slifer. Joel Chakkal wore Ra colors, so Bryan assumed he was a second-year student. "So third-years can be in Ra."
She laughed at him. "Yes, any boy who is not bad enough to be in Slifer but not good enough to be in Obelisk can be in Ra, regardless of year in school." He was embarrased that she kept laughing, but at least he provided entertainment. That was a silver lining, right?
Dr. Nagell stepped away from the desk. "Alright everyone, we are at time to start the day." At her words, several more guys who had been hanging around in the hallway walked in, including Kenny and the cranky Obelisk.
"Who's that guy?" Bryan whispered, to Mitsuro since she seemed to be the least hostile person around.
"Thomas Estrada," she said. "He's in your class."
He was a freshman? And in Obelisk? Bryan was under the impression that was impossible! He started to ask a follow-up question, but Mitsuro waved him off as Dr. Nagell introduced the class.
"Good morning! I'm so happy to see all of you here in our Health and Wellness course. If you're taking care of yourself, you've probably only met me one time, during your orientations. I'm Dr. Nagell, Duel Academy's primary care physician. Normally I could get away with just sitting in the doctor's office all day, waiting for one of you to fall ill and need my bedside manner, but I actually enjoy getting out here to teach from time to time. Joel Chakkal will serve as my teaching assistant this semester. In the event of an emergency that pulls me away from class, Joel will take over." That explained why Joel was a senior taking a course obviously geared toward younger years. What was Jim's excuse?
"We will delve into the timeless habits that contribute to the well-being of the human body. We'll navigate through traditional topics that form the bedrock of health, from the importance of nutrition to the significance of adequate sleep and stress management. You'll even learn the names of a few bones and muscles.
"However, our learning experience doesn't stop here in the classroom. The true essence of health and wellness is cultivated through action, and that's where our lab session comes into play. On Fridays, we will translate theory into practice as we engage in invigorating exercises both in the weight room and on the track. Make sure you come dressed in your gym uniforms. This hands-on approach will empower you to feel the physical manifestations of the concepts we discuss, fostering a deeper understanding of how to truly nurture your body." Fridays sounded like the most fun.
Kenny had sat behind Bryan. At that moment, he tapped Bryan on the shoulder and joked, "I want you as my lab partner." He earned a few chuckles. Luckily for him, Dr. Nagell wasn't as strict about order in the classroom as some of the other professors were.
Following the first-day lecture, Dr. Nagell ended the class a few minutes early to encourage everyone to explore the facility. If nothing else, everyone was responsible for finding lockers and the weight room on Friday. Everyone else was always in such a rush to flee, but Bryan felt like the best way to put some space between him and the hostility was to wait it out. Not two minutes later, the only other student left was a tall guy wearing a Ra jacket. He looked as shy as Bryan felt until he realized everyone else was gone except Dr. Nagell.
"Hey. Bryan, right?"
Nervously, Bryan nodded. "Nick?"
"Sims, yeah. Are you anxious about exploring the facility?"
"More just anxious around other people right now. I might go straight to the main building and get ready for area duels. Plus, I remember the building layout pretty well from orientation, I think."
"I hear you. Mind if I walk with you?" He started wrapping a Ra-yellow scarf around his neck before zipping the collar of his jacket over it.
"That's fine. Might be nice to have someone to chat with on the way. Did you walk out here alone?"
Nick nodded. "I was up super-early because of first-day jitters. As soon as dawn broke, I headed over here to avoid sitting around anxiously waiting for the first class to start. So I already had time to explore the building."
"Nice. Were you the only person out here? Aside from Dr. Nagell and whoever else runs the place?"
He shook his head. "There were quite a few people here already. I saw Kasumi walking around. A few students were in the weight room, some on the track, a couple playing racquetball, and at least one shooting hoops."
"Wow. I didn't realize a school full of nerds had so many jocks, too."
Nick said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but you go to a nerd school and you look like a jock."
Bryan laughed. "Yeah, I guess I was last year. I started football as a kid and played until I was accepted here."
"That's quite a shift in priorities. Why pick a card game over football?"
With a shrug, he said, "I just love dueling."
He expected Nick to laugh at him, but the laughter never came. "That's a good enough reason. And you're obviously good enough to get accepted by Duel Academy."
"I was," said Bryan, though he wondered whether that were still true. He wasn't good enough to earn Duel Academy's respect, apparently.
When they reached the main building, Nick split so he could use the toilet but thanked Bryan for walking with him. Bryan checked his phone to find a text message from Matt: Check your mailbox before area duels. Since Bryan could access his email from anywhere on campus, he surmised that Matt specifically meant for him to go check the physical mailboxes on the third floor. Every student was assigned one so they could receive correspondence from outside the academy or to receive messages delivered privately within the school grounds.
Before he even reached the row of mailboxes, Bryan could see paper pressed up against the little glass window. The mailbox was slightly bigger than a large manila envelope—about 10 inches by 13 inches—but tall enough to fit an entire box of them. It had to be absolutely stuffed for letters to press up against the glass like that.
"What the hell?" he asked no one as he keyed his PIN. The papers were almost neatly stacked in the front, but there was a second stack, which explained how they got so jumbled and jammed. He read the one sticking out front the most: It was an area duel challenge issued by Mitch Zielinski. Did he even know Mitch? The next form was a challenge issued by Tamah Fatu. What the hell, Fats? Another one from Lei Keli'i, another from Thomas Estrada, even more from people Bryan wasn't sure he'd ever met. Did literally every person in school send him a duel challenge request?
As Cary walked into the classroom for Deck Building I, her attention was drawn to Pr. Aseel. She didn't teach this class. In fact, she only taught computer classes. Dr. Houtz was on her other side by the lectern, which was exactly where she belonged as the senior professor for gaming classes. Cary had entered just in time to see Pr. Aseel tuck away a necklace with some kind of gold plate, underneath the collar of her green Duel Academy jacket. Dr. Houtz had her hand pressed against her own neckline, which was covered by the blue collar buttoned-up over her white jacket. The pose was one of either shock or defense, but Cary guessed she was subconsciously protecting something she wore—maybe her own necklace.
There wouldn't be as much elbow room in this class as Cary liked to have. All partitions were open for maximum seating. Deck Building I was one of the core classes required by everyone for graduation, and every counselor heavily encouraged taking it during freshman year. As far as she could tell, only a few freshmen weren't in the room—for reasons unbeknownst to her—and the only two juniors were students who had transferred to Duel Academy Central after spending their first year at another branch.
Unfortunately, Matt felt comfortable enough to sit down one row up from Cary, one seat off so that Bryan sat directly behind her. "Dr. Houtz isn't wearing her usual Goth black? Bummer."
Cary rolled her eyes. Obviously it was too cold to walk around with her jacket unbuttoned just for the sake of showing off black clothing. Jet-black hair and lipstick still got the point across that Dr. Houtz loved black.
The room rapidly filled with students. Cary had the forethought to sit on the end of the row, so at least one side was open. Cee-Cee had taken the seat beside her, leaving Kasumi to sit beside Matt. Fats sat beside Cee-Cee. As a few other students sat close by, Cary's only solace was knowing that Matt was just as uncomfortable with the crowd as she was.
"You think we'll talk about OTK decks?" asked Fats.
Suppressing the desire to roll her eyes again probably gave Cary a weird expression, but her sentiment was given voice when Cee-Cee said, "No doubt. It's such a well known deck style that we have to cover it. What I want to know is what the class is actually like. I mean, will we have to actually build and use different decks? How will she grade us on them?"
"Probably depends on the unit," said Fats. "Like maybe we're assigned to build a beatdown deck, and she takes off points for safety cards that don't do anything to clear the field or deplete the opponent's Life Points."
Cary gave them some insider knowledge. "Dave said we'll cover standard themes like aggro, mill, burn, OTK, and stall decks. But we'll spend a lot of time doing other random requirements just so we can discuss the theory behind what makes a good deck."
Cee-Cee said, "Kinda surprising this isn't a first-semester class."
Emily Li had sat in the row ahead, right in front of Fats. "Isn't that because the first semester is still about weeding out weak students? Everyone who passed is worth the effort to mold." Cary hadn't heard that explanation before, but it was consistent with other stories Dave had shared about Duel Academy and their sometimes ruthless views on dueling prowess.
"Wicked," Fats uttered.
When Pr. Aseel finally left, Dr. Houtz was ready to start her lecture. "Good afternoon. How important… is your deck?"
For a few beats, everyone was confused by her question. Fats was one of the first to raise his hand. "It's the most important thing you bring to a duel."
"Why do you say that?"
He shrugged. "Without your deck, you can't duel."
"Great answer. Follow-up question, for anyone to answer: Now that you've brought your deck, how likely are you to win?"
This time, no one was eager to answer. Was there even an objectively correct answer to a question like that? Bryan was the one who finally said, "Fifty percent: You either win or you lose."
A few people chuckled, including Dr. Houtz. "Given no other information, that would be a correct answer in your statistics class." But clearly not the answer she was looking for.
Matt said, "Twenty percent."
Dr. Houtz lit up. "Ooo. Intriguing number. Why that one?"
"With a strong deck alone, you might win twenty percent of duels. Same goes for the other guy, who will win twenty percent of the time. A bigger factor is the matchup between the decks—maybe thirty percent."
"What about the other thirty?"
He smirked. "Mistakes. Chance, errors, whatever you want to call it: Playing your cards right wins another thirty percent of duels."
The professor continued to grin and nod her head at the explanation. "You might be right. There is no single formula that determines who will win a duel. Even those numbers still leave a lot of wiggle room because of the myriad factors that affect the outcome. But you're already thinking the right way. Not only will we spend this course going over terminology you should already know, such as core and staple. we'll also discuss the basics of deck construction, archetypes both common and uncommon, netdecking, and the right ratios to achieve the outcomes you want. Your goal by the end of this term is to absorb all this information and then use it to find the best deck for you.
"But don't think we won't be trying to pull that deadline in as much as possible. Here's your first assignment, due next Monday: Take your current deck and impose one limitation on it."
Cary reacted to the word. She turned just slightly to see Matt's reaction. A lot of other students had the same thought. Matt remained calm and made no big movements. "Any limitation?" he asked on everyone else's behalf.
"Anything," said Dr. Houtz. "Change one rule about building your deck, then implement that rule. Try to pick something interesting because you'll have to write about it. With your limited deck, conduct at least one official duel against anyone else."
In the front of the room, Jack Hansbury raised his hand to ask, "Like an area duel?"
"Sure, if that's the kind of visibility you want on this homework assignment. But any on-record duel is sufficient. Don't worry about your win percentage for the semester. Test the deck at least once. More will be better.
"The purpose of this exercise is to analyze how your deck performs after you place that limitation on it. Does it get better? Does it get worse? Go into detail. Explain how using zero Trap Cards speeds up your deck but leaves you with worse field advantage. Show me why using only monsters with less than 1500 attack points actually improves your likelihood of overwhelming your opponent. Your grade will come from the essay you write explaining what you changed and how it affected your deck. What did you learn about your deck by placing a limitation on it? Minimum 500 words, but there is no maximum length. Insight is what matters."
Deck limitations? Somehow the exact exercise that Matt and Bryan achieved championship status for is also the first homework assignment? What a crock of shit!
The lecture continued into the basic anatomy of a deck, starting with what archetypes are and how they differ from core decks. The information itself felt like it should be too basic for a class at Duel Academy, but Dr. Houtz always managed to attach a rule or comment that made the discussion seem worthwhile. It was taking the lesson to the most fundamental level possible, and yet she mentioned several concepts that Cary knew subconsciously without ever hearing the functional rules aloud.
As she was finishing her notes at the end of class, she heard whispers coming from behind her. Snatches of conversation in Matt and Bryan's voices. The only thing she heard clearly was "Really? Her?" Somehow, Cary knew that was directed at her and not the other girls.
Matt proved her point when he leaned forward. "Did you really challenge Bryan to an area duel?"
"Yeah," she said simply.
"Why?"
"Because he has a championship tag on him."
Bryan balked. "A what?"
"You won a championship," said Fats. "That means as far as Duel Academy is concerned, you're a high-value opponent. Beating you in a duel earns even more prestige than beating another student who doesn't have that tag."
Matt said, "He would know. He's another one of your challengers."
"Duel me first, please," said Cary. She finally turned all the way around to look Bryan in the eye. She tried to be soft, since he was a guy and she was decent-looking. "You can decide how many of the other challenges to accept, but please duel me first. I'd really appreciate it."
She really hoped the smirk on Fats' face and the way Kasumi shook her head didn't affect Bryan's decision. If possible, she'd rather not explain how the first person to defeat a championship duelist gets more prestige than the subsequent duelists. Bryan was guaranteed to have a long string of losses here. The fiftieth person to do it would look as much like a bully as a strong duelist.
Fats looked to Matt. "Did anyone challenge you?"
"Cary did."
She just shrugged. "Of course I did. Again, the championship tag. Not gonna prove myself by dueling the boring people all the time."
"Anyone else?"
Matt nodded. "Eleven other challenges. But that doesn't get my hackles up like this homework does. Deck limitations? Where would I even start?" His sarcasm was frustrating in this scenario. Cary kept thinking about how there was a chance that she could have been part of that tournament if she'd known about it sooner. There was no restriction on who Matt's partner was, and he was horny enough to agree to a female partner just for the promise of sharing a hotel room, even with separate beds.
Cee-Cee said, "There are already a dozen blog posts analyzing the effect of the limitations from that tournament on your Dark Magician deck. You don't even have to do the work yourself."
Matt made a face. "Well, now that you've let the cat out of that deck box…"
The conversation was boring. Cary already knew Matt would do the work. He was too arrogant to copy someone else's analysis. But she had spent countless hours fine-tuning her deck already. How could she possibly change the deck in a way that she could write a 500-word essay about it? That question was how she ended up dueling against Lei Keli'i in the practice rooms of the Obelisk Girls' dorm that evening.
"I'm trying a rule where the only damage I can inflict is through direct damage," said Lei. That was a good limitation. Lei already ran a Burn deck, but only allowing direct damage meant she was more likely to flood Spells and Traps this time. "How about you?"
"I can only attack with monsters of 3000 points or more."
"Ooo. I like that. Especially with Dragunity." Most of the top-level Dragunity monsters were slightly weaker than 3000 points. Her key to winning so far had been to attack relentlessly with smaller monsters or to empty the field except for one gigantic monster. If she pulled off a Trident Dragion combo, she wouldn't have to change her deck much. But to really drive this new attack rule, she had to use several cards that were more atypical for her.
Seated at the duel station, they played a quick game to determine who goes first. Lei patted Cary's hand. "Scissors beats paper. You choose."
Cary's expression said it all: Of course she'd go first.
She started off with Dragon Shrine. As spires shaped like dragon tails sprouted from the ground, Dragunity Phalanx went straight from the deck to the Graveyard. Summoning Dragunity Dux (4: 1500|1000) let her pull Dragunity Phalanx (2: 500|1100) out of the Graveyard, first as an Equip card, then as a separate monster. The crystalline horns on Phalanx (2) began to ring, creating resonance with Dux (4) until they took a new shape: a muscled dragon donning red armor, matching the armor of its rider: Dragunity Knight - Gae Dearg (6: 2400|800).
Her dragon rider Gae Dearg immediately activated his own effect, pulling a monster from her deck to her hand, but Cary dropped it straight into the Graveyard as the cost of that effect. Fortunately, Mist Valley Baby Roc (2: 400|600) summoned itself when discarded to the Graveyard.
"Time for a test card," she said. Baby Roc (2) began to warble, synchronizing with Gae Dearg (6) until the two transformed into Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon (8: 3000|2500). Her biggest dragon yet was covered in blue crystals, with claws that could dig out the hardest ore.
"Nice. Is it my turn yet?"
Time for another obvious expression: "I'm playing a Dragunity deck; of course I'm not done yet."
Cary activated Soul Charge: At the cost of 1000 LP per monster, she summoned Dragunity Phalanx, Dragunity Dux, and Dragunity Knight - Gae Dearg from the Graveyard. Gae Dearg's effect activated again: Cary sent a monster from her deck to her hand and then immediately discarded it. Once again, Phalanx (2) and Dux (4) synchronized into the form of another armored dragon rider: Dragunity Knight - Vajrayana (6: 1900|1200). Her second dragon rider Vajrayana's effect equipped Phalanx from the Graveyard, but Phalanx's effect summoned it as a separate monster.
The two Dragunity Knights disappeared as Cary overlaid their cards to summon Hieratic Dragon King of Atum (6: 2400|2100). A black dragon adorned in gold already implied divinity, but its effect was even better: By detaching one of its dragon riders, Atum's effect brought Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon (10: 0|0) straight to the field from Cary's deck. The dragon might be weaker than normal in points, but its effect was still active: Red-Eyes Darkness was able to summon Dragunity Knight - Gae Dearg (6: 2400|800) back from the Graveyard.
The second time Gae Dearg used its effect, Cary had sent Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite (4: 1600|1000) to the Graveyard. Zephyros also had an effect to summon itself to the field as long as Cary took 400 points of damage and took back one of her monsters: She pulled Red-Eyes Darkness back into her hand. Phalanx (2) began to resonate again, this time with Zephyros (4) to form another copy of Dragunity Knight - Vajrayana (6: 1900|1200). As soon as it hit the field, Vajrayana pulled Dragunity Phalanx out of the Graveyard as an equip card, but Phalanx summoned itself as a monster instead.
Phalanx (2) resonated with Vajrayana (6) until their energy transformed them into the brilliant Stardust Dragon (8: 2500|2000). Gae Dearg's effect activated again, ending up with another copy of Mist Valley Baby Roc (2: 400|600) on the field. Baby Roc (2) synchronized again with Gae Dearg (6) to summon a second Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon (8: 3000|2500).
At this point, Cary still only had two monsters with 3000 attack points. Atum was the weakest so far, so she sent it to the Graveyard to summon Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon (10: 2800|2400) at full strength. With its effect, Red-Eyes Darkness pulled Dragunity Knight - Gae Dearg (6: 2400|800) back out of the Graveyard. Gae Dearg's effect let Cary take Garuda the Wind Spirit from her deck to her hand and then discard it to the Graveyard.
Cary had one more monster to discard: Assault Beast, which let her move Assault Mode Activate to her hand. She set it face-down. Finally, she equipped Gae Dearg (+3000) with Dragunity Divine Lance for a few extra points, some Trap immunity, and to equip Phalanx to Gae Dearg.
She had three monsters with 3000 points on the field, plus Red-Eyes Darkness (2800) and Stardust (2500) for some extra defense. And no cards in her hand, which limited the number of combos she could still make. "Now you can go."
Cary: 4600 LP, 0 cards
Lei: 8000 LP, 5 cards
"I almost thought you'd forgotten about me." But Lei had a genuine smile on her face. Sarcasm was still just a joke to her, not a sign of malice.
But as soon as Lei touched her deck, Cary countered with Assault Mode Activate: She exchanged her Stardust Dragon on the field for Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode (10: 3000|2500).
"You don't let up, do you? I guess I'll need all of these face-down." Lei placed three cards in the backfield. "Pot of Duality…" An ewer of blue crystal let her look at three cards off the top of her deck, but she could only keep one of them. "One more card face-down and a monster. Should I attack with it? Aw, I'll just leave it in defense mode."
"I'm no stranger to sarcasm," said Cary.
Cary: 4600 LP, 0 cards
Lei: 8000 LP, 1 card
Unfortunately, Cary saw Mirror Force pop up from that Pot of Duality. That meant there was a chance she could lose all her monsters when she attacked. To reduce the risk, she switched both Crystal Wing and Red-Eyes Darkness to defense mode. She let Gae Dearg (3000) start the attack.
"Dimensional Prison," said Lei.
Cary shrugged. "So what? Dragunity Divine Lance protects from Trap Card effects." In other words, the card activated, but it didn't do anything. Gae Dearg slashed through Drill Barnacle (0). That left the field open for Stardust Dragon (3000) to attack. Oddly, no Mirror Force this time. Cary ended her turn after the attack.
Cary: 4600 LP, 1 card
Lei: 5000 LP, 1 card
"Here we go, a chance to buy some time: Swords of Revealing Light."
"No," said Cary. She activated Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode: The dragon disappeared in a blinding flash of light that overpowered even the Swords of Revealing Light.
"I'll also chain Macro Cosmos."
That was it? Unless she summoned Helios from her deck, all it did was banish cards that were sent to the Graveyard. "You know that doesn't affect Stardust, right? He's already in the Graveyard before your effect activates."
"No, I didn't realize that. But it's fine. I'll just summon Drill Barnacle (3: 300|0)." The name was apt: It was just a barnacle with drills sticking out of its back. "All attacks are direct attacks."
"I didn't realize you were serious last turn when you debated battle position." The drills were barely noticeable as they slipped past all the other monsters and bore into Cary directly.
Lei said, "When Drill Barnacle completes a direct attack…"
"I know what happens. Anyway, Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon negates your monster's effect." A burst of shining energy from her dragon protected her Life Points and also destroyed the drills. "And Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode returns to my field."
"Well, shoot."
Cary: 4300 LP, 1 card
Lei: 5000 LP, 0 cards
Shoot? Thought Cary. Are we in a Saturday morning cartoon?
Despite having enough firepower left to end the duel, Cary decided to be conservative. With a direct attack deck like that, there were sure to be multiple copies of Mirror Force. So to start, only Gae Dearg (3000) attacked.
"Mirror Force," said Lei.
Cary made a face. "Stardust negates it." Her monster disappeared again—banished this time, thanks to Macro Cosmos—but at least Mirror Force was negated.
She tried activating another Mirror Force as part of the same chain. Unfortunately, it was the same mistake as earlier: "Dragunity Divine Lance means Gae Dearg is immune to Trap Cards." Mirror Force only reflected against monsters in attack position. Stardust wasn't at risk this time because it was already removed from the field. Gae Dearg's (3000) attack landed successfully.
Now Phalanx unequipped itself from Gae Dearg and became a separate monster. Phalanx and Gae Dearg synchronized into a mechanical beast with a dragon's face but a body more similar to a winged horse: Scrap Dragon (8: 2800|2000). Scrap Dragon activated its own effect, blowing hot steam and stray shrapnel across the field to destroy Macro Cosmos. It destroyed itself in the process, but without Macro Cosmos on the field, Scrap Dragon fell into the Graveyard, as normal.
That setup let Cary play Return of the Dragon Lords, which pulled Scrap Dragon (8: 2800|2000) right back to the field. And then Red-Eyes Darkness activated its effect to return Stardust Dragon (8: 2500|2000) from the Graveyard. This time, she left everything in attack position.
Cary: 4300 LP, 1 card
Lei: 2000 LP, 0 cards
"Oh, wow," said Lei. "I'll set one card and end my turn." Considering the card she drew was her only card, that short turn wasn't surprising.
Cary: 4300 LP, 1 card
Lei: 2000 LP, 0 cards
There was no need to enact any more plays or combos. Cary used Scrap Dragon's effect to destroy the face-down card, which was only Rivalry of the Warlords. Keeping with her rule, Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon (3000) delivered the final attack to end the duel.
Cary: 4300 LP, 2 cards
Lei: 0 LP, 0 cards
"Well, that was a lot less exciting than I had hoped for." Lei didn't really look upset, but she pouted anyway.
Unfortunately, Cary felt the same way. Lengthy combos were a feature of the Dragunity deck, not an anomaly, so what was she supposed to learn from that exercise? She wasn't sure how to write 500 words about that limitation. Requiring higher attack power did help her level up her monsters' power throughout the duel, but was that always a good thing? She ended up playing conservatively because of all the Mirror Force cards, and there were a thousand more just like it, ready to destroy strong monsters instantly.
The last thing she wanted to do was make up another limitation and complete an official duel with it. "I just need to give this some more thought before I know what to write."
With a laugh, Lei said, "Clearly this one needs more play testing to get anything out of it. But since I've met my minimum recording requirement, I'll do the rest of them offline to avoid screwing my win percentage."
"Good call." Now that she could go off the record, maybe she could be more aggressive against someone with a real deck, that could actually win. Syd might help with that.
Useless trivia: When I first wrote this chapter, I had thought it would be fun to have Bryan do an essay on why traditional Elemental Hero fusion decks were such a struggle to win with. As soon as I started writing it, I realized that it was a little bit dry, plus I wasn't going to have a narrative call back to it, so the utility was already pretty low, even if every reader agreed that the subject happened to be super interesting. Honestly, the assignment wasn't really specific enough to ensure the students really learned a ton about their decks, and I'm not a Dragunity expert—relying on online tutorials and combo demonstrations to help me piece together enough cards to pretend I know what I'm doing.
Thanks again to the readers who inserted a bit of themselves into my world. This chapter included the following contributions:
* Jack Hansbury...
* Emily Li...Amourenvie
* Kai Jackson...SketchyWolf
* Mitsuro Itachu...Titanic X
* Cee-Cee Silva...HardWrapping
* Tamah "Fats" Fatu...Vstriker
* Jade Kincaid and Sydney King...TC-For-Short