Chapter 40: Graduation
Cary woke up to find herself in a familiar, oppressive dining room at her parents' estate, seated in the middle of the long, ornate table. The walls were dark and blurry, but her family's faces were crystal clear and twisted with contempt.
"Turns out Little Cary managed to scrape through her first year at Duel Academy." Her mother's voice cut through the air, sharp as a blade.
"Barely," said Uncle Bill through a derisive snort. "Only because they couldn't bear to lose their token female student. Can't have the diversity statistics looking bad, can we?"
For once, her family actually recognized her as a duelist, yet this was all the had to say? She looked to the head of the table where her father wore a grim expression on his face, accented by excessive whiskers. Cary remembered him having shaved, but he must have let it grow back after the kaiju attack.
Wait. The kaiju attack! How did Cary end up here?
"Clawing her way to survival, tooth and nail, like those monsters devastating the Atlantic. Such uncouth behavior for a Strickland." His words dripped with disappointment and disgrace.
Aunt Jill chimed in, pretending to whisper but more than loud enough for Cary to hear. "Clearly the faculty don't understand the expectations of our family. They permit Cary to stay because she's not bottom of the barrel…"
"...yet she's nowhere near the top of it, either," said Uncle Bill. "Are you quite certain she's not adopted?"
"Unfortunately," sniped her mother. She offered Cary a look filled with sorrow. "Dave achieved every accolade there is available at Duel Academy. Such a shame that Cary can't claim even one, though it's not surprising."
No, not every accolade, Cary argued silently. Dave was a never leader of a dueling team.
Her father said, "Lana Tao recognized her status as less-than and took pity on her. If the faculty do the same, she may yet be invited back for another year. One more opportunity to prove herself."
I defeated Lana Tao, said Cary, except she remained voiceless. She tried again to scream of her recent accomplishment only for the sound to never escape her own ears. The anguish she felt caused the room to warp and twist, their sneering faces blending into a nightmarish collage of disappointment and derision. Carly felt herself sinking, suffocating under the weight of their expectations.
"I beat her!" she shouted, this time into the ruined atrium of DA-Rec, overflowing with groggy students and faculty just waking from their own nightmares.
The toll of the previous weeks had worn Cary down as she sat in the cafeteria of the main Duel Academy building. All of the dorm kitchens had been closed for the remainder of the year. In part, that decision was to consolidate the kitchen staff so that most could leave Duel Academy, by request. Now everyone had to share the small dining hall in the main building. Normally Cary would respond to such a situation by taking her food to go, but there wasn't much more solitude to be found elsewhere. In addition to the dwindling staff numbers, all but a couple dozen other students also fled the campus.
"Cary?"
Her attention jerked upward to Sydney King. "What?"
"I'll accept the invitation," and she sat down. She must have asked if Cary minded the company. "I'm surprised you're still here. Aren't your parents uber wealthy?"
"Just regular wealthy. And they fear the judgment of taking their kid out of school before the semester ends."
Syd made a face. "You could take your exams remotely."
"It's 'not proper'," said Cary, using the same air quotes that had been implied when her parents explained that she would have to complete the semester on Academy Island.
Emily had been sitting before Cary zoned out, though she was silent until now. "And if you believe the legends, then you already knew this island was a nexus for supernatural events. You can't enroll in a haunted school and then act surprised when there are ghosts floating around." That was the defense that Emily's parents had offered when they refused to pull her out of school. She sounded bitter when she repeated the reasoning at the lunch table. Cary nodded as if she agreed, though really she was only acknowledging her suitemate's comment.
"Never mind that the ghost in this case was three hundred feet tall and expanded the rim of the Pacific Ocean by an extra thousand square miles," said Syd.
Emily looked sad. "We were founded as a place to hide gods that were sealed in cards. Apparently that's 'asking for it'."
Victim blaming at its most unfortunate, thought Cary. Not like any of them had believed the god cards were just broken fragments of power from even bigger gods until they came across Holactie, Armityle, and Endgame.
Everyone was lucky enough to recover from the shadow sickness that swept through the island. Recovery was quicker for some than for others. Cary had been quick to wake up, for example. Most awoke the same day she did while others took a day or two longer. Erica took an extra three days, possibly because of how much time and energy she had devoted to the Shadow Realm while she was possessed. Jim Martel stayed out for the full week—hard to tell how much was shadow exhaustion versus some kind of underage hangover, though.
As soon as the harbor was repaired and transportation opened, the majority of the living bodies were called home by their parents, guardians, or next of kin. Kasumi had been on the first ship out, distraught to find out that Cary actually wanted to stay, and then devastated to learn that not only did Matt not want to go home but that he also declined going to stay with Kasumi and her family for the rest of the semester. She told Cary that he insisted on being on campus in case anything bad happened again. As a result, Cary had the misfortune to receive a dozen text messages per day asking what Matt's doing and if he's acting weird. And saying "He's always weird" didn't make the anxious messages slow down at all.
She looked over a few tables to see Dave sitting with Justin and Andy, as usual. All of them had stayed for similar reasons: The danger had passed, and they wanted to graduate in person. But their role—being temporarily possessed by the Shadows—had etched into the lines of their faces, making them look years older than they were.
Bryan was easy to spot as he sat down with the so-called Guard Trio, but Matt was nowhere to be seen. He was often invisible these days outside of lectures. The one time Cary managed to get him face-to-face, he acted like everything was normal and made some inappropriate comments about how Cary could help him fill a void while Kasumi was gone, but even when Cary pretended to be amenable, he never followed up. In her experience, a boy skipping the opportunity for sex was experiencing stress problems. Given the nightmares she suffered from just one major Shadow Duel, she could only imagine what Matt was going through after three (!).
Cee-Cee sat down next, apparently feeling invited by the presence of three of her friends in one place. "I never thought it would come to this," she said, looking around. So many students had been forced to leave, their families unwilling to take the risk of staying in the location where Holactie was first sighted.
"You could have gone home," said Cary. Her tone had a bite to it because Cee-Cee had been officially offered the position as Team OTK leader. She deserved it, but it still stung that Cary didn't get the offer instead.
Emily said, "Mine wouldn't let me leave. Remote learning 'just isn't the same'." Her tone had a different bite, but a bite nonetheless.
"I had to beg my parents to let me stay," said Cee-Cee.
Syd shrugged. "I'm a legal adult, so no one could make that decision for me."
Lucky.
The students whose parents had opted for the remote learning route had been permitted to complete their final assessments from the safety of their own homes. But those who had chosen to remain on campus had been forced to endure the stress of final exams amid the persistent concern that the kaiju might return, even though Dr. West assured everyone that the monsters were gone for good. Rumors about the ongoing threat were hard to quash.
"Are we going to have to duel anyone who went home for our final assessments?" asked Cary. She couldn't stand the idea of try to enforce anti-cheating mechanisms through video conferencing software.
Syd said, "According to Jade, their duel assessments were waived."
"They don't have to duel?" asked Cee-Cee.
"Apparently it's optional. If they're confident in their written test scores, they can choose to let that stand as their final grades. Dueling requires they attend a Kaiba Corp location and duel someone there."
Cary frowned. "That's hardly the same as dueling another student?" She meant it as a straight complaint, but her voice made it sound like a question.
Emily took it that way. "Kaiba Corp employees are solid duelists. I don't think they're getting off easy."
"They still have to decide whether to come back," said Cee-Cee. "Remote dueling isn't a permanent option. If anyone else wants to graduate, they have to come back to campus and complete their studies here, in the classroom and on the duel field."
"Some of them will," said Syd. "The dedicated ones."
That wasn't enough for Cee-Cee. "This place was home for the past year. I want to help rebuild, if I can." The group murmured in agreement, but the unease was palpable. They had all sacrificed so much to be here, to complete their studies in the face of such overwhelming adversity. Cary knew it was risky to come back to a school where Shadow magic was real, but the thought of having to abandon it was almost too much to bear.
Standing up and shoving her chair back under the table, Cary slipped her bag over her shoulder. "I'm going to prepare for my assessment." She was scheduled to duel against someone that afternoon to get her final grade. She didn't really care who at this point. Nothing would make her the leader of Team OTK, no matter how well she dueled.
Dr. Arbus must be the lowest level of the staff member tier list, thought Bryan as he realized it was the only faculty office that had zero windows in it. The TA office and the mail room were the only other rooms on the floor without any natural light. Pr. Radican's office was the smallest, wedged in between the mail room and the staff lounge, but even that one had a window. All Bryan could enjoy while waiting for Dr. Arbus to finish shuffling papers was to watch the afternoon sunlight casting dappled shadows out in the corridor.
When his guidance counselor finally shut the door, Bryan knew it was time to hear what the meeting was about. His heart hammered in his chest. His fingers, clenched into fists on his lap, trembled slightly. He tried to forbid himself from expecting a commendation for delivering the finishing blow against Anand, but his pride insisted that's what he was here for.
Until Dr. Arbus spoke. Bryan heard the words, but he couldn't make sense of them. "Your assessment scores did not meet the bar to continue your enrollment into the next term. I'm sorry."
Bryan blinked, trying to swallow the knot that had formed in his throat. "But… I saved everyone. Even though I lost to Sydney…" He was sure that his final exam scores were good enough, and he thought he put up a good fight against Syd in their final duel. He still second-guessed himself too often, hesitated for a fraction of a second too long. And in a duel, one mistake could mean everything. It was no surprise for her to win, given her past experience, so how could that be enough justification to kick him out of school?
"It's about more than your placement exam and the chaos of the past few weeks. This assessment was given over the course of the term."
"I've been doing better," he stammered, his voice barely more than a whisper. It was true: After months of failure, feeling like an outsider among the other students at Duel Academy—where everyone seemed to excel effortlessly—he had finally started to improve. His fusions had sharpened, his summoning speed was faster, and his deck was more consistent. His grades had been on the rise, and his professors had begun to acknowledge his effort, even if he was still far short of mastery.
"You've seen my progress, right? I've been working so hard. I mean… Anand and his Boss Deck. And also I helped Matt with the Deck Limitations Tournament, both Leona Moxley and Darcy Purves."
The way Dr. Arbus shifted uncomfortably was telling.
"She's not connected to this decision, is she?"
"It's certainly unhelpful to have an international donor who has released… unfavorable… statements about one of our students." Dr. Arbus sighed softly, leaning forward as he touched his fingers together like a loose prayer. "You've come a long way, Mr. Knight. No one doubts your improvement. But Duel Academy has standards that… faculty… believe you have failed to meet."
Bryan's throat tightened at the thought. The enormity of it weighed down on him all at once. Being kicked out of Duel Academy wouldn't just be losing his chance to become a professional duelist: He'd lose his friends, his future… and, worst of all, he'd be separated from Matt—his best friend and the one person who had always believed in him, even when he didn't believe in himself.
Dr. Arbus further explained, "It's not only your grades—it's about showing your ability to adapt under pressure, to perform when it really counts," but Bryan was fixated on the way he said "faculty".
"You mean Dr. Lankford, don't you?" Of course he objected to accepting Bryan for a second term. He was the same professor who refused to accept Bryan as the Guardian for Uria, Lord of Searing Flame, even after Bryan beat Yul Tan in an official duel. "He's always hated me for some reason."
"It's not hatred. Confusion, perhaps. There are times when your potential exceeds your performance." He sighed. "I know this seems unfair. Life is full of moments like this, where everything you've worked for feels wasted. You can't be afraid of that. Find the lesson, learn from it, and come back stronger than before."
"How can I do that if I'm kicked out? Isn't there still some way to prove I have what it takes? At least for one more semester?"
Dr. Arbus was quiet, but there was a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. Was it a good smirk? Something bad? Maybe Bryan's guidance counselor was just as eager to kick him out as Dr. Lankford was.
The instant his lips parted, Bryan's heart stopped. "Perhaps there is one more showcase you could participate in." So… did that mean Bryan's heart attack was premature? "Placement exams are over, but it turns out that Justin Nussbaum and Erica Dawkins sold an idea to Kaiba Corp. What if their showcase during the graduation ceremonies were not the two of them directly showing off their new idea but instead teaching other students to employ the new mechanic? It would be an opportunity for you to demonstrate your ability to learn something new. It might just be enough to convince the faculty that you belong here."
"I'll do it," said Bryan, not fully comprehending what he was signing up for. He acknowledged that it meant dueling one more time. His vision blurred slightly. How was he supposed to believe in himself when every part of him was screaming that he wasn't good enough?
"Very good. I'll speak to Mr. Nussbaum and Ms. Dawkins, but you should seek them out as well." Dr. Arbus's voice cut through Bryan's spiraling thoughts. "Mr. Knight, you've always focused on what others can do that you can't. But you've forgotten to see your own strength. The very fact that you seek a way to earn your place here, even after being told that you don't belong, shows that you have a resilience and determination that others lack. The graduation ceremonies will be streamed live. Show everyone that you've improved more in the last semester than many students have in years."
Bryan's throat tightened again, but this time not with fear. Something else stirred within him, something small and fragile, but growing: a flicker of hope. Maybe he wasn't like the other students. Maybe he didn't have their natural talent or instinct. But he had worked hard to get here. And maybe, just maybe, that would be enough.
"I guess I'd better go chat with Erica and Justin."
Cary wasn't surprised to find herself pitted against Fats. He was one of the last few duelists on campus, and one destined to be placed in Obelisk Blue next term, so at least that meant that Cary also had to be sitting pretty high in the rankings. Normally she might be excited to duel at the end of the day, but even with a strong opponent, her heart wasn't in it. She couldn't bring herself to see this as anything more than ceremonial—nothing to be gained or lost, no matter the result.
Pr. Dise had to tap Cary on the shoulder for her to notice that Fats had already finished his first turn. And no wonder he was done so soon when he only placed a monster face-down before ending his turn.
Fats: 8000 LP, 5 cards
Cary: 8000 LP, 5 cards
She didn't immediately see anything worth playing, so Cary activated Sacred Sword of Seven Stars to banish a high-level monster and draw 2 cards instead. From her new cards, she played Dragon Ravine, transforming both sides of the field into high cliffs with a canyon in between. She immediately used Dragon Ravine to send a dragon from her deck to the Graveyard. Now that she had the monster someplace accessible, she could banish a dragon from her hand and the other dragon from her Graveyard to revive Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls (7: 2600|2000). The cliffs Cary had summoned became giant walls of water as a blue dragon arose on her field. The water seemed to bend and even halt its descent when the dragon roared.
"Also Dragunity Corsesca (1: 800|700)," said Cary as she placed a small, coral-colored dragon with the head of a spear. The two dragons began to resonate as they transformed into energy that reshaped itself into a warrior that was actually quite reminiscent of a bug. His limbs were spindly, his torso was thin as a skeleton, and his helmet split into two long antennae. Two more arms or legs and Cary would be certain he was actually an insect. "Synchro… Crimson Blader (8: 2800|2600)," she mumbled as the waterfalls were replace by her monster's proclivity for fire.
Crimson Blader moved almost too quickly to be seen. He slashed through Fats' monster in an instant, briefly revealing conjoined monsters that had been cleaved apart before they shattered. "That was Naturia Cherries (200)," said Fats. "When they're destroyed, I get to summon two more copies from the deck." He placed two more monster cards face-down. Cary was at least pleased that he couldn't use them for Tributes to summon any big monsters.
Fats: 8000 LP, 5 cards
Cary: 8000 LP, 2 cards
But what she forgot in the moment was that Fats didn't play a lot of big monsters. "I'll flip Cherries (200) to attack mode. They were kind of cute, although the idea of a cherry having enough hair to wear a flower in it was a bit too abstract for Cary's brain to comprehend. "I'll also activate Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders by discarding it and Naturia Mosquito to the Graveyard, then I target Naturia Mosquito (1: 200|300) and Special Summon it to the field." Cary remembered that little mosquito. It's the one that made everyone else hurt instead of Fats.
"I also summon Naturia Cliff (4: 1500|1000)." Just a walking wall. "With four monsters on my field, I'll equip United We Stand to Crimson Blader (+6000). It gets 800 points for each of my monsters." The duel station shifted into the Battle Phase. "So when Cherries (200) attacks and destroys itself, Naturia Mosquito activates and deals 5800 points of damage to you." Crimson Blader (-5200) lost power when one of the Cherries disappeared, but there was still enough of a power imbalance for the second suicide attack to deplete the rest of Cary's Life Points.
Fats: 8000 LP, 1 card
Cary: 0 LP, 2 cards
It actually took a moment for Cary to realize the duel was already over. She quietly collected her cards, shook hands with Fats, then walked out of the room. She didn't stop until she reached the front door and stepped outside and felt the afternoon humidity brush her hairline. The heat was actually preferable to the eerie cold that came with the shadows, so she took a seat on a bench out front. The humidity maybe even accented her frustration as she absentmindedly shuffled her deck.
She didn't bother to look when the front door opened, but the footsteps didn't just walk on by like she wanted. She glanced up to see Fats, smiling at her with that comforting look of his. "Are you upset with me?"
Shaking her head, she simply said, "No."
He dropped down beside her with a sigh. "Is it Cee-Cee?"
Cary looked up again, disbelieving what she heard this time. How did Fats know what her problem was? Unless… "You, too?"
"A little bit. I'm happy for her. Just not sure Team OTK is the right place for me."
"You just delivered a whopping OTK against me in there. If anything, you've proven to be the most consistent of all of us. You should be the leader."
He laughed and waved off the suggestion. "I don't need to be in charge. But using an OTK didn't save anyone against the Boss Decks. Anand still wiped me out."
So Fats wasn't excited, either. He and Cary had both dueled against a god card Boss Deck. Fats had been knocked out just like Mitsuro was, but he technically survived the duel. Cary even dealt the finishing move in her duel.
But still, Matt had been the reason that all three Boss Decks were beaten and the giant Boss Monsters rampaging across the globe had disappeared. Matt even defeated the Wicked Gods and their Boss Deck all by himself. She was still baffled that Matt was so strong and resilient that he managed to survive three (!) Shadow Duels when everyone else struggled to survive even one. The only other people to endure multiple Shadow Duels were the Guardian Duelers, who had been possessed by the Shadow Realm itself.
Cary nodded. "Fair point. Dave and Justin each completed an OTK against Dr. West and still managed to lose."
"It feels like the Boss Deck was designed to resist OTK strategies. And maybe every other strategy, to be honest. There's no way to get through that kind of defense in one turn, and that's our whole approach. After that one turn, our combos are dead."
He was right, but why was he explaining it to her? She made a face at him. "You're going somewhere with this."
"What if we used a different type of strategy? Instead of using speed and power to blow through all their Life Points at once, we could prevent them from playing any cards at all."
She was familiar with that approach. "A lockdown strategy. Instead of beating the opponent, you want to build a deck that stops the opponent from winning."
"Ideally both. Lockdown would be a slower strategy," he confessed. "But is there any strategy more reliable against a trio of unstoppable god cards than to prevent them from being summoned at all?"
Cary let the idea float through her imagination. A successful lockdown wouldn't just stop god cards: It would stop everything. No big combos at all if they can't play any cards. There was no truer demonstration of power than to take total control of the field.
He continued, "You must have been thinking about it already. I haven't seen you play Crimson Blader before until today. That effect was intended to stop me from summoning more monsters, wasn't it?"
"I used it in the fall semester—just not often." But it was hard to deny that Crimson Blader would be a useful tool against a deck of god cards. "It wouldn't work against a Boss Deck, though. Their monsters don't have levels."
"So we'll come up with something better. Like, if I got Naturia Bamboo Shoot and Naturia Cactus Bouncer out at the same time, it blocks everything except Normal Summoning. Even Matt would have a hard time finding a successful way around that." She didn't have to ask why he mentioned Matt. No doubt Fats felt just as intimidated as she did. So if a lockdown deck could beat even Matt…
She turned to look Fats in the eye. "Just us?"
"Actually, I was thinking we make a new intramural team. Make it official so a whole group of us can help each other figure out a variety of cards that block summoning, stop key plays, deny them resources. Slow them down until they can't even blink."
And Fats had just mentioned that he didn't want to be in charge. But she wanted to hear him say it. "So the reason you aren't just delivering this proposal straight to the faculty…"
He blushed. "I was hoping you'd be the team leader. Recruitment and strategy development and all that is the fun stuff I'm happy to help with, but I'm not great at the administrative stuff." She remembered being astounded by how much paperwork (figuratively) was involved in managing an intramural team. It's what had kept Haruki busy so often. Of course Fats didn't want to sign up for that. But having the administrative experience on her curriculum vita would make Cary seem even more skilled, learned, and attractive to future dueling programs. And being the first leader of a new team established at Duel Academy would only bolster that experience.
Cary finally smiled, feeling her frustrations ebb, replaced by determination. "Lockdown it is. But we might have to recruit Bryan, so he doesn't think we stole his idea."
Bryan felt unmatched anxiety as he entered the main stage. He had convinced himself that the empty arena would make him feel less anxious because there's be fewer eyes on him—but the reality hit him that fewer faces in total made it easier to identify the faces he did see. Cary and Matt stood out easily, but his eyes stopped drifting when he saw Lucy. Her smile was as bright as he'd ever seen. She'd even texted him earlier to wish him luck and let him know how exciting it would be to watch him be the first person to play these new cards in a real duel.
Yet her encouragement made him feel even worse, almost fraudulent. He was clinging to the hope that performing well in an exhibition duel would somehow convince the faculty that he was a better duelist than they currently believed him to be. And he didn't have the guts to tell her what was going on. He hadn't even told Matt yet… because as soon as he said it out loud, it would become reality.
Erica had another, similar reason for smiling brightly as she approached. She was so pretty, having gone all out on applying makeup, pressing her uniform, and overall presenting herself as a professional. "I'm so excited about this. Are you ready?"
He forced a smile and a nod. "Yeah, I think so."
"We're going over the rules first with everyone to explain what you're about to demonstrate, so just relax and stand here looking like a badass duelist who just saved the world from Armityle." She placed her hand on his chest right in front of his shoulder like she was about to shove him. From the look in her eye, she was reading his mind. "Don't be anxious. I designed those cards to go specifically with your deck. Remember everything we practiced and just duel like you know how." She used the same hand to pat him twice before walking to the front of the stage. Justin joined her after giving Mitsuro a similar pep talk.
Dr. West announced to the room and the live stream that as part of this year's graduation ceremony, they were proud to present an exhibition duel featuring card mechanics developed by students of Duel Academy – Central Primus. "The idea was purchased by Kaiba Corp, where both of these students have received paid internships while they continue their studies."
Being the more sociable of them, Erica started the explanation.
"We call this new type of card a Link Monster. Each Monster has arrows pointing to different zones on the field: After the first Link Summon, you can only summon more Link Monsters into zones that your or your opponent's Link Monster is pointing to—hence the name Link Monster.
"They start in your Extra Deck. Any face-up monsters from your field can be Link Materials, which you send to the Graveyard to conduct a Link Summon. Unlike the other types of Extra Deck summons, a Link Summon doesn't care what kind of monster you're using: You only need to use the number of Link Materials exactly equal to the Link Rating printed on your Link Monster. The Link Monster doesn't have defense points, so you can't play it in defense mode. The Link Rating is printed next to the attack points instead. If a Link Rating is 2, that means you need two monsters to complete that Link Summon."
Justin chimed in. "We have two students here ready to demonstrate how Link Monsters work. Let's get the duel underway. We'll pause as soon as one of them completes a Link Summon so we can expand on the rules for these new cards."
As Mitsuro drew her first card, Bryan asked, "Did they actually make a Link Monster to fit in your Navy deck?"
She sighed. "No. I had to put together a different series of machine monsters for this duel." She slapped Terraforming onto the console so she could search for and play Union Hangar. A series of blocks similar to shipping containers appeared on the field, shifting around through the use of industrial equipment. One of the containers opened in front of Mitsuro. "Now I get a union monster to my hand.
"And I'll summon Gold Gadget (4: 1700|800)." A monster appeared, looking a bit like a pocket watch that had unfolded and opened up like a Transformer. "Summoning Gold Gadget also means I can Special Summon C-Crush Wyvern (4: 1200|2000) from my hand," a mechanical dragon. "Now I'll use Union Hangar to equip B-Buster Drake to C-Crush Wyvern." A new mechanical dragon appeared, leaning in more on Power Rangers than Transformers by shifting its joints around until it could attach itself to C-Crush Wyvern.
"I'll set one card and end my turn."
Mitsuro: 8000 LP, 2 cards
Bryan: 8000 LP, 5 cards
With a deep breath, Bryan tried to remind himself that this duel had nothing to do with his enrollment at Duel Academy. He was just playing a friendly game with Mitsuro Itachu, who was super-talented, badass, and a friend.
"Let's do Pot of Desires," he said. The two-faced jar sat between him and the representation of his deck. The gaudy side swallowed ten cards and banished them, but then the jar spun around so the goblin side could give Bryan two cards to his hand. "Now I'll use Cosmic Cyclone to banish your face-down card." Mitsuro's likely Trap disappeared inside a maelstrom that looked like a massive black hole.
"Since I desperately need a monster, I'll play A Hero Lives: I have to pay half my LP, but I can summon Elemental Hero Shadow Mist (4: 1000|1500) straight from the deck." As his black-clad hero hit the field, a flying card also fell into Bryan's hand. "When I summon Shadow Mist, I also get Mask Change to my hand. But I think I want more monsters, so Reinforcement of the Army will give me Vision Hero Vyon to my hand.
"And now I can summon Goblindbergh (4: 1400|0)," a goblin flying a prop plane. "Goblindbergh lets me Special Summon a warrior from my hand, like Vision Hero Vyon (4: 1000|1200)." Covered with lights that seemed to make the warrior look like a mirage, Vyon also lit up the Main Deck and the Graveyard while Goblindbergh switched itself to defense mode.
"Summoning Vyon means I can send a different Hero from my deck to the Graveyard. And since Destiny Hero - Malicious (6: 800|800) doesn't do much in the Graveyard, I'll banish it to summon another copy from my deck to the field."
Bryan hadn't considered integrating Destiny Hero cards until he realized how useful it could be in getting monsters to the field—as long as it didn't matter what type or level the monster was. "I can send Vyon and Malicious to the Graveyard to summon Xtra Hero Wonder Driver (2: 1900) from my Extra Deck." Despite being a warrior, Bryan's new monster was armed like a mage, with a golden staff with a shining jewel at the end.
Justin stepped up again, asking Bryan to hold on before making any more plays. "Here we are, folks—a Link Monster. Xtra Hero Wonder Driver has a Link Rating of 2, so Bryan used two monsters to summon it from his Extra Deck. Notice how they were both different levels, types, whatever—any two monsters would do."
"Not just any monsters," said Erica as she ganked the microphone. "In some cases, we applied special rules. Xtra Hero cards can only be summoned by using Hero monsters."
"Thank you for that clarification," said Justin. "Now that Bryan has a Link-2 monster on the field: If he wanted to summon a different Link Monster of a higher value, he could use Wonder Driver to count as two monsters because of its Link Rating."
Erica took the mic. "On the other hand, we made a couple of cards that are a little more powerful, so they require a specific number of monsters in addition to meeting the Link Rating. So some cards might have a Link Rating of 3 but will also specifically require three monsters to be summoned."
With a nod from both of the graduating seniors, Bryan looked back at his hand to continue his turn. Suddenly he cursed himself for not spending that whole time thinking about his next few plays. He had already heard the spiel, after all, so it's not like he learned anything by watching them talk to the cameras.
"Um… I'll go ahead and use Mask Change so Shadow Mist can transform into Masked Hero Anki (8: 2800|1200)." Whereas Shadow Mist had been an average-size Hero, Anki was much bulkier—still clad in black but covered in armor from head to toe. "When Shadow Mist goes to the Graveyard, I can take a Hero to my hand." Bryan took a look through the options in his deck, but as soon as he noticed Honest Neos, he stopped looking. Ever since dueling Anand, Bryan decided that Honest Neos was the key combo card for every attack in his Hero deck.
"Oh! And Xtra Hero Wonder Driver has an effect: When I Special Summon a Hero to a zone this card points to, I can also set Mask Change from my Graveyard back on the field."
(Keep in mind that Justin and Erica haven't come up with the new Extra Monster Zone yet, so Wonder Driver just points to one side. Other Link mechanisms will come later, developed by this world's Kaiba Corp before they launch Link Summons worldwide.)
"Let's start attacking. Anki (2800) attacks Gold Gadget (1700) first." His Hero smashed through Mitsuro's monster without any resistance. "Since Anki destroyed a monster, I get to draw a card."
Mitsuro said, "And since Anki destroyed Gold Gadget, I get to Special Summon Silver Gadget (4: 1500|1000) from the deck." A silver pocket watch this time. Still nothing that made Bryan nervous yet, although he always got a little nervous when he realized his opponent's monsters were part of an obvious set.
"I have another Mask Change in my hand, which will transform Anki into Masked Hero Dark Law (6: 2400|1800)." Still covered in black armor, his mask now looked similar to a wolf. "Dark Law (2400) attacks C-Crush Wyvern (2000)." Even though her monster's defense position protected her LP, her B-Buster Drake was destroyed after losing the monster it was equipped to. "Finally, Wonder Driver (1900) destroys Silver Gadget (1000)." He felt a little better now that Mitsuro's field was empty… even if he did flush a lot of Life Points during that turn.
"I'll set one card and end my turn."
Mitsuro: 6900, 2 cards
Bryan: 3500 LP, 2 cards
As Mitsuro examined her hand, she would look off into the distance for a few seconds and then look back at her cards. Bryan could tell she was struggling to put together the combo she wanted. She repeated the action four times before settling on a move.
"I'll Normal Summon A-Assault Core (4: 1900|200)." It was a yellow tank where the cannon was on the back, curled up and over like a scorpion tail. The pods on her field started shifting again. "Union Hangar equips B-Buster Drake to A-Assault Core. Now I can banish all three cards from the field and Graveyard to Special Summon ABC-Dragon Buster (8: 3000|2800)." Hearkening back to the Power Rangers, the two dragons attached to the sides of the scorpion tail, creating a two-headed dragon tank with three major cannons and two missile launchers.
Bryan said, "A Fusion Monster? Not a Link Monster?"
"Not this time," she said.
"Oh. I'll still chain Solemn Strike." A bolt of lightning flashed across the field and struck ABC-Dragon Buster. It didn't destroy the machine, but instead it negated the summoning as if the tank had never been formed and its fusion materials just disappeared. The move cost Bryan another 1500 LP, but it meant he was able to keep Mitsuro's field empty… unless she had another Special Summon ready or some kind of amazing Trap Card to set.
But she ended her turn with no further moves.
Mitsuro: 6900, 2 cards
Bryan: 2000 LP, 2 cards
"Oh, yikes," said Bryan, just as much caught off guard by the fact that it was his turn as he was by Mitsuro's apparent forfeit but without forfeiting. "Uh, I can just switch Goblindbergh (1400) to attack mode, and then all my monsters can attack." Goblindbergh (1400) buzzed overhead and pelted Mitsuro with a rain of bullets. Wonder Driver (1900) hurled his attack spell from his scepter. But when Dark Law (2400) leapt into the air, he grew wings. "For the last attack, I'll also discard Honest Neos so Dark Law (+4900) gains 2500 points."
He waited until Mitsuro's LP hit 0 before he allowed himself to smile and relax.
Mitsuro: 0, 2 cards
Bryan: 2000 LP, 2 cards
Both duelists collected their cards from the table, then Bryan walked over to shake Mitsuro's hand. "Those were some awesome combos considering they weren't even your usual cards."
"Thanks. Good game." That was all she said. Mitsuro had always been a woman of brevity, but that was curt even for her. Bryan would learn later that Mitsuro was considering not coming back to Duel Academy next year. She was close to eighteen years old, and she knew her father would need skilled soldiers to rebuild the Navy after all those kaiju attacks.
Without that knowledge, he simply grinned as Justin and Erica congratulated him on a successful test and use of the new Link Monsters.
"What did you think of the new monster type?" asked Justin.
Bryan nodded. "I like it. It's a lot like Tribute Summons, except it counts as a Special Summon, and you get to store it in your Extra Deck so it's easy to find and doesn't take up space in your hand."
Erica looked to Mitsuro next. "What were your thoughts, Mitsuro?"
"Things went better for me in practice," said Mitsuro, eliciting chuckles from everyone around her. "My favorite thing about the Link Monsters is they don't revolve around levels, unlike Synchro, Xyz, and Pendulum Summoning. The thing to keep in mind, though, is they still have weaknesses. For example, I probably could have summoned the Platinum Gadget you gave me, but it wouldn't be strong enough to get past Dark Law—not counting that Solemn Strike."
"All good points," said Erica. To the arena, she said, "We gave both of these duelists only three Link Monsters each for this demonstration, but you can see that Xtra Hero Wonder Driver fit so smoothly into a Masked Hero deck that Bryan didn't need any further Link Monsters to win. We don't know for sure when Link Monsters will be made available worldwide, but we're excited to be part of expanding this game."
Justin looked to Dr. West. "This will be brand new even for the faculty here at Duel Academy, so even the teachers will be students again pretty soon."
Dr. West smiled. "We all know I'm barely over twenty-one…" He paused for some mild laughter in the arena, considering he looked old enough to deliver gifts on Christmas Eve. "…but I always look forward to learning new tricks. Erica Dawkins and Justin Nussbaum, you have been amazing students and this only proves it further. We're sorry to see you leave but we're thrilled to see you grow." He turned to the cameras while also looking around the arena. "That goes for all our students: young and old; existing, returning, and new. No matter what happens: Never stop learning more about the game, and never stop improving yourself." Bryan swore Dr. West looked directly at him when he spoke that last part.
The exhibition duels of the graduation ceremony always ended with a performance every student looked forward to: The final duel for the duelist ranked Number 1 in the Duel Academy graduating class. After holding the rank of Number 1 for almost two years, Dave Strickland was finally leaving Duel Academy. As his reward, he was offered the opportunity to duel against anyone on campus—even a rematch with Dr. West, if he wanted it.
But Dave already believed that he could defeat Dr. West one-on-one. He almost did so in their first match. What was more important to Dave was to make sure that Duel Academy's standards were as high as ever after the mess of this last semester. His cousin Cary was an amazing duelist who wasn't able to achieve the Number 1 spot he was leaving behind, so he needed to test the student who did reach that level: Matthew Luther.
"I just want to know sure who's stronger before I leave," Dave had explained when he first extended the challenge.
Matt was practically forced to accept by Duel Academy's most basic tenet: Never back down from a challenge. "Let's see who pulls it off."
The freshman didn't study in the practical sense. He didn't ask his friends to build an Exodia deck and use it against him so he could find a way to counterattack. He didn't watch Dave's past duel replays to analyze his combos. He didn't even bribe Justin and Andy to spy on Dave for him and give him spoilers about the deck. Matt knew that Dave had a hundred strategies for summoning Exodia, and he shuffled through them with just the right frequency to make sure his opponent would never have exactly the right cards to beat him.
So Matt spent his time thinking about what cards he owned that could interrupt an opponent's strategy. There was every chance that Dave would summon Exodia in his very first turn—he did it against Dr. West, after all. There was no way to counter that. He had to block that from happening and then force Dave to be the one to slip up. He needed cards that Dave wouldn't be prepared for.
On the day of the duel, Matt was functioning on little sleep. Fixating on his duel had given him a convenient distraction from everything that happened with the god cards… at least until Dave asked, "What do you think happened to Howard?"
Matt tried to smile the way an adult smiles at a five-year-old showing off a rock shaped like a cartoon character. "He got what he wanted, so he should be one with God now."
Dave laughed. "What does that mean?"
"He's space dust."
"I can go with that."
Maybe it was Dave's particular style of laughter that entranced Matt, but when he shook Dave's hand to introduce the duel, he started to anticipate the end of the duel.
With only one piece of Exodia in his hand and 2000 LP left, he placed Legion the Fiend Jester (4: 1300|1500) on the field as fodder for Dark Factory of More Production. Sending it to the Graveyard let him draw a card, but Legion the Fiend Jester activated to bring a piece of Exodia from the deck to his hand. Then he played Draw of Fate to place the final three pieces of Exodia on top of his deck and immediately draw one of them.
The Dark Magician of Chaos would be unable to end the duel in that final turn.
When Dave drew next, he grabbed a fourth piece of Exodia. He placed Necroface (4: 1200|1800) on the field and recovered his cards banished by Pot of Extravagance, but that was just added bonus to using it as fodder for Dark Factory of More Production, which drew for him the final piece of Exodia and delivered an instant win.
When their hands separated, Matt jumped back to reality. The duel hadn't started yet. They hadn't even launched their Duel Disks yet. But he must have made a face because Dave asked, "You alright?"
"Peachy," said Matt.
Dave didn't seem to buy that, but he also couldn't read Matt's mind. He assumed it was nerves. "Don't worry too much. I expect you'll be great."
Not accepting the easy out from a delusional conversation, Matt said, "And I suspect Draw of Fate will provide a very different course of events than your one-turn Golden Bamboo strategy."He must have said something shocking because Dave looked like he'd been caught in the girls' locker room. As they approached their positions, Matt quickly sorted through his cards again, side-decking a couple of them on a hunch.
Dr. West announced the duel to everyone. He went into detail about the tradition in which the Number 1 duelist gets to choose his or her opponent for the graduation headliner match. Often it's a chance for Number 1 to duke it out with a close rival to prove who's the best in the last duel of the year. But sometimes, the graduating Number 1 wants to pass the torch to next year's Number 1. "Mr. Luther earned top marks on all his exams and will begin the next school term as the presumptive Number 1 student. That should encourage all of you who will return next year to study hard over the summer and come back ready to seek top placement. But today, Mr. Strickland wants to prove that Duel Academy's standards haven't fallen through this test."
He winked at Matt. "The reputation of your class and the representation of next year's potential rests on your shoulders. No pressure."
As soon as his Duel Disk lit up, Matt thought, I need to go first. He didn't want a situation where Dave set up a whole combo to play out before Matt even had a chance to put up a fight. As the virtual coin flipped in between them, it landed visitor-side up, meaning that Matt would take the first turn while Dave—the home team—would go second. Maybe that would upset the strategy for Dark Factory of More Production that Matt foresaw.
Dave wasn't fazed by the coin toss, but Matt couldn't help wondering about it. He looked internally and asked, "Did you do that, Mazeda?" But he heard no reply inside or outside of his head—only felt a mild warmth flow through his body. "That's fine," he mumbled aloud.
As he set up his cards, Dave asked, "Were you hoping I would go first?"
"Possibly. There's certainly a level of reduced risk that way. But maybe this way, I'll be lucky enough to set up a counteroffensive."
He felt torn about his opening hand. On one hand, there never used to be a problem with having Dark Magician right away. On the other hand, he couldn't be summoned immediately, and he had no innate defense against Exodia. So what Matt needed was the right support card to power up the Dark Magician.
"I'll start with Magician's Rod (3: 1600|300)." As the rod appeared, floating as if held by an invisible ghost, Matt said, "Summoning that lets me pull a Dark Magician support card to my hand." He flipped it around for Dr. West to verify that it was a legal card. "No need to keep you waiting: It's Dark Magical Circle." A spellcaster's circle flashed onto the field before the lights dimmed and it went dormant. "Playing that lets me look at my top three cards." He showed Dave and Dr. West the Magician's Salvation card that had already been on top. "I keep this one in my hand and put the other two back in the deck." Apprentice Illusion Magician and Dark Magic Attack would be useful later, if he ever got a second or third turn.
"I'll activate Magician's Salvation, immediately." Two more spellcaster circles appeared, encompassing both his Main Deck and his Graveyard. For now, only the Main Deck was glowing. "Playing this card let's me set Eternal Soul straight from my deck to the field." He pulled the card out of the deck and placed it face-down. "I'll place one other card face-down with it." Magician Navigation, a backup strategy for summoning Dark Magician in case he lost Eternal Soul.
"That ends my turn. Let's hope it doesn't end the duel."
Matt: 8000 LP, 3 cards
Dave: 8000 LP, 5 cards
Dave grinned as he drew. "I know one of your face-down cards is Eternal Soul. I hope the other one is really good."
"Generally speaking, I only put good cards in my deck," said Matt.
"That's a good response. I'll start with Treasure Panda (4: 1100|2000)." It was a pot-bellied panda bear wearing an Indiana Jones costume. Matt recognized the card instantly: It would let Dave banish cards from his Graveyard to Special Summon monsters from his deck. Specifically, he could grab pieces of Exodia.
"Here's an example of a no-brainer," said Matt. "I'll discard Maxx 'C'." Yellow eyes began glowing all across the corners of Matt's field. Every time Dave Special Summoned a monster, those eyes would let Matt draw a card from the deck.
Dave chuckled. "I can see why you added that card against me." He stared at his deck. "Buuut, if things go right, it won't matter how many extra cards you draw." He placed a card on the field. "Toon Table of Contents." As an effect, it let him take any Toon card from his deck to his hand, including another Toon Table of Contents, which he played immediately. He played the third Toon Table of Contents, too, but that one didn't do anything because he didn't have any more Toon cards in his deck.
What he did have, though, was a smaller deck and three cards he could banish for Treasure Panda's effect. Banishing just one Toon TOC, he Special Summoned Left Arm of the Forbidden One (1: 200|300). If the Magician's Rod looked strange, just floating there by itself, seeing a single arm hang around the field without a body was nightmare fuel.
A pair of eyes on Matt's field flashed, and a cockroach scurried all the way from Matt's deck to some unseen hiding place. "You Special Summoned, so I draw."
"Get ready to do it again," said Dave as he banished a second Toon TOC to activate Treasure Panda and Special Summon Flamvell Guard (1: 100|2000). A less strange monster this time: just another fire dragon with nearly impenetrable scales.
Another cockroach scurried across the field, and Matt drew a card.
Dave said, "I'll equip Wonder Wand to Left Arm (+700)." So the disembodied arm was perfectly capable of grabbing a small stick and holding it like a knife. "I can send a spellcaster that's equipped with Wonder Wand to the Graveyard to draw two more cards." So the arm and the wand disappeared, and Dave's deck released two more cards. This was already not looking good for Matt.
"Dark World Dealings, so we both draw one then discard one." The field turned dark as a fiendish creature opened up both decks to offer a card but demanded one in return. Matt decided that since he already had Magician Navigation on the field, he would send his duplicate to the Graveyard.
"I'll use Treasure Panda again." Again, Dave banished Toon TOC to Special Summon a second Flamvell Guard (1: 100|2000). And again, a cockroach scurried across Matt's field, leaving behind a new card from his deck.
"Treasure Panda again," said Dave. This time he banished Wonder Wand to Special Summon the Left Leg of the Forbidden One (1: 200|300). And another cockroach ran away.
Dave chuckled, amusing himself through repetition. "Treasure Panda again." He banished Dark World Dealings to Special Summon the Right Arm of the Forbidden One (1: 200|300), and another cockroach crossed the field.
"Let's change it up. I'll tune Flamvell (1) and Left Leg (1) to Synchro Summon Formula Synchron (2: 200|1500)." His monsters resonated until they transformed into energy waves, reshaping themselves as a race car with Transformer tendencies.
More cockroaches. But at the same time, Formula Synchron's effect allowed Dave to draw a card just for being summoned. "I'll discard Ash Blossom and Joyous Spring," said Matt. Doing so negated Formula Synchron's effect, so at least Dave didn't get to draw right away.
But a good Exodia player always has another way to draw cards. "I'll put Wonder Wand on Right Arm (+700) this time, then send them both to the Graveyard to draw two more cards. And now I'll play Into the Void." His deck glowed white, but his Graveyard produced an ominous fog. "You know this one? I draw one card now, but at the end of my turn, I discard my entire hand." Seemed like Dave was willing to take that risk. As often as he drew his full deck in a single turn, it wasn't a bad bet. "Dark World Dealings again, so we both draw one then discard one.
Matt found the Dark World fiend to be creepy, made worse because the exchange of cards made him wonder whether his connection to Mazeda might also be transactional in some way that he didn't know about yet.
"Upstart Goblin," said Dave. A goblin dressed in luxurious fabrics appeared, dropping coins for Matt to pick up (that translated to 1000 LP increase) while Dave drew one more card. "And One Day of Peace." Every hologram on the field that moved suddenly froze as if everything took a collective reprieve at the same instant. "We both draw one card, and no one takes any damage until the end of your next turn."
"Will I get a next turn?" asked Matt sarcastically.
"We'll see. Here's White Elephant's Gift, where I send Flamvell Guard to the Graveyard to draw two cards." He made a face at his new cards. "Upstart Goblin again." Matt picked up another 1000 LP while Dave drew again. "And another Into the Void." So Dave drew one card and threatened to discard his whole hand at the turn's end a second time… like that changed anything. "And I found one more Dark World Dealings." Matt looked into the fiend's face for the last time in this duel as they both drew one and discarded one.
Dave said, "Time to go back to Treasure Panda." He banished Upstart Goblin so he could Special Summon the Right Leg of the Forbidden One (1: 200|300), and Matt's army of cockroaches continued to scurry. "Let's use Pot of Avarice. I shuffle five cards from the Graveyard back into the deck, then I draw two new cards." Matt watched the Graveyard monitor as Dave returned the Left Arm, Left Leg, Right Arm, and two copies of Flamvell to the deck.
"Treasure Panda again." He banished another Upstart Goblin to Special Summon one of the Flamvell Guard (1: 100|2000) cards that he just recovered.
Yet again, the cockroaches ran.
Dave shook his head. "Treasure Panda." He banished Dark World Dealings to Special Summon another Flamvell Guard (1: 100|2000).
And Matt drew again while the cockroaches scurried.
"Still not done." Dave activated Treasure Panda yet again, banishing Dark World Dealings to Special Summon the Right Arm of the Forbidden One (1: 200|300).
And Matt drew.
"I equip Wonder Wand to Right Arm (+700), then I send them both to the Graveyard to draw two more cards." He continued to seem disappointed with his cards. "Treasure Panda." He banished Wonder Wand and then Special Summoned Left Leg of the Forbidden One (1: 200|300).
And Matt drew. But Matt also figured now was as good a time as any to do something. "I'll chain Magician Navigation." A new spellcaster's circle appeared on his field, but this one was vertical, standing up on the field like a doorway. First, a sorcerer wearing purple robes walked through the doorway, followed by a female sorceress wearing blue and pink. "I Special Summon Dark Magician (7: 2500|2100) from my hand and Dark Magician Girl (6: 2000|1700) from my deck." The Dark Magical Circle that he played—was it years ago?—moved underneath the Right Leg of the Forbidden One and then lit up. "Summoning Dark Magician means your monster gets banished."
Dave made a face. "Well, that might slow things down a bit."
"My goal is to stop you completely, so you're not quite as stumped yet as I'd like. Is it possible that the Number 1 duelist in school has a backup plan in case Exodia gets removed from him like that?"
Only a wry grin. "I have White Elephant's Gift again." Flamvell Guard went to the Graveyard so Dave could draw two cards. "I'll use Magical Mallet." A mallet with cartoonish proportions and fluttering wings appeared over his deck. When it slammed the cards, Dave shuffled four cards from his hand back into the deck so he could draw four different cards. "Upstart Goblin again." Another 1000 LP for Matt and a card for Dave.
His shoulders loosened as Dave squared off, facing Matt shoulders even. "Here we go. I'll play Double Summon, so I can do one extra Normal Summon this turn." Somehow that effect translated into holographic lightning striking the field. Even Dave smiled in shocked amusement. "And I'll also play Light Barrier." Light energy burst out of the ground on his field and spread to all corners. "I use Flamvell Guard and Left Leg as Tributes to Normal Summon Arcana Force XXI - The World (8: 3100|3100)." His monster was huge, the biggest non-Slifer monster that Dave had played all year. It looked the kind of mechanical fairy monsters that was used in video games to represent god-level boss monsters—shining black skin, arms like Claw machines, and legless.
"You brought out the big gun just for me?" asked Matt.
"Well, I don't have Slifer anymore." Another light burst from his field, but this one was focused on The World. "Normally, Arcana Force monsters need to flip a coin to decide whether to use their spectacular effects. But Light Barrier's effect lets me just decide to pick Heads for The World's effect." Matt could read the screen. If Dave sent two monsters from his field to the Graveyard, then he would just skip Matt's next turn.
That's… undesirable.
So when Dave entered his Battle Phase and sent The World (3100) to attack Magician's Rod (1600), Matt had to act. "I'll discard Apprentice Illusion Magician." Another sorceress, dressed in colors between Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl—somewhere in the lavender family—appeared on the field, grasping Magician's Rod (+3600) and bolstering its power with her 2000 points. That left The World attacking a monster that was too strong. Magician's Rod cast a counterspell that overwhelmed The World and shattered it. Dave lost the 500 points of difference.
"Mother…" Dave gasped. It was the closest Matt could remember to hearing him swear. Dave spent less than thirty seconds looking back through his hand and the cards left on the field before he said, "I think this is over."
Matt smirked. "You don't want to give it a bit more thought?"
With a nervous laugh, Dave said, "I don't have to. You already have 6100 attack points on the field, plus what—ten?—cards in your hand? And you haven't even activated Eternal Soul yet, so you can easily summon the other 1400 points you need to remove my Life Points. And I don't have a defense against that."
"One Day of Peace prevents damage until the end of my turn."
He blushed. "You're assuming I have a Plan C."
"You don't?"
He shook his head.
"So what's the hesitation?"
Dave sighed. "I want to just concede, because it feels arrogant to force you to end the duel—as if there's any chance you'd miss. But maybe I'm denying you the chance to enjoy the win that you so thoroughly earned if I don't let you attack."
Matt shook his head. "I don't need a flashy moment. This is your graduation. Pass the torch to me however you want to."
After a few seconds of consideration, Dave placed his hand over his deck—the signal for forfeit.
Matt: 11,000 LP, 13 cards
Dave: 7500 LP, 4 cards—Forfeit
Dave had the biggest smile on his face as he shook Matt's hand. "You know, this isn't the first time I've ever lost, but it's the first time doing it on this stage. Every time I got up here, that nagging part of my brain panicked over whether this would finally be the moment my winning streak came to an end. What if I lost control of Slifer? Or worse, what if Slifer was the real reason I won as much as I did? I always wondered what it would feel like to lose a duel in front of this many people." He grinned as he looked out at the crowd. "Surprisingly, it's kind of a relief. Now you carry the biggest responsibility to represent what Duel Academy is now and what it can become."
"Nothing like a little pressure to drop on the freshman before you abandon ship," said Matt.
"You're only a freshman until we get on that ship. As soon as we're all off the island and the semester ends, your first year is done. You're a junior now. There will be seniors who want to take your rank from you, and there will be freshmen next year who think they know everything already." He winked. "Maybe even one or two who actually do."
Matt shook his head. "No, I don't know everything. And it's funny you mention Slifer, because I've also wondered about whether the gods actually blessed this whole island." He stopped himself from divulging too much. "I mean, what if Duel Academy is only the best because we've all been sucking up god card energy all along?"
Dave looked curious. "That's an interesting question. But I guess it's your job to prove it one way or the other now."
Mazeda hadn't spoken since the volcano, but Matt was sure he could still feel the entity's presence. Howard had said something about how breaking the seal on the god cards would serve to free all the sealed entities around the world. Was that how Mazeda came to exist? But if so, how did he find Matt? Where had their paths cross?
And what did he want?
That's a wrap for both this arc and for the first year at Duel Academy. So weird to think that when I was writing this story the first time, Xyz monsters were brand new, so I had a character "invent them" for the sake of adding them in part-way through the story. (Links were around when I started this time, but I had taken so long a break that I didn't understand them and was a bit frustrated with all the new rules [like the field redesign], so I left them out so far.) I decided to add the Link system at this time so I could start including them in the future. (It was getting tough when I'd research ways to improve a Hero deck, for example, and Link Monsters would be staple combos. Dragunity combos seems to have developed similarly.) It would be just as easy to have Kaiba Corp develop the new cards and force them into the story going forward, but I like the touch of a graduating student using something from the real game as leverage to land a job with Kaiba Corp. (It may or may not come up again later.)
Fun fact: I just recently learned that someone took my username on Instagram, and they aren't even using it. How rude!
But about the story... Fun fact: I debated long and hard about whether to let Dave win this last duel, but for the most part, his role in the story is over, so it was more important to have Matt use this duel as a stepping stone to further development. On my first go-round, I took the anime-style "tie" approach, but I decided it was a bit too cliché this time.
There will be a hiatus while I assemble the parts for the next arc. There's a part of me that wants it to be short so that I can finish pretty quickly, and another part of me that wants it to be long so that I can draw out all the development and make it feel more organic. Like, if the introduction of new characters and side plots takes up four chapters before the school term even starts, and then the entire semester is rolled into just four more chapters, that's kinda dull, right? Not that the pacing has to be perfectly even the whole time, but there's a balance. So I'm aiming for 12 chapters. (Just to recap... Arc 1: 13 chapters; Arc 2: 8 chapters; Arc 3: 19 chapters—too many god cards to cover in fewer than that)
Thanks again to those who contributed OCs:
* Jack Hansbury...same name with a period in the middle
* Tamah "Fats" Fatu and Mikey Brittle...Vstriker
* Mitsuro Itachu...Titanic X
* Emily Li...Amourenvie
* Iracema "Cee-Cee" Silva...HardWrapping
* Sydney King and Elizabeth "Jade" Kincaid...TC-For-Short
* Kai Jackson...SketchyWolf
Remember that I always accept new OCs, but sooner is so much better than later so that I can properly slot them into the storyboard. If you're interested, send me a message!