[Mash POV]
Hello again!
It's me, Mash. And right now, I'd like to monologue about why the hell this Kuriboh-headed protagonist is so fast.
Seriously. I should've wished to start at the exam lobby instead of spawning in a random-ass park. What is this, protagonist power?He's fast as fuck, boi.
I've been chasing Jaden Yuki through the streets for ten solid minutes. Ten minutes of sprinting like a hunted animal, lungs on fire, legs screaming, and brain slowly frying. Look, I'm just your average Yugioh nerd, let alone shower, I DON'T EVEN EXCERCISE! But I can't slow down, I don't even know where the entrance exam is. I just remember it's some damn sphere thing from the anime.
God didn't even give me a map. Or a phone. Or basic GPS. Nope. Just vibes.
"I… hah... can't… hah... do this anymore…!" I gasped, stumbling to a stop.
My feet felt like overcooked noodles slapped into a microwave.
Suddenly, a hand clapped gently against my back.
"Hey," someone said, "you've been following me for ten minutes, right? Don't give up now!"
I turned my head and nearly passed out on the spot.
It was him. The protagonist.Jaden Yuki.In the flesh. And smiling at me like a golden retriever with a duel disk.
"Looks like you're late too, huh?" he laughed. "Me too! The train got delayed, but don't worry I know a shortcut. We'll get there in no time!"
He extended his hand toward me.
"My name's Jaden Yuki. Nice to meet'cha!"
[Holy crap. He really is this friendly in person.]
[3rd POV]
That day, Duel Academy's practical exams were being held at KaibaLand, the sacred battleground for aspiring elite duelists. Normally, applicants had to pass both a written and practical exam to qualify for entry.
A man in a sleek black tuxedo stood outside the stadium beside a pair of receptionists, checking his watch. With a subtle nod, he gave the signal, it was time. The registration period had officially ended.
The receptionists began packing up their materials.
Until—
"WAAAIIIT!!"
They turned sharply at the sound of shouting. From the far edge of the parking lot, two hands gripped the top of the steel fence. And then—
Two bodies appear on top of the steel fence, with both having many leaf's and stick stuck on their hair.
"Exam #110! Jaden Yuki!" Jaden called out, throwing up a peace sign and flashing his signature grin. "I'm safe, right?"
Beside him, a second boy, Mash, looked like he was about to puke on the pavement.
[Mash POV]
[Oh. Crap. I just remembered—there's no written exam in the anime! It jumps straight to the practical! GOD, YOU SCAMMER!]
I panicked.
I didn't even take the written test. I didn't have an examinee number. I didn't even have a pencil! This was it. Game over.
Then, a flash of white light engulfed my vision.
I blinked and suddenly, I was back in that cosmic void from earlier. God sat across from me on his invisible chair, holding a paper and pen.
i panicked as i didnt even know my examinee number, but then... a flash of bright light filled me and i was in the same space like void 20 minutes ago and infront of me is god sitting on his invisible chair, a paper and a pen
"Now, now… didn't I say I'd be watching you?" he said with a smirk. "This situation isn't plot-related, so I'm allowed to help. Here. Do your written exam. With my power, it'll be processed as if you took it in the real world."
[GOD I LOVE YOU I COULD—]
"Just hurry up," he cut me off. "I can only hold time for 30 minutes."
I slapped my cheeks to focus and flipped the test over.
20 questions.Alright. Let's go.
Question 1:How many times can you Normal Summon a monster per turn?
[...]
I wrote down "1."Sure, there are ways to increase it with cards like Double Summon and those birds, but I figured the general answer was fine.
Question 2:What are the types of Spell Cards in Duel Monsters?
[...]
I raised my hand.
"Yes?" God asked.
"What's the passing grade?" I asked cautiously.[Because whoever made this clearly thinks duelists are kindergartners. WAIT!? didn't, like, half the students in the anime fail this!? Including Jaden?!]
"You only need 50% to pass," God replied casually.
[Good. Because after looking over these questions, this is child's play. Eight-year-old me could've aced this with just the rulebook that came with my Kaiba starter deck.]
I got to work, breezing through the questions though with a wide grin in my face. A minute later, I handed the test in.
God materialized a crescent-moon-shaped pair of glasses and examined my answers like a teacher grading a prank test.
"Are you taking this test seriously?"
"NO."
He wheezed, then laughed. "Good. I wouldn't either. After reading the Duel Monster rulebook inside your head, this test is a joke."
He turned the page.
"…But if it's so easy, then why does this say you got a literal zero?"
I shrugged. "I had my reasons."
God raised an eyebrow. "Intentionally flunking, huh? Bold move. But hey, with my power I'll allow you to still pass."
He gave a small chuckle and snapped his fingers. "Alright then, Examinee #200."
The paper in his hand burst into golden flame.
Another flick of his wrist and the void exploded with light.
Suddenly, I was back on top of the fence, next to Jaden, sweat clinging to my face.
I looked at the two receptionists and the tuxedo man with newfound confidence, straightening my posture like I belonged here.
"Uh… uhm… Exam #200! Mash is also safe, right?"
A few minutes later, I was inside the practical exam stadium… and holy hell, this place was huge.
Two floors. The lower floor was packed with us newcomers, while the upper balcony was lined with smug kids in fancier uniforms—students from that volcano island school or whatever. They were watching us from above like Roman nobles judging peasants.
I looked around as students took turns dueling instructors in the center arena. That's when I spotted someone familiar.
[No way… That's Bastion!]
One of the teachers shouted from across one of the many fields in the stadium, his voice echoing over even from afar.
"You may be elite, but against my hyper-defense deck, you won't be able to chip away at my LP any further!" he declared confidently.
Bastion narrowed his eyes. "Hmph. I activate my Trap Card—Ring of Destruction."
A face-down card flipped up on his field. A metallic collar-like device materialized and latched onto Bastion's monster's neck.
"Ring of Destruction destroys one face-up monster and inflicts damage to both players equal to its ATK," he explained calmly as a face-down card stand up on the field.
The card flipped up on the field, glowing menacingly. A ring of grenade appeared, locking around Bastion's monster's neck.
BOOM!
The monster exploded in a fiery blast, and a wave of shock hit both duelists with 1700 burn.
{Teacher LP: 1300 -> 0000
Bastion LP: 3000 -> 1300}
The teacher straightened his glasses and gave a curt nod. "Exam duel complete. Congratulations, you win."
Bastion bowed politely before walking off the field like it was just another Tuesday.
"That guy's combo was pretty solid," Jaden said beside me, watching with interest.
"Yeah, but if his LP were even a little lower, it could've backfired hard," I muttered.
We were casually chatting when another voice cut in, a shy but clear tone.
"That wouldn't happen," someone said beside me. I turned to see a blue-haired boy with glasses. "That's Exam #1, Bastion Misawa. He's ranked the highest in the written exam. He would've calculated both LP values precisely to ensure only his opponent was taken out."
[Yeah, no shit. I would've done the same if I were using that card too.]
"Ah! Sorry for rambling!" the boy said quickly, fidgeting. "I'm just, uh-uhm, nervous..."
Jaden smiled. "It's fine! Anyway, I'm Jaden Yuki. Exam #110."
"And I'm Mash," I said, giving a half-salute. "Just Mash."
"Oh! Then greetings," he said, adjusting his posture formally. "I'm Syrus Truesdale, Exam #119. Seems I ranked nine points lower than Jaden in the written exam."
Jaden blinked. "Ohh… so that's what the exam number means—wait a sec." He turned to me, eyes widening. "Didn't you say your number is 200?!"
"What?!" Syrus gasped. "That's eighty-one numbers below me!"
"Heh…" I rubbed the back of my head. "I think I didn't really study for the test."
[So what? Jaden here passed is gonna passed and get accepted to the academy, despite bombing the written part, and you almost failed too! That test was laughably easy. I could've aced it blindfolded, but I had my reasons. And I'm still getting in, no matter what.]
Bastion returned and sat on a bench below us.
"Hey, Bastion! You were pretty good out there," Jaden called down.
"Yeah…" Bastion replied, barely interested.
Jaden grinned. "I'd say you're good enough to be #2 among this year's candidates."
Both Syrus and Bastion turned to him, surprised.
I didn't flinch. I already knew this line, this was how the anime went down with Jaden's typical shonen confidence.
Then an announcement echoed through the stadium.
"Examinee Jaden Yuki. Please report to Duel Field 1."
"All right! My turn!" Jaden said, stretching.
"Wait." Bastion narrowed his eyes. "Why do you think I'm #2?"
Jaden flashed a thumbs-up, pointing at himself with his thumb. "Because I'm #1."
And with that, he jogged down to the arena.
[Ah... That naivety... Must be real nice especially for me who experience the shit hole that is modern duel.]
Then it hit me.OH SHIT.[My deck. My twenty-card deck! I need to fix it, ASAP!]
I hit the [Shop] tab. It was mostly empty.
[Huh? Where is everything!? Where's the usual recommendations and packs?]
Then I noticed a glowing tab:
{Special!}
[Hm? Why does that one have an exclamation mark?]
I tapped on it and was greeted with a few choice.
{Special:
Bundle Deal (750 credits):Includes Ghost Belle, Ash Blossom, Effect Veiler, Triple Tactics, Nibiru, Forbidden Droplet, Lightning Storm, Infinite Impermanence, Solemn Judgment
Starter Trap Cards (500 credits)
3x Pot of Greed Set (1000 credits)}
[WHAT. THE. HELL. That Pot of Greed set wasn't here before!][Oh right. This world has no banlist. Goddamn.]
I didn't have enough for the big bundle or the greed pack… so I bought the Starter Trap Cards for 500 credits.
A gacha animation played. Then...
You pulled:
2x Spiritual Water Art – Aoi
2x Destruction Jammer
2x Magic Cylinder
1x Spiritual Fire Art – Kurenai
2x Seven Tools of the Bandit
2x Torrential Tribute
2x Rock Bombardment
2x Trap Hole
1x Negate Attack
1x Dark Bribe
2x Trap Dustshoot
1x Sakuretsu Armor
2x Karma Cut
1x Chain Destruction
1x Mirror Force
1x Phoenix Wing Wind Blast
2x Ojama Trio
2x Raigeki Break
2x Dust Tornado
2x Adhesion Trap Hole
1x Bottomless Trap Hole
1x Waboku
1x Compulsory Evacuation Device
1x The Selection
1x Reckless Greed
2x A Hero Emerges
[holy shit i got 40 frickin normal traps! although they are not what i usually use its still better than nothing!]
[HOLY SHIT.]
[I just got 40 frickin' normal traps! They're not all my go-to picks, but this is a goddamn goldmine.]
I quickly opened the [Deck] tab, drag-and-dropped the best cards into my Labrynth deck. The moment I did, I felt the weight in my pocket increase slightly.
My deck was now a full 40 cards. No Extra Deck.[Which is fine. Labrynth doesn't need one anyway.]
With a deep breath, I relaxed. Crisis averted.
I looked back toward the arena just in time to watch Jaden summon Flame Wingman and wipe the floor with Crowler's Ancient Gear Golem. The impact sent the golem crashing down literally on top of Crowler, crushing both his monster and his LP.
Jaden stood tall and grinned. "Gotcha! That was a fun duel!"
Then he jogged back up to us and dabbed our hands one by one.
"That was a great duel, Jaden!" Syrus said, eyes sparkling.
"As expected of number one," Bastion muttered, clearly impressed.
"Thanks a lot, you guys!" Jaden said, flashing his classic V-sign.
[This scene wasn't even in the anime… Episode 1 ends with him winning the duel againts Crowler. Guess this is the extended director's cut for me.]
Then a voice crackled through the speakers:
"Examinee Mash. Please report to Duel Field 1."
[Huh? Duel Field 1… wasn't that Jaden and Crowler's stage?]
Someone patted me on the back. I turned and saw Jaden grinning.
"Well then its your turn now, good luck!"
"Good luck, Exam #200 Mash!" Syrus added enthusiastically.
Bastion blinked, taken aback. "Exam #200?! At that point, you'll need the good luck!"
I laughed. "Don't worry, guys." I locked eyes with the field. "Because I assure you… the one who'll need luck is the teacher."
The three of them stared, a little stunned at my bold declaration.
Before they could say anything else, I bolted down the stairs deck in hand, heart racing, grin wide.
Time to show them what a meta trap deck from 2020 can really do.
[3rd POV]
High above the practical exam stadium on the observation deck, two Obelisk Blue students watched the duels unfold from the upper floor.
Zane Truesdale stood silently, arms crossed, having just finished observing Jaden Yuki's match. He turned to leave, seemingly satisfied.
But then—
"Hey, Zane," Alexis called out, glancing at the arena below. "There's still one more duel left. You sure you want to leave now?"
Zane paused mid-step.
"It's against an examinee who placed dead last in the written exam," she added with a slightly teasing tone.
He looked back at her, thoughtful, before turning once more to the railing. Without a word, he stepped beside her and gazed down at the field.
"…Alright," he said calmly. "Besides, it's another chance to see more of Professor Crowler's legendary rare card—Ancient Gear Golem."
—
Meanwhile, on the first floor of the stadium, seated in the VIP section, sat a cocky-looking black-haired examinee flanked by two others. His posture oozed arrogance, as if he had already claimed victory without lifting a finger.
Raizou groaned. "What, there's still more?"
Torrey leaned over the railing, snorting. "And get this—I heard the next examinee is ranked #200."
Chazz Princeton clicked his tongue in irritation.
"Tch… Little insects, wasting time," he muttered, eyes narrowing at the field. "Let's see if this duel is at least as entertaining as the last one."
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Hello everyone! Im_good here!
call me IG for short.
There's nothing i really want to talk about here... so i hope you guys enjoy reading it! Chiao!
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