"Ugh, Professor Crowler is just too much."
Jaden kicked a pebble as he walked along the path.
"A duel theory report with that many words, and it has to be turned in the day after tomorrow? Ahh, my head is spinning just thinking about it."
He rubbed his head, making his jellyfish hair even messier than usual. Suddenly struck by an idea, he glanced at the person beside him. "Say, Syrus, how about you lend me a hand?"
"Eh? But I haven't even started my own yet, big bro..." Syrus Truesdale made a bitter face.
"Sigh, you're right." Jaden sighed and went back to kicking the pebble. The small stone spun through the air, trailing a wisp of dust as it flew far into the distance. "If only we could just duel instead of writing a theory report."
Chumley Huffington broke into a cold sweat. "If it were a duel, no one would ever beat Jaden, right? Even if Professor Crowler came himself..."
"No way, there are still plenty of powerful guys in this academy. Take Syrus's brother, for example—that guy they call the Kaiser. He's amazing."
A look of admiration crossed Jaden's face.
"I dueled him not too long ago. He was really strong... I couldn't beat him."
"Of course," Syrus said with a hint of pride. "That's my incredible older brother."
Though every time he said that, it only made the contrast between the two brothers feel a bit too sharp.
As they spoke, You Xuan chimed in from the side. "Oh, you've already faced the Kaiser?"
"Eh, You Xuan?"
The group turned their heads in unison.
"Yeah, yeah," Jaden nodded repeatedly. "He definitely lives up to the name Academy Kaiser; he's absurdly strong. Out of nowhere, he brought out a Cyber End Dragon with eight thousand attack points, and it had piercing damage capabilities to boot. I lost in an instant."
The carefree Jaden seemed to take great pleasure in discussing the duel he had lost, looking as though he wanted to go for another round immediately.
"I see. Even Jaden couldn't hold his ground. He truly is the Academy's Kaiser," You Xuan noted with a nod.
"Haha, but don't worry. You'll definitely get your chance to duel him too, You Xuan. Come to think of it, we haven't even played each other yet." Jaden looked eager to start. "How about it? Do you want to..."
"No rush," You Xuan said with a smile. "It would be better to save our duel for a more suitable, larger stage. But I think that opportunity is coming soon, so you should start getting ready."
"What are you talking about? I'm always ready!" Jaden said, brimming with confidence.
You Xuan nodded.
That made sense. Jaden was the type of duelist who excelled when playing by instinct. In the original story, when Zane chose Jaden as his opponent for his graduation duel, Jaden had uncharacteristically spent the previous night agonizing over his deck construction to specifically counter him. The result was that the one time Jaden tried to "use his brain" to duel, Zane was deeply disappointed, even regretting his choice of opponent for his final match.
In Zane Truesdale's view, Jaden was the type who was strongest when playing freely, hitting whatever came to mind.
"Wait, going this way... Is You Xuan also going to pull for some bread?" Syrus asked.
"Yeah, just some draw practice," You Xuan smiled.
The so-called "Bread Pull" was a special event held at the school store. The store's specialty bread came with various fillings, but the outer packaging was identical for every loaf. No one knew what was waiting inside until they took a bite.
According to the academy lore, they raised a magical Golden Hen that allegedly laid one golden egg every day. Therefore, among the daily stock of bread, there was exactly one Golden Egg Sandwich a rare prize that everyone coveted.
Furthermore, the professors of the card drawing course heavily promoted the event, recommending that everyone go to the store to practice their "draw feel" by pulling bread. Consequently, the store was always packed whenever the event started.
Of course, rumors circulated that the academy's promotion of the store's activities might involve some "special relationships." For instance, there was a persistent rumor that Ms. Dorothy from the store and Chancellor Sheppard shared a story that was better left unsaid. Some even claimed there was a secret passage hidden under the Chancellor's desk that led directly behind Ms. Dorothy's counter.
Most students dismissed it as complete nonsense. However, You Xuan, having watched the anime, knew it was actually true. Though to this day, the true purpose of building such a secret tunnel remained a mystery...
The event hadn't even started yet, but a crowd had already gathered by the time they arrived. Students were lined up in a long queue, rubbing their hands together with faces full of anticipation.
"Everyone, please don't push! One at a time!" a young lady at the counter was working hard to maintain order.
Jaden began blowing into his hands. "Alright, today I'm definitely going to..."
You Xuan glanced at him. "You haven't pulled one the last two days either?"
"Yeah, isn't it weird?" Syrus said. "Big bro used to have a record of twenty consecutive wins. He was the man known as the King of Eggs."
Jaden's face fell. "That title sounds terrible, Syrus."
"But even big bro hasn't pulled one for many days now," Syrus added.
You Xuan looked thoughtful.
From the look of things, it was time for that "Draw Nomad" from the original series to make his appearance. He was referring to the Duel Academy student, Damon. A year ago, he had disappeared from the academy, but in reality, he had gone into the deep mountains to live as a hermit, seeking the truth of the "Miracle Draw" by observing nature.
Now, his cultivation was complete, and he had decided to come down from the mountain to test his results. Every night before the store opened, he would sneak in and use his skills to pull the single bread containing the golden egg from the stock to verify his progress.
You Xuan rested his chin in his hand, thinking. In the early stages of GX, Damon was one of the opponents he actually wanted to face. It wasn't that he thought the man was exceptionally powerful,
but rather that he wanted to personally experience the "aura" of a master of the Miracle Draw. It would serve as good mental preparation for facing Jaden or other masters of the craft later on. It was also a test of his own training results.
"Pull!"
Jaden executed a perfect draw motion, then tore open the bag and took a bite with high expectations.
"Argh! Chestnut bread!"
Jaden slumped to the ground in frustration like a defeated rooster. "How can this be? My God's Right Hand..."
You Xuan wasn't surprised at all. It was only natural; there was no Golden Egg Sandwich in the pile to begin with, as it had been stolen long ago. Even for a "cheat" player, drawing an item that wasn't in the pool... Well, actually, it probably wasn't entirely impossible for some.
This academy event further proved that the power known as Destiny Draw Power was an ability duelists could use to rewrite their own futures to an extent, and it wasn't limited to drawing cards in a duel. Jaden's streak of twenty consecutive golden eggs proved that even pulling bread could be influenced by Destiny Draw Power.
You Xuan hadn't won a golden egg yet, but that was the same for everyone else. Since the event started, Jaden had basically monopolized all the grand prizes.
Still...
You Xuan reached out, pulled a loaf at random, tore the bag, and took a bite. Pizza bread. Not bad. So far, he hadn't pulled a single flavor he disliked. It felt like his own cultivation was yielding some small success.
"I'm so sorry, everyone. Actually, there are no Golden Egg Sandwiches in there today," Ms. Dorothy appeared, explaining helplessly. "Starting from a week ago, only the Golden Egg Sandwiches have been stolen every single day..."
"Eh? They stole specifically and only the Golden Egg Sandwiches?" Syrus was shocked. "That thief must be pretty skilled."
Jaden immediately looked annoyed, as if his status as the king of the God's Right Hand was being challenged.
"Fine. Then we're staying here tonight," Jaden declared, clenching his fist. "Together, we're going to take down that despicable golden egg thief!"
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