"Don't make that face, Aisha. You'll stop being cute!"
Beside the station, Alice gently rubbed Aisha's disappointed cheeks and offered a warm smile.
"But I only got to see you for the first time in a year, Alice-onee-san… and now you're leaving again. I don't want you to go."
On the Spirit Continent, the magitek train—powered by magic crystals and steam—is the primary means of long-distance travel.
This technology originates from the Axet Republic, one of the three great nations, famed for Synchron Summons, its Synchron Academy, and cutting-edge scientific advancements.
It's also the only one of the three not governed by a hereditary aristocracy, instead being a tech-driven republic rich in patents and innovation. Students at Synchron Academy even duel with high-tech motorcycles—total trendsetters.
Back to the station: with the Fusion Academy Festival now over and lacking Spirit Eyes, Alice Carlos couldn't stay any longer with Aisha.
The Carlos family also had matters awaiting her return, so Alice had no choice but to book her return ticket for the day after the festival.
"Silly little sister, break's just a few days away. Rather than sulk here, you should focus on studying for your finals."
Even as a full-boarding school, Fusion Academy still has annual holidays.
Once the semester concludes, students get a month-long break spanning year-end and New Year's.
Packing up and going home for the holidays is what every student eagerly anticipates, especially during the exam-crunch atmosphere.
"Final exams, huh… I'll do my best, Alice-onee-san!"
Easily distracted by Alice, Aisha suddenly remembered—once exams were over, she'd finally get to go home again.
After saying goodbye at the magitek train station, Aisha had one week left and resolved to give her all in exam prep.
She couldn't let her written test scores fall behind, and she had to help Ren cram too.
That said, no matter how hard she tried, what Aisha had the least confidence in… was the Summoning Final.
Just like midterms, Fusion Academy would pre-install a summoning array with amplified mana to let students summon monsters that match the level of effort they've put in over the semester.
To students, it's both an exam and an opportunity.
…Or at least it should be.
Aisha had scored zero on her midterm Summoning due to failing to summon anything, and that left a psychological scar.
Even in hindsight, though she summoned the Millennium Puzzle using the enhanced summoning array and gained Miles as a guardian spirit, it was arguably the best outcome.
Still, like last time, this final summoning test was a tangled emotional hurdle for Aisha.
Plus, she'd been summoning Kuriboh for half the semester… Miss Erin definitely wouldn't give her high marks just for summoning it again.
Aisha could already hear Erin's grading voice: "If you're not advancing, you're falling behind, Miss Carlos."
Miles, on the other hand, wasn't worried. With Aisha's fame at Fusion Academy, even if she summoned a potato, no one would think of expelling her.
Come on, summoning a potato with the entire school's mana array would be "sick".
…
After the Festival, the exam-crunch week flew by.
Final Exam—First-Year Summoning Hall—
The summoning array was the same as always. Just standing on it, you could feel the immense flow of mana.
Once the summon began, that power surged from the feet upward, channeling into the Spirit Eyes to allow monster summoning beyond one's usual limits.
"Answer my call for justice! Hero Summon!"
Ren's final summon glowed with golden metal as her Elemental HERO appeared in front of everyone's awed gaze.
[Elemental HERO Bladedge] Level 7│EARTH│Warrior│2600 ATK / 1800 DEF
[When this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage.]
A Level 7 HERO with 2700 ATK and piercing damage—even stronger than many Fusion HEROes.
Bladedge was a huge power boost to Ren's HERO Deck.
That's the kind of strength you get with a mana-boosted final exam.
Miss Erin gave her high marks, naturally.
"Let my burning black flames forge my soul's roar! Monster Summon!"
Next up was Kevin Seth, whose overly dramatic chant was answered by scorching dark flames.
"ROAAAR!!"
A black dragon raised its head and let out an earth-shaking roar.
"That's… Red-Eyes Black Dragon? No—wait!" Miss Erin observed carefully.
She'd expected Kevin to summon Red-Eyes, just like Kaima had during her final. That way, by mid-second-year, he could build a triple-Red-Eyes deck.
However, it seemed Kevin had no intention of following Kaima's path.
The dragon he summoned was clearly different from the original.
[Red-Eyes Alternative Black Dragon] Level 7│DARK│Dragon│Special Summon│2400 ATK / 2000 DEF
Its sharply reflective scales marked it as a powered-up subspecies.
There's a theory in biology: subspecies evolve greater combat ability after losing the environmental protections of their original kind.
Whether that applies to Duel Monsters is debatable.
"ROAAAAR!!"
As if to respond, another deafening roar came from the second-year summoning field—
[Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon] Level 8│LIGHT│Dragon│Special Summon│3000 ATK / 2500 DEF
Bathed in light, the Alternative White Dragon cried out.
Kaima Seth, standing in the summoning array, had completed her own subspecies summon in a duel of dragons.
It bumped her Blue-Eyes deck up a whole power tier.
Professor Field, the second-year instructor, nodded with satisfaction and motioned for the next student.
"Great, now I'm under pressure," Irena muttered, pouting as she stepped into the array.
Even as a witch-class magician, Irena couldn't help but marvel at the complexity of the summoning circle every time she stood on it.
Such perfect mana amplification—with a flow that was both immense and intricately precise—might be beyond even Lady Fiona herself.
"Show me the essence of sorcery! Summon the pinnacle of magic!"
Black Magic energy surged, coalescing before Irena.
It seemed her summon would be another branch of the Dark Magician series—a black-robed sorcerer.
But when the magic cleared, the sorcerer standing before her wore white robes.
[Chronicle Magician] Level 7│DARK│Spellcaster│2500 ATK / 2500 DEF
A white-robed young Spellcaster—his stats matched the Dark Magician.
And as the Dark Magician's lore describes it: among Spellcasters, his ATK and DEF are the highest.
So, by rounding logic, Chronicle Magician also counted as top-tier.
Naturally, Professor Field gave her a high score.
...
The first- and second-year summon exams burned on.
Meanwhile, our Aisha Yuna Carlos… was still squatting in the corner praying. Exactly the same scene as her midterm summon.
She's still that same girl not a single thing changed
Miles said, "I told you, relax. You're not getting expelled again."
"You don't get it, Mr. Miles! The trauma of scoring zero isn't so easily overcome!"
Can't blame her—despite how things ended, that zero dealt a serious blow.
"Aisha! Miss Carlos!"
Unlike usual free-form summoning, even Miss Erin stuck to strict order during finals.
After several calls, Aisha knew—this was it.
Gulp.
She swallowed and stepped onto the array.
"Alright, Miss Erin… I'm going! I really am!"
"Hurry up. Don't waste everyone's time."
Unlike her tender midterm encouragement, Miss Erin now held her clipboard with a cigarette and looked totally unfazed.
Summoning exams weren't that serious—no one else got themselves this worked up.
She glanced at Aisha's already top-ranked skill credits.
Honestly, this girl should just summon a potato and be done with it.
"With all my strength, my soul, my everything… I summon you, Duel Monster!"
Same chant as midterms—Aisha gave it her all.
Then it began—the entire array's mana surged violently.
A familiar sight.
Yes, same as last time: her summoning pulled on the entire circuit, sending a blast of mana through the hall.
Back then, everyone expected a top-tier monster.
…But she summoned the Millennium Puzzle, which was ruled a Magic Tool.
Now, already in possession of the Puzzle, Aisha stood center-stage as it glowed and shook wildly.
Even the soul within—Miles—could feel the turbulent energy.
Miles was shocked, "Isn't this a bit much?!"
Not even Ren or Kevin's summons had triggered half as much.
And this was the second time.
It forced Miss Erin to consider: did Aisha Carlos have a special affinity with the mana-enhanced summoning array?
How else could she cause this scale of reaction twice?
The surge turned to solar fire, spiraling upward.
Then—a divine screech.
A piercing, holy cry of a bird echoed across Fusion Academy. The flames coalesced into a sun above, and within it—a summoned monster.
A golden divine bird, with joints sharp and mechanical.
Spreading its wings in fiery glory, it looked like a god incarnate.
"That is—!" Miles immediately recognized it.
It was ridiculous, but there was no doubt—
"The Winged Dragon of Ra!!"
Unbelievable. This girl spent all week angsting and summoned a god.
'Are you secretly a top student who pretends to suck before tests?!'
She summoned the Millennium Puzzle at midterms, and now summoned an Egyptian God at finals.
Apparently, as long as Aisha stands in the summoning array, she defies fate.
However, the result mirrored last time.
After Ra screeched and blazed, it left no card behind—it simply vanished.
A god summoned for mere moments, yet never materialized into a usable card.
Likely, even with the array's full power, it wasn't enough to crystallize Ra into a card—Leaving Miss Erin completely stumped.
'...Do I score it as a god summon?'
'Or as a summon of thin air?'
"Why, Aisha… why couldn't you have just summoned a potato?!"
...
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