"You've got to be kidding me… E-Class?!"
When the teacher guiding Miles passed by the classroom labeled "A" without stopping, Miles could still comfort himself with the thought: Well, I am a transfer student after all… it wouldn't make sense to be placed straight into the top class. That might not look good either.
But when the teacher continued past the doors of Classes B, C, and D without stopping, Miles began to feel uneasy.
Finally, when the teacher stopped in front of the classroom marked with a large "E" and gestured for him to go in, Miles lost it.
Wasn't this the worst class?
What was Quaedes even thinking? Going through all that trouble to transfer him into XYZ Academy's third year, only to assign him to the worst class.
"Third Year, Class E…"
Of course, Miles himself didn't really have an issue with the class label; however, the psychological gap was unavoidable.
Before Miles even pushed the door open, the noise inside the classroom, like a bustling marketplace, was already spilling out into the hallway.
Come on, this is class time. Don't tell me the standard for the worst class is that no one listens at all?
"Hey, hey, did you guys hear? Apparently, there's a transfer student coming today~"
A topic that could spark such lively discussion during class was naturally one that no one could resist: the transfer student.
"Transferring at this time? And into E-Class? You've got to be joking."
"It's legit. I already got confirmed news yesterday."
"Then that's really unfortunate. First day after transferring, and already in our perpetual loser group."
"So where are they transferring from?"
"I heard it's Fusion Academy.
"You know, the one that plays Fusion."
"No wonder they ended up in our E-Class."
Even though Fusion Academy had made a comeback once in the Turbo Duel Tournament, it was still difficult to overturn the long-standing impression of being the weakest academy.
Especially for these Xyz players, who found Fusion's complexity annoying.
When you could simply use monsters of the same level to easily perform an Extra Deck Special Summon, why go through the trouble of requiring specific materials and wasting a Fusion Spell Card?
"Quiet down, all of you! Even if it's self-study, this is still class time!"
Finally, someone in the class stepped forward and scolded the noisy, market-like chatter of Class E.
A girl with long green hair and round glasses; she seemed to be one of the few normal ones in E-Class.
"Ohhh, the class rep is mad."
"Still so serious, huh? Or are you trying to leave a good impression on the transfer student?"
"It's useless. Even if we make a good first impression, it'll be exposed sooner or later. After all, we're the academy's biggest collection of trash."
It could be said that Class E of the third year had a very clear understanding of themselves.
If it were just one or two mistakes—bad draws in a duel or poor exam results—ending up in E-Class temporarily, then there was still room to struggle.
That said, after three full years, now already third-year students and still stuck in E-Class, they had long since accepted their fate.
Even after awakening as Duelists, they were simply among the least talented. In the academy's brutal competition, they were the ones eliminated; failures on whom no one placed any expectations.
"Anyway, quiet down for now. Like this, how is the transfer student supposed to find the right moment to come in?"
"Yeah, yeah, you're the class rep. You make the rules."
After repeated scolding from the green-haired girl, the classroom finally quieted down a little.
Even so, whispers could still be heard.
"Hey, do you think the transfer student's a guy or a girl?"
"Hope it's a cute girl."
"Hope it's a handsome guy~"
In the academy's dueling battles, they were already part of the losers' bracket. The only hope left for Class E was at least to enjoy a rosy school life and become winners in life instead.
"Ahem, you can probably go in now, student Miles," the guiding teacher coughed as a reminder.
As for the noisy behavior in Class E, the teacher had already given up managing it.
It was just that exposing the reality of the worst class in front of a clueless new transfer student was still a bit embarrassing.
"Yes, teacher."
After giving a look that said, "It's fine, I get it," Miles pushed open the door and entered Class E.
"OHHHHHHHHH!"
The brief silence that had lasted less than a minute was instantly drowned out by exclamations.
"Is that the legendary transfer student?"
"They're way smaller than I imagined."
"Could it be a first-year who got lost? Getting lost into E-Class isn't a good sign."
"Looking closer, they're kind of cool and handsome."
"Everyone, stop talking!" This time, it was the teacher who entered behind Miles who stopped the noise.
"This is your new classmate. I hope you all get along well. Now, introduce yourself."
Transfer student. Self-introduction.
Miles felt like he had just gone through this exact process a few weeks ago.
Though back at Fusion Academy, it had been mid-term enrollment… which was basically the same as transferring anyway.
"My name is Miles. I'm from Fusion Academy."
Just as rumored, he came from Fusion Academy, the one specializing in Fusion Summoning.
And by not including a surname in his introduction, it indicated that Miles was a Duelist of commoner origin.
This made Class E feel slightly closer to him.
Because the entirety of third-year Class E consisted of Duelists who had awakened from commoner backgrounds.
It couldn't be helped. Even if most ordinary people were lucky enough to awaken as Duelists by chance, they didn't have the same level of educational resources as noble Duelists, nor did they have the financial means to purchase rare Spell Cards.
The disparity in resources ultimately became a disparity in dueling strength. It was only natural that there were no noble Duelists in Class E.
Because of that, everyone in third-year Class E felt a greater sense of familiarity toward Miles, who was also a commoner Duelist.
"Alright then, Miles, just find a seat and sit anywhere."
"Understood, teacher."
There was no assigned seating; he was simply told to find a seat himself.
That being said, in third-year Class E, which had the worst facilities and the smallest, most crowded classroom, there were basically no empty seats… Ah, found one.
After searching through the cramped classroom, Miles finally found a seat he could take.
But strangely, several empty seats were clustered together in one area.
If it were just some ignored corner, that would be one thing, but among those empty seats sat a green-haired girl with glasses.
This scene made it seem as if no one wanted to sit near her, which was why so many empty seats were left around her.
"Bullying? Even in a Duel Academy, something like that can happen?"
Miles, who prided himself on being a partner of justice, couldn't stand such behavior.
He wasn't afraid of being excluded or targeted, and without a second thought, he chose the seat next to the green-haired girl.
Glancing at her unintentionally, even though she wore round glasses, they did nothing to hide her extremely high-level beauty.
A girl this cute should normally be very popular in the academy… so why was she being isolated?
Dark Aisha: "If you start hitting on girls on your first day after transferring, I'm going to report you to the other me!"
Come on, he had only taken a glance.., how had Dark Aisha already started imagining things? Her guard was way too high.
Seeing Miles choose the seat beside the green-haired girl, the students of third-year Class E revealed traces of pity in their expressions.
"What an ignorant kid."
"He actually dares to sit next to that strict and rigid class rep… his happy school life is over on day one."
"If he doesn't listen carefully in class, he'll definitely get lectured hard."
The only 'good' student in third-year Class E who still studied seriously.
And yet, precisely because she studied so diligently and meticulously, and still ended up in Class E, it made her seem even more pitiful.
"Hello." After sitting down, Miles politely greeted his new deskmate.
"Talking during class is prohibited, Miles," the girl immediately replied in a serious tone.
Well, someone who didn't like talking during class; she was the same type as Miles.
In fact, the way she buried herself in studying even during self-study periods made her even more diligent than him.
Still, having self-study during the very first class on Monday… had Class E already been abandoned by the teachers?
Whatever. Self-study it was.
After all, he would only be here for a week. Miles wasn't expecting to learn much at XYZ Academy anyway.
The most important thing was the summoning classes. As long as he could summon new Xyz Monsters, this trip wouldn't be in vain.
After a long and tedious forty minutes, when the bell rang, Miles could hear the green-haired girl beside him let out a long sigh of relief.
So you were holding it in too, huh. You really are strict with yourself.
"Hello." Perhaps feeling guilty for not responding to Miles earlier during class, the girl spoke to him as soon as class ended.
"My name is August. I'm the class representative of Class E."
"So you're the class rep.
"No wonder you were so strict during class."
As the class representative, leading by example was only natural. However, August's example had absolutely no effect on third-year Class E.
"Then I'll be in your care from now on, class rep."
"Mm. As the class rep, taking care of new students is only natural. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me anytime.
"Well… except during class."
"Then I already have a question!" The thing Miles cared about most: "Summoning classes. On which days are they held at XYZ Academy?"
"Which days?" August pushed up her round glasses in confusion. "There's no fixed day. The last class of every day is a summoning class."
"Huh? Every day?!"
He had already heard that XYZ Academy was extremely competitive, with a very high frequency of practical lessons starting from the first year… but he hadn't expected even summoning classes to be this frequent.
With summoning classes every day, even just a week would be enough to significantly improve the Xyz aspect of his D/D/D deck's combat strength.
This suited Miles perfectly.
Seeing the barely restrained excitement on Miles' face, August seemed a bit awkward.
"Miles, I'd advise you not to get your hopes up too much."
"There are summoning classes every day, how can I not look forward to that?"
"At XYZ Academy, it's true that you can perform Monster Summons every day. But there's something else I have to tell you. Class E… the summoning enhancement array used by Class E is the worst."
"The… worst?"
Because the academy's overall resources for summoning arrays were limited, and XYZ Academy had a large number of students with a high frequency of summoning, it was impossible to provide 100% enhancement efficiency to all students.
This was where survival of the fittest came into play.
Important resources would be prioritized for the most outstanding Duelists.
Among them, Class A not only had the best teaching resources and the most spacious and well-lit classrooms, but even the summoning arrays they used had the most abundant energy reserves.
The conditions then decreased step by step.
By the time it reached Class E, they were left with crowded, cramped classrooms for constant self-study, along with summoning arrays that provided almost no enhancement effect.
Don't bother questioning how students who barely had classes and used the worst summoning conditions were supposed to rise from the bottom.
The academy's brutal competition was simply a reflection of real life's harsh reality.
No matter where you are, once you fall to the bottom, the price required to truly climb back up will be hundreds or even thousands of times greater than those at the top.
Miles pressed further, "Isn't there any other way? To use the academy's higher-level summoning arrays?"
If this entire week was wasted on the nearly useless summoning enhancement of Class E, wouldn't it be the same as coming here for nothing?
That sly Quaedes… she must have deliberately arranged for him to be placed in Class E, afraid that once his D/D/D deck evolved, he would overturn her Water Xyz.
"There is a way… but it's basically impossible. You should just give up, Miles."
Behind her lenses, August's gaze wavered, showing her lack of confidence.
"There is a way? Then how do we do it, class rep!"
No matter how small the chance, Miles was definitely going to try.
August explained, "At XYZ Academy, there are weekly class-versus-class Duel Wars. If our Class E can defeat a higher-ranked class, we can obtain the right to use their summoning array for one month."
"Class… Duel Wars?"
Not a practical test, but a Duel War… this was a new term for Miles.
"What is that?"
"As the name suggests, it's a large-scale duel competition involving the entire class. You can think of it as a simulation of a real battlefield."
Not one-on-one duels, but chaotic battles modeled after real warfare.
If one day a war actually broke out on the Spirit Continent using Duel Monsters, it would probably take this form.
As expected of the Varian Empire, which revered strength… students were already simulating large-scale Duel Monster warfare every week while still in school. If someone said the Empire had no ambitions, no one would believe it.
Miles confirmed, "So in a class-wide brawl, does that mean the fight continues until everyone on one side is defeated?"
"That's not necessary. As long as the commander—well, the one playing the role of the 'general', is defeated, the war is immediately declared over."
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