"The Duel King selection tournament?"
Morgan froze.
She knew about this tournament… it usually happened after the reigning Duel King stepped down. But as far as she knew, the current Duel King was still young and, on paper, her mentor. Why would they suddenly retire?
Seeing Morgan's confusion, Rowe shook her head.
"It seems the Shadow Duelists have bought off quite a few people from the grey world, and the League is getting anxious… I don't know the specifics. Nerissa just told me to pass the message on to you, and to find a chance to get you to join Team Predator."
'People from the grey world? The rare card hunters?'
Morgan gave Rowe a puzzled look. Honestly, becoming Duel King felt far off to her—she was just a student who occasionally harvested Shadow Duelists for gains. It had nothing to do with her.
"Even if you say that, I'm just an innocent and cute kid. I don't really get this whole Duel King selection thing!"
She didn't know why Nerissa thought it was important; regardless, she wasn't interested.
"…"
'…Innocent and cute? What kind of kid uses such an Underworld Deck?'
Rowe could tell Morgan was brushing her off.
She was about to try persuading her again when Isla and Jade came up to the rooftop. They had certainly overheard the conversation, and Jade immediately pointed at Rowe.
"Don't even think about taking Morgan! She's not joining Team Predator!"
But Rowe ignored Jade and looked at Isla. She knew the daughter of Blackstone Club's main duelist well enough.
She had thought she'd been fast, but apparently someone had gotten here first.
Sensing Rowe's gaze, Isla smiled.
"Don't get the wrong idea. Morgan and I are just friends. I have no intention of inviting her to Blackstone Club."
Still, Rowe's suspicion didn't fade. She kept her wary eyes on Isla and let out a slow breath.
"Nerissa said if you really don't want to join, she won't force you. She just wants you to think about the Duel King selection. The tournament will be held later this year—you should be an adult by then, right? Anyone over 18 can enter."
Rowe's tone was resigned. Since Morgan's stance was firm, there was no point pushing further. She would just stay close to her.
After all, Nerissa had given her another task… take lots of photos of Morgan. Nerissa said she wanted to plaster them all over her bedroom.
Rowe was creeped out by Nerissa's perverted request, though she had agreed… The problem was, she'd never done much photography before and didn't know where to start.
Then she noticed Isla snapping away at Morgan, who was leaning on the railing, lost in thought. Her technique was practiced.
Rowe was stunned. She couldn't figure out what was going on.
This was obviously candid photography!
Why wasn't Morgan reacting? Had she gotten used to it?
Rowe began to admire her… how had Morgan survived surrounded by so many weirdos?
But… since there were already so many perverts, adding herself to the mix probably wouldn't hurt, right?
With that thought, Rowe joined the photo-taking crew without guilt.
…
Soon, Duel Academy's second-year final exams ended. Morgan took first place, followed by Isla, Rowe, and others. Jade landed in the upper-middle range—low, but acceptable.
The exams over, the students weren't heading into vacation, but into the school's first training camp.
It would be held in the form of a trip, meant to let the students relax—though dueling was still inevitable.
The destination was a massive facility deep in the mountains, one of the Academy's regular training spots. The school had rented out the entire mountaintop. The mountain air was fresh, and aside from the possibility of ghostly encounters, there were no downsides.
"G-ghosts?" Jade bit her nails nervously.
"Haha, don't worry. Trying to scare people with ghosts is one of the school's annual traditions," Isla said with a smile, having heard it from recent graduates.
At the moment, they were on the school-arranged bus heading to the training site. Outside, mountains and white mist filled the view—they were nearly there.
Isla and Jade were reading the school's handbook of activities and rules. Of course, the ghost-scare tradition wasn't written in.
Meanwhile, Rowe was dueling Morgan, seeking revenge for her loss in the tournament.
"I activate Dried Winds to destroy your Traptrix Sera!"
"Sorry, Traptrix Sera is unaffected by Trap Cards."
"What?! Then I'll activate Aromaseraphy Angelica from my Graveyard! If my Life Points are higher and I control an Aroma monster, I can Special Summon it from the Graveyard!"
"Too bad—flipping my set, Gravedigger's Trap Hole! When your opponent activates a monster effect in the hand or Graveyard: negate the effect, and if you do, inflict 2000 damage."
"Ugh… you're getting even more Underworld!" Rowe growled. Still, she had come prepared—Nerissa had helped her strengthen her Deck.
"Right back at you."
"Hmph! I Link Summon Aromaseraphy Jasmine!"
"Flipping Torrential Tribute! When a monster is Summoned: destroy all monsters on the field."
"..."
Rowe fell silent.
While Torrential destroyed all monsters, Morgan's Traptrix Sera was unaffected by Trap Cards, so only Rowe's monsters were destroyed.
Rowe was done. Morgan's new Deck was another heavy-stall 2.0 build, with almost every set card being a "Hole" Trap.
No one could play through that!
"I'm done!" Rowe shouted, flipping the table. Dueling Morgan was psychological warfare.
"That just makes you less cute," Morgan said, striking at her sore spot.
Rowe choked, stammering, "I'm already cute enough! Besides, beautiful girls are cute no matter what they do!"
Just then, the bus rounded a curve, revealing a massive white domed building ahead.
This was their destination—the Duel Academy training facility.
But the moment Morgan saw it, she felt a faint sting in her arm.
She rolled up her sleeve to find her Dragon Mark glowing faintly.
...
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