"Nice duel. Looking forward to our next one."
Inside the Fusion Department's activity office, Tenjo Hikari shook hands with his opponent and greeted him warmly.
"Haha, dueling with Tenjo-san taught me a lot! The end of polymerization is even further than I imagined!"
"Not at all, not at all, I'm still far from the end of polymerization." Tenjo Hikari quickly waved his hand.
Full Fusion Deck?
It feels less powerful... than Tearlaments, a Fusion Deck without fusion.
A few days ago, the duel boosted Tenjo Hikari's reputation in the Fusion Department, especially since Ryu was a senior student. Using the same, theoretically weaker deck to win was quite a feat for many junior students.
After all, besides color-based discrimination, seniors also bullied juniors.
However, despite that, the students mainly interacting with Tenjo Hikari were from Red and Yellow Academy, with few from Blue Academy, mostly like this student, simply attracted by Tenjo's deck.
Fusion should have a fusion style!
Watching the enthusiastic student leave to modify his deck, Tenjo Hikari felt a rush of emotion—not quite.
But everything was in his plan!
Perhaps due to his influence, students in the Fusion Department were indeed moving in the direction he hoped for, albeit not many, but they were.
After a week in the Fusion Department, he increasingly felt the department was very peculiar.
The Fusion Department had too many bizarre rules and odd ideas.
Though generally moving towards the ultimate goal of "Fusion Summon," beyond this, the conflicts within the Fusion Department were more serious than outside, and "gamble duel" style duels happened far more frequently than externally.
The Fusion Army was intentionally being cultivated towards a more extreme, fanatic, and crazy direction, which Tenjo Hikari found ridiculous!
What kind of school would do this!?
If this developed for a few years, the Fusion Army might really become like those crazies in A5 who don't care if old, young, or women become cards!
Joining the Fusion Department was indeed a wise choice.
Not only were the duels intense, but he could also keep a close eye on this potentially explosive "bomb."
"Yo! Tenjo!" A lively voice suddenly rang near Tenjo Hikari's ear.
"Judai?" Tenjo Hikari was in the corner munching on bread when he suddenly heard a familiar voice. Looking up, it was Yuki Judai!
Why would he come to the Fusion Department?
The Fusion Department students actually let him in?
Tenjo Hikari was quite surprised, because in the original work, when Yuki Judai went to Blue Academy's dormitory to find Marufuji Ryo, he was pushed to the ground by the Blue Academy students guarding it and even doused with a bucket of cold water.
But upon reconsidering, although this world was similar to GX, it was different, for example, Red Academy students greatly exceeded those in the original work, probably nearly a hundred. Plus, Tenjo Hikari had gained some minor fame in the Fusion Department, so it was not surprising if someone called for him and a senior led them in.
"Wow, Tenjo, you look cool in that uniform!" Judai's eyes lit up at Tenjo Hikari's outfit.
Tenjo Hikari already looked pretty good; matched with a longer purple uniform jacket, he appeared even more three-dimensional and handsome.
"Big brother, now's not the time to talk about this!" Shou beside him quipped.
Before going crazy, Shou was just an ordinary, timid boy, even somewhat sarcastic.
"Ah, yeah, Tenjo, are you interested in participating in a team duel!"
"Team duel? With whom? Maze Brothers?" Tenjo Hikari asked instinctively.
In the original work, Yuki Judai, Marufuji Shou, and Tenjouin Asuka encountered a "Darkness Duel" after entering the old schoolhouse, which led to school punishment requiring them to participate in dorm duels, or they would be advised to withdraw.
In the animation, Yuki Judai and Marufuji Shou eventually faced the Maze Brothers found by Professor Cronos as their opponents—the "Legendary Duelists" who troubled Yugi and Jonouchi.
Managing fame indeed had its uses. Though these two were not quite weaklings, they were definitely not strong, but just because they dueled Yugi and Jonouchi, they became "legendary" duelists, even more outrageous than Kakuzu's boast of fighting the First Hokage.
"Ah? Tenjo, you heard about that?" Marufuji Shou exclaimed excitedly, "Were you watching the duel at the time?"
At the time?
Tenjo Hikari precisely caught this detail.
I see, is this the timeframe where the duel has already ended?
But then, why seek teammates?
"Hahaha, Tenjo, did you know?" Yuki Judai couldn't help but boast, "Dimension Gate!"
"Dimension Gate!?"
"It's the Dimension Gate President Kaiba invented to find the Netherworld!" Marufuji Shou beside couldn't resist, hurrying to explain.
Through their explanation, Tenjo Hikari finally understood the fundamental differences between this world and his impression of "Yu-Gi-Oh! GX."
The Dimension Gate!
This appeared to be a world fused with the Yu Gi Oh 20th Anniversary theater version of "Dark Side of the Dimension"!
From Yuki Judai and Marufuji Shou, Tenjo Hikari roughly understood.
Every academy, every grade, can periodically leverage the power of the Dimension Gate to explore "Broken Dimensions" that have been understood.
According to Kaiba Company, these Broken Dimensions should be remnants of perished Spirit Worlds or small dimensions constructed by refugees, and inside everything was basically residual spirits.
If you defeat them, there's a chance to gain their recognition, thus obtaining a card. The energy from dueling them can maintain their dimension's existence, so it's beneficial for both parties, hence Kaiba Company signed contracts with many dimensions. It's a training world for "elite students."
Sounds quite nice.
But...
Broken Worlds? Refugee spirits?
This world feels more dangerous than imagined.
"The world we challenge this time is reportedly a Warrior-Type dimension for team duels! What do you think, are you interested?" Yuki Judai gave a thumbs up, recommending to Tenjo Hikari.
Indeed, Tenjo Hikari was interested in this.
After all, this seemed to be the fundamental "abnormality" of this world.
Moreover, he had never heard of this in Yellow Academy, so Yuki Judai's invitation was quite delightful.
But there were some prerequisites that must be clarified: "Can I participate as a Yellow Academy student? Why not bring Marufuji Shou? He's also participated in team duels with you."
"Eh... I..." Marufuji Shou lowered his head, appearing somewhat regretful, "Previously, big brother dueled my brother for me, later he talked to me... eh, he asked me not to go to the Dimension Gate easily, saying... I wasn't ready for it."
Marufuji Ryo's protection?
Seems the other side of the Dimension Gate is indeed unsecured.
"Don't worry, students from different academies can team up!" Judai didn't even know what Tenjo Hikari was worried about, "I asked Teacher Daitokuji, he said this year only I from Red Academy qualify to enter the Dimension Gate, so I can freely choose students from other academies!
If you're not interested, then I guess I'll have to find Tenjouin."
"Of course I'm interested!" Tenjo agreed quickly and then supplemented, "But just in case, I need to adjust my deck."
"Fantastic!" Judai leaped up eagerly, rapidly detailing his plan, "Tomorrow at ten, let's meet in front of our academy dormitory."