Then the announcement echoed again. "Examinee number 001, Yugen Fujiki, please proceed to Field One and prepare for the exam." The laughter stopped instantly.
"Nani?!? That name, could it be…" one follower muttered. "Brother!" Both turned to look at Manjoume, only to find his seat empty. "Huh? Why are you under the bench?"
Ignoring the pain from the fall, Manjoume scrambled out from beneath the seat, eyes wide as he stared at Field One. He saw a familiar back walking onto the field. Before even enrolling, his dream of ruling the academy shattered, replaced by a fear he remembered all too well. Why was it you again?
"Good day, teacher," Yugen said politely after taking his place.
The examiner was a stern man wearing dark sunglasses, his face expressionless. "Prepare to duel." "Yes, teacher."
Yugen unfolded his Duel Disk, then paused and frowned slightly. "Wait a moment, teacher. Just a hypothetical. If I win, but you feel displeased during the duel or unhappy with the process, could you fail me anyway?"
"Do not worry," the examiner replied flatly. "We are professionally trained, not low-quality third-rate Duelist. No matter what kind of duel it is, I will not get angry." After a brief pause, he added, "Besides, the final decision is made by the chief examiner, Professor Chronos de Medici, not me."
"I see," Yugen said, finally at ease.
He remembered Professor Chronos de Medici well, a man nicknamed the Greedy Spirit because he looked almost exactly like the card art of Pot of Greed. In the early story he seemed like a villain, but he only targeted poor students. For excellent ones like Daichi Misawa, even taking a baseball to the eye earned nothing more than a cheerful laugh and a promise that things would be fine if grades stayed high. With the top written score, Yugen doubted the professor would make things hard for him.
"Duel!" both said at once.
Yugen, LP 4000. Examiner, LP 4000.
"I will take the first turn. Card Draw." Yugen drew three cards. "I set one monster and set two cards in the back row. My turn ends."
Up in the stands, Manjoume felt his breath catch the moment he saw that opening. The familiar smell and that unsettling atmosphere from the Underworld returned. He clenched his hands without saying a word.
"Then it is my turn. Card Draw," the examiner said. "I normal summon Gene-Warped Werewolf in attack position." The monster appeared with 2000 attack.
Yugen immediately recognized which exam Deck this came from. It was a four-star focused aggressive Deck, full of monsters with around 2000 attack, supported by equip cards to quickly reach overwhelming numbers. It was one of the more troublesome decks for new examinees.
Some students in the stands whispered, "Oh, Field One ran into the heavy pressure deck." Another replied, "Good thing it was not me. That guy is unlucky." Only Manjoume stayed silent, fingers locked together. Unlucky? No. The unlucky one was the examiner.
"To battle. Gene-Warped Werewolf, attack!"
The face-down card flipped, revealing an old magician holding a green staff. Old Vindictive Magician had only 600 defense. "Old Vindictive Magician, effect activates," Yugen said calmly. "When this card is flipped, choose one monster on your opponent's field and destroy it. I destroy your Gene-Warped Werewolf."
A burst of magic flew from the old magician as he fell, and the werewolf exploded. It had been on the field for less than ten seconds. The examiner still did not sense anything strange.
"A flip monster with destruction, huh. Then the battle phase ends." He slid a card into his Duel Disk. "I activate the Spell Card Monster Reborn, reviving a monster destroyed this turn in attack position."
A vortex opened toward the Underworld, and in a flash of light, Gene-Warped Werewolf returned, looking battered but alive. "I activate my set card, the Trap Card Magic Jammer," Yugen said, pressing his disk.
"When the opponent activates a Spell Card, pay 1000 life points to randomly discard one card from their hand. (ANIME EFFECT)" His life dropped from 4000 to 3000.
"Nani?!?" the examiner exclaimed. He looked down and saw one card vanish from his hand in a flash of light.
"It is not over yet," Yugen continued, flipping another set card. "I chain another Trap Card, Torrential Tribute. When a monster is summoned, special summoned, or flip summoned, destroy all monsters on the field."
A torrent burst from the card and flooded the field. The unfortunate Gene-Warped Werewolf was swept away once more and crushed to nothing. The examiner stood silent, words failing him.
The Sunglasses Examiner was starting to understand why this examinee had deliberately asked before the duel whether an examiner's mood could affect the exam score.
Because if it really could, he felt a strong urge to draw a huge X across this student's file and tell him to get as far away as possible.
It was only the first turn, yet half his hand was gone, his field was still completely empty, and on top of that he had lost a "Sakuretsu Armor" without even getting the chance to set it. A powerful Trap that could destroy an attacking monster had been sent straight to the grave before it ever touched the field.
That thought flashed through his mind only for a moment.
The Sunglasses Examiner forced himself to suppress the impulse.
Calm down, stay calm. Right now he was an examiner, a professional one, and no matter what happened he could not lose his temper.
Yugen entered the field with the number 001 above his head, and his exam had already drawn the most attention among all the candidates. After this turn, even more eyes shifted toward this duel, and many people began to grow curious about him.
"So that boy named Yugen is this year's top candidate," Asuka Tenjoin said as she leaned against the railing. "How should I put it, his duel feels a bit different from what I imagined a number one would be like."
"."
Over by Manjoume's side.
Lackey A said excitedly, "It's starting, it's starting! That Yugen is at it again!"
"That's it, that's the feeling," Lackey B added. "This tempo, this direction, it feels like even Manjoume got dragged straight into the abyss!"
"You're exaggerating," Manjoume muttered.
He had struggled for several turns before falling into that underworld pit.
As he spoke, his face darkened into a gloomy, unsettling expression.
"But if they think this is everything, they're being naive. For that bastard, this is only the beginning."
The two lackeys looked at him with sympathy.
"Big brother Manjoume really has experience."
"Yeah, the kind that makes people feel bad for him."
Manjoume snapped, "Shut up!"
"."
"My turn, Card Draw."
Yugen calmly slotted another card into his Duel Disk.
"Spell Card 'Delinquent Duo'. I pay 1000 Life Points, randomly discard one card from my opponent's hand, then my opponent chooses another card from their hand to discard."
Yugen's LP dropped from 3000 to 2000.
One blue demon and one red demon flew out together, each clutching a card from the examiner's hand, laughing mockingly as they vanished.
The examiner stared in silence.
Secret Technique, Hand Evaporation Technique.
He pushed up his sunglasses and looked down at the last remaining card in his hand.
A Continuous Spell, 'Burden of the Mighty'. Its effect prevented monsters with equal attack from destroying each other in battle. (ANIME EFFECT)
It was completely meaningless right now.
For all practical purposes, he had no cards left to play.
If this were an anime, the Sunglasses Examiner would already be at the point of steam shooting straight out of his head.
The only reason he did not smash his Duel Disk and roll up his sleeves was his solid professional discipline and constant self-reminders.
I'm a professional. I can't get angry. I can't.
Yugen said, "I Normal Summon 'Witch of the Black Forest'."
Witch of the Black Forest appeared with 1100 attack.
"Witch of the Black Forest attacks directly."
The examiner's Life Points fell from 4000 to 2900.
The examiner stood there, face dark, and took the hit without moving, as if he were charging up a rage meter.
"End of turn."
"."
Up in the stands, Lackey A whispered, "It's really just like big brother Manjoume said."