Sunlight poured softly through the window, giving the whole office a warm edge of gold. A few green plants by the window looked lively, their leaves catching the light with a clean shine.
To be honest, when Professor Chronos de Medici first called him by name and invited him to the office for afternoon tea, Yugen was quite surprised. His grades had been steady, and he could not recall offending the professor, so it did not seem like the kind of special treatment given to struggling students. Before long, though, he realized he had overthought it.
"Yugen has been enrolled for two weeks now. Are you getting used to living here?"
The professor clearly wanted to look kind and gentle, smiling under the sunlight. Unfortunately, his features were so distinctive that no matter how hard he tried, he still looked like a grinning Pot of Greed.
"It's been good, Professor," Yugen replied with a smile.
"Mm, that's good, no ne," Professor Chronos de Medici said warmly. "If there's anything you are not used to, you must tell me, no ne. Any problems at all, with studies or daily life, you can report them to me anytime, no ne."
To be fair, Yugen actually had a pretty good impression of the professor so far. Over the past two weeks, part of the reason he earned credits so quickly was thanks to him. Professor Chronos de Medici loved giving him chances to answer questions or demonstrate at the front, and as long as he performed well, there would be credits as a reward.
In sharp contrast, Judai Yuki had already lost what little credits he started with in just two weeks. The reasons included skipping class, sleeping during lectures, snoring in the front row, and failing pop quizzes. Yugen suspected that more than half of those deductions probably came from Professor Chronos de Medici, with a bit of personal bias mixed in.
Perhaps if they both slept in class, Judai Yuki would be seen by the professor as "sleeping through every lecture," while a top student like Yugen would become "even sleeping counts as studying, how diligent."
"I've already applied for the school's Honors Program for you, and the principal has approved it, no ne," Professor Chronos de Medici said with a cheerful smile. "As long as you keep all your subjects above ninety, you will receive extra credits every month.
"And although you are still in Ra-Yellow right now, once you join the program, your priority for buying cards on campus will automatically rise to the same level as students from Obelisk Dorm-Blue. Well, with Yugen's grades, moving up to Obelisk Dorm-Blue is surely only a matter of time, no ne."
"Thank you, Professor."
As he spoke, Yugen suddenly thought of something.
"Ah, right, since we're talking about this, I actually do have a few questions."
"Oh? Go ahead, go ahead. It's fine, no ne," Professor Chronos de Medici said, fingers interlaced under his chin, his smile looking even more like a pot.
Yugen tried his best not to think about pots. "It's nothing big. There are some cards I've had my eye on, but I've been waiting a long time and still haven't seen them on the Academy Department side. I wanted to ask if you know of any extra channels."
"That, huh."
Professor Chronos de Medici hesitated for a moment.
"You can make a list first, and I can help ask around, no ne. But don't get your hopes too high. Even for teachers, we usually buy cards through Academy Department. If a card can't be bought even within Duel Academy, then it's very hard to see it through any other channel, no ne."
"I see," Yugen said, nodding.
That made sense. If there were channels easier than Duel Academy for getting a Rare Card, everyone would not be fighting so hard to get in here.
"However, campus clubs seem to be starting recruitment now," Professor Chronos de Medici added after some thought. "You could try looking for one you're interested in."
Yugen paused. "Clubs?"
What did a Rare Card have to do with student clubs?
"Oh, since Yugen is a freshman, you might not know yet," Professor Chronos de Medici explained with a smile. "Many student clubs have their own stock, no ne. That stock is often used as prizes for activities, or as member benefits to attract newcomers.
"There are even some cards that are already out of print, some that are rarely seen in the current Academy Department inventory, and some niche cards that only certain Deck need."
By this point, Yugen was already getting interested.
That meant some cards that appeared once or twice in Academy Department and were immediately taken might have been absorbed into a club's stock. If he joined the right club, he might not only get a chance to obtain them, but possibly even get them for free.
"Student clubs also receive budgets and credits quotas, so participating in club activities gives extra chances to earn credits, no ne."
Professor Chronos de Medici thought for a moment.
"If it's Yugen, the one I would recommend is still Duel Department, no ne. It's also the most popular club in Duel Academy, focused mainly on Duel battles.
"Regularly sparring with top-level students from Duel Academy is also more helpful for improvement, no ne."
That was true. At the very least, lucky draws were something that needed practice. Dueling strong opponents, and facing stronger pressure during a Duel, was a more effective way to improve.
"Alright, thank you, Professor."
After finishing afternoon tea, Yugen left the professor's office.
Duel Department.
He vaguely remembered seeing posters about it before, saying that the recruitment event would be held tomorrow at noon.
He decided to go take a look.
The next day, at the Duel arena.
It was the classic venue he had seen countless times in the animation in his previous life, but in person, the space looked even larger than it ever had on screen. The huge square field was surrounded by ring-shaped stands, and by the time he arrived, it was already quite lively.
Today, Duel Academy's Duel Department had rented the venue specifically for recruitment. Since it was a Duel Department event, card games were naturally unavoidable. It was not time yet, so recruitment had not officially started, and Yugen looked around the stands.
Before long, he spotted a familiar face sitting in one section.
"Brother Manjoume is insanely strong!" two lackeys praised him with their usual smooth talk.
"Hmph, that's obvious," Manjoume said.
He sat back in his chair with his legs crossed, wearing an extremely arrogant posture.
"The man known as 'Kaiser' isn't around now, so this is about all the strength Duel Department has. Well, whatever. Once I join, it'll naturally rise to another level. I just hope the others don't hold me back."
The man called Kaiser, Ryo Marufuji, was widely recognized as the number one duelist in Duel Academy and had once been a member of Duel Department. Now in his third year, he had more and more of his own affairs to handle and rarely showed up.
While Manjoume was basking in his own bravado and the flattery of his lackeys, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Little Manjoume's been in good form lately. Pretty confident, huh."
That irritating voice could only be one person.
Manjoume whipped around, and what filled his vision was that bright, handsome smile. With a loud thump, he lost his balance from turning too fast and fell straight out of his chair.
Right after that came the shocked cries of his lackeys.
"Boss! How did you end up under the chair again!?"
Manjoume snapped back into his chair, eyes wide as he stared at him. His reaction was sharp enough to draw attention from the nearby seats.
"It is you!?"
"You want to join Duel Department too?"
"Yeah. Why are you so worked up?" Yugen looked at him with confusion. "Miss me or something?"
"Of course not!"
Manjoume realized his reaction had been a bit much. He shot a fierce glare at him, then sat back down and stopped talking.
He had been careless. He should have known this guy would show up as well.