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Chapter 186: Bread Lottery
Chapter 186: Bread Lottery
"Ah, Professor Cronos can be so demanding," muttered Jaden as he kicked pebbles along the path. "Requiring such lengthy duel theory reports and expecting them by the day after tomorrow. Ugh, writing these reports is such a headache."
He rubbed his head, mussing up his already unruly hair. Then, a thought occurred to him, and he glanced at his companion. "Hey, Sho, how about you give me a hand?"
"Eh? I haven't even started on mine yet, big brother," Sho replied, his face falling.
"Ah, that's true," Jaden sighed, resuming his pebble-kicking.
A small stone spun off, trailing dust as it flew into the distance.
"I wish we could just duel instead of writing these reports," Hayato chimed in.
"Well, when it comes to dueling, no one can beat Jaden, not even Professor Cronos himself," Hayato added, wiping his brow.
"Oh, there are definitely some strong duelists here at the academy," Jaden countered. "Like Sho's brother, that guy they call 'Kaiser'. He's incredible."
Jaden's face lit up with admiration as he spoke of Kaiser.
"I dueled him not long ago, and he's as tough as they come. I didn't stand a chance," Jaden admitted.
"Of course," Sho said proudly. "He's my most impressive brother."
However, whenever they mentioned Kaiser, the contrast between the two brothers seemed to become more pronounced.
As they chatted, You Xuan interjected, "Oh, so you've faced off against Kaiser already?"
"Hey, You Xuan?" Jaden and the others turned in unison.
"Yeah, yeah," Jaden nodded eagerly. "He truly lives up to his reputation as the academy's Kaiser. His strength is just ridiculous. One moment, he's summoning an Electronico Dragon with eight thousand attack points, and the next, he's piercing through my defenses. I lost in an instant."
The carefree Jaden seemed to relish even his losses, and he appeared eager for another match.
"So even Jaden couldn't hold his ground against Kaiser. He truly deserves his title as the academy's best," You Xuan acknowledged with a nod.
"Haha, don't worry, You Xuan. I'm sure you'll get your chance to duel him too. In fact, we haven't dueled each other yet either," Jaden said excitedly. "How about it?"
"Let's hold off for now," You Xuan suggested with a smile. "Let's save our duel for a grander stage. But I think that opportunity is coming soon, so you can start preparing."
"What are you talking about? I'm always ready for action," Jaden boasted confidently.
You Xuan inclined his head in agreement. Indeed, Jaden was at his best when he could improvise and let his instincts guide him.
Kaiser had chosen Jaden as his opponent for his graduation duel. The night before, Jaden had, for once, spent time strategizing and refining his deck, but Kaiser had been disappointed in that duel, regretting his choice of opponent for his final academy match.
According to Ryou Marufuji, Kaiser might have felt that Jaden was at his best when he dueled spontaneously, relying on his instincts rather than overthinking his moves.
"Hey, You Xuan, are you heading over to the bread lottery too?" Sho asked, noticing their companion's direction.
"Yeah, it's good practice for drawing cards," You Xuan replied with a smile.
The so-called "bread lottery" was a special activity organized by the academy's snack bar.
The snack bar was famous for its bread, and each loaf contained a different filling, but from the outside, the packages all looked identical. No one knew what filling they would get until they took a bite.
Legend had it that the Duel Academy kept a magical golden chicken that laid a single golden egg every day. Thus, one lucky bread buyer would find the coveted golden egg in their loaf each day. The golden egg bread was a rare treat that everyone wanted to get their hands on.
The drawing cards teacher also promoted the activity, encouraging students to participate in the bread lottery as a way to practice their drawing skills. As a result, the snack bar was always packed during the event.
Of course, there were rumors that the academy's heavy promotion of certain snack bar activities might have had something to do with the rumored relationship between Ms. Dome, the snack bar owner, and Chancellor Shark.
The snack bar was already packed with students when they arrived, even though the event hadn't officially started yet. Eager participants formed a long line outside, each one of them excitedly awaiting their turn.
"Everyone, no pushing, please. One at a time," a young woman who worked at the snack bar gently reminded the students as she tried to maintain order.
Judai started blowing into his palms, steeling himself. "Okay, today, no matter what, I—"
"Hey, Judai," You Xuan cut in, giving him a sideways glance. "Haven't you been striking out these past few days?"
"Yeah, it's pretty unbelievable, isn't it?" Sho Marufuji chimed in. "Big brother here used to hold the record for a twenty-win streak. He was known as the Egg King!"
Judai's face fell. "That nickname is awful, Sho!"
"But even with his amazing luck, big brother hasn't won in quite a while now," Sho added.
You Xuan stroked his chin thoughtfully. It seemed like it was time for the appearance of the legendary card-drawer from the original series—Ooyama Plains. A year ago, Ooyama had disappeared from the academy, but it was said that he had retreated into the mountains to meditate after discovering the secrets of perfect card-drawing through his observations of nature.
And now, having perfected his art, he had decided to return and test his newfound skills. Every night, just before the daily event began, he would sneak into the snack bar and, with a single draw, pluck out the loaf of bread containing the golden egg to validate his mastery.
You Xuan rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought. In the early days of GX, Ooyama Plains would be one of the opponents he'd be most interested in facing.
Not because he thought Ooyama was particularly strong, but because he wanted to experience firsthand the aura of a true master card-drawer, to prepare himself for future encounters with Judai and even more formidable opponents who were experts in this field.
It would also be a test of his own progress so far.
"Draw!"
Judai performed his signature card-drawing move, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. He tore open the bag and took a bite of the bread inside.
"Ah! Chestnut bread!"
Judai slumped to the ground, dejected like a defeated rooster. "How could this be? My divine right hand has failed me..."
You Xuan, however, was not surprised in the least. It was only to be expected, as there wasn't a golden egg bread among the loaves to begin with. It had already been stolen. Even a cheater would find it impossible to draw the bread with the golden egg when it wasn't even there to begin with.
Well, on second thought, maybe it wasn't entirely impossible.
This activity further proved the existence of "destiny power," a force that allowed duelists to alter their future to a certain extent, not just in the context of drawing cards during a duel. Judai's twenty-win streak was a testament to the fact that even something as mundane as drawing bread could be influenced by this power.
You Xuan himself had never won the golden egg bread, but then again, neither had anyone else lately. Ever since the event began, Judai had been hogging all the grand prizes.
You Xuan casually drew a loaf, tore open the bag, and took a bite.
Pizza bread. Not bad.
So far, he had never drawn a flavor he disliked. That, in itself, was a sign of his modest progress in this art.
"I'm sorry, everyone, but there's no golden egg bread here today," Ms. Dome apologized as she emerged from the back of the snack bar to address the crowd. "For the past week, only the loaf with the golden egg has been taken each day."
"Huh? So precise that they only stole the one with the golden egg?" Sho exclaimed, impressed. "That thief must be pretty skilled!"
Judai's expression soured, as if his status as the King of the Divine Right Hand had been challenged.
"All right, then," he said, clenching his fists. "We'll stay here tonight and catch that despicable golden egg thief red-handed!"
(End of Chapter)
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