Chapter 22: Elemental Spirits
Chapter 22: Elemental Spirits
The pride of the Gym, the symbol of the style.
To be honest, the first thing that came to You Xuan's mind when he heard this description was the saying passed down by old-school players:
"You should give up everything mainstream and embrace the unbeatable Cyber Dragon."
Or, in other words, the Electronic Dragon.
Caesar Marufuji Ryo of the Duel Academy had already inherited the Electronic style Gym before he even enrolled in the academy. According to his mentor, Shark Island, who later became the principal of the Duel Academy, Marufuji Ryo's unwavering dedication touched the spirit of the Electronic End Dragon, earning him the chance to receive the lineage.
Well, in the anime, this so-called "touching the spirit" meant that Marufuji Ryo tirelessly practiced his drawing skills every day, eventually mastering the 502 technique that guaranteed him three Electronic Dragons and a Fusion card in his opening hand, no matter how many times he shuffled his deck.
According to Principal Shark Island, mastering such a godly drawing technique was considered the pinnacle of skill.
Aside from the Electronic style, the only other Gym that made an appearance in the anime was the later Psi-style Gym, and its treasured symbol was the android, Soga.
"So, our Gym has one of those as well?" You Xuan wondered, his mind racing as countless rare cards from that era flashed through his thoughts, trying to piece together what kind of deck it could be.
"Honestly, I wanted to promote our style as well, but I lacked the ability. After losing our mentor, our Gym has been declining, and lately, hardly anyone even remembers our style," Master Takeuchi continued, taking a deep breath before looking at You Xuan earnestly. "But now, I've seen your transformation. I had almost given up, but now I think you might be the one I've been waiting for. Perhaps you can inherit this nearly forgotten title and make it great once again."
"So, the deck of our style that you mentioned?" You Xuan probed cautiously.
If this were a typical fantasy novel, he would expect his master to take out some kind of divine pill or high-end artifact at this point in the story.
However, You Xuan's first reaction now was, "I hope your deck doesn't brick."
He couldn't help but feel apprehensive despite Master Takeuchi's enthusiastic gaze, sparkling with confidence. You Xuan was all too aware that duelists in the anime had a different definition of a "powerful" deck compared to reality.
You Xuan understood that his strength in dueling lay in his deck-building skills and strategic thinking. If Master Takeuchi expected him to wield a deck like the Eight-Star Common Bone, he simply wouldn't be able to carry it.
Master Takeuchi smiled mysteriously. "Have you ever heard of the legendary LV series?"
You Xuan's heart sank as he heard those words.
'Bad.'
The LV series were decks where monsters automatically leveled up based on the number of turns they remained on the field, and they typically had abilities like "Send a monster from the field to the graveyard to special summon a higher-level LV monster from the deck."
It was mentioned in the GX storyline that the LV series were rare cards that ordinary duelists couldn't buy; they were priceless. For example, the "Armed Dragon LV" series that appeared in the anime was the treasured symbol of the Duel Academy's Northern Branch, eventually making its way into Manjoume's hands.
But that was in the anime.
The reason You Xuan's heart sank was that, in the real-card environment, most LV series decks seemed to be utter garbage.
"Indeed! Our Gym's lineage, the 'Silent Style,' originates from the battle tactics pioneered by the Duel King, Yugi Muto! And as the pinnacle of our style, the card that symbolizes our lineage is this one—"
With a sense of ceremony, Master Takeuchi revealed the card that had been sealed away for many years.
"—'Silent Magician LV!' "
"Hmm?" You Xuan raised an eyebrow, surprised.
[Silent Magician LV, Level 4, Attack: 1000
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned. You can Tribute one Spellcaster-Type monster on the field as a Tribute Summon.
This card's Attack increases by 500 x the number of cards in your hand. Once per turn, you can negate the activation of a Magic Card.
When this card on the field is destroyed by battle or an opponent's effect, you can Special Summon a 'Silent Magician' monster other than 'Silent Magician LV' from your hand or deck.]
It was still a fairly powerful card in the current environment, but You Xuan recalled that in reality, this should be a new version of Silent Magician from a future set. In the early environments, it would naturally stand out more.
After all, Silent decks had existed since the DM era, and in this world, the development of classic ace cards used by legendary duelists like Yugi and Kaiba was always a priority.
To his right, in a corner of the hall, there seemed to be a figure. As white as the first snow of winter, with a flowing robe that seemed to caress the sky. Tall and elegant, the figure was draped in a voluminous cloak, with long silver-white hair that swayed silently.
But when You Xuan turned abruptly, he found that the space was empty.
There was only a shadow.
"What is it?" Master Takeuchi asked, seeming to notice nothing amiss.
"It's nothing," You Xuan murmured.
Was it an illusion? Or...
Master Takeuchi didn't ask further, only saying solemnly, "Take good care of this card. It's not just a rare card, but also one that is said to have a sprite inhabiting it."
"A sprite?"
You Xuan examined the beautifully illustrated card, then glanced in the direction of the vision he had just seen.
But there was still nothing there.
"...Perhaps. To be honest, I'm not sure myself. Haha."
Master Takeuchi scratched his head.
"I've only heard about it before, I've never actually seen it. The previous master said that not everyone can see sprites. Who knows? You might as well believe it's real, haha."
You Xuan examined the card from all angles but couldn't feel anything special about it. However, considering the uniqueness of this world, he thought it was generally better to believe in such rumors.
If it was a sprite card, then its nature would be completely different.
For regular cards, he might only consider their practicality and strength, as well as whether including them would clog his hand with meaningless cards. But sprites were different.
In this world, assuming you haven't gone tomb-raiding in Egypt or discovered divine artifacts, Duel Monster sprites are typically the source of eight out of ten superpowers, and having a sprite is the simplest way for a duelist to enter the superpower circle.
Take Yugi Muto in the anime, for example. Before awakening his Overlord powers in another dimension, he relied on magical cards whenever he encountered superpower duels.
In the early stages, he had Winged Kuriboh, a gift from the game itself, and on several occasions when he faced dark duels or opponents trying to play dirty, Kuriboh was there to save the day. In the middle stages, he obtained Ultraman (Elemental Hero Neos), who could even fly directly out of his deck to face off against villains and travel beyond the atmosphere to blow up satellites and save the world.
So, in this world, even if we don't talk about the practicality of sprite cards in duels, if you want to keep yourself alive in a world full of external powers and gods and demons, you must have a sprite card, even if it's a useless one in your deck.
"The exam for Duel Academy is next week, isn't it?"
Master Takeuchi changed the subject and walked over to a table.
He picked up a small card box.
"I heard from some students that you've been inquiring about several cards and are willing to pay to get them. Some cards are hard to come by these days, but I've been in this business for a long time, and even though I may not have much skill, I do have some friends and my own connections."
He opened the card box and handed it to You Xuan.
"...Although you didn't find many of the cards you were looking for, I managed to get these for you before the exam. Take a look, and if they're helpful, go ahead and use them. If there are others you want, you'll have to figure out a way to get them through the academy's internal purchasing channel after you enroll."
Without looking through the entire box, You Xuan immediately spotted the top card, which was none other than the "Cyber-Stein - Brain Control Shockwave" that he had searched for at the very beginning.
It was also known as the Android Soga.
"Ah, Master, you actually went out of your way to find these."
You Xuan took the card box and stuffed it into his pocket.
"...This is really embarrassing. It doesn't feel right."
Master Takeuchi narrowed his eyes.
If it doesn't feel right, then take it out of your pocket! "You don't think I'm giving it to you for free, do you?" the master said irritably. "This is an investment. Remember, when you get into the academy and become successful, you'll have to pay me back at market price.
Also..."
The master took a deep breath and spoke seriously.
"To be honest, up until now, not a single student from our gym has passed the entrance exam for Duel Academy. But this time...there must be no failure. Do you understand?"
"Okay," You Xuan agreed.
It's just an exam, what's the big deal?
(End of Chapter)
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