https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-86-Teacher-I-Want-to-Learn-Alchemy/12557099/
Chapter 87: A Joyous Duel
Chapter 87: A Joyous Duel
The day of the first periodic test finally arrived. Like the entrance exam, the periodic test consisted of two parts: a written exam and a practical duel. As a Dueling academy, the school surprisingly placed significant importance on written test scores.
After all, Jaden, the top duelist in his year, had been stuck in the Slifer Red dorm since enrollment due to his poor theoretical knowledge, despite his exceptional dueling skills.
The written exam was scheduled for the morning, with the practical duels in the afternoon. You Xuan arrived at the exam venue early and swiftly completed the test within twenty minutes.
However, according to the rules, students could only submit their papers thirty minutes after the exam began. So, he flipped through the pages of his exam, making rustling noises that attracted envious, jealous, and angry glares from those around him.
Almost everyone in the exam hall was still writing furiously, including model students like Mitsuru and Asuka, who were frowning in deep thought. Having nothing else to do, You Xuan started to twirl his pen.
Some of the students who knew him from the previous exam couldn't help but feel a twinge of annoyance. How could this guy mess with their mental state even while taking an exam?
As soon as the minute hand on the wall clock ticked to the thirty-minute mark, You Xuan wasted no time. He stood up, submitted his paper, and walked out, leaving a cool silhouette for the other examinees to admire.
The pressure on the remaining students suddenly increased.
It wasn't until long after You Xuan had left that Jaden finally arrived, late as usual. He gave a hearty slap on the shoulder of Sho Marufuji, who was sleeping face-down on his exam paper.
"Unforgivable, Sho! How can you sleep during an exam? You might as well not have shown up!"
"Ah!" Sho woke up with a start. "Big brother?"
"Cheer up, Sho!" Jaden said with a grin. "The real battle is about to begin!"
This astonishing statement immediately drew the attention of those around them.
Asuka frowned, wondering if this person thought the exam was child's play since he had arrived so late. Mitsuru also glanced over, perplexed by Jaden's constant lack of seriousness despite his incredible dueling prowess.
Professor Daigo, the invigilator, took note of all this while stroking his Pharaoh-like beard, nodding slightly with a smile.
Yes, these two are indeed our academy's dragon and phoenix talents this year. One just arrived, and the other has already left.
In their own unique ways, they had rattled the nerves of their fellow examinees.
However, Jaden, who had stormed in with a fierce aura, ultimately failed to complete the exam. Just ten minutes later, he joined Sho in slumber, and the two of them snored in harmony until the end of the exam.
As Professor Crowler passed by the exam room, he couldn't help but nod in satisfaction at this scene. Everything had gone exactly as he had expected. The underachievers had doomed themselves in the written exam without any intervention from him. Now, with a little manipulation during the practical duels...
Hehehehe...
After lunch, You Xuan arrived early at the dueling arena to secure a good seat, awaiting the start of the practical test.
"You're early," Mitsuru said as he took the seat next to You Xuan.
You Xuan smiled at him. "So are you, number two."
"Haha, but that might change after today," Mitsuru said with a smile.
Indeed, as Mitsuru had predicted, the two of them, being the top two students in their dorm, were paired up for this round of practical duels.
During the recently concluded intra-dorm tournament in the Slifer Red dorm, the two had not gotten a chance to face each other, and both had achieved perfect records. So, today's duel was not just an exam but also a highly anticipated event for all the students in the Slifer Red dorm.
Today would determine who would be crowned the king of Slifer Red for the year.
"Hmm?"
Mitsuru looked down at the dueling field, where the exams had already begun, and his eyes widened in surprise.
"Is that Jaden Yu, the Slifer Red student? And his opponent is Chazz?"
Many eyes were drawn to that particular duel, as it clearly went against the exam rules.
However, Professor Crowler had his own explanation.
"Due to Jaden's exceptional practical dueling skills, we couldn't find a suitable opponent for him within the Slifer Red dorm!" Professor Crowler declared confidently. "Only Chazz is qualified to be his opponent!"
This argument wasn't entirely unreasonable. Indeed, Jaden was a severely imbalanced student, failing his written exams consistently but excelling in practical duels, making him a true ace in the Slifer Red dorm.
Professor Crowler's theory was that he wanted to maintain the academy's normal elite hierarchy. He had chosen Chazz not only because of his strength but also because of his status as a guaranteed entry into the Obelisk Blue dorm.
"However, as a trade-off, if Jaden wins this duel, he will be granted exceptional promotion to the Ra Yellow dorm. Are there any objections?" Professor Crowler asked.
"None at all!"
Jaden readily agreed without a moment's hesitation.
Perhaps he hadn't heard the professor's conditions clearly; he only heard that there would be a duel.
With the professor's announcement, the duel began, and he quickly retreated to the sidelines.
So, today we start with Jaden and Chazz's duel.
You Xuan spared a glance at the duel, curious to see if Chazz would debut his VWXYZ deck, as it was supposed to be according to the world's timeline. But now that the deck was in You Xuan's possession, he wondered what Chazz would bring to the table.
Chazz started his turn by summoning "Stone Dragon," a defensive monster with 2000 defense points, and ended his turn with a confident triple-set.
Without the VWXYZ cards, it seemed like Chazz was focusing on a dragon-type deck. Was he moving towards the manga-inspired Chazz Princeton deck?
Not necessarily, You Xuan thought. It could just be a one-off monster.
But seeing those ominous backrow cards...
Yes, it had nothing to do with him, You Xuan assured himself.
Jaden's turn began, and he displayed his usual stable hand, starting with the dynamic duo of "Winged Kuriboh" and "Hot Lady in Attack," along with a "Polymerization" card, creating that familiar spicy aroma of 502.
And so, the duel progressed.
"You've fallen into my trap, Jaden Yuki!" Manjoume shouted.
"Activate my face-down Trap Card, Hell Polyfusion! When your Fusion Monster successfully fuses, I gain control of it!" Manjoume explained, his smile growing more deranged by the second.
"Huh!?" Jaden blinked, processing this new development.
Before he could react further, Manjoume's smile widened even further as he proclaimed, "I now control Flame Wingman!"
Hearing that Flame Wingman, your favorite hero, had been taken over must be a painful blow, Jaden.
Ah, the joys of a red herring, and a successful NTR at that! Manjoume couldn't contain his glee.
You Xuan, however, remained contemplative.
Hmm, Hell Polyfusion was indeed Manjoume's card. In the anime, during their first encounter, Manjoume had used this very card to take control of Flame Wingman, so it had nothing to do with him.
". . ."
Several turns of intense back and forth followed. Jaden valiantly withstood Manjoume's relentless offense, but Manjoume, in addition to taking control of Flame Wingman, summoned "Creator Dragon," a six-star Dragon-type monster with 2200 attack points, another monster he had used in the manga.
It seemed that Manjoume was indeed leaning towards a Dragon-type deck, similar to his manga counterpart.
Jaden, drawing on his experience from the anime, countered by using his classic combo. When Manjoume attacked, Jaden activated his Trap Card, "Skyscraper," to Special Summon "Elemental HERO Bladedge" and destroy Creator Dragon. But his triumph was short-lived as, in the next turn, Bladedge fell victim to Manjoume's "Mirror Force," a classic counter to Jaden's strategy.
". . ."
"I activate the Magic Card 'Fusion Recovery' to return 'Avian' and 'Polymerization' from my Graveyard to my hand!" Jaden seized the opportunity to strike back, "Then I activate 'Polymerization' to fuse Avian and 'Clayman' from my hand."
"Not so fast, Jaden!"
Manjoume's smile turned sinister once more.
"I activate my Counter Trap, 'Seal of the Forbidden Spell!' By discarding a Magic Card from my hand, I negate and destroy the activation of your Magic Card, and you cannot activate that card for the rest of this Duel!"
You Xuan pondered this development.
Indeed, this was a tactic developed by Tristian in the anime. It was only natural that Manjoume, an honors student, would employ this strategy against Jaden.
It had nothing to do with him, of course.
Such was the nature of Duels.
"Huh?" Jaden exclaimed, "I can't use 'Polymerization' now?"
Manjoume's laughter echoed through the arena. "Hahaha! You are completely under my control, Jaden! Feel the power and tremble!"
"It's my turn! Flame Wingman, attack Jaden's 'Elemental HERO Sparkman'!"
"I activate my face-down, 'Dimension Tunnel - Mirror Gate'!" Jaden revealed his set card, "When one of my 'Elemental HERO' monsters is attacked, we swap control of those monsters!"
"What!?!" Manjoume exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise.
How did this guy with the bushy eyebrows also have such a beastly Trap Card up his sleeve?!
You Xuan, however, merely raised an eyebrow.
['Dimension Tunnel - Mirror Gate'], after its physical release, was altered to only be usable when one of Jaden's "Elemental HERO" monsters was attacked, and the gained control of the opponent's monster only lasted until the end of the turn.
But here, Jaden's anime-exclusive Trap Card seemed to be able to permanently take control of Manjoume's monster.
It seemed unexpectedly useful. You Xuan made a mental note to acquire one for himself if the opportunity presented itself.
One could never have too many red herrings.
"Damn, who doesn't have Trap Cards?!" Manjoume snarled, "I activate my face-down Trap Card, 'Hell Blast!' When one of my monsters is destroyed, the monster with the lowest ATK on the field is also destroyed, and both players take damage equal to half its ATK!"
Since Flame Wingman was the only monster on the field, it was destroyed, much to Jaden's dismay.
Poor Flame Wingman, caught in the red herring vortex, had been taken, returned, and then sent straight to the Shadow Realm in the span of a single Duel.
Flame Wingman: What in the world just happened to me?
[Manjoume: 450 LP]
[Jaden: 850 LP]
At this point, both Duelists were hanging on by a thread. Jaden had no cards in his hand, but Manjoume still had two.
"I set two cards and end my turn!"
Manjoume was confident in his position.
He had two face-down cards, one being 'Bottomless Trap Hole' and the other 'Magic Cylinder.' Any monster with 1500 ATK or more that was summoned would be sent straight to the Shadow Realm, and even if Jaden played it safe and summoned a monster with less than 1500 ATK, 'Magic Cylinder' would reflect the attack and finish him off.
With Jaden having no cards on the field or in his hand, there was no way he could get past Manjoume's impenetrable defense.
Unless, of course, he could somehow create a card on the spot and defeat Manjoume instantly.
"It's my turn! I draw and summon 'Elemental HERO Wildman'!" Jaden declared.
Manjoume maintained his cold smile.
Hmph, what a scrub. Watch as I crush him with my unbeatable 'Bottomless Trap Hole.'
Wait, Wildman!?
Manjoume's eyes widened in shock as he remembered the effect of that particular "Elemental HERO."
['This card cannot be destroyed by Trap effects'].
Manjoume began to bleed from his orifices.
With an empty field and hand, Jaden had drawn the perfect counter to Manjoume's strategy from the thick deck.
Did you just pull that card out of your sleeve!?!
"Go, Wildman! Attack Manjoume directly!" Jaden punched the air, full of enthusiasm.
With a single slash, Manjoume's LP dropped to zero, and his smile and happiness faded away.
As he lay on the cold floor of the Duel arena, he came to a profound realization.
In this world, there was one thing that could mess with your head as much as the Shadow Realm.
And that was top-decking.
"I win!"
Jaden struck a triumphant pose.
"What a joyful Duel!"
Manjoume: ". . ."
Tomorrow's chapter will be quite lengthy, likely around 15,000 to 20,000 characters.
I'll do my best to finish it within the day.
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(End of Chapter)
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