She laughed awkwardly and suggested he name his ace or favorite card instead. Yugen fell into thought again. No matter how his monster lineup changed, general-purpose traps, interruption, and heavy draw power never did.
He reached for Pot of Greed, then suddenly froze. A faint sense of danger washed over him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the usually withdrawn spirit Silent Magician floating beside him in a form only he could see.
She said nothing and made no move, but her quiet gaze felt like a question of betrayal. Yugen took a deep breath. Some instinct for survival made him put Pot of Greed back and pull out Silent Magician instead.
"Silent Magician?" the teacher exclaimed. "The super Rare Card used by the Duel King Yugi Muto?" Her expression turned much more respectful at once.
After finishing the registration, Yugen felt a weight lift from his chest. When he looked back, the spirit that had been floating behind him was gone. He let out a long breath, thankful he had reacted quickly enough.
This should deepen the bond with the Spirit, he thought with relief. Even if he might not actually need True Silent Magician in this exam, it did not matter. True Silent Magician could win duels without even appearing, because our True Silent Magician Deck was just that strong.
Yugen entered the exam hall and stood high in the stands, scanning left and right until he quickly spotted several familiar faces. On a nearby platform he saw a Duel Academy student, Zane Truesdale, and also the GX girl who always seemed to appear early on, Asuka Tenjoin. In the adjacent seats were Jun Manjoume and his followers, already dressed in the blue uniform of Obelisk Dorm.
People like Manjoume and Asuka Tenjoin were admitted through recommendation, having been top students of the Duel Academy Middle Division. Only students admitted that way could enter school and go straight into the highest tier, the Obelisk Blue dorm. Other examinees, even with perfect scores, would only be assigned to Ra Yellow, which explained why Daichi Misawa entered with top marks yet still started there.
Yugen looked around again, and although it was already time for the exam, he did not see a certain familiar jellyfish hairstyle. If nothing went wrong, Judai Yuki was probably late because his train was delayed. Around now, he should have bumped into Yugi Muto on the way, received a Winged Kuriboh, and gained his first Spirit card, which protected him through many early Shadow Duel.
If one only watched the GX story, there was no explanation for why Yugi would randomly meet someone and hand over a lucky jellyfish Spirit. But combined with the later movie Bonds Beyond Time, it was reasonable to guess that Yugi had already met a future version of Judai Yuki long ago. Because of that, in the present day, he treated Judai Yuki as a comrade he had never formally met.
"Examinee number 001, Yugen Fujiki."
The exam finally began. Yugen stood up and walked toward the duel field. While watching earlier matches, he had already observed that the examiners rotated through a few standardized exam Deck, and he had more or less figured them out. There was nothing he could not handle.
A minute earlier, Jun Manjoume and his two followers had been sitting calmly in the stands. One of them said, "According to the order, the 001 examinee should be up next. I wonder who ranked first this year." The other laughed and replied, "Whoever it is does not matter. This year's first-year king is already decided. It is Brother Manjoume."
Manjoume curled his lips into a smug grin and let out a low chuckle. "There is only one ruler in the academy. If that guy is good enough, he can serve as my opponent to kill some time. Otherwise, three years here would be far too boring." The three of them laughed together.
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. Stubborn Old Magician had only 600 defense. "Stubborn Old 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."