Mahavir was a monster that had once been in Yugi Muto's Deck and later given to Anzu in the anime, where it had played an important role.
"Then I activate the Equip Spell 'Blazing Shot' from my hand."
Another card slid into the Duel Disk, and the image of a Spell appeared on the back row.
"The equipped monster gains 400 attack," Yugen explained. "Also, when the equipped monster attacks a Defense Position monster, if its attack is higher than that monster's defense, it inflicts piercing damage."
The examiner nodded. "I see. You plan to raise your attack in one go and break through my defender for piercing damage."
But Millennium Shield had a full 3000 defense. Breaking through it was not easy, let alone dealing effective damage.
To pierce Millennium Shield and finish him off directly, this student would need to reach 5900 attack in one shot, which was practically impossible.
"Who said I was equipping my own monster?"
Yugen smiled faintly and pointed at the Millennium Shield on the examiner's field.
"The monster I equip is Millennium Shield."
Millennium Shield's attack rose from 0 to 400.
The examiner froze.
Equipping the opponent's monster? What was this supposed to mean?
Did he think this game was about distributing resources to both sides?
"Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell 'Mystical Space Typhoon'. It destroys one Spell or Trap Card on the field," Yugen said. "I choose to destroy my own 'Blazing Shot'."
The examiner stared.
This was getting more and more incomprehensible.
Surely he was not just giving away cards to show goodwill.
A dark Mystical Space Typhoon whirlwind swept up the Spell on Yugen's field, and a bolt of lightning struck it down, shattering it.
"You're doing something meaningless," the examiner could not help saying. "Even if you do this, my Millennium Shield still…"
Nani?!!?
His eyes went wide as he stared in disbelief at his now empty field.
Millennium Shield was gone.
Not gone to the graveyard.
Just gone.
He blurted out, "Where did my shield go?"
Yugen smiled. "I sent it to another dimension."
The examiner's head filled with question marks.
What was he talking about?
Seeing the examiner on the verge of losing control again, Yugen patiently explained, "The Equip Spell 'Blazing Shot' does more than boost attack and grant piercing, teacher.
It also has a side effect. When this card leaves the field, the monster it was equipped to is removed from play."
The spectators erupted in noise.
"Using a buff Equip Spell on the opponent's monster, just to exploit its drawback and remove it," Asuka Tenjoin said with a complicated expression. "How should I put it, it's definitely impressive, but…"
She could not find the right words.
In her heart, it all boiled down to two words.
Underhanded.
"That really does feel like something this guy would think of," Manjoume said.
He had been surprised by the combo at first, but quickly accepted it.
After all, the one standing opposite was that dog.
Coming up with tactics and uses like this somehow felt completely natural.
Yugen calmly revealed two more cards.
"I activate the Equip Spells 'Axe of Despair' and 'Mage Power', equipping both to Mahavir."
On the field, the dark mage slowly opened her eyes. A demonic axe floated at her side, and golden magical energy wrapped around her body.
"Axe of Despair increases the equipped monster's attack by 1000.
Mage Power increases the equipped monster's attack by 500 for each Spell and Trap Card I control. I have two Equip Cards, so that's 1000 more.
Together, the two Equip Spells increase her attack by 2000."
Mahavir's attack rose from 1550 to 3550.
"Then Mahavir's own effect activates," Yugen said, pointing at her. "For each card equipped to her, she gains 500 attack.
With two Equip Cards, she gains another 1000 attack."
Mahavir's attack surged from 3550 to 4550.
A wave of shocked cries swept through the arena.
"Attack power 4550!?"
A candidate who had not yet taken the field, Sho Marufuji, stared in disbelief. "That's higher than the legendary Obelisk Blue. No, it's even higher than Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
It was the highest attack value seen anywhere in the exam hall that day.
"He can reach that kind of attack so easily?"
Lackey B nearly fell out of his seat.
Manjoume was not too surprised, but his expression grew even darker.
Yes, he had seen it long ago. That bastard was not just good at ruining people.
Manjoume had always suspected that beyond the traps, he simply enjoyed it.
Or rather, messing with the opponent's mindset was part of his strategy.
But even setting that aside, this guy was genuinely strong.
With a bit of thought, it was obvious the examiner had no cards and no defenses left. Piercing through Millennium Shield would have been enough to finish the duel, yet he chose not to.
Clearly, sending the examiner's Millennium Shield to another dimension made the duel more fun for him.
"Mahavir," Yugen said, "attack directly."
The examiner's Life Points dropped from 2900 to 0.
Professor Chronos de Medici was of Italian descent. As a Duel Academy Professor, he was a very distinctive teacher, known for ending every sentence with a drawn-out "none" and blurting "mamma mia," along with a look that made people think of Pot of Greed. At the same time, he was the highest authority in the practical division of Duel Academy.
In other words, among the teachers of Duel Academy, he was one of the best fighters. Early on, he often appeared as an antagonist, portrayed as a narrow-minded teacher who targeted Judai Yuki at every turn. Later it became clear that he was simply deeply rooted in elite education, harsh toward weak students but very protective of good ones.
As the story went on, he grew and changed along with his students, and his nature as a good teacher became clear. At this moment, Professor Chronos de Medici was seated in the stands at the chief examiner's position, lost in thought after watching Yugen's evaluation duel. His gaze lingered on the field for a long time.
Over the years, the top-ranked student was always the freshman Professor Chronos de Medici paid the most attention to. Every year, he started observing that student's Deck and tactics from the entrance exam, then tailored a training plan to help them improve as fast as possible. But this year's first place was hard to describe.
It was not that the student was weak, only that he had his own unique understanding of dueling. A nearby examiner spoke up, "Professor, as you requested, we have retrieved the Deck information for that candidate." Professor Chronos de Medici nodded slightly and opened the teacher-only terminal of Duel Academy to check the data.
Let me take a look at what kind of Deck this is. The moment it finished loading, his eyes almost hurt from the long list of red Trap cards filling the screen. "Mamma mia!" Professor Chronos de Medici cried out in shock.
What in the world was this thing. The Deck that Yugen used focused on Spellcaster Type, plus only a handful of monsters like the ones he had just summoned in the duel. Everything else was a pile of draw accelerators like Pot of Greed and Graceful Charity, along with mentality-breaking cards such as Prankish Delinquent Duo, Confiscation, and Dragged Down into the Grave.