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The day of the first phased assessment finally arrived.
Similar to the entrance exam, the phased assessment was also divided into two parts: a written test and a practical combat test. As a dueling academy, this school actually seemed to place a surprisingly high emphasis on written test scores.
After all, Jaden Yuki's dueling skills were already top-tier in the academy since he enrolled, but due to his theoretical scores, he had been stuck in the Slifer Red dorm and couldn't advance.
The written test was scheduled for the morning, and the practical combat test was in the afternoon. You Xuan arrived at the examination hall early and finished the test paper in about twenty minutes.
However, according to the rules, papers could only be turned in half an hour after the exam started at the earliest. So, he had no choice but to repeatedly check the test paper, which he felt had nothing worth checking, flipping the paper with rustling sounds, drawing envious, jealous, and annoyed glances from those around him.
Almost everyone in the entire examination hall was still writing furiously; even model top students like Syrus and Alexis were still frowning in thought. But he really had nothing else to do, so he started twirling his pen.
Some students in the same examination hall who already knew him couldn't help but feel a pang of annoyance.
How does this guy manage to mess with people's minds even while just taking an exam?
Almost at the exact moment the clock on the wall indicated thirty minutes had passed, You Xuan unhesitatingly stood up, turned in his paper, and left, leaving a cool and collected silhouette for everyone in the examination hall.
The pressure on the remaining examinees instantly increased a notch.
Quite a while after You Xuan left, Jaden Yuki arrived late, forcefully patting the shoulder of Syrus Truesdale, who was sprawled on his desk, fast asleep.
"Unforgivable, Syrus, sleeping in the examination hall! Isn't this a wasted trip?"
"Ah!" Syrus woke with a start. "B-Big Bro?"
"Get your spirits up, Syrus!" he said with a chuckle. "The real battle is only just beginning!"
This surprising remark immediately drew sidelong glances from those nearby.
Alexis frowned, wondering why someone who arrived so late would say such a thing. Could it be that this person thought such an exam was mere child's play, a piece of cake to pass?
Bastion also couldn't help but glance over. What puzzled him was, why did this person, with such formidable strength, never seem to take anything seriously?
Professor Banner, who was in charge of invigilating, stroked Pharaoh while taking all this in, smiling and nodding slightly.
Mm, as expected of our academy's two great talents of the year, Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix. One just arrived, the other has already left.
Each in their own unique way, they managed to mess with the mentality of the other examinees in the same hall.
However, Jaden Yuki, who had aggressively received his test paper and sat down, ultimately failed to complete it. Just ten minutes later, he joined Syrus Truesdale's ranks, and the two of them snored together until the end of the exam.
Professor Crowler, passing by the back door, couldn't help but nod repeatedly in satisfaction upon seeing this scene.
Exactly as he had expected, the slacker students' written tests would lead to their own demise without him needing to do anything directly. This way, as long as he tampered a little with the practical combat test...
Hehehehehehe...
After lunch, You Xuan arrived early at the duel arena and snagged a good seat, waiting for the practical test to begin.
"You're early, Number One."
Bastion Misawa came and sat down next to him.
You Xuan smiled at him. "You too, Number Two."
"Ha, but that might be reversed after today," Bastion smiled.
The practical combat assessments involved selecting opponents within the same dorm. And indeed, just as Bastion had predicted earlier, as the first and second-ranked students in their dorm, they were opponents in this round of practical tests.
In the already concluded Ra Yellow internal exchange tournament, the first and second-ranked students hadn't had a chance to duel each other, and both had undefeated records in the tournament. So today was not only an exam but also a duel that all the Ra Yellow students were paying close attention to.
Today would decide who was the king of Ra Yellow this year.
"Hmm?"
Bastion looked down at the arena where the assessment had already begun and couldn't help but be surprised.
"Is that Jaden Yuki from Red? And his opponent is that Chazz Princeton?"
Many gazes were drawn to that field. Clearly, according to the exam rules, this shouldn't be allowed.
But Professor Crowler had his own explanation.
"With Jaden Yuki's excellent practical combat scores, it's simply impossible to find a match for him within the Slifer Red dorm, non non!" Crowler said, righteously. "Only Chazz Princeton is a suitable practical combat opponent for you, non non!"
There was some truth to this. Indeed, as a student with a severe imbalance in his skills, although Jaden's written tests were always failing, his practical combat scores were evident to everyone. In Slifer Red, he was indeed completely "smurfing."
Crowler's theory was that he needed to maintain the normal elite ranking system of this school. The reason he chose Chazz was not only because Chazz was strong but also because Chazz had the status of being "guaranteed admission into Obelisk Blue," an elite identity.
"But in exchange, if Jaden Yuki wins this duel, he can be promoted to Ra Yellow ahead of schedule, as an exception. Is that alright?" Crowler said.
"No problem, no problem!"
Jaden agreed without a second thought.
He probably didn't even hear clearly what the professor was saying; he only heard that there was a duel to be had.
Thus, the professor announced the start of the duel and quickly retreated to the sidelines.
Alright then, first up today is Jaden and Chazz's duel.
You Xuan also paid a bit of attention. After all, if the world line hadn't changed, this duel should have been Chazz's VWXYZ debut. But now that set was in You Xuan's hands, so he was quite curious what Chazz would pull out this time.
Chazz started by setting "Stone Dragon" (DEF 2000) in defense position, then coolly set three cards in his backrow and ended his turn.
Without VWXYZ, has he switched to a Dragon-type focus?
Does this mean he's leaning towards Chazz's manga deck?
No, it's just one monster, too early to tell.
But looking at that ominous three-card backrow set...
Hmm, nothing to do with me, that must be it, You Xuan was very sure.
Then it was Jaden's turn. Jaden's performance today was also very stable. His opening hand was the hardworking couple, Elemental HERO Avian and Burstinatrix, plus a Polymerization. Still that familiar 502 flavor.*
Naturally, he didn't need to say much.
I must fuse immediately!
Elemental HERO Flame Wingman, who had shone brightly and beaten Crowler in the entrance exam, made a magnificent appearance on the first turn. However, just as Jaden was excitedly preparing to wave his hand to attack, Chazz suddenly threw his head back and let out a burst of laughter. "Hahahaha!"
"You fell for it, Jaden Yuki!"
Chazz shouted.
"Activate Trap Card! Infernal Polymer! When your opponent Fusion Summons a Fusion Monster, gain control of that monster!"
"Eh!?" Jaden blinked a couple of times.
Didn't that mean...
Chazz's smile became even more twisted as he shouted, "Gain control of Flame Wingman!"
Heard you're Jaden Yuki's favorite HERO?
Come over here, you!
Indeed, red Traps bring joy, and NTR** red Traps bring double joy. Look, Chazz was grinning from ear to ear.
You Xuan pondered for a moment.
Hmm, Infernal Polymer was originally Chazz's card. In their first duel in the anime, Chazz used this to steal Flame Wingman. It definitely has nothing to do with me either.
"..."
Then followed several turns of offense and defense. Jaden tenaciously withstood Chazz's continuous attacks. During this time, besides the stolen Flame Wingman, Chazz also summoned a "Genesis Dragon," a 6-star Dragon-type monster with 2200 ATK, which he had also used in the manga.
It really seemed like there was a trend towards developing Chazz's manga Dragon deck.
Next, Jaden relied on his classic anime combo, activating the Trap Card "A Hero Emerges" when his opponent attacked, Special Summoning "Elemental HERO Bladedge" from his hand to counter-kill Genesis Dragon. But one turn later, Bladedge walked right into Chazz's "Mirror Force" and was directly destroyed.
A short while later.
"..."
"Activate Spell Card 'Fusion Recovery'! Return 'Burstinatrix' and 'Polymerization' from my Graveyard to my hand!" Jaden seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack. "Then, activate 'Polymerization' again! Fuse Burstinatrix with Clayman from my hand..."
"That won't do, J↑a↓den!"
Chazz's smile became twisted again.
"Counter Trap - Magic Jammer! By discarding one Spell Card from my hand, negate the activation of a Spell Card and destroy it. Furthermore, for the rest of this duel, the opponent cannot use that card again!"
You Xuan pondered.
Hmm, this was a tactic developed by Bastion in the anime, Fusion Seal. Chazz is a top student, after all. It's only natural he'd think of using this move against Jaden.
It definitely has no connection to me.
Duels are just like this.
"Eh?" Jaden was shocked. "I can't use Polymerization anymore?"
Chazz: "Hahaha—! You are completely at my mercy, J↑a↓den Y↑u↓ki! Feel the power and tremble! My turn! Attack your on-field 'Elemental HERO Sparkman' with Flame Wingman..."
"Activate Trap Card! 'Mirror Gate'!" Jaden flipped his face-down card. "When a monster on my field is attacked, switch control of both battling monsters!"
Chazz: "Nani!?"
Jellyfish-head,** you thick-browed, big-eyed guy, how do you also have this kind of NTR trap!?
You Xuan raised an eyebrow upon seeing this.
[Mirror Gate], after being printed as a real card, was changed so that it could only be activated when an "Elemental HERO" on your field was attacked, and you only gained control of the opponent's monster for that turn.
But looking at Jaden's anime-exclusive version of the trap now, it seemed like it could permanently steal the opponent's monster...
Looks surprisingly useful. You Xuan silently took notes, deciding to get one for himself if he had the chance.
One can never have too many red Traps.
"Damn it, as if I don't have traps!" Chazz snorted. "Then activate Trap Card! 'Torrential Tribute'! When a monster(s) on my field is destroyed, destroy the monster on the field with the lowest ATK. Both players take damage equal to half its ATK! Right now, only Flame Wingman is on the field, so destroy Flame Wingman!"
Jaden: "Ah, my Flame Wingman..."
The poor Flame Wingman, caught in this vortex of red Traps, experienced a legendary life of being stolen, then stolen back, and before it could even get its footing, it was sent to the Shadow Realm...
Flame Wingman: Heaven knows what I went through in this one duel.
[Chazz, LP 450]
[Jaden, LP 850]
At this point, both players' Life Points were like candles in the wind. Jaden had zero cards in hand, but Chazz still had two.
"Set two cards, turn end!"
Chazz was still confident.
He had two set cards in his backrow, one Bottomless Trap Hole and one Magic Cylinder. Summoning a monster with 1500 ATK or more would send it straight to a different dimension. Even if Jaden attacked with a monster below 1500 ATK, he could just Magic Cylinder it for game.
And his opponent now had an empty hand and an empty field. There was no way one card could get past his invincible backrow.
Can you really top-deck a card and OTK me?
Jaden: "My turn, draw! I summon 'Elemental HERO Wildheart'!"
Chazz still sneered.
Hmph, as expected, a weakling. Watch me directly use my invincible Bottomless...
Holy crap, Wildheart!?
Chazz's eyes instantly widened as he remembered the effect of this Elemental HERO.
"This card is unaffected by the effects of Trap Cards."
Chazz felt like coughing up blood.
Empty hand, empty field, such a thick deck, and with just one draw, he just happens to draw this thing?
Are you f*ing pulling this thing out of your sleeve???
"Go, Wildheart!" Jaden joyfully threw a punch. "Direct attack Chazz!"
One slash landed, and Chazz's LP hit zero. His smile and joy disappeared along with it.
As he fell backward, lying on the cold floor of the duel arena, he once again profoundly understood a philosophical truth.
In this world, only one thing messes with people's minds as much as the Shadow Realm.
And that's a top-decker.
"I won!"
Jaden happily struck a pose.
"What a joyful duel it truly was!"
Chazz: "..."