A few days before the exam, at the airport on Academy Island, a boy with an odd hairstyle resembling a windmill jumped off the plane. He flicked his hair, took a deep breath, and gazed at Duel Academy's high tower, heaving a sigh.
"I'm back, Duel Academy."
His name was Chazz Princeton. A first-year student from Obelisk Blue.
"Good luck, Chazz! The president's always watching over you. I'll be rooting for you in the exam too!" the pilot shouted to Chazz from the plane. Chazz nodded but didn't respond.
'Would the president really be watching me?' He was doubtful.
Stepping forward, he walked toward Duel Academy's high tower. Just before reaching it, he paused, hearing the surrounding chatter, and fell into deep thought.
He, Chazz Princeton, was Seto Kaiba's disciple. Through a certain twist of fate, he obtained a card with a spirit inside it, leading him to believe he was "chosen by the heavens." He began participating in various beginner-level tournaments, winning one after another since he was a child, and through family connections, he even met KaibaCorp's president, Seto Kaiba, and became his disciple. After that, he smoothly became a student of Obelisk Blue at Duel Academy.
But he was beginning to doubt himself more and more.
Many people doubted his abilities, believing he was only in his position thanks to the power of the Princeton Group and KaibaCorp, using money to climb up, which made him question himself even further.
'Could it be my victories in all those beginner-level leagues were because of my older brothers' secret assistance? Could it be I only caught my master's attention because my deck had the "spirit" he longed for?'
The power of doubt tortured him, he swore to show those who looked down on him and didn't recognize him that Chazz Princeton never relied on anyone. He swore to make others acknowledge him. He swore to remain undefeated at Duel Academy!
Then, that day, he saw Jaden Yuki, the "Chosen One," who had never even been to another dimension, yet still gained the approval of a spirit.
He lost, in a friendly duel, to Jaden Yuki of Red, destroying all his prepared strategies. In deep pain, he chose to leave the academy, claiming he needed to train, but truly just ran to KaibaCorp to hide.
Unexpectedly, during his self-imposed isolation, his master passed by, saw him, called him a "fool," dragged him into the simulation duel room, kicked him, and made him duel a crazy AI using a Hero deck.
"I won't be afraid anymore, Jaden!"
He silently encouraged himself. Now, he was terrifyingly strong!
"Wow, Hikaru, let me copy your notes."
"Bro, so sly! I wanna see it too!"
Before entering the classroom, Chazz was about to dramatically kick open the door and announce his return loudly, but he heard intense discussions coming from inside. Standing at the door, he blankly watched Jaden Yuki, Syrus Truesdale, and many other students he didn't recognize or only vaguely remembered gathered around a desk, chattering.
"Amagi-san, where's the alchemy formula on the page?"
"Amagi-san, what's this mercury secret?"
'What the…'
Chazz stood stunned. The first to notice him was Winged Kuriboh, floating beside Jaden, chirping "Kuri-kuri…" Hearing its voice, Jaden spontaneously turned and looked toward the door, spotting Chazz.
"Oh! Chazz, you're back!?"
"Chazz, you're back?" Syrus looked over and politely greeted him.
"What's going on here?" Chazz, who had planned a grand entrance, was caught off guard. He was fuming but instinctively asked.
"Isn't the exam coming up? Ugh… the academic courses are so troublesome," Jaden scratched his head. "Especially alchemy. No one understands it except for Syrus and Amagi-kun."
'Ex… exams…'
Chazz felt a little nervous.
Unlike Seto Kaiba, who was a natural genius, Chazz wasn't quite so versatile. He hadn't attended many classes, and even though KaibaCorp's teachers were tutoring him, he might have missed something. Besides, lately, he'd been dueling robots every day, leaving him with little time for class.
'So, this Amagi guy is really good at alchemy? I have no memory of him at all.'
'Come to think of it, why is alchemy even part of the academy exams? I thought it was just an interesting class!'
He didn't understand it at all!
It wasn't just him; in fact, very few students at the entire school understood alchemy. Even Bastion was completely clueless about it. The only reason he could help other students by drawing knowledge points for them was simply because he was very good at studying and had an excellent memory.
This was also one of the reasons why Hikaru had set his goal as "scholarship."
Not to mention Jaden and Syrus, who also fell asleep in other classes, and even the students in Blue dorm who were unable to stay awake during alchemy class. Therefore, Hikaru had a huge advantage in this course and could use it to "boost his score."
Apart from that, Duel Academy didn't test things like literature, math, chemistry, or physics. Their exams were very simple: cards and rules.
After all, it was Duel Academy.
The former involved card names and effects, while the latter was about various cards and the rules of duels. In the original, Professor Crowler had taught related courses and explained the details of things like "Field Spells" to students.
The teachers at Duel Academy were eager to break down every detail of dueling and explain the "deeper meanings" behind them.
In short, Hikaru had no confidence in taking cultural exams, having not taken one in five or six years, but if it was a Duel Academy exam, he was confident about scoring well.
"What?! Jaden lost to that guy?" After initially being confused, Chazz asked about the recent events at the academy. It was only then that he realized Jaden had lost to Hikaru, making Hikaru the representative for Duel Academy's exchange duel.
He first stared in shock at Hikaru, who appeared to be a kind and gentle person, studying alchemy, then immediately turned around and glared fiercely at Jaden.
"How could you lose to someone else!? What's wrong with you!?"
"It's Dueling. Isn't losing and winning normal?" Jaden scratched his head, confused when he heard Chazz's words. "Besides, Hikaru is really strong!"
"That's nonsense! Only I can beat you!"
"But you lost to me."
"Shut up! Stop talking!" Chazz slammed the desk furiously. "It's settled! This exam, I'll defeat Hikaru for you!"
"Come and see my new power!"
On the other side, Hikaru couldn't hold back any longer.
'Why is he acting like some kind of story boss?'