Professional Examiners Don't Get Angry

Upon arriving at the exam venue, Kira stood high in the stands and looked around, quickly spotting several familiar faces.

For instance, Zane Truesdale, Duel Academy's Kaiser, was also observing from the elevated platform, along with Asuka Tenjouin, GX's most frequently appearing female background character, who had always been inseparable from him early on.

Then there was Jun Manjome and his little brothers in the neighboring stands, already dressed in Obelisk Blue uniforms.

Manjome and Asuka were both recommended students. They had previously been top students in Duel Academy's Middle School Division. Only students recommended in this manner could enter the academy and be promoted directly into the highest-tier Obelisk Blue Dorm.

Other applicants who entered through the exam could only be assigned to Ra Yellow Dorm even if they scored full marks in every subject. That was why Daichi Misawa, despite enrolling with First Place grades in the anime, had only entered Ra Yellow. Only by achieving excellent results and performing well afterward would they have a chance to advance to Obelisk Blue.

Kira looked around, but although it was already time for the exam, he did not see that familiar Jellyfish Head.

If nothing unexpected happened, Judai's train was probably delayed today. Around this time, he should have run into Yugi Mutou on the way and received a Winged Kuriboh from Yugi-san—Judai's first Spirit Card in the main story, which would protect him through all sorts of Dark Duels early on.

Looking only at the GX story, there was no explanation at the beginning for why Yugi happened to run into someone on the road and randomly picked a lucky Jellyfish Head to give a spirit to.

But when combined with the later movie Bonds Beyond Time, one could guess that Yugi had met Judai, who had returned from the future, many years ago. Thus, in the present, he already regarded Judai as a comrade he had never truly met.

"Exam ID 001, Fujiki Kira."

It was finally starting.

Kira rose to his feet and headed toward the Dueling Field.

While watching from above just now, he had already made his observations. The examiners today rotated through several exam-specific decks. Different candidates came up, but they kept using the same few decks, and he had roughly figured them all out.

Nothing he couldn't handle.

A minute earlier, Jun Manjome and his two little brothers had been sitting calmly in the stands.

"According to the grouping, this year's Exam ID 001 should be up next, right?" Little Brother A said. "I wonder who this year's First Place is."

Little Brother B snorted. "Hah, it doesn't matter who it is. The emperor of this year's freshmen has long been decided—it's Brother Manjoume."

The corners of Manjome's mouth rose as he let out a smug, sinister chuckle.

"There can only be one ruler of the academy. As they say, one mountain cannot hold two tigers. Well, if That Guy is good enough, it wouldn't be bad to have him as an opponent to pass the time. After all, if conquering the academy is too easy, these three years will be unbearably dull. Heh heh."

"Brother's right, hahaha!"

The three laughed in unison.

Then they heard the announcement.

"Exam ID 001, Fujiki Kira. Please report to Field 1 immediately to prepare for your exam. Exam ID 001."

The laughter stopped abruptly.

Little Brother A said, "Nani?! That name... could it be..."

Little Brother B said, "Brother!"

The two turned to look at Manjome at once. But they couldn't find him at first glance.

"Huh? Brother, why are you under the bench?"

Although the fall had hurt a little, Manjome had no time to care. He scrambled out from beneath the chair with both hands and feet, his Eyes wide as he stared fixedly at Field 1.

Then he saw a familiar figure enter the field.

The Academy Overlord Manjome had suffered a premature defeat before even setting out. Before he had even enrolled, his dream of conquering the academy had burst like a bubble, replaced by the fear of once again being dominated by the underworld.

Why was it you again!?

"Hello, sir."

Kira was very polite when he arrived on the field and took his position.

The examiner had the image of a stern, hard-faced man. Wearing sunglasses, he spoke without a trace of a smile. "Prepare to duel."

"Yes, sir."

Kira unfolded his Duel Disk, but just before the duel began, he seemed to think of something and frowned slightly.

"Wait, sir. Hypothetically speaking. Just hypothetically—if I win, but you feel unpleasant emotions during the duel, or are dissatisfied with the process itself, is there any chance you could fail me?"

"Don't worry." The Sunglasses Examiner remained poker-faced. "We examiners have all undergone professional training. We're not low-quality third-rate duelists. No matter what kind of duel it is, I won't get angry."

After a pause, he added.

"Besides, Professor Chronos, the Chief Examiner, makes the final decision on grades, not me."

"I see."

Kira was relieved.

He still remembered Professor Chronos—the man known as the Spirit of Greed because he looked ninety percent identical to the artwork on Pot of Greed.

Although the professor looked like a villain from the early anime's perspective, he only Targeted poor students. When it came to outstanding students like Daichi Misawa, even if they smacked a baseball straight into his eye socket, he could still smile and say it was fine. As long as they kept up their grades, he'd recover quickly.

So Kira figured that, as the Written Test's First Place, Greedy Professor probably wouldn't make things difficult for him.

"Duel!" x2

Kira, LP 4000

Examiner, LP 4000

"I'll take the first turn. Draw."

Kira directly drew three cards.

"I set one Monster Card in my Monster Zone and two Set Cards in my back row. End Turn."

The moment Manjoume saw that opening hand from the platform, he started to suffocate.

That familiar scent, that atmosphere straight out of the underworld.

"Then it's My Turn, draw," said the examiner. "I Normal Summon 'Gene-Warped Warwolf' in Attack Position."

Gene-Warped Warwolf, 2000 ATK

The moment that card came out, Kira recognized which of the exam decks it belonged to.

It was an aggressive beatdown deck centered on Level 4 monsters. Most of them had over 2000 ATK, and with Equip Cards, they could easily reach two or three thousand ATK to establish field control.

It was considered one of the more troublesome decks for new students in the Entrance Exam.

A student watching from the stands remarked, "Oh, look over there. Number One ran into that aggressive suppression deck."

"Yeah, good thing I didn't get matched against it. What an unlucky guy."

Only Manjoume clenched his hands tightly, saying nothing.

Unlucky? No, no, no.

The unlucky one was the examiner on the other side.

Running an aggressive deck straight into that bastard—he'd had eight lifetimes' worth of rotten luck.

"I attack with 'Gene-Warped Warwolf'!"

The Set Card flipped over, revealing an old magician holding a green staff.

Old Vindictive Magician, 600 DEF

"Old Vindictive Magician's Effect Activation," Kira said. "When this card is Flip Summoned, select one monster on the opponent's field and destroy it.

"I destroy your 'Gene-Warped Warwolf.'"

Before dying, the old magician flung out a blast of magic. Gene-Warped Warwolf exploded with a boom.

Gene-Warped Warwolf had been taken out less than ten seconds after hitting the field, but that was still within the bounds of a normal duel. The examiner had yet to notice anything wrong.

"So it's a monster with a flip destruction effect. Then the Battle Phase ends."

The examiner drew a card and inserted it into his Duel Disk.

"Then I activate the Spell Card 'Monster Reborn.' It can revive one monster destroyed This Turn in Attack Position." (anime effect)

The spell's effect activated, and a vortex leading to the underworld opened. After a flash of golden light, the bedraggled Gene-Warped Warwolf returned to the field.

"I activate my Set Card, the Trap Card 'Deal of Magic.'"

Kira pressed a button on his Duel Disk, directly flipping over his back row.

"When the opponent activates a Spell Card, I can pay 1000 Life Points to randomly discard one card from their hand."

Kira, LP 4000→LP 3000

"Nani?!"

The examiner jolted, lowering his gaze to his hand. One of the cards had vanished into thin air amid a golden flash.

"It's not over yet. I chain and activate the Trap Card—Torrential Tribute." Kira waved his hand and flipped over another Set Card. "When a monster is Normal Summoned, Special Summoned, or Flip Summoned, this card can be activated.

"Destroy all monsters on the field!"

A flood roared out from the card, sweeping across the entire field in a mighty torrent. Poor Gene-Warped Warwolf had barely regained its footing before being dragged once again into the whirlpool of floodwater and ground to pieces.

Examiner: "..."