The sky outside the window had already taken on a faint, pale glow.
Dawn spilled through the thin mist onto the lake, casting ripples of golden light.
Yūki stretched luxuriously, his bones giving a series of crisp cracks.
He had spent more than half the night hard at work. Though his eyes stung slightly from staying up, he was unusually energized.
"All done."
Yūki lightly tapped his deck against the desk.
"The core framework is ready. Once I pick up those Skilled Dark Magicians I ordered from the Academy Shop to use as stepping stones, Silent Magician's own god-tier deck will be complete."
When he found a suitable opportunity to show it off, it would absolutely leave all those people at school who put blind faith in high ATK and mechanical brute force dumbfounded.
Yūki casually picked up the cooled boiled water on his desk and took a large gulp, his gaze inadvertently landing on the calendar on the wall.
"It's already the weekend?"
Duel Academy had no formal classes on weekends. Most students either went card hunting together in the shopping district or battled it out enthusiastically at the various open-air Dueling Fields.
Yūki shook his head, and a habitual action suddenly flashed through his mind.
His once-a-week chance to get a freebie.
The system's weekly free card giveaway in the bronze shop.
This perk had existed from the very beginning, but as Yūki's Duel Coins grew increasingly plentiful and he gained access to higher-tier cards, the free giveaway section had long since become nothing more than a consolation prize.
Nine times out of ten, what appeared was some baffling ancient Normal Monster or some fiendish little gimmick with no discernible synergy whatsoever.
Yūki had long since stopped expecting anything from it.
Still, a freebie was a freebie.
A