The examiner no longer looked as relaxed as he had at the start when he took his turn.
He had only 1,900 Life Points left.
He had Curse of Dragon on his field.
Across from him were a Silent Magician with 1,500 ATK, a face-down monster, a Wave-Motion Cannon whose effect he couldn't discern, and a face-down card in the back row.
His opponent had only one card left in his hand.
By normal standards, those resources were hardly plentiful.
Yet Yūki's field offered no room to relax.
"My turn. I draw!"
The examiner drew a card, and his eyes lit up.
"I activate the Spell Card, [Smashing Ground]!"
A projection of a Spell Card appeared above his Duel Disk.
"This card destroys the monster on my opponent's field with the highest DEF."
"Fujiwara, the monster with the highest DEF on your field is Silent Magician, isn't it?"
The ground rumbled.
The floor beneath Silent Magician split open, and a black fissure rapidly widened, swallowing toward her ankles.
Someone in the waiting area let out a sound of regret.
Silent Magician had high ATK and a powerful effect.
But however rare a monster was, it could still be destroyed by a card effect.
Yūki, however, smiled.
"I activate Silent Magician's effect."
The examiner froze.
Yūki raised a hand and pointed at the field.
"Once per turn, when a Spell Card is activated, I can activate this effect."
"Negate that Spell Card's activation and destroy it."
Silent Magician raised her staff.
Her expression remained cool, but her movements were decisive.
Blue magic flowed from the tip of her staff into the fissure.
Click.
The crack in the ground closed.
The black fissure vanished, and the projection of [Smashing Ground] shattered into motes of light along with it.
The examiner's mouth fell open and stayed that way for a long moment.
"Negate a Spell Card's activation?"
He looked at Silent Magician, genuine astonishment finally appearing on his face.
A monster whose ATK could increase with the number of cards in hand.
A monster that could negate Spell Cards.
And she was still standing on Yūki's field.
Wasn't this card just too unfair?
In the stands, Zane Truesdale watched Silent Magician with a different look in his eyes.
That precise counter to a Spell Card showed that Fujiwara Yūki wasn't simply relying on rare cards.
He knew what to save her effect for.
Asuka, meanwhile, looked at Yūki.
When he'd summoned Silent Magician earlier, he'd clearly seemed a little resigned.
Yet once they actually got into the duel, the two worked smoothly together.
At least to an outsider, they already looked something like partners.
The examiner looked at the cards remaining in his hand.
He still had a face-down card in his back row.
But if he dragged this out any longer, both Wave-Motion Cannon and Silent Magician would become even greater threats.
"I enter the Battle Phase!"
The examiner gritted his teeth and raised his hand.
"Curse of Dragon, attack Silent Magician!"
Blackish-purple mist surged up again.
Curse of Dragon spread its wings, its scarlet slit pupils locking onto Silent Magician.
It opened its mouth and spewed a mass of corrosive black dragon breath straight at the silver-haired magician.
Silent Magician had 1,500 ATK.
Curse of Dragon had 2,000 ATK.
Five hundred points of battle damage would be enough to lower Yūki's Life Points further.
But Yūki already had his hand on his last face-down card.
"When you declare an attack, I activate my Trap Card."
The face-down card flipped over.
"[Holy Barrier - Mirror Force]!"
A massive barrier of light unfolded from Yūki's back row.
A silvery-white mirror stood before Silent Magician.
The black dragon breath struck the barrier, reflected off its surface, then swept back as dozens of beams of light.
"Mirror Force's effect destroys all Attack Position monsters on my opponent's field!"
Boom!
Curse of Dragon was struck by its own breath.
The corroded framework of its wings shattered first, and its enormous body tumbled through the air before exploding into blackish-purple motes of light.
The examiner's field was empty.
He stared at his empty Monster Zones, then glanced at his lone remaining face-down card.
His lips moved.
He could already see this duel's situation clearly.
He had no monsters left.
Yūki still had Silent Magician, a face-down monster, and Wave-Motion Cannon on his field.
And next turn, Silent Magician's ATK would rise again when Yūki drew a card.
"I end my turn."
The examiner lowered his hand from his Duel Disk as he finished speaking.
He didn't concede.
As a teacher at Duel Academy, he had to set an example for the students.
Even with only one face-down card left, he had to hold on until his Life Points hit zero.
"My turn. I draw!"
Yūki drew a card.
His hand was back to two cards.
Silent Magician's blue aura lit up again.
[Silent Magician, ATK 1500 → 2000.]
She raised her staff, the gem at its tip shining with bright blue light.
Yūki looked at the mature, beautiful spirit on his field.
Wave-Motion Cannon was already charged.
All he had to do was activate the cannon's effect to inflict 2,000 damage and end the exam outright.
But Yūki didn't touch the cannon.
Their first time fighting side by side.
Their first real instance of teamwork.
Letting her finish things was clearly more fitting.
Yūki raised his hand and smiled at Silent Magician.
"Go on. End this duel."
"I enter the Battle Phase!"
Silent Magician glanced back at him.
This time, she didn't glare.
The mature silver-haired beauty raised her staff high, drawing down the starlight above the field to form a brilliant magic circle.
Yūki swept his arm forward.
"Silent Magician, attack directly!"
"Starlight End Burst!"
The magic circle came crashing down.
Countless streams of blue-white magic converged into a pillar of light, passing through the empty Monster Zones and striking the examiner directly.
[Examiner LP: 1900 → 0.]
The electronic screen flickered several times.
[Winner: Fujiwara Yūki.]
The projections on the dueling platform faded one by one.
Silent Magician stood where she was, her staff lowered at her side. She glanced at Yūki, the edges of her cape fluttering, and dissolved into points of starlight that returned to her card.
Yūki held the card and smiled.
Wave-Motion Cannon hadn't fired.
He'd left the final blow of this duel to Silent Magician.
Whether he was forcing their rapport to develop.
Or currying favor with his own spirit.
Either way, the result of their first team effort was pretty good.
The examiner removed his Duel Disk and looked at Yūki with a complicated expression.
"Fujiwara."
"You said earlier that you'd try your best to make this enjoyable for me to watch."
Yūki blinked.
"Didn't you enjoy it, sir?"
The examiner looked at his Life Points, now at zero, then at Silent Magician's card, which had already been returned to the card case.
"...Your dueling style is very distinctive."
That was quite a restrained way of putting it.
Outside the waiting area, Tachibana Shingo stood with his arms folded and remarked quietly.
"He already held back a lot."
A nearby examinee heard him and turned to look.
You call that holding back?
Tachibana Shingo didn't explain.
Compared to the Fujiwara Yūki who had burned opponents down to zero in the league using Lava Golem, Gravity Bind, and Wave-Motion Cannon.
Today's practical exam really had been quite wholesome.
Yūki walked off the dueling platform.
A familiar notification sounded in his mind.
[Duel victory.] [Soul Power gained: 12.] [Duel Coins gained: 1500.]
Before you continue