"Zane?"
"Headmistress?"
The three players with extremely questionable IDs looked at one another, and for a moment, the atmosphere turned awkward.
"N–No… it's not what you think, Headmistress…"
Wishing he could rip the ID floating above his head right off, 'Cyber Dragon Is the Best' (Zane)—who should have looked cool and aloof—now appeared completely flustered.
"It's fine, I understand~"
Even though it was only a virtual projection, 'Hoshino Chiyuki Is the Best' (Akasha) still pretended to pat 'Cyber Dragon Is the Best' on the shoulder, then casually pointed at her own ID.
"The internet is a place where people vent their desires. Even if you're a Cyber Dragon fanatic, we won't tell anyone."
That… kind of made sense.
But Akasha, you're not just venting your desires on the internet, are you?
"That's not it," Zane tried to defend himself.
"It was Syrus—he set this ID for me without asking."
"Same here. Mash set my ID for me without asking," Hoshino smoothly followed along, finding herself a way out.
Akasha might be shameless, but as the Headmistress, she still needed to save a bit of face.
"Then, Zane—will you duel me or not?" Hoshino asked before officially starting the duel.
In ranked point duels like this, she didn't feel much guilt taking points from strangers. But taking points from someone she knew made her feel a little bad.
Especially considering the Rank 9 displayed above Zane's head—it was obvious he had invested a great deal of effort to get there.
While others were enjoying their holidays, the academy's king was still grinding online, honing his dueling skills. That was why kings remained kings—people more talented than you were often even more hardworking.
As an aside, beyond Rank 9 lay the capped tier: Rank King. According to player statistics, reaching that rank required at least a thousand wins on the platform, along with a consistently high win rate. It was a brutal test of both skill and patience.
For a student who still had to keep up with his studies, Zane reaching Rank 9 was already remarkable. As for reaching Rank King—it was only a matter of time.
"If you duel me, your points will get eaten up, you know? It's totally fine if you refuse, like Akasha did."
"No!"
To Hoshino's surprise, Zane outright rejected her suggestion.
"Please duel me! After watching your duel, I want to know how far behind I really am compared to you."
There were two reasons Zane cared so much about the gap between himself and Hoshino.
First, as the king of Duel Academy, his lifelong goal was to stand at the pinnacle of dueling.
Second, the master of the Cyber Style who trained him—was Sheppard.
"I want to know how far I am from my mentor… and from you, Headmistress. I want that to become my direction for growth!"
[Player 'Cyber Dragon Is the Best' has sent you a Duel Invitation. Accept?]
"As expected of the academy king—confident, but not arrogant. Good attitude."
Hoshino praised him as she pressed Accept.
"Then let me test this out—between you and Sheppard, who's stronger now!"
Speaking of Sheppard, he and Hoshino shared some history. Back in the days of underground death duels, Sheppard—working undercover as a 'King'—had once dueled Hoshino Alter using the Dark Cyber Style.
Even back then, it had been a hard-fought victory.
After that duel, Sheppard chose to seal away the bloodstained Dark Cyber Style. What Zane used now was its counterpart—the Light Cyber Style.
Duel—
[Cyber Dragon Is the Best LP 8000
VS
World's Number One Eggplant LP 8000]
In Duelist Alliance OL, the standard setting was 8000 Life Points, unlike academy duels, which mostly used 4000. It leaned more toward professional-level matches.
That said, the IDs displayed next to the Life Points were painfully embarrassing.
"Then I'll take the first turn, Zane!"
This was Hoshino's first time dueling in a virtual online space, and it felt incredibly fresh.
Of course, her real body was still on the third floor of her mansion.
"My turn—draw!"
Downstairs, in the first-floor dining hall, the gathered Heroic Spirits looked at one another in confusion after hearing Hoshino's voice echo from above.
Mash tilted her head.
"Senpai… isn't she alone upstairs?"
Cu Chulainn picked his teeth and laughed.
"Guess Master's finally addicted to card games. Even alone upstairs, she can duel herself now."
…
"I Normal Summon in Attack Position—Heroic Spirit – Cu Chulainn!"
[Heroic Spirit – Cu Chulainn ★★★★(Level 4)][LIGHT][Warrior/Effect][ATK 1600/DEF 1600]
A flash of white light erupted. The Cu Chulainn who had just been talking smack downstairs was dragged into the duel as a Duel Monster the very next second.
"What the—so Master really is dueling?"
Looking around at the unfamiliar virtual environment projected around him—still holding the toothpick he hadn't had time to throw away—Cu Chulainn finally realized what was happening.
"Well, guess this counts as post-meal exercise! Come on—bring it on!"
With that, Cu Chulainn drove his magical energy forward—and in place of the toothpick in his hand, a crimson spear materialized.
"Finally, I'll set one card face-down. Turn end!"
[Hoshino's: 4 Hand Cards | 1 Set Card]
"My turn—draw!"
Drawing his card for the turn, Zane immediately flipped it over and presented it to Hoshino.
"I activate the special effect of Cyber Dragon from my hand—"
[If only your opponent controls a monster, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand).]
"Since I control no monsters, and the Headmistress's field has Cu Chulainn, I can Special Summon Cyber Dragon from my hand!"
[Cyber Dragon ★★★★★ (Level 5)][LIGHT]][Machine/Effect][ATK 2100 / DEF 1600]
"Go, my Cyber Dragon!"
Bathed in the mechanical light of evolution, the Level 5 Cyber Dragon was Special Summoned directly to the field without any Tribute, thanks to its own effect.
"|ू･･`) Oh~ my Cyber Dragon~"
Off to the side, Akasha cupped her cheek and teased, "As expected of the 'Cyber Dragon Is the Best' player. And you still say you're not a Cyber Dragon fanatic?"
"I–I just…" Zane trailed off, then glanced at his Duel Disk and forced an explanation. "It's just… a term of friendship for the monsters I fight alongside. There's no other meaning."
Could the spectator over there named 'Hoshino Chiyuki Is the Best' please stop interfering with the duelists on the field? If this kept up, the academy king might actually get bullied into silence.
"Special Summoning a 2100 ATK Cyber Dragon, huh?" To ease the awkward atmosphere, Hoshino refocused on the duel. "Cyber Dragon's attack is impressive for a monster that can be summoned so easily, but Cu Chulainn has an effect that lets him avoid being destroyed by battle once per turn."
"Then I'll follow up with this Spell Card—Evolution Burst!"
Placing the Spell Card onto his Duel Disk, Cyber Dragon opened its mechanical jaws and spewed dazzling flames of evolution, streaking through the virtual duel space.
[Evolution Burst – Spell Effect: If you control 'Cyber Dragon': Target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy that target. 'Cyber Dragon' cannot attack the turn you activate this card.]
"This is the light of Cyber Style's evolution! Go, Cyber Dragon—destroy Cu Chulainn on the opponent's field!"
The electronic flames engulfed the target. After a faint smell of "grilled dog meat" drifted through the air, Cu Chulainn was completely wiped out by Cyber Dragon's attack.
Akasha exclaimed, "┌(.Д.)┐ Lancer died that fast?! He clearly has the strongest survival skill!"
"Not dead yet! Heroic Spirit – Cu Chulainn's effect activates—Battle Continuation!"
[Once per duel: If this card is destroyed, Special Summon it in Defense Position. This card summoned by this effect cannot change its battle position.]
"Good thing I'm tough as hell! Otherwise I wouldn't even get my post-meal workout!"
As the flames died down, Cu Chulainn—his bodysuit burned and tattered—planted his spear into the ground and took a defensive stance.
[Heroic Spirit – Cu Chulainn DEF 1600]
Zane continued, throwing another monster onto his Duel Disk.
"For my Normal Summon this turn, I summon in Attack Position—Cyber Dragon Core!"
[Cyber Dragon Core ★★ (Level 2)][LIGHT][Machine/Effect][ATK 200 / DEF 1500]
Much smaller than Cyber Dragon, Cyber Dragon Core wriggled forward as its mechanical body manifested.
"As long as Cyber Dragon Core is on the field, its name is treated as 'Cyber Dragon.' And when it's successfully summoned, I can add one 'Cyber' Spell or Trap from my Deck to my hand!"
Hoshino reminded him, "But because you activated Evolution Burst, none of the 'Cyber Dragon' monsters on the field can attack this turn—including Cyber Dragon Core, whose name is treated as Cyber Dragon."
Unfolding the hidden Field Zone of his Duel Disk, Zane created an entirely new virtual space within the duel.
"—That's all part of my strategy! I activate the Field Spell—Fusion Gate!"
[Fusion Gate – Field Spell Effect: During the Main Phase: The turn player can Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from their Extra Deck by banishing Fusion Materials mentioned on it from their hand or field.]
The Fusion Gate opening at the center of the field brimmed with unknown power, just like the Polymerization it replaced.
"As long as this card is on the field, I can Fusion Summon without Polymerization! I banish the Cyber Dragon on my field and Cyber Dragon Core—whose name is treated as Cyber Dragon—as Fusion Materials. Fusion Summon!"
The two monsters were sucked into the Fusion Gate, recombining into a brand-new evolutionary light of the Cyber Style.
"Come forth—Cyber Twin Dragon!"
[Cyber Twin Dragon ★★★★★★★★ (Level 8)][LIGHT][Machine/Fusion/Effect][ATK 2800 / DEF 2100]
[Materials: 'Cyber Dragon' + 'Cyber Dragon']
With two dragon heads fused into a single body—resembling Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon—Cyber Twin Dragon roared furiously toward Hoshino's field.
"Battle! Cyber Twin Dragon, attack!"
Since its name was no longer Cyber Dragon after the Fusion, Zane successfully avoided the attack restriction from Evolution Burst.
"Double Electromagnetic Flame!"
The twin mechanical heads unleashed a blaze even more dazzling than before. With the scorching heat rising once again, Cu Chulainn was finally shattered for real this time.
[Heroic Spirit – Cu Chulainn destroyed]
Akasha commented, "ヾ(ﾟдﾟ)ﾉ Lancer died again… well, surviving two attacks like that means he died with honor."
Yet even after destroying Cu Chulainn, Cyber Twin Dragon showed no sign of stopping its roar.
With overwhelming presence, Zane declared loudly,
"Cyber Twin Dragon's effect! This card can attack twice during the same Battle Phase! This is the twin assault of evolutionary light—direct attack!"
Just moments ago, she had been secretly laughing at Cu Chulainn. Now, Hoshino received the same treatment. The blazing flames swept across her body, instantly tearing away a massive chunk of her Life Points.
[World's Number One Eggplant LP 8000 → 5200]
"Well done! Including that earlier Spell, Evolution Burst—breaking through Cu Chulainn's defense and attacking three times in one turn—truly worthy of the academy king! (You must have a lot of Saint Quartz.)"
With excitement, Hoshino flipped open the face-down card beneath her feet. A Trap that tore through the electronic flames, releasing the light of a Link to the Deck.
"—Trap Card activated! The Wandering Tales of Shana-oh!"
[The Wandering Tales of Shana-oh – Trap Effect: Can only be activated when you take damage by battle or card effect. Special Summon 1 'Heroic Spirit' monster from your Deck with ATK less than or equal to the damage you took.]
"According to the Trap's effect, I Special Summon a monster whose ATK is lower than the 2800 damage dealt by Cyber Twin Dragon's direct attack!"
Akasha analyzed, "With ATK under 2800… it'll be hard to counter-kill Cyber Twin Dragon, though."
Searching her Deck and drawing forth a brand-new card, power that transcended eras surged forth—alongside a magnificent figure clad in a cherry-blossom-colored kimono.
"—I Special Summon from my Deck Heroic Spirit – Okita Soji Sakura Dance!"
[Heroic Spirit – Okita Soji Sakura Dance ★★★★★★★ (Level 7)][WIND][Warrior/Effect][ATK 2500 / DEF 2000]
"This is a historic moment!" Spinning gracefully, Sakura Okita beamed brightly. "Having obtained brand-new power, Okita is about to kick Illya off the ace position once and for all!"
Akasha gasped, "(꒪Д꒪)ノ She's different from before! I can't believe even Okita can afford skins in this era!"
Slamming the card onto her Duel Disk, Hoshino declared its effect:
"When Sakura Okita is successfully Special Summoned, I can Special Summon one 'Heroic Spirit' monster from my hand with its effects negated—and change its Level to 7!"
Raising her blade high, Okita exclaimed excitedly,
"Cherry blossoms in full bloom! This is Okita-san, the swordswoman of sakura—my new ace power that surpasses Illya!"
"Special Summon—Magical Girl – Illya!"
Okita:
"(つД`) Master, aren't you just slapping me in the face here?"