"What!?"
Duel Academy, high-level meeting room.
Professor Chronos slapped the table and stood up, his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Why do we have to change the representative, Nonne? For the friendly duel between Duel Academy and Northern Academy, it's just fine for Marufuji Ryo to represent us like last year, isn't it?"
He said, pointing to Marufuji Ryo who was listening in at the side of the meeting room.
"I strongly request that we send Marufuji Ryo to fight again this year to maintain our headquarters' winning streak!"
Principal Jiaodao leaned back in his chair and said, "But the Northern Academy has clearly said they will send a first-year student to battle this year. If we send a senior student, it might seem like bullying the underdog, don't you think?"
"A... a first-year student!?" Professor Chronos exclaimed.
"Yes." Principal Jiaodao nodded, "For this reason, it's more appropriate for us to send a first-year student this year."
He looked at Marufuji Ryo as he spoke.
"What do you think, Marufuji?"
Marufuji Ryo said calmly, "I don't mind either way."
Principal Jiaodao nodded, "So the question is who will be the new representative. Does anyone have any opinions, or recommendations?"
The teachers exchanged glances, and no one spoke for a moment.
"Yuki Judai." Marufuji Ryo was the first to break the silence.
"Eh!?"
Professor Chronos's expression turned sour first.
An underperformer from Osiris Red chosen as a representative?
"Oh?"
Principal Jiaodao looked somewhat surprised at Marufuji Ryo, as if he hadn't expected him to recommend Judai.
Teacher Dade Temple, as always, leaned back in his chair with a smile and gently petted his beloved cat Pharaoh, "Looks like it's turning into something troublesome."
The teachers present all wore strange expressions and began to discuss.
"Yuki Judai? Are you serious?"
"This... it doesn't seem appropriate, does it?"
Everyone knew that Judai was a capable duelist, and no teacher doubted his practical skills.
But no matter how capable he was, he was still a student from Osiris Red, and historically, there had never been an instance where a student from Osiris Red represented the academy in a duel.
Moreover, Judai was known for being quite the slacker even in the Red Dormitory. He failed most of his subjects, slept through classes, didn't do homework, and often skipped classes. In the eyes of all the teachers, he was a problematic student, leaving a bad impression.
So when it was mentioned that he might be sent to duel, the teachers' first reaction was that something didn't seem right.
"I've dueled with him." Marufuji Ryo said, "I believe he can show us a very interesting duel."
Don't be ridiculous.
Professor Chronos, who always advocated for an elite system, was so angry he almost changed color.
To have an underachiever from the Red Dormitory represent the academy in a duel, where does that leave the face of our elite school? This kind of absurd proposal should be immediately rejected...
"Hmm, it's a good idea." Principal Jiaodao nodded with a smile, "Everyone has witnessed his strength, so having him duel is indeed a good idea."
What!?
Professor Chronos was shocked.
Principal, get a grip. How is this a good idea?
How can you let a slacker become the representative?
Principal Jiaodao: "Well, if there are no other candidates..."
Chronos finally realized it.
Right, the candidate hasn't been decided yet. As long as someone can go against that Yuki Judai...
"Then, I nominate Fujiki Yugen!" Chronos hastily said.
"Oh? This time it's a student from Yellow Dormitory?" Principal Jiaodao showed an expression of approval, "Indeed, another very special and powerful student."
It was unexpected that this year's two most promising new stars would be one in Red Dormitory and one in Yellow Dormitory. The rising stars of previous years always emerged from the top students in Obelisk Blue.
"Yes, let them duel, and whoever wins can represent the academy. What do you think, Principal?" Professor Strong Desire was quite enthusiastic.
"Hmm? Oh... I don't mind..."
Principal Jiaodao turned to look at Marufuji Ryo.
"What do you think, Ryo?"
Even the principal, before making a decision, sought the opinion of a student, but no one found it strange.
It wasn't just because Marufuji Ryo was the academy's Caesar, the recognized strongest student representative, but also because everyone present knew he had another hidden identity—Principal Jiaodao's prized disciple.
Before coming to Duel Academy, Principal Jiaodao was a master at the Electronic Style Dojo, and the one who eventually inherited his teachings and was his most proud disciple was Marufuji Ryo.
"Of course, I have no objections." Marufuji Ryo smiled.
And so it was settled.
Teacher Dade Temple announced the school's decision for the first time during the Alchemy Class: Yugen and Judai would duel to decide the representative. The date was set for this weekend.
The two participants were already informed beforehand, so they weren't surprised. However, Judai was still very excited about it, seemingly having been looking forward to this duel since he enrolled.
Yugen remained quite calm, continuing with his usual activities throughout the week.
Now, his laboratory had continuously expanded, adding more personnel, including even instructors from the research institute. The department modules were divided, with several teams working on development based on the directions he proposed.
Recently, there had been some new achievements.
Mainly from the two cards previously obtained from the Kaiba Group. One was the "Death Deck Destruction Virus" that President Kaiba often used.
Honestly, Yugen was not quite accustomed to the original animation version of Death Virus, as it seemed cool to blow up all monsters with 1500 attack points or more from the opponent's deck, but it required battle destruction to trigger and risked milling the opponent's cards into the graveyard.
In comparison, he was more inclined toward the physical card version of the Death Virus with its old effect.
[Trap Card, Death Deck Destruction Virus
Effect: Sacrifice a Dark Attribute monster with 1000 attack or less on your field, destroy all monster cards with 1500 attack points or more in the opponent's hand, field, and cards drawn by the opponent for the next three turns.]
This version of the effect was a long-standing forbidden card, which wasn't released until it was nerfed and had its effect text modified in 2015.
However, before that, the Death Virus had a specialized upper-tier card deck and significantly impacted the meta. Yugen was already working on constructing it.
The other card from President Kaiba was even more interesting.
Its original version was used by President Kaiba in the famous duel against Dark Game in Sky Arena.
Magic Card - Celestial Obedience.
The animated effect was to pay 1000 life points and declare the name of a level 8 or higher monster card. If the opponent's deck had that monster, it would be added to the player's hand.
After being made into a physical card, the effect was even enhanced. You pay 2000 life points, but you can declare any monster card name regardless of level. If the opponent's deck has the declared monster, you can choose to add it to your hand or summon it to your field ignoring summoning conditions.
It was a rare card for taking monsters from the opponent's deck and had a unique effect. If developed successfully, it would be a powerful psychological tool when armed with the opponent's deck information.
With lessons, research, and daily duel practice, a week passed quickly.
The day of the representative duel with Judai had finally arrived.