The October sea breeze brought waves crashing against the rocks along Duel Academy's coast. A massive ship slowly sliced through the waves, carrying students whose eyes were wide with curiosity.
It's the beginning of the school year at Duel Academy.
The ship carried the new first-year students. This year's freshman class was reportedly of high quality, and the entrance exams were said to be extremely competitive.
The main reason might be that last academic year, a Duel King emerged from Duel Academy, which played a crucial role in promoting the academy. This caused quite a stir in the Dueling Realm, with more young people than ever scrambling to get into the academy.
Some wanted to grow stronger in an academy that produced a Duel King, while others just wanted to catch a glimpse of the legendary Duel King's charm.
In fact, from the first day they disembarked, this had already become the central topic among the freshmen. Almost every newcomer would first try to inquire about the legend.
And so it was time for the students from the Yellow Dormitory to shine.
They would pull the newcomers aside and proudly began recounting the events of the past. They spoke of the rise of the Master of the Yellow Robe last year and how they once dueled him themselves...
The newcomers listened with bright eyes.
Especially when they heard that every year the Yellow Dormitory held a dormitory exchange battle as part of the orientation, many freshmen were even more eager.
Wouldn't that mean a chance to duel with the legendary King?
In some top-tier events outside, one might only get a chance to face the Duel King if they won the championship. Such opportunities were priceless.
This year, many more students wanted to enter Ra's Dormitory, and upon hearing this, even more couldn't hold back.
Students from the Red Dormitory didn't mind not having the qualifications, but this year even a large number of students assigned to the Blue Dormitory tried to transfer to Ra's Dormitory.
This was an unprecedented situation since the founding of Duel Academy. Originally, the Obelisk-Blue Dormitory, which should have held the highest status since the academy's inception, seemed to have the trend of being overshadowed by the Yellow Dormitory this year.
The Hushan Dormitory Leader of the Yellow Dormitory was grinning from ear to ear, even adding extra curry to this year's orientation.
The dormitory leader of the Blue Dormitory, Professor Chronos, should have felt pressure, but he currently didn't have the time for that.
Because this year, Principal Jiaodao entered his usual long-term business trip hiatus, handing the temporary principal duties to Professor Chronos.
The professor was very happy, considering it a great opportunity, but at the same time, he was extremely busy. Especially during the start of the school year, dealing with the mound of matters needing the principal's attention. Professor Strong Desire spent several days staying up late and working overtime, constantly sporting two dark circles under his eyes, looking even more amusing than before.
He had been busy until past three in the morning last night and personally came to greet the new students early today.
In previous years, the principal would not have made an appearance at the orientation. Professor Strong Desire's enthusiasm stemmed from the fact that he was newly appointed as temporary principal and wanted to make a good impression.
The second reason was that there was an extraordinary freshman this year.
Ed Phoenix, a top-tier young prodigy in the professional circle.
If he could recruit exceptional freshmen while the principal was away and then achieve some impressive results, it might not be impossible to remove the 'temporary' from his title...
Of course, the hope was beautiful.
However, Professor Strong Desire and the chubby Instructor Napoleon ended up waiting the whole day by the shore without seeing the person.
"Seriously, could you have made a mistake, Temporary Principal Chronos?" Instructor Napoleon couldn't help but ask, "Most of the new students have left already, and he hasn't shown up? Could it be someone with the same name?"
"No way."
Chronos was bewildered.
"Clearly, I contacted his manager."
"Speaking of which, we haven't seen Yugen this year either," Instructor Napoleon muttered.
"Student Yugen... hmm... probably busy with personal matters and happens as fate allows."
"So, should we keep waiting?" Instructor Napoleon looked at him.
"...Let's wait a bit longer, we're already here after all."
Chronos said as he tightened his clothes.
The chilly wind blew across the sea, with the tall and stout professors standing side by side until the sun set.
...
...
However, the professors didn't know that, even though they hadn't arrived at the academy, the eagerly awaited new and returning students had already begun their interaction ahead of schedule.
Only it might have been in a way they hadn't imagined.
At this moment, Ed Phoenix was standing in front of a club's door.
This is the place.
It's said to be one of the clubs that was famously challenged by Revolver in the early days, and later became one of the earliest bases of the Hanuo Knights.
Yes, Ed had also heard about the Hanuo Knights. Though he had never been involved with the Light Association, being close to Saio and a Professional Duelist, he had occasionally heard about them.
He just never expected that the Hanuo Knights would be connected to the Ultimate D he's been pursuing.
The Ultimate D was the last card his father made and also his best lead. Such an old case had almost been abandoned by the police, but he wouldn't give up.
He would find that person no matter what, even at any cost.
Ed reached out and pushed the club door open.
Darkness.
The large club was eerily quiet, not a soul in sight. It seemed as if countless specters were hidden in the shadows, as if hostile eyes were watching this unwitting intruder.
Ed frowned but was not afraid and continued to walk inside at a slow pace.
There were no signs of anyone.
Could his information be wrong, and had this club already been abandoned?
Or maybe they got wind of someone coming and cleared out ahead of time?
Ed was suspicious but didn't retreat. He cautiously continued forward.
Then suddenly, he heard a sound.
Ed paused for a moment.
Things happened quickly. Before he realized what was going on, there was a bang.
It came from beneath his feet.
Suddenly, the ground gave way, and he lost his balance, falling downwards.
There was a Trap.
Ed's pupils contracted, and almost instinctively, his Duel Disc deployed.
He didn't know how far he fell in the darkness, but he barely managed to quickly play the Demon Man card. Destiny Hero: Demon Man emerged in the darkness, grabbing his arm to slow his fall.
Yet he still landed heavily on the solid ground.
Ed, a bit disheveled, propped himself up on one knee and looked around.
It took him a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the dark surroundings. Then he began to see the walls.
Tall walls surrounded him, the structure complex and intricate.
Like a labyrinth.