As he spoke, he held out a fist toward Yugen. Yugen smiled, raised his own fist, and lightly bumped it against his. The applause around them grew even louder.
"Those two are already this strong..."
Daichi Misawa stared blankly at the pair below the stage. Ever since joining Yugen's Alchemy Laboratory, he had been studying and developing day and night, and his Deck had grown much stronger. He had been feeling pretty good about his progress, but after comparing himself to those two today, he suddenly felt it was nowhere near enough.
"Yugen is amazing. Big bro is amazing too. If this keeps up, they might even become as strong as my brother."
Sho Marufuji looked around and felt that everyone near him was incredible. The more he looked, the more it seemed like he was the only useless one there.
"Daichi Misawa was right after all. Yugen and Judai Yuki look like complete opposites at first glance, but between them, some strange chemical reaction happens. They keep pushing each other into shocking growth."
Leaning against the railing, Asuka Tenjoin suddenly turned and looked at Kaiser Ryo behind her, half-jokingly asking whether he was starting to feel pressure from the younger students.
Ryo Marufuji folded his arms and only showed a faint smile. It was not a mocking smile, but the smile of a Duelist looking forward to a strong opponent.
He was Duel Academy's Kaiser Ryo, yet he had never minded challengers who might threaten his standing. If anything, he welcomed them. Respecting opponents and never underestimating any Duelist's potential was Ryo Marufuji's creed at this stage.
"That means Yugen is now truly confirmed as this year's top freshman. The next step might be becoming the new king of this entire Duel Academy."
Asuka Tenjoin said it teasingly, and Ryo Marufuji smiled. "That would be even better."
Only after the Duel was over did Professor Chronos de Medici finally let out the breath he had been holding. Strange as it was to say, the person who had been most nervous throughout the entire match was probably Professor Chronos de Medici himself.
In truth, neither Yugen nor Judai Yuki cared that much about the title of representative for Duel Academy. For one of them, winning simply meant a lot of benefits and rewards, while for the other, winning only meant the joy of playing cards against an outside-school representative. Even if they had not gotten the spot, neither of them would have taken it too seriously.
But Professor Chronos de Medici was different. If Judai Yuki, that failing student, really went out as the representative of all Duel Academy, then to him it would be Doomsday, a disaster for the entire academy. So throughout the whole Duel, he had practically watched while chewing heart medicine, and every time Yugen's LP dropped or Judai Yuki launched a sharp counterattack that looked like it might end the match, the professor nearly stopped breathing.
The final turn was the worst, when Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman and Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning faced off and both sides kept trading attacks and defenses. The professor had nearly fainted on the spot. When Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning finally ended the match with one sword strike, he almost wanted to rush onto the stage and give Yugen a huge hug.
Wonderful! All the care this teacher usually gives you was not wasted, no-ne!
Much more reliable than that fake elite student Manjoume, no-ne!
Professor Chronos de Medici was so happy he wanted to hand over every bit of credits he could possibly assign to Yugen. To the professor, Yugen had protected the principles of Duel Academy, the last bottom line of an elite Duel Academy.
The principal might not care, but if they really sent someone like Judai Yuki, a constant truant who ranked at the bottom even in Osiris Red, out as their representative, then he absolutely could not accept it. So the moment the match ended, Professor Chronos de Medici hurried onto the stage and snatched up the microphone.
"Then the winner of the representative Duel is Yugen Fujiki!"
Professor Chronos de Medici declared it loudly. He then announced that next week, Yugen would represent their main campus in battle.
Only then did the teachers and students remember what this match had been for. They had become so absorbed in the Duel itself that many of them had gradually forgotten why the cards were being played in the first place.
Right, the winner was supposed to represent Duel Academy in battle. At once, everyone's eyes turned toward Yugen. So this year's representative had really been decided as him.
At that moment, Principal Samejima also stood up to speak. He said it had been an excellent Duel, deeply impressive from both of them, and that although Judai Yuki had failed to earn the qualification, he had still shown undeniable Duel strength and remarkable toughness.
He congratulated Yugen on winning the representative spot. Next week, Yugen would represent them in a Duel against the representative from North Academy.
"North Academy is a sister academy of our Duel Academy Main Campus. Sending student representatives to Duel is our yearly form of friendly exchange, meant to deepen the bond between our two schools. When the time comes, we'll be relying on Yugen to show the style of our main campus."
The students fell silent. A sister academy match meant to promote friendship sounded very familiar to the students of Yellow Dormitory.
Back when they had first arrived at Duel Academy and been assigned dorms, there had also been talk of some friendly freshman exchange through a Duel competition. The memory was still fresh. Quite a few people looked toward Yugen again, and all of them arrived at the same thought.
It looked like the brotherly bond between the main campus and North Academy might come to an end this year.
At this very moment, in the bitter cold of North Academy, a crowd of burly men surrounded the newly arrived Manjoume and shouted at the top of their lungs, "Lightning! Lightning! Lightning!"
In just one day, the newcomer Manjoume had crushed his way through all of North Academy with shocking strength, defeated the branch campus's original king, and become the academy's publicly recognized new ruler. Manjoume stood in the middle with his arms folded, basking in the cheers around him and looking extremely pleased.
At last, he had recovered a little of the feeling he was meant to have. This was how things should be. He, Jun Manjoume, had been an elite since childhood, and even in the talent-packed Duel Academy Middle Division, he had always held first place, yet somehow after arriving at the main campus he had felt as if he had been taking blows the entire time.
Now, in this North Academy, he had finally regained the position that belonged to him. He was born to be king. Naturally, he should be the one standing at the top.
"Congratulations, Manjoume."
The principal of North Academy stepped forward with a smile. He told him that this made him the new king of this Duel Academy.
Manjoume let out a snort. "That was only natural."
He waved a hand as if he had done something too trivial to mention. The principal smiled and continued, saying that in that case, the final candidate for the match against the main campus had been decided.
"Then you, the new king of North Academy, Manjoume Lightning, will represent our North Academy in this year's showdown against the main campus."
"Heh, that's nothing..."