Zane looked at the flyer with genuine interest.
"You want me to participate, Master?"
"Yes. This year's event is different—Kaiba Seto himself is rumored to be joining."
"That Kaiba Seto?" Zane was surprised. "But I thought he had…"
"Retired? That's what people said, but it looks like it was just a rumor."
Sheppard leaned back and smiled.
"In fact, I've met President Kaiba myself. I can tell, there are very few people in the world as passionate about dueling as he is.
Even back then, I doubted he'd ever retire for good."
In truth, Kaiba Seto was one of the duelists Zane admired most. Much of his own tactics and style were inspired by Kaiba.
After all, both he and Kaiba had full playsets of ace monsters, both ran triple fusions, both favored aggressive, oppressive playstyles. Even their suspiciously consistent opening hands—three Cyber Dragons plus Polymerization—seemed cut from the same cloth.
If anyone ever accused Zane of stacking his deck, Kaiba would probably be the first to defend him. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ NoveI(F)ire.net
You just don't have the bond. Why blame us for not shuffling?
"So, interested, Zane?" Samejima smiled. "This year's entry requirements are higher, but as the academy's ace, you'd have no problem."
"Understood, Master. I'll seize this chance to improve and try to reach new heights over the break."
"Good," Sheppard replied. "Oh, by the way, I heard that Fujiki Kira will participate too."
"The first-year in yellow… the Champion?"
Zane caught himself mid-sentence.
Someone's infamy at Duel Academy had earned them a nickname so well known, Zane almost slipped up and said it aloud.
"Haha, yes. That kid seems to know President Kaiba personally, so it's no surprise he'd get an invite. You might even face him at the tournament."
As this year's most interesting freshman, Kira had long since caught his attention. Zane knew they'd clash sooner or later.
He just hadn't found the right opportunity during the first semester.
But, if it was the world-class stage of Duel City…
Zane's lips curled into a smile. The duel spirit within him was already burning.
Very interesting. He was looking forward to that showdown.
Maybe, at this Duel City, they'd decide once and for all who was the real king of Duel Academy.
"The Cyber Style," Alexis asked, resting her chin on her hand, "Isn't that Zane's deck?"
"Yeah," Kira replied.
He was sorting through a new batch of Cyber Style cards sent from Kaiba Corp—a fresh batch for the Cyber Style project.
Alexis recalled that Zane had told her Cyber Style wasn't unique to their dojo. What he inherited was mostly Cyber End Dragon, and from the anime, it's clear Zane had two copies.
Even the "Cyber Dragon," though a rare and powerful card, wasn't as rare as the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" with only three copies in the world. As long as you had the right source, you could get one.
Kira had always wanted to build a Cyber Dragon deck.
In fact, Cyber Dragon was a meta staple for a long time, recognized by all players as a powerful beater.
Back then, 1600 ATK was the benchmark for a beater; 1800-1900 was already excellent for a Level 4.
But with the GX anime, Cyber Dragon appeared—a Level 5 monster you could Normal Summon with no tribute, and it had 2100 ATK, outclassing every previous beater.
It shook up the meta so much that Cyber Dragon, even in non-Cyber decks, became standard. For a long time, it was Limited to 2, and by 2008, as the meta sped up, it got hit even harder and became Limited to 1.
For a pure beater, being Limited to 1 was the highest honor.
"Don't underestimate Cyber Dragon," Kira smiled. "Its potential isn't even scratched yet. The deck can go far beyond what you or even Zane himself can imagine."
Even beyond Zane's imagination…?
Alexis looked conflicted.
If anyone else said that, she'd think it was nonsense. In this academy, Zane was the face of Cyber Dragon—no one knew it better.
But Kira was different.
After all, Kira had already shown Alexis that she knew nothing about her own Cyber Angels.
She'd realized that any deck Kira picked out always had something special.
If Kira said a deck had potential, it was practically a blessing—breakthroughs would follow.
She suddenly remembered Zane had said he wanted to join the Duel City tournament this year.
Zane and Alexis' brother, Atticus, had been best friends.
That's why Alexis was familiar with Zane, and also why she knew right away Zane would be entering the tournament.
Suddenly, a crazy thought popped into her head: What if Kira faced Zane at the tournament… using a Cyber Dragon deck?
It sounded silly, but with Kira, it wasn't impossible at all.
"Alright, I've got a few good ideas. I'll leave them with the Cyber Style project team," Kira said, putting away the cards and standing up.
"Oh, right, I need to find Professor Lyman before break."
She now sensed that Professor Lyman might not be as useless as he looked, but she still didn't understand what Kira hoped to learn or gain from him.
Kira glanced at her, then smiled mysteriously.
"There'll be some tough battles over winter break—I need to find a way to up my odds."