With his Life Points at zero, Misawa lay on the ground, staring at the ceiling, pondering his life.
He reflected on all the preparations he'd made for this duel, wondering if he'd missed something, if his strategy was flawed, or if something else was wrong.
But the more he thought, the more he realized—it wasn't any of those.
If he had to name his biggest mistake, it was probably this: you just shouldn't duel trolls.
But Misawa wasn't the type to fear failure. If he lost to Jaden, he'd feel a bit frustrated, but the duel itself would still be enjoyable. And he'd bounce back, research new tactics, and prepare for a revenge match.
He hadn't given up on improving or reclaiming his standing, out of duelist pride and resilience. But thinking about how, when he was at his most pumped, summoning his ace for the final blow, he just ended up hitting a "D.D. Warrior"—he felt like he didn't want to touch cards for days.
If he had a choice, he'd rather be kicked to death by Flame Wingman.
The practical exam continued, but the remaining duels had lost all heat and attention. Even long after the two left the stage, everyone was still replaying that duel in their minds.
The Ra Yellow Dorm freshmen felt complicated. This duel not only decided once and for all who was Ra Yellow's king but also symbolized the fall of their last hope—the Anti-Troll Warrior Misawa.
A milestone defeat, symbolizing Ra Yellow's plunge into darkness this year...
Blue and Red dorms didn't all know Kira yet. But the freshmen who saw this duel had that "I don't get it, but I'm shocked" expression, wondering, "Are Ra Yellow's aces always this crazy?"
Kira himself felt pretty satisfied.
If you ask him, he'd say this is true Sun God style. Who doesn't know that in Battle City, the user of Ra was the legendary Marik?
And what were Marik's duels like?
Weren't they all about lava Golems, Torture Wheel, and other degenerate combos, all for some sadistic fun?
As the heirs of Ra in Yellow Dorm, keeping this tradition alive—bringing joy to others through dueling—isn't that the true Sun God way?
Chancellor Sheppard, who'd watched the whole duel, nodded in satisfaction, thinking: "Looks like I was right—Kira is a talent. With time, he'll be a big deal in the dueling world."
Chazz, having watched, also sat back in his seat with a satisfied smile.
That's right. This is how it should be.
Fujiki Kira might be annoying, but he couldn't forgive him for losing to anyone but himself.
Then one of his lackeys whispered, "Boss, you look so happy, even though you lost today's exam..."
The other lackey: "Shh, keep it down or he'll hear you..."
Chazz's smile vanished.
His fists clenched subconsciously.
"Damn you, Jaden! You're unforgivable too!" Chazz gritted his teeth.
A toxic and a lucksack—both just as hateful in his eyes.
The two lackeys exchanged glances, not daring to speak.
But they both sensed: Boss's next three years might be tough...
With the test phase over, Kira collected his new batch of credit rewards.
Per the agreement with Professor Crowler, Jaden could have been fast-tracked to Ra Yellow after beating Chazz. But Jaden turned it down.
"Slifer Red! Fiery, passionate red! That's my color—no way I'm leaving!"
That's what he said, anyway.
But it was expected. In the original, Jaden had countless chances to leave Slifer Red Dorm but always chose to stay.
He might be the only Slifer Red in history who genuinely loves his dorm.
With the new week, Kira's long-awaited card-making class finally started.
The Duel Academy develops all kinds of duel-related talents, not just duelists. Like Chumley Huffington, who, after years of failing, quit being a duelist to become a card designer.
So, the Academy valued these related skills.
Classes started with basics. The first few were theory, then hands-on copying of existing cards.
Before designing your cards, newbies always start by copying existing ones.
Only after countless copies and getting familiar with the process can you talk about innovation.
And copying cards isn't always easier than creating them. Some are easy to copy—common, weak Spells or Traps, which is what students usually practice on.
But the more powerful the card—especially monsters—the harder it is to copy. That's why many famous monsters are one-of-a-kind.
After the card-making class started, Kira often went to Professor Lyman to ask design questions.
He soon realized his hunch was right. Though Lyman specialized in alchemy, he was a top-notch card designer. Alchemy and card design seemed even more connected than he'd let on.
After a while, Lyman just gave Kira access to his alchemy lab at school—he hardly used it anyway.
Though Lyman rarely cared about attendance or discipline, no teacher disliked a good student.
He gradually started sharing things not taught in class, sometimes demonstrating in person or correcting Kira's technique while petting his cat.
Meanwhile, Kira never skipped a day of draw training. But honestly, the more he practiced, the more he envied the Jellyfish Head Jaden, who rarely shows up or trains, yet draws better than anyone.
Some people are just born with card luck...
In real duels, Kira could hold his own, but in class, when it came to pure draw skills, he figured he was only above average among his peers. If everyone played with vanilla decks, he'd probably lose to a lot of them.
But that's okay. Kira kept a calm mind and knew you just need to practice more if you're bad. He hadn't trained long, so there was room to grow.
For example, the Duel Club was organizing a new member exchange tournament, which sounded great.
It seemed Chazz had joined too, so maybe there'd be a rematch. Find the newest release on NoveI★Fire.net
Not just good practice, but a chance to make more friends.
No way he'd miss that.
PS: Read advanced Chapters at /AbsoluteCode