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Kobayashi Yuki spent the entire day today with his head lowered.
He woke up extra early in the morning to leave the dormitory, avoiding the peak hours. All day, he didn't dare go to the cafeteria, relying on bread from the tuck shop for lunch. Even during classes, he wore his hood up, kept his head down, and blended into the largest group of students to sneak into the classroom. The moment the dismissal bell rang, he lowered his head and bolted.
There was no other reason: his opponent for the new round of the Dorm Exchange Match was matched against "that man."
A legendary man, one who had earned the universally recognized title of "Great Demon King" throughout the entire Yellow Dorm within just a short week of enrolling. He was also the guy almost everyone in the dorm least wanted to be matched against.
Matching against others might, at most, mean losing a duel and missing out on one or two academic credits, but this guy was different. Rumor had it that after dueling him, you wouldn't be able to sleep a wink for at least an entire night. More severe cases might even have their passion for dueling completely crushed, making you, who had just enrolled not long ago, start entertaining thoughts like "Maybe card games aren't for me, I should just go back to moving bricks."
Therefore, every student who checked their next opponent and found it was this guy would immediately wear an expression as if they were mourning their parents. And onlookers in the dorm, upon seeing that expression, could probably guess what this poor soul had encountered. They would then either shake their heads or suppress laughter, pat his shoulder, and tell him to stay strong.
Yuki felt his movements throughout the day had been flawless, perfectly avoiding the terrifying Great Demon King. Although he knew hiding temporarily was meaningless, the instinct when facing great terror couldn't be helped; he could only hide for the moment and take it as it comes.
At least this day seemed to have passed peacefully.
Finally finishing the day's activities, Yuki's taut nerves finally relaxed. He was preparing to return to his dorm, take a hot bath, go back, and watch some drama to unwind for a bit…
…And then he suddenly petrified.
Because he saw him. The Great Demon King was leaning against the stairwell on the necessary path to his dorm room, waving hello to him with a sunny smile.
"Yuki-kun, right?" You Xuan said cheerfully. "Did you perhaps forget we have a duel scheduled?"
Yuki wanted to cry but had no tears. He desperately wanted to say, "No, you've got the wrong person, that's not me," but the other party had already unfolded his Duel Disk.
"Don't worry, it won't take long," You Xuan said with a grin. "Come on, come on."
Yuki: "..."
"..."
"'Dimensional Prison', send your monster to a different dimension!"
"Submarineroid direct attack!"
"Pair Cycroid direct attack!"
"..."
You Xuan hadn't lied; it really did end quickly.
Ten minutes later, Yuki was sprawled flat on the ground, eyes vacant, expression dull, looking completely broken. It seemed he had fallen quite hard when he collapsed, as the cards from his Duel Disk had scattered noisily all over the floor. An uninformed passerby witnessing this scene might be shocked, thinking perhaps he had just lost a Shadow Duel.
Another soul sent to the Shadow Realm.JPG (Marik limited edition)
"Ah~ Another duel before bed, that felt good, really good."
You Xuan stretched lazily and politely bid farewell to his dueling partner.
"That was a good duel. Goodnight, Yuki-kun. Hope you have sweet dreams tonight."
Yuki: "..."
Professor Kabayama, the dorm head who happened to be passing by, saw this scene. He hesitated for a long time, wanting to speak but stopping, utterly unsure where to begin. Initially, he organized this competition precisely so new students could interact friendly, get to know each other quickly, and become one group.
But looking at the current trend, it wouldn't be surprising if they soon "beat" each other into one group...
Yet, it seemed he couldn't really say anything. After all, this student named You Xuan did appear to be dueling seriously, and based on results, he even had a perfect winning streak.
And it had only been a week. If things continued like this, what would the Yellow Dorm become by the end of the year...?
"..."
The second week, a new course appeared on the schedule that greatly interested You Xuan.
Alchemy.
Honestly, the moment he heard the term, the first things that popped into his mind were phrases from a certain famous alchemy anime, like "Human Transmutation" and "Equivalent Exchange." However, alchemy also existed in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh.
The teacher responsible for the alchemy course was none other than the head of the Osiris Red dorm, Professor Daitokuji.⁷
Initially, he seemed like the most useless, laziest teacher in the entire academy, always giving off a timid and weak impression. But during the Sacred Beast arc, it was revealed he was actually a hidden boss. Some fans analyzing the plot even believed that if he hadn't intentionally held back to nurture Judai, the not-yet-matured Judai at that time probably wouldn't have been able to defeat him.
Of course, that was just speculation without concrete evidence, but Daitokuji was undoubtedly one of the strongest hidden characters.
His mastery of alchemy had also reached mystical levels. The background setting stated he had actually contracted a terminal illness long ago and had survived by using a forbidden technique similar to "Human Transmutation" to create a new artificial body and transfer his soul into it.
Even in the end, after losing to Judai in a Shadow Duel and his body decaying and disintegrating, he persisted as a soul and was swallowed into the body of a cat he owned. He continued to accompany Judai on his journey until the end of GX, becoming a crucial teacher and friend in Judai's life.
However, You Xuan's focus was on alchemy itself. Although other students currently thought this teacher was just coasting, You Xuan knew he was a powerhouse.
Rumor had it that alchemy could grant immortality, and within the Yu-Gi-Oh worldview, it was conceivable that everything inevitably connected to card games. Alchemy also seemed to touch upon the realm of card creation.
The most impressive card Daitokuji created in the original story, the "Philosopher's Stone - Sabatiel" handed to Judai before his body perished, allowed one to pay half their Life Points to add any card from their Deck to their hand, and could be used consecutively three times in one turn without restriction.
Unrestricted searching, and a one-for-three exchange at that, basically made it a super cheat card that guaranteed victory in a duel. Its biggest drawback was that it could only be used in a single duel; it was destroyed after use.
But the existence of this card was enough to prove the value of alchemy.
Therefore, You Xuan listened to this lesson with exceptional seriousness. While more than half the classroom was drowsy, he remained fully concentrated, not missing a single word Daitokuji said, intentionally or unintentionally, taking notes constantly throughout the entire session.
Alchemy was already a somewhat niche subject among the courses at Duel Academy. Professor Daitokuji had probably never seen a student listen so attentively to his class before. Just before dismissal, he couldn't help but glance over in this direction a couple more times.
You Xuan noticed and returned a warm, sunny smile to the professor.
Daitokuji paused, then quickly reverted to his usual goofy persona and smiled back at You Xuan.
The dismissal bell rang. Daitokuji squinted, gathered his teaching materials, and left the classroom holding his cat.
The name seems to be Fujiki You Xuan.
He remembered this student. A student with such a sunny smile should be a decent young man.