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Professor Chronos's Office.
Sunlight streamed softly through the window, plating the entire space with a warm golden edge. The green plants by the window thrived in the sunlight, their leaves glistening brightly.
To be honest, when Professor Chronos first singled him out and invited him to the office for afternoon tea, You Xuan was quite surprised. He figured his grades seemed consistently good, and he probably hadn't offended the professor, so he shouldn't be getting the kind of special attention reserved for underachievers.
However, he soon realized he'd overthought it.
"You Xuan-kun, it's been two weeks since you enrolled. Are you settling in alright?"
The professor seemed keen on projecting a kind and gentle image, smiling under the sunlight. Unfortunately, his features were just too distinct; even with such effort, he still only resembled a sneering Pot of Greed.
"Everything's fine, Professor," You Xuan said with a smile.
It's just that the classmates around me seem to be having a hard time adjusting…
"Mm-hmm, that's good-nonē." Professor Chronos said gently. "If there's anything you're not comfortable with, you must tell me-nonē. You can also report any problems to me anytime, whether academic or related to daily life-nonē."
Honestly, You Xuan's current impression of the professor was quite good. Part of the reason he'd earned credits so quickly in the first two weeks was thanks to the professor. Chronos frequently gave him opportunities to answer questions and perform demonstrations, awarding credits whenever his performance was good enough.
In stark contrast, however, student Jaden Yuki had managed to lose all of his already meager credits within just two short weeks. The reasons included, but were not limited to, skipping class, sleeping in class, snoring in the front row, and failing pop quizzes...
Moreover, You Xuan estimated that Chronos was likely responsible for deducting most of those points, probably involving a bit of a personal grudge. Perhaps even for the same offense of sleeping in class, Professor Chronos would view Jaden as "always sleeping during class," whereas a top student like You Xuan would automatically be seen as "so diligent he even sleeps during class!"
"I have already applied for the school's top student program for you, and the Chancellor has approved it-nonē," Chronos said cheerfully. "As long as you consistently maintain scores above ninety in all subjects, you will receive additional academic credits each month.
Furthermore, although you are currently in Ra Yellow, after joining the program, your priority for purchasing cards within the school will automatically be raised to the same level as Obelisk Blue students...
Mah, but with You Xuan-kun's grades, promoting to Obelisk Blue is surely just a matter of time-nonē!"
"Thank you, Professor."
As You Xuan spoke, something suddenly occurred to him.
"Ah, right, speaking of which... I actually do have some questions."
"Oh? Go ahead, go ahead, it's alright-nonē." Chronos interlaced his fingers, propping up his chin, his smiling expression looking even more like the Pot.
You Xuan tried his best not to think about the Pot. "Ah, it's nothing major, just that there are some cards I'm interested in, but I've been waiting a long time and haven't seen them available through the academy shop yet. I wanted to ask if the professor knows of any additional channels…"
"Regarding that…" Chronos hesitated for a moment.
"You can make a list first, and I can help you inquire-nonē. But don't hold out too much hope, because even teachers generally acquire cards through the academy shop channels. If a card can't even be bought within the academy, it's very difficult to find through any other channel-nonē."
"Is that so." You Xuan nodded. That made sense. If other channels made it easier to obtain rare cards than Duel Academy, people wouldn't be desperately trying to get in.
"However, the campus clubs seem to be starting recruitment now," Professor Chronos added after some thought. "You could try finding one you're interested in."
You Xuan paused. "Clubs?" What did rare cards have to do with student clubs?
"Oh, You Xuan-kun is a new student, so you might not know yet. Many student clubs have their own inventory-nonē," Chronos explained with a smile. "Club inventories are often used as prizes for activities or as member benefits to attract new recruits-nonē.
Among them are quite a few cards that are already out-of-print or temporarily discontinued, some cards that are currently rare in the academy shop's stock, and also some niche cards only needed for specific decks, and so on..."
Hearing this, You Xuan started to get interested. So, some of those cards that appeared in the academy shop only once or twice before disappearing might have been acquired by some student club's inventory. If he joined a specific club, not only might he have a chance to obtain them, but maybe he could even get them for free…
"Student clubs also receive allocated funds and academic credit quotas, so participating in club activities offers chances to earn extra credits too-nonē."
Chronos thought for a moment.
"For You Xuan-kun, I would definitely recommend the Dueling Club-nonē. It's also the academy's most popular club focused primarily on dueling. Frequently sparring with top-tier students in the academy is also more helpful for improvement-nonē."
Indeed. Putting other things aside, the 'Heart of the Cards' was something that required practice. Dueling against strong opponents, being able to duel under greater pressure, would more effectively enhance one's skills.
"Okay, thank you, teacher."
After the afternoon tea concluded, You Xuan exited the professor's office.
The Dueling Club, huh… He seemed to recall seeing advertisements for it before. The recruitment event was scheduled for noon tomorrow.
Might as well go take a look.
The next day, the Duel Arena.
It was the classic venue You Xuan had seen countless times in the anime during his previous life, though upon actually arriving, the stadium seemed much larger than it appeared in the animation. The huge square field was surrounded by circular spectator stands. It was already quite lively when he entered.
Today, the academy's Dueling Club had rented the venue specifically for their recruitment event. And since it was a Dueling Club event, dueling was naturally unavoidable.
It wasn't time yet; recruitment hadn't officially started. You Xuan scanned the area and soon spotted familiar faces in one of the sections.
"Big Bro Manjome is truly strong beyond belief!" The two lackeys were engaged in their usual flowery praise.
"Hmph, that's obvious," Manjome retorted, leaning back in his chair with his legs crossed in an arrogant pose.
"With the man called 'Kaiser' gone, the Dueling Club's strength is just so-so now. Mah, whatever, it will naturally reach the next level after I join. I just hope the others don't drag me down then."
Ryo Marufuji, known as Kaiser, was widely recognized as Duel Academy's number one duelist and was once a member of the Dueling Club. However, now in his third year, Ryo Marufuji had increasingly more personal matters to attend to and rarely made appearances anymore.
Manjome was basking in his own self-important atmosphere and the adulation of his lackeys when suddenly, a familiar voice sounded from behind him.
"Little Man, looking good lately, quite confident eh?"
That cheeky voice, could it be…?
Manjome whipped his head around, and what met his eyes was indeed that sunny, handsome smile.
Then, with a plop, his exaggerated movement caused him to tumble right out of his seat.
Immediately, he heard his lackeys' cries of surprise.
"Big Bro! How did you end up under the chair again!?"