(Note: I purchased the Chapters from the author so I hope for your support on Patreon.com/flokixy so I can purchase more Chapters 💜)
The dojo's prized treasure, the symbol of the school…
To be honest, this description immediately brought to You Xuan's mind a phrase frequently repeated among card duelists:
"You should abandon all mainstream strategies and come play my invincible Cyber Dragon deck—"
—Otherwise known as the Electronic Dragon.
In the anime, Kaiser Ryo Marufuji, before entering Duel Academy, was already the inheritor of the Cyber Style Dojo's legacy. According to the dojo's master—and later principal of Duel Academy, Samejima—the young Marufuji earned the right to inherit the legacy by impressing the spirit of Cyber End Dragon through sheer persistence.
Well, in the anime's portrayal, "impressing the spirit" essentially meant that Marufuji practiced shuffling so religiously that he eventually developed a godlike ability to always draw three Cyber Dragons and instantly fuse them into Cyber End Dragon, no matter how the deck was shuffled—a skill often referred to as the infamous "502 meta."
Apparently, according to Principal Samejima, mastering such an absurd level of card-drawing luck was considered the pinnacle of achievement…
Aside from Cyber Style, the anime also featured the Telekinetic Style Dojo, whose prized card was Jinzo (known as "Soga" in some fan circles).
So… did our dojo have something like that too?
You Xuan's mind raced through countless rare cards from the same era, speculating what kind of deck might represent their dojo's legacy.
"…To be honest, I once hoped to revive our school's legacy, but alas, my abilities were insufficient. After losing the previous master, the dojo declined steadily, and recently, even fewer people remember the name of our style."
Master Takeuchi continued, taking a deep breath before turning to You Xuan with a serious expression.
"Until now, I've seen your transformation. I had almost given up hope, but now I believe you might be the one I've been waiting for all along.
Perhaps you can inherit this nearly forgotten name and make it great once more."
"So, the deck representing our school's style…?" You Xuan cautiously probed.
In most fantasy stories, this would be the moment where the mentor unveils some legendary artifact or miraculous elixir. You Xuan couldn't help but wonder if this mysterious card would turn out to be a game-breaking powerhouse—or just another dead card that clogged up his hand.
Despite Master Takeuchi's glowing confidence, You Xuan remained skeptical. He understood that the anime's definition of a "powerful" deck often didn't align with reality. His own success stemmed from meticulous deck-building and strategic thinking. If the master handed him some overcosted vanilla monster, there was no way he could carry it.
Master Takeuchi smiled mysteriously. "Have you ever heard of the legendary LV series?"
You Xuan's heart sank at those words.
Oh no.
The LV series consisted of monsters that automatically leveled up each turn they remained on the field. Most of these cards had effects like "send this card to the graveyard to special summon a higher-level LV monster from the deck."
In the GX storyline, the LV series was portrayed as incredibly rare, virtually unobtainable for ordinary duelists. For example, the Armed Dragon LV series was depicted as the Northern Campus of Duel Academy's prized treasure, eventually falling into Manjoume's hands.
But that was anime logic.
The reason You Xuan's heart sank was simple: in real card game terms, the vast majority of LV series cards were utter garbage, barely playable even in casual matches.
"Exactly! Our dojo's 'Silent Style' traces its origins to the battle tactics pioneered by none other than Yugi Mutou, the King of Games! And at the pinnacle of our school's legacy, the card symbolizing our inheritance is this very one—"
With great ceremony, Master Takeuchi revealed the long-sealed card to You Xuan.
"—Silent Magician!"
"Huh?"
You Xuan raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised.
[Silent Magician, Level 4, ATK 1000
Effect: This card cannot be normal summoned. It must be special summoned by tributing a Spellcaster-type monster on the field.
This card gains 500 ATK for each card in your hand. Once per turn, it can negate the activation of a spell card.
If this card is destroyed by battle or an opponent's effect, you can special summon another Silent Magician from your hand or deck.]
In the current meta, this was actually a surprisingly strong card. However, You Xuan remembered that in real life, this version of Silent Magician was a newer reprint. In the early days of the game, it would naturally stand out due to its powerful scaling mechanic.
Still, the Silent archetype dated back to the Dawn of the Duel Monsters era, and this world placed significant emphasis on developing iconic cards used by legendary duelists like Yugi and Kaiba. For instance, years ago in the movies, Kaiba had already printed Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Compared to that, this made sense.
As You Xuan took the card from Master Takeuchi, he thought he glimpsed something out of the corner of his eye.
In the shadowy corner of the hall to his right, there seemed to be a figure. Clad in flowing white robes like freshly fallen snow, the figure exuded an ethereal elegance. Tall and graceful, with long silver hair swaying gently, the presence felt otherworldly.
But when You Xuan turned sharply to look, there was nothing there—only shadows.
"What's wrong?" Master Takeuchi asked, seemingly unaware of anything unusual.
"Nothing…" You Xuan muttered thoughtfully.
Was it a hallucination? Or perhaps…
Master Takeuchi didn't press further, instead saying solemnly, "Take good care of it. This isn't just a rare card. They say this card is inhabited by a spirit."
"A spirit?"
You Xuan glanced at the beautifully illustrated card, then back toward the empty corner.
Still, there was nothing.
"…Maybe. Honestly, I don't know either. Hahaha…"
Master Takeuchi scratched his head awkwardly.
"I've only heard rumors—I've never seen it myself. The previous master said not everyone can see spirits… Who knows? Just take it as true, haha…"
You Xuan inspected the card carefully but couldn't sense anything unusual. Considering the peculiarities of this world, however, he decided it was better to err on the side of caution when it came to legends and rumors.
If this truly was a spirit-inhabited card, its nature would be entirely different.
For ordinary cards, he'd only consider practicality, strength, and whether carrying it would clog his hand. But spirits were another matter altogether.
In a world where supernatural abilities often stemmed from ancient artifacts or divine relics, duel monster spirits accounted for roughly eighty percent of extraordinary phenomena. For ordinary duelists, encountering spirits was one of the simplest ways to step into the realm of the extraordinary.
For example, in the anime, Jaden Yuki relied heavily on spirits before awakening his Overlord powers. Early on, he had the Winged Kuriboh gifted by Yugi, which saved him multiple times during dark duels or when opponents tried dirty tricks outside the rules. Later, he gained Elemental Hero Neos (nicknamed "Ultraman"), who could leap out of the deck to fight villains directly—even flying into outer space to destroy satellites and save the world.
In this world, even if a spirit card wasn't particularly useful in duels, it was still essential for survival. In a place teeming with cheat powers and godlike beings, even a weak card with a spirit was indispensable.
"The Duel Academy entrance exam is next week, right?"
Master Takeuchi abruptly changed the subject, walking over to a nearby table.
He picked up a small card box.
"I heard from some students that you've been asking around for certain cards, offering to buy them. Some cards are hard to find these days, but… after all these years, I've managed to gather a few connections."
He opened the box and handed it to You Xuan.
"…I couldn't get everything you asked for, but I managed to secure these before the exam. See if they'll be useful. If not, you'll have to rely on the academy's internal channels once you're accepted."
Before even looking at the rest, You Xuan noticed the top card in the box immediately—it was none other than Jinzo - Psychic Shocker, commonly known as Jinzo Soga, one of the cards he had been searching for since the beginning.
"Ah… Master, you even went out of your way to find these…"
You Xuan took the box and stuffed it into his pocket.
"…This is too kind of you. Are you sure this is appropriate?"
Master Takeuchi gave him a flat stare.
If it's so inappropriate, why don't you take it out of your pocket?
"Do you think this is free?" the master retorted. "This is an investment. Remember, once you're accepted into the academy and start making money, you'll repay me at market price.
Also…"
The master took a deep breath, his tone serious.
"To be honest, not a single student from our dojo has ever passed the Duel Academy entrance exam. But this time… failure is not an option. Understand?"
"Got it," You Xuan replied confidently.
It's just an exam. How hard could it be?