"Thanks again, Aunt Tome!"
"Hehe, not a problem at all!"
A few days later, Hikaru was lugging a massive box back from the Duel Academy shop, arms trembling under its weight. Aunt Tome, the kindly lady who ran the place, had helped him order a special shipment.
The box was almost half his height. Students glanced curiously, but the moment they spotted the "Plant Materials" label, they quickly lost interest.
Once back in his dorm, Hikaru wiped the sweat off his brow and cracked the box open.
He'd asked Aunt Tome to help him place a special order. As the only person on the island who could handle external requests, Tome was everyone's go-to for card packs, gear—or, in this case, alchemy ingredients.
Inside the box: packets of seeds, preserved specimens, and several potted live plants—all sundews.
"The materials you wanted for your next trial, Master?" came the voice of the alchemist spirit floating nearby.
"Yeah," Hikaru nodded.
"Ehhh, plants?" the alchemist groaned, his tone sour. "Ugh, I hate potioncraft. Healing brews, poisons… none of it has anything to do with gold!"
Hikaru shrugged. He wasn't planning to make potions anyway.
Sundews were cheap—like, pocket change cheap. And thanks to his scholarship money, he could afford to buy a whole crate of them.
He didn't care much about food or luxury.As long as he could eat and stay alive, he was fine.
So, he'd sunk half his reward money into this experiment.
This was all about understanding the true limits of Super Polymerization.
Two months of dueling had changed him. His body felt more resilient. Even using the "Fusion Pencil" no longer left him weak.
Now he wanted to know—Could he direct Super Poly's power?
He already knew it used duel energy to combine cards, even creating new ones when the energy was high enough. But—
Was it random? Or controllable?
Hikaru placed several sundew petals into a mortar, gently grinding them down before transferring the mash to a small crucible.
Next: a preserved lizard tail—ground and added in the same way.Stirred. Heated.
The steps were precise. Alchemical.
Then he grabbed a normal monster card—a blank one gifted to him by the alchemist spirit.
He set it on a wire mesh over the crucible.Then reached for his necklace.
Clutching the pendant tightly, he silently activated it.
In an instant, his strength left him. He nearly collapsed.
A terrifying purple light exploded across the room, crackling with thunder, bathing everything in blinding energy. And then—just as quickly—it vanished, fading into a heavy silence.
Cough! Coughcough—Acrid smoke stung his throat. Hikaru doubled over, wheezing.
He hadn't opened the windows—no way he'd risk someone noticing.But damn. Maybe it was time he had a dedicated alchemy lab.
He chugged some water and slumped into a chair, legs dead.
"Such... such overwhelming power! Master, what in the world was that?""It's better you don't ask, Flame Sword.""I've seen things like it in my own dimension... but never this strong," Black Flame Knight muttered.
His three spirit partners had been frozen with fear. Now, seeing that Hikaru was still alive, they dared speak again.
"You'll see eventually," Hikaru said, still panting. "But right now, I'm not sure this one's ready for battle."
He staggered over to the crucible.
The ingredients were gone—completely disintegrated.The card on the mesh still glowed faintly, radiating heat even from a distance.
He grabbed it with tongs—szzzzt!—metal squealing from the temperature.Then flipped it over.
The card's art was warped.The left side now showed plant-like structures, while the right retained the original blank design, now veined with twisted markings.
The name was only half-formed.He could barely make out the kanji for "Sundew."And there was no effect text at all.
The fusion hadn't worked.
His goal had been to create Predaplant Drosera Rafflesia, a low-level monster from the same archetype as Predaplant Verte Anaconda.
Its real-life effect allowed fusion using itself and a card from the hand or a "Predaplant"-marked monster from the field—cheap to produce, great for combos.
But clearly... this one had failed.
Well—maybe not a total failure.The card had partially transformed. That counted for something.
Maybe he was still missing a key component?
He began prepping for another attempt.
"Master, I must insist," the alchemist said gravely. "Your body won't withstand a second trial today. You'll likely faint on the spot."
"Moreover, the failure may have been due to your lack of resonance with the card. Without the proper spiritual connection, the alchemy can't complete."
Made sense.
Even Hikaru had to admit: the guy did know his stuff.
So he packed the remaining materials away for now.
Still, if what the alchemist said was true—Then by pushing himself through intense duels, or even Shadow Duels like the one with White Crystal, he might be able to build up resonance faster.
Banner had said his "spiritual attunement" was maybe 4 stars right now.If he could raise that…
Then maybe—just maybe—he could start crafting cards at will.
Though honestly, encounters like the one with White Crystal were rare—
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Someone pounded on the dorm door.
"Hikaru! You in there!?" came Professor Hayama's voice.
"I'm here!"
"The principal wants to see you. Something about the Phan...something Lords…?"
—Wait. The Sacred Beasts!?
Nevermind. Not so rare after all.