Fusion is the noblest form of summoning!.

Chapter 763 Preliminary Selection (4K)

The warm-up matches held on Duel Academy Island are the "preliminary rounds" before the open qualifiers, or the preliminary rounds of the preliminary rounds.

The school partnered with Haima Corporation to set up dueling arenas throughout the academy island, providing a platform for every applicant to compete.

Therefore, some teachers are occasionally responsible for maintaining the dueling arena, so some younger students didn't initially expect to encounter teachers.

Subconsciously, they always believed that teachers were just responsible for doing their jobs.

Students are the real participants.

But the KC Cup is different.

Before the actual warm-up began, most of the students seemed very relaxed.

After all, judging from the prior reading of the rules, at least a million duelists could participate in the "warm-up" phase. Their Duel Academy should be able to get at least a third of them in, if not half.

One-third is already a very high advancement rate. As long as the students' grades aren't too bad, they all think they should be able to advance.

But now, things seem to be going wrong.

So... teachers from the Duel Academy are also participating. So, the qualification for the competition here isn't just given to students. So... they have to compete against their own teachers!?
But that's exactly what should be done!
As a duelist, of course I want to participate in this unprecedented, largest dueling tournament in history!

Even if they are teachers, so what? In the end, they all share one common identity in this competition—duelists!
But this is going to be tough on the students at Duel Academy.

Despite Jaden Yuki's crushing defeat of the legendary duelist Professor Chronos, who was considered invincible, right after entering the school, many others have since successfully defeated the teacher.

But this is not the “real” and “average” situation.

The truth is, even Professor Chronos wouldn't actually use his full strength against his students. Professor Kabayama, whom Kenzan defeated, also used a deck disguised as his true identity.

This is Duel Academy!
The instructors here are not just randomly selected; they are duelists carefully chosen by the Seahorse Corporation, and each of them is outstanding.

Any student who dares to underestimate them will be put under immense pressure by them.

for example.

The dormitory head and health teacher of the Obelisk Blue girls' dormitory, Ayukawa Emi, is someone everyone likes to tease and joke with.

She rarely participates in duels and mostly focuses on healing.

Because of the increased number of interdimensional trips, her workload as a health teacher has increased significantly compared to previous years, so she has become quite familiar with many of the more capable students.

Everyone was quite puzzled when they saw the school nurse come on stage, wondering if she could really compete since teachers don't usually fight. They thought she was just there for the fun of it.

Even more extreme, upon seeing that their opponent was Ms. Ayukawa Emi, they immediately started grinning and saying they wouldn't let the teacher embarrass herself.

Ms. Ayukawa smiled gently and did not refute.

"That first-year student is going to be in trouble." In the small group of the Fusion Club, since Hikaru Amagi and Joume didn't need to participate in the warm-up or preliminary rounds and could participate in the official competition later, the club members who weren't in a hurry to participate in the competition just stood outside watching.

The warm-up is a small elimination tournament. After registering, contestants will be randomly matched to duel with others. A winner can only duel with another winner, and a loser can only duel with another loser. If you successfully achieve five wins, you can receive a "KC Medal" from the employees of Haima Corporation. The duels will last for about one or two months.

However, this is just a preliminary estimate. Haima will perform real-time calculations and determine the optimal values. In the end, it may not necessarily be 5 wins.

After all, before the "KC" Cup officially started, even Kaiba himself didn't know how many duelists would participate in the tournament, and what kind of selection process would be most reasonable from so many participants.

In any case, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the second round of selection will take place next month or the month after next.

Hikaru Amagi didn't know why it was taking so long.

But it would be nice if it could bring together all the duelists in the world and make it a festive occasion.

"I remember you. You're usually the most disobedient one." Ms. Ayukawa recognized her rival, her face still beaming with a bright smile.

"Hehe..." The student smiled a little shyly.

He was determined to make a good impression on his teacher.

but……

Ayukawa didn't want him to show off.

"My turn. Normal Summon, Rank 4, Fallen Angel Nurse - Refikul."

Refikul resembles a blindfolded, winged, bandaged purple-haired angel monster; she is a level 4, dark-attribute angel.

"Ah, it's over." Asuka exclaimed in surprise in a low voice the moment she saw the card appear.

"it's over?"

"Refiku, I remember this card's effect is that as long as it's on the field, the opponent's Life Points recovery effect will become an effect that deals damage to the opponent's Life Points."

Several students from the Fusion Club couldn't help but start discussing what Asuka had said.

They were a little puzzled, wondering why Asuka-senpai would say such a thing.

Asuka Tenjouin, the younger sister of Fubuki Tenjouin, is a famous idol at Duel Academy and the top female student at Duel Academy. She has participated in sparring duels with Synchro Dimension and is also a famous duelist in the GX tournament.

However, Asuka doesn't have much of a presence in the Fusion Club on weekdays. During this time, she mainly travels between various clubs at Duel Academy. At first, the students in the Fusion Club thought she was the "diplomatic" person in charge of the Fusion Club, but later they found out that this was not the case.

Asuka-senpai seems to have some troubles of her own, and these troubles and problems force her to visit and learn from various activity clubs.

I don’t know what it is for.

In any case, Asuka-senpai, as one of the veteran members of the Fusion Club, is definitely not lacking in dueling skills.

Moreover, she herself seems to be quite familiar with Ayukawa-sensei.

This is true.

First of all, Asuka is the top female student, so she is naturally very familiar with Ayukawa-sensei, who is the head of the girls' dormitory.

Secondly, because of the Tenjouin Fubuki incident and the Fusion Club incident, Asuka frequently went to and from the infirmary and almost always saw Ayukawa-sensei, so they spent a lot of time together. She even learned a little bit of spirit healing magic under these circumstances.

Finally, and most importantly, Ayukawa Emi has a personal preference that only Tenjōin Asuka can help with—she's a fan of Tenjōin Fubuki.

She is also the president of the Tenjōin Fubuki fan club.

"Cover two cards, end the turn."

"Huh, is it over already? Teacher? This fallen angel's attack power is only 1400, right?"

It's not nearly enough!

Asuka listened to the voices of her classmates on stage and couldn't help but sigh.

"What deck does Ayukawa-sensei use?" The students from the Fusion Club couldn't help but discuss curiously among themselves.

“Generally speaking, no one would put too many life recovery cards in their deck.” Manjoume raised his hand, pointing out a point.

“By now, everyone knows that as long as you have life points, it doesn’t matter,” Daichi Misawa added casually. “Therefore, it’s unreasonable to expect a Fallen Angel Nurse - Refikul - to keep your opponent from using healing cards.”

"So, tactically... it's quite clear." Manjoume shrugged.

Poisonous Milk Deck!

Yes. Ayukawa-sensei's deck is the "Drug Side Effects" deck!
Because this world only has 4000 life points, this deck is more dangerous and harder to defend against.

When the two "gift cards" were turned over, the participating students looked bewildered.

When his health points reached zero, his face showed panic.

What? !

I lost without doing anything?
Yes. This is the KC Cup.

Even in the preliminaries, if you're unlucky, you'll encounter all sorts of incredible opponents who can end the match in an instant before you even understand what's happening.

It looks familiar!

This kind of thing happens all over the world!

maybe!
At this moment!

Somewhere in the world, a duelist will shout at the top of his lungs—

"Aaaaaah!!! Why is that legendary Joey Wheeler sitting right in front of me?! Aaaaaaahh ...

He wanted an autograph, not to duel with this legend on stage!

What I need is a spot in the competition!!!
While such bloody scenes don't occur at Duel Academy, smaller-scale incidents are actually more frequent.

Because this is the Duel Academy.

The difference between teachers and students is too obvious.

The teachers who participate in the duels here know the students who are competing here very well.

Many students modified their decks under the guidance of their teachers.

Many students who didn't understand the effects and applications of the cards gained clarity through the advice and guidance of the teachers here.

Even more so, many students obtained their cards from the Duel Academy's teachers—for example, the Ancient Machine series cards used by the Fusion Club members were all pre-built cards obtained from Professor Chronos.

Similarly, some students who are deemed talented and promising by their teachers may receive financial assistance from teachers during their school years.

but now!
Before they know it, these teachers will appear in front of them!
What students find even more unbearable is... well, the teacher knows the students' decks, but the students may not know what decks the teacher is using.

This tiny difference is enough to cost many students their "life".

Intelligence is a crucial element of the duel!
This alone caused almost all the students who clashed with the teacher to be wiped out, and the students' winning rate against the teacher plummeted to around 15%.

This is because the number of teachers is far less than the number of students, and professors and students from other branch campuses have not yet arrived.

When teachers and professors from other colleges arrive, the gap will likely widen even further.

"Won't this affect your mindset?" Misawa Daichi asked, somewhat reluctantly.

Although he was not invited to become one of the three special duelists, Daichi Misawa is certainly not worried about qualifying.

There are still many matches to come. It would be a real shame if encountering a teacher or losing the first duel affected your mindset and caused you to make mistakes.

“Master had foreseen this.” Manjoume rarely revealed some inside information. “He… uh, he said that useless people who lack talent and perseverance would only be wasting the Seahorse Company’s resources by participating in the KC Cup, and they should just get out of there as soon as possible.”

"Uh, ha... ha, that's really something like what President Kaiba said." A bead of cold sweat trickled down Misawa Daichi's forehead.

“I think this is a good thing.” Amagi Hikaru thought from another perspective. “Teachers can’t always give it their all, so it’s good to have this opportunity to broaden everyone’s horizons. It’s a good way to increase their knowledge.”

For example...

It turns out that Ayukawa-sensei wasn't simply using a deck of cards with side effects from medication. Amagi Hikaru discovered that the fallen angel nurse actually possessed the radiance of a fallen angel.

So she was also a chosen one of the fallen angels—

When did you become one?
The warm-up will continue for a long time, so there's no need to rush. Don't get overly arrogant like Yin Liuxing did before, only to be thrashed by reality. Instead, prepare well and proceed steadily. This is clearly the right choice.

of course.

Sometimes, if you're unlucky enough to bump into a senior colleague, then you're truly useless.

In the afternoon, Misawa Daichi, who couldn't resist the urge to play, also randomly encountered an opponent. When his opponent saw him, the expression of utter despair was palpable.

Duelists from other regions and cities may not be very familiar with the area because they are not nearby or have not had any duels before, so they may not have much of a reaction before the duel.

Duelists, huh!

Let's fight first and talk later!

But in a small society like Duel Academy, which is large but has very simple and pure interpersonal relationships, things are different.

While Misawa Daichi was teased by Amagi Hikaru and was "captured" in the Xyz Dimension and Synchro Dimension, the fact that he was noticed by Despair God and Red Dragon is itself a kind of "qualification of a strong person".

In short, running into him was extremely unlucky.

However, Amagi Hikaru thought it was pretty good—because after the initial shock and panic, this classmate quickly adjusted his mindset and prepared to fight Misawa.

This is actually quite interesting.

After all, with the passage of time, there might be duelists who are not recorded in the original work but are equally powerful.

Just like how a new boss can appear out of nowhere in the Bitterlands, the same is true in the world of Duelists.

Many truly strong individuals are actually very unknown.

After visiting for a while, Hikaru Amagi found it interesting and felt a strong urge to participate, but he felt that he couldn't use his "special selection qualification" to participate in the competition and affect other people's winning rate, so he didn't do it.

Imagine, it feels even more terrifying than Mr. Jonouchi frying fish.

After all, whether he loses or not doesn't affect the outcome.

“It’s pointless—” Tiera said even more directly.

She had expected that this global tournament selection process would involve some interesting duels, but the actual result left her very disappointed.

But that's actually normal.

This competition is open to even young children who have just learned to duel. The average quality of duelists in this dueling academy is actually quite high; if Amagi had gone to other warm-up venues, the competition would have been far less impressive.

"Tsk..." Although Tiera's research has made progress, it will still take some time before she can fully utilize the power of the Marked Dragon.

But she didn't want to stay here and watch these repetitive duels.

“Oh, right, Hikaru Amagi.” Tiera suddenly called out to Hikaru Amagi.

"Hmm. What's wrong?" Hikaru Amagi could tell that she was starting to get annoyed.

"Since your teacher hasn't replied yet, why don't you go to some dimensions that are influenced by the dragon's mark?"

After returning from the unfinished world, Hikaru Amagi sent many messages to Daitokuji-sensei using the Book of Emeralds, but all of them went unanswered. He also contacted the Magic Academy, but they knew nothing about it either.

Hikaru Amagi later went to the magician's realm again, wanting to ask the Dark Magician directly, but she didn't see the Dark Magician. Instead, she was pestered by a bored dark magician girl to play a game of cards.

Hikaru Amagi pondered for a moment.

Makes sense.

Just like what Manjou said, privileges should be used when they are due.

Since I don't need to participate in the preliminary selection or the initial elimination rounds, what am I doing here?

Hikaru Amagi took out the Book of Emeralds and flipped through it.

"Oh--"

I've wanted to go for ages!

Next stop, the Land of Gold!
　4K4K
　　
　
(End of this chapter)