*ESL Author here*
The morning heat warms my back as I keep running toward the duel academy entrance test location, hoping I'm not late and end up getting an automatic failure.
Damn the being that sent me to this world on the exact day of the practical test. Basically a shameless "good luck, buddy" move.
I didn't even have time to wallow in my sad reflections about being kidnapped to another world before switching to marathon mode.
A huge surprise, considering that just moments ago I was in my room, enjoying the afternoon grinding ranked matches in Master Duel, my Dogmatika deck suffering horribly to climb to Master rank against those cursed meta slaves.
It was exhausting, and honestly, it took longer than I expected to pull it off.
Right in the last match I needed. I couldn't even finish laughing after watching the Swordsoul guy surrender when—boom—a bright light shot out of my monitor and ruined my day off.
Now I'm in another world, guided by childish card spirits to help save the dimension from ancient darkness or some cliché nonsense like that.
"We're almost there," I hear the feminine voice of my duel spirit, also known as the cutest and most popular one in the game, the Dark Magician Girl.
The one and only, fanservice outfit and all.
I have to deal with the fact that she's now tied to my soul (Ka?), making me feel like a schizophrenic watching my hot, imaginary wife follow me everywhere.
Not exactly healthy, I assume.
"Look, it's right there!" Her sudden stop catches me off guard, and my face passes through her ghostly body, giving me a view of a massive building with the Kaiba Corp (KC) symbol plastered boldly on the wall.
I stop and catch my breath, regaining my strength before walking inside toward the receptionist, who raises an eyebrow in my direction.
Probably because I look like a homeless guy. But I didn't exactly have time to put on decent clothes, so…
What can I do? I'm a sedentary guy who plays on the computer all day.
"Alister Ironwood, hmm… Alright, your registration is confirmed. You can go through that door," she says with a smile, handing back my ID documents and taking my bags to return them after the final test.
Here we go.
New name, new appearance, new world.
A lot to get used to.
My dark eyes gleam in contrast to my short, whitish hair, giving me a gloomier look than I'd like. If you asked me, I'd swear I'd taken over the body of some mid-tier seasonal villain.
Then again, my look wasn't that groundbreaking in a world full of people with the most extravagant hairstyles imaginable. So much so that most didn't even notice my arrival, too focused on the duels happening in the testing arenas.
I lean against the wall, organizing and reading my deck while waiting to be called. Now I can finally sort out my thoughts in peace.
Why am I here again? Oh right, the darkness is coming and all that.
The commands I received in my mind were simple: "You're the only one who can save everyone. It'll be dangerous, but it's also your best shot at getting back home."
…No further explanations. Nothing to guide me or info about what happened in my old world. Just me and my flying waifu guides.
Thinking about it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, like I'm some puppet for a random god.
I smirk a little as I feel several presences in my mind, tossing positive vibes into my head/soul. All the female spirits from my deck can sense my mood swings—a side effect of being their "owner," I guess.
Which sounds pretty wrong now that I think about it. But it's still true.
Having so many different supernatural beings tied to me. I finally get how Minato Arisato must've felt.
It's comforting and terrifying at the same time.
Internally debating my strategies and recalling fanfics I've read, I decide I don't want trouble with the characters (Kaiba) without a way to defend or explain myself. So I'll keep a lot under wraps for emergencies, pretending to be just another duelist and not a dimensional alien.
My starter deck's already been picked. Actually, it was the only deck available when I got here. A simple, fun deck focused on fusion with unique combos and, most importantly…
Full of cute female spirits.
…After all, if I'm gonna have pseudo-ghosts tied to my soul, they might as well be gorgeous girls. Right?
…Everyone agrees that beating up scary monsters with beauties is what Yu-Gi-Oh! is all about, don't they?
Back to business. I've already noticed a lot of the show's characters are here.
No surprise there. Alexis and Zane are up on the high stage watching everything, Chazz and his nameless goons are in the stands laughing at some random who lost to an instructor thanks to a mis-timed Megamorph, and Syrus and Bastion are in the bleachers ahead of me.
Hmm… I haven't seen the protagonist with the Kuriboh hair yet.
Weird… Maybe I got here earlier than I thought? But I double-checked the time and my registration, there's no way—
"Alister Ironwood, please head to duel field number four!"
Oh, it's my turn already. Fine, I'll deal with the protagonist later.
Now, let's see if these holograms live up to the anime hype.
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(GENERAL POV)
Many students knew Alister was number two in the written test, so almost everyone turned their attention to field number four, expecting some fun action.
Sighs escaped when they saw his opponent was none other than Vellian Crowler himself, catching the attention of certain "characters."
Alexis was annoyed at the potential unfairness, while Zane beside her observed the candidate analytically, not liking how unfocused Alister seemed.
Loud chatter echoed everywhere. Most believed the newbie would get crushed by a high-caliber pro and that it'd be a good show to watch.
"Alright, test time!" With that shout, Crowler grinned while eyeing his opponent. To him, it was a huge disappointment that a studious future student forgot something as crucial as punctuality.
That's unacceptable at this academy, so he came to teach him personally, using his own deck just to challenge the kid and see what he's made of.
But the doctor doesn't want to be unfair. If the candidate impresses him, he'll still pass even after the inevitable loss.
"Alister Ironwood. I, Doctor Vellian Crowler, head of the duel academy's techniques department, will be conducting your test today."
"Huh? Oh—yes, it's an honor, Mr. Crowler," the teen replied, paying way too much attention to his duel disk like he'd never seen one before.
"Call me Doctor Crowler," the blond professor said impatiently, waiting for his opponent to get the hang of the basic device.
"I don't have all day, kid," Vellian complained, staring at Alister and snapping him back to reality.
"Right, we can start," the teen answered, hurriedly getting into position with a smile, picturing himself striking anime poses.
"Very well, then let's duel!" Crowler shouted, grabbing five cards from the disk in his jacket. Alister froze for a second in shock before doing the same.
"That came outta nowhere," the kid whispered, trying not to laugh at how surreal this was.
Vellian Crowler – 4000 LP
Alister Ironwood – 4000 LP
"Eh? Oh, I'll start," Alister said, drawing another card and grinning as he eyed his hand, imagining all the possible combos.
"I summon Berry Magician in attack mode and activate her effect!" the boy shouted, his voice tinged with visible awkwardness. It was tough to handle the secondhand embarrassment with so many people watching.
Berry Magician Girl – 1* 400/400 [Spellcaster/Effect]
His eyes widened for a moment as he saw the realistic hologram of the magician waving her toy staff menacingly. A bunch of girls in the crowd smiled at the monster's cuteness.
"Thanks to her, I can add Chocolate Magician Girl to my hand," Alister said, showing the card to his opponent and chuckling at Crowler's unimpressed reaction before continuing. "I'll end my turn by setting one card face-down."
"Hahaha, look at that, Chazz. The idiot left that weak monster in attack mode," Topher mocked. "That guy's toast."
"Shut up," Princeton snapped, watching the duel with curiosity. Something itched in his mind, like that monster's name felt way too familiar.
"If that's all you've got, you can ., then you can kiss your spot in this academy goodbye," the professor said, drawing another card and wasting no time placing two cards on the field.
"I set two cards face-down and then activate my spell card, Heavy Storm!" A fierce gust swept across the field, making the doctor laugh at his opponent's startled expression. "With this, I destroy all spell and trap cards on the field. Say goodbye to that little defense back there!"
Shaking off the shock from the sudden wind, Alister kept a neutral face as he watched his Black Renewal get destroyed.
"Well, well, nothing to say? Fine, I'll keep going," Crowler said as the field darkened and two monsters appeared on his side. "See, young man, thanks to my spell destroying my two Wicked Statues, I get two Wicked Tokens on my side of the field."
Wicked Token – 4* 1000/1000 [Fiend/Normal]
"Thinking of surrendering yet?" the blond taunted with a smug laugh, surprised when Alister didn't react. "Silent, huh? Let's see if you ignore this."
"Now, I sacrifice my two tokens to summon… Ancient Gear Golem!" The ground seemed to shake as the massive machine appeared, making the little magician cower in fear.
Ancient Gear Golem – 8* 3000/3000 [Machine/Effect]
Comments started pouring in about Alister, even the characters he liked doubting his chances against such a "legendary" card.
But it didn't faze him one bit.
"Cool toy you've got there," Ironwood grinned, watching Crowler's face twist into a bizarre, angry grimace.
"Toy?! Haha, let's see if you play with this. Ancient Golem, show that kid what fun's like with a mechanized punch!" With the sound of grinding gears, the giant machine lunged forward, fist ready to turn the poor Berry hologram into paste.
But to everyone's shock, it stopped just before hitting.
"What happened!?" Alexis exclaimed.
"I activate my Berry Magician's effect. When she's targeted for an attack, I can switch her to defense mode and summon a Magician Girl monster straight from my deck," Alister explained.
"What!?" the professor yelped, pulling a hilarious face.
"And I choose Apple Magician Girl!" In a flash of light, a winged girl in red clothes appeared on the field, surprising Alister by blowing him a kiss before glaring angrily at her opponent.
Apple Magician Girl– 3* 1200/800 [Spellcaster/Effect]
"Weird… That monster blew him a kiss, didn't it?" a brown-haired girl said, totally engrossed in the duel.
"Haha, in case you didn't notice, your monster's still no match for mine," Crowler said with a big grin. "At least it was a decent rookie try. Now, Ancient Golem, destroy that new monster with a mechanized strike!"
Our protagonist smirked, seeing victory within reach.
"Wrong, because now I activate my Apple Magician's effect," Alister shouted, placing another magician on the field. "When she's targeted for an attack, I can summon my Chocolate Magician Girl from my hand and redirect your attack to her."
Chocolate Magician Girl– 4* 1600/1000 [Spellcaster/Effect]
"Doesn't matter. None of those monsters have enough attack to stop my Golem!" the professor yelled, before feeling a tremor on his side of the field.
"Wrong again, because on top of redirecting the attack, Apple Magician also cuts the attacking monster's attack points in HALF!" With that confirmed, Crowler realized his monster had shrunk to half its original size.
"Oh no…" The shock knocked the professor back as he watched his monster self-destruct against the green-haired magician.
Vellian Crowler – 3900 LP
"?!" Everyone was stunned to see a student not only swarm the field with monsters so fast but also take down a legendary monster on par with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"That's why you don't judge a book by its cover," Alexis said, smiling as the elitist Crowler got outplayed by such a slick combo. Zane, meanwhile, stayed quiet, pondering how Alister was clearly in control of the match.
Could he have read his opponent from the start? If so, this kid might be a lot more than he seems.
"Got any more moves, Doctor?" Alister held back a laugh as he saw his spirits sticking their tongues out at Vellian. Lucky for him, only psychic duelists could see that.
"Ahh, well, let's see here," sweat dripped from Vellian's forehead as he looked at his hand. He really had nothing left—not even his Monster Reborn could save him now.
"Damn this effect blocking my special summon" Crowler grumbled in his head, nearly biting his clothes in frustration.
"…I end my turn," he said defeatedly, and the crowd's noise spiked. It was a clear admission of defeat from a pro duelist to a teenage newbie.
"Well, guess it's my turn then," Alister said, drawing a card and raising an eyebrow when he saw who showed up in his hand. He already knew what to do.
"I sacrifice Berry Magician to summon my ace monster," he declared, drawing everyone's rapt attention—and shocking them even more with who appeared on the field. "I summon the most adorable and powerful card in my deck—come on out, Dark Magician Girl!"
Dark Magician Girl – 6* 2000/1700 [Spellcaster/Effect]
"WOOOOOOOW!" Cheers erupted as nearly every guy in the crowd grinned ear to ear, thrilled to see one of the game's most popular and rare magicians in person.
Alister could only sigh at the reaction. He kinda got it, but it was still over the top. Good thing they couldn't see her waving to the audience.
"I knew I'd heard those names before!" Chazz shouted, clenching his fist. For a freshman to have a rare card the King of Games himself used—it'd definitely be a problem for his reign as the top duelist among the newbies.
"She's so pretty," Syrus said dreamily, watching one of his favorite cards float in the arena.
"Not just that, she's Crowler's final nail in the coffin," Bastion replied cheerfully. Analyzing this match showed him he'd find plenty of fun surprises at the academy.
In the end, Alister won easily, with the finishing blow coming from a purple bolt from the Dark Magician Girl herself.
Vellian Crowler – 0000 LP
Alister Ironwood > Winner
With that, Alister could finally relax, knowing his entry was secured. He also liked the feeling of showing off while dueling—maybe he could do even better with his other support cards.
And with the other decks he could build… Now that got him excited.
As he prepared to leave the area, one last announcement yanked him out of his comfort zone.
This, he didn't expect.
"Jay Yuki, please head to duel field number four!"