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"It's you!?" Manjome abruptly sat back down in his chair, eyes wide as he stared at him. "You're also joining the Dueling Club?"
"Yeah... why so agitated?" You Xuan glanced at him strangely. "Missed me?"
"N-no, not at all!" Manjome then realized his reaction was a bit over the top, merely shot him a fierce glare, and sat back down without saying another word.
Careless. He should have known this bastard would definitely come.
Just seconds ago, Manjome had been thinking about showcasing his skills and dazzling everyone in the Dueling Club. Now, he suddenly felt that the Dueling Club wasn't all that great, joining wouldn't be very interesting, might as well not join…
However, just then, Lackey A sidled up and asked cautiously, "Big Bro, how about we forget it, let's not apply..."
Manjome immediately glared at him. If he backed out now, wouldn't it make him, Manjome, look like a coward?
"No need." Manjome huffed, looking coldly at You Xuan. "Just right. I've been wanting a rematch with you for a while now. The first time, I underestimated you, but the me now is different from before. Next time, I will be the one to win."
"Sure, sure," You Xuan readily agreed.
Actually, it wasn't that Manjome was afraid of him. Ever since accepting the fact that this old schemer had also come to Duel Academy, he had actually been thinking about a rematch to avenge his previous shame. So, whether he joined the Dueling Club or not, the second round was bound to happen; it wasn't that he, Manjome, was scared.
It was just that he had a strange premonition. He sensed that if this person passed the assessment today and joined the Dueling Club – which was highly likely to happen – then from now on, the atmosphere of the Dueling Club might also go astray… This person just had that kind of talent; wherever he went, he would bring a thick cloud of gloom. In a way, he was like a walking plague.
As the saying goes, he who stays near vermillion gets stained red, and he who stays near ink gets stained black. Manjome wasn't sure if he wanted to be in the same environment as this guy; he was afraid of being molded into the exact same shape…
You Xuan didn't know exactly what Manjome was thinking, but seeing the other person's gaze fixed on him the entire time, he knew it definitely had something to do with him. Hmm, the kid has a rebellious streak. Most likely hasn't been beaten enough. Not a big problem, just find a chance to discipline him again.
Manjome might think he was merely careless last time – perhaps that was true, and maybe he had indeed become stronger now. But You Xuan had acquired numerous spirits and greatly expanded his card pool during this period; he was already on a completely different level from when he started. The second round would definitely teach the kid a harsh lesson about the treachery of society.
Scanning the area, You Xuan was somewhat surprised not to see a certain familiar jellyfish-headed individual. Unscientific. How could Jaden not be present for an event involving card games? As the protagonist universally acknowledged to have the biggest dueling addiction across all generations, Jaden Yuki had single-handedly dueled 67 times in the 180-episode TV anime. Clearly, in Jaden's understanding, was someone who didn't duel when there were cards to be played even human?
However, You Xuan immediately thought of it. Oh, Jaden was in Osiris Red, and the Dueling Club didn't recruit from there… Never mind then.
As Duel Academy, which advocated elite education, Osiris Red students were at the bottom of the pecking order. The Dueling Club's recruitment naturally wouldn't give Red dorm students a chance. To join an elite club, one had to at least promote to Yellow dorm to even get the qualification to apply.
"..."
"Alright, now we will begin the Dueling Club's recruitment assessment." An Obelisk Blue upperclassman stepped onto the stage, picking up the microphone.
"Due to time constraints, I'll keep it brief and simply explain the rules. The Dueling Club will arrange some official members to act as gatekeepers. Newcomers can choose any upperclassman to challenge. Of course, our Dueling Club seniors are all battle-hardened elites, so we don't necessarily require you to win the duel, but you need to demonstrate your own style and uniqueness. The judging panel will comprehensively evaluate your performance, with a full score of ten points. As long as your score reaches six points or above, you pass the assessment."
Well, I'll be. There's even a judging panel scoring segment. You Xuan wondered if that meant if you dueled beautifully, the instructors would even turn their chairs around…
"Of course, if a newcomer is outstanding enough to defeat a gatekeeping member, they have the right to skip the scoring segment and pass directly," the host said with a smile. "Furthermore, after joining, they will receive the club's highest priority resource support."
It was well known that dueling was very talent-dependent, so the possibility of a genius newcomer who had just enrolled being able to thrash an old member wasn't excluded; it had happened before. However, generally speaking, it was a rare occurrence. Older students, having undergone systematic training at the academy, would naturally be stronger in both drawing cards and deck construction. Moreover, having spent an extra year at the academy, they would naturally have accumulated more rare cards. So, barring encounters with some exceptionally talented young geniuses, the Dueling Club seniors rarely suffered upsets.
"Well then, without further ado, the assessment officially begins."
You Xuan observed for a bit. Several students went up to challenge in order. Unsurprisingly, none were a match for the gatekeeping members. The first five challengers all lost, but one person managed to scrape by with a six-point score and passed the assessment, joining the Dueling Club.
While watching the matches, You Xuan logged into the Dueling Club's assessment module using a student terminal and looked up information on several of the gatekeeping examiners – such as what honors each examiner had received, which competitions they had won, what activities they had participated in representing the academy or club, their preferred decks and tactical styles, and so on...
Once he had a general idea, You Xuan stood up from his seat. It was about time for him to go up.
"Next up is contestant Fujiki You Xuan, is that right?" the host asked. "So, which upperclassman do you choose to challenge?"
You Xuan walked onto the dueling field and said politely, "I would like to challenge Watanabe Shuichi-senpai. Is that alright?"
As soon as he said this, many gazes focused on him. Watanabe Shuichi was currently the only gatekeeping member who hadn't been challenged yet. The reason was simple: he was one of the Dueling Club's mainstays and also the one with the most impressive resume in the assessment module. This person had been directly admitted to Obelisk Blue as an elite from the middle school division, had represented the academy in competitions, had won two major tournaments, and had been a key player since joining the Dueling Club.
"Interesting." Shuichi, dressed in his blue uniform, stood up from his seat, put on his Duel Disk, and walked down to the field, sizing up You Xuan with interest.
Although he was here at the recruitment event as a gatekeeper, he had fully expected to just be making up numbers and warming the bench today. He was mentally prepared to sit idly all day because, normally, he didn't think anyone would challenge him.
Shuichi smiled and said, "Don't think that by choosing to challenge me, the standard for passing the assessment will be lowered. The judges' scoring criteria won't change."
"I know. No need to go easy on me, Senpai," You Xuan smiled politely.
"Good, courageous. Our Dueling Club needs exactly this kind of bold talent…" Shuichi paused. "...provided they also have the skill."
"Well then, Senpai will know by trying."
"Duel!" x2
"..."
Students around the arena had already started discussing.
"Is this newcomer that confident?"
"Someone actually dared to challenge Shuichi? That's too arrogant."
"Haven't you heard? This year's Gekka Cup..."
"Holy crap, really? This new student is that strong?"
"..."
However, at this moment, throughout the entire arena, perhaps only Manjome, who had just been sitting next to You Xuan, vaguely guessed the direction this duel would take. Right now, Manjome was staring intently at You Xuan, not blinking. Hearing people around him still seriously analyzing how strong Shuichi-senpai was and how impeccable his tactics were, he almost couldn't resist blurting out a rebuttal.
No, none of you realize the severity of the problem!
Just before You Xuan went on stage, Manjome had personally watched him on the terminal, scrolling through the list of several gatekeeping members, especially browsing each person's commonly used decks and ace monsters. And then, the instant he scrolled to this Watanabe Shuichi, Manjome clearly saw this bastard's eyes suddenly light up, as if he had discovered something interesting and couldn't wait to go down and try it out.
Although he didn't know what dirty tricks this schemer was concocting in his mind, Manjome was certain of one thing.
This bastard definitely has a trap!