"Come on, come on, card draw time!"
Inside the Fusion Club, Syrus Truesdale, Jaden Yuki, Bastion Misawa, and their crew huddled around a table. Serena sat close beside Atticus Rhodes, eyes gleaming, soaking up the energy.
"Whoever pulls the first rare card today treats us all!" Jaden shot his hand in the air with a big grin. "No backing out!"
"Haha! Guess I better warm up my wallet!" Atticus flipped his bangs with cocky flair. "Don't judge by appearances—I was once called the King of Duel Academy! My draw game was legendary!"
"Really?" Alexis raised an eyebrow, voice smooth with sass. "Zane told me you've never pulled an egg sandwich. I've landed three in a row."
At Duel Academy, even the lunch bread was randomized. Inside each bun: a mystery filling. The rarest fillings—like the coveted egg sandwich—were seen as proof of a duelist's luck. It wasn't just food. It was ritual.
Jaden? Chazz? They'd both done the sandwich lottery before.
"What?! Alexis, you've gotten that strong?!" Atticus gasped in mock horror.
Other students, still hanging out in the clubroom, hooted and clapped. It was chaos in the best way.
Zane—still known to his friends as Ryo—leaned back silently, amused. But Syrus? Syrus didn't have much hope in his luck.
And he had history to back it up.
Even back before topping his year, Syrus never pulled anything special from the lunchline gamble. Always chestnut buns. Post-victory, same story. Nothing rare.
He'd even gone down to Domino once to grab boosters from some local shop—only to get chewed out later by Crowler and Zane. "That place only stocks cards leftover from the alternate dimension," they said. "No real rares."
And even during casual duels with the club, his luck was trash. No big combos. Sometimes even flat losses. Just for fun, yeah—but without his supernatural edge kicking in, his unlucky nature always made itself known.
That's why he turned to alchemy, custom card crafting, and buying singles straight out. At least that way, he didn't have to get his hopes crushed.
Amid laughter, the group laid out their booster packs in a neat stack. Each carefully pinched the tops, slid scissors through the edges, and cut them clean.
Syrus opened his first.
First card—Normal Monster.
Flame Manipulator.
He twitched.
"Sorry, my liege," came the sheepish mental echo of Flame Swordsman.
"Haha! What are you apologizing for?" Tierra giggled, just watching the drama unfold. "If anything, pulling your Fusion material first means you should feel honored!"
Flame Swordsman coughed into his flaming glove.
"Oh, Flame Manipulator, huh?" Bastion peeked at his own card. Another Normal Monster—pretty much the norm in this world. "Fusion material for Flame Swordsman. Honestly, Syrus, that's not a bad start."
Grumbling continued. First five packs down. Twenty-five cards total. Mostly Normal Monsters, a couple of Trap cards—green, purple—nothing that would ever make a decklist.
Just when the gloom was thick—
"YES!!"
Alexis suddenly threw both hands in the air.
Everyone froze, staring.
Eyes closed, she practically radiated with victory. Atticus, scoundrel brother as always, immediately snapped two quick pictures on his camera.
"Hmm… these might sell for a decent price to Alexis's fan club."
"BROTHER!" she shoved him hard. Then, realizing everyone was watching, turned pink, lowered her head, coughed, and muttered, "I pulled something super rare."
She flipped it up.
A gleaming blue card—Ritual Monster.
Cyber Angel - Natasha.
Everyone gawked.
Did the match just end before it started?
"Whoa. A Cyber Angel card, of all things," Bastion muttered, impressed.
"That's sick, Alexis!" Jaden whooped. "And the effect looks crazy! That thing's broken!"
It really was.
Syrus knew the card. Healing, battle disruption, monster control—all rolled into one. In this world? That thing was borderline busted.
And a duelist like Alexis? She didn't worry about "dead hands" or overthinking Ritual summoning conditions. She just played bold.
"Man, your luck's unreal," Syrus muttered.
"See that? That's the Tenjoin touch!" Atticus puffed up like he had pulled it. "Dinner's on me! I insist!"
Pulling a rare card in this world was basically a free meal ticket. One card was worth more than a dozen dinners.
With Alexis hitting gold, everyone loosened up again. The draw frenzy continued.
Jaden? Of course, he pulled a rare. Chazz too—though maybe not useful, it still sparkled. Even Bastion pulled something spicy and stashed it right away, coughing and muttering about "saving it for an exam duel against Syrus."
"What… the hell?" Tierra muttered, frowning now.
The fun-loving glint in her eye vanished.
She'd thought Syrus was just unlucky in a funny way—but now? It was practically a curse. She got curious. Attached her puppet strings to Syrus's hands, pulled a few packs with him.
No difference.
Garbage pulls, through and through.
Only one booster left.
"Eh, it's fine. I got two decent Fusion materials," Syrus said casually. "As long as I got Next-Gen Controller, the rest can go to the fodder pile."
"Master! Let me try!" Serena couldn't take it anymore. She raised her hand high, eyes pleading.
"You want in?" Syrus passed her the last pack without hesitation.
Watching cards being pulled, but not being part of it? Torture for a duelist. Especially one like Serena—locked up, card-starved, craving the thrill.
She accepted it like it was sacred, laying it on the table with trembling fingers. The whole room watched, smiling.
First real pack she'd ever opened.
Serena clipped the top, slid the cards out.
First card—Tuner Warrior. Normal Monster, but at least it was a Tuner. Solid.
Second. Third. Fourth. All standard stuff.
Syrus shrugged. Serena looked more and more deflated.
Until—
The last card.
It slid into her hand like fate—and shimmered with soft, golden light.
Syrus blinked. Then shot to his feet like someone hit him with a direct attack.
"NO WAY! SERENA, YOU'RE A LEGEND!" he shouted. "Your draw luck's like—ten times, no, nine times better than mine!"
"From now on, you're in charge of new packs! That's your Master's only command!"
"Eh?! I—okay! I will!" Serena blushed crimson, clenching her fists tight. She was beaming.
It was the first time Syrus had ever seriously called himself "Master."
And he had damn good reason.
Fusion Parasite – DARK.
A universal Fusion material.