Compared to how thrilled he'd been when he first acquired El Shaddoll Winda, Hikaru Amagi barely reacted when he finally got his hands on El Shaddoll Wendigo.
It wasn't just about card power.
Sure, he'd admit—Wendigo's effect was a little underwhelming. Fewer effects than Winda, and nowhere near as versatile. But still, with 2800 DEF and an effect that protected monsters from battle destruction by Special Summoned monsters, it offered decent support—especially in tandem with Winda.
No, the reason for his lack of excitement wasn't the card—it was the timing.
Right now, Hikaru's Deck was crammed with Fusion setups just waiting to happen: Destruction Dragon, Dragon Master Knight, ABC combos, Blazing Dragons, and most recently—Armityle the Chaos Phantom. His list was stacked.
In game terms?
Early on, you only have one sidequest. Easy to follow.
Now? Hikaru was juggling dozens, all enticing, all promising.
But time and resources were finite. He had to choose.
Luckily, things were different now.
Back when he first got Winda, Hikaru had no options—no method, just blind luck and occasional dark duels to power the card up.
Now?
He'd learned that dark duels, duels with DT archetypes, and even crafting DT-world cards helped power up Shaddoll Spirits.
So, fine. He'd charge Wendigo while working on Gem-Knight routes.
And this time, things were easier.
KaibaCorp's "Tuner Monster Integration Trial" had seeded the Academy with new Duel Terminal archetypes—Mist Valley, Dragunity, Jurrac—sure, they couldn't Synchro Summon, but stat-wise, those cards outclassed most market-tier ones.
More importantly: targets acquired.
In a week or two, with stronger spirit resonance and refined alchemy, Hikaru had almost fully charged Wendigo.
Faster than Winda by a long shot.
Meanwhile, the Academy's controversial "Adjustment Pack Incident" had faded.
The Coordination Committee, after multiple PR stunts and recruiting pushes, had all but vanished—except for the occasional cameo by Sho Marufuji. But with them out of sight, their reputation had slowly recovered.
Funny how doing nothing made people forget your crimes faster than doing anything.
Most first-years now barely remembered that Hikaru hadn't founded the Fusion Club—they just assumed he'd always been its leader.
In that calm, clear atmosphere, the Fusion Club held a celebration.
"Congratulations!"
Hikaru popped a party cracker.
"Congrats, Serena!"
"Well done, Serena!"
Usually cold and composed, Serena's cheeks flushed pink under the sudden cheers. She looked flustered and unsure.
"I was seriously sweating bullets watching you take that exam," Jaden Yuki laughed, pushing a tray of tempura her way.
"It's because Master and Professor Misawa taught me well…"
Serena actually stammered a little. A rare sight.
"Serena," Bastion Misawa shook his head.
"We only tutored you. You're the one who did the work."
She'd been staying in the girls' dorm at Duel Academy, spending most of her time with the Fusion Club. But that didn't mean she had it easy—she still had classes, cross-dimensional travel assignments, and make-up exams.
Hikaru and Bastion had helped her review now and then, and even Chazz dropped in for a few sessions. Jaden, well, he was more of a hype man.
Professor Crowler had negotiated with KaibaCorp:
If Serena could pass the Duel Academy entrance exams and skip to the first year of the high school division, she wouldn't have to return to the junior division.
She could stay on Duel Academy Island.
And yesterday?
That "illiterate" Serena scraped through the test—with a solid score.
Next semester, she'd officially be a first-year student alongside the new batch.
A real junior to Hikaru and the others.
"Seriously, Serena," Hikaru smiled, "you learned two years' worth of content in half a year. That's all you. Not some miracle tutoring."
Hearing him take no credit, Serena clenched her fist—her usual fire returning.
"No! It's because of your teaching, Master! Every time I think of chasing the ultimate Fusion, I get fired up all over again!"
"Ohhh yeah!!"
Jaden instantly matched her heat.
"In moments like this, it's time to—wait… where's Kaiser?"
Hearing the question, Alexis Rhodes peeked her head out from behind a pile of gifts.
"Ryo? He finished his registration. He's entering a pro match before graduation."
"Already!?"
Everyone was stunned.
"What?! He's debuting before graduating!?"
Kenzan leaned back so hard he nearly fell over, caught only by a nearby classmate.
"That's amazing! Kaiser!!"
Jaden gasped in awe.
"A pretty big corporation took notice of Ryo," Alexis explained, setting the gifts down. "They want him as a spokesperson. Word is, it's a company involved in dimensional dueling."
"Thanks to Ryo, Hikaru, and even Chazz, our Academy's rep has exploded this year. The pros and sponsors are swarming."
"I heard KaibaCorp is behind this—Mokuba Kaiba himself is setting up the exchanges."
"Classic Kaiser. Always doing what no one else can."
"Still, Hikaru's the one who made Fusion go interdimensional!"
"Chazz is doing great too—"
"Hey, what's with that 'too' crap?!"
Chazz whipped around, glaring at the joker.
None of the Fusion Club members were surprised by any of this.
It felt… natural.
"Speaking of which…" Alexis tilted her head. "Anyone here want to duel Ryo? For his graduation duel?"
"Third-years can submit a request form. He'll pick his final opponent—a summary of his growth, a message for the next generation."
She laughed.
"Heh. If I hadn't disappeared for a year, maybe I'd be picking a cute underclassman for my own graduation duel."
Graduation duel?!
Jaden froze.
Graduation…
The thought hadn't hit him until now.
Ryo had been prepping for post-grad life all this time. But Jaden always had him nearby—in the Fusion Club, dueling side-by-side, sharpening skills, sharing ideas.
They were more than rivals now.
They were close friends.
But he'd never considered… saying goodbye.
Jaden slumped into a seat, dazed.
Hikaru noticed.
"Jaden," he raised his hand, gently.
"There's still over a month left… think it through."
Hikaru himself didn't plan to challenge Kaiser for the graduation duel. He knew Jaden wanted that match more than anything.
So he wasn't going to get in the way.
"Maybe think about what Alexis said—about the sponsors and pro duelists showing up?"
"Huh? Oh—right!"
Jaden snapped back to life.
Even Serena, who hated overthinking, murmured:
"Wow. Jaden-senpai really lives for dueling."