Chapter 20: Too Pure

Things were more serious than Tenjou Hikari had imagined.

It wasn't that he had fallen into a coma from playing cards.

Rather, he had been hospitalized—

At first, Tenjou Hikari thought Liu was simply in poor health due to days of overwork, so he had initially intended to advise him to stop dueling and rest properly. He had assumed the damage from the solid vision had knocked Liu out, but according to the school doctor's investigation, that was not the case.

There was a strange dark power within Liu's deck, a power capable of harming the human body and brain; the reason his condition was so dire was precisely because this power had been clinging to his deck all along.

Thanks to the emergence of the Dimension Gate, this world was no stranger to duel spirits and spiritual power; one could even say it was quite familiar with them. It was said that in a certain great eastern nation next door, civil engineering projects had already begun utilizing various large monster spirits to assist in construction, bringing relaxed days to countless civil engineering veterans.

In short, because the world's development had diverged slightly, the doctors of this world, especially the experts at Duel Academy, were very familiar with this kind of situation.

"So, because I used his monster as material, that punch dealt him a massive blow of dark power?" Tenjou Hikari nodded in understanding as he listened to Professor Cronos's explanation, then asked, "So he'll be in a coma for a long time? How long? Do I need to pay his medical bills? I certainly can't afford that..."

He truly had no money; before coming to Duel Academy, his predecessor had spent all his savings on cards, surviving every day on nothing but dry bread, so he definitely had no funds.

"Nothing of the sort." Professor Cronos shook his head. "He placed it in his deck voluntarily. According to Kaiba Corporation law, naturally, he bears full responsibility."

Kaiba Corporation law?

How abstract this world is.

In any case, Liu had brought this upon himself; even if he got lucky, he would remain in a coma for a year or so, making it impossible for him to cause Tenjou Hikari any more trouble.

However, with such an incident occurring, today's duel naturally could not continue.

Tenjou Hikari was naturally welcoming of this; he could only "farm" energy once per day. While dueling Liu seemed to have granted him quite a bit of energy due to that inexplicable dark power, it certainly couldn't compare to dueling Judai, so dueling again tomorrow would likely be beneficial.

"Tenjou-kun, I am very pleased that you have made it this far with an Ancient Gear deck." After the main business was concluded, Professor Cronos turned back, leaned close to Tenjou Hikari, and whispered, "Just now, the Principal praised me extensively for your use of the Ancient Gear Ultimate Giant. You did well! I will use my authority to add extra points to your grade evaluation!"

"Wow, thank you, Professor!" Hearing that he would receive extra points, Tenjou Hikari immediately became excited. "If the Principal asks, I'll say it was all thanks to your teaching!"

"Mamma mia, good, good, good, good!" Hearing Tenjou Hikari's response, Professor Cronos's entire face scrunched up like a Pot of Greed, excitedly repeating "good" over and over.

Previously, the Principal had implicitly criticized the poor quality of the Blue Dorm students this year; after pondering without finding any excuse, he had suddenly had a change of thought—hey, look at this Tenjou Hikari; although he is a student of the Fusion Department, his ace card was given by me!

He didn't know where Tenjou's Ultimate Giant had come from, nor could he ask about a student's private affairs, but since everyone knew this was his, Cronos's, ace card, the Principal had previously assumed Tenjou Hikari was his student.

When had he ever taught Tenjou Hikari? That was more like something Daitokuji would do—but he had accepted the credit anyway.

There was no helping it; he was simply that concerned with saving face.

He hadn't expected Tenjou Hikari to be so easy to talk to!

"It seems I have been too inattentive to students from other dorms. There are many good students in the other dorms as well." These past few days, he had been reflecting on his failures in education. Perhaps the Red and Yellow Dorms were not beyond saving; perhaps he had simply never paid attention to them.

Professor Cronos announced that the final qualification match would take place tomorrow, and the students acting as spectators cheered and discussed who had the best chance of becoming the winner.

Some believed the attack power of the Ancient Gear Ultimate Giant was unbeatable, while others argued that attack power was only one aspect; Big Tornado could halve the Ultimate Giant's attack power, so it might not be able to defeat a Hero.

Opinions were varied, and no consensus could be reached.

"Congratulations, Tenjou; it seems you have gone further than I." After Tenjou Hikari stepped off the stage, Daichi Misawa was the first to offer his congratulations.

"Uh, it was just luck. After all, my opponent still had one turn left; if he had drawn some powerful card, I might not have won."

"Haha, excessive humility can make people angry!" Daichi Misawa laughed.

Tenjou Hikari scanned his surroundings.

"Where is Judai?"

"After hearing you advanced, he rushed out with Sho and Hayato, saying they needed to adjust their decks."

Tenjou Hikari nodded.

Dueling is not just about improvisation on the spot; changing one's deck construction before a duel is also a crucial part of the process.

"Ah, speaking of which, I have some cards I could lend you; would you like..." Daichi Misawa scratched his cheek slightly, looking somewhat embarrassed. Although he had lost to Judai, he still wanted to join in the fun and participate, if only for the feeling of it. If his cards helped defeat Judai, that would be great too.

"Uh, no, never mind."

Daichi Misawa was a very "wealthy" person; here, wealth did not refer to his family background, but to the quantity of his cards.

In the original story, he possessed six complete decks corresponding to Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Light, and Darkness, and beyond those six, he had a "seventh deck," making him truly a card tycoon. Compared to the predecessor who had spent all his savings just to assemble a single deck, Misawa was genuinely "rich."

For Tenjou Hikari, who lacked low-level monsters and had to obtain even an "Ancient Gear Giant" from an opponent, Daichi Misawa was an excellent supporter...

But Tenjou Hikari feared that during the duel, Super Polymerization might fuse Misawa's cards away; if he couldn't return them afterward, it would be quite awkward.

Thinking of this, Tenjou Hikari felt quite troubled.

Because... his deck did not contain an "Ancient Gear Giant"; his Ancient Gear Giant had already been thoroughly transformed into an "Ancient Gear Ultimate Giant." In tomorrow's duel against Judai, he couldn't exactly use a "Solemn Judgment" to summon a Mechanical Giant out of Judai's deck, could he?

Fortunately.

These were actually minor issues.

"By the way, Misawa, have you seen where Professor Akama went?" Tenjou asked thoughtfully.

"Ah, he left his seat when you fused the Ultimate Giant; he seemed very busy." Daichi Misawa was also confused, his brows furrowed. As a smart person, he noticed many details: "Honestly, it's strange. Aren't you the representative of the Fusion Department? He didn't seem very happy about it."

What scheme does that old codger have?

Tenjou Hikari frowned.

Why exactly did that marinated egg use Liu to target him?

He began to recall his performance in the Fusion Department, trying to find any behavior that defied the department's norms, but he couldn't think of anything.

He was simply the purest fusionist imaginable!

Meanwhile, Akama Reo had already returned to the Fusion Department building.

"Wonderful, Professor! That Tenjou Hikari performed exceptionally well!"

"This time, our Fusion Department has a chance to become the academy representative and duel the students from the Northern Branch!"

"Special dimensional coordinates; just hearing that makes one's blood boil!"

Akama Reo sat in his swivel chair, leaning against the backrest with an expressionless face, coldly uttering a single "Hmph" to brush them off.

"Professor, shall we go watch together again tomorrow?" the Yellow Dorm representative asked proactively. Tenjou Hikari was a freshman from their dorm, giving him considerable pride.

Akama Reo glanced at him; the killing intent in those eyes immediately frightened him into silence.

Akama Reo leaned back lightly in his chair, gazing ruthlessly out the floor-to-ceiling window ahead, looking through the glass at the duel arena as if staring directly at Tenjou Hikari.

He had never been a person without goals or purpose; establishing the Fusion Department, becoming its responsible instructor, and guiding students toward fanaticism and extremism were all merely means to achieve the objective in his heart.

What he needed were soldiers who absolutely obeyed his objectives, with clear hierarchies, knowing only how to follow orders!

Whatever he said, they would do!

Not a student who truly and purely believed in "Fusion"!

The Ancient Gear Ultimate Giant... that was not a card an ordinary student could obtain!

Had that old fool Cronos discovered something?

As expected of a legendary duelist; one truly cannot underestimate him.

I'll let you win this time; after the friendship match ends...

Bang—

He slammed his fist heavily onto the desk, creating a loud noise that made the entire room seem to shake several times, frightening everyone around into terrified silence!

Asking for votes~~

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(End of Chapter)