Chapter 227: MOTIANLOU

The Chief Students' Dimensional Travel.

Looking back on last year, Tenjo Hikari had only just learned that "dimensional travel" existed, thanks to Judai's guidance.

It was during that trip that Tenjo Hikari and Judai had their teleportation destination secretly altered by Professor Dadesi Master, arriving at the "Realm of Warriors," where they met the Flame Swordsman and the Black Flame Knight, thus beginning his fusion path.

It was, in a way, the starting point of fate.

As the freshman representative, Serena was naturally this year's grade representative of Red College, entitled to the opportunity to explore the other dimension.

However, her titles of "freshman representative" and "grade representative" were largely nominal; she became freshman representative simply because she skipped directly into the Duel Academy, earning her this privilege. Normally, female students entering the Duel Academy are placed directly into Blue College, and Serena became Red College's grade representative solely because she personally favored the color red. The Duel Academy never restricts students' clothing colors—Wan Wan Zhangmu, for instance, wore black constantly without restriction.

The Red College's dimensional gate had already been replaced with a new machine, as Judai's outstanding performance in various exchange duels throughout last year earned Red College significantly more resources this year than in previous years.

Moreover, Professor Dadesi had died in front of Professor Kuronos—he understood it that way—and Professor Kuronos had begun serving as acting head of Red College in the latter half of last year.

But this year, since he was responsible for acting as principal, the duties were handed over to other teachers.

"Oh! Is Tenjo-kun here as the collaborator? Then I can rest easy." The Red College's responsible teacher, seeing Tenjo Hikari, relaxed his tense expression, the pressure instantly lifting.

After all, this was the freshman's first dimensional transit; no teacher would dare let anyone go without absolute certainty.

Even Master Professor Dadesi, who seemed so irresponsible, had conducted an elf adaptation test, confirmed that the young Tenjo Hikari had no issues, and only then allowed him to undergo dimensional teleportation.

"Thank you for your efforts." Tenjo Hikari greeted the teacher, while Serena excitedly underwent her tests nearby.

Her elf adaptation level was very high—partly due to prolonged closed training, partly because she had apparently undergone some elf-related "modifications," and combined with her innate talent, she now possessed a full Level 5 adaptation, which was extremely high.

Without Tierra's assistance, Tenjo Hikari himself was only at this level.

Tenjo Hikari cooperated with the teacher for the physical examination; even though he had undergone multiple transits, the procedures could not be skipped—it was vital for the teachers.

They had to be responsible for the students.

"Tenjo-kun, won't you be participating in the second-year internship?" the teacher asked while checking Tenjo Hikari.

"Huh? I'm fine," Tenjo Hikari raised his hand, gently clenching it, "my body's in good shape, recovery speed is fast…"

In the Duel Academy, first-years undergo "dimensional travel" once a month; only grade representatives and those they invite—seniors or teachers—get to participate. These explorations are primarily for seeking new possibilities and companions in other dimensions.

But once students reach second year, even for the sake of public perception, the academy no longer restricts entry so strictly; instead, starting from second year, regular large-scale dimensional simulation activities are held by class teams.

After all, after graduation, students will inevitably be involved in related work in some capacity.

At that time, however, they won't be exploring unknown dimensions, but rather interning under the supervision of the academy and teachers in various dimensions built by Kaiba Corporation.

As for…

The principal's idea of "internship" is entirely different—it's a school-wide internship.

Tenjo Hikari could understand him; as principal, as an elder, he wanted his students to have better futures and hoped Red College students wouldn't be so lazy, so organizing activities they normally never got to join—stimulating their interest and motivation—was perfectly normal.

The abnormal ones were never him, but the evil people exploiting him.

After the examination, Tenjo Hikari and Serena stood before the dimensional gate, waiting for it to activate.

The next moment, a faint red glow washed over them; light flickered across Tenjo Hikari and Serena's bodies, slowly dissolving into ethereal shadows, transforming into countless cubes that merged into the dimensional gate.

After a powerful sensation of weightlessness and distortion, Tenjo Hikari and Serena landed on the ground.

They appeared on an extremely wide road.

This was the dimension he and Judai were originally meant to reach—and the one Judai frequently visited afterward…

A place anyone who'd played Yu-Gi-Oh! had at least heard of.

Motianlou!

Tenjo Hikari looked around; towering skyscrapers rose on both sides, their room lights illuminating the city with unusual brightness, and distant spotlights made this dimension, though shrouded in darkness, as bright as daylight.

Some lights flickered intermittently, as if power failures occurred, adding to the place's mystery.

Far off, Tenjo Hikari could see that the illuminated windows of the skyscrapers formed characters; when viewed horizontally across several buildings, they spelled out a single large word—

hero!

This was the city of heroes—Motianlou!

The Elemental Hero series was one of the most accessible card decks in their world, and Motianlou was among the earliest discovered dimensions—but…

Although this was the "hero" realm, the hero spirits here were surprisingly few.

Most inhabitants of this dimension were ordinary Warrior-type monsters, even countless weak spirits.

According to Judai's account, this dimension was actually a "shelter for weak spirits," where the heroes hidden within this vast city silently protected ordinary spirits.

Yet—

Precisely because of this, in this dimension, one had a chance to find any type of spirit.

After all, it was selected as one of the most suitable dimensions for first-year freshmen; naturally, the difficulty was low.

Tenjo Hikari had never come here before; now that he was here, he figured he might have a chance to find a Masked Hero spirit, so he accompanied Serena to explore this dimension.

Judai was already very familiar with this dimension; he claimed he could find the Golden Captain's house blindfolded. Before arriving, Tenjo Hikari had asked many details, so he still had a solid grasp of the place.

This time, he'd properly fulfill his role as "Master!"

"Is anyone here!!" Serena was direct—she cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone, "Any duelists? I'm Serena, first-year student of Osiris College, Duel Academy! Any spirits want to come with me?"

She was too blunt.

Tenjo Hikari rubbed his brow.

"Something's wrong, Tenjo Hikari." Tierra suddenly flew out, startling Serena, and said, "This dimension has problems."

Problems?

What kind of problems could there be?

Tenjo Hikari narrowed his eyes; Bai Jing's power clung to his body as he told Serena, "Serena, stick close to me!"

"Yes, Master!" She grew even more excited, pressing close beside him, barely half an arm's length away.

Still uneasy, Tenjo Hikari summoned Flame Sword and Black Flame, and ran with Serena toward a nearby building; once inside, he realized it differed from the exterior—walls and floors were shattered, covered in deep scratches.

After searching several rooms, he found a unconscious spirit and several others huddled trembling in a corner, clinging to each other; upon noticing Tenjo Hikari's group, they clutched tighter, trembling with terror.

What's going on!?

Judai said this dimension was peaceful!

Chapter One, Chapter One

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(End of Chapter)