Chapter 117: The New Teacher's Employment Assessment

He woke up to find it was already afternoon.

You Xuan got up, yawned, and lingered on the bed for a while longer before finally hopping down.

Glancing back, he saw Silent Magician floating nearby, seated cross-legged in mid-air as she continued to bury her head in her book. On the other side, Chaos Warrior stood with eyes closed in the corner of the room, looking somewhat like a close-protection bodyguard armed with a blade.

At first, waking up to find people surrounding him had made You Xuan feel a bit uneasy, but now he had grown accustomed to it.

"Morning."

Casually offering them a good morning, You Xuan hopped off the bed to wash up. Chaos Warrior remained motionless with eyes closed, but Silent Magician lifted her gaze from her magical tome to glance at him.

It was as if she were silently conveying a message: It's so late the sun is about to set; what do you mean, 'morning'?

His stomach was already starting to feel a bit hungry. You Xuan stood up to rinse his mouth, then thought better of it and curiously drifted over behind Silent Magician to get another look at what she was reading.

Hmm, as expected, he still couldn't understand a thing.

It seemed that a Duelist trying to self-study into becoming a mage was indeed rather impractical; he might as well stick to playing cards.

After being stared at from behind for quite a while, Silent Magician felt somewhat uneasy and floated aside, setting down her book and tilting her head to examine him with a hint of discomfort.

It was as if she were asking, What are you doing?

You Xuan shrugged, indicating it was nothing, just looking around casually.

Then he turned and went back to wash his face.

Having slept for most of the day, he was now quite hungry. You Xuan headed to the Yellow Dormitory cafeteria and ordered a serving of Royal Chicken Curry, a portion of Curried Pumpkin Soup, and a Curried Vegetable Platter.

The Yellow Dormitory cafeteria truly offered a wide variety of curry dishes, and the taste was indeed excellent. The Dorm Head, known as the Curry Fiend, extended his obsession with curry even into dueling, possessing truly unique insights into developing various uses for curry.

Actually, based on the original work, You Xuan had expected the academy's Academic Affairs Office to come storming over today to demand an explanation. In the anime, after Jaden and the others sneaked into the abandoned dormitory at night, the Academic Affairs Office arrived first thing the next morning to arrest them and call them to account.

Afterwards, at Professor Cronos's suggestion, a tag-team duel was arranged, with defeat resulting in expulsion.

However, now that most of the day had passed without any movement, You Xuan wasn't sure if they had only targeted Jaden and the others without causing trouble for him—which was certainly possible. Alternatively, perhaps due to changes in the timeline, their trip to the Spirit World made the situation more serious than in the anime, so the Academic Affairs side hadn't yet decided how to handle it.

But You Xuan didn't care either way; expulsion wouldn't apply to him anyway. For now, he simply ate his meal while habitually pulling out his student terminal to routinely check for any new cards added to the library.

Then, he received a new message on the terminal from Professor Cronos.

"There's a duel. Are you free, You Xuan?"

You Xuan raised an eyebrow.

What a simple and direct question.

Simplified, it basically meant: Got cards? Come quick.

Professor Cronos's Office.

"Ryuga is truly impressive."

Cronos interlaced his fingers under his chin, smiling warmly as he looked at the tall young man before him named Ryuga, who was wearing the "Obelisk Blue" uniform.

"Placing in various tournaments consecutively, three championship medals, plus the excellent combat record left behind during your time as a student at Duel Academy."

Cronos flipped through the resume in his hands.

"You were a member of the Student Council before, weren't you?"

"Yes, I handled quite a few matters within the Student Council," Ryuga replied with a polite smile.

"I see. Indeed, a very impressive resume; so far, your scores in the employment assessment have been flawless as well."

Cronos said appreciatively.

"You flatter me, Professor Cronos."

Ryuga pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose and bowed respectfully.

"In that case, once I pass the final practical assessment, my overall evaluation will be complete, and next year I'll be a teacher at Duel Academy, correct?"

"That is correct, nene. As an academy teacher, one simply cannot be anything less than the very best, nene."

Cronos leaned back into his chair, saying with a smile.

"These rules were established precisely to filter out the elite among the elite; you must complete this final duel. Next year, you can become a formal teacher."

"Yes, Professor. I will certainly not disappoint your expectations."

Ryuga nodded again, but inwardly he was sneering.

Yes, I won't disappoint your expectations, Professor... for now.

Returning to his alma mater to teach and becoming an instructor at Duel Academy was merely the first step in his future plans.

His goal was to enter the academy and, one day, trample even Cronos, who currently held the highest position responsible for practical combat, under his feet.

Duel Academy was the foremost institution of its kind today, and those who graduated from here were all top-tier elites. Therefore, Ryuga believed that if he could secure a high-ranking position within this school, he would subsequently gain access to vast resources and wield considerable influence in the outside world.

If managed properly, he might even have the opportunity to cultivate capable assistants among the students he educated, potentially manipulating them according to his wishes as they entered various industries in the future.

The more Ryuga thought about it, the more pleased he became, as if in his own imagination he had already transformed into a high-ranking authority, looking down upon Cronos from above.

Hmph, your days of sitting on high are limited to just about now. My humility toward you lasts only until I step into the upper echelons of this academy.

His goal had been clear from the very beginning.

He intended to squeeze out that Greedy Professor and take the position he currently occupied.

"Then, may I ask, Professor, who will be my opponent in this final match?"

While calculating in his heart, Ryuga maintained a sufficiently humble demeanor on the surface, bowing as he asked.

"A teacher from the academy? Or... are you, Professor, going to personally instruct me?"

"No, no, no, nene."

Cronos smiled warmly.

"I have specially applied for an assessment opponent for you; your employment assessment opponent will be chosen from among the students currently enrolled at the academy, nene."

Ryuga was stunned: "A student?"

"Yes, a first-year student who enrolled this year, nene. After all, as a teacher at Duel Academy, one must ultimately face the students. At the very least, one must prove in a duel that they are superior to the elites among the current student body to be considered qualified in practical combat, nene."

Cronos leaned back in his chair, saying cheerfully.

However, as he said this, he seemed to have completely forgotten the incident where his own entrance assessment had been brutally beaten by a certain jellyfish-headed last-place student.

"I see, that makes sense. If I can let the students get to know me through a duel first, it should surely benefit my work after taking the post."

Ryuga struggled to suppress the smile constantly trying to surge up from the bottom of his heart, doing his best to maintain his usual humble and calm appearance.

Heh, truly heaven is helping me.

To actually choose a student as an assessment opponent, and a first-year at that.

Isn't that basically handing me the win on a silver platter?

Basically, I can already flash-attack the champagne factory and pop the bottles early tonight.

"Then, may I ask, Professor, who is my opponent?"

Professor Cronos smiled mysteriously.

"His name is Fujiki You Xuan."

(End of Chapter)