Chapter 31: Can Duels Really Bring Happiness?

Chronos de Medici, of Italian descent.

A professor at Duel Academy, and quite a distinctive teacher at that. He was known for ending every sentence with "noné," his habitual catchphrase "Mamma mia," and a appearance that seemed to cosplay the Pot of Greed.

However, he was also the highest authority in Duel Academy's practical combat department.

In other words, he was basically the strongest fighter among all the Duel Academy instructors.

In the early stages of the anime, he was portrayed largely as a villainous figure, crafted into a petty teacher who targeted student Jū dai at every turn. But later it was revealed that he simply had elite education thinking ingrained in his bones; he could not stand poor students but went to great lengths to shield the good ones.

As the plot progressed into its later stages, he grew and changed alongside his students, revealing that his true nature was that of a good teacher after all.

At this moment, Professor Chronos sat in the chief examiner's seat in the stands, falling into deep thought after watching Yū Xuán's assessment duel.

The first-place student of every year had always been the freshman Chronos paid the most attention to. Every year, he would begin observing that student's deck and tactics right from the entrance examination, then tailor a cultivation plan specifically for them to help them improve as quickly as possible.

But this year's first-place winner, how should one put it?

One could not say they were weak; one could only say they possessed unique insights into dueling.

"Professor, per your request, we have retrieved the deck information used by that examinee," an examiner beside him said.

Chronos nodded slightly, opening the terminal device exclusive to Duel Academy instructors to query the deck details.

Let me see what kind of deck this is.

The moment it loaded, the first thing he saw was a long, uniform string of red trap cards that nearly blinded him.

"Mamma mia!" Chronos exclaimed in shock.

What in the world is this stuff?

For this assessment, Yū Xuán had chosen a deck primarily composed of Spellcaster-type monsters; adding the few monsters he had summoned during the duel just now, there were only a handful in total.

What were all the rest?

A large handful of cards that accelerated drawing, such as Pot of Greed and Angel's Charity, followed by mental killers like the "Mischievous Twins" he had just used in the duel, along with "Confiscation" and "Forced Conscription."

The remaining majority was a sea of red as far as the eye could see; just glancing at it through the screen made one's spine chill.

"Th-th-this..." The examiner beside him was somewhat dumbfounded. "What the hell is this?"

Teacher Emi, who had been registering people at the entrance earlier, also curiously leaned over, and upon seeing this construction, she was immediately startled.

Recalling the polite, well-mannered boy who had registered at the entrance, the one who looked so incredibly sunny at first glance...

Was this really his deck?

It was not that she held any prejudice against the construction itself.

Yet anyone's first reaction upon seeing this deck would likely be that this person might not be aiming to win, but rather held a grudge against their opponent.

Chronos also fell silent for a moment.

According to their basic cognition and theoretical knowledge of dueling, this was undoubtedly a deck construction that did not meet textbook standards. If a Duel Academy student submitted such a construction as a course design project, he would not hesitate to give it a failing grade.

However, glancing over at that sunglasses-wearing examiner who had returned to his seat looking disheveled, with even faintly visible bulging veins on his forehead...

Just say it: did he win or not?

Chronos pondered for a moment.

Hmm, after all, the examiners were all using special examination decks, not their own, so it was inevitable they would feel unaccustomed using them, and their strength was limited.

One could not say this student lacked ideas; or rather, his unconventional creativity actually demonstrated quite a unique talent.

But in the eyes of the academy teachers, who had long formed a complete dueling system, this clearly belonged to the category of unorthodox paths. One could not say practicing it would yield no achievement, but compared to the orthodox path, it was a crooked road. Future achievements would be limited, and encountering truly strong opponents in the future would likely not be so easy.

However, for an incoming freshman, Chronos was very satisfied with this student named Yū Xuán's performance.

Not bad, not bad; having ideas and the courage to innovate is a good thing. Relying on his many years of teaching experience, he could tell at a glance that this child possessed extraordinary bones and was destined for great things in the future.

Chronos silently made up his mind, adding Yū Xuán's name to the list of key cultivation seed students for this year's cohort. Once school started, he would apply to the academy for a "Top-Tier Cultivation" program quota; students selected for the program would not only receive extra subsidies for deck upgrades every quarter but also enjoy higher priority than general peers when rare card opportunities arose.

He would use Duel Academy's orthodox, sunny teaching policies and philosophies to guide this genius student who had strayed onto the wrong path back to the right road, and he had the confidence to do so.

Next, he observed the examination of this year's second-place student, a student named Misawa Daichi. After watching, Chronos nodded with great satisfaction.

This student Misawa had also demonstrated remarkable strength in his duel, and he was clearly the type who excelled at gaining advantages through calculation and arrangement.

Now this was much more normal.

Chronos felt that this year had gained another bright, promising talent, and his mood improved greatly.

Just then, a staff member ran quickly to his side, bent down, and whispered something into his ear.

Chronos raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? Late for the exam? Train delayed? What is that examinee's admission ticket number?"

"110," the staff member replied.

Over one hundred? That basically means last place, doesn't it?

Chronos immediately lost interest, waving his hand. "Being late for such an important exam shows he doesn't care about it at all. In the end, our school simply has no need for poor students..."

An examiner with white hair nearby adjusted his reading glasses. "That might not be good, Professor. After all, the exam hasn't ended yet; shouldn't we still give him a chance?"

"No, no chance, NO, absolutely not." Chronos waved his hand.

Just kidding; he already held strong objections against students with admission numbers in the hundreds and had no intention of admitting them at all. This one happening to be late meant there was absolutely no reason to let him off.

However, immediately afterward, his phone rang.

Chronos answered the phone. "Hmm? Mr. Principal? Yes, speak, speak."

He listened in silence for a while, his expression gradually turning ugly.

"Yes, yes, that is correct, there is indeed an examinee who was late. But... um... alright, fine, yes, Principal."

Chronos hung up the phone, his face gloomy.

Damn it, not only last place in the written test and late for the exam, but also a freaking connection hire.

Who knew what kind of influence that student had behind the scenes to actually stir the principal into personally calling to give instructions...

As the saying goes, an official one rank higher crushes a person to death; with an order from the Principal, even he, the highest person in charge, dared not disobey.

However, the Principal had only instructed that the student be given a chance to take the exam; he did not say that the student necessarily had to pass.

Thinking of this, Chronos suddenly stood up, snorted, and said:

"Fine then, what is that student's name?"

"His name is Yūki Jū dai," an examiner said.

"Good, I will personally examine this student." Chronos flicked the hem of his robe, displaying the style of a true master.

"Huh?"

All the examiners were startled. For the chief examiner to personally take the field was a rare occurrence.

"P-please wait a moment!" An examiner nearby hastily handed over a briefcase specially used for assessments. "Then please select an examination deck to use—"

"Such things are unnecessary."

With a grim face, Chronos ignored them, turned around, and walked away.

For this round of the exam, he would use his own deck, the series of super-rare cards famous among all teachers and students in the entire school, and of which he was immensely proud: [Ancient Gear].

He would let this ignorant, poor student know what the viciousness of society truly meant.

"..."

The sunglasses-wearing examiner sat back down in his seat.

More than ten minutes had passed, yet recalling that duel just now, he felt angrier the more he thought about it.

Especially when constantly recalling that before the duel began, that student had asked him whether an examiner turning red from anger would affect the results; he hadn't felt it at the time, but now, recalling that scene, the more he thought about it, the more that seemingly polite face looked like it was mocking him to his face.

The depressed sunglasses-wearing examiner unconsciously looked up and saw Professor Chronos dueling a jellyfish-headed poor student down in the arena below.

"...Due to the effect of Skyscraper, my 'Elemental HERO Avian' gains 1000 attack points when facing a monster with higher attack than itself, thus surpassing your 'Ancient Gear Golem', teacher!

Furthermore, when Avian destroys an opponent's monster by battle, it inflicts damage equal to the destroyed monster's attack points!

Go, Flame Shot!"

Chronos: "Mamma mia!!!"

With a loud explosive boom, amidst the shock of the entire audience, Professor Chronos, clutching his head, fell prone to the ground, crushed into a pile of rubble by his own collapsing Ancient Gear Golem.

[Chronos, LP 0]

The entire audience was shocked.

The academy's chief professor, the highest authority in practical combat, Chronos, had actually lost?

And he had used his legendary [Ancient Gear] deck, losing to a dead-last student with a jellyfish head?

And that was not even the end of it.

That dead-last jellyfish-head even jumped forward, making a highly mocking gesture toward the teacher lying prone on the ground, and said with a smile:

"I won! That was a truly interesting duel, teacher!"

Chronos: "..."

For some reason.

Seeing the chief examiner beaten until he was clutching his head and lying on the ground, the sunglasses-wearing examiner's mouth corner regained a smile.

Suddenly, he didn't feel so angry anymore.

Indeed, student Jū dai was right.

Duels really can bring happiness.

(End of Chapter)