Chapter 31

Cronos de Medici, of Italian descent.

A professor at Duel Academy, and also a teacher with quite a distinct personality. He is known for his habit of ending every sentence with "none" and his catchphrase "Mamma Mia," as well as his appearance, which looks like he is cosplaying as Pot of Greed.

However, he is also the head of the Practical Duel Department at Duel Academy.

In other words, he is basically the strongest duelist among the teachers at Duel Academy.

In the early stages of the anime, he is essentially portrayed as a villain, a petty teacher who targets the student Judai at every turn. But in the later stages, it is revealed that his elite-education mindset is simply deep-rooted; he looks down on poor students but is extremely protective of good ones.

As the plot progresses to the later stages, he grows and changes alongside the students, and it is discovered that he is, at his core, a good teacher.

At this moment, Professor Cronos is sitting in the chief examiner's seat in the stands, lost in thought after watching Fujiki You Xuan's assessment duel.

The first-place student every year has always been the freshman Cronos pays the most attention to. Every year, he begins observing that student's deck and tactics from the entrance exam, tailoring a training plan to help them improve as quickly as possible.

But this year's first-place student, how should I put it...

I can't say he isn't strong; I can only say he has his own unique insights into dueling.

"Professor, according to your request, the deck information for that examinee has been retrieved," an examiner nearby says.

Cronos nods slightly and opens the terminal device exclusively for Duel Academy teachers to check the deck information.

Let me see what kind of deck it is.

At the first glance after loading it, he is almost blinded by the long string of red trap cards.

"Mamma Mia!" Cronos exclaims in shock.

What on earth is this?

For this assessment, Fujiki You Xuan chose a Spellcaster-based deck, plus the few monsters he summoned during the duel.

What are the rest of these?

A whole bunch of cards like Pot of Greed and Graceful Charity for accelerated drawing, followed by mental killers like "The Forceful Sentry," "Confiscation," and "Delinquent Duo" that he just used in the duel.

The rest of the deck is a sea of red; just looking at it through the screen makes one's spine chill.

"This, this, this..." the examiner nearby is a bit dumbfounded. "What the hell is this?"

Teacher Emi, who handled the registration at the door, also curiously leans in, and is immediately startled upon seeing this build.

Thinking back to the polite, well-mannered, and incredibly sunny-looking boy she saw when he registered at the door...

Is this really his deck?

It's not that she has any prejudice against the build itself.

However, anyone's first reaction upon seeing this deck would likely be that this person isn't here to win, but has a grudge against their opponent...

Cronos also falls into a silence.

According to their basic understanding and theoretical knowledge of dueling, this is undoubtedly a deck build that does not meet textbook standards. If a Duel Academy student submitted this build as a course project, he would likely give it a failing grade without hesitation.

However, looking at that examiner with sunglasses who returned to the examiner's seat looking disheveled, with veins faintly visible on his forehead...

You have to admit, he won.

Cronos ponders for a moment.

Well, after all, the examiners use exam-specific decks, which are inevitably awkward to use and limited in strength.

This student can't be said to lack ideas; or rather, his unconventional creativity actually shows a quite unique talent.

But in the eyes of the academy teachers who have already formed a complete dueling system, this clearly belongs to the category of unorthodox paths. It's not that one can't achieve anything, but compared to the orthodox path, it's a crooked one. Future achievements will be limited, and it will likely not be so easy when encountering truly strong opponents in the future.

However, for an incoming freshman, Cronos is very satisfied with this student named Fujiki You Xuan.

Very good, very good. Having the courage to think and innovate is a good thing. Based on his many years of teaching experience, he can tell at a glance that this child has extraordinary potential and is destined for greatness.

Cronos silently makes up his mind and adds Fujiki You Xuan's name to the list of seed students to be specially cultivated this year. Once school starts, he will apply for a spot in the "Elite Cultivation" program for him. Students selected for the program not only receive extra subsidies for upgrading their decks every quarter but also have higher priority when there are opportunities for rare cards.

He wants to use Duel Academy's orthodox, sunny teaching philosophy and principles to guide this genius student who has gone astray back to the right path, and he has the confidence to do so.

Next, he observes the exam of this year's second-place student, the one named Misawa Daichi. Cronos nods in satisfaction after watching.

This student Misawa also showed impressive strength in the duel and is clearly the type who excels at gaining an advantage through calculation and setup.

This is much more normal.

Cronos feels that there is another bright talent this year, and he is in a great mood.

It is at this moment that a staff member runs quickly to his side, leans over, and whispers something in his ear.

Cronos raises an eyebrow: "Hmm? Late for the exam? Train delayed? What is the examinee's admission ticket number?"

"110," the staff member says.

Over a hundred? Isn't that at the bottom?

Cronos immediately loses interest and waves his hand: "Being late for such an important exam shows he doesn't take it seriously at all. After all, our school doesn't need poor students anyway..."

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

"No, don't give it. NO, absolutely not," Cronos waves his hand.

Just kidding, he already had reservations about a student with an admission ticket number over a hundred and didn't want to recruit him at all. This just happens to be a case of being late, so there's no reason to let him off.

However, his phone rings immediately after.

Cronos answers the phone: "Hmm? Mr. Principal? You say, you say..."

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

"Hmm, yes, that is the case, an examinee is late. But... well... okay, fine, yes, Principal."

Cronos hangs up the phone, his expression gloomy.

Damn it, not only is he at the bottom of the written exam and late for the exam, but he's also a connection hire.

I don't know what kind of backing that student has to actually alarm the principal into calling him personally to give instructions...

As the saying goes, one rank of officialdom crushes people; with the principal's order, he, the head in charge, dares not disobey.

However, the principal only instructed to give the student a chance to take the exam; he didn't say he had to pass.

With this thought in mind, Cronos stands up abruptly and snorts.

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

"His name is Yuki Judai," an examiner says.

"Good, I will examine this student personally," Cronos flicks his coat, looking every bit the expert.

"Ah?"

The examiners are all shocked. It is very rare for the chief examiner to take the field personally.

"P-please wait a moment!" the examiner nearby hurriedly hands over the suitcase for the assessment. "Then please choose an exam deck..."

"That kind of thing is unnecessary."

Cronos says with a dark face, ignoring him and turning to leave.

For this round of the exam, he will use his own deck, the ultra-rare series that is famous among all the teachers and students of the school and is his pride and joy: 【Ancient Gear】.

He wants to let this ignorant, poor student know what the cruelty of society is.

"..."

The examiner with sunglasses sits back in his seat.

It has been more than ten minutes, but thinking back to that duel, he still feels angrier the more he thinks about it.

Especially when he keeps thinking back to before the duel started, when the student asked him if the examiner's "red-faced" state would affect the score. He didn't think much of it at the time, but now, recalling that scene, he feels that the seemingly polite face was simply mocking him to his face...

The depressed examiner with sunglasses subconsciously looks up and sees Professor Cronos dueling a jellyfish-haired student on the field below.

"... Skyscraper's effect: when my 'Elemental HERO Flame Wingman' faces a monster with higher ATK than itself, its ATK increases by 1000 points, so it exceeds your 'Ancient Gear Golem', Professor!

And, when Flame Wingman destroys the opponent's monster in battle, it deals damage to the opponent equal to the destroyed monster's ATK!

Go, Flame Shoot!"

Cronos: "Mamma Mia!!!"

With a thunderous explosion, amidst the shock of the entire audience, Professor Cronos clutches his head and collapses to the ground, smashed into a pile of ruins by his own collapsing Ancient Gear Golem.

【Cronos, LP 0】

The entire audience is shocked.

The academy's chief professor, the head of practical dueling, Cronos, actually lost?

And he used his legendary 【Ancient Gear】, losing to a bottom-tier student?

And that's not all.

That bottom-tier jellyfish-haired student even jumps forward, mockingly gestures at the teacher lying on the ground, and says with a smile.

"Won! That was a truly interesting duel, Teacher!"

Cronos: "..."

For some reason.

Seeing the chief examiner beaten to the point of clutching his head and lying on the ground, the examiner with sunglasses feels a smile return to his lips.

Suddenly, he doesn't feel so angry anymore.

Sure enough, student Judai is right.

Dueling really can bring happiness.

(End of chapter)