Chapter 2
Rowan was a little disappointed.
The starter deck bundled with his newly activated system contained no Dark Magician Girl. Not even a single female monster.
The first ability unlocked from the beginner's gift pack was nothing like the power to see Duel Spirits, either.
Still, he was confident. The combination of this deck and this ability ought to bring Professor Crowler a certain kind of "soul-crushing whisper"... ah, he meant "heartwarming smile," of course.
...
And just as Rowan rose to his feet and began preparing, the duel played out exactly as he knew it would.
Crowler still appeared to hold every advantage. His Ancient Gear Golem sat on the field at 3000 attack points, an overwhelming wall against Jaden's Elemental HERO Flame Wingman at 2100. By all appearances, it was over.
Then Jaden activated the field spell Skyscraper, pumping Flame Wingman's attack by 1000. The momentum flipped in an instant.
Flame Wingman's special effect triggered, and with a single strike, Jaden wiped out the remaining 3000 life points Crowler had left.
"He actually won?!"
Syrus and the other spectators stared in stunned silence, then turned as one toward Rowan, who was already making his way down to the dueling field.
They had been astonished enough that Jaden managed to defeat the fearsome Professor Crowler.
But Rowan, who had read the situation from that seemingly hopeless position and declared victory before it even happened, left them even more speechless.
"This guy... he could see all that from up there? Examinee 111..." Bastion Misawa murmured, eyes wide as he watched Rowan walk forward.
"The duelist now taking the examination floor is Examinee Number 111, Rowan."
The soft female voice over the announcement system carried just a faint trace of surprise from Crowler's recent defeat.
"You won! Rowan, you're up!" Jaden called out with a grin as Rowan stepped onto the field.
They had only known each other for less than half an hour, but having arrived together for the exam, they were at least on familiar terms.
Rowan nodded, then asked Jaden if he could borrow his Duel Disk.
Because apparently his stingy system, as if determined to demoralize even its own host, had provided a starter deck and a skill in the beginner's gift pack but had not seen fit to include an actual Duel Disk.
"So this is a Duel Disk..."
Rowan strapped the borrowed disk onto his left wrist and muttered to himself as he got used to its functions.
Across the field, Professor Crowler was still standing there with both hands buried in his golden mushroom-cut, hunched over, drowning in the misery of his recent loss and refusing to surface.
He was on the verge of tears.
How? How had he, on the rare occasion he bothered to duel personally, lost to some failing student he had specifically come down to eliminate?
"Hey, Goldilocks-mushroom-head professor. Can we get started?"
Rowan's flat, mildly exasperated voice cut through the arena.
"Gold... mushroom-head?!"
Crowler snapped upright instantly, eyes burning, teeth clenched as he fixed his glare on Rowan.
Around the arena, examinees, upperclassmen, and supervising teachers all paused.
Then, from various corners, barely suppressed laughter began to leak out.
The description was simply too accurate.
Everyone had thought it. No one had ever dared say it out loud.
"Insolent failure," Crowler seethed internally.
"Another latecomer, just like that Jaden Yuki."
He straightened his expression and composed himself, then picked up his high-end Duel Disk and began adjusting his deck on the spot, slipping two new cards in from his coat pocket with deliberate precision.
I cannot afford another loss.
That other examinee who passed can be dealt with later.
But this one, this insufferable one, I will stop him at the gates of this examination myself.
Do not blame me for this. You forced my hand.
I did not want to use this card against students.
But I will not hold back the ace monster of my elite Ancient Gear deck any longer.