Chapter 35
"Kagasaki from Ra Yellow versus Ohara from Ra Yellow. Miura from Obelisk Blue..."
Up at the front of the arena, Dr. Crowler was calling out the names for the first round of practical matches.
"And from Slifer Red, Jaden Yuki, versus Obelisk Blue's Chazz Princeton!"
"That's me! I'm up already?!"
Jaden immediately snapped to life, bouncing on his heels with pure excitement.
Every trace of the listless, pickled-fish-induced misery from earlier had vanished without a trace.
This is what cards mean to someone like him, Rowan thought, lips pulling to one side.
The moment dueling entered the picture, the hot-blooded idiot forgot every grievance he had.
Before heading down, Jaden even lifted his Duel Disk toward Rowan with a wide, fired-up grin.
"Rowan, you better watch my duel! You're one of the opponents I've already decided I have to face someday!"
Rowan had nothing to say to that. He just shifted the straw to the other side of his mouth, half-closed his eyes, and gave Jaden a lazy wave to send him off.
He didn't need to watch to know how it would end.
Chazz's current skill level wasn't anywhere close to being a match for someone like Jaden.
Honestly, Chazz wasn't even in the same league as the target Rowan had picked for himself, Bastion Misawa.
...
"If I'm remembering correctly, the first-year practical session rules pit students against opponents from different dorms, don't they?"
Jaden had barely made it down to the arena floor when a familiar voice reached Rowan from somewhere nearby, accompanied by soft footsteps.
"Alexis?!" Syrus blurted out in surprise.
Rowan opened one eye.
Alexis Rhodes had appeared beside him at some point, arms folded, glancing out at the dueling platforms below before turning her gaze toward him with a question on her face.
Her two friends were with her, as always.
"Don't read into this. We just came to see what was going on," one of the two said, nose slightly in the air.
She still hadn't fully gotten over the high-blood-pressure dueling experience Rowan had put them through the day before.
Her tone had softened compared to yesterday, but only just barely.
Rowan ignored them both and answered Alexis's question directly.
"Jaden went to Crowler himself and requested Chazz as his opponent."
Alexis's eyebrows lifted slightly.
"He voluntarily chose Chazz Princeton? The top-ranked Obelisk Blue first-year?"
She studied Rowan's expression.
He didn't look even remotely concerned about the outcome. That gave her pause.
Her gaze drifted down toward the arena below, where Jaden and Chazz were already facing each other across one of the six platforms.
Judging by that expression, she thought, this Jaden Yuki probably isn't as simple as he looks.
He defeated Crowler during the entrance exams too. Maybe Chazz is about to find out what losing feels like.
Jasmine and Mindy came to the same uneasy conclusion and followed her gaze down.
It was already strange enough that someone like Rowan existed in the Slifer Red dorm.
There couldn't possibly be another one capable of beating Obelisk Blue students.
Could there?
Rowan offered nothing to resolve their uncertainty. He stayed leaned against the wall, straw idly hanging from his mouth, and turned part of his attention toward the sounds drifting up from the arena floor.
"Slifer Red dropout, Jaden Yuki. Today we finish what we started and determine a proper winner once and for all."
Chazz raised his Duel Disk and let it extend. "Let me show you the true strength of an Obelisk Blue elite. Don't go thinking everyone is like that Rowan guy."
"Let's go, Chazz!" Jaden's Duel Disk snapped open to match.
"That's Chazz Princeton!"
"Duel!"
"Duel!"
Both of them drew their opening five cards. The arena displayed matching life point counters.
4000 LP vs 4000 LP.
Off to the side of the platform, Crowler had already started edging away with a barely contained smirk.
At lunch, he'd bought out the entire new stock the Academy's shop had just received, paying well above what most people would consider reasonable.
A good portion of those cards, including some genuinely powerful rare ones, had gone to Chazz and to Bastion Misawa in Ra Yellow to bolster their decks.
The plan was simple. Knock out Jaden first. Chip away at the Slifer Red problem one student at a time.
Then all that was left would be Rowan.
And then, at last, he could breathe again.
Crowler hugged himself internally, practically glowing.
He was already picturing it.
Jaden and Rowan, defeated one after the other, confidence shattered, faces pale with disappointment.
Rowan's eye twitched.
He made a mental note to find a way to squeeze significantly more out of this man.
"Kuri. Kuri."
A small, round brownish spirit materialized near his shoulder, barely more than a translucent shimmer, and gave an approving little nod.
It was the Kuriboh he'd awakened during his duel with Alexis the previous day, apparently in full agreement.
"You think so too, huh," Rowan said, one brow lifting with a faint smile.
It had been the little creature who'd sensed Crowler's pettiness stirring from across the room and nudged him awake through the deck to take a look.
Since his rest had already been interrupted, Rowan turned his attention back down toward the arena.
He was curious whether the ripples he'd already caused in this world had shifted anything about the way this duel would play out.