Snap!
After shutting the door, Ryo Nakamuta sprinted toward the Phantom God Dimension Academy.
Along the way, he frantically tried to calm his nerves, convincing himself that even vanilla monsters could slay gods and become the Duel King.
Black Magician was a clunky card, yet Muto Yugi made it work, didn't he?
Worst case, he could just bluff his way through with a dramatic top-deck, printed-card combo to impress the examiner!
If that failed, maybe a duel spirit could cheat for him!
Didn't Manjoume's Ojama trio pull it off like that?
But the more he thought, the more absurd it felt.
His mind couldn't help but recall famous sayings that emerged when the Tearlaments deck took over:
"Your deck? My deck."
"Even if I don't know how to play, I can still beat you by mashing cards."
"The more you resist Tearlaments, the more you fall to Tearlaments, and the more you feel the beauty and power of the mermaids."
"…"
Vanilla monsters slaying Tearlaments mermaids?
Heh, yeah, right.
Don't kid yourself!
Even a world champion with a vanilla deck might not beat a Tearlaments player who barely knows the rules!
With these thoughts, Ryo Nakamuta's pace quickened, and before he knew it, he'd arrived at the main gate of the Phantom God Dimension Academy.
Turning toward the sports field, he saw a crowd of new and returning students buzzing with excitement.
Some were crying over failing their entrance exam, facing a second attempt.
Others were thrilled about surviving three turns against the examiner.
And some were mocking the newbies who couldn't handle xyz, synchro, or other modern summoning methods.
Ryo Nakamuta swallowed hard, slowing his steps as he squeezed into the crowd.
Listening to the chatter of new and returning students, he quickly grasped the situation.
Knowing modern summoning methods gave you bonus points in the entrance exam.
The exam didn't care about winning or losing—only your score mattered.
You could lose the duel, but if your performance and combo plays impressed the examiner, you could still pass.
"Alright, that's the ticket!"
"I'll just show off with my vanilla monsters and blow the examiner's mind!"
"That'll do the trick, right?"
"Once I'm enrolled, I'll save up, buy some packs, and beef up my deck's power!"
Ryo Nakamuta let out a quiet sigh of relief, his gaze locking onto a duel at the center of the sports field.
Dueling the examiner, Furuta Hajime, was a white-haired, starfish-headed guy.
What's more, this white-haired starfish-head wasn't just mimicking Muto Yugi's hairstyle—his deck was Black Magician!
"I activate the effect of Gagaga Samurai!"
"I detach one xyz material from this card to activate its effect: I equip one Warrior-type monster from my hand to this card as an equip spell. This card's ATK increases by the ATK of the equipped monster."
"The Warrior-type monster I choose is Rocket Warrior, with 1500 ATK!"
"Total: 3500 ATK!"
"Break through! Destroy Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon!"
"Deal 500 LP damage to you, sensei!"
"My turn ends!"
Kito Saku skillfully executed the effect of his xyz monster!
Gagaga Samurai's longsword pierced through Reactor Dragon's chest, and the ancient mechanical parts collapsed like a crumbling skyscraper, drawing the attention of every new and returning student on the field!
"As expected of Kito Saku! So strong! Black Magician plus Thousand Knives synergy should score a ton of points!"
"The key is he can xyz summon! A 4-star Gagaga Samurai broke through Furuta-sensei's ace monster, Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon!"
"Man, this guy's gotta be top-tier among the freshmen, right?"
"A Black Magician deck mixed with xyz summoning? Is advanced summoning really a relic of the past?"
The crowd's chatter made Ryo Nakamuta reassess this white-haired starfish-head.
Indeed.
He had some skill, but not much.
Using Gagaga Samurai's effect to boost its ATK past 3000 to destroy Ancient Gear Reactor Dragon was clever.
But the problem was—
A Black Magician deck doesn't exactly mesh with 4-star Warrior xyz monsters, does it?
"Good! Very good!"
"No need to continue this duel!"
"My judging criteria are simple: defeating my ace monster is enough to pass!"
"Step down! Next!"
"Ryo Nakamuta!"
Furuta Hajime looked at Kito Saku with clear approval, already fond of this freshman.
But when he called for Ryo Nakamuta, his warm, approving gaze turned cold, his eyes narrowing as he waited for Ryo to take the field.
On Ryo Nakamuta's side, hearing his name called sent a shiver down his spine.
Good news: It was his turn.
Bad news: His vanilla deck was up against Ancient Gear.
Was this even playable?
Sure, the entrance exam allowed three attempts, but failing the first one would tank the examiner's impression of him.
Even if he passed on later tries, he'd probably get stuck in the worst class!
"Ryo Nakamuta? Ryo Nakamuta!"
"Freshman Ryo Nakamuta, enter the field! Time's limited!"
"If you don't show up, you'll forfeit the exam!"
Furuta Hajime raised his voice, growing impatient.
Still hesitating, Ryo Nakamuta took a deep breath.
Guess he'd have to treat a dead horse as a living one!
Reassuring himself, Ryo Nakamuta squared his shoulders, strode confidently, and stepped into the center of the duel field under everyone's gaze.
Soon, the duel details appeared:
Furuta Hajime vs. Ryo Nakamuta.
Both players' Life Points: 8000 LP.
First turn: Furuta Hajime.
Second turn: Ryo Nakamuta.
"Greetings, Furuta-sensei. I'm Ryo Nakamuta."
"Hm? What deck are you using?"
"Uh, sensei, it's a vanilla monster deck."
"Huh? What's that? Vanilla… monsters?"
After their exchange, the entire field fell silent.
The surrounding students, new and old, shot Ryo puzzled looks. Few people would openly call their deck "vanilla monsters."
Take Kito Saku: his deck had some vanilla monsters, but he still called it a Black Magician deck.
Yet this Ryo Nakamuta straight-up called his deck "vanilla monsters." Did he really have no standout ace monster?
Feeling the weight of countless eyes on him, Ryo Nakamuta, no matter how shameless, couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
"A vanilla advanced-summoning deck, huh?"
"Sounds like some unknown high-level monsters. Alright, let's begin."
Furuta Hajime didn't say much more, already activating his duel disk and inserting his deck, ready to duel.
Just as Ryo Nakamuta was about to speak, an AI-like voice suddenly echoed in the depths of his mind:
[Congratulations, host, for initiating a duel. System fully activated!]
[Congratulations, host, for receiving a beginner's gift pack, unlocking select Red-Eyes deck cards!]
[Red-Eyes cards have been successfully integrated into your current deck construction.]
[New task unlocked!]
[Task 1: Defeat Furuta Hajime to secure admission to Phantom God Dimension Academy.]
System? Wait—
A golden finger?!
The must-have system for transmigration novel protagonists?
Ryo Nakamuta's pupils shrank. Still skeptical, he immediately pulled his deck from the duel disk to check.
Red-Eyes Wyvern! Red-Eyes Insight! Red-Eyes Fusion! Pot of Greed…
His deck, once full of vanilla trash, now included several Red-Eyes archetype cards and support cards!
And the extra deck, previously nonexistent, had appeared!
It even contained non-Red-Eyes generic xyz and synchro monsters!
It was real! It was actually real!
Now he was set!
"Ahem, sorry, Furuta-sensei."
"Let me rephrase."
"My deck is… vanilla Red-Eyes!!!"