Cyber Dragon.
Of course, that's the real focus!
"Principal Samejima, what if I said I'm a Cyber style master too?"
"Would you believe me?"
Ryo Nakamuta gave a wry smile, waving his hand as he answered.
His words prompted Principal Samejima to shake his head repeatedly, clearly skeptical, his brows furrowed as he studied Ryo, lost in thought.
It wasn't hard to see why.
Across the six domains, in Samejima's eyes, only Kaiser Ryo had truly mastered the Cyber Dragon deck.
Even the Dark Alliance duelists imitating Cyber Dragon were mere clowns in his view.
But now, having reviewed the Back Mountain Forest surveillance footage and the duel data from Ryo's duel disk, Samejima couldn't help but question Ryo Nakamuta about his Cyber Dragon deck.
Cyber Dragon wasn't like Red-Eyes.
Not just anyone could wield it.
"Nakamuta, I know your dueling skills are exceptional."
"But aren't you using a Red-Eyes deck?"
"How are you also using Cyber Dragon?"
"Moreover, I wonder if you've heard of or know about one of my former students."
"He'd be your senior, in a way."
"His name is Ryou Marufuji, or rather, Kaiser Ryo."
"To master Cyber Dragon, do you know how much hardship he endured?"
"That underground duel… even thinking about it now pains me…"
As he spoke, Samejima's eyes grew misty, his mind flooded with memories of Kaiser Ryo and the trials he faced mastering the inner and outer Cyber Dragon styles.
"Uh, Principal Samejima."
"If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do."
"But I really do understand the Cyber Dragon style."
Ryo Nakamuta scratched the back of his head. Seeing Samejima like this, he didn't want to dampen his spirits further, so he let Samejima think what he'd like.
He couldn't exactly say this world's dueling level was too low, and that even Kaiser Ryo wasn't count as a true Cyber style master, could he?
That would only sour Samejima's opinion of him.
"Fine, fine. If you really understand it…"
"Do your best in the upcoming Duel Alliance test class. Prove it to everyone."
"You should know, there's plenty of gossip among the academy's professors. I hope you can show the strength of a Cyber style master!"
Samejima stood, walked over, and patted Ryo Nakamuta's shoulder, his eyes filled with approval.
Only then did Ryo realize what was going on.
Samejima's focus on Cyber Dragon stemmed from the academy's chatty old professors, it seemed. He'd need to bring his A-game to the Duel Alliance test.
"Alright, off you go."
"Rest up and prepare for tomorrow's alliance test."
Samejima relaxed, exhaling as he returned to his seat to sort through teaching materials. Ryo Nakamuta nodded slightly and left.
"Does he really master the Cyber style?"
After Ryo's figure disappeared, Samejima set down his materials, muttering to himself. He realized he couldn't quite figure Ryo Nakamuta out.
What was with this student?
No other student from another dimension was like him, were they?
…
Back at the dorm, Ikeda Hiromu and Kito Saku were already fast asleep, snoring loudly. Seeing this, Ryo Nakamuta quickly washed up and climbed into bed to rest.
With a thought, the YGO system interface appeared before his eyes.
As expected, his previous two tasks were complete, and his duel points had returned to 1000, enough to unlock another deck.
But the newly refreshed system tasks gave Ryo Nakamuta pause.
[Task 1: Deal 100,000 points of battle damage.]
[Task 2: Successfully activate 100 spell card effects.]
Activating 100 spell card effects was manageable, but 100,000 points of battle damage was a headache.
Defeating one opponent yielded 8000 LP, meaning he'd need to beat at least 13 people at minimum—a task far tougher than before. How long would that take?
Alternatively, he could grind it out with some casual combo setups, inflating monster ATK to rack up damage.
Either way, neither task was as simple as the earlier ones.
"Eh, whatever."
"I'll take it one step at a time."
"My Cyber Dragon and Red-Eyes decks are good enough for now."
"I can swap for a new deck later."
Ryo Nakamuta's eyes grew heavy, and he gave up thinking about the tasks. Closing his eyes, he drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, the alarm blared, waking Ryo Nakamuta alongside Ikeda Hiromu and Kito Saku.
The trio washed up quickly and headed to class to prepare for the day's lesson.
It was their first official class of the term!
The Duel Alliance test class.
On the way, Ryo Nakamuta chatted with the two, getting a rough idea of what the Duel Alliance test class entailed.
Unlike standard duels, the Duel Alliance test class was all about variety and unpredictability.
Last year's Phantom God Blue class was tested on maximizing special summons. Students with decks lacking special summon options scored the lowest.
The year before, the Phantom God Blue class was tasked with summoning ace monsters as much as possible. Students with decks reliant on a single ace monster nearly cried, predictably earning bottom scores.
In contrast, the Phantom God Yellow and Red classes faced simpler tests, like coordinating spell and monster cards or trap and spell cards.
Ryo Nakamuta grew intrigued by the alliance test after hearing this.
It seemed Phantom God Dimension Academy had quite a range of courses!
"Ryo-bro, you've got your deck ready, right?"
"Not gonna lie, I was stressing so hard yesterday, that I barely slept."
Ryo Nakamuta's eyes twitched at Ikeda Hiromu's words. Barely slept? Then what was with the snoring he heard last night?
"Class prez, you gotta give it your all this time."
"Aim for first in the alliance test. It'll boost your chances of joining the alliance after graduation."
"My goal is to join the Duel Alliance and meet the Duel King, Mr. Muto Yugi!"
Kito Saku's eyes shone with determination, as if he'd resolved to shine in the alliance test.
Ryo Nakamuta stayed quiet, his mind wondering about the Duel Alliance members' strength and what decks they played.
Each lost in their thoughts, the trio soon reached the classroom and took their usual seats.
Ryo Nakamuta scanned the room, noting the situation.
Interestingly, Suzuki Mina was absent.
From the surrounding chatter, he pieced together why.
After losing the class president duel, Suzuki Mina had returned to the Suzuki Group and hadn't been heard from since. No one knew when she'd return.
All they could say was, that's how rich heiresses were.
Her temperament? Hard to judge.