Time quickly moved to the next day.
Ms. Song stood at the front of the classroom, placing slips of paper with the names of the twelve students from the honors class into a sealed box.
After giving it a good shake, she drew two slips and opened them with a smile. "The first duel of today's test will be: Russell versus Liam."
Russell raised an eyebrow. He didn't expect to be the first one called.
The honors class students and faculty headed to the custom-built dueling arena on New Metro First High's campus.
Liam stood at the far end of the arena and called out, "Russell, let's have a good match."
As he spoke, a creature with the head of a bull and a human body, wielding a steel blade, appeared in front of him.
"A minotaur?" Russell looked surprised but quickly dismissed the thought. "If it were the Soul Collector: Minotaur, it wouldn't be a Blue-tier card of just Iron rank."
So it was likely one of two things: either just a basic bull-headed creature, or a flawed version due to poor story structure or weak material.
Russell leaned toward the first option.
Typically, homemade creature cards at low quality didn't come with any special abilities.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni appeared instantly in front of Russell.
"I'll leave it to you, Yoriichi."
The swordsman gave a small nod.
Russell had never figured out whether Yoriichi couldn't speak, or just didn't want to.
On the sidelines, Nancy and Darren both narrowed their eyes. It was their first time seeing Russell's card in action.
Yoriichi took a deep breath and suddenly shot toward the minotaur at blinding speed.
The distance between them collapsed in an instant.
Perhaps due to its lower-tier quality or lack of intelligence, the minotaur only reacted once Yoriichi was already right in front of it.
Clang!
Sparks burst into the air as their blades met.
But in the next moment, Liam gasped in shock.
Yoriichi had feinted the clash, stepping aside and ducking low as the minotaur stumbled from the momentum. Then, with a blazing slash, he carved cleanly through its neck.
Behind him, the minotaur's head and body separated, vanishing into particles.
"Russell wins!" Ms. Song announced from the edge of the field, unable to hide the delight on her face.
Russell's talent exceeded her expectations. If not for the limits of his materials, his first card might've even been of Gold quality.
Principal Shepherd had a good eye—Russell was definitely worth grooming as New Metro First High's top seed.
Nancy watched the match with a frown. One battle wasn't enough to fully gauge Yoriichi's capabilities, but even among Purple-tier Iron cards, he was clearly top-tier.
She turned to Darren. "Think you can beat him?"
Darren raised an eyebrow, then smiled confidently. "He might be tricky… but I'll win."
"Good thing it wasn't the red-haired guy," Russell muttered to himself, watching Darren summon a zombie covered in green fur. "Or that fight would've lasted until the end of time."
To be fair, Darren's Green Ghoul was powerful. Even from a glance, Russell could tell it had at least one ability that enhanced its physical strength.
As for the rest—hard to tell. His opponent was so weak, the ghoul flattened the poor card in moments.
"Hahaha! Pathetic. You're not even worth getting serious over!" Darren laughed. "How did you even make it into the honors class?"
His opponent stood there, pale and embarrassed.
Ms. Song frowned. Darren was taking it too far. They were classmates, not mortal enemies.
"Darren's attitude is going to get him in trouble one day," Nancy muttered.
Russell nodded, then shrugged. "Not our problem. We're not his parents."
"Next up—Nancy versus Justin!" Ms. Song called.
"Your turn. Good luck," Russell said, turning to Nancy.
She smiled, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Thanks."
As she walked toward the field, Darren plopped down next to Russell.
"What were you and Nancy whispering about just now?" he asked casually.
Russell scooted away slightly and answered sincerely, "Nothing much. Just that you're too strong, and we probably can't beat you."
Darren immediately caught the sarcasm. "Tch. You'd better keep that attitude when we fight."
Russell sighed internally. What is this guy's problem…
He didn't respond and looked toward the field—only to frown in confusion.
Nancy's opponent's card was just standing there, staring blankly at nothing.
Meanwhile, her Three-Tailed Fox casually sauntered up and knocked it out with one paw swipe.
"Illusion?" Russell narrowed his eyes.
He couldn't help but wonder—how would Itachi Uchiha's illusions stack up against a fox spirit's?
In the following round, Russell, Darren, and Nancy still didn't face each other.
Their opponents continued to crumble instantly.
Clearly, the three of them were far ahead of the rest of the honors class.
If no sudden prodigies appeared, they'd likely be the ones representing New Metro First High at the upcoming district interschool tournament.
The fact that they hadn't fought each other yet made Russell suspicious. Did Ms. Song rig this?
But he laughed at himself—this was just the first round, and any student could challenge others later if they disagreed with the rankings.
Each student could issue one challenge per week—otherwise, things would get out of hand and no one would go to class.
Clap clap.
Ms. Song clapped her hands to regain everyone's attention. "Since only Russell, Darren, and Nancy remain, one of you will get a bye into the final round."
Logically, the bye should fight the loser of the next round—but because defeated cards take a full day to recover, it had to be this way.
Ms. Song looked at her slips and announced loudly, "Next round will be…"