"First, let's see if my Deck is still here."
Raku pushed open the bedroom door and pulled open the second drawer on the right side of the desk. It was a corner used to store miscellaneous items and personal belongings.
A dark blue old card case lay inside. The leather at the corners was worn, revealing gray-white fibers underneath. This was the box he used to store his competitive Deck in the past. It had accompanied him through quite a few local shop tournaments.
His fingertip flipped open the magnetic lid with a soft snap.
There were no colorful card illustrations as he expected, nor the familiar reflective shine of foil cards.
Raku froze for a moment. His fingers reached inside and pinched the first card.
White.
Not the kind of white like a Synchro Monster with star-level borders, but a pure, lifeless white, like a sheet of A4 paper freshly bought from a printing shop.
There was nothing on the front. No name box, no effect text box. blank, as if mocking the expectation he had just felt.
He took out the entire Deck—including the Side Deck and the Extra Deck—seventy cards in total, and fanned them out in his hand like playing cards.
All white.
Was this still the competitive build that used to clash with meta Decks? Now they looked more like a stack of thick paper cards used to memorize vocabulary.
"What the hell is going on here?" Raku gently rubbed the surface of one of the cards with his finger.
The texture felt no different from official cards; smooth, resilient. Even the spiral pattern on the card backs was perfectly intact.
Only the front looked as if someone had erased all the information with an eraser. "Could it be that in this world, my Deck spirits don't acknowledge me?"
According to the rules of this world, low recognition from spirits would cause huge Soul Power consumption. But he had never heard that low recognition would cause the card faces themselves to disappear.
"No... if it's converted into academic ability..." Raku sighed, stuffed the stack of blank cards back into the card case, and closed the lid. "In the original world, I really wasn't someone who did homework or practice problems, so it actually makes sense that my Deck in this new world would be blank..."
After all, in a world where dueling was the equivalent of the college entrance exam, this blank Deck probably represented the most direct symbol of an academic underachiever; if the knowledge hasn't been put into your head yet, then of course the test paper will be blank.
The sound of slippers tapping on the floor came from outside the door, followed by Rikka's overly energetic voice.
"Prison bro, if you don't go to school soon, be careful, or Mom and Dad will call from out of town to question you."
"Alright."
Raku pushed the card case back into the drawer and closed it. There was no point worrying about these blank cards now. Going to school was just going through the motions anyway.
If things really didn't work out, he could just buy a few new card packs at the school convenience store and test his luck; maybe he'd pull something that actually had text on it.
He grabbed the shoulder bag hanging from the back of the chair and walked out of the bedroom.
Rikka was standing at the entrance putting on her shoes. The oversized black windbreaker dragged along the floor behind her like a pile of dark clouds.
When she saw Raku come out, she stuffed half a slice of toast into her mouth and mumbled, "Hurry up, hurry up. We're going to be late today. I heard morning reading is 'Classic Tactical Analysis.' If that bald dean catches us being late again, we'll have to copy The Complete History of Dueling as punishment again."
"Got it. Let's go."
Raku casually picked up the key from the cabinet by the entrance and slipped into a pair of somewhat worn sneakers. When he pushed open the front door, the cool morning air rushed toward him, mixed with the scent of street breakfast stalls and car exhaust.
The scenery on both sides of the street felt both familiar and unfamiliar.
The buildings were still the same, and the asphalt road leading to school was unchanged. But the roadside billboards had all transformed.
Where cram school advertisements should have been, massive posters now hung instead: [Kaiba Land Grand Opening! Come experience the shock of Blue-Eyes White Dragon!]
Where supermarket sale banners used to be, there were now slogans that read [Brand New Duel Disks! Come Get Yours!]
The students on the street were the same too, gathering in small groups. But instead of holding English vocabulary notebooks, they held their Decks. Instead of discussing math functions, they were talking about things like "Chain Resolution" and "timing rulings."
Even a passing elementary school student had a miniature Duel Disk stuck into the side of their backpack.
"So this is what they mean by 'everyone duels'..." Raku walked slowly with his hands in his pockets, following behind Rikka.
"What are you muttering about, prison bro?" The black windbreaker puffball in front suddenly stopped and turned around.
The silver-white ahoge on top of her head swayed in the wind. "The school is right up ahead. Don't fall asleep in class again today. Even though none of us expect you to get into some Duel Academy like 'Obelisk Blue,' at least aiming for 'Slifer Red' wouldn't be so bad."
She pointed toward the imposing gate not far ahead.
That school gate was far more magnificent than what Raku remembered. Two enormous stone pillars were carved with reliefs of the card art from [Destined Rivals], and the gilded plaque in the center bore several large words:
[Star City Municipal Second Duel High School]
In short, everyone just called it No.2 High.
The moment Raku stepped through the gate, he felt a barrier known as "school" unfold around him.
Outside on the streets, there was the vibrant atmosphere of a society where everyone dueled; bright posters everywhere. But the air inside this teaching building carried a familiar heaviness.
It was the unique smell formed by chalk dust, old wooden desks, and the resentment of countless students. It seemed that even if the college entrance exam subjects were replaced with duel theory and practice, school was still school; still just as unpleasant as ever.
That oppressive feeling was like a face-down trap in the Set Zone. You never knew when you might step into something like a Continuous Trap called "Early Morning Study."
"I'll head to my class first. Good luck, prison bro." Rikka waved at the staircase.
The sleeves of that oversized windbreaker traced a black arc through the air. Her grades were much better than Raku's, so naturally, she was in one of the better classes on a higher floor.
Raku watched the black silhouette disappear around the corner, then turned and walked into his own classroom: Third Year Class 6.
"Morning, Raku!"
"Raku's here? Did you watch last night's livestream?"
As soon as he tossed his shoulder bag onto the desk, several boys around him gathered over.
Although Raku resisted the idea of "going to school" from the bottom of his heart, he didn't dislike the people here.
On the contrary, perhaps because of his perpetually half-dead expression and extremely stable temperament, he was unexpectedly popular among this restless group of teenagers.
Everyone seemed to find it comfortable being around someone who wouldn't suddenly shout and who never looked down on others.
"Raku bro, come here.
"Let me show you the card I spent a fortune on yesterday."
A thin boy with a few pimples on his face leaned over mysteriously.
That was Akira, nicknamed "The Weasel." His family was quite wealthy; the kind of guy who could buy an entire booster box at the convenience store without blinking.
He carefully took out a Monster Card from his binder—not even a normal sleeve, but the kind of rigid protective card brick—and held it up in front of Raku.
Heads immediately crowded around from all sides. Several pairs of eyes shone as if they were about to emit the glowing effect of a lucky pull.
"[Alexandrite Dragon], check out this condition!"
Raku leaned closer to look.
It was a Normal Monster Card. The artwork showed a Western dragon made entirely of green gemstones, roaring fiercely with bared fangs.
His gaze slowly moved down to the Attack and Defense values.
Attack: 2000.
Defense: 100.
Level: 4.
"That's ridiculously broken," someone slammed the desk beside them. A boy wearing glasses pushed up the frame on his nose, his tone full of envy. "A Level 4 monster with 2000 Attack?
"A monster you can just summon without tribute reaching the threshold of some Level 5 or 6 monsters? A rare card like that has to be at least four digits, right?"
"Four digits? I think it's more like impossible to even buy," another girl leaned over to look. "And would anyone actually sell a card like this?"
That was true.
In this world, cards weren't merely printed products.
Even though booster packs could be opened freely and there was no restriction on how many you could buy, high‑priced single-card trading in private was a delicate matter.
There had always been a saying circulating among players: if a card chose you from the vast card pool, then selling it for money afterward would be "offending the heavens."
It wasn't just a matter of losing reputation; it would also damage your "duelist credibility."
Once that invisible and intangible "duelist credibility" was damaged, it was very likely that no matter how many packs you opened afterward, those powerful spirits would never answer your call again.
And if a card that was sold as merchandise ended up uncomfortable in its buyer's hands—for example, if the buyer never earned the card's recognition—then the card might start experiencing all sorts of accidents.
It might inexplicably slip out and disappear during a duel, or get washed into a blank card inside a washing machine.
Situations where someone bought a card and still hadn't been disliked by it afterward were rarer than one in a hundred.
That's also why most students only had ordinary vanilla monsters with around 1500 Attack, or miscellaneous cards with awkward effects.
"Heh, heh, that's where you guys don't understand." Akira smugly waved the card in his hand.
The Alexandrite Dragon reflected a green gleam under the fluorescent lights. "It also depends on compatibility. What's the nature of these gem-covered dragons? They're the most money‑loving dragons around!
"They naturally like shiny treasures. My house is decorated in a luxurious style, and with the price I offered… heh heh, this dragon was willing to come with me because of that 'wealth aura'!"
I see.
So this is the legendary bond of "money power," huh?
Looking at the mixture of envy and jealousy on the surrounding faces, Raku's rough mental map of combat strength in this world became a little clearer.
A Level 4 vanilla monster with 2000 Attack was already considered a "treasure of the class" capable of causing a huge sensation.
In his original world, a card like this would probably just sit in a pile of scrap paper or be used as a demonstration card for new players.
Then again, despite Alexandrite Dragon being a vanilla monster, in an environment like this—slow-paced and lacking removal tools—a 2000 Attack monster that could stand on the field without tribute had extremely terrifying pressure.
At the very least, if the opponent didn't draw a Spell or Trap to deal with it, most people would only have the option of getting beaten down by that dragon punch after punch.
"Not bad, The Weasel. You really scored something good."
Raku smiled and patted Akira on the shoulder, offering a casual compliment. "With that 2000 Attack in the upcoming class match, once you slam it down on the field, the other side's faces will turn green."
"Of course!" Akira carefully returned the card into the card brick. "What about you, Raku bro? Did you go to the new card shop this weekend to hunt for anything good? Let the brothers take a look."
"Me?"
Raku's movement stiffened slightly, his hand unconsciously touching the empty pocket of his school uniform.
That empty Deck was currently lying in the drawer of his desk at home.
If he took it out now, people would probably think it was just a stack of memo cards bought from a stationery shop.
"I'll pass. My luck has been terrible… nothing but filler junk." Raku smoothly covered it up without changing his expression. "And I had too many things to deal with yesterday, so I didn't even bring my Deck. I just left a few staple cards at home for maintenance."
Blank cards couldn't be used for dueling. That was an iron rule.
Right now, the most important task was figuring out how to survive the entire morning of classes… especially making sure no teacher called him up for a practical duel demonstration.
Once school let out at noon, he absolutely had to rush to the nearest card shop.
No matter what, even pulling a few vanilla monsters with 1000 Attack would be better than having nothing in hand.
At that moment, the wooden front door of the classroom creaked with the sound of old hinges.
A middle‑aged man wearing an old gray suit and sporting a shiny balding hairstyle walked in, carrying a thick book titled Fundamentals of Duel Tactics.
He slammed the lesson plan onto the podium. The dull thud instantly cut off the lively discussion in the classroom like a switch turning off the power.
"Everyone, back to your seats!"
The dean's raspy smoker's voice echoed through the classroom. "Morning reading time has started. Today, we're covering key knowledge points for the Duel College Entrance Exam. If I see anyone waving cards around again, you'll run ten laps around the field!"
Akira hurriedly stuffed the Alexandrite Dragon deep into his drawer and sat up straight with his neck tucked in.
...
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