Ten o'clock at night, at the Duel Academy arena.
The world was silent, save for the faint, tranquil chirping of insects echoing through the campus.
Jiang He had eaten and drunk his fill, even taking a brief nap in his room to digest before Jaden Yuki and Syrus Truesdale came to collect him. They made their way together to the arena.
As soon as they stepped inside, Jiang He spotted a familiar figure in a blue coat pacing back and forth on the dueling field. Two nameless lackeys in the same blue uniform followed closely behind him.
It was Chazz Princeton, the "fat sheep" himself.
"Too slow! I thought you were too scared to show your face!" Chazz sneered, turning around as soon as his lackeys nudged him. He looked utterly impatient.
Jiang He spread his hands. "How could I not come? Haven't you heard the famous proverb?"
"Proverb?" Chazz barked.
"It goes like this: 'Once you've finished your meal, beating up Chazz is the best way to kill time.' Now that I've finished dinner, there was no way I'd miss out."
"Wait, is that really a proverb?" Jaden and Syrus both blinked in confusion, taking him at his word.
Though they had no idea where the saying came from, they could easily hear the casual confidence in Jiang He's voice. He treated the prospect of dueling Chazz with the same relaxed ease as one might use when disciplining a child at home.
"Pfft." Alexis Rhodes, who had just reached the entrance of the arena, couldn't help but stifle a giggle behind her hand.
"You miserable brat! Stop making up fake proverbs! How dare you mock the great Chazz!" Chazz shouted, his face reddening with fury.
"Listen well! We are dueling under the Ante Rule! Winners take all! When you lose, I am taking the rarest, most valuable card in your deck!"
"Hold on a second," Jiang He interrupted, raising a hand. He looked at Chazz with a thin smile. "Do you mind if I change the stakes a little?"
"Hmph, getting cold feet? What do you want to change?" the lackey beside Chazz barked.
Chazz, Jaden, and Syrus all turned to Jiang He with questioning looks. Even Alexis watched with a flicker of curiosity in her eyes.
"If I lose, the stake remains the same you get my rare card. But if I win, instead of a card, I want cash. About twenty million should do." Jiang He smiled as he slotted his deck into the Academy-issued Duel Disk.
To others, rare cards were priceless treasures. To him, winning them didn't serve much of a purpose. Cash was far more practical. He could use it to drastically improve the quality of his meals and upgrade his living conditions. He'd just build himself a better house right next to the Slifer Red dormitory.
"Choose whatever you want. It won't matter, because the winner will undoubtedly be the great Chazz!" Chazz didn't hesitate to agree. The rare card in his own deck was easily worth twenty million; his two older brothers had used the power of the Princeton Group to acquire it for him.
"Then let's get to it!"
"Duel!"
Jiang He and Chazz shouted in unison. Their Duel Disks snapped open with a flash of red light. Both drew their starting hands of five cards.
Beside them, the holographic display flickered to life: [4000 Life Points].
"I'll let you take the first move. Consider it a mercy from an Obelisk Blue elite to a Slifer Red slacker!" Chazz boasted.
He refused to believe Jiang He could be lucky enough to get a "God Hand" every time. There was no way anyone could start a duel with all five pieces of Exodia the Forbidden One more than once in a lifetime. That kind of luck happened once, and then never again.
"Then I'll accept the first turn without any complaints," Jiang He said with a faint smile, looking at Chazz like a predator eyeing a prize sheep.
He didn't plan on being polite. In fact, he immediately activated his special ability: Clear Mind!
Once per duel, he was guaranteed to draw exactly the card he wanted.
"My turn, draw!"
As Jiang He pulled a card from the top of his deck, Jaden's expression shifted.
"That feeling again...!" Jaden stared intensely at Jiang He's movements. He felt that same strange, heavy pressure he had sensed during the entrance exam when Jiang He faced Professor Vellian Crowler.
Alexis moved closer to the edge of the field, her eyes fixed on Jiang He, wondering how he would open this match.
"Chazz, the formula for victory is already set," Jiang He remarked. He didn't even look at the card he had drawn before diving straight into the action.
"What did you say?!" Chazz frowned.
Jiang He pulled a card from his hand and revealed it. "From my hand, I activate the Spell Card, Double Summon!"
As he spoke, the green holographic image of the card materialized on the field.
"With the effect of Double Summon, I can perform an additional Normal Summon this turn!"
Jiang He gave a calm laugh as he slammed two identical Level 4 monster cards onto his Duel Disk in horizontal positions.
"I summon two monsters in Defense Position! Come forth, Royal Magical Library!"
[Royal Magical Library]
[Level: 4]
[Attribute: Light]
[ATK: 0]
[DEF: 2000]
An orange-gold light erupted as two sepia-toned buildings resembling ancient libraries appeared on the field, sitting atop the holographic outlines of the cards.
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