NOVEL WEB Chapter 206: 206
A new semester, a new beginning.
On the first day of the new term, Hikaru officially advanced from a first-year freshman to a second-year "senpai."
Normally, the beginning of a new semester should be relatively relaxed.
But this time, quite a lot happened.
First and most crucial, at least for Hikaru, was this:
Principal Sheppard, due to personal reasons and the Academy's development plans, temporarily left the school to travel around the world.
Thus, matters of the Academy naturally passed to the second-in-command:
None other than Professor Crowler!
On the very first day of term, Professor Crowler rose to the position of "Acting Principal!"
"Ah, Acting Principal Crowler!" Jaden Yuki and his newly recruited, musclebound follower Tyranno Hassleberry happened to spot him in the hallway and greeted him casually.
"Don't add the word 'Acting'!!"
Professor Crowler becoming the acting principal was a huge win for both Hikaru and the Fusion Club.
Everyone knew Amaki Hikaru was Crowler's favorite student after Zane Truesdale. Crowler had gifted him cards, nurtured his growth, and provided all sorts of support, even bending Academy policy.
Now that Crowler was both the actual and de facto head of Duel Academy, the privileges Hikaru and the Fusion Club could enjoy were practically limitless.
The only regret was that with Crowler as acting principal, Leo Akaba didn't even attend the opening ceremony; he phoned in, claiming he was recovering from illness.
That bald man is seriously shady.
Hikaru still couldn't figure out why he feared Crowler so much.
Next came Celina and the others, enrolling.
As an advanced-placement student, Celina was a year younger than her peers. Perhaps because of that, she was chosen to deliver the opening address as the new student representative.
The role left the not-so-diligent and somewhat mischievous Celina a bit awkward, but everyone was satisfied with her performance.
For Hikaru, the only disappointment was that, unlike last year, the acting principal didn't announce "a tragic loss." No school board member had passed away over the break, so there were no duels during the ceremony.
How Hikaru wished to hear, "Our esteemed Professor Akaba has passed away..."
Of course, he knew that was too much to hope for.
With the opening formalities done, the school truly settled down. As expected of a new semester, it was mostly time to refocus and begin studies anew.
During this lull, Hikaru spent time testing the "control range" of Trishula, the Dragon of Icy Imprisonment.
Because its fusion requirement is any three cards with different names, Hikaru experimented by adding cards to his Deck that had nothing to do with Fusion, no synergy, no effects related to it, to see if he could dodge the influence of Super Polymerization and create a more normal Deck structure.
After several days of testing, Hikaru discovered something:
Three cards.
Just like the fusion condition of Trishula.
After adding a dozen different monsters, multiple tests confirmed that only three remained completely unaffected. The rest had fused into strange outcomes: Fusion cards, Fusion Monsters, etc.
But three cards showed no change.
To confirm, Hikaru continued testing Trishula's effect in Fusion Club duels and field exercises after school started.
Through multiple duels and alchemical analysis, he confirmed:
Trishula could "freeze" three monster cards in his Deck that had no connection to Fusion.
These three cards were mostly random. But if he fused them into Trishula, those same three cards would henceforth be immune to Super Polymerization.
The Trishula, the Dragon of Icy Imprisonment, had "frozen" three cards in his Deck.
Three heads, fitting!
Hikaru suspected Dragonecro had similar properties, since his Deck only had two Zombie-type monsters, the effect wasn't as obvious.
In that case, he had to carefully decide which three monsters to include: ones he could use, fuse, and shift his Deck's balance with.
While testing, in the Grand Universe Workshop, Lapis finally woke up. A bit shy, she normally hid behind Crystal. Though Crystal had changed appearance and felt unfamiliar, she was still the most trusted.
Hikaru didn't mind. He had saved her not for card benefits, but out of resistance toward the Fusion Army's cruelty. Despite her shyness, Lapis understood gratitude and helped out often.
Even better, she gifted Hikaru another Crystal.
Double the blessing.
After this quiet, smooth start to the term, news came that shocked the Academy, and Hikaru realized the world was about to get turbulent again.
The Academy was about to stir.
Just a few days into the semester, breaking news reached the school:
During the break, undefeated Duel Academy graduate Zane Truesdale would finally face the also-undefeated prodigy Pro Duelist, Aster Phoenix!
Rumor had it, Aster Phoenix would even use his "true Deck" this time.
Though Aster had visited Duel Academy last term and officially applied to enroll, his Pro Duelist commitments meant he couldn't attend until the current season ended.
Despite that;
Keen-eared reporters had learned from students that Aster had a great time in the Fusion Club and had confirmed plans to join.
And Zane Truesdale was the acknowledged "Fusion Club veteran."
This was the ultimate matchup: the best graduate of Duel Academy versus its rising future star, a Fusion Club legend versus its newest comet!
A dream match!
And more importantly, one of the two undefeated Duelists would finally lose!
A major event in the Pro Duelist circuit!
"Don't worry, Hikaru." When Hikaru heard the school would be livestreaming Zane's duel, he called immediately, nervously warning Zane not to get careless. Zane replied with total confidence:
"I will win."
Hikaru smacked his forehead.
Ominous answer.
"By the way, congrats, Hikaru," Zane continued on the call. "I couldn't be there in person to cheer you during the Friendship Cup in the S-Dimension, but I watched the whole livestream. You were brilliant as ever. Dependable as always."
He had worried a little about Jaden, albeit seeing the duel put him at ease.
Everyone, even Alexis, had learned much in the Fusion Club.
Maybe even he himself had grown in his year there, Hikaru's relentless pursuit of absolute Fusion stirred something in Zane, too. Perhaps he had been subconsciously influenced.
"In that case, I hope you can stay true to your true beliefs and feelings," Hikaru said after a pause.
He had never thought there was anything wrong with Zane becoming the original series's "Hell Kaiser."
Though Hell Kaiser was no longer the gentle elder brother, but a cold, victory-driven Duelist, nothing really changed. He had simply become clear on his true desire:
Victory.
All Zane ever wanted was to win.
He had only held back before out of respect for his opponents and for dueling.
In a world that sought true self and true dueling, that mindset was actually counterproductive.
So Hikaru never agreed with the original view that Sheppard, Atticus, or Syrus had that Hell Kaiser's dueling was wrong.
Hell Kaiser hadn't done anything cruel or evil.
What Hikaru feared was something else entirely:
That Zane might walk the same path as in the original, entering underground duels, damaging his body, and succumbing to heart failure.
Though they stayed in touch after graduation, Hikaru could only remind him with a few words here and there.
After all, Zane was strong-willed and self-aware. All Hikaru could do was warn him early and try to prevent disaster.
Of course, if it really came down to it, he had alchemical potions prepared.
Meanwhile, after hanging up, Zane responded to his manager, put away the phone, and pulled out his Deck.
He turned it over and looked at an old friend: Cyber End Dragon.
He stood in silence.
"My true feelings... huh?"
He took a deep breath.
"As expected of Hikaru... He even saw through my hesitation?"
That guy, chasing absolute Fusion, had never even dueled him.
Yet somehow, he was already ahead of him.