My Little Duel Academy

Chapters

The Entrance Exam
When You Seem On Top
Marshmallow Skyscrapers
The Promotion Exam

The Entrance Exam

My Little Duel Academy
Chapter 1: The Entrance Exam

I was there on time for once. Thinking I would be the last of them, however there is always someone who is worse than you in your mind. My name is Alex. I’m going to hopefully become a student at Duel Academy however that isn’t a guarantee. To be perfectly honest, I don’t often win the duels that I have to and buckle under the pressure. It can’t be helped; I’m timid.

The written exam was straightforward. I found the questions to be easy seeing as they were multiple choices. And then the carnage started. One student burst through the doors with a cacophony of noise to boot, twenty minutes into the hour long paper. His name was Jaden Yuki, The brown hair was a scraggly mess and his black blazer was crumpled too. His bag was slung over his right shoulder, half open and after apologising to the invigilator; he stared straight into my eyes and smiled in his cocky manner. In all honesty, he looked rather cute. I didn’t think he would fancy a girl like me however there was my test to complete.

I was left on my own until a black haired boy sat next to me.

“Good afternoon, my name is Bastion Misawa,” he spoke with gusto; “I couldn’t help but see that you were lonely so I thought you needed someone to talk to.” I knew he was only being kind, however the nerves that took over the insides of me were starting to take over.

“Oh, ok. Have you done the practical exam?” It was the only thing that came to mind.

“Yes and I defeated the obelisk with ease. With my calculated deck, it’s impossible to be beat!” He gloated. I wasn’t comfortable around him, but his arrogance was the only thing keeping me from curling up into a ball.

“So will you be going to Obelisk blue then? I asked.

“No, no, I came from a state school, not a private one so the highest I can go is Ra yellow.” He looked slightly disappointed that he wasn’t there. Almost as if he was setting his heart on it. Just as he was about to speak again, a whining noise emanated from the top of the stairs. A boy with long pale blue hair bounded down the stairs towards me and Bastion. It looked like they met before.

“Ah Syrus, Did you pass with flying colours like your brother?”

“Nope, I barely passed at all” Syrus said with regret. He had spectacles which stayed on the tip of his nose and seemed to have a low self-esteem. “I just don’t understand how Zane is so good.” I perked up.

“Did you just say that your brother is the Zane Trusedale?”

“The one and only, best in this school.” He smiled gleefully afterwards.

“He won’t be the best when I enter this academy!” A voice shouted from high up. And it was him. Jaden Yuki, hands on hips, posing to the three of us. He sprinted down the stairs and began conversing with the group. Like me, it seemed that he hadn’t taken his practical exam either. I decided to go through my head all the knowledge I had learnt throughout the years when my thoughts were interrupted.

“Hey,” He said deep in thought, “I remember you, weren’t you in the written exam with me?” I blushed and responded a little rushed.

“Y-yes I was in there. You were the one who was twenty minutes late correct?” Jaden was taken aback.

“So I was. Ah well, It can’t be helped, I ran into Yugi Muto on the way here.” His eyes were lit up and a new energy seemed to coarse through him.

“Awesome!” I replied, “I’m Alex, Alex Harris, nice to meet you.”

“And I’m Jaden Yuki, next king of games.” He cockily replied. The Intercom was ferrying duellist after duellist around when I heard my name.

“Would Alex Harris please make her way down to centre arena please, thank you.”

“Looks like it’s my turn to duel.” I said nervously. They all wished me good luck and I saw on the left shoulder of Jaden’s, a furry creature with wings of purest white.

“Is that on your arm a Winged Kuriboh?” I asked.

“You can see it? That’s totally awesome!” He remarkably replied. The others were confused by the conversation. I had to go down though and face my test.”

Standing in my way was an Obelisk blue student with an emotionless expression. His eyes were sullen and from the description Syrus told me, this was Zane Trusedale.
I was shocked. I didn’t expect to face him of all people for an entry exam; it was like putting me in a ten against one fight. Then a teacher whom I thought was a lady at first walked down.

“Miss Harris, I am Doctor Crowler and Zane here will be your opponent. Now, seeing as he is the best this school has to offer, you can lose and still enter, you were the best in the written exam. However, you have to take out at least half of his life points. Is that fair to you?” Being a bag of nerves I replied,

“Yes Ma’am, I mean Sir” I never felt so embarrassed before.

“Good! Now let these duels commence!” The duel disk I had been given activated, opening the field up. His did the same and the pressure was on, what made it worse was that it was my first move.

“Duel!” We both said and the story was about to commence.

“I’ll go first!” I tried to say with some confidence but I didn’t exert it. I drew the first six cards from my deck, satisfied with the result. “I summon, Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter in attack mode!” The pink pony sprang up and giggled into position. With 1500 attack points, I was sure I had a good foothold.

“I lay one card face-down and end my turn.” And without saying a word, he drew his first card of the duel.

“I summon Cyber Dragon in attack mode!” and the metallic plated dragon rose to the gasps of the crowd. I noticed why. It was a level five monster; there was no way he should have been allowed to have summoned it.

“If you’re thinking about how I’m able to summon Cyber Dragon, it is because of its special ability. If you control a monster, and I don’t, I can special summon it,” he was calm and not showing any emotion. His poker face was one to be reckoned with. “Now Cyber Dragon, Take down the Element of Laughter with Strident Blast!” The dragon opened its jaws, looking as if it was glowing inside, only for an amber flame to shoot out, engulfing the pink pony that was Pinkie Pie and destroying it, leaving only white fragments behind. I wasn’t happy, not only was Pinkie Pie destroyed, but she was banished from the field which frustrated me more than usual and my life points had trickled down to 3400. Maybe the pressure was getting to me when all I heard was, “I’ll lay one card face-down,” my turn again.

“Alright, it’s my turn and I’ll draw!” I assessed my options. No monster over 2100 attack points. I was going to have to play on the back foot.

“I summon Applejack, Element of Honesty in defence mode!” The auburn coloured pony sprung up from the card and then led down side-on to the field. Her head was shielded by a brown stepson hat used by the stereotypical southern American. The defence points were only four hundred so it was bound to be destroyed.

“I end my turn.” It was the best that I could do to shield my life points but Zane was the best for a reason.

He silently drew his card and instantly, I knew this wouldn’t be a good turn.

“I activate the spell card Polymerization! This spell allows me to fuse monsters to create a new fusion monster. So I’ll take the Cyber Dragon on the field with the one in my hand in order to summon, the Cyber Twin Dragon in attack mode!” The two dragons were sucked into a vortex and came out as one. A metallic dragon with two heads loomed above me. The attack points were 2800; I was in for a long duel.

“Not only does it have high attack strength, but Cyber Twin Dragon can attack twice per turn, now destroy the Element of Honesty and take a chunk out of her life points with Double Strident Blast!” Two beams of orange light charged straight for me, the first getting halted by Applejack, the second taking a direct hit at me. Jolts of pain seared up and down my body, I was knelt on the floor by the end of it, and my life points had dropped to 600. I looked like a rookie, getting one upped constantly. I needed a way back.

“I end my turn” He calmly said. My only chance for victory was to get rid of the Cyber Twin Dragon at any cost.

“My turn!” I drew the card, and I saw it. It winked at me and then I knew why I saw that Winged Kuriboh upon Jaden’s shoulder. I could see spirits. And this card was one of them.

“I summon Derpy the Adorable in defence mode!” The grey pony leapt onto the arena. She had wings, implying that she was a Pegasus with a blonde mane. She had a wall-eyed stare and with 1500 defence points, wasn’t going to defend me from the next attack, but that didn’t matter.

“I use Derpy the Adorable’s special ability! You see, Derpy can’t help being a little clumsy at times and by destroying up to two cards on my side of the field, she can accidentally destroy the same amount of cards I destroyed on your side of the field! So by releasing my face-down, I can take out the Cyber Twin Dragon!” I was ready to attack, Derpy slowly walked backwards, stepping upon my face-down, destroying it immediately. Then she flew up, charging at the dragon. She was like a bullet the speed of her attack when a cloud of black smoke erupted from where contact was made. To my surprise, what was a Cyber Twin Dragon was now two Cyber Dragons.

“But how?” I said exasperated. And with a calm reply, he said, “Did you forget about my face-down, it’s called De-fusion. I can take one fusion monster on the field, and split it into its material. So my Cyber Twin Dragon got split up into two Cyber Dragons. So the cute and clumsy Derpy has just missed her target.” My turn was over; there was nothing else I could have done.

“My turn!” Zane spoke. And I play the spell card Powerbond! This card can only be used to summon a machine type fusion monster and with two Cyber Dragons on the field, I can unite them with the third in my hand to create one of the most powerful creatures in existence. Rise, the Cyber End Dragon!” The dragon had three heads and flew up to a point where it roared with such ferocity that everybody in the room could feel it. The attack points were also for concern 4000 attack points.

“Also due to Powerbond, my Cyber End Dragon’s attack points are doubled to 8000!” I noticed something; he couldn’t deal any damage due to the fact that Derpy was in defence mode.

“Cyber End Dragon also has a special ability, if I attack a monster in defence mode whose defence is lower than my monster’s attack points, I can inflict the difference as damage!” This was the last thing I wanted to hear. Unless I could survive the attack, I was out of duel academy. Then I saw it in my hand, the only card which could save me.

“Cyber End Dragon, Super Strident Blaze!” Three heads spouting out a surge of orange light was blitzing its way towards me when an explosion of black smoke erupted from just in front of me as Derpy was crushed. The smoke cleared, I was still standing and my life points were still on 600.

“How! How do you survive that, your life points should be zero!”

“In an ordinary situation yes, however the Element of Generosity came to my rescue. By discarding Rarity from my hand, I negated the battle damage I took so you did absolutely nothing, and I believe that Powerbond has an adverse effect which means you take damage equal to the original attack points of Cyber End Dragon at the end of the turn.” Zane was in shock, expecting to win this turn; he hadn’t planned for an escape route if he failed. He fell to his knees, a beaten man, the life points, out in one fell swoop. I had won against the best duellist in the school and the cheers went on for minutes.

“Well played Zane.” I said, and he smiled and said,

“You’re a good duellist, welcome to this school.” And with a friendly handshake, my entry into this academy had been accepted.

Author's Note

Firstly, review. I know it follows more of the other storyline arc but the deck has the season one characters. I apologize if i miss out any key characters. Secondly, I have lived in the UK all my life. If i say pavement instead of sidewalk or spell colours like i did, it is not because i cannot spell.Finally, Enjoy reading, A smile is all I need.

When You Seem On Top

My little Duel Academy

Chapter 2: When You Seem On Top

The boat was spectacular, an ocean liner majestically carving through the waves, on its journey to Academy Island. My journey would take me there, on a search for more than just a way into the pro leagues.

I was three years old when it happened, I don’t remember much, possibly from the trauma or from the age I was. My dad was a wealthy businessman, specialising with deals on duelling tactics. He used to work at Industrial Illusions and managed to make the executive board, but that was before they came. I don’t remember how they got in, or how long they were in for, but it niggled at me that someone with so much authority was being targeted for corruption. He left me a present to remind me of him, a single card named Derpy the Adorable. He left without a trace it seems; nobody had a lead to him. I’ll keep my hopes up and wish that he’ll come back, but it’s been so long.

The horn sounded and the captain took to the speaker.

“This is your captain speaking, we will be arriving shortly at Duel Academy, please head towards the exits in an orderly manner and enjoy your four years here.” I was thinking about why I was here, not about the talent, about the determination to see my dad again. Bastion approached me and the conversation flowed as the boat docked on the island.

“Welcome and your name is?” were the first words I heard as I stepped onto the island. He looked to be in his early fifties yet his hair was still long and not tainted with grey hairs. He didn’t look like he had his eyes open very widely, and his white shirt looked as if it belonged to a late seventies disco dancer.

“Alex Harris” I mumbled as I scuffed my feet against the concrete.

“Ah yes, I heard you beat Zane, very commendable, we expect good things from you, take the middle line and pick up a yellow outfit.” He spoke with a relaxed tone and his voice was soft and soothing. I picked up the outfit and joined the long line of boys and girls all holding yellow blazers and skirts. It would seem like a long wait.

I was surprised by how much a dress suited me. I’ve never really liked them. The dress itself was yellow, as I was in Ra Yellow. Held on by a fastener, the actual top section was white with yellow gloves, the collar was gold rimmed with what I could only describe as an arrow pointing down at the chest section. The boots were yellow also and fitted rather nicely.

The first night was great, the banquet was superb and the selection was amazing. I was the type to keep to myself so I did there, but everybody seemed nice and respecting. My bedroom was room 117 in the back left of the building. My room was on my own which was ok for me, having a roommate forces conversation. I looked out of my eastern facing window to find a silhouette sprinting his way towards the main building. What it was about I do not know, but whatever it was, the Slifer was in a hurry.

The next morning signalled the start of lessons. Duelling history with Professor Stein was the easiest lesson to fall asleep in; the monotonous drone failing to keep me interested. I saw Jaden down in the second row, asleep, which didn’t surprise me. What did was how he passed the written paper back at the entrance exam. My final lesson of the day was with the easily nastiest teacher here. Dr Crowler. He hated the Slifers and yearned for an answer from an Obelisk when students such as Jaden or Cyrus got things incorrect as per usual. I was therefore a little nervous when Crowler called me up to the front at the end of the lesson. I didn’t do anything wrong in my mind.

“Ah Alex,” he said without a care about me, “do follow me, I’ll explain when we get there.” I didn’t understand; I was whisked out of the lecture theatre as we tracked our way up the stairs to a chamber which seemed sealed off to ordinary students, Crowler did use his security card to get here.

“Put this suit on,” he barked as I stared at what looked like a space suit, “It’s for your own safety.” The same disconcerting tone spoke. Next thing I knew, after putting on the space suit, was that a conversation was going on; I was too far back to hear. At last, Crowler shoved me forward, the greetings swiftly followed.

“This here Alex is my prized pupil, the little Belowski. He has the power to put his opponents to sleep which is why you have the suit on. Now then Belowski, say hello to Miss Harris over there then.” I felt a little weird; Belowski looked scruffy and was an obelisk with the blue blazer, crumpled and sullied with mud. His grin seemed a little dopey more than anything else and his brown eyes half shut as if they were going to shut at any moment and he would fall asleep himself.

“Hey dude.” He said to me in a voice which sounded like he was a hippie. He seemed to have faith in Crowler and the teacher seemed to trust the student too.

“Now then, we’re going to see who will win in a duel, you Alex, who in the lightest respect fluked a win over Zane or Belowski who has gone undefeated for two whole years?” I said nothing. I was going to duel against a boy who couldn’t keep his eyes open? Seemed to me that he was better than he looked. He activated his duel disk, implying a battle, I obliged, activating my duel disk. Out came the space for the graveyard and I was ready.

“Duel!” we shouted, and he was going first.

“I’ll draw,” he slurred, “I’ll summon Mokey Mokey in defence mode!” A marshmallow with tiny wings popped out and floated above the card, a question mark visible from its forehead to about six inches above it, the colour of it was red for some reason but I didn’t know why.

“I lay two face downs and end my turn.” He said before the turn came passing over to me.

“It’s my turn!” I asserted and drew the first six from my deck. It was a little difficult to see through the helmet but I could distinguish the cards clearly enough. His monster seemed surprisingly weak unless he was trying to lure me into a trap.

“I summon, Time Turner the Traveller in defence mode!” The brown pony jumped up and then crouched to the floor, the mane was darker than the coat with an hourglass on the flank. The defence strength was 1000 which should block Mokey Mokey’s attacks. Belowski looked unimpressed.

“I use his special ability. Now I can choose any card in my deck and banish it, and in two of my turns, it’s added to my hand, so I’ll choose Derpy the Adorable to banish!” The figure of her clumsiness showing for a mere second before Time Turner sent the card flying into the air.

“I lay one card face down and end my turn.” I should have been safe for this turn, however I got that niggle in the back of my head that I could have done more.

“Heh, that all?” He spoke without a care in the world.

“Yeah, for now.” I said knowing that I wasn’t able to say a witty remark back.

“Well anyway, it’s my turn and I’ll draw,” he had four cards in his hand, plenty to deal some damage, “I’ll summon the Shining Angel in attack mode!” The angel arose, wearing what looked like a white tank top and velvet like skirt. The wings were a shade of beige as the afternoon sun glinted onto them and had blonde hair which was surprisingly short. The attack strength was 1400 and my monster was going to take a battering.

“I switch Mokey Mokey to attack mode and now, Shining Angel, take out that time traveller with luminous blast!” An orb of light emanated from between its hands and grew to the size of a football before slamming it towards the defence that was Time Turner. I needed to keep him on the field; I would have faced the direct attack. Fortunately for me however I had my face down.

“I play a trap!” I shouted, “It’s called Shadowbolt Snare!” Three Pegasi dressed in indigos and violets hurtled round ten metres above my head before one of them smashing the orb in front of me. The power caused me to stagger back, forcing the part in my hair to fall in between my eyes. The three then set to work on the angel. In almost breakneck speeds, the angel was trapped, locked by a triangle of pegasi. Electrical surges sparking between the hooves. They all stared in and not one of them blinking behind the goggles.

“Your beloved angel is now trapped within my snare and is now unable to attack!” I gloated with glee. Belowski seemed to shrug this off.

“Not bad, I end my turn.” He said and my counter attack was going to begin.

“My turn, I draw!” One turn before my Derpy was getting to my hand. Belowski looked as uninterested as you can be in a duel, but that wasn’t going to throw me off.

“I sacrifice Time Turner the Traveller in order to summon, Trixie the Great and Powerful in attack mode!” The blue pony leapt up and forced a cloud of dust to spew up. She wore a purple hat littered with stars and crescents, cape to match. Her eyes were purple and had a wand and moon on her flank. The strength was good enough to take out anything on Belowski’s field, 2000 attack points.

“Now seeing as Trixie here can take out your Mokey Mokey, she’ll attack. Trixie, take out the overgrown marshmallow with Hand of Deletion!” Out came a hand, as if on a computer. It shot off towards it like a greyhound on a racetrack and Belowski had everything covered.

“I activate the trap card Human Wave Tactics, now during the end phase; I can special summon any level 2 or lower normal monsters to the field equal to the number of level 2 or lower monsters that were destroyed this turn.”

“But that still means the attack goes through!” The hand grabbed the marshmallow by the scruff of the neck and let go to click its fingers. A recycle bin appeared below and the monster was blasted into shrapnel. The life points tumbled down, he was on 2300 to my 4000.

“I lay one card face down” I was interrupted rudely to my disbelief.

“I activate the ability of my Human Wave Tactics, allowing me to special summon Happy Lover to the field in attack mode!”

“But Trixie has her own effect! By discarding my hand to the graveyard, I can destroy a number of spells and traps on the field equal to the amount of cards I’ve discarded, which is two, the same number of spells and traps you have!”

“I activate the spell card known as Mystic Wok! Mystic Wok allows me to tribute one monster on my side of the field and I gain life points equal to its attack strength, so my ensnared angel can leave the field and I’ll gain 1400 life points!” I felt smug after the last statement.

“Check again, my snare drains your monster of 400 attack points each round, so you only gain 1000.” His life points now a more respectable 3300. The two traps destroyed and a winged beast with a love heart around its head. It was rounded, and a shade of orange was its body colour. It had 800 attack points which wasn’t enough to deal with Trixie but this was about to change.

“I end my turn.” I said, confident that there wasn’t a card that would destroy Trixie. I was in for a shock.

“My turn and I summon Mokey Mokey in attack mode!” The Marshmallow jumped up and floated, I thought that he wanted to lose and I almost chuckled in front of him.

“I activate the spell card Mokey Mokey Smackdown!” Now whenever a fairy type monster is destroyed, all Mokey Mokey’s have their attack points rise to 3000! Now Happy Lover, Attack Trixie with Gushy Burst!” The attack was a beam of light, forced faster by the flapping of the wings but wasn’t strong enough and backfired into its face. An explosion; and the life points dropped to 2100.

“I activate a spell card from my hand! Sebek’s Blessing! Since I took damage from an attack of my own, I can gain life points equal to the damage inflicted. So my life points move back to what they were, 3300! And don’t forget Mokey Mokey Smackdown, My Mokey Mokey’s attack point’s rise to 3000, now attack with Mokey Mokey Wave!” A repelling wave of red emanated from its body, smashing into the pony without any reaction, it was that quick. The life points of mine, tumbled down to 3000 and without a card in my hand, this duel was going to be tough.

Marshmallow Skyscrapers

My Little Duel Academy
Chapter 3: Marshmallow Skyscrapers

“I lay a face down, your move, if you can.” The voice was starting to annoy me, his skill too. I had an empty field and an empty hand. He had an empty hand, but not an empty field though, and I was fighting a changing tide. It seemed I was powerless, the damage I did was quickly replenished, and I needed to find a way in.

“My turn!” The one card I had, it gave me hope, but then that card, the one which had been sent flying, hurtled to the ground, and into my hand.

“Seeing as it has been two turns since the ability of Time Turner, Derpy finds her way into my hand! And now, I activate the spell card, Cutie Mark Crusaders’ Cape! This spell allows me to perform a magic act, letting me draw two and a disappearing act which sees a monster getting banished.” The card had to be Derpy, as much as I didn’t want it to. Belowski yawned, and rubbed his eyes, charming.

“I summon, Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty in attack mode!” Out from the floor; shot a rainbow, leaving Belowski staggering backwards. She stopped about fifteen feet above the ground, mane and tail both a rainbow, coat colour of cerulean blue, eyes glistening in the sunset. A cloud with a rainbow in a lightning shape was seen on her flank, and her attack strength was 1600.

“Rainbow Dash, take out Mokey Mokey with Twenty Percent Charge!” She flew up another ten feet, swirling as she did so, before spearing down towards the floor, rainbow colours wrapping her up inside. She corkscrewed back into the Mokey Mokey, shattering the marshmallow. The life points fell, he was on 2000, and I was looking triumphant. He shrugged after the damage, which indicated that the damage wasn’t a concern.

“I end my turn with a face down.”

“My turn and I’ll draw,” He said without concern, “I activate the spell card Graceful Charity! This card allows me to draw three cards, and in exchange, discard two.” I thought about why he would use such a card, he would still end up with one card in his hand which meant he was in the same amount of trouble as before. The cards drawn and discarded, I was confused.

“I play the spell card, Pot of Greed! This lets me draw two cards.” His hand now with two cards, I realised that he was toying with me and in doing so, getting the hand he wanted.

“I play the spell card, Pot of Avarice! I can select five monsters in my graveyard, two Mokey Mokey, the two Happy Lovers and Shining Angel; and add them into my deck, shuffle them up, and draw two more!” He was adding to his hand as if his life depended on it, every move a way of making a stronger hand.

“I play my face down, Reckless Greed! This trap card allows me to draw two more cards however I cannot draw a card for the next two draw phases.” He was vulnerable unless he could get rid of me this turn, but I had the feeling that he could get pretty close. He now had five cards in his hand; I had no Idea what he was trying to set up; until he revealed three marshmallows.

“I play Polymerization!” A fusion at a time like this was just what I didn’t want, “I fuse the Mokey Mokey from my hand with the other two in order to form the ultimate Mokey Mokey, the Mokey Mokey King!” A rumbling could be heard, no monster. It intensified, the ground shaking and it felt like an earthquake at ten on the Richter scale. Then a question mark appeared, the size of my body, then two piggy eyes, a nose and a mouth and it was fifteen feet in height, and still going up, the arms visible at thirty and the feet at fifty. It was a marshmallow skyscraper, an absolute monster. And the attack strength was only 300.

“That thing isn’t nearly as strong as Dashie, and even more so as she gains 100 attack points per round!” I thought Belowski was mental. I had no idea what to expect.

“I play De-fusion!” And my luck changed. “Now my king can split up into three of its loyal subjects, three Mokey Mokeys.” The spell had wrapped its power all over the skyscraper which made a face, the type when you screw up your nose just before you’re about to sneeze. And he exploded, a mushroom cloud of pink tore through me, forcing me back against the wall behind me. When I got to my feet again, three marshmallows floated before Dashie. Then it hit me, Mokey Mokey Smackdown could demolish me with two Mokey Mokeys on the field and I would be powerless to stop it.

“Mokey Mokey number one, attack the element of loyalty with Mokey Mokey Wave!” The first red wave emanated out, looking to pierce Rainbow Dash to no avail, petering out before Dashie spiralled into it, causing anger amongst the other two, the life points of his down to 600 but crucially, the other Mokey Mokeys attack points were up at 3000.

“Mokey Mokey number two, take out that pegasus with Mokey Mokey Wave!” The wave that emanated this time, raced out twice as fast, and three times as strong. Dashie was cut up and a cloud of black smoke erupted, my hands up to cover my face, the life points down to 1700.

“Mokey Mokey number three, end this duel, attack her directly!” The final wave hurtled towards me; it would have hurt a lot.

“I activate my face down known as Parasprite Swarm! This quick play spell allows me to summon three Parasprite tokens to the field in defence mode!” They were block coloured and rounded as their cards rose with them, their green eyes not visible, as if they were dormant. The defence was 400 and I was safe for another turn, what made it better was that Belowski had run out of cards in his hand and couldn’t draw for two turns.

“Fire when ready Mokey Mokey!” And the first token was obliterated.

“I end my turn.” He said sullenly, knowing that he was vulnerable, too vulnerable.

“My move, and seeing as you have two 300 attack point monsters out, I need to find one with 900 attack points or more to win, too bad for you that I did, I summon Spike the Scribe in attack mode!” A purple dragon jumped from the card; however the size was no bigger than one and a half foot. He was a baby dragon. The majority of his body was purple except for the belly, which was a contrasting light green. Two fangs protruded out from his closed jaws and his attack strength; 1100.

“Finish him with Emerald Flame!” I roared as spike somersaulted behind the flying marshmallow, lashed out with a claw and fired a burst of emerald flames. The fires raged round it, destroying it and ironically dousing out the win of Belowski.

“Well played dude,” he said upbeat, “you’re a solid duellist.” I was surprised by the comment, he naturally was lax on his posture and questions would always be asked on whether he wanted to duel, but he was talented, and I was almost beaten.

I managed to mutter out the words, “you too,” before stuttering to the floor. There was a crack in the back of my suit, and I felt drowsy.

I woke up with a start ten minutes later to find that a bucket of water had been tipped over me, and Crowler was holding the bucket. I was dazed, angered, confused and shocked.

“What was that for?” I shouted to the surprise of Crowler.

“You were out cold, Belowski is inside his paradise now, well duelled.” This was a surprise to hear. Bewildered, I managed to say, “Thanks.” I saw Crowler was out of his suit, so was I, and yet I felt sluggish with my movement as I stood up, as if the suit had drained my power.

“I need you to keep duelling like you did today, or this school’s reputation will be down the drains.” He said with passion burning inside of him, I didn’t know why, it looked like it was his duty.

“Why do you need me to duel well?” I asked confused. His reply came to me as a shock.

“You see this school has been at the top of the duelling academies for years now and some student’s don’t help, of course we have Zane but some students like Jaden just let the school down. He was so lucky against me, if it wasn’t for that Flame Wingman, he would have been crushed under my power! We need to get rid of these duellists who destroy the establishment brick by brick and put them somewhere else, for example, out of the school, expelled!”

“Okay?” I somehow responded; it seemed that Crowler needed counselling.

“Oh good, you understand. I’ll call you to my office when my other plans fail, for now though, get better until Jaden can be beat.” I was dragged into a horrible situation. Someone who I believed to consider a nice guy was the same person who I had the task in the future of eliminating from the school, to top it off, he beat Crowler which wasn’t a mean feat.

“I’ll write you a letter explaining why you’re back at Ra so late, it’s almost dark. Well, I expect you use your free time wisely tomorrow, it is a Saturday after all.” He spoke with calm now as he got out a post it note and scrawled a notice before heading off down the stairs. I was now faced with what would be a friend of mine up against me, in what could be his last duel, and I didn’t want it to be my fault that he was leaving.

The Promotion Exam

My Little Duel Academy
Chapter 4: The Promotion Exam

The school in my opinion is very clever. I’m a week in now, and in three days’ time, my promotion exam will begin. Of course there would be another duel, but my opponent I do not know yet. The system works like this. Precisely ten days into the new school year, the school hold duels with people of a similar level to your entrance exam grade. The winner moves up; the loser stays where they are if they deal over 2000 points of damage and moves down if they can’t. It means that those who fluked their entrance exam get the proper grade they deserve, and similarly to those moving up. I admit I was lucky against Zane, hopefully I deserve my place.

I’m two days from the exam, and I now know who the two figures were on those consecutive nights and both the same person. I ran into Jaden after class, he was pumped up and rather spirited. I said that I saw someone running past my dorm at night on the day we got there and he responded well. Apparently he was duelling with an Obelisk called Chazz but he doesn’t seem the type to duel him so I dismissed it. Jaden then talked about the day after. He said that he had to save Syrus; which I didn’t believe but I decided to go with it and to top it all off, he had to duel Alexis Rhodes in order to not be handed in! That was even more absurd from my point of view. If what he said was true, he seemed to be a better duellist then a Slifer.

One day from the exam and the partner’s list is up. My name was at the top of Ra, and I didn’t want to duel him; Bastion Misawa. He was just amazing in the entrance exam; he nailed his duel with his proctor and looked to have calculated every possible attack. I wasn’t happy with this but in order to go up, I would need to have a good duel.

The exam doesn’t start until three but a helicopter has just arrived, stashed with rare cards. I won’t be going for them, my deck doesn’t support most of them, and all the average duellists though are racing by me to the card shop to get them. I saw Syrus earlier, he seemed worried but I don’t like prying in other people’s business.

I get an early start time. In fact, we get duel court 1, the second biggest out of all of them. I was waiting for the call, and it came fifteen minutes later.

“Alex Harris, duel court 1. Bastion Misawa, duel court 1.” I was nervous, and looking at him from the other side of the hall, he had no fear. I felt Isolated as I stepped onto the court, and the crowd cheered for Bastion. The school wanted an upset. The duellist that beat Zane to lose to a fellow Ra. All eyes in the room would be fixed on this duel; centre court would be just a side show. I faced Bastion, to which he replied,

“I’ve never seen a deck like yours, and you barely used any cards against Zane, but I think that you’re just another theorem to be cracked.” I was a little unsure on what to say back, he thought he found a weakness, but I wasn’t letting him explore it. The disks were ready, the stage set, the duel about to commence, and I had the first move.

“I’ll take the lead!” I shouted uncharacteristically. My hand was good and I could put him into some bother.

“I’ll start by playing the continuous spell card known as Poison Joke! And it isn’t any joke, every one of my standby phases that it is out on the field, I can place a counter on it, and your monsters lose 100 attack points for each counter.” Blue flowers sprouted up all over Bastion’s side of the field, only about ankle height but tall enough at least. It looked like a daffodil yet more rounded in the centre.

“Next I’ll summon Lyra the Dreamer in defence mode!” The green unicorn jumped up and sat on a park bench. To everyone’s surprise, it sat just like any other human being, the defence, 2000. The unicorn not fazed by much but gazing out into space.

“I end my turn.”

“My turn and I’ll draw.” He said. He studied his cards with intrigue as I stood and watched.

“I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands in attack mode!” The monster arose, almost rabid, human like in appearance but savage as an array of arms swiped out. It had 1400 attack points and an ability to boot.

“Seeing as I normal summoned Manju, I can add one ritual spell card or ritual monster to my hand, so I’ll add the spell card Ritual of Lithmus to my hand!” Manju grabbed into his deck, tossing out Ritual of Lithmus and placed it delicately into his hand.

“I’ll end my turn with two face downs. You’re move.” I knew about some of his cards, I had seen his entry exam, and this was the very same deck. For someone as calculated as him, this surprised me seeing as his deck could have been altered. My turn now and I had many options at my disposal.

“I switch Lyra the Dreamer into attack mode!” The card vanished and she stared, horn illuminating a light green. Her flank was now showing, a lyre upon it. The attack strength was 200 which puzzled Bastion up until I made my next move.

“I summon Fluttershy, Element of Kindness in attack mode!” The yellow pegasus hovered lightly above her card before crouching low. Her eyes obscured as her pink mane fell in front. Her wings were folded into her sides and her flank consisted of three pink butterflies. Her attack points lay at 700 and she looked worried. I, on the other hand, wasn’t.

“I use Fluttershy’s special ability. Once per turn, I can switch the attack and defence points of all monsters on the field until the end phase. Bastion gave a wry smile to this news. Fluttershy had doubled in strength to 1400 and Lyra had multiplied her attack points by ten to 2000. Manju had its attack points slashed to 1000.

“Don’t forget the poison joke; your monster loses 100 attack points.” The thousand hands looked less vicious and now a little limp. He might have had two back rows, but with the momentum I had made, I wanted to inflict the first damage.

“Fluttershy, do some handy work for me and destroy Manju with Scream of Frustration!” A sharp piercing filled the building, but was short lived.

“I thought you would pull off a cheap stunt like that, I play my trap, Ring of Destruction. It allows me to destroy one monster on the field and in return, both players take damage equal to its attack points. I choose Lyra the dreamer as the target!” A black ring snugly fitted upon the green unicorn, panic ensued before a massive explosion rocked the hall. Cries of ooh and gasps were sounded all around, both of us had life points halved to 2000, and nobody in this battle would be leaving Ra tonight.

“Say goodbye to the Element of Kindness also! Her ability, I believe states that she is destroyed when all alone on the field.” It was true, I had an empty field. I didn’t have the choice of summoning a monster but I could attempt to salvage something.

“I lay two cards face down. Tell me Bastion, how did you know the adverse effect of Fluttershy?” I asked whilst handing over my turn.

“The internet can find you the right resources that you need.” He said smugly; his wretched smile mocking me constantly, I could see how snobbish he was being, too overconfident.

“I activate the ritual, Ritual of Lithmus!” He was going to end this quickly, “I now send the Vorse Raider from my hand and Manju from the field to the graveyard so the levels equal eight, so I can summon the prized monster of the deck! Arise, Lithmus Doom Swordsman!” He looked like a highway robber from the days of Robin Hood, dressed properly, boots up to the shins. He wielded two swords which looked worrying and kept his eyes behind a mask which only covered the eyes and nose. A cape connected to the back and a boomerang shaped hat was positioned neatly upon his head. His attack points were zero, which didn’t sound good.

“You see, this card is oh so sciencey, it’s like litmus paper, red with acid, blue with alkali. And what better acid is there then a trap; I play my face down, Spirit Barrier! Now if I control a monster, I’m impervious to taking battle damage. And due to the fact that a trap is face up upon the field, my Lithmus Doom Swordsman’s strength rises to 3000!” Gasps rang out as his lips could taste Obelisk.

“You’re forgetting the Poison Joke.” I replied, the strength would be lowered to 2800 but yet, that wouldn’t be enough to save me.

“Lithmus Doom Swordsman, finish her with Dual Blade- Acidic Strike!” I was for it, or so he thought when the swordsman lunged out at me.

“Nice try.” The swords flew straight through me as he smiled with happiness. I had a trick up my sleeve.

“Want to know why you haven’t won? You’re too arrogant. Notice my face down? Of course you didn’t. It’s called Pinkie’s Interrogation, and this spell allows me to destroy one face up spell or trap card on the field, like Spirit Barrier; and with no trap card, no 3000 attack point bonus. The attack did nothing!” He grimaced.

“My move!” I asserted, “I summon Twilight, Element of Magic in attack mode!” The purple unicorn gracefully stepped out of her card, purple mane shifting only slightly. Her eyes were staring him down intently and a six pointed star was on her flank, surrounded by five smaller white ones. Her attack strength was 1700, not enough, yet.

“When Twiley here is normal summoned, I can add one Element monster from my graveyard to my hand, so Fluttershy here will be making a return, bring her back with Empress’s Enchantment!” Light shone from her horn, raising Fluttershy up and into my hand, but she wasn’t going to be used.

“The attack strength isn’t high enough.” Bastion cockily spoke whilst turning his head to one side, it was time I proved him wrong.

“I activate the equip spell, Elements of Harmony! This card can only be equipped to an element monster and that monster gains 800 attack and defence points!” I was practically shouting in his face, which was quite uncharacteristic of me. Bastion reeled back in shock. A tiara made of solid gold arose from the ground, equipping to the horn of Twilight, the jewel pattern was the same six pointed star but in a violet colour. The attack points were now 2500 and this would be my visit to Obelisk.

“Twilight, wrap this up with Dusky Inferno!” The eyes of hers lost sight of the iris or the pupil, just plain white. A stream of silver wind gushed towards Bastion, stunned at the glaring mistake he made in his overconfidence, reeling at the chance he had of being an Obelisk blue student, hurting as he crouched down, life points on zero. He would stay in Ra, the handshake afterwards. The standing ovation by the crowd was a little overwhelming then, Principal Sheppard announced my move up, to the highest dorm in the academy.

I stayed to watch Jaden duel, to my surprise, he was up against Chazz, and I had a feeling that this was one of Crowler’s tests. What took me by surprise was the level ten, Winged Kuriboh when he won. I could finally believe that his skill wasn’t a fluke. That Jaden was talented, and Crowler wanted me to take on this tough opponent.

The party was led by Alexis, Mindy and Jasmine. Fonda Fontaine, my new dorm leader was even having fun. Though, as I drifted off in the early hours of the morning, I realised something. I had earned my place here, and my mission grew ever closer.