A western fantasy world, the Spirit Continent, steeped in sword and magic.
The midterm exam at Fusion Duel Academy was underway, and the Duel Monster Summoning Ceremony had begun—
One summoning light after another lit up across the vast academy plaza.
This was a long-standing tradition at the academy, held twice a year—once mid-sester, and once at the end.
After half a sester of study, students poured all their effort into summoning Duel Monsters.
Teachers would grade them based on the strength of the monster summoned, using that as the basis for their test scores.
Of course, as one of the two most important ceremonies of the year, the Fusion Academy also set up magic circuits in advance across the summoning grounds to ensure a steady flow of energy, so that students could summon the strongest monsters their training would allow.
So for the students, this was not only a test—it was an opportunity.
Everyone was giving it their all, aiming to push and surpass their limits in this summoning ceremony.
Ross shouted, "Co forth! Monster Summon—!"
[Celtic Guardian] Level 4│EARTH│Warrior│1400 ATK
A flash of summoning light was cleaved apart by a steel longsword, as the Celtic Guardian clad in green armor was successfully summoned by a student.
Naturally, this earned the approval of first-year horoom teacher Erin Rockefeller, who was considered quite the beauty.
"Not bad. Though its stats aren't top-tier, it's still a Level 4. To summon sothing like this in your first sester? Very promising, Ross."
Praised by Miss Erin, Ross bead with pride.
So far, most of the first-year students had only summoned Level 3 monsters. The Level 4 Celtic Guardian was indeed a cut above.
But Ross's pride would not last long.
Mizuki yelled, "Here it cos, here it cos! A Level 5 monster is coming out!"
A monster one level higher than Ross's was summoned into the arena.
[Leo Wizard] Level 5│EARTH│Spellcaster│1350 ATK
"Even though it's Level 5, its Attack is lower than the Level 4 [Celtic Guardian]," Miss Erin said, exasperated. "To summon such a... peculiarly weak monster, it's very like you, Mizuki. You get 70 points."
"I~☆Did~☆It~☆Yay! 70 is still pretty good!" Mizuki cheered.
"Roaarrr—!"
Suddenly, as if everyone was now competing on star levels, a thunderous dragon roar pierced the sky. From the summoning light erged a massive black dragon, slowly raising its head.
[Red-Eyes Black Dragon] Level 7│DARK│Dragon│2400 ATK
"No way... It's Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Miss Erin's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Teacher, this is the monster I summoned."
In the stunned silence, a tall, black-haired boy showed no surprise or joy. His voice remained cold and calm.
However, whispers quickly filled the plaza.
"It really is Kevin Seth. Second son of the prestigious Seth family—famous across the entire kingdom."
"His older brother, a second-year now, summoned Blue-Eyes White Dragon in his first sester."
"Both brothers made their mark in their debut exams with top-tier dragons. The Seth family heirs are no joke."
"Looks like no one can shake the Seths' standing in the kingdom for the next hundred years."
On this continent ruled by Duel Spirits, those with the "Spirit Eyes" who could summon Duel Monsters were known as Duelists.
In a flash, they could call forth powerful monsters. And only other Duelists could counter them. Thus, Duelists were sought after by nations and noble families alike.
Noble status and power were directly tied to the strength of a family's Duelists; Therefore, almost all skilled Duelists were aligned with noble houses.
After centuries of grooming and recruitnt, the SpiritEyes—and Duelists—were largely exclusive to the nobility. The national Fusion Duel Academy had beco, in practice, a noble academy.
Though commoners sotis awakened the Spirit Eyes and beca Duelists, in no ti, they were recruited by major houses.
With the might of Duelists and their monsters shaping the fate of the continent, power had beco synonymous with nobility.
Of course, where there is glory, there is despair. As so families rose through Duelist power, others fell from its absence.
"Please, please, let it work this ti! I beg you, Kamisama, this is my last chance!"
In a quiet corner of the field, a girl prayed desperately.
With rare silver-white short hair, gem-green eyes, and a face too cute to go unnoticed, she should have stood out.
Yet the girl, Aisha Yuna Carlos, second daughter of House Carlos, had beco the lowest-ranked student in the academy—able to summon only powerless Level 1 Normal Monsters since enrollnt.
Without strong monsters, she lost every combat test.
Losing ant no credits, and without credits, she couldn't craft spells or trap cards.
Trapped in a spiral of defeat, Aisha pinned her last hope on the midterm summoning ceremony, where the academy would provide magical energy.
"If I fail this ti... Father, Mother, Sister... the Carlos family is done for!"
Once a well-established noble house, the Carlos family mysteriously lost the Spirit Eyes in Aisha's father's generation.
Without Duelists, decline was inevitable.
Aisha, the second daughter, was their last hope.
The family gave her the ancestral na, and while she was commonly called Aisha Carlos, her full na was Aisha Yuna Carlos.
As the last Duelist with the Spirit Eyes in the Carlos family, she carried their future on her shoulders when she enrolled.
But just half a sester in, Aisha had already received an expulsion warning due to insufficient credits.
"Begin your summon, Aisha."
With a slight frown, Miss Erin's beautiful face showed clear concern.
She genuinely liked this student, who studied so hard in and out of class.
That said, effort alone could not overco talent.
Erin understood Aisha's crisis.
"Relax, Aisha."
As the horoom teacher, Erin couldn't change the rules, still, she could at least inflate Aisha's score a little, if she showed so improvent.
All Aisha had to do was summon sothing a bit stronger than usual.
Any reason would do—"great progress" or similar.
Given the magical support of the ceremony, that shouldn't have been hard.
Yet watching the panicked girl before her, Erin couldn't help but worry.
"Believe in yourself. These six months of effort won't go to waste," Erin said.
"Thank you, Miss Erin," Aisha nodded, took a deep breath, and stepped into the summoning circle brimming with magic.
"With all my strength, my soul, my everything—I call upon my wish! Descend, Duel Monster—Summon!"
As if in response to her resolve, the circle's magic flared wildly—far surpassing even the earlier summoning of Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
All eyes turned.
Could the bottom-ranked student really summon sothing stronger than Red-Eyes?
The overwhelming magic surged throughout the field. Everyone was thinking the sa thing—
Could this be the dawn of a new era at Fusion Academy?
...
However, after a while, the raging magic cald, as if nothing had happened.
The summoning was over. And no monster appeared before Aisha.
Only a strange-looking accessory materialized in her pale hands—Shaped like a pyramid, adorned with an eye.
No one had ever seen anything like it, not even Miss Erin.
Even so, summoning a magic item instead of a monster during a test wasn't unheard of.
Unfortunately, such cases received the lowest possible score… Even Erin, who wanted to help, felt powerless.
"Not even a monster this ti..."
Her frail body trembling, Aisha Carlos sat in despair, clutching the Millennium Puzzle in her hands, eyes lifted skyward.
"Ah... I really screwed up. It's over. My Duelist career... and my life. orz~"
A tragic dropout.
***
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