Staring at the iron door Kevin had just blasted open with ease, Miles felt, for the first ti since arriving in this world, the true destru
Staring at the iron door Kevin had just blasted open with ease, Miles felt, for the first ti since arriving in this world, the true destructive power Duelists held here.
Normally, during duels, everyone just summoned their monsters to fight each other. Thanks to the Spirit Eyes' materialization system, real physical harm to Duelists was minimized as much as possible.
Unless it was a Shadow Ga, even an attack from sothing significantly inferior to Arcana Knight Joker would at most send soone flying off the field like Luca had been.
But just now, Miles had genuinely felt the crushing force Duel Monsters could exert on this world.
No wonder, after the awakening of Duel Monster card abilities, swords and magic—once rulers of otherworldly combat power—had been pushed aside.
Just a simple Level 4 Dunas Dark Witch, casually summoned by Kevin with a snap of his fingers and one swing of her sword, had caused that much destruction.
On an actual battlefield, if Kevin summoned Red-Eyes Black Dragon, how would any normal human withstand it?
Only a Duelist could counter a Duelist. That was the real reason Duelists stood at the pinnacle of power on the Spirit Continent.
For a door that thick and heavy to crumble like rotten wood before a Duel Monster... among all Duelists at Fusion Academy, the only person that door might have stopped was Aisha Carlos.
And that was only back when Aisha could only summon low-Level fluff monsters—before Miles showed up.
'Wait... was this door actually designed just for Aisha? Or rather, to block Duelists who can only summon low-Level monsters?'
The seal light would only trigger for soone connected to Level 1 monsters... yet Level 1 monsters couldn't possibly break through that iron door.
The contradiction was absurd—just like how Level 1 monsters were sohow key to unlocking a 12-Star God Card.
"Never thought there'd be a space like this beneath the Academy."
After Kevin blew the door apart, the four continued to follow the guiding light.
Unlike the narrow, gloomy storage space on the first basent level, this path started with a tight, narrow corridor but then...
So narrow at first—suddenly, it opened up...
The passage widened dramatically into a spacious, natural stalactite cavern.
Faint bioluminescent microorganisms clinging to the stalactites lit the underground space with a soft, glowing light.
Surprisingly bright and clear for a cavern this deep.
The whole place gave Miles a weird sense of déjà vu.
Even though he'd never been there, the infamous Field Spell Card—"Mystic Mine"—ca to mind.
The card's guiding beam led them all the way to the deepest part of the cave.
Where... they were stopped by yet another door.
This ti, it wasn't iron but a stone gate etched with mysterious runes—Perfectly sealed. Even Kevin's Dunas Dark Witch couldn't scratch it.
"Wait, let try Red-Eyes Black Dragon next!"
Not to be outdone, Kevin decided to escalate his firepower.
"All fear and hardship stems from insufficient firepower."
"Hold it, Kevin," Miles quickly stopped him.
If the iron door could be solved with brute force, this stone gate, covered in magic inscriptions, likely required fulfilling a condition.
Besides, using Red-Eyes Black Dragon's full fla breath in a sealed underground cavern... way too risky.
They'd co this far—it was ti to use their brains.
Aisha said, "But Miles... opening doors with your head really hurts."
'Wait... have you actually tried?'
Staying calm, Miles relied on his RPG experience: puzzle rooms always had a nearby hint.
"Found it."
Following Miles's suggestion, the four split up to search. Rovik eventually found so ancient writing behind an inconspicuous stalactite.
Though faded from age, the text was still readable.
But the content left Miles... conflicted.
Three lines, complete with doodles:
"Let's have a fun duel!"
"I activate the Field Spell Card [Mystic Mine], then summon a monster. Your turn!"
"Duelists and Monsters ranked D or above only! Weaklings stay out!"
"Seems... not very serious," Nia comnted.
This mysterious cave and hidden chanism... clearly left behind by so otherworldly expert.
Anyhow, said expert apparently had quite the personality.
"So... does this an we have to duel here?" Rovik analyzed, adjusting his glasses. "But what's with this [Mystic Mine] reference?"
"I think it's a puzzle hint," Miles speculated.
First, the effect of the infamous Field Spell [Mystic Mine]:
[If your opponent controls more monsters than you do, your opponent cannot activate monster effects or declare an attack. If you control more monsters than your opponent does, you cannot activate monster effects or declare an attack.]
A pure stall tactic Field Spell.
As for how to break [Mystic Mine]: when both players control the sa number of monsters, the Field Spell destroys itself at the end phase.
"So if this is a hint, it ans we need to summon the sa number of monsters on both sides to destroy [Mystic Mine]?" Rovik reasoned.
The ssage was clear: after activating [Mystic Mine], the "opponent" summoned one monster.
Nia tilted her head. "But Kevin already summoned Dunas Dark Witch... If equal monster count was the condition, the door should've opened already."
"I think... the key lies in the last line."
Miles brushed the final line of text with Aisha's pale fingertip: Duelists ranked D or above only.
'Duelist rank? Monster rank?'
Miles had only heard of Spell and Trap Card ranks like A, B, C, D... Never Duelists or monsters ranked by letters.
"So... does this an my rank isn't high enough?"
Refusing to back down, Kevin stepped up and summoned another monster in front of the stone door.
This ti, a magical glyph lit up on the door, displaying a letter: A.
Kevin had been ranked A—not enough to break the seal.
So the requirent was at least D rank or higher... and surprisingly, the ranking scale seed reversed compared to Spell Ranks.
Worse yet, if Kevin was A rank, who knew how high Duelists had to be to reach D rank here?
Even Rovik, a second-year, summoned a monster and still scored an A—Not even he, with two years of experience, could surpass Kevin's level.
Was this door only openable by soone like Kaima, Irena... or even Alester-senpai?
Out of curiosity, Miles tried with Aisha's body, summoning a Mokey Mokey.
The result: A .
Better than Kevin and Rovik, but still far below the required D rank.
"M-m-! Let try next!"
Last to attempt, Nia seed genuinely excited by the challenge. She eagerly stepped forward.
"Monster Summon—Koitsu! Let's see my rank!"
None of the three watching expected much.
After all, they were all Fusion Academy students. Even Aisha only got an A , so how high could Nia possibly rank?
And then—Nia's result stunned them all.
Rank: G.
"HUH?!"
Leaving all three A ranks in the dust—and far surpassing the required D rank—Nia had jumped straight to an inexplicable G rank.
Imdiately, magic lettering appeared across the stone gate, and with a low rumble, the door swung open.
"That's huge! Congratulations on clearing the trial!"
Wait.
In the end... the test was for cup size ranking?
Who was the lowbrow "expert" who left behind such a ridiculous chanism?
"I... I only got A ..."
Utterly crushed emotionally, Aisha fell into total silence.
...
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