Compared to when he first received Winda, Hikaru wasn't nearly as excited when he saw Wendigo.
It wasn't just because of the card's power.
He admitted that Wendigo's effect was a bit underwhelming, fewer effects than Winda, to be sure. However, 2800 Defense and granting battle destruction protection against Special Summoned monsters was still decent support for Winda.
What really made the difference was the timing.
Hikaru now had a card list packed with Fusion pairings: Dragon Destroyer, Draco-Equiste, the ABCs, Infernoids, and even the newly acquired Armityle the Chaos Phantom. His options and thes were overflowing.
In ga terms, it was like once he had only one side quest outside the main story. Now he had a dozen—all with promising rewards. But ti and energy were still finite. So Hikaru had to choose a few to pursue.
Fortunately, things were also different now.
Back when he first got the Winda card, he had no options, no leads. It was pure luck whether he could complete Winda.
Now, Hikaru understood clearly: participating in Shadow Duels, dueling with DT archetype decks, and crafting cards of the DT world would all charge Shaddoll cards.
So that made things much simpler.
He could work on Gem-Knights while charging Wendigo.
And thanks to KaibaCorp's "Tuner Monster Test Program" at Duel Academy, many students now have DT-series cards as well.
Things like Mist Valley and Dragunity. Even if he couldn't Synchro Summon, these cards had good stats compared to most in circulation, which ant Hikaru had plenty of "targets" to farm.
Within just ten or so days, Hikaru, with higher Spirit power and enhanced alchemy, had nearly completed Wendigo's card in a fraction of the ti it took for Winda. The efficiency was off the charts.
The Polyrization Club had practically gone radio silent after the adjustnt pack incident. Though they still tried recruiting new mbers occasionally, they were clearly hands-off now. Aside from parading Syrus around for publicity, they had no other real presence.
That was a good thing. As long as they didn't stir trouble, their reputation might even recover.
After all, if they didn't act, they couldn't ss up.
Everyone had their own studies and business. Without them actively intruding, people naturally started forgetting them. First-years even thought Hikaru had always been the face of the Fusion Club.
In this peaceful environnt, the Fusion Club hosted a special celebration today.
"Congratulations!"
Hikaru pulled a party popper and shouted.
"Congrats, Celina!"
"Well done, Celina!"
Usually cold and expressionless, the girl was red-faced and awkward under the celebration. Jaden laughed and pushed a tray of tempura her way.
"Didn't expect you to actually pass that test! I was sweating bullets watching!"
"It's all thanks to Sensei and Professor Misawa's teaching—"
Celina, uncharacteristically, stumbled over her words.
"Celina, we only helped you study. You passed because of your own effort," Bastion shook his head.
Celina lived in the girls' dorms at Duel Academy and spent most of her ti at the Fusion Club. Still, that didn't an she had nothing else to do.
Hikaru and the others still had classes and sotis went on dinsional excursions. In her spare ti, Celina had to go through makeup lessons and evaluations.
As certified exam experts, Hikaru and Bastion would sotis help her revise, and even Chazz dropped by to help now and then. Jaden, of course, was mostly there for morale.
Crowler had negotiated with KaibaCorp: if Celina could pass Duel Academy's entrance exams and jump to first year, she wouldn't have to return to junior high. She could stay on the island.
Yesterday, this forr "illiterate" took the exam. Though barely passing, her score was still respectable.
Next term, she would enter Duel Academy as a first-year with the new students, officially becoming a junior of Hikaru and the others.
"Right, Celina," Hikaru nodded, impressed. "In just six months, you learned what normally takes two years, that's all your effort. No amount of our help could replace that."
Hearing him not take any credit, Celina clenched her fists, regaining her usual fire. "No, it's because you're a great teacher! When I think of mastering Fusion, I get fired up every day!"
She was fired up.
"Oooooh! Nice!" Jaden fired up, too. "Then shouldn't we duel?" he glanced around. "Wait, where's Kaiser?"
Hearing him, Atticus, teetering under a pile of gifts, poked his head out.
"Zane just finished his paperwork. He's about to enter his first pro match before graduation."
"Already?"
The students were shocked.
"H-He's going pro before graduation!?" Dimitri nearly fell over, only saved by a classmate catching him.
"Zane's amazing!" Jaden exclaid.
"A prominent sponsor took interest in him," Atticus explained, setting down the gifts. "He's endorsing their product. I think they handle dinsional dueling tech."
"Because of Zane, Hikaru, and Chazz's performance this year, Duel Academy's visibility has skyrocketed. People started noticing top students like Zane."
"Apparently, KaibaCorp is organizing exchange visits too. Mr. Mokuba himself is handling it."
"No wonder Kaiser Zane can do what no one else can."
"Still, we gotta give props to Hikaru! His Fusion slogan probably reached other dinsions by now!"
"Chazz too!"
"Hey! What do you an 'Chazz too'!?" Chazz instantly turned, pointing accusingly.
Fusion Club mbers weren't surprised by Atticus's report.
It was expected.
"Oh, by the way," Atticus continued, "Any of you want to duel Zane in his graduation duel?"
"As third-years, you can submit applications to challenge him. He picks the opponent, it's like a final academic duel. Maybe a way for seniors to pass the torch?"
He chuckled. "Haha, if I hadn't vanished for a year, I might've picked a cute junior to duel."
Graduation Duel!?
Jaden froze.
Graduation.
He suddenly looked dazed.
Slumped back into his seat, stunned.
This past half-year, though Zane was often busy prepping for his future, he still dueled Jaden often in the Fusion Club, helping hone his skills.
Despite their age gap, the two had beco close friends.
But Jaden had never thought about this one thing:
Parting.
"Jaden." Hikaru raised his hand. "We still have a month. Think about it before then."
He had no intent to fight Zane for the graduation duel. He knew Jaden would want that match more than anyone. He wouldn't take it from him.
"Instead, let's focus on what Atticus said, about the sponsors and pro duelists visiting."
"Eh!? O-oh yeah!"
After a brief mont of daze, Jaden imdiately perked up.
Even Celina, who usually charged in recklessly, couldn't help but whisper:
"Jaden-senpai really loves dueling."
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