"Clay Charge, the exclusive trap card of Clayman."
"When Clayman on my field is selected as an attack target by an opponent's monster, I can activate this card, destroying both Clayman and the attacking monster and sending them to the Graveyard. Then, it deals 800 points of effect damage to my opponent."
During the Battle Phase, "Enemy Controller" can only be activated at the start of the Battle Phase or during the attack declaration. Since Yuki hadn't missed the timing, he secretly activated Clay Charge without anyone noticing. This explained why, once the smoke cleared, both monsters had vanished—and the teacher's Life Points had been reduced by 800.
"Nice counter attack strategy! I'll set a card and end my turn."
Praising Yuki's move, the teacher set one of his two cards and ended his turn.
"My turn! Draw!"
"Spell Card—Pot of Greed! This lets me draw two cards from my deck."
With his hand replenished to six cards, Yuki looked at the fan of cards in his hand. The corners of his mouth lifted into a confident smile as he declared:
"From this moment on, I'm taking control of this duel!"
"I summon Elemental HERO Sparkman in Attack Position!"
Following Clayman, Yuki now summoned the oldest of the four heroes—Sparkman—whose 1600 ATK made him the strongest of the core HERO quartet.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card Heroic Bond! If there is a 'HERO' monster on my field, I can Special Summon two Level 4 or lower 'Elemental HERO' monsters from my hand."
"Come forth! Elemental HERO Burstinatrix! And Elemental HERO Avian!"
The only female among the four, Burstinatrix wielded the power of fire and had a fiery, alluring figure to match—she was the heroine of flames.
Alongside her, commanding the power of wind, was the birdlike Beast-Warrior with a diligent nature—Avian. Though not a couple in practice, they were often seen as one in name.
"Field Spell—Magical Barrier of Purification, activate! During my turn, all monsters on my side of the field gain 300 ATK!"
As Yuki inserted the card into the Field Zone of his Duel Disk, the three HEROes on his field began to glow with an aura of enhanced power. In an instant, Avian's ATK rose to just 100 points shy of the enemy's Command Knight!
1900 (Sparkman) + 1500 (Burstinatrix) + 1300 (Avian) - 1400 (Command Knight) = 3300 > 2800 LP
If all of these attacks went through, Yuki would be able to finish off the teacher in just the third turn of the duel!
However——
Glancing at the teacher, who showed not the slightest sign of panic, Yuki couldn't help but shift his gaze to the one remaining face-down card on the field.
Having already destroyed the Command Knight, reducing the teacher's Life Points to zero was all but guaranteed. But if the teacher could still smile under these conditions, then his confidence must be coming from that single face-down card.
"In that case, I'll…"
"At the very last moment, I activate the Spell Card Mystical Space Typhoon! It destroys one face-down card in your Spell & Trap Zone, and the targeted card cannot be activated in response to this effect!"
"Nani?!"
The confident teacher had never expected that Yuki would have Mystical Space Typhoon in hand—a card known as a "back row clearer"—and not just anyone, but the kind that, when there's only a single set card, could lead straight to defeat because it prevents the targeted card from being chained in response!
"Trap Card—Mirror Force, huh… If not for Mystical Space Typhoon, the outcome might've been completely reversed!"
Seeing clearly what the teacher's face-down card was at the moment it was destroyed, Yuki let out a sigh of relief and patted his chest. If he had recklessly launched his attack just now, the result would've flipped entirely. Thankfully, he had Mystical Space Typhoon, the perfect card to clear the back row.
Once all three heroes attacked together and reduced the teacher's Life Points to zero, the teacher gathered all his cards, returned them to his deck, shuffled, and then applauded as he said to Yuki:
"Judai Yuki, congratulations on winning this duel. Based on your performance, I'm confident you'll receive a very good score!"
"Thank you!"
Yuki gave a slight bow to the teacher in gratitude, then removed his Deck from the Duel Disk and placed it into the card box hanging at his waist. After placing the Duel Disk on the floor, he turned around and walked down from the stage.
"This guy… not only does he have a special student ID number—Number 0—but even his name is unique!"
"Yeah, and his dueling skills are incredible too! He managed to beat a test instructor in just three turns using only those so-called 'useless' Elemental Heroes!"
As his two underlings spoke highly of Yuki, Manjome's brows furrowed slightly before relaxing. Tilting his head back and raising his nose arrogantly, he said:
"A meaningless duel!"
During the entrance assessment duels, the instructors' decks were roughly of the same level. Beating one merely proved that you were at least competent in dueling. But to say it was excellent? Hmph!
Meanwhile, Yuki brushed past the next student heading to the stage without stopping and walked up into the stands, where he sat alone in a less crowded corner, squinting as he watched the somewhat boring placement duels.
He didn't know how much time had passed until he suddenly heard someone nearby exclaim:
"Professor Chronos might lose to this jellyfish-haired student with the number 110!"
That instantly brought Yuki back to attention.
"To think that someone could make that petty guy Chronos suffer a loss… This Number 110 student isn't simple at all."
Professor Chronos, full name Chronos de Medici, was a professor at Duel Academy and also the chief supervisor of the academy's practical duels.
His primary deck was known for its lockdown effect—"When this card attacks, your opponent cannot activate Spell or Trap Cards until the end of the Damage Step"—the signature ability of the infamous Ancient Gear deck.
Such battle-phase lockdowns of Spells and Traps were extremely disadvantageous for a HERO deck user like Yuki. Back then, it was only thanks to drawing a key card at the right time that he had managed to win against Chronos with only 100 Life Points left.
"Anyone who can force Chronos into a tight spot is someone worth watching closely."
Having made up his mind, Yuki got up from his seat and followed the crowd of onlooking students toward the dueling arena where Candidate 110 was dueling against Professor Chronos.
Even before he saw the duelist, he heard a loud, passionate voice filled with dramatic flair:
"My favorite HERO card! Fusion Summon—Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"
The newly fused form of the hardworking couple, Avian and Burstinatrix, now stood revealed: a green-skinned winged body, a single white angelic wing extending from the left of its back, a blazing red dragon head forming its right arm, and a long, powerful red-black dragon tail swaying behind.
"Elemental HERO Flame Wingman—its sole special ability activates after it destroys a monster in battle and sends it to the Graveyard. It inflicts effect damage to that monster's controller equal to its original ATK."
As he recalled Flame Wingman's stats, Yuki immediately turned his gaze toward Chronos, eyes falling on the steampunk-style mechanical giant looming like a mountain behind him. He couldn't help but speculate what the jellyfish-haired boy had planned next.
"Flame Wingman has 2100 ATK, while the Ancient Gear Golem is on par with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in size and strength. That's a 900-point gap. If he wants to turn things around with just one card—and if he is as much of a HERO fan as I am—then there's probably only one card that could make it work!"
Just as Yuki finished speculating, the jellyfish-haired boy on the dueling platform began his final move:
"Professor, did you know? Even heroes have their exclusive battlefield!"
''What?!''
Chronos furrowed his brow deeply. He had a bad feeling—something unforgettable was about to happen.
"Field Spell 'Skyscraper'—Activate!"
As the HERO-exclusive battlefield—towering skyscrapers—rose from the ground like a forest, enveloping the entire dueling arena, the jellyfish-haired boy completed his finishing combo!
Looking at Flame Wingman perched at top the tallest building, the boy shouted with excitement:
"The stage is set! Now it's time for the professor to witness the true brilliance of a HERO!"
"Go! Elemental HERO Flame Wingman! Launch your final attack on Professor Chronos's 'Ancient Gear Golem'!"
Freely throwing itself forward, Flame Wingman dove between the steel canyons of high-rises, dashing in a blur. As Chronos looked left and right in nervous panic, Flame Wingman suddenly burst out in front of the mechanical giant's head, raised its dragon-head right arm—and blasted it with fire straight to the face!
"Field Spell 'Skyscraper's' effect activates! When an 'Elemental HERO' battles a monster with higher ATK, it gains 1000 ATK during damage calculation!"
"Additionally, Flame Wingman's effect deals damage to the opponent equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK after it's sent to the Graveyard!"
"what?!"
Now Chronos was truly panicked. He had used the Spell Card "Confiscation" earlier, paying 1000 Life Points himself, and was now down to 3000 LP. He'd not only take 100 points of battle damage from Flame Wingman destroying the Ancient Gear Golem but also be hit with a follow-up blast of 3000 effect damage—equal to the Golem's original ATK!
"Mama Mia—!!"
"Skyscraper Shoot!!"
At the final moment, the jellyfish-haired boy shouted out Flame Wingman's finishing move name, used in combination with the Skyscraper Field Spell. As the fiery blast struck Chronos square in the face, the remaining 2900 Life Points were wiped out completely.
Victory: the jellyfish-haired boy!
"Flame Wingman with 2100 ATK, plus the 1000 boost from 'Skyscraper' when fighting a stronger monster—no wonder he's called the 'Three-Thousand Slayer'!"
As a fellow HERO duelist, Yuki couldn't help but genuinely admire this boy. He had perfectly combined HERO monsters with their designated field spell to defeat an opponent whose sheer power exceeded even the mighty Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"I've got a feeling this boy… will pull off many more exciting feats like today's in the future."