SWNOVELXO Chapter 56: DSMW [56]
The next day, as expected, the rumors about the Egyptian God Cards exploded throughout Fusion Academy. "There were Egyptian Gods sighted at
The next day, as expected, the rumors about the Egyptian God Cards exploded throughout Fusion Academy.
"There were Egyptian Gods sighted at the academy's rear mountain! No joke—I saw it with my own eyes! Slifer the Sky Dragon!"
Those lucky enough to have stayed up late and witnessed Slifer's arrival pushed the rumors to their peak.
With so many eyewitnesses, the credibility skyrocketed, and the academy administration took notice.
That very afternoon, Professor Field from the second-year class led a team—including Miss Erin and several other staff members—for a full-scale search of the rear mountain.
Naturally, the result was predictable.
The Pharaoh had already left the Spirit Continent. No matter how thorough the search, the academy found no trace of the Egyptian Gods.
The only discovery... was a mysterious pool of blood.
Aisha and Irene knew exactly what that was—the blood sprayed when Megan the Barrier Mage had her eye gouged out.
But the staff didn't know that.
Deeming the blood a sign of danger, Fusion Academy sealed the entire rear mountain with barrier magic, forbidding anyone from entering.
This forced the students—especially those itching to sneak in and search for evidence of the God Cards—to give up their plans.
Especially since the barrier was set by Fiona, the academy's top archmage—and the head chef of Fiona's Magic Restaurant.
No student could possibly breach a magic barrier of that level.
Unable to search the mountain, interest in the God Card rumors slowly cooled after a few days, no matter how alluring those cards were.
Soon, barely anyone would care anymore.
But there was one strange thing Aisha and Irene noticed—Mizuki's behavior.
As the biggest victim of that night's Shadow Game, Mizuki, with his usual chatterbox personality, should have been running around spreading every detail.
Yet the very next day, he seemed completely amnesiac—as if he remembered nothing. He'd become just another clueless bystander.
Miles could only guess the Pharaoh had tampered with Mizuki's memories before sending him back—to avoid unnecessary complications.
In the end, while the summoning of Slifer the Sky Dragon was earth-shaking, it hadn't caused any real harm to Fusion Academy. The rear mountain incident faded away with time.
…
The following Thursday.
It was time once again for the weekly Monster Summoning Class.
Over the past few days, Miles had thoroughly researched the new branch that opened in Aisha's Magic Directory—the support spells for the Royal Knights.
His conclusion?
As expected of cards used by the Pharaoh... they were expensive.
The support spells for the Poker Knights weren't as numerous as the HERO series—or even as plentiful as Normal Monster support.
But every single one was extremely high-tier.
The lowest were B-rank spells.
The two Pharaoh used were:
The Continuous Trap [Court of Cards], which lets you revive a Poker Knight from the Graveyard once per turn... and the Quick-Play Spell [Thunderspeed Summon], which lets you Tribute the three Poker Knights to summon a God from the Deck.
Both were top-tier A-rank spells—each costing 400 Magic Points.
[Thunderspeed Summon] was useless for Miles. Without a God in Aisha's Deck, crafting it would be pointless.
As for [Court of Cards], while its infinite revival effect was tempting, comparing it to other A-rank cards like Mirror Force, Pot of Greed, or Painful Choice... its priority wasn't exactly high.
What caught Miles's attention the most was [Face Card Fusion]—a B-rank spell specifically designed to fuse the Poker Knights.
Since this world allowed any logical fusion method to be tested, did this mean the knights—traditionally only used as Tributes for the Gods—might actually have a combined fusion form?
At least, it was worth trying.
But after dragging Irene into multiple duels for testing... the idea failed miserably.
The [Polymerization] spell didn't respond at all.
"Weird... Why isn't it working? Makes no sense. Fusion in this world should let me print anything! First of the Dragons worked just fine!"
Lately, this had become Miles's greatest frustration, looping endlessly in his thoughts.
"So, Aisha... is Miles still hung up on the Fusion thing?"
Before class officially started, Irene scooted up next to Aisha, asking with concern.
Aisha forced a complicated smile.
"Hehe... Yeah, pretty much."
Thanks to their soul link, Miles's thoughts occasionally echoed in Aisha's mind.
And lately... it was all about why the Royal Knights couldn't fuse.
'Sigh... I really wish Miles-san cared about me as much as he does about his cards…'
Not that her own worries were any less than Miles's these days.
Miles was troubled by dueling.
Aisha... was troubled by reality.
And the source of her trouble—
"How's it going, Aisha? Feeling confident for Summoning Class today?"
—was Kevin Seth, who'd apparently bounced back from his defeat against Kaima Seth... and for some reason, now acted like an overly familiar buddy.
"Umm... same as usual, Kevin," Aisha said awkwardly, not sure how else to respond.
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure! I'm feeling great today. As my destined rival, I believe you'll pull through too!"
"R-Rival?!"
How did she suddenly become Kevin's rival?! Why was the formerly aloof Kevin suddenly so friendly?!
Was it just because Miles beat him once...
What Aisha didn't know... was that after yet another crushing defeat to his elder brother Kaima, Kevin finally found the answer.
Why, despite having a better first-year win rate than Kaima, was the gap still so huge?
The answer: Unlike Kaima, Kevin lacked a proper rival—someone like the Gray Witch, Irena, to push him.
And the one who had defeated him—Aisha Yuna Carlos—was clearly the perfect rival.
Even if she seemed like a clumsy girl most of the time... during duels, she radiated that unmistakable rival energy. Kevin was sure of it.
"Let's break through our limits together in today's Summoning Class, Aisha!"
"You're so weird, Kevin! Stay away from my Aisha! Shoo, shoo!"
Irene immediately grabbed Aisha into her arms protectively, shooing Kevin away like a stray cat.
"Tch. Annoying woman."
"Ahem. Settle down, everyone."
With a cough to quiet the room, Miss Erin walked in, cigarette in mouth as usual.
"Before we start today's Summoning Class, let me introduce a transfer student. From Xyz Academy—Luca Slint."
Trailing behind Miss Erin was a petite, blonde girl with delicate, fair features like a fairy from a storybook. Her appearance instantly evoked protectiveness from everyone present.
"So cute!!"
The moment she appeared, the classroom erupted. Boys, girls—everyone was completely charmed.
Ding-ling~
Miles said, "...Wait. That sound..."
While everyone was stunned by the new transfer student's cuteness, Miles—still in spirit form—heard it again.
The same crisp wind-chime sound he'd heard back at the rear mountain...
...The sound of the Millennium Ring.
...
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