"Whooooa!"
On a massive, open mountain, a tall boy in a blue Duel Academy uniform was shouting into the mountain air.
"Man, I've been dying to go climbing! Didn't think it'd feel this good once we were actually here! Hahaha~" Atticus exhausted himself yelling, then bent over with hands on his knees, laughing heartily.
He and Hikaru were currently standing at the summit of a great mountain.
All around them—front, back, left, right—were towering peaks, while clouds drifted at their sides, thunder rumbled faintly overhead, and birds flew past, chirping friendlily at the sight of them.
Atticus waved at them, then whipped out a camera and started snapping shots.
"Mmmm, mmm-mm-mm, beautiful. Coming here with you was the right call!" He looked at the prints of the cloud-draped scenery and smiled.
"Senpai, what is that?" Hikaru looked at the camera.
It seemed like a new model.
Given the level of tech in this world, cameras and computers could easily surpass those of Hikaru's original world, but since most development was poured into duel-related tech, other fields lagged behind.
After all, in most cases, having a Duel Disk was enough.
Outside of AI, aerospace, and dimensional science, few things have progressed fast.
This camera—not super high-tech, though clearly not something an ordinary student could get.
"Ah, you know, right?" Atticus said with a grin. "Back in the day, I was on par with Zane. We were the 'Twin Pillars' of Duel Academy."
Hikaru nodded. "You even had the title 'KING', didn't you?"
"Ugh, compared to 'Kaiser', 'KING' just doesn't sound as cool," Atticus laughed. "Anyway, thanks to Zane's pro career and his performance in the interdimensional matches, some companies noticed me, too. Just because we were considered equals."
"Eh?"
He was smiling, but Hikaru could sense his frustration.
Though Atticus had a comedic reputation in the original GX—never winning a single duel—he was unlike Rex Raptor in one key way:
He stood by Jaden to the end. He even sacrificed himself to draw out DarkNess and search for clues. He just lacked the strength.
"After I chased off those creeps, this weird company contacted me," Atticus said, giving a thumbs-up. "It was a film company. They saw the photos I took of Alexis and said I had real talent. They asked if I wanted to be their photographer—not a duelist."
"Because I'm handsome, right? Plus, I take good photos. So they wanted me.
They didn't even recognize me, and had no idea who I was."
"I see," Hikaru said.
Despite the goofiness, Atticus had his own pride.
"But I can't let people think I'm just some scummy brother making money off pictures of my sister."
'Huh?'
'Isn't that exactly what you are?'
Hikaru thought back to the past six months.
During the school festival, everyone was dueling; Atticus was taking cosplay pics of Alexis.
At the exchange event, everyone was dueling; he was working hard photographing Alexis.
Practice match with the Polymerization Club: everyone was—yeah.
And those pics definitely went to the Alexis fan club. Sold, no less.
All that under the excuse of paying back a year of missed tuition!
"So I thought, I'm handsome, talented, universally loved—why not reinvent myself?
A Spirit Photographer!"
"Wow! I'm a genius!"
He burst out laughing.
Hikaru pinched his brow.
"Hikaru, if you try to learn from this human, I will throw you off this mountain," Tierra muttered, rubbing her arms and warning her chosen duelist.
"Of course, I have a bit of personal interest here, too. This is the Mountain. Home to Dragons, Thunder-types, and Winged Beasts. All of which relate to my deck."
Atticus didn't even react to Tierra's warning. Even if he heard, he probably wouldn't care. He scanned the vast surroundings.
"Still, this place is huge. If we walk, we might spend days without meeting a proper spirit."
Hikaru nodded.
From what they could see, few large dragons or birds were flying around, while the realm looked open and sparse. Occasionally, larger spirits could be seen guarding smaller ones.
"Then—" He drew a card without looking. "Let's go!"
"Phoenix Beast Gairuda!"
With a shout, a brilliant, armor-plated avian wreathed in golden light appeared. Atticus jumped up, grabbed its back, and swung on, then turned and offered a hand to Hikaru.
Tierra tugged Hikaru back before he could take it.
She snapped her fingers, and a tiny devil appeared beside her.
In an instant, a mass of purple puppet strings whipped through the air, binding the tiny demon. A moment later, it inflated into a massive orb.
Snap!
The strings burst. A towering demon, larger than Winda, loomed above.
"Whoaaa—" Atticus yelped.
It even had a seat!
"Hikaru, your spirit has so many features!"
"Y-yeah..." Hikaru wasn't going to explain Tierra's powers. He let her drag him up onto the summoned demon—Pirmais.
With a mighty flap, they both rose into the air.
"HEY!" Atticus shouted through a megaphone. "HEY SPIRITS—WAIT NO—IS ANYONE HERE?!"
"We are noble students of Duel Academy, here to greet any spirit willing to join us!"
"I am the future world's greatest spirit photographer! And this guy is a master of Fusion!"
Hikaru noticed something.
The previously bright, peaceful [Mountain] world... was getting dark.
Thunder was louder, clouds were gathering… Yet, Atticus didn't notice, still yelling.
Until—
Lightning crashed. Thunder boomed.
"Who dares disturb the younglings' training?!"
A majestic voice roared with the thunder. Even Atticus was stunned and silenced. His spirit paused mid-flight, almost forgetting to flap.
Crackling with energy, a massive dragon emerged from the storm.
Its entire body glowed with electricity, a sacred beast with four horns, a snow-white body, violet-black scales, and orbs of thunder swirling around it.
It looked just like the dragons from Chinese mythology.
Thunder Dragonlord!
And it was furious, glaring at Atticus.
"Oh crap..." Atticus muttered, sweat forming. "I think I messed up."
'Oh no!'
Now he knew why there were so few large spirits here.
[Mountain] must be a training and resting ground for baby spirits!