At Fusion Academy, a practical combat test was held every week. Victorious students were directly awarded a base of 30 credits as a reward.
Additional credits would be given depending on the opponent's overall strength.
These credits could be converted 1:1 into Magic Points for crafting Spell and Trap Cards.
Thus, the weekly practical exam was a vital way for students to earn credits and convert them into Magic Points for card crafting.
Normally, unless faced with an expulsion crisis like Aisha's, most students gave their all in these tests.
Even knowing that Aisha would be expelled if she lost, not all students were willing to throw the match.
Take Kevin Seth, for example. He would absolutely never lose on purpose just to prevent someone like Aisha from being expelled.
The duke's son, who had maintained a perfect win rate in every exam since enrollment and rarely socialized with others, considered himself a Duel elite. There was no way he would sully his perfect record for someone as irrelevant as Aisha.
"Moshi moshi, Little Ai, are you okay?"
Irene waved five fingers in front of Aisha, who had been completely out of it since learning her opponent for the week.
"I finally..." Aisha murmured.
"Finally, what?" Irene asked.
Aisha wanted to say: she had finally gotten someone like Miles, her own ring grandpa, and thought her cheat-protagonist journey was just beginning.
Only to discover that her opponent in the most crucial Duel was Kevin Seth—right after he summoned the legendary Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
"I'm doomed."
"You really are," Irene nodded. "Your luck is just too awful. Even with my connections, there's no way I could get Kevin Seth on our side."
"Waaah, Ren-chan, you're my childhood friend! Shouldn't you say something to comfort me?"
"Sorry, I really don't know what to say." Irene gave Aisha a hug.
As the two childhood friends wallowed in shared despair, a familiar voice called out from behind them.
"Aisha Yuna, wait a moment."
Miss Erin, cigarette in her mouth, jogged over to the two of them.
Though known as a beautiful and competent instructor at Fusion Academy, Miss Erin also had a well-known vice—a heavy addiction to smoking and drinking. She usually lit up the moment class ended.
This, perhaps, was why Miss Erin was nearing thirty and still unmarried.
"Good afternoon, Miss Erin," the two girls greeted her politely.
Irene said, "You're smoking again, Miss Erin. Maybe cut back a little? It's not good for your health."
"So, what did you need me for, Miss Erin?" Aisha asked.
Ignoring Irene's concern, Miss Erin took a long drag and smiled. "Aisha, I assume you've heard about the practical test matchup. There's really no need to be so upset."
"Wait, do you have a plan?" Aisha said quickly, clinging to a sliver of hope.
"No, I meant we can hold a big farewell party for you in class so you can leave with a smile. So don't be sad."
"..."
Aisha was speechless.
"That's not necessary, Miss Erin!"
For some reason, something inside her snapped. A spark of rebellion flared in her eyes.
"I'm not out yet! Let's wait until tomorrow's test is over before deciding anything!"
With that, she stormed off toward the Fusion Academy library, leaving Erin and Irene stunned in her wake.
"Irene, did you understand what Aisha was trying to say just now?" Erin said, taking another puff.
"She… she doesn't actually think she can beat Kevin Seth, does she? Cough cough—Miss Erin, please don't smoke in the hallway!"
Heading alone to the library, Aisha was still nervous despite her brave words.
The only thing giving her the courage to say them was the soul dwelling in the Millennium Puzzle—Miles.
"Please, Mr. Miles, I'm counting on you now. You said I might be able to beat Kevin Seth, didn't you?"
"I did say that… but that was before I saw your deck, dear Aisha," Miles said with a sigh.
While Kevin Seth had summoned a Red-Eyes Black Dragon during the midterm test, Miles' basic understanding of Duel Monsters suggested that, alone, it wasn't that overwhelming.
However, after seeing Aisha's deck, Miles completely changed his mind.
Her deck consisted only of Level 1 and 2 fodder monsters. Worst of all, there wasn't a single Spell or Trap Card.
Miles still didn't fully grasp the Duel system of this world.
But if most people's decks looked like Aisha's, then a 2400 ATK Red-Eyes Black Dragon would be practically unbeatable.
Now their only hope lay in something Aisha had mentioned: Spell/Trap Card crafting.
In the Elves' Continent, Duel Monsters were summoned by the Duelists themselves—that couldn't be changed.
On the other hand, Spell and Trap Cards could be crafted through the magic of Elves' Eyes holders.
Unlike monster summoning, which was random, spell crafting was targeted. You could pick the exact card you wanted to make.
But there was a catch: you needed enough "Magic Points" to do so.
Besides using academy-provided magic to convert credits into Magic Points at a 1:1 ratio, Elves' Eyes users could also gain Magic Points through personal growth.
However, "growth" was abstract. What the Elves' Eyes considered "growth" varied from person to person.
So, most Duel Academy students relied on credits for spell crafting.
Unfortunately, our Aisha Yuna Carlos—the academy's weakest Duelist, who couldn't beat anyone—had already lost access to that main source of credits.
Her pitiful stash of Magic Points came entirely from diligent studying and barely passing written exams.
Even then, at a Duel-focused academy, Aisha's half-semester of written-test credits wasn't enough to craft even a single D-rank rare Spell or Trap Card.
"So Aisha, what card are you currently crafting?"
Upon entering the Fusion Academy library, Miles finally asked what was weighing on his mind.
"See for yourself, Mr. Miles."
The library was massive, filled with countless books of all types.
Whereas to students, the most valuable and irreplaceable one was the Magic Directory—Only with the Magic Directory could Duelists choose which Spell or Trap Card to craft.
Aisha opened her copy with a bashful squint.
When a holder of the Elves' Eyes touched the Magic Directory, it automatically displayed their current crafting progress.
[D-rank Spell Card "Exchange"]
[Crafting Progress ⟨8/10⟩]
"You spent half a semester to get this far?"
…It seemed things were even worse than Miles had imagined.