Era of Spirits and Shadows Chapter 5 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Era of Spirits and Shadows! Time for some normal Duel Academy life! Classes, Duels, Trading, and going to the Card Shop to try and get the cards you need for your Deck!

If you’d like to become a patron and get access to these chapters earlier, just head on over to Pat re on and add a /Kairomaru after the com.

Make sure to thank the patrons that make these stories possible by checking out the Patron Plaque on my profile!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 5 – Academy Life and Trading

Jaden and Drake were sitting in the final class for the day, listening to Professor Banner lecture about Alchemy. Supposedly the subject their Dorm Head taught outside of Dueling was Chemistry. But so far he’d started them off on the ancient origins of the Science, and they hadn’t moved too far ahead yet. While it was an interesting history lesson, neither Jaden nor Drake was very invested in it. Banner ended the class less than a minute before the final bell rang and all the students in the class began to pack up their things and head out.

“Want to hit up the Card Shop?” Jaden asked his buddy as they walked through the school.

“Sure, I have enough DP now to get the Monster Card I want.” Drake grinned at finally having enough saved up.

-Card Shop-

“Welcome to the Deck, my new friend!” Drake practically sang as Dorothy handed him the copy of Meteor Black Comet Dragon after deducting 5,000 DP from his account. It was most of his current balance, but after he and Jaden had dueled every other student in the Slifer Dorms once each, he’d earned enough to afford it. His Deck wasn’t heavily Fusion focused, but a Monster like this was too good to pass up! It’s ATK and DEF alone made it powerful, its effect even more so.

“Thanks, Miss Sadie!” Jaden thanked the young woman as she also handed him a card from the case after deducting from his account. “You’re going to be a great addition to my Deck.” He grinned at his new card.

“Which one did you end up choosing, Jaden?” Drake asked and Jaden showed him the Fusion Monster with a wide grin.

Elemental HERO Sunriser – LIGHT – Level 7 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2500 ATK/1200 DEF

Two HERO Monsters with different Attributes.

Must be Fusion Summoned. Monsters you control gain 200 ATK for each different Attribute you control. You can only use each of the following effects of ‘Elemental HERO Sunriser’ once per turn.

If this card is Special Summoned, you can add one Miracle Fusion from your Deck to your hand.

When an attack is declared involving another ‘HERO’ Monster you control: You can target 1 card on the field; destroy it.

“That’s nice…also a pain in the ass to deal with unless you can beat it in sheer ATK or maybe use a Spell or Trap that could get it off the field.” Drake nodded after reading over Jaden’s new card. “Wait…don’t you only have one Miracle Fusion card?”

“Yep, so Sunriser’s ability to search it out will come in handy.” Jaden smiled at his new Fusion Monster. “I want a second copy of Miracle Fusion, but they don’t have any in-stock right now.”

“I’m sure they’ll get more in eventually,” Drake shrugged as they both added their new Fusion Monsters to their Decks. “If not, just save up for it and place an order with Dorothy or Sadie.”

“Miracle Fusion is pretty rare; a copy costs 3,500 DP at minimum.” Dorothy smiled at the two teens.

“Looks like you’ve got some Dueling to do, Jaden.” Alexis spoke up from behind them and both Jaden and Drake turned to face the girl. Mindy and Jasmine were with her as well, and all three Obelisk ladies looked ready to buy cards.

“It was thanks to our Duel that I was able to afford my new Monster today, Alexis.” Jaden grinned at the golden-eyed girl. “So I guess I should thank you.”

“I’m up for a rematch any time.” Alexis challenged with a smile.

“Alexis, we’re here to buy some new cards, not get into a Duel.” Jasmine reminded her friend with a grin.

“If she had her way we’d all be dueling almost non-stop.” Mindy giggled cutely.

“I’m not that bad.” Alexis denied while looking between her two friends. She was met with disbelieving looks and teasing grins.

“We’ll just get out of your way then.” Drake and Jaden headed over to a nearby table to chat and come up with some basic strategies for their new Fusion Monsters.

“Hmm, they have a few…” Alexis looked over the cards in the case, specifically some Ritual Cards.

“Are you really going to redesign your Deck, Alexis?” Mindy looked at her with some worry. “That’s a big change in play style and you’ll have to get used to a whole new set of Sells and Traps, not to mention the different Monster Effects.”

“Mindy has a point,” Jasmine looked uncertain. “Archetype switching is a pretty big deal.”

“It’s not like I’m just going to toss my current Deck out or anything.” Alexis tried to assuage her friends’ worries. “If anything, I’ll just play two Decks.” Both Mindy and Jasmine relaxed a little at that. “But I feel like I can go even further with a new Deck and a new Archetype, you know?”

“It would give you more options…the two differing play styles could really throw off your opponents too.” Jasmine held her chin as she thought over what Alexis was saying.

“Mastering two Archetypes sounds just like something you’d try, Alexis.” Mindy shook her head playfully.

“I don’t want to hear that from Miss ‘I have multiple Side Decks and play styles’…” Alexis teased the ravenette with a playful roll of her eyes.

“They’re necessary since I don’t play an Archetype like you two.” Mindy stuck out her tongue teasingly. “Plus they’re so cute!”

“Yeah…all of them are so cute.” Jasmine shook her head side to side, sending her auburn hair swaying. “Except your three Boss Monsters.”

“They’re cute in their own way!” Mindy stood by her statement.

“Are you three planning to buy, or are you just here to look?” Dorothy laughed at the girls warmly.

“I’d like to put in an order, actually.” Jasmine smiled to the older lady.

“What can we get for you?” Dorothy got out an order form and pulled a pen from her apron pocket.

“I’d like a copy of Alluring Mirror Split, Hysteric Sign, and Hysteric Party.” Jasmine requested and Dorothy started filling out the order form.

“Those three are going to cost you a good chunk of your DP, Jasmine.” Alexis blinked as she recalled how much just the Hysteric Party card cost from the catalogue that all students had access to.

“Yeah, but I’m missing all three of them for my Deck.” Jasmine shrugged as the order form was completed and she let the DP be deducted from her account. “My Harpie Deck will become a lot stronger once I have those three cards.”

“I’d like that Pot of Avarice and the Spiritual Forest card right there.” Mindy pointed out her choices to Sadie inside the display case. Sadie was quick to unlock the case and collect the desired cards for Mindy. A quick transaction and Mindy was slipping the two new cards into her Deck box on her hip. She’d just ignore the price and how much these two cards had just lowered her DP balance.

“For you, dear?” Dorothy asked Alexis as the blonde’s eyes looked between a few of the cards in the case over and over again.

“The Machine Angel Ritual, the Preparation of Rites, and that Cyber Egg Angel, please.” Alexis pointed out the three cards that she’d start building her second Deck with.

“Cyber Angels, huh?” Dorothy nodded as she retrieved the three cards in question. “A good Ritual Archetype, I hope you have good luck in getting all of the cards together.” She took the amount for the three cards out of Alexis’ account before handing them over to the ‘Queen’ of Obelisk Blue.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Alexis smiled as she took her three new cards and put them in her Deck box.

“What a coincidence,” Sadie muttered and then blinked when she saw all eyes on her. “Sorry, just thinking about how the Cyber Angels came up again.”

“Again?” Alexis titled her head slightly.

“Jaden over there,” Sadie pointed to the table that Jaden and Drake were sitting at. “Drew the Golden Eggwich on his first try and got a Cyber Angel Benten from it. He enjoyed the sandwich, but was unable to use the card himself. He said he’d keep it and hope for a trade in the future.”

“A trade, huh?” Alexis’ golden-eyes looked over the Slifer Red with an intent interest.

“Want to go ask him?” Jasmine questioned her friend with a grin.

“You should, Alexis,” Mindy urged with a gleam in her eyes. “It would be a huge boost to getting your new Deck started.”

“You know what?” Alexis decided after a moment to think. “Why not?” She started walking towards Jaden and Drake at their table with Mindy and Jasmine following behind her. She didn’t see both of her friends give mischievous smiles to each other.

“Hmm?” Drake looked up a few seconds before Jaden did as he noticed the approach of the three girls.

“What’s up?” Jaden questioned the girls with a carefree smile.

“I was hoping you might be interested in a trade, Jaden.” Alexis spoke with a small smile. “I’m making a second Deck with a different Archetype and I heard from Miss Sadie that you have one of the Monsters from the set.”

“I do?” Jaden cocked his head to the side slightly. Alexis nearly giggled at the confused look on his face. “What Archetype are you making a Deck for?”

“Cyber Angels,” Alexis informed him with a nod. “It’s a Ritual-based Archetype and I think I could pull it off well.”

“I think she wants that Benten card you got from the Drawbread, dude.” Drake spoke up to jog Jaden’s memory.

“Oh right!” Jaden snapped his fingers as he recalled the card. “Yeah, I have a Cyber Angel Benten that I’d be willing to trade.”

“Great, should we set up a time to meet?” Alexis asked the dual-toned brunette happily.

“We can do it now, if you want.” Jaden smiled back. “I’d just need to go get the card from my dorm since it’s in my card binder.”

“Why don’t you two just come to the Girls’ Dorm?” Jasmine raised an eyebrow. “As long as you stay in the front meeting area you’re allowed to be there until one hour before curfew.”

“You guys have a meeting area?” Drake blinked since the Slifer Dorms had nothing of the sort.

“Yeah, does your Dorm not have one?” Mindy tilted her head with a cute look on her face.

“Our Dorm doesn’t even have private bathrooms.” Jaden shook his head.

“You can’t go anywhere except the meeting area and it’s a separate building from the actual Dorm, so there’s no chance of you accidentally breaking the ‘No Boys in the Girls’ Dorm’ rule.” Alexis assured the two Slifer students.

“You up for it?” Jaden looked over to Drake.

“Sure, I’ll bring my card binder too.” Drake shrugged before smiling at Mindy and Jasmine. “While these two are haggling over their trade, maybe we could do some trading of our own?”

“Why not?” Jasmine gave him a small grin.

“I wouldn’t mind.” Mindy agreed with a cute smile of her own.

“We’ll wait for you at the gates to the Girls’ Dorm.” Alexis promised the boys as the five prepared to split up.

“We’ll be there soon.” Jaden assured her and the two Slifer Reds headed for their Dorm to collect the Benten card and Drake’s card binder.

-Path to the Girls’ Dorm-

“Where do you two Slifer losers think you’re going?” A male Obelisk Blue student demanded of Jaden and Drake. He was standing in the path with another Obelisk male student and both made it clear they weren’t planning to let the Slifers pass.

“We were invited to the Girls’ Dorm to do some trading.” Drake held up his card binder as proof.

“Yeah right, like we’d believe that.” The second Obelisk laughed at them.

“Look, we don’t want any trouble; we’re just trying to meet up with Alexis, Jasmine, and Mindy.” Jaden informed the two guys, both of which looked to be Second Years.

“What?!” The first Obelisk gaped at Jaden.

“No way!” The second shook his head in denial. “Why would any of them want to hang around some bottom of the barrel Slifers?”

“Because they want to trade cards…” Drake looked at both of them like they were dumb.

“Well too bad,” The first guy straightened his stance. “We’re not letting you pass, so beat it.”

“Yeah, the Obelisk girls are too good for you slackers!” The other guy jeered at the First Years.

“He does know that all of the girls at the Academy are in Obelisk by default, right?” Jaden looked between Drake and the Obelisk guy.

“What’s obvious is that these two are being annoying,” Drake declared as he set his card binder next to his feet. “I’m glad we’re told to keep our Duel Disks on hand at all times.” He activated his red-trimmed disk on his left arm.

“What?” The first Obelisk male laughed at the Slifer. “You think a pair of First Years can beat Second Years like us?”

“I’m up for a Duel,” Jaden activated his own Duel Disk with a grin. “Losers have to walk away, sound good?” He stared both of the Obelisks dead in the eye.

“You’re gonna regret this you punks!” The second Obelisk declared as both he and his friend activated their Duel Disks too.

“Then let’s wrap this up quick.” Drake looked the first guy in the eyes. “What’s your name?”

“Darren, why?” The Obelisk let his Duel Disk shuffle his Deck.

“Call the coin flip; Darren.” Drake instructed as he pulled a coin out of his pocket, showed it to the Obelisk and then flipped it high in the air.

“Tails!” Darren called out just before the coin hit the ground. Looking down both teens saw the result.

“Heads, looks like I’m going first.” Drake grinned as their Duel began.

Drake – 4000

Darren – 4000

“I’ll draw,” Drake drew for his turn and looked over his hand. “Hmm, this will be quick. I’ll start by summoning The Black Stone of Legend in Attack Mode.” A black and red flame appeared on the field only to disperse to reveal the familiar gem-like egg.

The Black Stone of Legend – DARK – Level 1 – Dragon/Effect – 0 ATK/0 DEF

“I’ll activate the effect of The Black Stone of Legend,” Drake declared. “By tributing it, I can Special Summon one Level 7 or lower Red-Eyes Monster from my Deck. So I’ll Special Summon my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!” The black and red, gem-like egg was engulfed in an explosion of flames. With a roar that scattered the flames his Ka appeared on the battlefield.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon – DARK – Level 7 – Dragon – 2400 ATK/2000 DEF

“Now I’ll set a face-down and pass it over to you.” Drake slotted a card into his Duel Disk and the hologram of a face-down card appeared behind his Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

“So you have a big Monster, that’s child’s play for a Second Year Obelisk!” Darren snorted as he drew for his turn. “I’ll prove it too! I activate the Spell card Lightning Storm!” He slotted a card into his disk and the hologram appeared on the field. It depicted a massive lightning bolt dropping down from dark clouds to blast apart the ground. “Since I control no other cards, I can either destroy every Spell and Trap you have or I can destroy every Attack Position Monster you control! Say goodbye to your Red-Eyes!” The green Spell card hologram unleashed a bolt of lightning that destroyed the dragon.

“Huh, not bad,” Drake didn’t look perturbed as he moved his Monster card into the graveyard. “But I have a response! I’ll activate the effect of the Red-Eyes Retro Dragon in my hand to Special Summon it to the field in face-up Defense Position. He placed the new card on his Duel Disk horizontally. In a cloud of thick smoke a Red-Eyes Black Dragon appeared, but this one had red markings all over its jet-black scales and had what appeared to be a brass gear on each of its legs that slowly spun like the gears of a clock.

Red-Eyes Retro Dragon – DARK – Level 4 – Dragon/Effect – 1700 ATK/1600 DEF

“Now that he’s on the field, the secondary effect of his Special Summoning activates,” Drake grinned at the Obelisk Blue. “The Red-Eyes you destroyed with your Spell card comes back to the field in the same Position it was in when you destroyed it.” In a blast of red-black flames his Ka reappeared with a roar and its large wings spread wide.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon – DARK – Level 7 – Dragon – 2400 ATK/2000 DEF

“Tch!” Darren didn’t look amused by the way his play had ended up putting his opponent in an even better position. “It’s doesn’t matter, I’ll destroy your Dragon as many times as it takes! I summon Samurai Sword Baron in Attack Mode!” He placed the Monster card on his Duel Disk and in a flash it appeared on the field.

The Monster was a human dressed in sandals, white hakama pants, a black tunic, all covered by an armored, green haori. In each of the Monster’s hands was a katana just waiting to be used.

Samurai Sword Baron – EARTH – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 1600 ATK/1200 DEF

“But that’s not all! I play the Equip Spell card Broken Bamboo Sword!” Darren placed the card into the disk. One of the katana in the Samurai Sword Baron’s hands was replaced with a wooden sword that was broken in half. It didn’t appear to do anything at all as the Monster’s ATK and DEF hadn’t changed. “Next I’ll play the Equip Spell card Cursed Bamboo Sword!” The card was added and the second katana was replaced with a blackened wooden sword than was seemingly surrounded by skull-like souls. Once again, the Monster’s ATK and DEF didn’t change at all. “Now I’ll play the Equip Spell card Fusion Sword Murasame Blade!” The Spell card was added to his Duel Disk and the broken wooden sword was stuffed into the Samurai Sword Baron’s obi. A katana, glowing with purple and gold light, appeared in the Monster’s hand.

Samurai Sword Baron – EARTH – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 2400 ATK/1200 DEF

“Equip Spell heavy, aren’t you?” Drake remarked only for Darren to laugh in response.

“You haven’t even seen the best part!” Darren promised as he hit a button on his Duel Disk. “I activate the effect of Cursed Bamboo Sword. By returning one other Bamboo Sword card I control to my hand, it allows my Monster to attack you directly this turn!” The Broken Bamboo Sword was returned to Darren’s hand, disappearing from the obi of his Monster at the same time. “Now my Baron is strong enough to match your dragon next turn! But I’ll go ahead and take 2400 of your Life Points first! Samurai Sword Baron attacks you directly!” The samurai leapt forward, bypassing both Red-Eyes Dragons with the Murasame Blade raised to strike.

“On attack declaration,” Drake pressed a button on his own Duel Disk as Darren’s eyes widened. The face-down hologram behind his dragons flipped face-up to reveal a Trap card with two cylinders on it, one with an arrow pointing into it and another with an arrow pointing out of it. “I activate Magical Cylinder and target your Samurai Sword Baron! I negate your attack and you take your Monster’s ATK as burn damage!” The two cylinders appeared and the slash of the Samurai Sword Baron was sucked into the right cylinder. The left cylinder glowed before blasting a white beam at Darren.

“Ah!” Darren grimaced as the light washed over him.

Drake – 4000

Darren – 1600

“I end my turn…” Darren muttered with his head down.

“I draw,” Drake pulled a card from his Deck. “Huh, I guess you wanted to try it too.” He whispered to his Ka with a grin. “I play Polymerization,” He slotted the card into his Duel Disk and the hologram appeared. “I fuse the Red-Eyes Black Dragon on my field with the Luster Dragon #2 in my hand to Special Summon my Meteor Black Comet Dragon!” He placed the Luster Dragon #2 on his Duel Disk briefly for the device to register his move, the two dragons swirled into the hologram Spell card as he slid the cards into the graveyard.

In a blast of intense black flames an earth-shaking roar was simulated by the Duel Disks. From the flames emerged a behemoth of a dragon! It stood taller than his Red-Eyes Black Dragon even though it had a similar body-shape. It looked almost like it had lines of magma running beneath its scales and every part of the dragon spewed flames. It claws were engulfed in fire as were its talons. Its tail sent a wave of fire everywhere as it swung through the air. When the great dragon spread its blazing wings wide, small meteors were scattered over the field.

Meteor Black Comet Dragon – DARK – Level 8 – Dragon/Fusion/Effect – 3500 ATK/2000 DEF

“I activate Meteor Black Comet Dragon’s effect,” Drake grinned as Darren was still staring up at the dragon in shock. “By sending one ‘Red-Eyes’ Monster from my Deck to the graveyard, I can inflict half of its ATK to you as burn damage!” Drake explained as he pulled his Deck from the Duel Disk and fanned it out. He picked one of his copies of Red-Eyes Black Dragon out and let the Deck be auto-shuffled after he replaced it. He slid the Red-Eyes Black Dragon card into the graveyard and his Meteor Black Comet Dragon sent more small meteors at Darren with a flap of its blazing wings. The holographic explosions struck all around Darren making the Second Year cover his head instinctively.

Drake – 4000

Darren – 400

“Now I’ll attack your Samurai Sword Baron with Meteor Black Dragon!” Drake declared and a torrent of flame bathed the area where the samurai monster was. It disappeared near instantly along with all of its Equip Spell cards.

Drake – 4000

Darren – 0

“I win.” Drake stated as the holograms faded away. Darren nearly collapsed to his knees but shakily walked off to the side of the path instead. A beep came from Drake’s PDA and he pulled it out to check after deactivating his Duel Disk.

[Drake Roth earns 4,000 DP for defeating a Second Year Obelisk Blue student]

“Nice.” Drake smiled at making almost all of the DP he’d spent on getting the Meteor Black Dragon card back in the same day. “You’re up, Jaden!” Drake picked up his card binder and gave Jaden a high five as they switched places.

“I’m on it!” Jaden grinned with a fire in his eyes.

“All you’re about to be on is a losing streak, Slifer!” His opponent mocked.

“Oh yeah…what’s your name?” Jaden had been too interested in watching Drake’s Duel to ask the Second Year.

“The name’s Brandon, I’m sure you’ll remember it after I beat you.” Brandon sneered at Jaden.

“Wow, attitude, dude.” Jaden shrugged off the Obelisk’s words with ease. “Call the coin flip.” He picked up the coin still lying on the path and flipped it.

“Heads.” Brandon called and the coin hit the ground a second later. It was tails and Jaden would be going first.

Jaden – 4000

Brandon – 4000

“I draw for turn.” Jaden drew his first card. He looked them over for a moment before deciding what he’d do. “I’ll start by activating the Spell card E – Emergency Call!” He placed the card into his Duel Disk and the hologram appeared on the field. The green card depicted a green ‘E’ with an explosion behind it. “That lets me add one Elemental Hero Monster from my Deck to my hand!” Jaden pulled his Deck out and looked for the card he wanted, once he found it he pulled it out and then set his Deck back into the disk to be re-shuffled. “Now I’ll Set a Monster and throw down a face-down, your move.”

“This shouldn’t take much,” Brandon drew for his turn and looked over his hand. “I’ll start off by playing Giant Trunade!” He placed the card into the slot and it appeared on the field. The Spell card depicted a wicked face surrounded by black and green wind. Jaden knew the effect of this particular Spell card and removed his face-down and put it back in his hand. “Now I’ll summon my Gemini Elf in Attack Mode!” Brandon placed the Monster onto the disk.

In a flash of light, two lovely elf women appeared on the field. One was a redhead, with slightly darker skin. She had green marks on her face and wore a purple dress that hugged her figure, showing off a considerable amount of her large breasts and cleavage. The second elf woman was shorter, with blonde hair and a blue dress that was lined with white fur along the top. Like her counterpart, it also showed off a lot of cleavage and hugged her figure.

Gemini Elf – EARTH – Level 4 – Spellcaster – 1900 ATK/900 DEF

“I’ll attack your Set Monster!” Brandon declared confidently. His Monster had 1900 ATK and Jaden no longer had any backrow. Not many Monsters had the DEF to stand up to the Gemini Elf.

“Sorry, but that’s my Elemental Hero Woodsman!” Jaden flipped the card over and the Monster appeared kneeling on the field with his arms crossed. The Hero was humanoid, but appeared to be made from wood on his right side. The left side of his body was muscled, green flesh. He wore a brown loincloth and wooden boots.

Elemental HERO Woodsman – EARTH – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 1000 ATK/2000 DEF

The twin elves attack was repelled as the Hero Monster threw his arms wide and sent them back to their side of the field. Woodsman then returned to his defensive position as Brandon lost Life Points for the failed attack.

Jaden – 4000

Brandon – 3900

“No matter, I’ll enter Main Phase 2 and play the Spell card Double Summon!” The familiar card appeared, depicting a female mage raising her staff horizontally above her head as a bolt of lightning leapt from each end. “I’ll summon Obnoxious Celtic Guard in Attack Mode.”

A brief light appeared and when it faded an elven swordsman in armor stood on the field next to the Gemini Elf. The elf swordsman had green armor, a brown shirt, beige pants, and a purple cape flowing behind him. The new elf readied his sword as he stared at the Defense Position Woodsman.

Obnoxious Celtic Guard – EARTH – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 1400 ATK/1200 DEF

“With that I’ll end my turn.” Brandon stated with a smirk.

“I’ll draw for turn,” Jaden drew his card and seemed pleased. “During my Standby Phase, Woodsman’s effect activates and allows me to take a Polymerization card from my Deck or Graveyard.” Jaden pulled his Deck from his disk again, searched for the Spell card and then added it to his hand. His Deck was auto-shuffled as soon as it was placed back into the Duel Disk. “Now, I’ll activate that Polymerization and fuse the Elemental Hero Sparkman and the Elemental Hero Clayman in my hand together to Special Summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!”

The two Hero Monsters briefly appeared as Jaden set them on the Duel Disk to register the play. They swirled into the hologram of the Polymerization card and in a flash of lightning a towering new Hero appeared. The Hero wore yellow and white armor, had a purple bodysuit underneath and large yellow boots on his feet. On the breastplate of the armor was a large blue orb that crackled with electricity. Smaller versions of this orb were on the front and back of the gauntlets the Hero wore as well.

Elemental HERO Thunder Giant – LIGHT – Level 6 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2400 ATK/1500 DEF

“It doesn’t matter! My Obnoxious Celtic Guard can’t be destroyed in battle by a Monster with more than 1900 ATK!” Brandon jeered with a smug smirk.

“Good thing I’m not trying to destroy it by battle then, huh?” Jaden grinned at his opponent. “But I do have a way to wrap this Duel up quick! I activate a second Polymerization!”

“What?!” Brandon exclaimed as Jaden slotted the card and the hologram appeared once more.

“I used Woodsman’s effect to gain the first one from my Deck, but the card I just drew was also a Polymerization!” Jaden explained before continuing his move. “I fuse the Elemental Hero Ocean in my hand, with the Elemental Hero Woodsman on my field to Special Summon my Elemental Hero Terra Firma!”

A Hero Monster briefly appeared on the field that looked like a humanoid fish dressed in silver armor and wielding a white trident. The Hero swirled into the Polymerization card along with Woodsman and in a flash another new Hero Monster appeared. This Hero wasn’t as tall as Thunder Giant, but was still very imposing. Almost entirely white, aside from a blue orb on each shoulder, a matching orb on top of its head, and the red gem on it chest, Terra Firma looked almost robotic in appearance.

Elemental HERO Terra Firma – EARTH – Level 8 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2500 ATK/2000 DEF

“So I might lose a few Life Points, but neither of your Monsters can destroy my Obnoxious Celtic Guard, their ATK is too high!” Brandon was certain of his defense. On his next turn he’d switch Obnoxious Celtic Guard to Defense Position and have perfect shield to protect him from the powerful Fusion Monsters.

“Like I said, I’m not going to destroy him by battle.” Jaden reminded the Second Year. “I activate Thunder Giant’s effect, by discarding one card,” He placed the second to last card in his hand into the graveyard. “He can destroy one Monster on the field with Original ATK lower than his own! Like your Obnoxious Celtic Guard!”

Elemental Hero Thunder Giant towered over the Obnoxious Celtic Guard. With a battle cry he held out his large hand and the blue orb on his palm crackled with electricity. The bolts struck the elf Monster and shattered him into fragments that faded away. Brandon felt beads of sweat forming on his face.

“Now I can have Thunder Giant attack your Gemini Elf!” Jaden declared and Elemental Hero Thunder Giant brought his gauntlets together to form a bright white-blue ball of lightning. The lightning lanced out and wiped out the Gemini Elf in an instant.

Jaden – 4000

Brandon – 3400

“I’ll still have enough Life Points left after dealing with your next attack!” Brandon realized after looking at Terra Firma’s ATK again.

“Afraid not,” Jaden smiled before pointing to Terra Firma. “I activate Terra Firma’s effect! By tributing one Elemental Hero Monster on my field, Elemental Hero Terra Firma gains the Original ATK of that monster until the End Phase! So I’ll tribute my Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!” The Fusion Monster turned into electricity and was absorbed by Terra Firma who began to glow as his ATK increased.

Elemental HERO Terra Firma – EARTH – Level 8 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 4900 ATK/2000 DEF

“4900!” Brandon staggered back a step at the number.

“Yep!” Jaden nodded to the Second Year. “Elemental Hero Terra Firma attacks you directly for game!” The glowing Terra Firma blitzed forward and punched Brandon in the chest. The Obelisk Blue nearly screeched as he stumbled backwards from the realistic hologram.

Jaden – 4000

Brandon – 0

“Ah…ah…I l-lost…to a Slifer…” Brandon did collapse to his knees in shock as the holograms faded away.

“That was pretty damn impressive, dude.” Drake praised his friend with a fist bump.

“It came together pretty well,” Jaden was all smiles until his PDA went off. “Hmm? Oh sweet!” He grinned at the message he’d received.

[Jaden Yuki earns 4,000 DP for defeating a Second Year Obelisk Blue student]

“Payday for both of us,” Drake chuckled before he motioned with his head towards the Girls’ Dorm. “I think our audience enjoyed the show too.”

Jaden turned to look down the path only to see Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine watching them. Alexis had a calculating look in her eyes and a small smile on her lips. Mindy was smiling brightly and almost bouncing on her heels. Jasmine was grinning, her grey-eyes looking approvingly at Drake and Jaden. Darren and Brandon both noticed the three girls and after a moment to process that they’d lost in front of them, both Second Years took off sprinting back towards the Obelisk Male Dorm.

“That was some impressive Dueling, you two.” Alexis praised both boys.

“We were wondering why you were taking so long and came to check, and then we got to see those awesome Duels!” Mindy’s excitement was palpable and she continued to bounce slightly on her heels.

“Talk about overpowering,” Jasmine let out a bubbly laugh with her hand over her mouth. “3500 and 4900 ATK to finish them off was a bit excessive.”

“But it was entertaining, right?” Drake chuckled with the auburn-haired girl.

“Very,” Jasmine nodded with a smile.

“Wait…how long have you three been watching?” Jaden blinked after realizing they’d at the very least seen the end of Drake’s Duel.

“We got here about the same time that Drake summoned his Red-Eyes Black Dragon the first time.” Mindy answered with a grin.

“Oh wow, I was really caught up in watching his Duel, I didn’t notice at all.” Jaden chuckled while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

“We didn’t want to interrupt, so we kept quiet.” Alexis smiled at Jaden before moving some of her long, blonde hair behind her left ear.

“Are we still on for doing some trading?” Drake asked and all three girls agreed that they were.

Jaden and Drake were led back to the Girls’ Dorm and through the gates. They noticed the eyes of dozens of the girls on them as they walked the short distance from the gates to the meeting building. Both boys let the gazes roll off them without much thought, but the intensity was very noticeable. It wasn’t until the door to the meeting area closed behind them that they relaxed.

“Like the lion’s den out there.” Jaden joked as they headed for a table that had three card binders on it already.

“No kidding,” Drake shook his head. “Felt like we might get attacked or something.”

“Don’t worry about them, they’re just curious.” Alexis waved off the staring they’d received.

“Yeah, they might get used to your presence if you were over here to trade often.” Jasmine sat down at the table.

“Maybe when you two rank up to Ra, then we’ll see about keeping you.” Mindy gave them a flirty wink. “The other girls will leave you alone after that.”

“I swear you two get more boy-crazy every day.” Alexis sighed but still gave her friends a grin.

“Don’t knock it until you try it, Lexi.” Jasmine wiggled her eyebrows at the ‘Queen’ teasingly.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence on our future advancement.” Drake chuckled as he sat down and opened his binder.

“First time a girl has ever said she’d consider keeping me.” Jaden laughed as he pulled the Cyber Angel Benten card out of his blazer pocket and placed it on the table between him and Alexis.

“Let’s refocus,” Alexis took the lead as she opened her own card binder and turned it around to face Jaden so he could look through it.

“What do you have, Drake?” Mindy asked as she scooted over to his left side.

“Anything I could use in my Harpie Deck?’” Jasmine closed in from his right as she looked at the cards all safely stored in their pages of sleeves.

“I’m sure I have something you’d both like, this is my main binder and it has over five hundred cards in it.” Drake assured the two girls as they started to flip through the pages.

“See anything you like so far, Jaden?” Alexis asked, ignoring the brief giggles she heard from Jasmine and Mindy at her phrasing.

“Nothing has jumped out just yet.” Jaden flipped another page in Alexis’ card binder.

“Hey, could I have this Spirit Barrier?” Mindy asked Drake while pointing at the card in the binder. “A lot of my Monsters have kinda low ATK, so not taking any Battle Damage while I reap the benefits of their Effects sounds like a winner to me.”

“Yeah, I’m fine trading that one.” Drake agreed and Mindy smiled happily as she pulled her own card binder over while Drake pulled out the Trap card for her. “Really curious about what kind of Deck you play though, Mindy.”

“Feel free to look through here and see what you’d want for it.” Mindy offered Drake her card binder, completely ignoring his curious eyes with a little smile. Jasmine shook her head and grinned as she pulled Drake’s binder over to herself to continue flipping through it.

“Let’s see…” Drake began to look through Mindy’s binder for a card that he’d want in exchange for Spirit Barrier. He’d figure out her Deck eventually, she had to Duel in the Promotional Exams too, at the latest he’d see what kind of Deck she had then.

“Now that I think about it…” Jasmine seemed to suddenly have an epiphany. “I have a card that I know you’ll like, Drake.” She pulled her own binder close and flipped through several pages before finding what she was looking for. “There it is; what do you think about that?”

“Hmm?” Drake looked at the card that Jasmine was pointing out and his eyes widened a little. “Red-Eyes Fang With Chain…I only have one of those.”

“Hehehe…” Jasmine looked pleased with herself. “I got it a while back, figured I couldn’t use it, but since it was from a famous Archetype, why not keep it?”

“A Trap for a Trap…” Drake looked into her grey-eyes with a smile. “I think it’s the fifth or sixth page near the back, I’m sure it’ll be something you’d like for your Harpies.”

“What is it?” Jasmine was already flipping closer to the back of Drake’s binder to see what he was talking about. She stopped dead on a specific page and Mindy giggled when Jasmine’s gaze snapped onto Drake so fast her auburn hair swirled about her shoulders. “Deal! Deal, deal, deal! Please?”

“What’s got you so amped up, Jasmine?” Alexis asked and Jasmine looked at Drake for permission to take the card out and show Alexis.

“Go ahead,” Drake allowed with a grin as he went back to looking through Mindy’s binder for a trade.

“This one!” Jasmine beamed at Alexis as she showed her the Trap card from Drake’s binder.

“Harpie Lady Elegance?” Alexis read the card’s name. Her golden-hazel eyes quickly began to read the Trap card’s effect.

Shuffle 1 ‘Harpie Lady Sisters’ from your Monster Zone into the Deck, then you can Special Summon 3 ‘Harpie’ monsters with different original names, 1 each from your hand, Deck, and GY. For the rest of this turn after this card resolves, you cannot Special Summon monsters, except WIND monsters. If this card you control is destroyed by a ‘Harpie’ card's effect or your opponent's card effect: Add 1 ‘Harpie’ monster from your Deck to your hand. You can only use each effect of ‘Harpie Lady Elegance’ once per turn.

“Isn’t it perfect?” Jasmine was already enamored with the Trap card and the potential combos it could let her pull off.

“It’s a very good card for your Deck, Jasmine.” Alexis agreed and received a beaming smile from her friend.

“You have Stratos!” Jaden suddenly exclaimed making everyone jump slightly from the unexpected noise.

“You alright over there, Jaden?” Drake questioned his friend with a raised eyebrow.

“Alexis has an Elemental Hero Stratos card!” Jaden was smiling widely as he spoke, his excitement clearly through the roof. “I’ve only ever gotten one of them!”

“That rare and good, huh?” Drake questioned the Elemental Hero user.

“Stratos is the best searcher in the entire HERO Archetype,” Jaden informed all of them. “Even if you don’t use his searching effect, just summoning him to fill the last spot in your Monster Zone can let you wipe your opponent’s backrow with his second effect!”

“Damn~” Drake whistled at the Monster’s effects.

“So, do we have a deal, Jaden?” Alexis asked with a smile. “Stratos for Benten?”

“Deal.” Jaden returned her smile and the trade was made. Alexis happily took her first Cyber Angel Ritual Monster for her new Deck. Jaden instantly put his new second copy of Stratos into his Deck too.

“Hey, you have a Dragon’s Mirror,” Drake stopped on a page in Mindy’s binder. “I’m just now getting into collecting the Red-Eyes Fusion Monsters; this would be a great way to get them out as an alternative to Polymerization.”

“I’ll trade that for the Spirit Barrier,” Mindy smiled at Drake with a nod. “I don’t play Dragons, so I’ve never been able to use it.”

“Deal.” Drake grinned back at the ravenette as he handed her the Spirit Barrier Trap card while taking the Dragon’s Mirror Spell card for himself.

“This has been a good trading session for all of us.” Jasmine smiled at all four of the others. “We should think about doing it again.”

“It has been fun,” Alexis agreed, smiling at Jaden who returned it. “I’d like to do this again.”

“Same here, Alexis.” Jaden nodded to her, his brown-eyes radiating positivity.

“Maybe we should meet up like this every week or so?” Mindy suggested with a bright smile of her own. Drake found his own lips returning the smile reflexively.

“We’ll work it out,” Drake chuckled warmly. “Spending time improving our Decks is great.”

“The eye candy isn’t bad either.” Jasmine winked at the Red-Eyes user.

“Agreed.” Drake shot back and Jasmine smirked at the challenge. Mindy giggled as she fluttered her eyelashes at Drake.

“You two…” Alexis sighed with a fond shake of her head.

“They seem fun,” Jaden chuckled and Alexis looked at him with a small smile of her own.

“They are; I wouldn’t change them even a little.” Alexis admitted and was soon caught in a hug between Mindy and Jasmine.

“Aww, we love you too, Lexi!” Mindy and Jasmine chorused as they squeezed their friend in a warm hug.

“That’s just cute.” Drake chuckled and Jaden agreed with a laugh.

“Well, we should probably escort you guys back to the gates.” Alexis spoke up after freeing herself from her friends.

“Might be for the best, we may not make it without an escort.” Jaden joked and everyone got a chuckle out of it.

After a quick walk to the gates, the girls bid the two boys a good night and the Slifers were walking down the long path back to their Dorm. It had been a good day for both of them. New cards, good trades, no homework, and only another school day separated them from the weekend.

“I’m hungry…” Jaden remarked as his stomach growled.

“What else is new?” Drake asked with a chuckle.

“You think I’m almost ready for Bonding yet?” Jaden asked in a hushed tone as they walked.

“You’ll get there soon,” Drake nodded to Jaden. “Winged Kuriboh isn’t all that powerful, so we might try it this weekend. Once you’ve formed a Bond and properly made him your Ka, then as he grows, your Ba will as well.”

“Sweet,” Jaden smiled as he heard the coos of Winged Kuriboh clearly from his Deck box. “We’ll be partners soon, little buddy.” He patted the box with a smile.

-End Chapter-

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

New cards! Good Duels! Great Trades! This is what Duel Academy Life is all about!

Jaden and Drake smack down some rude Obelisk pricks and make some good DP from it!

They enjoy a nice trading session with three lovely ladies too!

Alexis is making a second Deck! The Cyber Angels are coming and thanks to trading with Jaden she now has her first Cyber Angel Ritual Monster, Benten!

But what kind of Deck does Mindy play?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!