Era of Spirits and Shadows Chapter 15 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Era of Spirits and Shadows! Drake is the final Duel of his friends in the Promotion Exams. What Duelist has been prepared for him to test his worthiness to join Ra Yellow? Will the Red-Eyes player burn his way to victory, or will his friends get to laugh and tease him for being the only one to lose? Drake has some ‘incentive’ from Jasmine and Mindy to win though! It’s time to bring these Exams to a close!

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 15 – Promotion Exams End

Drake stood on his side of Dueling Field Two, waiting for his opponent. The low rumbling hiss of his Ka within his mind showed how eager Red-Eyes was to battle again. ‘We’ll be starting soon, partner.’ Drake assured his Ka.

He turned out to be correct as a Ra Yellow walked over to the Dueling Field and took up the opposite position.

“My name is Yamanaka. I’ve been asked to Duel you to determine if you’ll join us in Ra Yellow after these Promotion Exams.” The Ra Yellow introduced himself with a polite bow to Drake. “I won’t go easy on you, Drake Roth. You have to earn your way into Ra Yellow!” He placed his Deck into his Duel Disk and let it shuffle.

“Pleasure to meet you.” Drake nodded to Yamanaka as he let his Deck auto-shuffle too. “I’ll prove that I have what it takes to be promoted, no worries.”

Up in the stands, Drake’s friends watched on with confidence in his victory.

“You can do it, Drake!” Jaden cheered his best friend on with a bright smile.

“Drake, remember what you’re dueling for!” Jasmine teased with a grin on her lips.

Mindy giggled as she yelled her own encouragement. “Get promoted and win!” Left unsaid was just what he’d win aside from the promotion itself.

“You’ve got this, Drake!” Alexis smiled down at the Red-Eyes user. She was just going to ignore the obvious flirting that Mindy and Jasmine were doing.

Drake waved to his friends with a chuckle before focusing back on Yamanaka.

“As the lower ranked student, you may have the first turn.” Yamanaka offered with a motion of his hand. He’d been instructed by Professor Sartyr, the Head of Ra Yellow, to offer Drake the first turn. The good student he was, he followed his Professor’s instructions.

“Sure, thanks.” Drake took the offer, not minding in the slightest. His Ka was raring to go anyway.

“DUEL!!!” Both boys called out at the same time.

Yamanaka – 4,000

Drake – 4,000

Drake nearly chuckled as he drew his hand. Right there in his first five cards was his Ka, ready to be summoned and battle. “Alright, I’ll start things off with the Spell called Cards of the Red Stone!” Drake played the card, the hologram appearing on the field and depicting a glowing golden light emerging from a black egg, the silhouette of a dragon barely visible, but the brightly shining red eye easily identified the Monster within. “I send a Level 7 ‘Red-Eyes’ Monster from my hand to the graveyard,” He put his Ka’s card into the grave, hearing the annoyed hiss in his mind. “And then I get to draw two cards!” He drew two from his Deck and started to formulate his strategy with the cards he already had in hand. “My Spell card also lets me send one Level 7 ‘Red-Eyes’ Monster from my Deck to my graveyard too.” He pulled his deck from his Duel Disk and searched it for the Monster he wanted. With a grin he showed Yamanaka his choice. “I’ll send my Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon to the grave!” He placed the card into the graveyard with a smile.

‘He sent two Level 7 Monsters to the graveyard immediately? He must have some way to resurrect them.’ Yamanaka wasn’t in the upper tier of Ra Yellow for nothing. He could guess Drake’s plan just from his opening move.

“Now, let’s keep going with another Spell!” Drake played his second card. “I activate Red-Eyes Insight!” The Spell card appeared on the field, showing the Red-Eyes Black Dragon on it, the black dragon appeared to be snarling at whoever looked at the card. “I send one ‘Red-Eyes’ Monster from my hand or Deck to the graveyard; and that let’s me add one ‘Red-Eyes’ Spell or Trap to my hand!” Drake already knew which Monster he was going to send, and from where. “I’ll place the Red-Eyes Wyvern from my Deck into the graveyard.” He searched for the Monster and slipped it into the grave a moment later. “And now, I’ll put my Return of the Red-Eyes Trap into my hand.” He showed Yamanaka the card and then shuffled his hand while his Deck was auto-shuffled again.

In the stands, Jaden was grinning as he saw Drake setting up. “This might be over quick. Drake is setting up his graveyard for something good.”

“He’s got a resurrecting card now, but it can’t be activated until Yamanaka’s turn.” Jasmine mentioned the Return of the Red-Eyes card that Drake had just searched.

“But think about the Monsters he’s already sent to the graveyard.” Alexis had a small grin on her lips. “Red-Eyes, Black Flare, and Wyvern.”

“Except for Wyvern, none of them has a graveyard effect though.” Mindy looked at Alexis with a raised eyebrow.

“Just watch, I think I know at least one of the cards in his hand with this setup.” Jaden chuckled, recalling some of the practice Duels he and Drake had since coming to Duel Academy.

“I’ll summon the Black Stone of Legend!” Drake placed the Monster onto the field. A second later and the red and black egg appeared on the field, cracks forming along the shell.

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

“I think you know what comes next, right?” Drake smiled at Yamanaka.

“You’ll activate its effect and tribute it.” Yamanaka answered the rhetorical question.

“Correct!” Drake pointed at the egg on his field. “I activate the effect of The Black Stone of Legend! I tribute it and special summon one Level 7 or lower ‘Red-Eyes’ Monster from my Deck!” He searched his Deck and found his newest addition. “I special summon Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning!” He put the Gemini Monster onto his Duel Disk.

The red and black egg hologram exploded into a blast of flames.

A second later and lightning crackled from within the black smoke cloud. With a flap of wings, the smoke was dispersed, revealing Drake’s new Monster.

It stood tall, had a muscled body covered in purple skin and had bone armor over it that could very well be part of its actual flesh. The ribcage over its chest was bone white, a stark contrast to the rest of the bones which were all pitch-black. It’s hands and feet were made of thick blackened bone with wickedly sharp claws on the ends. Its head had a skull-like visage, with three brightly glowing red eyes and four gnarled horns. On its back were black dragon wings that flapped twice more before the Monster landed on the field, lightning still sparking around it and leaping off its body.

Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning – Level 6 – DARK – Fiend/Gemini/Effect – 2500 ATK/1200 DEF

“Now, I’ll set one card and end my turn.” Drake placed one card facedown in his Spell/Trap Zone and passed the turn over.

“Hmm, quite the coincidence.” Yamanaka had a grin on his face upon seeing Drake’s new Monster.

“Hmm?” Drake raised an eyebrow, but Yamanaka shook his head.

“Draw!” Yamanaka drew for his turn and looked over his hand. “I’ll start with a Spell card as well. I play Foolish Burial!” He placed the card on his Duel Disk and the hologram appeared on the field. It depicted a grave with a cross-shaped headstone and a single arm rising from the dirt with a shovel clenched tightly in its hand. “I send one Monster from my Deck to my graveyard.” He searched his Deck for a moment. “I’ll place my Archfiend Heiress into the grave.” He showed Drake the Effect Monster before placing it into the slot.

“Ah, now I see why it’s a coincidence.” Drake nodded, understanding Yamanaka’s previous reaction to his Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning. “This should be fun!”

Yamanaka chuckled slightly before continuing his turn. “Because my Archfiend Heiress was sent to the grave by a card effect, I can add one ‘Archfiend’ card from my Deck to my hand, except another Archfiend Heiress.” Yamanaka searched his Deck and quickly chose his card. “I’ll add Summoned Skull to my hand!” He showed Drake the iconic Monster before putting it into his hand.

“A Summoned Skull Deck!” Jaden exclaimed with a huge smile. “That’s awesome!” He knew that the Monster was iconic in Yugi’s Deck and had been given some support along with being made part of the Archfiend Archetype.

“I actually don’t know much about this Deck.” Mindy admitted as she watched the Duel.

“Same here.” Jasmine shook her head. “I knew it had added support and a handful of new variants, but that was it.”

Alexis looked at the ongoing Duel with sharp eyes, wondering just how Yamanaka was going to play this to counter Drake’s Red-Eyes Deck. “A battle between famous Monsters, huh?” She could understand why Jaden was so excited, her Duelist Spirit was practically burning to see the clash between the two.

“I summon Keeper of Dragon Magic!” Yamanaka placed the Monster onto the field.

A blue Magic Circle appeared on the field and a knight leapt out of it. The knight had blue armor, clearly stylized after a dragon, and a large spear in hand. Long white hair escaped the back of the helmet and a waist cape of blue and silver flowed in an unfelt breeze.

Keeper of Dragon Magic – Level 4 – DARK – Dragon/Effect – 1800 ATK/1300 DEF

“When Keeper of Dragon Magic is summoned, I can discard one card to add a Polymerization or a ‘Fusion’ normal spell to my hand!” Yamanaka declared as his Monster glowed with a blue-white aura. “I discard Makiu, the Magical Mist.” He showed Drake the card before putting it into the graveyard. “Then I add Polymerization to my hand!” Yamanaka easily found the card in his Deck and showed it to Drake before adding it to his hand. “Now I’ll activate Polymerization, fusing the Summoned Skull in my hand with the Keeper of Dragon Magic on my field!” The hologram of Polymerization appeared and Summoned Skull briefly appeared on the field as Yamanaka scanned it over his Duel Disk to make the play legitimate. “I fusion summon Archfiend’s Manifestation!” His two Monsters swirled into the Spell card before purple lightning exploded from it.

The Monster that appeared in among the purple lightning was larger than Summoned Skull, but looked almost identical. Large, spiked bones covered the fiend’s body, its skull-like head had larger horns than the regular Summoned Skull, and the wings on its back were massive compared to its body, looking like bat wings.

Archfiend’s Manifestation – Level 6 – DARK – Fiend/Fusion/Effect – 2500 ATK/1200 DEF

The new fiend let out a rattling breath that sounded almost like a growl.

“Well, we’ve got an Archfiend stare down.” Drake quipped with a grin.

“It’s about to get better!:” Yamanaka declared with a smirk. “I play Advanced Ritual Art!” He placed the spell card on the field. The hologram appeared and showed a stone ritual site with a single robed man in front of it invoking a tower of green energy rising from a circle of glyphs. “With this card I can Ritual Summon any single Ritual Monster, but I have to send Normal Monsters from my Deck whose total Levels match the Level of the Ritual Monster exactly.” The hologram glowed and emitted the tower of green light depicted on the card. “Thankfully, I have just the perfect card for this occasion!” He searched his Deck and found the Monster he wanted. “I’ll offer my second Summoned Skull!” He showed Drake the card before swiping it over his Duel Disk and then placing it in the grave.

The normal Summoned Skull appeared on the field for a second, only to float into the green light an vanish.

“I Ritual Summon, Archfiend’s Awakening!” Yamanaka placed the Ritual Monster from his hand onto the field.

The green light erupted into a tower of bright blue lightning. A Summoned Skull appeared as the lightning dispersed, revealing it to be identical to its normal counterpart, aside from the blue tint on its bones.

Archfiend’s Awakening – Level 6 – DARK – Fiend/Ritual/Effect – 2500 ATK/1200 DEF

Another rattling breath escaped the new Ritual Monster, much like the Archfiend’s Manifestation had done earlier.

“While my Archfiend’s Manifestation is on the field all ‘Summoned Skull’ gain 500 ATK!” Yamanaka pointed at his two Monsters.

Archfiend’s Manifestation – Level 6 – DARK – Fiend/Fusion/Effect – 3000 ATK/1200 DEF

Archfiend’s Awakening – Level 6 – DARK – Fiend/Ritual/Effect – 3000 ATK/1200 DEF

Both of the Archfiends sparked with electricity that arced between them as their ATK rose.

“Now, Archfiend’s Manifestation, attack Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning!” Yamanaka called his first attack.

“Raaahhhh!” The Archfiend’s Manifestation growled and unleashed purple lightning at Drake’s Monster.

“I activate my Trap card, Return of the Red-Eyes!” Drake flipped the card face up. The hologram of the facedown card rose up, the card art depicting the moment where Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon fused with Black Metal Dragon to become Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon. “As long as I control a ‘Red-Eyes’ Monster, I can target one Normal Monster in my graveyard and special summon it!” He pulled the card that he wanted from his graveyard. “I special summon Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon, in Defense Position!”

The Trap card expelled a blast of flames and the Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon flew out of them before landing on the field and taking up a defensive stance, folding its wings around itself.

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

“My attack continues!” Yamanaka pointed at the Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning.

The purple lightning attack from his Archfiend’s Manifestation continued and blasted Drake’s Monster into pixels that vanished a second later.

Yamanaka – 4,000

Drake – 3,500

Drake still had a grin on his face even as his Life Points fell.

Yamanaka pointed at the Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon next. “Archfiend’s Awakening, fry that dragon!”

“Grrraaahh!” Archfiend’s Awakening growled before its entire body sparked with lightning and a bolt blasted the Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon apart.

“With that, I’ll end my turn.” Yamanaka finished and passed the turn back to Drake. He was feeling rather good about his turn, having cleared Drake’s Monsters and with two powered up ‘Summoned Skulls’ on his field.

“Draw!” Drake drew for his turn. “I play Return of the Dragon Lords!” He slid the card into his Duel Disk and the hologram of the Spell appeared on the field, showing a man in a white cape kneeling before a glowing statue of a dragon. “This card lets me target a Level 7 or 8 Dragon Monster in my graveyard and special summon it to the field!” Drake pulled the Monster he wanted from the grave. “Come on back, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!”

The spell card exploded into a tower of black and red fire. With a screeching roar the Red-Eyes unfurled its wings and scattered the flames. The famous Monster landed on Drake’s field while growling at the two Archfiends.

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

“Now that I control a ‘Red-Eyes’ Monster, I can activate Return of the Red-Eyes!” Drake pointed at his Continuous Trap still on the field. The purple card glowed as it was called upon. “Rise from the grave, Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning!”

Lightning sparked from the Trap card before a bolt struck the Monster Zone. When the flash and smoke cleared, the Fiend stood tall, letting out its rattling growl at its kin.

Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning – Level 6 – DARK – Fiend/Gemini/Effect – 2500 ATK/1200 DEF

Yamanaka didn’t look perturbed by the recovery that Drake had made. “Right, I see, because Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning is a Gemini Monster, it’s treated as a Normal Monster until its effect is activated.”

“Since I haven’t used my normal summon for this turn, I think I’ll use it on my Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning!” Drake pointed at his returned Monster with a grin. The Archfiend glowed with a red aura for a second. “Now I can activate his effect! Once per turn, any of your Monsters with DEF lower than my Archfiend’s ATK are wiped out!”

“RAAAHHH!!!” The Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning roared and blasted a wave of lightning at both of Yamanaka’s Monsters.

Yamanaka held up his hand. “My Archfiend’s Awakening cannot be destroyed by the effects of Non-Ritual Monsters!”

Sure enough, the lightning didn’t destroy the Ritual Monster.

But it did destroy the Fusion Monster.

“GRAAUUHH!!!” Archfiend’s Manifestation growled before exploding into pixels.

“But with your Monster off the field, the ATK boost it provided disappears!” Drake pointed to the Archfiend’s Awakening as its ATK dropped by 500.

Archfiend’s Awakening – Level 6 – DARK – Fiend/Ritual/Effect – 2500 ATK/1200 DEF

“True.” Yamanaka admitted. “But my Archfiend’s Manifestation has another effect! When it’s sent to the graveyard by my opponent, I can special summon one Summoned Skull from my hand, Deck, or graveyard!” He reached into his graveyard and moved the Monster to the field. “Arise, Summoned Skull!”

A spark of lightning shot upwards from the ground and when the flash ended the iconic Fiend Monster was standing on the field.

Summoned Skull – Level 6 – DARK – Fiend – 2500 ATK/1200 DEF

“I’ll crash my Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning into your Summoned Skull!” Drake pointed at the newly summoned Monster.

Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning let out a rattling roar before flying towards Summoned Skull. The two Monsters clashed, striking at each other, before both unleashed a bolt of lightning and blew each other apart. The pixels vanished a second later along with a rumble of thunder.

Drake placed another Spell card on the field. “Since my Red-Eyes can’t overpower your last Monster, I’ll work around it with my Inferno Fire Blast card!” He pointed at his Ka with a smirk. “I designate one Red-Eyes Black Dragon on the field and you take damage equal to its original ATK!”

Red-Eyes Black Dragon opened its jaws and formed its signature attack, the red and black fireball growing in size.

“Inferno Fire Blast!” Drake punched his fist forward.

Red-Eyes threw its head forward and unleashed the fireball straight at Yamanaka.

BOOM

“Gnnnnggghhh!” Yamanaka flinched as he was surrounded by simulated fire and smoke.

Yamanaka – 1,600

Drake – 3,500

“Hell yeah, Drake!” Jasmine cheered loudly from the stands.

“One more shot!” Mindy was equally as loud in her excitement.

“You’ve got this!” Jaden threw his fist into the air with a huge smile.

“One more turn, Drake!” Alexis called down to her friend with her hands around her mouth.

Drake heard his friends and smiled. “I’ll end my turn with that.”

“I draw!” Yamanaka drew his next card. “Just what I needed!” He grinned at the card in his hand. “I play Preparation of Rites!” He put the Spell card on the field, the card showed three robed people setting up a stone site for a ritual. “With this card I can add a Level 7 or lower Ritual Monster from my Deck to my hand!” Yamanaka easily found the only Ritual Monster in his Deck and showed it Drake, a second Archfiend’s Awakening. “But that’s not all! I can also add one Ritual Spell card from my graveyard to my hand!” He retrieved the Advanced Ritual Art from his graveyard and made sure Drake saw it before adding it to his hand.

“I think I know where this is going.” Drake joked with a wide smirk on his face.

Yamanaka matched Drake’s smirk with one of his own. “I play Advanced Ritual Art!” The spell card appeared on the field again and the tower of green light erupted from the hologram. “This should look familiar! I offer up a Summoned Skull from my Deck!” Yamanaka retrieved another copy of the Normal Monster card from his deck and swiped it over his Duel Disk.

Summoned Skull appeared on the field for a moment before vanishing into the tower of green light.

“I Ritual Summon another Archfiend’s Awakening!” Yamanaka placed the Ritual Monster onto the field.

Archfiend’s Awakening – Level 6 – DARK – Fiend/Ritual/Effect – 2500 ATK/1200 DEF

“Battle Phase!” Yamanaka moved to attack. “Archfiend’s Awakening, destroy that dragon!”

“GRAAWWR!!!” The Archfiend’s Awakening on the right unleashed a powerful bolt upon the Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

Drake held up his hand with a wild grin. “I activate Return of the Dragon Lord’s graveyard effect! When one of my Dragon Monsters would be destroyed, I can banish it from the graveyard instead!” He pulled the Spell card from the grave and put it into the banished slot on his Duel Disk.

BZZZT

The lightning struck Red-Eyes but fizzled out against the light blue aura that briefly surrounded the dragon.

“You still take damage though!” Yamanaka knew how that particular Spell worked thanks to his studies.

Yamanaka – 1,600

Drake – 3,400

“Yeah, I do.” Drake shrugged, his grin still in place. “Want to try again?”

“Archfiend’s Awakening, get rid of his dragon!” Yamanaka pointed at the Red-Eyes.

“GRAARHH!!!” The Archfiend’s Awakening on the left sparked with lightning before hurling a large bolt at the Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

In a bright blast of blue lightning, the Red-Eyes exploded with a shriek.

Yamanaka – 1,600

Drake – 3,300

“I’ll have to end my turn there.” Yamanaka passed the turn back to Drake since he had no further plays that he could make.

Drake drew his next card. “Draw!” Looking at what he drew he couldn’t help but look over his shoulder at Mindy in the stands and give her a smile. “I play Dragon’s Mirror!” He placed the card on the field and the hologram appeared showing a red dragon emerging from a purple mirror with a golden border around the glass.

“He played it!” Mindy exclaimed happily before she jumped in the air and then hugged Jasmine tightly, nearly crushing her.

“A-Air…Mindy…” Jasmine wheezed out.

Drake would’ve laughed if he wasn’t so focused on his Duel. “Dragon’s Mirror allows me to Fusion Summon a Monster by banishing the Fusion materials listed on the card from my graveyard!” He pulled two specific cards from his graveyard with a smirk. “One ‘Red-Eyes’ Normal Monster and one Level 6 ‘Archfiend’ Normal Monster!” He showed Yamanaka his Red-Eyes Black Dragon and his Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning. The Gemini Card once more being treated like a Normal Monster since it was in the graveyard. Drake swiped them over his Duel Disk before placing the two cards into the banished slot.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning both briefly appeared on the field before they sank into the Dragon’s Mirror card.

“I Fusion Summon, Archfiend Black Skull Dragon!” Drake set the Fusion Monster onto his field.

Flames exploded across Drake’s side of the field, pouring out of the Dragon’s Mirror card. Lightning mixed with the flames and the Spell card burned up to nothing, replaced by a hulking silhouette.

“RAAAAWWWWRRRR!!!” The titanic Monster roared loud enough to make people flinch and cover their ears.

It was a bipedal dragon with red flesh that was covered in striated lines. Over the dark red skin were a mix of pitch-dark dragon scales and white bones. The dragon’s feet had large claws and it legs were covered in spiky black scales. The claws were nearly identical to Summoned Skull’s but much larger. The long tail lashed out across the field, covered in spiky black scales as well. The dragon’s head was a mix of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Summoned Skull, the top half was the ferocious dragon while the bottom jaw was skeletal and filled with large fangs. The wings on its back spread wide and emitted flames through the air while lightning arced off the dragon’s body and struck the ground repeatedly.

Archfiend Black Skull Dragon – Level 9 – DARK – Dragon/Fusion/Effect – 3200 ATK/2500 DEF

Yamanaka stared up at the flaming and electrified demon dragon with wide eyes, unable to say a word.

“Battle Phase!” Drake grinned and began his attack. “Archfiend Black Skull Dragon, attack the Archfiend’s Awakening on the right! Thunderous Hellfire!”

“RAAAWWWRRR!!!” The Archfiend Black Skull Dragon roared and from its jaws a storm of flames and lightning blasted the Ritual Monster.

Yamanaka grimaced from the simulated heat as the attack washed over him. “My Archfiend’s Awakening can’t be destroyed in battle except by a Ritual Monster!”

The storm of hellfire and lightning ended leaving simulated smoke in the air for a short time. The two Archfiend’s Awakenings still remained on the field

Yamanaka’s Life Points, however…

Yamanaka – 900

Drake – 3,300

“Well, that’s unexpected.” Drake mentioned, not knowing that Archfiend’s Awakening couldn’t be destroyed by Non-Ritual Monsters. “However, my Archfiend Black Skull Dragon has an effect!”

“What effect?” Yamanaka didn’t know anything about this Monster.

Drake grinned at the Ra Yellow. “As long as Archfiend Black Skull Dragon was properly Fusion Summoned, if damage calculation is performed involving it, then at the end of the Battle Phase, I can target one ‘Red-Eyes’ Normal Monster in my graveyard and burn you for damage equal to its ATK!” He explained as he reached into his graveyard and pulled out a card. “And wouldn’t you know? My Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon is a Gemini Monster that’s counted as a Normal Monster in the graveyard.” He showed the card to Yamanaka.

“Oh…” Yamanaka looked at the card in Drake’s hand and then slowly craned his neck to look up at the towering demon dragon.

A massive sphere of fire and lightning had already coalesced in the Archfiend Black Skull Dragon’s jaws. With a roar the blast was launched at the Ra Yellow.

BOOOOMMM

The blast was loud as flames and lightning raced across the field.

Yamanaka fell on his ass in shock as the last of his Life Points vanished.

Yamanaka – 0

Drake – 3,300

“Drake Roth wins the Duel!” Chancellor Sheppard’s voice announced over the speakers as the holograms faded away.

A loud round of applause filled the stadium from the Slifer Reds and the Ra Yellows. A few of the Obelisk Blue girls clapped politely as well, while most of the Obelisk Blue guys only looked away, some even scoffing, refusing to give the Slifer any credit.

The loudest cheers came from Drake’s friends, of course.

“Yeah! I knew you’d win, Drake!” Jaden yelled over the loud applause of most of the crowd.

“You’re awesome, Drake!” Jasmine cheered loudly; her gray eyes bright with elation at his victory.

Mindy was bouncing in place, her bubbly laughter uncontainable in her excitement. “That was the best!”

“Congratulations, Drake!” Alexis was clapping and smiling brightly at the Duel she’d just watched.

Drake waved to his friends and walked over to help Yamanaka back up to his feet. “Good Duel, man.” He complimented his opponent.

“Haha… I thought I’d set myself up pretty well.” Yamanaka chuckled lightly. “I didn’t know you’d be able to burn me for so much damage.”

“Full of surprises, that’s me.” Drake chuckled along with the Ra Yellow student. It was better to make a good first impression on his soon-to-be fellow dorm mate.

Bastion was applauding Drake’s win in the stands, along with his show of sportsmanship after the Duel. “An excellent Duel, Drake. Quite an ingenious method to get around the protection of Yamanaka’s Ritual Monsters.” The genius was already working out ways to try and counter Drake’s Red-Eyes Deck with the new information he’d gotten by watching this Duel. ‘Everything can be calculated. And once I crack the code of your Deck, I’ll be challenging you myself.’ Bastion smirked as he watched Drake walk off the field.

Once Drake got back into the stands, he was nearly ambushed by Mindy and Jasmine.

“You won!” Mindy beamed at him.

“That was awesome!” Jasmine smiled brightly.

Drake smiled at the girls and crossed his arms. “Was there ever any doubt?” He joked, nearly cracking up just from saying it.

Jaden walked over and held out his fist with a grin. “Great Duel, man!”

“I got the right card when I needed it.” Drake fist bumped his best friend before glancing at Mindy with a little grin.

“I’m glad I traded with you, Drake.” Mindy blushed cutely at the look.

Alexis grinned at Mindy being the one a little flustered for once. “You’re Dueling just keeps getting better. We should Duel sometime soon, Drake.”

“Sure thing, but Jaden has dibs on your first Duel with your new Deck.” Drake laughed, seeing Jaden’s eyes light up as he looked at Alexis. The fact that Alexis’s eyes lit up just as much as she looked at Jaden only made it funnier. One could practically see the challenge forming between the two, which seemed to only further their excitement.

“The results of the promotions should be up soon.” Jasmine saw the screens around the stadium change to show the school’s emblem. It didn’t take long for the scores of the practical Duels to be combined with the written scores that were graded during lunch and determine who was promoted, staying where they were, or even demoted to a lower dorm.

“We already know Jaden was promoted.” Mindy smiled at her friend.

“He more than earned it.” Drake agreed with a grin.

Only a few minutes later and the screens all switched to show the names of those that were promoted. Five Ra Yellow students would be moving up to Obelisk Blue was the first message that everyone saw on the screen. It then switched over to Slifers that had been promoted. Unsurprisingly, Jaden’s name was at the top since his promotion had been guaranteed already.

But the only other name on the promotion list was…

“I knew it!” Jasmine exclaimed with a huge smile.

“Yeah! No way they wouldn’t promote you!” Mindy threw her hands up with a bubbly laugh.

Drake Roth – Promoted to Ra Yellow – CONGRATULATIONS

Was on the screens all across the stadium in large letters, turning from Slifer Red to Ra Yellow in color, one letter at a time.

“Hahahaha!” Jaden laughed as he threw his arm around Drake’s shoulders.

“Never doubted it.” Alexis giggled softly, smiling as she saw her two male friends happy and laughing with each other.

Drake laughed and then playfully shoved Jaden away while adopting a faux serious expression. “This does bring up one very serious question though.”

“What’s that?” Mindy tilted her head slightly.

“Are their variations in the uniform colors? The mustard yellow blazers just aren’t working for me. I’d rather have a darker, more golden color, like Ra has in the videos online!” Drake nodded, almost keeping a straight face.

“Pffft!” Jasmine sputtered before bursting into laughter. “Th-The c-color?!”

Mindy was barely holding in her own laughter, her hand over her mouth as she giggled loudly.

“Huh, that would look pretty sweet.” Jaden agreed with Drake, a thoughtful look on his face.

Alexis couldn’t hold it anymore, she burst into beautiful giggles at the two goofs that she counted amongst her closest friends.

Drake and Jaden only smiled warmly at seeing the three girls laughing and enjoying themselves.

-Outside-

With the practical exams over, the students were released to enjoy their weekend.

Once the crowd had thinned, the five friends headed out themselves. Jaden and Alexis led the way, heading for the canteen to get some food. The two were chatting, going over their exam Duels with each other, and almost oblivious to anything else.

It was little surprise that Jasmine and Mindy walked on Drake’s right and left, and were able to pull him off the beaten path.

“What’s up?” Drake asked, wondering why they’d stopped following Alexis and Jaden.

Jasmine and Mindy had warm smiles on their faces as they looked into Drake’s eyes.

“We promised you a reward…remember?” Mindy said, her voice low and filled with sweet temptations.

“We weren’t joking.” Jasmine told him outright, her voice airy, yet filled with heat.

Drake blinked at them before a smile formed on his lips. “I wasn’t going to force you to keep that promise.” He shook his head slightly. “But I won’t say ‘no’ either.”

“Good~” Jasmine and Mindy said at the same time, leaning forward and kissing his cheeks. Mindy his right, and Jasmine his left.

Neither girl was expecting Drake to move as soon as they pulled back. A soft, gentle kiss brushed Jasmine’s left cheek. Then another gentle, and warm kiss was placed on Mindy’s right cheek

The three stood and looked at each other for a long moment, a light dusting of pink on both Mindy and Jasmine’s cheeks. Drake had a warm smile as he looked into their eyes.

“We should probably catch up with Lexi and Jaden.” Jasmine said after a moment, a little smile on her lips.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Mindy had cute grin on her face.

“You think they’ve even noticed that we’re missing?” Drake chuckled a little as the three of them returned to the path.

“Probably not.” Jasmine and Mindy said at the same time, both girls laughing beautifully.

When Drake gently took their hands in his as they walked, Mindy and Jasmine smiled and interlaced their fingers with Drake’s. The three of them walked at a leisurely pace down the path, hand in hand, as they caught up with their friends.

-End Chapter-

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Summoned Skull versus Red-Eyes!

Drake takes the win with help from the new card that he got from Dorothy for helping her out! Not to mention the card that he traded with Mindy a while back!

Both Jaden and Drake have been promoted! Woohoo!

Everyone’s happy!

Well, everyone that matters, anyway! Kek!

Will Drake and Jaden be forced to wear the mustard yellow blazers? Or can they get some nice Ra gold instead?

It’s a VERY important question!

We get some Fluffy at the end! Yay!

Jasmine and Mindy told Drake that he’d get a ‘reward’ if he got promoted.

They weren’t kidding!

But their feelings are returned and the three of them walk hand-in-hand across the campus with smiles.

So sweet! Very adorable! Much yes!

Alexis and Jaden are so wrapped up in each other that they don’t even notice their friends going missing for a little while! Hah!

How long before that turns into more?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!