With the KC Cup matter settled and a lavish lunch enjoyed, Ryo Nakamuta didn't linger at the Suzuki Group. After bidding farewell to Seiji Suzuki, he chatted a bit more with Ushio Tetsu.
From Ushio, he learned the Suzuki Group's current predicament centered on the co-hosting rights for the KC Cup.
In the past, the Suzuki Group rose to prominence not only through card production with Industrial Illusions and training pro duelists but also by co-hosting the KC Cup and other tournaments with Kaiba Corporation, earning prestige by taking top spots.
But now? Things had changed.
For years, the KC Cup's first-place winner hadn't come from the Suzuki Group.
Worse, their pro duelists' habit of suppressing others had made them pariahs, their reputation in tatters.
Over time, Kaiba Corporation might end the KC Cup partnership to protect its own image.
Without it, the Suzuki Group's fortunes would only decline.
"No wonder, no wonder they offered me such sweet terms!"
"I didn't know the full picture."
Ryo Nakamuta had an epiphany after hearing the details.
From this angle, Seiji Suzuki's rewards weren't just empty promises.
"Hey, no worries!"
"Let me drive you back to school! It's getting late."
Ushio Tetsu spoke, and Ryo glanced at the time. Past 1 p.m.—time to head back to the dorm.
"Then I'll trouble you, Big Bro Ushio."
"No trouble at all! From now on, your business is my business! Need help? Just holler!"
Ushio Tetsu thumped his chest, then headed to the underground garage to fetch the car.
Minutes later, Ryo hopped in, and they set off for Phantom God Dimension Academy.
…
Suzuki Group, President's Office.
After Ryo Nakamuta left, Seiji Suzuki replayed the duel footage of Ryo versus Ushio Tetsu.
At first, it seemed fine, but when Royal Emperor got obliterated and Ushio surrendered, Seiji's face darkened.
"Even Ushio Tetsu couldn't beat him?"
"I underestimated him."
"A Blackwing deck, huh?"
"How many tricks does this kid have up his sleeve?"
Seiji Suzuki rubbed his temples. He'd never seen a student master three decks.
Red-Eyes, Cyber Dragon, and now Blackwing.
Normally, learning a single deck took years, not to mention building the bond needed for mastery.
To earn a deck's spirit's recognition, that bond and skill had to be maxed out over who-knows-how-long!
That's why kids picked their decks in elementary school, hoping to gain their spirits' approval by high school.
Of course, excluding cases of yandere-level spirit devotion.
"Dad, don't worry so much."
"Trust your precious daughter."
"I'll take first in the KC Cup and restore our Group's glory."
First place in the KC Cup?
Seiji Suzuki took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.
If only it were that simple.
He knew the strength of KC Cup competitors too well. Forget the dark horse Ryo Nakamuta for a moment—
Even past pro duelists were a handful!
Like Kaiba Corporation's Kaiba Mokuba, Kaiser Ryo's brother Marufuji Shō, Tsukumo Yuma, Tenjō Kaito, and more!
What did Mina Suzuki have to compete with them?
"Maybe you're right."
"For now, skip classes and practice dueling at home."
"And one more thing—make sure you build a good relationship with Ryo-chan."
"I think, at a critical moment, he might lend you a hand…"
After much thought, Seiji Suzuki chose to place his bets on the dark horse Ryo Nakamuta.
Hopefully, in this KC Cup, he'd look out for Mina a bit.
…
"Achoo!"
Back at the dorm, Ryo Nakamuta sneezed.
The sound brought his roommates, Ikeda Firebolt and Kito Saku, sprinting to the door in a frenzy.
"Holy beans, Ryo-bro! Where'd you been?!"
"You vanished this morning!"
Ikeda Firebolt grabbed Ryo's arm, buzzing with excitement.
"No big deal, just had lunch at a friend's place."
Ryo pushed Ikeda aside and plopped into his chair.
"Class Prez, you heard about Monday's training class?"
Monday? Training class?
Ryo blinked at Kito Saku's words.
Man, he'd only been gone half a day, and the school had already set next week's schedule?
Didn't they say top-tier duel academies like this had barely any classes per semester?
Why did it feel so different?
Last week was the Duel League Test.
Now a Duel Training Class next week?
"Judging by your face, Prez, you haven't heard."
"The class advisor posted in the group chat!"
"It's a field duel training class starting Monday, with a ton of rules."
"I can't explain it well—you should check the group chat."
Kito's grim expression tipped Ryo off that this Duel Training Class wasn't simple.
If it were easy, Kito's skills would've had it in the bag.
In other words, after seeing the rules, Kito had lost confidence.
Ryo Nakamuta opened the muted group chat and finally understood what this Duel Training Class was about.
In short, it was like a battle royale like of that PUBG.
1. All freshmen (Red, Yellow, Blue classes) participate. Losers are eliminated; winners earn 1 point.
2. Final rankings are based on individual points. The top scorer in Red advances to Yellow; top in Yellow to Blue.
3. For every promotion, there's a demotion. The lowest scorer in Blue drops to Yellow; Yellow's lowest drops to Red.
Beyond these, a few rules stood out:
4. A loser's total points transfer to the winner.
5. Mysterious duelists will join the fray.
6. Losers can ban one type of card from the winner's deck, including all copies.
These rules revealed a lot.
First, point transfers meant early point-grinding could just fatten someone else's score.
Plenty of players would end up as free labor, like looting a crate in PUBG.
Second, the mysterious duelists. No details given, but their dueling skills were likely top-notch.
Finally, the ban rule. To score well, you'd need a deep card pool!
If one staple card got banned, you'd need backups.
If a core starter card was banned, your deck could implode—unless the loser didn't know your deck well.
Alternatively, play possum, then unleash your full-power deck to crush high-scorers and steal their points.
Worst case, master multiple decks, and bans won't faze you.
All in all, this training class was way more interesting than expected.
"Hahaha! This is gonna be good!"
"Principal Samejima, that old geezer, sure knows how to spice things up!"
Ryo Nakamuta grinned, unfazed. His cryptic smile left Ikeda Firebolt baffled.
Wait, what? How was Ryo-bro smiling?
This training class was nuts!
Wasn't he worried?!