GAME START! Yuriko Yamashita's Challenge

Like a steady flow of traffic, kids walk up and down the stairwell from the bystander seats to the area below and along the corridor that seems to circle the stadium. The people that walked along had a mix of different expressions from fear, sadness, excitement, and pride. Not necessarily in equal degrees. As an entrant circled the wide hall, they'd pass by numbered gates until they come across the one marked on their ticket. Through it, a lady in a stewards uniform would be waiting with a poised and professional posture.

"Welcome. Please come this way this," the assistant would say. "Allow me to see your deck, please."

After receiving the deck, the woman would place the cards on a pedestal where a red light seemed to wash over it three times.

"Very good. Your deck meets basic standards. Please hold out your left arm."

Upon complying, the assistant pulls out a device.



It appeared to be one of the older models. Despite being used for years for these exams, the device looked polished and well-tuned. The assistant placed it on the entrant's arm and spent a minute adjusting the fit until the metal brace fit snuggly around the forearm. It kept in place and held tight but wasn't uncomfortable. The entrant's deck was placed in the duel disc and they would be guided towards a pair of doors that opened on their own, letting in bright vibrant lights as they were led into an open field.

~~~~~

Yuriko Yamashita would be greeted with a familiar face. It was the same muscular man with the shaved head that watched over her group's written exam. His mouth was downturned and the expression of his eyes was completely indistinguishable behind his dark shades. He stood with his arms folded behind his back. He seemed to just stare silently at Yuriko to the point where it became uncomfortable until he spoke up.

"Yamashita, hm?' he grunted gruffly. "Right. I'll be your test proctor for the practical exam. Let us begin."

Without so much as a warning, both duel discs lit up and the life point counters set themselves to "4000 LP" signalling the start. Each duel disc pushed out the top five cards on the deck for each player's starting hand.

"I'll begin," the test proctor stated bluntly. "I draw!"

The large man drew his first card, then without wasting a breath he slapped the card onto his duel disc.

"I'll summon Silver Gadget!"



"Silver Gadget lets me special summon a machine from my hand. Ancient Gear Wyvern."



"Ancient Gear Wyvern lets me add an Ancient Gear card from my deck to my hand. I choose Ancient Gear Fusion."

Without missing a beat, the test proctor added the spell card he stated to his hand and allowed his duel disc to shuffle the rest of the deck. He moved swiftly and spoke bluntly. His moves were extremely aggressive and he never seemed to break eye-contact with Yuriko for a second.

"I activate Ancient Gear Fusion!" The space behind the muscular man seemed to warp and spin as if a wormhole was opening up. The man held up a pair of cards in his hands. "Pop Quiz! Ancient Gear Hound plus Ancient Gear Gadgiltron Dragon to the power of a Fusion card equals what?"

With barely a second pause, the proctor inserted the two cards that were in his hand into the graveyard. "Time's up! The answer is a fusion summon!"

The warping space behind him suddenly erupted in a bright light. The shadowy figure of a pair of monsters got sucked into and a new monster emerged from the light.

"I fusion summon Ancient Gear Howitzer!"



"Now for Howitzer's special ability!" the proctor announced. "Once per turn, Howitzer inflict 1000 points of damage to my opponent's Life Point! Forward march! Fire main cannons!"

Ancient Gear Howitzer let out the sound of groaning bending metal and churning gears in a threatening roar. Its barrels rotated and aimed, all pointing at Yuriko. Without so much as a warning, it tossed a volley of cannonfire in her direction.

The shots barely missed Yuriko, hitting the ground and exploding on the ground around her. Before she would know it, her duel disc with beeping as the LP counter went down to 3000.

In a single turn, Yuriko was faced with a pair of monsters in attack position and a large fusion monster in defense mode. On top of that, before she even had a turn, she received a large amount of damage.

"Ateeeen- TION!" the proctor yelled with a strong commanding tone. "With that, my turn ends! You're lucky I'm not able to attack! Retaliate Yamashita or prepare to get ran over!"

The large man's mechanical monsters clanked and creaked, glowering at Yuriko ready to launch a frontal assault on the young girl.

"Here's a little warning," the test proctor mentioned abruptly. "Ancient Gear Howitzer will be able to do another 1000 points in direct damage on my next turn. However, its special ability also makes it immune to all card effects. In other words, the only way to take it down is by beating it in a battle. Now show me your metal!"

Yuriko's starting hand has a number of options, however her unfamiliarity with the deck will make this turn perilous. If she doesn't get rid of the Howitzer and the proctor's other monsters this turn, next turn the fusion monster will lower Yuriko's Life Points to 2000, then the rest of the monsters will finish her off. Luckily, the cards in her hand will be able to turn things around if played in just the right way. Will Yuriko be capable of that?

Yuriko's Hand:

Yuriko would soon arrive and happily gave her deck to the assistant. "Here you go!" She smiled, thinking that this battle would be easy for her since it was the practice exam. Instead she would be given a strange device which was placed on her arm. "Wow, future tech." She was amazed as she never saw the device before.

Once the adjustments were done and her deck entered the device, it was now Yuriko's turn to battle. As she walked towards the fight she realised who the man she was fighting was. As he was in the room where the written exam was taken place.

"Oh hello, you're that gu---But before she could finish, the battle had begun, and already before the man could finish his turn he had done a lot of damage to Yuriko, and would finish her off in the next turn if Yuriko doesn't play her cards right. Yuriko yelped as the attacks barely missed her, as the man's turn ended.

It was Yuriko's turn, she looked at the device, realising that she needed to take down the gear howitzer first if she wanted to gain an advantage in the battle. She needed to find a dragon that was stronger then the howitzer...But how?

"Think Yuriko, as this decision could make or prevent you from joining this academy." Yuriko thought as she decided what her card she was going to summon be.

"I summon...Dragunity Aklys!" Yuriko placed the card on her device which in turn summoned the card...And the dragon from within.



"With this card, I can use it to special summon another Dragunity card. And that special summon, will be..." Yuriko revealed her second card. "A Dragunity Dux!" She proceeded to special summon the dragon which appeared alongside her first card.



And then she wasn't sure what to do next, as her motive right now was to try and take down the Howitzer and it's minions at the end of her turn. She scratched the back of her head in worry as she tried to command the two cards that she summoned.

"And uhh...Attack?" She asked the Dragunity Dux and Aklys.

Before Yuriko could make her command, Akyls shot up into the air. It did a flip and made a nose dive towards Dux. As it descended, it fold its wings and tucked in its legs. Dux raised its arm up and grasped Aklys, twirling it before standing at attention with its new spear. A holographic panel appeared next to Aklys displaying its ATK which counted up from 1500 to 1900.

The test proctor scrunched his eyebrows at Yuriko.

"Are you not aware of how your cards function?" he asked gruffly. "... Dragunity cards specialize in working together in conjunction, special summoning each other and using each other as weapons to raise their fighting ability. When Aklys special summons a fellow Dragunity, it turns itself into a weapon and attaches to the monster. Dux raises its own ATK by 200 for each Dragunity card. You have two, so it raises its ATK by 400."

Dux brandishes Aklys and lets out an eagle-like screech to make an example.

"Now it has enough ATK to destroy my Howitzer, but were you planning on charging at it knowing that?" the man continued berating. "Get your act together, young lady!"

Yuriko's move was already registered as a command however. Dux sprung forward and thrusted Aklys at Howitzer. The spearhead pierced the metal shell of the war machine. Sparks erupted from where the spear struck and the monster let out a roar before exploding. That left Ancient Gear Wyvern and Silver Gadget, but now Howitzer was gone!

The smoke and debris covered the test proctor's side of the field. He stood silently cross-armed, glaring at Yuriko. He didn't seemed phased that his fusion monster was taken down. Then from behind him, amidst the cloud of smoke, a single red light illuminated. There was the sound of clanking gear and metal scraping against metal.

As the smoke cleared, a giant monster standing twice the size of Ancient Gear Howitzer Stood tall.



The Ancient Gear Wyvern and Silver Gadget stepped forward, flanking the giant monster. The giant raisedd its fists as if ready to brawl. A holographic panel appeared next to it displaying 3000 ATK!

"When Ancient Gear Howitzer gets taken down by battle, I can summon an Ancient Gear Monster ignoring its summoning conditions. Are you prepared to take on my Ancient Gear Golem??"

The Ancient Gear Golem raised its arms high and let out a loud booming groan.

"Pop quiz!" the test proctor shouted. "You have 3000 LP left. If your Dux with 1900 ATK takes on my Golem with 3000 ATK, then you recieve direct attacks from my Silver Gadget with 1500 ATK and my Ancient Gear Wyvern with 1700 ATK, how many Life Points will you have left?"

The proctor raised his foot and stomped the ground hard. It was so sudden and loud, when might mistaken the ground to have shaken.

"DING! DING! DING!" He shouted. "Time's up! The answer is NONE!"

He pointed a hard finger at Yuriko, as if aiming an invisible gun in her direction.

"You better find a way to take down my golem now or you're toast next turn!"

Yuriko's duel disc displayed that she has entered her second main phase. She's used up her one normal summon and she won't be able to attack again this turn. What can she do now?

"Yes!" Yuriko cheered when she watched her monster destroy the Howitzer. She was proud of her dragon. "Great job dragon!" Yuriko cheered on the monster as the man fighting her scolded her for not thinking about what she was doing. In fact he scolded her for not knowing much about her deck and to get her act together.

"I mean, this is my first battle. I have a lot to learn." Yuriko revealed to the man as a new threat soon appeared...A golem, who Yuriko needed to take down during her next phase. Unfortunately she couldn't attack, but she can still special summon monsters though.

"Hmm, I need to think carefully or else that man is going to scold me for not thinking straight. But every time I try to think, the battle get's more difficult, and this is my first real battle, if i'm going to learn at all!"

"Umm, I special summon the Arma Mystletainn!" Yuriko used her next card to summon the next dragon like a dramatic person would. Unfortunately she realised too late that her card meant that Aklys & Dux had to be sacrificed for the summon to happen.



"Oh no, I didn't mean for that...Uh oh." Yuriko realised it was too late and now she was stuck with the Mystletainn. Realising that the three of them will hurt her. She wondered if the dragon can protect her this turn seeing as how she can't attack.

"Protect me?" Yuriko commanded the Arma Mystletainn.

In response to Yuriko's cheering, Dux looked back, a drop of sweat on its temple. The proctor let out a tired sigh and shook his head as if feeling sorry for the monster.

"Dragunity Dux is actually a winged-beast type monster," the large man stated. "Do you not even know that much?"

Regardless, Yuriko still had the rest of her turn to complete. She chose to summon Mystletainn and the duel disc immediately started meeting the requirements by default.

A hole opened up and the dragon knight emerged from it, spreading open its four wings. At the same time, a hole opened up under Dux's feet, and the monster along with Akyls started sinking below.

Compared to the Ancient Gear Golem, Yuriko's new dragon knight was like a sword wielding gecko. Not only was the golem three times its size, but with only 2100 ATK, Mystletainn fell short of competing against Ancient Gear Golem's 3000 ATK.

Yuriko's command sounded more like a whimper. There was nothing Mystletainn could do. However, in response to the girl's plea, Dux looked back at her over its shoulder while it continued to sink. Before it completely dropped into the hole, Dux wound back its arm and lobbed Akyls like a javelin. The bright red spear soared over the air and jabbed into an opening in Gear Golem's chest. The spear jolted in place and shook. The Gear Golem wobbled with the sound of creaking gears with something jammed in-between them. The Gear Golem let out a gurgled groan before exploding in a large loud.

Dux had just just about sunken into the abyss with only its spear lobbing arm visible. Just before it completely fell through, Dux clenched a fist and gave a thumbs-up before sinking below.

"When you sent Dux to the grave while it was holding Aklys, Aklys's effect activated," the proctor stated. "When Aklys is sent to the grave while it's an equipped card, Aklys takes down a monster."

Despite now losing his golem, the test proctor remained unimpressed with his arms crossed sternly. "Your cards saved you this time, but it won't always work out so cleanly. As for Mystletainn...."

Yuriko's remaining monster reached out with an arm and from the ground, a familiar red spear floated up. It grasped Aklys and twirled it around, standing ready with both sword and spear.

"Mystletainn equips a dragon-type Dragunity in the grave when it enters the field. Aklys is the only target, so it grabbed it automaticaly," the test proctor stated. "Once again, your cards are protecting you, but without a proper commander, they won't be able to keep it up for long."

Despite losing their big hitter, Silver Gadget and Ancient Gear Wyvern stood at the ready and at attention. Neither had enough ATK to take down Mystletainn on their own, but there was no telling what the proctor had waiting in his hand. He still had two cards afterall.

It was still Yuriko's turn. Was there anything left for her to do?

Yuriko listened to the man scold her again over not knowing much about her deck yet again. She twiddled her fingers. "I uh, know that it's a winged beast...Monster, thanks to...You." Yuriko felt awkward in this fight. She was really an amateur at this, but still, she at least knew that Aklys was able to do that now.

But she was not ready to say goodbye to it, not yet at least, she leaned down and watched as the dragon went into the graveyard zone. "Thank you for helping me, you're efforts will not go unnoticed." Yuriko thanked her minions for helping her so far in the battle.

She also forgot to thank Dux and just as he was about to enter the portal. She called to him. "Oh and you too!" She yelled before he went into the graveyard.

She looked back up and listened to the man and nodded. She may not be as good as her competitor, but she was going to try her best at winning this battle, she looked around at the battlefield, and wanting to be wise. She had decided to end her turn to see what the man was planning to do in his phase and whether she could prepare for it.

"I probably feel like doing this will turn me to toast, fortunately I have an ace up my sleeve if that does happen." Yuriko looked down at her monster reincarnation card. Knowing she had to use this wisely or else the battle will become worse for her then it already is.

The proctor clicked his tongue. Was he disappointed? He drew his next card and looked at it. He made a low hum under his throat and added it to his hand.

"I switch Ancient Gear Wyvern and Silver Gadget to defense mode," the proctor stated. His gadget went down on one knee, crossing its arms over its chest. Meanwhile, Ancient Gear Wyvern curled into itself and crossed its wings. "With that, my turn ends."

The proctor's move wasn't odd per say, but it was surprising he suddenly decided to go on the defensive. But he has yet to set a card, so it's doubtful this is a trap.

"Now show me what you got," the man urged on Yuriko.

Her duel disc prompted to start her turn. First, the young girl needed to draw her next card.

Yuriko's draw:

It was Leyvetan! This was the strongest monster in the deck and it can special summon itself. But Yuriko will have to sacrifice a monster equipped with a dragunity. She had one right on her field, but is it worth it?

Yuriko watched the minion's of the man go into defence mode, she was finally getting into the mood of the battle and it looked like she was ready to rock and roll after worrying about failing this battle a few seconds ago. When the man asked Yuriko to show him what she got, Yuriko would happily provide it for him.

"Ok, i'll show you what I got, my powerful dragon, Leyvetan!" Yuriko summoned the monster by drawing out her card, even if it meant that Arma would have to be sacrificed. However, she again has an ace up her sleeve and as she watched Arma get taken to the graveyard she continued to smile. Even if she only had one monster in the battle right now.

"Now then. Defend yourself Leyvetan." Yuriko commanded.

"There was something not quite right."

Famous last words.

Leyveten was successfully summoned, but it was taking a knee and crossing its arms and wings over its chest. It was taking a stance similar to the proctor's monsters

"You just summoned your monster in defense mode!!" the proctor yelled, a vein throbbing on the side of his head."With few exceptions, monsters can't attack while they're in defense! You won't be able to change its battle position until next turn either!"

The dragon twitched in place as if itching to move, but it remained in place, its sword sheathed to its back.

"You...." the proctor grimaced, his eyebrow twitching. "Do you even know what's about to occur next?"

A hole opened up in the middle of the air next to Yuriko. Emerging from it was a familiar red spear.

"When Mystletainn was sent to the grave, so was Aklys," the proctor stated. "Aklys can now destroy a card on the field. I have two."

The man gestured at his Ancient Gear Wyvern and Silver Gadget.

"You have to pick which to strike," the man stated. "Choose."

Yuriko looked at the Proctor who was angry, which caused her to smile. "It seems I made the proctor frustrated. Which means I must be winning if he's having trouble fighting me!" Yuriko happily thought, before being told that her dragon won't be able to fight until the next turn.

It seems as though that something was going to occur next, which wasn't good judging by the spear that was appearing before Yuriko. She felt as though the spear was going to fire at her, thus ending the battle if she loses her remaining life points. She had to think her moves carefully.

She turned back, looking at the Ancient Gear Wyvern and Silver Gadget, she decided that since Gadget started this battle, then she couldn't it to threaten to help summon more monsters on the Proctor's side. "I choose to execute the Silver Gadget." Yuriko pointed at Gadget and waited for Aklys to destroy it. While holding out her next card.

"I also use Monster Reincarnation to bring back Arma Mystletainn from the graveyard." Yuriko held out her card. She felt as though that she should of waited until Leyvaten was taken to the graveyard zone, but she knew now was the time to bring back Mystletainn to make sure she would have two powerful minions to face against the Proctor.

She continued to smile as she waited for the results of her moves.

Like a cannon, Aklys launched and pierced Silver Gadget. It exploded without much resistance. However, as the smoke cleared, a new monster appeared, this one similar-looking to the Gadget monster except it was the color of bronze and stone.

"When Silver Gadget is destroyed, it brings out a new Gadget monster to replace it," the proctor explained in dry deadpan. "This is Ancient Gear Gadget."



Next, Yuriko attempted to use Monster Reincarnation, however as she placed the card in the slot, the monitor on her duel disc flashed red and let out some loud beep noise. Where her lifepoints displayed, it was reading "Error".

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" the proctor grumbled. He jerked his chin in the direction of Leyveten who remained patiently waiting. "When Leyveten enters the field, he equips a dragon-type monster from the grave to it."

In front of Yuriko, a pair of cards displayed holographic ally in front of her. On the left was Mystletainn. On the right was Aklys.

"When Leyveten gets destroyed, he special summons the dragon equipped to it," the proctor explained. "A backup soldier if you will. Unlike before, there are multiple choices. Pick one."

If Yuriko equips Mystletainn, that means her second strongest monster will be able to defend her if Leyveten gets defeated. The same goes if she backs Leyveten up with Aklys. Which will she choose?

Yuriko smiled when it looked like the Silver Gadget had been destroyed. "Oh yeah!" She cheered to herself, which was quickly short lived when the Ancient Gear Gadget appeared to take it's place. Yuriko felt as though that she should of killed the other monster instead.

She was going to do a lot of research if she wins this battle.

Which she should get back to focusing on. Right now she needed to make a choice, which was to equip one of her dragons with Leyvaten. It also seemed that her monster reincarnation wasn't going to work, at least for now. She looked at both of her dragons and tried to think of a choice.

And quickly clicked her finger.

"I...Equip it with Mystletainn." Yuriko revealed as she pointed to Leyvaten, hoping he would latch onto the dragon like Aklys did with Dux.

She began to sweat as she felt as though this battle was going to reach a critical moment sometime soon.

Mystletainn emerged and threw its sword. Leyvetainn grabbed it out of the air and the yellow dragon went away.

The proctor sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You still can't attack with Mystletainn. Is that the end of your turn?"

Yuriko cheered Mystletainn on...Only for him to vanish. "Huh!?" Yuriko was confused at best, until the Proctor told her what happened. "Whoops." Yuriko spoke awkwardly. At least nobody was laughing at her as she smiled and pointed dramatically at the Proctor.

Maybe she will do better in the next turn?

"Give me you're best shot!" Yuriko blurted out randomly before realising what she had just said and corrected herself. "I mean. I end my turn." She lowered her arm, realising that the moment was ruined.

The proctor groaned as if getting increasingly impatient. He drew his next card and looked at it.

"Mmm..."

He placed his new card in his hand and tapped his fingertip against one of the other cards but he he looked back up at Yuriko.

"Your performance has been very poor up to now," the proctor stated. "You barely have a grasp of the rules and have been relying on effects that occur automatically. You clearly have no established strategy and your instincts aren't compensating that."

This proctor was harsh! He's been putting the pressure on Yuriko from the start. That sort of thing was expected of such a high-class test, but he seemed particularly tough. For that matter, why was a proctor who was running written exams suddenly taking part in a practical exam?

"This is an elite school and only the best is expected," he said, his voice a low growl. "If you expect to be able to enter, you're gonna have to try a lot harder!"

Finally he pulled a card and inserted it into his duel disc's spell/trap slots.

"I activate Ancient Gear Workshop!"



"Now I get to return an Ancient Gear monster from my graveyard to my hand!" he explained loudly. "I choose Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!!"



"I summon it immediately!" the proctor shouted. "Ancient Gear Hunting Hound deals 600 damage the moment it is summoned! Go!"

Suddenly, from behind Yuriko, a mechanical dog jumped out and swiped at her before bounding to the proctor's side of the field. Yuriko's life points went down to 2400, putting her at an even bigger disadvantage to the proctor.

"Now I'll use Hunting Hound's other effect," the proctor growled foreboding. "Once per turn, Ancient Gear Hunting Hound lets me fusion summon using monsters on my field or hand."

The space behind the proctor warped and shifted the same way it did when he summoned Howitzer. The proctor's three monster, Ancient Gear Wyvern, Hunting Hound, and Gadget, started being pulled towards it until some invisible force picked them up and threw them in the warping space, disappearing with the appearance of a giant light.

"With three Ancient Gear Monsters, I am able to bring out a weapon of mass destruction!" the proctor exclaimed. "I fusion summon! Megaton Ancient Gear Golem!!!"



A humongous monster towering over everything appeared from the warp in space. It stomped and shook the ground, waving out its multiple monstrous arms.

"Time to attack," the proctor growled intimidatingly. "Megaton! Forwaaard! MARCH!"

The giant monster let out a giant roar and stomped forward. It towered over Leyvetainn and threw down all of its arms at once, pummeling down repeatedly with its multiple fists. The dragon was even visible within the flurry.

The dragon cried out before the sound of shattering glass rang out, signalling its destruction. The giant mechanical behemoth stopped its assault and stepped back. As it did, the sword Leyveten held flew out of the spoke and flipped in the air. Then suddenly Mystletainn descended and snatched the sword.

"When Leyveten is destroyed, it summons the monster that was equipped to it," the proctor explained for the second time. "As the duelist, it's your job to choose whether Mystletainn enters in attack or defense mode. Choose wisely."

Megaton Ancient Gear Golem stepped back as if to make room, but it remained looking down at Yuriko with a single glowing red eye.

Yuriko was not in a good spot right now. What with the Proctor criticising her battle style and the fact that she might not get into such a highly advanced Academy. Yuriko's cards were really all down now, at least, so she thought. She may not know the rules or how to fight when it comes to this dangerous game that may or may not have killed people.

But she was going to win. She was going to enroll in this school and find out the fate of her brother. She's not giving up yet, not even when a monstrous dog swiped at her!

Wait what?

"AHH!" Yuriko screamed as she jumped back when she was swiped. "Aww man." Yuriko rolled her eyes as she got back up again and looked back at the Proctor, crunching her teeth. "I may not be the best like any other student you have at the Academy. But if I pass this exam, I will swear to become...Elite!" Yuriko fired back at the Proctor's comment, before he began to fusion summon.

In which case, Yuriko's boastful attitude suddenly dropped when she saw how huge the next monster was. "I'm screwed." She thought as she watched the monster finish off Leyveten basically getting beaten to death. "My dragon. He's broken." Yuriko sounded dismal, but cheered up again when Mystletainn soon appeared. As Yuriko had equipped him awhile ago.

"Excellent. Looks like there is a chance for me after all." Yuriko smiled at Mystletainn as she looked back at the Proctor. "Well, my choice is..." Yuriko pointed forward towards Megaton.

"To attack it!" She revealed.

Mystletainn landed on the field but didn't move. The proctor let out a tired groan, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Attack mode, not attacking. Do you even know the difference? And even if you did attack, what did you honestly expect was going to happen?"

The proctor let out a sigh and looked up at Yuriko dead in the eye.

"Monster can be in one of two positions. Attack or Defense," he explained slowly. "In Attack mode, its Attack Points become its main variable. In Defense Mode, it is its defense points. These stats are indicated in numerical value at the bottom of the card's text."



"Mystletainn has 2100 ATK points. So if it attacks another monster in ATK mode, the monster with the higher ATK wins. Now Take a look at Megaton Ancient Gear Golem."



"Pop quiz. Can you tell me what its ATK points are?" the proctor questioned Yuriko. "Now what you should've done was summoned Mystletainn in defense mode. Then, even if my stronger monster destroys it, you wouldn't take damage. But in ATK mode, if my monster attacks and destroys Mystletainn, you'll receive the difference in their ATK points as damage to your lifepoints. You currently have 2400 Life points."

The proctor pushed his shades in place with two fingers.

"Pop quiz, how much damage would you take if my Megaton Ancient Gear Golem attacks Dragunity Arma Mystletainn right now?"

The golem groaned threateningly but didn't move from its place.

"Luckily, my golem can't attack again this turn," the proctor stated. "However, you better find a way to destroy it during your turn, or else. I end."

Yuriko's duel disc lit up, signalling the start of her turn. As things are now, she was definitely in danger. It was all up to her next draw.

Yuriko's draw:

An equip spell card. This was covered in the written exam. This card can boost the ATK of an equipped monster but....

The Megaton Ancient Gear Golem creaked and groaned. Mystletain was like an ant in comparison of size alone. Even with the equip spell, it wouldn't have enough ATK to beat it. But maybe Mystletainn is not the monster Yuriko could focus on....

In Yuriko's hand, Dragunity Legionaire slipped from her grip just slightly, as if the card was trying to get her attention. It was a weak monster, but it had a special ability that could turn things around...

As Yuriko waited for her monster to attack, she was informed that...She should of went with a defence move instead. As the monsters attack points were lower then the Golem's, which meant it could easily slay the dragon should Yuriko attack it. As she was informed and lectured by the Proctor.

She grumbled, annoyed by the Proctor's attitude. Never the less, she felt like she was in a tight spot again, at least, until her deck began to glow. "Huh?" She looked down at the Divine Lance and then at the Legionaire, thinking of an idea. She turned towards Mystletain and sighed, before looking back down at the Legionaire.

"You might not survive the next turn buddy. Eitherway." Yuriko turned towards the Proctor and proceeded to swipe the Legionaire. "I summon Dragunity Legionaire!" She called before swiping her equip card.

"And I equip it with the Divine lance!" She finished, trying to make the Legionaire stronger with her card.

The bird-like monster appeared, standing next to Mystletainn. When Yuriko played her spell card, lightning struck from above and where it struck on the ground in front of her, a golden spear appeared. Legionaire grasped the shaft of the lance and raised it high. A counter appeared and Legionaire's ATK raised from 1200 to 1500.

"Hmph, so you're making a decent move," the proctor stated. "Or are you just banging your head against a wall until it breaks? Your monster still doesn't have enough attack points... if you know how to use it...."

A warp appeared and Akyls emerged once again. The small red dragon turned into a spear and Legionaire snatched it with its other hand.

"When Legionaire is summoned, he equips a low-level Dragunity to itelf," the proctor explained, still standing poised with a stoic expression. "Aklys is the only usable target, so it chose it automatically. However, even with Aklys, Legionaire isn't strong enough to win in a battle against Megaton Ancient Gear Golem.... However, Legionaire has another ability."

The proctor huffed and fanned himself with the cards in his hand. "No more freebies, runt. Let's see if you know how to use Legionaire effectively to turn things around."

Legionaire seemed to turn to look over its shoulder at Yuriko as if waiting for the right command. Its ATK points still fell short of competing against Megaton Ancient Gear Golem, but it looks ready to do... something?

Yuriko almost fell to the ground when the lightning struck her. She was still amazed at what she had done however, especially when a lance appeared from the lightning after it struck. "Magical." She muttered under her breath as she watched Legionaire grab the lance and summoned Aklys. Who turned into a lance and allowed Legionaire to grab it.

"Oh my. Will Aklys be alright now that he turned into a lance?" Yuriko sincerely asked the proctor before realising that Legionaires ATK points have only been increased to 1500. She was disappointed. "Aww, I wanted it to be 2000." Yuriko pouted.

Before realising that the dragon can use another ability...Which Yuriko was not sure on how to activate. So she might as well guess. She scratched the top of her head.

"Uhh, Legionaire." She tried to get the monsters attention. "Do your...Secret ability?" She commanded.

Legionaire only looked back at Yuriko awkwardly.

The proctor rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Read the text on the card," he said. "Each card has text on the bottom with its stats and a statement of its abilities. Read. The. Card."

Yuriko waited for the Legionaire to do his ability. "What?" She asked the dragon. She was still waiting, then she was told to read the card.

"Text? What text?" Yuriko realised that she was holding the card the wrong way around, which she flipped over and looked at the Legionaires description. After scanning through the description very fast, Yuriko gasped.

"He can go to the graveyard zone and get Levytan back!" Yuriko revealed out loud. She realised that she shouldn't of done that, but either way she looked at Legionaire. "You know what to do Legionaire!" She pointed below her.

"Go down there and drag that dragon out of the zone and equip it!" She commanded the dragon. Hopefully it doesn't result in awkward silence again.

Once again, Legionaire just gave Yuriko and awkward look. Proctor massaged the bridge of his nose and groaned.

"It already used that ability," he stated, pointing to Aklys held in the bird monster's talons in the form of a spear. "And Aklys was the only monster in your grave it can target. Legionaire is only able to grab a dragon that's level 3 or below. Do even know how to distinguish card levels?"

The proctor lifted up his Megaton Ancient Gear Golem card and held it up as an example.



"Levels are indicated by the number of stars on the right side of a monster. My Megaton has 9 stars so that indicates it's a level 9 monster. Pop quiz; what level is your Leyveten in the grave? And I expect an answer this time, kid."

The Proctor laid his card back onto the duel disc and let out a sigh.

"But you're on the right track. Legionaire has another ability. Can you figure out how it works?"

Legionaire looked at Yuriko with both spears in hand, giving her an encouraging look.

Yuriko thought for a moment before quickly answering the Proctor's question. "Oh, it's eight. For your information I happen to be new at this sort of thing. But i'm doing well...Right?" Yuriko asked the Proctor. "No what, never mind." She knew she would get a sarcastic response from the Proctor if she asked him. Then again, he was the only human besides Yuriko in this battlefield right now.

But then she was told that her ability didn't work, because Leyveten is a level eight monster. "Hmm. I know." Yuriko red about another ability that Legionaire can do.

"Legionaire, go into the spell or trap zone and slay the first monster you can find!" Yuriko commanded. Hopefully she was right this time, although she feels as though that she's not.

The proctor shook his head and sighed. Regardless, Legionaire hoisted up Divine Lance and chucked it. The spear soared in the air, travelling a long distance before successfuly jabbing through the golem's shell. Where the spear struck, the metal cracked and factured, splintering like a spider web until the golem exploded.

"Alright, try to keep this straight," the proctor said. "Dragunity Legionaire is able to take a card in your spell/trap zone with 'Dragunity' in its name and send it to the grave to take out any monster with its effect. In this case, it sent Dragunity Divine Lance to the grave to take out Megaton Ancient Gear Golem. Next time, specify all targets. Regardless, that was an appropriate move for the situation. You've successfully taken out Megaton Ancient Gear Golem."

That was probably the only time the proctor complimented on an action (albeit dryly) this entire. He pushed his sunglasses up.

"However, it's not over yet."

The proctor's side of the field was covered in smoke and debris resulting from the destruction of Megaton Ancient Gear Golem. However, as th smoke started to clear, a faint shadow can be seen underneath. Suddenly, in a big flash a single red eye brimmed with a menacing glow and stared down at Yuriko from up high. As the smoke cleared, a gargantuan monster was standing where Megaton Ancient Gear Golem was!



"When Megaton Ancient Gear Golem is destroyed, it brings out Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem!"

The unhinged monster let out a loud, menacing roar, shaking the air itself. It was as if Megaton merely discarded its over encumbering armor and became even more dangerous!

"If I successfully attack next turn with this monster, you're as good as dead," the proctor stated."However, you have a way to avoid that. Do you know how?"

Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem stood ready, towering over everything on the field. It was like an unstoppable war machine and its ATK points reflected that. What can Yuriko's monsters do against that?