The Fear of a New Summon

"Duel begins."

[Amagi Hikaru, LP: 4000]

[Yamaguchi, LP: 4000]

"I'll go first," Yamaguchi drew a card, gave it a glance. "I set a monster in Defense Position and set a card. Turn end."

Surprisingly standard. No flashy plays.

Hikaru paused, then understood.

No matter what "new power" Leo Akaba might've given them, there was no way they could openly use something like Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder in front of all these teachers and students. The strange "field" wasn't active either, so it couldn't be a Sacred Beast.

Then what was it?

Hikaru frowned thoughtfully.

"My turn, draw!" Hikaru swiftly drew a card from his Deck.

"Let's go, Hikaru!"

"Crush them for us, Hikaru!"

For once, even those who usually found Hikaru a bit much, or didn't care for popular figures, were cheering him on since the Polymerization Club's actions had crossed a serious line this time.

Usually, no one minded some strong-arming in a Duel, it just meant your skills weren't up to snuff. But monopolizing new card packs? That was asking for it.

Hikaru acknowledged their cheers with a good mood.

After all, his first major self-assigned missions since reincarnating were both going splendidly: "make life hard for Egghead man" and "Fusion is just and noble."

"I activate the Spell Card, Fusion Armament!" Hikaru revealed a Spell Card illustrated with Flame Swordsman.

"Reveal 1 Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck, then Special Summon 1 of its listed materials from your Deck or Graveyard, I reveal Dark Flare Knight and Special Summon Flame Swordsman from the Extra Deck!"

"There it is, Hikaru's 10,000 methods of summoning Flame Swordsman!"

"But monsters summoned by this effect can't battle!" Yamaguchi countered quickly, having done his homework.

"Then how about this?" Hikaru flipped another card from his hand, a long-unused one. "Normal Spell, Metamorphosis!"

"I send Flame Swordsman to the Graveyard to Special Summon Dark Balter The Terrible from the Extra Deck!"

The swordsman waved at the crowd like a champion before vanishing into a swirl of fire.

Even though Flame Swordsman only had 1800 ATK, he was immensely popular among first-years studying Fusion, especially since Hikaru had used so many strange ways to summon him. When his virtual image waved, students couldn't help but cheer.

"You're quite the fan-favorite," a voice echoed in Hikaru's ear, it was Dark Balter The Terrible.

"Don't worry, you'll be a star too," Hikaru teased.

"My only duty is to serve my lord with loyalty!"

"Oi, was that a jab at me?!"

Meanwhile, Flame Swordsman vanished, and the blazing light turned pitch-black, revealing a hulking devil cloaked in green with twisted horns.

[Dark Balter The Terrible] Level 5 | DARK, Fiend | 2000 ATK

"Battle! Dark Balter, attack the facedown monster!"

He charged forward, a black sphere forming in his hand before hurling it down, blasting the set monster.

"That was Test Ape! When it's destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon 1 Gladiator Beast from my Deck! I Special—"

"Nope." Hikaru casually raised a hand, slicing the air with a finger.

"What!?" Yamaguchi stared at his Graveyard. The card flickered, and the effect failed.

"Monster effect, Dark Balter The Terrible's effect negates the effects of monsters it destroys by battle!"

"That card's ancient, isn't it?"

"Come on, as a Fusion expert, how could he not know that one?"

Yamaguchi flushed with embarrassment.

He'd gotten too fixated on activating Test Ape's effect, and totally forgot to check his opponent's card. Dark Balter The Terrible was likely released around the time he'd entered school...

Hikaru assessed the field.

'Gladiator Beasts, huh?'

'So, he switched from Ancient Gears to Gladiator Beasts?'

'Makes sense. If Egghead was focused on studying Sacred Beasts, then rolling out a Gladiator Beast Deck to rile up students and stabilize loyalty wasn't a bad plan.'

"If that's the case..." Hikaru glanced at his hand, then smiled. "I set two cards. Turn end."

Yamaguchi frowned and drew a card.

The set card was the Trap "Double Tag Team," which lets you Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Gladiator Beast when you Special Summon one from the Deck.

Once he pulled that off, he could fuse into Gladiator Beast Gyzarus and destroy Hikaru's field for a fast swing.

Honestly, facing Hikaru made him nervous…

His reputation wasn't just hype, he had truly crushed the Polymerization Club multiple times. He'd turned their club from "Fusion" to "Polymerization", a genius first-year. As a graduating senior, Yamaguchi had no reason to push this.

But Professor Akaba's orders were firm. He had to do this. They even expected resistance.

And it made sense.

Ever since the rise of the Fusion Club, their club had seen a shortage of new "members". Their first-year lounge was almost empty. If all you wanted was a temporary Deck like Ancient Gears, why not go with the more popular Hikaru?

So, the reps came up with a plan:

Use a new Deck to attract new students.

Normally, Gladiator Beast decks were reserved for "top Fusion graduates", the elite, such as Akaba's personal special forces.

And Yamaguchi had always wanted one, but feared asking. After all, he'd accomplished nothing this year, and the club was tanking.

Yet Akaba hadn't scolded him. He'd simply given him the deck.

Yamaguchi took a deep breath…

Hikaru also had Gladiator Beasts and claimed to understand Fusion inside out. A new Deck alone wouldn't guarantee victory.

He had to find another angle.

"Hey, Hikaru!" Yamaguchi said, trying to reason with him. "Aren't you scared?"

"Scared? Of what?" Hikaru looked confused.

"Xyz. Synchro. Don't you find it all so strange?"

"Huh? Maybe..." Hikaru actually hesitated.

"I've trained for Duel Monsters since I was a kid. Joined tons of tournaments. Aimed to be pro. Studied all sorts of ways to gather Fusion materials. But one day they tell me, 'Forget all that, there's something new.' You're not afraid?"

Hikaru arched an eyebrow.

This... probably echoed the thoughts of many who still clung to the old club.

This world wasn't like Hikaru's old one. Here, card development moved slower. Most people didn't even follow the anime, Synchros, Xyz, Pendulum, Link? They weren't just "weird," they broke lifelong understanding.

Change was scary. That was normal.

"But Duelists shouldn't fear the new!" Hikaru replied, firm. "Kaiba just made an epic announcement! Everyone rushed here for these brand-new monsters. Scared? No way!"

"Exactly! A Duelist must keep climbing new peaks!" Chazz nodded passionately beside him, Kaiba's teachings drilled into his head.

"But don't you think Tuners and Synchros are... too weird? Like, another dimension altogether?

"Fusion is the noblest summoning method! Shouldn't it be the only one?" He hoped that line would win Hikaru's favor.

Because he knew Hikaru was an even more extreme Fusion purist than him.

"Really? I don't think so." Hikaru shrugged. "And anyway, that's not an excuse to hog all the card packs.

If you're afraid of new summoning methods, that doesn't give you the right to stop others from pursuing exciting, new cards.

You don't have that right.

Besides, Fusion is the noblest summoning method.

But that has nothing to do with any other method!"

Hikaru crossed his arms, gripping his cards, watching Yamaguchi calmly.

"I'll prove it to you, senpai. So when that moment comes, stop making excuses."