"They did it…"
With only one day left before the conference, Alexis stared blankly at the freshly printed, still-ink-scented new ritual card in her hand.
Even as an elite who had been directly admitted to the Academy, she'd never dreamed she'd achieve something like this as a first-year student.
First, a massive upgrade for the entire Cyber Angel deck. And now, a brand-new card never seen before.
[Cyber Angel – Natasha]
The same Level 5 ritual angel Kira had hinted at before—famous for its unique "NTR" (control-stealing) effect within the Cyber Angel series.
"As expected of Rhodes, you finished it already." Misawa praised. "Looks like I'll need to speed up my progress, can't let myself fall behind."
"No, it was just luck…and thanks to Kira's guidance."
She found it hard to believe.
From her understanding, even with research, you could only grasp a general direction. Even the designers themselves often couldn't say for sure what a card would look like until it was finished.
Yet Kira always seemed to know exactly what each card should be.
"By the way, you didn't mention this new card in your paper, did you?" Misawa asked.
"No, I was still developing it then."
Perfect—she could present it as a new result at the conference.
After submitting, she'd heard the reviewers were pretty shocked—even emailing her for details and repeatedly stressing that she must attend in person.
She wondered how they'd react if they knew she'd printed a new card just two days before the conference…
Even Lyman was momentarily speechless upon seeing the new Cyber Angel card.
It looked nothing like the usual upright, dignified Cyber Angels.
If anything, the art style seemed distinctly Kira-esque…
Lyman squinted, glancing at Kira, who was buried in his research at the next table.
Sensing the look, Kira raised an eyebrow.
Not my fault.
While the art was different from old Cyber Angels, Natasha was a real Cyber Angel card, not something he made up.
Cyber Angels are like this.
"It's impressive," Lyman finally said, handing the card back to Alexis.
He'd been following the lab's progress closely, so he knew that while Alexis did the actual printing, the overall design direction was always controlled by Kira.
The new card's art style also made it clear: rather than Alexis' usual head-on style, it was much closer to Kira's preferences.
Lyman looked at Kira again, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
The more he watched, the more he felt this student was a true prodigy.
Maybe he was even considering passing down his "Macro Cosmos" legacy to Kira.
Lyman used an Alchemy deck, but most of the cards were anime-only and still hadn't been printed in real life after nearly twenty years.
But he did have one card that had stood the test of time—still meta-relevant and considered the OG "banish everything" card by duelists.
Continuous Trap – Macro Cosmos.
Its effect is simple and brutal: as long as this card is on the field, anything sent to the graveyard is banished instead.
For modern Yu-Gi-Oh!, where the graveyard is second hand, this is huge. One card erases the whole concept of graveyard, and can single-handedly wipe out any deck that depends on graveyard recursion.
To be honest, Kira had two motives for asking Lyman to mentor him: he wanted to learn alchemy and card printing, but also hoped to inherit Lyman's Macro Cosmos style.
Because according to the original series, he knew the professor's life was almost up. Lyman was already using an artificial body made via human transmutation, but it was on the verge of collapse.
Before dying, he would look for a worthy successor. In the anime, he picked Jaden Yuki.
But while Jaden was called an alchemy genius, his deck style was different from Lyman's. So Kira figured, let Jaden take the main role, but he wanted to inherit the legacy…Macro Cosmos included.
...
The next day, Kira and his group left the island and arrived at the conference venue.
The event was held at the headquarters of the Industrial Illusion. The spacious conference hall was filled with VIPs and top researchers. At the center was a giant stage and multimedia screens displaying the theme and agenda.
Alexis took her third deep breath since entering, her chest rising and falling.
Kira said, "Don't be nervous."
"I—I'm not nervous!" Alexis protested. "Just thinking about what to say."
Kira smiled, not pressing further.
Still, it was understandable. No matter how capable they were, Alexis and Misawa were still first-years—suddenly being asked to present to a room full of top experts would make anyone nervous.
"Whoa, is that Yako Tenma?" Misawa whispered.
Following his gaze, Kira saw Yako Tenma at the end of the table.
"That's him?" Alexis asked, surprised. "I heard he's the new head of the Industrial Illusion and a legendary duelist—he even played against the Duel King."
"That's right," Kira nodded. "I even dueled him myself."
Both companions stared at him in disbelief.
You? Against someone at that level?
"Just barely scraped by," Kira said modestly. "Pure luck."
Their expressions became even more exaggerated.
"No way…" Misawa muttered.
He'd always known Kira wasn't ordinary, but to beat a duelist of that caliber…
Just then, a woman walked over.
Dressed in a perfectly tailored navy suit, elegant yet dignified. Sunlight shining through the window made her long hair gleam with gold.
"Excuse me, are you Fujiki Kira and Alexis Rhodes?"
"Yes," Kira replied. "And you are…?"
"Oh, sorry to intrude. I'm Misaki Takahashi."
"The chief of the Cyber Research Association?!" Alexis gasped.
A major figure in the field.
"Yes. I've read your paper on Cyber Angels—honestly, I was stunned." Takahashi smiled. "If everything in the paper is real, your work is revolutionary. Genius doesn't even begin to describe it."
"Thank you…" Alexis glanced at Kira. "But it was mostly Kira's ideas."
Takahashi looked them over, still smiling.
"I wasn't planning to attend today, but after reading your paper, I changed my mind. I have a request: you brought your upgraded Cyber Angel deck, right?"
Alexis nodded: "Yes."
"Then," Takahashi raised her duel disk, "would you show me what it can do in a duel?"
"Eh?" Alexis blinked.
I'm dueling the chief?
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Next Goal: 2000 PS; 3 extra chapters.