After that loud announcement, the director sits back down and presses something on a holographic screen. That makes a map come up in the center of the table.

“As many of you already know, the situation at Doraquen city is proceeding badly. We have already seen a worrying amount of build up at the border and if the rumors are to be believed, saboteurs may already be present in the close-by Cy City.” The map focuses on the border between the Lotheas Union, which Dragoon City is part of, and the Zargesian Protectorate. Doraquen City is within the protectorate’s borders, where Cy City is within the unions.

“This is nothing new. Lothenean intelligence has already confirmed this action was promoted by the Protectorate. What is new, however, is this.”

He presses some buttons on the tablet, changing the displayed image to 5 grainy photos of faces.

“They took these from a union surveillance orbital station just this week. This is what we’re up against.” Light explains in a serious tone. “They are an elite unit of Quad-Summoners. We don’t know the methods that the Protectorate used to train this squad, but they are Quad-Summoners.”

He then turns to me. “Therefore, I called Yuumi, here.”

Raising an eyebrow, I ask, “And what am I supposed to tell?”

Light gives a brief nod. “We need an objective opinion on what the most likely summoning methods they have.”

I instantly get confused.

‘Why is that important?!?!… I give up.’

“Wait, how do you they are Quad-Summoners, but not the methods?” I ask.

The Director nods. “That’s a good question indeed. Unfortunately, it’s one for the Protectorate. We have this intel because of a transmission from an agent which was located inside one of the Protectorate’s military academies. Unfortunately, after sending this info and some physical descriptions, he went dark.”

I pause for a moment to take that in and then say. “Well… If it matters, I would consider it a given they all have access to link summoning, at least if we’re going for the better summoning methods…”

I look around and find various elites shed their neutral expressions in favor of either a pleased one or a weary one.

“Next I would put XYZ summoning, usefully generic, and a great tool box…” I carefully continue looking around at the continually changing facial expressions of the other members.

‘Really Light? Had to put me in the spot like this?!’

I give a worried look at Light, who thankfully understands the message quickly.

He suddenly stands up and looks at the table.

“People, let’s allow the NATURAL PENTA-SUMMONER to give her opinion on SUMMONING METHODS!….”

…

…

…

‘Ooooh shiiiiiiiit.’

You could hear a pin drop in the room. It went so quiet.

After the loud reminder of who’s the boss here, the Director sat back down.

“Continue please.” He says, gesturing for me to continue my speech.

I hesitate, but take his advice.

“As I was telling, Synchro Summoning and Fusion Summoning sort of fall into the same category. Both of them have to be specifically supported by their decks other than in some specific situations and engines.”

“What about pendulum?” asks the elite opposite to me.

‘Oh…. Here it comes.’

“Tier 2.” I simply say, trying to minimize the obvious fallout that is going to ensue when I tell the truth.

The director raises an eyebrow.

“Tier 2? I’m going to need more from you than that.” He requests.

‘Fuck.’

“The problem with pendulum is… Ok, is there any confirmation that their team members all share the same summoning methods or decks?” I ask the Director.

He grabs hold of a holographic tablet, reading it over.

After shacking his head, he says. “No, we don’t know that yet.”

“*Sigh*, then that means we have 4 options. Option one: they share the same deck and the same summoning methods. This would be beneficial for us because as soon as we fight one, we know all of their strategies, but that also makes this option unlikely.”

The elites around the table share a nod with the Director.

“Option two: they share the same deck, but different summoning methods. This is almost certainly not the case, as that would not result in an efficient deck.”

“That would be dumb. I agree.” the Director comments.

“Option number three: they use different decks and different summoning methods. This throws all this speculation out of the window.”

This time, Light moves in with his own opinion. “Hmmm. Unlikely, common military doctrine dictates squads train together, so training them on different methods would be more work. Still a terrifying prospect, if it is the case. Let’s treat this as a worst-case scenario for now. How about option four?”

“Option number four: They use different decks but know about the same summoning methods. Here, pendulum summoning is an unlikely pick. The decks that use pendulum summoning all rely on it. There isn’t a deck where you can just splash pendulum monsters to make it better. At least not at a high skill level.”

The looks of the some of the elites at the table turn to glares, and they stare at me mercilessly.

‘Oh shit, I appear to have hit a nerve.’

…

…

Silence follows my declaration.

Suddenly, the sound of multiple chairs scraping the ground could be heard.

“THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!” One shouts after standing up.

‘Shit.’

“I WILL NOT PERMIT THIS INSULT TO…” He tries to continue.

The Director isn’t having any of it.

“ENOUGHT!” He yells, slamming his hands against the table, sending a monumental banging sound around the room.

He turns to me.

“Yuumi, thank you for your opinion. That’s your educated guess for the most likely scenario, right? XYZ, Synchro, Fusion, and Link?”

“Y-Yes.” I stutter.

“Thank you.”

He then turns to the elites, some of which are still standing.

“You all might ask why I requested her opinion on this, right?” He asks.

Most of them nod.

“As a natural Yuumi didn’t have to spend years learning each method, this means that her opinion isn’t stained by a bad learning experience or a good one. Coupled with her ability, that I have analyzed to be at almost on par with a green rank, means she is the person best qualified to ask about this, maybe in the entire colonized bubble.”

‘Colonized bubble? Wait? What?’

Oooook, I have to look into that immediately.

————

Thankfully, the rest of the meeting goes in a less “bombastic” way. The Director went over security concerns, monthly statistics, and other stuff I’m pretty sure I had no business knowing. Still, it makes sense if I’m going to join them later. Got to solidify that claim somehow…

The other elites are clearly not interested in the stuff that doesn’t involve dueling someone or potentially doing so. You can tell by half the table looking like they just walked into an HR meeting. It makes you wonder why the Director even bothers.

After about 20 more minutes, the Director wraps up the meeting so everyone stands up. After retrieving my stuff back at the security checkpoint, I follow Blanc back through the tunnels.

“So, what did you think?” Blanc suddenly asks.

I ask for clarification. “Of the elites?”

“Yes.” He simply confirms as we round another corner of this maze.

“I don’t know.” I reveal.

He doesn’t reply, but we soon reach the elevator anyway. Blanc holds up a keycard and the elevator doors soon open.

After urging me in alone, he says. “See you soon.”

“Eh, Sure?” I hesitantly tell.

I know what he’s trying to say, but I’m still hesitant on the whole “joining them” part. My first impression? Egotistical, almost all of them. I mean, if they really are the best this academy has to offer, I would like to duel one. The Director said he puts my abilities below theirs, but this could just be him trying to feed large EGOs. Looks like I’ll have to build a better deck. Danger PUNK Tearlament Spright sounds like it would do nicely, now I just have to pull those cards… Easier said than done…

Anyway, I walk back to my room and start undressing myself. I really got lucky with this body…. Is that weird to think? Or am I just being as big as an egoist as they were? Just with appearance? Does that make me a Diva? I mean… I would rate myself a 10… Maybe 8 that waist is a little loose… and I would look better with a tan… Wait, that’s body shaming, but it’s my body now. How does that work?

Silly questions like that float around my head as I once again step into the familiar warm water of the bath.

“Fwua….” I relax in the warm water and almost fall asleep.

…

…

‘Oh shit!’

I fell asleep in the tub… Thankfully; I woke up before anything happened.

After drying myself, I go put on some pajamas.

‘Right!’ I remember the space thing as I finish putting on my pajamas. I sprawl myself in bed and start looking at my phone.

…

…

…

“Holy shit…” is my reaction.

So space travel… I don’t know why I didn’t think of this… It’s advanced here, really advanced. Yes, they have interplanetary colonies… and interstellar ones…

I’m going to be honest here, I’m not the best person to speak about this topic, other than some games I’ve never been a space sci-fi nerd and have always preferred fantasy, but from what I’ve seen faster than light travel is still not available but near FTL is possible by using very efficient fusion engines.

Yup fusion, that’s the thing. I hadn’t realized until now that it is right in my face but I haven’t had to plug anything in to the power yet, neither have I seen any sockets. I’m not going to pretend that I understand how their “wireless Power” works. Apparently, it has something to do with quantum bullshit and spinning. But their power generation is mostly done with what they call “Positron Assisted Fusion Reactors”, massive facilities that generate stupid amounts of power.

It also looks like there’s a rush for space going on right now. The main reason I found for this is also the reason the year is 35MT. MT stands for “meticulous technology.” The most basic explanation that I could find is that a star went supernova about 60 Light Years from here and that destroyed most of the space infrastructure sending civilization into a short dark age of sorts, it also took part of this planet’s atmosphere with it. As a result, the various governments and corporations started looking at the stars to make sure humanity isn’t wiped out if something like it happens again.

My takeaway from all of this? Space is scary... And complicated... I’m going to sleep, honestly just reading about this is making me tired and I have something I want to ask the Director tomorrow.

Figuring that I’ll continue with this research later, I lay down and close my eyes. The lights turn off on their own.

————

Date: 30/Ago/35MT

Time: 4PM

Location: Director Light’s Office.

“You want to do what?” A very stunned Director Light asks me to clarify.

“Director, with all due respect , I’m done with people underestimating me. I’ve gotten well over 200 duel requests. You don’t expect me to make time for them all individually?! Plus, you get an event, call sponsors if you want.” I suggest.

“It’s not that I’m opposed to it… I mean, it’s an amazing opportunity to show you off, but are you really sure? This will only add to your notoriety.” He reasons.

“I’m pretty sure that ship has already sailed…” I trail off, remembering Professor Chamberlain.

The Director seems to get what I’m putting down.

“*Sigh*, so when do you want to do it?”

I perk up. “Is that a yes?”

“Tell me the conditions first.”

‘Huh, Deja Vu?’

“How about next week at this time and we’ll do one duel per person?” I suggest.

He thinks about it for a bit before looking back at me. “No, can do. There’s something I’ll need you for this month. How about in October?”

I give a nod and tell “Fine with me.” It’s not like this was an urgent thing, but I can’t help but be curious about what he wants next month.

“Good, was that all?” He asks.

“Yes… Oh, I’m also getting a duel runner. You’ll probably get a call when I make the purchase.” I remember that for the purchase of expensive duel runners, it’s the Director that does the DC to @ exchange. For me it should be simple: unlimited budget.

He sighs.

“Haahh, I know…” and trails off.

“Fufu, you’re choice.” I remind him that this was his decision, then turn around and walk to the elevator, giving a smile back as the doors close.

So what was this about?

Well, a combination of me wanting to rank up quickly to blue rank and the many challenges I’ve been getting resulted in me thinking of a sort of crazy solution to both problems. I suggested to Light for him to set up an event where people could go up and challenge me in an official setting and be done with it. This means I won’t have to deal with spontaneous duels and if someone goes up to me to issue a challenge, I’ll just tell them to wait for the event. Of course, I’ll still have to duel them, but then it’s a way for me to test decks that doesn’t involve those dumb bots.

For decks, I have chosen to wait until the month ticks over and I get more DC. This month’s pulls have all been about getting staples for when I build other decks. I have decided to make a basic spright deck just in case some green or cyan rank comes up, not that I expect to see one, it’s strange I always see yellow and blue ranks going around organizing shit but for some reason the pinks and especially above ranks don’t really interact with the lower ones, even blue. Probably has to do with them losing some of the arrogance that blue ranks have (I wouldn’t be surprised if that literally was what the pink rank up exam was looking for).

The elevator door opened, and I stepped out into the lobby of the tower, where a sizable crowd was waiting. They turned to look at me as soon as they heard the doors open and then got closer. They were mostly blue ranks with some yellows in there.

From the crowd, a blue ranked guy steps out and says.

“Penta-Summoner, we came here to issue a challenge. For days, you have been ignoring our requests for a duel. Now you can’t escape.” He tells.

‘Fucking hell, great timing.’

“Fufufu, now, now. You don’t expect me to duel all of you right here, right?” I smugly ask.

“Errrr, no….. Actually, how are we going to do this?” He stumbles and looks at the rest of the crowd with a confused expression.

“Really? You came all the way here and didn’t even think about that?” I speak my mind and then facepalm.

“Hmmm, how about this, we all go—” He tries to suggest something.

“Stop, I have already dealt with this.” I interrupt him and then tell. “I planned with the Director to set up an event. During that event, you’ll be able to duel me in a more public and official setting. If I were you, I’d wait until then.”

This makes him and the rest of the group turn to each other with confused looks.

“Really?” He snaps out and asks.

“Yes, you’ll hear about it shortly, I assume.”

Right on time, I receive a notification on my phone. I take it out of my duel disk and look at it.

[NWDA <NEW EVENT! DUEL A NATURAL PENTA-SUMMONER!>]

‘That guy works fast… does he really have that much free time or was this him giving me a way to disperse this disruptive crowd that’s filling up the tower lobby for no good reason?’

I hold my phone up.

“See?” I tell.

He looks at it for a second.

“Yea… Sorry, I guess we got ahead of ourselves huh?” He reasons, scratching his head.

“*Sigh*, That you did.” I confirm with an exasperated sigh.

As the crowd files out of the tower, I can see someone walking over to me… Oh, that’s Aya.

“Ayo.” I casually greet her.

“Are you OK?” She asks.

“Yes, don’t worry. It takes more than that to scare me off.” I cheerfully tell with a stupid smile plastered on my face.

We then walked out of the tower together. I told her I don’t have classes right now, so she goes to her class and I go back to my dorm room. I could’ve gone to dueling theory class in person, but between watching it in the background in a comfy dorm room and being in a cramped auditorium is not a hard choice to make.