"Ahem, ahem. Although Equivalent Exchange is the first law of alchemy, we have found a way to circumvent it."
"How?" the students asked.
"By modifying alchemy itself, altering it, and then developing it to a whole new level. The very first person who created monster cards was the one who managed to bypass Equivalent Exchange, allowing us to reach this point today."
"Ancient alchemy required an alchemical circle and a price paid in blood or worse, meeting Truth itself and losing an arm or a leg. But with this brand-new alchemy, we only need special tools."
If this world still used the old alchemy system, it would be a total mess. We might even have two brothers running around trying to restore their bodies.
"That's why the first lesson, as I mentioned earlier, is Introduction to Alchemy and the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Everyone must know the first law so they can find ways to avoid it. No one wants to lose an arm or a leg just to create an ugly homunculus, right?"
The students looked rather horrified.
Meil was satisfied seeing the students listening seriously. She began writing formulas on the board.
"...Oh."
"Oh my..."
"No no no..."
Just from the students' faces, it was clear the formulas she wrote on the board were not okay.
I narrowed my eyes at the mess of formulas.
'This is… chemistry? No, it's a bit different.'
I'd heard that alchemy was the ancient name for chemistry and many other fields, but it still had its own unique elements that set it apart.
"Alright, everyone pay attention to the board. I'll explain quite quickly."
And so, an avalanche of information flooded the students' brains — especially the dreamy pink-loving Alice and the idiot Lucas.
"..." Alvin stared intently and took notes.
Both Kaiser and I understood the basics and wrote them down.
Alchemy was an extremely important subject in this world. It was indispensable for creating cards and formed a crucial link in shaping everyone's fighting style.
That's why I had to study it seriously. If I didn't, I'd run into huge problems when making cards later and would only have myself to blame for not studying hard enough.
We listened to the teacher explain all kinds of things for a full three periods — it felt like a knowledge speedrun.
"Lucas, stand up. -5 credits."
"H-Huh?!" Lucas jolted awake.
"You fell asleep."
"Ah..."
Lucas stood there in pain. A few people whispered and laughed, but they were also deducted credits and quickly shut up.
'Harder than I thought,' I thought, sweating a little. I had raised my hand twice and only answered one question correctly.
As an adult who had already worked, even though I'd forgotten a lot of knowledge, falling behind like this was still a bit embarrassing...
The person who answered the most was the bespectacled boy sitting a few rows behind. Even though he didn't get everything right, he was very active, so Meil praised him for being studious.
He later looked at those who had successfully created their first monsters with a smug expression.
...I see. This guy couldn't make a monster himself, so he was jealous. And now that he was ahead in something, he acted like he was on top of the world?
No different from my old coworkers. That guy must have reincarnated as this kid, huh?
Whatever. I focused on copying the knowledge from the board into my notebook.
After a while, the information hell finally ended. All five periods were over.
"I'm assigning you homework," Teacher Meil said as she packed up. "Write down the formulas for creating monster cards, spell cards, and trap cards. Submit them in my next class."
"Yes..." everyone replied in unison.
"Good luck, everyone."
Then Teacher Meil left, and the students started getting up.
"Did you guys understand anything?" Lucas asked Alvin and Alice.
"I did," Alvin answered bluntly. Alice's face looked terrible.
"Then can you help—"
"No."
"I haven't even finished asking yet!"
Lucas collapsed in despair while Alvin and Alice walked away.
"Pathetic," Kaiser said as he passed by, then left.
"What did you say?!" Lucas jumped up angrily and chased after Kaiser.
I checked the clock. It was already 5:01 PM.
It was only the first day of school and I was already more tired than expected. I wasn't exactly a super studious person, but right now I needed this knowledge for my future, so I had to push myself hard.
I left the classroom, stretched my back, and decided to head to the cafeteria to eat.
"Move! Move out of the way!!"
"Hm?"
I saw a girl and two people chasing after a card that was running away from them.
As they rushed past me, the white hair made me realize who it was.
'Aelith?'
I watched the three of them disappear and realized this scene was straight out of a typical anime plot — the group running into trouble and having to deal with it immediately.
"...Wait, that card was running?"
A card running away on its own wasn't too surprising in a world that used magic, but the problem was that it was a monster card.
And with their limited intelligence, they shouldn't be able to do that.
"...Did it gain intelligence? That fast?"
Or maybe someone commanded it. But it was still the first day. Aelith had just gotten her monster, there wasn't enough time to awaken its intelligence...
"Unless... she asked her other half for help... But no way. She wouldn't bother helping with something unrelated to her."
Though curious, I pushed the thought aside and headed to the cafeteria.
Better to mind my own business first. I didn't want to become cannon fodder for the main characters later...
So I went to the cafeteria with my stomach still empty since lunch.
"DUEL!"
Startled, I glanced out the window toward the dedicated duel arena in the sports field.
A group of mostly upperclassmen had gathered to watch.
"That's..."
On the duel field were two students. One from Beowulf class, the other from Gilgamesh class.
Beowulf class was basically all muscle-brains. They valued the warrior spirit and always fought fairly. Their decks had very few spell and trap cards, mostly combat-oriented monsters from the earth, rock, and fighting types. Big, tough, and straightforward.
Gilgamesh class students, on the other hand, were mostly arrogant and came from high-status families. Many were rich kids with little talent, so the class was often mocked. However, the truly strong ones from this class were extremely unpleasant.
They were skilled duelists but loved trash-talking. No wonder no one liked Gilgamesh class.
Their decks were diverse, but they especially loved Dragon types.
Not surprising at all. Of course arrogant people would love dragons.
And apparently one student had a special talent for dragons, which made everyone jealous especially those from Gilgamesh class.
...If they used flying dragons, I had the perfect gift for them~
[Turn 1]
Both players drew 4 cards and summoned monsters at the same time.
Unlike Yu-Gi-Oh, speed was everything here. If you could summon faster than your opponent, you already had a massive advantage.
Each turn had 20 seconds of combat time. After the combat phase ended, players drew cards and had 10 seconds to prepare by setting spells or traps for the next combat turn.
The Beowulf student summoned a Level 3 Minotaur. Since this wasn't a game, neither I nor the players could see exact stats, making duels much harder.
The Gilgamesh student summoned a Level 3 Wyvern, a flying "dragon"
Wyverns looked like dragons but weren't true dragons — they were pure Flying type. I knew that from playing.
"Attack the Wyvern, Minotaur!!!" the Beowulf student shouted. The Minotaur roared, raised its axe, and charged.
"Hmph, how primitive. Wyvern, dodge."
The Wyvern flew upward, causing the Minotaur to miss, then looked down.
"Wyvern, use Gust!"
The Wyvern flapped its wings, creating a small whirlwind that struck the Minotaur directly. The Minotaur was pushed back and fell to one knee but didn't collapse.
"Not done yet! I activate the spell card Another Chance! It allows my monster to perform the same attack again! Wyvern, use Gust once more!"
The Wyvern created another whirlwind.
"Don't even think about it! I activate Solid Shield! It reduces damage taken by 75%, even if my monster is weak against the type!"
Immediately, the Minotaur's body glowed and became steel-like. The gust dissipated upon hitting it.
"Tch. In that case, Wyvern—"
[Turn 1 ends. Card draw phase.]
The Gilgamesh student looked annoyed but drew his cards.
The Beowulf student sighed in relief and drew as well. His eyes suddenly widened and he smiled.
"I set one card," the Gilgamesh student said, glancing at his opponent.
[Turn 2!]
"Wyvern, direct attack on Minotaur!"
The Wyvern dove down, claws extended.
"Think again! I equip Thorn Armor!" (Equip cards count as spells)
"When my equipped monster is attacked, the damage is reflected back to the attacker!"
The moment the Wyvern struck, the Minotaur was destroyed and sent to the graveyard. The Wyvern also took damage.
"And since a monster was destroyed, I can activate Tormenting Soul! It lets me revive a monster from the graveyard and change its type to Ghost!"
"Come forth! Zombie Minotaur!"
A Level 3 Zombie Minotaur crawled out of the ground, its body rotting.
'...I thought Beowulf class hated ghost types?' I raised an eyebrow and continued watching.
"Zombie Minotaur, chop that lizard's head off!"
The Zombie Minotaur charged and swung its axe powerfully at the Wyvern.
"Dodge, Wyvern!!"
Of course, the Wyvern couldn't dodge in time and took the full hit, going straight to the graveyard.
"Haha! Do you see my power now? Zombie Minotaur, attack his Life Core!!"
"Stop!! Don't do it!!"
"The more you beg, the more I want to!"
As soon as the order was given, the Zombie Minotaur charged toward the Gilgamesh student's Life Core and raised its axe.
However, the corner of the opponent's mouth curled up.
"I activate the trap card Dragon's Revenge! When a Dragon-related monster is destroyed by the opponent, I can immediately special summon a Dragon-type monster from my hand!"
"W-What?!"
Hm? But Wyvern isn't a Dragon type?
"Come forth, Earth Dragon!"
A wingless, bulky dragon with a spiked tail appeared. It was Level 5.
"Earth Dragon, use Stomp!"
The Earth Dragon stomped hard. The ground shook, making the Zombie Minotaur lose balance.
"Then use Tail Spike!"
The Earth Dragon swung its spiked tail fiercely, cracking the Zombie Minotaur's head and causing disgusting fluid to leak out.
Oi oi, isn't this a bit too graphic? What if kids like me watch this?
"Damn it! Zombie Minotaur, defend!"
He didn't have any strong cards to block with, so this was his final desperate struggle.
If he could survive until the end of Turn 2, he'd have a chance.
"Earth Dragon, use Mud Throw!"
The Earth Dragon spat a mass of mud that stuck to the Zombie Minotaur. It didn't deal damage but caused blindness and slow.
The blindness had no effect on the zombie, but the slow still applied.
"Now's my chance! Earth Dragon, quick—"
[Turn 2 ends. Card draw phase.]
"...Tch. You got lucky."
Both players drew cards again.
The Beowulf student's eyes suddenly lit up with a smile.
"I set one card and tribute my Zombie Minotaur to summon Immortal Warrior!"
The Zombie Minotaur went to the graveyard and a large samurai wielding a great katana appeared. Its armor was covered in arrows and sword scars. It was Level 5.
"I summon Desert Dragon!"
A small two-legged dragon with dark golden skin appeared. It had a gentle-looking face and was Level 4.
[Turn 3!]
"Desert Dragon! Earth Dragon! Attack that warrior!"
Both dragons charged at the Immortal Warrior. The warrior just stood still and took the hits from both.
'...Strange. Why isn't he telling it to defend or dodge?' the Gilgamesh student narrowed his eyes.
"Immortal Warrior, counterattack!"
The Immortal Warrior raised its great sword and delivered a powerful vertical slash.
"Dodge!"
Both dragons tried to evade. The Desert Dragon succeeded, but the slow Earth Dragon couldn't.
The slash struck the Earth Dragon hard, taking away a huge chunk of its HP.
"Damn it! Tail Spike!"
The Earth Dragon used all its strength to swing its tail.
The attack could have been dodged, but the Beowulf student gave no command, letting his monster get hit.
The spectators also found it strange.
The tail slam hit the Immortal Warrior directly. It staggered slightly but remained standing.
"Desert Dragon, bite it!"
The Desert Dragon lunged and bit hard into the warrior's shoulder. The Immortal Warrior was destroyed and sent to the graveyard.
"I activate Immortal Warrior's passive! Revive!"
The Immortal Warrior immediately returned from the graveyard, looking exactly the same as before.
"...I see. This is your ace monster, isn't it?"
"Exactly. This is my deck's strategy! I call it Immortal Soul!"
"Hmph. Not bad for a club-wielding ape to come up with a decent name!"
The Gilgamesh student smirked.
"But if that's the extent of your ace, then I have nothing to worry about."
"What?"
"I tribute my two monsters on the field to summon..."
His eyes glowed.
"Geo-Drake of Lava and Stone!!"
A massive Level 7 dragon burst out from the ground. Its body was enormous but had been scaled down to fit the arena.
Even so, it still looked overwhelmingly gigantic to its opponent.
"I-Impossible!"
"Geo-Drake, end this!"
He raised his hand.
"Earthquake!"
The Geo-Drake stomped powerfully, creating an even stronger quake than the Earth Dragon.
Even though the Immortal Warrior had high HP, it was still only a Level 5 monster. It was destroyed by the attack.
"Damn it! Activate passive—"
"Too late! Hyper Beam!!"
"What?!"
A powerful energy beam shot from the Geo-Drake's mouth, piercing straight through the Immortal Warrior and hitting the opponent's Life Core.
Even though the warrior revived once more, the Hyper Beam had already gone through it and cracked the Life Core.
4000 LP > 0 LP
"Ah..." The Beowulf student watched as a clean hole appeared in his Immortal Warrior's stomach before it slowly faded away.
"Hmph. Just a caveman. You're not even worth remembering. Now fulfill your promise."
"Kuh..."
'Whoa, that was interesting.'
I watched from afar, my eyes sparkling slightly.
Even though the combat system was different from the game I knew, this was on another level.
This was what a real summoning duel looked like!