Let's play cards! In a fantasy world of swords and magic

"Anyone who hasn't summoned yet? Class is almost over. If you miss it, there's no second chance."

Sitting on the podium, tapping her foot impatiently, it was clear that Teacher Erin, who had been holding back all morning, couldn't wait to get out of class and satisfy her nicotine craving.

"Well, what has to come will come."

If there was anyone who hadn't performed their summoning test yet, it was none other than our exceptionally popular Aisha.

As the "rival" candidate fiercely contested by Kevin and Luka, Aisha felt an inexplicable pressure during this summoning class.

The former had summoned a Ritual Monster, [Black Dragon's Knight], a 4-star monster with near-max attack power, perfectly complementing his Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

The latter had gone even further, summoning a 7-star powerhouse monster, [Frigid Angel Queen of Roses], during a regular summoning class.

Sandwiched between two perfect-score "rivals," Aisha's lackluster summoning felt utterly inadequate.

"Maybe I should just skip it…"

"Idiot, how can you give up a summoning opportunity?"

The moment Aisha's thoughts of escaping surfaced in her mind, You Ling caught them and scolded her harshly.

"Are you really going to waste a monster summoning chance for the sake of your worthless pride? Aisha Carlos, where's your dignity as a duelist?"

"QvQ Waaah, that's so mean! What do you mean by 'worthless pride'? Then why don't you go instead, Mr. You Ling?"

"No, it's too embarrassing. I won't go."

After all, You Ling judged that his face was slightly more valuable than Aisha's.

In truth, You Ling had tried to perform a monster summon in Aisha's place before.

He had thought that since monster summoning was determined by the duelist's mindset and potential, swapping souls with Aisha might change something.

But reality had cruelly shattered his naivety.

When You Ling stood on the mana amplification circle and found himself face-to-face with a level 1 [Skull Servant], the stifled laughter from the surrounding students made him feel like he had suffered the greatest humiliation of his life.

From that moment on, You Ling realized that as long as he was using Aisha's body, swapping souls to perform a monster summon wouldn't make a difference… it was a lost cause no matter who tried.

But his intuition told him that this time would be different.

After the battle with the Pharaoh, Aisha Yuna Carlos, as the duelist who had forced a god to reveal itself, had grown in both mindset and realm.

"It's time to prove yourself, Aisha! No one stays unlucky forever."

"O-okay, Mr. You Ling!"

Though not entirely confident, after You Ling's mix of scolding and encouragement—essentially a slap followed by a sweet treat—Aisha resolutely stepped onto the path of summoning.

"Oh, it's Aisha's turn. Go ahead."

Teacher Erin's eyes were dull, her expectations hovering close to zero.

In fact, she had already written a big "0" next to Aisha's name on the scoreboard in advance.

It wasn't that she looked down on Aisha; it was just that Teacher Erin had developed muscle memory when it came to grading Aisha's summoning classes.

In the entire classroom, the only person who held even a sliver of expectation for Aisha's monster summon was probably Luka, who had just transferred in today.

"I wonder what kind of monster Aisha will summon. As the duelist who defeated Kevin, her summon must be incredible, right?"

Propping her elbows on the desk, Luka rested her chin on her hands in an adorable pose, her large eyes blinking with pure anticipation.

So pure that failing to meet such expectations would fill one with deep guilt.

"Luka, I suggest you lower your expectations a bit," Ilin warned her in advance.

"Why?"

"Little Ai, while she's been doing well in duels recently, summoning has always been her weak point."

"Doing well in duels but weak at monster summoning?"

Luka's eyes turned puzzled as she looked at Ilin beside her.

"Isn't that contradictory? How can you be good at duels if you can't summon powerful monsters?"

Kevin answered in her place: "Because Aisha has her own way of fighting, a possibility that transcends the limits of a monster's power."

"Wow…" Even Ilin was surprised by Kevin's response. "Since when did you become such a big fan of Aisha?"

"I'm just stating the facts. If she didn't have that level of skill, she wouldn't be qualified to be my rival. Transfer student, you'll see for yourself. Aisha in a duel is a completely different person from her usual self."

The number one Aisha fan—no, the number one You Ling fan—in Fusion Academy was undoubtedly Kevin Seto at this point.

"A completely different person in duels, huh?"

To Luka, Kevin's description sounded like there was more to it. Her sapphire-blue eyes, fixed on Aisha, flickered with a strange ripple.

"Oh~ Maybe she's the same type of duelist as me. How interesting."

Stepping onto the mana-filled amplification circle, Aisha clasped her hands together and silently prayed.

"Spirits gathered here, please answer the call of my soul!—Monster Summon!"

The summoning mana gathered, looking very weak, no different from Aisha's usual monster summons.

At this rate, it seemed like another weak monster was about to appear.

But just as the faint outline of the monster began to take shape, a subtle change occurred.

The Spirit Eye on Aisha's arm, though not very noticeable, genuinely injected some kind of energy into the summoning effect.

This indicated that the Spirit Eye had recognized the holder's "growth."

Finally, a new form of monster leaped out of the summoning effect.

[Kuriboh ★ Dark]

[Fiend-Type/Effect ATK: 300 DEF: 200]

The fluffy, gray, spherical monster jumped into Aisha's arms. Despite being a Dark-Attribute Fiend-Type, it was still within the realm of cuteness.

"It really is a weak monster."

With her chin resting on her hands, Luka, having been warned by Ilin, seemed to have anticipated this outcome.

"Wait, what?"

"This… this is Aisha's summon?"

However, the excited reactions of the surrounding students to Aisha's summon were completely different from what Luka had imagined.

"What's going on? Isn't this just a genuine weak monster?"

"That's because you don't understand Aisha Carlos, transfer student," Kevin said triumphantly, reclaiming some pride in an odd way. "This is already a summon that surpasses her limits."

"Huh? This kind of monster counts as surpassing her limits?"

If this was true, Luka couldn't even imagine how weak Aisha's previous summons must have been.

"Full marks!"

With a flourish, Teacher Erin added a "1" in front of the "0" she had written earlier on the scoreboard, turning it into a "10."

"(ﾟ△ﾟ;ﾉ)ﾉ Huh? This gets full marks too? Is this not rigged?"

Patting Luka's shoulder, Ilin explained on behalf of the class.

"It's a historic breakthrough, after all. No wonder everyone's so excited."

"A historic breakthrough? You're kidding, right?"

"Really, this is the first time Little Ai has summoned an Effect Monster."

"The first time summoning an Effect Monster… Just how weak were the monsters Aisha summoned before?"

How could someone like this have defeated Kevin Seto?

No, more importantly, how did she defeat a dark duelist?

Luka felt like she had been played.