Back at Gamindustri Duel Academy, the Placement Tournament was underway. Nanu, as usual, was on a winning streak. He wasn't even using The Arrival on these guys, they just surrender as soon as he gets Dark Templar on the field, as they know what's going to happen as soon as he drops. Once he gets through his class and secured number 1 in his class, it was time for the best of the bests to duel to see who is the best in their year, with one person from each class in each grade dueling each other. The first year list was Azura, Alice, and a girl named Shiro. The second year lineup consisted of Fjorm from the Duel Team, Kia, and Mecha. And the third year line up was Nanu, Nina, and Athena.
Firstly, the first years would duel each other. Azura had managed to defeat Shiro, but ended up losing to Alice, who was named Number 1 among the first years.
In the second year duels, Mecha had somehow managed to defeat Kia, then went on to win against Fjorm. Just barely, however, as Fjorm did play on a national level.
And lastly, it was the third year's turn. Nanu had managed to beat Athena (barely), and now it was time for Nanu's revenge match with Nina. The two duelist step up to the field, as the whole school was now watching them.
"Just a heads up, I'm not going to go easy on you this time." Nina called from across the arena.
"THAT was you going easy?" Nanu asked, genuinely surprised by her statement.
The commentator displayed a giant coin on the mega screen, with the heads side showing a Blue Eyes White Dragon, and the tails side showing nothing. "Will both duelist announce their sides?!" He asked.
"I choose tails." Nina says.
"So you're giving me head?" Nanu asked with a dumb smirk on his face.
The whole crowd started laughing at this stupid joke as Nina glares daggers at male standing across from her. "Even I did, don't cry too loudly if I decide to bite." She growls.
"Ooh, feisty. I can already tell you and I will get along like cats and dogs." He laughs.
"Yeah... Like oil and water..." Nina agreed as she prepared her duel disk. Nanu did the same.
Once the coin flipped, it landed on tails, letting Nina decide if she wanted to go first, or second. She opted to go first. Just like last time. 'If I play slowly but powerfully, it'll force him to bring out The Arrival in a rush. Just like last time...' Nina thinks to herself with a grin. Nina was going first this time. "First off, I Special Summon Linkslayer from my hand when I control no monsters. Then I also Special Summon Backup Secretary from my hand. I use Linkslayer and Backup Secretary to Link Summon Code Talker to my Extra Monster Zone. Then, I Normal Summon Clock Wyvern, and immediately use it to Link Summon again. Come out, Link 3 Excode Talker! I use Excode Talker's effect. I can make one of your Main Monster Zones unusable for every monster in the Extra Monster Zone. And since there's only one, I block the second Zone on the far right of your field."
Excode Talker completely shuts down part of Nanu's board, making it so he can't summon anything to that zone.
"I set 2 cards face down and end my turn there." Nina wraps up soon after.
'The same move, huh...? Is she trying to make this a repeat of our last game? Bad idea. Cuz if she thinks I haven't learned anything from my loss, then she's sorely mistaken.' Nanu thinks to himself as well and draws his card. He nods. "From my hand, I activate Ignister A.I.Land! I use its effect to Special Summon Pikari @Ignister! Pikari's skill, I add an A.I. Spell or Trap to my hand. I add A.I.dle Reborn to my hand! Then from my hand, I activate Doshin @Ignister's effect to Special Summon him to my field!" Nanu uses a different play than last time, surprising Nina. "I use Pikari's effect to change Doshin's Level to Level 4, and using these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network! Let your light illuminate our path to victory! Descend now, Rank 4! Light Dragon @Ignister!"
Instead of heading straight for The Arrival, which is what Nina was expecting, he instead pulled out Light Dragon to match her slow pace. But to the shock of most people, he placed Light Dragon in the Extra Monster Zone.
"I use Light Dragon's effect to detach an Overlay Unit to destroy as many monsters on your field as I have @Ignister monsters! I destroy your Excode Talker!" Nanu manages to get rid of Nina's monster without having to attack, and hit her for 2300 direct damage. 'If that face down was Cynet Conflict like our duel, she would have used it when I activated Light Dragon's effect. So that's not what it is this time. If that's the case it's likely something that will either build her resources, or Special Summon a card...' Nanu thinks, and proceeds to his second Main Phase. "I set a card face down and end my turn."
Nina groans and draw her card. 'He's learned from our last game... That's good... It would've been boring if I just crushed him the same way as before...' She smirks and draws her card next. "From my hand, I Normal Summon Widget Kid, then use his effect to Special Summon Lady Debug! Using her effect, I add Code Generator to my hand, then use these two monsters to Link Summon! Come forth, Code Talker!" Nina summons out an lightly armored Decode Talker out to her Extra Monster Zone. "Then I activate my traps! Cynet Cascade and Cynet Regression! I destroy your Light Dragon and draw a card! Then I Special Summon a monster used for my Link Summon! Special Summon Widget Kid!"
While Nanu could have stopped Light Dragon's destruction, he let it happen. Probably to put more monsters into his GY for later.
"Next, I Special Summon Backup Secretary with her effect! Using her, Widget Kid, and Code Generator in my hand, I Link Summon again! Come, Transcode Talker! Nina managed to Co-Link her two Talker monsters, raising both of their ATK. "Attack directly!" Nina swings in for 2 powerful attacks, dealing 5700 damage in a single turn. "I end my turn." She says.
"Damn... I draw!" Nanu takes his turn next. 'So she's only going to bring out her Accesscode when The Arrival hits the field, huh...? Alright then. I'll give her what she wants!' He thinks and begins his combo. "I activate Ignister A.I.Land's effect to Special Summon Achichi @Ignister! Using Achichi's effect, I add Pikari to my hand! I open the Link Circuit! Link Summon, Dark Infant @Ignister! Special Summon Pikari, and add A.I. Contact to my hand! I activate A.I. Contact and send my extra A.I.Land back to my deck to draw 3 cards! Then I Special Summon Gatchitari using his effect to cancel Dark Infant's effects! Link Summon! A Dark Lord with an unstoppable march forward. Cut through your foes with your blade and pave a path to our victory! Come forth, Dark Templar @Ignister!" Nanu brings out his ace monster to the field. I activate A.I.Land's effect again to Special Summon Bururu from my hand! Dark Templar's effect when a monster is Special Summoned to a zone he points to, I can summon two more @Ignister monsters from my GY with their effects negated! Come back to my field, Achichi and Pikari! Now using these 4 monsters, I open the Link Circuit once again! Mighty God of the Cyberse, I call upon you...! Cut through the storm and lead us to victory! Link Summon, Link 6!! The Arrival Cyberse @Ignister!!" Once Nanu's boss monster hits the field, a powerful purple tornado enveloped the battlefield, and from the eye of the storm, The Arrival's spear cuts through it, and stands tall. While he knew Nina's next move from here, he wanted to make it look like he was getting desperate. But in reality, he had a trump card to deal with her own boss monster. Two of them, in fact. "I activate The Arrival's effect to destroy your Transcode Talker and gain a Cyberse Token to a zone The Arrival points to!"
Once again, a powerful data storm blows Transcode Talker off the board, and Nanu gains a 0 ATK ally.
"Attack Code Talker!" Nanu declares an attack on Nina's much weaker monster, destroying it and dealing 2700 damage to her and leaving her at 3000 LP compared to Nanu's 2300. And since he knew Nina can't destroy The Arrival with Accesscode's effect, he knew he would survive next since she had no more monsters, and little hand cards, she could only only bring one monster to the party. To make himself look more desperate, he places a card face down on his field.
"It's my turn then. I draw!" Nina takes her turn. "Guess you haven't learned. Oh well. It's time to get rid of that card again! Special Summon Link Slayer! Then I Summon Widget Kid! His effect, add Code Generator to my hand! Open the Link Circuit! Come forth, Decode Talker! From my hand, I use Decode Talker and Code Exporter to open the Link Circuit once again! Your lance pierces through the storm...! To guide, and to lead us forward, you march onward to the future! Appear, Link 4! Accesscode Talker! I use Accesscode's effect to gain 1000 ATK based on a Link Monster's Link Rating in my GY! I choose Decode Talker, and reach 5300 ATK! I use Accesscode's second effect to banish a Link Monster from my GY or field to destroy your face down card! Then I do it again to destroy your little Token!" Nina banished Decode Talker and Transcode Talker from her GY to destroy two of Nanu's three destroyable cards. "Go Accesscode! Destroy The Arrival!"
With its oversized lance, Accesscode Talker slams into The Arrival, destroying it and dealing 1300 damage to Nanu, leaving him at a measly 1000 LP. However, while he was down, he was not out.
"It's my turn then. I draw!" Nanu starts his turn, then smiles. "Looks like the end of the line." He says.
"You're bluffing." Nina says confidently.
"Am I?" Nanu asked back as he started his turn. "First off, from my hand! I activate A.I. Meet You! This lets me reveal a card from my extra deck and add an @Ignister monster with the same Attribute to my hand! I show off my Fire Phoenix to add Achichi to my hand! Then with A.I.Land's effect, I Special Summon it to the field, and use its effect to add Doshin @Ignister to my hand! I use Doshin's effect to Special Summon it from my hand when I control another @Ignister monster!"
"So you summoned two blobs. Big whoop." Nina growls.
"A monster's true value doesn't just lie in its ATK value, Nina. I use Doshin's second effect! By returning a Link Monster from my GY back to my Extra Deck, I can add the Spell Card A.I. Love Fusion to my hand! I return...The Arrival!" Nanu announces and puts his boss monster back into Useable status. "But I won't be needing him to beat you. Because I activate the spell card A.I. Love Fusion! And trust me, I REALLY love this card! I use Doshin as the first material! And because I'm using an @Ignister monster as Fusion Material, I can also use one of YOUR Link Monsters as the second Material!"
"You wouldn't...!" Nina growls.
"I just did! Goodbye Accesscode Talker, hello Earth Golem @Ignister!!" Nanu fuses together his own and Nina's monsters to summon his fusion monster to the field, leaving Nina completely defenseless. "Next, I Normal Summon Donyoribo to my field. Then using it, Achichi, and Earth Golem, I open the Link Circuit one last time! With feathers that shimmer and shine in the darkness, descend upon this battlefield and burn all who oppose us to ashes with your flames! Come forth, Link 3! Fire Phoenix @Ignister!" Nanu brings out his third favorite monster. "Fire Phoenix, attack directly!"
The giant fire bird flies upward, ready to do a dive attack against Nina.
"I can still survive this attack...!" Nina mutters.
"No, no you won't." Nanu chimes in. "I use Fire Phoenix's effect to deal you effect damage equal to his current ATK!"
"It still won't be enough!"
"I then activate Donyoribo's effect from my GY to banish it and double any effect damage you're about to take! Double 2300 damage equals 4600 damage! Which in turn equals I win!"
At the last second, the giant Phoenix curves its descent as a wave of fire in the shape of the bird rockets towards Nina. It soon turns from reddish flame to a bright blue, growing in intensity and striking at Nina, ending the game. Once the flames disappear, signifying the game was over, Nanu stands victorious.
"If you were gonna finish me with burn damage, why did you even bother getting rid of my Accesscode Talker?" She groaned.
"Pay back for last time." Nanu says.
"Understandable..." She sighs, and extends her hand. "You got the better of me this time."
Nanu smiles and shakes her hand. "Next time, I'm really gonna let loose. So make sure you make it to the finals of the Pro Series." He smiles.
"You don't have to worry about my performance. Worry about yourself. You just barely beat me, remember?"
"All according to plan." He grins.
"Seriously? Could've fooled me. You looked pretty desperate." She sighs.
"All an act to get you to pull out your trump card." He answered. "Well, I guess I should be heading off. Wanna get something to eat? I'm starving after such an intense game."
"I'm good. I'm not one for dates with a rival." She blows off his offer and starts to leave the arena.
"Uh, okay then." Nanu says as his siblings at school meet up with him at the school gates.
"Hungry?" Athena asked him.
"Hungry." He nods in response.
"Can't blame you. We all did our best today." Azura says.
"Let's head home then. I'll cook us something to celebrate!" Alice cheers and leads the way home, with her siblings following her lead.
———
"Are the preparations ready, Vincent?"
"Yes, father. Everyone is training their hardest."
"Good..."