"Ding——Ding——"
"Whew——"
Under the big sun, Jim put down the multifunctional pickaxe in his hand, gently wiped the sweat from his chin with the back of his hand, and then took off his cowboy hat to use it as a fan, gently fanning the air.
"Awoo——" Kallen, with a cup of water on top of her head, let out a howl and crawled over to him.
"Thanks, Kallen." Jim took a sip of water, lifted Kallen, and affectionately thanked her.
"Awoo!" The crocodile raised its head and made a sound.
"Are you worried about me? Haha—no problem, although you can get hurt in this dimension duel, but... after all, it's not a Darkness Duel, right?"
Jim laughed heartily.
His next round opponent, the one fighting for a spot in the top eight, is the famous Absolute Fusion Master, the legend spoken of by countless people, a guy who's still a student but has too many rumors surrounding him.
More importantly, Kallen also knows that Tenjo Hikari possesses many talents that ordinary people simply don't have.
It's normal for Kallen to worry about him.
But—
Isn't Jim the same?
He unconsciously covered his right eye.
There, a bandage covered his right eye tightly, leaving no trace of it visible.
Many years ago, he lost an eye protecting Kallen, and then someone passed by accidentally, moved by the bond between Jim and Kallen, and gave him a brand new eye—
The Eye of Orichalcos!
He gently touched his right eye.
The man said that this eye could save his friends when needed. It could also protect him from infection and even communicate with Spirits.
For years, he always thought that man gave the eye just to protect him from wound infection.
But—
When he saw Tenjo Hikari, his eye reacted slightly.
Not to say that Tenjo Hikari is the friend mentioned by the man whom he needs to save.
But...
Alchemy.
"Legendary alchemy, legendary alchemy material Orichalcos. Indeed, ancient times are fascinating—" he thought aloud, wiping sweat and looking at the ruins before him.
Though dressed in cowboy attire, it's worth noting that Jim is not a student of the America branch but of the Southern branch, having nothing to do with America.
Similarly, though he looks like a cowboy or a marksman, he is actually a "geologist" and "archaeologist."
Indeed, talents at Duel Academy are as numerous as stars, with geniuses in various fields. Even an esports prodigy like Gin Ryuusei needs Saiou to make a name for himself at the academy, showcasing the extraordinary changes brought by dueling in this world.
Jim even excavated dinosaur fossils once!
In short, be it childhood experiences or a love for the earth, Jim enjoys mining and excavating.
It is precisely because of this that, upon arriving in this strange Critical Point Dimension, he became curious about the history of the Spirit World and its differences from the Human World, so he surveyed and excavated in a place for a long time, encountering an ancient elf of this dimension, and ran into O'Brien, spending several dozen days digging unaware of the Dark World invasion.
But this connection also allowed Jim to meet Yuki Judai, thereby meeting Tenjo Hikari.
Learning that his next opponent is Tenjo Hikari, he was actually excited for a long time. During the two days of rest, he didn't go anywhere else but came to the place he found upon arriving in this dimension, tapping the ground and pondering duels and the future.
Ding—
Ding—
Suddenly, as Jim struck, a subtle flash appeared before him, followed by even brighter light shining from the ground hole.
Jim was startled.
He hurriedly stepped back, and then, huge white light rose from the ground like stars illuminating the entire cavern.
"Wha... What?"
Still somewhat shocked, Jim was about to take action, but saw a card already flying out from deeper within, floating slowly in the air.
As the card's glow gradually faded, a card he'd never seen before, but felt inexplicably familiar, slowly floated over.
"Awoo?" Kallen crawled over, clambering onto Jim's body to join him in looking at the card.
Jim quickly examined the card's images and text, his face gradually showing excitement.
Good—
What a strong card!
How could there be such a powerful card!
He looked at the card in astonishment.
More importantly, he sensed that the card seemed to possess some kind of immense power, only sealed away.
Jim frowned.
With this card, he felt his win rate significantly increased.
But he must be prepared.
He gently touched his right eye.
Hmm... Just in case, better test it these two days.
Two days later.
Kaiba Company had rebuilt the dueling arena; the arena was higher, the audience's protection more meticulous, and they prepared numerous transparent protective shields to prevent splash damage.
Once all were ready, dueling resumed.
But the two-day wait and the exaggerated duel between Marufuji Ryo and Tenjouin Fubuki had apparently left the audience not so fired up for the earlier duels, making the scene appear a bit calm.
However, as another person stepped onto the stage, the audience, slightly losing passion, suddenly erupted into cheers again.
The pinnacle of the academy, the answer to fusion, Tenjo Hikari!
Tenjo Hikari waved at his friends below. Meanwhile, his portrait and the advertisement for Fengguang Company were displayed to all the audience with the help of 3D images.
Conversely, Jim's entry didn't garner as much popularity, aside from students supporting him from the Southern branch, only some geology and archaeology enthusiasts cheered for him.
In the sky, Jim's 3D image and the large fossil slate pattern also appeared in the dueling arena.
"Pretty lucky, Tenjo-san, didn't expect to duel you so soon, it's like an advanced duel representing exchange students for next term."
Hearing Jim's words, Tenjo Hikari couldn't help responding, "Yeah, Judai wanted me to duel you before, haha, didn't expect we'd get the chance now. You're also a Fusion Duelist, so let's aim to bring an interesting duel to the audience and everyone."
Jim lightly lifted his hat with his index finger, "Haha—I think the same, by the way, Tenjo, I happened to acquire a super strong card in the last two days. If you're not careful, you might lose instantly?"
A super strong card?
How strong.
Tenjo Hikari wondered.
"Alright, then let's go——"
"Duel!"X2.
Duel Academy Headquarters, Academy Representative, Absolute Fusion Master, Tenjo Hikari LP: 4000.
Duel Academy South, Academy Representative, Archaeologist, Jim, LP: 4000.