The air conditioning in Examination Room D-4 was set a bit too low, a kind of temperature devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
Phila stood in front of a massive semi-enclosed testing chamber with a sci-fi design, covered in circuitry. Her hands clutched the lace edges of her skirt. Beside the chamber stood a large digital screen, currently displaying two glaring zeros.
"Um…" Phila swallowed, her voice very soft. "What score is considered passing for this test?"
The examiner in a white uniform didn't even look up, his fingers swiping rapidly across a tablet.
"The basic passing line is 2000," the examiner's voice was completely flat. "A Soul Power of 2000 means that in a real duel, you can stably project and maintain a monster with 2000 Attack. If it's below that, forced summoning will result in soul exhaustion or even fainting. Enter the chamber."
Phila's breathing visibly halted for a moment.
2000…
The last time she tested at a private facility, it was only 1800!
Even though in the hundred days before the exam she had been diligently meditating and training every day, could this mysterious energy really cross a 200-point gap in such a short time? If she couldn't even pass the first stage, how could she face her parents' support?
Her thoughts were in chaos. She took a deep breath and stepped onto the platform with slightly stiff movements, standing at the center of the chamber.
Raku floated above the chamber, taking everything in.
"Please relax. Soul Power measurement will now begin."
Along with the machine's prompt, a pale blue halo rose from the base of the chamber, scanning Phila's body from bottom to top like a detector.
On the large screen beside it, the numbers began to skyrocket.
600… 800… 1200…
Phila closed her eyes.
Please let me pass! Please let me pass! I'm begging you!
The number broke past 1500, and the rate of increase noticeably slowed.
1750… 1880…
Raku watched the screen. This girl's potential really was average. Judging by the climbing speed, it was like an old sports car struggling up a steep slope.
The number finally stopped at 1950.
The halo ceased rising.
"How could this…" Phila opened her eyes, staring at the number that fell just short of the passing line.
Her eyes reddened instantly, and she bit her lip tightly.
At that very second, Raku, floating in midair, suddenly felt a jolt run through his body.
It felt like touching a metal doorknob after wearing a sweater in winter.
"Can souls get shocked, too? Well, that's something," Raku muttered.
Suddenly, the number on the screen began to change again.
Beep!
The testing chamber emitted a sharp, prolonged alarm.
On the massive screen, the frozen 1950 vanished in a blink.
3800!
The four large red digits flashed wildly across the screen, bathing the entire testing area in crimson light.
The examiner's hand, which had been recording data on the tablet, froze. He suddenly looked up, glanced at the screen, then at the gothic-dressed girl inside the chamber, still teary-eyed and utterly confused.
He strode quickly to the control panel, forcefully tapping a few keys to pull up the underlying data.
"3800?" The examiner's brow twisted into a knot. "That meets the special admission standard for Obelisk Blue. Is the machine malfunctioning?"
Phila was startled by the sudden commotion and hurriedly ran out of the testing chamber.
"I… I didn't cheat!" she waved her hands repeatedly.
The examiner glanced at her and tossed the tablet onto the desk.
"Of course you didn't," his tone carried the confidence and arrogance typical of Kaiba Corporation employees. "If you could deceive the most advanced equipment of Kaiba Corporation, then even if you did cheat, Kaiba Corporation would still recognize you as Obelisk Blue."
This blunt statement, dripping with class arrogance, made Phila take a step back in shock.
"I-Is that so?"
Phila touched her chest. The golden inverted pyramid was still cold. Was this the confidence of a massive corporation? The logic of 'if you can fool us, you deserve it' sounded unreasonable, but at least it didn't mean stripping her of her exam qualification.
No matter what, she had passed the first stage.
The mechanical voice of the broadcast sounded again.
"Examination Room D-4, candidate Phila Schwarzwald, Soul Power measurement complete. Please proceed to the practical evaluation area and meet your examiner for the placement duel."
Passing through the cold metal corridor, the light suddenly became extremely glaring.
This was the practical zone.
This wasn't the kind of enclosed room Raku had imagined, with just a table, two chairs, and a few stern examiners. It was a massive semicircular arena, with tiered spectator seats all around filled. Students who hadn't yet taken their test, or those who had finished and come to watch, were chattering nonstop.
At the center, a huge holographic projection device hummed loudly.
Right from the start, it was a public evaluation simulating a large-scale tournament venue.
"I feel like… she's kind of doomed," Raku floated in midair and said bluntly.
Phila stood at the entrance. Beneath those white stockings, her legs were visibly trembling.
"Mediocrity is still mediocrity," Aleister floated beside her and shrugged. "When I was twelve, I was already a Grand Sage."
"Yeah, yeah, you're amazing," Raku couldn't be bothered to respond.
Phila took a deep breath, tightened her grip on her skirt, and stepped toward the center of the arena. Her legs were still shaking, but at least she didn't turn and run away.
Standing opposite her was an examiner wearing a red baseball cap.
"H-hello, Examiner, I'm Phila. Please take care of me."
The examiner in the red cap nodded.
"Coin toss or dice?"
"W-what?"
Raku floated behind Phila, looking at her confused expression, a bit puzzled. Wasn't he just asking how to decide turn order?
After two seconds of hesitation, Phila finally reacted.
"A coin toss is fine."
"Heads, you go first. Tails, I do." The red-capped examiner activated his Duel Disk and pressed the coin toss button.
A virtual coin was flipped between them before landing on heads.
Phila would go first.
"Duel!"
Phila drew five cards from her Duel Disk.
Raku curiously leaned in to take a look.
Skull Servant, Vampire Fraulein, Tri-Wight, Vampire Takeover, Graceful Revival.
Huh???
Raku stared at those cards.
A… Zombie mishmash? This looked like a forced pile of loosely related Zombie cards rather than a coherent deck. What was that Skull Servant even doing here? This opening hand didn't just lack a starter… it could barely even defend itself.
He felt his train of thought short-circuit.
Even though it wasn't his duel and he should remain calm, he had played OCG before, and seeing a deck built like this was hard to watch.
Phila held those five cards, hesitated for a long time, and finally carefully picked one.
"I set one monster, and set two cards in my Spell/Trap Zone."
A face-down monster card projected in front of her, followed by two set cards appearing in the back row. A classic T-shaped setup.
"End my turn."
The red-capped examiner across from her looked at the simple play and nodded.
After all, internal communications had just reported that this candidate had measured an outrageous Soul Power of 3800; someone at this level could not be underestimated.
"A T-shaped setup, huh? A steady tactic."
...
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