Watching Hikaru Amagi glance at the field and immediately start solving each puzzle, Tierra, who had come along just for fun, gradually began to feel… a little bored.
She was far too familiar with Hikaru's brilliance. After all, she was the one hovering at his side day in and day out, always making snide comments or giving offhanded remarks. She knew the truth: among everyone in that fancy duel-academy-ritual-school, Hikaru was easily in the top three duelists—faculty and students included. So she wasn't surprised he could breeze through these puzzles.
She'd mostly tagged along just to goof off and mess around with the challenges.
Unfortunately, most of these cards were ones she'd never even seen before—like Ultimate Obedient Fiend, or Twin-Headed Behemoth-Cyclebot (or whatever that thing was). She had no idea what made them strong, or what they even did.
So instead, she did the natural thing.
She grabbed a whole box of instant noodles from nearby, tore one open, poured in the flavor packet and hot water, then grabbed a fork and dug in.
"Mmm!?" Tierra's eyes lit up like twin stars after the first bite. "Mmm! Oho! Hnn—Mmm!!"
As a royal being, she had never really eaten before. Her current body, though technically a Duel Spirit vessel, also didn't require sustenance.
Which meant…
This was her first real taste of food.
And it was pretty damn good.
While she was slurping noodles, Hikaru had already reached the tenth puzzle.
"So fast… You're amazing, Hikaru," Tierra muttered through bites of ramen.
She had no clue what he was doing—just that it looked ridiculously impressive.
She hadn't been dueling long. Just a few days ago was the first time she had even technically duelled someone. Most of the cards he used, she didn't fully understand yet.
She was a total amateur.
Magical Scientist gently adjusted his glasses.
Amateurs were easy to impress because they didn't understand.
He, on the other hand, was a specialist—and he was ready to call Hikaru a superhuman.
Why could this human glance at a complex board and instantly make the correct play?
Why, even with rare cards he'd probably never seen before, could he read their text once and immediately find the line to victory?
Why did he recognize cards that shouldn't even exist in his world?
Like Elder Entity N'tss—how did he know to send it to the Graveyard from the Extra Deck to destroy something on the field?
"How the hell is he this good?" Magical Scientist muttered, arms crossed.
At this point, he no longer doubted that Hikaru could solve all thirty puzzles. It was just a matter of time.
He'd only noticed Hikaru by chance—back when Mathematician had accepted a challenge scroll. Magical Scientist had been standing nearby and saw Hikaru's name… along with a bold declaration that he was challenging every version of Dark Magician.
Was it confidence? Or delusion?
And then, claiming to pursue "the ultimate form of Fusion"?
That had sparked his curiosity.
After all, Magical Scientist was a Duel Spirit dedicated to the pinnacle of fusion.
He wanted to see how far this human could go.
Originally, he'd planned to offer access to his lab if Hikaru solved 15 puzzles—letting him trade and experiment with his collection.
But this? This was way beyond expectations.
Some of the cards used in these puzzles were gathered from distant dimensions. Cards that hadn't appeared in either the human world or even the general Duel Spirit realms—like N'tss, or Wave-Motion Dragon Knight.
When he first collected this data, his entire lab had gone crazy.
He had spent hours, sometimes days, designing these puzzles.
And Hikaru?
He solved them at a glance.
"He really knows every Fusion monster?" Magical Scientist mumbled.
"What's the big deal?" Tierra replied, casually stirring her second bowl of ramen. She waved her fork in the air. "When it comes to Fusion, Hikaru knows everything."
"At least, that's what he says. And I don't mind believing him."
She slurped another mouthful of noodles, then glanced toward the Duel Spirit researcher.
"You live in a dimension that—despite claiming to be a hub of magical exchange—is still boxed in by its own rules. Day in and day out, you only deal with other spellcasters."
"You've barely seen gods from other worlds or rare spirits from distant realms. So how can you confidently believe you understand Fusion better than anyone else?"
She gave a small smile. "Don't let your own strength limit your imagination. Judging by the magical power in you, you're definitely among the strongest Duel Spirits here—maybe even one of the top names in the Village of the Spellcasters."
"But you're still just a spirit."
"He's different."
"He was born to fuse."
"He chases the absolute pinnacle of Fusion."
"Losing to him isn't shameful. Not even a little."
Magical Scientist stared at her, then took a deep breath. "You're right. I've been too arrogant. Thank you for reminding me… Oh!"
He squinted.
"That form… Are you… El Shaddoll Winda?"
"A truly rare magician spirit! If he's allied with someone like you, then of course he wouldn't be limited by narrow perspective. I've been a frog in a well."
As a scholarly spirit, he quickly gathered himself after recognizing his own ignorance.
"Hey! Who said I'm his partner?" Tierra snapped, her expression immediately souring. "And for the record, I'm no mere spirit!"
Magical Scientist tilted his head, clearly confused.
But at least one thing was certain—he'd been mistaken.
Again.
Clearly, his world had become too small.
Maybe it really was time to leave his lab and see what the other dimensions had to offer.
—
Eventually, despite a couple minor hiccups, Hikaru managed to solve all thirty puzzles in astonishing time.
Even though the puzzles felt a bit "old-school," he actually enjoyed them quite a bit.
Back in his current world, dueling every day with high-grade virtual projections was awesome—way better than before he crossed over—but it had gotten a bit stale. The student decks were simple. And ever since he added Chimeratech Fortress Dragon to his arsenal, his Ancient Gear-themed classmates just couldn't keep up.
There wasn't much challenge anymore.
But here in Magical Scientist's lab?
He got to use cards that no one else even played.
Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Dark Paladin, even Synchros and Xyz monsters his own world didn't officially allow.
It was a breath of fresh air after weeks of fighting the same decks.
Sure, they were just holograms. But man—it felt good.
—
"Amazing!" Magical Scientist began clapping enthusiastically.
Technically, there was a time limit for each puzzle. But Hikaru's speed was so insane, he didn't even bother mentioning it.
"You're the first person in this entire facility to solve all thirty puzzles…"
"As promised, I'll give you the prize: one card from each puzzle—thirty in total."
He pulled a crate from the side, popped it open, and revealed a gleaming collection.
From early ones like Blazing Inpachi and Phoenix Gearfried, to heavy hitters like Dark Flare Knight and Gaia the Dragon Champion, and finally…
The crown jewel.
Elder Entity N'tss.
It was real.
Hikaru held the box with wide eyes.
Even if it had only contained that one final card—it would've been worth it.