Cronos de Medici, an Italian.
A professor at Duel Academy, and quite a distinctive one at that. He's known for ending every sentence with "None" and his frequent use of "Mamma-Mia," as well as his appearance, which is akin to a cosplay of Pot of Greed.
However, he is also the head of the practical skills department at Duel Academy.
This essentially means he's the most skilled duelist among the Duel Academy professors.
In the early stages of the anime, he was basically a villain, portrayed as a narrow-minded teacher who constantly targeted Jaden Yuki. But in the later stages, it was revealed that his elite education mindset was deeply ingrained; he disliked poor students but was fiercely protective of good ones.
As the plot progressed, he also grew and changed alongside the students, ultimately being revealed as a good teacher at heart.
At this moment, Professor Cronos was seated in the head judge's chair in the stands. After watching Yugen's assessment duel, he fell into deep thought.
For many years, the top student had always been Cronos's primary focus among the new arrivals. Every year, he would observe that student's deck and strategy from the entrance exam onwards, and then tailor a training plan specifically for them to help them improve as quickly as possible.
But this year's top student, how should he put it...
He couldn't say he wasn't strong; he could only say his dueling showed a unique perspective.
"Professor, according to your request, the information on that duelist's deck has been retrieved," a nearby judge said.
Cronos nodded slightly and opened the Duel Academy professor's dedicated terminal to examine the deck information.
Let me see what kind of deck it is.
The first thing that flashed before his eyes was a long, uniform string of red holes, almost blinding him.
"Mamma-Mia!" Cronos exclaimed in shock.
What in the world was this?
This time, Yugen's assessment mainly utilized Spellcaster-Type monsters, plus the few monsters he had just summoned in the duel.
What about the rest?
A large number of draw acceleration cards like "Pot of Greed" and "Graceful Charity," followed by "hand traps" like the "Delinquent Duo," "Confiscation," and "The Forceful Sentry" he used in the duel.
The remaining majority, as far as the eye could see, was a sea of red, just looking at it on the screen sent shivers down one's spine.
"This... this... this..." The nearby judge's eyes widened a bit. "What the heck is this?"
Emi-sensei, who was at the registration desk earlier, also curiously leaned closer. Upon seeing this deck structure, she was instantly startled.
Then she recalled the polite, well-mannered, and seemingly sunny young man she had seen when he registered...
Was this really his deck?
It wasn't that she had any prejudice against the deck structure itself.
However, anyone who saw this deck would probably first react by thinking that this person wasn't trying to win, but rather had a grudge against their opponent.
Cronos also fell silent for a moment.
According to their basic dueling knowledge and theoretical understanding, this was undoubtedly a deck structure that did not meet the standards of teaching materials. If a Duel Academy student were to present such a structure as a curriculum design outcome, he would not hesitate to give them a failing grade.
However, he then looked back at the judge who had just returned to his seat, covered in dust, with faintly visible bulging veins on his forehead...
Did he win or not?
Cronos pondered for a moment.
"Well, after all, the judges use exam-specific decks. It's inevitable that they won't be as comfortable with them as their own decks, and their strength is also limited."
"This student can't be said to be without ideas, or rather, his unconventional creativity actually demonstrates a unique talent."
But from the perspective of the academy's teachers, who have already formed a complete dueling system, this clearly belongs to unorthodox methods. It's not to say that training this way won't yield any achievements, but compared to the orthodox path, it's a crooked one. His future achievements will be limited, and when he encounters true strong duelists in the future, it might not be so easy.
However, for an incoming freshman, Cronos was quite satisfied with Yugen's performance.
It's good to have ideas and the courage to innovate. Based on his many years of teaching experience, he could immediately sense that this person had an extraordinary aptitude and would surely achieve great things in the future.
Cronos quietly made up his mind, adding Yugen's name to the list of key cultivation candidates for this year's batch of students. At the start of the semester, he would apply to the academy for a spot in the "Top Cultivation" program. Students selected for this program would not only receive additional subsidies for upgraded decks every quarter but would also have a higher priority when opportunities for rare cards arose compared to other students in their year.
He wanted to guide this misguided genius student back onto the right path using Duel Academy's orthodox and sunny teaching philosophy and principles, and he was confident he could do it.
Next, he observed the exam of this year's second-place student, Misawa Daichi. Cronos nodded with satisfaction after watching.
This student, Misawa, also displayed extraordinary strength in his duel, and he was clearly the type who excelled at gaining an advantage through calculation and planning.
This felt much more normal.
Cronos felt good, thinking that this year had another bright talent among the top students.
Just then, a staff member quickly ran to his side, bowed, and whispered something into his ear.
Cronos raised an eyebrow: "Hmm? Late for the exam? The train was delayed? What's that student's exam number?"
"110," the staff member replied.
Over 100? Isn't that at the very bottom?
Cronos immediately lost interest and waved his hand: "Being late for such an important exam already shows that he doesn't take it seriously at all. After all, our school doesn't need bad students."
A white-haired judge beside him adjusted his glasses: "That's not good, Professor. The exam isn't over yet, shouldn't we still give him a chance?"
"No, no chance, NO, absolutely not," Cronos waved his hand.
Are you kidding? He already had strong opinions about students with exam numbers over 100, and he didn't want to recruit them at all. Since this one happened to be late, there was no reason to let him off the hook.
However, his phone immediately rang.
Cronos answered the call: "Hmm? Principal? You're saying... you're saying..."
He listened silently for a moment, his face gradually darkening.
"Hmm, yes, yes, there is such a thing, a student was late. It's just... well... go on, alright, yes, Principal."
Cronos hung up the phone, his face grim.
Damn it, not only was he dead last in the written exam, but he was late for the practical exam, and what's more, it was a special case related to an individual.
He wondered what kind of backing that student had to warrant the Principal personally calling him about it.
As the saying goes, a higher rank can crush a person. With the Principal's order, he, the highest-ranking person in charge, dared not disobey.
However, the Principal only instructed him to give that student a chance to take the exam; he didn't say that he absolutely had to pass.
Cronos's mind raced, and he suddenly stood up, huffing.
"Alright then, what's that student's name?"
"His name is Yuki Judai," a judge said.
"Good, I'll personally assess this student," Cronos said, sweeping his coat, embodying the demeanor of a master.
"Ah?"
All the judges were startled. For the chief examiner to personally step in was very rare.
"Please wait!" A nearby judge quickly offered the assessment briefcase. "Then please choose a deck for the exam..."
"Such things are unnecessary."
Cronos's face was dark. He ignored them and turned to leave.
For this round of the exam, he would use his own deck, the legendary and super rare "Ancient Gear" series, which was famous among all the teachers and students and was his source of pride.
He wanted to let this clueless, poor student know what a dangerous world it was.
"..."
The sunglasses-wearing judge sat back in his seat.
It had been about ten minutes, but recalling that duel still made him angrier the more he thought about it.
Especially constantly replaying the moment before the duel began, when that student asked if the judge's "rage meter" would affect his score. He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but now, looking back, that seemingly polite face looked absolutely like a mocking smirk...
In his frustration, the sunglasses-wearing judge unconsciously looked up and saw Professor Cronos dueling a jellyfish-haired, poor student in the arena below.
"...'Skyscraper''s effect! My 'Elemental HERO Flame Wingman''s ATK increases by 1000 when it battles a monster with higher ATK than itself, so it surpasses your 'Ancient Gear Golem', Professor!
Also, when 'Flame Wingman' destroys an opponent's monster by battle, it inflicts damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's ATK!
Go, Flame Shoot!"
Cronos: "Mamma-Mia!!!"
A booming explosion echoed, and to the shock of the entire arena, Professor Cronos held his head and crumpled to the ground, being crushed into ruins by his collapsing "Ancient Gear Golem."
[Cronos, LP 0]
The entire arena was stunned.
Cronos, the chief professor and head of practical skills at the academy, lost?
And he lost with his legendary "Ancient Gear" deck to a student who was dead last in scores?
But that wasn't the end of it.
That last-place, jellyfish-haired student even jumped forward and, very mockingly, made a gesture towards the professor lying on the ground, laughing heartily.
"I won! That was truly an interesting duel, Professor!"
Cronos: "..."
He didn't know why.
But seeing the head judge, who was holding his head and lying on the ground, the corners of the sunglasses-wearing judge's mouth curled into a smile again.
Suddenly, he didn't feel so angry.
Jaden was indeed right.
Duels really can bring happiness.