Heaven and earth inverted completely—the reversed Speed World view drew gasps from the audience.
This was a spectacle possible only in a Turbo Duel: an entire racetrack flipped upside down.
[Stardust Charge Warrior, ATK: 2000 → 1300]
As the ATK and DEF of all Effect Monsters were switched, the light of Stardust Charge Warrior's blade dimmed slightly in the inverted world.
"You reversed the Speed World with a Trap Card? Aisha Carlos, what's the point of that!?"
Even in an upside-down race, Krista's speed didn't falter in the slightest.
And even with her Effect Monster's ATK reduced, three Normal Monsters with a combined 100 Attack couldn't possibly overcome Stardust Charge Warrior.
"Krista, you said earlier that in a Turbo Duel, speed is a duelist's magic. I totally agree with that!"
Starting his turn, Miles drew his card while racing through the inverted sky.
[Aisha SPC: 1 → 2]
[Krista SPC: 1 → 2]
During the Standby Phase, both duelists' Speed Counters increased, propelling their D-Wheels to even higher velocity.
"That's fast enough." Miles glanced at the accelerating gauge, picked a Speed Spell Card from his slot, and hurled it toward the upturned ground. "Now! I activate [Speed Spell - Reverse Drive]!"
[Activate only if you have 2 or more Speed Counters and all monsters on the field have higher DEF than ATK. Draw 1 card, then this turn, switch the ATK and DEF of all monsters you control.]
The activation condition for [Speed Spell - Reverse Drive] required that all monsters on the field have higher DEF than ATK.
That meant Miles had to first reverse the Speed World once—switching Stardust Charge Warrior's stats—before he could reverse his own field of Normal Monsters as well.
The world flipped once again, shocking everyone. The Turbo Duel circuit seemed to return to normal—but now, all stats were scrambled.
[Crowned by the World Chalice, ATK: 0 → 2100]
[Flamvell Guard, ATK: 100 → 2000]
[White Duston, ATK: 0 → 1000]
The low-level monsters now possessed power far beyond their usual limits.
The priestess stirring water-dragon ripples and the Flamvell Guard roaring with blazing heat… after the stat reversal, both had enough power to crush Stardust Charge Warrior.
"Carlos… is this how low-level monsters fight?"
"And thanks to Reverse Drive's effect, I can also draw one card! Draw!"
Racing forward through the restored circuit, Miles drew another Speed Spell Card.
After investing so many SP Points, his Turbo Duel experience was finally paying off—he no longer had to suffer like in his first match, when he had no Speed Spells at all.
"I activate [Speed Spell - Angel Baton]!"
[Activate only if you have 2 or more Speed Counters. Draw 2 cards, then send 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard.]
The graceful filtering effect of the Angel's Baton let Miles, who had taken the first curve and gained the first turn, perform a perfect draw-and-discard while at two Speed Counters.
That was why getting the first turn mattered so much in a Turbo Duel—the two-counter turn was critical in the early game.
"Go—Jack's Knight!" With another key card drawn, Miles raised his field's offensive line to lethal range.
"I Tribute [White Duston] to Tribute Summon—[Jack's Knight]!"
[Jack's Knight] Level 5│LIGHT│Warrior│1900 ATK / 1000 DEF
The sword-wielding knight charged onto the track.
Normally, drawing Jack's Knight early was a pain; however, thanks to Angel Baton's draw filter, Miles had planned to keep it.
1900 + 2000 + 2100 = 6000 Attack!
The combined field strength of the three Normal Monsters reached a terrifying 6000 Attack during Miles's very first battle phase.
And now, after the Inverse Universe's effect, Stardust Charge Warrior's ATK was only 1300.
"That guy… is he trying to OTK me in his first battle turn of the Turbo Duel!?"
The XYZ Academy spectators, who had been mocking the use of low-level Normals, were struck speechless.
Under the Speed Counter restrictions, most Normal Spells couldn't be used, making early OTKs extremely rare in Turbo Duels.
Yet Aisha Carlos, piloting what looked like a harmless team of monsters, had launched one of the most ferocious counterattacks imaginable.
"In the world of speed, let these humble monsters show their will!"
After the double reversal, Miles accelerated his D-Wheel and declared his Battle Phase.
His three low-level monsters charged together—fire, water, and steel slashing across the high-speed track.
"Trap Card activate—[Half Unbreak]!"
[Half Unbreak: Target 1 monster on the field; that monster cannot be destroyed by battle this turn, and you take half battle damage from battles involving that monster.]
Krista endured the triple assault with [Half Unbreak], reinforcing her Stardust Warrior, whose ATK and DEF had been reversed.
"Hold fast, Stardust!"
[Krista, LP: 4000 → 3700 → 3300 → 2950]
Krista had successfully fended off Miles's surprise low-level OTK assault—meanwhile, she hadn't managed to maintain her D-Wheel's speed.
The series of damage impacts sent Krista's vehicle shaking violently, and Miles used the moment to tighten his grip and accelerate his own engine.
"No! I can't fall behind here!"
Even so, displaying more tenacity than expected, Krista pushed her D-Wheel to its absolute limit right as Miles was about to overtake her.
The two D-Wheels raced side by side, their duel of speed reaching its climax—an exhilarating display of velocity born from the clash of Speed Spells.
Miles couldn't help but admire the girl riding beside him. "You can still keep up even after taking all those hits? Krista, your handling is seriously amazing!"
"This is our battlefield of speed," Krista said firmly. "Turbo Duels are the pride of Synchron Academy. Bearing that honor, I absolutely won't let an outsider surpass me in the very first match."
From Synchron Academy's seats, Lost shouted encouragement. "Go, Krista! Show those outsiders the speed of Synchron!"
"The unyielding faith that connects the Stardust will guide me to victory! My [Stardust Charge Warrior] is still on the field, Carlos—you know what that means!"
Thanks to [Half Unbreak], her Synchro Monster, [Stardust Charge Warrior], had survived the battle.
The effects of Speed Spells only lasted for one turn.
When Miles's turn ended, the effect of [Speed Spell - Reverse Drive] would wear off, and the swapped ATK and DEF of his monsters would revert to normal.
That would leave him with a [Crowned by the World Chalice] at 0 ATK and a [Flamvell Guard] at 100 ATK.
In that case, on her next turn, Krista could use [Stardust Charge Warrior]'s effect—to attack all Special Summoned monsters once each—to deal the finishing blow in two strikes.
"An attack that fierce will only drive you into a corner, Aisha Carlos!"
"You don't know me well enough yet, Krista," Miles retorted. "I'm not the kind of idiot who goes all-in without a backup plan! Here's my trump card!"
As the Battle Phase ended, Miles's D-Wheel kept roaring down the track. He had already prepared for the possibility of his offense being blocked.
His three Normal Monsters weren't just for offense—they were his insurance for the next step. And the key among them was his Tuner Monster, [Flamvell Guard].
"I'll use all the monsters on my field for a Synchro Summon—and with this gathered hope, we'll begin the second round, Krista!"
"Synchro Summon!" Krista exclaimed, narrowing her eyes.
It was inevitable… even though she had mentally prepared for it, seeing an outsider perform a Synchro Summon on Synchron Academy's own track still filled her with complex emotions.
Especially since she already knew exactly what Miles was about to summon. That only made it harder to swallow.
"I tune my Level 1 [Flamvell Guard] with Level 2 [Crowned by the World Chalice] and Level 5 [Jack's Knight]!"
The Level 1 Tuner, [Flamvell Guard], transformed into a ring of starlight that enveloped the priestess and the knight.
1★ + 2★ + 5★ = 8★!
Combining the levels of three small monsters into a higher one—this was the essence of a Synchro Summon.
The light of the stars filled the inverted sky as Miles raised his voice.
"Gathering wishes will become a new shining star, illuminating the path to the future! Synchro Summon—Fly forth, Stardust Dragon!"
Stardust: "It's my turn again! Let's blow the crowd away!"
[Stardust Dragon] Level 8│WIND│Dragon│Synchro│2500 ATK / 2000 DEF
[Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters]
The radiant dragon unfurled its wings, bursting into the sky above the track in a dazzling flight. The audience erupted into cheers.
"A Synchro Summon? A Fusion Academy student just performed a Synchro Summon in a Turbo Duel!"
"Did I see that right? That's Stardust Dragon!"
"Man, live long enough and you really do see everything!"
Over in the XYZ Academy stands, Leon slammed the armrest in shock. "How is that possible!? She just summoned a Tuner for the first time this morning!"
The proof was undeniable. Lloyd murmured, "Aisha Carlos from Fusion Academy… so she already knew how to Synchro Summon all along."
XYZ Academy finally understood why that morning's summoning lesson had been so strange.
The ones being left behind and ridiculed weren't the bottom-ranked Fusion Academy… it was them.
Under the radiant glow of the stars scattered across the sky, Miles smiled and echoed Krista's earlier words.
"Stardust will guide the way to victory, right? Then as you wished, Krista—let's see whose Stardust shines brighter!"
Right now, his [Stardust Dragon] clearly outshone Krista's [Stardust Charge Warrior].
His Stardust's brilliance was brighter.
"I Set one card and end my turn!"
Even as their turns switched at high speed, both duelists' D-Wheels remained neck and neck, neither yielding an inch.
"My turn, draw!"
Unaffected by the appearance of Miles's Stardust Dragon, Krista drew her card calmly, bathed in the same starlight.
[Krista SPC: 2 → 3]
[Aisha SPC: 2 → 3]
"The duel of Stardusts—then it's my turn to shine! I activate [Speed Spell - Illusion Wind]!"
[Activate only if you have 2 or more Speed Counters. Special Summon 1 Level 2 or lower monster from your Graveyard.]
"With [Speed Spell - Illusion Wind], I Special Summon my Level 2 Tuner Monster, [Shiba-Warrior Taro], from the Graveyard!"
[Shiba-Warrior Taro, ATK: 800]
The illusory wind howled through the battlefield, reigniting Krista's Synchro potential.
Her Level 2 Tuner, [Shiba-Warrior Taro], together with her Level 6 [Stardust Charge Warrior], totaled Level 8.
"With this second Synchro Summon, I'll evolve Stardust's light!"
Krista swung her arm forward, commanding the two monsters on her field as her second Synchro storm surged across the racetrack.
2★ + 6★ = 8★!
Bathed in starlight, she shouted her chant with fiery conviction.
"The flash that tears through the sea of stars! Let the pulse of the soul echo through the world! Synchro Summon!—[Stardust Spark Dragon]!"
[Stardust Spark Dragon] Level 8│LIGHT│Dragon│Synchro│2500 ATK / 2000 DEF
[Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters]
Another Stardust took flight, its radiant body identical to Stardust Dragon's—but adorned with shimmering azure streaks of light symbolizing the power of "Light."
"Two Stardust Dragons!?"
The very first inter-academy Turbo Duel had reached an unbelievable scene—
[Stardust Dragon] vs. [Stardust Spark Dragon]!
The twin Stardust trails blazed across the sky at breakneck speed—where would this accelerating duel lead next?
...
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