I’m in Marvel, but I play Yu-Gi-Oh!?

Three days passed quickly.

For Alexander, they were spent in much the same way as usual.

School during the day, training in the afternoon, then long evenings dedicated to Duel Monsters.

The card pool continued expanding steadily as more prototypes were created one after another.

Monsters. Spell Cards. Trap Cards. Balance adjustments.

Even with his memories of the original game, adapting Duel Monsters into this world while accounting for the YGO System and future scalability required far more work than most people would ever imagine.

Still, progress was progress, and during those same three days, Alexander had also begun laying the groundwork for the next phase of his plan.

Introducing Duel Monsters at school.

Naturally, he couldn't simply walk into the middle of campus and start distributing cards randomly.

Well, he technically could, but that would be way too stupid and ineffective.

If he wanted the game to spread properly, then he needed the right environment and the right audience, which was why his first stop had been the school Chess Club.

Alexander still remembered the expression of the teacher advisor when he first explained the situation.

He was confused, at times suspicious and even mildly concerned, but then he eventually reluctantly accepted.

Thankfully, Alexander's reputation within Promethean Academy helped considerably.

Being known as an exceptionally intelligent student who never created any trouble and even helped the other students opened many doors that otherwise would have remained firmly shut.

Even then, the teacher had only agreed after Alexander clarified that the game involved strategy, had structured rules, a very competitive interaction and required analytical thinking; essentially, Alexander had marketed Duel Monsters as a "tactical tabletop strategy game," which technically wasn't even inaccurate.

The principal had been more difficult, not because he disliked the idea but because allowing a student to introduce an external product inside school grounds carried administrative risks.

At least it was so initially, then Alexander had mentioned something about student innovation, educational strategy applications, but more importantly, possible future publicity and media attention if the product succeeded commercially.

After that, the conversation became significantly easier as the principal was an ambitious man, the kind already mentally halfway into politics.

The possibility of Promethean Academy supporting student entrepreneurs who create a successful national game. Was simply too attractive to ignore.

Especially once Alexander requested permission to also involve the middle school section during after-school hours. And so permission was granted, which led directly to the current moment.

Alexander and Roland once again arrived outside Merriweather Commercial Printing & Design.

The industrial building looked exactly as before. Busy, functional, and alive.

The two entered together before one of the employees immediately recognised them and guided them toward the interior offices.

A few moments later, Thomas Merriweather himself appeared.

"Well," he greeted while crossing his arms lightly, "if it isn't my youngest client."

Alexander nodded politely and greeted him back, "Mr Merriweather."

Thomas's gaze shifted briefly toward Roland before snorting faintly, "And luckily this time your terrifying lawyer isn't here..."

Roland smiled. Actually smiled, a small and polite one, but unmistakably amused.

At the same time, Alexander immediately understood Thomas's feeling, and with difficulty, he also had to hold back an amused smile.

Elizabeth had absolutely terrorised this poor man with legal paperwork.

Thomas noticed the realisation instantly and jokingly commented, "I liked your game better before your attorney arrived."

"She informed me the discussion was productive," Alexander replied calmly.

Thomas stared at him for a moment before he sighed, "Haa… That woman weaponises paperwork."

Roland's amusement deepened slightly as he lightly commented, "Elizabeth has always been very dedicated to her profession."

"That's one way to describe it."

Despite the complaints, however, Thomas didn't actually seem irritated; if anything, there was lingering respect beneath the tension, which honestly made sense.

People in business tended to appreciate competent professionals even while suffering under them.

Eventually, Thomas gestured toward the production floor, "Come on. Your order's ready."

Several minutes later, they arrived near the packaging area.

Multiple sealed boxes rested neatly on a reinforced table nearby.

One set of card boxes was plain red with the logo Duel Monsters written in the same font as the original Yu-Gi-Oh! logo and a stylised Millennium Puzzle in the background imprinted on the lower half of the box, and right below the logo, written in a larger font, there was: "Starter Deck Dragon Assault."

The other set of card boxes was plain blue, the logo was in the same position and right below it, there was: "Starter Deck Mystic Control."

Thomas crossed his arms again as he announced, "Hundred starter decks total. Split evenly between both designs."

Alexander approached calmly while Roland stood nearby observing silently.

Without hesitation, Alexander opened one of the boxes and removed several decks at random, then he began carefully checking.

Card stock. Surface finish. Colour consistency. Cut precision. Centering. Packaging quality. One by one.

Thomas quietly watched the process and commented in an impressed tone, "You really do inspect products like an adult buyer."

Alexander ignored the comment while continuing the examination, and then finally he nodded once while thinking, 'The quality is excellent. The colours are sharp. The cardstock feels durable without being too rigid. Edges are clean. Print alignment remains consistent across samples. Merriweather Commercial Printing had done exactly what they promised... This is a very well done job.'

That conclusion immediately elevated their value in Alexander's eyes, making him honestly say, "Excellent work."

Thomas looked mildly pleased by the praise, "Glad to hear it."

Alexander then reached into his bag and removed the second check containing the remaining half of the agreed payment, naturally already signed with only his name.

Thomas accepted it before briefly checking the amount.

Everything was correct and professional, which mattered, especially in business.

"Pleasure doing business with you, kid."

"Likewise."

Afterwards, the boxes were carefully loaded into the car.

One hundred Duel Monsters starter decks.

The first official production run.

Seeing them stacked together inside the sedan's boot created an oddly surreal feeling.

A few weeks ago, Duel Monsters had existed only in his memories and across scattered prototype cards; now it truly physically existed in the world, and tomorrow people would finally play it.

~~~▽~~~

The next day passed relatively normally.

He took part in classes, handed over assignments, and had conversations with his classmates, the usual routine, but beneath the surface, Alexander could feel a growing sense of anticipation.

Inside his bag rested twenty starter decks carefully prepared for testing, and if things went well, the beginning of everything.

The moment the final class ended, Alexander calmly gathered his things and waited a bit before heading toward the Chess Club room.

As expected, multiple students were already present.

Some played chess quietly; others discussed openings and tournament strategies nearby.

The atmosphere carried the familiar energy of focused competition.

The teacher advisor noticed Alexander almost immediately and greeted him, "Ah, Alexander."

Alexander nodded politely and said, "Thank you again for allowing this."

The teacher adjusted his glasses slightly, "Well, I did give you permission and… the principal already approved it."

His tone still carried traces of scepticism as he clearly remained unconvinced about this entire situation, but that was fine.

Alexander wasn't here to convince him; he was here to convince the students.

As more club members noticed his arrival, conversations gradually slowed and curiosity spread quickly.

After all, Alexander already possessed a certain reputation around school.

Brilliant student. Top grades. Handsome. Quietly intimidating but polite and helpful to those who asked. He was the kind of person people naturally paid attention to.

Alexander calmly stepped toward the centre of the room before speaking clearly enough for everyone nearby to hear, and said, "Thank you for allowing me to borrow some of your time."

Several students exchanged curious glances while Alexander continued calmly, "I recently created a competitive strategy card game called Duel Monsters."

That immediately drew reactions, mostly confusion but also interest.

"A card game?" one student repeated sceptically.

Another frowned slightly. "Like poker?"

"No," Alexander replied and explained, "It's a structured two-player strategy game using customised decks. With a fairly complex level of interaction between cards that would allow near limitless combination... Does it sound familiar?"

Now that earned more attention, especially from the more competitive students.

Alexander continued smoothly, "I've already received permission from both the club advisor and the principal to conduct after-school testing sessions here, including participation from middle school students later on."

That statement immediately legitimised the entire situation, and several students visibly became more attentive.

After that, Alexander pulled out one red card box and one blue card box from his backpack while he introduced them, "These are the two starter decks I've created to introduce everyone to this incredible game."

First, he raised the red box to show it and said, "This is Dragon Assault. Its main theme is strong monsters and straightforward, relentless aggression."

Then he raised the blue box and explained, "And this is Mystic Control. It revolves around defence, disruption, and tactical play."

After saying that, Alexander opened both boxes and laid all the cards on the table in front of him, and for the first time, the Duel Monsters decks appeared before an audience.

The reaction was immediate, not very explosive but unmistakable.

The professionally printed cards instantly stood apart from anything the students expected.

The artwork alone drew attention. Dragons. Spellcasters. And all other types of Monsters.

The bright colours, the strange symbols, the unique layouts. The cards looked modern in a way completely foreign to the era.

Alexander noticed several students unconsciously leaning closer.

Curiosity had already begun working exactly as intended.

One student carefully picked up a Dragon Assault card and commented, "These actually look incredible..."

Another immediately grabbed a Mystic Control card and said, "This one looks way more interesting."

"Obviously, the dragon deck is stronger," someone else argued almost instantly.

"It literally has dragons."

"That's exactly why it's predictable."

Alexander silently watched the conversation begin forming naturally, barely stopping a smile from forming on his face while thinking, 'Perfect. The students are already categorising themselves. Exactly as I hoped.'

Then one boy near the back crossed his arms sceptically and said, "Cool artwork doesn't make it a good game."

Alexander met his gaze calmly and said, "You're correct."

That answer clearly surprised him, but then Alexander added, "Which is why I'm asking for testers."

Silence followed briefly.

Then, finally, a student stepped forward. He was tall for his age, broad-shouldered in a way that made him seem older than the other boys clustered around the room.

Dark-skinned, with sharp cheekbones and close-cropped black hair, he carried himself with the quiet confidence of someone used to winning. Maybe a sophomore.

His posture was straight without looking stiff, and there was something intensely focused in his expression, like he was always calculating three moves ahead even outside the chessboard.

He had steady brown eyes that rarely wandered, the kind that locked onto a person during conversation and made them feel examined.

A faint crease sat permanently between his brows, not from anger, but from concentration.

The competitive edge to him was obvious, not in a loud or boastful manner, but controlled and precise.

When he stepped forward, the room seemed to shift with him.

He was very confident when he said, "I'll try it."

Almost immediately, another voice responded from nearby, "Then I'm playing too."

It was a female voice, and Alexander instinctively turned to look at the one who had just spoken, and for a brief moment, he was stunned.

She was a beautiful girl around his age, but looked too composed to be a freshman.

Not in the polished, magazine-cover way some girls tried for, but in the quieter way of someone who already carried herself like she expected to be taken seriously.

She was tall for her age, all long limbs and narrow shoulders, with the awkwardness of a recent growth spurt hidden beneath careful posture.

Her copper-red hair fell just past her shoulders, thick and slightly unruly near the ends, no matter how often she tucked it behind one ear. Under the fluorescent school lights, it caught enough gold to almost look auburn.

Freckles dusted the bridge of her nose and cheeks, faint but impossible to miss once you noticed them.

Her face still had traces of childhood softness around the jawline, though her expressions already leaned older. Observant. Dry. A little impatient with the world.

She wore the freshman uniform slightly wrong, like she respected the rules but not enough to let them win. Sleeves rolled up twice. Tie loosened half an inch. The top button of her blazer hung by a thread she either hadn't noticed or hadn't had time to fix yet.

There were ink stains on the side of her hand, and a mechanical pencil tucked behind her ear, likely used to keep score during a match.

Her eyes were the striking part. Sharp blue, focused enough to make people straighten up when she looked directly at them.

Like she was constantly taking things apart in her head just to see how they worked before deciding whether they were worth her attention.

At first glance, she blended into the group of students crowding around the table. At second glance, she absolutely didn't.

Alexander then snapped out of his daze and nodded, inviting both of them to sit, and just like that, the first Duel Monsters players in Marvel history took their seats.

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