I’m in Marvel, but I play Yu-Gi-Oh!?

Shortly after the two students took their seats across from one another, Alexander placed both starter deck boxes on the table between them.

"You can freely choose whichever deck you prefer," he explained calmly. "And don't worry about choosing the same one. I brought multiple copies of both."

The tall young man barely needed a second to decide; he immediately grabbed the red box.

"Dragon Assault," he read before smirking slightly. "Yeah… this one speaks to me."

Alexander honestly wasn't surprised; everything about the boy practically screamed aggressive playstyle.

From the way he carried himself to the direct confidence in his posture, he looked like the kind of person who preferred breaking through opposition head-on rather than carefully manoeuvring around it.

The red-haired girl chuckled softly from the opposite side of the table, "I expected that."

Her tone carried easy familiarity before she added, "You've always preferred aggressive openings to force the opponent into making mistakes, Chuck."

'So his name was Chuck.' Alexander quickly filed the name in his memory; after all, he was the very first player of his version of Duel Monsters.

The boy named Chuck immediately snorted and said, "As if you're any better, Ginny. You're the person who wins half her chess matches by relying on subtle manoeuvres, structural advantages, and restricting the opponent's pieces slowly."

The girl ignored the accusation entirely before calmly picking up the blue starter box and reading out loud, "Mystic Control."

Then she smiled faintly, announcing, "I'll use this one."

Chuck pointed at her almost immediately, "See? You're doing the exact same thing."

Ginny raised an eyebrow innocently, "Oh?"

"You picked the deck that fits your personality, too."

A few nearby students quietly chuckled while Alexander silently observed the interaction, thinking, 'Interesting... The dynamic between them already feels natural, competitive, and comfortable. The kind built through repeated rivalry. Which honestly makes them perfect candidates for the first public Duel Monsters duel.'

Once both players opened their starter decks, Alexander gestured toward the cards, "First, shuffle your decks thoroughly."

The two nodded before immediately doing so.

Meanwhile, the surrounding students gradually gathered closer around the table while the Chess Club teacher observed nearby with visible curiosity.

Only once both decks were shuffled did Alexander begin explaining, "Here are the Basic Rules. The duel starts with both players at 2000 Life Points."

Several students immediately reacted to the terminology.

"Life Points?" someone repeated quietly.

Alexander nodded and said, "Think of them as your health total. Reduce your opponent's Life Points to zero, and you win."

That immediately earned more attention. Then Alexander continued, "Both players draw five cards from the top of their deck at the start of the duel."

As he spoke, Chuck and Ginny followed the instructions carefully as Alexander continued, "We'll use a coin toss to determine who goes first. The player going first cannot draw during their first turn and also cannot attack."

Chuck immediately looked up and asked, "So, like in chess, there is a first-move advantage."

Alexander nodded calmly, "Indeed. Like in chess, the first player can set up the board, secure early control via card effects, and deploy multiple cards without interruption from the opponent's cards."

That answer alone visibly interested several chess players nearby.

"Now," Alexander continued, "there are three main card types."

He picked up four cards from one of the nearby decks to show them as examples while explaining, "Monster Cards. Are divided into yellow and orange frames. The yellow frames are Normal Monsters with no particular ability. The orange cards are Effect Monsters that have abilities whose effects are described in the box under the artwork. These are the pieces needed to defeat your opponent, each one of them has its own..."

He quickly went over everything they needed to know about monsters and their summoning before moving on to the next type of card, "Spell Cards are cards with green-colored borders that have various effects to alter the play of the game. Often, a Spell Card has a single effect to provide a bonus to the user or a weakness to the opponent..."

Done with explaining the Spell cards, he concluded, "And Trap Cards are cards with magenta-colored borders that have various effects. A Trap Card must first be Set and can only be activated after the current turn has finished. After that, it may be activated during either player's turn."

As he briefly demonstrated each type, the students leaned closer with increasing interest, but some appeared a bit overwhelmed; after all, even telling them the bare minimum, it is still quite a bit of information to digest.

Alexander paused for a moment to allow them to decompress a bit before he said, "I know that this seems to be a lot, but once you start to play, these things become quite simple and natural to the point that you won't even think about it."

Then Alexander pointed toward the improvised field layout on the table, "Now let me tell you a bit about the field. This area is where monsters are summoned. It is called the Monster Zone. There are only five of them, which means you can only have at most five Monsters at the same time. And right beneath them, there are zones used for Spell and Trap Cards. Just like the Monster Zone, there are only five slots."

He paused briefly before adding, "This should be enough. I'll explain the more advanced interactions as the duel progresses. It's much easier to understand while actively playing."

Both players nodded in agreement, then Chuck pulled a coin from his pocket and asked, "Heads or tails?"

"Heads," Ginny replied immediately.

Then Chuck flipped the coin.

The students nearby instinctively watched it spin through the air before it landed against the table with a soft metallic sound.

"Tails," Chuck announced with satisfaction.

Then he glanced toward Alexander and said, "I'll go first."

Alexander nodded once, and with a smile, he announced with the iconic, "It's time to duel."

Chuck looked down at his opening hand and almost immediately, a grin spread across his face.

Without hesitation, he placed a card onto the field and stated, "I summon Battle Ox in Attack Position!"

Chuck placed the card visibly for the spectators.

[Battle Ox - 1700 ATK / 1000 DEF]

Several students visibly reacted.

" Ohh... That seems to be pretty high."

"Can all monsters just be summoned immediately like that? I remember you saying something about a tribute..."

Alexander answered calmly, "Level 4 and lower monsters can normally be summoned without tribute. While Level 5 and 6 require the player to tribute one monster to be summoned. Then all other monsters of Level 7 or higher require two. However, players can only Normal Summon one monster per turn."

"I see..."

Chuck then placed another card face down in the Spell and Trap Zone and announced, "Then... I'll set one card face down... right?"

He looked at Alexander, seeking confirmation that what he did was right, to which Alexander replied with an encouraging smile and a small nod.

Afterwards, Chuck crossed his arms confidently and said, "Turn end."

Ginny immediately drew her card for her turn. Unlike Chuck, however, she didn't move quickly; instead, she studied her hand carefully for several seconds.

Then she set one monster face down, and afterwards, she placed two additional cards face down in her Spell and Trap zones and said, "I end my turn."

Chuck immediately snorted, "You're playing timid even here."

Ginny didn't even look up; she kept her gaze on the field and said, "Relax. Some of us like to think before making a move instead of moving on instinct... Besides, girls aren't exactly impressed by guys who rush everything."

She delivered that last jab with a playful smirk, making several nearby students chuckle softly.

Chuck started his next turn confidently before immediately placing another monster onto the field, "I summon—"

Alexander interrupted calmly, "You forgot to draw."

Chuck froze, then blinked, "Crap... I mean, right..."

A few students nearby laughed quietly while Ginny smirked without mercy, "Already misplaying on turn two. As I said, too hasty."

Chuck clicked his tongue before drawing, then his expression brightened immediately as he commented, "Oh, that's even better."

Without hesitation, he slammed another card onto the field while declaring, "I summon Dragon Zombie!"

[Dragon Zombie - 1600 ATK / 0 DEF]

The aggressive momentum immediately became obvious.

However, the moment the summon was completed, Ginny smiled faintly and announced, "I activate my Trap Card."

She then flipped upward one of her face-down cards, revealing the card Trap Hole.

The surrounding students immediately leaned closer while someone asked, "What does it do?"

Alexander answered calmly, "When the opponent Normal or Flip Summons a monster with 1000 or more ATK, the player activating that card can target that monster and destroy it."

Hearing that, Chuck stared at the field in disbelief before he clicked his tongue and said, "Damn... That's evil..."

Then he took the freshly summoned Dragon Zombie and placed it in the Graveyard.

Ginny looked entirely unrepentant as she commented, "You summoned it carelessly."

The surrounding students laughed again, but Chuck immediately recovered, "Fine."

He pointed forward dramatically and announced, "I attack her face-down monster with Battle Ox!"

Ginny's smile grew wider as she flipped the card upward, revealing the orange frame of an effect monster, more specifically, Man-Eater Bug.

[Man-Eater Bug - 450 ATK / 600 DEF]

Seeing that, Chuck chuckled and commented, "What can that puny thing do against my Battle Ox?"

In response, Ginny announced, "If I understand correctly, when this monster is flipped face-up, I can destroy one monster on the field."

Chuck's confident expression immediately changed "Wait... What?"

"I choose Battle Ox."

At this point, both players looked at the field for a moment before they instinctively looked toward Alexander, clearly uncertain how the interaction would resolve.

Alexander understood their confusion and answered calmly, "Man-Eater Bug's effect activates the moment it's flipped face-up. The keyword here is activates only that."

He pointed toward the field while explaining step-by-step, "Battle Ox's attack still continues and destroys Man-Eater Bug through battle."

Then he pointed toward Chuck's monster, "Afterwards, Man-Eater Bug's effect resolves and destroys Battle Ox."

Several students nearby visibly reacted as they digested what had just happened.

Both monsters were gone, the trade mechanics, the effect timing, and the interaction layering. In the end, the complexity of the game immediately became apparent.

Chuck stared at the now-empty field before leaning back slightly, "Okay... That's actually pretty interesting."

Nearby, even the Chess Club teacher looked visibly more focused now as he admitted, "The level of interaction already seems significantly deeper than I expected."

Alexander simply replied, "You haven't seen anything yet."

That answer alone made several students lean even closer.

After that, Ginny calmly started her next turn. She drew, then once again simply set another monster face down before ending her turn.

Chuck's eye visibly twitched as he commented, "You really enjoy hiding behind defences."

Ginny rested her chin lightly against her hand while she shot back, "And you really enjoy walking into traps."

A few spectators outright laughed now.

Chuck exhaled slowly before drawing. This time, however, he hesitated slightly before making his move, "I summon Beaver Warrior in Attack Position."

[Beaver Warrior - 1200 ATK / 1500 DEF]

Then, after a moment of consideration, he pointed forward, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I attack the face-down monster."

Ginny calmly flipped the monster upward.

[Mystical Elf - 800 ATK / 2000 DEF]

Chuck blinked and moved his head closer to take a better look at it while exclaiming, "That thing has HOW much defence...?"

Beaver Warrior crashed directly into the defensive wall.

At the same time, Alexander announced, "Because Beaver Warrior's attack was lower than Mystical Elf's defence, Chuck lost 800 Life Points, leaving him with only 1200 LP."

[Chuck - 1200 LP]

Several nearby students immediately reacted.

"Ohhh…"

"Hey! That card artwork is truly beautiful..."

"So attacking recklessly is dangerous too."

Ginny looked entirely satisfied; meanwhile, Chuck looked personally betrayed by the concept of defence points before muttering, "I'm starting to hate that deck..."

Ginny smiled sweetly and said, "No. You hate thinking deeply. You act on pure wild instinct most of the time."

"Hey! I'm still one of the best players in the country, so my approach isn't wrong!"

Making all the students chuckle once more, and even Alexander nearly smiled at their banter.

Chuck ended his turn shortly afterwards.

Ginny drew calmly, then she finally shifted momentum, "I summon Celtic Guardian in Attack Position."

[Celtic Guardian - 1400 ATK / 1200 DEF]

Then she pointed toward Beaver Warrior, "I attack your monster with it."

However, Chuck smiled and immediately reacted by flipping up his set card, "I activate my Trap Card! Waboku!"

Alexander explained to the spectators, "This card prevents battle damage and protects his monsters from destruction for the turn. It's quite useful to get out of sticky situations."

Ginny sighed softly, "Annoying..."

Chuck grinned triumphantly, "See? I can use traps too. Not so bad for someone acting on instinct, eh..."

Ginny ignored him entirely and announced, "Turn end."

Chuck immediately drew for turn, then suddenly his eyes lit up as he commented, "Oh, now we're talking."

Without hesitation, he placed a card forward before dramatically announcing, "I tribute Beaver Warrior!"

Several students immediately looked confused.

Alexander quickly clarified, "Some stronger monsters require tributes, remember?"

Chuck slammed the new monster onto the field, "I summon Curse of Dragon!"

[Curse of Dragon - 2000 ATK / 1500 DEF]

This time, the reaction around the table was much larger.

"That thing looks incredible."

"2000 attack?!"

"That's basically a one-hit kill!"

Chuck looked unbearably proud, then he immediately announced the attack on Celtic Guardian.

However, Ginny calmly revealed another set card and said, "I activate Waboku."

Chuck froze and muttered, "You copied me..."

Ginny shrugged slightly and replied, "It seemed useful."

Laughter spread around the room again while Chuck groaned dramatically before ending his turn.

Still, his confidence remained obvious as Ginny's field looked weaker and Curse of Dragon dominated the board with its imposing presence.

Then Ginny drew, and for the first time all duel, she frowned slightly as she kept looking at her hand.

Then finally she moved, she set one monster face down and changed Celtic Warrior from attack position to defence position before announcing, "I end my turn."

Chuck drew a card, saw it, carefully read the effect and a victorious grin formed as he declared, "Yes... This is perfect."

Then he placed the card he just drew and said, "I activate the Equip Spell card Sword of Dark Destruction and target Curse of Dragon. This boosts its ATK by 400 points but lowers its DEF by 200."

[Curse of Dragon - 2400 ATK / 1300 DEF]

Then he announced, "Now, I attack that annoying elf with Curse of Dragon."

Ginny calmly moved her Mystical Elf from the field to the Graveyard before a very confident Chuck said, "I end my turn."

Still calm, Ginny drew before she suddenly stopped and studied her hand, then Chuck's field and her remaining cards, then her hand. Again and again.

With a confident and victorious grin on his face, Chuck said, "It's useless. There is no way you can win. As long as my Curse of Dragon lands one hit, it is over."

In response, Ginny smiled and placed one card in the Spell and Trap Zone while saying, "I activate De-Spell. This card allows me to target 1 face-up Spell or 1 Set Spell/Trap on the field and destroy that target if it is a Spell. And I target your Sword of Dark Destruction."

Chuck blinked and exclaimed, "What...?"

But then he sighed and placed the Equip Spell in the Graveyard, reducing Curse of Dragon's ATK.

[Curse of Dragon - 2000 ATK / 1500 DEF]

Then Ginny calmly continued, "I tribute Celtic Guardian to summon King of Yamimakai in attack position."

[King of Yamimakai - 2000 ATK / 1530 DEF]

Seeing that card's attack, Chuck started to have a bad premonition as he muttered, "Wait, wait, wait..."

Then she flipped her remaining face-down monster, revealing another Celtic Guardian.

[Celtic Guardian - 1400 ATK / 1200 DEF]

Several spectators immediately realised what was happening, and Chuck did too, "Oh man...!"

At this point, Ginny ruthlessly announced, "Battle. I attack Curse of Dragon with King of Yamimakai, and since they have the same ATK, both monsters are destroyed."

Then Ginny pointed toward Chuck directly, "Celtic Guardian attacks directly. I win."

Chuck's remaining Life Points dropped to zero.

Silence filled the room for a second, then the room immediately erupted into reactions with questions, arguments, and excitement.

Students started talking over one another almost instantly.

"That was AWESOME!"

"How many cards exist?"

"Can you build custom decks?"

"That final combo was insane."

"No, the dragon was cooler."

"Defence strategies are completely broken."

"Direct attacks are unfair."

"Can I try next?"

Alexander quietly observed the chaos beginning to spread through the room and smiled.

Because Duel Monsters had finally done exactly what it was meant to do, it had captured people.

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