Alexander barely had time to enjoy the breakthrough as his mind quickly started to expand on it, 'Yes! That's right! I can create the game with my own hands! Even better, since profit isn't my main objective, I can try to avoid making it as degenerate and toxic as the one I grew up with! In fact, I could take inspiration from the anime and create something closer to Duel Monster...'
The idea was still unfolding in his mind, branching into possibilities, implications, entire systems of rules and structure, but then the car slowed, and the subtle shift in motion was enough to snap his focus.
A moment later, it came to a complete stop, making him mutter in a baffled tone, "…Already?"
The realisation that they had arrived settled in as he glanced toward the window and saw the Promethean Academy.
The gates stood open, tall and imposing, wrought iron shaped into elegant patterns that felt more like a statement than decoration. Beyond them stretched the campus, vast and meticulously maintained, every detail curated to reflect wealth, prestige, and control.
The car door opened, and Alexander looked up.
Ronald stood there, posture as straight as ever, one hand resting lightly on the door as he inclined his head and said, "We have arrived, Master Alexander."
Alexander stepped out, adjusting his posture almost unconsciously as Roland added, "I will be here to pick you up as usual. Have a fruitful day."
Alexander calmly got out of the car and replied, "Thanks... I will."
The response came easily, but the tone was too smooth and polite, and for a brief moment, something about it felt off; maybe it was the still-fresh echo of the two sets of memories giving him that strange sense of dissonance, but then it quickly passed as Roland nodded and closed the door without another word.
Then Roland returned to the driver's seat, and a moment later the car pulled away from the curb, leaving Alexander standing at the entrance of the academy.
After a few moments of awkward hesitation, he exhaled quietly, then stepped forward, crossing the gates like many other students of various ages.
Walking through the campus felt familiar yet, at the same time, novel.
His feet followed paths he didn't need to think about. His gaze moved instinctively, recognising buildings, shortcuts, common areas. Names hovered at the edge of his thoughts, attaching themselves to faces as students passed by. And yet it all felt different.
Before, this place had been normal, expected, almost like a home away from home, as he had spent almost every day here since he started his education.
Now, he saw it through a second lens. The scale. The precision. The quiet hierarchy embedded in everything.
This wasn't just a simple school for the kids of rich, influential, and powerful people, but a curated environment designed to shape them in a certain way.
Alexander walked on, his expression neutral as he processed the contrast, but then a memory suddenly surfaced.
The memory of a plan he had before the shocking revelation he had this morning.
He had grown bored with this school life and wanted to skip grades, accelerate his learning pace and finish early like many others before him.
He had already been preparing how to present it to his father and convince him to allow it and support his decision.
He would have talked about how efficient the idea was, how logical and expected such behaviour is from someone who is destined to excel, how much prestige it would bring to their family name, prestige that could be used to further solidify his position at the head of the Roxxon Corporation.
He even considered bringing up Tony Stark as the prime example, knowing perfectly well what kind of effect the Stark name would have on his father, considering his rival-like relationship with Howard Stark, but now Alexander changed his mind, making him realise, 'No... That plan doesn't fit anymore.'
The thought came almost immediately as his mind moved faster and faster, 'Standing out too much means attention. Attention means risk. And in this extremely dangerous world... that is the last thing I need. I don't have any real power, not yet at least. No way to protect myself. No clear leverage to take advantage of. Just potential.'
In the end, the conclusion settled quickly, 'In my current state, it is better to stay average, to maintain a normal pace and blend in with the other students of the Promethean Academy. That way I'll stay unnoticed, at least for now. This should be enough to buy me time... The precious time I need to develop and take full advantage of my cheat...'
His gaze shifted slightly as more students passed by, and then another thought followed, slower this time, but more deliberate, 'Actually... School isn't just a limitation or a cover to keep my head down; it is the perfect environment I need at the moment. It is controlled, stable and predictable. But more importantly, it is full of students of all ages. From elementary to high school. A contained population of the most perfect demographic. It is basically a perfect testing ground...'
His eyes narrowed slightly while that thought firmly rooted itself in his mind and grew bigger and bigger, 'I can introduce a game in this school first. Let it spread naturally among the students. Once a sufficient number of them get involved, the competition will follow. With that comes investment and strong emotion, thus Duel Energy and Duel Points. A slow, steady source of power that I can use to finally gain a way to protect myself in this crazy world... Yes... This could work.'
A faint trace of something sharper passed through his expression as he realised that for the first time school didn't feel like a burden but more like an opportunity waiting to be grasped by his own hands.
Alexander kept walking through the campus with firm steps while his mind kept refining the budding plan, but as he got closer to the high school section of the campus, he found it more and more difficult to focus on his thoughts because the interactions with the student body forced him to give more attention to the present.
"Morning." Alexander nodded lightly as he passed a few acquaintances.
"Hey."
"Morning, Alexander."
"Can you let me see your math notes...?"
The interactions came easily as names surfaced without effort and faces matched his memories with the same usual sharpness, making the responses follow automatically in the most natural and functional way.
But somewhere beneath all that, Alexander was very detached because none of those people was actually his friends, so he didn't slow down to chat, didn't linger too much; he did just enough to maintain a normal and polite facade and nothing more.
Before long, he reached his destination. The classroom door slid open, making a few heads turn briefly as he stepped inside and was casually greeted by his classmates.
"Morning."
"Hey, Alexander."
He returned the greetings with minimal effort, moving toward his seat as conversations resumed around him.
The atmosphere was casual and familiar, a routine that he followed almost every day.
He sat down at his usual place and moments later, the teacher entered.
The shift was immediate as conversations died down and attention shifted forward toward the teacher known for his strictness.
Shortly after, the lesson began, and Alexander listened for the first ten seconds, then stopped because he already knew what the teacher was teaching.
There was nothing to learn here for him; this was one of the main reasons why he wanted to skip grades. He had already learned the whole high school curriculum and even started studying university-level subjects in his free time.
His gaze drifted slightly, unfocused, as his attention turned inward to something far more important, 'If I want to create the Yu-Gi-Oh! Card game, then everything must start with one thing: Cards. They aren't just part of the game; they are the game. Without them, nothing else matters, as without the cards, the rules have no meaning, the duels can't be done, and the whole system will become just an empty framework.'
His fingers tapped lightly against the desk as he swiftly came to one simple conclusion, 'So that's the first step... Designing and creating them to be as faithful as possible. Making them real so that the YGO System can recognise them...'
And as that thought fully formed, a soft chime echoed in his mind in response to it.
[Ding!]
Alexander's focus sharpened instantly as he immediately turned his whole attention to the YGO System within his mind, making the interface appear in front of him.
____________________________________
[Card Prototype Function Available]
Card Prototype Function:
• User may design a prototype card
• Prototype enables dimensional connection
• Connection allows negotiation with entities
Binding Conditions:
• Agreement required
OR
• Forced binding through defeat
Output:
• Successful binding validates the card
____________________________________
Alexander's eyes narrowed slightly as the information settled in, making his thoughts speed up once more, 'Dimensional connection...? So the cards aren't just for representations. They are links to something real. These "Entities" are likely the Duel Spirits, the name given to the magical, spiritual, and otherworldly creatures who have the capability to be summoned by a duelist. Entiries that can think, decide, refuse or fight.'
His expression tightened just slightly as he fully realised the implication of this new information, 'Damn! This whole thing just got a lot more complicated.'
Shortly after that, more information followed, flowing into his thoughts with mechanical clarity.
To create a valid card, he first had to design a prototype by hand, then use it as a medium to connect to the Spirit World.
From there, he had to negotiate with or defeat the Spirit, binding it to the card prototype and only after that could the card be bound to the system. Once validated, it could be reproduced and even mass-produced, printed through normal means like factories and printing machines.
The realisation instantly clicked into place that this wasn't just a power to lean on, but a whole system he could build from scratch and shape however he wanted.
His thoughts began to move faster as he started to think about materials, design, printing methods, distribution, deck structure, starting point and then they stopped abruptly.
His brow furrowed slightly as he suddenly thought about another issue, 'Wait... There is a problem, a big one. There are way too many cards. It's over 9000... No matter how sharp my memory is, no matter how much I had played the game... I just can't remember everything perfectly. Not the exact effects, the wording, the interactions. And if I get something wrong... that could break everything. Damn it! I can't brute-force this!'
Right on cue, another prompt appeared in his mind, followed by the interface instantly changing.
_____________________________________
[Card Database Accessed]
Card Database:
• Contains registered card templates
• Only registered cards can be reproduced
• Current Database State: Series 1
Restriction:
• Unregistered cards cannot be created
_____________________________________
Alexander blinked once before he smiled wryly while thinking, 'Of course... So even that has limits.'
He couldn't just recreate the entire game from memory; he had to build it piece by piece and card by card.
His fingers stilled against the desk as the implications settled.
He had to recreate the whole gaming environment from the ground up.
His gaze lowered slightly; he mentally dismissed the interface and unfocused again as his mind shifted into planning mode, 'It seems that I have to start small with simple cards. Starting with negotiating with low-risk Duel Spirits. Something manageable and weak, then expand, refine and scale up when the right conditions present themselves. And alongside that, I need tools, materials, and access to production. A way to turn prototypes into actual, physical cards. A way to spread them. All of this step by step.'
The thought settled firmly in Alexander's mind. He couldn't rush, couldn't take shortcuts; he must build a solid foundation first, then he could expand outward.
At the front of the room, the teacher continued with his lesson and, unnoticed by him, Alexander leaned back slightly in his seat, eyes half-lidded, attention entirely elsewhere.
For the first time since realising how dangerous this world was, he wasn't just panicking and reacting; he was going to build something and this time he had a clear direction.
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