"It's time to duel!"
The conference hall erupted into cheers.
For a few seconds, the excitement was almost overwhelming as players applauded, spectators cheered, and even some of the judges smiled.
Then reality reasserted itself because a tournament did not run on enthusiasm alone, but it ran on organisation.
Almost immediately, Industrial Illusions' employees and the judges began directing participants toward their assigned tables.
"Tables one through sixteen, this way please."
"Remember to have your registration slips ready."
"Spectators, please remain behind the designated barriers."
The previously chaotic energy gradually transformed into orderly movement as rows of players took their seats, deck boxes opened, cards were shuffled, and Life Point sheets were prepared.
The constant sound of cardboard sliding against cardboard filled the conference hall.
A strangely satisfying noise.
Across hundreds of tables, conversations began simultaneously.
"Good luck."
"You too."
"Mind if I cut?"
"Go ahead."
Soon enough, the first matches began.
At the same time, Alexander stepped away from the podium; the adrenaline from the speech was finally starting to fade.
Roland was already waiting nearby.
Seeing him approaching, the older man crossed his arms and said, "Well done."
Alexander blinked, feeling a bit confused, "On the speech?"
Roland nodded and replied, "You found the correct balance."
That got Alexander's attention as he asked, "What balance?"
"The balance between founder of a company and passionate creator."
Alexander looked sceptical, "That's a very specific compliment. I don't feel I did anything special."
"It is." Roland's expression remained neutral as he explained, "Most people in your position would have sounded like businessmen talking about a mere product they were selling."
Alexander snorted, "Hmpf... That would have been quite bad..."
"Indeed." Roland glanced toward the crowd and added, "The people here didn't come because of a business."
For a moment he paused before he concluded, "They came because someone created something they genuinely enjoy."
Alexander remained silent.
Then Roland continued, "You reminded them of that."
Despite himself, Alexander felt pleased because coming from Roland, that was high praise.
~~~▽~~~
The tournament settled into a steady rhythm.
Judges moved between tables, employees assisted where necessary, players focused entirely on their matches.
For the first time all day, Alexander finally had a chance to simply observe.
Together, he and Roland began walking through the conference hall, and everywhere he looked, Duel Monsters was being played.
Not because he told people to, not because of advertising, not because of curiosity, but because people simply wanted to play.
That realisation still felt slightly surreal.
Near one table, a judge calmly resolved a rules dispute.
A few moments later, both players nodded and resumed their duel.
At another table, an employee politely redirected several spectators who had begun crowding too closely.
Further away, another judge quietly reminded a participant to clearly announce every card effect.
Everything worked, everything flowed, the system he devised functioned exactly as intended.
Alexander couldn't help smiling as months of preparation had paid off.
Eventually he decided to check on his friends.
Finding Chuck proved easy, mostly because he was loudly announcing every move.
"I summon Battle Ox in attack position!"
His opponent visibly winced as it was currently one of the strongest and most aggressive cards in the game.
A few turns later, the situation had only gotten worse for the opponent as Chuck had already established a powerful field.
His dragon-focused strategy was doing exactly what it usually did, applying relentless pressure.
"I activate Polymerization!"
Several nearby spectators immediately turned their heads.
Chuck grinned as he announced, "My Baby Dragon and Time Wizard combine to form Thousand Dragon!"
He confidently placed the Fusion Monster onto the table.
His opponent stared, then stared some more, then sighed.
The duel was not technically over, but everyone involved understood it was very close.
Alexander chuckled while thinking, 'Classic Chuck. Subtlety had never been part of his vocabulary. He simply attacks and attacks and attacks until something gives in, and most of the time that thing is his opponent's defences.'
Ginny's duel was a completely different experience.
At first glance, it looked almost boring, which meant she was winning.
Her field wasn't overwhelming, her attacks weren't dramatic, and her Life Point advantage wasn't huge, yet somehow her opponent seemed increasingly miserable.
The young man sitting across from her continuously frowned while checking his hand.
Every turn, without fail, he had options, just never the options he wanted; meanwhile, Ginny calmly played another card, ended her turn, and watched her advantage slowly grow, just like water wearing down stone.
Roland glanced at the field and muttered, "Interesting."
Alexander nodded and declared with certainty, "She's ahead."
The older man raised an eyebrow and asked, "How can you tell?"
Alexander pointed at her opponent and whispered, "Look at him."
The young man looked exhausted while Ginny looked relaxed; that alone answered the question.
As if determined to prove Alexander right, the duelist across from her stared at the field for nearly a full minute.
His fingers tapped the edge of a card, then another, then the first one again.
Finally he sighed and summoned a monster in attack position.
A perfectly reasonable play, but unfortunately, it was exactly the play Ginny had expected.
She studied the field for a moment before nodding to herself, "That makes sense."
The young man blinked and asked, "What?"
"Your move." Ginny gestured toward the field. "It makes sense."
For some reason, that only seemed to make him more uncomfortable.
A few nearby spectators exchanged amused looks.
The duel continued.
A turn later, Ginny activated Reinforcements and strengthened her position even further.
Nothing dramatic happened.
No powerful combo, no devastating attack, just another small advantage added to several others.
The young man's expression darkened.
A few turns ago he had been trying to win, but now he was trying not to lose.
Eventually he drew his next card and immediately sat up straighter.
For the first time in several turns, genuine optimism appeared on his face, "I activate Dark Hole!"
Several spectators turned toward the table.
The spell card resolved, clearing both fields at once.
The young man released a breath of relief.
Meanwhile, Ginny simply nodded, "Good choice."
The optimism vanished, and he asked, "Could you stop doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"That."
Ginny looked genuinely confused.
"Praising my decisions."
"Why?"
"Because every time you do, something goes wrong."
A few spectators laughed, and even Roland's lips twitched slightly.
Ginny considered that statement seriously, then she said, "That's probably because you're making the best move available."
The young man stared, "That's supposed to make me feel better?"
"No. It's just a skill issue."
His shoulders slumped.
Alexander had to bite back a laugh, 'There it is. Ginny isn't crushing her opponent through overwhelming cards. She is simply making fewer mistakes as every resource is accounted for, every trade is favourable, every decision seems carefully considered before it is made.'
The result was a duel that looked almost uneventful until someone checked the field and realised that somehow, little by little, she had taken control of everything.
Like an accountant slowly conquering a kingdom.
Neither of them interrupted as both competitors deserved their concentration, so Alexander and Roland quietly moved on.
~~~▽~~~
The next several hours passed surprisingly quickly.
Round after round concluded, participants were eliminated, tables emptied, judges recorded results, and new pairings were announced.
The tournament steadily advanced, and the number of competitors gradually shrank.
Two hundred and eighty-seven became one hundred and forty-three, then seventy-one, then thirty-five, and finally thirty-two.
The announcement quickly spread throughout the conference hall.
"Attention, participants."
A judge stepped forward as he announced, "The preliminary rounds have concluded."
Conversations immediately died down as the judge continued, "The Top Thirty-Two have been determined."
Applause broke out; some players celebrated, others looked relieved, and a few simply collapsed into chairs too tired to react.
An entire day of competitive duelling was exhausting.
The judge waited patiently before continuing, "We will now begin the scheduled lunch break."
That announcement somehow received even louder applause.
"We ask all participants and spectators to follow hotel staff instructions."
Several employees immediately began directing traffic while he continued, "The tournament will resume after lunch."
Within minutes, the conference hall began emptying as players headed toward the hotel's restaurant and the spectators followed.
Judges also took the opportunity to rest, as without doubt they were the ones who worked the hardest until now.
Soon only employees, workers, and tournament staff remained.
Alexander immediately shifted gears and called out, "Alright, everyone."
The workers turned toward him.
"Let's begin setup."
The next stage of the tournament required a completely different arrangement.
Instead of dozens of tables spread throughout the hall, only sixteen would remain, and unlike before, spectators needed a way to follow the action without crowding the players.
Fortunately, Alexander had planned for that.
Workers immediately spread throughout the conference hall.
Equipment cases rolled across the floor while teams carried CRT televisions into position. Thick black cables were uncoiled and stretched between tables like dark vines as technicians moved from station to station connecting equipment.
The portable aluminium trusses slowly rose above the tournament area, drawing curious glances from nearby employees.
One by one, cameras were mounted into place.
VHS recorders clicked open.
Indicator lights flickered to life.
Then the RF modulator began its familiar low hum as the entire system gradually came online.
Piece by piece, a maze of technology took shape.
By modern standards it looked primitive, but for 1990 it was remarkably ambitious.
Alexander supervised the installation personally to ensure that everything worked as intended, which was why he almost missed Roland approaching.
The older man held a folder and said, "I thought you might be interested in this."
Alexander accepted it and asked, "What's inside?"
"The Top Thirty-Two."
That immediately got his attention, so he opened the folder and a list of names greeted him.
Alongside basic information collected during registration.
The first names were familiar.
Virginia Potts.
Charles Irving Zane.
Seeing that, Alexander smiled while thinking, 'Great. Both had made it. Honestly, I didn't expect anything less from them. After all, beside me they are the ones with the most experience with Duel Monsters and its mechanics.'
Further down the list, another entry caught his attention.
Dante Venturi.
Age: Sixty-three.
Occupation: Hobby Shop Owner.
Additional Notes: Multiple local tournament victories. Took part in them with his grandchild.
Alexander nodded approvingly, but then his eyes moved to the next line.
Former Professional Gambler.
Alexander paused and reread the sentence, then again, and again.
Additional Notes: Permanently blacklisted from all major Las Vegas casinos.
Reading that last line, he exclaimed, "...What?"
Roland glanced over and asked, "What is it?"
Alexander slowly pointed at the page and asked back, unable to hold back his curiosity, "How does that even happen?"
Roland read the entry, then shrugged and replied, "I imagine he won too much."
Alexander stared before asking yet another question, "You can get banned for being good?"
"Apparently."
For several seconds, Alexander simply looked at the paper, then a ridiculous thought entered his mind, 'Wait... Why does this sound suspiciously familiar?'
The old man owned a game shop, loved games, had a grandchild, and was apparently such a terrifying gambler that Las Vegas collectively decided they no longer wanted him.
Suddenly, he remembered why it felt so familiar, 'Holy crap... that sounds like Solomon Muto!'
The similarities were honestly concerning; However, Alexander didn't focus too much on the subject and moved on.
Continuing down the list, Alexander found another interesting entry.
A ten-year-old player.
Undefeated locally.
Winner of every tournament he had entered.
Alexander raised an eyebrow while thinking, 'Impressive. Very impressive. With such young and competent players, the future looks bright for Duel Monsters.'
Then his eyes moved further down and stopped completely.
Victor Von Doom.
Alexander froze as the conference hall suddenly seemed much quieter.
Victor Von Doom.
Age: Sixteen.
Place of Residence: Out of State.
Tournament Record: Undefeated.
Additional Notes: Multiple hobby shop owners report no known losses.
Alexander reread the name.
Once, twice, three times.
Victor Von Freaking Doom.
"Holy shit..."
Roland looked up and asked, "Did you notice something?"
Alexander continued staring at the page and said, "Yes."
"Is it a problem?"
Alexander slowly lowered the folder, and his expression had become very strange something that Roland immediately noticed as he called him out, "Master Alexander?"
The teenager took a deep breath, then another, and another one while thinking, 'Victor Von Doom is here. The future Doctor Doom. One of the smartest human beings on Earth, maybe even in the whole Marvel Universe. A scientific genius. A magical genius. Future ruler of Latveria. One of the most dangerous people in the entire Marvel Universe. A man whose combination of intelligence, determination, ego, and sheer stubborn willpower has repeatedly allowed him to challenge literal gods and cosmic entities... and occasionally win.'
After he thought that, Alexander released a resigned, "...Oh."
Roland blinked and repeated, "Oh?"
Alexander looked back down at the page, and no matter how much he willed it to, the name stubbornly refused to disappear.
Unfortunately.
Out of all the people who could have decided to play Duel Monsters, out of all the people who could have entered his tournament, out of all the people in the Marvel Universe, it had to be Victor Von Doom.
Alexander slowly closed the folder, then he opened it again, but the name was still there.
Victor Von Doom.
Making Alexander internally wince, 'Nope. It's still there...'
Alexander closed the folder once more and stared into the middle distance and called out, "Roland."
"Yes?"
"How thoroughly do we verify registration forms?"
The older man blinked before replying, "Reasonably thoroughly."
"Define reasonably."
"We confirm identities, addresses, and tournament eligibility."
Alexander winced once more, 'So the name is real. That is unfortunate... Very unfortunate.'
Roland studied him for a moment before asking, "Should I be concerned?"
Alexander considered the question, and then he considered Victor Von Doom.
Future scientific genius, future magical genius, future ruler of Latveria, future menace to humanity, future professional headache for literally everyone.
Eventually he answered, "...Probably not."
Roland relaxed slightly, but Alexander immediately added, "Yet."
Roland frowned and said, "Master Alexander."
"Yes?"
"What exactly is the problem?"
Alexander looked down at the folder one last time, then he sighed.
"The problem," he said carefully, "is that I know that name."
"And?"
Alexander closed the folder and cryptically admitted, "And I would have preferred not to."
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