Bonus Chapter
Life quickly returned to its familiar rhythm after Elizabeth Cooper's visit to the Jones Mansion.
True to her word, she wasted no time putting their agreement into motion.
Cooper Attorney Firm immediately began expanding. Cease-and-desist letters were drafted. Trademark infringement lawsuits were prepared. Private investigators were retained.
In little time, the retailers known to carry counterfeit products quietly found themselves under increasing scrutiny.
The counterfeiters had enjoyed a brief period of easy profits, but that period was quickly coming to an end as Alexander left everything in Elizabeth's capable hands.
He had hired, or rather, partnered with, the lawyer precisely because he trusted her judgment and there was little point in interfering now.
Meanwhile, Industrial Illusion continued growing at an astonishing pace.
Demand showed no signs of slowing, and rather than waiting until production became a serious bottleneck, Thomas Merriweather proposed an aggressive expansion plan.
Using the company's steadily increasing profits, Industrial Illusion began acquiring additional manufacturing facilities across the country.
Some required modernisation, others only needed new equipment and production lines before they could begin printing Duel Monsters cards and other connected materials.
It was a costly investment but one that would pay for itself many times over if the game's popularity continued to grow, and according to Thomas's projections, it would.
Alexander had little reason to doubt him, as he was even more confident in Duel Monsters' future.
The Head of Manufacturing had earned his confidence months ago when he effectively doubled production, earning another 2% in shares according to the contract they both agreed and signed.
More factories meant more booster packs, more booster packs meant more players, more players meant more duels.
Everything continued feeding into itself exactly as Alexander had hoped.
~~~▽~~~
As for Alexander himself, very little changed as weekdays remained almost identical.
School in the morning, time with Ginny and Chuck at the Chess Club, Roland's daily reports during the drive home, his usual "undercover research" in playgrounds and hobby stores around Los Angeles, exercise, dinner, creating new prototype cards, sleep, then the entire cycle began again.
Comfortably predictable until roughly a week later when he heard the evening news.
"...medical authorities remain unable to determine the cause..."
Alexander looked up from the television as the evening news continued.
"...the number of victims has now reached double digits..."
"...all patients remain in unexplained comas..."
A photograph briefly appeared on the screen before the broadcast continued.
Alexander frowned slightly while thinking, 'A dozen teenagers comatose... No obvious connection between them... No identifiable illness or physical trauma that could explain it... No signs of poisoning or similar causes...'
"...Huh." He leaned back in his chair and commented, "That sounds suspiciously like a Marvel-like issue."
At this point, from what he knew of the Marvel Universe from the movies and the other tidbit of information in his other memories, mysterious events without any immediate explanation barely qualified as unusual.
Alien invasions, secret organisations, ancient magic, mutants, advanced technology and the list went on and on.
Still, he couldn't completely dismiss the possibility that something supernatural was involved.
His thoughts instinctively drifted toward Ginny, 'Fortunately... She is already wearing the protective bracelet I have crafted for her. The simple charm wasn't particularly powerful, but it should provide at least some resistance against weaker evil influences thanks to the power of the Duel Spirit Mystical Elf. Chuck and Julia, however... don't have anything similar. And the same is true for father, Roland, and Elizabeth...'
Coming to that conclusion, Alexander made a mental note, 'I should make something for them as well.'
Hopefully he was simply being overly cautious, but if not, he would rather prepare now than regret it later.
~~~▽~~~
A few more days passed, then, during one of his usual "undercover research" sessions, Alexander smiled after winning yet another duel and receiving the YGO System's notice and thought, 'Hell Yeah! Finally!'
He quietly dismissed himself from the group of players after another enjoyable afternoon of duelling.
Once outside the playground, he mentally called up the familiar YGO System's interface, willing it to show his current balance.
[Ding!]
______________________________
• Current DP: 403
______________________________
Seeing that, Alexander's smile grew bigger as he thought, 'After weeks of steadily accumulating Duel Points, I have finally reached my goal. Four fucking hundred Duel Points! Enough to purchase the next level of Spirit Capacity Enhancement. Enough to finally create prototype cards for Level 10 monsters.'
The thought alone was enough to make his pace slightly quicker.
By the time Roland picked him up, Alexander was in an unusually good mood, making the trusted butler comment, "You seem pleased."
"I am."
Roland smiled faintly as he pulled the car back onto the road and asked, "Good day?"
"You could say that."
Alexander looked out the window before he added, "I've finally reached an important milestone."
Roland chuckled before he asked, "I take it that's related to Duel Monsters?"
In response to that, Alexander simply smiled and said, "When isn't it?"
The older man laughed quietly, "Hahaha... Fair point."
The rest of the drive passed peacefully.
~~~▽~~~
Back at the mansion, everything proceeded as usual.
Alexander completed his evening exercise, shared a rare dinner with Roland, reviewed several prototype card blueprints from the YGO System's Card Database, then, just before heading upstairs, he looked toward Roland and said, "I'll be working on something quite important in the study tonight, so I'll need absolute focus."
Roland nodded, used to such requests, as Alexander from time to time did it, especially when he was designing a very complex card, or at least so he thought, so he said, "I'll make sure nobody disturbs you."
"Thank you."
A few moments later, the study door quietly closed, and silence fell in the area, and Alexander carefully looked around the room to check that everything was properly secured.
The reason for that behaviour was that the last upgrade had left quite an impression.
Books, drawing tools, loose papers, and everything else that wasn't firmly secured had ended up scattered across the room.
He wasn't interested in repeating that experience.
After spending several minutes putting everything away and making sure nothing fragile remained exposed, Alexander finally summoned the familiar blue interface.
[Ding!]
____________________________________
User Identified: Alexander Maximillion Jones
System Type: Duel Interface
Primary Functions:
• Resource Management
• Card Database
• Card Manifestation Authorisation
• YGO System Shop Access
Resources Identified:
1. Duel Energy (DE)
• Generated through duels involving the user.
• Output increases with emotional and cognitive intensity.
• Used for manifestation and high-output actions.
• Current DE: 824
2. Duel Points (DP)
• Acquired through victory in duels.
• Used for system transactions and upgrades.
• Current DP: 403
__________________________________________
Alexander's gaze lingered on the Duel Energy count and thought, '824 DE... Close. So very close. Just a little bit more. Once I accumulate enough... I will finally possess the Duel Energy required to manifest a Level 5 and even a Level 6 Duel Spirit! That alone will dramatically increase the power at my disposal. Still... I can't grow overconfident. I need to carefully take one step at a time.'
He opened the YGO System's Shop.
His eyes immediately settled on the upgrade he had been working toward for weeks.
_______________________________________
— Personal Upgrade: Spirit Capacity Enhancement
• Increases Ba reserves
• Improves Ka stability
Effect:
• Reduces strain from high-output actions
• Improves compatibility with high-tier entities
Cost Scaling:
• Next: 400 DP
_________________________________________
Alexander carefully glanced around the study one final time and, satisfied that everything was properly secured, he selected the upgrade by commanding, "Purchase."
The response was immediate.
Pain.
Not the sharp sting of a cut nor the dull ache of overworked muscles, but it was something far more primal.
A violent surge erupted from somewhere deep within his very existence and spread through every fibre of his body in less than a heartbeat.
Alexander's eyes snapped wide open as he grunted, "...Gh!"
The sound never fully escaped his throat because every muscle in his body locked.
His fingers curled involuntarily, joints trembling as though some invisible force had seized control of them. His breathing hitched, refusing to obey him.
Then came the second wave, and it felt as though something buried deep inside him had suddenly been forced to expand, but it wasn't his flesh or bone; it was his Ba.
The spiritual energy that formed the foundation of his very existence surged outward with frightening violence.
An unbearable pressure bloomed from the centre of his being, pushing against boundaries Alexander had never even realised existed.
His vision blurred as the study around him seemed to warp ever so slightly, as though reality itself had momentarily fallen out of focus as he uttered a weak, "...Ngh..."
His knees buckled, and he barely managed to catch himself against the edge of the desk before collapsing entirely.
The polished wood groaned beneath the force of his grip.
It didn't stop. The pressure only continued growing. Every heartbeat sent another pulse through his body, each one stronger than the last.
His nerves screamed, his bones felt ready to split apart, his skin tightened uncomfortably, as if something vast struggled to fit inside a vessel never designed to contain it.
For one horrifying instant, a single thought flashed through his mind, 'Shit! Shit! Shit! I'm going to explode!'
Reason told him it was impossible, but instinct cared little for reason.
Every sense insisted that the next heartbeat would be the one that tore him apart.
His heartbeat thundered inside his ears.
Boom.
The books lining the nearest shelf rattled.
Boom.
Several loose sheets scattered from the desk despite the still air.
Boom.
The ink bottle tipped over before rolling across the polished surface.
The entire room trembled.
A low vibration spread through the floor beneath his feet, subtle at first, then steadily stronger as the expanding Ba radiated outward.
The bookshelves shuddered, and windowpanes quivered within their frames.
Wood creaked throughout the study as if the mansion itself strained beneath an invisible weight.
The tremor refused to remain contained.
Like ripples spreading across a pond, the disturbance travelled beyond the walls of the study. Across the hallway, down the staircase. Through every floor of the Jones Mansion until the entire estate quivered beneath the overwhelming spiritual pressure.
All around the mansion, several servants suddenly stopped in the middle of their work.
Silverware clinked against a serving tray. A maid instinctively grabbed the nearest table for support.
Another looked nervously toward the ceiling as dust drifted from one of the chandeliers and asked, "...Did... did we just have an earthquake?"
"I... I don't think so..." Another replied uncertainly.
Roland frowned, and his eyes instinctively drifted toward the lower floor, toward the study, while thinking, 'Again... I don't know exactly what Alexander spent hours doing inside that room... But somehow... Whenever the young master shut himself away for long periods... Strange things occasionally seemed to happen.'
Fortunately, just as quickly as it had begun, everything stopped, and tranquillity returned to the mansion.
Downstairs, Alexander slowly exhaled; his clothes clung to his body with sweat, and his heartbeat gradually slowed.
"Haa... At this rate... Haa..." He let out a tired laugh, "...I'll eventually need to perform these upgrades inside a bunker."
He then continued the rest of the reasoning in his mind, 'Or perhaps... I simply need to learn how to properly contain whatever energy escapes during the process. Either option is starting to sound increasingly reasonable.'
He then caught his breath and looked back toward the YGO System, willing it to show his current DP balance.
[Ding!]
_________________________
• Current DP: 3
_________________________
Alexander smiled wryly as he felt poor again, but then, curious, he once again opened the YGO System's Shop and searched for the next level.
_______________________________________
— Personal Upgrade: Spirit Capacity Enhancement
• Increases Ba reserves
• Improves Ka stability
Effect:
• Reduces strain from high-output actions
• Improves compatibility with high-tier entities
Cost Scaling:
• Next: 800 DP
_________________________________________
Seeing that, he sighed out loud and commented, "Haaa... As expected, the cost doubled. But it is not exactly surprising."
Then his eyes drifted higher toward another familiar entry that waited quietly above it.
________________________________________
– Technology: Solid Vision Knowledge
• Grants access to holographic projection principles
• Enables creation of interactive combat simulations
Effect:
• Allows projection of monsters using card data
• Converts encoded card information into visual constructs
• Enables integration with compatible devices
Note:
• Requires compatible hardware to operate
Cost: 500 DP
______________________________________
Alexander smiled, and without the slightest hesitation, he already knew what his next goal would be.
The Solid Vision Knowledge. The true foundation. The technology that would transform Duel Monsters from a wildly successful trading card game into something this world had never experienced before.
~~~▽~~~
Elsewhere in Los Angeles, a group of teenagers laughed together beneath the fading evening sun.
"I told you Judge Man would help me win."
"You only won because you got lucky."
"Lucky?" The victor grinned and added, "I prefer skilled."
His friends groaned before cards were gathered and goodbyes exchanged.
One by one they headed home. One of the boys found himself walking alone through a quieter side street when suddenly.
"Hey."
He turned.
A teenager stood several meters behind him, someone he had never seen before, making him ask, "...Do I know you?"
The stranger smiled, and it was an oddly unsettling smile.
Without answering, he slowly produced a Duel Monsters deck and asked, "Would you like..."
His grin widened ever so slightly as he concluded, "...to play an interesting game?"
Before the other boy could answer, the shadows behind the stranger silently stirred. Darkness gathered, and a gaunt figure slowly emerged.
Its body resembled living smoke, its skeletal limbs stretched unnaturally as countless crimson eyes opened within the darkness, but the other teen didn't notice it as his gaze was focused on the unsettling teenager.
Then the shadows surged forward, enveloping the whole area in a dark dome, and both vanished from sight.
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