Bonus Chapter.
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A couple of days passed after Alexander finally understood the reason behind his inability to create monsters of Level 6 or higher, but despite the discovery, he didn't rush to gather the DP needed.
There was no point, as the realisation itself had already given him direction, and direction mattered far more than blind impatience.
So, instead of obsessing over what he currently lacked, Alexander focused on what he could already accomplish.
Like that, his routine resumed: school during the day, training in the afternoon, and card creation during the evening.
He was steady, measured, and more productive as the process had slowly become familiar.
At this point, creating cards no longer felt like experimentation, but it felt closer to working on a masterpiece, each card another piece carefully placed into a larger structure that only he could currently see in full as he fully realised his vision.
And finally, after days of constant adjustments, revisions, failed attempts, and refinements, the first official starting decks were complete.
Alexander sat quietly in his study, the cards that made up the two decks laid neatly in front of him.
For a few moments, he simply looked at them, feeling an intense sense of satisfaction and achievement.
The very foundation of his version of Duel Monsters had finally taken shape.
The road ahead remained absurdly long, but this was the first real step.
His gaze shifted toward the deck on the left, which he aptly named Dragon Assault.
The name alone carried a certain straightforward simplicity as the deck's concept was equally direct.
Strong monsters. Aggressive pressure. Simple combat.
A deck designed to overwhelm opponents through momentum and raw force.
[Dragon Assault]
– Ace Monster
Curse of Dragon
– Key Monsters
Battle Ox
Ryu-Kishin
Koumori Dragon
Dragon Zombie
Baby Dragon
Two-Headed King Rex
Crawling Dragon #2
The Judgement Hand
Silver Fang
Beaver Warrior
– Spells
Fissure
Ookazi
Dark Hole
Monster Reborn
Sword of Dark Destruction
Remove Trap
– Traps
Trap Hole
Reverse Trap
Reinforcements Trap
Waboku
Alexander already knew it would become the more popular option initially, 'Most children and hot-blooded people will naturally gravitate toward power fantasies. Big, cool dragons. High attack points. Straightforward victories. All that would give those playing it immediate gratification. It is an easy to understand and easy to enjoy deck, but more importantly, easy to become emotionally attached to.'
Then his attention shifted toward the second deck, Mystic Control.
Compared to Dragon Assault, its design philosophy was almost the complete opposite.
Defensive options. Disruption. Resource management. Careful pacing.
The deck rewarded patience and planning rather than direct aggression.
[Mystic Control]
– Ace Monster
King of Yamimakai
Key Monsters
Neo the Magic Swordsman
Mystical Elf
Horn Imp
Ancient Elf
Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #1
Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #2
Man-Eater Bug
Armed Ninja
Rogue Doll
Celtic Guardian
– Spells
Raigeki
De-Spell
Yami
Swords of Revealing Light
Dark Hole
– Traps
Trap Hole
Fake Trap
Waboku
House of Adhesive Tape
Alexander also had a very clear idea of the targeted audience for this kind of deck, 'This one is slower, more technical, and significantly more frustrating to play against when used correctly.'
Alexander lightly tapped the table as he observed both decks side by side, 'Two completely different approaches. Two completely different player fantasies. And that difference is intentional.'
A small smile appeared on his face because Duel Monsters wasn't just a card game, not really, at least not if he wanted it to survive until it became an essential part of everyday's life.
No, what he needed to create was something much larger. An ecosystem. A culture. A community.
People needed reasons to argue, reasons to compete, reasons to identify themselves with certain decks, strategies, and playstyles.
Dragon Assault versus Mystic Control. Strength versus intelligence. Aggression versus strategy.
The kind of rivalry that practically built itself, and Alexander could already picture the scene in his mind.
School discussions. Arguments over which deck is stronger. Students trade cards to improve their builds. Others attempting to create entirely new strategies. And eventually the beginning of a metagame.
His fingers lightly brushed against the Dragon Assault deck while thinking, 'Most players would choose this one first. That is obvious. Children and young people liked immediate results. But Mystic Control would inevitably attract a certain type of player. The more patient ones. The ones who enjoyed outthinking others. The ones who would slowly optimise strategies and discover combinations that the average player overlooked. And once those players started winning consistently, the arguments would begin naturally... Exactly as intended.'
Alexander leaned back slightly in his chair.
The original Yu-Gi-Oh! had exploded partly because of this exact phenomenon.
People didn't just play the game; they discussed it, debated it, obsessed over it. Every schoolyard became its own miniature battlefield.
And now he intended to recreate that from the ground up.
His gaze drifted toward the decks again before he finally reached forward and carefully checked both lists one final time, 'There are no inconsistencies. No missing cards. No major balance issues within the limitations of the current card pool. On top of that, these decks are not perfectly refined. This way, players can optimise them to their liking using the cards they will acquire from the boosters. For a first release to introduce the game to the players, it is perfect.'
Which meant the next problem could no longer be delayed, printing.
Alexander exhaled quietly and muttered, "Now it's time to search for a typography to do this job."
At first, his instinct was immediate. Go to his room, turn on the computer, and search for local businesses online.
Simple. Fast. Convenient.
Then he suddenly stopped halfway through standing up as a blank expression crossed his face, he suddenly realised, "Fuck... I forgot that there is no Google yet!"
The realisation hit him almost like a perfectly timed Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring shutting down the lynchpin of his combo.
Alexander slowly sat back down and muttered, "Right..."
No search engines. No online reviews. No instant business directories. No modern internet convenience.
For a brief moment, he genuinely missed the conveniences of his other life.
Not because it was better, but because modern technology spoiled people in ways they only noticed once it disappeared.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose slightly and lamented, "At this rate, I'm going to start praying for Tony Stark or some other reality-altering genius to speedrun technological evolution."
At the same time, he thought, 'Knowing Marvel, it honestly isn't that impossible… then again, there is also a very real possibility that someone would accidentally create killer robots or a portal to another dimension instead.'
Thinking that, Alexander sighed and commented, "This world is utterly ridiculous..."
After a moment, he started thinking seriously about alternatives, 'Libraries? Way too slow and I'm not even sure it has the information I need. Newspapers? Unreliable at best, and again it is even possible that I won't find anything, at most some advertisement of some upcoming typography if I'm very lucky...'
Then, reluctantly, the only realistic option came to mind, making him mutter, "In the end, I can only rely on... The Yellow Pages."
The words themselves felt ancient beyond any reason.
The Yellow Pages were comprehensive telephone directories that listed local businesses, services, and organisations categorised by type rather than alphabetically by name.
Traditionally printed on yellow paper, these directories contain paid advertising and serve as a "pre-internet" tool for finding commercial contact information.
Alexander stared at the ceiling for a moment as if hoping a better solution would magically appear, but none did, and eventually, he accepted reality.
With a resigned expression, Alexander reached for the landline phone, dialled the internal number on the rotary dial, and called Roland, who was likely in his personal office.
It didn't even take a full minute before there was a knock on the door, making him say, "Enter."
Roland stepped inside calmly while asking, "You called, Master Alexander?"
Alexander nodded once and asked back, "Do we have a copy of the Yellow Pages?"
For the first time in a while, Roland looked genuinely surprised before he replied, "...We do."
Then he paused briefly before asking, "May I ask why you need it?"
Alexander leaned back slightly in his chair before replying, "I finished the first official starting decks for Duel Monsters."
That immediately caught Roland's attention.
"And now," Alexander continued, "I need to find a typography capable of handling the first print run."
For a brief moment, Roland remained silent; then a small, subtle smile appeared on his face. It was very brief but unmistakably genuine. "I see."
Without another word, he gave a slight nod and left the room.
Several minutes later, he returned carrying an absurdly thick book.
Alexander stared at it for a few moments before he commented in a dejected tone, "...I forgot how massive these things were."
Roland calmly placed the Yellow Pages onto the desk with a heavy sound as he explained in an even tone that didn't betray any hint of amusement, "Businesses are categorised by profession and region."
"I know how the Yellow Pages work," Alexander replied dryly.
Then, after a brief pause, he added, "…Unfortunately."
At this point, Roland allowed the faintest hint of amusement to appear before stepping aside.
Alexander picked up the Yellow Page and, feeling the thickness and weight in his hands, he commented, "Damn... This is about 15 centimetres in thickness, and it weighs around 3 kilograms... It basically can be used as a blunt weapon to kill someone..."
Shortly after, he dismissed the random thought and forced his attention back onto the task. And so the suffering began.
Alexander opened the directory and immediately felt his motivation drop.
The thing was enormous.
Its yellowed pages were thin enough to tear if handled carelessly and packed so densely with text that merely looking at them strained the eyes. Every page contained hundreds of listings arranged in suffocatingly neat columns.
Names. Addresses. Phone numbers. Nothing else.
No ratings. No images. No reviews. No convenient filters. No maps. No indication whatsoever whether a business was competent or run by an eighty-year-old man surviving entirely on inertia and habit.
Civilisation truly had peaked with the internet; still, complaining accomplished nothing, so Alexander endured.
He leaned forward slightly and continued flipping through the pages one by one, occasionally running a finger down the listings to avoid losing his place. The dry paper scratched faintly against his skin every time he turned a page.
Typography shops. Printing services. Office suppliers. Half the listings sounded nearly identical.
Some names were absurdly pretentious. Others sounded like they had not changed since the seventies. A few used enough abbreviations to become completely incomprehensible.
He quickly developed a system.
Anything located near the Promethean Academy stayed. Anything near the city centre stayed. Anything positioned around office districts stayed.
Commercial areas meant competition. Competition meant standards. If a business managed to survive there, then they were probably at least reasonably competent and reasonably priced.
That was the logic, not perfect, but good enough to start.
Every few minutes, Alexander crossed another option out with a pencil. Slowly, the impossible wall of information became merely unpleasant.
Occasionally, his eyes drifted unfocusingly across the endless blocks of text before he had to force himself back on track. More than once, he accidentally reread the same listing three times without processing a single word.
The directory even smelled old, despite the fact that it was renewed every year, as dust, paper, and something faintly chemical lingered around it. It had the scent of a book that had passed through too many hands over too many years.
Time crawled.
At some point, he shifted position in his chair and noticed his neck had become stiff. His fingertips were slightly grey from the cheap ink used on the pages.
He checked the remaining thickness of the directory, then stared at the portion he had already finished.
His expression flattened while he mentally complained, 'What kind of deranged civilisation had considered this an efficient system?'
Still, he kept going.
One listing after another.
Slowly, painfully, methodically, the possibilities narrowed and by the time he finally finished, nearly half an hour had passed.
Alexander closed the directory with visible relief, "I did it... I've narrowed down the number to six."
Six viable candidates, not ideal, but enough to work with. Tomorrow, while Alexander attends school, Roland will investigate them personally. That alone would save him an enormous amount of time.
Alexander organised the list neatly before finally standing from the desk.
The exhaustion hit almost immediately afterwards, but it was mental fatigue more than physical.
After putting everything away, he headed back to his room, took a shower, changed into comfortable clothes, and collapsed onto the bed without much resistance.
His eyes closed almost instantly, and soon sleep followed.