episode_0139

『“Wait a minute, Yugi! In 5 turns, the ultimate insect demon will defeat you.”

“I will never lose to a duelist who uses mean tricks like you!”

It was inevitable that the two would face off on Battle Island after the insectoid Sega, unable to figure out a way to defeat the Illusionary Machine, pretended to look at Yugi’s cards and destroyed them.

“Dragon of Curse! Breathe the breath of destruction!!”

A cursed dragon that spits hellfire at Yugi’s command.

“Hahahaha!! The attack power of the Cursed Dragon cannot penetrate the defense power of the evolved goch that receives the field buff!”

“Who said they were attacking Gochi?”

“What? No way…!”

“That’s right! What I attacked was not the Gochi, but the forest field itself made of trees!”

On the forest field that had been burned down by the flames spewed out by the cursed dragon, only the evolutionary cocoon that no longer received any strengthening effects remained.

“Ugh! I didn’t know I had to consider terrain features in a duel!”

“Yugi, this guy’s duels are always inspiring.”

“I knew it when that guy, Sega, destroyed the Demon of Illusion in such a vile way! That kind of trick won’t work on Yugi!”

People were cheering as they watched , which contained the story of powerful duelists gathering on Battle Island to rescue their grandfather who was sealed in a stone tablet by the Dark Side.

“What new cards will appear in this episode?”

“Damn! I have to save up my allowance again! To draw a new card.”

“But that’s fortunate. Isn’t it true that second-hand card shops have opened up a way to exchange unwanted cards?”

As the new episode of ends and a new card pack goes on sale, people are excited but already scared.

Since I’m already spending a lot of money on my cards, I’m starting to feel burdened when a new card pack comes out.

In that situation, people once again created a breakthrough.

‘Card Used Shop’

Stores specializing in second-hand trading of cards are starting to appear one after another.

Although they were still only available in major cities, they were filled with duelists trying to trade cards every day, so you had to wait a long time to make a single trade.

‘Ehehe! Even so, this is a super rare card. How can I exchange it for 3 rare cards?’

‘You know this is a popular item because of its practicality, right? Got it! Then I’ll give you one more rare card.’

It greatly reduces the burden of card purchases for people as they can sell cards they don’t need and exchange them for cards they do need, or they can simply sell the cards.

Besides, the card game actually already has several decks that are used in actual duels.

You don’t have to go out of your way to buy a lot of cards; you can enjoy the game by buying just a few packs of cards and exchanging the rest through second-hand trading.

Aiming for more than that was purely self-satisfaction, which is why many people who enjoy card games have no complaints about the commercialism of card packs.

“Oh, I think there’s going to be a competition?”

“What?”

While people were talking while reading in the new magazine Manapia, a voice was heard from somewhere.

“Isn’t it written on the very last page of this magazine?”

When the man who said there was a contest pointed to the very last page of the magazine, everyone’s eyes were drawn to it.

[Let’s find the true duel champion! official tournament begins!

Prizes and special awards will be awarded to the winners.

The date and location will be announced only to those who have passed the preliminary round.

The preliminary round will be held on October 6th at each regional Yuren top branch.]

“Special injury?”

“I’m not the only one who thinks this, right?”

There have been frequent small-scale card tournaments held so far.

There used to be competitions held as events to gather people at stores or merchant shops, such as taverns or Somerset Goods stores.

Each time, prize money and rare cards were given as prizes.

However, as written in the announcement, the competition held this time was an official competition.

If that was the case, then it meant that the tournament was hosted by the Somerset Workshop and the Yuren Merchant Association, and if it was a special prize for such an official tournament, everyone could only predict one thing.

“Special goods!”

“If you get this, your life will change!!!”

“Starting today, I will begin closed training!!!”

Madness began to creep into people’s voices and eyes.

That’s understandable, since the prices of the ordinary goods from Somerset Workshop that were already sold out were skyrocketing.

Because the limited edition goods were given out only through special raffles and were never officially sold, obtaining them was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

It was a golden opportunity to strike it rich.

“This isn’t luck! Isn’t it something you can achieve if you have the skills?”

“That’s right! It’s not a lottery or an auction, so you can really compete as a duo!”

Until now, it was a golden opportunity to obtain limited edition goods that could only be obtained through a lucky chance draw or through an auction house that appears once in a while.

Of course, there weren’t only people looking to get rich quick.

“This time we’ll finally find out who’s really on top.”

“Yustaff, aren’t you far behind me in terms of your record against me? It breaks my heart to see the respected Yustaf being defeated in front of people.”

Even people who usually fight over cards were fired up with a competitive spirit, determined to have a proper showdown this time.

“If our club doesn’t have a winner, that would be a real disgrace!”

Social gathering groups, including fan clubs that have long since transformed into card game clubs, are also all fired up.

While the entire empire was buzzing with talk of the official card tournament, Esteban’s office on the second floor of the Uren Upper Headquarters in the capital was remarkably peaceful.

“Your Majesty, shall we begin?”

“Yes, let’s start the 10 plus 1 event.”

Rupert and Esteban sit on the sofa in their office, chatting while looking out the window at people chatting about card tournaments.

“You’ll obviously need to prepare a deck to participate in the tournament, so even people who haven’t bought cards until now will be rushing to buy them.”

Rupert agreed with Esteban.

It is true that is currently popular throughout the Empire, but that does not mean that everyone plays the card game.

‘Isn’t that too undignified?’

‘Only little kids do that.’

‘It’s too expensive to have a decent deck.’

There were still some who, for one reason or another, had not yet been swept up in the card game craze, and Rupert and Esteban planned to use this opportunity to introduce them.

In a similar case, when you consider that the previous Universe’s Strongest Comics Contest led to an increase in sales as people who had not normally read comics began reading them, it was a very reasonable plan.

“If you buy 10 packs, you get 1 extra pack, so you’ll probably buy 10 packs, which is ultimately a profit.”

And we plan to hold surprise events so that we don’t miss the timing when new customers and existing customers purchase cards and empty their pockets without leaving a single speck of dust behind.

“Battle City Plans, this is really great.”

For Esteban, who knew the true purpose of this official duel tournament that was still unknown to the public, Rupert’s plan seemed genius.

“If the Empire actually held a Battle City event while the Battle City arc was taking place in the manga, it would be a hot topic.”

The next episode of , which has now entered the Battle Island arc, was the Battle City arc.

It was truly the highlight part of the work, where the chosen duelists gathered against the backdrop of the city and competed to see who would be the strongest.

Rupert intended to carry out this part in the actual empire as well.

Of course, the help of the royal family was essential for that, so Rupert personally visited the royal family and briefed the Emperor about the plan.

“The finals will be held at the Imperial Circular Stadium, and the special cards will be awarded by His Majesty the Emperor himself, which alone will establish the grandeur of the competition.”

The idea of linking this competition with the royal family did not come out of nowhere.

At first glance, this may seem to only benefit Rupert and the upper echelons of the Uren clan, but in fact, it was a great help to the Imperial family as well.

‘Since the Emperor is giving his approval to a competition that is currently popular in the Empire, the authority of the Imperial Family is bound to increase even more.’

Could it be said that this is the dignity of a nationally recognized qualification that exists in Korea?

The moment when the royal family acknowledges even a mere card game.

The knights’ victory in the jousting competition was nothing but glorious, and conversely, the imperial family was the one who could bestow that glory, so the imperial family’s authority also increased, making it a relationship of mutual assistance.

“Oh, it’s already this late. I guess I should go first.”

“Do you have any plans?”

Rupert, who was discussing future plans with Esteban, took out the watch in his pocket, checked the time, and stood up.

“Yes, Amelia thanked me for inviting you to the last demonstration and invited you to dinner.”

“Hoo.”

Esteban couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at Rupert’s words.

‘It seems that Lady Bluewell got anxious after seeing the competitors at the last demonstration.’

It was Esteban who had clearly witnessed the fight between three women at a demonstration held not long ago.

“I can’t go empty-handed, so I’m thinking of buying a bouquet of flowers as a thank you.”

“That should be enough.”

After Rupert finished speaking and left the office, Esteban was looking forward to seeing what kind of love story the young man and woman would have, when he suddenly remembered something he had not been able to tell Rupert.

‘When giving flowers as a gift, you shouldn’t give just any flower.’

Giving flowers as a gift was a basic courtesy of the upper class, but because each flower had a different meaning, it required a delicate sense of coordination.

Esteban was a little worried because he knew that Rupert usually lacked common sense in this area.