Chapter 221. shut up and take my money
The streamlined, colossal body brought an unparalleled sense of pressure, every scale reflecting glittering motes of light, and just standing there it looked like a perfect work of art.
No matter how ferocious its form or how terrifying its movements, everyone's first impression upon seeing it was only one thing.
Beauty—too beautiful—a sacred kind of beauty that made you want to reach out, to feel that purity for yourself.
[No way, bro, you're actually doing it?]
[Huh??? Huh??? Huh???? A real Duel Disk?]
[Starting this big right off the bat? Does your company not rest—how is your production capacity this insane?]
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon is so damn cool. I regret not going to the venue again. The reporters were stunned—but still a thumbs-down!! No momentum in the shout, do it again!!!]
[Yeah yeah yeah, again!!! You think you can summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon with a voice that small? The President is gonna chew you out—you thing without the soul of a duelist!]
The barrage flooded in like crazy, noisy and clamoring, and even the super chat overlays kept flying past several in a row, until even Sirin couldn't stand to watch.
Just then, Bronya's voice sounded, snapping the dazed crowd at the venue back to their senses.
She picked up another Duel Disk and raised it to signal to the audience: "The second product of Gensokyo's release event: the Duel Disk to accompany Yu-Gi-Oh!"
As she spoke, she brought the Duel Disk closer to the frame of the AR glasses by her ear; with a crisp ding, Bronya slid her hand in and—click—had it on.
Gently stroking the surface of the now-lit card slot, Bronya raised her hand with a smile. "The Duel Disk uses Anti-Entropy's most advanced wireless connection technology. Latency with the AR glasses has been compressed below the microsecond level, and the newest sensing tech lets it recognize cards on the field accurately and quickly..."
Xander Masato was demonstrating the Duel Disk's actual effects, so the "salesperson" role naturally fell to Bronya.
When you sell something, stories and hype are fluff; only performance is solid. If the product is good, you won't lack buyers.
Listening to that string of near-top-tier specs and watching the gorgeous, exquisite effects triggered as Xander Masato placed different cards, everyone's eyes went wide.
Monster Cards, Spell Cards, Trap Cards—after showing a few of each, Xander Masato finally put the Duel Disk away.
"Limited by the venue, it's a pity we can't do a live demonstration. Next we'll play a recording of a duel my partner and I fought at the Duel Arena earlier today."
With an apologetic line, Xander Masato stepped aside and guided everyone's attention to the big screen.
Soon, the screen lit up: on a dazzling, pure-white, flashy Duel Arena, Xander Masato and Bronya stood on opposite sides, each wearing a Duel Disk, staring at each other brimming with fighting spirit.
"Beep!!"
With the system prompt, the two shouted in unison: "Duel!!"
They snapped their hands to draw. That wild motion, that shouted call—Yu-Gi-Oh! fans instantly felt it hit just right.
Right—this is a duel. Earlier, Old Thief Masato's shout was still too restrained.
In the showdown, Xander Masato used a Blue-Eyes deck, while Bronya used a Dark Magician deck.
People familiar with the story quickly understood the homage and smiled knowingly.
Like President Kaiba, Xander Masato played more and more unbridled, and watching himself on the big screen made him click his tongue a little, even flush. So that's how chuuni I was back then?
It felt great when playing, but from another angle it was a bit embarrassing. No wonder Bronya snickered after editing and refused to let him preview it.
Very soon, the footage reached its first small climax.
After Bronya drew a card, she immediately curled her lips. "I tribute one monster on my field to summon Dark Magician Girl!!"
Dark Magician Girl?
A waifu, of course; everyone was very familiar with that.
Under the audience's expectant gazes, the only Normal Summoned monster on Bronya's field dissolved into shards; then dazzling radiance began to flash before her.
Holy light shrouded that shapely body. An otaku-perfect magical-girl transformation, crafted with loving care, filled the screen in close-up.
Coy motions, an enticing figure—innocence and allure at once. A sultry outfit paired with an impossibly pure expression clenched otaku hearts, making them hold their breath and widen their eyes.
Of course, some overly suggestive motions had been toned down. He would absolutely not tell players they'd need to modify a certain file in the program to change it back.
[Wait, I get to watch this without paying?]
[At this moment, I resolve to sell my soul for Gensokyo...]
[Old Thief Masato finally understands what we want to see. I'm in tears...]
[Name your price already—this cow's in the biggest hurry I've ever seen!]
For a moment, the little head took control of the big head, and the barrage went insane.
He glanced at Bronya, and she arched her brows at him at once.
"How's the cut? This counts as helping you sell cards too, right~"
Understanding the meaning in Bronya's eyes, Xander Masato's mouth twitched.
Indeed—how could these otakus possibly hold back after seeing that. If he were a player, he'd buy too.
But the cards with magical-girl transformations were limited, and he could already imagine the curses from players when the time came.
Also, there were probably quite a few players slandering him as an LSP right now.
He had to make this clear: he's not old!
The duel in the video continued. Dark Magician has always been a very popular and strong deck, and Kaiba's Blue-Eyes build was likewise no slouch—certainly stronger than Cyber Dragon, which started struggling the moment it entered.
For a while, the two fought back and forth, with all kinds of Spell and effect animations filling the sky, maxing out the spectacle.
Just as the audience was watching with relish, the second climax arrived.
Xander Masato tributed three monsters on the field, and the entire world went pitch-black in an instant.
A clear sky was smothered by roiling black clouds; a silver lightning bolt tore through the darkness and revealed, in the inky depths, the towering cyan giant standing there. Its ferocious body and massive frame brought crushing pressure the moment it appeared.
A huge fist coiled with cyan energy; it bent low, roared, and with a single mighty punch shattered the monster on Bronya's field. None of her effects resolved, and her Life Points instantly became dangerously low.
"Your next turn will be your death!"
Grinning, Xander Masato declared victory.
"Tsk."
She wanted to retort, but at this point Bronya had indeed reached the end of her rope, powerless to turn the tide.
When her turn came, she drew, looked at the meager cards left in hand, sighed, set the newly drawn card facedown at random, and chose to end her turn, resigned to her impending defeat.
Obelisk the Tormentor doesn't get affected by Spells or Traps, and with that towering 4000 ATK/DEF there was nothing she could do.
"Hmph, my turn!"
With a proud huff, Xander Masato drew a card.
As he was about to command Obelisk to attack and end the duel, the card in his hand made him freeze.
For a moment, his hesitation drew everyone's curiosity, and the Bronya in the footage called out, "What are you spacing out for—hurry up and end it."
Who knew—Xander Masato then closed his eyes and murmured, "So this is fate?"
The edit deliberately zoomed in, letting people see the card in his hand clearly; the barrage instantly began to race.
[Holy—Blue-Eyes White Dragon?!!!]
[Wait, he's also holding that Spell Card—no way, no way. Is he about to recreate that classic scene?]
[Seto Kaiba: Inherit my will, Masato!!!]
Sure enough, Xander Masato's actions on screen didn't disappoint.
He snapped his eyes open, looked at Bronya opposite him, and shouted each word with force: "I activate the Spell Card 'Silent Doom' and Special Summon 'Dragon Spirit of White' from the GY in Defense Position!"
Bang!
Dragon Spirit of White leapt from the Graveyard and took a defensive stance.
Then he pinched Blue-Eyes White Dragon between two fingers and flipped it toward Bronya.
"To Tribute Summon the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my hand, I need two monsters as tributes. In that case..."
"You!!" Bronya cooperatively let out a cry of surprise.
"That's right—I'm going to offer a God as a tribute!!"
The instant he said it, Xander Masato felt like Kaiba was possessing him; passion flooded his whole body.
"For my loyal servant, Obelisk the Tormentor—and for you, Dragon Spirit of White—be my tributes!!"
"Ore no tamashii yo!! Come forth, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!!!!"
Boom!!!
Lightning split the world in an instant.
Obelisk and Dragon Spirit of White crumbled into motes and slowly dissolved; in their place a silver dragon tore through the void, its dazzling radiance bringing annihilation to the world.
Xander Masato spread his arms, closed his eyes, and smiled to savor the moment.
I'm hamming it up—and it feels so good!!
Just as he was enjoying himself, Bronya suddenly froze.
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon—White Lightning of Destruction—"
"Ah—I activate the Trap Card 'Bottomless Trap Hole' to destroy the monster you Summoned with ATK higher than 1500."
"Huh?"
The attack call stuck in his throat, and Xander Masato stared as the only Trap Card on Bronya's field flipped up.
A pitch-black void like an abyssal hell opened beneath Blue-Eyes White Dragon. A powerful suction dragged at her body, yanking her down with an unwilling roar—and in moments she was gone without a trace.
Xander Masato: "....."
Bronya: "...."
He went rigid, the expression on his face shifting wildly, and Bronya—after holding it in for a bit—couldn't help it anymore. She doubled over, laughing until she shook.
Seriously, sis?
Seeing that existential-crisis face of Xander Masato on screen, not only Bronya laughed; the reporters on site who had prepped with Yu-Gi-Oh! laughed too.
As for the barrage, they couldn't stop laughing even more.
[Mocking.jpg → Clown.jpg ← Mocking.jpg]
[Bros, I couldn't keep a straight face. I'm dying.]
[The key thing is, if Old Thief Masato had just used Silent Doom to Special Summon any 1500-ATK monster to spring the Trap early, it would've been fine. But he had to pick the only sub-1500-ATK Dragon Spirit of White in his GY—this killed me!]
Sirin had already collapsed onto the table, clutching her stomach with laughter; she hadn't expected a release event to be this entertaining.
After Blue-Eyes White Dragon was destroyed, you could see Xander Masato's mentality crumble. He didn't even have the strength to shout afterward, and Bronya turned it around to win with a sliver of Life Points.
"Ahem, that's the Duel Disk live demonstration. I believe everyone—hey, stop laughing!!"
It would've been fine if he hadn't said it; once he did, everyone laughed even harder. After a couple of helpless lines, even he and Bronya couldn't help laughing together. Along the way, he also shared his inner monologue at the time: "When I saw Blue-Eyes White Dragon, I wanted to recreate President Kaiba's classic moment and put on a bit of a show, but who knew Bronya had a Bottomless Trap Hole—how can a card be that disgusting, seriously."
Bronya laughed and replied, "I just set it at random. I'd basically accepted my loss—who knew you'd Summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon? Also, isn't Bottomless Trap Hole a card you designed yourself—are you scolding yourself?"
"You—you had to go that one extra step..."
After a quick quip, and seeing the theater's laughter die down, Xander Masato and Bronya pulled things back to business.
With the products introduced, what came next was what users cared about most.
Namely: how much does the Duel Disk cost?
Soon, Xander Masato and Bronya revealed the answer. When the big screen showed a price less than half that of the AR glasses, players instantly erupted.
[Wait—this generous??? If I don't support this, am I even human!!!]
[Shut up and take my money!!]
[Looks like my wallet's got a life of its own now!!]
[Guys, I watched a release event and my wallet suddenly emptied. Anyone got a line on a sugar daddy?]
Users were understandably delighted by the price. With such refined craftsmanship and top-tier chips and sensors, people would've understood even if it were doubled.
Truth be told, Xander Masato was basically selling the Duel Disk at cost, aiming only to promote rather than make money. As for the profit point...
Xander Masato kept smiling as he said, "The Duel Disk and the first-edition physical booster packs will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. Purchases of the Duel Disk in the first week will include five bonus packs. Please follow Anti-Entropy's official flagship store."
The physical cards were the key.
A thin little card that, once printed, could be sold at ten or a hundred times the cost—and players would scramble for them. As long as you do the supporting services well, this is the most lucrative segment.
It's like how camera companies used to make their big profits from film: continuous "consumables" are what really earn.
Not to mention Xander Masato had made some rare cards with special animations. People would curse him then, but collectors would absolutely pay while cursing. Just look at how rare Blue-Eyes White Dragon fetched prices in his previous life—here, the hype would probably go even harder.
There's no need to dwell on the final feel-good interview segment. The game release event thus came to a smooth close.
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