Chapter 139 – Conclusion of the Top 32

Alexander's gaze remained fixed on the table in Region IV.

He barely noticed the noise of the audience anymore, as his attention was entirely focused on the card that had just appeared on Omaha Heartland's side of the field: Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

For a moment, Alexander simply stared at it, and to say he was surprised would have been an understatement, 'No way... It's Blue-Eyes White Dragon...'

The card was special for several reasons.

First of all, there were only three copies of it in existence, only three; That alone made Blue-Eyes White Dragon an exceptionally rare Ultra Rare card, and Alexander knew exactly why those three copies were so difficult to obtain.

He had deliberately released them.

When he had received the Duel Spirit acknowledgement from Blue-Eyes White Dragon and fully produced the official cards, Alexander had considered the possibility of keeping the cards for himself. After all, having access to one of the most iconic and powerful monsters in Duel Monsters would obviously have been useful, but there had been a problem: they simply weren't compatible, at least, not in the way Alexander felt it was right.

Even more important, Alexander didn't want to hoard all the most powerful cards for himself, as that would make the game boring in the long run, so instead of forcing the issue, Alexander decided to quietly release the three cards in the next set of Booster Packs and let fate run its course.

The moment he made that decision, however, the cards had simply disappeared. They had just vanished from before his very eyes as if responding to his will.

It didn't take long for Alexander to understand why.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon was not an ordinary Duel Spirit, and because of that it possessed considerable influence over its cards, and Alexander had decided that rather than allowing luck to determine who would wield them, he would allow the Duel Spirit itself to choose.

Whoever eventually obtained one of the three copies, or maybe even all, would therefore have been personally approved by Blue-Eyes White Dragon itself, and now one of those cards was sitting on the table some distance away from him.

Alexander slowly narrowed his eyes while thinking, 'So it chose him... That must mean something. If Blue-Eyes White Dragon had personally accepted that duelist, then there is surely something exceptional about him.'

Alexander continued staring at the card while the Omaha duelist calmly continued his turn, and he played another card following his summoning of Blue-Eyes White Dragon, "I activate the Equip Spell Megamorph and target my Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

Alexander's eyes shifted toward the Spell Card as the duelist equipped it to Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and as a result, the monster's ATK immediately doubled since Omaha duelist's LP were lower than his opponent.

[Blue-Eyes White Dragon - 6000 ATK / 2500 DEF]

Alexander calmly looked at the whole field and, seeing that there was only Tri-Horned Dragon on the Albuquerque duelist's side of the field, he quietly muttered, "Oh well, that's game over for him."

At the same time, that exaggerated ATK value got everyone's attention.

The audience erupted almost immediately.

Even from where he was sitting, Alexander could hear the sudden roar of excitement spreading through the venue.

The commentators weren't exactly quiet either, as Mike Patrick's voice boomed through the speakers, "6000 ATK points! Ladies and gentlemen, that Blue-Eyes White Dragon has just reached an astonishing 6000 ATK! What an astonishing debut for such an incredible card!"

Mike Gottfried quickly followed, "And after the comeback we've just witnessed, Omaha Heartland is now in an incredible position to finish this duel!"

In response to that, Alexander couldn't help but shake his head, chuckle, and comment, 'Well, that certainly got dramatic.'

Julia, who had been following Alexander's attention toward the duel, leaned forward. Her eyes widened when she saw the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card on the field before she exclaimed, "Wow..."

Alexander glanced at her and, with a satisfied grin, he asked, "Impressive, isn't it? Personally, I feel that card is one of my best works."

Julia nodded and replied with awe and appreciation in her tone, "It's very impressive. Even from this distance, I can feel some kind of aura coming from that artwork."

Then, Julia looked toward the Promethean Academy team before she smiled and added, "Oh, Chuck is going to be unbearable."

Hearing that, Alexander's expression immediately changed, and he muttered, "Shit... You're right."

"Especially after finding out that you created that card and didn't tell him. We are never going to hear the end of it."

In response, Alexander groaned and said, "Please don't remind me."

Unfortunately, he didn't even need to imagine Chuck's reaction, as he only had to look at him.

Alexander turned his head toward the Promethean Academy team, and there he was.

Chuck was staring at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card with his mouth hanging open and looked like he was about to start drooling.

Alexander stared at him for a few seconds before he covered his face with one hand. "Yep."

Julia also took a quick look at her boyfriend before she laughed and said, "I told you."

"He's going to blame me."

"He absolutely is."

Alexander sighed while thinking, 'I can already hear it. Alexander! How did you not tell me there was a Blue-Eyes White Dragon?! Why didn't you tell me?! Do you know how long I've wanted such a cool white dragon?! Why didn't you tell me?! It could fit perfectly in my deck! I already imagine removing Victor's smug smile as I wipe out his Red-Eyes Black Dragon with it!!'

He could already picture the entire conversation, and knowing Chuck, it wouldn't end after one complaint and probably not after ten either.

Alexander shook his head and returned his attention to the duel.

The Albuquerque duelist still had Tri-Horned Dragon on the field but against a 6000 ATK Blue-Eyes White Dragon that wasn't much that it could do, in fact, it couldn't even help Albuquerque duelist survive the next attack.

The Omaha duelist pointed toward the opposing monster, "I attack Tri-Horned Dragon with Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

6000 versus 2850. The difference in ATK was overwhelming, so Blue-Eyes White Dragon easily destroyed Tri-Horned Dragon, and the remaining damage was a massive 3150 Life Points. As a result, the Albuquerque duelist's remaining Life Points were completely wiped out.

Just like that, the duel was over, and for a brief moment, the crowd simply reacted with stunned excitement; then the arena erupted.

Omaha Heartland High School had won 2–0.

Alexander watched the celebrations from his seat while the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card remained on the field.

He couldn't help but look at it again, but more importantly, the person standing behind it had now caught Alexander's attention.

Meanwhile, the commentators continued discussing the victory.

"And what an incredible finish!" Mike Patrick exclaimed. "Omaha Heartland High School completes the comeback and advances to the next round!"

Alexander listened with rapt attention, hoping to learn the name of Omaha's duelist.

His focus was quickly rewarded as Gottfried continued, "That was an incredible performance, especially from their final duelist, Stephen Strange! What a performance he gave us!"

Hearing the name, Alexander froze for a moment before exclaiming, "...What?"

Julia looked toward him and asked back, "What?"

Alexander didn't answer immediately as his eyes remained fixed on the arena, more specifically on the young boy who gathered his cards on the table while thinking, 'Stephen Strange? There are a lot of people in the world. There are also a lot of people named Stephen. But that specific name? Combined with everything else? What are the chances!?'

Alexander slowly exhaled, 'It's a coincidence, right? No way...'

Then he remembered the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, the approval of the exceptional Duel Spirit, the duelist's composure. His ability to remain completely calm even after being reduced to almost no Life Points. And now his name, Stephen Strange.

Alexander closed his eyes for a moment. 'Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me...'

He knew exactly who that was: Stephen Strange, the future Sorcerer Supreme. Someone who, if the future followed anything resembling the Marvel history Alexander loosely knew, would eventually become one of the most powerful people in existence.

Alexander opened his eyes and stared toward the table again. The seventeen-year-old duelist was calmly walking back to his teammates as they cheered their victory.

He didn't look like someone who would one day become a legendary sorcerer, but then again, neither did most people before they became superheroes, mutants, gods, or whatever else this universe had decided to throw at him.

Alexander let out a long, exhausted sigh. 'Damn it, Marvel...! Can't you just let me enjoy a tournament in peace for once!?'

He had already encountered Victor von Doom. Phil Coulson. Johnny Storm. Susan Storm. The X-Men. And now Stephen freaking Strange.

'Why the hell do I keep running into these "Marvelous" characters at every damn tournament!?'

For a few seconds, Alexander seriously considered simply ignoring the whole thing.

He was here to watch a tournament. That was all.

He didn't need to start worrying about the future of every "marvelous" individual he encountered, especially when he didn't even know whether the timeline would develop exactly as he remembered.

So Alexander shook his head and decided to metaphorically push his head in the sand, 'Forget it.'

He wasn't going to let another famous name ruin his enjoyment of the tournament.

There was still plenty to watch and, thankfully, the remaining matches progressed without another massive surprise.

Before long, the Top 32 Round was finally coming to an end.

The results were displayed around the arena.

Alexander looked toward the board as the sixteen remaining schools were confirmed.

The first region to be displayed was Region I.

Promethean Academy vs Cleveland Lakefront Private School.

Detroit Lakeside High School vs Philadelphia Liberty High School.

Alexander quickly noted that Detroit Lakeside had eliminated Dallas Lone Star High School, another team that had received a bye.

'Apparently, having a bye isn't enough to guarantee anything.' Alexander briefly smiled at that thought before shifting his attention to the next region.

Region II was next.

Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters vs Indianapolis Jefferson High School.

Louisville Churchill Private Academy vs New Orleans St. Augustine Catholic School.

Alexander raised an eyebrow as he studied the results.

Interestingly, Xavier's School was the only school that had received a bye in this region and had survived the Top 32 Round, while the other two had been eliminated. So Region II had gone almost completely opposite to Region I.

Alexander continued watching as the next set of results appeared.

Region III.

Massachusetts Academy vs Little Rock Central Heights High School.

Honolulu Kaimana High School vs Wichita Prairie View High School.

Alexander couldn't help but notice the exact opposite pattern from Region II.

Every school that had received a bye in this region had managed to advance.

'Apparently, the tournament had decided to be inconsistent just to keep things interesting.' Alexander shook his head before focusing on the final region.

Region IV.

Anchorage Northstar High School vs Omaha Heartland High School.

Cheyenne Frontier High School vs Burlington Green Mountain High School.

Alexander looked over the names for a moment.

Omaha Heartland was there, and so was Stephen Strange.

His eyes briefly moved toward the Omaha team.

Stephen was already moving away from the raised platform with the rest of his teammates, seemingly just another victorious duelist celebrating with his friends.

Alexander stared at him for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"Seriously..." he muttered. "Even Stephen Strange is here..."

He then looked back toward the tournament bracket and realised that there was no point dwelling on it.

Whatever Stephen Strange eventually became, right now he was simply part of one of the sixteen remaining teams in a high-school Duel Monsters tournament, and Alexander had his own friends' tournament to worry about.

The arena gradually changed as preparations for the next stage began.

The sixteen remaining schools. Eight matches. One step closer to the championship.

Alexander leaned back in his seat as the Top 16 was about to begin.

For a moment, his thoughts returned to Stephen Strange, 'I still can't quite believe it. Out of all the people in the world, out of all the duelists who could have obtained one of those three Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards, one of them had ended up in the hands of someone who could become one of the most important figures in the Marvel Universe... It has to be a coincidence... Probably...'

Alexander sighed and pushed the thought aside, 'Whatever happens in the future, it isn't my problem... Not yet, anyway. Even if it is very likely that my future self would want to kick my ass for having such a casual attitude. It doesn't matter. Today I'm here to watch and enjoy a tournament of the game I created, and that is all. After that, I'll worry about whatever shit the Marvel Universe will throw at me!'

So Alexander turned his attention back toward the arena as the preparations for the next round finally came to an end.

The Top 16 was about to begin.