Chapter 83 – A Frosty Proposal

A few weeks had passed since Alexander's 16th birthday.

The excitement surrounding the charity gala and the celebration with his friends the following day had mostly settled down by now, but as a result of an unexpected encounter he had during the charity gala, Alexander had a particular matter occupying his full attention at the moment.

He sat behind his desk in his office, occasionally glancing toward the clock as he waited for his next appointment while thinking, 'Emma Frost. Just thinking about the woman makes me feel slightly tense. Not because I am afraid of her. Not even because, since I've met her, she repeatedly appeared in my dreams in so many compromising ways that I am almost disappointed that they were dreams... Well... Perhaps a bit... But the truth is that I am feeling a bit anxious and cautious as I am about to meet a powerful, possibly dangerous, and undeniably smoking hot telepath. This is simply common sense.'

Emma Frost was quite famous in both sets of his memories, although for very different reasons.

In his original memories, Emma was primarily known as a brilliant businesswoman. She had taken control of Frost Technology after her father's mysterious death and transformed it into Frost International, building a financial empire largely through her own efforts.

Under her leadership, the company had principally been involved in transportation, both the building of ships and aircraft, and their use for freight and passenger conveyance, but lately had expanded into other fields, particularly electronics.

On top of that, Emma Frost also became chairperson of the board of the Massachusetts Academy, a college preparatory school for grades seven through twelve, founded in the 1700s, one of the oldest and most respected college preparatory schools in the United States.

Achieving all of that while still being very young was nothing short of impressive, and Alexander couldn't help but respect that kind of achievement; however, his other memories made Emma considerably more complicated.

She was a mutant and a very powerful one. A telepath capable of entering other people's minds, manipulating thoughts and potentially doing considerably worse if she chose to, and then there was the other ability that allowed her to take an Organic Diamond Form.

Alexander still found the concept rather ridiculous, even by the standards of the Marvel universe. The woman could apparently turn her entire body into living diamond, gaining tremendous durability in the process.

He also vaguely remembered something about her being associated with the Hellfire Club, or perhaps she had been a member or a leader at some point, but he wasn't entirely sure as his memories were hardly a perfectly organised database.

The question of Emma's morality was even more confusing.

In some of the stories he remembered, she had been a villain; in others, she was more of a tragic figure, almost a victim. Sometimes morally grey, sometimes neutral, and occasionally even portrayed as a genuinely good person and a hero.

Alexander had never expected to find himself in a situation where remembering several contradictory versions of a fictional character would actually become a problem, yet here he was.

And then there was their first meeting.

During the gala, Alexander had distinctly felt Emma probing his mind, but fortunately, his Ba had apparently provided some kind of protection; He still didn't fully understand how it worked, but whatever it was had prevented Emma from simply entering his mind and looking through his memories, intentions, or whatever else.

What interested him more was that the intrusion hadn't felt malicious; if anything, it had felt almost unconscious.

Like Emma had reacted instinctively and used her telepathy on him before she had even consciously decided to investigate. Something that some may immediately flag as an alarming sign, but not Alexander, who knew that if he had telepathy he would've likely done the same.

Sure, objectively it was morally wrong, but so are so many other things people do, like lying; yet, like all things, it depended on the reasons and intent behind such an act, and Alexander didn't intend to judge her for a single unconscious action.

That didn't mean Alexander was going to relax around her. Quite the opposite, as a powerful telepath who could potentially read someone's mind was hardly the sort of person he could afford to underestimate.

Unfortunately, that was precisely the person he was about to have a private meeting with, and he still had no idea what her proposal was going to be.

In the end, Alexander sighed softly and muttered, "Well, I guess I'll find out soon enough."

A few moments later, a knock came from the door, making Alexander straighten slightly before answering, "Come in."

The door opened, revealing Roland, who announced, "Master Alexander, Miss Frost has arrived."

Alexander took a deep breath, nodded and said, "Please invite her inside."

"As you wish." Roland bowed lightly before turning around and leaving.

Alexander took another slow breath while thinking, 'There is no reason to be nervous. This is a business meeting. A perfectly normal business meeting... With a powerful and hot telepathic mutant who might or might not have ties to a secretive organisation. Perfectly normal... Fuck, Marvel...'

A short while later, the door opened once again, and Roland stepped inside, followed by Emma Frost, and just like the last time, Alexander's thoughts briefly went blank as his eyes admired her figure, 'Holy One Above All...'

Emma was stunning. That much had already been obvious during their first encounter, but seeing her again in the comparatively quiet environment of his office somehow made the impression even stronger.

He stared for perhaps a second too long before recovering, and fortunately, he managed to do so before making a fool of himself.

Alexander stood from his chair and said, "Miss Frost. Welcome."

"Mr Jones." Emma offered him a pleasant smile, "Thank you for seeing me."

"The pleasure is mine." He gestured toward the chairs in front of his desk, "Please, take a seat. And please feel free to call me Alexander. It feels more natural."

"Thank you." Emma sat down, crossing her legs gracefully before she added, "You can also call me Emma."

Alexander returned to his own chair while Roland moved toward the small side table, where a crystal carafe and two glasses had already been prepared. He poured a glass for each of them before placing one in front of Emma and the other in front of Alexander.

"Thank you, Roland."

"Of course, Master Alexander."

With that, Roland stepped back and resumed his position near Alexander, his expression as composed and professional as ever.

Alexander waited until Roland had settled before turning his attention fully toward Emma, who for a moment simply looked outside the office and commented, "I must say, your offices are quite lively for such a young company."

Alexander followed her gaze and saw employees move through the corridors outside, while the occasional voice could be heard through the glass partitions. Industrial Illusions had grown considerably since its earliest days, and the atmosphere inside the company reflected that growth.

Alexander focused back on Emma and said, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"It was intended as one."

"Then thank you." Alexander smiled and added, "Although there is still quite a lot we need to do. We're far from perfect."

"Ambitious."

"I prefer to think of it as realistic."

Emma's smile widened slightly, and she said, "Those two qualities aren't mutually exclusive."

Alexander chuckled softly.

The initial exchange continued for a little while longer before he decided there was little reason to delay the actual purpose of the meeting.

"So, Miss Emma, shall we discuss the reason for this meeting?"

Emma smiled, "Of course."

She shifted slightly in her seat and said, "As I mentioned during the gala, I have an idea for a possible collaboration between Frost International and Industrial Illusions."

"I remember. But you didn't expand much on the nature of this collaboration."

Emma kept her smile and replied, "Indeed, as it wasn't the opportune time or location for that. Fortunately, I've had some time to further refine the proposal since then."

Alexander gestured for her to continue while saying, "I'm listening."

Emma's expression became more serious as she revealed, "I would like to personally fund an official competition between schools."

Alexander raised an eyebrow and wondered aloud, "A Duel Monsters competition?"

"Precisely."

That wasn't quite what he had expected, yet he was intrigued, so he asked, "What kind of competition?"

"An inter-school championship." Emma paused for a moment before continuing, "The winner would receive what I intend to call the Frost International Academic Scholarship."

Alexander leaned forward slightly before asking, "And what would that scholarship provide?"

"Full tuition to any accredited university the winner is admitted to."

His eyebrows rose, and Alexander remained silent for a moment, thinking, 'That is some serious scholarship...'

Emma continued before he could comment, "My reasoning is simple. Duel Monsters is rapidly becoming popular, but popularity isn't the same as legitimacy."

Alexander nodded and commented, "Most parents still see it as a game..."

"Exactly." Emma smiled before she said, "Now imagine those same parents discovering that their child's performance in Duel Monsters could potentially pay for their university education."

Alexander's eyes narrowed slightly as the implications became clear, "They'd stop complaining. At least some of them. Some would even start to support them."

Emma's smile grew bigger as she confirmed, "That's right."

Then Alexander's thoughts moved even faster as he started to connect more dots, "School principals would suddenly become interested."

"Yes."

"Teachers could supervise it."

"Yes."

"And students who don't even particularly care about games would start practising because there's an actual future attached to winning."

Emma nodded with clear appreciation on her face as she confirmed, "That is precisely the point."

She leaned back in her chair and explained, "Chess competitions have legitimacy. Debate competitions have legitimacy. Mathematics Olympiads have legitimacy. Science bowls and academic decathlons have legitimacy."

Her expression became slightly amused as she concluded, "I'm simply suggesting that there should also be an Inter-School Duel Monsters Championship as well."

Alexander stared at her for a moment, then he smiled while thinking, 'This is brilliant. The scholarship itself is certainly generous, but that isn't the most important part. The real genius is the change in context that this Inter-School Duel Monsters Championship would create. Duel Monsters doesn't necessarily need this change, but the way people perceive it does, especially if I want to turn it into an essential part of everyone's everyday life.'

Reaching that conclusion, Alexander started to think about the advantages of this collaboration, 'If Industrial Illusions organised everything itself, there would always be an obvious commercial angle because the company created the game, owned the cards, organised the tournament and provided the prize. That will absolutely look like advertising. But this? Industrial Illusions created the game. The Frost International sponsors the championship. Schools participate voluntarily. Parents approve. Teachers supervise. The media report on it. And suddenly it looks like an entirely different thing. It is respectable and academic.'

Alexander couldn't help but compare it to many organised sports, 'The people who created those sports didn't need to personally organise every competition surrounding it. Industrial Illusions could take a similar approach with Duel Monsters. The company creates the game, but other institutions can build their own structures around it. And that would give Duel Monsters legitimacy without making Industrial Illusions appear as though it is desperately trying to promote itself.'

The implications were enormous, but more importantly, Alexander realised that Emma's proposal wasn't only beneficial to him. It was beneficial to her as well, a lot.

The championship would give Emma legitimate reasons to visit schools where she could freely observe talented students, speak with headmasters, build relationships with exceptional teachers, meet wealthy parents, identify particularly promising young people, and, perhaps most importantly, potentially identify mutants among them.

It was an excellent intelligence-gathering operation disguised as educational philanthropy.

Alexander wasn't entirely sure whether he should be impressed or concerned, probably both.

Still, there was nothing inherently wrong with the arrangement, as their interests simply happened to overlap, and Alexander wasn't about to complain about getting Duel Monsters into schools on such a deep level.

Yet, Emma's proposal gave Alexander another idea, so he said, "There is one thing I'd like to change."

Emma raised an eyebrow and asked, "Change?"

"The format."

Hearing that, she gestured for him to continue, which he did, "If we're going to make this an actual school competition, I think we should make it more distinctive."

"How?"

"Make it a team competition."

Emma looked very intrigued before she said, "Go on."

"Five players per school." Alexander began outlining the idea, "Each school would have an official roster. Coaches, reserve players, designated duelists..."

He paused briefly before he continued, "...Different players that could specialise in different decks and strategies."

Emma nodded slowly as she realised the implications, "Rather than having one student representing the school... The school itself becomes the competitor. Interesting."

Alexander also smiled as he told her, "Think of it as a varsity activity."

That seemed to catch her attention as she quickly understood what he was implying, "Schools would have a reason to actively recruit talented duelists."

"Exactly."

"Students would compete for positions on the roster."

"Yes."

"And the coaches could develop team strategies."

Alexander smiled, "Now you're getting it."

Emma considered the idea for a few seconds before she asked, "And the actual matches?"

Without any hesitation, Alexander replied, "Both Single Duels and Tag Duels."

Emma blinked, confused by the new term, "Tag Duels?"

Alexander couldn't help but smile and asked, "You've never seen one?"

"No."

"I suppose I haven't introduced them yet."

Emma looked genuinely surprised as she asked, "Duel Monsters can be played in a Tag format?"

"Quite easily." Alexander leaned back and observed, "Duel Monsters is more versatile than most people realise."

He hadn't actually introduced Tag Duels to the public yet, and that was precisely what made the opportunity so interesting.

Alexander grew more confident as he commented, "This could be the perfect occasion to introduce them to the public."

Hearing that, Emma's interest increased as she asked, "How different are they from regular Duels?"

"Very." Alexander immediately replied before he thought for a moment about how best to explain it, "In a regular Duel, everything depends on one player and one deck. A Tag Duel adds another layer."

Emma instantly understood, "Teamwork."

"Exactly." He nodded before he further explained, "Two players have to coordinate their strategies. Having two powerful decks isn't necessarily enough. If the decks don't work together, they can actually interfere with one another. But if the decks are designed to complement each other, then they can unleash considerably more potential together"

Emma's eyes narrowed thoughtfully before she observed, "So the players would need to understand not only their own decks, but their partner's as well."

"Yes." Alexander smiled, "And that's where it becomes interesting."

A good Tag Team wouldn't simply consist of the two strongest duelists available, but it would consist of two duelists who understand each other and whose strategies complemented each other.

That meant communication, planning, trust, teamwork.

It also gave schools another reason to develop a proper Duel Monsters program rather than simply finding one talented student and sending them into a tournament.

Emma seemed increasingly impressed, "I have to admit, Mr Alexander, I hadn't realised the game had this much versatility."

"Most people haven't."

"Perhaps you've been underselling it."

Alexander gave her a slightly amused look before he quipped, "Or perhaps I've been waiting for the right opportunities."

Emma smiled back and said, "Perhaps."

The conversation continued from there.

Once the basic structure had been established, the two began discussing the practical details.

The exact number of players on each roster. How reserves would work. How Single and Tag Duels could be incorporated. How schools would register their teams. How coaches would participate. How the scholarship would be administered. And, naturally, how the responsibilities would be divided between the Frost International and Industrial Illusions.

The more they discussed the concept, the more workable it became. Naturally, not everything went smoothly as Emma and Alexander had different opinions on several matters, but in the end, they were still able to reach a satisfying compromise.

Alexander was particularly pleased with the way their interests complemented one another.

Emma wanted to give the championship prestige while simultaneously expanding her influence among schools, students and influential families, and Alexander wanted Duel Monsters to spread and become an accepted and integral part of society.

Neither objective interfered with the other. If anything, they strengthened each other.

Eventually, after going through the major points, they reached a preliminary agreement.

There would still be plenty of details to work out before anything could officially be announced, but the foundation was there.

The Inter-School Duel Monsters Championship was going to happen.

Emma stood from her chair, and Alexander followed.

She extended her hand and said, "Then I believe we have an agreement."

Alexander shook her hand, "I believe we do."

"To a successful collaboration."

"And to the first Inter-School Duel Monsters Championship."

Emma smiled and commented, "That has a nice ring to it."

Alexander smiled back.

Neither of them could know exactly how successful the competition would become, but Alexander had a feeling that they had just set something considerably larger into motion.