Chapter 1: A New Game
I awake to the ear-piercing screech of my rude alarm clock. My bed is warm despite my previous state of a dead sleep. I turn off my alarm and get up, greeted this fine morning by the cold air of my dark bedroom. Domino City isn't very cold this time of year, but my apartment is comparatively a frozen tundra with no hopes of ever melting. Despite this, I take my time putting on my school uniform and leave to be greeted by a fairly sunny morning. Domino High School isn't too far away, so walking there is no big deal, especially in this sort of weather. Appreciating nature is an important, yet difficult task when you live in the city. My route to school feels average today, like it always does; normal traffic of everyone attempting their morning commute. Walking down the sidewalk I see a group of kids past me in excitement to the local gaming store. With piqued curiosity I briskly walk to see what all the joy was about.
Upon turning the corner I notice a massive group of people gathered around the entrance of the store in apparent anticipation. What could this excitement be about? Through the mayhem I notice a banner above the entrance to the shop. It read "Duel Monsters Grand Release Today!"
Duel Monsters? Is this a new game? I haven't heard of it until now, I wonder what it could be. Suddenly the door to the shop opens and all I could see coming out of it was black, red, and blond hair. This figure seemingly struggles through the chaotic crowd until he finally exits on the other side, right in front of me. Wait, I recognize him, that's Yugi Muto. Oh, that's right, I heard around that Yugi's grandfather, Solomon owns this game store. I approach Yugi as he straightens himself up, recovering from the disorder of the crowd.
"Hey, Yugi, what's going on here?" I ask him.
"It's the release of this new card game called Duel Monsters, where two players face off using a deck that consists of monsters, spells, and traps. Sounds pretty neat, huh?" he responds.
I agree, it does sound pretty neat, maybe I'll learn how to play sometime. I turn to where Yugi was and in the midst of my thinking I didn't realize that he had already left. Probably to meet up with his friends Joey, Tristan, and Tea. I don't know much about any of them, I only see them periodically in the halls of school. Yugi has always come across to me as a shy kid, but at the same time as someone with consistently high spirits. I continue my walk to school.
Over the course of the entire school day I kept pondering more and more about what this card game involved; it's a game that has two players face off against each other, so there must be a life system or some kind of point system to keep track of who's winning. It involves the use of monsters, spells, and traps. If the name of the game is called Duel Monsters, what's the point of spells and traps, though? To boost certain monsters maybe and to give an advantage. That would make sense. What about traps, though? Could it be something to trick your opponent into falling for to give them a disadvantage? All this seems very simple and also very complicated at the same time. I continue to think when I overhear multiple people talking about the game. Is it already getting popular? Before today I've heard literally nobody talk about it, now it seems to be the biggest game on the face of the Earth. Maybe it's just a fad that will quickly die out. Or maybe not. Either way, the think the best way for my questions to be answered is if I learn how to play this game myself!
At the end of the day I walk to the game store that I had seen the massive crowd outside of just this morning, of which has since dispersed. The shop itself is painted yellow color with a green rooftop. Above the enterance were large letters that spelled out the word "GAME," as well as a sign next to the door that said "SHOP" with a picture of a turtle just above it. The entrance was a red door with glass panes on it. I turn the knob and walk in, being greeted by the ringing of a bell. Having heard the bell ring, a short old man walks out from a back room and greets me. He has gray hair and a gray mustache and wore a black bandana, an off-white collared shirt, and green overalls. This must be the owner, Solomon Muto. I greet him and walk to the front counter, passing by two other counters on either side of me, each one holding various games on it. Some I recognized from my childhood, others not so much. When I reach the front desk I notice a display case right underneath of it that holds small cards. Each card had unique differences about them but were just alike enough to tell that they were all part of the same game. Are these Duel Monster cards? Each card had text on the top of it that was followed by a colored circle of specific colors. Underneath was a picture, each picture had a different artwork, all of which amazed me. Underneath that was more text, along with what looked like said ATK and DEF, each one followed by a number. They must have been abbreviations for Attack and Defense, which I suppose is how one knows which monsters are better. Each card had a different color. Some were a vanilla yellow color, some were green, and a light purple, almost like a magenta. It seems that upon entering this shop I've been filled with more questions than answers. The old man notice me staring at the cards.
"Ah, I see you're interested in this new card game too, huh?" he asks me with a cheerful smile.
I produce a nervous laughter, "I just wanted to see what the big deal of it all was. It seems fascinating, but I'm not sure if it's worth investing my time in."
The old man gives me a smile and giggles to himself, "Well, I'll tell you what, I can give this to you on the house," he says as he slides a small booklet across the counter to me. I pick up the book and read the title.
How To Play Duel Monsters.
This was perfect. I could learn how to play the game first so I can know what I'd be getting myself into if I decided to invest any more time in it. I thanked the old man and exited the shop, making my way home.
Little did I know that I would end up getting much more than I bargained for.
My name is Yuito Takahiko, and this is how Duel Monsters changed my life.
