Chapter 14: Gamble… or Investment?
"Wow, would you get a load of this place?" Bryan said as he looked upon the grand hotel in the business district of Gathas. "This place is bigger than all the dorms in the Academy combined!"
The luxurious Denkard was a thirty-story hotel and casino known for its elegance and high class patrons. The building had almost four thousand rooms, an elaborate fountain in the atrium, and a collection of botanical gardens filled with all kinds of exotic plants moved and replanted to reflect the season outside.
"I should hope so," Dexter replied. "We tend to house more people here. Helps earn more money." Dexter Word was the limo driver sent to pick up Bryan and Matt from the airport. He was one of many employed by the Denkard Hotel and Casino for their very special Duel Monsters Limitation Tournament weekend. They arrived after dark, and the lights of the hotel were beautiful. The biggest surprise to Matt was that he and his guest had to pay for nothing. Airline tickets came with their registration confirmations, and they were told registration was free because they were special guests.
"This is too much," Matt said. "Free registration? Fancy hotel? A limo?" He looked at Bryan's overzealous expression, then nodded in agreement. "Okay. Almost too much."
Bryan and Matt gave the free registration and airfare no extra thought, but Dr. West was curious who would sponsor freshmen who haven't even completed a full year of duel school. Granted, they were superior duelists even for their lack of intense experience—Matt was the first freshman to defeat a senior in the School Duel of the two most revered dueling schools, and Bryan already proved himself strong enough to wield a god card—but companies rarely ever sponsored freshmen. Dave won numerous tournaments during his freshman year, but he wasn't sponsored for any of them. They required registration fees, which were sometimes covered in part by Duel Academy for the bigger tournaments, and never were full transportation and hotel costs paid.
"If you young men would like, simply go through those doors and talk to the lady at the desk. She will get you registered and give you room keys. I'll bring your luggage in for you," Dexter said.
"You sure you don't need a hand?" Bryan asked.
Dexter reached in the trunk and pulled out two small bags each the size of a Pomeranian. "I've carried luggage for entire parties of females. I can handle your stuff."
The inside of the hotel was even more impressive than the outside. The walls were decorated with brilliant wallpaper that almost seemed lined with real gold, and the lights were surrounded by crystals. The fountain even reflected the light as if it were dancing diamonds. Even the receptionist was decked out in jewelry and fancy clothes.
"Are you boys here for the tournament?" the lady asked with a heavy British accent.
"Yes, we are," Bryan responded in a fake British accent. "How'd you know?"
"Well, the card decks on your belt made a good clue, dears," she replied with a sarcastic expression. She was not especially amused by Bryan's fake accent. "Why don't I get your information so you can get settled in?"
"Sure," Matt said and pulled his Academy ID from his wallet. "I'm Matt Luther and this is Bryan Knight. We're from Duel Academy."
The woman's expression changed entirely when she saw the ID cards and brought up the names on the registration list. "Oh, my," she gasped. "I apologize for my tone. I was unaware who you were, Mr. Luther."
"So we get special treatment or something?" Bryan asked just to be silly, not at all expecting the answer he was about to get.
"You two will be as royalty around here," the receptionist said. "Ms. Moxley says your entire bill will be complimentary and you will be put in the jackpot suite." She handed them two keycards with the Denkard logo on them and motioned a bellhop to the three bags Dexter Word brought in. "Please get settled into your room and let us know immediately if you need anything. Ms. Moxley will meet with you soon."
"Who's Ms. Moxley?" Bryan asked as casually as he would ask the weather.
The receptionist looked shocked, but the boys were redeemed a bit in her eyes when Matt pointed out the Bryan that Leona Moxley was the hostess of the tournament; she handwrote the invitation letter. Then his attention drifted inexplicably toward the glorious dining room adjacent to the lobby.
From the dining room large enough to seat more than any duel arena Bryan or Matt ever went to came a woman whose beauty was unmatched by anything the two boys had ever seen. She was fifty-two years old, but she looked absolutely angelic in her flowing, shimmering gown, and she seemed to exude youth despite her age. She had a fairly dark complexion, silky dark hair, and enchanting gray eyes. Her build was athletic and strong, and she looked like a woman half her age.
"You must be Mr. Luther and Mr. Knight. Or the Marx Brothers of Dueling, as I hear it," the woman spoke.
"If we must, then I guess we are," Bryan said, better able to overcome her enchanting appearance than Matt was. Matt found himself oddly awestruck and speechless at the mere sight of her.
"And you must be Ms. Moxley," Matt said. He bowed lightly as he gently took her hand and added, "It is a great honor to be here at your lovely hotel."
"Charmed," Leona said genuinely with a smile.
"Careful, or I'll tell Kasumi," Bryan whispered.
"Please, allow me to show you to your room," Leona told the boys. She escorted them to the elevator and went with them to the twenty-eighth floor where she revealed one of the largest suites available.
Looking around the room, Matt never felt more like he was being handed prizes he didn't deserve. Freshman champ at Duel Academy or not, he and Bryan hadn't done anything yet that deserved nearly thirty thousand cubic feet living space for a weekend free of charge. The room was complete with all kinds of furniture, including the enormous bed commonplace in a suite, two couches big enough to be beds, chairs that kids and Bryan would love to jump on, a bathroom big enough to bathe a hippo, and a refrigerator filled with everything. Not only that, they were being personally escorted by the owner.
"Are we the only participants who didn't have to pay registration or airfare or anything?" Matt asked.
"You don't like the room?" Leona asked, interpreting Matt's question incorrectly.
"No, the room is fantastic," he emphasized nervously. "We really probably don't deserve it yet." He thought about the School Duel and the OTK badge pinned to his school jacket. "I know I have some big honors under my belt, but I've done nothing to earn this yet. That's why I'm curious."
"Yet?" Leona repeated with a smile. She liked to hear young duelists who still spoke optimistically about their talents.
"We're going to be co-King of Games one day," Bryan explained. "That's when we'll actually deserve this kind of specialty treatment. I think Matt is just nervous because usually complimentary registration of this magnitude doesn't come without a catch."
"I see," Leona replied thoughtfully. "Let me simply say a wealthy patron of mine sees a lot of promise in you. He saw the Duel Academy vs. Godwin Academy duel and was very impressed. He and I decided to sponsor your participation in this international tournament as a bit of an investment."
"An investment?" Bryan repeated. "Did we sign some contract I didn't pay attention to that said you get my first born or something like that?"
With an amused smile, Leona replied, "Not that kind of investment, dear. You are not contractually obliged to me or any of my patrons for any purpose. We simply expect to see high quality dueling from two highly-ranked students who come from a prestigious school."
After the boys spent a few minutes unpacking and drawing up a map to help getting around the room, Leona requested they join her for a late dinner. It was a chance for them to be properly introduced to one another and to meet some of the other participants and investors. "Investor" was a polite word for the level of gambling that was sure to take place during this tournament.
"Oh, yeah," Bryan said excitedly. "You got any liver and onions? I need something to wash the taste of airplane food out of my mouth."
Dinner consisted of an amazing array of foods from all around the world. Leona spared no expense in making everyone there feel like they'd died and gone to heaven, which made Matt wonder what the registration fee would have been if he weren't sponsored; could Duel Academy even afford it? During the meal, all Leona would tell him was that the fee was high enough only the highest class of duelist received an invitation, which Bryan translated loosely as "Republicans." The ones who win tournaments regularly had more than enough money to gamble on this tournament, and the winner would receive a collection of rare cards along with a hefty monetary prize.
After forty-five minutes of the late dinner, when Matt and Bryan were sufficiently stuffed, the other participants entered the dining room. It was almost 2300, but they came to see Leona's welcome and introduction to the tournament, scheduled late at night because Gathas was not unlike Vegas, and the nighttime is when things really get moving. The crowd included duelists from across the globe, many wearing different clothing styles, but most wearing some kind of formalwear, as if to show off their money. It was clear even to a blind man that more money changed hands in this tournament than just the prize money. Betting on a single round of this tournament could completely return a person's registration fee.
"Welcome, guests," Leona announced. "I hope you are all making yourselves at home as long as you are here. You are some of the best duelists in the world, and we hope to see excellent show and sportsmanship from you. As stated on your invitations, this tournament will last three days. You will undertake grueling duels with special rules to limit the power of your decks. The rules will vary from round to round, and only those duelists with the highest marks at the end of three days will be eligible to participate in the final duel. I have prepared an exhibition duel to give you some idea of the rules you may be required to adhere to."
Leona motioned to the end of the room where Dexter and another employee Faye Olivo were armed with expensive, next generation Duel Disks. They activated the hologram projectors and started the exhibition duel.
"For this competition," Leona described to the audience, "both duelists were given twenty minutes notice to prepare duel decks without any monsters and they are given only 4000 Life Points each. Begin."
Dexter drew and said, "I'll begin by activating Wave-Motion Cannon. Then I'll set three cards facedown."
"My turn," Faye said. "And I'll start with Heavy Storm to sweep away your cards."
"I'll chain Magic Jammer and discard one card to negate your Spell."
"In that case, I'll activate Dark Snake Syndrome and play Time Jump—this Spell skips the duel ahead by three turns. I'll also set two cards and end my turn."
"My turn," Dexter said.
"Before you draw," Faye said, "I'll activate Pyro Clock of Destiny. This Trap jumps the turn count forward once more."
"I understand," Dexter replied. "I'll draw."
"Now the effect of Dark Snake Syndrome activates. Starting with 200, it doubles the damage you take to your Life Points with every Standby Phase, and this will be Standby Phase number five, thanks to my Spell and my Trap. So you take 3200 points of damage."
"Nice play," Dexter said, "but I was prepared. "I'll play Barrel Behind the Door. This Trap negates any effect damage you do to me and deals it back to you. So now you take 3200 points of damage."
Faye gritted her teeth and took the hit instead of activating her facedown card.
"Now I will end this duel," Dexter said. "When I remove Wave-Motion Cannon from the field, you take damage equal to 1000 times the number of Standby Phases that have passed—five, if I'm not mistaken?"
"I'll chain my Trap," Faye replied. "Damage Polarizer negates the damage and forces us each to draw one card."
"Not bad," Dexter said, "but you made an unfortunate error. My other facedown is Poison of the Old Man; activating this Spell will deal an instant 800 points of damage to you, and you have no other cards to protect you." Dexter 4000: Faye 4000 – 3200 – 800 = 0.
"This duel is over," Leona announced, followed by applause and rumblings of the crowd. Everyone thought he or she could have done the duel better or knew exactly which cards to use when building a deck without monsters.
"That was cool," Bryan said to Matt. "A duel without monsters? Talk about a challenge!"
Leona finished her announcement by saying, "Please relax and enjoy the hotel tonight. If there is anything you require, please do not hesitate to ask any of our helpful staff. There is just one rule: No dueling will be tolerated in hotel facilities. Duel Disks are for use in the tournament only. Now, enjoy your evening."
That basically meant the duelists could practice with one another, but they couldn't compete tonight. There were no clear consequences, but with a prize as big as the one offered, no one was especially willing to take the risk. Why try to take out weak duelists early when they could do so in one of the later rounds of the tournament and get a free pass?
"Want to go check out the casino?" Matt asked Bryan.
"Yeah, sure. We might as well break the law while we're here," he said half-seriously. "I'm too excited to sleep just yet, plus you're not supposed to lie down for two hours after eating."
"I guess that leaves us plenty of time to go broke."
Needless to say, the casino was huge, and the lights were enough for an instant seizure. There was something for everyone here, and except during reserved tournament weekends, there was usually someone for every game. It looked a lot like a casino on one side and an arcade on the other, if the arcade required a minimum wage per game and actually returned money for the winners.
"Are we old enough to be here?" Bryan asked.
"I don't know. I think the age for gambling in Gathas is eighteen, but we're still too young to drink and you're the only one legally allowed to gamble until January."
A few of the international duelists were sitting at a Blackjack table when they noticed Bryan and Matt looking around. Recognizing the boys from Duel Academy records and footage, the group laughed amongst themselves first, then one of them called to the boys.
"Hey, you. Winning children. Come play with us." He spoke with a thick Russian accent, and his eyes reeked of greed and lust. He was a compulsive gambler, but unlike most, he rarely lost. His gambling problem came from winning more often than not. And he argued that being rich—the result of his gambling—wasn't a problem for him. It was hard to argue with that, especially when he handed out a hundred rubles just to shut up anyone who would try.
"You must be here for the Limitations Tournament," Bryan said. "Bryan Knight, future co-King of Games."
The Russian and his cohorts laughed again. "I saw footage of School Duel between Duel Academy and Godwin Academy. You barely beat senior with Infernity deck. You really think you can win this tournament?"
"We definitely can," Bryan replied. "We're as good as anyone out there."
"Are you really that talented?" asked one of the ladies at the table. She was probably in her late forties or early fifties, but she actually looked like it—not like Leona. This woman not only looked old, but she smoked and drank constantly, which just made her look even older. She was obviously from Eastern Europe, possibly among the former Soviet states, but it was hard to pinpoint her accent precisely.
"I don't like to brag," Matt said, then added, "all the time. But I have won a share of especially challenging duels."
"Is that so?" the Russian replied. "Perhaps you'd like to have a game of cards right here to test that theory?"
"A duel?" Matt asked, about to argue that Leona forbid dueling outside the tournament. "No, you mean Blackjack."
"You're brighter than I first give you credit for," the Russian said.
"Okay," Matt accepted. He motioned to the dealer. "Do you happen to have a fresh pack of cards for us to use here? Not that I don't trust the house, but I've seen a lot of movies."
The dealer handed Matt a deck of playing cards with the packaging plastic still on, which Matt tore off before he looked through the deck. He tossed out a Joker and an instruction sheet and handed the deck to the Russian.
"Check to see if that deck suits you," he said.
The Russian searched the deck, then handed the cards to the dealer with a short nod. The dealer proceeded to shuffle the cards of a single deck in the automatic shuffler and tossed a facedown card to Matt, one to the Russian, then showed Matt a face-up four, and showed a king for the Russian.
"What are the stakes?" the Russian asked.
"I thought you were just testing me," Matt replied.
"How about a wager?" the European lady proposed. It was clear she was almost as wild about gambling as the Russian was.
"Here's an idea," Bryan offered. "Matt can beat you twice within three games."
"I accept," the Russian said eagerly. This was not his first time in a casino, and he recognized when the odds were in his favor. "Now how about wager?"
"How much do you want?" Matt asked.
The Russian pulled a pair of Ben Franklins out of his jacket pocket. "Two hundred."
Matt looked at it for a second, then said, "Deal. Two times in three games."
The Russian nodded. "Feel free to start, my young friend. I trust you have the money to back up the wager." What he actually meant was, he trusted Matt to get the money one way or another. If he didn't, that would be a different question.
"I'll back the kid," a third man offered. This man just walked over to the table. He was much better dressed than anyone else in the room, and he actually smelled clean. He didn't seem the dark, Mafia type like so many others did. He spoke with an English accent, though not as strong as the one the receptionist sported. The Russian looked at the Englishman suspiciously, but the three others at the table including the European lady threw money down for the game, too.
"Can you cover all that?" the Russian asked.
"I can," Bryan said. It was a lie, but Bryan knew Matt was going to win, so he wasn't afraid to put down the imaginary deposit.
"Very well. Begin."
"You got it," Matt said. He flipped his facedown card and said, "Double down." He now had two face-up fours, so the dealer dealt him two facedown cards. Matt pointed to the first pile and said, "Hit."
The dealer showed a ten. "Fourteen."
"Stay." Matt pointed to his other pile and said, "Hit."
The dealer showed a four. "Eight."
"Hit."
This time a three. "Eleven."
"Stay."
Now it was the Russian's turn. He had a king showing. He hit and got a five. He decided to stand.
Matt flipped all his cards. First hand: four, ten, seven. Second hand: four, four, three, jack. Both hands added to twenty-one. The Russian held king, five, and five. Matt won the first hand.
"That was fun," Matt said. "We'll have to do that again sometime."
"We still have another hand," the Russian reminded him.
"No, you don't," the Englishman corrected him. "I believe the wager was for two wins within three games, is that correct? He beat you two times in this one game, so the boy is the victor." He picked up the money and handed most of it to Bryan and Matt.
The Russian just smiled to hide the rage boiling beneath the surface. "How about one more hand? A brand new bet. Just one hand."
"Same wager?" Matt asked. This time, people were less eager to get in on the action at first; this time it would be entirely by luck. The crowd around the table definitely grew, however.
"Double my bet," the Russian said. This time Matt had the money on him, so he was actually capable of showing his wager.
The dealer dealt both a pocket card and a show card. Matt showed a five, the Russian showed an ace. Now money fell on the table in favor of the Russian. Between Bryan and the Englishman, all bets were covered.
"I'll stand," the Russian said.
"Hit," Matt said. Deuce. "Hit." Nine. More money fell. "Hit."
"You're hitting?" the European lady repeated. Matt affirmed his decision, and more money fell to the table. If Matt had eleven showing, what were the odds he would get something low enough not to bust?
King.
"Twenty-one showing," the Russian said with a smirk. "Too bad. You bust, so I win."
"What did you have?" Matt asked.
The Englishman placed his hand over the pot before the Russian could gather the money. He said, "Why not answer the boy's question? Just for fun?"
The Russian looked incredulously at the Englishman for a moment, then sat back. He flipped his pocket nine. "Twenty."
Matt smirked. "Then I win." He added, "I guess that meal made me more tired than I thought to make a mistake like this…" He flipped over his pocket card and revealed a Joker. "…but you allowed the deck. And a Joker has no value. So I have twenty-one to your twenty."
The Russian was clearly not happy, and his sentiments were shared by everyone who bet on him. But the Englishman and Bryan really cleaned up on that hand, plus two others who placed money on Matt. At that point, the dealer broke up the personal feud and requested only traditional Blackjack games resume.
"Don't expect to get any lucky tricks during the tournament," the Russian told Matt.
"Deal," Matt joked.
Bryan excitedly waited for everyone else to leave, then said, "That was kick ass!" He turned to the Englishman and said, "Thanks for backing us up there."
The Englishman merely nodded and said, "I saw it more as an investment than a gamble." With that, he offered a slight, friendly smile and walked away.
"Strange guy," Matt commented, "but he seems able to pick a winner. I wonder if he's a duelist."
"No joke," Bryan agreed. "I've seen enough of the casino for now. Let's head back to the room and get ready for tomorrow before I start to get greedy. Re-doubling your money is going against the odds, and I'm not in the mood to lose anything after that. I could afford almost two pairs of shoes for Lucy with this, or I cold buy her about a dozen necklaces."
Matt laughed at the implication that shoes are so much more expensive than jewelry, but he agreed with the sentiment; he preferred not to gamble on a game of luck. The tournament would be more able skill.
Only in Gathas a few hours and already making waves? Gambling foreigners who scoff at big bills? How cliché. But in my defense, this is one cliché that is grounded in truth.
We've now seen one brief duel in which the players use no monsters. This tournament will be complete within five chapters; what kinds of deck limitations will we see?
Bryan and Matt compete in Round 1 of the tournament, and they do it without Normal summoning a single monster.
The tournament also brings a variety of duelists, some of whom are familiar with Duel Academy and the duelists chosen to teach the developing minds.
Next up: When You Can't Normal Summon
When I finish with this tournament, Part I of this story will be complete. I have some plot details for Part II ready to go, but I am looking for some original characters if anyone would like to submit any. I just need the following information:
Name; Physical appearance; Brief biography of major life events; High school clique (e.g., jock, computer nerd, band geek...); Feelings about dueling; Where you came up with the name (to sate my curiosity).