A bright new day rose upon Domino City. And from early on, both Van and Daichi headed out to the streets and explore the city. With one of the first things, they decided to address was a better explanation for the boy regarding the mapping of the subway and train lines. Due to the uncle assuring his nephew those will be key for him to move around the city.

Once they arrived to the plaza, Daichi invited Van to have breakfast in a café, finding it a good place to bring the next important topic of conversation.

While the man ordered a green tea, Van took the opportunity to order a Frappuccino, working both as a refreshment and something sweet to fill his stomach.

After taking a sip from his tea, which left his cup halfway empty. Daichi set the tea down, making a knocking sound loud enough to catch his nephew's attention, "Alright boy", said.

Van blinked in a mixture of both surprise and curiosity, though keeping his lips on the straw.

Then, he would hand him over a folded letter, "Check this out"

The boy blinked a couple of times and looked at the letter, reaching out to it. When he unfolded the piece of paper, his eyes were greeted with a balance summary. "Uh, what is this?", however, before he could finish the question, Daichi was already holding a debit card to him. Van reached out and stared it down as he held it.

"Remember what I told you about your parents' support?" He motioned with his hand, "Well, there it is. From what I calculated; it should be around… 1500 Euros. 200,000 converted into Yen, more than enough for you." The man stated with a confident smile on his face.

"1500!?" replied, impressed by the sum that was trusted to him. Tiny drops of sweat started to jump from his head as his body trembled. His perfectly round white eyes staring at his uncle in a state of panic slightly and began asking, "W-what should I d-do with this? I-I-mean, I b-been trusted s-so much mon-ey befo-"

CHOP

Daichi delivered an epic Karate chop clean on the boy's head "CALM DOWN DAMN IT!" then crossed his arms, grinning madly at his nephew with steam pumping from his head "As if I'd let you go with all that money. I will guide you on the first things you will buy with that. That way, you will also know how a debit card is used."

Van held his head with a stream of tears running down his face, like the last time he was smacked by his uncle. But soon collected himself and nodded at him, "So, what am I going to buy first?".

Daichi rolled his eyes and replied, "Well, you are not going to go to school and write down notes in the palm of your hand with nothing more than pure imagination. Come on, kid, let's go!" The man then left some money held under his empty cup, then as he stood up, he whistled at a waitress who had taken and served their orders; pointing at the money on the table and then giving her a thumbs up. Then motioned Van to hurry, "Come on boy, come on!"

"Jeez, alright, alright!" finishing his drink in a rush before standing up and catching up to his uncle. "So, what now, where are we going?" Exclaimed, a bit annoyed by his uncle's sudden rush.

That's how they began wandering around the city

from store to store, getting his school supplies. After an hour or so, Van had his hands filled with a couple of shopping bags. Folders, notebooks, pencils and so on. All the supplies for his school semester. All of those, paid with the card that was handed to him.

"Well, this was easier than what I thought" Commented to Daichi, as they were walking down the street, the boy holding the small plastic object in his hand.

Daichi just rolled his eyes, and shrugged, "Of course, using it is the easiest thing." Then lifted a finger, wiggling it side to side as he stated, "Knowing when to use it and how much is the thing. Money management. Not a bad thing to learn this early on."

Van looked at him, listening to what was being said to him, then blinked and stopped for a moment. Reached into one of the bags and pulled out a brand now wallet, storing the card in it and then placing said wallet in his pocket. "I'll keep that in mind, won't overdo it."

"You'll have it easy, you already are hands free from paying rent, and I'll give you a hand with the expenses for food, if you like."

"Actually… if you think I should learn this early on, how about you just give me tips buying food and I try to give it a shot on my own?" The boy quickly replied, feeling genuinely curious about checking how hard could it be.

Daichi stopped in his tracks and blinked at the boy. Then, as a grin spread across his face, he delivered a heavy pat on his back "Now that's what I like, trying to go from being a kid to being a man early on, nice going kid!" And chuckled before adding, "We'll see if I'm calling you like that for long."

Van almost lost his balance and fell on his face with his uncle's strike. "Ugh…" complained as his back itched from it. Then it came back to him and looked at the man, "Ah! By the way. You mentioned something related to Dueling last night, remember?"

The man scratched his head, "Oh, right, right. Yes, I guess you earned that. Don't think we are missing everything to get started at school, not until we go get the uniform that is." Then smiled and nodded to himself, "But just as I promised, follow me, let me take you to a little place you'll like."

The boy shrugged and walked besides him, hands behind his head, while the bags were hanging from his forearm. It would be perhaps a twenty-minute walk, half an hour at most, before they stopped in front of a store with a very colorful sign. It showed multiple pictures of characters of western comics, manga, video games and duel monsters. The store's name was "Gemasensu".

"This is it! It's actually a pretty old store and one of the first game related stores to get on board the Duel Monsters wave." Daichi commented with his arms folded. Then looked at his nephew with a smirk, "Figured you'd be interested in visiting a place like this, right?"

As Daichi spoke, Van simply stared with his eyes open wide, and his sunglasses slightly unadjusted. Ignoring the words of his uncle, the boy started to step into the store.

"Hey, hey, are you even listening!?" An angry Daichi yelled before facepalming, "I knew I might end up regretting this… meh…" The man just held his hands in his pockets and rolled his eyes before following his nephew.

Van stepped into the store, looking around, up, and down. Quite impressed by the interior. Ample with two floors. As soon as going in, one could notice several racks with Video Game cases, and going further back one could see how things switched over to tabletop games. Any game anyone could think, that store was pretty likely of having it. There was also room for computer Hardware, with a major focus on desktop rather than portable ones. The bottom floor only had two sections dedicated to duel monsters. One of the main showcase windows and also one of the counters to the sides of the entrance, which focused mainly on tabletop game related goods and booster packs from the popular card game.

Van's jaw dropped and let go a silent and long gasp while slowly walking past the different racks of the bottom floor. Daichi simply joined in the wandering by doing his thing, barely interested but enduring it for his nephew.

"Helloooo?" A young female voice called out at the young man.

The boy jumped as he heard the girly voice, making his attention set straight to its source. It was, of course, a girl who seemed to be around his same age standing a bit shorter than him, her hair was pink and held by a single, long ponytail.

She clearly was wearing the store's uniform, which consisted of a black and orange shirt with the business' logo, matching pants, and white and blue shoes.

"Welcome, welcome, how can I help you?" Asked with a cheerful tone that went along with the bright smile on her face.

Van slowly raised his hands and slowly shook his head, with an embarrassed smile on his face, "Oh, I'm alright, thank you. First time around, so I'm just taking a look." Then rubbed his neck before adding, "I was told I'd like this place, and It's pretty impressive, seems you are not missing anything when it comes to games!"

The girl showed a smug smile and pridefully wiped her chest with her knuckles, "Of course! My dad always makes sure that we can stand among the best game stores in Domino! So, whatever you need, ask. Video games, gaming consoles, tabletop games, computer hardware, booster packs or individual cards, just ask!"

Van blinked and reacted at the last part, "So you sell individual cards as well!" showing a great smile on his face

"Ooooh a duelist?" Then clapped her hands together before stating, "For individual cards, some may be in stock. But those which aren't, and depending on their rarity, will take some days for us to get them in our stock." Then pointed upstairs "You can see more of our packs, individual cards in stock, Duel disks and the dueling area in the upper floor!"

That made him quickly look up, "Wait, what? I-I gotta see that!"

The employee laughed and motioned him to follow her, "Sure, over here! My name is Chiaki by the way, and as you may guess by now. My dad owns this store."

"Nice to meet you, my name's Van" Then paused for a moment to ask, "So… duelists often come here?" asked as they went up the stairs.

"Hmm, mostly during events, outside that most of the visits we get from duelists is regarding acquiring or trading cards. Duel Disks made almost any place viable for dueling, so game stores are not a priority anymore. Buuuut…."

"ALRIGHT ANOTHER WIN!" A scream from the top floor managed to interrupt her explanation. And right after that, they got there, just to see a group gathered around a dueling table with a VR display.

"Another win for the future king of games!" A young man screamed… and he was quite a character. He was wearing black pants and a dark shirt with a long and pointy white coat.

Chiaki facepalmed and grunted "He's still here…." said as some black curvy lines appeared over her head "He is… a regular… and a good customer of my dad… much to my misfortune"

Van scratched his cheek, smiling with some embarrassment, "Haha… I see." Then, his eyes narrowed when, with a shocking revelation getting to him when he took another look at that noisy duelist. "Wait…. Is he dressing like…"

"Yep… Seto Kaiba… Let me try to calm them down." Stated as she approached them with a defeated expression on her face. "Goro!" she exclaimed. "How many times do we have to tell you to mind your voice in this store!"

The duelist then looked over at Chiaki and Van, "Heh, come on, I should be allowed to celebrate. After all, I'm on my way to become the next king of games!"

The closer view gave Van a clearer perspective of how bizarre that duelist looked. He tried to imitate Kaiba and both body language and outfit. However, he missed the mark entirely in personality and body. The boy had a broad body, not exactly from muscle, and was slightly shorter than him. Probably closer to the store employee's stature.

Then, that duelist pointed at them "Ah I see, you brought another challenger to me Chiaki, excellent!"

"Ehhh? No! He just arrived, leave him be and learn to behave, or I'll have my dad take you out!"

Goro then crossed his arms and laughed once more, "Oh, please, just think about it! Having the future king of games having your dad's store as his main dueling field. You couldn't see kicking me out as a good thing for business!"

At that point, Chiaki had her eyes flashing red and grinning her teeth in pure rage, she was about to give Goro the scolding of his dueling career, but then…

"Sure"

The words came out of Van's mouth as he had one of his hands reaching to one of his pants' pockets. Then he adjusted his sunglasses. "But under a condition" stated before his icy blue eyes stared down with an intense stare through the lenses of his sunglasses, these shared the colors of his eyes. "First, if I win, you'll pick up your stuff and leave quietly and drop your king of games delusions."

"Delusions! Who the heck do you think you are?" Goro asked, irritated at his remark.

"Someone who chooses to run their deck first rather than their mouth." Delivered as a sharp answer to the duelist, "Well?" asked, raising an eyebrow.

"FINE!" Then, Goro pointed him "But if you want to put conditions, let's amp this duel up and do so under the ante ruling, THE LOSER WILL HAND OVER THEIR RAREST CARD!"

Van closed his eyes and shook his head; he couldn't believe that person. "Right, not interested in any of your cards, though."

"HEY!" A voice reached from the stairway, "I didn't say anything about starting dueling!" It was Daichi who decided to go upstairs upon hearing all that yelling.

Van looked over his shoulder at his uncle and then lifted the fingers of one hand, "Give me five turns."

That statement would shock and confuse his uncle and the employee and the rest of the duelists who had recently been beaten by Goro. Whom, of course, was now pissed by Van's overwhelming confidence.

Daichi, on his part, just sighed in frustration. "Five turns it is then… let's see what you are made off." However, he was curious about his skills. His sister had shared the stories about his achievements in the German scene, while it may not be as good as Japan's, it wasn't anything to overlook.

Both duelists, then, sat down and both drew their first hand.

"DUEL!" Both of them exclaimed.

Turn 1 Start

Van: 4000LP
Goro: 4000LP

Then the duel started as small screens displayed both players with 4000 Life Points.

Goro smirked at Van and taunted with "Please, go first, after all you are in a rush aren't you?"

"If you are so certain, that's a good idea. Then sure. Draw!" The boy then looked at his hand, his eyes narrowed in a cold and calculating stare. "Main phase. I summon Familiar Knight!"

As soon as he placed his card on the green zone of the dueling table, it would react as a touch screen. And then in the middle area where the field itself was, on the same slot of the monster zone, a figure would emerge in a faint light.

A knight clad in silver plate, armed with a simple sword and a shield, and a red cape that dropped from underneath the armor's shoulder pads.

Familiar Knight 1200ATK/1400DEF

"That's all." Said the boy with his eyes calmly closing.

Goro laughed at his summoning, "That's all!? Let me show you how a real duelist does it. DRAW!" Then, the loud duelist slammed a card on the monster zone, "Come forth Luster Dragon!"

A medium-sized Dragon, with blue scales and a yellow belly, would emerge, roaring fiercely.

Luster Dragon 1900ATK/1600DEF

"Now, my dragon, erase that puny knight from existence!" Then, the dragon swung its head back, inhaling and closing its maw with the animation of some sort of energy gathering inside of it. Then bent forth, expanding said maw and firing a burst of flames that ended up impacting against the knight, and obliterating it in a dust of smoke.

Damage Calculation

Van: 4000LP- 3300LP

Goro: 4000LP

"And that's first blood again, wahahahah!" The confident Goro then pointed at Van, saying. "Expected from a third-rate duelist with a fourth-rate deck!"

That's when Van blinked, actually losing his concentration for a moment. The rest of the people present, almost as dumbfounded.

"Did he just…?" Chiaki whispered to another of the spectators, feeling so embarrassed for having a duelist like him in that establishment, "He very much did…" Another of the duelists whispered back.

Van closed his eyes again and inhaled deeply from his nose, containing his internal screaming, before declaring. "My knight's special ability activates." Catching his adversary by surprise who could only let go a loud "Huh!?".

"That's right." Van said, "When destroyed by battle, I can special summon another monster from my hand, and I'll bring Warrior Dai Grepher in defense position." Then, a muscular warrior, sporting a full set of black leather armor and a big two handed-sword emerged, on his knees and ready to brace for attacks.

Warrior Dai Grepher 1700ATK/1600DEF

Turn 1 End

Turn 2 Start

Van: 3300lp

Goro: 4000lp

Then, with a tone to both tease and provoke his opponent stating, "And -now- my turn starts" Then drew his next card. His icy blue eyes looked at his hand again. "I set both a monster and a card face down on the field. Your turn." In a calm tone of voice and then motioning his opponent.

His opponent's calm was getting to the cosplaying duelist's nerves. "Hey, stop acting as if you got everything under control!" With his next draw, a confident grin showed in his face "This should be more than enough to deal with you, I tribute my Luster Dragon to bring a superior version of his breed to the field, Luster Dragon #2!"

That's how the original dragon was surrounded by a ghostly looking smoke, almost as if it were giving up its soul for the higher creature that was to come. And so, a new dragon emerged. Its scales inclined more towards a teal color, large and strong wings on its back, and a long tail with large chunks of what appeared to be crystal sprouting out of it. The sound of its mighty roar was impressive enough given the table used to display its 3D renders.

"Now, attack that stupid warrior!" And just like before, his dragon followed the orders of their master, opening its mouth and delivering a wave of flame that consumed the warrior before exploding in countless shards. "Hahah another one down, I'm already wondering what card am I going to get from you!"

Turn 2 End

Turn 3 Start

Van: 3300 LP

Goro: 4000 LP

Van drew his next card "Well, no harm in small, wishful thinking"

Goro slammed his palm on the table, "You keep acting cool, we'll see how long that act lasts, punk!"

The sunglasses wearing duelist chuckled and called his next move. "I play Snatch Steal!" Then pointed at his opponent, "The way it works simple, I equip this card to a monster you control, and it becomes my monster instead!"

Goro's jaw dropped in shock, "No way, that's not fair!"

"Sure." Van replied before adding, "I would normally have to pay 1000 life points on each turn I decide to keep it… but luster dragon won't be around for much longer. It will work as the perfect tribute to bring forth my warrior: Freed The Matchless General!"

The dragon would go through the same animation as the lesser one. Giving way for an aged, blonde warrior to show on the field. Clad in full and spotless plated armor, a stern, and calm expression on its face while holding down a large blade with a golden, winged styled grip.

Freed The Matchless General 2300ATK/1700DEF

"And since you decided to rush for a stronger monster instead of building up a frontline, my general has a clear path to attack, go now!" That's when Freed leaped forth, lifting his blade above his head and swinging it downwards over Goro's empty field, with the impact landing on his life points directly.

Damage Calculation

Goro: 4000lp-1700LP

Chiaki along with the rest cheered for Van, as he managed to swiftly turn the tables of the duel around. Not only he managed to get rid of his opponent's monster, but did it in a way in which he could bring a stronger summon of his own, and use its full damage potential. "Not bad, Van, not bad!" She exclaimed

"AARGH, SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU SHUT UP… AND YOU, DAMN JERK!" Goro exclaimed in anger, much to Van's further confusion, wondering why he was groaning and grunting in pain. "I'M GOING TO TEACH YOU, MY TURN!" The duelist then draws another card and a grin spread across his face, "Heheh… hahaha…. WAHAHAHAH ALRIGHT, HERE I GOT!" Screamed, still clearly angry for being pushed back, but now showing clear excitement. "I summon Lord of D and play my FLUTE OF SUMMONING DRAGON!"

Van narrowed his eyes, being alert for the first time in the duel. He was imitating one of Kaiba's moves to bring his famous Blue Eyes on the field; however, he wondered which monster was he going to bring, as the legendary dragon was out of question.

"And now I bring my ace Tri-Horned Dragon!" The dragon magician emerged on the field before the hologram of the spell card showed up behind him, granting him with a flute that materialized in his hand. After sounding the flute, the second card was placed. Red claw marks appeared on the floor of the monster slot before quickly a Blue colored Dragon full of spikes that spring from its horned head, all the way down its spine and tail showed up. Roaring in all of its fury.

Tri-Horned Dragon 2850ATK/2350DEF

"Hahaha, and to top things off. I can attack with my dragon without worrying about any tricks under that face down card, as my lord of D will protect my dragon from harmful effects. Now, Tri-Horned Dragon, rip that general into pieces!" The dragon charged, with a savagery that matched the very looks of the creature.

"Not so fast!" Van exclaimed before revealing his face down card. "I activate: Ready for Intercepting!" Then explained, "I can't target your dragon, sure. But I can still use this card, which will switch my general into face down, defense position!"

Goro maintained its confidence, "Suit yourself, your life points may be safe for now, but I will still continue with the attack. Come on, Tri-Horned Dragon, drag that General out of his hideout and end him!"

The General was then brought up from its concealment, caught in a defensive kneeling position. The dragon's claws then descended upon him, just so they would meet with the warrior's blade. A bright light came out from the clash that issued between both monsters, before finally a crack appeared on the beast's claw.

"What?!" Goro exclaimed, oblivious of what was going on, while Van simply showed a smirk.

Finally, Freed managed to push his sword upwards and strike back, not only breaking one claw off; also pushing the dragon back to its original spot.

Damage Calculation

Van: 3300LP

Goro: 1700LP - 1350LP

"W-what happened, my monster's attack is higher than Freed's defense!" Goro asked, as he couldn't believe the attack somehow failed.

"Is it, now?" Van asked before adding "Look closely" And then pointed at freed, now displaying a new value of stats.

Freed The matchless General 2300ATK/3200DEF

"How, what did you do. There's gotta be cheating involved! Chiaki this guy is a cheater!" yelled, while pointing his finger at Van and looking towards the pink haired girl.

Chiaki showed a smug on her face before responding, "Whaaat? The future king of games couldn't pay attention to their opponent's moves?" She'd then look at the challenger, asking, "Could you be so kind of explaining him?"

With goro's attention on him again, he pulled out a card from his graveyard that he had just discarded. "Well, I just did a little something called: Stronghold Guardian's special ability." Then closed his eyes keeping the confident grin on his face, "You see, if a defense position monster of mine is attacked, I can send this from my hand to the graveyard and boost my monster's defense by 1500. I was just waiting for you to flip Freed back face up."

The anger on Goro's face couldn't be any clearer, "You slithering snake! It doesn't matter, you still have nothing to deal with my dragon. On the next turn, I break through your defenses and start grinding your points down to 0!"

Turn 3 end

Turn 4 Start

Van: 3300 LP

Goro: 1350LP

"That, if you get another turn. I draw and reveal my face down monster!" That's when the monster he had set previously in defense position finally come out and revealed itself. A man dressed in eastern monk robes, with all the accessories that came with the attire, and a golden, metallic staff with loose rings at the top. "Mysterious Guard!"

Mysterious Guard 800ATK/1200DEF

Van chuckled and explained, "You know, it was a mistake to let me have that card prepared because now my Guard's ability can send you control, back to the top of your deck.

Goro quickly retorted, "So what! That means your only possible target is my lord of D, since his effect protects my Dragon!"

The foreign duelist calmly nodded, "Very sharp of you, and true. However!" then lifted a finger as he proceeded to explain, "My guard's effect is expanded when I control a face up Warrior-Type monster. When I meet that criteria, in addition to the card that is selected to go back to the top of your deck. I can choose and send another monster you control back to your hand!"

Goro blinked and stumbled backwards in shock, "No! Th-that means…-"

He was, however, interrupted by his opponent who finished his sentence for him, "… That first, your lord of D goes back to the top of your deck, then your dragon is left exposed and goes back to your hand!" Then both monsters from Goro's field would disappear in a golden light, leaving him open, "Alright, I switch Freed back to attack position and attack you directly. End this duel Freed!" And following the duelist' command, the warrior charged and, with a swing of his blade, brought the remaining life points of Goro down to 0.

Duel End
Van: 3300LP
Goro: 0LP

"No, NO!" exclaimed while his life points were dropping to zero. Before hanging his head down and dropping his weight on his wrists that laid on the dueling table, "Impossible… I was beaten so easily!"

Van, meanwhile, just gathered his belongings and adjusted his sunglasses again. "Alright! Deal's a deal, you pick up your things and leave quietly." He just then gave a small nod and a smile to Chiaki that was met in kind by her. Then stopped for a moment before looking over his shoulder, "Ah, by the way. I may start coming here regularly, so I'd like if you drop all that yelling, at least while I'm around." That's when he joined his uncle and gave him a nod as well, letting him know that it was all set to go.

"Right, let's go then" He allowed his nephew to walk ahead this time around. Watching him from behind and thinking about the duel. He actually managed to win it in less than five turns. Daichi then rubbed his chin, thinking that maybe, just maybe, the stories from his sister about the boy's dueling career around Germany were not exaggerated.

"That was quite something!" Daichi stated before patting his nephew's back, "What do you think then. Think you'll do well around Domino? - In dueling, I mean."

Van smiled at his uncle, "I guess! I can see how other players were struggling with Goro. From what I little got to see; he ran dragons in a bully type of deck."

The man rubbed his chin, "Bully deck, huh?"

Van nodded and responded, "Yep, monsters with high damage with little effort to bring on the field. That might sacrifice versatility at times, though."

"I see, well I just know a bit about dueling. I'm not aware of the names given to decks.", Daichi responded to his nephew "I noticed that your monsters seem to mostly be Knights or fighters of sorts, eh?"

The boy then crossed his arms behind his head and chuckled a bit "Well, my two favorite cards happen to be Warriors, so I guess I wanted a deck to match with them." Then would chuckle again stating "It's a bit funny that I didn't get to use either during this duel."

The man joined him in the moment tapping his back and commenting "Well you made it look quite easy! That poor brat didn't see that turnaround coming" Then stopping by a crosswalk, waiting along others for the traffic lights to change. "So, about what you said earlier. Ready to go and do some groceries?"

The boy then nodded with a small smile responding "Sure, you tell me what's a good or bad price" Then grinned at his uncle, he looked quite cheerful, perhaps from the satisfaction of his first duel in the city. Eventually the lights changed and crossed along with the rest of the passersby, as they were reaching to the other, the boy, stopped on his tracks and looked back at the people that just went by them in the opposite direction. "Huh?" the boy let go under his breath. An odd feeling, brief yet for some reason felt good, familiar. However, all he could see behind him were the crowds of people crossing the streets, leading him to simply let go a low hum under his breath.

"Hey kid, come on!" his uncle called.

Thus, Van's attention was swiftly caught again by his uncle, whom he run up to continuing with the walk and the chatter. Their conversations carried on with a variety of topics before they finally arrived to the apartment's building just as the sun had set. In addition to the previous shopping bags, he had before, the boy now had a couple of grocery bags.

The boy bid farewell for the day to his uncle and hurried to his. The boy left the shopping bags on the dining table and then started to arrange and organize the groceries, placing the fresh food and drink in the fridge, cleaning products in the bottom shelves and dry products on the top one.

Then proceeded to carry on and organize his school supplies. He was half lost in his thoughts, wondering about his day. On one side, he was pretty satisfied with all the wonders related to Duel Monsters that the store had. On the other side, however, questions and doubts started to come into his mind once more regarding the skill gap between that duelist, Goro, and himself. It reminded him of those who did linger in his homeland. Van finally changed his pajamas and lead, and dropped on his bed with his mind running those thoughts and doubts until he fell asleep.

He wondered if it was actually his skill, just a streak of luck, if most duelists were of Goro's skill… the continuous flow of thoughts continued until, finally, the boy fell into a deep sleep.

On a different part of the city, however, the night didn't seem to be calming down anytime soon for some people. A large, white European styled manor stood with what seemed to be the average activity of Domino's late night. Other than the private security that were overwatching its premises, and the lights illuminating its extensive gardens, everything from the inside looking out appeared to be dark and quiet. But this would be the truth seen from the eyes of anyone passing by the front of this massive property, on the other opposite side, light could be seen coming out from one of the massive windows of the upper floors.

The window in question gave view to a great and expensive office. While the furniture in it would remain rather typical to what could be expected in one, with the clear quality that comes from wealth. Expensive chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Victorian furniture, ranging from book cases, armchairs, couches, and the like. A tall, slender young man stood behind a desk, holding a cup with a warm drink and looking out the massive window, simply staring at the distance. After a while, the man turned around and went to his seat by the fine, large desk that was behind him.

A laptop and a desktop computer with multiple screens laid on the desk, with all of them displaying something different. The desktop screens showed several windows ranging from financial summaries, to mailboxes, with some of these emails issuing matters involving meetings and schedules. One of the laptops could be seen running a unique operative system with a 3D model of a cube with strange markings and a golden eye on one of its edges.

The sharp gaze of the man was focused on the laptop, reflecting about something, and it was clear this deliberation that was taking place inside this man's head had been going on for a while. After a long while being idle, the man closed his eyes lifted its arm, reaching to the top of the portable computer before flipping its case shut.

Author's note: Alright, Chapter 3 is here. Hope you enjoyed the first duel of the series! Always thankful to everyone who is spending time reading this story. As you can see things are slowly picking.

Special thanks to "Caio" and "Beth" being the first ones tagging this story among their favorites, I'm glad you are enjoying it and hope you still will through the rest of this ride. I'm halfway through chapter 5 as I´m uploading this one, so fortunately the I'm managing to respect the schedule of a Chapter every week or every two weeks. Knock on wood for that to remain as such.