Chapter 165: Ras’s Newly Blossomed Ambition

“This thing is seriously impressive.”

Jin spoke while watching with fascination as the illusion of his One-Winged Angel battled against the opponent’s Skeleton Knight atop the table.

If these illusions had been created solely from the player’s own imagination, there would have been little surprise, and if the player lacked imagination, proper imagery would not have appeared at all.

But because the opponent’s imagination was linked as well, it gave off a far more realistic feeling.

“That’s Link Magic, right?”

“Yeah. You figured it out.”

“Wow. Imbuing something like that can’t have been easy. Your skills definitely haven’t dulled.”

“Haha.”

Kyle puffed up slightly at his friend’s praise.

Jin was right.

It was not even a feature that had been strictly necessary. He had only intended to add it because things felt somewhat plain, but the implementation proved far more difficult than expected and caused him considerable trouble.

There were times during development when he seriously questioned whether it was worth continuing.

But he stubbornly pushed forward with the mindset that since he had started, he had to see it through to the end, and after barely completing it, seeing reactions this positive made all the hardship feel worth it.

“But what are you going to do with it?”

“Hm?”

“No, I mean, now that you made something like this, you’ve got to sell it, right?”

“Ah...”

Of course, Kyle had already thought about that.

“Huh? What’s this? Kyle’s becoming a company president now?”

Otto sounded slightly envious.

Like Kyle, Otto was also a salaried employee, and he had often talked about wanting to start his own business.

Judging from his reaction, this device really did seem promising.

“No, it’s not like I’m planning to start a company.”

Kyle felt slightly tempted, but he quickly shook his head.

Of course, owning his own company was an incredibly attractive idea.

But after spending many years working in corporations and seeing and hearing countless things, and now holding a managerial position rather than being an ordinary employee, he knew very well how difficult it was to run a company.

He did not want that kind of headache.

“Then?”

“Yeah. I’m thinking of talking to Meta Soft.”

His friends looked slightly disappointed, but at the same time nodded as though they understood.

“Well, that would definitely be easier.”

“But you should still talk to some other companies too. Meta Soft doesn’t seem like a bad place, but you never know.”

Shuts, the raccoon beastman who had created the Magic Connector, had not been particularly knowledgeable about how the world worked, so despite making an incredible invention, he had handled monetization rather clumsily.

But Kyle, being an experienced man, knew what the best approach was.

And “best” did not necessarily mean earning the maximum amount of money possible.

Of course, the MTC Player he created was a remarkable device, so there was a high chance Meta Soft, the developer of Magic and Creature, would value it highly.

But Kyle, experienced enough to understand the world, knew that even though this country lacked kings and nobles, it was not truly an equal society.

In the capitalist nation known as the Smythe Republic, large corporations possessing massive capital were the true rulers.

So stubbornly trying to squeeze out every possible coin while offending the rulers was foolish.

Of course, crawling submissively would gain him nothing either, so he needed to strike a balance and negotiate appropriately.

That would not be easy either.

But after spending many years at a major corporation like Karbal, he felt reasonably confident he could manage it.

Ras was currently deeply focused on creating Magic and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Creature gaming venues.

Of course, the actual work was being handled by employees beneath him, especially Georg from the IP Development Team, who was leading things enthusiastically.

But Ras planned to spread Magic and Creature not only nationwide, but worldwide, and he intended to establish gaming venues on an international scale as well.

This was far too large a business not to pay close attention to.

Moreover, Ras had no intention of letting it remain merely at the level of baduk tournaments.

Initially, he had modeled things after baduk.

But seeing the popularity explode far faster than expected caused his ambitions to grow alongside it.

And now his expectations had expanded far beyond ordinary gaming tournaments.

Honestly, electronic gaming tournaments might struggle to grow into truly massive world events.

Some nations still found computers unfamiliar, and gaming preferences varied heavily by country.

But card games faced far fewer restrictions.

Furthermore, since this world was inhabited by multiple races, international sporting events like the Olympics or World Cup did not exist because physical differences between races made fair competition difficult.

Ras intended for Magic and Creature to claim that status.

Differences in physical ability aside, the differences in intellectual ability between races were not particularly large.

And unlike pure intelligence competitions, card games still involved strategy, luck, and adaptability, allowing relatively fair competition between races.

The idea of a World Cup or Olympics truly made his heart swell.

At that point, it would no longer merely be a promotional event.

Nations would construct stadiums for it, and people across the entire world would sit before televisions to watch.

It would become something truly enormous.

Of course, for now, it was only popular within the Smythe Republic and Brunyard, and at best it remained little more than a dream.

Still, because he genuinely dreamed that big and took it seriously, Ras reacted extremely aggressively when information regarding the MTC Player reached him.

“So this is the MTC Player?”

“Yes.”

Even Georg, who brought the sample, looked intrigued.

But upon seeing its appearance, Ras felt slightly disappointed.

After reading the specifications in the report, he had imagined something like the Duel Disks from Yu-Gi-Oh!, but it turned out to be merely a flat box.

Or maybe we could modify it and attach it to the arm?

The thought crossed his mind, but he was not serious about it.

It might have looked cool in comics, but in reality, merely wearing something that large on one’s arm would be cumbersome.

Even on Earth, although Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments existed and there were Duel Disks that displayed Life Points despite lacking holograms, people still did not actually use them in tournaments.

The comics portrayed the advantage as being able to duel anywhere at any time, but realistically, few people would want to play in places without even a proper table to place cards on.

“Oh...”

But after actually using the MTC Player, it truly was incredible.

Cards arranged themselves automatically, all calculations were handled automatically, and Life Points were clearly displayed on the box, capturing both the immersion of offline play and the convenience of online systems.

The illusions were also amazing.

This is literally Yu-Gi-Oh...

Perhaps due to the limitations of Illusion Magic, giant creatures like those seen in actual Yu-Gi-Oh! were not perfectly recreated.

Instead, they appeared more like large figurines on the table.

But they still emerged in three-dimensional form and physically moved and fought, making them impressive enough that computer game graphics no longer seemed superior.

Honestly, even the technology level of Earth right before Ras arrived in this world could not produce graphics this immersive.

“We absolutely must acquire this.”

“Yes. Understood.”

Georg seemed to share the same opinion, nodding with shining eyes at Ras’s instruction.

Honestly, Georg felt the illusion effects were somewhat flashy and excessive, but the automatic arrangement and calculation functions were truly desirable.

As someone who enjoyed drinking and playing card or board games with friends, he personally wanted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one himself.

“Proceed with acquiring the patent if possible. Even if the amount is somewhat high, that would be preferable.”

Since Ras was envisioning enormous future plans, he decided to avoid royalties that might later grow into massive burdens.

Of course, the inventor’s intentions mattered, so it could not be guaranteed.

But if they failed to purchase the patent, he was even prepared to circumvent it and develop something similar themselves.

And because Cain understood how major corporations operated, he agreed to sell the patent without much hesitation.

“Yes. Let’s do that.”

With inventions like this, the important thing was the idea itself.

Once the concept already existed, it would only be a matter of time before a large corporation recreated something similar with its financial power.

Therefore, if the other side wanted to buy the patent, agreeing was the wiser choice.

Even if he stubbornly insisted on royalties due to future growth potential, if Meta Soft simply created a competing product, that would be the end of it.

So rather than unnecessarily offending them, he focused on accommodating them while maximizing the patent sale price as much as possible.

“How ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠about 12 million Del?”

Delia, the negotiator sent by Meta Soft, immediately proposed a large amount from the beginning.

Inventor Cain was no naïve amateur. He was an experienced veteran who had worked at major corporations for a long time, and since he had willingly agreed to sell the patent, they intended to show goodwill.

Twelve million Del was an astronomical amount equivalent to 12 billion won in Korean currency.

Of course, considering Ras’s vision for MTC and the possibility of using this technology for other products, one might even argue the amount was small.

But by current standards, the entire revenue generated by MTC had not yet reached 30 million Del.

Furthermore, there remained the possibility that its popularity might fade quickly.

Objectively speaking, it was unquestionably a generous amount.

Hmm...

Even so, Cain did not immediately accept.

In truth, he was shocked by the amount, but he had not forgotten a simple principle.

If a major corporation was offering this much money, it meant they were confident they could gain even greater profits from it.

“It seems Chairman Ras is very serious about the MTC gaming venue business.”

“Ah...”

Delia became slightly flustered seeing Cain seemingly perceive something.

And although she had started with a high offer, there was still room remaining beneath Ras’s authorized limit, so she could not stubbornly maintain the 12 million Del figure.

Ultimately, after continued negotiations, the deal concluded at 14 million Del.

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you.”

After the deal concluded, Cain collapsed directly onto the sofa.

He had tried his best to maximize profits, but the initial amount offered far exceeded his expectations, rendering all his prepared strategies meaningless and forcing him to negotiate purely through improvisation.

“Yes!”

But thanks to that, he managed to squeeze out an additional 2 million Del.

Still slumped over, Cain raised both hands triumphantly into the air.

“Prepare for mass production as quickly as possible.”

“Yes.”

Shuts answered Ras’s order with military stiffness.

The MTC Player had been transferred under the jurisdiction of the Magic Device Team within Meta Hardware.

Since inventor Cain had handed over exceptionally clean plans and blueprints, establishing factories did not appear particularly difficult.

Ideally, they would have liked to recruit Cain himself as well, but even after offering additional compensation, he refused, so there was nothing they could do.

“Even if production yield isn’t stabilized yet, secure at least four thousand units first.”

“Yes. Understood.”

Ras pushed production of the MTC Player not because he intended to sell it immediately as a consumer product.

Of course, they planned to eventually sell it to ordinary users as well.

But for now, the priority was deploying it inside gaming venues.

To draw gamers into gaming venues as much as possible, they needed to offer something fundamentally different from merely playing at home, and this device fit that role perfectly.

After all, if gamers on Earth were told they could experience real-life Yu-Gi-Oh! duels, almost no one would resist trying it at least once.

Even if admission cost 100,000 won, they’d still want to try it once.

Of course, Ras planned to set actual gameplay fees at reasonable prices.

His goal was not short-term profit extraction, but spreading and popularizing this game ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as widely as possible.

And because of that, Ras focused not only on gaming venues, but also considered entirely different marketing methods.

Part of him wondered whether such efforts were even necessary in a world where card games were already common.

But since such methods had clearly contributed enormously to the popularity of TCGs on Earth, he concluded they were necessary if he wanted to spread the game even to countries and people with little interest in card games.

Footnotes:

Translator’s Notes:

Yu-Gi-Oh! (遊☆戯☆王) — Japanese manga series created by Kazuki Takahashi, first serialized in 1996. The franchise became globally famous for its trading card game and hologram-style “Duel” battles.

Duel Disk — Fictional arm-mounted dueling device from Yu-Gi-Oh! used to automate and display card battles. Later adapted into real-world toy peripherals by Konami.

Olympics — International multi-sport event held every four years featuring athletes from nations worldwide. Modern Olympics began in 1896 in Athens, Greece.

FIFA World Cup — International football (soccer) championship organized by FIFA, first held in 1930. Considered one of the largest sporting events on Earth.