Everyone who worked at Anderson Games had the requirement to master the game of Emblem Duel. While some employees played it casually; most were skilled duelists in their own right. If an employee did not keep up with the Meta of a card cycle, they would be fired on the spot. However, there was never proof of anyone ever being fired for that reason. It was more of an urban myth of the company, surely started by Seth’s father Kieran.

  “Alright I’ll pick this one,” the man projected confidence.

  “You sure you want that one?” Seth loved toying with other duelists. In fact, Seth viewed trash-talking as a fun pastime.

  “Ah, actually I’ll grab this one,” the man took the deck to the right instead.

  “It’s simple to link a deck with a pair of duel gloves. Just put the gloves on and place the desired deck inside the top chamber of your non-dominant hand. The chamber will glow when you’re linked up,” Seth explained.

  “So, what if I try to cheat?” the man laughed.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” The consequences would be dire,” Seth looked at the man in disgust.

  Both duelists registered their decks with the dueling gloves and the room watched in anticipation. Max hadn’t been this excited since the initial tech demo Seth performed years ago with the AR version of Emblem Duel. Before Anderson Games became a publicly traded company that was worth millions. Seth always had an inclination for making everything big and dramatic.

  “What do we do now?” The man held a glowing duel glove.

  “Looks like we are linked up, we just put our headsets on and shake hands to accept a duel,” Seth readied himself and threw his headset on with purpose.

  “Sounds easy enough.” The man shifted his weight to show off his dueling stance, he mirrored Seth’s move, putting his headset on.

  “Alright! Let’s Duel!” Seth shouted.

  The board members gathered around, and they saw both duelists shake hands. Max looked at Seth in admiration. Seth had medium length blonde hair and the confidence not seen in most guys in their early twenties. True confidence. Seth donned a long blue trench coat, and it flowed like a superhero cape. Seth had a white sleeved button up shirt, black pants, and shoes that matched his pants.

  Max thought the whole situation as comical; it was like seeing a superhero square up against a boring businessman; in a boardroom that conducted high-level business transactions. Max knew the duel was anything but a fair fight. Though he never saw Seth duel before; Max heard through the office that Seth was a strategic genius.

  The man elected for the first turn. On his turn, the board members saw the man’s duel glove glowing purple.

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  “Wow that’s pretty,” a whisper echoed in the room.

  Both duelists held five cards in their hand. The man looked around taking in everything he saw through the headset.

  “Might want to take your turn,” Seth mocked.

  “This place looks so realistic; how did you do this?”

  “Tick tock, slow play won’t work here buddy. You have two hundred seconds to make your decision or forfeit your turn!” Seth wanted a reaction, but the man did not allow it.

  The man refocused and took a card from his hand. He placed the card in the air where it stayed floating for a second. Before everyone’s eyes, the card started to morph, changing its shape into a massive bear that was too realistic for its own good. The bear roared a deep guttural noise out from its maw.

  The board members jumped in terror, but the creature didn’t give anyone in the room attention. Max saw the monster was perfectly lined up with the VR headset. This was probably the new holographic technology Seth talked about for months, Max thought about that conversation and finally understood what Seth was talking about. The members jumped up in excitement, thinking about the amount of money the new technology would make for them.

  “How does it work?” One member was practically salivating with greed in his eyes.

  “Who the fuck cares. This will make billions,” another member shouted.

  The man ended his turn and Seth played a card in the same manner as the man. The familiar purple glow revealed a red dragon egg. The bear towered over the dragon egg which appeared to be defenseless. Seth played another card however, this one floated staying face down next to the dragon egg.

  The man smiled after Seth ended his turn and summoned a giant tiger-like creature onto the battlefield.

  “Attack!” The man bellowed out in a rush of excitement.

  Both creatures rushed at the dragon egg. Right before they made it to the defenseless egg the card Seth laid face down transformed into a bright blue flame—overtaking the whole field of play. The room that once conducted business was a war zone. The fire bathed both creatures causing them to yell in agony. The members felt the heat produced by the fire though it caused the members no harm, it still did not feel comfortable.

  “That’s impossible! we shouldn’t feel the heat,” the woman cried.

  “That son of a bitch, he really did it,” Max laughed in joy.

  Where the defenseless egg once stood sat a baby dragon. It cried out, producing a tiny roar. The baby dragon was red and didn’t look formidable. The man ended his turn in disappointment. Seth played a card failing to hide his crooked smile. The card floated towards the baby dragon overtaking it and with a blue glow. The baby dragon increased in size and acquired armor.

  “That’s not a baby dragon anymore. It’s Saphira the Dragon Knight” Max jumped in excitement over his favorite monster in Emblem Duel.

  Seth pointed his finger at the man. Seth’s revenge was in full effect.

  “Saphira, destroy!”

  The great flame engulfed the man. He cried out in agony, as if it was truly burning the businessman. The board members were not sure if anything they witnessed was real, but the cry for help couldn’t be ignored. The dragon’s attack continued even after the screaming subsided.

  The fire dissipated and the Saphira roared. The remaining board members gazed down at their former peer lying on the floor, unresponsive. He was brutally burned to a crisp, unrecognizable. The board members allowed silence to occupy the room. Max smiled, understanding the quest Seth and himself would embark on.

  Seth took off his headset, and the glowing aura of the dragon returned to the deck. Seth examined the man in satisfaction and glanced at the dumbfounded board members. His voice carried a sense of entitlement.

  “This will be my legacy, you’re either with me or you’ll end up like him, banished to the Land of Kings!”