Who Let Him Play Yu-Gi-Oh!

"Are you Fujiki Kira?"

A man wearing glasses and a white coat walked straight over and reached out his hand.

Kira shook hands with him. "Mr. Franz?"

"That's me."

Franz greeted him politely, nodded slightly, and adjusted his glasses.

"I'm Franz, the lead designer of the 'Winged Dragon of Ra' project in the God Cards Research Team at the Industrial Illusions."

Kira sized him up and actually felt he didn't quite match the image he'd built up in his head.

In the anime, Franz always appeared arrogant and aloof, not even putting their president Pegasus in his eyes. He'd swagger up to Pegasus and say "Beat me if you think you can," leaving Kira with nothing but impressions like inflated and conceited.

And this wasn't the type of arrogance born of absolute confidence in one's skill, like Seto Kaiba. It was more like the "It's sunny, the rain's stopped, and now I'm awesome again" kind of misplaced self-assurance—a classic episode villain stereotype.

But the man in front of him right now seemed well-mannered and spoke politely, which surprised Kira in a good way.

Maybe in the anime, as the first person since the Pharaoh's disappearance who could wield the power of the God Cards, he'd just let the power go to his head, which is understandable.

Even though he was just an episode villain and not even a great duelist, his talent couldn't be denied.

He might have strayed down some dubious paths, but the Field Spell "Mound of the Bound Creator" he invented did really manage to restrain Ra and allowed him to harness the power of a God Card in a duel.

Regardless of whether his methods were right, he had truly solved a problem that had troubled even the Doma and the Tomb Keepers for years. He managed to summon a God with a mere mortal body and even used a copy card, breaking two taboos, and yet came out of the story unscathed. That was no small feat.

"Kira, you've made quite a name for yourself in academia lately. I've heard about the achievements of your lab—quite impressive for someone so young."

Franz smiled, pushing up his glasses.

"I can't even imagine how far you'll go in the future."

"You flatter me. I just got lucky with a bit more inspiration than others," Kira replied with a smile.

"Hahaha, that's hardly modest, Kira." Franz said meaningfully, "Only those who've really worked in this field understand—what you call 'a bit of inspiration' is something no amount of effort can match."

Kira smiled and didn't deny it.

He had come to realize how, in research, finding the right direction made things much easier. When you know exactly which support cards and evolutions revolve around a card, and have a clear goal in mind, you're already a big step closer to success.

"But I must admit, I was surprised when you reached out to our team, Kira. God Card research is taboo. Our president once even considered shutting down the project—he felt it shouldn't even exist."

"Mr. Pegasus, you mean," Kira said. "But wasn't he the one who brought the three God Cards into the real world in the first place?"

"Yes, but he often regrets it. Says it's a power mortals shouldn't possess, that it never should have been made, and now that it's buried, it shouldn't be unearthed again, blah blah blah…"

Franz shook his head as he spoke.

It was clear that, while less extreme than his anime version, he and Pegasus didn't really see eye to eye.

"As card designers, we should be striving to reach the very pinnacle of Duel Monsters. Now that we know what the summit looks like, he blocks our way with arguments about danger.

You understand what I mean, right, Kira?"

Since Kira had come to learn about this taboo project, it was natural to assume he supported it.

"Of course. But Mr. Pegasus' concerns are valid. After all, so far, anyone who's tried to recreate the power of the God Cards has been hurt to some degree."

"I don't deny there's risk," Franz said, shaking his head. "But if you want to challenge the highest peak of dueling, danger is inevitable. As designers seeking ultimate power, how can we fear it?

In fact, I already have an idea."

He frowned, a bit annoyed.

"With this method, I'm at least 80—no, 90 percent sure it'll work. Even ordinary duelists could briefly control a God Card's power.

But President shot down my idea."

Kira knew exactly what he meant.

The Field Spell "Mound of the Bound Creator," as the name implies, shackles the Gods. It uses brute force to suppress their power and avoid divine backlash.

It seemed effective in the anime, but the risks were obvious. Sure, you could use the Mound to protect yourself during a duel, but you couldn't hide there forever.

"Using cards that suppress the Gods' power to reduce risk. It's a valid approach," Kira said. "But there are still risks, and the God's power is suppressed. If the spirit and duelist aren't in sync, it could have other consequences."

"I understand," Franz said. "But this is the only method that's worked so far. No one else has come up with anything better."

He paused, then his eyes lit up as he looked expectantly at Kira.

"Wait, does Kira have a unique insight?"

He'd already heard that many other departments had made breakthroughs after getting advice from Kira.

If someone like him suddenly reached out, it was probably for a reason.

"Haha, I wouldn't say unique, but I did just have an idea," Kira said. "Look, what if, instead of trying to copy the entire God Card, we designed cards that only borrow part of the God's power, without replicating the whole thing?"

"Hm?"

Franz was stunned.

As an expert in God Card research, he'd never heard this perspective before.

"All current research focuses on copying and controlling the God Cards. But after all these years, progress has shown that this path is almost impossible.

So why not try a different approach?"

Franz pondered. "You mean fragmenting the God's power, spreading it across various derivative cards to gain part of its power?"

"Something like that. Also, regarding the Sun God—you know, as an expert, that the 'Winged Dragon of Ra' has several forms, right?

If you can't summon the full God, what about just one of its forms?"

The idea was novel and bold—a whole new world for Francis, who fell deep in thought.

Kira stepped aside, smiling as he watched Francis ponder.

Yes, that's right—he wanted Ra's egg.

A bird egg that can devour three monsters at once… who wouldn't want that?