SWNOVELXO Chapter 65
“I’d love to grant your wish, but it’s tough to make special sales to individuals… I’m sorry.”
“I figured… No, please don’t worry. It was unreasonable of me to ask in the first place.”
In truth, I’d already received a letter from the academy on the night I delivered the card packs to Great Eagle Dorm, asking me to send more *Cross World* merchandise. I had been promoting *Cross World* over other trading card games (TCGs), and since I had connections with Rey, a supporter of mine, and had promoted the cards from the Saioji Group, the academy’s initial report said that *Cross World* was selling the best.
The biggest reason for this was probably that Rey, the most influential figure in Great Eagle Dorm, had started playing *Cross World*. Even so, other TCGs, particularly the cutesy *P* cards, were selling well among the female students.
The day after my delivery, all the TCGs, including *Cross World*, had sold out, and ever since then, the students had been clamoring for more. By this weekend, I planned to collect a survey on the products from the dormitory shop and use the results to decide how much more stock to send next time. But from the looks of it, I might need to prepare more TCG-related products.
“Have people already reserved the remaining stock?” Diero asked.
“No? You’re the first one to come asking. I’ve set aside some for a few individuals I’ve been dealing with for a while, but other than that, I don’t plan on making any special sales to individuals.”
The people I’d prepared stock for separately were Rey and Sakakibara, my sponsors, with about three cartons set aside for each. I had set aside Sakakibara’s portion without consulting him, and if he wasn’t interested, I planned to release it into the market. Other than that, I had no intention of making individual sales. I intended to test the waters by selling to commoners at this weekend’s street market, and it was fine for the academy students to come and buy directly. It would be first-come, first-served.
I planned to sell the cards at the same price I’d decided on when I first brought them to this other world. Honestly, I was already charging a significant markup, and if I raised the price any more, it might prevent the game from spreading.
“I see. So you’ll be selling *Cross World* packs at the street market the day after tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I’ll have a limit on how much people can buy, but it’ll basically be first-come, first-served.”
As a seller, I wanted to be as fair as possible. Of course, if someone said, “You’re showing favoritism to Rey and Sakakibara!” they’d have a point. But even for them, I wasn’t planning to hand-pick the cards they wanted. If I did that, the appeal of the TCG would be lost, at least in my opinion.
“I understand… Are you going to share this information with others?”
“Yeah, I’ll tell them if they ask.”
When I said that, Diero frowned, looking conflicted.
I wasn’t sure how he had found his way to me, but I could see his enthusiasm. Part of me wanted to sell him some of the stock I’d set aside for the street market. But if I did that, people might say, “You sold it to him, so why won’t you sell it to me?” and I wouldn’t be able to argue.
Sure, Rey, the heir of the Castiano Marquis family, and Sakakibara, a member of the royal family, could be exceptions because of our long-standing relationship. Most people would accept that. But if I gave in to Diero’s persistence, things would quickly spiral out of control.
(Still… he did come all this way…)
Honestly, I never expected someone to seek me out just a few days after I delivered the TCG packs to the dormitory shop. *Cross World* had clearly struck a chord with the people of this world, and if a noble kid was willing to bow his head to buy the cards, it was hard not to feel inclined to help him out.
“Oh, I just remembered,” I said.
“Yes?” Diero replied, looking curious.
I couldn’t sell him the cards, but maybe I could share some strategy tips.
“Do you have your *Cross World* deck with you?”
“Yes, I bought a starter deck, so I’ve got a complete deck. I haven’t played against anyone yet, though…”
When I asked if I could see it, Diero gladly obliged. He pulled out a pouch from under his robe and from it, a metal box.
“I’m storing the cards in this magic box that absorbs impact. I don’t want them to get damaged. Here you go.”
“Wow… As expected of a fantasy world,” I muttered. Diero tilted his head in confusion but handed me his deck.
(Ooh, he’s got a super rare in here. This card wasn’t part of the starter deck—did he pull it himself?)
In *Cross World*, there are seven rarity levels: Common (C), Uncommon (U), Rare (R), High Rare (HR), Super Rare (SR), Ultimate Rare (UR), and Secret Rare (SEC). On top of that, cards could have different artwork, holographic treatments, or unique text colors. Even the same card could look entirely different depending on its rarity, meaning there were a lot of variations.
Diero’s deck was filled with high-cost, high-power cards. He had a lot of straightforward, high-attack, high-defense cards, and even the low-cost cards he chose tended to be on the stronger side but with simple effects. While he did have a few support cards to help summon the high-cost ones, the balance seemed a bit off.
And there were few magic cards to change the flow of the game, making his strategy somewhat rigid.
(Well… Based on what I learned from online *Cross World* guides, I’d say this deck is pretty unbalanced.)
“Yeah, your deck has a lot of strong cards, but the balance isn’t great.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. You might not notice until you play a few games, but if more than a third of your deck is high-cost cards, you’ll struggle in the early game. And your low-cost cards, while strong, are too straightforward in terms of abilities.”
Though I’d only dabbled in the game myself, even I could see that Diero’s deck had poor balance.
“I see…”
“Your ace is *Knight King Salvane*, right? If so, you should add magic cards like *Fairy Fountain* and *Heart of Chivalry*, which enhances Knight-type cards. You could also add *Assault Commanderr Pacius* for synergy.”
I shared everything I knew about building a deck suited to Diero’s strategy. These cards weren’t that rare in the first *Cross World* set, “King’s Banquet,” but they were still powerful in the right deck.
*Knight King Salvane* was featured on the booster pack, and his effect was appropriately strong. But like most ace cards, Salvane and other super rares tended to show up late in the game. With his current deck, Diero might not even get a chance to play his ace before the game ended. It was obvious, even to an amateur like me, that his deck was poorly constructed.
Perhaps due to the lack of TCG experience in this world, Diero seemed to be missing some crucial elements. Before buying more packs, there were more important things to work on.
“Well, I’m not an expert, but I hope my advice helps.”
“Your advice is invaluable. I’ll head back to the dorm and rethink my deck right away!”
Although I was just an amateur, my feedback seemed to resonate with Diero. He bowed slightly and hurried off, as if he had received some profound wisdom.
(Well, it’s good to see him so passionate, I guess.)
He seemed like a good kid. A bit intense, perhaps, but that was normal for someone his age.
And with that in mind, I decided that if Diero ever asked me for more advice on deck building, I’d better make sure I was ready. I needed to study *Cross World* a bit more myself.