Chapter 226: A Sensational Reception
"Malfoy, you lost?"
Russell walked over after noticing that Draco appeared to have suffered a devastating blow. Even long after Ron had left, Draco was still sitting there in a daze.
"Fythorne, you're asking that on purpose," Draco replied hoarsely.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he looked up sharply.
"Did you deliberately make the Slytherin deck weak?"
"Otherwise, how could I possibly lose to Weasley?"
Russell's expression became rather strange.
The complaint sounded awfully familiar.
Wasn't this the classic excuse every card-game player made?
If they lost, it was because the deck was weak.
Or because they were unlucky.
Anything but admitting their opponent had simply played better.
His mouth was certainly stubborn enough.
---
Wizard Legends exploded in popularity throughout Hogwarts.
Students could be seen playing it everywhere.
Common rooms.
Hallways.
The library.
Some were even thinking about deck strategies during class.
The craze became so severe that the professors were eventually forced to issue restrictions and repeatedly remind students to focus on their studies.
Seeing the overwhelming response, Russell decided to strike while the iron was hot and officially release the game to the wider wizarding world.
Of course, a handful of students launching a successful product would be an easy target for people looking to steal their work.
To prevent that, Russell brought several powerful partners into the venture:
Albus Dumbledore
Sirius Black
1. The Addams family
Together they became joint shareholders in the project.
With that lineup standing behind the business, very few people in the British wizarding world would dare challenge it openly.
Naturally, Russell kept most of those connections hidden.
After all, attracting a few greedy fools before crushing them could be profitable too.
Dumbledore agreed almost immediately.
He had no reason to refuse.
After all, who would ever complain about making more money?
He even asked Nicolas Flamel to help design an alchemical production line capable of automatically manufacturing cards, allowing them to begin mass production.
As for Sirius, he transferred his share of the company to Harry.
The percentage wasn't enormous, but the dividends would still be substantial.
---
The shop itself was personally selected by Sirius.
In Diagon Alley, a large pet store had recently been shut down after authorities discovered it was illegally trafficking magical creatures.
After pulling a few strings, Sirius successfully acquired the property.
Thus, the very first official Dark Moon Circus storefront was born.
Sirius became the store manager.
Since he had little else occupying his time, he accepted the role without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Remus Lupin was appointed lobby manager.
Though "lobby manager" was merely a polite title.
In reality, he was the head of security.
If anyone came looking for trouble, Lupin would be the one dealing with them.
---
Worried that the grand opening might lack excitement, Russell even prepared promotional slogans for the staff to display outside the shop.
They were instructed to continuously advertise them throughout the day.
"Wizard Legends—Even Dumbledore Says It's Great!"
"The New Game Sweeping Through Hogwarts!"
"Designed by the Youngest Merlin Award Recipient in History! Endless Fun Awaits!"
Even after all that, Russell still felt the atmosphere might not be lively enough.
So after gritting his teeth and spending a small fortune, he imported an entire troupe of Veela performers from France to entertain the crowds during the grand opening.
If that couldn't draw attention...
Nothing could.
Under the relentless barrage of those brainwashing advertisements and the grand opening performances, countless witches and wizards who had initially shown little interest in the game found themselves drifting into the shop.
Not because they wanted another look at the Veela, of course.
Absolutely not.
The store itself had been meticulously designed.
Rather than resembling a traditional card shop, it looked more like a medieval tavern. Besides selling cards, it provided duel tables where players could battle one another while enjoying drinks such as Butterbeer.
Naturally, using the tables required a fee.
The charge was low, however—small profits, high volume.
At the center of the store hung a massive enchanted screen that continuously displayed live Wizard Legends matches. Even visitors who had no idea what the game was could grasp the basics within minutes.
"Have you heard? A new shop opened in Diagon Alley."
"They sell some game called Wizard Legends. Apparently it's become really popular lately. Want to go check it out?"
Wizards who had already visited eagerly sent messages to friends, inviting them to come along.
"A card game? What's so interesting about that?"
Some people remained stubbornly unimpressed.
Then came the next sentence.
"They've got Veela performances for the grand opening."
"Why didn't you say so sooner? Let's go."
Variations of that conversation occurred all across Britain.
As a result, the store's first day of business generated a truly astonishing amount of revenue.
Since starter decks were inexpensive, many customers simply bought one on impulse and immediately challenged their friends.
Then came the inevitable losses.
After being beaten repeatedly and becoming increasingly frustrated, players learned that additional cards could be purchased separately.
That led to a wave of spending.
Everyone wanted to upgrade their decks and finally defeat their friends.
Since booster packs were cheap, most people barely noticed how much they were spending.
Some wealthier wizards pursued a different goal entirely.
They wanted fully golden decks.
Duplicate cards could be traded back to the shop in exchange for points, which could then be redeemed for specific cards.
Russell had also introduced an Alternate Art System.
Only a handful of Legendary cards received that treatment.
For example, the alternate-art version of Newt Scamander depicted his youthful confrontation against Gellert Grindelwald.
Meanwhile, the alternate-art version of Albus Dumbledore showed him during his middle-aged years, when he served as Hogwarts' Transfiguration professor.
At first, when Russell proposed alternate-art cards, George had raised a concern.
"The wizarding world only has so many famous people."
"What happens when we run out?"
"We can't just make cards for random nobodies, can we?"
Russell's answer drew heavily from the wisdom of countless card games.
"Use different time periods."
"Young Dumbledore. Middle-aged Dumbledore. Elderly Dumbledore."
"Even child versions, if we want."
"One character can easily become three or more cards."
They could also create entire expansions centered around major historical events.
That was where expansion sets came in.
Russell was already considering whether the first expansion should focus entirely on the legendary conflict between Dumbledore and Grindelwald.
But that wasn't even his most outrageous idea.
His most ambitious proposal involved alternate timelines.
For instance:
What if Dumbledore had never abandoned his blood pact with Grindelwald?
What if they had continued pursuing their shared vision together?
An entire expansion could be built around that single premise.
The others were utterly stunned by Russell's creativity.
Their confidence that Wizard Legends could eventually challenge Wizard's Chess only grew stronger.
---
"Yes, yes, yes—no, no, no—yes, yes—I'm such an idiot!"
A bespectacled wizard with crooked teeth clutched his head in agony.
"I misplayed!"
"I never should have used that card!"
"If I hadn't, I definitely would've won!"
Although he had graduated from Ravenclaw, he played a Slytherin deck because he thought Dark Magic looked cool.
His opponent, meanwhile, also used an unconventional strategy.
Most Gryffindor players focused on aggressive attacks and powerful followers.
This wizard did the opposite.
He stacked armor endlessly and won through defensive counterattacks.
"Play that match a hundred more times and the result would be the same."
"My Gryffindor deck is unbeatable."
He grinned smugly.
To push the game even further, Russell arranged for Daily Prophet reporter Rita Skeeter to run a full-page advertisement on the newspaper's front page.
That was the final spark.
Almost overnight, Wizard Legends became the hottest phenomenon in the British wizarding world.
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