The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　But Dorron, and all the second-year students of the House of Nobles, did not believe that he could defeat their Dark.

　"Out of control."

　"The mantis' arm is like a chariot."

　"The fly shakes the tree."

　The second-year students of the Noble Academy sneered, their expressions of mockery showing no mercy.

　Doron then said to Dark, "Teach him a lesson!"

　……

　Darko Dimon, after a moment of slight surprise, smiled with interest.

　He had originally planned to find Professor Sylph to confirm the matter of the "third party." But since Witt Gold had launched a direct challenge against him, riding the wave of his championship victory, he wasn't incapable of playing another game with him.

　Moreover, Witt Gold's "second consciousness" felt significantly different to him from Angus Jeffrey's.

　He also wanted to take this opportunity to understand it more deeply and see what this "second consciousness" of his was.

　"Harry Potter, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Digimon, Pokémon..."

　Dark's mind flashed through these works that had been "borrowed" from the original game, and he wondered what would happen if Wit Gold's variables were also in the original script.

　Then an idea gradually formed in his mind.

　But just as he was about to summarize it in his mind, he suddenly heard his own name.

　……

　On the contestant's platform, Wit Gold's tone rose: "That man—only by defeating him will this Silver Cup championship truly be well-deserved! I know many spectators may be confused and not know who I'm talking about. But that's alright, you'll find out soon enough. Right, Dark Dimon?"

　In the circular area near Dak's seat, everyone's eyes suddenly turned to him.

　He sighed slightly, thinking that Witt was still too young, and finally stood up and nodded slightly in Witt's direction.

　"That's right, Yugi Muto, the protagonist of the first Yu-Gi-Oh! series, also has two 'personalities'."

　Dark had finally reached a conclusion.

　"Virt Gold's second consciousness might be something like the 'Dark Game'."

　……

　After uttering the name, Witt Gold stared intently at them. Seeing Darke stand up, he knew his challenge had been accepted. A smile spread across his face, and he said fiercely, "See you tonight."

　……

　After saying this, Judy realized she had nothing left to interview.

　At this point, the atmosphere both inside and outside the arena had already been stirred up by Witt Gold's words, so she didn't need to say anything more.

　Those audience members who might have left after the interview were now unable to leave.

　They will likely stay until the evening session because of Witt Gold's challenge to Darko Dimon.

　And it seems she... also has to work overtime.

　Thinking this, Judy pursed her lips again, looking somewhat unhappy.

　……

　Witt, however, did not notice anything unusual about the senior student next to him. After he had said everything he wanted to say, he finally felt much better. Then he began to pack up his magic cards and turned to leave the stage.

　He stood there, unaware that his mother's brows were furrowed into a tight knot.

　Meanwhile, Hephaestus Drogon, the Silver Dragon, sitting next to Ophelia Brad, the Blood Princess, covered his mouth and chuckled, unable to suppress his laughter.

　Although she became friends with Ophelia, her stance was naturally on Dark's side.

　Moreover, seeing her friend so anxious about this kind of thing, she actually felt an urge to tease her.

　Of course, she held back.

　After all, even their best friend is already having such a lot of trouble.

　……

　On the other side, Dark's magical elves only realized at this moment that the guy, whose name they didn't know was either Witt or Wade, was actually provoking them!

　So the pink fluffy rabbits who were scheduled to perform tonight were surrounded by the other magical elves, who cheered them on and told them to give it their all tonight.

　"Fairytale animal? Little rabbit," he said, head held high, readily agreeing.

　The "Black-Eared Beast" was still crouching and defending itself with its head in its hands.

　……

　[I had just finished updating yesterday morning and was about to go to sleep when I suddenly received a call urging me to go on a blind date. Forced to get up despite being exhausted from staying up all night, I washed up and prepared to go to town to meet them. However, the other person was busy and didn't reply until the afternoon, saying they had already gone home. I won't go into the details, but the whole process was extremely frustrating. Having not slept for 24 hours, I almost died from exhaustion. My grand plan to write 20,000 words (my actual goal was 10,000) has fallen through. This afternoon or evening, I'll have to grit my teeth and go on another meeting.]

　[I'm not saying anything more, I'm going to sleep to save my life.]

Chapter 724

　During dinner break.

　Dark arrived at Professor Sylph's office.

　After reaching his conclusion, he did not immediately seek out Professor Sylph, but to his surprise, Professor Sylph approached him first.

　The black tea in my hand was steaming, its sweet aroma filling my throat and tongue.

　As Dak put down his teacup, he heard Professor Sylph ask, "What do you think of Witt Gaud's situation?"

　Is that really what it is?

　Thinking this through, Dark said, "We need to take another look."

　The ability to see into people's hearts cannot penetrate the veil of surface consciousness to see through the second consciousness.

　The best way to gain a deeper understanding of Witt Gaudí's "second consciousness" is naturally to stimulate it.

　And now, such an opportunity is right in front of us.

　Neither party confirmed the matter, and both assumed the other was already aware of it.

　Professor Sylph tapped her fingers and said, "Be serious tonight."

　Dark paused for a moment, then smiled slightly: "Of course."

　Having observed the last two duels of the "Silver Cup," he had roughly grasped the behavioral patterns of that "second consciousness." He was quite confident in activating it.

　But Professor Sylph looked up and said, "I know what you're thinking. You know, Cazell is a good man."

　"Huh?" Dark was taken aback by the abrupt jump in Professor Sylph's two sentences.

　Professor Sylph's lips curled slightly, and she added, "He's not good at searching."

　Dark pondered for a long time before finally realizing under Professor Sylph's gaze that she was implying that Professor Kazel didn't have the prerequisite of an RPG protagonist and wouldn't rummage through drawers!

　In other words, Witt Gold may still be hiding a lot more.

　Professor Sylph continued slowly, "After all, this person is Witt, and Ophelia is here now, so we can't go too far."

　Dark said, "I've been considering the 'third party's' motives for helping Angus Jeffrey... Let's leave that aside for now, but given this premise, it suggests that the 'third party' was involved in Angus Jeffrey's experiments in the secret passage. If Witt is indeed the 'third party,' then the possibility that he possesses more high-level magical spirits—especially demonic creatures—is very high."

　Professor Sylph nodded and said, "Generally speaking, you can consider that he also has another deck."

　“I understand.” Dark nodded. Professor Sylph’s subtle approach was still a reminder to be careful, lest he make a fool of himself…

　The two sides then had a more in-depth and simple exchange, and reached a consensus in a very tacit manner.

　But in fact, he was already preparing to do what Professor Sylph wanted him to do.

　As he walked out of the vice principal's office, Dark suddenly realized that the "third party" who helped Angus Jeffrey might just be trying to fleece him—a reason that seemed overly simplistic, but it was very likely true. After all, Angus Jeffrey was indeed a notorious scoundrel.

　……

　As evening approached, the dining hall at St. Mary's College was bustling with activity.

　Today's Silver Cup finals unfolded unexpectedly. But what truly ignited the buzz was Witt Gold's challenge to Darko Dimon during his champion's interview.

　Whether they were younger or older students, they were all engrossed in discussing this hot topic during their meal break.

　"Virt Gold truly lives up to his title of 'Son of the Hero'!"

　Some people remarked that there was absolutely no hint of sarcasm or weirdness.

　"I wonder what level Victor Gaode can achieve?"

　Some people had doubts, while others held high hopes.

　"I really want to see Dark Dimon's expression. Is he in the cafeteria right now?"

　Some were excited, and others chuckled to themselves.

　The area where the first-year students were gathered was filled with disapproval, as they hadn't yet received Christmas gifts from the math teaching assistant. Therefore, they were quite indignant that their professor had been so publicly provoked.

　Leaving aside the Noble Academy, which was already at odds with the Knight Academy, and the Magic Academy (although it was only in its second year) which had just been defeated by the Knight Academy, even the students of the Knight Academy were somewhat unhappy.

　“That hero’s son is indeed very powerful, but why does he think he can compare to our professor?” Spike Leon said while eating meat.

　“That’s right, that’s right.” The junior archmage from the Knights Academy chimed in.

　"The reason our professor didn't participate in the 'Silver Cup' main competition is because he didn't want to bully them, right?" The girl on the other side echoed from afar.

　Thus began the discussion, which was filled with condemnation of the "Silver Cup" champion.

　Compared to the first-year students' fondness for Dark Dimon, the atmosphere among the second-year students was much stranger.

　Although the second-year students of the Knights Academy cheered very loudly for a short time after Witt Gold's victory, they were now a little embarrassed after calming down.

　Of course, they would outwardly support Witte. After all, Witte had just won team honors for them, and they didn't want to discourage him.

　It's just that when we were cheering him on, we were saying things that weren't entirely true.

　As the discussion continued, the atmosphere between them gradually became tense.

　The students of the Knights Academy are courageous and fearless in the face of challenges.

　After accepting the fact that Witt had challenged Dark, they began to actively think about how to help Witt win.

　The effect was not very obvious.

　Witt, caught in the middle, also wore a grim expression, as pressure from his surroundings and from within himself gradually built up.

　Even before the duel began, he seemed to be already in the zone.

　……

　Dak arrived at the cafeteria a little later.

　After picking up his plate and choosing his favorite food, he walked towards the area with more second-year students, where he saw Diana raising her hand and calling out.

　"Dak-dak, here, here!" Diana was still holding a greasy fork in her hand.

　Rose quickly slapped her arm down, reminding her to be mindful of her manners.

　Dak walked over quickly and found that in front of the six-person table, there were also Doron, Pistan, and Eudora.

　We're missing one player, so this is perfect to fill the gap.

　Doron and Pistan laughed heartily, as if all the gloom of the afternoon had dissipated, leaving them feeling incredibly relaxed and refreshed.

　After Dak sat down, he began to chat casually.

　Not long after, a second-year student from the Magic Academy came over to cheer him on, which surprised him.

　……

　Of course, not everyone favors Darko; Witt Gold has shown significant improvement in every match. His raw power, especially in the final half of the Grand Final, was truly impressive.

　Among the upperclassmen, many of those who lost to Dark in the "Golden Cup" points competition cited examples of "brave warriors breaking through in the face of danger and bursting forth in crisis," suggesting that Witt Gold had a chance.

　The brave are invincible.

　When they discussed this, someone would often chime in, "Have you forgotten Angus Jeffrey?"

　Angus Jeffrey, a fifth-grader, was recently shot down by Dark Dimon.

　But in such a short time, he seems to have been forgotten.

　……

　The sunset on the horizon was as turbulent and unpredictable as a raging torrent. Outside the St. Marian Duel Hall in the royal capital, new carriages were arriving one after another.