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

　This is also why neither Luke Becky, who ranked fourth, nor Philomena Bach, who ranked fifth, chose her.

　Moreover, she specializes in "fairy-type" magic, which is a natural counter to Pandora's strength in "dragon-type" magic, making her arguably Pandora's worst opponent.

　Even if Pandora is the favorite to win the championship, choosing Eluri Clarissa in this single-elimination tournament would be a thankless task.

　However, Pandora deliberately chose this battle with the opposite attribute!

　This inevitably leads one to wonder if there are some unknown secrets behind this...

　"emmm..."

　Dark glanced at Senior Elurly Clarissa and was immediately glared at by her.

　Dak immediately looked away, focusing his gaze on his nose and mind, indicating that it had nothing to do with him.

　Even if Elurly Clarissa is eliminated in the first round because of this, it's all her own fault, thank goodness!

　After Pandora, it was finally the turn of Winnie Skadi, the "Daughter of Winter," who ranked seventh.

　Despite being only a fourth-grader, Winnie Skadi's talent has already earned her recognition from the audience. While she may not be on par with Pandora, she is still one of the favorites to win the championship.

　Without much thought, she chose the eleventh-ranked contestant from the remaining two.

　[Match 7: Winnie Skadi vs. Rita Sainsbury] Rita Sainsbury is a fifth-year student from the House of Nobles.

　After Rita Sainsbury was chosen, the only one left was Hayden Gunther, who was ranked ninth.

　[Match 8: Taylor Spencer vs. Hayden Gunther]

　Taylor Spencer is a fifth-year student from Knights College and serves as the vice president of the "Sports Club".

　Hayden Gunther, on the other hand, was a fifth-year student from the Knights Academy, but not a member of the "Sports Club".

　The two had a fierce competition for a spot in the top eight on the last day of the qualifying rounds.

　Although Taylor Spencer narrowly won in the end, it was clear that their skill levels were roughly equal.

　Unexpectedly, on the first day of the main competition, the two faced off again! This can only be described as a duel of fate.

　It remains to be seen who will emerge victorious in this evenly matched duel.

　"Alright! That concludes the match schedule for the first day of the Gold Cup main event. Let's turn our attention back to the projection!"

　After finishing her interview with the eighth group of contestants, Judy raised her voice and spoke enthusiastically.

　The giant projection displayed the list of players and the scheduled time for all eight matches.

　The specific rules for this year's Gold Cup are no different from those of previous Gold Cups.

　The scheduled timetable was basically one duel every half hour.

　This is divided into afternoon sessions and evening sessions, with four duels in each session.

　After each duel, Judy, as the host, would conduct an interview with the contestant.

　The interviews on the first day of the competition were very brutal and unique, as they were interviews with the losers!

　This practice, which is almost tantamount to stabbing the loser in the heart, has continued to this day, though it is unclear who first established it.

　However, after the first day of matches, there were the usual interviews with the winners.

　Players can use the time while waiting for their matches to adjust their decks. There is a 15-minute preparation period before the first match begins.

　"To ensure fairness and impartiality in the competition, both contestants will have fifteen minutes to prepare before the first match begins. Now, the performance team will take the stage to play a stirring piece, the 'Duel March'!"

　After Judy finished her announcement, she led the contestants off the stage, handing the stage over to the elite members of the performance department.

　The sixteen contestants returned to the backstage area once again.

　The staff prepared sofas, snacks, and tea in this backstage area. The players can choose to stay in this backstage area to watch the match, return to the players' lounge, or even leave the duel arena temporarily.

　Leaving aside the two contestants who appeared in the first round, six of the eight contestants who appeared in the following four evening rounds chose to leave the backstage area directly.

　Only Pandora and Eluri remained.

　Shortly after, Luke Becky and Matthew Bealbom, who were in fourth place, also left the game.

　Only eight contestants remained in the backstage area.

　The eight players sat apart, and the four players who appeared in the first and second rounds each summoned a small barrier to envelop themselves, so that the scene of building their decks could not be seen by others.

　On the other side, Silas Andy, who was making his third appearance, sat alone. Pandora and Eluri, however, moved their single sofas to either side of Dark.

　Then Pandora waved his hand, summoning a barrier to block Silas Andy's view.

　The three of them began to talk loudly within the barrier.

　“Beauty is a curse!” Eluri Clarissa glared at Dark without flinching.

　Dak looked completely innocent: "The phrase 'femme fatale' is used to describe women, so don't use it indiscriminately."

　Eluri raised her hand and poked Dark's forehead with her index finger. Then, unsurprisingly, Pandora caught it between two fingers.

　In martial arts novels, this would be a classic scene of someone disarming a blade with their bare hands.

　Eluri gritted her teeth and withdrew her fingers.

　Pandora smiled and said, "What, you want to duel right now?" Eluri hesitated for a long time before finally uttering, "Narrow-minded!"

　Pandora said nonchalantly, "A person's heart is big enough as long as it can accommodate one other person."

　Eluri turned around and muttered, "You're happy now. Wait until you lose to me tonight, then let's see if you're still so happy!"

　Pandora glanced at her and said leisurely, "If your only trick is elemental advantage, you should think ahead about how you're going to answer Judy's question when you fail and leave the field."

　Eluri snorted and began to struggle with the cups on the round table. Dark, sitting between the two, felt as if the gazes from both sides were knives stabbing into him.

　But his relationship with Senior Eluri was clearly completely innocent. Eluri Clarissa wasn't even considered his fish... Oh no! Dark Dimon wouldn't keep fish!

　In short, how innocent, how innocent! "We must find a topic to break this atmosphere."

　Dark turned his gaze and, through the one-way visible barrier, saw Silas Andy, who was alone and had not activated the barrier.

　He couldn't help but ask, "Senior, how much do you know about Silas Andy?"

　“Even I don’t know!” Eluri Clarissa blurted out. Pandora almost laughed in exasperation, but after a moment she calmly said, “Silas Andy is a fifth-year student at the Magic Academy. His academic ranking in our Magic Academy generally hovers between third and fifth place.”

　"Only third to fifth place?" Dark was somewhat surprised. "Judging from his appearance, I thought he would at least be in the top two."

　Pandora shook her head and said, "The Magic Academy is highly competitive, not to mention it's just based on paper scores. It's already quite an achievement for Silas Andy to occasionally get into the top three."

　Dark nodded and said, "So, his dueling skills should also be at this level."

　But Pandora shook her head again, saying, "In comparison, he's better at written tests."

　Dark seemed to understand: "I see, it seems I still have a chance of winning." Pandora reminded him: "Don't underestimate him because of this. His overall strength may have some flaws, but his deck construction is unpredictable and his tactical system is endless, making him a very difficult type to deal with. Moreover, I heard that he also has a very special summoning spell."

　Another special summoning spell

　Upon hearing this, Dark couldn't help but ask, "What summoning spell?" Pandora solemnly replied, "Reverse Flow Summoning Spell."

　……

　The so-called knowing oneself and the enemy will never end in a hundred battles.

　Intelligence gathering has always been a crucial factor in determining the outcome of a duel. But Dark has consistently performed poorly in this regard.

　Just like now, he could only extract as much information about Silas Andy as possible from Pandora.

　However, Pandora's understanding of Silas Andy was not actually comprehensive; she could only offer some possible solutions.

　Of all the information she revealed, the most useful should be the "Reverse Summoning Technique"!

　"Reverse Flow Summoning Technique," while also a special summoning technique, is not like "Starry Sky Summoning Technique," which created a completely new system of summoning techniques. It is an advancement of normal summoning techniques, belonging to the same level as "Sacrifice Summoning Technique." However, due to its extremely high difficulty to master and strict requirements on the summoning environment, it is rarely seen in use.

　When a mage casts the "Reverse Summoning Spell," they can reverse the structure of a summoned magical spirit, returning it to nothingness and transforming it into a torrent of magical power, thereby enabling the special summoning of elemental species of the corresponding attribute.

　In this case, the star rating requirement for the magical spirit needed for Reverse Summoning is exactly the same as that for Sacrifice Summoning.

　Unless the Special Summoned Elemental has "Eye of the Element" or "Heart of the Element", it can be summoned at a lower cost.

　Therefore, compared to "Sacrifice Summoning", "Reverse Summoning" has almost no advantage; it is a special summoning spell that can only be used in specific circumstances.

　It is typically used to force the insertion of elemental Spellweaver cards into non-elemental decks.

　In addition, some ritual summoning requirements can also be met by using "Reverse Summoning" in conjunction with it.

　At this point, when paired with "Ritual Summoning," one can even ignore the hand and directly summon a Magical Spirit card that meets the ritual conditions from the deck.

　What Silas Andy is researching is to combine "Reverse Summoning" with "Ocean Field" to create a special method that can ritually summon a certain deep-sea magical spirit.

　Among these, Silas Andy's "Ocean Field" series of field cards are particularly tricky.

　He can use this to transform the entire area into an underwater world flooded with seawater. Even if the magical spirits don't die from suffocation, their movements will be severely restricted.

　Fire-attribute magical spirits, in particular, will be greatly suppressed in water-based terrain.

　Considering all these factors, Dark needs to make significant adjustments to his deck.

　Fortunately, it's his third match, so he still has a considerable amount of time to think.

　While the players were working hard to adjust their decks, the audience was also having a heated discussion about it.

　Just like Evan Pearson, who was asking Edwin about Silas Andy.

　Of course, he didn't want to know about Silas Andy; he just wanted to use this to deduce Dark's chances of winning.

　In order to express her "stance", Edwin Clarissa revealed some secret information that is not known to ordinary people.

　That was certainly not just information related to the "Reverse Summoning Spell." Upon hearing this, Evan Pearson's pupils constricted slightly, and he quickly exchanged a few words with Tommy Smith.

　Silas Andy is not well-known; at least compared to the "Silver Dragon Girl" and the "Night Baron," he is practically unknown.

　However, the information revealed by Edwin Clarissa made Evan Pearson overturn his preconceived notions about this player, and he realized that it would not be easy to win against Silas Andy.

　His mind even calmed down because of this.

　Fifteen minutes of preparation time is neither long nor short.

　The audience, still engaged in heated discussions, had not yet reached a conclusion, and those immersed in the beautiful music were also reluctant to leave.

　But the first match of the Gold Cup main event is finally about to begin!

　Host Judy returned to the podium. The referees and commentators were both in place.

　The two fighters in the first duel emerged from behind the scenes and walked to either side of the central arena.

　Fifth-year aristocratic class, "Thunder Blade" Torre Wadsworth! vs.

　Fifth-grade student Elijah Sheridan, "Sky Claw" from the Fools' House!

　Elijah Sheridan, known as the "Claw of the Sky," is naturally best at flying, which allows him to soar through the skies.

　However, his opponent was "Thunderblade," who reigned supreme with Electric-type cards! In order to avoid type disadvantage, Elijah Sheridan, after careful consideration, switched to a deck that focused on Ground-type cards.

　This unexpected choice did cause Torre Wadsworth some trouble at the beginning of the duel.

　Electric-type magic Pokémon's ultimate moves are almost ineffective against Ground-type magic Pokémon.

　However, Torrey Wordsworth immediately changed tactics. Ultimately, his physical attacks amplified by electricity shattered Elijah Sheridan's confidence!

　The difference in skill between the two players was laid bare at that moment. "Sky Claw" Elijah Sheridan became the first player to leave the stage in this year's Gold Cup.

　And in an interview with Judy, she made a farewell statement... The brutality of the first day of the elimination rounds was fully demonstrated.

　Half an hour later, the second duel also proceeded smoothly.

　Fifth Grade Fools' House, "Vegetarian" Regina Milton!

　vs

　Fourth-year Knight Academy student, "Battle Spirit" Mars Carey!

　Mars Carey wins!

Chapter 874 I Want to See Rivers of Blood (6k)

　Mars Carey's victory caused a huge stir in the dueling arena.

　It was already quite remarkable that a fourth-grader could defeat a fifth-grader.

　What's more, Mars Carey defeated Regina Milton, who was ranked second in the Gold Cup points tournament!

　Even in the entire history of the "Golden Cup", it is rare to see a match where the last-placed team makes a comeback to defeat the second-placed team.

　The moment Mars Carey won, his existence officially entered everyone's field of vision.