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

　Dark's gaze sharpened slightly, becoming serious. The others did the same.

　Although everyone has come together for various reasons, they all have their own ideas.

　With Principal Arte's appearance, the members of the Holy Church and the Elven race all guessed why St. Marian Academy was so actively involved in this matter.

　But now that I think about it carefully, if it weren't for this reason, Dark Dimon wouldn't be here.

　If Dark Dimon were not here, many of them would likely lose their lives during this ceremony.

　Not to mention, they didn't even bother to accomplish what they originally came here hoping to achieve.

　Moreover, it now seems that the purpose of "guiding" or "inheriting" divine power was originally designed by Hermes.

　Although I am still unwilling to accept this reality, it seems that this is the only way.

　Lost in their own thoughts, they were completely unaware that they were witnessing the birth of a brand new era!

　Seeing that Hermes only said one sentence and then fell silent again, Principal Arte continued, "Hermes' second plan is based on 'competition.' He witnessed the entire development of magical technology, and also the entire process of the birth and rise of magical duels. He is a fanatical enthusiast of magical duels... well, that's irrelevant."

　"Hermes' second plan also required rituals. And the difficulty of completing that plan was dozens or even hundreds of times greater than that of the first plan. But for the twelve Porobos, the rewards would also be dozens or even hundreds of times greater."

　"He wants to rely on his own divine authority as the core, and use the consciousness of the twelve gods as sacrifices, to create a completely new path of divinity that has never appeared before in history," Dark said with slight doubt.

　Principal Art explained, "The so-called Divine Path can also be called the Path to Godhood. There are countless Paths to Godhood in this world, and each Path to Godhood corresponds to a different pantheon. The so-called creation of the Divine Path is actually the creation of a pantheon. Hermes wanted to create the Divine Path together with the other eleven gods and become the God of Magic!"

　Dark listened very patiently, and only after listening did he finally understand Hermes' second plan.

　He had no opinion of Hermes himself because of this; most of his attention was focused on the so-called "god of magic" himself.

　Magical techniques are entirely new technologies, unlike anything seen in history. As it stands, it is a path to divinity, possessing the absolute potential to achieve godhood.

　But from beginning to end, no one actually walked this so-called path to the divine.

　Therefore, it's all just speculation.

　To forge a godhood using magical technology, one must create one's own. But even forging a godhood based on an existing path is incredibly difficult. How much more difficult it is to create one's own path and forge a completely new godhood.

　Many professors at St. Marian College have actually gone down this path.

　Therefore, Professor Cazell, Professor Sylph, and others were overjoyed when they learned of the existence of this "Sixth Step".

　That was what they saw as the ladder to godhood. But after calming down and thinking about it carefully...

　You'll find that even if the so-called "sixth tier" is truly mastered, it only grants the power of a sixth-tier magical spirit with some kind of divine authority.

　What is the connection between a magical spirit becoming a god and a magician becoming a god?

　Hermes' second plan was to establish a connection between the ascension of magical elves to godhood and the ascension of mages to godhood.

　Moreover, he has enormous ambitions.

　He not only wanted to create this entirely new divine path, but also wanted to introduce other deities into it.

　The world has entered a period of "the revival of the gods".

　Therefore, any action that can revive the gods will receive unseen assistance.

　Hermes' plan was also based on this.

　He wants to establish a completely new set of rules in this world through rituals.

　Thanks to the groundbreaking nature of magical technology, this set of rules does not conflict with other rules, thus avoiding many troubles.

　This is a completely new set of dueling rules!

　Upon hearing this, Dak's expression remained blank.

　This contrasted sharply with the astonished expressions of the others around him.

　Hermes' plan, in essence, was to construct a system of rules that could achieve the effects of "Netherfire" without using it. This made Dark suspect that the existence of "Netherfire" might be part of his experiment.

　When Did Dee Dee Maxwell open the gates of the underworld, was he influenced by his own will?

　Of course, neither reason matters.

　The only thing we really need to be wary of is "Netherfire." If every duelist could engage in a so-called "Dark Duel" without using "Netherfire," wouldn't the world immediately descend into chaos?

　Of course, he trusted Principal Arte and believed that she wouldn't push something forward without careful consideration.

　Because this matter was far too serious to be explained in just a few words, Principal Art suggested that they sit down and discuss it carefully before making a decision.

　Since Professor Sarah Sylph, High Priestess Bellamy Artemis, and Bishop Sabrina Melville were all in the "Heavenly Court," they were summoned to discuss the matter as well.

　Hermes himself had no objection to this—he could not possibly show any “urgent” intentions in front of these humans.

　The entire ceremony was actually just one step away from completion.

　Once he spends some time making adjustments, and then has Dak and the others present the gold medals one by one, the ceremony can be completed immediately.

　Until then, all they need to do is make sure the contaminants don't seep up to the top floor—the presence of the contaminants is also part of the ritual.

　But it can reduce the rate at which pollutants rise back to their initial state.

　This would give them more time to discuss the details of the ceremony.

　Hermes himself could not intervene, but with a slight hint from him, Principal Arte successfully quelled the riot caused by the pollutants.

　Professor Sarah Sylph, High Priestess Bellamy Artemis, and Bishop Sabrina Melville were summoned to the top of the tower half an hour later.

　Principal Arte set up tables and chairs on the top floor, summoned tea sets, and brewed black tea.

　The atmosphere softened slightly amidst the fragrant aroma of black tea.

　The three newly arrived Professor Sylph and her companions were still completely confused, so Principal Arte briefly explained some key points again.

　Dak and the others also took this opportunity to listen to it again.

　After listening, Dark found that the details of Hermes' plan were somewhat different from what he had imagined.

　In the dueling rules that Hermes wanted to establish, duelists could open special dueling arenas, similar to using "Netherfire." However, they would not forcibly plunder their opponent's power like "Netherfire."

　During the preparation phase of a duel, both duelists can draft a contract according to their own wishes. The duel then proceeds in a fair and just manner.

　The contents of the contract are protected by rules, enabling things that are not possible under normal circumstances.

　For example, you could choose one magic card from your opponent's deck and take away the right to use it.

Chapter 1002 New Duel Rules: Graveyard (15.5k)

　Hermes is the god of commerce, possessing powers related to contracts and the ability to accurately identify equivalents.

　Duels witnessed by Hermes will have the attribute of trade added, allowing the exchange of ownership of items.

　That alone could change the rules of the game.

　Mages cannot use most of the plundered magic cards except for the general type. While this feature protects individual mages, it also hinders the overall development of mages and prevents them from communicating with each other through the exchange of magic cards.

　However, after more than a decade of explosive development, the development speed of magic technology has actually slowed down again, and they have encountered a bottleneck.

　To further advance magical technology, appropriate communication and cooperation are essential.

　In addition to this, if a mage wants to truly embark on the path to godhood, they must also acquire something else.

　That's something that pure research can't provide.

　The dueling rules established by Hermes provide them with the essential elements for their path to godhood.

　He called it "divine cause".

　Divine factor, divine cause!

　But "divine cause" cannot be created out of thin air.

　Even if Hermes successfully becomes the god of magic, he will not do charity or give away his divine power.

　However, during this specific period of "the resurgence of the gods," "divine causes" are everywhere, but humans cannot see or touch them.

　As one of the twelve Poirot gods, Hermes could certainly see and recognize the "divine cause".

　The ceremony to be completed at the Tower of Endymion is merely a prelude.

　He will use this ritual as a foundation to leverage the entire human world and set up an unprecedentedly large-scale world-class ceremony within the human world!

　The "divine cause" that is constantly growing will be attracted to this super-massive world-class ritual.

　All duelists participating in the ritual are part of the ritual.

　The duels they engage in are small rituals. "Divine Causes" gather because of the duels and are drawn to the duelists after the duels end.

　Therefore, even if duelists have not made a pact with each other, they can still benefit from the duel.

　Duelists who have obtained a large amount of "divine cause" will naturally encounter many miracles.

　Sufficient "divine cause" may even attract fragments of divine souls, which will reside in the magic cards of the mage—this is the prototype of the "God Card"!

　"The Card of God"

　Professor Sylph raised her finger and tapped it lightly on the table as a way of masking her unease.

　Once they fully understood Hermes's thoughts, they couldn't help but be shocked by this grand plan.

　Hermes not only wanted to create a completely new divine path, but also wanted to use it to attract the resurrected gods and have them participate in the ritual in the form of "God Cards"!

　His dueling trading system, structured with the authority of the God of Commerce, exists specifically for this purpose.

　Promoting exchange and cooperation are merely byproducts.

　What he really wanted was for duelists to circulate the "God Cards" through duels after obtaining them.

　The "Cards of God" possess self-awareness, and their high enough status prevents them from being subject to the forced commands of mages.

　Instead, they will guide the mages to collect their other soul fragments through duels.

　As the divine souls gather, the power of the gods will gradually recover until they are resurrected. The duelists, in this process, will also absorb and fuse with more "divine essence," truly embarking on the path to godhood.

　This set of rules can be said to perfectly link the "God Cards" with the Magister.

　Hermes and the consciousness of the other eleven gods will become the soil that forms the basis for this entire set of rules.

　When the first god was resurrected because of this, when the first mage became a god because of this, the path to divinity they pioneered was truly open!

　They themselves will be resurrected and become "Gods of Magic", returning to their peak state... or even surpassing it!

　During this process, fragments of the souls of Hermes and the other twelve gods will also participate in this world-class ritual.

　Duelists participating in this ritual also have the opportunity to obtain their own "God Cards".

　Because the consciousness of the "Heavenly Court" is bound to that of the Twelve Heavenly Gods, the "Heavenly Court" will also undergo changes during the ritual.

　In Hermes' vision, their "Heavenly Court" would eventually evolve into a magical kingdom, becoming a holy land for duelists.

　At that time, duelists who possess the "God Cards" can enter the sacred site for pilgrimage. If the opportunity arises, it might even be possible to hold a "God's Cup" dueling tournament open to duelists worldwide.

　Hermes had long coveted such large-scale competitive events.

　He was originally a god who loved excitement.

　"Why don't we just hold a World Cup every four years?" Dark couldn't help but complain.

　He found himself gradually drawn to Hermes' plan. If Hermes' plan could actually be carried out...

　All duelists who possess the "God Card" will flock to their divine kingdom, where they will engage in fair duels with duelists from all over the world in that holy land of duelists.

　In competitions of this caliber, they are not only vying for the championship, but also for the throne!

　The countless "divine causes" that converge will allow them to ascend to godhood the moment they win the championship.

　If this can be done.

　Then the "God's Cup" will truly live up to its name and will make the whole world boil!

　At that time, an era of universal duels may truly be coming. It's hard to imagine.

　What a magnificent scene that would be!

　Even without mentioning "Magic Kingdom" and "God's Grail".

　Hermes' plan was also very ambitious.

　The most impressive aspect of the entire ceremony was the effective integration of the "revival of the gods" with the whole ritual.

　In this situation, if a deity were to successfully resurrect through this ritual, they would undoubtedly become a cornerstone of this divine path, contributing to its creation.

　While those gods wouldn't be completely categorized into the magical lineage as a result, they would certainly be associated with it.

　Then this divine path can rise with the wind and expand its territory in a very short time, surpassing those divine paths that have existed for countless years in scale.