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

　In short, no matter what, Dark will do his best.

　A quarter of an hour later.

　The players from both sides entered the arena one after another.

　A high platform rose in the center of the open-air dueling arena, and the arena was outlined on the platform.

　At both ends of the venue, platforms for the athletes are raised.

　On either side of the field are the commentary booth, the referee's booth, and the two players' seats directly opposite each other.

　After entering the arena, the players from the Knights Academy and the Magic Academy took their seats on either side of the field.

　They would sit there and watch every match between the two houses. As they entered, cheers erupted from the sidelines once more. Dark, sitting in the players' box, looked out and almost immediately spotted Alvitt, Claire, and the others.

　His mood immediately improved.

　Senior Judy was still keeping the atmosphere lively on the stage. Later, the commentators and referees for today's match finally entered the arena.

　Two minutes later, after testing the microphone, the commentator took over the conversation.

　Judy finally put down the microphone and quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She had been doing a stand-up comedy routine for quite a while now…

　Before the duel between the Knights' Academy and the Nobles' Academy ended, there was finally a period of rest.

　However, she couldn't completely relax.

　As a professional host, she had to watch all the matches so that she could interview the winners after each duel.

　"But this first duel should be pretty much a foregone conclusion," Judy thought to herself as she glanced at the two second-year students in the contestants' seats.

　The majority of people, both on and off the field, shared the same view. After all, Darko Dimon's performance in the Golden Cup was undeniable; it was something a normal second-year student couldn't possibly pull off, even if he was the "son of a hero"!

　Speaking of "Son of the Hero", one of the two commentators, Joe William, the former head of the Duel Club, couldn't help but reminisce about the long-deceased "Hero" Bright Gold.

　Although his female commentator—the current head of the Duel Club—Inia Knight, displeased, she did not interrupt her partner.

　Aynia herself served as the commentator today, and she also specially invited Joe William, who is about to graduate, as a way to give his student life a perfect ending.

　These two are definitely top-notch in their professional skills; the question is whether there will be any problems with their teamwork.

　After all, their personalities are complete opposites; one is indecisive, while the other is decisive and straightforward.

　For example, right now, after Joe William had been rambling on about Bright Gold for almost five minutes, Inya Knight finally couldn't help but interrupt, saying, "Senior William, this isn't time for 'The Hero' to reminisce. This will affect the contestants' performance."

　“Inia, remembering the past is to better welcome tomorrow,” Joe William said very gently.

　Inia's gaze grew increasingly cold, and she completely ignored William, addressing the audience: "The preparation time before the match has been quite long. I'm sure the contestants from the Knights Academy and the Noble Academy are eager to begin. Now, please welcome the duelists for the first match. First up is Vittor Gold, a second-year student from the Knights Academy. He entered the academy as the 'Hero' and has lived up to expectations to reach this point; I'm sure he will deliver an incredibly exciting duel. His opponent is fellow second-year student Dark Dimon. As the son of a Valkyrie, on par with the 'Hero' Black Gold, Dark Dimon's talent and abilities are second to none; it seems we can already see the shadow of the 'Valkyrie' in him..."

　“It’s time to go on stage.” Dark stood up, walked out of the seats, and landed on the elevator.

　Almost simultaneously, Witt Gold was also descending from the elevator on the other side.

　Dak turned in that direction and nodded with a slight smile.

　Witt Gold, who had been looking serious, quickly forced a smile. The two players exchanged greetings from a few meters apart, then turned and walked towards their respective platforms.

　The Knights' House is on the red team. The Noble House is on the blue team.

　Both parties stepped onto the elevator, which slowly ascended.

　The cheers of supporters outside the stadium rang out again, like undulating waves.

　"Go Knights' Academy!" "Go Nobles' Academy!"

　"Witt! Witt! God! God!" "Dark Dimon! Dark Dimon!"

　Gradually, only sounds like these remained in the entire venue. Bathed in this wave of sound, even the greatest fear was forcibly smoothed away.

　"Look, standing on the red team's platform is none other than 'Son of the Warrior,' Victor Gold!"

　"On the blue team's platform stands Dark Dimon, the 'Son of the Stars'!"

　"Both players have started the game and are putting their decks into the slots. Although they are only second-year students, they are already very familiar with the duel rules."

　“Virt Gold seems to have something to say. Let’s be quiet for a bit and give him some space.”

　Inya Knight completely overwhelmed Joe William, leaving only one voice on the entire commentary booth.

　Her voice had a strange persuasive power that actually calmed the boiling uproar.

　Witt Gode turned on the loudspeaker, his face very serious, but his first words were: "Dark, I know I can't reach your level yet, and defeating you in a magical duel is extremely difficult. But with effort, there's always a chance. When I was studying at the Holy Mystic Academy, the professors there always said to believe in the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit will turn the impossible into possible. I won't comment on divine faith, but I believe miracles always favor the prepared. I'm ready, are you?"

　Dark was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. He hadn't expected that Witt Gode, after going to the Holy Mystic Academy, hadn't seen anything else, but had become quite the smooth talker.

　He then couldn't help but laugh, "Perhaps the gap between us isn't as big as you think. Calm thinking is the key to victory in a magical duel. But being prepared is certainly a very good thing. Occasionally, I also pin my hopes on miracles. But miracles must be created by oneself. Prepare for the duel. Use everything you've learned at the Holy Mystic Academy."

　Witt God's expression grew increasingly serious, and he said in a low voice, "I didn't learn much at the Holy Mystic Academy. What's there isn't suitable for me. Except, of course, the Holy Sword!"

　Dark nodded and said, "Then let me see your holy sword." Witt God said forcefully, "Alright!"

　Magical duels are not life-or-death battles, at least not yet.

　"Friendship first, competition second"—while this is just an official saying, there's really no need for the two sides in a duel to act like they have a deep-seated hatred for each other.

　Dark and Witt's interaction was perfectly normal, subtly conveying the allure of a duel.

　It can bring smiles to people's faces. "Whoosh—"

　The referee, who had almost been ignored, suddenly blew his whistle. The entire stadium fell silent.

　"Both players are in position."

　The referee's rather serious voice then rang out.

　While the audience was still savoring the words exchanged between the two duelists, the highly anticipated duel officially entered the preparation stage.

　Few people are discussing who won or lost between them.

　Even the Knights' Academy cheerleaders, who were cheering and waving flags with all their might, were only hoping deep down that Witte could secure that one in ten thousand chance.

　That is what he calls a miracle.

　But when they start pinning their hopes on a miracle, it means they have lost faith in victory.

　Only that desire to win remained unchanged.

　You can rationally analyze how low your win rate is. But you must never lose the courage to challenge the strong.

　This is the Knights' Academy. And also, the Academy of Heroes.

　Only those who face difficulties head-on are truly courageous.

　Witt Gold has finally developed the air of a warrior. Dark felt a strange sense of relief.

　He shook his head, dismissing the inexplicable feeling, and focused his attention on the duel itself.

　He'd already made that boast; he couldn't let someone actually overthrow him. His expression instantly became focused.

　The atmosphere of the entire venue changed because of this change in key figures.

　The voices grew quieter, and everyone's attention focused on the area.

　The referee waited quietly for the right moment.

　Sensing the tension had reached its limit, he suddenly waved his hand and blew his whistle.

　"Wow—"

　The words "Preparation Phase" appeared on the screen. The cards were then automatically shuffled.

　Both players placed their hands on the card table. Then another whistle blew.

　The referee suddenly shouted, "The duel begins!"

　Immediately following the "Preparation Phase" was a countdown of "30 seconds".

　duel! ! !

　[It's past night, I've only managed to lie down for less than three hours. I wanted to write more, but I failed. I'll lie down a little longer.]

Chapter 1055 That year, I had my hands in my pockets and didn't know what an opponent was (6k)

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　Chapter 1055 That year, I had my hands in my pockets and didn't know what an opponent was (6k)

　"Preparation Phase" [30s] Under the watchful eyes of everyone, both players draw cards simultaneously. Their expressions, magnified by the projection, are clearly visible.

　Even Witt Gold has learned to manage his facial expressions.

　To discern the quality of each player's hand based on facial expressions during the card-drawing phase of the "preparation stage"... unless you know them extremely well.

　For example, Robert and Witte.

　Robert Broheim knew Witte even better than Ophelia Brad, the "Blood Princess," who was his mother.

　Just from the slight twitching of Witt's eyebrows, he could immediately tell that Witt God must have drawn a crucial magic card!

　"He drew the 'Holy Sword Curse'!"

　Robert was overjoyed and immediately shouted. He was surrounded by second-year students from the Knights Academy.

　These second-year students all knew how powerful Dark was, so from the beginning they had no hope for Witt-Gold's duel. But as Witt had said before, what if a miracle happened?

　"I feel like I can already see a miracle happen!"

　A female student from the Knights Academy immediately closed her eyes and began chanting in a mystical manner. People around her glanced at her; some played along, while others looked on helplessly, creating a rather amusing atmosphere.

　On the players' benches on both sides of the field.

　The other eight contestants from the Knights Academy and the Noble Academy were all staring intently at the arena.

　The contestants from the Fool's Academy and the Magic Academy were also watching intently from the windows of the lounge.

　The preparations behind a magical duel may take a very long time. But once the duel begins, the outcome can be decided in just a few minutes.

　When there is a significant difference in strength between the two sides, the outcome can be decided in just one round.

　Sometimes, viewers need to slow down the playback and analyze it frame by frame to truly appreciate the brilliance.

　For this year's duel tournament, Inya Knight proposed introducing this post-match analysis component, and with the professors' permission, it will be included in the test today.

　If the test is well received, this step will be used in all future competitions.

　The professors also attach great importance to this.

　After all, even the most exciting duel can only attract so much divine energy if it ends in just one or two minutes. Adding a replay or analysis segment might allow for even more profit, enabling duelists to gain even more divine energy.

　Therefore, today is the first test. Dark is unaware of this yet.

　He has now put aside all external factors and is fully focused on this duel.

　After drawing five magic cards from the top of the deck, he smoothly unfolded them in his hand.

　Those five cards immediately came into view.

　v

　"Blue-Eyes Dragon Egg" "Netherworld Soul Ring" [Shuttle] [Vilizion] [Onix]

　"Three stars, six stars, nine stars, plus a magic card that can imprison sacrifices."

　Despite adjusting the deck before the start of the tournament, it was still quite unexpected to draw this hand at the very beginning.

　Dark raised an eyebrow slightly, his mind racing. With a "Blue-Eyes Dragon Egg," he could hatch a "Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon" in the first round, and then summon a "Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

　In the first round, forcefully pull nine stars!

　This is something that only a very small number of outstanding students, even among senior students, can achieve.

　What's more, what Dark summoned was a "Blue-Eyes White Dragon"! However, by now, the hatching mechanism of the "dragon egg" has already been figured out, so it will still be somewhat difficult for him to successfully hatch the dragon egg.

　Moreover, he knew very well that Witt God's "Holy Sword Spell" could instantly kill a "Dragon Egg"!

　The "Holy Sword Spell" might not be as powerful in the hands of others, but in Witt's hands, it is no less powerful than a high-level magic card.

　Moreover, because the "Holy Sword Spell" possesses weapon characteristics, it is not limited to a single strike.

　The magic card that Michael Owen of the House of Nobles is most skilled at using—"The Sword Hanging High"—is similar to this.

　However, each strike of the "Sword Hanging High" consumes magic power, and it will disappear once the magic power is exhausted.

　The weapon manifested by the "Holy Sword Spell" is even more solidified. Unless special abilities are used, normal attacks consume virtually no mana.

　It is more flexible when controlled by the mage himself.