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

　The peaceful academy was finally thrown into turmoil.

　Fortunately, neither of the parties involved were students of St. Marian College.

　Neither the leaders from the War Totem Academy nor the Elven Spell Academy intervened. After questioning both leaders, the professors from St. Marian Academy also refrained from mediating.

　Dark simply went to the cafeteria for a meal before Diana and Rose dragged him to Duel Arena Number One. There, he was discovered by the "Elf Princess" and inexplicably ended up in the Elf Magic Academy's camp.

　Beside him was Aurora, who had been with Lucia Artemis ever since she arrived.

　The elven princess, who is nineteen years old this year, is more immature than Aurora, both in appearance and mentality.

　She excitedly pointed at the elven students who were about to go down in the arena, looking like she had no intention of holding back at all.

　The War Totem Academy members opposite them were also grinning, their orc blood boiling in their veins.

　"Domain Deployment!" "Domain Deployment!"

　The elves and orcs, the preliminary contestants, entered the arena simultaneously. Light emanating from beneath their feet spread wildly toward the center, expanding violently like a tidal wave, and the rising flames illuminated their faces.

　System connection, graveyard generation.

　Add the cards to the deck and shuffle them.

　Preparations are complete; let's begin the battle.

　Both players wore dueling wristbands jointly produced by St. Mary's Academy and Dark's Duel Club.

　The Duel Disk, which unfolds from the Duel Wristband, attaches to the wrist like wings.

　Two "Duel Spirits" flapped their wings.

　The Duel Disk automatically draws cards from the player's hand and projects them in front of both players' field of vision.

　But after just one glance at their five cards, both players transformed into phantoms and charged towards each other!

Chapter 1159 It's getting dark, be careful of the slippery road (4k)

　What magical spirit? What three-second summoning?

　All of that was forgotten at that moment.

　The slender, long-haired grassland sprites moved swiftly like the wind.

　The tall, muscular rhinoceros-like orc shot out like a cannonball.

　The two figures vanished from their original positions the instant the duel entered the "battle phase," rushing towards each other at a speed barely visible to the naked eye.

　A standard track only 120 meters long is meaningless in the face of that terrifying speed.

　The students of St. Marian Academy were still looking forward to seeing the magic of the elves and orcs when they were all shocked to find that the two had already clashed in the middle of the field, and then began a crazy battle with no mercy!

　The elves have always maintained an elegant and gentle image to the outside world. But living in the grasslands and forests, they have been ruthless hunters from the very beginning.

　Chasing cheetahs across the grasslands, pouncing on giant pythons in the forests. Hidden beneath their slender bodies and fair skin are muscles that are no less formidable than those of beastmen.

　The grassland elf selected as a "preliminary contestant" was clearly a rare master of melee combat among elves. There were obvious traces of magical energy flowing on his wrists and ankles, but it was not a buff spell. Instead, it was an elven secret technique of channeling magical energy into a certain part of the body to strengthen it.

　Although elves are a sub-human race, their ability to control "qi" is relatively poor compared to humans.

　Their greatest strength lies in their innate magical power and elemental affinity. Therefore, an elven high priest, referencing the principles of "qi" (vital energy), used magic to develop a secret magical combat technique that only elves can master.

　Even so, among the elves, only a very few gifted individuals have the potential to learn this magical combat skill.

　They are extremely valuable melee fighters among the elves, who are generally skilled in ranged combat.

　The rhinoceros orc's power, however, originated from his bloodline. They painted blood totems on various parts of their bodies to further activate the power of their bloodline.

　However, the rhinoceros orcs are typically thick-skinned and heavily armored, like tanks, so a rhinoceros orc as fast as this one is quite rare.

　Two students, both mages, were fiercely battling each other in the center of the arena, neither of whom was using their magical powers.

　The "graveyard" under the new dueling rules was originally a mechanism designed to ensure that duelists can give their all in magical duels.

　This time, it was used only in close combat.

　If you won't die, you naturally won't fear death.

　Both "preliminary contestants" were capable of delivering brutal, deadly blows, so there was no need to worry about death—neither you nor I.

　"boom!"

　Under the focused gaze of the elves and orcs, the rhinoceros orc suddenly threw a straight punch, finding an opening in the grassland elf's breathing and footsteps, and the punch went straight in and hit him squarely in the chest.

　The fist, burning with blood-red light, caused the grassland elf's chest to cave in as it was struck, and a sound as if her sternum was shattering rang out for a moment. A piercing pain shot into the grassland elf's brain, causing her to fly backward, her face pale and covered in cold sweat.

　"waste!"

　The rhinoceros-like orc calmly and slowly withdrew his fist.

　Although he took more hits in the close-quarters combat, the thick rhinoceros hide acted as a buffer, gradually dissipating the force of the grassland elf's punches, thus preventing serious injury.

　Conversely, the grassland elf couldn't withstand his full-force punch! His mocking words immediately caused an uproar among the orc students, who unleashed a torrent of vulgarities at the elf.

　Orcs with royal blood are already the best-tempered and most civilized group among orcs.

　However, only eight of the twenty-four orc students possessed royal blood.

　Among the remaining sixteen orcs, several were from humble backgrounds, having grown up in the extremely dirty and chaotic bandit lands.

　When they swear, it's truly awful.

　In contrast, the self-important elves were no match for the orcs in a war of words, and could only put on a stern and aloof demeanor to deal with the orcs' furious barrage of insults.

　But if the verbal battle ends in defeat, and then the duel is lost, then it's truly over.

　The grassland spirit suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, its lips twitching as it flew backward.

　Finally, as he was being violently knocked away, he began to chant a Normal Summoning spell. A magic card attached to his Duel Disk suddenly lit up, and its radiating green light seemed to consciously penetrate his body.

　His complexion visibly improved, and his chest injury showed significant healing. Then, a green vortex coiled around his hands and feet, and butterfly-like sprites emerged from another magic card, flying above his head.

　The dust scattered by the little elf swirled around his body, instantly accelerating its rotation and forming a green, powdery armor, from which a pungent fragrance burst forth.

　Seeing this, the rhinoceros orc also sneered and pulled out a magic card, sticking it to his chest.

　As the magic card shone brightly, countless threads emerged from the card's surface and wrapped around his body, quickly forming an incredibly thick layer of armor.

　Then he raised his hand again, and light condensed in his palm, revealing a thick, black spear!

　No magical spirits, just full armor!

　The new dueling rules provide new options for mages who are not good at the old-style dueling.

　After stacking up their armor and enchanting their summoned weapons, the rhinoceros orc charged towards the opposite side once more.

　The grassland elf's expression turned cold, and the fervor in his eyes quickly faded, turning into a pale green.

　The tranquility of a lake.

　Butterfly-like thin wings silently appeared behind him, and his already extremely fast speed increased even more, until he completely disappeared from the retina.

　He was originally a dueling powerhouse, and his support-type magical spirits could enhance himself or his allies. He was skilled in multiple enhancement systems, and under these new dueling rules, he was even more at ease.

　His figure flashed for a moment and then disappeared.

　A clear crack appeared on the armor of the rhinoceros-beastman.

　"Pfft."

　Crimson blood gushed from the crack, swirling around the beastman's body. The rhinoceros-like beastman's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and a magic card lit up again. The blood, after gushing out, did not fall to the ground. Instead, it transformed into a hideous demonic mask and chased after the vanished grassland elf.

　The figure of the grassland spirit had completely disappeared.

　That's not something that pure speed can achieve.

　Without the audience noticing, he activated an invisibility ability—it was unclear whether it was a magic card or his own spell.

　However, the rhinoceros orcs had already prepared a countermeasure.

　The hunting mark, bearing the cost of injury, tracked the grassland elves. The rhinoceros-orc twisted his spear and swiftly thrust it towards the hunting mark's tracking direction.

　A sharp scraping sound rang out in the air, and blood appeared on the tip of the gun. Blood splattered onto the floor as well.

　But the grassland spirit still did not appear.

　The shouts from the spectators outside the stadium gradually subsided.

　Especially viewers outside of elves and orcs gradually toned down their "just watching for fun" mentality.

　Each side had its own victories during this brief handover.

　Both elves and orcs have a very thorough understanding of the new version.

　A tactical system centered on strengthening oneself will be very effective in the new duel rules, as it effectively compensates for one's own weaknesses in the next round.

　However, this is a tactic that only duelists with formidable physical strength can execute. Duelists who are not strong enough will find it difficult to use even when fully armed.

　After all, "armed evolution" that changes life forms from the inside out, like the "Lunar Armor," simply doesn't exist outside of that realm.

　While a mage's orthodox weaponry does enhance individual strength, it's still similar to [Defense +X], [Attack +X], [Speed ​​+X] – one needs the ability to control the weaponry to fully unleash its power.

　In this respect, human mages have no advantage whatsoever; they are at a complete disadvantage.

　Only a very few exceptionally talented individuals can adapt to the new version. Even if they have undergone intensive training like summer camp participants, it is impossible for them to catch up and surpass it in such a short time.

　Human mages, as a whole, can still only engage in old-fashioned duels primarily focused on self-preservation.

　However, that is their area of ​​expertise, and it is also the core reason why archmages can replace other magic-based professions.

　—They themselves never leave the battlefield; the only ones that ever appear on the battlefield are magical spirits that can never truly die!

　Both tactics have their advantages and disadvantages. It's not possible to simply say which one is better.

　However, to remain undefeated under the new dueling rules, one's own strength is certainly indispensable.

　The days of dueling where the archmage could safely direct from the arena are over. In duels where the archmage himself takes part, even if he can't gain an advantage through his own power, he absolutely cannot afford to become a weakness.

　Achieving all-around power with no blind spots is the path that a mage should pursue.

　The battle between the rhinoceros orcs and the grassland elves continues.

　After the initial probing, both sides have gained a relatively clear understanding of each other's strength.

　The grassland elf knew very well that it was no match for the enemy in a direct confrontation, so it immediately changed tactics and avoided a head-on confrontation.

　He possesses a wide variety of magic cards, and his magical spells and rituals are endless. His support-type magic spirits with special abilities are difficult to defend against.

　The rhinoceros orcs who emerged from the "Axe King's Clash" environment lacked the necessary skills, and once the hunting mark was dispelled, they lost all trace of the grassland elves.

　Unbeknownst to them, grass grew on the ground and flowers bloomed.

　The spirit and energy of the rhinoceros orc were gradually devoured, and the entire battle entered a "hunting" rhythm that he was very familiar with, but the prey was himself!

　His frontal attack ability remains formidable, but he is becoming increasingly difficult to target. As long as a single blow is not fatal, the opponent can recover through healing.

　The duel gradually shifted from an initial fierce and rapid attack to a battle of patience.

　But there are still many wonderful aspects.

　As the students of St. Marian Academy watched the entire situation shift and the two duelists' responses change, their sense of natural superiority vanished.

　Shinto rituals changed more than just the rules. They also changed how mages defined "magic."

　The "pre-competition contestants" who emerged from the summer camp were all focused on analyzing the duel.

　Although they also gained practical experience during summer camp.

　But compared to the duels between these elves and orcs, that kind of "real combat" was nothing more than children playing house.

　It's not a matter of who has the stronger fighting ability, but rather that they lack the ruthlessness to "kill their opponent".

　After the war ended, human children lost the opportunity to witness cruelty. But elves, orcs, and other subhuman races continued to hunt and fight.

　The dungeons within St. Marian Academy somewhat compensate for this. However, facing monsters is different from facing humans.

　The feeling of having a weapon pierce flesh is something the junior mages of St. Marian Academy experience intensely.

　Those with whom we have little contact.

　The excitement faded.

　After calming down, I spent a very long time thinking.

　The "Academy Championship" hasn't started yet, so they still have time to adjust. A true duel doesn't involve "surrender."

　There is only killing and being killed.