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

　In short, three minutes is more than enough time.

　Dark completed his deck construction in less than two minutes. He appeared calm, not at all like someone who was hastily building a deck. Instead, he simply and quickly drew the necessary magic cards from his card pack, and soon he had a complete deck of forty cards.

　Once the deck was complete, Dark nodded slightly to Evan Pearson, who was patiently waiting on the other side, and said, "It's ready."

　Evan Pearson, however, didn't seem to think anything of it.

　Adjusting your deck before a match is perfectly normal.

　From another perspective, this actually shows that the other side values ​​this duel more.

　Dark was able to defeat the infamous "Baron of the Night" in the Academy Cup, and he didn't think he would be his match—even though he had undergone intensive closed-door training, it didn't prevent him from dueling with Dark.

　In short, he entered the arena with a learning mindset. He hasn't reached his limit yet; he still has room for improvement. Now, the path of magic leads directly to the heavens; focusing on short-term victories is a step backward.

　Evan Pearson held the prepared deck in his palms, silently sensing the feedback from the magic cards.

　At the Holy Mystic Academy, a professor specifically instructed him that if he wanted to reach the pinnacle of magic, learning to establish a bond with magical spirits was of paramount importance.

　Under the new dueling rules, where the mage himself participates in the duel, the command of his magical spirits will inevitably be neglected. In this situation, enhancing the magical spirits' spirituality, and even establishing a "bond" of mutual understanding, becomes the key to increasing the chances of success.

　The system of spiritual mages has been a subject of research for many mages for a long time, but few have achieved significant results, which is why it is not widely known.

　But now, the new dueling rules seem to indicate that the era of mind magic is about to begin again.

　In this era, the mage who has the best mastery of the mind magic system is none other than "Sage of the Beast" Claire Kate!

　But Evan Pearson had his own ideas. He had been an exchange student at St. Marian Academy for a month and had naturally come into contact with Darkdemon's magical spirits.

　At that moment, he knew that there could not be a mage in the world who had a better grasp of the mind magic system than Darkdemon.

　Even Darkdemon's teacher—"Sage of the Beast" Claire Kate—would not be able to help.

　Therefore, to paraphrase that professor, this era belongs to Darkemon.

　There's nothing shameful about learning from someone like that. Evan Pearson's heart grew even calmer.

　But Dak himself was indeed a little embarrassed.

　The long-awaited public duel was hastily arranged due to insufficient preparation.

　It's not a matter of respecting the opponent, but rather failing to give it my all, and feeling somewhat ashamed of their seriousness.

　However, in the current dueling environment, he also needs to adapt to this rhythm as soon as possible. He cannot ignore the need to cooperate when it is time to perform; improvisation is also a form of performance.

　The field has already been expanded, and the systems have long been connected.

　Both players confirmed that the duel had entered "Preparation Phase 1". The Duel Pokémon sitting on the Duel Disk shook its head slightly, and above its head, below the countdown, the words "Preparation Phase 1" appeared.

　With a countdown of 180 seconds, there's still plenty of time.

　Dark inserts the temporarily constructed deck into the card slot, activates the Duel Disk, and automatically shuffles the deck.

　The shuffling is over; let's look at the other side. Both sides are ready.

　They nodded to each other and skipped "Preparation Phase 1" to "Preparation Phase 2".

　Magical duels conducted under Shinto rituals possess a high degree of autonomy, and in fact, the outcome can be determined without the need for a referee.

　The use of referees and commentators during the competition is simply to serve the audience.

　Although the duelists' audience is actually "God's cause," perhaps "God's cause" also needs an audience to create atmosphere?

　Based on the available information, the various characteristics of "God's Cause" are very similar to those of "the audience".

　The several duels that have already taken place all seem to confirm similar speculations.

　Because such large-scale tournaments do attract more "divine beings" than private practice sessions.

　Moreover, in reality, the organizers of dueling matches cannot operate for free; they need the audience to provide economic value.

　Even the Magic Alliance needs to constantly create hype to increase its influence among the public.

　Both organizers and participants benefit, ensuring the healthy development of the dueling competition. As the thirty-second countdown for "Preparation Phase 2" began, the excited audience finally calmed down and focused on watching the match.

　There's a saying in the world of magical duels: the most valuable part of a magical duel is the first three rounds, which is only a minute and a half.

　This short minute and a half contained eighty percent of the essence of a duel.

　The remaining 20% ​​is reserved for crucial rounds that determine the outcome. How duelists set up their board and how they secure victory is a topic of endless discussion among the audience.

　This point seems to remain unchanged even with the new dueling rules! "Tick-tock!"

　The instant the turn switches.

　The Duel Disk system immediately began operating after sensing the stage change.

　Five spell cards automatically fly out of the deck—this could, of course, be switched to manual, but smart casting is always faster than manual casting. So most duelists make the same choice.

　The five magic cards were automatically drawn and immediately placed face down in the hand area.

　Dark's mind stirred, and with a slight movement of his left hand, which was adorned with the Duel Disk, magic power flowed in.

　Immediately afterwards, the faces of the five cards in his hand were projected onto his field of vision.

　You can flip through the magic cards one by one, but it's not necessary.

　After seeing his hand in this way, Dark immediately began to formulate his early game strategy.

　v

　"Handsome Partner Kaibaman" "Elysium IV" [Virizion] [Gabumon]

　【Fantasy Beasts: Ditto】

　"Here comes the righteous Seahorse Man!"

　Dark held the Duel Disk in his left hand across his face, his fingers touching the first Magic Card in his hand.

　A truly intelligent Hippocampus is the best Hippocampus.

　Starting with "Ally of Justice Kaiba" means you can directly Special Summon "Blue-Eyes White Dragon".

　His deck contained a total of three Blue-Eyes White Dragons—the one with sentience was still sleeping in Magical Paradise.

　Moreover, under the existing rules, he doesn't need to worry about "Hippocampus, the ally of justice," being instantly killed upon his appearance.

　Although there are other superhumans like Lyrella, his current opponents do not possess that level of lightning anomaly.

　He was usually quite confident that he could block the initial attacks on his own.

　In other words, the duelists protect the magical spirits so that they can safely unleash their crucial finishing moves.

　However, if he wants to continue doing this, his own strength must also keep up as the intensity of the duels increases.

　After all, even Doron, who had just opened his seventh chakra, couldn't withstand Lyrella's initial lightning attack.

　Look down again.

　The second card in my hand is "Paradise IV".

　His hastily constructed deck, aside from a mix of "Blue-Eyes" cards and a few high-level Spellweaver cards, was primarily based on "Elysium".

　Therefore, it was not surprising that I drew "Paradise V".

　Continue reading. The magical spirits that can be evolved using "Elysium IV" are [Gabumon] and "Ditto".

　In terms of strength, Gabumon is the better choice.

　In addition, Virizion is also quite good as a substitute for Gabumon's Ultimate form.

　In conclusion, these five cards, even if not a royal flush, are a very good start.

　Even against older duelists, they can handle the situation with ease.

　By participating in Shinto rituals, duelists seem to gain a better grasp of their own destiny.

　Dark felt a growing sense of urgency during the dueling practice at summer camp.

　If the duel before the Shinto ritual begins is truly full of randomness...

　Therefore, in the duels that take place after the Shinto ritual begins, the word "random" is no longer applicable.

　When duelists open their duel domain, it signifies that they have become part of a Shinto ritual.

　Entering the Shinto ritual is stepping onto the path of destiny. Every step a duelist takes will leave its mark on fate.

　The phrase "as if divinely aided" will likely be used more and more frequently in future duels.

　Thinking of this, the word "Goddess of Fortune" popped into Dark's mind, and he inwardly grumbled.

　Of course, thirty seconds wasn't enough time for him to rant for too long.

　As the countdown came to an end, the "Preparation Phase" switched to the "Battle Phase" on time.

　The Duel Pokémon sitting on the Duel Disk suddenly spread its wings and flew into the sky. The words "Battle Phase (1)" appeared in the Duel Field.

　The battle officially begins!

　Without hesitation, Dark drew the first magic card in his hand – "Hail the Righteous One, Seahorse".

　Magic cards like Seahorse Warrior will become increasingly less useful if not used in the initial hand.

　Because in the environment that follows, he may not be able to protect the vulnerable Seahorse.

　"In the name of Darkdemon, a magical summons—'Handman of Justice, Kaiba!'"

　The summoned light illuminates the field.

　The hero wearing the Blue-Eyes White Dragon helmet materialized in the summoning light.

　"Hippocampus, the righteous ally," appeared behind Dark, standing sideways, exuding an aura of righteousness.

　Just by looking at it, no one would guess that it's a blue card with poor stats and only one special move.

　Overall, the composition of Seahorse and Dark standing back to back is quite pleasing to the eye.

　Can't you see that some female fans in the audience have already started screaming? *cough cough*

　After completing the summoning, Dark immediately commanded, "Seahorse Man, summon the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

　【(Hippocampus, the righteous ally) faithfully carried out the orders of his mage master】.

　Suddenly, it struck a pose often seen on "tokusatsu athletes," then let out a loud shout.

　Dark has always felt that while the pose is cool, it's also embarrassing. If it were given intelligence, "Hippocampus, the Ally of Justice," might not be able to perform the entire pose so smoothly in front of the audience... so let's talk about that later.

　As "Call of Justice" was successfully released, a magic card in the deck lit up with white light and then flew out automatically.

　Dak looked up at the opposite side.

　Evan Pearson did not interfere when he was wielding "Hippocampus, the Ally of Justice," but instead focused on summoning it.

　Generally speaking, Evan Pearson had some understanding of Dark's tactical style. That's why he chose such a time-consuming move when summoning at the start.

　The first magic card he summoned was neither a Magical Spirit nor a Magical Card, but a Weapon Card!

　Weapon cards belong to the item card category. Evan Pearson is summoning the Holy Sword! It's not the "Phantom Weapon Spell".

　It is a genuine weapon card forged from a "holy sword"!

　Unlike the "Phantom Spell," which can manifest multiple holy swords, it can truly unleash the full power of a single holy sword! However, the holy sword that Even Pearson summoned at the start of his summoning was different. After he activated the holy sword magic card using a normal summon, a complex summoning circle appeared on the ground.

　Immediately afterwards, a small section of the sword hilt emerged from the summoning circle, causing ripples to spread around it. Elpison bent down, gripped the hilt, and was struggling to slowly pull the [Holy Sword] out of the summoning circle!

　Magic, stamina, energy. Constantly drained. Evan Pearson, his expression resolute, let out a sudden roar and finally pulled out the [Holy Sword]!

　He instantly raised the "Holy Sword" high, a look of joy appearing on his face, and a confident air emanated from him.

　Wittgold, watching Evan Pearson from the stands, had his pupils shrink to pinpoints.

　He had already heard a lot about Evan Pearson from Robert after the exchange program ended, and he knew very well that this "holy son" was determined to seize his "hero's" position.

　In other words, Evan Pearson is his direct competitor. Moreover, Evan Pearson is currently a very strong competitor. He has the backing of the Holy Church, must possess a considerable number of "Holy Swords," and his hero aptitude is certainly not weak.

　Although Witt himself has the "prophecy" bonus, it's really hard to say who will ultimately become the true hero.

　But just as everyone's attention was drawn to the holy sword that shone with white light, a long, drawn-out dragon's roar suddenly echoed from the sky.

　Immediately, the pure and incomparable dragon's might crushed down.

　The space was instantly filled with a light power radiating destruction. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

　The audience screamed almost immediately when they were engrossed in studying the Darkdemon Encyclopedia.

　No matter the occasion, the magnificent and powerful white dragon is always the most eye-catching. Just like Pandora's "Sky White Dragon", Dark's "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" became a favorite magical spirit of many viewers as soon as it appeared.

　Its models and cards also sell very well.