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

　Restricting duelists' use of their own power goes against the original intention.

　The goal of this correction is to increase the proportion of magical techniques' influence on the outcome of duels.

　Dak couldn't help but ponder.

　The path from the open-air dueling arena to the cafeteria wasn't long, but Dark was deep in thought during that time.

　As he unknowingly sat down at a table in the cafeteria, a sudden inspiration struck him.

　He finally figured out where the incongruity of the existing rules for magical duels lay!

　He looked up and saw Diana and Aurora discussing which part of the contestant's meal was the best.

　Emma and Sarah were arguing about their differing opinions on watching the game that morning.

　Anna and Angie were secretly laughing for some reason.

　Witt was dealing with Robert, who was rushing over.

　Dak glanced at his plate and noticed that two pieces of Wagyu beef were missing.

　The duelists' personal involvement makes the existing rules of magic duels far too complicated.

　To make magic duels more like magic duels, you can't add anything, you can only subtract.

　Off-site restrictions are necessary, but the academy has already considered this. Currently, what needs more adjustment is the on-site rules.

　Eliminating unnecessary complexities makes magic duels more concise and intuitive, but we must not put the cart before the horse and violate our original intention.

　To do this, you only need to reintroduce an old factor.

　That is... the health point system!

　Dak understood.

　The reason magic duels have lost their original magic duel feel isn't due to the individual abilities of the duelists, but rather because they lack a life point system!

　The reintroduction of the health point system makes magic duels more intuitive, allowing for precise measurement of the damage inflicted by each duelist's attacks. It also greatly reduces the sense of disparity caused by varying levels of vitality among duelists.

　The ambiguity is the real incongruity of magical duels under the existing rules.

　However, before Hermes awakens, it would be extremely difficult to add such a rule-altering element to magical duels.

　Even if Principal Art had full authority, it would still take an extremely long time. This requires careful consideration.

　Based on this, many details can be changed accordingly. For example, character cards can be added.

　When duelists engage in a duel, they acquire their own character card. The character card displays the duelist's attack, defense, and health points, as well as the skills available during a duel.

　If this rule can be implemented.

　In future magical duels, the organizers can use this method to limit the number of skills that duelists can use.

　Of course, the character card is only for display, not a real restriction. This can serve as a standard for judging the rules of the competition.

　Duelists can also assess their own attack and defense in real time through character cards. Health points remain fixed as before, at 4000/8000/16000, etc.

　Determining victory or defeat by using life points can completely solve the drawback of having to decide the life or death of every duel.

　In retrospect, that was definitely not a good rule.

　This also rendered some of the tactical approaches that were originally present in magic duels unusable.

　Also.

　Another benefit of having character cards.

　It means that rules can be set manually to prohibit attacks, thus returning magic duels to tradition.

　—It's not about abandoning the new rules, but about making traditional dueling an alternative mode.

　Mages are free and omnipotent, and mage duels should not be restricted by fixed rules.

　Only by organizing duels and showcasing different characteristics through various rules can a diverse range of competitions flourish.

　As for private duels.

　Whether it's a matter of life and death, or of superiority and inferiority, is naturally a private matter.

　Dark's thoughts became clearer, but the food on his plate gradually dwindled. "Clang!"

　He gently poked the fork, and it touched the bottom. Looking up again, he saw that his companions had mostly finished eating. "I've thought it through."

　Emma glanced at him and asked casually.

　Dark couldn't help but laugh and said, "Pretty much."

　Emma said, "Now that you've thought it through, let's discuss the match. Sky Magic Academy, our opponent."

　Dark nodded and asked, "What are your thoughts?" But after looking around, he noticed the players were all staring at him. "Well," Dark sighed, "I mean, improvisation..." 'What kind of method is that?' Robert immediately exclaimed. "Slap!" Witt slapped him hard and said, "We need to get down to business, you get out of here."

　Robert wasn't annoyed. He picked up his plate and said, "Then I'll be going now. I'll cheer you on from the sidelines."

　Witt waved his hand dismissively and said, "Go on, go on." Robert then walked away happily.

　The discussion continued only after the outsiders left.

　But as Darke said, they don’t seem to be able to do much besides improvise.

　After all, there's very little information about the Sky Magic Academy. And among them, there aren't many who are capable of dealing with a nine-star magical spirit that can be specially summoned in the first round.

　“Let’s aim for three wins,” Emma said, “and then hand it over to Dark.”

　This is the most conservative approach.

　“That’s not a good idea,” Witt said. “We can’t afford to back down before the battle even begins.” Emma glared at him and said, “I’m having a rational discussion.” Witt argued, “No matter what, we still need at least four out of six wins.” Emma said, “Then tell me four!”

　Witt scratched his head and looked at his teammates one by one. Anna and Angie, both second-year students, gave him big smiles. Jon shook his head sheepishly.

　In third grade, Doron shrugged, indicating that he really couldn't do it. Although he had improved, it was still too much for him to fight against the nine-star magical spirit in the first round.

　If he were needed, he would definitely go, but since it's currently in the discussion phase, he rationally excluded himself from the combat capability range.

　Witt continued scanning.

　Rose shook her head slightly, indicating that she couldn't do it either.

　Diana, on the other hand, stood tall and proud, looking as if she were the only one worthy of the title. Witt then looked at the second-year students.

　However, he knew nothing about Aurora and Vivian, who were in the second year, and he couldn't very well assign the responsibility to the second-year juniors.

　But “Isn’t there one?” Witt pointed to himself and said, “Emma, ​​Sarah, Diana, and me, that makes four of us.”

　But as soon as he finished speaking, Sarah sighed and said, "You have the Holy Sword, what do we have?"

　Starting with nine stars is not something everyone can handle.

　Sarah and Emma are both traditional duelists; they don't possess any innate superhuman strength, and they can't train to become like orcs or elves in just one vacation.

　Sarah was unwilling to accept defeat, but she wouldn't try to be stubborn at this point. She might have a chance to win, but it wasn't guaranteed.

　It's pointless to talk about a victory that can't be guaranteed at this point.

　The same reason.

　Emma and her positioning are basically similar, and there is currently no good way to deal with them, so there is no guarantee of a high probability of winning.

　After deducting Sarah and Emma, ​​the remaining students are only Witt, Diana, and Dark, as well as second-year students Vivian and Aurora.

　Although there are five people, Vivian is limited by her age and her deck strength is not high. If she were to participate, it would not be a magic duel, but a "duel".

　Furthermore, she lacked confidence in her ability to deal with a nine-star magical spirit. All things considered, for a third-year student to be able to debut a nine-star spirit was simply outrageous.

　This is not a weight they should be bearing right now.

　As for Aurora, who is also a second-year student... her deck is indeed strong, but it's forcibly built up using materials from the Sun and Moon Serpent.

　She possesses strong physical strength and tactical acumen, so she qualifies. As for Diana, while not a guaranteed success in her third year, she's certainly capable. After all, she's undergone intensive training, and her abilities in all aspects are solid.

　However, for Witt himself, it would be very dangerous if he couldn't draw "Holy Sword Curse" in the first round.

　"Speaking of which, Witt, where's your holy sword?" Dark asked softly. Witt scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed: "Oh no."

　Dark: "..."

　Ordinary "Hero Candidates" absorb the Holy Sword's essence to replenish their bloodline. Although this weakens them somewhat, it doesn't completely destroy the "Holy Sword." Otherwise, every Holy Sword absorbed would be one less available, and which "Hero Candidate" could afford to use it?

　But Victor truly lived up to his prophetic reputation as the hero; he was extraordinary. Dark said, "So, let's just improvise."

　After lunch, the group went directly back to the players' lounge in the open-air duel arena.

　Then, I took a break.

　Conserve your energy, prepare for the duel, and then go all out. Don't worry about winning or losing; if you're not convinced, then fight.

　In short, all the preparations that could be made have been made. Now it all depends on whether the Sky Magic Academy's contestants cooperate.

　As for the Sky Magic Academy, they also returned to the players' lounge and were now studying frame by frame the projected video of Dark and others that had been circulating. Their focus, naturally, was still on Dark Dimon.

　In the words of Captain DisneyNeham, "A victory without defeating your idol is not a victory."

　His companions all expressed their agreement.

　So the responsibility of defeating Dark was entrusted to the beloved captain. Disney laughed and took on the task without hesitation.

　Others scoffed.

　That's how long-lived species are; they don't have many complicated relationships. They are naturally easygoing, and loud and boisterous people like the Nehm siblings are actually in the minority.

　If it weren't for the mission assigned from above, they wouldn't even care much about the outcome of the "Academy Championship".

　Besides innate talent, this is also influenced by the external environment. A saying has always circulated in Sky City: "I am no match for him now, but a hundred years from now, two hundred years from now... I can dance on his grave."

　[8k views, bonus chapter +2]

Chapter 1192 St. Mary's Academy VS Sky Magic Academy (7k)

　"The third round of the competition is about to begin. Please return to your seats as soon as possible."

　Inside the St. Marian Duel Arena, located among the various races, the staff simultaneously broadcast the match schedule.

　After eating and drinking their fill, the audience took their seats, and discussions about the afternoon's matches began to rise and fall.

　Wangdu Branch, Hidden Private Rooms.

　Princess Eliza, who was extremely reluctant to return to her private room, propped her chin up and stared blankly ahead.

　Beside her, the Twin Paladins were whispering intimately, but she couldn't get a word in edgewise. Claire Kate was flipping through the player profiles and made no attempt to engage her in conversation.

　The three people in the front row—the King, the Pope, and the Valkyrie—were all surprisingly serious, their eyes never leaving the center of the arena.

　The St. Maryann Academy's open-air dueling arena. The two academies for the third round of the competition have entered.

　Host Judy was quickly introducing the contestants as they entered. "Attention! Now emerging from the contestant entrance are twelve contestants from St. Marian Academy! Although these twelve are only in the lower grades, regular viewers should be familiar with them. Well, even those who don't come often should recognize them. After all, we just introduced them a while ago. Hey."

　Judy stuck out her tongue playfully, making a cute expression, which immediately caused her fans in the audience to scream.

　"Viewers with the contestant profile can turn to the first page. Standing in the center is the first contestant to appear in this competition—Dark Dimon! He is the captain of the lower grades at St. Marian Academy and one of the academy's brightest stars!"

　"Really..."

　Dark looked up and glanced at Judy from afar, his mind filled with speechless disbelief.

　His "interview memoirs" were projected onto the stage, creating a feeling of "death replay".

　He vaguely remembered that the captain of the Royal Academy, Leslie Judd, died after this "death replay".

　Although the Royal Academy's defeat had absolutely nothing to do with this replay, prophets love to jump to conclusions.

　He was, after all, a half-prophet... The duel arena remained red on the left and blue on the right.

　Amidst the near-boiling cheers of the crowd, Dark led his team onto the red team's platform and sat down with his teammates, quietly awaiting the opposing team's entrance. The noise from the audience when Sky Magic Academy entered was noticeably lower, perfectly highlighting St. Mary's Academy's home-field advantage.

　Soon, the twelve contestants from Sky Magic Academy had also taken to the stage.

　Both teams took their positions, but the cheers from the audience continued unabated. The captain of the lower-grade team from the Sky Magic Academy was Disney Nehm. Disney Nehm appeared completely indistinguishable from a human, and Dark still didn't know his specific race, only that the siblings held a very high position in Sky City.

　Disney itself is the opponent we need to pay the most attention to in this round of competition.

　His features were exquisite, bearing an eight-tenths resemblance to his sister Tiffany, except that his short hair was bluish, whether naturally so or dyed later was unknown.

　But overall, he was very handsome.

　Seated alongside Disney in the arena were eleven other long-lived species.

　Most of these long-lived individuals are in their third year, having studied in the same classroom as the third-year students at St. Mary's College.