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

　Although she appears petite and adorable, a magical beast lurks within her. However, physical strength is one thing, and magical power is another. Aurora's magical talent surpasses Diana's. Despite having a year less of training time, she used materials from the "Sun and Moon Serpent" to create a large number of high-level magical spirits. In terms of pure deck strength, she is actually considerably stronger than Diana.

　Therefore, both sides have their strengths, and there is no distinction between one being stronger and the other weaker.

　Dark sent Diana out first at this point, but his intention was to "confuse the issue."

　After all, Aurora is a second-year student and is easily overlooked.

　Playing her as a hidden trump card when the opponent doesn't expect it will naturally yield better results.

　Basic ideas like these need no further explanation.

　After making his decision, Dark removed the "Diana" player card from his strategy deck and went to the strategy table.

　After placing the contestant card in the slot, he looked up at the other side. Time was running out, but the Sky Magic Academy contestants were still engaged in a heated discussion on the platform.

　Because of the sound-blocking device, he couldn't hear anything from the other side. But judging from their appearance, they were clearly arguing.

　Dak waits patiently

　Two minutes. One and a half minutes. One minute. Half a minute.

　With less than ten seconds left before the counter-strategy timer ended, Disney Neham hurriedly picked out a player card from the counter-strategy cards, rushed to the counter-strategy table, and pressed the player card into the slot.

　"boom!"

　He exhaled sharply before grinning and looking across the field. The two captains were locked in a standoff across the court.

　The time for countermeasures has come to an end.

　Immediately afterwards, the projections of the two contestant cards appeared in the air. All the viewers who had been watching closely immediately saw the contestants' appearances and the names marked next to them.

　The second duel.

　The contestant sent by St. Mary's Academy is Diana Grete Bayer, a third-year student!

　The contestant sent by Sky Magic Academy is Sammy Tommy, a third-year student!

　Although they didn't know exactly what had happened to the Sky Magic Academy contestants in Taichung, this was their final decision.

　They ultimately abandoned the idea of ​​"exchanging pieces" and, in this second duel, directly sent out Sami Tommy, the "Tree King" from their core trio.

　As the lineup for the competition was announced, Sami Tommy rose from his seat, a hint of helplessness on his long face. But upon seeing the opposing team's lineup, he quickly fell into deep thought.

　"It wasn't Vitgot or those two well-known academic high-achievers."

　"Could this Diana Gretby be even more outstanding than those two top students?"

　"Or perhaps, it's a continuation of the same tactic."

　He was ultimately chosen to ride a horse because he considered that the opponent was unlikely to field their trump card in the second race, and the horse was likely to be of medium to high quality, similar to his role in the team.

　But if it were the same order, he was confident he could overpower his opponent—his anticipated opponent was either Sara or Emma.

　Take out one of them, then Tess or Disney will deal with the Hero's Son, and then the remaining one will deal with the Inferior Horse.

　They can then secure four wins.

　If they can successfully avoid the battle with Darkdemon through strategy, then Sky Magic Academy can secure a place in the top four.

　Those twelve points after advancing were crucial in the entire competition.

　Moreover, defeating the host team would boost the team's morale. But to everyone's surprise, St. Marian Academy did not send any of the three in the second round, but rather a character defined in the data as Darkdemon's "sidekick".

　Although this character has a decent record in duels, they haven't demonstrated the ability to fight opponents of higher levels.

　And each of them, being of longevity, possesses combat abilities far exceeding their age! As for so-called brute force…

　In magical duels, brute force is the least valuable asset! "It seems we may have fallen for a trap."

　"But exchanging pieces twice in a row, which means giving up two rounds in a row, aren't you afraid of losing more than you gain by trying to steal a chicken?"

　Sammy Tommy stepped onto the lift platform, and as it descended, it moved toward the field.

　He has ample experience in dealing with brute force.

　In his view, the outcome of the duel was no longer in doubt.

　Unfortunately, he wasn't facing a mid- to high-quality horse, which will make subsequent strategies difficult.

　But now that things have come to this, winning is the only priority!

　Sammy Tommy walked onto the field and stood firmly in the red team's summoning zone, as steady as a giant tree.

　Meanwhile, on the contestants' stage at St. Marian Academy.

　Diana ran out excitedly, jumping up and high-fiving Dark as she passed the platform before leaping onto the elevator, her face beaming with excitement.

　Her opponent is Sami Tommy, one of the three core members of the opposing team, making her a very suitable opponent.

　Holiday tutoring

　One month, two months of summer camp training, and another month after school starts.

　Four consecutive months of intense study and training left her itching all over, wanting nothing more than to vent her frustrations to someone.

　But the professors at the summer camp were all too weak, and she was always worried about hurting them, so she never dared to hit them hard.

　Now that it's time for the "Academy Championship," she can finally go on stage for a duel! And her opponent is the kind who can take a beating at a glance, practically a punching bag made just for her... Hey, that's too impolite, she should be called "Respected Mr. Punching Bag"!

　Diana leaped off the elevator before it had fully descended, her silver hair flying wildly, radiating youthful energy.

　"Diana is still full of energy today."

　Lady Camilla and Viscount Gretel, sitting in the audience, watched the vibrant girl with great satisfaction.

　The Greta Bayer family certainly couldn't ignore a competition like this, especially since their daughter was one of the participants.

　My daughter's opponent looks pretty strong; I don't know if she can beat him.

　"The opponent is Sami Tommy of the 'Tree Royals,' who is more likely to use a Grass-type deck based on his attributes. Since Grass and Poison are closely related, that will be a bit tricky for Diana."

　Dark glanced at the opponent's arena, a hint of worry creeping into his heart. While the first duel wasn't entirely a misjudgment, he had still lost. If he lost the second duel, things would truly be dire.

　"It's a pity Diana hasn't learned the 'Spell Hymn' yet, otherwise..."

　"Trust Diana."

　In short, Dark put aside his worries and prepared to watch the match. The other contestants from St. Mary's Academy were largely the same.

　It's not appropriate to cheer loudly from the contestant's platform, as it might disturb the athlete, but deep down, everyone is hoping for Diana's victory.

　The contestants from Sky Magic Academy are on stage.

　Disney's Neham and the others, on the other hand, were relatively relaxed. They were clearly very confident in Sammy Tommy's abilities and even felt that the duel was already a sure thing.

　"Is he positioned as Dark's follower? But if he is Dark's follower, he shouldn't be weak. His rank within their group might even be higher than we guessed."

　Disney's idea differed slightly from Sammy Tommy's, and he even couldn't help but laugh.

　"From this perspective, having Sami play in this match was a perfect decision. Sami's abilities completely counter brute force, effectively suppressing the opponent's strong players."

　"I told you, you can't go wrong by listening to me!"

　On the stage, Judy loudly introduced the two contestants' information, quickly raising the atmosphere of the scene.

　Supporters from both academies chanted the names of the two players loudly, applauding enthusiastically and cheering them on.

　Diana and Sammy Tommy were already in position at the dueling arena. "Let's begin!" Diana shouted. Sammy Tommy merely nodded slightly.

　Then both sides simultaneously opened the "Duel Zone"!

　The dueling arena is not static; duelists can alter its appearance at any time. However, its essential attributes and characteristics originate from the duelist themselves, which are unchangeable.

　As both sides simultaneously activated their domains, countless vines and green leaves surged wildly from where Sami Tommy stood towards the other side.

　On Diana's side, however, there was only a pink curtain, decorated with hearts, candies, and teddy bears.

　The frenzy of plants collides with the pink hearts, creating an incongruous halo.

　However, after the domains merge, they fade outwards, becoming only colored patterns arranged along the boundary lines.

　There was no pause during the process.

　After the domains merge, both players immediately activate their left wristbands, unfold their Duel Disks, and then draw their decks from their card packs, inserting them into the slots of the Duel Disks.

　The words "Preparation Phase 1" automatically appeared in mid-air. Both players simultaneously activated the automatic shuffling.

　Immediately afterwards, they both quickly adjusted their mindset and entered battle mode. Once both sides were deemed ready, "Preparation Phase 1" ended early and "Preparation Phase 2" began.

　In the sky, a 30-second countdown for "Preparation Phase 2" appeared.

　The Duel Disk automatically draws cards.

　Five magic cards were drawn and then projected in front of both players.

　Diana's mind was highly focused, her magic at its peak. The images of the five magic cards flashed before her eyes, yet she remembered them clearly. She deactivated the projection and quickly formulated a strategy in her mind.

　Her deck has flaws, and despite her best efforts to fix them, it is not yet fully formed.

　However, under the new duel rules, she herself can become a springboard to fill that gap and fully unleash the power of the deck.

　The first magic card!

　"In the name of Diana Gretel, I summon the 'Savage Spear'!"

　Similar to Vivian, Diana will also start by summoning a weapon card. However, instead of an assassination dagger, she summons a spear for a direct assault!

　This "Savage Spear" has only one effect: it increases attack power by 500 points.

　If used by the archmage herself, it would increase her power somewhat. Of course, that increase was negligible to Diana. She hadn't forged any particularly powerful magical weapons, but any weapon in her hands would become exceptionally formidable.

　Holding the "Savage Spear," Diana did not immediately charge towards the enemy.

　Although that behavior looked cool, she knew very well that rushing in recklessly before figuring out the opponent's strength would only lead her into the opponent's trap.

　She is different from Vivian and cannot use Vivian's tactics. Therefore, after summoning "Savage Spear," she slams it into the ground, waits for the cooldown, and then summons it again.

　Opposite her, Sammy Tommy had already summoned a sapling-like magical spirit, which at first glance looked like a magical card that was put into the deck to match "Aging Curse".

　Diana knew perfectly well that she didn't have the means to interrupt Sami, so she simply didn't try.

　Three seconds later, she continued to summon.

　"In the name of Diana Gretel, I summon the Little Bear Fairy!"

　This time, however, a three-star magical spirit was summoned.

　The [Little Bear Fairy] is a cute little bear with dragonfly wings, only the size of a palm.

　Its magic power is as high as 2000 points, but its attack and defense are both 0.

　The "Little Bear Fairy" is a purely supportive, auxiliary magical spirit that Diana accidentally created.

　It has three special moves, the first of which is "Fairy Transformation". When used on a magical spirit, it can temporarily change the spirit's race and attribute to Fairy type. At the same time, their appearance will also become closer to that of a fairy.

　Simply put, it's about shrinking your body size and growing dragonfly wings!

　However, if used by the mage himself, it will cause his magic attribute to lean towards the fairy type, and his body size will shrink by one size, and he will also grow dragonfly wings.

　"Fairy Transformation" will continuously consume magic power, with a maximum duration of three minutes.

　Its second ultimate move is "Bear's Kiss," a fairy-type ultimate move that can only be used on allies.

　Allies hit by "Bear's Kiss" will gain "Bear's Favor," the effects of which are unknown.

　The third ultimate move of "Little Bear Fairy" is "Bear and Fairy", which is also a very mysterious ultimate move.

　Its effect is to make "Fairy Transformation" and "Bear Transformation" compatible.

　However, the "Bear Fairy's" special move list does not include (Bear Transformation).

　Therefore, the ultimate move "Bear and Fairy" becomes extremely cumbersome. Diana strongly suspects that a golden "Bear Fairy" is needed to possess the "Bear Transformation".

　However, after several experiments, she discovered another method, using the "Bear and Fairy" ultimate move.

　We'll leave that aside for now.

　The "Fairy Transformation" alone is enough for Diana to add this magic card to her deck.

　After summoning the "Little Bear Fairy," she ordered it to use "Fairy Transformation" without hesitation.

　Upon receiving the order, the "little bear fairy" immediately waved its magic wand, which was thinner than a toothpick, and released a beam of light full of stars and hearts at Diana.

　Immediately afterwards, Diana's entire body, including her clothes, duel disk, and magic cards, shrank by one size.

　Then, suddenly, a pair of dragonfly wings sprouted from her back. Excited, she immediately flapped her wings and flew away.

　At that moment, she was like Professor Lily incarnate, looking exactly the same in terms of physique.