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

　in short.

　He experienced a scenario called "The Hero's Decline".

　After the war ended, the old knight, who had given everything during the war, returned to his hometown only to find that everything familiar had disappeared.

　The empire's joy of victory did not reach their remote hometowns, where the unfamiliar villagers still lived in misery.

　He was granted jurisdiction over this territory because of his achievements during the war, and was returning home in glory to take up his post.

　But the villagers saw him as a demon who had come to take away their last hope of survival, and they rose up in resistance, picking up sticks, pitchforks, and other weapons.

　Witte was attacked for no apparent reason and was forced to flee because he could not bear to retaliate.

　But he didn't go far; instead, he quietly returned to observe. Afterward, many questions arose in his mind. What exactly did the war bring to this land? To whom did the victory belong?

　In the end, he couldn't help but ask himself if he was truly a hero. But before he could find the answer, the "invaders" appeared.

　They were not "aggressors" from other countries, nor were they enemy survivors who had fled the war; they were homeless refugees.

　For refugees to survive, they need shelter from the wind and rain, and food to keep them from starving.

　What followed was a battle for survival, a struggle for "staying alive." Witt couldn't resist taking action after only watching the beginning.

　He manifested "weapons," defeated the leader of the refugees, and drove them out of his "territory."

　Through this incident, he gained the approval of the villagers and successfully took over his "territory".

　But what followed was a huge, hopeless mess.

　……

　Witte talked at length, his words flowing freely.

　He did not readily resort to force in the trial world, and he only discovered the trial mission after that.

　His trial mission was "post-war reconstruction".

Chapter 1282 Darkdemon Only Walks the Right Path (4k)

　Many people subconsciously believe that the war ends after victory. However, the reality is far from that.

　For many others, suffering, once it begins, never ends.

　The road to postwar reconstruction is far more difficult than imagined.

　Even if Witt God's trial mission was limited to the territory he was assigned to, it was far from something that could be resolved with a flick of a finger.

　Although he spoke relatively lightly when recounting his experience to his classmates, he actually endured many unspeakable hardships in order to complete this trial.

　This gave him a deeper understanding of the suffering brought by war and the significance of heroes.

　Instead of merely scratching the surface as in the past.

　He was eager to express his views because he had gained a lot of insights from this trial mission.

　He has a strong desire to perform and can't help but boast about his achievements.

　This personality type is one of the most common among heroes throughout history.

　It is said that sons resemble their fathers, and the previous hero, Black God, actually had the same personality.

　But Witt Gold did have something to say.

　His account of the trials he underwent is thought-provoking.

　Only when heroes grow old do they have the leisure to stop and think seriously. But life is not art, and thinking cannot put food on the table.

　Witt gained the villagers' approval and successfully took over his territory. The first problem he had to solve was the "food shortage".

　Although refugees came to plunder, there was actually no food left to steal in this village.

　Even if the group of refugees successfully occupied the village, their situation would not change much.

　However, to complete the mission, Witt must conjure food "out of thin air." If he could use all the magic cards, and if he had food cards in his deck, this primary problem would be easily solved.

　But there are no "what ifs" in reality.

　In order to produce food, he had to take up his weapons again and venture deep into the mountains to hunt and eat magical beasts.

　An aging hero, a dulled blade. Yet, he still managed to tear open the belly of his prey.

　The villagers who followed him into the deep mountains carried the carcasses of enormous magical beasts back to their village, bringing with them hope for survival. That night, they joyfully welcomed their "lord," and after many years, the villagers finally had a full meal, naturally regarding him as a savior sent by the gods.

　The suffering did not end with the end of the war.

　From that day on, Witt Gold began his mission to help the village with its "post-war reconstruction."

　But the more he interacted with the villagers, the more hardships they revealed. A few days later, the refugees reappeared, though their numbers were significantly fewer. Witte was putting his knowledge to use, teaching the villagers how to restore their farmland. His questions about the meaning of war and heroism deepened. The reappearance of these refugees struck a chord with him.

　To the villagers' surprise, the lord did not drive away the hateful raiders this time. Instead, he took them in and helped them cultivate the farmland.

　This is partly because there are actually many vacant houses in the village, so even if they take in this group of refugees whose numbers have decreased significantly, it will not have much impact on the existing villagers.

　On the other hand, it was because there were not many able-bodied young men left in the village, and the arrival of those refugees made up for this deficiency.

　Cooperation brings mutual benefit, while division leads to nothing.

　Although Witt's decision at the time was made on a whim, it did have practical significance.

　He added valuable human resources to the village, laying the foundation for the completion of the "post-war reconstruction" task.

　The mission of "post-war reconstruction" officially began with this opportunity. After that, the village encountered many events that could have led to its destruction, such as weather disasters and monster riots. On one occasion, they even encountered a small squad belonging to an enemy country that had been defeated and fled during the war.

　Faced with a well-trained army of soldiers, the aging knight formed a militia and fought bravely against them, eventually annihilating them all, with none escaping.

　This event played a pivotal role in the entire trial mission.

　It united the villagers and refugees like never before, and they worshipped their lord even more.

　When Witte sent someone to report the matter, the territory was rewarded with resources.

　Thus, the reconstruction followed.

　Once the most difficult part of "post-war reconstruction" was resolved, all that remained were "choices" in decision-making.

　By repeatedly choosing the correct answer in the "multiple-choice questions," Witte finally completed this task of "post-war reconstruction."

　However, he still had no answers to his questions about what constitutes a hero and what war is.

　But after completing the mission, he found himself becoming a hero to the people of the territory.

　Swords, spears, and halberds are not the inherent weapons of heroes.

　Sometimes, knowledge, language, and character are enough to define a hero. Werther had a new definition of heroism and couldn't wait to share it.

　Among those present, besides him, Diana and Robert also triggered the Knights' Academy's hidden trial.

　However, Diana completely overcame the game through brute force, while Robert also developed doubts about the "hero".

　He hoped that his story would inspire Robert and prevent him from developing a negative view of "heroes".

　I just don't know if Robert will be able to understand his good intentions.

　After the story ended, everyone gathered around, chattering and sharing their opinions on the hidden trial.

　They are still teenagers after all, and instinctively avoid thinking about things that are too heavy.

　But the hidden trial laid bare those things before them, forcing them to start thinking.

　However, some things are inherently without a correct answer, and even they cannot reach a consensus.

　Finally, when asked about it, Dark simply shook his head slightly and did not offer any positive opinion on "war and heroes".

　But this is not because he lacks thought in this regard.

　Conversely, he does have memories of his past life, and his understanding of this matter is relatively mature.

　He simply didn't want to overshadow their ideas with his own. As a professor... though no longer a professor, guiding students to think, discover, and summarize for themselves is a fundamental teaching habit.

　"It's about time, let's disband too," Darke announced, finally declaring the team's disbandment.

　Everyone present had received special permission from the professor to be exempt from access restrictions. After the students from the Knights Academy and the Magic Academy had all left, Dark led the students from the Noble Academy back to the Noble Academy's tower.

　In the stillness of the night, the four went up to their respective floors and greeted each other with goodnight. Dak was the last to return to his dormitory, quickly washed up, and sat on his bed before resuming his thoughts.

　But he wasn't thinking about the "significance of war" or the "significance of heroism"; those were never things he would consider.

　He was considering what the hidden trials could actually bring to the students. The different time flow within the trials compared to the outside world, and the dreamlike life experience, seemed to be its most crucial significance.

　It allows students to experience things they cannot experience at this age, thus gaining spiritual training.

　However, in recent times, some people have been "taking the unconventional route" and using extra methods to forcibly pass the trials, thus rendering the "trials" of the hidden trials meaningless.

　In response to this situation, the Hidden Trials finally introduced a new "policy".

　I just don't know if Witt's experience is an isolated case...

　As Dak pondered, he gradually drifted off to sleep, waking up just before class. He wasn't flustered, because the first class was "mathematics." He could always skip "mathematics" class. So he simply didn't go.

　He didn't reappear in class until the second period, "History of Magic." After sitting down, he turned around and saw that both Witt and Robert looked tired, clearly due to lack of sleep.

　But looking at the others, they all seemed to be a bit more energetic than Witt and Robert.

　During class, even after the main lecture had finished, they would raise their hands to ask Professor Ryan Hawkes questions about the history related to their trials. Professor Ryan Hawkes wasn't originally known for his extensive knowledge of history. But after becoming a professor, he quickly became very knowledgeable and could answer some of the questions.

　Once "History of Magic" is over, those who need to eat can eat, and those who need to catch up on sleep can catch up on sleep.

　Dark went to the office and met with the remaining lower-grade contestants. These contestants were third-year student Doron, and second-year students Vivian, Jon, Anna, and Angie.

　Learning to make "destiny talismans" is indeed quite difficult for second-year students. They won't be able to learn it in a short time.

　However, the second batch of trials, which was originally planned, was postponed due to the unexpected gains last night.

　They now had more time to continue learning how to make "Destiny Talismans." They were called to the office at noon, firstly to inform them of the postponement of the trial, and secondly to guide them in continuing their studies on "Destiny Talisman" making.

　Midway through, Dak called in a few more new students, all of whom were outstanding students from the second and third years.

　Like Vanessa and Heidi in third grade, and Cecilia and Joey in second grade.

　These are all candidates preparing to enter the hidden trial.

　After explaining the situation, Dak instructed the younger students to teach them how to make "Destiny Symbols".

　He himself sat behind his desk, occasionally answering students' questions.

　Time passed quickly.

　After the afternoon's "Warcraft Studies" class ended, Dark quickly returned to his dormitory to continue making golems.

　His "Guardian of the Golden City" golem is gradually taking shape. Once he officially completes the creation of the "Guardian of the Golden City," it will signify that his skills in this area have entered a new stage.

　After that, he will begin creating "Golden Country Cavalry"! "Golden Country Cavalry" is his tentative card name. Its original form is "Golden Horse Knight".

　Among the three types of monsters belonging to the Golden Kingdom, their strength, from lowest to highest, is: "Golden Mummy," "Golden Saber-toothed Beast," and "Golden Horse Knight." The "Golden Mummy" corresponds to the "Grave Digger of the Golden Land," and the "Golden Saber-toothed Beast" corresponds to the "Guardian of the Golden Land."

　The last remaining "Golden Horse Knight" will naturally correspond to the "Golden Country Soldier".

　However, "Golden Golem" is a Level 5 monster in Yu-Gi-Oh!, far lower than the Level 8 "Golden Golem Guardian".

　However, in this world, the "Golden Horse Knight" is clearly a level above the "Golden Saber-toothed Beast".

　If "Golden Land Gravedigger" is three stars and "Golden Land Guardian" is six stars, then the Magical Spirit card transformed from "Golden Horse Knight" should be nine stars.

　Although the "soldiers of Golden Land" are also depicted as cavalry...

　It's a monster card, but the name "Pawn" doesn't quite fit.

　Taking into account the difference in rank, Dark temporarily designated the magical spirit transformed from the "Golden Horse Knight" as the "Golden Land Cavalry".

　He failed to forge the "Golden Horse Knight" corresponding to the "Golden Horse Knight" through basic alchemy.

　But having gained experience in creating the golems "Golden Land Gravedigger" and "Golden Land Guardian", he was ready to create "Golden Land Rider" directly without using magic cards as a reference!

　The creation of this golem was also a rehearsal for the creation of "The Alchemist of the Golden Kingdom".

　Once you create "Golden Country Riders" and "Golden King Alchemist of the Golden Country", this "Golden Country" deck will be complete!

　Furthermore, Dark's alchemy would undoubtedly advance by leaps and bounds as a result. Many of his ideas would then be able to unfold accordingly.

　Creating golems to reverse-engineer magical spirit cards is indeed a brilliant idea.

　However, the difficulty of creating a golem is actually no less than that of creating a magical spirit card.

　This is not a shortcut under normal circumstances. Moreover, there are only three copies of "Curse Cage" in a deck.

　Therefore, if Dark wants to complete the final creation of the "Golden Kingdom" deck, he still needs to completely transform the golems into magic cards.