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

　"Tsk."

　"Astaroth" slowly lowered its right leg, which had been bent at the knee, and let out a slightly dissatisfied sound as it released its finger from the trigger.

　In its plan, Tim Doris was supposed to unleash her full power before dying. Then it would rush forward and, with the dark power accumulated by "Maverick," kick her high into the sky, turning her into fireworks.

　But the climactic scene that seemed to appear in a movie or TV series never materialized, and the duel ended cleanly and decisively.

　It turned its head to look at the "graveyard" area and found that its opponent, who had been reborn from the "graveyard," did not show much change in expression.

　It seems that this defeat did not have any particular psychological impact on him.

　"Astaroth" tilted its head, feeling that there were indeed differences between people.

　This Tim Doris could very well grow into a formidable foe in the future.

　but.

　It's still more powerful!

　Thinking of this, Astaroth couldn't help but smile smugly. "Well done."

　Then, it heard its master's praise in its mind, which made it feel even more pleased.

　The duel ended very quickly, even unexpectedly.

　Tim Doris is definitely not an opponent who can be defeated so easily.

　Dark had even mentally prepared himself to fight his trump card – the "Naga Siren".

　However, Astaroth's Dark Dagger delivered the most crucial blow at the most critical moment, instantly killing the Siren Messenger and forcibly kicking the Naga Siren, which was about to be summoned, back down.

　This directly cut off Tim Doris's plans, and naturally, there was no future for her.

　However, a closer look reveals that the victory in this duel was partly due to tactical errors.

　As Dark himself was well aware, he was far inferior to Tim Doris in terms of combat strength.

　Because of this difference, Tim Doris, like some of the previous fighters, devised a strategy of launching a surprise attack in this duel.

　What has led to this duel turning out the way it is today is this tactical bias.

　Dark's weakness in individual combat ability seemed to become bait to lure his opponents into a trap.

　Tim Doris, who adopted this tactic, did not immediately choose to summon the "Siren Messenger".

　If he had used a standard fighting style in this duel, he could have summoned the "Siren Messenger" at the start, then immediately called for the arrival of the "Naga Siren," and then used the "Naga Siren" to control the situation, while making full use of his absolute advantage in personal combat power—that would have undoubtedly caused Dark more trouble.

　Ultimately, this is a battle of wits between the two sides. Magical duels do not begin from the "battle phase".

　It didn't even begin with the unfolding and connection of the "Duel Realm." The duel had already begun the moment the opponent was known. If Tim Doris's personality were more conservative, she generally wouldn't have adopted such an aggressive approach.

　If there is another duel, he probably won't use the tactic of launching a surprise attack at the start.

　But the outcome was already decided in this single duel.

　If he hadn't been in the [Duel Zone], he would be dead by now.

　Tim Doris was clearly aware of this, and he respected the outcome of the battle, not immediately challenging Dark to a second duel after respawning in the "Graveyard," unlike the previous "Eternal Knight." Of course, it's also possible that he was bound by the rules of the competition, which is why he didn't immediately initiate a second duel.

　After all, according to the rules of this round of the competition, each contestant can only initiate one duel against the same contestant on the first day of the competition.

　He has already used up his chances for today.

　If he wanted another duel, the only option would be for Dark to challenge him. But of course, he couldn't bring himself to say that.

　"Overconfidence in one's own abilities was the main reason for the defeat in this duel."

　In the end, after reflecting on his own actions, he simply turned and left with Carola Marjorie.

　Neither of them exchanged a single word after the duel ended.

　But they weren't familiar with each other, so there wasn't much to say. See you tomorrow; who knows, we might have another fight!

　Tim Doris gritted her teeth slightly as she turned around.

　"Another victory."

　Dark glanced at the badge on his chest.

　After the start of the competition, he successively defeated Babaev Needham, the "genius inventor" of the Public Magic Academy, Tiffany Neham, the senior captain of the Sky Magic Academy, Grace Leon, the "Lion Prince" of the War Totem Academy, Matthew Hegard x2, the "Eternal Knight" of the Holy Mystic Academy, and Timdoris, the "Naga" of the Ocean Magic Academy.

　These six victories increased his score from nine to fifteen points.

　This score, if not the highest, is far ahead.

　There are a total of eight colleges participating in the college competition, and only the last two colleges have not yet met.

　—The Elf Magic Academy and the Royal Academy of the Kingdom. We'll leave the Royal Academy of the Kingdom aside for now.

　The entrances to St. Mary's Academy and the Elf Magic Academy are located at opposite ends of this "City of Duels," so it's understandable that they didn't meet.

　"It seems that if I want to collect all the achievements, I have to actively look for them."

　Dark returned to Diana and Aurora's side and discussed the duel that had just taken place.

　Then, they regrouped and set off again.

　As can be seen from the displays in various locations, the contestants were fully mobilized again after 10 o'clock.

　Throughout this "City of Duels," duels between players are taking place.

　Despite its elaborate schemes, the public magic academy ultimately reaped the bitter fruits of its own actions.

　The successive exits of "Dwarf Warrior" Preet and "Genius Inventor" Babayevned Dam caused the remaining members of the academy team to fall into a deep slump.

　They were not only relentlessly pursued by Quintinanos, but also hunted down by other academies.

　Under the ever-accumulating pressure, the original determination to unite as one is gradually crumbling.

　Among the students of the public magic academy, only a portion originally belonged to the category of "warriors," while the rest were positioned as "researchers," and their ability to withstand such brutal combat was not particularly high.

　But at the same time.

　The Royal Academy of the Kingdom is not in a good position either.

　Apart from Quintina, their team split into four groups of four and fled separately. They were then forced to disperse again because they were targeted by players from other academies. Now they are scattered all over the city, completely broken up and relying solely on their own abilities to hide.

　In short, drag it out for as long as possible.

　They had already discussed it carefully while they were still together. Even if they were all eliminated in the competition, just like the contestants from the Public Magic Academy, it wouldn't matter.

　According to the competition rules, they would win if they were eliminated later than all the contestants from the Public Magic Academy.

　The last place will be roasted over a fire, but the second to last will be ignored.

　As for the future... we'll talk about it later.

　The situation within [Duel City] is gradually intensifying.

　In subsequent operations, Dak and his two companions arrested two more teams that were hunting down members of the Royal Academy and the Public Magic Academy.

　Both teams were composed of a mix of upperclassmen and lowerclassmen. After encountering them, Dark immediately challenged the upperclassmen to a duel, leaving the lowerclassmen to be used as practice opponents for Diana and Aurora.

　He won both duels without much trouble, while the duels between Diana and Aurora were more dangerous, with each losing one.

　Those who can team up with senior students to hunt down junior students from the Royal Academy and the Public Magic Academy are no pushovers either.

　Diana and Aurora's wins and losses are perfectly normal. What's abnormal is Dark's side.

　After winning two consecutive duels, his badge points increased from fifteen to seventeen.

　At 11 o'clock, another contestant was eliminated because their score was reset to zero.

　This time, it's the lower grades of the Kingdom Royal team!

　Starting with this, the number of players who were eliminated due to having their points reset to zero gradually increased.

　This round of matches has finally entered its most intense phase.

　However, looking at the overall situation, the contestants from the Public Magic Academy and the Royal Academy of the Kingdom were not entirely on the defensive.

　Their team ultimately consisted of six senior students.

　These six senior students, while at a disadvantage against other senior students, still managed to find some advantages against junior students from other colleges.

　Since other colleges no longer bothered to hunt them down, they naturally stopped caring about the difference between upper and lower grades.

　In short, if we meet, we'll duel!

　[Duel City] is in complete chaos!

　Eleven fifteen.

　Dak and his group arrived at the building where the red restaurant was located. Out of curiosity, they climbed up to take a look, only to encounter an NPC guarding the door in front of the red restaurant on the top floor—actually a staff member playing the role of an NPC!

　Those whose points have not been cleared are not allowed to enter.

　Dark had no choice but to turn around and leave the red building with Diana and Aurora. When they reached the bottom of the building and looked up again, they saw that another contestant had been eliminated because their points had been reset to zero.

　Dark shook his head slightly and continued on his way.

　The hunting operation targeting the two academies continued in full swing, but Dark was not worried about it.

　There's no other reason than that the advantage is too great.

　Leave the red building and head to the blue building.

　Along the way, Dark and his two companions encountered another team of three and immediately initiated a duel.

　In this duel, all three emerged victorious, leaving their opponent utterly devastated. But as he turned around, Dark suddenly overheard them discussing how to ruthlessly attack the Public Magic Academy and the Royal Academy of the Kingdom.

　After searching so hard to find it, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

　[Points: 18] "Let's go."

　Dark waved, and the three continued on their way.

　Unexpectedly, they didn't encounter any other contestants along the way. It was already 11:30 when they finally arrived at the blue building. "Lunchtime!"

　Diana looked up at the blue restaurant at the top of the building, her face full of excitement.

　Aurora's face also showed more radiance.

　Like Diana, she was extremely physically exhausted and was already starving.

　However, she was more reserved than Diana, so she didn't show it. Looking at them, Dark hesitated slightly before saying, "Let's go upstairs."

　He had originally intended to stay outside the building and hunt down the contestants who came to dine—at this time, contestants who could reach nine points must all be quite strong, which would hopefully help him further improve his dueling skills.

　But even though it's already 11:30 a.m., the area around the blue building is completely deserted.

　I wonder if those contestants who scored a perfect nine points are already dining at the rooftop restaurant.

　Dak couldn't help but think that he might indeed have arrived a little late.

　But soon, he arrived at the top of the blue building, and after being verified by the staff, he pushed open the door and entered the blue restaurant.

　Inside the Blue Restaurant... there were only two people. And those two were students from St. Marian Academy! "Good afternoon, Senior Grant."

　Dark stepped forward and greeted Gina Grant. "And what about me?" Eluri Clarissa immediately raised her hand and pointed to her nose.

　"Good afternoon, Senior Clarissa," Dark said helplessly.

　He had originally planned to greet everyone one by one, but Senior Eluri insisted on barging in, perhaps to make it seem more humorous.

　Afterwards, Diana and Aurora also greeted their seniors. Then, the three of them sat down at the same table opposite each other.

　Dak glanced at the table and found only fruit and tea, unsure whether it was for before or after a meal.

　"Stop looking, we're waiting for you guys to eat together," Senior Eluri Clarissa winked and teased.

　“Oh,” Dark said. “Why is there no one in this restaurant?” Senior Gina Grant shook her head and said, “A few people have come in, but they all left after eating. It seems like they just came out of curiosity.”

　Senior Eluri Clarissa said, "After all, they have to take care of their companions, so they can't stay long."

　After thinking about it, Dak realized that it was indeed true.

　Most contestants from various colleges operate in teams. Even if someone in a team scores nine points, it's unlikely that everyone in the team will meet the requirement.

　0

　In that case, I can't just abandon all the team members and come to this safe zone to rest and enjoy myself, can I?

Chapter 1310 Darkdemon is Ready to Go (4k)

　think carefully.