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

　But she quickly composed herself, raising her glass slightly embarrassed. Dark's shock only intensified.

　He had already realized the changes taking place within Pandora's body. The gift bestowed upon her by the divine ritual was not simply a fusion of the various powers within her.

　It seems that some potential that had just begun to emerge within her has been awakened!

　Faced with that power, the championship prize for this academy tournament seemed almost irrelevant.

　When Pandora put down her teacup again, Aurora, who was standing next to Dark, nodded and said, "I also feel it; some of the power within me has become easier to integrate."

　The power within her was naturally an innate ability brought about by the bloodline of the Sun Giant and the Moon Elf.

　The power displayed by her two bloodlines, even in their individual forms, is already quite formidable. If she could fully integrate them, her future would be limitless. But what if... it wasn't just the power of those two bloodlines? Dark couldn't help but glance at her, and then, thinking of himself who had also received this gift but hadn't noticed any changes, he couldn't help but feel that long-forgotten emotion.

　【嫉妒+1】

　The system text that suddenly flashed before his eyes made him roll his eyes. It seems this Great Sin System is quite sensitive after all.

　"Given your situations, it seems neither is a bad thing. The only question is whether any remnants of divinity remain."

　Dark withdrew his gaze and asked slowly. This was actually what he wanted to say.

　As Aurora said, gifts from "God" are not so easy to receive.

　But both Pandora and Aurora shook their heads, saying, "We have no perception."

　Pandora is one thing, but Aurora lives with "gods" every day, and her perception of divine aura increases day by day.

　Since she said there was none, there should indeed be no residue.

　But to be on the safe side, Dark summoned (the magical beast: Goddess of the Mind's Eye).

Chapter 1347 Staying in the Academy to Stack Passive Skills (5k)

　[Magical Beast: Goddess of the Mind's Eye] was summoned and, at Dark's signal, stared intently at the contestants.

　When some of the contestants could no longer stand the stares, she closed her third eye, shook her head slightly, and said, "No."

　Dark nodded slightly, feeling a little relieved. The world isn't simply good or bad.

　But if there's no remnant of divinity, there's not much to worry about. From his perspective, it's a bit easier. Then he turned to ask the others.

　All the main draw players except Witt are here.

　Pandora and Aurora both clearly benefited greatly from that divine gift.

　But not everyone is as clear about their own changes as they are.

　Senior Gina Grant, for example, felt no change in herself at all. Senior Eluri Clarissa even felt that what she received was not a gift at all—since leaving the dueling arena, she had been experiencing tinnitus, and strange noises would occasionally enter her ears, making her want to go find Sister Kallian.

　Shrek Holmes and Mars Carey, on the other hand, only felt some subtle changes in their bodies, the significance of which they were still unaware.

　When Diana was asked, it seemed to be the same situation.

　Of course, there are also those who are very clear about their own changes, such as senior Winnie Skadi.

　Her affinity for ice elements was already extremely strong, and now it seems to have gone a step further, reaching a level that has never been reached before.

　Then came Emma Metis and Sarah Swati. While neither explicitly stated it, both indicated that their abilities in certain areas had improved.

　Therefore, it is clear that the twelve divine lights were indeed a "gift".

　By taking into account the changes in everyone, we can generally arrive at a relatively certain conclusion.

　"That gift from God can unleash potential and enhance certain talents and aptitudes!"

　"Dark said with certainty."

　The contestants gathered together and began to discuss the matter.

　They all shared roughly the same feeling, and now that a clear conclusion has been reached, they are naturally excited.

　Before participating in this college competition, no one expected that the champion would receive such a gift; it was more than just a "surprise."

　If the news had been released earlier, this year's academy championship would definitely have been far more intense than it is now.

　The Ocean Magic Academy alone is backed by the entire sea race. If anyone knew beforehand that winning this competition would grant an improvement in talent and aptitude, even more and stronger sea race members would surely flock to join.

　Furthermore, during the competition, they may not necessarily follow the rules as they do now.

　When faced with absolute self-interest, face and morality become utterly worthless.

　Given the situation on this final day, St. Mary's College may indeed be facing an attack from multiple colleges.

　As for the next one...

　The students of St. Mary's Academy, whose talents and potential have been further enhanced, are sure to shine brightly in the future. At that time, people will undoubtedly connect their transformation with the pillar of light that shone today.

　The information that the beam of light can make people stronger cannot be hidden.

　Although it is unknown whether this is just a special gift for the first time, as long as there is such a possibility, people will flock to it.

　Not to mention the next college championship, even the World Cup, which is likely to be held in the future, is likely to be affected by this event.

　Moreover, there are always people who can sense a "divine" aura from that pillar of light.

　After thinking carefully for a moment, Dak said, "Let's keep this matter of God's gift a secret for a while, and discuss it with the principal before we decide."

　If necessary, it's not necessarily a bad thing to proactively share this information.

　After learning that these contestants have received the "gift from the gods," more people will surely extend olive branches to them and pour resources into them, which will be beneficial to them.

　Furthermore, this is the biggest lure if one wants to hold an unprecedented World Cup duel challenge.

　Although this year's college competition is already quite large in scale, it is still limited to the student level.

　For truly world-class duels, you have to watch the World Cup.

　If such a "gift from the gods" existed, capable of helping mages break through their own limitations, even professors would likely flock to it.

　In an era when the gods are about to revive, or are in the process of reviving, the Magic League, founded on the basis of humanity, is actually racing against the tide of this era.

　All actions of the Sorcerer Alliance are aimed at advancing the divine rituals, opening up the path of Sorcerer God, and creating a god belonging to Sorcerers as quickly as possible.

　Ideally, that sorcerer god would be on humanity's side. If all goes well, humanity will not only gain its own sorcerer god, but also twelve guardian gods who surpass the level of "celestial beings."

　In that time, even in an era where gods are everywhere, humanity will not be at the mercy of others.

　Ultimately, this is just a "self-rescue strategy".

　Although the situation may not seem urgent now, the future is fraught with danger.

　Humans, however, have always been prone to not repenting until their dying breath. Therefore, expecting them to become "united as one" is impossible. From this perspective, all St. Mary's Academy can do is to do everything in its power.

　After realizing his mistake, Dak announced the disbandment.

　Afterwards, the contestants dispersed and returned to their dormitories to rest and prepare for the banquet that evening.

　Dark was no exception.

　Half past six in the evening.

　Having already bathed and changed clothes, and taken a short nap, Darkdemon was awakened by the attack of "Shemi's" pink tongue.

　He then got up from the bed, took the school uniform he would wear that night from Sylveon's antennae, and put it on one by one.

　As soon as he left the dormitory, the magical spirits started making a ruckus. While Dark headed to the banquet hall on the first floor for a feast, they were also heading to the clubroom to hold their own victory celebration.

　There was not much time left before the banquet started, and the common lounge was already empty.

　It's clear that the students had probably arrived early and were already enjoying their food and drinks.

　Dark pushed open the door, glanced at the feathered serpent golem, quickened his pace, and soon arrived outside the banquet hall.

　The banquet hall was decorated festively both inside and out tonight. Above the main entrance was a banner celebrating the successful completion of the first Academy Championship, and there was also a group photo of the champions on the door.

　At a glance, you can see the two contestants standing in the center holding the championship trophy.

　Dark smiled faintly, pushed open the door and entered. A warm breeze immediately rushed towards him, and countless sounds flooded his mind.

　The smile on his face gradually turned into surprise.

　Because the voices that surged into my heart included not only the voices of the teachers and students present and the beautiful music, but also the heartfelt voices of the magical elves!

　Dark subconsciously focused his mind, and the sounds became clearer. He suddenly realized that his use of "mental power" had become much stronger.

　This enhanced form of expression, besides allowing him to hear the thoughts of magical spirits more clearly and deeply from a greater distance and with more interference, also means that he can do with one unit of mental power what previously required two units of mental power.

　Of course, this is just a metaphor. The actual scale is certainly not like that.

　"Could this be the gift I have received from God?"

　With this question in mind, Dark sat down at the long table for the third-year students of the Noble Academy—Diana and Rose had already reserved a seat for him.

　"Dakdak, you've finally arrived."

　Diana beamed with joy, her mouth covered in cream.

　Dark looked at the corner of her mouth and subconsciously reached for the wet wipes on the table. But he suddenly froze, his outstretched fingers hanging in mid-air.

　Just now, he seemed to have sensed a trace of "ecstasy" in Diana's heart.

　That wasn't a "serious crime," but simply a change in emotion.

　But Dark subconsciously imagined that the text "[Elysium +1]" would appear above Diana's head.

　He quickly composed himself, reached for a wet wipe, and cleaned the cream off Diana's lips.

　“No need to wipe it, no need to wipe it,” Diana shook her head and said, “It’ll be gone with just a lick like this.”

　She stuck out her tongue, rolled up the remaining cream from the other corner of her mouth, and put it into her mouth, beaming with pride.

　At the same time, the joy she felt also entered Dark's heart. Dark's brow twitched suddenly, and he saw the text prompt "[Bliss +1]" appear in his field of vision.

　"G."

　External expression + internal emotions, double the power!

　Dark quickly controlled his "psychic powers" and tried to stop probing Diana's emotions; thankfully, no further prompts were generated.

　However, he couldn't resist his curiosity and started to observe other people's emotions. He soon discovered that his ability to perceive emotions was limited, and the limitations were quite obvious.

　The emotional changes he can read can only occur at that moment, and must belong to one of the seven: pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and bliss.

　Therefore, it is evident that his mental abilities mostly stemmed from (a great sin).

　But after a moment's thought, he immediately dismissed his guess. This mental power to see into others' emotions couldn't actually be said to originate from [great sin], but rather from the "Cosmic Brain Beast"!

　The "Cosmic Brain Beast's" ultimate technique—"Mind Trade"—grants it the ability to see into another's mind and even "acquire" it. He only shared a small portion of this mind-reading ability. And upon closer examination, this ability doesn't seem to have much practical use. If it only allows reading the other person's current emotions, it could be done through observation and other methods as well.

　One good thing is that it can see through the other person's disguise. But that's about it.

　If it can't specifically read minds, this ability isn't very valuable. Wait, mind reading...

　Dark's first thought was "Fantasy Beasts: Goddess of the Mind's Eye". His second thought, however, was of Professor Kazel!

　He is now basically certain that he can share the magical spirits' special abilities through "bonds" and some other power.

　Those special abilities are not killer moves, but rather passive talents, aptitudes, traits, and the like.

　"Magical Beast: Goddess of Mind's Eye" has a mind-reading ability that is an active special move that requires "Mind's Eye" to be activated.

　Therefore, he should not be able to share this ability.

　But he will certainly be able to share in the talent for learning "mind reading" abilities.

　Rather, he should already possess this talent.

　This means that he is now fully capable of consulting Professor Cazell and learning "mind reading"!

　Professor Cazell's "mind reading" is theoretically also a form of magic.

　If one could master mind-reading magic, not only would it be invaluable for everyday use and solving mysteries, but it would also make one invincible in magical duels.

　Once the "mind-reading" spell is used, the opponent's duelist is essentially exposed.

　"I want to learn!" "But I can't learn it for nothing."

　"Think carefully about what to do." Dak rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

　At 7 p.m. sharp, everyone had arrived at the banquet hall. Principal Arte descended from the sky and, as always, began her opening remarks.

　Tonight's banquet is themed around celebrating the successful completion of the Academy Tournament, not about the academy winning the championship. Therefore, there will be no segment where the winning players will be invited to speak on stage.

　Dark's only thought about this was—it was a relief.

　Principal Arte's speech ended quickly, but then the leaders of each college took turns to give their speeches.