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

　The strength of this ultimate move is mainly determined by the strength of the fish swarm. In other words, the power of this ultimate move depends on how many fish it can summon and how powerful those fish are.

　But the core of this ultimate move is not actually here, but in "manipulating marine life".

　"Can it really control marine life?" Dark couldn't help but ponder.

　If MarineAngemon can control marine life, it will be able to exert great power in the subsequent battles against the sea creatures.

　"Marianmon" already possesses maximum charm ability, which significantly enhances taming skills. Now, with the addition of its specialized ability to control marine creatures, it is sure to achieve even greater results.

　With this basic effect in place, the future development of the "Ocean Squadron" special move is worth considering.

　The type of fish that "Sea Fairy Squad" can summon is likely closely related to the type of marine life it can control.

　You'll know this once you go to the beach.

　But speaking of it.

　Dak has never been to the ocean in this world, and who knows when he'll have to go to the beach.

　After testing each of MarineAngemon's special moves, this evolution test is now complete.

　After taking notes, Dak reviewed them again, memorizing all the key points, and then began preparing for this World Cup Duel Challenge.

　The opening ceremony of the World Cup Duel Challenge will be held at 6 p.m. on April 11.

　The tournament is organized by the Magic Alliance, and led by Principal Arte. At that time, humans, demi-humans, and even some reclusive intelligent races existing on this land may gather in the City of Freedom.

　Prior to today, the "International Train," jointly manufactured by all human and demi-human nations under the leadership of the Magic Alliance, had passed safety tests and officially commenced operations.

　One magical train after another sped along the tracks, heading towards the City of Freedom from all directions, finally stopping at the newly built "Freedom Railway Station" in the City of Freedom before continuing on to other countries.

　Driven by the prevailing trend, human and demi-human nations, relying on the advanced technology of this magical train, have finally connected.

　Although it's still a very long way from being a "monolithic bloc," this already signals that countries are opening their doors to each other and engaging in exchanges and communication.

　If it weren't for the upcoming World Cup Duel Challenge, the passage of this "international train" would have been a major event that shook the world.

　However, outside of human nations, there is currently only one railway line within those countries. People from those countries need to go to the only railway station before they can board the train bound for the Free City.

　But this has already greatly shortened the journey for people from all over the world to the Free City.

　Once the train service is running smoothly, more railway lines will be built, making travel increasingly convenient.

　As the only transit point for international trains, the Free City is bound to become a trade center for the continent.

　Dark's magical city, located near the City of Freedom, naturally allowed him to profit.

　Of course, he has no plans to open the Magic City at present, so he has no idea about building a railway.

　In the future, any supplies that the Magic City lacks can be transported from the Free City, which is very convenient.

　In addition, the railway from St. Mary's College to the City of Liberty has now been completed.

　With this railway, Dak and his companions no longer needed to take a horse-drawn carriage to the Free City.

　This time, he planned to travel there by magic train.

　Of course, we set off together with the other participants from the academy.

　The journey from St. Marian Academy to the City of Freedom by magic train takes twelve hours.

　You can take the bus at 6 a.m. and arrive at 6 p.m.

　In an era when railway transportation was just beginning, this was already considered a very fast and stable mode of transport.

　To ensure the safety of railway traffic, Principal Arte also organized a large number of adventurers to thoroughly eliminate the monsters along the route, which was also a grand hunting feast.

　Even so, driving at night is still not safe enough and requires further cleanup to ensure safety.

　Therefore, the current magic train only has fixed daytime routes and does not have the "sleeper berths" that Dark imagined.

　The journey takes twelve hours, but if there's an overnight break in between, it doesn't feel as long.

　Therefore, the scheduled departure time for the participants from St. Mary's College is the morning before the opening ceremony.

　Dark will depart on the earliest bus at 6:00 AM on April 10th. As for the list of participants from St. Mary's Academy, he has only just come out of the laboratory and doesn't know much about it yet.

　In short, he wasn't particularly interested in things that he would find out eventually.

　Sometimes, leaving some unknowns unresolved can be a source of surprises.

　As for the preparations that Dark needed to make before setting off... basically, it was just a change of clothes and experimental equipment.

　Because there was another "great sin" to absorb on the night of the 10th, he also brought the magic brain dropper and the mind bottle.

　Some tools and basic materials for crafting magic cards were naturally included.

　However, some of them will have to be stored away tomorrow night. Today, he still needs to make some last-minute preparations.

　In short, it's about magic crafting. The first step is crafting "character cards".

　"Character cards" can be considered as entry tickets for this World Cup Duel Challenge.

　Principal Arte has already passed on the universal alchemy method for "Character Cards" through the Magic Alliance.

　Mages can learn the universal alchemy method for "Character Cards" at any branch of the Sorcerer's Guild, provided they register with the Sorcerer's Guild and become a registered mage.

　There are no class level restrictions for registering as a mage. As long as you pass the "political vetting" and are not on the national wanted list, you can complete the registration.

　Only after becoming a registered mage can a mage participate in the professional level examination certified by the Mage Alliance.

　The professional level examination for archmages was already set at the end of November last year.

　The ranks of Archmages range from Lvl to Lv5, and then to above Lv5, totaling six ranks.

　However, the professional level exam only goes up to Lv5.

　Because a level 6 mage is already considered to be in the true realm of gods in the ranking system, and cannot be assessed by a mage alliance.

　Even Lv5 Archmages can only be certified by taking the exam at the headquarters of the Sorcerer's Alliance.

　Because a level 5 mage has already transcended mortals and touched the realm of gods.

　They are designated as "Transcendent Magisters" in terms of rank certification. The requirement to participate in the Lv5 Magister exam is to possess at least one fifth-tier Magic Spirit Card.

　For levels Lv1-Lv4, which are below Lv5, you only need to have one "Character Card" of the corresponding level.

　After its official announcement, the "Character Card" was renamed "Life Card". Its function is to grant a life barrier covering the entire body after using it as a medium to open a duel field.

　The life value, or magic value, of this life barrier ranges from 2000 points to 4000 points, 8000 points, and 16000 points for the first to the fourth tier. Dark had already successfully created a third-tier "character card" in his previous class.

　At the time, he also cooperated with staff to try out the professional level examination.

　As a result, because he failed the Lv4 written test at that time, his final evaluation was only that of a Lv3 Archmage.

　However, he is now somewhat confident that he can pass the Lv4 written test. As for the dueling exams outside of the written test, there's no need to mention them.

　In reality, he is not qualified to participate in the Lv4 level exam because he has not yet refined the fourth-tier "character card".

　His next task was to refine the "character cards" from the second to the fourth tier.

　This World Cup Duel Challenge has imposed strict restrictions on the tiers of "character cards" used by participants at each stage.

　Although Darke hadn't seen the complete rules of the game, he was familiar with these most basic requirements.

　This World Cup Duel Challenge is divided into three stages. The first stage is the preliminary rounds, which use a city points system. In the preliminary rounds, duelists must use second-tier "character cards" to participate in the duels, which means each side has 4000 life points.

　After the preliminary rounds, the second stage of the preliminary competition will begin.

　The qualifying rounds will be a single-elimination tournament.

　The elimination system ensures that winners advance and losers are eliminated. Duelists who enter the preliminary rounds must use "character cards" from the third tier to participate in the duels, which means each side has 8000 life points.

　If you can successfully break through the qualifiers, you will be able to enter the main competition.

　The main tournament will use a double-elimination format. After a duelist loses once, he will fall into the loser's bracket, at which point he will have a second chance to compete.

　At this stage, duelists must use fourth-tier "character cards" to participate in the duel, which means each player has 16000 life points. Therefore...

　If your goal is to be a regular starter, it's best to prepare all the "character cards" from the second to fourth tiers in advance.

　It's even better to prepare multiple copies just in case.

　As for why this gradual approach was adopted...

　The stated purpose is to adjust the duel time for each stage of the competition to enhance the viewing experience.

　The real purpose is to lower the threshold for the preliminary selection in order to attract more magic masters to participate.

　This World Cup Duel Challenge is the first of its kind, so attracting more mages to participate is a crucial aspect.

　If this competition is successful, the next competition may be able to raise the bar or be held in a more formal manner.

　Additionally, it also carries the ostensible meaning of giving more mages "opportunities." After all, the scale of the World Cup Duel Challenge is unprecedented.

　Among the participants in this World Cup qualifying rounds, there are certainly many players who are not aiming to qualify.

　Even many students at St. Mary's College share this view.

　For this group of contestants, the preliminary rounds are their entire battlefield. If they can deliver a brilliant performance in the preliminary rounds, it will be enough to attract many "gods," and that is enough.

　Among these, there might be mages who break through during the duel and create higher-level "character cards" during the breaks, thus gaining the qualification to participate in the next round of the competition.

　These possibilities all exist.

　What the audience really wants to see is this kind of more dramatic scene. Like a dark horse suddenly emerging, an unknown duelist suddenly defeating a recognized powerhouse, or entering the main tournament only to fall into the loser's bracket, then fighting their way back up after numerous rounds to finally win the championship.

　Scripts like these are most likely to generate buzz.

　The rules of this World Cup Duel Challenge leave room for miracles to happen; it remains to be seen whether anyone can create one.

　Once Dark was ready, he began crafting "character cards".

　He started by crafting the "Character Cards" from the second tier, choosing the most common "Character" as "Student of St. Mary's Academy".

Chapter 1480 [Full Text Subscription] Darkdemon's Match Schedule (4k)

　The second tier of "character cards" was quickly completed.

　Because "Character Cards" incorporate elements of costume cards, duelists can change their costumes on the spot after summoning a Duel Zone using a "Character Card".

　Aside from that, "character cards" currently have no other function.

　Principal Arte used the "Character Card" crafting method taught by the Magic Alliance to completely remove the "character" element, retaining only the element of the life barrier.

　Therefore, it was renamed "Life Card".

　Dark glanced at the newly produced second-tier "character cards" and immediately began crafting the fourth-tier "character cards".

　The creation of the fourth tier, "Character Cards," is even more difficult.

　There's a reason why it's used as a qualification for the Lv4 Archmage level exam.

　Dark also carefully studied the notes before finally completing the creation of this fourth-tier "character card".

　It has no attack, no defense, no skills, only a life barrier with a magic value of up to 16000.

　After successfully crafting one, Dark immediately began working on the second. Soon...

　I've already collected two sets of "character cards" from the second to the fourth tier.

　Seeing that he still had plenty of time and his energy was still high, Dak decided to continue his alchemy experiment.

　He could try to create all sorts of magical spirit cards, magic cards, and item cards—any magical card he had ever conceived of so far.

　As these new magic cards were produced, time quickly passed, and the day came to a successful close.

　April 9th.

　Dark received a group message from Professor Sylph informing him of tomorrow's departure time. Along with it came the rulebook for the World Cup Duel Challenge.

　After finishing his breakfast leisurely, Dak lay down on the balcony and began to read the rulebook.

　First, the schedule.

　The first stage of the preliminary competition will begin at 8:00 AM on Monday, April 12th, and end at 8:00 PM on April 13th.

　In other words, this was a match that lasted a full thirty-six hours.

　However, there will be a six-hour rest period in the middle of these thirty-six hours.

　This rest period was scheduled from 2:00 AM to 8:00 AM the following day. Such a match schedule was unprecedented in the entire dueling community.

　Contestants must stay in the Duel City, which serves as the venue, for two days and one night.

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