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

　Why didn't she come?

　Dark's brows furrowed.

　The key to this matter is that he did not obtain any relevant information from Laura.

　Lara is also the deputy head maid of "Scorpio Palace," which is in charge of intelligence.

　If Claire is definitely not coming to the City of Freedom, and Laura is completely unaware of this, it means that Claire's true itinerary is so confidential that even Laura's identity cannot be accessed.

　Where did she go?

　Dak couldn't help but worry.

　There are two most likely reasons he can think of.

　One of them was that the "Heart of the Beast God" that Claire brought out from the "Graveyard of Beasts" had encountered a problem, forcing her to prioritize dealing with the "Heart of the Beast God".

　Secondly, another exploration team encountered a problem, involving 11 people. Given the confidentiality of the situation, it's highly likely that the team from the Snow Mountain Goddess Temple was involved.

　In other words, she went to support Arvit.

　In short, both of these reasons are highly probable, and both are unfavorable.

　Even so, the severity of these two reasons is divided into two levels.

　The difference between them, simply put, is...

　If it's the first reason, it most likely involves a certain deity.

　If it is the second reason, then it is very likely that multiple deities are involved.

　As the investigation and exploration deepened, more and more of the dangers of the "Snow Mountain Goddess Temple" were revealed.

　Multiple "divine bodies" were frozen inside the temple.

　Dark still doesn't know exactly how many "divine bodies" are frozen in the "Snow Mountain Goddess Temple," but judging from the intelligence, there must be quite a few.

　More detailed information was not compiled and transmitted back.

　"Hopefully it's not the second reason..."

　Dak was deeply worried.

　Despite his complete trust in Ylva and Claire, worries were always inevitable.

　While he pondered this, Benson Pespi continued to enthusiastically critique the contestants.

　His gaze was always focused on the scantily clad female contestants projected on the screen, and his attention had absolutely nothing to do with the contestants' abilities.

　Anyway, it's kind of sleazy.

　Dak occasionally paid attention and overheard some dubious gossip.

　As one projection after another of renowned mages appeared, the atmosphere in the dueling arena gradually became more and more intense.

　Especially those highly famous professional duelists and well-known war heroes always attract the most cheers.

　The Magic League also created special introductory videos for some of its most famous players, which played sequentially as the introductions progressed.

　Dark had seen many such scenes in his previous life's competitions, so it wasn't anything unusual for him.

　But for people in this world, a competition of this scale and such a grand scene is quite rare.

　The sheer number of people gathered together was enough to excite anyone.

　The presentation lasted a long time, but it wasn't boring at all.

　After the contestants finished their introductions, the projector on stage began playing an aerial animation of the entire Duel City.

　Host Marilyn continued to eloquently introduce the structure of Duel City, while also explaining the rules for tomorrow's preliminary rounds, where the contestants would enter the venue, where the audience could watch the matches, and where they could go for entertainment and shopping during the competition.

　In addition, this competition also has an officially hosted ranking system.

　Viewers can purchase virtual items such as "flowers," "bread," "roast meat," "carriages," "hot air balloons," "villas," "manors," and "dragons" for their supporters in the "Alliance Hut" to boost their rankings.

　Once a duelist's support points reach a certain level, the "Alliance Hut" will start selling merchandise related to that duelist.

　As your points level increases, more and higher-tier merchandise will be unlocked.

　Viewers can accumulate "fan value" by purchasing virtual items to support their idols and buying merchandise.

　Once the competition ends, the league will provide viewers with a return on their investment proportional to the number of "fan points" based on the players' progress and final ranking.

　In short, the more fan points a contestant has and the better their performance, the more gifts viewers can receive.

　The core of this ranking system... was customized by Dark in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, during his spare time while building the Duel City.

　He had only said it casually at the time, never expecting that Principal Art would actually put it into practice.

　Fans purchase virtual items to support their idols in the rankings, and these purchases are displayed in real-time on the "Alliance Hut" bulletin board.

　Purchasing high-level virtual items also comes with a free text or voice message.

　blessing.

　This allows duelists to personally experience the support of their fans.

　It also gives the audience a great deal of prestige.

　However, the purchase of virtual items and merchandise is limited to prevent viewers from getting carried away and making mindless purchases.

　This World Cup is, after all, a formal event. The purpose of establishing this ranking system is mainly to increase interaction between the audience and the players and enhance the fun, rather than to "make money".

　Later, Dark discovered that "Alliance Hut" was actually linked to his "All-People Duel Club," and "Duel Cards" that simulated duels would be added to the merchandise sold by "Alliance Hut."

　The official organizers will create and sell cards based on the magical spirits used by the players during the competition.

　Regarding copyright ownership, this was already stipulated in the registration agreement. These instant-printed duel cards are only sold during the tournament. If they are to be sold after the tournament ends, a new contract must be signed with the players.

　Amidst cheerful and pleasant music, the audience toured the entire Duel City, guided by the host's perspective.

　In addition to the dueling arena, there are residential areas surrounding Duel City. Buying a house now will entitle you to a significant discount!

　Then the opening ceremony finally moved into the performance segment. The audience's emotions actually relaxed.

　They started discussing contestants, venues, chart rankings, merchandise, and buying houses, and the wonderful performance that followed became just background noise.

　However, Dak's worries gradually subsided. While dealing with Benson Pespi beside him, he watched the performance and gradually adjusted his mindset.

　This performance segment had a political purpose.

　Various nations, races, and individual factions have dispatched performing troupes. These include performances by the Holy Church, orcs, elves, goblins, dwarves, and others, as well as performances by the Sky City and the Sea Clan.

　The Holy Church was the first to appear, performing an extremely beautiful sacred dance.

　The sacred dance of the Holy Church is performed more than a dozen times a year, so naturally there are no mistakes. It is beautiful, but it is a bit tiresome.

　Next up is the totem dance of the orc kingdom, which starts with drumming and is particularly invigorating.

　Then came the goblins' mechanical dance, the dwarves' blacksmithing song, the elves' forest dance...

　Upon arriving at the Sky City, a giant dragon descended from the sky, eliciting gasps of surprise. However, the performance there was merely a heroic dragon-slaying opera. Next, the sea creatures appeared, transforming the stage into a pool and performing an opera featuring pirates, mermaids, and the Kraken—a truly memorable performance. Overall, these "political missions" were quite entertaining, but perhaps too predictable, lacking any real surprises.

　Only after the "political task" was completed did the other performances begin. At this point, there were surprises, but it also felt less "refined."

　Dark watched the whole thing but wasn't left with any particularly strong impression. However, his senior, Benson Pespi, was shouting and yelling excitedly the whole time.

　The atmosphere at the scene was also quite good.

　One can imagine that those watching the "live broadcast" remotely from all over mainland China, who were not in the capital of freedom, must have felt the same excitement and joy as he did when he watched the Spring Festival Gala when he was a very young child.

　And tonight's time slipped away amidst these various programs. In the blink of an eye, it was almost ten o'clock.

　As the World Cup opening ceremony was about to end, Mingyue from St. Marian Academy, the leader of the Magic Alliance, and Principal Cynthia Saint Arte finally made her appearance.

　The entire venue was instantly engulfed in cheers.

　She simply stood there, and she was already the center of the world.

　The subsequent speech seemed less important.

　On the stage of the World Cup Duel Challenge, Principal Arte adopted a more composed style and delivered a flawless final speech.

　The opening ceremony then concluded.

　To the accompaniment of soft, melodious piano music, little fairies flew into the arena, and the audience left in an orderly fashion.

　Dark waited a moment, then rejoined the main group from St. Marian Academy, also managing to shake off the persistent Benson Pespi. The students and professors of St. Marian Academy gathered in an open area outside the dueling arena, making their final declaration before the match began.

　Afterwards, some of the students, led by professors, went to their new accommodations in Duel City, while others went to the Magic League's headquarters.

　Meanwhile, Dak returned to the city lord's mansion with Aurora and the others. Since it was already very late, they did not meet again after returning home. Everyone quickly washed up and went to sleep so that they would be well-rested for the preliminary selection the next day.

　The same applies to Dac.

　He meditated for half an hour before bed and then fell into a deep sleep. As for Little Guhuoniao, he had already entrusted her to Aurora. At this moment, she should be fast asleep, sandwiched between Aurora and Nix.

　April 11th, 24:00.

　The bustling streets of Liberty City remained brightly lit. However, some areas within the city of Duel City had fallen completely silent.

　The newly built streetlights emitted a soft yellow light, which shone on the road and attracted tiny moths.

　In the darkness, moths fly towards the flame, and chaos sways.

　Five or six hours later.

　The first rays of dawn shone into the city.

　The city of Liberty welcomed its first Monday after the full moon following the spring equinox. The clouds that had gathered over the city suddenly dispersed, and a dazzling array of light illuminated the entire city.

　The sounds of people gradually filled the streets and alleys. The city's street cleaners had already...

　start working.

　The believers embarked on their journey to the temple to pray. The breakfast shop opened its doors to welcome customers at the crowing of roosters.

　There were also adventurers who were still busy making a living, waiting early at the guild's entrance.

　The city of freedom exudes a touch of vitality amidst its serene atmosphere, which gradually blossoms as the day progresses.

　At exactly six o'clock, Dakdimon opened his eyes and immediately sensed a faint, unseen movement in the air.

　It was as if "God's Instinct" had foreseen that this place would become the center of the world in the coming days. They had already gathered here before the competition even began.

　This feeling instantly invigorated Dak.

　After washing up, he put on his school uniform, combed his hair, changed his shoes, and spent ten minutes organizing his wallet before stepping outside.

　Next is breakfast time.

　After having breakfast with Aurora, Diana, Rose, and Lord Montilfali.

　Dark boarded the carriage bound for Duel City. The preliminary rounds began at 8:00 AM.

　It was only 7:30 when they arrived at one of the player waiting areas inside Duel City.

　Students and professors from St. Mary's College gathered here, and afterwards they would enter together to participate in the preliminary selection.

　There are a total of twenty similar waiting areas for players, each located on the periphery of a field with different attributes.

　Contestants can freely choose their waiting area and then enter at 8:00 AM. St. Mary's College has chosen an area belonging to the Light element.

　The light and dark areas are located on either side of the main road to the east. Therefore, turning around here will take you to the dark area.

　As long as you can get through the "gate" before 8 o'clock, it doesn't matter which way you choose to enter.

　But when Dak arrived at the waiting room, he saw the students of the Holy Mystic Academy, as well as the rest of the Holy Church.

　Clearly, for the Holy Church, there is only one entrance. "Entering through the Light Element Entrance will immediately lead to a collision with the Holy Church," Dark casually remarked to the person beside him.

　"Isn't that perfect?"

　Diana's eyes lit up; she wanted to face off against the Holy Church students she had fought in the Academy Championship once again.

　"There are no restrictions on the use of movement-assisting magic cards within the arena, so we can immediately change positions after entering."

　Rose is quite rational; going head-to-head with the Holy Church contestants at the beginning of the selection process is not a good strategy.

　They viewed this audition as a trial, but not as a mindless battle against the strong.

　Choosing the right opponent at the right time and formulating a general strategy are crucial. This allows you to duel with more competitors, unleash your potential in the duels, improve your ranking in the preliminary rounds, and gain more "divine benefits."

　"I'm going to the forest area."

　Aurora said directly.

　After careful consideration, she chose a grass-themed field.