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

　They are all guarantees for increasing ticket sales.

　One can imagine how crazy the audience would be if the big star won the duel.

　However, in addition to the general audience, there were several contestants among the crowd watching the duel.

　If these contestants are not friends or family members of the duelists currently engaged in combat, then they are most likely observing and gathering information about their opponents in order to win.

　It seems that the big star had already...

　They have been targeted.

　Indeed, the easiest way to become a star is to beat a big star in the spotlight.

　Becoming a World Cup duelist is a very good path to fame, even if you can only participate in the preliminary rounds.

　……

　“Let’s go the other way,” Dark said. To be honest, he was a relatively unfamiliar face to that star duelist.

　But the other fighter he was dueling with was a paladin whom Dark had seen before by Pope Sith's side.

　Moreover, unlike the paladins seen in the waiting area, this paladin was not wearing the distinctive uniform of the Holy Church, but rather dressed in ordinary casual clothes like any other person.

　This looks like a tactic used by the Holy Church, employing both overt and covert methods.

　The big star is likely to suffer a severe blow if he encounters a paladin in plain clothes in his very first duel.

　To be honest, this duel wasn't very interesting.

　Dak wanted to walk around a bit more; it was time to digest after dinner.

　“Let’s go take a look over there. I see a building that looks a lot like the Vatican.” Pandora said, pulling Dark’s hand with great interest.

　The little golem floating in the sky turned its big-eyed camera toward them, paused for a couple of seconds, and then quietly turned away.

　Dark and Pandora were both labeled "renowned mages" by the director. But now it seems they're playing somewhat passively.

　But sharpening your axe won't delay your woodcutting; sometimes, improving your mood is also very important.

　o

　Dark and Pandora chatted and laughed as they entered the church-like building, where they were suddenly greeted by a large number of light-type magical sprites flying rapidly inside.

　There were quite a few fighters engaged in duels, and members of the Holy Church made up the majority of them.

　There were duels between members of the Holy Order. There were also duels between members of the Holy Order and other contestants. However, the former were seen less often, while the latter were seen more frequently.

　It is evident that the Holy Church also takes precautions to avoid violations; although they belong to the same group, they act independently.

　"Albert!"

　Dark immediately recognized one of the contestants as Albert Grantham, one of the Twin Paladins.

　"interested in"

　Pandora followed his gaze.

　She knew that Dark and the Twin Paladins had a life-and-death bond, and were quite familiar with each other.

　But Dark simply shook his head slightly and said, "It's not the right time yet." Albert is a good opponent.

　However, given his status, he also needs to avoid suspicion and it would be best not to confront the Holy Church from the outset.

　Pandora immediately retorted, "Since you're not going, then I will!" Her eyes gleamed with fervor.

　Dark's brow twitched slightly, and he said, "This is a competition."

　It means there's no need to ask him.

　Pandora and the Holy Church have a deep-seated feud, and if a real reckoning were to take place, the feud would be quite significant.

　This is something that can't be shown in public, but during this preliminary selection, even if members of the Holy Church are forced to duel, the latter can only swallow this bitter pill.

　As for whether she will face repercussions from the Holy Church after the competition... she also has someone behind her.

　Moreover, Archbishop Calenoris, the chief bishop of the Holy Church, has not given up his efforts to persuade Pandora to join the Church, and he seems to have successfully convinced many members of the Church.

　However, Pandora's absence from the academy indirectly helped her avoid his entanglement.

　"Then I'm going to go."

　Pandora said in a lighthearted tone.

　This hall is filled with the aura of light, making it the perfect place for the white dragon to dance.

　Dark said, "I should go find someone to duel with too." Pandora raised her hand and said, "Then see you in the preliminaries." Dark smiled and raised his hand, exchanging palm strikes with hers.

　He then turned and walked out of the hall.

　He didn't want Albert to see that he was the one who brought the white dragon there.

　Next, hopefully we'll hear more cries of agony.

　After leaving the temple, Dak continued on foot.

　He was wearing the uniform of St. Mary's Academy, and his face was so young that he looked like a lower-grade student.

　If you hadn't watched the opening ceremony carefully last night, you might have thought he was an easy target.

　Dark's mind is very rich, and he occasionally looks forward to moments like this. If such a moment does occur, it allows him to relax and warm up. There are too many members of the Holy Church in the Light Realm.

　He planned to leave first.

　Adjacent to the Light System region is the Fairy System, which is the home ground of the fairies.

　The design of the fairy-themed areas incorporated suggestions from the fairies themselves. Therefore, they are filled with many unbelievable scenes, ranging from dreamlike and beautiful to strangely absurd.

　Even the surveillance golems floating in the sky have been made in the shape of cute little animals.

　That's the perfect environment for a tough guy to shine.

　But before Dark had taken more than a few steps, he encountered his first opponent in this World Cup Duel Challenge.

　The surveillance golem in the sky almost immediately changed direction, its enormous "eyes" firmly locked onto this perspective.

　What appeared before Dak was a young man emerging from the bushes... no, from the green belt.

　The young man was probably in his early twenties. He had an honest appearance, a square face, and a gruff voice. He still had a few leaves clinging to him after emerging from the green belt.

　His eyes lit up when he saw Dark, and he exclaimed happily, "Hey bro, you're a contestant too!"

　Dak picked up the points card, waved it, and nodded in acknowledgment.

　The difference between players and spectators is relatively easy to distinguish, as players carry duel disks and card packs.

　When asked if they are contestants, they must answer according to the competition rules and show their scorecard as proof.

　Players can see their opponents' scores and rest times directly on their scorecards, allowing them to decide whether to fight them.

　Of course, there are also those who turn and run when they see a high-scoring opponent. If the opponent doesn't have time to ask a question or engage in duel, they have a chance to escape.

　The young man glanced at Dark's points card, scratched the back of his head, and asked curiously, "Why is it still ten points? Brother, you haven't dueled with anyone yet."

　Dak is always very honest: "I just went to have some breakfast."

　The young man said, "Oh, I see. I came out without having breakfast. Actually, I was hungover last night and almost late. I barely made it, but as soon as I entered, a pastor caught me and took away one point. You see, I only have nine points now."

　He then took out his points card and showed it to the public.

　Dak glanced at it and saw that the score was indeed 9, and the rest time was [06:58].

　This means he has just finished a duel and has about seven minutes of rest time.

　During those seven minutes, he could refuse any duel invitation. However, if he himself offered to do so…

　"How about it, do you want to have a duel with me?" the young man said shyly, then added as if afraid that Dark would refuse, "I'm very weak. I came here just to broaden my horizons."

　Quite polite.

　Dark blinked and said, "Well... it's not impossible." "Then I'll initiate the duel. By the way, my name is Charles, and yours is Charles," the young man said excitedly. He then took the large bag off his back and placed it next to the green belt.

　The surveillance golem in the sky, which had locked onto the viewpoint, suddenly made a "whoosh" sound, and its eyes flashed red.

　The nearest referee received the signal and rushed over immediately.

　A group of spectators followed behind.

　"You're also called Charles?" Darke asked curiously.

　Although Charles is a relatively common name, because the prince of the Kingdom of Yunic is also named Charles, many people have changed their names in recent years, especially those of the same age as the eldest prince.

　Unexpectedly, the first contestant he encountered in this World Cup qualifying round was named Charles.

　"Speaking of which, it seems that both the eldest prince and the eldest princess participated in the competition, but they both chose to remain anonymous."

　"I've missed them terribly since we parted last year. I wonder if I'll ever have the chance to duel them," Dark muttered to himself, while Charles, overhearing this, raised a colon to his forehead. "Wait, you know the prince and princess?" Charles asked hastily. "Ah," Dark blinked, then asked, "Don't you know them? They're the prince and princess!"

　"Oh, uh, oh, of course I know, hahaha." Charles wiped his sweat, quietly picked up the strap of his backpack, and prepared to slip away.

　He's not stupid; how could someone who knows princes and princesses be as easy to bully as he looks?

　Damn it, he thought he'd run into a noble kid who was just playing around! But as soon as he turned around, he saw the referee running over excitedly, and the audience whose faces were clearly excited.

　The monitoring golem in the sky has lowered to a certain height, projecting the images of the two contestants.

　The appearance of the referee signifies that a duel has been initiated. One party initiates the duel, and the other party accepts.

　At this point, even if Dark initiated the duel, Charles would have no right to refuse.

　The referee who arrived was a local from the City of Freedom. He had a pair of raven wings on his back, which allowed him to fly at low altitudes. This was his only mixed-race characteristic, which had led to him being cursed as a "fallen angel" and suffering persecution in his birthplace.

　And the more a mixed-race person has been hurt in the past, the more they have a deep-seated faith in the city of freedom.

　They deeply love the City of Freedom, admire the city lord who built such a city, and naturally also adore the young city lord.

　And because of this affection for the man, Dak, the young lord's "fiancé," was also remembered by many.

　This referee is a case in point.

　His name is Crowe, and he is a very dedicated referee.

　"Welcome to the City of Freedom. This is the audition site. I, Kro, will now be reporting on the exciting duel that is about to begin for you in front of your screens."

　"The duelists are Charles, a despicable adventurer from the town of Bugiri, and Darkdemon, the top third-year student from St. Marian Academy."

　"Based on the intelligence I've received, this duel was likely initiated by the despicable Charles. Although his opponent, Mr. Darkdemon, saw through his clumsy performance, he remained composed out of a sense of superiority and didn't expose him." Hey, you're the referee, not the commentator!

　But it turns out that Charles is quite famous in the Free City, because he can be recognized by any referee.

　Or was it just a coincidence?

　Dark was curious and subconsciously felt a sense of anticipation.

　Although Charles doesn't seem very bright, he might have some tricks up his sleeve, so we can't let our guard down.

　We must win this first duel.

　He pondered the deck building for this duel while preparing to unleash his duel domain.

　Charles said he would set up the Duel Field, so Dark let him go first. After the field was set up and connected, there was a three-minute deck-building time, so there was no rush.

　There are opponents in front and referees behind.

　Charles suddenly realized that he had nowhere to go.

　He glared at the Black Crow hybrid, Kro, who had somehow become a referee, then turned around, unzipped his backpack, took out another special deck, and put it into his card pack.

　When he looked up again, his face had regained its honest and simple expression: "Brother, are you ready? If you are, let's begin."

　As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately began to silently recite the incantation for deploying the duel domain.

　"Duel begins, connection established, domain generated!"

　In an instant, two black, tidal waves surged forth from beneath his feet, rapidly extending to both sides until they reached nearly a hundred meters before abruptly turning, carrying the black tide forward in a frenzied rush with astonishing momentum.

　at the same time.

　Darke also raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

　Suddenly, a radiant light appeared, as if divine music was chanting, illuminating half of the arena and connecting with Charles's dueling domain.

　Duel!

Chapter 1488 Triangular Defense, Seventh Chakra (4k)

　[Preparation Phase 1] [180s]