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

　He didn't fall asleep until 3:30 a.m.

　At this point, there were only four and a half hours left before the start of the second day's competition.

　If you deduct the time for washing up and having breakfast, you only have four hours left.

　Four hours of sleep is definitely not enough for the average person.

　But the Archmage is different.

　Or rather, most high-level spellcaster classes have strong time management skills.

　In order to squeeze out time for research and study, they always habitually compress their sleep time to the extreme.

　—Through high-quality in-depth analysis, Dr. Dac is also proficient in this field.

　Four hours of deep sleep is enough for him to recover his energy.

　However, not all players possess his time management skills. Therefore, some players will inevitably suffer from sleep deprivation, affecting their performance. Or, they may sacrifice match time to ensure sufficient sleep. But this is also a crucial aspect that tests a player's abilities.

　If others can do it, but you can't, then you have no choice but to admit defeat.

　Half past seven in the morning.

　Dak opened his eyes as soon as the alarm rang, feeling refreshed.

　The hotel in this Duel City is indeed well-prepared, with an alarm clock in every room.

　Dark thoughtfully set the alarm clock in Sophia's room to go off at 7:30.

　So when he woke up, the girl next door was also awakened by the alarm clock, and then she was frightened.

　After all, if you go to a bar before bed and wake up in bed, you'd be terrified.

　The morning of April 13th.

　It arrived amidst the sounds of alarm clocks and screams.

　【早安】

Chapter 1515 The Aftereffects of Professor Dark's Teaching (5k)

　"Honestly, you didn't even wake me up. I was just sitting there bored and accidentally fell asleep. It wasn't because I was too tired. If you think I'm some pampered young lady who gets out of breath after walking a few steps, you're really underestimating me."

　After leaving the hotel, Sophia stayed by Dak's side, chattering on and on.

　The reason for this is probably that Dark demonstrated to her what a "magic hand" is.

　Upon learning that she had been carried to the hotel like cargo while asleep, Sophia's fantasies upon waking were shattered. Overwhelmed with shame, she kept uttering nonsensical, boastful remarks. Oh, and Dark forgot to tell her that he had used "Hidden Feathers" to make her invisible.

　I get up at 7:30 and leave the house at 7:50.

　There were only ten minutes left before the start of the second day of the preliminary rounds.

　Sophia tidied herself up much faster than Dak had expected.

　As soon as the two left the hotel, they headed towards a nearby restaurant.

　The Ghost Bar is open at night, but it's about to close. So there's no breakfast available, so we'll have to find another place.

　Dak chose a restaurant with an "evil spirit" theme.

　This restaurant is filled with "evil spirit" style from its decoration to its food, and its specialty is fish balls painted in the shape of eyeballs.

　The two entered the restaurant and, finding that there were still some seats available, chose a good spot and began ordering.

　Dak handed one of the menus to Sophia and said with a smile, "Then, as an apology, it's on me today."

　Sofia took the menu, blinked, and it took her a fraction of a second to understand what "treating" meant. She quickly said, "No, no, it's definitely my treat today. You paid for the bar bill and the hotel stay last night, it's my turn to pay!"

　Dark slowly flipped through another menu and casually said, "You helped me all day, but treating me to a meal is too cheap, especially since the hotel was free. Logically, I should not only cover your room and board but also pay you a salary. But if I did that, your help couldn't be explained as fan behavior."

　The preliminary rounds are an individual competition by the rules; contestants cannot team up or use off-stage assistants.

　However, spontaneous actions by fans are difficult to prohibit.

　Therefore, accepting help from fans is not uncommon in this competition.

　However, this is ultimately a behavior that skirts the rules, and there are some things that still need to be avoided.

　For example, paying fans' salaries.

　This would directly alter the nature of fan behavior, thus constituting a violation.

　In the early hours of the morning, Dak chatted with Dulles at the Ghost Bar and heard that some star players relied on fans to scout ahead and screen opponents in advance to increase their scoring efficiency. Some even went so far as to instruct fans to bribe players in order to quickly gain points.

　There are quite a few big stars with this level of popularity and talent in this audition.

　Darko is a player who could achieve that level of popularity. He just didn't.

　Sofia followed him a little, at most helping out, handing him water and towels, and buying him meals.

　"How about this, let's have a small get-together after the auditions tonight," Dark suddenly looked up and said to Sophia with a smile.

　"Aren't you a big fan of 'Silver Dragon Girl'? I'll get you her autograph. Seriously, getting 'Silver Dragon Girl's' autograph isn't easy."

　“Yes, unlike you, sending them out in batches,” Sophia said, pouting.

　Dark laughed and said, "What do you know? I'm just doing volume tracking."

　"Low profit, high volume, huh?" Sophia rolled her eyes at him and said, "But I'll have to pay for this order today. After all, it's the fans' doing, so they should pay for it themselves. But tonight..."

　Dark said decisively, "Okay, then you pay the bill." Sophia was taken aback: "I thought you would refuse twice more." Dark chuckled: "You think this is bargaining? Hurry up and eat and leave, the competition is about to start."

　Ultimately, the cost of this meal is less than a fraction of the price of a ticket to the audition's inner circle. There's really no point in arguing about it.

　Dak ordered two servings of "Bloody Eyeballs" and two servings of "Corpse Pie." After asking Sophia's opinion, he also ordered two servings of "Fresh Blood" and two servings of "Evil Claws."

　These breakfast items are all popular must-orders, and the restaurant has a large stock of them. They are served directly after you order.

　Regardless of the taste, the appearance of those dishes was truly eye-catching. Combined with the restaurant's gloomy and chilly environment, it became even more terrifying and horrifying.

　However, since he was already at this restaurant, he figured he should try this specialty. Despite his disgust, Dak cut open the "bloody eyeball" with a knife, confirmed it was just a fish ball, and then began to eat.

　Sofia waited until he took a bite before picking up her knife and fork to eat with him.

　In short, she would eat whatever Dark ate first, and would never take the initiative to "try something new".

　Five minutes past eight.

　Dak walked out of the restaurant.

　"We need to work harder to make up for those extra five minutes."

　He glanced at the crowd at the entrance, immediately smiled with narrowed eyes, and quickly walked towards one of them.

　Sofia was still digesting the aftertaste of the food when she forced herself to finish it all, which caused her great psychological harm.

　However, when she paid the bill, she suddenly felt a strong sense of satisfaction.

　Is this what it feels like to pay for your idol's purchase?

　That's just how fans are; they find a sense of fulfillment in their dedication.

　The more Sophia interacted with Dak, the more she realized how weak her will was.

　If she hadn't happened to meet Dak as a "gay" person, she probably would be frantically boosting his popularity ranking right now.

　In that case, the cost would be much more than just a small amount of money spent on food.

　So, which brings a stronger sense of satisfaction: spending money to boost your idol's chart rankings or treating them to a meal?

　Sofia did the math in her head, then suddenly realized that Dark was gone.

　Her eyes widened suddenly, and she began searching frantically.

　"The weather's nice today, how about some morning exercise?"

　Darke pulled out his points card and held it up like an ID. The player he had stopped immediately looked distressed, his face falling: "Brother, couldn't you have waited until I had some food first?"

　"Time waits for no one," Dark said with a smile.

　The player was dressed casually and had his duel disk in his backpack, but Dark still recognized him at a glance.

　At 8:05, the match had already begun.

　At this time, the people still walking into the restaurant were basically those who had just woken up and had not yet experienced a duel.

　Dak missed the first half hour yesterday, but he won't miss it again today.

　As long as you're fast enough and your picks are accurate enough, this Duel City will be full of players who haven't yet entered their "rest time".

　At this point, it's important to avoid picking players who are clearly lacking in skill.

　Because such players are likely to only have three red dots left.

　Challenging them to a duel is a complete waste of time.

　……

　Three minutes later.

　Dark won the first duel of the day.

　The opponent's strength was only considered below average in this preliminary round. Coupled with his excellent teamwork, the duel unfolded and ended very quickly.

　After winning the duel, Dark immediately went to find his next opponent. However, because he was dueling on this road, many early-rising spectators gathered around, and the other fighters either quickly took a detour or followed suit, which made finding a new opponent much more difficult.

　However, Dark had studied "mind reading," so this difficulty posed no obstacle for him.

　eight thirty.

　I left the restaurant at 8:05, but only 25 minutes have passed.

　But Darko has already scored five points.

　However, news of a "roadblock bully" at the entrance of this restaurant had already spread, so the number of contestants heading this way decreased significantly.

　"Morning exercise over, next spot!"

　Dak left immediately.

　Next to the Ghost-type zone is the Rock-type zone.

　Many of the players who enjoy dueling here control tough, resilient magical spirits.

　They may not be good at offense, but they are definitely skilled at defense. In this situation, if they happen to encounter a player who can stall for time, they will definitely waste a lot of extra time.

　Therefore, Dark chose to bypass the Rock-type and head directly to the Bug-type region next door.

　Like the Grass-type region, the Bug-type region was also designed by the Elf race.

　The plants here are very lush, covering the woods and flowerbeds, making for a very charming landscape.

　However, compared to the grass-based competition area, the plants here are very lacking in vertical height, and are mostly short plants.

　Based on the designs of the elves, the architects have raised many beautiful and interesting insects here.

　Spectators can purchase special insect nets at the League Hut to catch insects in this area and take them home as souvenirs.

　Most of the bug-type magical Pokémon are fragile.

　It's perfect for speeding up.

　Dark immediately took action after arriving in the Bug-type region.

　However, he soon discovered that "insects and poisons are inseparable." Although the magic power and defense of insect-type magical spirits are relatively low, their characteristics and special moves are very troublesome.

　If it weren't for his ability to purify abnormal states, it would be really difficult for him to stay in this competition area.

　Even so, he only stayed in the Bug-type region for half an hour before moving on to the next region.

　This is his strategy for today—high-speed relocation tactics!

　Because after today, the number of duelists in each region will drop sharply.

　Staying in the same region for too long will lead to frequent encounters with players who have already been eliminated or have already fought against them.

　To earn more points, you must switch regions.

　On the second day of the preliminary rounds, if you try to stay in one area for half a day like on the first day, it's absolutely impossible to quickly rack up points.

　Under these circumstances, players who are still vying for qualification will be forced to move around, as they cannot stay in their comfort zones forever.

　However, Darko's original plan was to stay in one zone for an hour before switching.

　The reason she only stayed in the Bug-type area for half an hour was because Sophia was afraid of Bugs.