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

　This difference might not be interesting to those involved in the industry.

　But for onlookers, it was a different story. As Dak watched, he felt like he was watching a romantic comedy and couldn't help but smile knowingly.

　However, his smile didn't last long.

　Because at a certain moment, Sarah suddenly glanced in his direction.

　Their eyes met directly, and there was no way to avoid it.

　"Discovered!"

　A thought flashed through his mind, and Dak quickly turned back to focus on his meal. He'd eaten about 70% of today's gossip; that was about it.

　Too much of a good thing is bad.

　"What did you see?" Heidi asked. Sarah shook her head slightly and said, "Nothing."

　She remembered that Dakdimon had eaten with a strange woman.

　However, with her discerning eye, she could tell at a glance that Sophia was not a mage.

　Since he's not a mage, he can't be a contestant; he must be a spectator.

　"Are the audience... fans? They're actually eating with fans." Sarah looked up at the points leaderboard displayed behind the counter. Darkdemon's name was ranked twenty-ninth.

　When she thought about her own ranking again, she suddenly felt that she was not qualified to comment on it.

　So I simply shut up. I just pretended I didn't see anything.

　...

　But one problem after another arose.

　Shrek Holmes and Marscare walked into the restaurant arm in arm again.

　"I heard there's belly dancing here..." Mars' voice was still quite loud.

　"Smack!" Shrek slapped him hard on the shoulder; the sound was definitely painful.

　Mars hissed, immediately noticing the four junior students at the table. His expression changed drastically, and he said, "I've heard the camel humps here are delicious. Would you like to try some, senior?"

　“Haha,” Mars said loudly, “I’d rather try a drink with the flavor of Firebird Spirits…”

　The two put their arms around each other's shoulders, bypassed the table where Sarah and her group of four were sitting, and pretended not to see anything as they walked to the other side... well, towards Dark.

　"Ahem!" Dak reacted quickly, putting down the menu, sitting up straight, and asking Sophia, "Miss, are you from Murridge City?" Sophia's eyes darted around, and she immediately covered her mouth in surprise, saying, "How did you know I'm from Murridge City? We've never met before."

　Dark smiled and said, "I've only been there once."

　Sofia continued with delight, "Sir, you have such a keen eye! Did I really just find a really good player by sharing a table with someone?"

　"Oh, so it's just sharing a table... LOL, who would believe you?" Sarah muttered to herself.

　"Isn't that Dark?" Mars and Shrek's eyes lit up, and they walked straight over.

　Their attention was focused on Sarah and the others, and they didn't notice Dark and Sophia immediately.

　Upon hearing the voices, they instinctively walked over. The two sat down, filling the four seats.

　Dark said, "What a coincidence, seniors, you're also in the Ground-based competition area."

　“We just arrived,” Mars said, winking. Darke understood immediately: “I heard the performance is in five minutes.” “Better late than never,” Mars said cheerfully, then asked curiously, “And this young lady is…”

　Sophia glanced at Mars's school uniform before replying, "So, you're both students of St. Marian Academy? I especially admire your academy's Silver Dragon Girl... Could you help me get her autograph?" Mars smiled and said, "So you're a fan of Senior Doragon. We are indeed students of St. Marian Academy, but you've come to the wrong person."

　As he spoke, he pointed at Dark, his expression meaningful.

　However, he added, "My autograph, Marscare's, is also worth something."

　Sophia glanced at Dark, then immediately turned back to Mars, and said with a smile, "Mr. Mars Carey, could you give me an autograph?" Mars smiled and said, "Of course, no problem." Sophia looked delighted and immediately opened her bag, taking out an autograph board and a pen.

　"I didn't expect Sofia to be such a good actress."

　Dark picked up the menu again and introduced Shrek's senior, "Desert Heatwave," to the special dishes.

　And on the other side.

　Doron and Heidi also discovered the presence of Dark and the others.

　While marveling at the coincidence, Doron couldn't help but say, "Malachi, that's the pride of our House of Nobles that I mentioned to you."

　"Dakdimon," Malachi thought to himself, calling out Dakdimon's name.

　Clearly, Doron hadn't spared him any mention of Dark.

　Doron nodded proudly and said, "That's right, it's him. Trust me, following in Dark's footsteps means keeping up with the times. I'll introduce you after this audition is over."

　Malachi immediately adopted a serious expression.

　He was just an ordinary mage, and the teachers who taught him magic were not even as good as the top students at St. Marian Academy.

　In terms of status, he was merely a minor nobleman from the countryside.

　It was already a great honor to know Doron and the others. He never expected to have the chance to meet Darkdemon. This was undoubtedly a tremendous opportunity for him!

　A mage born in a small town must seize every possible opportunity to keep moving forward.

　Malachi cherished his opportunity and was very grateful to Dolon for his initiative in introducing him.

　Overwhelmed with gratitude, his friendship with Doron deepened. And so it went.

　The more he talked to Doron, the less he talked to Heidi. Heidi was speechless, only able to watch helplessly as Malachi and Heidi's relationship grew stronger.

　I don't know whether to be jealous or eat soy sauce.

　Sarah, who was not among the three, simply watched with a smile. As the saying goes, those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly.

　Sarah quickly realized that the young man didn't see her best friend as a woman at all after meeting him.

　She could immediately analyze several reasons for this.

　Firstly, Malachi was focused on improving his own strength and had not yet developed any romantic feelings.

　Secondly, Malachi's age is quite different from Heidi's, and he never considered Heidi as someone he could date.

　Furthermore, Heidi's attraction to Malachi was merely due to her being drawn to the maturity and stability of older men.

　She felt that Malachi was indeed a good person, but that was all he was—a good person.

　She didn't see anything particularly outstanding about this man, nor did she think he was worth pursuing.

　But if Heidi likes it, she won't stop her.

　Five minutes later, the desert dance performance began.

　While the senior students were captivated by the desert dance belly dance, Dak quickly finished his lunch and left "Desert Heatwave" alone.

　However, before leaving the restaurant, he greeted Doron and the others, and also got to know Malachi.

　Although their contact time was short, all acquaintances started from scratch, and Dak didn't mind getting to know another friend with a wonderful personality.

　After leaving the "desert heatwave," Dak went around to the back of the restaurant and waited there for a while.

　While waiting, he was lucky enough to spot a duelist resting there, and then, with great apology, challenged him to a duel.

　Two hundred and one points!

　After winning this lucky victory, Dak waited for Sophia to come out of the restaurant.

　Sophia handed me some water and said, "Your two senior classmates asked me for their contact information, but I didn't give it to them. Do you think I did the right thing?"

　Dak chuckled, almost spitting out a mouthful of salt water.

　But he quickly wiped the corner of his mouth and said with a serious expression, "Senior Shrek is eighteen years old this year and is a very mature and steady person. He has already made it into the top 100 in this World Cup qualifier and will most likely advance to the main tournament."

　Sofia shook her head and said seriously, "I don't like people with too much muscle."

　"Oh, that's all." Dark immediately moved on. "Next, let's go to the poison-type competition area."

　"Poison, poison-type!" Sophia's expression changed as unpleasant memories surfaced.

　As the saying goes, poisonous creatures and insects go hand in hand. The poison-type zone is definitely full of giant insects.

　Dark said, "Let's just have half an hour, and then head around to the Steel type last. Now that our rankings are secured, I want to experience all the regions. You don't want to miss out on any of them, do you?"

　Sophia suddenly realized that Dark had a real talent for persuasion. If she hadn't genuinely hated insects, she might have actually been convinced by him with just a few words!

　"Ahhh, don't pull me! I'll wait for you in the fighting area!"

　"laugh."

　"You actually said 'laugh'!"

　Poison-themed competition area.

　Dark added the "Misty Field" special move to his deck, instantly transforming him into a poison-type nemesis. He became unstoppable in the poison-type arena, rampaging through the battlefield with impunity.

　That being said, he does slow down when choosing opponents, and occasionally he will specifically choose opponents with strong self-confidence and "arrogance" maxed out.

　The number of unconventional contestants is ultimately relatively small; most confident contestants possess considerable strength.

　After securing his place in the next round, Darko began to consciously hone his skills and seek out formidable opponents.

　This did indeed slow down his point accumulation speed considerably. However, since the decrease was relative to his own previous performance, his ranking didn't fluctuate significantly, remaining around thirty. After spending half an hour in the Poison-type competition area, he kept his promise and moved on to the next area—the Fighting-type competition area!

　Fairies have a relative advantage in combat.

　Therefore, Dark is thriving in the fighting game category and making good progress.

　However, he stayed there until 1:30, when he ran into Shrek and Mars again.

　Sophia happened to be mixed in with the audience and went unnoticed. After watching Dark's duel, the two senior students took the initiative to challenge him to a duel.

　Such a duel invitation under normal circumstances is certainly within the rules. The so-called prohibition of players teaming up does not mean that players cannot duel with people they know.

　It would have been one thing if Dark met them in the restaurant, but now that they met in the competition area, the two senior students finally couldn't resist the urge to fight them!

　Marscare was the first to take the stage.

　Mars didn't gain much from extracurricular activities, but he still made very significant progress on his own.

　However, that little progress was still not enough in front of Dark, and after several rounds of fierce fighting, the duel ended.

　Darko wins.

　Senior Mars slapped his forehead, feeling a little frustrated, but it didn't affect his mindset much.

　Losing to a junior is indeed shameful, but losing to Dark is not so shameful.

　He did not make it into the top 100 in this preliminary round, which is partly due to his lack of "pragmatism" in choosing his opponents, but ultimately it is because he is not strong enough.

　In contrast, Sherlock Holmes is a genuine top 100 contender.

　But also

　It's only just broken 100.

　He definitely has the ability, and it has improved significantly compared to when he competed in the academy tournament.

　However, he still had the desire to go further in the qualifiers, so he didn't reveal all his cards.

　In this way, he naturally wouldn't pose any significant threat to Dark.

　The duel ultimately yielded no unexpected results. However, it was a very enjoyable fight!

　The Shrek academy senior gave a post-match reflection, reportedly expressing great satisfaction.

Chapter 1517 Darkdemon's Practice Through Matches (4k)

　2 p.m.

　Dark Dimon has arrived in the Ice-type competition area.

　The Ice-type region is not friendly to him, but battling against type disadvantages is also a test.

　Dark encountered many sea creature duelists here, including some senior students who had competed in the academy tournament.

　However, the senior students of the Ocean Magic Academy were remarkably low-key during this preliminary round. After dueling with two of them, Dark noticed that they seemed to have little desire to advance and didn't prioritize "securing points." Even their former captain, Selena Teresa, seemed more interested in gaining benefits from duels with stronger opponents.

　Dark had been watching her rankings; she was ranked 126th at the time, hovering just above the qualifying line, in a position where she could either advance or be eliminated at any moment.

　But Selena hasn't shown much interest in scoring points so far, as if she doesn't care whether she advances or not.

　Compared to them, Dark found himself to be somewhat opportunistic.

　However, he does need to enter the main tournament now, and once he passes the preliminary rounds, he only needs to win three rounds of duels to enter the main tournament—there is even a possibility that he can advance by luck alone.