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

　Judging from this, he and Malachi must have had a very good conversation.

　Speaking of Malachi, Dark casually asked, "By the way, where's your friend?" "Friend?" Doron paused for a moment before suddenly realizing, "Oh, you mean Malachi Fern! We had planned to have dinner together tonight, but the college had already made arrangements. I asked Professor Jones, and she said we absolutely couldn't go out tonight, so we had to make another appointment with him."

　“That’s a real shame,” Dark said. “So why didn’t you bring him along?”

　Doron blinked, puzzled, and asked, "Why did you bring him along?"

　Dark paused for 0.1 seconds, but quickly and naturally replied, "Just saying. How are Sarah and Heidi?"

　Doron's smile widened even more: "We worked together for a long time afterward, and the scenery in Duel City was truly beautiful."

　As they talked, the two began to discuss the various sights within Duel City.

　……

　Malachi and Doron's relationship is clearly not good enough to be called "friends".

　At least from Doron's perspective, he must value the word "friend" highly and wouldn't easily form "friendship" relationships with others.

　This is something that noble children are taught from a young age; the higher the status of a nobleman, the more vigilant they will be in "making friends."

　Therefore, Dark quickly realized that the problem lay with him. Bringing along a fan he'd only recently met, and even taking her to an event of this caliber, was indeed far too reckless.

　However, the reason he "lost his vigilance" was largely based on his ability to "read minds".

　Because they can see through people's hearts, they have the confidence to "read people." But "mind reading" is not omnipotent, and excessive confidence is a precursor to "arrogance."

　Furthermore, a banquet of tonight's caliber should not be given special privileges to allow an unrelated person to attend.

　But since we've already agreed, let's just be more careful in the future.

　I changed my clothes, put on a bath towel, and entered the bathhouse.

　Dak sat down in one of the baths, casually picked up a bar of soap, and began rubbing it on Nikolai's body.

　Bringing a cat into the bath is not a good idea, but Nicholas is no ordinary cat; he might be cleaner than a person.

　Bathing a cat is just a habit.

　Fortunately, Nikolai did not resist; on the contrary, he seemed to enjoy it and sat motionless in the hot water.

　Before they knew it, the boys had all gathered around.

　They took a bath while reminiscing about their experiences during the preliminary rounds.

　Robert had the loudest voice; for a while, his voice filled the entire bathtub.

　But when Shrek asked him how many points he had, he smacked his lips and pretended to wash himself seriously.

　Witt chuckled to himself, while Snake winked at him. Doron asked curiously, "So, just how many points does Robert actually have?"

　Dak folded a damp towel into a square, placed it on Nikolai's head, and casually said, "Sixteen points."

　"How did you know?" Doron asked in surprise. Dark replied, "Isn't it on the leaderboard?"

　Doron recalled the rankings displayed in the waiting area and immediately complained, "Who can find that?!"

　Dark sank his body into the hot water, leaving only his head above water. He then leaned back against the edge of the tub and said, "That means you didn't look carefully enough."

　Doron had nothing to say, so he sneakily moved closer to Robert. Robert, annoyed by this, finally revealed his score.

　He had 16 points, but only one red dot remained. It can be said that he was reborn from the brink of elimination.

　Then, Doron started comparing himself to Wittgard and leaned over to ask him. Witgard didn't hide anything and said directly, "I'd say I'm a little over a hundred."

　“Oh, oh, hehehe, that’s pretty good,” Doron said. “And you?” Witt glanced at him.

　Duolong said, "Bad, about right!" He was actually still a bit far from a perfect score.

　But when he asked other classmates, most of them scored less than 100. To his utter surprise, Witt, who was in the same grade, managed to get over 100 points.

　"Can we simply say that the son of a hero is still the son of a hero?"

　Doron was still somewhat resentful. But he had also realized that sometimes, some gaps cannot be bridged simply by lack of luck.

　As people grow older, which is euphemistically called maturity, their youthful spirit often diminishes rather than increases.

　Duolong is no longer the boy who couldn't see the future and just rushed forward headlong.

　In general.

　The boys' scores were roughly the same, and apart from Dark and Shrek, none of them made it to the preliminaries.

　But with effort comes reward.

　Even Robert, who had the fewest points, was quite satisfied with this experience, which was called a "preliminary selection" but was actually a "training session".

　There's not much to say, I just learned a lot. And we all gained a lot of "divine benefits".

　However, the World Cup stage will no longer belong to them.

　They will transition from being students to becoming spectators, joining the millions of viewers to cheer for their favorite contestants.

　Of course, we must not forget to learn. Practical experience is a form of learning. Observing matches is also a form of learning. As students, we must never stop learning.

　The bathroom was filled with rising heat, like swirling clouds.

　As Dak soaked in the bath, he felt the fatigue of the past two days gradually disappearing, but at the same time, a slight drowsiness also crept in.

　He raised his head slightly to shake off his sleepiness and saw the white cat he had only met that day doing the exact same thing as him.

　This white cat's long fur seems to never get wet. Even in water, it retains its fluffy texture, making you want to splash it around.

　Vitgot, already itching to get involved, sneaked over. Looking at the white cat, he said with considerable envy, "Why is there an extra cat?"

　Dark said, "It's someone else's cat. I saw it had testicles, so I brought it over." "Where are the testicles?" Witt said, his eyes gleaming as he reached out his claws towards Nikolai.

　"Smack!" Accompanied by a meow, a scratch appeared on Witt's arm.

　But just as the blood was about to flow out, the wound on his skin quickly closed up, leaving only a faint white mark.

　His blood magic seems to be quite well-practiced. Dark glanced at him and smiled sheepishly.

　Although Witt withdrew his hand, a fighting spirit appeared in his eyes as he looked at Nikolai.

　A fierce battle between a human and a cat seemed imminent. Just then, a knock came at the door from a staff member, a reminder that the banquet wouldn't start until 9 PM. They didn't have much time to soak in the bath.

　Reminded by the warning, everyone reluctantly stepped out of the hot water.

　Dry yourself off and put on a bath towel.

　As the students stepped out of the bathhouse, they were immediately greeted by rows of clothes being pushed towards them.

　The hotel provides a variety of changes of clothes for students and professors, including formal attire.

　Tonight's banquet is of a very high standard. Even if you dress up in your finest attire, there will be absolutely no problem.

　But if you prefer to be more casual and just wear casual clothes, that's perfectly fine too.

　Although the students were allowed to attend the banquet, there were no scenes during the banquet that required them to perform.

　They only need to freeload and be a background figure. But seeing so many clothes, even the boys can't help but want to look a little more handsome.

　So in the end, everyone wore aristocratic formal attire. Dak didn't stand out; he chose to follow the crowd.

　After they chose their clothes and changed, a row of makeup artists immediately came in to style their hair.

　The makeup artists worked incredibly fast, each one seemingly possessing magical abilities, completing the hairstyle in no time.

　Immediately afterwards, the students left the room at the urging of the staff. It was about 8:50, ten minutes before 9:00.

　Ten minutes is certainly plenty of time.

　The boys boarded the magical elevator and entered the rooftop restaurant.

　The banquet hadn't started yet, but the restaurant was already filled with all sorts of delicious food.

　The boys, already ravenous from taking a bath, were immediately drawn in by the enticing aroma of delicious food, and each one couldn't resist the urge to feast.

　But they were all sensible people and didn't actually take any action.

　"Let's sit in the corner."

　He pointed to the right corner near the entrance. The right side is close to the balcony, making it easy to slip away. His consideration was quite thorough.

　However, the students clearly did not understand the implications of his choice, and simply walked over there noisily.

　Soon all the boys sat around a table, waiting anxiously.

　The girls arrived about three minutes later.

　With light makeup, elegant dresses, and glamorous hairstyles, they all looked like freshly made princesses.

　Although there were indeed two little princesses mixed in with them. Anna and Angie kept a very low profile during the auditions over the past two days. When they appeared on camera, they presented a dignified and beautiful princess image.

　But they certainly had all the fun they were supposed to have, so their faces were beaming with uncontrollable smiles.

　When the girls saw the boys who had arrived earlier, they all walked over there and sat down at the next table.

　At this point, all the students from St. Mary's College had arrived. Then, a group of people suddenly surged in through the entrance.

　It seemed like everyone entered around the five-minute mark of the opening. Both the boys and girls from St. Mary's Academy were incredibly eye-catching.

　However, apart from them, the other attendees were mostly high-ranking officials from various regions, so they only glanced at the area a few times and did not show excessive enthusiasm.

　Although there were indeed several people inside, people even high-ranking nobles would need to greet, being too conspicuous at this time was not a good thing.

　Going with the flow is better than leaving a bad impression. The crowd surged in quickly.

　Within just five minutes, the restaurant was packed with people. The professors from St. Mary's College had also arrived, but they were all seated in the front row.

　The leaders of various countries, headed by the human king, sat together in the main seat this time.

　Among them were His Holiness the Pope, Principal Arte, and the host, Lord Sunamontilfali.

　The seats for the prince and princess, as well as the chief archbishop and others, were located at the next level adjacent to the table.

　The banquet guests were arranged from front to back according to their status, making it easy to see at a glance.

　Nine o'clock sharp.

　The banquet began without anyone notifying them.

　At the same time, a projection appeared on the front wall, which was the main stage for this audition.

　The banquet will begin with the announcement of the audition results. "It's starting, it's starting."

　Duolong turned over with great interest. The boys also turned to look at him.

　Appearing on the main stage was Ms. Marilyn, the Queen of the Forbidden Kingdom.

　Ms. Marilyn looks beautiful as always today.

　But at this moment, the list of those who advanced from the preliminary rounds was clearly more captivating. Students, professors, and all other attendees were watching the list unfold.

　The list is revealed from top to bottom, starting with the first person.

　While announcing the list of those who advanced, Ms. Marilyn also introduced each popular contestant as if they were her own, and sometimes commented on their performance in the auditions, making the atmosphere even more lively.

　Those attending the banquet would whisper among themselves, exchanging their thoughts.

　The restaurant wasn't noisy, but it was definitely not quiet either.

　Dark immediately saw Pandora's name on the screen and glanced over there, only to be met with a "bounce".

　Let's set aside Pandora's ranking for now.

　In this World Cup qualifier, the player who has held the top spot since taking the lead is still the orc named "Mephisgram"!

　Who exactly is Mephis Graham?

　This question probably arose in the minds of everyone present at the same time.

　Mephis Graham had been in first place for a long time, and it was impossible for everyone present not to investigate him.

　Dark looked up at the hotel waitress standing beside him. The waitress, who was actually his maid, simply shook her head slightly. He couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

　Even the Dimon family's intelligence system couldn't find any information about this person. Did they just spring up from some rock dust?

　"Who is he? When did such a genius emerge among you orcs?"

　King Austin, sitting next to the Lionheart, asked him without any hesitation.

　Although Lionheart knew absolutely nothing, he remained remarkably calm, as if Mephisto was a secret weapon he had been secretly cultivating.

　He said, “A collateral relative, he has one-half lion-man blood, one-quarter Behemoth blood, one-eighth mammoth blood, one-sixteenth tiger-man blood, and one-sixteenth bear-man blood.”

　What kind of hybridization?