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

　I left home at 7:30.

　Arrive at the breakfast restaurant at 7:35.

　We finished eating and left at 7:45.

　Enter the Alliance Duel Arena at 7:50.

　I arrived at the contestant entrance at 7:55.

　The whole process was unhurried and very smooth.

　The staff who were anxious were wandering around waiting for someone but couldn't find anyone.

　"Hurry up, hurry up! The entrance ceremony starts in five minutes, and you're the last ones to arrive! Line up according to your audition rankings, quick, quick, quick!"

　"Pandora, Pandora Drogon, ranked seventh, we've been waiting for you!"

　The contestants entered the venue in order, starting with the first one.

　Pandora, who was ranked higher, was pulled away by a staff member as soon as she arrived. She turned and waved to Dark, her lips slightly parted, and said, "..."

　Although no sound was made, Darke could tell just by looking at the lip movements.

　That's saying, "See you on the field." "It's better not to see you there."

　Darkdemon, cruel, ruthless, and indifferent.

　Dak ranked fortieth in the preliminary rounds.

　He started from the end

　As I walked forward, my eyes quickly scanned the contestants from 128th to 1st place, comparing their real appearances with the photos in their profiles, and I quickly got a sense of their status.

　He then joined the queue, waiting for the entrance ceremony to begin. The audience began entering at 7:30 a.m.

　All the audience members who had purchased tickets were already seated in their respective seats.

　Those who couldn't buy tickets could only watch from outside the venue.

　Outside the venue... the walls of the Alliance Duel Arena project images of the arena's interior. Even from a relatively far distance, the images are clearly visible.

　Meanwhile, all the Duel City divisions, which had already been prepared, were reopened to the public.

　Visitors only need to pay a small ticket price to enter the competition area. Then they can watch the game with other spectators in the various shops and viewing areas.

　Although the on-site experience was somewhat lacking, the atmosphere of watching the game together with a large group of people was still quite rare.

　Furthermore, watching from outside the arena offers more freedom, allowing you to leave your seat at any time to buy various kinds of food.

　Unlike the Alliance Duel Arena, which only offers burgers, fries, fried chicken, and tea.

Chapter 1537 World Cup Qualifiers (1/2)

　April 15th, 8:00 AM.

　The second stage of the World Cup Duel Challenge has officially begun! As solemn and magnificent music played, the de facto leader of the Magic Alliance, Principal of St. Marian Academy—Cynthia St. Arte—slowly descended amidst flowers and fireflies.

　She will personally inaugurate the preliminary rounds today. But of course, she cannot stay on the field to preside over them for long.

　After the opening remarks, she spun halfway around like a fairy—and when she turned back, she was replaced by another person.

　The host for the preliminary rounds was still Marilyn, the popular star host who received widespread acclaim at the opening ceremony.

　Today, Ms. Marilyn was dressed to the nines, exuding elegance and poise, resembling a noblewoman more than the host.

　But many viewers prefer this style.

　Marilyn always had a knack for captivating the audience. She took the microphone, and her few words drew cheers from the crowd. Next came the contestants' entrance ceremony.

　The sky projection device located in the center of the duel arena also presents the scene at the entrance of the contestants in great detail.

　The first to catch the audience's eye was naturally the audition champion, the number one ranked mysterious orc—Mavis Gram!

　Information about Mavis Graham had already spread throughout the city after he qualified first in the preliminary rounds.

　As all the audience knew, this was a hybrid orc with one-half lion-man blood, one-quarter Behemoth blood, one-eighth mammoth blood, one-sixteenth tiger-man blood, and one-sixteenth bear-man blood. In short, his bloodline consisted of the most powerful races among the orcs.

　Mavis's image is very wild, with distinct facial features, thick and long eyebrows, bright eyes, and a blood-red mark between her eyebrows, like some kind of totem, but it is even more mysterious because its origin cannot be traced.

　He had long, shoulder-length, blond, slightly curly hair, resembling a lion-man. He was tall and robust, wearing only a short-sleeved shirt with a deep collar that revealed his chest muscles, which looked as hard as rock.

　Blood-red lines were also imprinted on the skin from his shoulders to his arms, faintly exuding a bloody aura.

　Aside from the four players who possess the "God Card," Mavis is undoubtedly the most eye-catching player.

　Yesterday, all forces, large and small, whether human or subhuman, were frantically investigating his origins and trying to make contact with him.

　But as of this morning, no one has been able to ascertain his background. Furthermore, all proposals to collaborate with him have been ruthlessly rejected.

　Dak even heard that "The Lionheart" personally came forward to try to adopt him as his son, but not only did he fail, he was also severely ridiculed.

　While maintaining composure in public, "Lionheart" immediately flew into a rage upon returning to his camp, frightening many people.

　The fact that this mysterious orc didn't even give face to "Lionheart" shows just how confident he was.

　Dark had specifically reviewed his dueling data and discovered that his most frequently used deck in the preliminary rounds was one called "Beastmaster".

　This deck is quite similar to Claire's usual "Zoo" deck.

　However, Dark wasn't very familiar with Claire's current strength, so he couldn't determine the relative strength of their decks or which deck was stronger.

　But they probably won't be low.

　In addition, Mavis has an extremely strong ability to control magical spirits of the bird and beast species.

　This ability to control is not limited to his own magical spirits; even his opponents' magical spirits will be affected.

　—Although he was trying to hide this ability, some clues still showed.

　This means that unless you are extremely confident in your control abilities, it is best not to use bird-beast species when dueling with Mavis.

　After discovering this ability, the Duke's intelligence system further deduced that he was likely not a pure orc.

　It might not even be human!

　But if it's not human, then what could it be? Surely it can't be a god!

　Mavis's interpersonal relationships are almost nonexistent.

　If he is a god, then he is the first god since the beginning of the Age of Gods to be resurrected independently.

　The probability of this is extremely low. So it's better to speculate that he is a god.

　Perhaps we should guess that he is the reincarnation of some deity.

　In short, Mavis's strength is genuine.

　To uncover his true identity, we must see if the next few rounds of the competition can force him to unleash more of his true abilities.

　As Mavis Graham entered the arena, a series of roars suddenly erupted from the stands.

　That was the roar of the orcs, an expression of worship for the "strongest orc".

　Thanks to her outstanding performance and results in the auditions, Mavis has quickly amassed a large following in a short period of time, especially among orcs.

　He became a household name and idol among the orcs.

　Of course, whether his influence can last depends on how far he can go after this.

　The roars of the orcs were deafening, echoing for a long time within the enormous dueling arena.

　Because of its overwhelming momentum.

　Even the second contestant, Professor Steven Harvey, seemed less impressive.

　Professor Harvey was happy with this, though he didn't want to hear the boos from the Christians.

　Then, the "Court Archmage" Cole Toynbee, the "Elven Royal Family" Alva Artemis, the "Headmaster of the Noble Academy" Professor Pava Jones, the "Sky City Twilight Clan" Emily Reda Ingersoll, the "Sixth Year Student of St. Marian Academy" Pandora Doragon, and so on, all made their appearances one by one.

　The roars of the orcs gradually subsided, and the cheers of the human audience began to take center stage.

　As more and more contestants took the stage, the number of spectators cheering them on also increased.

　The audience from all races became lively as their respective favorite contestants took to the stage.

　The atmosphere inside the Alliance Duel Arena went from lively to intense to frenzied in just a few minutes.

　Then it was finally Darkimon's turn, who was in 40th place. Darkimon waited until the contestants in front of him had walked a few meters before he walked forward at the staff's signal.

　He waved gently towards the audience, and many people in the visible audience were waving his support merchandise.

　This World Cup is on a bigger scale than any previous tournament.

　However, apart from the seats reserved for the athletes, the remaining seats were purchased randomly and were divided into several levels based on viewing comfort.

　Therefore, viewers of all races are mixed together, without distinction. Naturally, the number of viewers who happen to gather together and support the same contestant is not large.

　Therefore, no organized fan groups have appeared in the audience seats yet.

　The voices calling his name seemed to come from all directions, filling every corner of the Alliance Duel Arena.

　Even though he's somewhat used to it, he still can't help but feel elated whenever he receives so many cheers and blessings from the audience.

　Regardless of their motives, everyone in this kind of arena will be influenced by the atmosphere and give it their all.

　The athletes' entrance ceremony has finally come to an end.

　After all 128 contestants walked around the field, they returned to the rest room to wait for the competition to officially begin.

　The players' lounge is located below the front row of spectators, offering the closest possible view of the duels.

　The seven students from St. Mary's College reunited after the opening ceremony.

　Soon the professors also came over, chatting and laughing, and joined the group of St. Mary's College contestants.

　Professors Steven Harvey, Pava Jones, Lily Laplace, Cazell, Gatlin, Armstrong, Alfred, Enid Lindbergh… plus two other professors, a total of ten professors made it to the preliminary round.

　As Indak sat over there, the five maids who had made it to the preliminary rounds also gathered around.

　With the number of people added up, there were a total of 22, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the preliminary selection slots.

　Because the atmosphere was already close to the competition, no one said anything unnecessary.

　Many players immediately began organizing their magic cards after sitting down, in order to get themselves and their magic cards into the best possible condition.

　The preliminary rounds differed from the open qualifiers because they were one-on-one duels. Therefore, there was no need to worry about being suspected of collusion, and the various groups gathered together.

　Dark glanced around casually and spotted the Holy Church, the Lu People, the Elf Group, the Sea Clan, the Goblin Dwarf Group, the Sky City Group, and the King...

　The room was associated with many prominent groups, including aristocratic groups, groups of sages, and so on.

　Once these groups were divided, the remaining individuals naturally gathered together.

　The players' positions in the lounge became clearly discernible.

　Dark withdrew his gaze, placed his card pouch on his lap, and prepared to calm down and communicate with the magical spirits.

　Time flies.

　eight thirty.

　After host Ms. Marilyn finished explaining the competition rules for the second stage of the competition, the long-awaited event for both the audience and the contestants began: the contestant draw!

　"It seems everyone's patience is almost at its limit, and actually... Marilyn is too! So, let's start drawing the three groups of contestants who will be appearing next!"

　Ms. Marilyn raised her hand and patted lightly, and suddenly a wisp of white smoke rose in front of her.

　As the white smoke dissipated, a laughing stone appeared as if by magic.

　She gently tapped the lottery table, and the image on the table was projected onto the screen in the air.

　That was a three-digit number panel.

　Simply pull down the red lever on the right side of the number panel to make the three digits spin.

　Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Ms. Marilyn finished reading the countdown, then abruptly pulled down the red lever, and the digital panel began to spin rapidly, accelerating at an alarming rate.

　It took a full twenty seconds for the digital panel to slow down.

　Then, starting from the first digit, gradually stop.

　"zero."

　"three."

　"-"