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

　[House of Nobles] Get another 10,000 points!

　With total points, they surpassed "Magic Academy" again, taking the top spot. "Magic Academy" had already exhausted its options and could only face reality. The remaining "Knight Academy" and "Fool Academy," under the combined attack of "Magic Academy" and "Noble Academy," suddenly found themselves with very few opponents left to challenge.

　Although the Knights Academy slightly boosted morale, it was only that—a boost of morale.

　The Fools' House had hoped to win the championship, but now it's too late.

　0

　That being said, the contestants from the Knights' Academy and the Fools' Academy did not give up on the competition.

　They took over the next part of the competition, continuing to challenge opponents in higher-level matches.

　Previously avoided contestants such as Winnie the Pooh, Gina Grant, and Eluri Clarissa have all received challenges.

　However, such a challenge was clearly not aimed at victory; the lower-grade students probably just wanted to gain valuable experience in dueling with the top players from the upper grades.

　Gain experience from challenging stronger opponents, thereby enabling yourself to grow more quickly.

　This is a method that has been used throughout history.

　This is also the original meaning of the cross-level challenge.

　I just didn't expect that there would actually be so many wins in this year's challenge against opponents of a higher level.

　The numerous victories in the cross-level challenge quickly became a topic of conversation and spread among the people of the kingdom.

　This has become one of the pieces of evidence of "epochal change," causing a great deal of anxiety among some people who are stuck in the old ways.

　But the tide of the times cannot be stopped by individual will. At this time, if they cannot ride that tide, all that awaits them is "falling behind".

　The St. Mary's College Cup came to a close tonight.

　The ultimate winner is the "House of Nobles"!

　Dak only learned of this good news shortly afterward.

　The person who brought him this good news was Ergani, who came to the Temple of the Goddess of the Snow Mountain in person.

　However, that was several days later.

　Now, after recording the [Moon God (Divine Armament)], he has joined the discussion on further exploring the temple.

　Since we are prepared to continue exploring in depth, it is impossible to have the sole purpose of finding a new "Moon God" body.

　Of the forty-seven "divine bodies" located within the hall where they reside, twenty-eight have already fused with the "ice statues."

　According to existing theories, the timelines of the "divine body" and the "ice statue" have been reconnected, and there are no more hidden dangers remaining.

　Magic cards made from materials extracted from the "divine body" will not be destroyed due to the disruption of time.

　This is a necessary procedure before using materials from the "divine body." Otherwise, no one knows when the hidden danger might suddenly erupt. However, based on existing theories, the merging of timelines is not necessarily required.

　Since the "divine body" and the "ice statue" exist on two different timelines, cutting off one of the timelines will naturally affect the matter on the remaining timeline.

　Although the value seen through the "Eye of Truth" may be reduced, it is only a temporary expedient under unavoidable circumstances.

　After all, some of the "ice statues" corresponding to the "divine bodies" had already shattered before they even began their search.

　Those "divine bodies" that no longer have corresponding "ice statues" naturally have no hidden dangers.

　Dark examined all the "divine bodies".

　Eleven of these "divine bodies" showed no related reaction after being infused with waveguide power.

　This basically means that the corresponding "ice statues" are still broken.

　Although there should be no longer any hidden dangers, Dark still marked the eleven "divine bodies" so that when using their materials to refine magic cards in the future, he would try to avoid mixing them with the materials of "divine bodies" that had already merged with other timelines.

　This minimizes the possibility of unforeseen events.

　"The twenty-eight 'divine bodies' have been fused together, eleven 'divine bodies' lack ice statues, and eight 'divine bodies' remain."

　"Of these eight 'divine bodies,' only two are in the direction they have traveled, but they are likely a bit far away."

　"The remaining six 'divine bodies' and their corresponding 'ice statues' are all located in the unexplored depths."

　As he spoke, Dak drew lines on the map to make the explanation more intuitive.

　Arvit glanced at it and said, "Then let's set off tomorrow morning and find the ice statues corresponding to the remaining two 'divine bodies.' Also, check these two 'divine bodies' that are closer together and find their corresponding ice statues."

　If the distance is close, we can lead a team to the ice coffins to remove the two "divine bodies" and bring them back to the current hall.

　She was very thoughtful.

　Dak naturally had no objections.

　He then asked, "So that concludes the itinerary for tomorrow morning. What about the afternoon?"

　Arvit said directly, "If the morning's itinerary goes smoothly, then after the midday rest, we can set off directly to continue exploring the unknown lands."

　Finding the ice statue itself doesn't require much physical exertion. The areas already explored are also relatively safe.

　With the fragments of the temple's consciousness now nowhere to be found, there is nothing in the areas that have been explored that could pose a threat to Arvit.

　However, that only applies to areas that have already been explored.

　Even so, she cannot explore alone because of the existence of "disordered time flow".

　Even if Alvit is powerful, she has not yet become a god and cannot contend with this level of power of rules.

　Within the "Snow Mountain Goddess Temple," there are quite a few mechanisms constructed using the power of rules.

　They had spent most of their time outsmarting and outmaneuvering those mechanisms.

　That's why professionals from all walks of life are brought into the team.

　Danger lurks everywhere in those secret chambers and mechanisms.

　If you're not careful, you might get locked up somewhere and never be able to escape.

　Dark arrived later and immediately enjoyed the fruits of their exploration. Therefore, he has never experienced a life-or-death crisis.

　But once you start to delve deeper and explore the unknown, things are completely different. Therefore, the most important thing when embarking on an exploration is the personnel configuration.

　Firstly, as key players, Arvit and Claire will inevitably join.

　And Angry, who had just begun to understand "time," was also indispensable. It was a pity that Teacher Vigo was no longer there, but Dark would conveniently take his place. Furthermore, Aquinita had to remain at the base, which was currently this hall, until they found a more suitable location. After that, it would be a matter of coordinating the various professional personnel.

　Because this is an initial exploration and there is a need for travel, they plan to minimize the number of personnel accompanying them, except for the main force, and then gradually increase the number in the following days.

　As the Academy Cup came to a close, the accompanying personnel had already been confirmed.

　The first survey team consisted of twelve people.

　With Alvette, Claire, Angry, and Dark as the core, each accompanied by two maids, they form four three-person teams that can disperse or regroup at any time.

　Dak had met the two maids and gained a necessary understanding of their abilities and specialties.

　One of the maids is named Janet, and she is from the "Scorpio Palace." She possesses the "Shadow Clone Technique," which Dark is most familiar with, and her specialty is "Danger Premonition."

　Janet is quite unique among the many maids. Her "danger foresight" ability is based on a bloodline talent; according to records, her ancestors were apparently very famous fortune tellers. However, the family fell into decline, leaving only an orphan and a widow.

　Her mother was also taken in by the Duke's mansion and now manages a large magic dueling shop in a city as the shopkeeper, while also working part-time as an intelligence gatherer.

　In order to develop Janet's "danger foresight" ability, Aylvit had her learn divination, but unfortunately it was of little use.

　Janet wasn't stupid; on the contrary, she was very intelligent. During that time, she browsed a large number of divination books and learned a lot about divination.

　But divination is something you really can't do without talent.

　Although she possesses the bloodline ability of "danger prediction," she lacks the talent for divination, which is truly incomprehensible.

　However, this also reveals that her "danger prediction" ability has little to do with divination.

　This ability is very special, and it is not triggered every time danger is encountered.

　However, once she has a premonition, it is bound to be dangerous.

　The purpose of Arvit's placement of Janet in Dark's squad is self-evident.

　Another maid in Dark's party is named Mercidis. Mercidis is a maid from the "Taurus Palace." She is extremely strong, having gained immense strength through rigorous training, and later compensated for her lack of magic power with "Netherworld Fire." She is currently a user of the "Armed Card," specializing in defense.

　Her specialty is "lock picking," which seems out of place with her appearance. It is said to have developed from a hobby into a skill.

　After careful questioning, Dak confirmed that she was a "thief" before being found by the Duke's mansion.

　During the time when Mercedice was still young, there were many children who were forced to become thieves due to hunger, and Mercedice was just one of the most insignificant among them.

　But unexpectedly, after only a short period of time as a thief, she developed a liking for "lock picking".

　However, "lock picking" is not a bad skill.

　Adventurers with the "lock picking" skill are quite popular when exploring dungeons or ruins.

　Therefore, Mercedis's existence is actually very important.

　Besides being a locksmith, she is also very skilled at finding secret mechanisms. She has a considerable understanding of how to solve puzzles, which is very helpful to Dark, who has very little experience in this area.

　In short, these are the two maids who will be teaming up with Dark. The choice of these two maids was quite deliberate. Dark quickly grasped the deeper meaning behind it.

　He also learned about the other maids afterwards, gaining a clear understanding of their abilities and specialties.

　After that, it was time to rest.

Chapter 1696 Darkdemon, the Dancer, and the Descent of the Gods (2/4k)

　The night passed.

　May 24th has arrived, and a new week begins. Students who have finished the Academy Cup are about to face crucial final exams.

　Having already been granted permission to "skip the exam," Darko Dimon embarked on his exploration after catching up on sleep.

　Before noon, Dark and Yalvit completed their round trip and successfully brought back four ice statues.

　This exploration was indeed a long journey, but we did not encounter any dangers along the way, so the round trip was relatively quick.

　It just took a bit more effort to find one of the ice statues. It turned out the ice statue was hidden in a secret room.

　However, the correct term should not be "hidden," but rather "locked in a secret room."

　The most troublesome aspect of this "Snow Mountain Goddess Temple" lies in the indestructibility of the building. Otherwise, a single sword strike could cleave open the secret chamber, and time would have to be wasted searching for the mechanism to open it.

　In addition, a key point in exploring a secret room is to leave someone guarding the door. This is to prevent external dangers and to prevent the secret room from closing automatically, ensuring it can only be opened from the outside.

　Based on the investigation team's experience, that kind of situation is quite common!

　There might be another exit in the secret room, but it's not guaranteed that you can find it or open it.

　In short, Dark had a complete experience of exploring an escape room. After this round trip, they rested for about three hours before setting off again, targeting two ice statues facing in unexplored areas. The two ice statues were relatively close to each other, so they could plan to search along the same route.

　At 2:30 p.m., the temporary investigation team of twelve people officially set off.

　When Dark set off, he did not summon "Thunder Cloud" but instead awakened the sleeping "Thunder God" Raymond.

　Although Raymond was still in a remnant soul state, a god is still a god. Since there was a god present, there was no reason not to make good use of him.

　The "Soul of the Moon Goddess IV" can also exist in a state similar to that of a divine soul.

　If absolutely necessary, these two divine souls can even forcibly summon their magical spirits.

　This is another layer of meaning behind the "God Cards." Although the "God Cards" have various ways of being summoned, basically all of them can be forcibly summoned by the divine soul residing within them.

　Because those "God Cards" are essentially the "physical bodies" of those divine souls, and those divine souls have even greater control over the "God Cards" than the Magisters.

　Dark then summoned "Shaymi".

　The "Shami," which exists in a "land form," has the ability to "naturally regenerate" and can exist for a long time without the need for magic from mages.

　Moreover, the "fragrance" it emits can purify abnormalities and protect against traps such as poisonous gases.

　Dark gave "Shami" to "Magic Beast: Goddess of the Mind's Eye" and ordered it to protect "Goddess of the Mind's Eye".

　Prior to this, Dark had already named the "Goddess of the Mind" "Perbali".

　"The Goddess of the Mind's Eye," "The Soul of the Moon Goddess," and "Thor" Raymond. With these three present, the investigation team's sensitivity to "divinity" has been raised to its highest level.

　Once the hidden fragments of the temple's consciousness appear, they should be able to react the fastest.

　Within this temple, the most dangerous known elements are the fragments of the temple's consciousness.

　No matter how careful we are in preventing those fragments of temple consciousness, it is absolutely necessary.

　Dark encountered a fragment of the temple's consciousness when he first entered the temple. At that time, he summoned the "Demon God? Abyss Walker", which caused the aura of the "Divine Abomination" to leak out, attracting an attack from the fragment of the temple's consciousness.

　He couldn't be sure whether the fragment of temple consciousness that attacked him had been destroyed, nor could he know whether there was something like a "collective consciousness" or a "consciousness network" among those fragments of temple consciousness. Therefore, he could only take precautions based on the premise that the existence of the "divine abomination" had been exposed.