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

　Being the "son of a hero" and being at the "center of the incident" seems like a perfectly normal thing.

　Furthermore, Witt's performance at the Halloween event was actually quite good, and he successfully joined the Duel Club this time. Compared to the average student, he is already very impressive.

　Most people simply reduced their attention to him and did nothing else.

　David Leonard was initially excited about facing Vittor Gold, boasting that he was about to become a touchstone for the brave.

　It's not shameful to lose.

　But their last duel raised the bar too high!

　Leonard was aware of the situation and knew his own limitations. He knew he could never play the role of "Elsie Kevin," since he only had two second-tier magical spirits, which was about the same as Diana's opponent!

　It would be a great pity if we couldn't let the hero's son fully demonstrate his abilities because of our own low skill level.

　But since things had come to this, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and step onto the dueling stage.

　[Preparation Phase] [30 seconds]

　A countdown timer for the "Preparation Phase" appeared on the card table panel. Two people, both lacking confidence, drew cards simultaneously.

　After drawing his first five cards, Witt quickly glanced at them.

　[Giant!]

　He suddenly felt happy.

　Starting with [Troll] is a very common occurrence in duels.

　After all, it belongs to a popular card series.

　With an attack of 1500 and a defense of 1400, it ranks among the top three-star magical spirits.

　Therefore, at the start of the [Battle Phase], Witt immediately summoned the [Giant]!

　A colossal monster, as massive as a hill, roared as it made its grand entrance—aside from its ugliness, it really had nothing special about it.

　Major drawback.

　Only the archbishop frowned slightly: "Why a troll?"

　Even if it's not a light-type magic spirit like Gatomon, it shouldn't be a giant monster, right?

　But then, Witt summoned a two-star (two-headed ogre).

　If we absolutely have to categorize it...

　Witt's deck at this time was actually more inclined towards the Dungeon Monsters series.

　That would obviously not suit the aesthetic of an archbishop.

　In contrast, the Paladin Philosopher and Paladin Scholar summoned by David Leonard have distinct characteristics of the Holy Church.

　When the two identical Paladins appear simultaneously, they trigger an aura called "Philosophy." Within the range of the Philosophy aura, the magical spirits of the "Knight" series will receive a magic power bonus of 100 points.

　Among the three stat bonuses, magic power bonus is generally considered to be inferior to attack and defense bonuses.

　However, the magic cards in the [Knight] series are generally very lacking in magic power. With the [Philosophy] aura, this deficiency can be somewhat compensated for.

　Furthermore, David Leonard's "Cavaliers" series is primarily based on aura combinations.

　By stacking different halos, the knights' power is increased more evenly, thus achieving victory in team battles.

　This is roughly David Leonard's tactical system.

　Both 【Holy Knight Philosopher】 and 【Holy Knight Scholar】 are three-star magical spirits, but their stats are different except for defense.

　Both are inferior to Wie Te's "The Troll".

　Therefore, at the beginning of the duel, David Leonard was slightly at a disadvantage.

　But when the second round began, David Leonard summoned [Beast Knight - Wind] and [Beast Knight - Violent], combining...

　The [Storm] aura granted all [Knight] series magical spirits a 100-point attack bonus.

　The situation began to slowly turn around.

　In the third round, David Leonard summoned [Beast Knight ● Wrath].

　The combined [Beast Knight ● Wrath] and [Beast Knight • Berserk] aura, formed by the [Berserk Rage] and [Beast Knight • Violence] effects, grants all [Knight] series [Rage]...

　The Magic Spirit has once again gained an attack bonus of 100 points.

　Thus, this squad of six knights defeated Witt's troll!

　Even though the [Giant] used [Sacrifice Charge], it only took down one [Knight], which was not a big deal.

　Vittor barely managed to stay afloat thanks to the other magical elves.

　By the fifth round, he finally had [Forbidden Love] and [Radiant Python] in his hand.

　The appearance of the Radiant Serpent finally restored some patience to the sullen-faced archbishop.

　After all, it's a light-attribute substance.

　But even the [Giant] was besieged by the "Knights", so the [Radiant Serpent] naturally couldn't hold the fort alone.

　With the help of the wide-range ultimate skill "Holy Light" of the "Radiant Serpent", Vit managed to kill two two-star "Beast Knights" before being surrounded and killed.

　Round 6.

　Witt used the "Forbidden Love" technique to turn "Paladin? Zhe" against him, achieving some success.

　They also managed to survive this round with great difficulty.

　However, since there are no stronger magic cards, even if he survives this round, he cannot see his future.

　I'm just taking it easy!

　His limited resources prevented him from crafting any new magic cards this week.

　Research on the [Holy Sword Curse] is still in its early stages.

　He spent most of his time on his studies, and occasionally on the magical chess game.

　The Knights Academy didn't offer after-school tutoring like Mr. Dark Demon, and the arithmetic tests stumped most minds.

　The brilliant Knight Academy—a year-old student.

　The duel continued until the very end.

　David Leonard glanced at the two four-star magical sprites in his hand and sighed slightly.

　He could have sacrificed himself to summon a four-star magical spirit in the earlier rounds to achieve a crushing victory.

　But in the end he didn't do it.

　Instead, they have fought to this point solely by relying on the combined aura of the first-tier magical spirits.

　He was initially worried that his skill level wasn't high enough to be the touchstone for the Hero's Son, but he never expected the Hero's Son to be so skilled.

　It was lower than he had expected.

　No.

　Perhaps it was Dark Dimon's previous appearance that raised his expectations for the Son of Heroes.

　In fact, Wiete's level is still above average.

　It's just not particularly outstanding.

　After all, they've only been in first grade for half a year, so we can't expect too much.

　Furthermore, I've heard that Brave Bright wasn't a top student during his school days. Perhaps the legacy of heroes, like that of the Fool's Academy, is a case of late-blooming power.

　David Leonard, while making excuses for Witt, easily won the game and secured the victory.

　When the referee blew the whistle, he was declared the winner.

　Scattered applause erupted from the sidelines.

　He suddenly felt a wave of boredom.

　In the audience, the seats where Prince Charles and the archbishop had been sitting were quietly vacated.

　They certainly wouldn't dismiss someone based solely on their performance in a rookie competition.

　However, the previously proposed strategy may need to be adjusted slightly.

　Princess Elizabeth and Valkyrie Alvita, however, did not leave the stage.

　Alvit was very clear about the former hero's character during his student days.

　Therefore, it's nothing new.

　As the saying goes, sons inherit their fathers' traits, and this generation of heroes at least doesn't seem so bad in terms of personality.

　The eldest princess was seriously considering whether to continue vying with the Holy Church for the support of the Hero's Son.

　Alternatively, they could simply shift the faction's focus to the Valkyrie's Child.

　【triple】

Chapter 277 Darkdemon's Moonlit Palace (3k)

　This rookie tournament may not immediately change their minds.

　But it will cause some impact, more or less.

　And often, the final change is due to factors like these, accumulated little by little.

　The reason why the "son of a hero" is valued is not only because of the frequent appearance of various "prophecies" that are either true or false, but also because he has benefited from his father's legacy.

　[Hero] Bright God and [Valkyrie] Alvit Saint Dimon are known as the Kingdom's Twin Swords.

　However, the reputation of the "Hero" among the people is actually higher than that of the "Valkyrie".

　This is partly due to the word "hero" itself being easily spread, and partly because "heroes" ultimately depart by sacrificing themselves.

　Regardless of the era, people will always have more respect for "victims".

　The reason why Arvit's reputation is not as good as Bright's is precisely because she is still alive!

　If the "Son of a Hero" can also become a "Hero," then he will surely inherit the prestige of the previous generation's hero and rise to prominence!

　Therefore, the importance of the "son of a hero" is beyond question.

　At this moment, the "Son of Heroes," despite knowing that defeat was inevitable, still felt extremely disappointed.

　He could sense that the audience had high hopes for him.

　Unfortunately, he was unable to meet those expectations.

　All they could do was grit their teeth and think they would definitely win next time.

　As he stepped off the platform, Witt handed over the baton to the next competitor.

　The contestant was a second-year student. His gaze was not mocking, but full of sympathy.

　It seemed to be a senior from the Knights Academy who patted him on the shoulder and said comfortingly, "Losing to David is not shameful."

　Isn't it shameful?

　It's a matter of opinion; different people will have different views.

　Witt slumped in the common room for a long time until Robert came to his door, at which point he rallied.

　"Didn't Doron and Justin lose too!"

　Robert's way of comforting people was more direct than that of his seniors.

　Witt thought about it carefully and realized that it made sense, so he let it go.

　Darko's victory had a huge impact on him.

　If you set that as your goal, you'll always be unwilling to accept failure as it should be.

　As for what the audience outside the venue thinks, and whether they will make some irrational remarks after their expectations are not met, that doesn't matter much.

　St. Mary's Church will be a protective swaddling cloth for the child, as long as he doesn't read the newspaper.

　Then it won't be affected.

　Following Witt, the match proceeded as scheduled.

　At 10 o'clock, the thirteenth performance saw another student from the same grade take the stage amidst great anticipation.