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

　The essence of a simulated duel game is still "game", not "duel".

　Dark's initial purpose in creating simulated duels was simply to start a business—to make money.

　So, being a businessman, he directly stated the rewards that "All-People Duel Club" could promise, and then let Pandora consider it herself.

　However, after listening to this, Pandora was clearly somewhat tempted.

　But it wasn't what Dak had imagined.

　Pandora's interest had nothing to do with the rewards.

　After thinking it over, she said, "Is Claire Kate also part of your company?"

　Dark nodded and said, "Yes, she is currently the head of the All-People Duel Club."

　Pandora's eyes brightened, and she immediately said, "Then could you use her connections to do me a favor?"

　Dark asked, "What is it?"

　Pandora said, “In fact, my mother had trouble getting a professorship at the college; she needed a guarantor. A guarantor who was qualified to get the college to approve her.”

　Dark asked in confusion, "Aunt Hephaestus? I remember she was applying for a professorship in Warcraft Studies?"

　Pandora nodded and said, "Yes. The first year is still lacking a trainee professor who can teach 'Warcraft Studies' in extracurricular classes."

　"Like Professor Nini?" Dark asked thoughtfully.

　Pandora said, "Anyway, if you can help my mother get into the academy and become a professor, I'll consider it a huge favor I owe you. Not to mention this exhibition match, I can even take on advertising endorsements later. You know, I'm quite popular."

　It's more than just good...

　Darke chuckled, “While I’d love to settle this right away, Aunt Claire needs to investigate the actual situation before making a decision. But I don’t think there’ll be any major problems.”

　Pandora was visibly happy: "I hope so. I've been worried about this lately, but thankfully you're here."

　Dark shook his head: "You could have come to me sooner."

　Pandora, unusually shy, said, "I just haven't figured out what to offer in exchange."

　……

　"By the way, senior, how's your relationship with Winnie?" Dark asked after thinking for a moment.

　“Winnie Skadi?” Pandora asked, puzzled.

　Dark nodded and said, "Yes, we would like to invite her to be your opponent."

　"You're really greedy," Pandora said, somewhat displeased. "Aren't I enough for you?"

　Dark quickly replied, "How can you say that? A duel naturally requires two competitors."

　“Of course I know, but aren’t there two people here?” Pandora raised her hand and pointed to herself and Dark.

　Dark said helplessly, "But our strengths are not equal."

　Pandora blinked and said, "So in your eyes, Winnie and I are equal in strength?"

　“No,” Dark quickly said, “I mean, perhaps in the eyes of the audience, your pairings are quite similar. Besides, we already have a boys’ group, so we need another girls’ group.”

　"The boys' group?" Pandora frowned slightly. "Who are they?"

　Dark said, "Witt and Robert... are the 'Son of the Hero' and his henchmen."

　“Oh,” Pandora said listlessly, “Winnie it is. But I don’t know her well.”

　Dark said with some regret, "There's nothing I can do but figure it out myself."

　“No,” Pandora suddenly said, for some reason, “I can try.”

　Dark asked in surprise, "Really?"

　Pandora said seriously, "After all, our deal is not equal. I always have to give more."

　Dark: "It's not that serious..."

　Pandora shook her head and said, "Didn't you just learn alchemy? This is equivalent exchange."

　Knowing he couldn't resist, Dak could only accept it.

　……

　The two had a very smooth conversation and agreed to meet at the Fantastic Beasts Society on Wednesday afternoon for final discussions.

　Dak then hurried to Clare's teachers' dormitory again.

　This time, they were lucky; Claire was reading a book on the balcony.

　He briefly recounted the job-hunting difficulties faced by Pandora's mother, Hephaestus Doragon, and Claire agreed after a moment's hesitation.

　“Hephaestus is a convicted criminal, so it’s normal for him to need someone to vouch for him. Leave it to me,” Claire said.

　"Then there's no problem." Dark breathed a sigh of relief.

　He doesn't actually like this kind of thing very much.

　But there are some things you have to do even if you don't like them.

　Fortunately, the result pointed to the ideal state.

　However, nothing is set in stone until Wednesday's meeting and discussion.

　His main job as an intermediary is to bring the two sides together. He doesn't participate in the specific discussions at the time.

　“I hope everything goes well,” Dark said.

　"It will go smoothly." Claire sat up from the recliner and walked towards the bedroom.

　Dark asked, "Are you going out?"

　Claire chuckled, "Didn't you arrange to meet Sylph tonight? I also need to speak with her. She was in charge of Hephaestus's inauguration, wasn't she?"

　Dark thought for a moment and said, "That's true."

　Claire then gestured and went into the bedroom.

　When she came out again, she had changed into her travel clothes.

　The two left the teachers' dormitory, went to the cafeteria for dinner, and then enjoyed the breeze at the castle window before arriving at the Magical Creatures Club's classroom.

　Three minutes later, Professor Sylph appeared as if she had foreseen the future, transforming into a gust of wind.

　"Claire, you're here too?" Professor Sylph asked, slightly surprised.

　Claire smiled and said, "Yes, Professor. There are some things we need to discuss."

　“Perfect timing,” Professor Sylph said with a smile. “I also have something to discuss with you.”

　Claire guessed, "Is it about monsters?"

　Professor Sylph smiled serenely: "You already knew?"

　Claire pointed behind her and laughed, "I haven't had a chance to go see the little bear eavesdropping behind that door yet."

　Professor Sylph glanced in that direction and said, "This matter isn't a huge deal, but it's not insignificant either. We can't just ignore it. It might still be in its early stages, but if we let it fester, the chances of something unexpected happening will increase dramatically. We need to organize an exploration team as soon as possible to find out the truth. The dungeon might really be experiencing unforeseen changes."

　Claire cuts to the heart of the matter: "Who will lead the team?"

　Sylph said, "I will lead the team myself."

　……

　Dak listened as he poured tea for the two elders.

　Professor Sylph took this matter very seriously, which was in line with his expectations.

　From the very beginning, we dispatched the highest-level team to launch a devastating attack on the intelligent monsters in the dungeon, determined to nip the danger in the bud with overwhelming force!

　Even if a god were to awaken in the dungeon, it wouldn't necessarily prevent a challenge from being launched.

　The path of magic is, in essence, a path to godhood!

　"Professor, may I come along?"

　"Dark said in a moment of silence."

　Professor Sylph took a sip of tea, then looked up at him. "You're not attending the opening ceremony of the Silver Cup?"

　"We're leaving this week?" Dark asked in surprise.

　Claire frowned slightly and said, "It's a bit early. If what happened in the dungeon is truly far-reaching, we need to prepare more."

　Professor Sylph said slowly, "There's no time to lose."

　Claire shook her head and said, "It's better to be prepared than not."

　Dark took a deep breath, sat down, and said, "Let's prepare more. Although there's no evidence, I always feel that the reason those demons can develop consciousness and intelligence might be related to gods?"

　Professor Sylph listened to him, but she wasn't surprised: "Isn't that even more exciting?"

　Dark suggested, "The week after next?"

　Professor Sylph smiled and said, "Then the time will be determined later."

　Dak breathed a sigh of relief; he really wanted to go along.

　It has been a month since the start of the semester, but he has made absolutely no progress in his research on "the great sin".

　Improvements to "The Great Sin IV" are also a long way off.

　No clue at all.

　He had an idea, but he didn't know if it was right.

　"Grand Sin IV" may have already involved the realm of God!

　The demonic rune that originated from the murals in the temple was itself a divine creation.

　Perhaps the "gods" in the dungeon can bring him a breakthrough!

　Moreover, since Professor Sylph is leading the team this time, with Claire accompanying them, the danger of venturing deep into the dungeon will undoubtedly be minimized.

　If I can't get a ride this time, it might be hard to find the same opportunity again.

　But Professor Sylph did not agree immediately.

　……

　Fortunately, Professor Sylph did not explicitly refuse.

　From the professor's perspective, it was impossible for her to allow a second-year student to join an exploration team of this caliber.

　However, Dark's research on the intelligence of magical spirits is highly relevant to this incident.

　Even Professor Sylph had to admit that they might really need him.

　However, the exploration team is still in the preparation stage, and the personnel have not even been fully assembled yet, so there is indeed no need to rush.

　There are indeed many capable professors at St. Marian Academy, but not everyone is good at combat.

　Even those skilled in combat can be categorized into those who are good at moving and those who are not.

　Moreover, although the matter was not obvious at the beginning, it was easy to deduce the depth of the situation later on.

　If word gets out, it won't be good for St. Mary's College.

　Therefore, we need to be very careful in selecting personnel.

　Professor Sylph has only confirmed the presence of two people so far: Claire and Professor Pava Jones, whom she recently recruited.

　Even Professor Cazell is only on the shortlist for now.

　……

　"Oh, right, this is a 'Suppression Lock' that Kazel hastily made. Take it and put it on that monster."

　Professor Sylph took out a pair of jade rings, no bigger than bracelets, and handed them to Dark.

　Dak took the jade ring and examined it carefully.

　The pair of jade rings, named "Locks of Suppression," are almost flawless in appearance, with a hint of green in their white color.

　However, on the inside of the jade ring, there are complex circuits engraved, resembling a circuit board.

　One can see that there is a "lock" character on the inside of one of the jade rings.

　The other jade ring has the character "制" (made) engraved on its inner side.

　“The ‘lock’ is a restraint, and the ‘control’ is a key,” Professor Sylph explained. “Once it’s put on, simply injecting magic will make it a brand, firmly attached to the skin. As long as the person wearing the key has more magic than the person wearing the restraint, they can suppress them in every way.”