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

　In other words, he translated the book in just five or six hours.

　He then spent another hour recording all the important information in his notebook.

　After that, he decided to give the Necronomicon to Professor Cazell.

　He couldn't possibly send the book back to the library.

　……

　the next morning.

　Dak slept until exactly 10 o'clock before finally getting up and washing up.

　Translating the Necronomicon took a lot of his energy, and he still feels slightly tired when he gets up.

　"It's a pity, but we have to find another way."

　Dark put the Necronomicon into his bag and then spoke to the Foxmon.

　"However, having dealt with its weakness, I now have a relatively concrete plan for how you acquire 'Shikigami'. Don't worry."

　"Demon Fox Beast" is perfectly acceptable.

　Dark then added, "I have another duel this afternoon. After the duel, we'll begin the experiment. Hopefully, it will go smoothly."

　……

　Half an hour later, Dark appeared in Professor Cazell's dormitory.

　Professor Cazell was slightly surprised by his sudden visit, but still gave him a very warm welcome.

　His expression turned serious only after Dak took out the Necronomicon.

　"The Necronomicon of the 'Corpse-Stitching Demon'?"

　Professor Cazell clearly recognized the Luling script; he understood its contents after only two minutes of reading.

　“The book says it’s ‘corpse spirit,’” Dark corrected.

　Professor Kazel then said, "That was the initial name. Rune Ragnar was an exceptionally gifted necromancer. He was only twelve years old when he wrote this book, and he was entirely self-taught. He grew rapidly afterward, and shortly after his sixteenth birthday, he wrote a new *Necronomicon*. In that book, he not only stitched together souls but also bodies, ultimately attempting to merge the two, and succeeded. It was after that that he renamed 'Corpse Soul' to 'Corpse-Stitching Demon'!"

　“Rune Ragnar?” Dark asked, and Professor Kazel replied, “Yes, Rune Ragnar. And it was alive a few years ago, as a ‘lich.’”

　Dark was momentarily stunned: "So what now?"

　Professor Cazell shook his head and said, "It's probably still alive, isn't it? I haven't seen it in a long time."

　A "lich" that has lived for a thousand years!

　Dak was completely taken aback that Professor Cazell knew the author of the book, and he couldn't help but ask, "Where is it now?"

　Professor Cazell continued to shake his head: "I don't know. A cunning rabbit has three burrows; Ragnar never stays in one place for more than a year."

　……

　After leaving the Necronomicon with Professor Cazell, Dark left the faculty dormitory.

　There are indeed too many mysteries in this world. A necromancer like Rune Ragnar, who has survived for thousands of years, is just an insignificant link among many mysteries.

　The life form of "lich" is not as wonderful as imagined.

　In their quest for immortality, they have abandoned all that makes them human, and struggle daily in pain and madness.

　In fact, they died the moment they transformed into "liches".

　They simply transformed themselves into undead creatures.

　……

　Rune Ragnar is a pure academic necromancer who exhausts everything in his pursuit of the mystery between life and death.

　But a thousand years seems insufficient for him to see through life and death.

　When it truly discovers the secrets of life and death, that may be the time it ends its own life.

　……

　Dark heard some stories about Rune Ragnar from Professor Cazell, but after a brief moment of reflection, he forgot about them.

　Necronomicon and Rune Ragnar were merely minor episodes in his academic career.

　The knowledge he gained from the Necronomicon might come in handy at some point in the future, or it might not; no one can predict what will happen next.

　Afterwards, he went to the cafeteria, ate lunch, and then returned to his dormitory.

　Today is Friday, November 29th.

　He will face Stuart Fern's challenge around 2 p.m.!

　Stuart Fowne is now a fourth-year student at the House of Lords.

　However, he was not actually a formal nobleman.

　His father was a meritorious baron, but that baronial title was earned through military achievements and was not hereditary.

　If Stuart Fowne wants to continue to enjoy the privileges of nobility after he comes of age, he can only rely on his own efforts to become a newly ennobled.

　In order to achieve his goal, he chose to join the Society for the Study of Aristocratic History and became Angus Jeffrey's henchman.

　During the Easter Duel Festival on April 1st, Stuart Fern attacked Dark for this reason, but was ultimately defeated by Dark.

　Now, eight months later, he has made a comeback for the same reason.

　Although Angus Jeffrey was no longer the president of the Society for the Study of Aristocratic History, he was still the son of a senator.

　If Stuart Fern can graduate from St. Marian College as an honor student, Angus Jeffrey can secure him a baronial title.

　Stuart Fowne didn't have much ambition; becoming a formal nobleman was all he could achieve.

　Even so, the desire to win in a duel is very real!

　He longed for victory!

　……

　[11k, not bad. Keep it up today, aiming for 20k!]

Chapter 688 Request for Further Subscriptions: Darkdemon Doesn't Discuss Victory or Defeat

　This isn't the first time Dark Dimon has faced off against upperclassmen in a duel.

　Anyone who has paid attention to him will no longer regard him as a normal second-year student.

　This was especially evident after he defeated Fern Morse of the fifth-year Fools' House in the last duel.

　While Fern Morse wasn't a top student in the fifth grade, he was certainly no pushover either.

　With Fern Morse's failure as a precedent, fourth and fifth graders had far fewer concerns about challenging Dark.

　"Since even Fern Morse lost, isn't it normal that we're no match for him?"

　In short, the pressure that upperclassmen had to bear when challenging lowerclassmen was instantly reduced to an acceptable level.

　This is one of the reasons why Dark received so many challenge letters this Tuesday.

　Since there's no real loss in losing, and winning would earn him the title of "Dark Dimon's Winning Streak Ender," more and more people wanted to duel him.

　Dac welcomes this trend.

　And honestly, it felt pretty good to choose an opponent from among so many challengers.

　However, in the past two weeks, he has been able to find opponents he had defeated in the past among the challengers. Dark is very understanding and always thinks of giving these old opponents a chance to avenge their defeats when they encounter such situations.

　Therefore, he accepted the challenge from Stuart Fern and also from Angus Jeffrey.

　Speaking of Angus Jeffrey, the former president of the Noble History Research Society, he was able to regain his courage after being possessed by the "Netherworld Fire," and his resilience was much stronger than Dark had imagined.

　"I wonder how he views the last duel?"

　Dark arrived at the open-air duel arena ahead of time and waited in the contestants' waiting room.

　In my spare time, I began to ponder.

　After that duel, Angus Jeffrey's memories of "Netherfire" should have been erased.

　But the memories of that time should create a huge void in his mind.

　Moreover, what has already happened will not disappear.

　After his investigation, it shouldn't be difficult for him to reconstruct what happened at that time.

　I just don't know if it can be associated with "Netherworld Fire"?

　……

　Hey, Dark.

　Stuart Fountain entered the players' waiting room and greeted Darke upon seeing him.

　Dak looked up slightly and immediately recognized the appearance of the fourth-year student.

　Stuart Fowne has delicate features, a center-parted hairstyle, long brown hair, deep black eyes, and fair but slightly rough skin. Her overall demeanor remains as melancholic as ever.

　But failure helps us grow.

　After his crushing defeat at the Easter Duel Festival, Stuart Fowle's attitude towards people and things changed noticeably.

　Although the outward appearance remains the same, the inner self has become much more tactful.

　"Good afternoon, Senior Fu En."

　Dak stood up and greeted the senior student.

　Stuart Fern said with a hint of nostalgia, "The last time we fought was at the Easter Duel Festival. I didn't expect you to accept my challenge."

　I remember during the Easter Duel Festival, he was unhappy that Dark, a first-year student, squeezed into the stage of the third-year students.

　Dark is only in second grade, but even fifth graders can't handle him.

　He had been keeping an eye on Dark since the Easter Duel Festival and knew everything about his changes at each stage.

　Then he suddenly realized that some people are born to transcend social classes.

　His "class fastidiousness" was exposed through continued observation.

　Now I finally feel like a normal person.

　……

　In response to Stuart Fern's感慨 (sentiments/reflections), Darke laughed and said, "On the road ahead, it's a race of chasing and surpassing each other. Facing past rivals is a better way to verify how fast you're progressing."

　He welcomes any open duel challenge as long as it's not a case of sabotage behind the scenes.

　Stelter Fowle's lips twitched into a sinister smile as he said, "That's what I think too."

　The atmosphere between the two sides instantly became tense.

　"You two," a staff member from the dueling club poked his head in from the doorway and called out, "It's time to go on stage!"

　Dark Dimon and Stuart Fowle then walked out of the contestants' waiting room and headed toward the designated stage for the duel.

　The previous duel had just ended, and the echoes of applause had not yet faded.

　After a while, many spectators suddenly realized that Darko Dimon had already stepped onto the contestant's platform!

　Darko Dimon's popularity has skyrocketed due to his frequent victories against upperclassmen while still in second grade. He has now become a true star player.

　Therefore, as soon as he stepped onto the stage, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

　Conversely, while Stuart Fountain is quite strong, his past personality is not appealing, and he has very few fans.

　The popularity of the two sides presents a huge contrast, almost overwhelmingly so.

　But Stuart Fern was not affected by this.

　After stepping onto the blue team's platform, he chuckled and said, "Now that we're here, there's nothing more to say. Between duelists, there's only victory and defeat."

　……

　Annular belt.

　Many people came specifically to watch this duel. But even so, Angus Jeffrey stood out from the crowd.

　He sat in a slightly dark corner, with no other students around him, and his face under the hood looked even more somber than Stuart Fern's.

　He didn't expect Stuart Fern to win; in fact, his mind was in complete turmoil, and he didn't even know what he needed.