第803章 助力冲榜 达克·迪蒙·龙系天王 8k
The Poisonous Hand Apothecary, while consuming three secret toxins, used his ultimate skill Detoxification to expel the lethal toxins from his body, causing the surrounding toxins to become dense and induce madness upon contact.
Moreover, the ferocious aura emitted while absorbing the secret toxins made it difficult for anyone to approach.
However, he himself was also exerting great effort, unable to attend to anything else.
Thus, Dak seizes the opportunity to have the Magical Beast: Sun Eevee use Mental Strong Will to steal the nine Thousand Poison Bamboos!
At the same time, while stealing the Thousand Poison Bamboo, it also conveniently destroyed the Resting Grass!
Though the Resting Grass was also a three-star Mana Spirit, its attack and defense were quite ordinary aside from having relatively high mana, making it impossible to withstand the Magical Beast: Sun Eevee’s Mental Strong Will.
Once the Resting Grass was destroyed, the Resting Fragrance that permeated the venue finally lost its source and would no longer be continuously produced.
After the Magical Beast: Sun Eevee dragged the Thousand Poison Bamboo into the Mist Field, the Horus’ Black Flame Dragon lv4 immediately destroyed it—after destroying the second one, it actually upgraded from lv4 to lv6!
At the moment of upgrading to Horus’ Black Flame Dragon lv6, it suddenly waved its claws, destroying all the remaining seven Thousand Poison Bamboos.
However, Thousand Poison Bamboo could only replace two-star mana spirits; it could not allow it to further upgrade to Horus’ Black Flame Dragon lv8.
Horus’ Black Flame Dragon could only undergo a true transformation after upgrading to lv8; although lv6 was already immune to most transformation-type ultimate skills… Well, in fact, it was already quite strong!
It was now situated in the Mist Field, resisting abnormal conditions entirely and could completely trigger Horus’ Left Eye to negate the negative effects of frenzy, maintaining its rationality until leaving the arena.
Even so, the strength of Horus’ Black Flame Dragon lv6 was far from that of a genuine eight-star mana spirit—Charizard.
Therefore, when he saw the aura of the Poisonous Hand Apothecary still rising, he decisively began chanting the sacrificial summoning spell.
“In the name of Dak Demon, sacrifice the six-star Horus’ Black Flame Dragon lv6 and the two-star Fairy Tale Animal: Little Rabbit as offerings to summon the eight-star mana spirit—Charizard!”
…
As the terrifying aura of the Poisonous Hand Apothecary intimidated the entire arena, two beams of white light suddenly shot out from the pink fairy mist.
Dak Demon suddenly raised the magic card high; the projection device on the spellboard magnified the card in his hand, and the image of Charizard had already deeply etched itself in people’s minds even before the summoning.
“This is… a sacrificial summon?”
“An eight-star dragon species!”
“When did he gather the eight-star offerings… that magical spirit named Sun Eevee is clearly still standing there?”
The fog of the Mist Field and the high walls of the Zoo obstructed the view of the spectators outside; they only knew Dak had summoned the three-star Horus’ Black Flame Dragon lv4, but they had not seen it transform into the appearance of Horus’ Black Flame Dragon lv6.
James Gardson on the blue player platform also did not notice this.
Holding the only two remaining magic cards in his hand, he directed all his attention towards the Poisonous Hand Apothecary.
Only when the light of the sacrifice pierced through the mist and shot into the sky did he suddenly realize that the opponent wasn’t just sitting idle while he kept attacking.
But…
“This is how it should be!”
“This is indeed the opponent that requires full efforts to conquer, as stated by the teacher!”
At this moment, James Gardson displayed a fervor rarely seen.
In this rising duel flame, he issued his first command to the Poisonous Hand Apothecary after it absorbed the secret toxins.
“Release the poison!”
“Roar!”
The Poisonous Hand Apothecary suddenly opened its mouth and let out a roar akin to that of a wild beast.
At this point, it stood three to four meters tall, covered in dragon scales, with a pair of wings spread wide, having completely shed its human form.
Yet its hands still bore the pitch-black Poisonous Hands!
As it roared, it suddenly swung its Poisonous Hands towards the Mist Field, and the black toxic mist surrounding it—a blend of the lethal properties from three secret toxins and synthesized poisons—transformed under its control into a poison dragon that pounced towards the Mist Field.
The poisonous mist absorbed even more toxins during its surge, and by the time it entered the Mist Field, it had already grown quite massive.
The Mist Field, which should have had the ability to resist poison, was instead eroded and polluted by this toxic mist, turning pitch black.
…
On the blue player platform.
Dak Demon changed expression, suddenly realizing the Poisonous Hand Apothecary had retrieved a strand of pink mist earlier for a reason.
This left him greatly shocked.
The Poisonous Hand Apothecary had actually unraveled the poison immunity of the Mist Field in such a short amount of time!
“Is it because the Eevee who cast this Mist Field is only a three-star mana spirit?”
Dak’s thoughts shifted as he infused his last bit of mana.
A gigantic fire dragon manifested from the sacrificial summoning array, letting out a fierce roar towards the Poisonous Hand Apothecary.
Even without activated intelligence, Charizard still exhibited an indescribable brutality.
Precisely the opposite of the nearly-manic Poisonous Hand Apothecary.
“Boom!”
The massive body of Charizard fell from the air, shaking the Zoo’s structures apart.
The fairy mist released by the Mist Field was significantly dispersed.
Its skin was fully exposed to the lingering lethal toxins in the arena; its mana continued to drop, but not as much as one might imagine.
Clearly, this lethal poison was exceedingly limited in its effectiveness in front of third-tier mana spirits.
Dak realized this and immediately issued a command: “Charizard, Solar Power!”
“Roar—”
Charizard raised its long neck, letting out an enraged roar, its relatively small dragon claws spread out as if to exert its full strength.
A ray of golden-red light fell from the sky, which it quickly absorbed.
Its body ignited with scorching flames—this was Solar Fire!
“Boom!”
Suddenly, a massive explosion resonated, as a golden sphere, resembling the sun, was forcibly squeezed out of the space above the arena.
The Solar Fire blazing on Charizard intensified in that instant.
The Magical Beast: Sun Eevee’s Future Sight was finally activated.
The golden sphere exploded instantly, releasing blade-like beams of light towards the battlefield’s only enemy—the Poisonous Hand Apothecary.
Though the Future Sight dealt little direct damage to the Poisonous Hand Apothecary, its psychic ability negated the poisonous mist surrounding it, leading to a significant reduction of toxins in the venue.
“Bottom Power!”
Magical Beast: Sun Eevee slightly raised its head, its gaze concentrated.
“Tick.”
The third round abruptly ended.
At the beginning of the fourth round, both sides reflexively drew two new magic cards.
Yet their commands to the mana spirits remained uninterrupted.
After activating Solar Fire, Charizard’s attack value surged to 6000 points.
The cost was a mana depletion of 10 points per second.
Before it was affected by the poisonous mist, the toxic essence remaining in the air also wore down the mana at a bit over ten points per second.
It had 4000 points of mana, meaning it could last about 200 seconds without extra consumption, which equates to roughly six rounds.
Six rounds was enough to secure victory!
“Charizard, Purgatory Vortex!”
Dak commanded, pointing forward with a stern voice.
Charizard raised its head slightly and gathered high-temperature flames at a rapid pace, then suddenly blasted out!
Its colossal body, even the flames it spewed, were ten times thicker than a regular Charizard.
The fiery pillar pierced the arena, igniting the Zoo’s structures in its path and directly struck the Poisonous Hand Apothecary, who had just entered the Mist Field!
Once deemed unstoppable by the spectators, the Poisonous Hand Apothecary was unexpectedly enveloped by the fiery vortex within the blink of an eye, its scorching flames rampaging around it, transforming into a boiling sea of fire, generating a binding force that firmly trapped it in the center.
Within the flames, the Poisonous Hand Apothecary let out roars, its remaining black mist continuously countering the purgatory flames, slowly melting.
The fairy mist of the Mist Field gradually dissipated amid the ultimate moves from both sides.
Since the Mist Field was based upon the fairy mist, lacking mist meant lacking its field effect.
Unlike the Zoo, even stripped of its structures, the site remained effective.
In the clash of flames and poisonous mist, the entire venue’s mist was swept away to the edges.
Simultaneously, the lingering synthesized toxins within the arena were drawn into the Poisonous Hand Apothecary’s surrounding mist.
The mana consumption of Charizard suddenly slowed down!
“Is the poison gone?”
Dak’s heart fluttered, glancing at the two magic cards in his hand.
Underworld Soul Ring
Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon
“Great!”
There was nothing that guaranteed a draw, yet a truly fortunate duelist could pull the desired magic card at any moment.
Dak abruptly looked up, his gaze fierce towards his opponent.
At that same moment, James Gardson had already drawn one of his new cards, revealing a sly smile—despite being partly obscured by his beard.
The atmosphere of the duel surged higher.
As the two summoned mana spirits in the arena just began to engage in combat, new actions were already underway.
Dak had only three cards left in his hand while James Gardson had four.
However, it was evident that their decks were tightly constructed, with hardly any useless cards.
“Activate, Dragon Secrets!”
“Life Poison, Iron Poison, Death Poison—come forth, Magic Potion Forest!”
With deep mana infused into the magic cards, both duelists shouted in unison, and the two magic cards emitted an intensely dazzling light.
Within the void, dragon might surged.
On the ground, iron trees erupted!
The Poisonous Hand Apothecary’s toxic mist was burned away by the Purgatory Vortex.
But it managed to break free from the whirlpool, its black wings frantically flapping, propelling its muscular dragon-like body out of the fiery vortex!
Charizard charged forward unfazed, retracting and then thrusting one claw engulfed in flames, launching an attack with the force of a Million Ton Heavy Punch.
“Bang!”
The collision between the flames and poisons sent twin explosions echoing.
The two mana spirits’ fists collided fiercely.
Charizard’s attack slightly surpassed, yet its defense was lower.
Meanwhile, the Poisonous Hand Apothecary had greater endurance; even when at a disadvantage in power, its high defense kept it intact.
Next, both sides fearlessly unleashed their second and third punches.
The power of their punches collided, dissipating, and exploding as flames and poison ejected everywhere.
In just a few seconds, they had exchanged blows several times without distinguishing a winner!
“Boom!”
At that moment, the earth trembled abruptly as black iron trees burrowed up from the surface, emerging suddenly.
James Gardson swayed slightly, the vast mana sustaining the Field Card leaving him momentarily drained.
But now he could take pride in his Magic Potion Forest, finally revealing itself on the stage of this duel!
Dozens of black iron trees rose from the ground, forming a field of iron within the blue side.
Each black iron tree exuded thick medicinal flavors, causing dizziness upon numerous mingled scents.
In the red side, the form of Poison Baby transitioned into mana, gradually disappearing.
An enormous magic circle, aflame, appeared where it had vanished.
A dragon of darkness and gold-red, swirling with immense magical energy, exhibited horrifying ferocity.
“Fiery Flash of the Dragon!”
Dak commanded suddenly.
The raging magical dragon abruptly spread its wings wide, and energy swiftly pooled in its mouth, sending forth scorching dragon breath.
The target was that extraordinarily peculiar forest of iron!
Dak’s gaze was cautioned as he quickly analyzed the potential effects of the Magic Potion Forest.
Though James Gardson was astonished by Dak’s sudden summoning of a seven-star mana spirit, controlling the Magic Potion Forest proved excessively difficult and prevented him from being distracted, forcing him to concentrate solely on controlling it.
Two iron trees suddenly burst forth from the ground.
As the black bark flipped outward like petals, the two trees unveiled their cores—two glass vessels filled with potions!
Red and green potions shot from the vessel openings, swirling in the air to become a sphere, then suddenly exploded!
Under James Gardson’s full control, these two potions morphed into a red-green serpent and aggressively rushed toward the Fiery Flash of the Dragon emitted by the Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon!
…
Professor Steve triumphantly declared, “James Gardson’s Magic Potion Forest harbors dozens of base potions; these potions react and combine to create even more synthesized potions, capable of countering any situation.”
However, no sooner had his voice fallen than the potion serpent, which was supposed to possess Fire Eating Bonds, was easily extinguished by the Fiery Flash of the Dragon, rendering the potion ineffective.
“Demon Break Power!” Professor Steve’s expression suddenly changed.
James Gardson gritted his teeth.
The fire with Demon Break Power was precisely the nemesis to the Magic Potion Forest.
In the blink of an eye, the Fiery Flash of the Dragon extinguished the red-green dragon, melting the iron wood it enveloped.
Several black iron trees were thus destroyed, the glass vessels inside them shattered, splashing potions onto the ground, continuing to evaporate under the flame.
James Gardson still held one Thousand Poison Bamboo Seed, capable of absorbing the energy-rich potions or grass-type energy to develop special Thousand Poison Bamboos.
Still, with the dragon’s passage leaving no remnants, he could only clench his teeth and endure.
“This fire breath ultimate skill with Demon Break Power can’t be unleashed continuously; I still have enough potions to utilize.”
However, before he could complete the thought, the Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon shot its head back, concentrating hot dragon breath once more…
“No cooldown?” James Gardson’s complexion turned pale, but then he suddenly slapped the spellboard; mana surged.
All the iron trees in the Magic Potion Forest flipped their bark open under his control, revealing numerous glass vessels standing upright.
Countless magic potions erupted from these vessels, forming three torrents in the air.
“Roar!”
The Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon’s second blast of dragon breath emitted out.
Among its closest targets, one surge of potions was immediately consumed by the fire, turning the ground into a fog.
But in the farthest corner, the seed of Thousand Poison Bamboo had quietly fallen into one of the vessels.
The remaining two torrents of potions split to either side, with one rushing towards the Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon, and the other continuing to agglomerate into a sphere, still in a state of reaction.
Dak raised his head suddenly, sensing the dangerous aura radiating from the gathering mass of potions.
Without hesitation, he ordered the Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon to charge!
The Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon closed its mouth, two streams of dragon breath oozing from its corners.
“Roar!”
The roar of the Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon echoed through the skies, torrents of golden lava on its surface emitting waves of heat.
With a flap of its wings, it suddenly accelerated, crashing into the torrent of potions rushing towards it.
With no hint of hesitation or retreat, it bulldozed through!
Despite its mana decreasing as various corrosion marks appeared on its form.
The colossal body still surged through the hindrance of the potion torrent, heading towards the rapidly reacting spherical potions.
Splitting its focus, Dak suddenly spoke to Charizard: “Charizard, Dragon Dance!”
“Roar!”
Although Charizard had the advantage in its fierce struggle against the Poisonous Hand Apothecary, the poison marks on its body were becoming increasingly severe, threatening a draw over extended combat.
Yet its spirit did not waver; instead, it became more invigorated—its furious momentum finally peaked, maximizing the effects of the Dragon Dance, increasing both attack and speed to their utmost limits by 50%!
Combined with Solar Power, its attack soared to an astonishing 8000 points at this moment!
Considering the defense and remaining mana of the Poisonous Hand Apothecary, if it were hit unguarded… it faced instant demise!
After the speed enhancement, Charizard’s movement became astonishingly fast; it could ensure the next strike wouldn’t be countered by the Poisonous Hand Apothecary’s attacks.
Thus, the next instant, it suddenly stomped the ground, the ten-meter-tall gigantic body vanishing abruptly.
When the Poisonous Hand Apothecary attempted to block, it appeared like a phantom behind it and then unleashed a full-force strike infused with the power of Dragon Dance!
“Splurt!”
Charizard’s devastating punch entirely pierced through the Poisonous Hand Apothecary’s back defense, creating a fist-sized gash in its upper body—splitting it in half!
…
“Tick.”
The sound of the round switch faded into the tumultuous offense.
James Gardson hastily drew cards, transitioning from three to five.
Yet he did not panic; he understood his deck intimately, confident that the next card drawn would surely be useful—he drew a second Poisonous Hand Apothecary!
Aside from the three Poisonous Hand Apothecaries, his deck also included three Toxic Emperor Eggs, mana spirits named thus.
These three Toxic Emperor Eggs, much like Dak’s Primordial Dragon Egg, could hatch into various grades of poisons based on the toxins infused into them.
At best, they could hatch into nine-star mana spirits!
With Magic Potion Forest aiding him, he could indeed hatch three Toxic Emperor Eggs all at once.
However, his deck lacked means to pull the desired cards out; acquiring Toxic Emperor Eggs depended solely on time and card luck.
Yet for him to draw a second Poisonous Hand Apothecary at this critical moment was already commendable.
James Gardson immediately sacrificed three Thousand Poison Bamboos to summon Poisonous Hand Apothecary.
In that exact moment, the Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon lunged toward the spherical potions—Fiery Flash of the Dragon!
“Boom!”
Scorching flames poured into the giant potion sphere, vaporizing the surface potions with intense heat, utterly obliterating the terrifying toxicity.
The impending crisis dissolving into nothingness.
However, James Gardson was prepared for both scenarios.
The other potion torrent collided directly with the Poisonous Hand Apothecary just summoned, careening toward it!
The Poisonous Hand Apothecary opened its mouth and absorbed the massive potion torrent like a dragon drinking water.
Its belly swelled into a giant sphere, quickly flattening.
As it digested all the potion essence, the signs of aging vanished, and its previously stout form stretched into a leaner physique.
It transformed not into the dragon-person monster but rather into a striking young man.
Though this youth’s aura was not as strong as that of its previous dragon form, the sly smile on his face projected a much greater danger.
Dak felt a profound unease, glancing at the two magic cards he had in hand.
Magical Beast: Eevee
Mewtwo
His face lit up with delight; he could summon Magical Beast: Eevee!
While Mewtwo was also a suitable counter to poison-type ultimate skills, its seven-star level made it challenging to summon.
However, the presence of Magical Beast: Eevee would allow him to immediately exchange for the desired mana spirit.
Moreover, he still had a mana spirit card in hand—Magical Beast: Ditto!
This time, he would decisively defeat this sixth-year senior using three third-tier mana spirits head-on!
…
“In the name of Dak Demon, Mana Summon—Magical Beast: Eevee!”
When the second Magical Beast: Eevee appeared in Dak Demon’s red summons area, James Gardson hadn’t felt anything unusual.
However, when Dak followed up with the summoning of Magical Beast: Ditto, he felt prickles on his scalp.
Thus, without hesitation, he retrieved one card from the four remaining in his hand and quickly summoned: “In the name of James Gardson, Mana Summon—Poison Rain Spell!”
This Poison Rain Spell could swiftly summon a toxic rain, continually increasing the poison energy within the battlefield, aiding the hatching of the Toxic Emperor Eggs and further empowering the Poisonous Hand Apothecary!
The failure of the first Poisonous Hand Apothecary caused James Gardson to realize just how difficult Dak Demon was.
Now, his only remaining mana spirit in battle was the Poisonous Hand Apothecary, while Dak still had Charizard and Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon… And where had those third-tier mana spirits come from that had never appeared in his deck before?
James Gardson’s brow twitched; he had indeed done his research on Dak’s background beforehand—although that information was specially provided by his teacher, he still gained insight into Dak Demon’s deck and basic tactics.
Nonetheless, thus far in this duel, he felt that the person standing on the opposite platform was utterly different from what was written in the records.
The disparity was monumental.
“In just a brief break, he produced so many high-star mana spirits… or had he hidden them before, only bringing them out now to engage?”
“If that’s the case, perhaps I should feel fortunate?”
James Gardson smirked, suddenly shouting out loud.
“Let the storm come more violently!”
Dark clouds rapidly gathered as wild toxic rain poured down, striking Charizard and Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon first.
The water and poison magic made it rather uncomfortable for the fire-type spirits.
Charizard shrieked angrily at the sky.
Meanwhile, the toxicity of the rain fortified the Poisonous Hand Apothecary, which stood in the higher skies, perfectly safe, continually absorbing toxins to further strengthen itself.
Conversely, both Magical Beast: Eevee and Magical Beast: Ditto, summoned in the red zone, cleverly hid in the remnants of the Zoo structures, evading the toxic rain.
Otherwise, being just three-star spirits, they wouldn’t endure such torrential poison.
As for the magic ball, it remained unaffected by the toxic rain.
Dak didn’t rush to order Charizard and Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon to attack the Magical Ball from James Gardson.
He clearly directed different commands to Magical Beast: Eevee and Magical Beast: Ditto.
First, Magical Beast: Ditto immediately executed its ultimate skill—Transform, morphing into Magical Beast: Eevee right then.
Then both Magical Beasts: Eevee used Tag Team!
With the effects of their ultimate skills allowing them to return to their magic cards, two new spirits were summoned from their deck!
——Primordial Dragon Egg!
——Magical Beast: Fusion Spell Creature: Dragon!
…
“Poisonous Hand Apothecary!”
James Gardson drew another magic card loudly.
“In the name of James Gardson, Mana Summon—Secret of Poison!”
Still a spell card.
However, the card named Secret of Poison was a generic spell that senior students could learn in class.
Utilizing Secret of Poison would enhance a mana spirit’s certain poison ultimate skill to a qualitatively different level.
Some of the poison skills particularly tied to this spell could be elevated to heights previously unattainable—almost transforming into a new ultimate skill.
And Poisonous Hand Apothecary’s core skill—Poisonous Hand—was one such highly compatible skill.
James Gardson originally intended to reserve this Secret of Poison for the mana spirits hatched from the Toxic Emperor Eggs, but feeling the urgency of the moment, he promptly chose to use it ahead of time.
Empowered under Secret of Poison, the Poisonous Hand Apothecary raised its right hand amidst the rain, suddenly grasping, and immediately the downpour converged into its palm, forming a horrific vortex in the sky.
Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon looked up in fervor, directing a fiery dragon breath towards that vortex.
Yet, the water energy weakened its power, and the vortex remained unshattered.
A massive hand radiating a sense of obliteration slowly emerged from that vortex.
Even standing ten meters tall, Charizard appeared no larger than a speck of dust before that colossal hand.
James Gardson stood on the blue platform, his tone foreboding, “This hand of mine shall be named—Ten Thousand Poisons Extinction!”
“Where do these fantastical characters arise…” Dak Demon’s mumble was amplified by the sound system, nearly making him falter.
Dak quickly retorted: “Charizard, Primordial Power! Flame Conqueror, Fiery Flash of the Dragon!”
Both fire-type dragon spirits charged toward the black shadow of the massive toxic hand, unleashing their ultimate skills with full force.
The Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon’s fiery dragon breath pierced the sky once more.
Charizard unleashed its primordial power, using rock energy to gather enormous boulders that exploded upwards toward the sky.
From within the Zoo’s structures echoing a dragon’s roar, the Baby Blue-Eye Dragon successfully hatched from its egg.
Dak Demon didn’t hesitate as he infused mana, chanting: “Sacrificial summon—sacrifice the two-star Magical Beast: Fusion Spell Creature: Dragon and the Baby Blue-Eye Dragon to summon the special fusion dragon—come forth, Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon!”
The sky ruptured, pure white light descending like a pillar, ascending the imposing dragon might.
The two-headed Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon appeared majestically on the duel stage amid the grand dragon might.
The audience erupted into a wave of cheers both inside and outside the arena.
……
……
The author experienced technical difficulties with the back end of the system and couldn’t access the website. Aside from the scheduled releases, all updates were stalled. After reporting the issue, they commenced addressing it.
The next chapter aims to continue the duel and hopes to be released early tomorrow.
第804章
“Roar!”
As both dragon heads raised high simultaneously, azure eyes emanated flashes like electric currents.
The appearance of the Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon caused uproars of cheers from the audience, shaking the entire duel hall and raising the atmosphere to its peak.
Though it was merely a young dragon, the might it emanated was palpable, shaking the immense toxic hand.
The Fiery Flash of the Dragon from Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon and Primordial Power from Charizard instantly destroyed the toxic hand.
Yet, the dissipating toxic mist transformed back into rain, pouring down once more.
The Poisonous Hand Apothecary stood suspended in mid-air, its back against the blue mana ball.
It didn’t react much to the destruction of its Ten Thousand Poisons Extinction technique, with an eerie smile still lingering at the edges of its mouth.
Perhaps that smile was too loathsome, as the Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon, just after emerging from the ground, one head shot upwards, and a beam of white light radiating annihilation burst forth, piercing through the form of the Poisonous Hand Apothecary!
With an attack value of 5000 points, against the previous Poisonous Hand Apothecary with 4300 defense, such a result would usually not be achievable.
This indicated that the defense of this second Poisonous Hand Apothecary hadn’t been strengthened to that extent.
Yet it didn’t die immediately; beneath the gaze of thousands, it suddenly melted into a pool of floating toxic liquid!
At that moment, James Gardson raised a finger, commanding the blue mana ball to rush towards the toxic liquid formed by the Poisonous Hand Apothecary.
The toxic liquid even began racing toward the mana ball and rapidly enveloped it, shooting up towards the heavens!
This wasn’t James Gardson’s original strategy, but given the situation, he had to adapt accordingly.
Immediately after executing this plan, he turned his attention back to his deck, placing his fate on the next round.
Battle Phase (6) 28s
“Chase!”
The Charizard engulfed in flames disregarded mana consumption and chased after it.
The Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon, after failing to hit with its second dragon breath, flapped its wings in pursuit.
Meanwhile, the Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon, known for longer range and speed, halted mid-air under Dak’s command, with both dragon heads focusing skyward, ready to release Destructive Rays at a moment’s notice.
James Gardson was multitasking, adding the two newly drawn magic cards to his hand, increasing his hand size from two to four.
Though his previous anxiety was undeniable, it faded quickly upon drawing a Toxic Emperor Egg from his deck.
“It’s not just you with an egg…”
After merely muttering this, James Gardson suddenly raised the Toxic Emperor Egg high, proclaiming, “In the name of James Gardson, Mana Summon—Toxic Emperor Egg!”
Although it was called an “egg”, the true form of the Toxic Emperor Egg was not a tangible “egg”.
Dak was drawn to his voice, instinctively looking towards the blue summon zone.
However, nothing resembling an “egg” appeared to be summoned there.
When he suddenly sensed something was off, the Toxic Emperor Egg had already begun absorbing the concentrated toxins from the surroundings!
—Its true form was merely a minuscule, viscous liquid!
With the light effects diminished, this viscous consistency became exceedingly difficult to spot in the toxic rain.
It appeared precisely where the massive toxic hand had just faded, swiftly absorbing the remaining toxins in the rain.
Within two to three seconds, the egg formed a vortex, sucking in countless toxins.
The vortex rapidly expanded from small to large in an instant.
The Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon raised one dragon head, gathering energy to unleash Destructive Rays, charging for three seconds.
As those three seconds passed, the vortex had already reached a diameter of four to five meters.
Once the white beam shot out, the vortex surprisingly vanished, narrowly evading the stream of destruction!
“Instant Teleportation?” Dak exclaimed with surprise.
Card Name: Toxic Emperor Egg
Type: Spirit Card
Level:✪
Race: Element
Attribute: Poison-type
Mana: 500
Attack: 0
Defense: 0
Ultimate Skills: Toxic Emperor, Shadow Poison Trace
Unlike the Primordial Dragon Egg, the Toxic Emperor Egg only had one star as a mana spirit, with initial values of zero for attack and defense.
However, as it absorbed more toxins, its mana, attack, and defense skyrocketed in a rapid ascent; given sufficient poison elements, those values could exceed a thousand within just two to three seconds.
Yet, this wouldn’t grant the Toxic Emperor Egg any means of self-preservation. Its second ultimate skill, Shadow Poison Trace, served as an escape mechanism allowing instantaneous teleportation within areas rich in toxins.
As long as these downpours continued, it could reappear anywhere within their range, continuing to absorb toxins and grow… evolve!
James Gardson, managing the mana ball, could hardly pull himself away from his attention to the Toxic Emperor Egg, feeling increasing tension building as it began to overflow with energy; he silently recounted stars one, two, three…
Clearly, the Toxic Emperor Egg was leveling up!
The Poison Rain Spell alone wouldn’t elevate its star level much, but throughout this duel, the toxic elements diffusing throughout the arena had become exceedingly concentrated!
Most especially from the destroyed Magic Potion Forest, it provided ample toxic energies for the Toxic Emperor Egg.
As the cooldown for a normal summoning spell elapsed three seconds later, James Gardson immediately activated and summoned a new magic spell—Dragon Poison!
With the abrupt infusion of Dragon Poison, the vortex created by the Toxic Emperor Egg expanded explosively to a diameter of several meters in the blink of an eye!
Furthermore, a Toxic Emperor Egg hatched under the influence of the Dragon Poison, was extremely likely to gain capabilities specialized against dragon types.
By the time nine seconds elapsed, the vortex generated by the Toxic Emperor Egg had swollen beyond twenty meters in diameter.
At this point, it could no longer evade the Destructive Rays from the Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon.
Yet, the two heads of the Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon lifted, and all four eyes rapidly narrowed, steadily observing the Toxic Emperor Egg as it completed its final hatching.
James Gardson felt relief flooding over him, and the tension squeezed from his mind relaxed, leaving him in a state of exhaustion.
For a duelist, executing simultaneous summoning and controlling the mana ball posed the greatest challenge, requiring a magician to control their mana with impressive finesse.
For a potion aficionado like himself, this was analogous to breathing.
Advanced potion-making often required the simultaneous control of various aspects.
What truly tightened his nerves was whether the Toxic Emperor Egg could hatch successfully.
After all, the Poisonous Hand Apothecary was thrust into the situation of riding along with the mana ball’s escape, leaving the Toxic Emperor Egg with no direct protection, facing four opposing mana spirits in total!
In that moment, James Gardson’s thoughts churned beyond his usual capacity, and he only realized after the duel concluded how the Toxic Emperor Egg managed to hatch amidst all these strong enemies.
—This was obviously not its destiny.
Simultaneously, Dak Demon also transformed his two cards into four cards.
Underworld Soul Ring
Mewtwo
Curse Cage: Imp Beast
Magical Beast: Ditto
In order to maintain a balanced deck, Dak had only included two Magical Beast: Eevee and two Magical Beast: Ditto, yet he unexpectedly drew all four of them.
He didn’t even focus on the hand he had but remained unwavering in his attention on the duel unfolding before him.
In the current duel arena, the mana of Charizard was already low, while the mana of Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon was holding steady, but in this situation, its practical strength felt just a bit lacking.
Previously, before drawing Curse Cage: Imp Beast, Dak had considered that in vital moments, he could use it as an offering to summon Mewtwo—now that was no longer needed.
At this moment, his true reliance lay solely with the Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon.
However, the core ultimate skill of the Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon—Dimensional Double Burst Cut—required sealing.
White Dragon’s Resilience would be of limited use against a poison-covered mana spirit.
Only the Dragon’s Inverted Scale could elevate its battle power significantly.
Fortunately, that was already sufficient.
“In the name of Dak Demon, Mana Summon—come forth! Imp Beast!”
With a flicker of light, the single one-star mana spirit card from Dak’s deck appeared in the air.
The rain of poisonous droplets in the venue converged towards the Toxic Emperor Egg’s swirling mass; even the dark rain clouds gathered above its head, creating a clear breach in the surroundings.
Otherwise, the Imp Beast would have been in immediate danger upon its arrival, fading away with toxic descent.
But now the situation was manageable; from appearance to disappearance, it would linger for only six or seven seconds.
In those six or seven seconds, it had seen through the illusions of the world and produced a feeling of worthlessness.
“In the name of Dak Demon, I sacrifice Curse Cage: Imp Beast and Magical Beast: Sun Eevee as offerings to summon—Mewtwo!”
The entrance of Mewtwo was still resplendent.
Rich water elements after the rain formed a veil around it.
Its long, rounded neck arched slightly, making a gentle, enticement-like call.
…
The Toxic Emperor Egg had now hatched.
But on this battlefield, Dak Demon already had four dragons!
“Mewtwo, invoke Moon’s Protection and Life Stream!”
Dak’s focus remained on the mana spirit that emerged from the Toxic Emperor Egg, directing two commands towards Mewtwo.
“miu~”
Mewtwo immediately cast Moon’s Protection.
The serene moonlight radiated from it, expelling all remaining toxins from the red side of the arena.
The pursuing Charizard, Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon, and Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon had all long since flown into the domain of Moon’s Protection, entering a “state of lunar sanctuary” beneath its glow.
After entering the “Moon’s Protection,” the mana spirits were spared from afflictions such as poisoning for five turns.
Yet existing poison wouldn’t be cleansed.
Mewtwo opened its mouth, continuing to exert Life Stream.
The precarious mana value of Charizard finally stabilized; its mana consumption, which had continuously decreased due to the poison, was countered by the ongoing healing of Life Stream.
The duel’s sixth round paused as both sides regrouped.
The Toxic Emperor Egg yielded a mana spirit that was around four to five meters long, bearing a striking resemblance to a lizard-man.
This mana spirit had bat-like wings growing from its back, with dark green skin covered in constantly swelling toxic sacs.
Black toxins congealed on its body, flowing along scattered veins.
It hunched forward, its forearms sporting grotesquely massive poison claws, with its tail densely studded with toxic spikes.
Its name was—Toxic Lizard Emperor!
The Toxic Lizard Emperor barely reached nine stars—while it wasn’t the most elite of the spirits hatched by the Toxic Emperor Egg, it still ranked favorably.
Meanwhile, the revealed Poisonous Hand Apothecary had stats rivaling those of nine-star mana spirits, along with the indomitable ability to transform into toxic fluid.
Thus, the blue side’s lineup was far from weak.
On the red side were a fire dragon, a fire dragon, a white dragon, and a water dragon!
Four dragon spirits, one nine-star, one eight-star, and two seven-stars.
In terms of visible battle strength, both sides were evenly matched.
However, the audience’s limited perspectives starkly contrasted the devastation poised to unfold when the fight truly commenced!
By now, both duelists had unleashed their tactics, and for various reasons, James Gardson felt he could no longer afford to continue inching back.
He almost immediately issued commands for the Toxic Lizard Emperor the moment it hatched!
Card Name: Toxic Lizard Emperor
Type: Spirit Card
Level: ✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪
Race: Crawling Type
Attributes: Poison/Water
Mana: 4200
Attack: 4300
Defense: 3500
Ultimate Skills: Toxic Emperor, Ten Thousand Poisons Claw, Toxic Sea, Poison Rain Thousand Needles
Though it could fly, the Toxic Lizard Emperor held water as its attribute but lacked flight capabilities.
Yet that wasn’t the main point.
The Toxic Lizard Emperor’s stats weren’t stellar among the nine-star mana spirits, but its core ultimate skill, Toxic Emperor, lent it considerable base attribute boosts.
Moreover, the remaining three ultimate skills all included terrifying toxins, capable of killing upon contact, striking fear.
Near the end of its short targeting time, the Toxic Lizard Emperor first unleashed a ranged attack—Poison Rain Thousand Needles!
With a high-pitched screech, countless poison needles congregated around it, instantly transforming into a rainstorm raining down upon the shatteringly unyielding Mewtwo!
But Mewtwo, surrounded by flowing water, was unafraid, rapidly gathering energy for Cannon Water Gun.
Yet the Poison Rain Thousand Needles did not descend upon it; Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon unleashed Fiery Flash of the Dragon, intercepting the downpour of needles in mid-air.
Even without intelligence, the Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon turned, showing an ingratiating smile to Mewtwo.
Although that smile was rather ugly, Mewtwo still responded with a sweet smile.
In that instant, the scene erupted with life, brightening the shadowy domain of poison.
Dak hesitated for a moment, suddenly contemplating the idea that perhaps granting intelligence to those dragons wasn’t out of question—after all, they had Mewtwo present.
Raging with flames, Charizard lunged towards the Toxic Lizard Emperor.
And though only a mere eight-star, with Solar Fire activated, it boasted an attack level that could easily crush the nine-star Toxic Lizard Emperor.
The Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon, not one to be left behind at this juncture, gathered white light in both heads.
Almost simultaneously, two beams of Destructive Rays pierced through the defenses of the Toxic Lizard Emperor, leaving searing wounds upon its body.
“Baby Blue-Eye Dragon, Dragon’s Inverted Scale!”
In this crucial moment, Dak finally commanded the Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon to initiate a formal attack.
One dragon head lit up with reddish light, its expression transforming into a terrifying visage, having entered a frenzied condition.
Its attack power, which was initially high, surged dramatically to float between 7500 and 8000 points.
Meanwhile, the other dragon head was still imbued with the consciousness of the Baby Blue-Eye Dragon, striving to maintain control.
This allowed it to keep a degree of consciousness even upon activation of Dragon’s Inverted Scale.
However, the enraged roars from the dragons filled the duel arena, reverberating thunderously.
Even the six-star mana spirit, Poisonous Hand Apothecary, revealed a hint of fear.
Indeed, were a full-fledged battle to commence, even at its full strength, it could only exert nine parts of its potential.
Since it was already disadvantaged, the situation was tantamount to being rendered useless.
The three dragons, radiating a menacing aura, charged towards their target, prompting James Gardson to hastily steer the mana ball away.
The Toxic Lizard Emperor, roaring towards the incoming spirits, unleashed an extensive and nearby ultimate move—Toxic Sea!
A tidal wave of poison surged from its body, rushing out towards every corner.
Within this Toxic Sea, the Poisonous Hand Apothecary thrived, remaining entirely unharmed.
However, the three dragons deprived of poison resistance barreled through the toxic onslaught; as the horrific toxins advanced toward them, they couldn’t breach the Moon’s Protection, rendering their attempts to infiltrate futile.
The rampant dragon presence quickly approached, overwhelming James Gardson.
“Ten Thousand Poisons Claw!”
James Gardson’s shout was drowned out among the dragon roars.
The Toxic Lizard Emperor, still obeying commands, harshly swiped its gargantuan claw towards the three dragons.
Claw marks, infused with poison energy, appeared in the air, ripping apart an area of over ten meters.
Charizard bore the brunt, experiencing a sharp drop in its recovered mana value.
Yet the flames in its eyes only blazed brighter, as it broke through the Ten Thousand Poisons Claw, enveloping the Toxic Lizard Emperor in its massive form; its arms folded violently, capturing and constraining it.
Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon raced in quicker, and after brushing off the diminished Ten Thousand Poisons Claw, it left behind two scars on its scales, further igniting its ferocity.
The activation of Dragon’s Inverted Scale raised its combat power to its pinnacle.
Then, a resounding white light sliced the horizon, resembling a gigantic sword, piercing through one side of the Toxic Lizard Emperor.
Claw marks remained, and its splendor faded away.
The nine-star Toxic Lizard Emperor was effortlessly severed in two!
Though it didn’t perish on the spot, Charizard excelled in squeezing its remaining body, causing it to explode where it stood!
“Boom!”
The nine-star Toxic Emperor, summoned with tremendous effort by James Gardson, exploded into a cloud of blood mist in less than a full turn!
The Poisonous Hand Apothecary bore a look of distress, attempting to escape through liquid form.
Yet the flames of the Flame Conqueror: Exploding Dragon had already concealed its head.
The Destructive Rays shot forth the moment the Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon turned.
“Ah—”
A wretched scream pierced through the heavens.
The Poisonous Hand Apothecary detonated, leaving behind its eerie smile.
Yet no one could determine what it truly laughed about.
…
Yet, when that scream dissipated, a momentary silence enveloped the arena.
No one had expected that the climactic battle they anticipated to commence would merely be the herald of its cessation.
The four dragons standing on the battlefield, having effortlessly taken down their targets, radiated overwhelming dragon might.
The Toxic Lizard Emperor and the Poisonous Hand Apothecary, upon facing them head-on, proved so defenseless.
Were these two mana spirits so weak?
Clearly, they were not!
But rather, those four dragons were undeniably tyrannical!
……
Human memory is often forgetful.
Clearly, the Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon was not making its debut.
It had previously shattered the demonic king named Arminster with its crushing presence when it first appeared!
If neglecting it solely on its young form would lead to such a demise for the Toxic Lizard Emperor.
The audience had become accustomed to the Heavenly White Dragon and the Red Spine Black Dragon, yet new dragons had emerged over the dragon gate without them realizing it!
Dak Demon extended his fingers, a white light darting through the air.
The blue mana ball, momentarily stunned by James Gardson’s shock, was instantly engulfed in destructive white light.
The mana ball’s 8000-point life barrier vanished without a trace under that single blow.
By the time everyone came to their senses.
The battle had formally concluded!
……
“Beep—”
The judge’s whistle jolted the audience awake from their stupor of shock.
“Battle concluded!”
“The victor… Dak Demon!”
At this moment, even the referee’s tone revealed a tremor.
The ability to summon nine-star mana spirits and defeat a sixth-year with a nine-star spirit in a duel were entirely incomparable.
This duel’s outcome marked a pivotal chapter in history—turned a page!
The victor, Dak Demon!
……
……
Um, those who completed all the tasks during the May Day activities might have some moon tickets as rewards, um… it’s nothing personal… you know what I mean, um.
第805章
“I won! I won! I actually won!”
When the judge finally announced the victor’s name, the audience outside, filled with expectations for Dak, found it hard to believe what they had just heard.
It was simply too incredible!
A second-year student, specifically one who had only been enrolled for a year and a half, had defeated a soon-to-graduate sixth-year student head-on!
This wasn’t just crossing grades; it was a leap over an entire academic career!
Even the most popular star duelist of today had never achieved such a remarkable outcome.
At this moment, the audience erupted into chaos.
If a second-year could defeat a sixth-year, what would that mean for third and fourth years? Imagining Dak Demon in sixth year was simply daunting!
If James Gardson had performed slightly worse in this duel, he might have attributed it to being an inferior sixth-year student.
Yet in reality, he did not perform poorly at all.
In fact, he performed better than most sixth-year students.
Though he wasn’t at the top tier, he was definitely above the average level of sixth-year students.
Especially with the impressive mana cards he showcased during the duel.
However, even so, Dak managed to break through every single one of those cards.
The gap between him and Dak was akin to the evident chasm between the Toxic Lizard Emperor and the Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon.
When the Destructive Rays from the Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon illuminated the sky, it left an indelible mark in every spectator’s mind.
It was likely that for a long time after this, the topic surrounding the Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon would rival that of the Heavenly White Dragon and the Red Spine Black Dragon.
Not just the audience outside; even the older students seated within the circular stands were at a loss for words.
Surely, some of those upperclassmen had rooted for Dak before this duel began, but upon witnessing his victory, they were equally struck by awe.
Compared to the external audience, the older students had a more thorough understanding of the duel’s details and felt an increasingly severe threat emanating from Dak Demon!
Especially those actively participating in the Golden Cup among the upperclassmen; at this moment, they began to regard Dak Demon as a legitimate rival in the competition.
Additionally, the head of the dueling club, Inia Knight, had resolved to adjust Dak’s matching coefficient to align with fifth-year students.
Thus, in the upcoming Golden Cup point championship, Dak would face a continual barrage of talented fifth-year opponents.
……
In contrast to the older students’ murmurs and vigilance, the lower classmen’s reactions were more innocent.
Whether lamenting or celebrating, their reactions were likely to be quite pure.
First-year students applauded, declaring, “The professor is truly impressive!” despite their faces showing frozen surprise.
Certainly, some were genuinely delighted for their professor’s victory.
After all, it was their professor who, as a second-year, triumphed over a sixth-year on the stage!
Therefore, many first-year students felt a sense of pride.
Victoria continuously boasted to Mia, displaying an air of “I contributed too.”
Mia, gazing at the professor, who was merely a year older than her, had stars in her eyes.
Many first-years began idolizing the professor.
In the second-year zone, Tudor and friends congratulated each other while asserting dominance over the Knight Academy loudly.
Though this seemed somewhat presumptuous, they were used to it; they had made that a habit over time!
Nearby, Professor Kazel smiled, while Diana and Rose applauded in celebration, and Eralganie muttered, “Does doing this truly mean they are impressive?”
“It is indeed quite impressive,” Professor Kazel said with a hint of doubt.
Eralganie pondered, lowering her head, seemingly lost in thought.
……
In the arena, on the blue player platform.
After the judge’s whistle sounded, James Gardson slowly suppressed his turbulent emotions.
Magic dueling does ultimately conclude in victories and defeats; as long as there are winners and losers, notions of friendly competition typically dissipate.
James Gardson was fueled with fervor until the conclusion of the duel.
But once the outcome was apparent, he quickly regained composure.
In this duel, he had indeed given it his all; even summoning the nine-star Toxic Lizard Emperor, he could only admit inferiority in technique after the defeat.
“Just feel a bit bad for the teacher.”
James Gardson sighed, looking at Dak Demon across the arena.
At the end, he didn’t consider his classmate Coriman at all.
……
While on the red player platform.
Dak Demon was still savoring the sweet taste of victory.
This duel felt immensely precarious to him.
He had never encountered a student who so expertly comprehended poison and potion tactics before.
Yet perhaps because of this, the victory earned through sheer effort was exceptionally cherished.
It was a hard-fought victory.
This would be etched in his memory.
……
There was no post-match interaction session.
The winner felt no pride while the loser bore no lingering grudge.
Afterward, the duelists each gathered their magic cards, nodded respectfully at one another, and turned to leave the platform.
Dak Demon recalled the four dragons from the battlefield, leaving behind the yet-to-be-dissolved Twin Burst Baby Blue-Eye Dragon to walk alongside him towards the competitor’s passage.
The audience’s shouts and cheers continued fervently until they watched his figure disappear into the passage, gradually settling down.
Thus, the next duel commenced.
……
The wheels of history do not halt for an individual’s rise.
Everyone continued progressing forward at their own pace.
However, some things indeed began to change from today forward, thanks to this event.
……
Dak didn’t depart the duel hall and noticed Professor Kazel with Eralganie on the player platform, hence, he turned towards the circular area to find them.
As he approached, he suddenly sensed a mysterious aura.
When he got within three meters of Professor Kazel, taking a step forward allowed him to sense it, but stepping back made the aura fade entirely.
Dak stopped at the edge, casting a solemn gaze towards the pensive Eralganie.
Professor Kazel turned slightly, signaling him with a raised index finger.
Dak nodded, opting for silence.
The surrounding noise was raucous, but the area felt unexpectedly peaceful.
Diana and Rose tightly pressed their lips together, clearly having received Professor Kazel’s hint, and refrained from making sound disruptions.
Dak stood quietly at the edge for a moment before walking softly over to sit beside Professor Kazel, continuing to watch Eralganie.
A faint, invisible glow surrounded Eralganie’s form.
That was the aura suppression device at work.
Without it, the duel hall would now be saturated with an overwhelming wave of divine power.
Dak speculated, arriving at an understanding—enlightenment!
“Eralganie is awakening her fourth authority?”
His intuition sparked, prompting him to ponder over what could have spurred this awakening.
However, without any grounds for a theory, he couldn’t conjure anything substantial.
Opening his hand, he summoned the Mana Book, focusing attention on its content.
Awaiting in silence.
……
Meanwhile, James Gardson had already met up with Professor Steve as he emerged from another passage.
Professor Steve wore a false smile while Professor Thompson followed him, also with a composed smile.
Since the outcome was now evident, Professor Thompson wouldn’t exhibit any lingering uncertainty of his own.
In essence, he was indeed quite pleased.
赖于她之前的学习和练习有所提高。经过长时间的合作与磨合，他们的配合变得越来越顺畅。
时间在夜色下悄然流逝，实验室的气氛依旧紧张而专注。达克不禁感叹，这场实验仿佛将他带入了另一个世界，每一秒钟都充满了未知与期盼。
随着时间的推移，魔王一号的灵魂与维特的灵魂逐渐成形。哈维教授不断调整细节，将二者逐步引入各自的新轮廓中。达克看着这一切，心中暗自思忖，倘若能够完全掌握灵魂的重组技艺，未来无论是对自己，还是对他人，都将是无比珍贵的财富。
“完成了！”哈维教授终于大声道，随即放下手中的工具，满脸疲惫却难掩内心的激动。“下一步，我们需要对两者进行确认，确保一切都有条不紊。”
卡莉安修女点头，确认道：“我来协助你。”两人随即集中精力，开始进行精细的确认工作。
与此同时，达克侧身与厄耳伽妮交换了一下眼神，心中明白，接下来的结果将是所有人的努力汇聚而成的关键时刻。他默默祈愿，希望一切都能顺利。
几分钟过去，紧张的空气在实验室里回荡，最终，哈维教授微笑着抬起头，露出释然的神情：“成功了！维特的灵魂与魔王一号的灵魂已成功分离，且二者都能保持完整。”
达克不由自主地松了一口气，周围的气氛似乎也随着这一消息变得轻松起来。奥菲莉娅的眼中闪烁着欣喜，似乎感受到了重获自由的希望。
“接下来，我们要做的，就是将他们进行再度恢复和巩固。”哈维教授继续说道，“这是一个漫长的过程，恐怕我们还需要一些时间来观察和调整。”
达克点了点头，深知这一过程的重要性。他转头对厄耳伽妮说道：“你觉得接下来的实验该如何进行？”
厄耳伽妮微微一笑，眼中闪烁着智慧的光芒：“这是个好机会，可以对灵魂重组过程进行进一步的探索与学习。我可以提供我所知的理论支持，帮助确保灵魂的稳定。”
以她的智慧和经验，通过观察与参与，必能为这场重要的实验增添更多的保障。
夜色渐深，实验室里逐渐沉静下来，然而却充满了期待与希望。所有人都明白，这仅仅是一个开始，一个全新的旅程的开始。
需的实验成功之后，心中充满了喜悦。
这张新炼制的【极乐ⅳ·月】不仅使【妖狐兽】成功进化成了人形的【祭师兽】，而且在这个过程中，没有任何力量被浪费，每一个环节都达到了最优的状态。
“毫无疑问，我的新魔纹已经完美地实现了目标。”
他心中暗自庆幸，同时开始考虑如何进一步将这些研究成果应用到实际中去。接下来，他打算将这张成功的【极乐ⅳ·月】应用于更高级的魔导精灵，看看能否创造出更加令人惊叹的效果。
然而，随着实验的推进，达克突然感到了一丝不安。虽然这一路的成功让他倍感欣喜，但他深知，自己所掌握的魔法科技正处于一个未知的边缘。接下来会发生什么，依然是个未知数。
同时，他不禁想起刚才与克莱尔的互动。两人的关系随着时间的推移逐渐亲密，而她又在他的研究中扮演了重要的角色。这样想着，达克决定在完成接下来的实验后，邀请她一起分享这些成果，看看她的想法。
“首先，我得确保所有的实验都能顺利进行。”
达克站起身，整理了一下实验室的设备，准备开始下一轮实验。他的心中充满了期待，未来的探索与冒险，正等待着他去揭开面纱。
Spirit Card】
【等级：✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪】
【种族：龙种】
【属性：毒系】
【魔力：4800】
【攻击：5500】
【防御：3500】
【必杀技：远程毒雾、毒针雨、剧毒射击】
进化后的【四颚针龙】展现出了非凡的实力，毫无疑问，它的攻击力已经超过了大多数九星的魔导精灵。尤其是它的远程能力，让其在战斗中更具威胁。
达克心中暗自思索：“如果能将这张【极乐ⅳ】与我的其他魔导精灵结合，以后的战斗将会变得更加轻松。”
他摆弄着手中的魔导卡，满意地看着新进化的【四颚针龙】。接着，他决定回宿舍整理一下最近的研究记录，毕竟明天还要继续与克莱尔关于【乐园】升级的讨论。
……
第二天，阳光明媚，达克早早起床，精神焕发地走向教授的实验室。到达那里时，克莱尔也已经等候在里头。
“早上好，达克。”她微笑着招呼。
“早上好，克莱尔！”达克回应道。
“今天我们继续研究如何将【极乐魔纹】融入到【乐园】的升级之中，准备好了吗？”克莱尔问。
“当然，我已经整理了一些想法。”达克自信地说。
两人开始了深入的讨论与研究。在这个过程中，克莱尔将她对新魔纹的理解与使用方式传达给达克，逐步为魔导卡【乐园】的升级做好准备。
经过一番努力，达克对如何选择魔导精灵的数据和信息进行录入感到越来越明晰。在确定了要升级的各类魔导精灵之后，他们也为下一步的计划做好了充足的准备。
“这样一来，我们也有了更强大的组合，根据不同的战斗情况合理调整魔导精灵，我相信能创造出更多的奇迹。”达克说。
克莱尔点头表示同意：“确实如此，这将为我们提供更多的战术灵活性。”
他们一边交流，一边记下重要的实验记录与参数，不久便沉浸在紧张而兴奋的研究中。
……
几个小时后，午餐时间到了。达克与克莱尔一同前往食堂，期间两人讨论着《魔导论》的新进展和即将到来的【黄金杯】赛事。
“你准备好参与比赛了吗？我相信你会有出色的表现。”克莱尔鼓励道。
“当然，我会尽全力而为！”达克信心满满地回应。
其中的期待与紧张让达克感到这段时光的珍贵，他暗自希望能在即将到来的比赛中展示自己与新进化魔导精灵的实力。
经过一整天的努力之后，他们对于接下来的实验与研究计划已经有了更清晰的方向。
“根据目前的进展，或许我们能在下周完成最终的升级。期待你在比赛中的表现。”克莱尔说完，便露出了期待的神情。
“我会努力的，谢谢你的支持！”达克微笑回答。
随着阳光渐沉，他们继续留在实验室中，期待着即将到来的创新与挑战。
Mana Spirit Card
Level: ✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪
Race: Dragon Type
Attribute: Poison / Dragon
Mana: 3500
Attack: 4000
Defense: 3000
Ultimate Skills: Beast Enhance, Dragon Wave, Super Bomb, Poison Sniper
The attribute inclination of the Four-Jaw Needle Dragon is very apparent. Its eight-star max attack power, supported by its ultra-high mobility, allows it to become a high-speed assassin akin to Draconic Ballet.
Moreover, its core ultimate skill, Beast Enhance, significantly strengthens its overall stats!
Beast Enhance: As an ultimate beast, the Four-Jaw Needle Dragon possesses beast power, increasing its Mana by 500, Attack by 500, Defense by 500, and Rank by 0.5. For each mana spirit killed, its base attack power temporarily increases by 200 points, capped at 2000 points.
Compared to Poison Baby’s Beast Enhance, the Four-Jaw Needle Dragon’s version has a noticeable enhancement, reaching a slightly exaggerated level.
Its second ultimate skill—Dragon Wave—is a must-learn move that Poison Baby needs to evolve into Four-Jaw Needle Dragon.
Dragon Wave: The Four-Jaw Needle Dragon releases a dragon-shaped shockwave from its mouth, dealing damage to the target.
The remaining skills, Super Bomb and Poison Sniper, have the former matching Poison Baby’s version, while the latter is clearly an upgraded enhancement to Poison Shock.
Poison Sniper: The Four-Jaw Needle Dragon launches a highly adhesive and glowing poison from its needle, accurately hitting distant targets like a sniper. If the target is in an abnormal state, this further enhances and prolongs that state, doubling the power of Poison Sniper.
Poison Sniper excels in both power and range compared to Poison Shock, giving the Four-Jaw Needle Dragon unique features not possessed by other mana spirits.
—
Dak squinted toward the distant thick forest and casually pointed, saying, “Let’s give it a try. Four-Jaw Needle Dragon, Poison Sniper.”
The evolved Four-Jaw Needle Dragon appeared more composed than Poison Baby at first glance.
Upon hearing the command, it immediately lifted its large abdomen, pointing its needle far into the shadowy forest.
Suddenly, its abdomen swelled, and the glowing poison suddenly shot out like a beam of light.
To Dak’s eyes, a flash of purple light appeared before the beam vanished without a trace.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t see if Four-Jaw Needle Dragon’s Poison Sniper hit the trees at the edge of the forest.
However, by its excited expression, he guessed… it probably hit, right?
—
“Forget it, let’s go back to the dorm,” Dak shook his head and said.
The Four-Jaw Needle Dragon’s eyes brightened at the sound, and its body turned, flying behind him. Its front paws quietly reached toward Dak’s armpit, and dragon wings suddenly spread out.
“Whoosh!”
The night wind rushed into Dak’s face.
Dak was quickly carried by Four-Jaw Needle Dragon toward the Tower of the Noble Academy.
Just half a minute later, the duo had landed at the entrance of the tower.
After touching down, Dak couldn’t help but rub his armpit and said, “Ouch.”
The Feathered Serpent Golem opened its eyes.
Dak raised his hand, said “Goodnight,” and pushed the door open.
—
The evolution experiment for Poison Baby went very smoothly, but Dak also saw the limitations of Bliss IV… or rather, the limitations of mana spirits.
Leveling up the Capital Sin Card couldn’t make mana spirits break through their potential limits.
It’s like how the Curse Cage: Imp that evolved into Demoness Beast is only eight stars, just as Poison Baby evolved into the Four-Jaw Needle Dragon at eight stars. Other mana spirits likely also can’t use Bliss IV to overcome their potential constraints.
As for Bliss, this completed Bliss IV should have the same effect on Magical Beast: Ibut, Dream Spirit, and Ditto as the previous semi-finished Bliss IV: Moon, only allowing them to evolve to six stars.
In contrast, Magical Beast: Ditto might gain a breakthrough to evolve into a third-tier mana spirit!
Although Piplup will evolve into the six-star Flowering Sea Lion.
The Moon Beast should be able to evolve into the New Moon Beast, just like when using the Moon Goddess Stone, and will even see an increase in level.
Adorable Beast, and Black Big Ear Beast will also acquire new evolution forms.
—
After returning to the dorm, Dak continued experimenting for a while, extracted once from his nearly maxed Greed, and finally waited for the cooldown of Bliss IV to reset.
Before sleeping, he conducted an evolution experiment with the Magical Beast: Ditto residing in that dorm.
Under the effect of Bliss IV, Magical Beast: Ditto indeed transcended the tier limitations!
Card Name: Magical Beast (Ditto)
Type: Elemental Card
Level: ✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪
Race: Elemental Type
Attribute: Normal Type
Mana: 3350
Attack: 3350
Defense: 3350
Ultimate Skills: Transformer, Transformation
“Eight stars, huh?” Dak looked at the mana spirit card of Magical Beast: Ditto with an epiphany.
He chose Magical Beast: Ditto for this experiment to discern the differences in effects between Bliss IV on Pokémon and Digital Monsters.
With Magical Beast: Ditto and Four-Jaw Needle Dragon as examples, it can basically be confirmed that other Pokémon with further evolution potential should also stop at eight stars.
To surpass eight stars, it would likely require Pokémon with a base stat of 600 or higher, at semi-divine levels.
Comparatively, Digital Monsters appear to have higher potential? But individual differences must be obeyed.
Dak contemplated for a moment, then instructed Magical Beast: Ditto to record its evolution data.
He then remained comfortably in bed.
—
The next day.
Dak Demon’s first act upon waking was to summon Ditto to conduct an evolution experiment, confirming his suspicions.
As soon as Ditto was summoned, it bounced onto his lap, turned its body, and sat obediently on his knee, looking up at him adorably.
Dak couldn’t help but give it a few strokes for several minutes before activating Bliss IV.
Under the radiance of Bliss IV, Ditto instantly evolved into Long Ear Rabbit, and it was a six-star Long Ear Rabbit distinct from the six-star form seen under Bliss III!
Card Name: Long Ear Rabbit
Type: Elemental Card
Level: ✪✪✪✪✪✪
Race: Avian-Beast Kin
Attribute: Normal Type
Mana: 2100
Attack: 2600
Defense: 2800
Ultimate Skills: Charming Body, High-Speed Movement, Absorb Punch, Self-Motivation
Due to Long Ear Rabbit being quite clingy, Dak spent a little longer in the bedroom before finally making it out.
Today, his plan was to spend the entire day in Claire’s dorm and, time permitting, conduct evolution experiments on all mana spirits.
—Although that was the intent.
Once he began researching, it became difficult to keep track of time.
Thus, at the end of the day, Dak had not completed his small goal.
However, he did manage to finish some key evolution experiments.
The first subject was Adorable Beast.
This was to validate Bliss IV’s effect on Digital Monsters.
Adorable Beast had moderate evolution potential, evolving into the five-star Unicorn Beast using Bliss III, merely reaching five stars.
Even further use of Bliss IV: Moon only caused its evolution from five stars to six stars, mirroring Ditto’s situation.
However, the difference lay in that it could continue to evolve!
Adorable Beast → Bliss Super Evolution → Fairy Beast!
Card Name: Fairy Beast
Type: Elemental Card
Level: ✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪
Race: Fairy Kin
Attribute: Fairy Type
Mana: 4000
Attack: 3000
Defense: 2000
Ultimate Skills: Fairy Poetry, Bit Bomb, Fairy Barrier, Fairy Seal
Though it is also a mature form of Digital Monster, Fairy Beast only has eight stars.
However, it’s not a Digital Beast celebrated for combat, so this occurrence isn’t surprising.
In the setting of Digimon, Fairy Beast is a digital spirit capable of manipulating high-level programming magic and freely traversing across different times, places, and spaces, invoking miracles using spells from various dimensions.
Moreover, much like Adorable Beast, it possesses a mischievous side.
The base stats of Fairy Beast aren’t particularly high, only reflecting the strength of eight-star mana spirits in mana value.
Its attack and defense are relatively low.
Yet its ultimate skills are not to be underestimated.
Fairy Poetry: Fairy Beast can use its treasured spear—”Fairy Poetry” to confuse the target, even causing them to go berserk. Attack power +500.
A straightforward description, but the special effect causing confusion and berserk in the target can be incredibly daunting—that’s Fairy Beast’s weapon!
Bit Bomb: Fairy Beast can produce a super-powerful bomb in the form of an Imp Beast, boasting terrifying attack far removed from its appearance.
The power of Bit Bomb is incredibly high, but it can’t be considered top-tier.
Fairy Barrier: Fairy Beast can use fairy power to create a miraculous fairy barrier. The barrier can block breath, become invisible, move, and even teleport remotely, possessing a fixed defense of 4000 points, halving damage taken in battle, consuming 2000 mana, and can recharge continuously.
The functionality and defense of Fairy Barrier need not be dwelled upon.
If the attack doesn’t exceed ten thousand, it can’t be completely broken.
The downside is the high mana consumption and that movement and teleportation require mana.
However, the capability of long-distance teleportation makes that mana consumption seem negligible.
With Fairy Barrier, reinforcements can arrive at any time!
Dak was profoundly impressed by Fairy Beast’s Fairy Barrier.
With Fairy Barrier, when conducting evolution experiments at night, he wouldn’t need Rose’s help to cover sounds anymore.
Fairy Seal: Fairy Beast can cast fairy magic to interrupt and seal a target’s designated ultimate skill.
This is clearly an extremely useful ultimate skill at specific moments.
—
After Adorable Beast, Dak chose Black Big Ear Beast as the next experiment subject.
Black Big Ear Beast evolves into Warrior Rabbit Beast through Bliss III, being a six-star mana spirit, its potential clearly surpassing that of Adorable Beast.
As expected, after using Bliss IV, the complete form digital monster achieved a nine-star third tier!
Card Name: Aendiro Beast
Type: Elemental Card
Level: ✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪
Race: Avian-Beast Kin
Attribute: Fighting Type / Light Type
Mana: 4200
Attack: 5000
Defense: 3800
Ultimate Skills: Sword Leaf Tree Forest, Meditation Cure, Spell Chant, Mental Impact
Aendiro Beast, also known as Yu Rabbit Beast, inherits the characteristics of both race and attribute from Warrior Rabbit Beast closely.
As a fighting-type digital monster, Aendiro Beast not only possesses the combat talent of Warrior Rabbit Beast but can also convert mana into a special kind of Qi, akin to a martial arts expert’s true qi, making it a genuine martial artist!
Furthermore, Aendiro Beast belongs to one of the Twelve Divine Generals in Digimon, representing the rabbit among the twelve zodiac signs, classified as a holy beast-type digital monster.
– This might explain its second attribute, Light Type.
Indeed, this mana spirit, evolved from Bliss IV, possesses a light attribute that opposes Bliss!
With such an ironclad fact before him, even the most skeptical must accept it.
Upon realizing this, Dak’s understanding of Bliss deepened.
He keenly understood that Aendiro Beast’s next evolution phase would be one of the three Great Angels—the Cherubim Beast (Wisdom Angel).
In this case, he wouldn’t be surprised if the Imp Beast eventually evolved into Light Beast.
Aendiro Beast also possesses four ultimate skills as a gold card.
Compared to Fairy Beast, it is undoubtedly much stronger, and even compared to Black Metal Dragon Beast, it may not fall short.
Sword Leaf Tree Forest: Aendiro Beast can convert its inner Qi, transforming its arms into razor-sharp Treasure Ax, and rotate around its body like a tornado, using its arms and axes to sever surrounding objects. [Treasure Ax], attack power +1000.
A whole 1000 points of attack power bonus!
Moreover, without using Sword Leaf Tree Forest, Aendiro Beast can maintain its Treasure Ax form at minimal mana cost.
Meditation Cure: Aendiro Beast can heal itself through meditation, recovering 100% of its mana within a short period.
An excellent healing-type ultimate skill that can restore 100% mana.
While it can only be used on itself and requires entering a meditative state, it remains an outstanding skill.
Spell Chant: Aendiro Beast can release all its Qi, hardening its body, increasing defense by 50%, negating most transformation-type ultimate skills while delivering a powerful strike!
In simple terms, it’s a Ramping ultimate skill with terrifying power.
However, the downside is apparent; after releasing all its Qi, Aendiro Beast must convert mana back into Qi to use the other two ultimate skills—Sword Leaf Tree Forest and Meditation Cure again.
But its final ultimate skill is not constrained by this.
Mental Impact: Aendiro Beast concentrates mental power to unleash waves of mental energy targeted at the opponent’s brain, causing damage while forcing them to de-evolve from a quasi-evolution state.
This is undoubtedly the first time Dak has seen an ultimate skill capable of causing de-evolution in targets.
If this ultimate skill were widespread, his tactical system would be maximally curtailed.
Thus, upon discovering this ultimate skill, Dak felt a deepening sense of vigilance within him.
—
After Black Big Ear Beast, Dak chose Moon Beast as the next experiment subject!
The evolution route for Moon Beast bears certain resemblance to that of Black Big Ear Beast.
However, it can evolve into the complete form New Moon Beast using the Moon Goddess Stone directly.
This time, using Bliss IV resulted in a successful evolution, indeed crossing from seven stars to nine stars!
Card Name: New Moon Beast
Type: Elemental Card
Level: ✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪
Race: Avian-Beast Kin
Attribute: Dark Type/ Water Type
Mana: 4400
Attack: 4800
Defense: 3800
Ultimate Skills: New Moon, Charm Dance, Frenzied Dance, Moonlit Dance
The nine-star New Moon Beast primarily saw its base stats improved, with the effect of Charm Dance growing stronger.
—
Spending the entire day on just these three Digital Monsters, Dak continued his experiments during the evening.
One of which was the evolution experiment for Piplup.
The Piplup tied to Envy could only be forced to evolve with Bliss, failing to unlock its full potential with it.
Therefore, after using Bliss III to evolve into the five-star Flowering Sea Lion, it only had three ultimate skills.
Dak’s hopes were merely to evolve it from five stars to six stars this time and develop a fourth ultimate skill.
However, this time, Bliss IV offered him immense surprise.
Under the influence of Bliss IV, Piplup successfully evolved into the Leonian Sea Lilac!
Though this Leonian Sea Lilac is only seven stars, it’s still a remarkable breakthrough.
Upon successfully evolving, Leonian Sea Lilac immediately tackled Dak to the ground, narrowing its eyes in excitement, rubbing its tender white cheeks against Dak’s face.
Caught off guard, Dak was toppled, only able to embrace it while Claire looked on with an amused expression, soothing its back and the back of its head.
The evolved Leonian Sea Lilac bore a resemblance to a human beauty, with ocean-blue long hair curling naturally and tied into three sections by pearl scrunchies. It adorned pink starfish hairpieces at its temples, its blue eyes reminiscent of the ocean, with long and thick white lashes, and its face sculpted like a fox for a more enchanting appearance.
Unlike Flowering Sea Lion, Leonian Sea Lilac truly possesses a dual attribute of Water Type + Fairy Type Pokémon.
Its body resembled that of a mermaid, with a slim, long white form and powerful, broad hands.
It wore a light blue, wavy cloak, a short skirt composed of wavy decorations around its hips, and had spikes under it.
Beneath were strong and agile deep blue tails.
The tail’s tip was forked and featured white portions, surrounded by a wavy decoration.
The traits aligning with Bliss were vividly demonstrated on its form.
Card Name: Leonian Sea Lilac
Type: Elemental Card
Level: ✪✪✪✪✪✪✪
Race: Avian-Beast Kin
Attribute: Water Type / Fairy Type
Mana: 3200
Attack: 3300
Defense: 2800
Ultimate Skills: Charming Voice, Singing, Bubble Aria, Song of Demise
The base stats of Leonian Sea Lilac may be average among the seven stars, but its ultimate skills…
They undoubtedly justify its title as a Songstress Pokémon, with all four skills centered around singing.
The first ultimate skill, Charming Voice (Bliss), inherited from Piplup, had more features attributed to Bliss, granting it true “charming” abilities.
The second skill, Singing, and the third, Bubble Aria, both appeared in the skill list for Flowering Sea Lion.
However, Bubble Aria was originally the exclusive skill for Leonian Sea Lilac; Flowering Sea Lion merely learned it earlier.
The most terrifying aspect of Leonian Sea Lilac is its final ultimate skill—Song of Demise!
Song of Demise: Leonian Sea Lilac sings a death song that ensnares all targets within hearing range in a state of demise. If they fail to escape within three rounds (30 seconds per round) or dispel the state of demise in other ways, the mana spirits under the demise state would fall into a near-death condition, while non-mana spirits would lose all mana.
Though Leonian Sea Lilac’s Song of Demise underwent adjustments in the original, only affecting mana rather than life, for creatures fighting with mana, depleting it can lead to death!
Yet, the way to break the state of demise is relatively simple.
The easiest way is to escape from the range of Song of Demise—while the range is quite wide, it’s certainly smaller than the transmission range of the song.
Another way is to completely block the transmission of sound.
Song of Demise entirely relies on sound transmission to generate effects; by fully isolating the propagation of sound, it can simply解除解除解解除解除解除解除。
But isolating sound transmission entirely… is actually quite challenging.
In situations where foes take countermeasures, Dak can also employ corresponding measures to break through.
If utilized appropriately, Song of Demise could indeed become a trump card surprising opponents.
—
After Piplup, Dak waited until leaving Claire’s dorm to conduct an evolution experiment with the Draconic Ballet bound Draconic Arrow.
To his astonishment, Draconic Arrow truly evolved into Draconic Ballet!
Moreover, this Draconic Ballet nearly perfectly resembled the original template of Draconic Ballet.
Not only does it have Draconic Arrow, Penetration, and Dragon Dance, but also Meteor Shower!
This implies that if one day Dak can evolve it using purely mental power, he could create a limitless legion of Draconic warriors from just one Draconic Ballet!
Just thinking about it is terrifying.
—
After returning to the dorm in the Tower of the Noble Academy, Dak conducted another evolution experiment with Moon Goddess (Divine Rank Armed).
However, he was disappointed to find that Bliss IV couldn’t evolve Moon Goddess (Divine Rank Armed) into Night Tiger God (Divine Rank Armed).
This likely means that Moon Goddess’s evolution system is different from Bliss, and advancing further would probably require the power of the moon goddess!
“Perhaps the moment Moon Goddess’ Soul forges the divine position is the moment Moon Goddess (Divine Rank Armed) achieves a breakthrough,” Dak thought firmly, concentrating more on the ascendance of Moon Goddess’ Soul.
—
After completing these key evolution experiments, Dak prepared to slow his pace and slowly conduct experiments on the remaining mana spirits with Bliss, hoping for surprises.
That evening, he chose to extract Pride, then fell into a deep sleep.
On Sunday morning, another duel awaited him.
It was a duel against a sixth-year senior.
—
—
Request, request, request for that elusive ticket ( >_< )
---
Chapter 813
After winning the duel against James Gardeson, Dak had not faced an opponent below fifth year in the Golden Cup scoring matches.
However, those fifth-year seniors were not particularly outstanding individuals, so he managed with relative ease.
Students at Saint Maryann Academy and duel enthusiasts who had come to watch recently seemed accustomed to not viewing him simply as a second-year student—perhaps they've selectively forgotten.
In any case, this second-year student who mingled among the senior students was undoubtedly extremely eye-catching.
Adding to this, Dak's external conditions and internal factors were both exceptional, naturally attracting more fans.
Organizations such as fan support groups had also been increasingly established.
Now, within the royal city, some who once suffered from him, under the quietly unfolding public opinion offensive, had significantly altered their views, even directly turning from antagonism to support, openly boasting about their connections with Dak Demon.
The Starry Sky Tower, which he had damaged a statue of, was also preparing to use that as a selling point and had the semblance of decorating the sword cuts on the wall.
Of course, some perceptive individuals sensed something unusual stirring from the shadows.
Various forces were quietly making their moves.
However, this had little relevance to Dak Demon, who was within the academy.
What he needed to consider now was only how to triumph over his opponent!
This was his second time facing a sixth-year duelist.
Having experienced James Gardeson's tenacity, he certainly couldn't afford to underestimate any sixth-year student.
However, recent busyness left him too stretched thin to investigate details about this sixth-year student—he could only deduce from the name that it was a senior sister.
Claudia Meg was the name of this senior.
---
Claudia Meg was a very serious student, often maintaining a stern demeanor, rarely smiling, with her ash-blonde medium-length hair in a neat ponytail, displaying an aura similar to that of a teacher.
Yet she was not a student of the Mana Academy but belonged to the Fool's Academy.
Like most students from the Fool's Academy, her talent within the academy wasn't exceptional, but that doesn’t mean it was poor.
In reality, no student entering Saint Maryann Academy could possess non-standard talent; if one were to insist, they could only conclude they were not particularly gifted.
However, students from the Fool's Academy avoided competition, diligently working hard. Though the learning atmosphere might not be as intense as that of the Mana Academy, it was still quite good, and students were inclined to collaborate and assist each other. With time, such daily accumulation would surely yield results.
Yet, amidst her peers, Claudia Meg was a rather atypical figure; although not anti-social, she also didn't socialize much, always engrossed in research, which led her to become increasingly anxious and troubled.
Her only friends frequently teased her for being similar to Vice Principal Shylph, but she considered that a compliment.
On this Sunday morning, Claudia Meg woke up as per usual to study, slowly making her way to the Outdoor Duel Arena to prepare for this week's duel.
She didn't place much importance on the Golden Cup, but winning or losing would still provide experience. A Magus could never completely avoid the necessity to battle, and the time consumed by a duel... indeed wouldn’t be long.
“Diya, your opponent today is that Dak Demon!” Her only friend approached as she was about to enter the Outdoor Duel Arena.
Claudia Meg nodded, saying, “It’s him.”
Karen Newman exclaimed excitedly, “Can you pass a message for me?”
Claudia Meg was momentarily taken aback and asked, “What message do you want to convey?”
Karen Newman replied, “Tell him I’ll always support him!”
Claudia Meg: “…”
“It’s nothing, Diya, why do you look at me like that?” Karen Newman wondered.
“Nothing,” Claudia Meg frowned and said, “Karen, we are friends, right?”
Karen Newman asserted, “Of course! We’ve known each other for five and a half years!”
Claudia Meg hesitated and asked, “Then why… why do you want to support my opponent?”
“Ah?” After a moment of confusion, Karen Newman suddenly exclaimed, “No, Diya, I didn't mean it that way. You see, I’m just a fan, you know what I mean? The stars shine bright but are far away; we gaze up at them from the ground, channeling our beautiful wishes onto them. When they shine, it feels as if we are shining as well. My support for him and for you is completely different.”
Claudia Meg frowned, “Just say it directly, do you wish for me to win, or for him to win?”
Karen Newman was momentarily speechless: “Uh... I obviously hope you to win, but your chance of winning seems quite low... doesn’t it?”
“Hmph!” Claudia Meg replied angrily, “I don’t need to say more; I understand now.”
Karen Newman quickly grabbed her hand, appeasing, “Don’t be angry, Diya; our friendship is not something easily broken, right?”
Claudia Meg said, “Alright, I’ll convey the message on your behalf. In your name. But why don’t you say it yourself? It’s not hard to find him in the academy.”
Karen Newman joyfully said, “Diya, you’re the best! But you see, I’m just a fan, and stars are meant to be pursued from afar; if they are right before me, then what kind of pursuing is that?”
Claudia Meg nodded, her mood lightening.
But Karen Newman promptly added, “So while you're passing the message, can you get me an autograph? You see, I’ve prepared a Flower Card for him to sign on the back!”
Claudia Meg: “…”
---
Carrying the heavy burden entrusted by her only friend, Claudia Meg walked into the competitors’ passage.
She noticed there were more teachers and students present at the Duel Arena today, and many were there to watch Dak Demon; after all, this was the second time that tomorrow's star would battle a sixth-year student in the Golden Cup, and many wanted to witness his performance once more.
If Dak Demon’s opponent weren’t her, she probably would’ve been in the audience too.
People always enjoy looking up at the stars, for they are high, distant, and seemingly unattainable.
In childhood, it was a desire to reach out.
Now grown, it stems from the firm knowledge of one’s own ordinariness.
Claudia Meg knew she was merely one of the most ordinary students in this academy, distanced far from the brilliant geniuses striding through the night like stars.
Yet she would not stop her footsteps because of that.
She, too, would chase stars, but to close the distance.
Moreover, there was one thing she had never told Karen.
That is, she too was a fan of Little Dak!
Claudia Meg quietly drew a Flower Card from her sleeve, excitement evident on her face.
“By the way, Valentine’s Day is approaching; should I secretly send him a box of chocolates?”
---
Dak Demon fully realized someone was looking for him; he had arrived somewhat early today and was currently waiting in one of the competitors' lounges.
In February, it seemed all the students were stirred, anticipating the arrival of spring.
February 14th, Valentine’s Day, year after year, never fails to spark the youthful whims of the young.
Having spent a Valentine’s Day in the academy before, Dak Demon now had a fair amount of experience in handling it.
When with Claire, he had mentioned Valentine’s Day, planning a business strategy called Flower Card and Chocolate, preparing to craft a corresponding flower-type and flavor of handcrafted chocolates for each type of flower card and sell them at a high price in the store… while simultaneously issuing a batch of Flower Cards, making a profit.
Naturally, the Mock Duel theme cards for Valentine’s Day had already launched.
Speaking of the mock duel, the shop was also planning the first-ever national public duel tournament, scheduled for April 1st, when the themed mock duel cards formally release.
Though termed a “tournament,” it mainly consists of small-scale matches conducted in various locations across the country.
Certainly, the local store at Saint Maryann Academy would also host a small-scale mock duel competition, with the champion receiving a trophy personally awarded by the esteemed president of the Public Dueling Society, Dak Demon!
Dak’s gaze passed through the window, focusing on the circular arena and the bustling audience area, easing the tense nerves that had been tight for so long.
Lately, he had been feeling an increasing sense of urgency, as if time would never be enough no matter how it was used.
However, hastiness does not yield success; he must find ways to temper this urge and slow down.
---
Dak and Claudia Meg’s duel was early in the set.
He had not waited too long in the competitors' lounge before receiving the notice to go on stage.
Before long, he had already stepped onto the competitors’ platform—this time as the blue side.
After a while, the sixth-year senior showed up, arriving late before stepping up to the red side.
Dak lifted his gaze, observing his opponent.
Claudia Meg seemed quite ordinary, and Dak had no particular impression of her.
Yet he wouldn’t allow himself to underestimate her.
Star duelists often face ruin with disdain for their opponents; such classic cases are frequently reviewed by Professor Jones in class, and the students relish hearing about these tales.
Dak Demon couldn’t escape this norm either.
Humans often find pleasure at the expense of others’ pain; hence the expression “taking delight in others’ misfortune.”
At this moment, Dak found his thoughts unusually complex.
In order to calm these intricate emotions, he activated the amplifier on the spellboard, taking the initiative to address Claudia Meg, “Hello, Senior Meg.”
Claudia Meg quietly put away the two Flower Cards in her hand, instinctively adopting a serious expression, saying, “Hello, Junior Demon.”
After waiting a moment to see Senior Meg had no intention of continuing, Dak replied, “For the upcoming duel, please take care of me.”
Claudia Meg thought for a moment and, at this time, refraining from mentioning her friend’s message, simply said, “The same goes here, please take care of me.”
Both sides were very polite and humble, seemingly genuinely achieving “Competition Second, Friendship First,” yet the audience was quite discerning, having seen many a duel with surface-level modesty contrasted with a fierce desire to pummel their opponents to the ground.
In the circular arena, the sixth-year Knight Academy student, Corey Man, who had suffered losses from the last round, watched on with gritted teeth.
Having learned from their previous loss, this time he set odds favoring Dak Demon, hoping to regain some face and vent his frustrations through Dak's success.
However, since last night until now, the number of people betting remained scarce, and even those present seemed to be there just to scrape the bottom, with virtually no bets placed on Meg. This left him furious, prompting him to open the “Round Odds” and bet on Dak winning within several rounds.
Fortunately, James Gardeson timely stopped him from digging himself a deeper hole.
The previous duel's failure had led James Gardeson to face ridicule from many of his classmates; although he pretended not to care, in truth, he was quite concerned.
Especially since his loss resulted in Professor Steve from the sixth year’s Potions class distancing himself from him during that time.
This had left him with a vague desire to reclaim some pride.
Thus, he had attentively watched Dak's recent duels, trying to discern counter-tactics against him.
Upon careful thought, he realized he still had winning chances in a duel against Dak, yet failed to seize the opportunities well.
He dedicated more thought into researching duels because of this.
Therefore, he had also attended today’s duel to observe.
---
Under the watchful eyes of many keen observers, Dak Demon’s duel against Claudia Meg finally commenced.
In the projection above the arena, the countdown to the Standby Phase of 30s emerged.
Both duelists promptly entered a state of focus and drew their starting hands!
“One, two, three, four, five.”
Dak swiftly moved the five swiftly pulled cards to his left hand to reveal and examined them.
Huhu
Black Big Ear Beast
Moon Goddess Beast
Bliss IV: Moon
Draconic Ballet
With his current deck, as long as he could draw that finished Bliss IV, he could summon a third-tier mana spirit at the fastest speed to conclude the duel.
However, among the forty cards as the minimum deck size, precisely drawing a mana card is highly improbable and he did not hold much expectation regarding it.
From this point on, he merely hoped for good luck; if he could pull off a great hand at a crucial moment, he would consider it a satisfaction.
Shifting his focus back to his hand.
Believe it or not, the construction of his current deck incorporates a Competitive Recruitment system within a certain range.
Without affecting the overall strategy, whichever mana spirit performed best recently would take precedence.
So, he included the obedient Black Big Ear Beast and Moon Goddess Beast in his deck, but didn’t expect to draw this mana spirit card in the first round.
In addition to one Huhu, he found three three-star mana spirit cards within his starting five.
Fortunately, the luck was not bad, as one of the remaining two cards was Bliss IV: Moon.
Indeed, he had included three copies of Bliss IV: Moon in this deck!
With three Bliss III: Moon and three Bliss IV: Moon, his deck had truly transformed to resemble Bliss.
Furthermore, the deck received an epic increase in strength!
However, the last card among the five, Draconic Ballet, wasn’t easy to summon.
Battle Phase (1) 30s
“Tick-tock!”
As the round shifted, both duelists rapidly recited their incantations.
What typically is not short summons in conventional summoning spells coalesced skillfully, with only the final conclusion being clearly heard.
“With the name of Dak Demon, I summon—Huhu!”
Dak hesitated not for a moment and promptly summoned Huhu!
---
In the blue summoning area.
As the summoning light rapidly illuminated, Huhu's form reappeared back in the duel arena.
Wrestler Eagle in the arena squeezed its wings tightly.
This time it couldn’t showcase its appearance—for it had contributed all materials into the cauldron in one go, causing the cauldron to explode, granting Dream Spirit, Poison Baby, and other pranksters advantageous opportunities.
Meanwhile, the delayed appearance of Huhu upright and resolute, eyes glimmering fiercely, projected a spirit as if saying, “No one can pass through me.”
"Ba-chi!"
---
Simultaneously, the red summoning area also conjured a mana spirit.
Claudia Meg’s dueling style was notably stable; her tactics primarily revolved around conventional means. Out of a hundred battles, ninety-nine would start with summoning a mana spirit—unless she failed to summon one.
Her first summoned mana spirit was a three-star spirit blending offense and defense—Rock Warrior!
Card Name: Rock Warrior
Type: Elemental Card
Level: ✪✪✪
Race: Sub-human Type
Attribute: Rock Type / Fighting Type
Mana: 1000
Attack: 1500
Defense: 1500
Ultimate Skills: Rock Skin, Perfect Block, Stone Sword Sweep
Rock Warrior is a very commonly used name.
Within the mana spirit cards, there are many versions of the same names but from different types.
Claudia Meg’s Rock Warrior is one of the rare sub-human types.
It possesses hardened stone skin, robust muscles, wielding a great stone sword that looks heavy, but its speed of attack is swift, adept at defensive counterattacks!
---
Both duelists chose to commence the first round with relatively defensive mana spirits, and both types being slower in speed.
Thus, they could only exchange looks across the dividing line while waiting for summoning cooldowns.
But three seconds will soon pass.
Dak quickly cast a normal summon spell: “With the name of Dak Demon, I summon—Black Big Ear Beast!”
While Black Big Ear Beast was just an orange card and slightly weaker than the golden Moon Goddess Beast, Dak summoned them for their subsequent evolution.
Under the daylight, Black Big Ear Beast evolving into Warrior Rabbit Beast would prove more suitable compared to Moon Goddess Beast evolving into Rex Beast.
“Hey ha hey!”
With the summoning light, Black Big Ear Beast emerged, fixing its expression, standing erect with its ears, immediately striking a Wing Chun stance, and seriously glaring at Rock Warrior hundreds of meters away.
It sensed the aura of a strong opponent emanating from that Rock Warrior!
“Ha! Ha-chi!”
The Wrestler Eagle in the arena, immediately gave applause, garnering a puzzled glance from the audience.
Seemingly encouraged by its friend’s presence, Black Big Ear Beast switched to another stance.
---
Across the way.
Claudia Meg also summoned her second mana spirit—a Hoot Owl Man!
That owl man hunched over, its face wrinkled, gray hair flowing, and paradoxically looked like an elderly human apart from its eyes still resembling that of an owl.
Nonetheless, it is quite famous among the three-star sub-human mana spirits.
It’s prototype is the Owl Sage Pavoni!
The Owl Sage is renowned for “teaching without discrimination.”
It is said to possess an astute eye capable of discerning individual abilities, enabling targeted education leading to rapid growth.
Even though Claudia Meg’s owl man wasn’t a named mana spirit, it shares some quite similar characteristics.
Card Name: Owl Master
Type: Elemental Card
Level: ✪✪✪
Race: Sub-human Type
Attribute: Psychic Type
Mana: 2000
Attack: 600
Defense: 200
Ultimate Skills: Sub-human Master, See Through, Teleport
Upon the successful summoning, Claudia Meg coldly ordered, “Owl Master, use your ultimate skill—Sub-human Master on Rock Warrior!”
As the half-closed eyes of the owl man raised, it unleashed two chains of white light from its eyes directly into Rock Warrior's body.
The form of Rock Warrior suddenly expanded under the influence of this ultimate skill.
While the mana of Owl Master rapidly depleted, the mana of Rock Warrior rose significantly.
Observing closely, Rock Warrior’s mana increased twofold, and its size likewise blossomed, its emitted aura completely transformed!
---
This scene made Black Big Ear Beast, facing off against it, blink in surprise with its big ears reflexively folding back.
“What should we do?”
It looked up, seeking Dak above on the blue competitors' platform, wanting to cry out in desperation.
At that moment, Dak himself was equally astonished.
It was only now that he finally recognized this hitherto overlooked sixth-year senior was utilizing a rare Sub-human deck.
Moreover, it was a members-only deck from the Master Series!
The Master Series decks revolve around mana spirit cards like Owl Master, allowing them to impart their might to the target, thereby granting exaggerated temporary enhancement during battles.
Yet, the Master Series also holds inherent limitations; regardless of which kind of Master, they cannot grant powers to targets with a higher star rating than themselves.
This drastically reduces the overall fault tolerance of the entire deck.
Thus, some people dare to only include Master series mana spirit cards within the first tier.
Claudia Meg is also in that camp.
These mere seconds passed, and Rock Warrior’s mana dropped to critical levels, triggering Vow of No Return, ramping its attack and speed exponentially, leading to a momentary reversal against Warrior Rabbit Beast!
While Yellow Hair Commander invoked Vow of No Return, it immediately summoned Simi's Power, using their strengths to further amplify abilities.
---
The fighting spirit surged!
Within the same moments, as the dust settled, Dak readied for the looming next round with a series of calculated moves.
“Tick-tock!”
The instant the third round began, both participants drew their cards at once.
Claudia Meg, nearly gasping upon seeing the two new mana spirit cards, promptly invoked: “In the name of Claudia Meg, I summon—The Soul of the Warrior!”
The newly altered key essential used for her next mana spirit card projected at once!
Card Name: The Warrior's Heart
Type: Elemental Card
Level: ✪✪✪✪✪✪
Race: Sub-human Type
Attribute: Fighting Type
Mana: 2200
Attack: 3300
Defense: 2500
Ultimate Skills: Deflected Blade, Warrior's Soul, Unbreakable Vow
As others in the ring watched, Dak realized the value of a combined pattern suited only for early-game plays involving her summon.
He was not wholly wrong, but he also realized that these plans wouldn’t come post-summon.
In a critical battle, a mana spirit’s potential and character greatly influence tactical patterns. Keeping a state of focus remains crucial in process when cornered.
“Indeed, one must consider the evident physical constraints when facing tactical changes, particularly when my mana spirits remain exhausted,” Dak inwardly mused while formulating his next move.
وجود حاسبة لجسيمات الطاقة بصرياً ضمن مجموعة محدودة! = { Mانهن = ...
“ fóúr >>> 7 all elements must ਮਨ ✨“
“I must check the placement
during the encore celebration—）
“Let’s dazzle through while maintaining explosive movement!”
Dak thought and instead focused, remembering an important value—the timing in his hand.
In the proceeding clarity of their respective objectives, they realized the importance of synergy from both mana spirit exchanges while equally putting in great weight when leading up to the high stakes.
“Alright, it’s go time!” Dak mentally prepped whilst deepening focus, ready to resolve both opponents’ critique through tactical plays post-rounds due to contrasting styles.
—
He summoned in sync yet faced adversaries all too clever under pressure.
With tactics built upon passive modes while preparing for overwhelming offense, both sides then pacified the ongoing scores.
“Tick-tock!”
