Chapter 231: Darc Daemon Eyes the Future (4k)
The explosion of the Sucking Spirit was clearly unexpected by Professor Nina.
Tudor, who was on stage at the time, nearly soiled himself out of fright.
Fortunately, the power of the Sucking Spirit’s explosion wasn’t strong.
It was more like a balloon than a gas canister.
Tudor was merely blown to the ground by the shockwave.
However, Professor Nina panicked, quickly reaching out to help: “Are you okay?”
Tudor was even more terrified.
Professor Nina’s hand froze in mid-air as she extended it.
She slowly retracted her hand, looking down at the students below with caution. She found that they were all relieved, no one blaming her for being careless.
“Phew, thank goodness.”
Professor Nina patted her chest and let out a sigh of relief.
…
Seeing the false alarm, Darc sat back down after instinctively standing up.
Then he heard Robert shouting from the other side: “Hey, why did it explode? I wanted to experience it!”
The boys in front of him echoed casually: “Exactly! We weren’t given a chance, making us look timid!”
Once this topic started, similar voices spread uncontrollably.
Those students who didn’t dare to go up on stage now had something to say.
Professor Nina blinked, delightedly saying: “Really? Then next class, I’ll catch another one!”
The classroom instantly fell silent.
But immediately after, those who had already experienced it burst into laughter.
The atmosphere of astonishment and suspicion from the explosion vanished.
Only Professor Nina looked puzzled, unable to understand what they were laughing about.
Before long, the bell signaling the end of class rang.
She immediately panicked and hurriedly assigned this week’s homework: “Anyway, everyone needs to write a short paper on the Sucking Spirit after class, due next Wednesday noon. Hand them in… ”
Emma raised her hand helplessly: “Professor, I can help collect them.”
Professor Nina quickly said: “Then give them to Emma, and Emma will bring them to my office… right next to Aunt Shylph’s office!”
And so it ended.
Professor Nina’s first lesson finally concluded.
She packed up her small backpack and stepped out of the classroom’s front door with light steps.
After she moved away, the students in the classroom began to discuss gradually.
Before this class, no one expected that the Beast Mastery professor would be such a Minotaur hybrid.
“But you know, it’s quite interesting.”
“And it’s not scary at all!”
“I’m super brave!”
“I’m really looking forward to next week’s Beast Mastery. I wonder what kind of beast Professor Nina will bring next time?”
“If only it could be cuter.”
…
Professor Nina unexpectedly received positive feedback!
Darc lingered in the classroom for a moment, noticing that the students’ impressions of the new professor were quite good, and couldn’t help but smile.
Perhaps because he had taken care of many animals, he always wanted to take care of clumsy yet hardworking children now.
He wasn’t always like this.
“Darc, come on!”
Diana patted her little belly, indicating she was starving.
Darc then picked up his bag and turned to leave.
After the Beast Mastery class, it was Friday afternoon.
The opening of Traveler’s Street was secondary; the main event was the recruitment for the Dueling Club.
Every Friday afternoon at the beginning of each semester was when the Dueling Club recruited new members.
It wasn’t limited to just first-year students; it was for the entire academy!
Of course, most seniors who wanted to join the Dueling Club had already done so, so the primary recruitment targets were still first and second years.
The trio sat down at a table in the cafeteria, discussing the Dueling Club while eating lunch.
Diana seemed very excited: “I’ve found out that if you join the Dueling Club, you can sign up for the Novice Tournament every Saturday morning. You earn 200 credits for each win! Once you have enough credits, you can buy whatever you want…”
Darc had to remind her: “Participating in the tournament requires paying credits. The Novice Tournament offers a 50% discount, but you still need 50 credits to sign up. Of course, higher-level duels offer more rewards.”
Diana muttered: “Pay 50 credits, win 200 credits, net gain 150 credits. Win one game and lose three, right?”
Darc said: “Exactly. And you get 10 points for each win, though you lose 10 points for each loss. After accumulating 100 points, you can apply for promotion. Winning three consecutive promotion matches allows you to advance to higher-level events.”
Diana: “So, as long as you win 10 games and pass the promotion matches, even if you’re not in third year, you can participate in other tournaments?”
Darc nodded: “That’s right, but winning 10 games isn’t as easy as it sounds.”
Diana: “I know…”
After all, in the Novice Tournament, second-year students make up the majority.
If you sign up for the Novice Tournament, you’re likely to be matched against second-year students.
Among second-years, there are also strong figures like Senior Mary.
Moreover, failing any of the three promotion matches means starting over from zero.
Every year, countless students fail miserably in the promotion matches!
Without truly surpassing this level, it’s hard to advance.
Overall, the credit reward system for dueling is relatively lenient for students, as long as they maintain a 50% win rate, they can earn substantial credits.
Of course, there are also unlucky ones who suffer consecutive losses and end up with nothing.
…
Today seemed to be a special period, with most students in the cafeteria enthusiastically discussing the recruitment for the Dueling Club.
Though not as grand as festival activities, it was a significant event at Saint Maryann.
The Dueling Club was the only student organization supervised by the school administration, independent of the Students’ Union, Literature Club, Astronomy Club, Mana Chess Club, etc., and was the only club students could join concurrently.
Every club at Saint Maryann could register a team in the Dueling Club.
The strength of a club’s team was the primary criterion for evaluating its overall strength.
This involved争夺资源的争夺、社团资金的申请…
一旦社团之间产生纠纷，也需要用决斗来进行调解。
因此，社团要想发展壮大，就必须组建一支强大的战队。
为此，每次决斗俱乐部招募时，都会有大量社团派人前来探查，希望能从中挑选出有潜力的新苗。
每年下学期初，是社团了解新生潜力的最佳时机。
更何况今年新生阵容尤其强大！
无论是勇者之子和女武神之子，还是古之贤者、王国之熊、多隆家族的传人，都令人期待。
…
狄安娜吃完几口面后，转头看向萝丝：“你真的不试试吗？”
萝丝连忙摇头：“不行，我不行的。决斗对我来说太难了。我负责给你们当啦啦队就行了！”
狄安娜“哦”了一声，又扒了几口面。
她肯定想和萝丝一起去，但既然萝丝不喜欢，也不能勉强。
听说即使到了六年级，学院里也有没加入决斗俱乐部的人，而且成绩并不差。
有人天生不喜欢或不擅长决斗，这是无可厚非的。
但还是有些失落。
萝丝含笑道：“别这样，到时候你连我的份一起努力往前冲！”
狄安娜：“冲冲冲！”
…
不远处。
多隆和小胖子皮斯坦坐在一处。
两人面前摆着同样的牛排，多隆以标准贵族的姿势切着牛排，皮斯坦则毫不在意地狼吞虎咽，吃得满嘴汁水。
用餐巾擦掉嘴角流出的肉汁后，皮斯坦嘟囔道：“准备得怎么样了，多隆？”
多隆摇头道：“不太行。”
皮斯坦：“别总拿达克作比较，你已经很厉害了！”
多隆：“人不能总是着眼于低处。”
皮斯坦：“哎，你说的低处是指我吗？”
多隆：“这都被你发现了。”
皮斯坦：“嘿嘿，我觉得吧。你以维特为对手比较实际。你看，他可是勇者之子！”
多隆：“勇者之子又不是勇者。”
皮斯坦：“可预言家们都说魔王复活之日，便是勇者再现之时，外面都在传魔王要复活了。”
多隆：“你说的是那群骗子吗？”
皮斯坦：“别这么说，有的预言家还是很靠谱的。”
多隆：“那是有的。”
…
再远一点。
艾玛和两个女生坐在一起。
那是苏珊和露西，总是在艾玛身边。
苏珊天生带笑的眉眼，特别爱笑，每次笑起来都会露出深深的酒窝。
露西则比较古板，留着短发，平时不怎么说话，但一开口就停不下来，嘴很碎。
相处了一个学期，她们三人算是形成了一个小圈子。
苏珊吃着从露西盘子里偷来的草莓，美滋滋地说：“艾玛，等你加入决斗俱乐部，可别忘了我们。”
艾玛微微摇头：“还没呢。琼斯教授说，光有二十张魔导卡还不够，需要在决斗中证明自己。”
苏珊：“是新人之间的决斗吧？那对我们艾玛来说，不是随随便便的事嘛！”
露西抬起头，故意模仿艾玛的声音说：“下午看我表演。”
艾玛：“……”
她很喜欢这两个新朋友，但她们偶尔的逗比让她有些吃不消。
…
另一边…
维特和罗伯特并没有去食堂吃饭。
他们一下课就直奔实验室。
因为维特还差最后一张魔导卡才能凑足二十张！
至于罗伯特。
他虽然莫名其妙地有了想要参加决斗俱乐部的想法，但奈何魔导卡的数量完全跟不上，只能作罢。
…
除此之外。
魔导院的萨拉·斯瓦蒂和海蒂，骑士院的贾斯丁?韦恩，以及愚者院的优等生们。
不少凑足了二十张魔导卡的学生们都在暗暗发力。
能在一年级时就加入决斗俱乐部，那绝对是一件非常光荣的事情。
如果错过了这次机会，之后的整个学期就只能在观众席上为获得门票的同学加油——这对于心气高的学生而言，是绝对无法接受的事情。
所以这张门票，势在必得！
…
午饭后。
达克和狄安娜、萝丝一起回到了贵族院塔楼。
三人约好时间一起出门，然后各自返回宿舍。
达克打开门，看到魔导精灵们各自忙碌。
摔跤鹰人一如既往地被赶到阳台上，乐此不疲地与木人桩搏斗。
迪路兽占领了猫爬架的最高层，对照着字典艰难地啃着幼儿读物。
在所有魔导精灵中，迪路兽的学习进度最快，也最认真。
达克每次回来，都会忍不住夸奖它几句，然后它就更认真了！
到目前为止，迪路兽是除了小恶魔之外，得到最多小红花的。
至于其他魔导精灵们。
百变怪喜欢和垃圾史莱姆混在一起。
壶壶在研究茶艺。
球球海狮整天泡在充气泳池里，无聊地练习吹泡泡。
达克有时会期待它能自学“泡沫”，但也就想想而已。
而大奶罐则在照顾三只猫猫草，就像幼儿园小班的班长。
达克教会它如何照顾虫树，满怀期待地希望它能成长到代替自己照顾花草的程度。
还有伊布和仙子伊布。
自从仙子伊布用缎带触角吊起伊布酱后，它们就一直不对付。
如今更是保持距离。
伊布酱在努力啃课本，试图依靠知识的力量逆袭。
仙子伊布则在翻看达克的《换装达人》，对各种奇异的装束表现出极大的兴趣。
达克并不排斥它们展现自我，但前提是基础教育要跟上。
只要它们能做好基础教育，达克就会因材施教，根据它们的喜好继续教育。
比如，给仙子伊布配上一条小裙子！
“喵！”
刚听到开门声，仙子伊布立刻竖起耳朵，毫不犹豫地放下《换装达人》，奔向主人。
“不要脸。”
迪路兽低声抱怨，继续看书。
它非常喜欢手中的这篇《小猫咪梦游记》。
…
达克接过仙子伊布后，勉强避开它的舌头，语气中带着一丝宠爱：“好了好了，不用每次都这样……”
但这种半软不硬的话，当然不可能让仙子伊布停下。
他只能抱着它在床边坐下，活用“鹰之手”，让它在“极乐”中放松下来。
然后他拍了拍手，把魔导精灵们都召集过来，说道：“今天下午的决斗俱乐部招新，又要拜托你们了！”
