Chapter 295: Darc Demon Makes Moves with Confidence
After Darc tidied up the remnants of his experiment and bathed, he saw the Trash Slime sluggishly wriggling around with the “Meow” mana card on its head.
The Trash Slime seemed to enjoy this task, constantly carrying the “Meow” card around the bedroom.
Ditto, who had always treated the Trash Slime as its own, watched gently, creating an unexpectedly harmonious scene.
“Ditto,” Darc said, drying his hair with a towel.
“Bizzy?”
Ditto immediately turned its head, looking curiously at him.
Darc pointed at the textbooks on the desk and casually asked, “How about I give you the task of teaching Meow?”
Ditto tilted its head in thought, then suddenly stood up from its wriggling state and transformed into a Meow with bean eyes.
It patted its chest and nodded, saying, “Meow!”
Darc nodded with relief, “Then it’s settled. Also, help the Slime a bit; it seems to be falling behind.”
Ditto: “Bizzy… Meow!”
…
The next Sunday.
In the afternoon…
Darc was continuing to compile textbooks when a gentle breeze carried a paper crane into the dormitory.
He reached out and caught the paper crane, opened it, and felt a sudden urge to pack his things and leave.
A few minutes later, he arrived at Professor Shylph’s office.
Inside, both Professor Shylph and Professor Kazel were already waiting.
Though their search for the “Invisibility Person” hadn’t made any progress, they didn’t seem worried at all.
When Darc entered, he saw them playing Mana Chess, which was rare.
Darc was actually quite interested in Mana Chess, but he was afraid of getting too engrossed and losing control, so he deliberately avoided learning it.
However, seeing Professors Shylph and Kazel play, he couldn’t resist joining in.
Mana Chess was similar to “Beast Chess,” with twenty-one pieces per side. Each piece had corresponding attack, defense, HP, and ultimate skill values, as well as the number of steps it could move each round.
Players could choose either to “deploy a piece” or “move one piece” during each round.
By deploying pieces within their region and moving one piece per round, players could advance, attack, and eliminate the opponent’s pieces. The goal was to either wipe out all the opponent’s pieces or capture the fortress to win!
Traditionally, Mana Chess had fixed twenty-one pieces, but recently some new pieces had appeared, sparking a new wave of interest.
Players could acquire new Mana Chess pieces through gacha, building their own unique Mana Chess teams, much like constructing decks for duels, which was very enjoyable.
Some rare Mana Chess pieces had additional value and fetched astonishing prices in transactions.
Of course, there was also the issue of counterfeit versus genuine pieces!
Counterfeit Mana Chess pieces were usually unofficial inferior products.
To distinguish genuine pieces from counterfeits, official seals were carved onto the bottom of the pieces.
The Mana Chess pieces that Professors Shylph and Kazel were using were entirely new ones that Darc had never seen before.
Both sides’ piece combinations were formidable, engaging in fierce combat on the small board.
Mana Chess pieces attacked and killed each other swiftly.
In the end, Professor Kazel proved superior, eliminating Professor Shylph’s “Queen Elf” and capturing the fortress.
“Huh!”
Professor Kazel finally relaxed, picked up the nearby teacup to drink, but found it empty.
Professor Shylph looked somewhat disappointed, straightened up, and turned to Darc, “When did you arrive?”
Darc smiled, “I’ve been here for a while. How come you two are playing Mana Chess?”
Professor Shylph put down her pieces and smiled rarely, “Believe it or not, we just learned.”
Professor Kazel also smiled, “I recommended it.”
Darc thought, “No wonder you won…”
But he didn’t expect Professor Kazel to have such an interest, something he had never noticed before.
Professor Kazel seemed to read his confusion and casually said, “I’ve lived long enough; of course, I know how to play Mana Chess. But the fixed twenty-one pieces were rather boring, so I didn’t pay much attention. However, the Mana Chess Guild has developed new pieces, so I thought I’d give it a try.”
Professor Shylph continued, “This is indeed a breakthrough. With new pieces, the strategies in Mana Chess become richer. Unlike before, where memorizing the board was key. Moreover, some of the new pieces have very creative ideas… Let’s get back to the matter at hand!”
She sighed and pushed the pieces aside.
Darc casually brought over a chair and sat between them, saying, “Professors, have there been any developments?”
Professor Shylph replied, “That’s exactly what worries us—there’s no progress.”
Darc asked curiously, “Are there no established methods?”
Professor Shylph shook her head, “Things are different now.”
Meaning that there were available methods, but they couldn’t be used.
Some special period methods were taboo in times of peace.
Using conventional methods alone was difficult to capture someone who had never shown themselves.
Darc nodded slightly, not asking further.
Professor Shylph had called him here to discuss finding the person within the rules.
She continued, “The problem now is that we have very little information. We don’t even know the purpose of the other party’s interest in the secret passage, making it impossible to find any leads.”
Professor Kazel humorously added, “This is the hardest part. It’s like looking for someone who doesn’t exist. Since we can’t find them, we need to change our approach, perhaps making them reveal themselves.”
Professor Shylph looked at Darc, “Is it ‘luring the snake out of its hole’? Is that what you’re saying?”
Darc nodded, “Perhaps the seal really stumped them, which is why they haven’t acted again.”
Professor Shylph, “That’s possible. But we can’t just unlock the seal. That would be too obvious.”
Darc pondered, “But to lure them out without unlocking the seal, we need to understand their ultimate goal in investigating the secret passage.”
Professor Shylph, “So we’re back to square one.”
As their discussion paused, Professor Kazel interjected, “Our current idea is to create a fake key to break the seal and use it to lure them out.”
He then turned to Darc.
Darc thought for a moment and realized, “That’s why you called me here?”
Professor Kazel smiled, “Yes. We want you to create this key!”
Darc, “Let me think about it.”
…
The intentions of Professors Kazel and Shylph were clear.
They obviously weren’t planning to make a real key.
At this point, someone needed to “create something out of nothing!”
Or more colloquially…
Someone needed to spread rumors!
…
Darc had experienced the information explosion era, and his understanding of “creating something out of nothing” was far beyond what the professors imagined.
The authenticity of the rumor wasn’t crucial, but the content needed to be attractive enough to spread naturally without any push.
Moreover, the cost of spreading the rumor must be zero!
To make the rumor fly, sometimes the cost-free aspect was even more important than the content itself.
But to make the rumor soar higher, effort was still needed to refine the content.
Generally, content that tied into morality or promised great benefits could make rumors fly high.
Additionally, if the rumor spreader’s identity lent credibility, it could support the spread and make the rumor fly even higher.
Darc naturally possessed these advantages.
He could easily spread rumors, but if they were exposed, he would face a trust crisis.
…
“What do I need to do?” Darc finally raised his head after a while.
There were several ways to avoid a trust crisis, such as blurring the details or attributing the rumor to “a certain professor,” which were practical methods.
Of course, having physical evidence would be best.
This “evidence” could serve as bait!
Professors Kazel and Shylph’s considerations were quite thorough.
Professor Kazel immediately said, “I can make a fake key and hide it somewhere with moderate difficulty. Then, you accidentally leak the information. You can say you heard it from me.”
Darc thought for a moment and said, “Then, why would you make a key to break the seal? Just to complicate things?”
Professor Kazel shrugged and smiled, “It doesn’t matter, Dark. As long as it creates a stir, no one will care. Just like no one wonders why there are treasure maps for labyrinths. Of course, we can’t make people think there’s treasure in the secret passage. Otherwise, it would attract unwanted attention.”
Darc said, “Professor, this is hard to control.”
Professor Kazel, “That’s why we need you.”
Darc, “Let me think about it.”
…
The idea sounded plausible.
If leaked casually, it might attract those who need the key.
Many stories had similar plots.
The key was not overly elaborate design but the “need” factor.
But…
If the other party was clever?
Suddenly appearing keys might raise suspicion about their authenticity and whether they were traps.
What kind of “need” could outweigh “suspicion”?
Make someone knowingly take the risk?
“Maybe, we should be a bit more subtle, so the hook isn’t so obvious?”
Darc pondered.
His gaze passed over the Mana Chess on the table, and he suddenly clapped his hands, “Professor, I have an idea.”
Professor Kazel focused, “Tell me.”
Darc pointed at the Mana Chess, “Spreading rumors overtly leaves traces. We can do it differently. For example, imitate a Mana Chess piece.”
“Imitate a Mana Chess piece?” Professor Shylph was puzzled, “What’s the use?”
Darc explained briefly, “Simple, show them what they want to see, and they’ll bite the hook.”
Professor Kazel’s mind stirred, “You mean, imitate a Mana Chess piece of Vampire Vlad?”
Darc, “Exactly!”
Professor Kazel pondered, “This might be better than my method. But we still don’t know if they’re after the Vampire in the secret passage. The probability might be low.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Darc shook his head, “Since we’ve started, let’s make it big. We also need to know what the appearance of Vampire Vlad means. And who exactly is Vampire Vlad! Anyone who bites the hook, even if not the Invisibility Person, will be related.”
Only by truly understanding Vampire Vlad’s origins can we handle it. The secret passage, being part of the Mana Academy Castle, holds significant value and cannot remain sealed forever.”
Professor Kazel and Professor Shylph looked at him in surprise.
After a moment, Professor Kazel nodded, “You make a lot of sense.”
Darc continued, “We can also share some information. For example, many are curious about where I saved someone during the holiday, gaining an extra Holy Grail wish opportunity.”
No need to admit or deny, nor reveal why Vampire Vlad appeared in the secret passage.
Of course, someone needs to answer this question. The sudden appearance of a true Vampire inside an ancient castle’s secret passage…
The extinction of the Vampire race and their presence in the ancient castle’s secret passage would certainly intrigue many.
He paused, “Regardless of whether they’re after the Vampire, we can make them think they are.”
…
The plan was set.
As Darc left the office, he held a set of Mana Chess.
One of the pieces, based on Vampire Vlad, lay quietly in the box.
It was the weekend.
Because of Valentine’s Day approaching, the Noble Academy’s common room was filled with a decadent atmosphere.
Darc found a spot near the fireplace and unfolded the Mana Chessboard on the round table. Using the Mana Chess pieces he borrowed from the professors and the original twenty-one pieces, he played against himself with his left and right hands.
As a beginner, his moves were clumsy.
Yet, with the powerful new Mana Chess pieces, he still managed to defeat the old pieces.
In the end, Small Right defeated Small Left.
“Darc, where did you get this entire set of pieces?” Tudor, who had arrived, couldn’t help but ask in surprise.
Darc had noticed Tudor’s arrival and replied, “Just bought it. Want to play a round?”
Tudor immediately became excited, “Sure! Are you a beginner? Shall I give you a handicap?”
