Chapter 385 Behind the Scenes of Dark Demon (19.5/233)
“Next, please welcome the seventh qualifier.”
Senior Judy slightly bowed, smiling at Dark with a nod, revealing a hint of pale skin under her neck.
Dark kept his gaze straight, composed and calm.
Senior Judy then turned to the audience and introduced, “To be honest, before the results came out, I never imagined how a first-year student could compete for a spot among second and third-year students.
But Dark Demon, the contestant, perfectly demonstrated this to me. I believe the audience will never forget him and his Golem’s wonderful performance. Now, let me give you a brief introduction about him.”
As she said ‘brief,’ it was indeed very brief.
Senior Judy basically just read through the awards Dark had received since the start of school, without mentioning his family background.
A student’s family background often serves as an aid on their life’s path, but sometimes it can also bring unnecessary trouble.
The school clearly did not want those things brought into the competition.
Originally, becoming an excellent Magus was enough to rival or even surpass half of the nobles in status.
So the audience only needed to know they were students from the Noble Academy.
After finishing the introduction, Senior Judy turned around, winked, and asked, “Dark Demon, do you have anything you’d like to say to everyone?”
Dark nodded slightly and stepped forward, taking the microphone from Senior Judy. After glancing at the tens of thousands of spectators in the audience, he spoke, “Happy Easter.”
Then he returned the microphone to Senior Judy.
But as Senior Judy grabbed the microphone, she used her slender fingers to press against his, preventing him from backing away.
She then blinked forcefully and asked, “Is there something else you want to say?”
Dark remained silent, then glanced at the side at Maly Bond.
But Senior Maly stood straight, keeping her gaze steady.
Senior Judy tapped her finger, pushing the microphone back into Dark’s hand and whispered, “This is your first time on stage, leave a lasting impression on the audience.”
Only then did Dark adjust his expression and speak loudly, “This is my first Easter spent in the academy, and I was involved in planning this Easter Duel Festival. I hope we can bring smiles to more people through duels.”
He then returned the microphone to Senior Judy.
Senior Judy was momentarily stunned but quickly took the microphone and said, “I never expected that this Easter Duel Festival was planned by Dark Demon. The preliminary battle really brought me great surprise; I truly felt joy from the duel.
I believe all the audience members felt the same way. So, thank you, Dark Demon, for bringing us such an exciting and fun duel festival!”
Instantly, the applause thundered!
Regardless of whether Dark would win more battles in subsequent duels, he had already left a profound impression on the audience.
Especially after the Easter models and Easter eggs became popular, many people would likely remember his name.
That would be an impression solely his own, unrelated to his family background, such as the Diemon family or the son of a duke.
Whether good or bad…
…
Once the applause died down, Senior Judy continued to introduce the eighth qualifier, Maly Bond.
Then, Senior Maly proved her words were true by saying only one thing to the audience, “Happy Easter.”
…
Up to this point, the introductions of the sixteen qualifiers were concluded.
After they each exited, Senior Judy began explaining the rules of the main event.
Since the rules of the main event were too simple, there was no need to repeat them.
Dark followed his seniors into the competitors’ passage. Then, the fourth to sixth-year students continued forward, while the first to third-year students stopped at the entrance.
There were eight contestants: five from the third year, two from the second year, and one from the first year.
However, the classmates from the same grade didn’t seem familiar with each other.
Not even Mike Owen and Stewart Fane from the same third-year Noble Academy had much to say.
As for Senior Vini Scarlet from the Mana Academy, she simply took out a small book and started reading while leaning against the wall.
It was truly a race against time, without a moment’s pause.
Dark was actually quite curious about what she was reading, as such small books usually weren’t serious books. However, he suppressed his curiosity.
Compared to that, the third-year senior from the Knight Academy seemed quite approachable.
But in the end, Senior Maly was still the easiest to talk to.
So Dark asked, “Senior, what do we do next?”
Maly raised a finger and smiled, “Wait.”
Dark continued helplessly, “So what exactly are we waiting for?”
Maly then laughed, “What else could we be waiting for but our turn? Next, Judy will draw two tokens from the box. Those who draw will go up for a duel. We’ll start with the lower grades, so that’s why we’re waiting here. I really hope they draw you and me next, so I can easily win.”
Dark’s face darkened, “Let’s hope so.”
Of course, he knew Maly was joking.
Understanding the situation, Dark could now estimate the timing.
In the preliminary battle, he only used one “Pride III” card, and he used it right from the start.
By now, almost an hour had passed, so the cooldown should be over.
Therefore, all of his Mana Cards were ready for use.
“The number of Capital Sin Cards is too few, which is indeed inconvenient. The intervals between early matches are long, so there’s no need to worry. But when fewer contestants remain later on, it becomes somewhat dangerous.”
He slightly frowned,
He couldn’t help but think.
Across from him, Mike Owen actually wanted to greet him, but due to the presence of Stuart Fane, another member of the Noble History Research Society, he found it inconvenient to get close to Dark.
Mike Owen didn’t pay much attention to this Easter Duel Festival; his reason for participating was just to clear his mind.
Unexpectedly, Angus Jeffrey hadn’t given up on causing trouble for Dark, which made things difficult for him.
But since it had come to this, he could only improvise.
“Maybe I should just lose?”
Mike Owen turned the idea over in his head.
“If I lose quickly enough, I won’t have to worry about encountering him. Bingo! That’s it!”
…
On the hosting platform, host Judy did not take out a black box containing tokens as Mary had mentioned. Instead, she waved her hand behind her, and the staff immediately brought in a table with eight neatly arranged Easter eggs.
Judy smiled and approached the table, picking up a small hammer and addressing the audience: “Next, I will pick two out of these eight eggs, crack them open, and retrieve the tokens inside to decide who will be the first pair of duelists. Are you ready?”
After giving the audience some time to react, Judy shook the small hammer and randomly picked an egg, striking it hard.
“Crack!”
The egg split open from top to bottom, revealing a large token inside.
Judy picked up the token, turning its front towards the audience.
She also turned slightly towards the competitors’ passage.
…
“129… It’s me?”
Mike Owen instantly became excited.
If he lost fast enough, he could switch roles to become a spectator and watch the match from the circular area.
Maggie was still waiting for him below.
“What a pity I couldn’t hold back during the preliminary battle.”
Mike Owen continued to look at the hosting platform, waiting for Judy to crack open the second egg.
…
“The 129th competitor is Mike Owen from the Third-Year Noble Academy. It seems he will be the first participant in this main event. Now, let’s reveal the next competitor.”
Judy picked up the small hammer again and struck one of the corner eggs hard.
“Crack!”
As the egg shattered, she asked the audience, “Who will be the next competitor? Let me see…”
This time, when she picked up the token, Judy looked surprised. She turned her head to glance at the tunnel entrance, then suddenly raised her voice, exclaiming loudly: “In this Easter Duel Festival, the main event for the lower grades, the first match will be between the Third-Year Noble Academy’s Mike Owen and the First-Year Noble Academy—Dark Demon!”
“Damn!”
In the competitors’ passage.
Mike Owen shuddered all over and sharply looked up at Dark across from him.
At almost the same moment, Dark also turned his head to look at him.
Their gazes met.
Dark was quite amiable.
Mike Owen, however, sighed deeply.
He could feel Stuart Fane’s gloomy gaze.
“Is this what they call having bad luck compounded by misfortune?”
Even if he didn’t go all out, there was no avoiding this duel.
Unless he really didn’t want to stay in the Noble History Research Society anymore.
Considering his past identity, he had almost alienated most of the major clubs while in the Noble History Institute.
Once he quit, he would have nowhere to go.
“There’s no other choice; I have to face it head-on.”
Mike Owen nodded at Dark and walked out of the passage first.
At that moment, his silhouette seemed strangely heroic, like a general heading off to war.
A small question mark formed in Dark’s mind, filled with confusion about Mike Owen’s actions.
Why is he acting so oddly on such a good Easter day?
Does he think today is April Fool’s Day?
Oh, it is April Fool’s Day, never mind.
Dark adjusted his collar and stepped toward the passage.
…
With the consecutive appearance of the two competitors, the atmosphere in the spectator area rose again.
Although Dark didn’t have much popularity yet, Mike Owen surprisingly had some.
The two competitors walked out of the passage and were guided by the staff to opposite sides of the arena.
Since Owen was the first selected competitor, he was assigned to the Red Side, while Dark was assigned to the Blue Side.
The audience’s focus naturally divided as well.
Mike Owen had his own fans.
However, among the casual spectators, many clearly favored the planner of this duel festival.
For most of the audience, seeing the planner step onto the dueling stage personally was a very delightful experience.
In any case, many people gave the “mastermind” freshman a warm round of applause.
Dark arrived under the Blue Side competitors’ platform amid the applause, lifting his leg to climb the stairs.
It was only his second time stepping onto this platform, but the steps felt familiar and natural.
When he reached the platform, he instinctively turned his head toward where he had last seen Senior Pandora, and was surprised to find her sitting quietly.
Today, she seemed more relaxed due to the presence of two “little pigs,” leaving fewer empty seats around her.
Pandora saw him turn his head and slightly raised her hand, waving it gently.
Dark couldn’t help but smile.
When his gaze returned, the smile widened.
Because he was fortunate enough to spot Alvaraite and Claire sitting in the front row of the spectator area.
For the arrival of his mother and teacher, Dark was quite surprised.
He originally thought that such an Easter event wouldn’t attract them, but now it seemed otherwise.
“Did they know I would participate? Or is it something else?”
Darak’s mind was racing as he raised his hand and waved forcefully towards the other side!
Alvaraite responded immediately with great excitement.
This time, without the Big Princess holding her back, she could finally wave freely.
Seeing his mother’s face again, Darak’s heart was filled with warmth.
He still remembered the last time, when his mother didn’t give him any response, leaving him feeling down for a long time.
But no matter how much he cherished these moments, he couldn’t show it on the competitors’ platform.
After waving, Darak turned back and looked at Senior Mike Owen in front of him.
He refocused on the duel, placing his hand on the spellboard and inputting mana.
Once the spellboard was activated, the amplifier started up.
Darak smiled slightly and said, “Senior Owen, long time no see.”
…
Mike Owen wanted to chat, but the environment didn’t allow it.
So he responded politely, “Long time no see, Demon. I didn’t expect to meet you in our first match.”
Darak shrugged, “I didn’t expect to meet you in my first official match either. The street duel last time taught me a lot.”
“Of course, it would be something like that…”
Mike Owen covered his head, shifting his gaze to a spot on the circular belt.
Angus Jeffrey clasped his hands together, fingers interlaced, staring deeply in this direction.
Mike Owen sighed inwardly, then straightened his expression and focused.
Then he said to Darak, “This is barely our second duel. I hope you understand that before you stands the third-year student from the Noble Academy, Mike Owen.”
This was almost like a formal declaration of war.
Darak narrowed his eyes and said, “Senior, please give it your all.”
Afterwards, they stopped communicating.
Darak took out his pre-arranged deck from his mana card deck, forty mana cards in total, which felt heavy in his hands.
Times had changed.
When he returned to the competitors’ platform, the strength of his deck had greatly improved.
But the duelist opposite him was no longer Second-Year Else Kevin, but the top student of the third year—Mike Owen.
In the street duel, Darak was the ultimate victor.
However, Senior Owen demonstrated powerful mana cards such as the “Sword of悬停
