Chapter 444: Losing by Using One Extra Round (6k)
Despite the “Knight of Love” having top-tier magical offense and defense capabilities.
The numerical values that failed to break through the three-star limit were still like children in front of the five-star “Mana Nightmare Demon.”
The “Love Beam,” which could soften one’s heart with an alternative “charm” effect, had no effect on the “Mana Nightmare Demon” in its “Bliss” form.
While Justin Wayne anxiously awaited the cooldown for his first summon, his pride and joy, the “Knight of Love,” was torn apart by the “Mana Nightmare Demon.” The mana guidance ball with only 2,000 HP was completely exposed to the Mana Nightmare Demon’s attack power of 2,500 points!
With a “snap.”
Even though Justin Wayne had exhausted all his efforts to release mana to control the mana guidance ball flying into the sky, the Mana Nightmare Demon pursued relentlessly, easily piercing through the life barrier of the mana guidance ball with a claw extended from its body.
[Mana Guidance Ball (Blue): 2000-0]
…
“BEEP—”
Professor Jones immediately blew the whistle, even though there was still some heat left on the sharp end of the whistle.
Not even a full round—no, not even half a round!
Justin Wayne, a prominent figure among the first-year students at the Knight Academy, fell unexpectedly!
In that instant, Justin Wayne’s heart plummeted to the bottom.
He had thought that the strength of the “Knight of Love” would be enough to withstand Dark’s initial burst, and then his second “Knight of Compassion” would form a knight bond with the “Knight of Love,” boosting both three-star knights to improve their overall performance and fight against Dark’s usual four-star golems.
But this time, Dark summoned and evolved into a five-star “Mana Nightmare Demon”!
This left him with no chance to retaliate.
He could only wait for his fate.
“He really couldn’t last even one round…”
Justin Wayne subconsciously bit his lip, his knuckles turning white as he clenched the mana card tightly.
This painful outcome almost made him doubt his efforts.
Why am I putting in so much effort?
…
After Justin Wayne left the competitors’ platform, his friends could only offer words of consolation like “it’s nothing,” “after all, it’s Dark,” and “try again next time.”
On the other side of the platform, Dark showed obvious signs of wanting more and turned to leave the platform.
He had thought Justin Wayne would pique his interest, but reality proved otherwise.
“There’s another round. Hopefully, the next opponent will bring me some surprise.”
He shook his head and returned to his original spot under the gaze of the noble students who seemed unsurprised.
…
The duel assessment did not pause because of his excellent performance; one group after another was called up.
Dark focused slightly to observe and noticed significant progress among the first-year students.
Especially those who had conquered the dungeon boss with him, each had different starting hands and performed notably in this duel assessment.
“Number 3, Number 28.”
“It’s my turn!”
Diana perked up and stepped forward.
She won without a doubt.
Among the first-years, she stood out, known alongside Emma and Sarah as the trio of first-year leaders, representing the girls from the Noble Academy, Knight Academy, and Mana Academy respectively, leading the charge.
Soon after her return, it was Rose’s turn.
“It’s your turn,” Diana shook Rose’s arm gently.
Rose, feeling nervous, took out her number plate and said, “I know.”
Diana leaned close and whispered, “Don’t worry, they’re really weak…”
Rose: “Really? But…”
Diana emphasized, “Yes, you’ll see, they’re super weak!”
“No, uh, forget it.” Rose reluctantly headed to Platform ②.
She naturally assumed Diana was boosting her confidence, unaware that Diana was telling the truth.
Darck, who had been listening nearby, blinked and joined Diana at the edge of Platform ②.
At that moment, another contestant was also stepping onto the platform.
Darck carefully examined the person and found he couldn’t remember the name, so he asked, “Diana, who’s that over there?”
Diana tilted her head and thought, “It seems to be from the Fool’s Academy, but I don’t recall.”
Evidently, the person’s presence was weak, and since the nobles and fools rarely interacted, neither could recall the other’s name.
However, the person had brown hair and hazel eyes, with clear features, except for a few freckles that made his appearance average.
Both contestants, Rose and the other student, looked timid, clearly not skilled in dueling.
Yet, once the match began, the disparity in their abilities became apparent.
Rose summoned the “Mobius Worm,” standing strong like an unbreakable steel fortress. When the energy scale of the Mobius Worm changed from 1 to 7, the sudden ultrasonic wave instantly killed the opponent’s strongest card.
Then, using the three-star “Mobius Worm” and one-star “Magical Beast: Snow Rabbit” as sacrifices, she summoned a four-star mana guidance ball—the “Rainbow Horn Rabbit”—on the second tier!
That rabbit, as strong as a young calf, had a horn reaching half a meter long, smooth like jade, emitting rainbow light, completely overturning common perceptions of rabbits.
Darck immediately recognized this should have been crafted using the bull horn obtained after defeating the dual-headed demonic man.
This “Rainbow Horn Rabbit,” the most aggressive card in Rose’s deck, with its rainbow-hued horn, charged through the Fool’s Academy student’s defenses and pierced the life barrier of just 2,000 HP!
The gap in their strength was starkly evident.
The Fool’s Academy student, who had thought he drew a good hand, turned pale and suffered a bitter defeat.
Nevertheless, this duel brought a smile—Rose’s smile.
Descending from the platform, Rose was clearly excited, her fair face flushed with the thrill of victory.
“Well done,” Darck raised his hand and high-fived her.
Then, Rose joined Diana, sharing her joy.
…
Once Rose’s duel ended, the entire round of the duel assessment was finally completed.
In this first round of duels, most students displayed their skills.
Among them were crushing victories like Dak’s expected win, and unexpected bitter defeats like Justin’s. Of course, there were also surprising victories like Rose’s.
Emma, Sarah, Wit, and others who received much attention all displayed strength surpassing that of first-year students.
Emma successfully refined the mana coins she obtained after killing the dual-headed demonic man boss into a powerful golem, making up for her lack of a second-tier golem.
Similarly, Sarah adjusted her deck, which was previously weak in direct combat but had many surprises, making it more balanced.
As for Wit, he had already mastered the use of the Holy Sword and had filled out his golem collection.
In summary, except for the unfortunate Justin Wayne, the seven duelists who joined the Dueling Club early showed good performance.
…
After the first round of dueling assessments ended, the four professors exchanged opinions and took a fifteen-minute break before immediately starting the second round.
At the beginning of the second round, an important event occurred that wasn’t present in the first round, leading people to speculate about possible backroom manipulation by the professors.
#3 Field: Mana Academy’s Sarah Swati VS Noble Academy’s Diana Gretbail!
Amidst the boys’ competition, the girls’ rivalry stood out even more prominently.
Sarah, Emma, and Diana were undoubtedly the most dazzling girls among the first-years.
But they each made a very different impression.
Sarah was knowledgeable and outgoing, ruling over Mana Academy’s first-year students like a queen.
Emma was diligent and intelligent, but she struggled with social interactions, resembling a dedicated scholar.
Diana was lively and cute, genuine and straightforward, but sometimes seemed a bit clumsy. Her achievements were partly due to Dak’s help and encouragement.
Compared side-by-side, Diana naturally appeared as the weakest of the three.
This match between Sarah and Diana particularly caught attention.
“Hmm.”
Diana looked at Sarah opposite her and couldn’t help but want to cover her head.
Sarah was exactly the type Diana was least skilled at dealing with. If it were before, when Sarah didn’t have a frontline golem, she might have had a chance. But now, Sarah had thoroughly fixed her weaknesses and strengthened her tactical skills…
She really didn’t want to face Sarah now.
But since the match was set, she had no choice but to go through with it.
“Rose, wait for me…”
As Diana walked toward the #3 field competitor platform, her silhouette was solitary and determined, like an old general heading to battle.
Dak, for some reason, wanted to laugh but held it back.
“Dak, who do you think will win—Diana or Sarah?” Rose couldn’t help asking.
Dak shook his head slightly: “It depends on luck and quick thinking. It’s possible Diana might overpower Sarah with brute force, or Sarah might set a trap and leave Diana helpless.”
Rose opened her mouth: “So does that mean Diana has a higher chance of winning?”
Dak replied: “Not really.”
Rose: “Huh?”
Dak couldn’t help smiling: “Don’t worry. Even if Diana loses, she won’t be easily defeated. And losing isn’t entirely bad. Letting her lose before the break might prevent her from getting too relaxed. Learning doesn’t progress if one doesn’t advance; a three-month holiday is actually a challenging time. If she only indulges in play during this period, she’ll likely fall behind when she returns.”
“Long holiday…” Rose opened her mouth, thinking of something else.
Her mood visibly sank.
Dak noticed and quietly asked: “What’s wrong? Don’t want to go home?”
Rose couldn’t help nodding: “Yes!”
Dak raised an eyebrow and said: “You’re staying at your uncle’s place, right?”
Rose: “Yes.”
Dak: “Actually, there’s no need to worry too much. Maybe when you return, you’ll find things aren’t so bad.”
“Blip—”
Professor Lily blew her whistle sharply, and the battle began!
Starting the battle phase, Diana instantly entered a fighting state. The previous worry and dejection seemed like a mirage as she suddenly transformed into a roaring bear.
Across from her, Sarah Swati smiled charmingly, like a beautiful yet venomous snake.
Their decks and tactics were like bear and snake—powerful and fierce versus seductive and ruthless—resulting in an intense clash.
As Dak predicted, although Diana was fierce, she still couldn’t withstand Sarah’s cunning, ultimately being slowly devoured by the snake and collapsing.
Despite both performing excellently in this duel, the victor reaped all the applause while Diana’s lips tightened with the sting of defeat.
She wouldn’t cry, but her fists clenched tightly.
“Diana,” Sarah suddenly said.
Diana slightly tilted her head to look at her.
Sarah blinked: “Next semester, I’ll be waiting for your revenge.”
A spark flashed in Diana’s eyes.
…
Duels were like this.
One victory or defeat did not determine eternal outcomes.
Only continuous progress could lead to constant self-improvement.
When Diana left the competitor platform, her expression had returned to normal.
This duel with Sarah clearly taught her a lesson, reigniting her desire for battle.
…
Shortly afterward, Rose stepped onto the field again.
Her luck was good; her opponent was still an unremarkable student.
Even though the knight academy student knew the characteristics of the “Mobius Worm,” he couldn’t find a way to counter it and ultimately lost.
Rose breathed a sigh of relief and stepped down from the platform.
These two duels drained her energy, but at least she won.
She didn’t have much desire for victory and didn’t care much about grades; she just needed to pass.
…
With Rose’s assessment completed, only Dak remained in the trio.
He waited quietly for his turn, watching his eager opponents appear one by one, including Emma. He sighed silently.
Finally encountering a dueling assessment, he naturally wanted to make the most of it, but it seemed fate had other plans.
He shook his head in disappointment.
“66…”
When Professor Jones finally called his number, he raised his spirits slightly.
“Dak, it’s your turn.” Diana nudged him with her elbow.
He quickly responded: “Got it!”
A number: “104, Platform 1.”
“104.” Dark recalled slightly and quickly realized, “Is it Wit?”
His gaze shifted and he saw Wit Gold also looking over with the numbered marker.
Dark turned his attention back.
He had certainly paid attention to Wit’s duel in the previous round, but since Wit’s opponent wasn’t particularly strong, there hadn’t been much to show in terms of power.
Who knew what changes he might have undergone in these two months?
The return of the Blood Princess was theoretically beneficial for Wit’s growth.
But the Blood Princess wasn’t a professor and didn’t have the authority to distribute credits, so she couldn’t provide material support; at most, she could assist in education.
Though Wit lacked education, whether they could truly mesh well was uncertain.
Moreover, the Blood Princess was actually under a form of ‘soft confinement,’ not allowed to move freely around the Mana Academy, and could not have too much contact with Wit.
However, in these past two months, Dark occasionally saw Wit walking with Tom Nixon.
Tom Nixon was a third-year student at Fool’s Academy, a half-breed born in the slums, who had competed against Dark in the finals of the Easter Duel Festival and had participated in the Blood Princess’s ritual.
He had some connection with the Blood Princess.
Given that Tom Nixon used “Bloodlust” series mana spirit cards, their connection seemed quite strong.
And as Wit inherited the Blood Princess’s bloodline, he should theoretically possess the talent for blood magic and perhaps learn something from Tom Nixon.
In short, when Dark learned that his opponent was Wit, he began to rack his brains to add depth to Wit, hoping he would indeed become stronger—otherwise, it would be too boring.
On the other side,
Upon learning that his second-round duel assessment was against Dark, Wit couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows, feeling somewhat excited.
Although he no longer harbored any hostility towards Dark, he still aimed to become someone as excellent as Dark, even surpassing him.
Being able to duel Dark at the end of his first year was an ideal conclusion for him.
If he could get a piece of Dark during this duel, it would be even better.
“Hey, Wit, what’s wrong?” Robert suddenly asked.
Wit quickly calmed himself and said, “I’m fired up.”
Robert hurriedly felt his forehead and then asked doubtfully, “Not hot? Maybe I should ask the professor if you can take a sick leave and leave early. After all, you don’t stand a chance against Dark.”
Wit: “…”
After a while, Wit said, “Can we talk about something else?”
“Alright then.” Robert shrugged and said, “Just hang in there. Winning after one round is good enough.”
Wit silently replied, “Robert, actually, there’s something I haven’t told you.”
Robert asked in confusion, “What?”
Wit said, “You’re annoying.”
Robert slapped his shoulder hard, “Ha! You finally said it!”
“Ouch!” Wit winced in pain, “Stop it.”
Robert slapped his butt and pushed him forward, “Go on, go early and come back early, don’t waste everyone’s time.”
Wit rubbed his shoulder, wincing.
But he ultimately walked toward the competitor platform on Platform 1.
At this moment, Dark had already ascended to the Red Side competitor platform.
He placed his hand on the spellboard, his gaze passing through the transparent barrier to see Wit ascending the platform, his eyes calm yet piercing through time.
From the start of school, nine months had passed in the blink of an eye.
He still clearly remembered the shock he felt when he regained his memories of his past life during the house sorting ceremony. At that time, he was still searching for the original game’s protagonist, the counterpart to Harry Potter, whom he paid special attention to.
But today, he realized he hadn’t interacted with Wit for two months.
Unconsciously, both had walked onto two parallel paths without any intersection.
As he gradually became convinced that he would definitely be able to analyze and control the Capital Sins in the future, there was no need for him to have any interaction with the future hero.
Over the course of this year, he had indeed adhered to his initial mindset at the beginning of the school year. As long as he continued like this, everything would be fine.
With his thoughts becoming clearer, Dark’s mindset became more peaceful.
He waited until Wit ascended the competitor platform before activating the spellboard and placing his deck into the card slot, injecting mana and automatically shuffling.
Wit on the Blue Side competitor platform quickly placed his deck into the spell slot and activated the shuffling.
“Dark.”
“Hmm?”
Dark slightly raised his head at Wit’s sudden voice.
Wit then spoke, “I never had a chance to properly thank you, but I am really grateful.”
Dark raised an eyebrow and said, “No need.”
If he was sincere, he could find an opportunity to formally express gratitude.
But Wit added, “I know that even if I give it my all now, I won’t be your match, but I won’t give up.”
Dark nodded, “That’s fine, as long as you smile.”
Wit: “Huh?”
Dark: “I hope this duel will bring smiles to both of us.”
“BEEP —”
“Standby Phase [30s]”
The instant the exchange ended, the countdown for the 30-second standby phase began.
Without hesitation, Dark reached for his cards.
But Wit hesitated for a moment before acting.
This was their first formal duel since the start of school, though it was only in the novice tournament mode, it held significant meaning for Wit. It might help him understand the gap between him and his goal and calculate how much effort he needed to catch up.
For Dark, it had some significance, but not much.
After obtaining five mana spirit cards, he immediately laid them out, treating even a rabbit hunt as if it were a lion.
[Primordial Dragon Egg]
[Solo Sword Sheath (Weapon Form)]
[Gluttony III]
[Huhu]
[Big Milk Jar]
The first card in his hand was竟然是 “Primordial Dragon Egg”!
Starting with this three-star mana spirit card, Dark could rapidly hatch a six-star mana spirit.
Provided the 1500 defense points weren’t instantly broken.
Actually, the possibility was extremely small.
The second card, “Solo Sword Sheath (Weapon Form),” could summon a four-star mana spirit after transformation.
Using “Gluttony III” would also result in a six-star mana spirit!
The only issue was that the stats of “Dual Sword Sheath” were inferior to “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon,” but its ultimate skill was stronger.
“Both have their strengths and weaknesses.”
“But priority goes to the novice.”
“It’s decided, Dragon Egg!”
