Chapter 528 Dard Demonmon Seeks Subscriptions (7000)
“It’s lively here.”
“Perhaps this is youth.”
“Youth is art, and art is an explosion.”
As parents whispered among themselves, the examinees who had completed their interviews walked out of the examination room one after another.
Some were bewildered and at a loss, while others exuded confidence.
The states of the examinees varied greatly.
Dard was chatting with Oscar Oude about the source of the explosion when he suddenly saw a pink-haired figure in the crowd, instantly perking up.
“They’re out!”
…
The Vampire Noble, the Phoenix Girl, and the dark elf maiden walked out together.
The two golems originally hadn’t planned on waiting for the dark elf, but the explosion made them notice that the dark elf’s assessment was nearing its end, so they waited a bit longer.
The three girls walked together, each with their own charm, attracting quite a few glances.
Compared to the gloominess after the written test, they now seemed much more relaxed.
When the Vampire Noble found Dard in the crowd, she couldn’t help but quicken her pace, running over like a young bird returning to its nest, eager to tell Dard the results of the interview.
Seeing their expressions, Dard relaxed and opened his arms to embrace her.
“Did you do well?”
“Of course!”
The Vampire Noble sniffled.
Then she hurriedly wanted to loudly recount all the details.
But Dard smiled and said, “Let’s go back first and talk later.”
The Vampire Noble closed her mouth.
Dard then grabbed the Phoenix Girl’s hand, disregarding the fact that they looked almost the same age, and asked, “How did it go?”
A tiny arc formed at the corner of the Phoenix Girl’s lips, and she nodded.
“That’s good.”
Dard sighed in relief.
Although the two golems didn’t have much confidence in their written test scores, Dard was optimistic.
In fact, the real deciding factor for whether the two golems could enroll was the interview process.
If they lacked magical talent and were forced into the academy, neither they nor anyone else would be happy.
Now that the interview was certain, it was basically settled.
He turned to look at the Oude siblings beside him, only to find the dark elf girl tightly gripping Oscar Oude’s sleeve, her lips pressed into a thin line.
Viviane Alverde was clearly anxious about her familiar power once again going out of control during the interview.
However, after Oscar Oude heard this, he happily comforted her.
The siblings, separated by at least fifty years, exuded warmth.
…
The final results of the entrance exams would be announced either on the evening of July 16th or early morning of July 17th.
At that time, the names and exam numbers of those who passed would be posted on the bulletin board in the academy town.
Those who did not pass but wanted to know their scores could inquire with the staff.
The staff would distribute the score reports based on the exam number.
As for the admission invitations for those who passed, they would be sent to each person within ten days.
In case of special circumstances where someone does not receive their admission invitation, the school hopes the student will not forget to report on September 1st.
…
After leaving the academy, Dard and company found a restaurant in the academy town to celebrate the successful exams.
The two families dined and chatted together, fostering some friendship.
The Vampire Noble and the Phoenix Girl also became slightly more familiar with the dark elf girl.
After dinner, both families strolled through the night market and left their blessings, agreeing to meet at the bulletin board.
The next morning.
Dard entrusted the two golem familiars to three dragon guards and then entered the academy with Claire, Eve, and Irina to meet with the academy’s external liaison officer, discussing the “duel game” in greater detail.
This cooperation, from a conditions standpoint, wasn’t overly complicated, and both parties were relatively accommodating in terms of profit distribution.
The main points to negotiate were the specific rules of the duel game, the formulation of the first set of cards, and the leasing of shops in Traveler’s Street.
Dard already had clear ideas on the specific rules of the duel game.
Given that both sides needed a quick communication channel, the shop leasing requirements were quickly confirmed.
Eve and Irina, as the best liaisons, would serve in shifts at the shops in Traveler’s Street.
And outside of weekends, they could choose one or two elective courses to audit!
Although they were not main courses, the elective courses at Saint Maryann Academy were numerous and very useful.
Moreover, obtaining the right to audit meant that access to resources such as the library, dungeon, and Traveler’s Street would be available to them.
This was something every magus yearned for.
Getting this auditing qualification relied on Dard’s connections as the “model Easter Egg planner.”
Eve and Irina obviously felt very happy about this.
The failure of the entrance exam two years ago had been a thorn in their hearts, but now there was hope.
The twins, for the first time, felt grateful towards the young master who had suddenly proposed this suggestion.
But the most important and time-consuming part of the negotiations was the formulation of the first set of cards.
The appeal of this first set of cards would essentially determine how competitive the duel game would be against Mana Chess.
After all, before the popularization stage, the duel game was directly competing with Mana Chess!
…
The final results of the entrance exams did not come out on the evening of the 16th.
After eight o’clock, the parents who were waiting in the square returned home.
Soon after, a two-meter-high magic gate appeared in the teleportation square, and Dard and company emerged from it.
After a day of negotiations, Dard felt a slight fatigue. He looked up at the moon floating in the clouds and couldn’t help but smile.
The entire negotiation process went smoothly, but finishing it would take a few more days.
Dard lowered his head, turned toward the direction of the bulletin board, and suddenly said, “Oh, I forgot to ask the professors about the entrance exam results.”
Clarel replied nonchalantly, “It won’t be tonight, but tomorrow morning, you’ll know after waking up.”
“That’s right,” Dard nodded. “We’ll get through it.”
As they walked out of the square, Eve and Irina followed closely behind.
A few minutes later, Dard seemed to just remember and casually asked, “Have Eve and Irina considered which elective course they want to audit?”
Eve smiled sweetly, “Still considering.”
Irina added, “We need to see what courses are available first.”
Dard said, “Shall I ask the professor to provide a list of elective courses?”
Eve exclaimed in surprise, “Can we?”
Dard nodded, “Of course. I’m selecting electives next semester too, so I can check it out as well. But the academy has prerequisites for many electives, so try to think it through carefully.”
Eve and Irina nodded repeatedly.
…
The group soon returned to their residence. Dard opened the door and suddenly saw the Vampire Noble and the Phoenix Girl sitting on the bed glaring at each other. He couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What are you doing?”
The Vampire Noble mumbled, “I want to see what I look like in other people’s eyes.”
Dard: “…”
Staring at the Vampire Noble’s back for half a second, Dard decisively turned away, no longer paying attention to her, feeling a pang of pain in his heart.
Because he suddenly realized that his baby seemed to be heading towards becoming a joker…
But after ignoring the Vampire Noble, she herself climbed down from the bed and hung onto his arm, lifting her head to look into his eyes.
Dard helplessly said, “What now?”
The Vampire Noble couldn’t help but say, “What if I don’t get in?”
Dard comforted her, “That won’t happen.”
The Vampire Noble pouted, “Why wouldn’t it? Just tell me what you’d do if I didn’t get in!”
Dard thought for a moment and said, “Then you can become an auditor.”
“Auditor?”
“Dead?” The Vampire Noble’s eyes immediately lit up. “Is she like Ibut?”
At that time, when she was in the Mana Academy, she envied Ibut.
If she could be an auditor like Ibut, it wouldn’t be so bad.
Thinking about it, her gaze fell upon the Phoenix Girl, causing her expression to freeze.
If her little sister got in and she didn’t, how embarrassing would that be?
“No, no, I can’t be an auditor, I want to enroll!”
She shook her head vigorously, feeling even more nervous.
Dark opened his mouth but didn’t continue.
Even if the Vampire Noble failed the entrance exam, he had ways to help her.
But he couldn’t let children learn bad habits like backdoor dealings.
So it was better to say nothing until the results were out.
That night, both Golems stayed awake all night.
…
When the first ray of morning light on August 17th penetrated through the window and into the room, Dark opened his eyes driven by his biological clock.
He knew the Vampire Noble and the Phoenix Girl probably didn’t sleep well.
But thanks to the fact that Golems don’t need much sleep, their energy wasn’t too bad.
He always believed that experiencing sleepless nights due to nervousness was part of life, so he didn’t force himself to sleep.
“Let’s go have a good meal first, then go to the teleportation square to wait for the results. According to past patterns, the final results will definitely be announced before nine o’clock.”
Dark pushed open the door and stepped out of the room.
The Vampire Noble clung tightly to his arm, her fingers trembling.
“This level of mental fortitude… there’s no hope!”
Sighing inwardly, Dark used his other hand to pat her head, trying to calm her down and divert her attention with food: “How about we eat some tomato sauce today?”
The Vampire Noble instinctively objected, “Who eats sauce without anything else?”
Dark shrugged, “Then diced small tomatoes with sliced big tomatoes dipped in tomato sauce?”
The Vampire Noble pouted, “Why is everything tomato?”
Dark replied, “Because you like tomatoes.”
The Vampire Noble immediately felt a bit happier, “Hey.”
After picking up the Phoenix Girl and the twins from another room, they headed in a grand procession to the dining area.
There were many people eating breakfast early that day, and they finished quickly and left.
Obviously, everyone wanted to know the results of the entrance exam as soon as possible.
But the saying “a thousand troops and ten thousand horses crossing a single log bridge” meant only a few could pass within the limited time.
Most of the others could only look on in despair.
Dark Demon, who had experienced the cruelty of middle school exams, high school exams, and civil service exams, was used to this.
At 7:30 in the morning.
Arriving late, Dark brought everyone to the teleportation square.
The teleportation square was already crowded, especially around the bulletin board where it was even more congested.
Dark had no intention of joining the crowd, instead scanning the area for Oscar Ode’s figure. Finally, he spotted the dark elf girl in a cool corner.
And Oscar Ode was naturally by her side.
“Come, let’s go over there.”
Dark grabbed the Vampire Noble’s hand and led her over.
The two families soon met up.
Dark immediately noticed that the siblings, despite their age difference, both had dark circles under their eyes.
Clearly, even Oscar Ode, the former Border Earl, hadn’t slept well.
The two families chatted idly for half an hour in the corner when the St. Maryann Academy’s teleportation gate finally appeared.
As staff members emerged from the gate holding a scroll, the atmosphere in the square became intense.
A large crowd began to surge towards the bulletin board.
The staff member, looking at the crowd with no gaps, shook his head helplessly and cast a “Flight Spell,” soaring above the crowd to land in front of the bulletin board.
Clearly, the academy had gained rich experience in posting announcements over the years.
“Don’t rush, what’s meant to be will come, and what isn’t won’t come no matter how hard you rush.”
The staff member slowly finished speaking and posted the announcement.
Then he pointed to the rear of the crowd, “The names on the list are sorted by test number. Follow the numbers to see if you’re there. If you want detailed scores, please check over there.”
More staff members had already set up tables and chairs on the other side of the square.
People started moving toward the inquiry desk.
The space they vacated was instantly filled.
Then more people rushed to the inquiry desk.
Whether they were elated or reluctant, everyone wanted to know their grades—especially their rankings!
But the staff only had the written exam rankings, which might disappoint some people.
…
Dark originally planned to check after the crowd thinned, but Oscar Ode clearly couldn’t wait any longer.
His two Golems were the same.
Reluctantly, he led the charge, pushing through the crowd.
After a full fifteen minutes, he finally reached the bulletin board and saw Victoria Demon’s name first.
Following closely behind was Phoenix Demon’s name, equally prominent.
Dark’s expression remained unchanged, but he breathed a sigh of relief internally.
The successful passing of the entrance exam was both a victory for the Vampire Noble and the Phoenix Girl, and a testament to the effectiveness of education.
The others seemed to struggle to find their names, still counting from top to bottom.
Dark took the opportunity to summon the “Mana Book,” having it record the entire list.
Just as the “Mana Book” completed its task, the Vampire Noble’s excited voice suddenly rang out.
“I found it! Victoria, Victoria, it’s me, it’s me!”
She jumped up three feet high.
Then the temperature in the area suddenly rose.
Dark turned sharply and saw the Phoenix Girl’s cheeks flush, her red hair like flames, ready to ignite at any moment.
He quickly held her shoulders to calm her down.
On the other side…
Oscar Ode, displaying a look of wild joy, hurriedly embraced Viviane Alvende.
Dark could clearly feel the rapid calming of the magic fluctuations.
Clearly, the siblings also found “Viviane Alvende’s” name on the bulletin board.
“Congratulations to you.”
“Congratulations to you too.”
“Let’s celebrate together.”
The two families, urged by the staff, walked out from the side and prepared to queue up at the inquiry desk.
Wanting to know the ranking was natural, and they were no exception.
Fortunately, there were enough staff members at the inquiry desk.
They only spent less than half an hour getting their specific score reports.
“This year, eighty-one candidates passed the entrance exam, plus the eighty-eight students the academy actively admitted, making a total of one hundred and sixty-nine.”
Dark quickly calculated and first looked at the Vampire Noble’s score report.
[Exam Number: 0398]
[Name: Victoria Demon]
[Written Exam: 621 points (Rank 53)]
[Interview: Passed]
“Fifty-third place, barely made it.”
After finishing, Dark handed the score report to Claire and then looked at the Phoenix Girl’s score report.
[Exam Number: 0410]
[Name: Phoenix Demon]
[Written Exam: 613 points (Rank 55)]
[Interview: Passed]
“Just two points off, looks like Phoenix has been working hard.” Dark couldn’t help but praise.
Then he turned to Oscar Ode, curious, “How did Viviane do on her written exam?”
Oscar Ode frowned slightly, “Worse than expected, 765 points, thirteenth place.”
Dark Demon, who had been secretly proud, opened his mouth wide.
Then he couldn’t help but look at the dark elf girl.
After the exam, the dark elf who almost cried now looked visibly relieved.
Dak nudged Old Ode and couldn’t help but say, “This is the sister you said had poor concentration?”
Versailles Ode responded seriously, “If she had stronger focus, with her academic ability, she should be able to secure at least third place.”
Dak: “…”
Well…
After all, she was the treasure nurtured for twelve years by an entire family. If the dark elf girl really failed, that would indeed be a strange occurrence.
The vampire noble and the phoenix girl didn’t have much competitive spirit.
Since they found out they passed, they couldn’t stop smiling and were now dancing hand in hand.
Now that all three of them had passed the entrance exams, each of them had a bright future ahead.
Thinking about how in another half month, they could participate in the house assignment ceremony together, they couldn’t help but feel joyous.
“Roar—”
A sudden roar of a lion interrupted their conversation.
The gray-furred beast man couldn’t contain his excitement and let out a wild roar, instantly becoming the center of attention.
“Is this one of the students enrolling this year?” Oscar Ode couldn’t help but frown.
Dak flipped through the “Mana Book” and said, “It’s a branch of the Beast King Family. It seems they’ve passed the test.”
Oscar Ode frowned and asked, “Why would the Beast King Family come to take the entrance exam at Saint Maryann Academy?”
Dak shrugged, “There must be a reason. Anyway, are you heading back directly?”
Oscar Ode turned and replied, “Yes. If we leave now, we might still make it for dinner.”
Dak smiled, “Then I won’t interfere with your good news.”
Olis Ode added, “See you in September.”
Dak: “See you in September.”
Thus, Oscar Ode left the square with Vivian.
Dak, on the other hand, simply brought along two mana golems and entered the academy through a teleportation gate.
The success of the vampire noble and the phoenix girl also allowed him to finally relax. He could now focus on designing the first set of cards.
…
Time flew quickly, and before he knew it, three or four days had passed.
During this time, Dak, relying solely on his own efforts, successfully completed the design of the first set of ninety-nine cards, leaving the supervisor in awe.
Professor Kazel, who received the task only on the sixteenth night, managed to create the initial card templates and duel disks in just three days—a speed that was even faster than a Wulinghongguang!
Dak couldn’t help but admire the professor.
Professor Kazel was truly a godsend!
Except for not yet designing the energy cards, the duel disks he made were nearly perfect.
In this aspect, Dak only provided a concept and appearance.
This made him wonder if Professor Kazel knew the structure of cars and airplanes, would magical cars and airplanes soon follow?
“Perhaps I can choose Professor Kazel’s alchemy course as one of my elective courses in the second year?”
…
Although he wanted very much to stay at the academy and wait for Professor Kazel’s final product, Dak chose to leave after completing the first set of card designs.
On August 21st.
Four flying dragons took off from the Dragon Training Grounds at Saint Maryann Academy. After a day of flight, they finally arrived at the Duke’s Mansion before sunset.
Dak first settled the pale-looking twins, then immediately conveyed the good news to Alvaraite.
Mrs. Cook, who was chatting with Alvaraite, also learned of this great piece of news.
If it weren’t for the fact that the two mana golems were sensitive, Alvaraite would have wanted to host a celebration banquet in the mansion.
However, since large banquets couldn’t be held, internal family gatherings were fine.
Olivia worked overtime that night to prepare a banquet.
The vampire noble and the phoenix girl were the stars of the show, savoring the joy of achieving great success through their own efforts for the first time.
But after a night…
Everyone in the Duke’s Mansion became busy.
Claire needed to start working on cooperation agreements, especially important was recruiting staff.
These non-core staff members did not necessarily need to be magi.
The maids within the Duke’s Mansion were readily available resources.
Claire began to carefully select talent.
As for Eve and Irina, they took on the task of making notebooks from the leaves of the Diesel tree.
These notebooks, named “Replicas,” would be the first item sold by the Public Dueling Society’s branch. From the style to the pricing, everything needed careful determination.
And the mana golems couldn’t escape their fate either.
Four tutors were eager to teach them some basic knowledge over the next ten days.
Whether it was mana, magic, martial arts, or calligraphy and music, it would bring new joy to them.
At the same time, Dak finally began his final push.
With only ten days until school started on September 1st, he still had three experiments left unfinished.
Among them, the experiment related to “Pride IV” had no clue so far.
Every time he thought about it, he hesitated.
But since things had come to this, he had no choice.
Without trying once, how could he find the root cause?
Relying solely on intuition would never build a castle in the air.
But food has to be eaten one bite at a time, and roads walked step by step.
He had three experiments, starting with the simplest.
Dak took a deep breath and placed on the experimental table a thought bottle filled with “Bliss,” a gray stone drawn from an Easter Egg, a gemstone sealed with fire attribute monster blood, a piece of mana steel, four mana coins, and a crystallized blood of a water dragon lizard…
Additionally, he had a “Bloodthirsty Great Axe” obtained from the boss of the underground dungeon, the dual-headed demonic man.
This “Bloodthirsty Great Axe” absorbed the user’s life force to enhance its power, adding 1000 points of attack.
But the side effect of absorbing life force was too powerful, making it impractical even when turned into an equipment card.
Especially compared to the “Holy Sword,” it seemed particularly useless.
In fact, Dak was already planning to store the “Bloodthirsty Great Axe” in the Duke’s Mansion’s warehouse.
“In any case, I’ll start refining the last mana golem from the materials I have.”
“Because the ‘Bliss Fruit’ is chosen, the attributes will lean towards fairy type, evil type, and dark type.”
“There are five types of cat plants: orthodox cat plant, fox-eared grass, dairy cow grass, dragon grass, and lion grass. These can provide cat, fox, cow, dragon, and lion avian-beast kin factors to the ‘Bliss Fruit.’”
“The mana steel is used for ‘Armored,’ so it’s excluded.”
“Among the remaining materials, the most obvious characteristic is the crystallized blood of the water dragon lizard, which can be combined with dragon grass to refine a water dragon.”
“The value of mana coins isn’t high—unless I want to refine a second ‘Meow Meow.'”
“The gray stone and the gemstone sealed with fire attribute monster blood have unknown properties.”
“I might need to spend some time testing them instead of keeping them hidden.”
“Let’s start with this gray stone…”
“First, let’s determine what kind of monster blood is sealed in this gem!”
Dak put down the gray stone and picked up the gem.
The gray stone was a prize from the Easter Duel Festival.
The gemstone with the fire attribute monster blood was obtained from a canteen Easter Egg.
But the gray stone looked like an ordinary stone, and Dak couldn’t identify it.
If it weren’t for the fact that it came from an Easter Egg, it probably would have been thrown away.
Therefore, he could only start studying the gem.
“What kind of mana golem can be refined using these materials?”
[Online waiting, urgently!]
…
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