Chapter 626: Dark Demon and the Rite of the Vampire (5k)
“Roar!”
The “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon” that had just hatched raised its head and let out a slightly immature roar.
The pressure unique to dragonkind instantly spread out.
Dark watched the “Shield Knight” in the red summoning zone and gave an unhesitant command: “Attack!”
The “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon” flapped its wings excitedly and charged towards the red half of the arena.
Meanwhile, Dark immediately began summoning the “Magical Beast: Eevee” as soon as it started charging…
When the “Magical Beast: Eevee” was summoned, the “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon” had already crossed half the field, with its round eyes swirling with boiling combat intent.
“Shield Knight!”
Justin Wayne shouted suddenly.
“Ultimate Skill: Glorious Shield!”
The burly “Shield Knight” roared loudly, channeling all his strength into the giant shield.
The emblem on the shield instantly lit up, and a radiant golden light covered the entire shield surface, forming a light larger than the shield itself.
Finally, Justin Wayne, who had been waiting for the summon cooldown to reset, concentrated and summoned a second Mana Card in his hand.
In the next moment…
The charging “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon” slammed heavily into the “Glorious Shield”!
The golden light of the “Glorious Shield” trembled wildly, and the heavy shield was pushed back.
The “Shield Knight” almost fused with the giant shield.
“Boom!”
The golden light scattered.
The charge of the “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon” was forcibly halted by the “Shield Knight”!
Despite the “Shield Knight” behind the giant shield being completely exhausted, the aura burning on him only increased.
[Card Name: Shield Knight]
[Type: Elemental Card]
[Level: ???]
[Race: Humanoid]
[Attribute: General]
[Mana: 1100]
[Attack: 0]
[Defense: 2000]
[Ultimate Skill: Glorious Shield]
Dark did not find this surprising.
Justin Wayne’s “Shield Knight” had already made several appearances, and its unparalleled defense was astonishing.
But one-time use only.
Just blocking this attack had already drained the “Shield Knight” of all its power.
Without the protection of the “Glorious Shield,” it was impossible to block the “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon’s” second attack.
But when the “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon” abruptly turned its body to strike the giant shield with its tail, Justin Wayne finally completed his summon at that moment.
A second “Knight” appeared in the red summoning zone.
It was the “Skeleton Knight” riding a skeletal horse, clad in tattered armor!
[Card Name: Skeleton Knight]
[Type: Elemental Card]
[Level: ???]
[Race: Undead]
[Attribute: Ghost]
[Mana: 900]
[Attack: 1000]
[Defense: 900]
[Ultimate Skills: Rotting Justice, Knight Unyielding]
The “Skeleton Knight” with two ultimate skills had very poor stats, but as an undead, these skills made it one of Justin Wayne’s core Mana Cards.
“Rotting Justice” allowed the “Skeleton Knight” to abandon all defense, gaining 1900 powerful attack points at the cost of zero defense.
“Knight Unyielding” granted the “Skeleton Knight” or its “Knight” companion a once-in-a-lifetime “invincibility.”
This effect was similar to “Huhu’s” “Resilience,” but it could be used on allied “Knights.”
Thus, the moment it was summoned, Justin Wayne shouted urgently: “Knight Unyielding, target Shield Knight!”
Understanding the Magus’s command, the “Skeleton Knight” immediately turned its hollow eyes toward the “Shield Knight.”
In the next moment, black light shot from its eyes and entered the “Shield Knight’s” body.
Then the “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon’s” tail struck the “Shield Knight’s” giant shield.
The “Shield Knight’s” mana plummeted visibly.
When its mana dropped to zero, the “Shield Knight’s” giant shield and body became completely transparent.
But it did not die; instead, it stood on the battlefield in its “Ghostly Body.”
The massive shield still blocked the path of the blue Mana Guidance Ball.
Watching this scene, the “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon” suddenly stopped, curiously observing the “Shield Knight,” even lifting its claws, clearly wanting to poke it.
In this urgent duel arena, the “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon’s” childish actions momentarily eased the tension.
Justin Wayne waited until the “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon” stopped attacking before he slightly relaxed.
The thirty-second countdown for the first round had ended. If he could draw the key Mana Card next, there was still a chance to defeat the “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon.”
Dark had never publicly displayed the “Dragon Egg Transformation” ability, akin to the rebirth of a phoenix, which left Justin Wayne unaware.
…
[Battle Phase (2)] [30s]
…
But as Justin Wayne reached for his cards, he suddenly noticed Dark Demon flipping another Mana Card on the blue competitor’s platform.
Seeing the Mana Card’s surface glow with dark light, he quickly looked up at the projection and immediately saw the Mana Card’s face.
It was the Mana Card that Dark had used in previous duels, leaving a deep impression — “Nether Soul Ring!”
“In the name of Dark Demon, Mana Summoning — ‘Nether Soul Ring’!”
A collar burning with gray flames was summoned.
Dark twisted his wrist and pointed the Mana Card forward. The “Nether Soul Ring” vanished and reappeared around the “Skeleton Knight’s” neck.
With the “Shield Knight’s” mana depleted and the “Skeleton Knight” still at full power, there was no need for further explanation.
Dark did not give Justin Wayne any more time to react.
The moment the “Nether Soul Ring” was placed around the “Skeleton Knight’s” neck, intense gray flames erupted.
Then Dark lifted his hand and forcibly pulled the “Skeleton Knight” into the air, dragging it quickly toward the blue half of the arena.
At the same time, he issued a new command to the “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon”: “Wake up.”
The “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon” instantly clenched its fingers into a fist and hit the transparent giant shield of the “Shield Knight” with a fierce punch.
The “Shield Knight,” with no remaining mana and only defense, was shattered by this sudden punch!
Then the “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon” charged decisively toward the red Mana Guidance Ball.
Justin Wayne on the red competitor’s platform changed his expression dramatically, pointing at the Mana Guidance Ball instantly.
Mana lines shot out crazily, sticking to the Mana Guidance Ball.
Justin Wayne pulled hard, lifting the red Mana Guidance Ball upward.
But the “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon” spread its wings and kicked off the ground, shooting upward with a “BOOM.” Its punch nearly shattered the Mana Guidance Ball’s Life Barrier instantly!
The red Mana Guidance Ball, with only 1000 mana left, was also shot upward by this punch.
The “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon” flapped its wings and chased after it fiercely.
Justin Wayne’s expression became even more urgent.
The duel had progressed to this point. Unless the Magus had the ability to multitask or the Mana Guidance Ball’s Life Barrier could withstand another hit, it was basically impossible to reverse the situation.
Dark watched the situation and decisively stopped the sacrificial summon.
Summoning “Deoxys” with the “Skeleton Knight” as a sacrifice now had no meaning.
The “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon” was enough to end the duel.
…
Fights between upperclassmen were like this; a single mistake could lead to a complete loss from the start.
No matter how many hidden cards remained in the deck, the opponent would not give you a chance to use them.
Dark Demon’s dueling style was far beyond what a second-year novice duelist could handle.
Justin Wayne struggled to control the Mana Guidance Ball to evade, but the “Baby Blue-Eye Dragon” easily caught up and shattered the last Life Barrier.
As the red Mana Guidance Ball’s mana depleted, the duel came to an end.
…
“BEEP—”
“The battle is over!”
“Victor: Dark Demon!”
The referee announced the end of the duel and declared the end of Dark Demon’s “Silver Cup” matches.
He would temporarily leave the “Silver Cup” arena and focus more on higher-level events.
…
After recalling all the Mana Spirits, Dark nodded slightly to the opposite Justin Wayne and stepped down from the competitors’ platform.
Justin Wayne did not stay downcast for long and followed Dark off the platform shortly after.
For second-year students, time was still plentiful, even the rest of their second year.
Temporary failure wasn’t important; what mattered was whether they could learn from it.
Next, Justin Wayne would join other second-year duelists who qualified for the “Golden Cup,” an event open to all grades.
Although most second-year students were destined to be like rabbits among wolves, this was Professor Pavar Jones’s goal.
…
After leaving the Outdoor Duel Arena, Dark headed straight away.
The “Silver Cup” was temporarily concluded.
Costumes for Halloween were largely prepared.
Apart from continuing his research on turning the “Jester Mask” into an Item Card, he needed to spend more time on his “Astrology” and “Alchemy” classes.
The difficulty of these elective courses was rapidly increasing, especially “Astrology.”
Dark realized he was gradually falling behind in “Astrology” class.
First, Professor Metia Barlow’s teaching content was becoming more specialized, and second, his “divination talent” was lagging behind.
But Dark never thought he had divination talent, so he wasn’t too disheartened.
What troubled him more was that Lil’Eevee was also falling behind…
Lil’Eevee was not struggling due to lack of divination talent but because its knowledge base was insufficient.
This led to even evolving into “Eevee (Sun),” it couldn’t fully integrate the knowledge.
All Dark could do was try to meticulously copy notes for future reference.
Even if he didn’t pass this year’s “Astrology” course, he could continue studying based on the notes.
With Lil’Eevee’s growing knowledge, he would eventually master astrology.
As for himself… each has their own expertise!
He was quite open about it.
On the contrary,
Dark performed well in “Alchemy” class.
Professor Kazel’s lectures were also deepening, but his talent in alchemy was clearly superior to his astrology skills, and he hadn’t encountered any insurmountable content yet.
However, as the course progressed, Professor Kazel began assigning extracurricular homework, including experiments that required substantial time.
Under such circumstances, Dark had already grasped some basic alchemy and was getting closer to his goal of creating a construct.
…
Amidst the increasingly demanding coursework, a week quietly passed.
With only a few days left until Halloween, the second-year students seemed to suddenly shake off their delay, and the festival atmosphere finally erupted.
Even though Dark Demon had already received several dance invitations, he received even more over the weekend.
Despite rejecting some girls last year, he received their invitations again this year.
While politely declining, he sometimes wondered why these girls, whom he hadn’t interacted with much, thought a single invitation could change anything.
Fortunately, Halloween wasn’t like Christmas, and the romantic atmosphere among second-year students was much less intense, so he didn’t receive too much harassment.
Saturday, October 26th.
Dark met up with Diana and Rose to pick up the costume props they had ordered the previous week from Traveler’s Street.
They then spent some time wandering around the street together until they returned to their dorms after lunch.
Back in his dorm, Dark enthusiastically put on vampire fangs, pointed ears, and wings as props and looked at the reflection of his vampire wings in the mirror, suddenly having the idea to make them into a “Item Card.”
The reason was simple: the fixed vampire wings attached to his back were large and clumsy, and they couldn’t move.
Both in terms of aesthetics and convenience, they had significant flaws.
If he wanted to, he could do it.
Dark had already made considerable progress in “Item Card” research.
Besides, these vampire wings weren’t difficult to buy — mass-produced ones lacked uniqueness.
Even if the experiment failed, it wouldn’t be a big problem.
“Two elements.”
“One is to make the vampire wings move.”
“The second is to allow the vampire wings to contract and shrink.”
“The former is very simple, the latter is somewhat challenging.”
“But if we don’t pursue the strength of the vampire wings and don’t require flight capabilities…”
After analyzing for a moment, Dark directly began the experiment.
Two hours later, he held a Mana Card in his hand, slightly excited.
If forced to categorize it, this Mana Card should belong to the “Changing Card” type.
The Mana Card depicted a transparent humanoid figure with vampire wings, fangs, and pointed ears installed on it — yes, he included the fangs and ears as props.
Moreover, the transparent humanoid figure had makeup applied to its face, making it pale with deep eye sockets, giving it a look of dark circles under the eyes.
The Mana Card’s name was “Rite of the Vampire.”
After using a standard summoning spell to summon it, it could provide a disguise similar to a vampire.
He pressed the Mana Card against his chest to test it, and it successfully summoned.
Moreover, as he injected mana, he could easily control the vibration of the wings, making them lifelike.
Furthermore, when not in use, the vampire wings could be shrunk to palm size, resembling chicken wings.
He thought for a moment, changed into a black suit, put on a top hat, picked up a cane, and re-summoned the “Rite of the Vampire.” He perfectly transformed into a noble vampire gentleman.
“Pretty cool!”
Compared to last year’s “Night Prince Outfit,” Dark preferred this set of costume much more.
At least it made him look like he was genuinely participating in a Halloween masquerade, rather than attending a noble banquet.
“I wonder how Diana and Rose are doing?”
Dark rubbed his chin, feeling curious.
But he didn’t go to ask.
Just like he never asked Pandora about her Halloween costume.
Those surprises would be revealed on the night before Halloween!
…
And this year’s night before Halloween seemed to have even more surprises!
Starting this week, rumors spread throughout the academy that this year’s Halloween activities would be completely different from the past.
Although the academy had been using the same rules for years, at most adjusting the credit rewards for various “ghosts,” Dark felt the credibility of this news was rising.
Without Professor Kazel’s leadership, anything was possible among the professors.
Especially Professor Lily needed to be wary!
But this made Dark even more excited.
The classic activities that had continued through the years were indeed classic, but he had participated once and naturally hoped for a new experience in the coming year.
…
“Knock knock knock!”
Dark looked up at the door and gestured to the Imp Beast.
He himself quickly removed the “Rite of the Vampire” outfit and tidied up the remains of the experiment.
Very few people would come looking for him at this time.
Within the confines of the Noble Academy, even fewer.
Diana and Rose were the most likely candidates, but since they had lunch together today, the chances of them arriving later were low.
Apart from them, Aurora visited the most frequently.
However, Aurora usually appeared at night and was rarely seen during the day.
“If it’s not them, could it be Eudora?”
Dark turned his head toward the door.
The Imp Beast had already opened the door, and the unexpected guest finally poked its head inside.
It was Anna and Angie.
