Chapter 851: Seven Discounts – Divination Isn’t Such an Easy Thing
Secret Rite Cards, Magic Spell Cards, Item Cards.
Regarding the refining ideas for these three types of Mana Cards, Dark had already figured out most of them, but he needed to delve deeper to gradually unfold them.
Among them, the idea of using the “Dream Machine” to refine Secret Rite Cards required mastering a sufficiently high-level “Mana Language,” which was necessary to continuously develop them.
So in the end, the “Mana Language” was the key focus.
That night, Dark came back to Professor Heldred Bode’s office again to continue his lesson.
After midnight, he sent Sarah and the others back one by one.
Then, just like last night, they encountered Hank Willard, the senior student, practicing late again!
“…”
When Dark and the others were surprised, Hank Willard was also unusually speechless.
It was clearly past the midnight curfew, so why were these people still here?
Didn’t they fear being locked up for violating curfew every day?
Sigh, they really weren’t afraid!
…
Hank Willard hurriedly changed his practice location.
Dark and the others looked at each other, then started discussing.
Why was Senior Hank Willard practicing so late?
They didn’t actually know.
But Hank Willard had clearly practiced all day and night yesterday, so why was he here again today?
Wasn’t the captain of the Sports Club being a bit excessive?
The big guy looked rather simple-minded, but he turned out to be such an over-the-top person?
“So, how many more days does he plan to practice like this?” Heidi suddenly asked.
Immediately, everyone’s gaze focused on Wit.
Wit said awkwardly, “How should I know… well, I’ll ask Robert tomorrow.”
They chatted aimlessly, their figures gradually blending into the night.
…
The next day, Sunday.
After waking up, Dark found it raining heavily outside, with moisture hitting his face.
He stopped the little demon beast from going out in the rain and decided to go to the canteen for breakfast after some time, then participate in today’s morning duel.
He valued these duels quite highly.
Every loss at this stage could become the main reason for eventual elimination.
To maintain his current ranking, he could only keep winning.
The only fortunate thing was that the three opponents he matched with this week were not those who seemed unbeatable at first glance.
However, compared to Hank Willard on Friday and the senior on Saturday, the opponent on Sunday was clearly much tougher.
Although Hank Willard was also very powerful, his tactics were too straightforward, making him easy to defend against.
When Dark dueled with him, there was no psychological pressure.
But today’s opponent made him feel hesitant about attacking.
Because today he would be facing a fifth-year senior from the Astrology Club!
Although this fifth-year senior wasn’t among the top sixteen, it was only because she wasn’t interested in participating.
The members of the Astrology Club who entered the Golden Cup’s top sixteen this year were only the deputy head of the club, rumored to be a fourth-year student from the Fool’s Academy, capable of competing with Vini Scarlet, another fourth-year student.
Moreover, besides the deputy head of the Astrology Club, the other members seemed indifferent to dueling on the field.
They preferred watching from the sidelines, discussing the performances of the duelists, or predicting the outcomes before the match, comparing notes with their companions.
In short, the core members of the Astrology Club were always mysterious and rarely showed themselves in public.
Dark’s limited understanding of the Astrology Club mainly came from Eudora.
But sometimes, even if someone appeared infrequently, each appearance left a deep impression.
Today’s opponent belonged to that type.
Her name was Fiete Stemberg, known as the “Diviner.”
“Diviner” was a title, but Fiete Stemberg was called “Diviner” because she announced after a certain duel that she could predict the cards drawn in each round after shuffling the deck.
In other words, her deck was effectively “open” to her!
Knowing in advance which Mana Cards would be drawn could minimize the influence of randomness, allowing for better early planning without relying on fate or luck.
To some, this was considered “cheating” outside the arena, hence Fiete Stemberg often faced criticism.
But any action not prohibited by the rules was acceptable.
From a duelist’s perspective, it was hard to fault such behavior.
And outside Saint Maryann Academy, many professional duelists used outside methods, with some even making it their specialty to promote themselves.
For example, Dark Diemon could indeed activate the “Eye of Truth” during duels to assist.
These were all actions within the rules.
But at Saint Maryann Academy, they were typically not used.
…
In short, Fiete Stemberg was very challenging.
If not treated carefully, it wouldn’t be strange to fail right away.
While eating breakfast, Dark suddenly frowned and saw someone walking toward him from behind and sitting directly across.
The person exuded a faint vanilla scent, had fair skin like jade, pointed ears, and rare peach-pink hair.
Dark recognized at a glance that this was a half-elf lady.
However, from the sharpness of her ears, it was clear that her elf bloodline wasn’t strong.
“Good morning, Junior Dark Diemon. Let me introduce myself. I’m Fiete Stemberg, a fifth-year student at the Knight Academy.”
When people heard “Diviner,” they often assumed she was from the Mana Academy.
But this Fiete Stemberg was indeed a student at the Knight Academy.
Dark relaxed his brows and politely said, “Good morning, Senior Stemberg. Is there anything you need?”
“Don’t be so hostile. I just happened to see you, so I came to say hello.” Fiete Stemberg placed her hands on the table, clasped them together, and smiled lightly.
Dark shook his head and smiled, “If anyone else said it was a coincidence, I’d believe them. But Senior Stemberg, known as the ‘Diviner,’ makes me skeptical.”
“If you want to think that way, then think that way.” Fiete Stemberg seemed accustomed to it, casually saying, “Since we met, I might as well ask, are you taking the Astrology Class as an elective?”
Dark was slightly puzzled but still honest, “Yes.”
Fiete Stemberg continued, “Then how is your astrology learning going?”
Dark replied, “Just starting out.”
Fiete Stemberg asked, “Can you use it?”
Dark frowned, “I can use it勉强吧.”
Fiete Stemberg clapped her hands and laughed, “Then I’m relieved.”
With that, she got up from her seat, waved at Dark, and said, “Well, see you on the dueling arena!”
Dark wanted to ask back, but Fiete Stemberg had already turned and walked away.
This made him lower his hand that had just lifted, thinking, “Did she specifically come to ask about my astrology learning? Could it be related to today’s duel? But how would she connect the duel with astrology?”
Dark quickly thought, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table.
Only when someone reminded him did he abruptly stop, apologized apologetically, and quickly left the canteen.
But as soon as he stepped out of the canteen, he encountered Tudor and Pistons rushing over.
“What’s wrong, Tudor?” He thought something had happened.
But in the end, Tudor was just looking for him to go to the dueling hall together… and then a round of encouragement!
Dark could only accept the good intentions.
…
At 8:30 AM.
Dark parted ways with Tudor and the others and entered the competitors’ passage.
At 8:50 AM, he climbed onto the competitors’ platform again!
Fiete Stemberg didn’t seem to have many friends or family, and when Dark first entered the dueling arena, he saw her sitting alone.
Now that both had reached the competitors’ platform, the cheers of the audience outside made him realize that Senior Stemberg was also a popular contestant.
But humans were visual creatures; high颜值 and unique dueling styles were hard to be unpopular.
Dark stood on the red side platform.
Fiete Stemberg stood on the blue side platform.
Even until he activated the spellboard, Dark’s brows still carried confusion.
After pondering, he turned on the amplifier and asked, “Senior Stemberg, why did you ask about astrology?”
He originally wanted to directly ask Fiete Stemberg if her deck was related to astrology.
But asking for information about the deck so openly before the duel would be very taboo.
So, Dark changed his approach.
But Fiete Stemberg simply blinked and said, “If you want to know, start the duel. The duel will tell you the answer.”
“I hate riddle masters,” Dark said, “especially when I’m on the solving side.”
Fiete Stemberg smiled, “But if you’re the one setting the riddles, you’ll always enjoy it.”
Dark couldn’t help but smile, “So, people always think they’re the ones setting the riddles.”
Fiete Stemberg’s face gradually tightened.
The atmosphere between the two contestants gradually shifted towards a suitable duel.
“Bee—”
As the whistle sounded, the word “Standby Phase” appeared in the projection.
The duel entered its warm-up phase.
Dark chuckled, “Senior Stemberg, as a ‘Diviner,’ can you predict the outcome of this duel?”
Fiete Stemberg shook her head and smiled, “Is divination such an easy thing?”
“Really?” Dark placed his hand on his deck, suddenly squinting, his mind focused, his mental energy rapidly concentrating.
The atmosphere inside and outside the arena grew tense as both contestants stopped speaking.
[Standby Phase] [30s]
The Standby Phase officially began!
Both contestants drew their cards.
Dark still had doubts, but those doubts wouldn’t be a constraint in the duel; instead, they would make him more cautious.
His current deck had undergone corresponding adjustments, but he wasn’t sure if they would work.
But once the deck was inserted into the card slot, the duelist must fully trust their deck.
“One, two, three, four, five! Five Mana Cards in the starting hand!”
[Magic Beast: Ibut]
[Solo Sword Sheath (Weapon Form)]
[Poison Baby]
[Soul of the Moon Goddess I]
[Netherworld Soul Ring]
As he confirmed his hand, Dark immediately realized the strength of this opening hand.
Even without a Capital Sin Card, the presence of the Soul of the Moon Goddess I perfectly compensated.
Whether it was swapping out the Elemental Race with the Primordial Dragon Egg through the Magic Beast: Ibut or directly summoning the Poison Baby to evolve, he could pull out the Moon Goddess in the first round.
With the Solo Sword Sheath in hand, the already powerful Moon Goddess could become even stronger.
If Fiete Stemberg had no countermeasures, perhaps the outcome would be decided in the first round!
Thinking of this, Dark slightly raised his head to look at the opposite side.
But he saw Fiete Stemberg looking at him with a half-smile.
She had a beautiful face, large expressive eyes, as if hiding countless words.
But being wary, Dark immediately felt a strong sense of urgency.
The Magic Beast: Ibut could be used to swap out the Primordial Dragon Egg.
Using the Poison Baby as the main body for the Moon Goddess was the best choice.
Moreover, as a powerful Three-star Mana Spirit, the Poison Baby could handle unexpected situations right away.
But there were variables in this consideration.
The Poison Baby was mischievous and stubborn, always doing unexpected things at unexpected times.
“Ding!”
Thirty seconds passed in a blink, leaving Dark no time for further thought.
At the beginning of the Battle Phase, he immediately performed a normal summoning spell.
“In the name of Dark Diemon, Mana Summoning — [Poison Baby]!”
The summoning light fell.
On the red side summoning zone, a purple Mana Spirit resembling a baby with three poison needles emerged.
“Bebebebe~♥~”
A joyful laughter echoed in the arena.
The Poison Baby spun in the air like a top.
“Poison Baby, pout!”
Within the brief three-second gap, Dark gave instructions to the Poison Baby.
The Poison Baby spun around once with its large head as the center, changing from upside down to upright, then blinked its cute large eyes at the opposite side.
At the same time, a Mana Spirit also emerged in the blue side summoning zone.
Fiete Stemberg chose a standard opening.
But the Mana Spirit she summoned was extremely special.
It was a sphere over a meter in diameter, transparent on the surface, with countless star-like lights flickering inside, resembling a fluid galaxy rotating within, mysterious and unfathomable.
…
…
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