Chapter 158: Bringing Smiles with Duels
Field ①.
Professor Jones glanced at the Noble House children, a slight smile playing on her lips.
Among the four first-year houses, Noble House had the fewest students, only thirty-seven in total. Thirty-seven was a prime number.
Choosing four champions from these thirty-seven people was actually quite troublesome.
So, she decided to use a small trick.
"Dark Demon, step forward!"
"Yes!"
Dark straightened proudly, stepping forward with considerable presence.
Professor Jones nodded in satisfaction and said, "You won't need to participate in the first round for now."
Dark exclaimed, "Huh?"
Professor Jones: "As the reigning champion, you have the right to advance directly to the second round."
Dark muttered, "Uh."
Although Dark actually preferred to experience the joy of formal dueling himself, Professor Jones clearly wouldn't change her mind easily.
While the Noble House students were surprised, given that the privileged one was Dark Demon, it didn't seem so difficult to accept.
Even if some were envious and grinding their teeth, they remained silent.
Thus, Dark temporarily transformed from a contestant into Professor Jones's assistant.
After the students had successively drawn their assigned numbers, this in-class competition, which would determine the first-year students' academic performance, officially began.
...
First Match: No. ① VS No. ②.
The two contestants who drew the corresponding numbers had to climb onto the dueling stage, bearing the pressure. Looking down at the field from the five-meter-high dueling stage, the 30x20 meter field already felt incredibly vast, even giving a sense of insignificance, as if one couldn't fully control it.
But this was merely the standard arena size for ordinary competitions. Large-scale competition arenas started at 120x80 meters in length and width. Therefore, high-level duels also had corresponding requirements for the duelists' physical qualities, especially their eyesight.
Three months into the school year, the junior mages were already very familiar with the rules of formal dueling. The two duelists on the stage, following the rules, placed their prepared decks into the slots on the right side of the Card Table, then injected magic. The magic projection mechanism activated. A gigantic projection of the Card Table rapidly unfolded directly in front of the dueling stage.
...
"Place the Magic Orb onto the field."
At Professor Jones's signal, Dark picked up a Magic Orb and walked towards the Summoning Zone on the field.
The Summoning Zone of a standard field had a circular fixed point specifically designed for placing Magic Orbs.
The Magic Orb's Life Barrier had five levels, with corresponding magic values of 1000, 2000, 4000, 8000, and 16000 for each level.
This competition followed the scale of a New Star Event, thus utilizing a Level 1 Life Barrier.
Dark inserted his thumb, index, and middle fingers into the Magic Orb's three holes respectively, and with just a slight injection of magic, activated the Life Barrier.
It was a transparent barrier composed of multiple hexahedrons.
As the Life Barrier unfolded, luminous numbers representing the magic value lit up inside the Magic Orb. Magic Orbs were divided into red and blue sides, distinguished by the color of their glowing numbers.
Dark placed the Magic Orb about one meter above the circular fixed point, and after briefly assessing the Life Barrier's strength, quickly retreated.
On the other side, Professor Jones had also placed the other Magic Orb.
Observing the entire competition from the referee's perspective was also very helpful for further familiarizing oneself with the rules.
Professor Jones would also explain various rule details at any time, greatly benefiting Dark.
Since the first-year students' Card strengths weren't particularly high, the matches progressed very quickly. At their quickest, three to five minutes, at their slowest, eight to nine minutes, and the next duel could begin. The first sub-round, 36 advancing to 18, was already finished by around 10:30. The second sub-round, 18 advancing to 9, took only a little over an hour. Immediately following, in the third sub-round, 9 advancing to 5, Dark entered the field as a substitute at Professor Jones's behest.
...
Dark was very surprised by this.
But deep down, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement; he could finally enter the arena! Watching others duel, how could it compare to the thrill of dueling yourself? He hadn't initially cared much about this in-class duel, but as he watched, he found himself unable to resist. "Is this the charm of dueling?"
...
His opponent was equally surprised. That first-year student from Noble House had initially thought he'd be lucky enough to get a bye this round; the appearance of a "substitute" caught him completely off guard. "Don't be nervous, Seaworth, you can do it!" Encouraged by his friend Roentgen, Seaworth climbed onto the dueling stage with a dark expression.
...
Dark was already waiting on the dueling stage. He observed the Card Table, placed his prepared deck into the card slot on the right, and then infused it with magic. A sliver of information fed back, letting him know that this Card Table not only had a projection mechanism but also features like "amplification."
"Swish—"
[Preparation Phase] [30s]
The words above were displayed directly above the Card Table. Beside it was a [30s] countdown. And in the upper left corner of the Card Table, the Magic Orb's remaining magic was simultaneously displayed, which was "1000". The countdown for the Preparation Phase would begin after "shuffling" and "communication" concluded. Duelists had 30 seconds to draw cards and strategize. Dark looked up at Seaworth opposite him and said, "Hello, Seaworth." Seaworth had short brown hair, an aquiline nose, thick lips, and a few pimples on his face, making him highly recognizable. Faced with Dark's greeting, Seaworth immediately said with a mournful face, "Dark, go easy on me later." Dark comforted him, "Don't be nervous. The greatest charm of dueling is its infinite possibilities. Believe in yourself, believe in your Magic Cards." Seaworth's tension eased slightly: "Mhm, I understand!" At the same time, "automatic shuffling" concluded. Professor Jones blew her whistle: "Swish—Start preparation!" The Card Table simultaneously entered the 30s countdown phase. Starting hand draw! Dark's expression grew slightly serious as he immediately drew five Magic Cards from the top of his deck.
▼
Pride II
Magic Beast: Eevee
Pride I
Magic Bullet Charm
Gatomon
▲
"Not too bad luck." The moment he saw Eevee, Dark slightly relaxed. He certainly didn't want to get into trouble by not drawing a first-tier Magic Spirit Card in his opening hand. After drawing the starting hand, there was less than 30 seconds to think. His mind raced. In just a moment, Professor Jones's whistle sounded again. The words displayed above the Card Table then changed to:
[Battle Phase] [30s]
A formal duel match consists of 30-second rounds. Except for the first round, two Magic Cards can be continuously drawn in each subsequent round to replenish the hand. → There's no rule about losing if the deck runs out. Within this round, duelists could unleash their abilities freely. "You're the one, Eevee!" Just a little over 4 seconds, Dark had already completed the normal summon of his first Magic Card. Compared to the 8 seconds in the first in-class competition, it was directly cut in half! If he could compress it by just one more second, he would reach the theoretical limit of normal summoning. "Hiss~" Eevee-chan landed amidst the light. Eight seconds later, a dark golden radiance descended. Bathed in the light of Pride II, Eevee's adorable eyes sharpened. It raised its head high, its brow filled with Pride.
▼
[Card Name: Magic Beast: Eevee (Pride II)]
[Level: ★]
[Species: Phantasm Beast]
[Attribute: Normal Type]
[Magic Power: 500]
[Attack: 700]
[Defense: 300]
[Special Moves: Mimicry, Round Eyes]
▲
And by this time, Seaworth had only just summoned his first Magic Spirit! It was a rhinoceros beetle-shaped Magic Spirit, clearly the result of a gamble-Card. The 30-meter-long field rendered Dark's quick-attack tactics, used in his first in-class competition, ineffective. So he decisively abandoned it, choosing a frontal assault instead! Eevee-chan cast a disdainful glance at its opponent, then powerfully pushed off with all four limbs and began to sprint. Seaworth also immediately issued a command to his rhinoceros beetle. "Thunder Beetle, Charge!" That rhinoceros beetle, with an intelligence level of only 2.0, only began to move after receiving the command. It abruptly lowered its head, and a ball of electric light immediately gathered at the tip of its horn. The electric sphere gradually grew larger, emitting crackling bursts. It was clearly an Electric-type Magic Spirit!
...
Dark's heart stirred slightly, and he immediately recognized it.
The Thunder Beetle was a relatively common Insect-type Electric Magic Spirit among the first tier.
If one was lucky enough to forge a purple-tier, there was a high probability of gaining the Special Moves [Charge] and [Discharge]. By enhancing its power through [Charge], the single-target attack [Discharge] could be transformed into an area-of-effect attack! Under a wide-ranging electric shock, Eevee would have nowhere to escape! "The key is to prevent it from unleashing Discharge?" "Eevee, Round Eyes!" A slightly indifferent voice echoed across the field. Responding to its master's command, Eevee suddenly widened its eyes while running. Dazzling dark golden light then bloomed within its dark, large eyes, a condescending Pride pierced the Thunder Beetle's mind through the eye-to-eye gaze. In that instant, that Pride, like sitting atop the stars and gazing down upon the human world, caused immense frustration within the Thunder Beetle's mind. It instantly lost its desire to attack. The accumulated current on its horn even became chaotic. Eevee seized the opportunity, leaped upwards, and directly sent the Thunder Beetle flying! "Hiss hiss!" Eevee-chan landed calmly, saw the electric sphere on the Thunder Beetle's horn suddenly burst, and blinding lightning scatter over the Thunder Beetle itself, instantly causing its magic to plummet. It shook its head slightly, just about to express the Pride-holder's pity, when it suddenly sensed an energy fluctuation overhead. This caused it to leap in time, dodging Seaworth's Magic Bullet Charm. By this point, the duel had already entered the second round.
But Dark did not draw two Magic Cards.
Because he noticed that Seaworth's card slot was already empty.
Clearly, this student didn't have a sixth Magic Card.
Since that was the case, Dark didn't want to be too ruthless.
When Seaworth summoned his second Magic Spirit—his Magic Beast—Dark launched a [Magic Bullet] from afar, destroying it!
...
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