As the water waves covering the sky suddenly dissipated, a few drops of water fell.
Angelia reached out blankly. The cold touch at her fingertips made her realize that she had truly lost.
Although victory and defeat are common occurrences in battle, suddenly failing in a duel where she had once felt victory was inevitable was still somewhat hard for her to accept—especially since her opponent was a first-year student.
There was indeed a Magic Guide Spirit available to be summoned in the hand she had just drawn, but it was only a 2-star spirit. Even if summoned, it would be useless, so she hesitated.
However, this bit of hesitation would not change the outcome.
A loss is a loss. Angelia had not reached the point where she would refuse to admit defeat.
She took a deep breath, put away her Magic Guide Cards, turned around, and walked toward the player platform.
"Dark Demon, I'll remember this!"
...
The audience's applause arrived, though belatedly.
Dark stayed on the player platform a bit longer than Angelia.
He recalled his Magic Guide Spirits one by one, his mind still replaying the scenes from the duel.
The duel, lasting less than four minutes, was incredibly exhilarating but also hard to hide the fatigue it brought.
The highly concentrated mental focus and the constantly active mana had both caused immense consumption.
He did not feel arrogant because of this victory.
Rather than his own victory, this duel was the victory of his Magic Guide Spirits!
If not for Gatomon's extraordinary performance and Magic Beast: Ditto's quick wit at the critical moment, he might have already been defeated.
Such a result solidified his belief in the correctness of providing intellectual education to his Magic Guide Spirits!
Of course, moral education could not be missing either.
Sylveon's resilient character, not forgetting to protect the Magic Sphere even after being swept away, was worthy of praise.
As the intelligence of Magic Guide Spirits increased, their feedback to injury and pain would also increase.
Putting himself in their shoes, Dark didn't think he could react like that while in severe pain.
He continued to think about the shortcomings that needed to be made up for and the advantages that could be developed, slowly walking down from the platform.
The three judges at the judges' table also announced their scores at this time.
Professor Jones was the first to raise her paddle.
"Red Side · Angelia, 9 points."
"Blue Side · Dark, 10 points."
As the winner, Dark unsurprisingly received a perfect score.
The losing side, Angelia, also received a high score of 9 points—only 1 point away from a 10.
But that wasn't because she lost.
It was simply because, as a third-year student, she hadn't displayed the dominance expected of a third-year.
Her quick-summoning technique was a plus, but her subsequent handling was a minus.
However, this time, Professor Fox gave her a perfect score.
"Red Side, 10 points."
"Blue Side, 10 points."
Solely regarding this recruitment match, the performance of both individuals was undoubtedly above the standard line; one could not ask for more.
Professor Fox gave a positive review of Angelia's [Great Liberation].
Finally, the fifth-year student judge also gave full marks to both contestants.
...
After the scores for this match came out, even if they forfeited the third round directly, both contestants had enough to pass the recruitment audit.
Dark returned to the bench and sat down, continuing to ponder.
Neither Diana nor Rose disturbed him.
Every duel could reflect many deficiencies, but making up for them was not easy.
He was still summarizing and reflecting.
...
The recruitment tournament continued.
The next match on Field 1 was a civil war.
The opposing sides were Virt from the first-year Knight House and Doron from the first-year Noble House!
Doron was incredibly surprised that he had actually matched against Virt.
But he quickly gathered his composure and stepped onto the player platform.
On the other side, Virt breathed a slight sigh of relief. He was very afraid that he would match against a third-year like Emma and Dark had, which would lead to him losing the match without being able to perform at all.
His score in the first round had already been hovering on the passing line. If he couldn't perform better in the second and third rounds, it would be very bad.
But since this round's opponent was Doron of the same year, he could finally show his best side.
The summoning speed advantage that he couldn't show well against Scott could now be displayed further.
If he could win the match smoothly, it would be even more perfect!
Things were developing in a direction favorable to him.
And this time, Virt indeed seized the opportunity!
His summoning speed was faster than Doron's, his single card quality was stronger than Doron's, and he possessed a strong luck that Doron could not reach. It could almost be said to be suppression on all fronts.
This match was finally won smoothly.
This earned him two 7s and one 6!
Although Doron lost, he also showed his own strength in the match and received a passing evaluation.
...
The subsequent fourth match finally arrived at Diana's turn again.
Following her defeat of the second-year senior Marjorie in the previous round, she once again encountered a second-year senior.
However, this time she wasn't as lucky as the last round.
This senior from the Knight House had a steady style, blocking and neutralizing every one of her offensives, and finally defeated her by relying on a richer deck!
Both sides performed quite well in this match and received consistent high praise from the three judges.
...
Then came the fifth and sixth matches, all the way to the seventh match, where Emma Metis took the stage again!
Emma, who had lost to Senior Angelia in her first battle without being able to perform at all, finally encountered a slightly more normal contestant.
That was a second-year student from the Magic House!
As soon as this match started, it attracted Dark's attention. He turned his head from his conversation with Diana and looked at that second-year student.
That was a boy who looked very clean, wearing a coffee-colored scarf and looking gentle and refined. He really had some of the style of the Magic House.
He just didn't know why such a senior hadn't passed the assessment last semester.
"Spencer Alec, please treat me well."
Spencer, who had stepped onto the player platform, took the initiative to greet Emma, appearing very polite.
His popularity was obviously quite good; there were many classmates outside the field cheering for him.
Dark blinked, thinking that Student Emma was truly unlucky to encounter opponents who were not so easy to deal with twice in a row.
But compared to Senior Angelia, this Senior Spencer should be slightly inferior. Emma still had a chance.
Similar judgments arose between Helena and Winnie.
The two members of the Literary Club looked at Emma on the Red player platform with some worry. Beside them was Angelia, who had joined them.
Helena turned her head and teased, "Angelia, how does it feel to be defeated in a duel?"
Angelia said expressionlessly, "Not bad."
Helena's eyes immediately widened. "Something's wrong with you!"
Angelia: "???"
Helena: "I really didn't realize you actually had this kind of kink!"
Angelia barely held back the impulse to smash her head with Claire's Travels and asked in a suppressed tone, "Have you guys chosen the Noble House freshmen for this batch?"
Helena shook her head. "Not yet. Why, do you have someone to recommend?"
Angelia pointed at the back of a certain person sandwiched between two girls on the bench and asked in confusion, "Why don't you go find him?"
Helena glanced at Dark and laughed. "I was wondering why you suddenly cared about club recruitment! How about this: if you can recruit him into the club, I'll cover all your books for next month!"
Angelia rolled her eyes, guessing the reason.
...
While the few of them were chatting, the match in the arena had already advanced to the [Battle Phase].
Emma was slightly at a disadvantage in the speed contest of the first round, but she once again drew [Golden Beast] in her opening hand of five cards!
As the most important link in her tactical system, [Golden Beast] not only possessed a top-tier 3-star Defense of 1500 but also the god-like skill [Golden Devour]!
Compared to the in-class matches, her deck had now been further perfected, and she had more Magic Guide Cards that could synergize with it.
The white light shooting out from the face of the [Golden Beast] card landed in the Red summoning zone. The mechanical species, about two meters tall and cast from gold, let out a low roar as it entered the stage, staring dead at the Magic Guide Spirit in the opponent's summoning zone!
It was also a 3-star Magic Guide Spirit.
What Spencer summoned, however, was a Fat Tiger that stood three meters tall but had short limbs and a bloated body!
That Fat Tiger, whose texture looked more like a plush toy, entered the stage entirely in a sitting posture. Its thick, short limbs seemed unable to support its massive belly at all, and there were no sharp claws typical of tigers on them.
But the Golden Beast obviously sensed a threat from this Magic Guide Spirit that looked harmless at first glance!
...
[Card Name: Sandbag Tiger]
[Type: Spirit Card]
[Level: ???]
[Race: Animal species]
[Attribute: Normal-type]
[Mana: 1400]
[Attack: 800]
[Defense: 1600]
[Finishing Move: Endure, Vent]
...
Spencer glanced at Emma's Golden Beast, then at his own Sandbag Tiger, but did not issue a command to attack.
Emma did the same; both sides appeared very cautious.
But after the summoning cooldown ended, both of them took out their second Magic Guide Card.
Spencer's second Magic Guide Card was impressively also a Magic Guide Spirit Card!
Accompanying a roar, a skeletal tiger appeared beside the Sandbag Tiger!
This tiger-type Magic Guide Spirit looked as if it hadn't eaten for dozens of days—skin and bones, ready to fall over in a breeze—but its eyes revealed a ferocity that the Sandbag Tiger did not have!
...
[Card Name: Skinny Tiger]
[Type: Spirit Card]
[Level: ???]
[Race: Animal species]
[Attribute: Normal-type]
[Mana: 1100]
[Attack: 1500]
[Defense: 700]
[Finishing Move: Dying Bones]
...
Spencer, who completed the summon faster than Emma, immediately issued an attack order after summoning the Skinny Tiger: "Trash that heap of metal!"
Although the Skinny Tiger didn't know exactly how to "trash" it, it still crouched low and bared its sharp fangs at the Golden Beast!
"ROAR!"
A red light flashed in its eyes.
The Skinny Tiger burst forward.
Perhaps because it didn't have an ounce of fat on its body, the Skinny Tiger was surprisingly fast. Like a hurricane, it rushed into the Red field, its ferocious aura eroding the air.
The Golden Beast roared fiercely and slammed into the Skinny Tiger without fear!
"Bang!"
A loud noise.
The Skinny Tiger's skeletal body almost fell apart.
Yet, only a shallow claw mark appeared on the Golden Beast's head!
Although it could break the defense, it was like a tickle.
Emma felt slightly settled; her second Magic Guide Card was finally summoned.
A winged ancient gold coin descended from the sky, shooting toward the Golden Beast like a golden light!
"Golden Parasite!"
Emma's voice was slightly high-pitched.
The winged gold coin flying in at high speed landed on the Golden Beast's spine with a "clack"!
Then its body suddenly sank, forcibly merging into the Golden Beast's golden shell.
Immediately after, the Golden Beast's whole body shook. Two masses of liquid metal drilled out from the sides of its body, forming golden armor that covered its whole body.
Another pair of golden wings opened furiously!
"ROAR!"
The Golden Beast lowered its head and roared, its aura surging!
[Mana: 1000 → 1300]
[Attack: 1300]
[Defense: 1500 → 1800]
[Finishing Move: Golden Devour, Feather Arrow]
The parasitism of the Golden Insect endowed the Golden Beast with a full 300 points of Mana and Defense increase, as well as a finishing move—Feather Arrow!
The moment the wings opened.
The Golden Beast's body suddenly accelerated, biting onto the Skinny Tiger that had retreated several steps.
How could the Skinny Tiger's fragile defense of only 700 points withstand another attack from the Golden Beast?
Its mana value plummeted like a flash flood.
After only a moment, the Skinny Tiger stopped reacting and was casually flung away by it.
The Skinny Tiger, having fallen heavily to the ground, had its skin tissue turn into specks of light, but that complete tiger skeleton remained.
Emma on the player platform frowned, but she couldn't figure out the problem for the moment. She could only seize the time to order the Golden Beast to attack the Sandbag Tiger!
The Golden Beast, now possessing wings, was extremely fast. The first thing it did upon approaching was to tear open the Sandbag Tiger's abdomen with a claw!
No cotton batting was revealed inside.
Of course, no intestines were revealed either.
Spencer on the stage appeared very composed.
The Sandbag Tiger was considered a strong card among all his 3-star Magic Guide Spirits. With defense a full one hundred points higher than top-tier stats, plus its body's traits, it basically wouldn't take damage from blunt weapons, though its resistance to sharp weapons was very weak.
The Golden Beast's attack was only 1300 points, yet it could already tear the Sandbag Tiger's abdomen with its sharp claws.
However, the damage the Sandbag Tiger suffered was not as severe as it appeared on the surface.
Its mana value had almost not dropped.
Even though the Golden Beast left scar after scar on its body time and time again after that, it still sat in place, immovable as a mountain.
After several attempts, Emma sensed something was wrong and immediately shouted, "Golden Beast, bypass it!"
But when the Golden Beast attempted to bypass it to attack the Magic Sphere, the Sandbag Tiger suddenly turned around and hugged the Blue Side's Magic Sphere tightly in its arms—no, it even stuffed it into its torn-open belly!
This immediately reminded Emma of Sara's [Death Mummy]; it looked like the same style of ball-protecting method.
Black lines dropped down her face.
Helpless, the Golden Beast could only continue to attack the Sandbag Tiger, leaving more wounds on its body.
"Tick!"
________________________________________
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