[Battle Phase][30s]
The second turn.
Draw.
Emma gritted her teeth slightly and summoned her third Magic Guide Spirit!
The Golden Beast, under the parasitism of the Golden Insect, possessed 1800 Defense, enough to handle most Magic Guide Spirits.
But the ultimate goal of the duel was to shatter the Life Barrier of the Magic Sphere.
Since Emma could not yet remotely manipulate the Magic Sphere, she had to summon Magic Guide Spirits to protect it against sneak attacks.
Soon, the white light projected from the Magic Guide Card landed in the Red Side's summoning zone, and a new Magic Guide Spirit manifested!
It did not look as ferocious as the Golden Beast; instead, it was a bronze statue of a soldier kneeling on one knee.
The Bronze Soldier, with a longsword slung across its waist, had a tall stature and lifelike features. Resembling the Golems in the academy's games, it was clad in full-body light armor.
...
▼
[Card Name: Bronze Soldier]
[Type: Spirit Card]
[Level: ???]
[Race: Mechanical Species]
[Attribute: Steel-type]
[Mana: 1100]
[Attack: 1200]
[Defense: 1300]
[Finishing Move: Sweep]
▲
Almost simultaneously, Spencer also summoned his third Magic Guide Spirit.
Appearing in the Blue Side's summoning zone was a glowing beetle flying in the air.
...
▼
[Card Name: Electromagnetic Beetle]
[Type: Spirit Card]
[Level: ?]
[Race: Mechanical Species]
[Attribute: Electric-type]
[Mana: 100]
[Attack: 100]
[Defense: 200]
[Finishing Move: Magnetic Perception]
▲
The Electromagnetic Beetle looked like an iron chafer overall. Its two antennae were equipped with sensors capable of perceiving magnetic forces. It could replace a compass to indicate direction during expeditions, making it a good helper for adventurers.
But on the dueling field, its only advantage was flight.
Flying in the air allowed it to avoid many attacks; this was an inherent advantage of flying-type Magic Guide Spirits.
...
With the appearance of this obviously 1-star Magic Guide Spirit, Emma immediately realized that her opponent had gathered enough tributes to Tribute Summon a 4-star Magic Guide Spirit.
This gave her a sense of urgency.
Although the Golden Beast had torn wound after wound on the Sandbag Tiger's body, it still couldn't cause any real damage to it.
Emma checked her hand, attempting to find a way to break through.
But her deck, like most first-years at this stage, was primarily composed of First Order Magic Guide Spirit cards.
There were also quite a few filler Magic Guide Spirit cards in her hand.
Now, since even the Golden Beast couldn't break the Sandbag Tiger's defense, summoning more Magic Guide Spirits would only be a waste of resources.
The disadvantage of not possessing high-star Magic Guide Spirits was displayed vividly at this moment.
Emma pulled a Magic Guide Card slightly up from her hand, her eyes flickering briefly.
This Magic Guide Card was her greatest achievement from this recent period.
...
▼
[Card Name: Gilding]
[Type: Magic Card]
[Effect: Plate a layer of gold shell onto the surface of one's own Magic Guide Spirit, disguising it as an object of gold. Defense +100.]
▲
"Just a first-year, after all."
Spencer, observing Emma's confusion and hesitation, took a 4-star Magic Guide Spirit from his hand and suddenly warned, "I'm going to summon."
Emma's heart jumped, and she jerked her head up to look at him.
She saw this second-year senior from the Magic House directly pull out a Magic Guide Card and begin a Tribute Summon right in front of her!
Was this a reminder for a novice, or arrogant contempt?
Emma furrowed her brows, but she knew she had no means to stop his Tribute Summon.
However, she had sufficient confidence in the Golden Beast's defense. If it was just a 4-star Magic Guide Spirit...
Moreover, to summon a 4-star spirit, he would have to sacrifice that Sandbag Tiger!
Giving up protection of the Magic Sphere in pursuit of a Second Order Magic Guide Spirit wasn't a good choice.
Emma held her breath and focused, ready at any moment to issue an order for the Golden Beast to attack the Magic Sphere!
...
A moment later, Spencer completed the Tribute Summon!
That Electromagnetic Beetle which had just appeared turned into light first, followed closely by...
Emma's eyelid twitched as she suddenly noticed that the Skinny Tiger's bones hadn't disappeared; they were glowing right now!
Spencer's voice rang out: "Offering the Electromagnetic Beetle and the Dying Bones of the Skinny Tiger as tributes, I summon—"
A massive Tribute Summoning Circle shone in the air.
A white-furred Bully Dog leaped out from the summoning circle!
Standing over two meters tall, the Bully Dog leaked pitch-black, foul-smelling smoke from the corners of its mouth. Its wrinkled face was ferocious and ugly—a Magic Guide Spirit completely inconsistent with Spencer's temperament.
...
▼
[Card Name: Bully Dog]
[Type: Spirit Card]
[Level: ????]
[Race: Bird & Beast Species]
[Attribute: Evil-type]
[Mana: 1600]
[Attack: 1800]
[Defense: 1600]
[Finishing Move: Rabid Fang]
▲
"That Skinny Tiger's residual bones can actually serve as a 3-star tribute..."
It was Emma's first time seeing such an operation, and she was astonished.
Was this milking it dry even after death?
This made her immediately command, "Golden Beast, return to defense!"
Since the opponent had successfully summoned a 4-star Magic Guide Spirit without sacrificing the Sandbag Tiger, the Golden Beast's attack no longer held any meaning.
Returning to defense quickly and trying to survive this round was likely the best choice.
It wasn't that she didn't have a chance to turn things around.
But just as the Golden Beast released its teeth from the Sandbag Tiger, Spencer on the Blue Player Platform spoke in a flat tone: "Sandbag Tiger, Vent!"
"ROAR!"
In an instant, the Sandbag Tiger, which had been sitting in place allowing the Golden Beast to tear at it, suddenly twisted its head around. Its tiger eyes, squeezed into slits by its fat cheeks, opened in rage, glaring fiercely at the Golden Beast!
Blinding light erupted from its body. The white light flowing from every wound gathered together, forming an intense pillar of light that violently pierced through the Golden Beast's body!
The Golden Beast, with Defense as high as 1800 and Mana as high as 1300, was instantly blasted away, a terrifyingly huge hole appearing in its chest and abdomen!
"Golden Beast!"
Emma couldn't help but cry out.
But the Golden Beast held on!
A fatal wound blowing open the chest and abdomen would be enough to cause most Magic Guide Spirits to lose their combat capability. But the Golden Beast belonged to the Mechanical Species; even if only a head remained, as long as mana existed, it could continue to bite.
Discovering that the Golden Beast's mana hadn't been exhausted, Emma immediately activated the Magic Card in her hand—[Gilding]!
The Bronze Soldier beside the Golden Beast was instantly enveloped in golden light. Liquid gold poured down from the top of its head, plating a perfect golden shell over its body.
The Bronze Soldier's original 1300 Defense became 1400.
For a 3-star Magic Guide Spirit, this was already a very good defense value.
But that was not the true reason for [Gilding].
"Golden Devour!"
Under Emma's command, the Golden Beast struggled to stand up. Its mouth opened to a horrifying degree, and it actually swallowed that "Golden Soldier" whole from head to tail!
The "Golden Soldier" sacrificed itself voluntarily.
Having devoured the "Golden Soldier," a rich golden light immediately erupted from the Golden Beast's body.
Under the illumination of the golden light, the wound on the Golden Beast's chest and abdomen healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and its already massive body expanded even further.
Under the effect of [Golden Devour], the Golden Beast not only recovered to its original state but became even more powerful!
Its mana cap skyrocketed by 500 points!
Abnormal statuses were dispelled.
Even its Defense and Attack rose by 100 points each!
[Mana: 1300 → 1800]
[Attack: 1300 → 1400]
[Defense: 1800 → 1900]
...
Watching the Golden Beast stand up again, Emma felt settled.
Second-years participating in the Dueling Club recruitment in the second semester generally wouldn't be too strong; 4-star Magic Guide Spirits were already their limit.
And after successfully triggering [Golden Devour], her Golden Beast would not be inferior to a 4-star Magic Guide Spirit.
A Defense as high as 1900 would leave most 4-star Magic Guide Spirits unable to sink their teeth in.
This was the source of her confidence.
Moreover, she had some understanding of the [Bully Dog] Spencer had summoned.
It was a relatively common 4-star Magic Guide Spirit. Its most frequent finishing move was [Rabid Fang], which could cause the bitten Magic Guide Spirit to fall into an uncontrollable frenzied state.
But skills of this nature were usually ineffective against Mechanical Species.
Next, she just had to think of a way to increase the Golden Beast's Attack power!
Creating a fully armed, powerful spirit through various methods was the main idea of her current tactics.
However, the key Magic Guide Card had not yet been drawn.
...
On the other side.
Spencer revealed a slightly surprised expression.
Not understanding the Golden Beast and unable to judge its true strength, he ordered the Bully Dog to make a probing attack.
The result was that the Bully Dog's Attack of 1800 couldn't break its defense, and [Rabid Fang] was completely useless.
But the Golden Beast also posed no threat to the Bully Dog, and both sides fell into a stalemate.
During this stalemate, the second turn ended.
...
The third turn.
Both sides drew cards simultaneously.
Spencer lost his initial composure, and his speed in drawing cards became slightly urgent.
With two Magic Guide Cards in hand, he checked them quickly, then the corners of his mouth curled up. He selected one of the Magic Guide Cards and held it to his lips.
Then he looked at the Red Player Platform and whispered, "For a first-year to make me feel threatened, that's quite good. In the name of Spencer Alec, Magic Guide Summon—Flame Claw!"
A crimson flame instantly flew out from the card face, injecting into the Bully Dog's right claw!
That dog claw with sharp nails instantly ignited with a raging fire!
"Woof!"
With a bark, the Bully Dog pounced at the Golden Beast once again!
...
"Is it a flame enchantment or a Fire-type weapon?"
Emma couldn't distinguish whether Spencer was using a Magic Card or a Weapon Card, but either one posed a huge threat to her.
Fire counters Steel.
Possessing the Flame Claw, the Bully Dog could now penetrate the Golden Beast's defense!
Once the Golden Beast was defeated, she would have no power to reverse the situation.
Unfortunately for him.
Her luck was good.
"Golden Treasure Chest!"
Filled with confidence, Emma held up this Magic Guide Card, and blinding golden light shone toward the Bully Dog on the field!
An instant later, a treasure chest filled with gold popped up in front of the Bully Dog!
No creature could resist the charm of gold!
None!
The Bully Dog's eyes suddenly turned into the shape of Φ!
That was the symbol for Saint Coins.
Its madly charging steps stagnated, and the expression on its face turned from ferocity to greed.
"Bully Dog, attack the Sandbag Tiger!"
Emma ordered instantly.
The Golden Treasure Chest's control over a Magic Guide Spirit wouldn't last more than 30 seconds; she had to decide the victory quickly!
The Bully Dog, its control rights transferred, immediately turned and pounced toward the Blue Side's zone.
The Golden Beast flapped its wings and soared, rushing out at the same time!
...
In this instant.
Spencer finally experienced the charm of a duel.
His expression changed drastically, unable to remain calm any longer.
The Bully Dog's Flame Claw tore through the Sandbag Tiger's defense, even igniting its outer skin.
Although the Sandbag Tiger struggled to hold on relying on its [Endure] skill, the Golden Beast that followed close behind delivered a 'Black Tiger Steals Heart,' thrusting a claw into its abdomen and successfully touching the Blue Side's Magic Sphere!
"Bully Dog, wake up!"
Spencer slammed onto the railing, roaring downwards.
But his bond with the Magic Guide Spirit was evidently not deep enough. The Bully Dog waved its burning right claw and completely tore the Sandbag Tiger to shreds!
The Blue Magic Sphere was subsequently exposed to the air.
To avoid any unexpected complications, Emma immediately issued the command for a simultaneous attack.
As the Flame Claw and the Golden Claw fell at the same time, the Life Barrier of the Blue Magic Sphere completely shattered!
"Battle End!"
"Winner: Emma Metis."
...
"I won!"
Watching the light particles burst apart as the Life Barrier shattered, Emma was a bit dazed.
After experiencing the blow from Senior Angelia, she hadn't been too depressed, but repeated failures still made the little girl feel unhappy.
This hearty victory had some significance for her.
Victory always brings self-confidence.
And self-confidence is standard equipment for a winner.
The first-year Knight House students, after feeling stifled all afternoon, finally welcomed their own moment.
Their Emma had successfully defeated a second-year!
Cheers rose like boiling water.
The two seniors from the Literary Club looked at Emma kindly and applauded as well.
Virt, in the crowd, watched with some envy.
During the last semester, he always thought the person standing in that spot would be him.
...
The winner welcomed cheers, but the loser did not receive ridicule.
Spencer walked down from the player platform dejectedly, and his friends gathered around to comfort him one after another.
...
At the judges' table.
Professor Jones said with a hint of pride, "Emma Metis, not bad!"
Professor Fox's face darkened slightly. "Professor Jones, a momentary failure doesn't represent anything. Spencer is diligent enough; he will win it back in the Rookie Tournament later."
Professor Jones smiled. "We shall see."
Today, she undoubtedly won big.
Judge scoring.
Professor Jones was the first to raise her paddle.
"Red Side, Emma, 9 points."
"Blue Side, Spencer, 6 points."
Professor Fox harrumphed coldly and raised his paddle as well.
"Red Side, 8 points."
"Blue Side, 5 points."
That fifth-year student judge was hit hard once again.
"Red Side, 8 points."
"Blue Side, 6 points."
________________________________________
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