"Stinking brat, losing isn't scary, but to smile after losing? Just you wait until we get home, I'll give you a good thrashing!"
In a corner of the audience seats, a burly man in an overcoat stood on his tiptoes, trying to catch a few more glimpses of his son's face. Unfortunately, as Doron entered the ring-shaped belt, the people in the stands could no longer see him.
The man sighed, thinking that since his son seemed to be doing well in the academy and hadn't embarrassed the Doron family, that was enough.
He turned his head to glance at where First Prince Charles was seated and couldn't help but think to himself, 'At this level, the First Prince probably won't even look at him, so there's no need to worry about getting sucked into a political vortex. We of the Doron family are all rough and unrefined; now that we've finally produced a son with a noble air, we have to take it easy. Hmm, let's switch to a rattan cane instead.'
The competition proceeded rapidly.
Before Doron had even left the stage, the two duelists for the second match were already waiting below.
These two contestants were both second-year students who had just joined the Dueling Club, making for a match of equal strength.
Old John carefully slipped into the St. Marian Dueling Branch and found an inconspicuous spot in the audience seats to watch the match.
He possessed a unique skill in sketching; with just a few strokes, he could capture seventy or eighty percent of a person's likeness, so his notebooks sold better than others.
Even with the two generic-looking second-years before him, he could draw them in a way that made them instantly recognizable.
But these two were clearly not the subjects of the Royal Family's attention.
He stared with his small eyes, feeling a bit anxious internally.
If he could grasp what the First Prince and the Eldest Princess were focusing on, perhaps his notebooks would sell like hotcakes, allowing him to advance early to the stage of getting rich and marrying a fair, wealthy, and beautiful bride!
But immediately following was the third match, which still featured two generic-looking characters.
Although the overall atmosphere of the Rookie Tournament was gradually warming up, it seemed the explosive point had not yet appeared.
Inside the players' waiting room.
Dark withdrew his gaze from the dueling field. The level of the second-year rookies was uneven; some were even inferior to this year's first-years, so there wasn't much value in observing them.
However, the next match was Diana's turn.
He turned to look beside him.
Diana was sitting on a chair, feet dangling, mysteriously flipping through her cards. She didn't appear to be suffering from stage fright despite it being her debut battle.
"If I were her age right now, I'd probably be nervous beyond belief, wouldn't I?"
Dark thought about it and felt that the students of St. Marian were actually quite remarkable.
If he didn't have the memories of his past life, he certainly wouldn't be able to remain as calm as they were.
However, first-year students were not his objects of comparison.
A few minutes later, he reminded her, "It's about to end."
"Is it?"
Diana subconsciously covered her Magic Guide Cards, then giggled twice, "Hehe," and jumped off the chair.
She patted her skirt and chirped happily, "It's my turn to go up!"
Dark extended his hand, spreading his five fingers. "Do your best."
Diana lightly touched his palm with hers, then ran toward the player tunnel.
A short while later, she emerged from the tunnel behind the Red Side player platform and showed her Player Card to the staff member guarding the entrance.
The staff member was a third-year young lady from the Dueling Club. Seeing that the contestant for the fourth match was such a little cutie, she couldn't help but say as she returned the Player Card, "Good luck!"
Diana tugged at her skirt and said very politely, "Thank you."
Afterward, she looked up toward the Blue Side player tunnel opposite her.
Appearing at the opposite tunnel entrance was a rotund little fatty. He looked arrogant and seemed to possess some skill.
Diana fished a card out of her card pouch, clasped it between her palms, and muttered softly, "Good luck, good luck, good luck! You are the best!"
The Magic Guide Card glowed faintly, seemingly responding to her expectations.
"The winner is decided!"
As the Life Barrier of the Blue Side's Magic Sphere completely shattered, the participants of the third match left the field one after another.
The Red Side player walked down from the platform with a face glowing red, waving vigorously to his friends and family in the audience, clearly very excited.
Once he entered the player tunnel, Diana stepped forward, walking unhurriedly toward the Red Side player platform.
As she ascended the stairs, she used the height to constantly scan the ring-shaped belt for Rose's figure.
Finally, she saw Rose waving a sign vigorously, as well as the [Bear? Cat] drawing on the sign, and she couldn't help but reveal a sly grin again.
Once on the player platform, her gaze continued to wander between the ring-shaped belt and the audience seats.
Just now, she had heard Dark say that his mother had also come to the arena, so she wondered if her own parents had come as well?
"It would be great if they came too!"
Diana missed her mom a little.
Suddenly, her gaze shifted, and she spotted a giant of a man over two meters tall in the crowd. The expression on her face visibly relaxed.
Especially when she saw the silver-haired woman leaning against that giant, Diana became even happier.
She hopped up like a little rabbit and waved vigorously in that direction.
Viscount Greatbear in the audience seats had lush brown hair, and the beard framing his cheeks looked like a lion's mane. Sitting there, he was taller than most people standing.
At first glance, one might think he had a giant brown bear Stand behind him.
His strong, majestic physique undoubtedly gave people an extraordinary sense of security.
The woman leaning against him, however, had silver hair draped over her shoulders and was tall and slender.
She seemed out of place next to the giant, yet inexplicably harmonious.
That was Diana's mother, a woman with a trace of royal blood.
Diana had undoubtedly inherited her mother's genes, but her mother was 1.75 meters tall, slightly different from the petite Diana.
But Diana always felt this was proof of her "infinite potential," so she wasn't anxious at all.
Viscount Greatbear saw his daughter waving at him and immediately gloated, "Look, I said our daughter could definitely do it! Even that kid from the Doron family got in, so Diana is definitely no problem."
The Viscountess blinked as she watched his triumphant appearance and said, "Then aren't you going to greet our daughter quickly?"
Viscount Greatbear was instantly jolted. "Right!"
So he stood up abruptly, his broad back completely blocking the view of the audience in the rows behind him.
Immediately after, a voice like a beast's roar shocked the entire venue:
"DIANA, DADDY IS HERE!"
The entire venue suddenly fell silent.
The First Prince in the front row couldn't help but look back at him, but upon discovering it was the Giant Bear Viscount, he held back his anger and turned his head back around.
The Archbishop beside him opened one eye, then quickly closed it again, continuing to rest his mind.
"That is Diana's father, isn't it?" Claire asked Alvit after taking a glance.
Alvit nodded. "Is Diana that little bear on the player platform? Is she on good terms with my baby?"
Claire laughed, "There's also another orphaned daughter of the Flotly family; the three of them are always together."
Alvit said, "Is that so? It seems I'll have to find an opportunity to visit the Greatbear family. I really didn't expect my baby to have learned how to get along with girls already. I remember when he was little, he had a complete falling out with Little Anna."
Eldest Princess Eliza couldn't help but smile. "Playful fights during childhood don't count. Who knows, maybe after enrolling next semester, Anna could still become a strong competitor for the position of the Duke's daughter-in-law."
Alvit smiled faintly. "Really now, my baby has an arranged marriage."
Eliza disagreed. "Duchess, there is a word very popular in the marketplace right now called 'free love'; you can't arrange a marriage. Not to mention my Anna, even Little Angie personally named Dark at the Halloween ball."
Alvit: "Anna and Angie?"
On the player platform, Diana did not feel embarrassed by her father's loud voice; she even felt that the louder the voice, the more impressive it was.
Of course, she was a little lady who already understood reserve, so she couldn't speak loudly.
Therefore, she just waved her hand even more vigorously, and only turned her attention back to the duel after the referee's reminder.
Commentator Wilson's voice rang out at the appropriate time:
"Today's pace is unexpectedly fast; in the blink of an eye, it is already the fourth match! As you can see, the opposing sides are once again a matchup between a first-year and a second-year."
"The Red Side player is the highly anticipated first-year rising star, the pearl in the palm of the Kingdom's Bear—Diana Greatbear!"
"Her father's loud and majestic voice must have left a deep impression on everyone."
"Now, please welcome the Blue Side player, Magic House, second year, Frank Turner!"
"Frank Turner is also an honor student who joined the Dueling Club in the first semester of his second year; his strength is unquestionable."
"Will this duel be a successful challenge from a lower grade, or a successful defense by the second year?"
"Let us wait and see!"
As the little princess of the Greatbear family, Diana undoubtedly attracted a massive amount of attention.
Coupled with the fact that Viscount Greatbear was present at the scene, there were always people wanting to show off in front of the Viscount.
So the cheers for Diana were very loud.
Old John in the corner had eyes shining brightly, realizing that this was absolutely a key character who could make people willingly empty their wallets, and he immediately began to observe with full concentration.
As the automatic shuffling ended, the pre-match communication phase was skipped directly, and they entered the latter half of the [Preparation Phase].
...
[Preparation Phase] [30s]
...
Both sides drew their opening hands!
Diana blew a breath into her palm, then drew her cards fiercely!
"Yes!"
With five hand cards in her grasp, she instantly felt joy in her heart.
Although her trump card, the 3-star Magic Guide Card [Bear Spirit], was not in her hand, she had [Bear's Power] and another 3-star white card, [Orange Bear]!
This was an accidental product from her warm-up card crafting while preparing for today's competition.
...
[Card Name: Orange Bear]
[Type: Spirit Card]
[Level: ???]
[Race: Bird & Beast Species]
[Attribute: Normal-type]
[Mana: 1400]
[Attack: 300]
[Defense: 1600]
[Ultimate Move: None]
...
Although it was just a white card without any skills, [Orange Bear]'s stats were extremely eye-catching. It could be considered one of the top-ranking strong cards in Diana's hand.
A Defense as high as 1600 exceeded the Attack of the vast majority of 3-star Magic Guide Spirits, and a full 1400 Mana made it very durable.
As for the Attack of only 300, that was obviously the necessary price to pay for such extraordinary stats.
One could only say the flaws did not obscure the jade.
Diana's gaze was sharp as she pressed her hand onto this Magic Guide Card.
She possessed an innate combat instinct and could enter the zone immediately when fighting.
On the other side, after learning that his opponent was actually a member of the Kingdom's Bear clan, Frank Turner no longer dared to be dismissive, and his focus was exceptionally intense.
[3s]
[2s]
[1s]
[0s]
The instant the countdown for the [Preparation Phase] hit zero.
Both players immediately began chanting incantations.
Frank Turner's summoning speed was clearly superior to Diana's.
As light flared up, a Magic Guide Spirit that was completely snow-white, looking like a dumpling, appeared in the Blue Side's summoning zone.
...
[Card Name: Magic Beast (Snowflake Dango)]
[Type: Spirit Card]
[Level: ?]
[Race: Elemental Species]
[Attribute: Ice-type]
[Mana: 100]
[Attack: 100]
[Defense: 100]
[Ultimate Move: Snow Cloak]
...
"It has appeared, Contestant Frank's Magic Beast!"
Wilson tried his best to make his voice sound rousing to drive the atmosphere at the scene.
But before the Snowflake Dango made a move, he wouldn't say anything superfluous.
"Magic Beasts are usually the first Magic Guide Spirits we obtain in our first year, but as the little magisters grow, they are often forgotten in the corners of memory. Contestant Frank, however, clearly has not."
On the Blue Side player platform, after summoning his Magic Beast, Frank immediately commanded, "Dango, Snow Cloak!"
Instantly, pure white snowflakes began to float around the Snowflake Dango.
Its round, dumpling-like body gradually faded into the snowflakes.
As its figure completely vanished, the snowflakes fell to the ground, leaving behind a wet patch.
This was actually a stealth-type Magic Guide Spirit!
Diana on the Red Side player platform couldn't help but widen her eyes.
Frank had clearly come prepared.
First-year students lacked experience and basically had no ability to break stealth.
Moreover, his summoning speed was superior; he could even summon a second Magic Guide Spirit before the opponent could attack the Magic Sphere.
So, starting with a 1-star Snowflake Dango meant having a stable 1-star tribute.
"Next card!"
He looked up at Diana, quietly waiting for the cooldown of the Normal Summon spell to refresh.
Diana, slightly a step behind, also finally summoned [Orange Bear]!
It was a fat bear, orange all over. Upon appearing, it sat on the ground, about 1.5 meters tall, its body chubby and full of flesh.
It looked completely devoid of mobility; both its forelimbs and hindlimbs looked like decorations. No wonder it only had an Attack value of 300.
"Orange Bear, I leave the Magic Sphere to you."
Hearing its master's request, the Orange Bear let out a cat-like meow, then turned its body around, hugged the Red Side's Magic Sphere into its bosom, and curled into a ball.
-> First-year standard tactic: Crouching defense with head in hands.
"It seems neither player chose to attack proactively in the first round, but such a situation seems more advantageous for the second-year Contestant Frank. I wonder how Contestant Diana will break this deadlock?"
While providing commentary, Wilson also left a cliffhanger.
Before his voice had even faded, Frank had already summoned his second Magic Guide Spirit!
It was not unexpected; that was impressively a 3-star spirit.
"One 1-star, and one 3-star; the tributes for a 4-star are assembled!"
"In the first match, Contestant Doron was defeated because he lacked second-tier Magic Guide Spirits. I wonder what Contestant Diana will do?"
____________________________
This could be our last week of translations! We're sitting at 10/40 members right now. To help us reach the finish line (or get as close as possible), I'm running a 50% off promo all week.
Use code: LEANZIN50
P@treon: Leanzin