On the Red Side player platform.
Dark narrowed his eyes slightly, savoring the joy of victory. Although this duel hadn't lasted long, it had consumed a vast amount of his mental energy and focus. Yet, the tsunami-like cheers from the crowd lifted his spirits significantly.
"Is this what a duel is?"
A thrilling confrontation, a hearty and drivel-free victory. It made him recognize once again what dueling truly meant. A person can be indifferent to fame, but they cannot be without desire. This Rookie Tournament had given him a new perspective on dueling.
He didn't immediately look at the audience below the stage. Instead, he turned his head slightly to look at Elsie Kevin on the opposite side. This Senior Kevin was truly a good opponent. It would be great if there were a chance to cross hands with him again.
Elsie Kevin picked up his Magic Guide Cards and stood up, his gaze meeting Dark's. He subconsciously took a deep breath, adjusting the emotions that had spiraled out of control moments ago as time passed. He took out a Magic Guide Card and recalled the remaining Mechanical Components from the field.
Since it was a duel, there had to be a winner and a loser. It wasn't his first time failing. The reason he had lost his composure at the end of the duel today was partly because his opponent was a first-year student, but mainly because the overly intense duel had made him too invested. Once a person becomes too invested, it becomes difficult to control their emotions.
After sorting out his mood again, he spoke first to Dark: "I lost."
Dark nodded slightly: "Thanks for the match."
Their voices were masked by the shouting that had not yet subsided, only audible enough for the two of them to barely hear. Although it was just a simple exchange, the impression both sides had of each other was quite good. The two nodded to each other again before shifting their gazes away.
Dark picked up his Magic Guide Cards, recalled [Miltank] from the field, and then began to replenish their magic power one by one. The fusion time limit for [Bastemon] had not yet passed—and he hadn't mastered techniques like 'De-Fusion' yet.
Only then did Dark begin to look down from the stage.
He first saw the trio led by the Valkyrie and raised his hand to wave at Alvit. Alvit's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly raised her hand and waved back vigorously! The Eldest Princess did not stop her this time. she could probably understand the excitement in the Valkyrie's heart.
Dark's gaze shifted slightly and landed on Claire nearby. Claire lifted "Galileo's" paw and waved it at him. Dark couldn't help but laugh. That cat was still as fat as ever!
Subsequently, he withdrew his gaze, scanned the ring-shaped belt, and captured the figures of Diana, Rose, and Pandora. He didn't look any further. After all, the next match had to continue, and he couldn't hog the player platform forever.
When he walked down from the player platform, [Bastemon] came to his side with light footsteps.
"Let's go," Dark said softly.
[Bastemon] followed him all the way into the player tunnel.
Senior Demi Charlotte waved to him and congratulated him: "I didn't expect you to really win!"
Dark smiled: "Just luck."
Then he greeted Virt, who was waiting at the tunnel entrance: "Hi, Gold. Is the next match yours?"
Virt's smile was slightly bitter, but he still replied: "Indeed it is."
Dark said politely: "Do your best!"
Virt: "Thanks."
As the voice fell, Virt Gold walked out of the player tunnel, heading toward the Red Side player platform. His back didn't look very spirited.
Dark asked curiously: "What's wrong with him?"
Demi Charlotte shook her head slightly and said: "The pressure might be a bit too much."
Dark thought about Virt's situation and agreed deeply: "Perhaps."
Sometimes, bearing the expectations of too many people was actually a very exhausting thing. Fortunately, his own pressure came from within. No one placed excessive expectations on him.
Thinking this, he turned and walked deeper into the tunnel. However, he didn't return to the player lounge but turned into another passage leading to the ring-shaped belt. In a place with no one around, he said to [Bastemon]: "You guys worked hard today."
But [Bastemon] did not respond.
Dark turned his head subconsciously to look, and suddenly a trace of musk entered his nose. Before his face had turned halfway, he felt a silky tickling on his neck—the sensation of hair brushing against his skin. Two tender arms took the opportunity to surround him, circling his neck. Orchid-like breath blew into his ear from the other side, causing slight discomfort.
"Stop it," Dark said helplessly.
This was why, after refining [Fusion], the number of times he summoned [Bastemon] could be counted on one hand. Because she was too clingy!
"Meow~?"
[Bastemon] naturally wouldn't be affected by such a soft command. Dark reached out and grabbed one of her tails, then gave it a firm stroke! [Bastemon] instantly went soft, like a cat grabbed by the scruff of its neck. Dark tossed the tail aside casually, with the imposing manner of someone who dines and dashes.
He straightened his collar and said proudly: "I'm going out. Remember not to expose yourself."
"Alright."
[Bastemon] followed closely behind step by step, like a wronged little wife.
When the sunlight shone down, the human and the pet had already walked out of the tunnel. Dark followed his memory to find the corner where Senior Pandora was and sat down beside her very naturally, attracting a wave of attention.
"Senior, how was it?" Dark asked.
Pandora glanced extremely subtly at [Bastemon] beside Dark and said: "Is this the result of [Fusion]?"
Dark nodded: "If I didn't have [Fusion] today, I really don't know what the result would have been. Senior Kevin is truly a powerful opponent."
Pandora smiled: "You just have too little accumulation. Wait until this time next year; his level..."
Dark blinked, confirming he heard something implied in Senior Pandora's words. He then said: "I heard that in the previous first-year class, almost no one was able to join the Dueling Club in advance?"
Pandora: "I don't pay much attention to that. But among this year's second-years, there are only a few worth looking at. Hmm, Elsie Kevin barely counts as one."
She spoke with certainty. But Dark suspected it wasn't that the second years were no good, but that her standards were too high.
"Beep—"
The whistle sounded. The eleventh duel of the morning had begun!
Dark whispered a sentence to Senior Pandora, then left from the rear. Today was a rare occasion. He wanted to be closer to his family.
The elevation difference between the spectator seats of the Open-air Dueling Arena and the ring-shaped belt was only one meter, but the distance between the two was more than three meters, with a buffer zone in between. Since the audience couldn't actually come from the spectator seats to the ring-shaped belt, there were no protective barriers. However, students also couldn't go to the "spectator seats," so communication wasn't easy.
It was just that being in the ring-shaped belt allowed one to see the "spectator seats." But from the "spectator seats," one couldn't see the "ring-shaped belt." This was a protective measure for student privacy.
Dark walked to the section of the ring-shaped belt closest to Alvit and found a seat. Accompanied by [Bastemon], he silently replenished magic power for his Magic Guide Spirits.
A person must be able to withstand adulation and also withstand being given the cold shoulder. He naturally wouldn't go to his mother to act like a spoiled child, but just being closer allowed his mood to gradually soothe. He truly had no external pressure. But his internal pressure was not comparable to that of an average person.
Settling his mind to feel it carefully, even the winter temperature seemed to have warmed up.
Three meters behind him.
Alvit still didn't know her own baby was sitting right in front of her. she just held the mindset of a "parent watching their child perform." After watching the performance, since she couldn't have further contact with the child, she might as well go back.
But the Eldest Princess held her back with a helpless look: "Let's wait until after watching Virt Gold's match before leaving."
"Gold?" Alvit couldn't help but recall that mischievous "Gold."
Because of their different battlefronts, her memory of Bright Gold remained only in their student days and the final battle to subjugate the Demon King. As for other things, she didn't know that much. In fact, her relationship with Bright Gold wasn't particularly good; at most, they were just members of the same club.
Alvit thought for a moment and said: "The Gold family line is indeed prone to producing Heroes, but what evidence is there to prove that Virt Gold is the future Hero? Just based on that actually useless Holy Sword Spell?"
Eldest Princess Eliza said: "It's the prophecy. The Vice City Lord of Sky City and Grandma Maggie of the Norwei Forest have both prophesied this. Virt Gold will be the Hero, standing up when the world falls into crisis again, just like his father."
Alvit shook her head: "I know that, of course. But if prophecies were really that accurate, we wouldn't have sacrificed so much in the battle against the Demon Race."
Eliza: "Although I think so too, it is better to believe it exists than to not believe. We all know that this world is actually not safe."
Alvit sighed: "That's exactly why I don't want to continue the internal friction."
On the other side.
First Prince Charles and the Archbishop had also finally waited for the "Hero" they wanted.
The "Hero" had always been favored by the "Light" and had good compatibility with the Holy Church, so the relationship between the two sides was generally not bad. The previous Hero had also received support from the Holy Church at the beginning of his graduation, only falling out later due to a certain incident, but it hadn't reached an unresolvable level—at least that was what the Holy Church thought.
They came this time partly to see how the "Hero's" natural talent and potential were, and partly to observe the "Hero's" character and quality. Only by understanding a person as much as possible could they make targeted strategies. Whether out of "Righteous Cause" or "Political Elements," they needed to be prepared for this.
On this point, their thoughts were actually in sync with the Eldest Princess.
"Finally here. Is this the future Hero?"
As Virt Gold ascended the player platform, the First Prince couldn't help but become serious. Judging solely by appearance, Virt fit the impression the "Hero" had always given people. That kind of near-innate affinity could make it easier for people to trust him.
Moreover.
"He really does look very much like the former Hero!"
After observing carefully, the First Prince couldn't help but think: "I wonder how he compares to the Valkyrie's son?"
Virt Gold stood on the Red Side player platform and looked down. He found Robert and found some classmates from Knight House. Ever since that Astronomy class, the classmates' attitude toward him had improved a lot. There were quite a few people cheering for him.
But he really didn't have much confidence! Especially after watching the entire duel between Dark and Kevin, he once again deeply sensed the gap between them. If his opponent was also someone like Elsie Kevin, he felt he should just concede directly!
Fortunately, it wasn't.
On the commentary platform, Wilson took a sip of tea and immediately began the commentary for this round without stopping. Without the constraints from the club, his commentary seemed a bit more uninhibited.
"Virt Gold! One of the seven people who joined the Dueling Club early this session, known as the Lucky Gold, is the dignified Son of the Hero!"
Wilson almost roared out this paragraph. But the audience didn't seem to have switched over from the previous duel, so he had to say it again.
"Also a first-year! Following the Son of the Valkyrie, the Son of the Hero follows closely! Both are descendants of the Kingdom's Twin Swords, both are anticipated rookies! Presumably, Contestant Virt Gold will not be inferior to Dark Demon and can also bring us a magnificent duel!"
"And what I am worried about now is, instead, whether his opponent can allow him to display his true strength?"
"So please welcome the Blue Side Contestant—David Leonard! Contestant Leonard is a second-year honor student who also successfully joined the Dueling Club last semester. By the way, he is also a member of Knight House!"
"First-year VS Second-year, a Knight House civil war, a contest of valor against valor!"
Under Wilson's efforts, the audience's attention was finally pulled back. People suddenly realized that the black-haired boy on stage was actually the rumored Son of the Hero! Thus, the atmosphere finally rose.
And the match also raised its curtain at this moment!
David Leonard was a second-year student of Knight House. Like most Knight House students, he had been happy about the Son of the Hero entering Knight House at the beginning of the school year. But after school started, he, like most Knight House classmates, gradually stopped paying attention to him.
After all, the academic work at St. Marian wasn't easy, and they didn't have much energy to pay long-term attention to a first-year student's affairs. As for the things that frequently happened to the Son of the Hero later... naturally, they had heard about them too. Being the "Son of the Hero" and being at the "center of incidents" seemed to be a very normal thing.
Moreover, Virt's results in the Halloween event were actually quite good, and he successfully joined the Dueling Club this time; compared to average students, he was already very impressive. Most people just lowered their attention on him and didn't do anything else.
Becoming opponents with Virt Gold this time, David Leonard was originally somewhat excited, boasting that he was about to become the Hero's touchstone—even if he lost, it wouldn't be shameful. But the previous duel had raised the upper limit of the level too high!
Leonard felt apprehensive and self-aware, feeling he definitely couldn't play the role of "Elsie Kevin." At least, he only had two Second Tier Magic Guide Spirits in his hand—about the same as Diana's opponent! If the Son of the Hero couldn't display his skills to the fullest because his own level was too low, that would be too regrettable.
But since things had come to this, he could only bite the bullet and walk onto the dueling stage.
[Preparation Phase] [30s]
The countdown for the [Preparation Phase] appeared on the card table panel. Two people, equally lacking in confidence, drew cards simultaneously. After the opening five cards, Virt scanned them quickly.
"[Troll]!"
He instantly rejoiced in his heart. Starting with [Troll] was a very common scene in duel matches. After all, it belonged to a popular card series. With 1500 Attack and 1400 Defense, it ranked at the forefront among 3-star Magic Guide Spirits.
Therefore, when the [Battle Phase] began, Virt immediately summoned [Troll]! The troll, with a physique robust as a hill, made its grand entrance amidst a roar—aside from being ugly, it really didn't have many major flaws.
On the scene, only the Archbishop frowned slightly: "Why is it a Troll?" Even if it wasn't a Light-type Magic Guide Spirit like [Gatomon], it shouldn't be a Troll, right?
But immediately after, Virt summoned a 2-star [Two-Headed Ogre]... If there had to be a classification, Virt's deck at this time was actually leaning more toward the Dungeon Monster series. That obviously wouldn't fit an Archbishop's aesthetic.
In comparison, the [Paladin · Zhe] and [Paladin · Xue] summoned by David Leonard had a distinct Holy Church characteristic. Those two [Paladins], printed almost exactly the same, triggered an aura named [Philosophy] when appearing simultaneously. Within the range of the Philosophy Aura, Magic Guide Spirits of the [Knight] series would gain a 100-point Magic boost.
Among the three main stat bonuses, Magic bonuses were usually considered inferior to Attack and Defense bonuses. But Magic Guide Cards of the [Knight] series generally lacked Magic; having the [Philosophy] Aura could slightly make up for this defect.
Moreover, David Leonard's [Knight] series focused on aura combinations. By stacking different auras, he raised the Knights' power relatively evenly, thereby achieving victory in team battles. Roughly speaking, this was David Leonard's tactical system.
[Paladin · Zhe] and [Paladin · Xue] were both 3-star Magic Guide Spirits, but their three main stats, other than Defense, were inferior to Virt's [Troll]. Therefore, at the beginning of the duel, David Leonard was slightly at a disadvantage.
But when the second round began, David Leonard summoned [Beast Knight · Wind] and [Beast Knight · Storm]. The [Storm] Aura formed by the combination allowed all Magic Guide Spirits of the [Knight] series to gain a 100-point Attack bonus. The situation began to slowly reverse.
In the third round, David Leonard summoned [Beast Knight · Wrath]. The [Wrath] Aura formed by the combination of [Beast Knight · Wrath] and [Beast Knight · Storm] allowed all Magic Guide Spirits of the [Knight] series to gain another 100-point Attack bonus.
Thus, this knight squad composed of six [Knights] crushed Virt's [Troll]! Even though [Troll] used [Double-Edge], it only traded for one [Knight], which was harmless to the overall situation.
Virt barely held on relying on his remaining Magic Guide Spirits. By the fifth round, he finally had [Forbidden Love] and [Shining Giant Python] in his hand.
The appearance of [Shining Giant Python] allowed the Archbishop, who almost thought his old eyes were dim, to finally regain a bit of patience. After all, it was Light attribute. But since even [Troll] was besieged by the "Knight Order," [Shining Giant Python] naturally couldn't hold up the main beam alone.
Virt relied on the large-range Ultimate Move of [Shining Giant Python]—Holy Light—to barely fight to the death two 2-star [Beast Knights] before being besieged to death.
Sixth round. Virt used [Forbidden Love] to make [Paladin · Zhe] turn traitor, achieving some tactical results. He also struggled through this round. But because a stronger Magic Guide Card didn't exist, even if he survived this round, he couldn't see his future. It was just muddling along!
The tightness of his resources meant he hadn't been able to refine new Magic Guide Cards this week. Research on the [Holy Sword Spell] also remained at the initial stage. Most of his time was placed on schoolwork and occasional relaxation with Magic Guide Chess.
Knight House didn't have Teacher Dark Demon's after-school tuition; the Arithmetic class exam papers stumped most of the Knight House first-years who weren't that bright.
Dueling until the end. David Leonard looked at the two 4-star Magic Guide Spirits in his hand and sighed slightly. He could have sacrificed and summoned 4-star Magic Guide Spirits in the previous few rounds to complete a crush. But he ultimately hadn't done so.
Instead, he had dueled until now merely relying on the aura stacking of First Tier Magic Guide Spirits. He had initially worried his level wasn't enough to be the Son of the Hero's touchstone, but he didn't expect the Son of the Hero's level to be lower than he anticipated.
No. It was probably that Dark Demon earlier had suddenly raised his expectations for the Son of the Hero. Actually, Virt's level was still above the average line. It just wasn't outstanding.
After all, he was only a first-year student who had been enrolled for half a year; one couldn't ask for too much. Moreover, he heard that the Hero Bright's student days weren't those of a top student with great grades either; perhaps the Hero tradition was like Fool's House, exerting force in the late game?
While finding reasons for Virt, David Leonard took the match lightly and secured victory. When the referee blew the whistle and announced his victory, scattered applause rang out outside the field.
He suddenly felt waves of dullness!
In the spectator seats, the positions where First Prince Charles and the Archbishop had been sitting quietly became empty. They naturally wouldn't arbitrarily negate a person just based on the performance in a Rookie Tournament. But the previously drafted policy would probably have to be adjusted slightly.
Eldest Princess Eliza and Valkyrie Alvit, however, did not leave. Alvit was very clear about the former Hero's nature during his student days. Therefore, she was long accustomed to it.
Like father, like son—at least biologically; this generation's Hero looked at least less troubling in terms of personality.
The Eldest Princess was seriously considering whether to continue competing with the Holy Church for the Son of the Hero's favor? Or perhaps, simply shift the center of support to the Son of the Valkyrie?
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