After strictly forbidding the "Magic Guide Scribe" from ever again emitting that "beep-beep-beep" trailing sound, Dark picked out a basic textbook and had the now "biu-biu-biu"-sounding "Magic Guide Scribe" record it.
Then he personally taught it the fundamentals.
For a magic book capable of treating the very text it recorded as part of its memory, the most important thing was to teach it some logical cognition and the most basic baseline knowledge.
Things like letter pronunciation, spelling structures, sentence grammar, and so on.
Once it crossed that threshold, the "Magic Guide Scribe's" learning speed would probably be even faster than the clever Gatomon's.
But its problem was also obvious: the book itself, serving as its carrier, had a limit on how much text it could record.
As information accumulated, it would always eventually need to convert the information recorded in the book into its own memory—the part residing within its soul-consciousness.
Still, before being filled up, the "Magic Guide Scribe," equipped with its book add-on, could do absolutely as it pleased within the ocean of information.
...
Midnight in the evening.
When the bell tolling across into a new month rang out, Dark finished his introductory tutoring of the "Magic Guide Scribe."
The results of the tutoring were quite good; the speed at which the Magic Guide Scribe grasped knowledge was indeed much faster than that of the other Magic Guide Spirits.
It even gave Dark the illusion that it might overtake him by tomorrow.
"Let me take a bath and relax."
Dark soaked himself in the hot water, revealing only half his head, and gazing at the slowly rising steam, he unfolded his Major Sin indicators.
"System, unfold the indicators."
[Now unfolding...]
A moment later...
Seven indicators surfaced within Dark's field of vision.
Compared against the end of last month, they read:
[Pride: 102-98]
[Envy: 38-39]
[Wrath: 84-83]
[Sloth: 63-67]
[Greed: 98-96]
[Gluttony: 70-72]
[Lust: 103-102]
In March, he had drawn a total of 6 points of "Pride," 6 points of "Greed," and 3 points of "Lust."
As the perennial champions among the seven Major Sins, "Pride" and "Lust" had once again persistently climbed upward this month.
Even after being drawn down by 6 and 3 points respectively, there was still no halting their rising trend.
Greed, too, had grown against the trend under Dark's deliberate indulgence, but it was clearly still not enough...
A Major Sin like "Greed" was, after all, different from "Lust"—the more deliberately you tried to raise it, the more you would realize that you actually weren't all that greedy...
And you also couldn't indulge too much, lest it suddenly skyrocket.
It was really quite contradictory.
As for the other Major Sins, apart from "Wrath," they had all merely floated up slightly.
This was a good sign.
...
And as of this moment, Dark's remaining Major Sin reserves were:
[Pride]: 0;
[Lust]: 2;
[Greed]: 2;
...
Given the current situation, refining a "Greed III" in April would be extremely difficult.
Because the "Greed" index was only 96, the amount he could draw was a mere 1 point.
Of course, if he could promote the growth of "Greed" in a restrained manner through the method of a "will to win," it could still work.
It was just that this remaining requirement of 8 points would take 6 draws to fulfill.
After that, April would have only 4 draws left, capable of drawing out just 6 more points of "Major Sin."
If those 6 points of "Major Sin" were Pride, then it wouldn't be enough to cultivate a single "[Major Sin Fruit]."
"Greed" and "Lust," on the other hand, could be gathered up to 7 points.
This meant that if he wanted to cultivate a "[Major Sin Fruit]" next month, he could only choose one of the two—"Lust" or "Greed."
Still, there was about a week left before the time when a real decision had to be made, so he'd see when the moment came.
Dark folded a towel and laid it over his forehead, letting the steam envelop him.
If tomorrow's competition went smoothly, he would gain the chance to enter the secret passage again.
By then, his ideas regarding "Living Metal" could be set in motion.
That might just become April's most central objective!
The moment he thought of the experiment he was about to conduct, he grew slightly excited.
The unknown and the mysterious were always something to look forward to—especially the very instant they were revealed!
...
On this final night before April's arrival, there were no small number of people brimming with all kinds of thoughts and itching with anticipation for the future.
Winter's cold gradually receded along with the turning of the month, and the warmth of the Spring Festival returned to the land.
The students who had obtained no small amount of materials from their dungeon adventures were also in urgent need of a chance to show themselves off.
Dark, Doron, and Diana of the Noble House; Emma, Justin, and Virt of the Knight House; Sara of the Magic House.
These seven—the only duelists among the first-years—were all awaiting the arrival of the Easter Dueling Festival.
True warriors dare to challenge the summit.
At the Rookie Tournament, Dark Demon's enthusiastic performance had secretly stirred up the competitive spirit of the entire first year, and had also given the second years a greater sense of urgency.
Especially Elsie Kevin, the second-year senior who had lost to Dark—he had worked all the harder to strengthen himself, growing remarkably.
He had probably been looking forward all along to completing his revenge on the dueling field.
And this year's Easter Dueling Festival was clearly an opportunity for him.
In addition, there were the likes of Lyon of the second-year Fool's House, Ma Li of the second-year Noble House, Winnie Skadi of the third-year Magic House, Helena Tracy of the third-year Knight House, Angelia Hudson of the third-year Fool's House, Mike Owen of the third-year Noble House...
Some seniors whose names Dark could call out, and some whose names he couldn't, had all set their sights on this Easter Dueling Festival.
Even those not aiming for victory were, for the most part, very interested in the new preliminary battle-royale format.
Some people with more forward-looking vision had already realized this format's spectator appeal and its potential for sustainable development.
Some had even joined with the intent of getting an early taste of it.
They believed that if this format performed well at the Easter Dueling Festival, it would very likely be imitated and borrowed by other competitions, and might even be carried forward in a big way.
And outside the academy, there were likewise professionals with similar aims who had bought tickets, precisely to observe the competitive effect of this format.
Ordinarily, a new and untested format like this wouldn't attract much attention from many people.
But who could help it, when the one that developed this new format was St. Marian's Academy?
As a holy site whose every move drew countless gazes, St. Marian was the very synonym for "authority."
Even if the format itself held no real advantage, the blind bandwagon-jumpers would still be as numerous as the stars.
At a time like this, if one had no industry instinct and didn't chase the footsteps of the changing era, then being eliminated by the era would only be one's own fault.
...
Past the midnight hour.
When most of the students and professors had already fallen asleep, "Lia," who lived inside Professor Medea's dormitory, was still gazing under the moon.
Having shed the disguise of her orange-red hair color and dispelled the facial-transformation magic, "Lia," who seemed to have just finished bathing, stood on the balcony watching that round bright moon beyond the railing.
Her long hair draped over her shoulders, as red and vivid as blood.
Her skin, fair to the point of lacking color, was set off all the more pale by the pitch-black surroundings.
Her pupils were deep, her nose bridge high and straight, her lips full yet petite, her features exquisite and three-dimensional.
If one looked purely at this face, there was not the slightest trace of the gentle temperament that her soft visage could otherwise convey; instead, it gave people a sense of sharpness.
But the moment one made even a little contact with her, one would be captivated by the tender gracefulness revealed in her words and bearing.
"Haah."
Leaning against the balcony doorway, Medea Bartholomew let out a slight sigh.
Watching "Lia's" back like this couldn't help but make her recall how the two of them had first met.
Back then, she too had been beguiled by that gentle temperament of "Lia's," so much so that she overlooked her identity and mistook her for a frail girl without the strength to truss a chicken.
It wasn't until she later encountered danger and was rescued that Medea came to understand just how unyielding the will hidden deep beneath this gentle exterior truly was.
But this time they met, something seemed somehow different?
...
"It's already Easter."
"Lia" suddenly turned around, revealing a brilliant smile toward Medea.
Medea shrugged. "I wish you success."
"Lia" said, "Don't worry, nothing will go wrong. If tomorrow succeeds, I'll probably be leaving."
Medea waved her hand in distaste. "Go, go, the sooner you leave the better."
"Lia" smiled, then revealed a trace of melancholy. "And here I thought you'd ask me to stay."
Medea gave a cold snort. "Without you I'll only sleep more comfortably—you who take up half my bed every single day."
"Lia" said softly, "Now don't go getting lonely, hm?"
Medea's expression didn't shift. "I've gotten through all these years just fine."
"Lia" said with a laugh, "Well then—tonight is the last night."
Medea: "I hope so."
"Lia," not particularly minding, turned her head to glance once at the night sky, then walked back inside.
"In the long river of fate, we are all ships without sails. Unable to fashion oars, we can only drift with the current."
"Then fashion the oars."
...
The tranquil night sky was unusually deep, and the stars hidden beneath the dark curtain twinkled with faint light.
The ancient Castle crouched within the axle of time and space, as though breathing.
When the night curtain withdrew, the first thread of white light appeared at the horizon.
Easter, in the sense of daytime, had finally arrived.
...
"Tick."
Before the alarm clock rang, Dark woke up due to his biological clock.
He kept dozing on the bed for a while, enjoying the bliss of an embrace on each side, until the alarm clock was about to ring, when he suddenly reached out and pressed it off.
Then, trying not to disturb the covers, he carefully got up.
The little Drifloon that had wriggled out at some unknown point was lying fast asleep atop his chest, and the red beaded string hanging from its neck gave off a faint red glow, continuously replenishing the Drifloon's mana consumption.
It had clearly already mastered the technique of converting the mana inside the "Fear Gem" for its own use, and had absorbed a large amount of mana from who-knows-where.
With a bit of a headache, Dark reached out and stroked its head.
No rumors of hauntings had spread through the Noble House tower so far, which showed the Drifloon was fairly well-behaved and hadn't casually used "Astonish" to harvest the energy of fear.
But the enormous mana inside the "Fear Gem" again showed that it had been absorbing mana—which meant it had been preying on people in their dreams!
Dreams were a most mysterious phenomenon.
No matter how terrifying a nightmare, the fear it caused could often be vented clean with a single scream upon waking.
As it happened, the soundproofing of the tower dormitory was also quite excellent.
...
Since no obvious harm had been caused, the beleaguered Dark, with so much on his plate, truly hadn't the energy to pursue the matter further.
He pinched the Drifloon's cheek as if squeezing a balloon, and after getting out of bed, tucked it into the space freed up within the covers.
"It cleared up after all."
Drawing back the black velvet curtains, a clear sky dotted with a few white clouds came into view.
Dark gave a slight yawn and stretched out his hand.
DemiDevimon, which had gotten up a step earlier than him, gave a light leap, flapped its wings, and landed on his forearm.
Dark stroked the back of its head and said with a smile, "Want to come with me to the Canteen?"
DemiDevimon's eyes rolled, and it knew at once that there'd be no little red flowers this morning.
But at the cost of a single little red flower, to exchange for the happiness of eating breakfast together with its master and the envy of the cats who pilfered scraps—that was simply far too worthwhile.
So it immediately narrowed its eyes and fawned, "Master today is as handsome as ever—"
Dark's body hair instantly stood on end, goosebumps scattering all over the floor.
...
A day of Easter began with getting out of bed.
Although the academy had not set up holidays and activities for Easter in the past, because Easter was a festival fixed on a Sunday, students could usually head to Traveler Street, which was laid out with a great many colored eggs, to soak in the festive atmosphere.
Moreover, the Halfling Cooks of the Canteen would also specially prepare Easter eggs for the students—and these eggs were, of course, real eggs.
The Halfling Cooks would coat various kinds of poultry eggs with edible pigments to make them colorful, then boil them.
On the morning of Easter, students could collect the first Easter "egg" of the day at the Canteen.
The Halfling Cooks would, of course, also bury surprises inside the colored eggs, and that was a whole other kind of fun.
It was precisely because Dark had heard there was such a thing that he prepared to go eat breakfast at the Canteen.
Today the students had risen unexpectedly early.
When Dark had straightened his attire, brought his card pack, pinned the Dueling Club Badge to his chest, and arrived at the common room, he discovered that the common room—which usually had only a sparse few people at this hour—was already seated with quite a number of them.
Most of them were waiting here for the classmates and friends they'd arranged to meet, to then head to the Canteen together.
Dark thought it over and found a seat to sit down.
DemiDevimon then jumped from his shoulder onto the tabletop, pacing back and forth.
Before long, the drowsy-eyed Rose came walking down, dragged along by Diana.
"Slow down, the eggs aren't going to grow wings and fly away..."
"But I want to eat them sooner!"
The two of them dawdled their way to the middle of the common room, when Diana suddenly noticed Dark, who had stood up, and her eyes lit up at once as she was about to wave in greeting.
Dark gave a slight shake of his head, and she immediately shut her mouth.
Then the three of them naturally gathered together.
"Come on, let's go eat colored eggs together."
"I wonder if there's a milk-candy flavor?"
"I don't know, but I heard there's a blazing-spicy flavor."
"There's even a chance of getting a phoenix egg!"
"Pfft."
...
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