Two o'clock in the afternoon.
Combat Arena No. 1.
The Dueling Club members had already set up the venue before noon.
Although the Dueling Club was still led by a student president, the three advising professors held the most authority.
And Professor Pava Jones was one of them.
Today, Professor Jones was once again dressed casually, wearing only a jacket tied in a butterfly knot above her stomach, fearlessly exposing her rock-hard abs to the harsh cold.
She stood out from the crowd like a lighthouse, a crane among chickens.
Beside her was an elderly man.
The old man's hair and beard were completely white, but his back was straight, and he wore a very thick cotton coat.
His name was Hans Fox, also a Dueling professor.
Two advising professors came to the Dueling Club's recruitment drive today: Pava Jones and Hans Fox.
"That little Demon you mentioned, will he be coming this afternoon?"
Professor Fox rubbed the corners of his eyes. Perhaps due to his old age, he felt his eyesight had been deteriorating quite severely lately.
"He should be here."
Professor Jones stood with her arms crossed, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned.
The competition between professors was very pure: whoever's students were more skilled had the louder voice.
This Professor Fox had always relied on his seniority to look down on new professors like her. Today, she finally had her chance!
...
This silent contest between the two advising professors left the Dueling Club's president with unspoken grievances.
No one likes to be watched by professors while they're trying to get things done.
While the Dueling Club recruitment wasn't a minor affair, it hadn't reached the point of needing professorial supervision.
In the past, recruitment events would only warrant a question or two from the professors after they were over. What was so different today?
"Is it because the son of the Hero is here too?"
The student president felt a huge headache coming on.
He was already a fifth-year. He had one year left before graduation and, according to the rules, needed to complete the transition of power this semester, handing over the president's position.
But the experience of having been president at St. Marian Academy and stepping down successfully would be a great advantage for his job search in his sixth year.
The premise was that he had to step down smoothly!
"I hope no one causes trouble this semester!"
The Dueling Club's president was named Joe William. He had red hair, was tall and sturdy, and came from a family of manor nobles. Although his father was a minor noble, his mother was just a manor maid, so his status at birth was very awkward.
What saved his life was the admission letter from St. Marian Academy.
Now, his mother's status had been elevated because of her son's success, and she had gone from a maid to a nobleman's wife. He had also finally earned his father's approval.
Once he graduated smoothly, found a good job, and slowly became a renowned magus, he could give back to his father and help improve his father's status as well.
As long as everything went smoothly, he would feel that all his hard work had not been in vain.
"President, can't you be a little more confident? If a person doesn't even dare to acknowledge their own excellence, what's the difference between being alive and being kitchen scraps?"
The vice president of the Dueling Club—Inia Knight—wore her usual expression of being disappointed in someone for not living up to their potential.
Inia Knight, who came from a family of knights, was a student of Knight House, just like President William.
Inia was scouted by William when she was only a second-year, promoted to vice president in her third year, and was now a fourth-year.
When President William stepped down, she would become the new president of the Dueling Club!
Unlike the indecisive Joe William, Inia was resolute, confident, and tough, having completely inherited her parents' disposition.
Inia's hair was yellowish, tied in a single ponytail, and she had a heroic air about her.
Even standing next to the tall and sturdy William, her own tall figure was hard to conceal.
All in all, she was a very charismatic woman.
William scratched the corner of his mouth and said helplessly, "I'm not that great. Besides being a bit more diligent than others, I'm just physically fit and can stay up late."
Inia rolled her eyes, not bothering with him anymore. "Let's open the doors. It's time to let the new members in."
...
At this moment.
A large crowd was already waiting outside the doors of Combat Arena No. 1.
Because the recruitment was held in a combat arena, and there were no rules against having company or spectators, almost all the first-year students had shown up =.=...
In contrast, the second-years were facing recruitment for the third time, so fewer of them came than the first-years.
Naturally, there were even fewer students from the higher years.
Dark didn't squeeze into the crowd. Instead, he stood a little further away, poking the little Eevee on his card's surface to pass the time.
Eevee shyly dodged his finger, but was secretly delighted.
Diana, next to Dark, had an impatient personality and kept peeking into the crowd.
Rose, however, held her hand, preventing her from pushing into the crowd.
The Dueling Club recruitment didn't operate on a first-come, first-served basis, so pointless jostling was meaningless.
Another two minutes passed.
The main doors of Combat Arena No. 1 finally opened from the inside.
The long-waiting students immediately poured in, and the crowd outside visibly thinned.
Once the crowd had thinned out enough.
Only then did Dark's group of three enter at an unhurried pace.
There was nothing particularly eye-catching inside the arena, just a few ordinary banners hanging.
Not far from the entrance, there were three counters.
Students needed to register at the counters and show their Magic Guide Cards.
Anyone with twenty Magic Guide Cards could receive a number tag.
Next, they just had to wait for their turn with the number tag in hand.
The Dueling Club's judges would score the students based on their performance in the duels.
Each duel would have three judges.
Each student had three chances to duel.
In total, they could receive nine scores.
After removing the highest and lowest scores, the average of the remaining ones would be the student's performance score.
As the recruitment event drew to a close, the Dueling Club would post everyone's performance scores.
Then, a cutoff score would be set.
Those above the line would pass.
Those below the line could only try again next time.
Since the evaluation was rather subjective.
Students who didn't pass could challenge an evaluator to apply for a fourth duel.
A victory in that fourth duel would grant them unconditional entry into the Dueling Club.
Of course, hardly anyone ever did that.
...
"Over here, over here!"
The increasingly lively atmosphere in the combat arena made Diana more energetic.
She grabbed Dark's hand and ran towards one of the counters.
There were three counters in total, with more than thirty people lined up at each, making for nearly a hundred people altogether.
Since the registration window was only for the half-hour after the doors opened, almost no one was late.
Dark followed Diana to the back of the line and observed carefully.
There were many familiar faces in the line.
Besides the top eight from the last in-class tournament, there were also many classmates whose names he could barely recall.
Apart from them, the majority were second-years.
The second-years had already been through two recruitment drives. Those who were still here might not be the top students, but the passage of time would have made them tougher opponents than last semester.
Of course, the most formidable ones were the upperclassmen mixed into the queue!
Those upperclassmen who, for various reasons, had failed to enter the Dueling Club in their junior years, even though they were now competing on the same stage as their juniors, still carried the air of upperclassmen. Just by standing there, they gave off a feeling of being a crane among chickens.
Dark's eyelid suddenly twitched. "Huh, isn't that Scott?"
Yes, Scott from the second-year Noble House was also on the recruitment list!
However, Dark's gaze only lingered on him for a few seconds before shifting to the third and fourth-year seniors.
In a duel with a scoring system, he didn't have to worry about winning or losing. He really wanted to have a friendly match with them.
The line moved quickly.
By the time Dark snapped out of his thoughts, Diana had already gotten her number tag.
She held up her tag to show it off, then moved to the side.
Dark stepped forward, registered under the staff's guidance, and then took out his deck.
There was a fundamental difference between refined and unrefined Magic Guide Cards, making them extremely easy to distinguish.
The staff member only needed him to show the card backs and count to twenty to pass him.
"Here's your number tag. Good luck."
"Thanks."
Dark took the number tag and glanced at it. It was indeed a lucky number—666!
...
Two-thirty.
The crowd suddenly surged.
Dark's mind stirred, and he moved forward with the flow.
When the crowd stopped moving, they had arrived in front of a high platform.
The boy on the platform was wearing a proper school uniform and had his hair slicked back impeccably, but his crimson hair color still expressed his personality.
However, he was actually a very reserved person.
"Good afternoon. I'm Joe William, the current president of the Dueling Club."
William first introduced himself, then began his routine speech.
His words were very inspiring, enough to make one's blood boil just by listening.
But after hearing it enough times, it was just more of the same.
Nothing more than the usual "friendship first, competition second" spiel.
Come on, this is the Dueling Club!
The Dueling Club where the winner takes all and the loser bites the dust!
William probably didn't even believe it himself as he was saying it.
However, such rhetoric was somewhat beneficial for the moral education of the lowerclassmen.
After he finished his speech, it was Vice President Inia Knight's turn.
The recruitment tournament rules Inia then announced were a classic case of "the winner is king," completely contradicting William's words...
"This rookie tournament will be held simultaneously in four arenas. Friends and family may watch, but please refrain from any actions that might affect the contestants' performance. Finally, I wish you all a victorious start."
...
"Ugh, it's finally over!"
Diana covered her head and jumped up and down to wake herself up.
"Can't take it already?" Dark couldn't help but laugh. "Let's go check the schedule first."
While the Dueling Club's president and vice president were taking turns speaking, the matchups for the first round had already been arranged, and the schedule was posted on the bulletin board.
By the time they got there, the bulletin board was completely surrounded.
Diana immediately whined, "What do we do?"
"Deal with it." Rose popped out of nowhere and said with a grin, "I've already checked for you. Diana is number 123, right? Arena No. 1, third match. Dark is also in Arena No. 1, but he's the sixth match."
Dark: "Well, looks like we have a wait!"
Rose: "Smart people have already saved a spot at Arena No. 1. Silly people just scratch their heads."
Diana: "You're so mean! (/ω<.)"
...
Outside Arena No. 1, a lone small bag sat on the only bench.
This method of saving a seat was normal enough, but leaving it for too long would inevitably annoy people.
So Rose quickly returned to the bench, dragging Dark and Diana along with her.
As soon as Dark sat down, he saw Professor Jones and Professor Fox sitting at the judges' table.
He immediately realized it was no coincidence that he and Diana had been assigned to Arena No. 1.
Sure enough, a moment later, Virt and Robert appeared in his line of sight.
Then, Sara Swati also arrived at Arena No. 1, surrounded by her companions.
Later, even Emma came over with her two friends.
"Couldn't you at least try to be a little more subtle?"
Dark clicked his tongue, placed his card case on his lap, and casually took stock of his deck.
...
Spirit Cards:
①[Magic Beast: Eevee]□
②[Magic Beast: Ditto]□
③[Trash Slime]□
④[Curse Cage: DemiDevimon]□
⑤[Popplio]□□
⑥[Shuckle]□□□
⑦[Hawlucha]□□□□
⑧[Gatomon]□□□□□
⑨[Miltank]□□□□□
⑩[Sylveon]□□□□
Magic Cards:
①[Happy Card]
②[Pride I]
③[Pride II]Old
④[Pride II]New
⑤[Greed II]
⑥[Lust III]Moon
⑦[Lust III]
⑧[Magic Bullet Charm]X2
⑨[Push Spell]
⑩[Barrier Charm]X2
□[Fade Charm]
□[Blink Spell]X2
Item Cards:
①[Energy Potion]X5
②[Silencing Potion]
③[Revealing Powder]X2
A total of 25 types, 33 Magic Guide Cards.
According to the rookie tournament rules, a deck must contain no fewer than 20 and no more than 40 Magic Guide Cards.
Duelists usually go for a number in the middle, around 30.
Additionally, you cannot hold three or more copies of a card with the same name.
"Anyway, with 20 cards as the minimum, all ten of my Spirit Cards must be included. The rest will be adjusted accordingly."
"It's my first time competing with official rules. I'm starting to get excited."
...
At the judges' table of Arena No. 1.
Professor Fox strained his eyes, staring down for a long while before hesitantly pointing at someone and saying, "Is that Dark Demon?"
Professor Jones was taken aback for a moment, then said helplessly, "Professor Fox, I know a very good eyeglass artisan."
Professor Fox immediately understood. "Alright, that's the future Hero, I know. What about the Valkyrie's son?"
"Sitting right there." Professor Jones pointed to someone sandwiched between two girls.
Fox blinked, confirming he wasn't mistaken about the hair length of the two people, then chuckled, "Oho, he's got a bit of that kid's flavor from back in the day!"
________________________________________
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