Diana was still quite happy upon returning to the bench.
After all, she had won.
So she hopped and skipped as she accepted congratulations from her Noble House classmates and rewarded herself with a piece of milk candy.
And the various clubs were all getting restless.
Unlike Emma, who had already been claimed by the long-established Literature Club, Diana was a coveted prize in the eyes of those clubs, completely unclaimed. The mere existence of that bear spirit was enough to stir the impulse to recruit her.
"Greatbear? Could she be a direct descendant of the Bear of the Kingdom?"
A few people suddenly noticed Diana's surname and couldn't help but feel surprised.
The Greatbear family's genetic lineage was simply too dominant; there wasn't a single person in the family who wasn't broad and burly. This Diana was truly an exception among exceptions, making it impossible for anyone to connect her with that family.
"Could it really be true? Is anyone here from Noble House? Anyone know the details?"
"No, even though we're from Noble House, who would go around digging up info on a first-year girl? Aren't you afraid of being labeled a creep?"
"Uh..."
To round out their teams, many clubs at the academy accepted members from all houses.
Although members from different houses couldn't stand each other within the clubs, they weren't ignorant children. They knew to join forces when necessary.
Of course, clubs exclusive to a single house were more common!
The Noble History Research Society was one of them.
Since their applications for names like the "Nobles' Club," "Royal Court Club," and "Pureblood Club" had all been rejected, a small group from Noble House had created the "Noble History Research Society." On the surface, they researched noble history, but in reality, it was just a small circle for pure-blood nobles to stick together.
But because nobles generally had better educational resources and bloodline talents, the Noble History Research Society had always been quite strong.
The Noble History Research Society naturally only recruited pure-blood nobles, and they had to have a family background of a certain standing.
If a family's status declined, they would be kicked out of the club. It was very cruel.
And their absolute target for this year's class was, of course, that one person—the son of a duke, Dark Demon!
But at this moment, Owen, the senior in charge of recruitment for the Noble History Research Society, was observing from the shadows.
According to the rules, they had to wait for a new student to demonstrate strength matching their expectations in the recruitment tournament before they could extend an invitation.
The Noble History Research Society also had to maintain the public image of "not judging by status alone," which was why they hadn't approached Dark yet.
But while Dark had yet to take the stage, Diana, who was by his side, had shown considerable skill. Plus, her family background was out in the open, perfectly meeting the recruitment criteria of the Noble History Research Society.
"Should I approach her now, or wait until after Demon's match and approach them together?"
Owen's eyes shifted; he didn't think it would be a problem.
The son of a duchess was practically the representative of pure-blood nobility. If he joined the Noble History Research Society, his status would instantly elevate him to the top tier. There was no reason for him to refuse their offer.
And the young lady from the Bear of the Kingdom family seemed to follow his lead, so she'd likely join along with him.
It was the other girl with the pale gold hair who didn't quite meet the requirements.
But for the sake of the duke's son, what was bending the rules a little?
Let's just get all three of them!
...
Owen's calculations were sharp, but unfortunately for him, if he didn't act, others would.
In the brief time he hesitated, several clubs had already approached Diana.
The Sports Club was particularly enthusiastic.
The Sports Club was a major club with support from the school administration.
Although Diana was small, both her endurance and strength were outstanding.
A bunch of muscular guys were also fantasizing about recruiting a little princess into their club.
Unfortunately, reality was too cruel.
Diana just shook her head at them repeatedly. "Not joining, not joining, not joining any of them!"
No room for discussion, a flat rejection for everyone!
And so the clubs came with expectations and left with disappointment.
In a flash, the area around Dark became quiet again.
Diana swung her legs, inching a little closer to Dark.
Of course she wouldn't join any other club.
Ever since Dark revealed in a conversation that he planned to restart the Magical Creatures Club in his second year, Diana had been fixated on it.
That was a club where you could openly raise bears at the academy!
Even if it wasn't for Dark, the Magical Creatures Club was the most appealing one to her!
As for all those other miscellaneous clubs, they held no attraction for her...
Emmm, if there was a Candy Club, a Dessert Club would be nice too, hey, a Cake Club would be great as well!
Slurp~
...
The subsequent fourth and fifth matches were also clashes between second-year students.
The first-year students chatted and laughed, enjoying the show.
After the two seniors from the fifth match left the stage, it was finally time for the sixth match.
Dark secured his card case and looked up slightly. "It's finally my turn!"
The infectious energy of the duels made him a little excited.
Watching from the sidelines was nothing compared to the thrill of participating yourself.
Rose made a small fist. "Do your best!"
Diana had a serious expression. "Warrior No. 1, deploy! Make it quick!"
But she couldn't keep a straight face and burst out laughing.
Dark shook his head helplessly, his excitement fizzling out.
"I wonder who my first-round opponent will be?"
He turned his head slightly, trying to spot any seniors who looked like they intended to go up.
Hopefully not someone like Senior Marjorie.
If it was someone like Senior Angelia, that would be fantastic.
In the two in-class matches since he'd enrolled, he had always dominated the duels with his absolute advantage in summoning speed. He really wanted to experience what it felt like when his summoning speed wasn't superior.
After all, in life, you can't always have the upper hand. The ability to turn the tables from a disadvantageous position is essential.
Of course, failure is also an experience in itself.
But after searching for a while, he still couldn't find anyone.
"Forget it. Someone will come eventually."
Dark gave up his search and stood up, walking toward the red player's platform.
...
"Is he finally going up?"
Professor Fox squinted at Dark. He wanted to see for himself just how skilled this boy, who Professor Jones had praised to the skies, really was.
Professor Jones glanced at the match schedule and looked up. "His opponent is No. 39, but it seems No. 39 isn't nearby."
A moment later, the referee's voice boomed through the speakers, echoing throughout the stadium: "No. 39, will player No. 39 please report to Arena 1 immediately!"
Dark had already reached the player platform. He leaned on the railing and looked down, just in time to see his classmate, Doron, dueling with great fervor in the adjacent arena, shouting and yelling. What a passionate battle.
"Coming, coming!"
A boy wearing a cotton hat and a thick coat over his school uniform hurried over.
He seemed very sensitive to the cold, wearing a scarf and gloves even in the relatively warm indoor stadium.
The referee gave him a displeased look.
The boy bowed his head obsequiously and explained, "Sorry, I had to use the restroom. I couldn't resist eating something cold at lunch. I'm a sucker for icy treats, but my stomach always protests afterward."
"Alright, alright," the referee waved his hand with a look of disdain. "Hurry up, your opponent is getting antsy."
"You got it!" The boy in the cotton hat immediately ran up to the player platform.
After getting on stage, he activated the dueling table and greeted his opponent enthusiastically, "Hello, I'm John Smith, second year, Fool's House."
Dark's expression relaxed. "First year, Dark Demon, Noble House. A pleasure, senior."
John replied casually, "Oh, a first-year junior, no wonder I haven't seen you... wait, I think I have seen you! Right, at the assemblies! Several times! Oh, right, and you got an extra chance to wish upon the Holy Grail! Did your wish come true? It must have! Did you get an awesome reward? I'm so jealous..."
John Smith's floodgates had been thrown wide open, and words gushed out of his mouth like a muddy river in a flood, ceaselessly.
Dark was stunned just listening to him.
This senior... doesn't seem like he's from Fool's House, does he?
Weren't they supposed to be low-key, reserved, and taciturn?
Your character profile is all wrong!
...
"Beeeep—"
It seemed even the referee was fed up with his incessant chatter and blew the whistle to cut him off.
The duel entered the [Preparation Phase].
Dark placed his deck into the slot, activating the dueling table, which automatically shuffled the cards.
Suddenly, John blurted out another sentence, "In the last two recruitment events, I missed out because of a stomachache."
Dark: "Uh..."
John continued, "When my stomach started hurting just now, I thought I was going to miss it again. Thank goodness, thank goodness."
Dark looked slightly taken aback, then understood what he meant. A small smile crept onto his lips.
...
"Beeeep—"
The moment the shuffling finished, the referee blew the whistle again, and the duel entered a 30-second countdown phase.
Dark instantly focused his mind, and the magic power within his body began to flow.
Then, with extremely swift hands, he flawlessly drew his five starting Magic Guide Cards from the top of his deck.
It had been quite a while since his last match, and Dark felt a slight surge of joy.
He was finally standing on the dueling stage again!
▼
[Hawlucha]
[Greed II]
[Curse Cage: DemiDevimon]
[Miltank]
[Blink Spell]
▲
"Not bad luck!"
Dark quickly scanned the five Magic Guide Cards in his hand.
With his deck's system not yet fully formed, this starting hand was already quite good.
The three-star [Hawlucha] was enough for an opening move.
He already had the necessary tribute for the four-star [Miltank].
If necessary, he could summon [Miltank] in under 25 seconds.
With [Miltank] on the field, it was like having an impenetrable fortress, leaving plenty of room for subsequent strategies.
...
[Battle Phase] [30s]
"Tick!"
The soft sound of the phase changing instantly sharpened his focus.
Dark pinched [Hawlucha] between two fingers and swiftly drew it out.
"Answer my summons, Hawlucha!"
A summoning time of just over three seconds.
Hawlucha burst forth from the light blooming from the card!
Duelists typically summon Magic Guide Spirits to the ground of their summoning zone.
But when summoning flying-type Magic Guide Spirits, they are summoned directly into the air above the summoning zone!
Making its public debut, Hawlucha appeared extremely excited, its fighting spirit even more intense than its master's!
It was a natural-born wrestler, a warrior in pursuit of victory.
...
[Card Name: Hawlucha]
[Type: Spirit Card]
[Level: ★★★]
[Race: Avian Beast]
[Attribute: Fighting/Flying]
[Magic: 1100]
[Attack: 1500]
[Defense: 1200]
[Finishing Move: Feather Dance]
...
Just a little over a second slower than Dark, John also raised a Magic Guide Card high in his hand!
His face was full of confidence.
A normal summon time of five seconds was considered excellent even among second-year students, and since the semester had just begun, he still had plenty of room for improvement.
As the normal summon was completed, countless ice flowers erupted from his card.
Under the indoor lights, the ice flowers reflected a glassy hue, beautiful and translucent.
"Wild Dance of Ice Flowers!"
Accompanied by a loud shout.
The flowers of ice suddenly began to spin!
...
The spectators outside the arena were already showing looks of surprise.
For his opening move, John had broken convention. Instead of summoning a Magic Guide Spirit, he had activated a Spell Card!
And it was a continuous-effect Spell Card at that!
Guided by John's magic, the ice flowers rode a tempest of icy wind, instantly rushing toward the airborne Hawlucha!
Ice is super effective against Flying. If it was hit, Hawlucha would surely be in for a rough time.
But its eyes flashed, and faced with the sudden crisis, it fearlessly charged forward to meet the attack.
"Hycha!"
The moment before colliding head-on with the ice flowers, Hawlucha suddenly flapped its wings and spun, and the countless feathers that scattered from its wings began to rotate with it, enveloping it completely!
"Whoosh!"
A momentary exchange.
The outer layer of feathers was frozen into ice crystals by the "Wild Dance of Ice Flowers."
The reversing wind shredded the frozen feathers to dust.
The ice crystals suddenly exploded.
Countless glittering, translucent fragments rained down from the sky.
The eagle-man, which seemed to be wearing a wrestling mask, wrapped its entire body in its cape-like wings and shot out from the midst of the ice fragments like a spinning bullet!
Flashy and cool!
...
Even Dark hadn't expected it to be able to use [Feather Dance], a move meant for distracting enemies, with such mastery.
Breaking through the ice spell, Hawlucha dove from the sky like a goshawk pouncing on a rabbit. Accompanied by a howling wind, it pecked viciously at the blue side's Magic Orb!
"Crack!"
Fine cracks bloomed across the Magic Orb's life barrier.
The number representing its magic points dropped instantly from 2000 to 521!
At the same time.
A light finally began to shine in front of the Magic Orb. A Troll formed from ice elements shot out of the light, its millstone-sized fist slamming into Hawlucha's chest and sending it flying backward!
A patch of ice crystals appeared on Hawlucha's chest, and its magic power plummeted.
Immediately after, a beam of light descended, and the bat-like DemiDevimon was also summoned!
Dark looked at the field.
That [Frost Troll]'s three primary stats were likely on par with Virt's Troll, and it also had a freezing property. Both Hawlucha and DemiDevimon would have an extremely hard time contending with it.
But...
Since Senior John Smith had such a powerful three-star Magic Guide Spirit in his hand, why did he open with a spell?
Was he looking down on me?
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 50 advanced chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Leanzin