Both sides were ready at the same moment.
Then the card table activated and shuffled the decks automatically.
The duel had no referee and no commentators, but then, a Magic Guide Duel only ever needed a card table.
As the Magic Guide projection rose into the air, the duel officially entered the [Preparation Phase].
When the shuffling ended, a thirty-second countdown appeared to the right of the [Preparation Phase]!
The atmosphere in the hall tightened with the countdown, and even the onlookers' murmurs dropped low.
Charles kept his eyes locked on the arena. All he wanted was to see Gatomon or Leomon take the field with a Holy Sword in hand once more.
As for the flash of inspiration he'd had earlier—to hail Dark as a Hero!
After downing a potent sobering potion, Charles had snapped awake at once and quickly reined that thought in.
If he really did it, and actually pulled it off…
Then one day, while walking down the road, he'd probably just vanish.
But the idea itself wasn't wrong. It was only a question of "degree."
In other words:
He could find ways to create such a trend, but he must never let it reach its conclusion.
So long as Dark was kept in a state of "very likely to become a Hero," the Valkyrie's attention could be tied down to the greatest extent.
But that "degree" was extremely hard to gauge.
Charles sorted through his thoughts at lightning speed, his eyes never leaving the arena.
On the field, Dark and Jeffrey had each drawn five Magic Guide Cards from the top of their freshly shuffled decks.
Their expressions differed, but both had already focused entirely on the duel itself.
Thirty seconds is actually very short.
Every lapse in focus could waste precious thinking time.
"If the final exams don't count, it's been over three months since my last official duel, hasn't it?"
The thought merely flickered through Dark's mind before he looked down at the five cards in his hand.
▼
[Meowth]
[[Magic Beast (Eevee)]]
[Hawlucha]
[Gatomon]
[Primordial Dragon Egg]
▲
"An opening hand of five Magic Guide Spirit Cards!"
It was a situation he'd never run into before, and it left Dark slightly stunned.
Angus Jeffrey, by contrast, curled the corners of his mouth up a little and snapped his head up to look at him.
The onlookers, who had been watching the two intently, felt a stir of thought. Instinctively, they assumed the young master of the Duke Demon household had drawn the "joker."
Some who were on bad terms with House Demon couldn't help sneering inwardly.
Those who loved the house for the Valkyrie's sake grew tense instead.
Even if this was a "teaching match" between a fourth-year and a first-year, the Valkyrie's admirers didn't want to see her child lose too badly.
At the very least, he should put up some resistance, shouldn't he?
If he fought with all he had and lost with regret, that would still be within what they could accept.
…
The onlookers' expressions varied, but Dark wasn't affected in the slightest.
In truth, he was only surprised. He wasn't disappointed in the least by this opening hand of five Magic Guide Spirit Cards.
It held [Meowth], the finest three-star Magic Guide Spirit Card of the first tier, along with [[Magic Beast (Eevee)]] and [Gatomon], two more cornerstones of his deck, and even his newest trump card, the [Primordial Dragon Egg]!
From any angle, this was an extraordinarily lucky draw.
Dark didn't hesitate for a moment and pressed his finger onto the trump card.
Facing a fourth-year like Senior Jeffrey, he didn't think he had the luxury of holding anything back.
What he had to do was summon a high-star Magic Guide Spirit on the first turn as fast as possible, and hit his opponent with the quickest, fiercest blow he could.
…
The thirty-second countdown ran out in the blink of an eye.
"Tick!"
When the countdown hit zero, the familiar turn-change chime rang out.
Without a flicker of hesitation, Dark drew out the [Primordial Dragon Egg] and cast his Normal Summon at top speed!
And in his sight,
Angus Jeffrey on the opposite platform said nothing more and began chanting aloud the instant the turn changed.
"In the name of Dark of House Demon, Magic Guide Summon—[Primordial Dragon Egg]!"
"In the name of Angus Jeffrey, Magic Guide Summon—[Liyuan Permafrost]!"
Just three seconds.
Both had compressed the casting time of a Normal Summon to the absolute limit!
The closing words of both Normal Summons landed almost at the same time.
Then a wail like ghostly weeping swept in, and the chill radiating outward drove off the summer heat in an instant.
Onlookers near Jeffrey instinctively scrambled backward.
The freezing wind blowing out of [Liyuan Permafrost], the Magic Guide Card Jeffrey held face-out, rushed across the arena, which had already been converted into a duel field!
In almost no time at all, the summoning zone belonging to Jeffrey, the Red-side summoning zone, was covered in a thick layer of ice.
After blanketing the Red zone, the ice crept onward and in the blink of an eye had spread over most of the duel field.
"A Field Card!"
Jeffrey's opening with a Field Card dazzled the crowd.
Though it hadn't reached the point of "remaking heaven and earth," [Liyuan Permafrost] was still a visual feast.
At that very moment,
In the summoning zone belonging to Dark, the Blue-side summoning zone, the giant dragon egg had also materialized.
The faint dragon might that the unhatched Dragon Breed egg already gave off naturally let those with a keen eye recognize it as a dragon egg at once.
Since ancient times, dragons, who could stand toe to toe with high-ranking Demon race from birth, had been synonymous with the strong in the human world.
Yet anyone with even a passing knowledge of Magic Guide lore would realize at once that Ice-type counters Dragon-type.
Though type matchups in this world never went as far as "double damage," a counter was still a counter.
On top of [Liyuan Permafrost], a Dragon-attribute Magic Guide Spirit was destined to be unable to give its all!
Jeffrey knew full well that the [Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon] existed. How could he not have prepared for it?
…
In the three-second cooldown after both sides completed their first summons, Dark immediately poured a vast amount of mana into the [Primordial Dragon Egg].
Having absorbed enough mana, the egg began to hatch at once.
The light bursting from the cracking shell was pure and snow-white.
The [Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon] burst out of its shell, and its tender roar echoed through the hall.
The faint dragon might it had given off as an egg condensed to the extreme in that instant and pressed down on the entire field!
The onlookers were cowed by the aura, and a flicker of alarm stirred in them.
But [Liyuan Permafrost] had already crept swiftly to the Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon's feet, and the howling freezing wind blowing across its scales made it shiver. Its momentum broke.
Seeing this, a faint smile rose on Jeffrey's face, but his hands didn't pause for a moment, and a second Magic Guide Card was already between his fingers.
The Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon's hatching had taken about three seconds, enough for its Normal Summon to come off cooldown.
And summoning a second Magic Guide Card took only three seconds as well!
In those three seconds, Dark didn't rush to summon. Instead, he gave the Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon its first command: "Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon, let your radiance light up the earth—Mausoleum of Light!"
"Roar!"
The Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon rose at the command, and the holy white light bursting from its suddenly spread wings held back the freezing air that was still advancing.
Dense white light gathered rapidly above its head, condensing into a blazing orb like the sun.
Snow-white feathers rained down from the sky.
The orb burst open, and the surrounding environment changed rapidly.
The advance of [Liyuan Permafrost] was blocked and driven back at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The ice on the field shattered and melted, and in a blink it had retreated to within its own half.
Bathed in the warm white light of the [Mausoleum of Light], the Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon, restored to peak condition, beat its wings and soared, and without waiting for Dark's order it shot toward the Red half of the field.
…
Having his field effect forced back to his own half made the smile on Jeffrey's face stiffen a little, but his second Normal Summon was already complete.
As if to boost his own morale, he thrust the second Magic Guide Card high and bellowed, "Awaken! Undead of the eternally sleeping permafrost, savage beast slumbering beneath the Liyuan—Liyuan Colossus!"
"Crack!"
Cracks split the ice of the Red summoning zone, and cold air burst out of them like a spring.
A giant summoning circle showed through the ice from below, its icy blue light dazzling.
A wisp of ghostly soul whirled up within the circle, layer upon layer of ice crystal sealing it in, and a bone-chilling killing aura corroded the whole field.
"Roar!"
A ferocious bellow rolled out, echoing.
A terrifying monster clad in long snow-white fur, built like a giant ape, appeared in the howling gale.
The [Liyuan Colossus] stood over four meters tall, its arms thick as barrels, its back hunched and humped, its face buried under dense white fur with only two blood-red eyes showing.
"Liyuan Colossus, Baleful Ice Claw!"
The moment it was summoned, the Liyuan Colossus swung its absurdly long arms and charged, following Jeffrey's command, at the Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon coming head-on.
Bitterly cold frost coiled around its hands at a speed visible to the naked eye, and that frost was laced with foul black qi, so its claws carried not only the Ice attribute but the Ghost attribute as well.
The freezing air radiating from [Liyuan Permafrost] seeped into its body and boosted its core stats.
The five-star Magic Guide Spirit, [Liyuan Colossus], forced the Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon to a halt in midair, and the two locked into a fierce brawl on the ground!
▼
[Card Name: Liyuan Colossus]
[Type: Spirit Card]
[Level: ✪✪✪✪✪]
[Race: Undead Species]
[Attribute: Ice-type, Ghost-type]
[Mana: 2500]
[Attack: 2500]
[Defense: 1200]
[Ultimate Move: Baleful Ice Claw, Eternal Sleep Frost, Undead Curse]
▲
A dual-attribute Undead Species with three Ultimate Moves, this [Liyuan Colossus] had without a doubt been Jeffrey's trump card at one point in his career.
Special Summon methods were uncommon among first- to third-years, but in the fourth year they were part of the basic curriculum.
Jeffrey had skipped straight past the first tier, relying on the chain between the Field Card [Liyuan Permafrost] and [Liyuan Colossus] to Special Summon a five-star Magic Guide Spirit.
This should have been a powerful play, enough to crush any lower-year student!
Yet Dark had gotten there first, using a special method to summon a six-star Magic Guide Spirit, the [Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon]!
It had to be said, this was completely beyond Jeffrey's expectations.
But he didn't panic.
"So what if it's six stars? With the type advantage and the core-stat boost [Liyuan Permafrost] gives Ice-type Magic Guide Spirits, the Liyuan Colossus holds the upper hand!"
The corner of Jeffrey's eye twitched as he forced himself to feel confident.
Only moments later, the Liyuan Colossus, which in theory should have been able to suppress the Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon, was seized by the arm and hauled outward. The dragon then spun around and hurled it in a clean, crisp shoulder throw.
"BOOM!"
The four-meter-tall giant was slammed hard into the ground, and the hard, icy floor cracked like a spiderweb.
The Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon had pushed from the [Mausoleum of Light]'s domain into the domain of [Liyuan Permafrost]. Despite the type disadvantage, it seized a crushing advantage through pure fighting technique!
At the same time, Dark's second Magic Guide Spirit was summoned, a beat later.
It was none other than the three-star Magic Guide Spirit with gray skin and half-closed eyes, forever looking as if it couldn't wake up: [Meowth].
With its Ultimate Move [Foul Play], Meowth could work wonders even when used for defense rather than offense.
Dark summoned his Magic Guide Spirits steadily, and after [Meowth], he moved on to prepare the summon of [[Magic Beast (Eevee)]].
If he summoned [[Magic Beast (Eevee)]] on the first turn, he could later, depending on the situation, Tribute Summon it into [Gatomon] or evolve it with a [[Major Sin Card]].
If he Tribute Summoned [Gatomon], then within the [Mausoleum of Light]'s coverage, [Gatomon] would effectively have two lives.
Dark had plenty of options, and he wasn't in a hurry.
Since receiving instruction from the Silver Wolf Knight Camilla, Dark's Magic Guide Spirits had not only mastered basic swordsmanship but also picked up a little basic boxing and grappling.
The Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon's technique wasn't the best among them.
But against a Liyuan Colossus with an intelligence level of 2.0, its skill was enough to win it the edge.
It felt like bullying an amateur, and the pure-hearted Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon even felt a little bad about it.
But it didn't hold back.
After throwing the Liyuan Colossus to the ground, the Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon pounced on top, used its weight advantage, and drove a full-body elbow strike into the Liyuan Colossus's chest!
"Aooo—"
The Liyuan Colossus let out a miserable howl, its chest caving in.
Jeffrey, who was also in the middle of preparing his third Magic Guide Card, finally couldn't help snapping, "Liyuan Colossus, grab it! Eternal Sleep Frost!"
Hearing the command, the Liyuan Colossus's eyes bulged. It forced its arms up to clamp around the Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon's neck, then threw its huge maw wide and sprayed the dragon with frost carrying a hypnotic effect.
"Pii~"
The Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon's expression clearly grew drowsy.
Just as it was about to be put to sleep, Dark gave his order, perfectly calm: "Let anger drive off your drowsiness! Crush it—Dragon's Reverse Scale!"
The reverse scale beneath the Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon's jaw shattered in an instant!
____
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