The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

Page 2087

　Judging from the presentation of the food on the table, it didn't look bad. Dak sat down and picked up the menu to order. Pandora, on the other hand, looked around cautiously.

　This is Dark's favorite time.

　Because only at this time would she seem flustered. As for what to order for breakfast...

　Of course, it's all about meat, meat, meat, and more meat.

　The shop assistant looked at him with a slightly strange gaze, but still prepared a breakfast that was too lavish for the two of them, according to the menu.

　The match had already begun, and celebrations were underway both inside and outside Duel City.

　The magical TV in this shop is showing the main stage of this World Cup.

　The main stage features two commentators and one guest, all of whom are familiar faces with high popularity in the professional dueling world.

　The first duel of this World Cup was chosen to take the main stage. The two duelists came from the Orc Kingdom and the Elf Race, respectively.

　The duelist from the Orc Kingdom was an old fox-woman. She was quite old and weathered, and wore a witch doctor's robe, which made her look very experienced.

　The duelist from the Elven race was a green-haired grassland elf. He appeared to be middle-aged, with a calm demeanor, a lithe physique, and considerable strength.

　Both athletes had the national emblem embroidered on their shirts, clearly indicating they were from the "national team".

　Representing their respective countries, they carried the hopes of the nation, and there was no way they could hold back in this first duel.

　This is destined to be a spectacular and intense duel.

　"A classic orc vs. elf war at the start."

　Dark glanced at the magic television and immediately became interested.

　The biggest difference in the competition format this time is the application of "character cards", also known as "life cards".

　Developing different tactics based on different rules is a skill that a duelist should possess.

　Avoiding the opponent's attacks and figuring out how to weaken their health are things that need careful consideration.

　In Dark's own understanding, players with faster speed and reaction time have an advantage in this type of competition.

　Because the health points provided by the "Life Card" have no inherent defense or spell resistance, they will be weakened once hit.

　Therefore, the key to maintaining health is to avoid being hit. If the duelist is agile enough, they can dodge most damage.

　However, if duelists lack sufficient agility or other skills, they will have to resort to traditional tactics.

　It's like temporarily returning to the essence of a mage.

　Watching duels between strong individuals can certainly help deepen one's understanding of the rules.

　When the food was served, Dak began to eat at a pace that appeared fast but was actually slow. Pandora, on the other hand, began to eat at a pace that appeared fast but was actually slow.

　Dak didn't disturb her while she recharged, trying to focus her attention on the screen.

　This duel between orcs and elves overturned people's traditional understanding of orcs and elves.

　The orc witch doctor turned out to be a very traditional mage, while the elven steppe elves were warriors by profession.

　Both sides demonstrated their understanding of the new rules.

　The orc witch doctor cast a magical shield on himself as soon as the duel began.

　The spherical magic shield not only surrounded her but also created space for her to summon magical spirits.

　She then immediately began summoning high-level magical spirits, her actions were swift and efficient.

　The grassland elf, on the other hand, displayed skillful mobile spellcasting, charging forward as...

　Summon magic cards.

　He used a "Z" shaped movement during his sprint to anticipate and avoid instant-cast spells, but the orc witch doctor did not cast any spells.

　Although his prediction was wrong, he still successfully completed his "armor transformation." It was an astonishing mechanical heavy armor.

　After his armed transformation, the grassland elf is like a golem, with steerable jets attached to his limbs, feet, and back, which can be flexibly accelerated, decelerated, and changed direction through magical control.

　Its high level of control goes without saying.

　However, the high level of difficulty also means that the upper limit is constantly being raised.

　The grassland elf, clad in this heavy mechanical armor, moves with incredible speed and agility, while also emitting a tremendous mechanical roar.

　To be honest, the restaurant was a bit noisy for its environment.

　But seeing that the audience inside the store was completely captivated and not only did not find the roaring sound repulsive but were even more excited, they let it go.

　Looking at the transformed grassland elf, he could easily imagine how excited the goblins and dwarves in front of the various large screens must be.

　That was practically the perfect fit for goblin dwarves' aesthetic—except for being too small.

　The orc witch doctor is a traditional mage.

　The Grassland Elf is a part-time mage specializing in steel magic.

　Although their fighting styles are surprising, both of them have cultivated their skills deeply in their respective fields and are extremely expressive.

　The ensuing duel can be summarized as the grassland elves constantly trying to break through the orc witch doctor's magical shield, while the orc witch doctor continuously summons magical spirits to assist in defending against the grassland elves' attacks.

　Both players have very clear positions on offense and defense.

　It wasn't until after more than ten rounds that the situation suddenly turned around.

　The orc witch doctor spent more than ten rounds setting up the ritual, and then suddenly activated it when the grassland elf stepped into the trap, killing him instantly.

　This brought an end to this high-level duel.

　As the first duel of this World Cup Duel Challenge, the quality of this duel was obviously high.

　However, after careful examination, Darke realized that it was still within his current range of coping strategies.

　He thus deeply felt that even after leaving the academy, he was still among the strong.

　The main stage then began the post-match review segment. Darko turned around and saw the tables were almost empty, and couldn't help but laugh, "How full are you?"

　"Five or six parts, it's not good to eat too much for breakfast." Senior Pandora pulled out a napkin and elegantly wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth.

　Dark showed the clerk the scorecard representing the contestant, and then left hand in hand amidst the surprised gazes of the store staff.

　During the preliminary rounds, contestants can eat and stay for free using their points cards. This is not surprising.

　They were surprised that contestants were already dining at the restaurant when the competition had just begun.

　"I seem to remember those two players."

　One of the shop assistants stared at Dark and Pandora's backs for a long time before suddenly speaking.

　She bought tickets for the opening ceremony last night and had naturally seen the introductions to Dark and Pandora.

　Then she suddenly realized that she seemed to have missed an opportunity to ask a famous athlete for an autograph.

　"Hey, wait!"

　The shop assistant instinctively chased after them outside the store. But the male and female contestants had already disappeared.

　"Has the legendary dragon been found?"

　"It's already written into the research report. I'll show it to you after the competition."

　"Am I the kind of person who doesn't work for something? So... what kind of dragon is it?" "The Dragon of Despair, Nidhogg."

　"It's actually a black dragon?"

　Dark frowned.

　Pandora said with some regret, "It's a pity that this should have been Noah Sharp's opportunity."

　Noah Sharp's "Dragon of the Abyss" belongs to the Dragon of Despair and possesses the power of despair.

　Pandora was more interested in finding the white dragon, or other legendary dragons belonging to the "Sky Dragon".

　Theoretically, she should have been more likely to receive guidance from the white dragon. But in reality, she couldn't find it.

　"However, regarding Nidhogg, the 'Dragon of Despair'..."

　Dark had some recollection of the name; it seemed to be a black dragon from Norse mythology, dwelling at the base of the World Tree and gnawing on its roots, symbolizing despair, calamity, and destruction.

Chapter 1487 Stepping onto the Battlefield, Darkdemon (5k)

　As for Nidhogg in this world... he can't possibly still be gnawing on the roots at the base of the World Tree, can he?

　Dak couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

　Pandora smiled and shook her head, saying that she had only found Nidhogg's remains. It was the Dark Mountain Range called Nidhogg, located deep in the Black Earth, which was originally the territory of the demons.

　Over the long years, Nidhogg, the "Dragon of Despair," has long since become part of the black earth.

　Even with the coming of the gods' resurrection, it failed to show any sign of revival.

　However, Pandora did not come away empty-handed.

　But she suddenly leaned close and whispered that it was a secret and she could only tell him after the competition.

　Dark felt a tingling sensation in his heart, an indescribable feeling. His curiosity had been piqued, but Pandora suddenly stopped him, truly a case of being irresistibly alluring.

　The two, who hadn't seen each other for a long time, not only showed no signs of awkwardness, but seemed even more intimate than before.

　However, it was competition time, and they were opponents. According to the competition rules, they were prohibited from teaming up, so they had to act separately.

　Just a turn after leaving the breakfast shop, you can see fighters dueling on the sidewalk.

　Although the Duel City arena is very large, after the more than 3,000 people are divided into 20 areas, there are more than 150 contestants in each area.

　Once the duelist's domain is deployed, it will occupy a space of 120 x 80 square meters.

　According to the preliminary selection rules, duelists can have some tolerance for the area their domain extends, as long as it's around 100 meters horizontally and vertically. However, once extended, they cannot leave the domain's boundaries, and the magical spirit's ultimate attack power must also be kept within the range, at most extending upwards and downwards.

　The Magic League has deployed thousands of referees in red uniforms throughout Duel City. They are all professionally trained and have the authority to adjudicate whether contestants have violated the rules.

　If a competitor disagrees with their decision, they can appeal to the organizing committee.

　In short, Duel City is filled with small camera devices, ensuring that all areas are monitored.

　All the duels were conducted under camera surveillance, making cheating virtually impossible.

　As Dark saw the two competitors, he also saw a referee in a red uniform.

　However, during the preliminary rounds, the referees will not be on stage to preside over the matches. Their main responsibility is to record and maintain the fairness of the competition, as well as to remind the audience to stay away from the dueling area.

　Duel City has an audience, and there are always some who can't control themselves and get too close to the dueling arena.

　Although the rules of the competition require duelists to control the power of their special moves within the designated area, there are always times when they unintentionally lose control.

　Therefore, getting too close to the dueling area is extremely dangerous. This is where the referee comes in.

　The referee will set up a cordon to remind spectators to stay at least ten meters away from the dueling area, or to enter a safe zone with a barrier.

　Buildings like restaurants, hotels, and guild houses, where people are present for extended periods, are definitely considered safe zones protected by magical barriers.

　There are also special "spectator stands" set up for spectators to watch the game.

　While the players are ready to fight within five seconds of meeting, they also need to stay away from the "spectator stands" as much as possible and not include the "spectator stands" in the dueling arena.

　Basically, all the issues you can think of are covered in the rulebook.

　With so many participants, it's impossible for everyone to read the rulebook. In fact, only a minority will.

　So this is where the referee steps in again. The referee will remind the offender of the violation, issue a yellow card to repeat offenders, and issue a red card to those who commit serious violations.

　Three yellow cards are counted as one red card, and a player given a red card will be subject to a ruling by the organizing committee. Once the ruling is upheld, the player will be expelled from the competition and disqualified.

　However, the organizing committee will usually give contestants a second chance, depending on factors such as the severity of the violation.

　In other words, two red cards are required to guarantee disqualification from the match.

　The two fighters currently dueling are clearly the type who don't read the rulebook at all.

　As Dark approached, he saw the referee blowing his whistle repeatedly, warning the fighters not to step out of the dueling area and to be careful to control the power of their special moves so as not to exceed the area's boundaries.

　The referee himself was very professional, but it was exhausting to watch. The spectators, who were kept ten meters away by him, didn't care about any of that. A large portion of them were frantically chanting the name of one of the duelists, their faces flushed with excitement and their eyes shining.

　"Looks like there's a big star involved," Dark said knowingly.

　The professional dueling scene is not actually a niche area in the Kingdom of Yonex; those star duelists all have their own fans.

　Among the two duelists currently fighting in the arena, one has flowing blonde hair and red lips and white teeth; he looks like the big star.

　Many viewers spend money to buy tickets for the audition's inner circle just to get close to these big stars.