Chapter 281: Dark Demon Enters the Moon (4k)
Diana’s duels were remarkable.
On the surface, her victories were due to her superior deck, but her calmness and quick thinking during duels surpassed that of ordinary people.
Without witnessing her duels, one might not have guessed that this seemingly clumsy little fool could perform so brilliantly.
Following Diana, Professor Jones analyzed Justin Wayne’s duel.
The sunny youth from the Knight Academy had unique tactics and a mindset, yet his defeats seemed to stem solely from the inferior quality of his magic cards.
Professor Jones did not criticize him for losing but praised him instead, setting an example with her actions and words on how she approached victory and defeat.
Immediately after, in response to the students’ anticipation, Professor Jones began analyzing Dark Demon’s duel!
Many students wanted to analyze this duel, but due to limited abilities or other reasons, they chose other subjects.
This time, with Professor Jones explaining personally, the students could maintain their interest while learning more.
However, she did not focus on the strength of Dark’s deck or anything else; instead, she focused on dissecting his dueling techniques.
“Beginners often make the mistake of using all their magic cards immediately in a duel. If you can suppress your opponent, great, but if you can’t, you’re likely to be overwhelmed.”
“Therefore, learning to conserve your hand is crucial in duels.”
“Dark Demon demonstrated this very well in this duel, something many should learn from.”
After saying some selective words, Professor Jones shifted to another perspective.
“Additionally, today I want to talk about commanding magic golems during a duel.”
“As everyone knows, magic golems have an intelligence level of only 2.5 and lack complete reasoning capabilities. They usually need to be directed by a magus.”
“Even though there is a delay in command issuance, reception, and execution, the importance of commanding remains undeniable.”
“Many prefer shouting commands loudly, as if that makes the magic golem hear better.”
“In fact, there is a quieter method…”
Professor Jones took out a magic card and held it between her index and middle fingers, showing it to the students.
Then she rubbed her fingers together, and the magic card began spinning on her fingertips.
A pink, light, balloon-like magic golem shot out from the card and materialized in the air.
“Dark Demon used this method multiple times in this duel.”
“This is my ‘Floaty.'”
“Floaty is a magic golem with attack and defense stats of 0, mainly for show.”
Professor Jones blew on Floaty, causing it to float lazily toward the students’ heads.
She held the magic card steady, infused it with mana, and whispered near her lips. Floaty then flew in the shape of a heart in the air.
She said, “Using this method, you only need to draw a special magic circle on the magic card with mana, continuously inject mana, and the magic card acts as a relay station. By speaking to the magic card, the golem within hears the command.”
“The advantage of this method is that it allows remote control without worrying about tactical leaks.”
“The downside is that it requires a lot of mana.”
“For mages who don’t have abundant mana, it can be selectively used to protect the secrecy of tactics.”
…
Dark didn’t expect his secret to be revealed so quickly.
He leaned back in his chair and sighed slightly.
This commanding method was actually written in the duel class textbook, just not covered yet.
He had pre-studied and mastered it.
Shouting in duels, although sometimes exciting, often seemed foolish.
Unless driven by emotion, he preferred not to shout meaninglessly.
In noble terms, that was simply unrefined.
Regarding mana:
At this moment, his mana quantity already matched that of an adult mage.
…
During his duel with Else Kevin, Dark frequently used this method to issue detailed commands to his magic golems.
For instance, the timing for “Huhu” to use its ultimate skill or reminders for “Deoxys” to dodge.
Of course, there were moments like when “Ditto” transformed, and he couldn’t help but shout.
His victory over Else Kevin was due to a combination of factors, not merely his deck’s superiority.
In his analysis paper on his own duel, Dark emphasized the advantages of this commanding method.
…
After explaining Dark’s duel, Professor Jones continued with Emma and Sarah’s duel, bringing the class to an end.
No homework was assigned.
…
The next morning, Tuesday’s second class, was dreaded arithmetic.
Professor Lily collected the “tests” five minutes before class started. She glanced through them and nodded approvingly, satisfied with the full answers, before continuing her lecture on equations.
However, most students, except those from the Noble Academy and a few top students, lacked a solid foundation and couldn’t understand advanced lessons.
This reality would only become clear once Professor Lily graded their assignments.
…
Tuesday afternoon’s History of Magic.
Professor Ryan Hux tried to flip through books to find historical texts, surprisingly starting to teach ancient history this lesson.
He was beginning to resemble a proper History of Magic professor!
…
Wednesday morning’s Potions class.
Professor Thompson taught a potion called “Black Melanin Soup,” supposedly a boon for night owls, keeping them awake throughout the night.
The boys instantly widened their eyes, listening intently.
With this soup, staying up late playing games was no longer a dream.
…
Next was the Summoning Spell class, where Professor Shylph elaborated on the nuances of both standard and sacrificial summoning spells, especially the latter.
She distributed practice “summoning cards” for students to practice independently while she provided on-site guidance.
Even Dark benefited greatly.
A single key correction led to a breakthrough in his sacrificial summoning technique.
Textbooks alone were insufficient; practical guidance from professors surpassed months of reading.
…
A week passed, and tonight marked the return of Astronomy class.
Young magi still remembered last week’s prophecy vividly, particularly the prophecy assignment.
The Noble Academy had a note-taking fanatic in Dark, but other academies weren’t as fortunate, each struggling to recall their predictions.
Whether the final recollections were incomplete was anyone’s guess.
But regardless, it couldn’t diminish the fun of astronomy.
“I wonder what Professor Metia Barcelo will talk about in tonight’s astronomy class?”
“I bet it’s stars!”
“I prefer the moon.”
“According to astronomy, isn’t the moon also considered a star?”
“Regardless, the moon is the moon, and stars are stars!”
Young magi discussed such topics, and after dinner, they gradually made their way to the twelfth floor of the Spiral Bell Tower.
The twelve-story climb was indeed challenging for students, a mix of anticipation for the astronomy class and dread for the homework.
By seven-thirty, it was dark outside. The distant sky curled around a faint crescent moon.
Though not pitch-black, visibility was poor.
If not for the sturdy railings of the spiral staircase, giving a sense of security, many would have experienced sudden vertigo.
Young magi either summoned magic golems or used magic cards to illuminate the path ahead before climbing slowly.
Dark followed the crowd at a leisurely pace, holding the “Magical Beast: Eevee” magic card.
Tonight, he brought little Eevee along!
“Peep peep!”
…
Entering the astronomy classroom, students sat in their usual seats, eagerly discussing and speculating.
Only when the cuckoo clock’s bird popped out did someone realize—Professor Metia Barcelo was late again!
Above the bell tower.
Wearing her usual witch attire, the witch sat in a pumpkin carriage integrated with the night, lifting the curtain to overlook the castle.
A voice came from beside her, “Metia, why are you always late?”
Metia’s voice carried a natural allure, “Being slightly late builds anticipation. Perfect punctuality would be less appealing.”
“I understand,” the voice replied helplessly, “it’s a seer’s bad habit.”
Metia chuckled softly, “You have a point. Alright, hide, I’m going down.”
Silence fell inside the carriage.
The pumpkin carriage, pulled by two black beasts, emerged from the night, shedding its dark skin to reveal vibrant colors, as if stepping out of a fairy tale.
Students in the classroom looked up, eyes wide.
As the ceiling became transparent, the pumpkin carriage appeared in view.
Metia drove the carriage onto the podium, then lifted the curtain and stepped out gracefully.
“Ladies and gentlemen, good evening.”
The witch, with a flirtatious smile, removed her pointed hat, allowing her smooth black-purple hair to cascade like a waterfall.
The ends of her hair were slightly pointed, adding a playful touch.
Metia drew her wand from the witch hat and waved it at the carriage.
The carriage vanished in a puff of smoke.
She placed the hat on the desk and said, “This week, I arrived a minute earlier than last week, a small improvement.”
…
As long as the foundation is low enough, progress is always possible.
Listening to Metia, Dark couldn’t help but feel a sense of frustration.
Though this professor had genuine knowledge, her personality was somewhat unreliable.
“So, first, who am I?”
Professor Metia Barcelo tapped her wand.
A male student raised his hand high.
He looked at Professor Metia with burning intensity, exclaiming fervently, “You are the guide of fate, the fortune teller with the star eyes, the silver moon witch, my dream girl—Metia Barcelo!”
“Very correct,” Professor Metia said without any sign of irritation, “Brad Gunter loses ten points. Also, I think you shouldn’t dream too much lately.”
She blinked, and the Knight Academy student’s expression froze. A purple crescent mark appeared on his forehead.
The crescent was surrounded by dark patterns, as if locking something in place.
Brad Gunter subconsciously touched his head, bewildered.
Professor Metia merely waved her wand, and he sat down abruptly!
“Bang!”
The sound was so loud it seemed like the chair might break.
Professor Metia calmly continued, “The moon is full tonight, a perfect time for fate’s trajectory. Has anyone tried divination?”
At this moment, the students below were shocked by Brad Gunter’s experience. Whether their shock was mixed with worry, fear, or schadenfreude remained unknown.
Sarah Swati raised her hand, “Professor, I tried divination with pebbles, but that was when I was young.”
Metia nodded, “Divination with pebbles is a minor trick, but it can be fairly accurate for predicting fortune and misfortune.”
Emma Maltis didn’t want to fall behind, “Professor, I tried divination with gold coins, but it wasn’t very accurate.”
Metia smiled, “Gold coin divination has been around for a long time. The simpler the steps, the higher the requirements for the diviner. After taking my astronomy class, you might get better results.”
Her eyebrows moved slightly as she turned her gaze to Wit Gold at the back, “We all experience various interesting things in our childhood. So, Hero’s Child, did you play similar divination games as a child?”
Wit hesitated, then stood up and shook his head, “Sorry, Professor. I never played divination games.”
The witch hat on the lectern trembled slightly.
Metia changed the subject, “That’s not a problem. Today, our topic is observing the moon.”
She waved her wand, and the previously closed ceiling opened again.
The previously dim moon now shone abnormally brightly.
Moonlight poured down, casting shadows on the figures.
