Chapter 893: Dak Demon Rite and Duel Part 4k
The goal of this ritual was clear: to use the power of the secret path to transform that drop of “dead blood” back into “live blood!”
Transforming “dead blood” into “live blood” was no simple task.
Moreover, it could very well be the divine “godly blood.”
However, compared to the ritual to extract the Demon King’s blood from the [Blood Princess] and the ritual to resurrect the [Intelligence Deity], this one was significantly simpler.
Following Professor Kazel’s instructions, Dak brought the necessary materials to the designated coordinates and began setting up the ritual.
Meanwhile, Diana, Rose, and Aurora were working in groups of three.
They initially came to observe, but given the ample time, Professor Kazel assigned them tasks as well.
If this ritual succeeded, Dak and Aurora, among others deeply involved, would have an invaluable experience.
They would undoubtedly absorb valuable lessons from it.
Yet, this ritual setup was different from the usual ones.
To increase the breadth and depth of the ritual with the same resources, Professor Kazel activated the [Dream Machine]!
Using dream creation to assist in setting up and running the secret ritual, and enhancing the effects with the secret passage environment, this greatly reduced resource consumption and provided more manpower for the ritual’s operation, making it more vivid and capable of achieving things previously impossible.
For instance, they could create nearly realistic “blood sacrifices,” driving the ritual with “death.”
…
The details of the ritual setup didn’t need to be elaborated on.
From 3 PM to 5 PM, all preparations were complete.
Professor Kazel immediately began checking and adjusting the entire ritual.
His first point of inspection was the section handled by Diana, Rose, and Aurora.
Although they were very diligent, their capabilities were somewhat lacking, inevitably leading to errors.
As Professor Kazel modified and taught them, they benefited immensely.
Then, the trio followed him to the area Dak was responsible for.
Dak had meticulously arranged his part of the ritual, but it still wasn’t perfect compared to the whole ceremony.
A few words from Professor Kazel made him realize his shortcomings.
Next, Dak followed Professor Kazel around the entire ritual site, and everyone gathered at the center.
There stood the [Dream Machine]!
…
Professor Kazel said, “The ritual setup went smoothly. We can start it now if needed. However, to achieve the best results, we should wait until ten o’clock tonight. That was my initial plan, but I didn’t expect the setup to be so quick. There are still four hours until ten, so let’s disperse for now.”
Professor Shylph frowned and asked, “What about the ritual?”
Professor Kazel smiled, “I’ll stay here to watch over it. You can eat, rest, or continue studying. Come back here at nine, an hour early, just in case.”
After some thought, Professor Shylph said, “Alright, we’ll leave then.”
Professor Kazel nodded, “Go ahead. I’ll familiarize myself with the Dream Machine.”
Everyone left the secret passage.
Considering the need for discretion, they split into two groups upon exiting.
One group included Professor Shylph, Professor Jones, Professor Metia, Professor Lily, and Ophelia.
The other group consisted of Dak, Aurora, Diana, Rose, Eralganie, and Eve.
Sister Carrian and Professor Steven Harvey were busy at their respective posts and did not come to the secret passage.
Dak waved at the girls walking with him and headed straight for the cafeteria.
On Easter night, students who attended the duel festival often flocked to Traveler’s Street. If they arrived late, the restaurants wouldn’t have any seats left.
So, during this time, the cafeteria was likely the better choice.
At this moment, the cafeteria would be much quieter than Traveler’s Street.
“Why do they go out of their way to spend credits at Traveler’s Street for a meal when the cafeteria has even more abundant food and offers fruit wine?” Eralganie asked indifferently.
Before Dak could answer, Aurora replied, “The cafeteria is an academy facility, which gives students a sense of natural restraint. They choose Traveler’s Street partly to ‘let loose’ and partly to buy a certain atmosphere. Moreover, there are festival activities tonight, allowing them to enjoy experiences before and after the meal.”
Before Eralganie could respond, Diana exclaimed, “Shall we check it out after we finish eating?”
Aurora instinctively looked at Dak.
After some thought, Dak said, “We can take a look.”
Diana responded with a cheerful emoticon.
…
Today’s investigation went quite smoothly.
Three items’ information had been roughly gathered.
The remaining tasks were handling the contamination on the sword sheath and investigating the origin of the hair on the clothes.
Additionally, the “blood activation ritual” and “fossil creature creation” were already underway.
Under these circumstances, rewarding oneself was entirely justified.
However, Dak was more thoughtful, always feeling a sense of urgency.
Upon entering the cafeteria, the group received Easter eggs distributed by the cafeteria and filled their trays with their favorite foods, sitting down at an eight-person table.
Except for Diana, who ordered a lot of meat, everyone else had a mix of meat and vegetables.
After sitting down, Dak tapped his selection card and summoned the imp beast.
The imp beast, originally wandering with several golems that didn’t require energy from Paradise to sustain themselves in Traveler’s Street, was momentarily unsure whether to feel joy or sorrow.
But instinctively, it wore a sycophantic smile.
Dak chuckled and asked, “Were you in Traveler’s Street earlier?”
The imp beast nodded vigorously like a pecking chicken.
Dak continued, “Did you mind me summoning you suddenly?”
The imp beast immediately stood upright, raising its wings to poke its head and said, “When summoned, I will return!”
Dak couldn’t help but smile, “Did you watch the duel festival this afternoon?”
The imp beast immediately replied, “I watched the whole thing!”
Dak said, “Tell us about it.”
The imp beast nodded enthusiastically.
This year’s Easter duel festival continued the rules from last year.
The lower grades (1st to 3rd years) and upper grades (4th to 6th years) each had eight contestants selected from the preliminaries.
That afternoon, these two groups of eight contestants engaged in alternating duels.
Given the single-elimination format, luck played a crucial role in random pairings.
In today’s Easter duel festival, [Saint Son] Evan Pearson外来者·皮尔逊 undoubtedly received the most attention.
Evan Pearson revealed a lot during the duels.
Unfortunately, his [Guardian Knight] Tommy Smith did not participate in the upper grade matches, so Dak could not objectively evaluate him.
Evan Pearson made his debut in the first round of the lower grades.
In this round, half of the eight contestants would be eliminated.
Evan Pearson was fortunate; his initial opponent was a rising first-year student.
That first-year student gave it everything, but from the start, he could not match Evan Pearson.
He managed to last several rounds only because Evan Pearson was holding back.
After a fierce competition, Evan Pearson advanced to the second round.
In the second round, only four students remained in the lower grades.
All first-year students lost in the first round. Among the four advancing students, besides Evan Pearson, were Sarah, Emma, and a third-year student.
Evan Pearson drew the third-year student in the second round!
Against the third-year student, Evan Pearson focused and won easily.
Following that, Sarah Swati and Emma Maltis clashed once again!
As the top students of the Mana Academy and Knight Academy, every clash between them was highly anticipated.
In this duel, both displayed strength far surpassing their usual levels!
Their growth was beyond imagination.
Without [Saint Son] Evan Pearson, the low-grade champion of this Easter duel festival would surely have been one of them.
In this duel where both gave their all, Sarah ultimately emerged victorious!
“So, did Emma lose again?” Diana licked the grease from her lips and asked.
The imp beast nodded proudly, “Emma lost again!”
“So why are you happy about Emma losing?” Dak tapped its head and smiled.
The imp beast immediately said, “I’m happy regardless of who loses!”
“How do you talk?” Dak laughed.
Rose also smiled, “Continue, who won the championship?”
The imp beast continued.
The final of the second annual Easter duel festival’s low-grade category would be contested between Sarah Swati, a second-year student from the Mana Academy, and Evan Pearson, an exchange student from the Noble Academy.
This duel attracted significant attention.
The Outdoor Duel Arena was the home ground of Saint Maryann Academy.
No student wanted an exchange student to win the championship on their second day, even though it was just a low-grade champion for a festival event.
However, Evan Pearson, the only [Saint Son] consecrated in the past decade, with access to countless resources from the Church of the Saints, had completed all four years’ worth of content by second year, reaching graduation level.
Under such circumstances, if he truly took it seriously, Sarah would find it hard to win.
The final was a close match.
Sarah, relying on her formidable skills, fought tooth and nail, dragging the [Saint Son], who had absolute physical strength, into a difficult situation, putting him in perilous danger.
But ultimately, he couldn’t overcome that barrier.
Despite the Saint Maryann Academy students’ reluctance, [Saint Son] Evan Pearson won the duel.
But Evan Pearson was not pleased.
Because the victory was too arduous—it should have been a crushing win!
Thus, in response to Senior Judy’s interview, he confidently stated:
“In this month as an exchange student, I will continuously advance, challenging the powerhouses of this academy. I hope to learn from the seniors and seniors present here… Ha ha ha ha!”
Standing on the table, the imp beast mimicked Evan Pearson’s tone, performing the statement vividly.
Though it was provocative, the imp beast’s performance made it hard not to laugh.
Dak shook his head and said, “I thought he would challenge the Golden Cup’s top sixteen right away.”
“He said that?” Diana widened her eyes in surprise.
Dak smiled, “Yes, he did. Overcoming all the strong ones in our academy to prove himself a hero surpassing Wit. This was likely his main goal.”
“Oh.” Diana acknowledged, returning to her meal.
Evan Pearson’s statement would certainly provoke more hostility, but it didn’t concern them much.
…
As Diana’s plate of meat quickly emptied, Dak and company had finished their meals.
They then opened the Easter eggs, causing another round of laughter.
As mentioned earlier, they left the cafeteria, walking leisurely into Traveler’s Street, gradually blending into the bustling crowd.
Around nine o’clock, the group reluctantly left Traveler’s Street.
They entrusted the items bought from Traveler’s Street to the magical animal club’s golems for safekeeping and entered the castle, re-entering the secret passage.
With an hour left before the ritual, including Sister Carrian and Professor Steven Harvey who hadn’t come earlier, everyone gathered at the ritual center.
The professors set up barriers in the secret passage, making final adjustments, preparing thoroughly.
At exactly ten o’clock, Professor Kazel sat on the bone chair and activated the [Dream Machine]!
Like mud-like black fluid, it flowed silently from beneath the bone chair, spreading throughout the ritual site.
When the black fluid covered every corner of the ritual site, clay figurines crawled out of the mud, following Professor Kazel’s will to become part of the ritual.
They wore different clothes and assumed different roles, playing various parts in the ritual environment.
Like a scene play, they acted according to the script.
Simultaneously, the ritual began operating.
The power generated by the ritual converged towards the center.
The drop of blood suspended in mid-air gradually changed.
…
…
[Base hit! Time to sleep. Aren’t you going to throw a moon ticket to encourage? ]
