Not Bad

"How do you still have more?" Karei was completely dumbfounded. "How many sets did he fucking make?!"

Having one identical set was understandable; it could still have been a coincidence.

But he had taken out another one... Wasn't this just bullying?

"How would I know?" Caroso said calmly.

"Wait, he cheated!" Karei pointed at Caroso. "That's twelve points. He cheated!"

"Th-this, Student Coleya did not break the rules..." The staff member was also baffled. "If you question the fairness of the match or the arena's magic array, please raise it after the duel."

He could confirm that Caroso had only used ten points, but he had no idea what was going on either.

"Twelve points?"

"Did they bow to the Grand Duke's power?"

"Oh, cut it out with the conspiracy theories. If Caroso were fighting people like us, the teacher might bow to power, but these two are both sons of Grand Dukes. Offending either one would be fatal, so he has to stay impartial."

Among those present, only Nimel knew what was going on. But she only knew that Caroso had two fine cards; she had no idea he also had an epic one.

"Brother Caroso, how did you do that?" Elena was dumbfounded too.

Then, her eyes lit up. She felt like she had struck gold.

Who would have thought that the man trying to woo her was actually this powerful?

"I don't know. I've never even seen anything like it in the records." Rayne shook his head.

The natives of this world had all had their understanding of cards overturned. After all, none of them had ever seen cards like these.

That was the difference between natives and Netizens.

How many experiments could a card-making master conduct in a lifetime? Even ten card-making masters combined might not conduct as many experiments as one Netizen with too much time on their hands.

Netizens did not understand the underlying theory, but they could waste resources without limit!

Even blindly fucking around could produce some interesting and practical cards.

And once they grasped even a little of the pattern, things would spiral completely out of control.

The joke cards Netizens talked about, the god-tier cards with absurdly high value for money, were all products of countless experiments.

If any card master in this world could use materials without limit, make cards without worrying about mental exhaustion, freely use things like Pandora's Eye, place materials in, determine how they would be processed, and conduct an experiment with a single click, god-tier cards would already be everywhere.

"Take this!"

Caroso stepped forward and clashed head-on with Karei again.

Time was limited, so Caroso's attacks were savage and forceful, his martial techniques surging like a raging storm.

At first, Karei had been eager to trade blows with Caroso. Now, he had no choice but to do so.

Both sides' weapons were wearing down rapidly, and before long, Caroso's second sword shattered.

Then, something happened that drove Karei to despair.

A third sword appeared in Caroso's hand...

The reason Caroso had protected his armor with all his strength was because he had copied seven cards: one suit of armor, four weapons, and two pairs of boots.

If the armor broke, the set bonus would be gone. The boots and swords, on the other hand, could be used freely.

"I don't believe it!" Karei roared in near collapse.

Bang, bang, bang...

The two clashed head-on once more.

Combat depended not only on one's own strength; cards were also extremely important support. Cards were miraculous creations that possessed power themselves.

Caroso's speed, strength, agility, and magic power were indeed all inferior to Karei's, but Caroso had more cards!

Under Karei's incredulous gaze, his sword exploded!

Caroso had used two and a half swords to destroy the sword in Karei's hand.

Karei's armor and boots visibly dimmed.

Before Karei could react, Caroso's sword slashed directly into his armor and sent him flying.

Karei crashed into the magic array, bounced off it, and fell to the ground.

Bang, bang, bang...

Caroso chased after Karei. Wielding his longsword like a wooden stick, he relentlessly struck Karei's body.

Even in a duel, Caroso did not kill him in full view of everyone.

Killing a duke's son would have far too great an impact.

The epic sword looked like nothing more than a wooden stick in Caroso's hands, devoid of any elegance.

But the one being humiliated was not Caroso. It was Karei, because he was the one being disgraced...

[This... I can barely watch anymore. I need to look at that CG again.]

[Teasing his opponent, humiliating his opponent... Fuck, Boss Caro has the personality of a villain through and through.]

[I'll definitely clear Baby Caro's name!]

[I don't think Boss Caro has ever cared about clearing his name or anything like that. He simply never saw himself as a villain.]

[Boss Caro has no concept of heroes or villains. He just does whatever he wants.]

[Yeah. Boss Caro knows that he'll die and fail in the future, but he never wonders whether he did something wrong. He just thinks he wasn't strong enough.]

At last, Karei's armor shattered as well.

Caroso pointed his longsword at Karei's throat. "Still want to fight?"

"I... This isn't fair!"

Plop!

A tear fell to the ground. Karei had actually been beaten to tears by Caroso.

He had never imagined that he would lose because of his own equipment.

From beginning to end, he had lost in the most baffling way possible.

"Brother Caroso, you're amazing!" Elena cupped her hands around her mouth and silently mouthed the words toward Caroso, who happened to see her.

No one else could hear her voice.

If she had actually shouted it out loud, she would have thoroughly offended Karei. Elena did not want that.

Seeing this, Rayne secretly gave Caroso a thumbs-up as well.

"A third-tier beat a fourth-tier?"

"An epic set of cards lost?"

"What exactly happened? I didn't understand any of it from start to finish."

"It really felt like Caroso was using fifteen points to fight nine points. He crushed him with raw point value..."

"What is happening to this world? I must be dreaming!"

"Is the gap in potential really this huge? Didn't they say the difference only became obvious from the fourth tier onward?"

Plop.

Just then, the ten minutes were up, and Caroso's armor vanished.

Caroso seemed to have calculated the timing perfectly. At that moment, he voluntarily dispelled the things he had copied with the epic card.

Fine beads of sweat covered Caroso's forehead, and his chest rose and fell slightly. Clearly, maintaining control over those ten minutes had exhausted him as well.

"I refuse to accept this! I refuse!" Karei climbed to his feet and roared at the staff member. "I want the magic array inspected!"

"Student Coleya did not break the rules."

At that moment, a stern voice rang out.

Karei froze, then slowly turned his head.

An elderly man with slicked-back hair, a monocle, a white shirt, a black vest, and black trousers stood there, looking over with a solemn expression.

"Vice Principal?" Karei's mouth fell open.

"This duel was entirely fair," the Vice Principal said. "Student Coleya merely used cards you have never seen before. You lost because you were careless."

"Not bad." Caroso said that to Karei, then gave the Vice Principal a noble's salute before turning and walking toward the cafeteria.

Seeing this, Nimel hurried after Caroso, like a little sister card attendant.

If you can't find the book by searching its title, try searching for the author instead. It may have simply been renamed!