They were nothing more than little tricks like these.
Since they posed no real danger, they wouldn't arouse anyone's suspicion.
On the surface, it was just an amusing little toy.
But now it seemed it wasn't as simple as it appeared.
Dark Demon tested it again with his Magic Pen. After confirming that the Black Rose Flower Card was indeed damaged, he took out his notebook and began to record his findings.
1. Flower Cards could absorb people's thoughts through the transmission of magic.
2. There must have been people who had accidentally fed them too much magic. But no one had reported anything so far, which meant the cards reacted specially to the magic of only a few people. For now, I'm the only one here.
3. Flower Cards could absorb Great Sin, which meant their root sequence was extremely high.
4. Anyone capable of making Flower Cards like these must have been highly skilled.
5. Want one.
No matter who had made these Flower Cards, or for what purpose,
the fact remained that they could absorb the power of "Bliss"!
If he could collect enough Flower Cards, he could then boldly try to raise "Bliss" above 100 and make a series of Magitech Cards based on Bliss.
His heart grew restless.
His greed was getting a little out of control.
Dark Demon calmed himself, gathered up the Flower Card's remains, and sealed them in a bag.
Meanwhile,
Victor and Robert were practicing dueling in a castle corridor.
Victor's Magic Phantom Beast was a Light Attribute stag.
Standing a full two meters tall with its head raised, its magnificent, branching antlers gave it much greater attack power than an average Magic Phantom Beast.
But as a Magic Phantom Beast, its magic was still only 100.
[Card Name: Magic Phantom Beast] [Type: Spirit Card] [Level:] [Species: Bird-Beast Species] [Attribute: Light Type] [Magic: 100] [Attack: 200] [Defense: 100] [Special Move: Light of the Soul]
If Dark Demon's "Magic Beast: Eevee" had undergone a qualitative change at its core,
then Victor's "Magic Phantom Beast: Stag" and Robert's "Magic Phantom Beast: Castle" stood out entirely in their surface stats.
All three of their "Magic Phantom Beasts" differed from the standard template.
Victor's attempt to win the class tournament wasn't blind arrogance after all.
But after practicing with Robert for a while, Victor gradually realized how naive he'd been.
Robert's Castle was just too tough!
Even with the stag's 200 attack, Victor couldn't deal it any damage!
After trying again and again without success, Victor said helplessly, "This isn't fair, Robert."
But Robert had already shaken off last night's gloom. He laughed, full of confidence. "No, this is reality, Victor! 300 > 200. Even I can do the math!"
Victor frowned. "But I remember Professor Jones saying that the surface stats on Magitech Spirit Cards were only for reference, and that they could differ greatly from the actual values."
Robert grinned smugly. "The difference is that I'm even tougher than you thought! Hahaha!"
"I can't keep doing this!"
Victor sighed. "Let's call it a night. I want to practice on my own."
Then the two went their separate ways.
Robert wandered around outside. He saw plenty of first-years practicing duels, but they were all just fooling around, laughing with restraint.
After parting ways with Robert, Victor drew out the Flower Card decorated with red lilacs.
He fed it magic, and the face of that person appeared in the card once again.
Victor looked a little dazed. The strange events in the library had made him realize that the Flower Card was no ordinary card.
But he didn't know how to handle it.
Should he tell a professor?
Or investigate on his own?
If he told a professor, would his own secret be exposed too?
He couldn't decide.
Victor pulled Into the Abyss from his belongings.
The moon was still full tonight. He wondered if it would work?
But as soon as he opened the cover—not even having left the castle to bathe in the moonlight—the words had already begun to twist, and pink mist rose from the pages.
Yet it didn't gather into any shape.
Instead, it drifted toward the Lilac Flower Card in his hand!
Victor jolted and instinctively pulled the two apart.
But the pink mist sped up and plunged into the Flower Card in an instant!
The card immediately changed. The lilacs on its face bloomed one after another, releasing a rich floral fragrance.
Senior Pandora's portrait suddenly came to life!
The senior leaned halfway out of the card, raised her slender, delicate hands, and swept the strands of hair hanging beside her ears back, revealing her snow-white, smooth neck.
Victor stared wide-eyed at Senior Pandora, who looked just like the real person, and stood there, completely stunned!
A few minutes later,
Victor had put Into the Abyss back in his bag. All he held was the Flower Card, wrapped in pink mist.
He rested it in his palm, occasionally lowering his head to look at Senior Pandora, conjured within the card. "This way?"
Senior Pandora laughed softly and nodded.
Her laugh was gentle and warm, like a clear spring flowing through his heart.
Victor followed her directions, almost entranced.
Before long, he reached the place he'd passed through last night. He hurried past the Grand Magus's statue, then turned down another branch corridor.
Senior Pandora's directions were much clearer than the mist's.
He entered the passage and quickened his pace. This time, he didn't take a wrong turn. In just over ten minutes, he arrived in a hall.
The hall was hidden deep within the castle. It was about the size of a tiered classroom, with two stone pillars standing at its center. Images of a Goddess dancing were carved into the pillars.
At the far end stood a tall altar.
A statue of a goddess stood upon it!
As Victor stepped inside, the torches along both sides of the hall lit automatically, illuminating every corner.
Victor looked nervously at the statue.
It had been carved from fine white jade, and the dust of history had left few traces upon it.
It clasped its hands before its chest, eyes closed and head slightly bowed, as if praying for something.
The firelight shone over it, yet the light it reflected was as white as the full moon.
Victor suddenly realized that simply looking at it made him feel as if his mind were being drawn away.
It was so sacred and beautiful.
"Tap."
Footsteps suddenly sounded.
Dark Demon's First Duel Practice
"Who's there?"
Victor was exceptionally alert. Almost instinctively, he circled the altar and hid behind the goddess statue.
The footsteps grew more frequent.
There was more than one person coming here!
A strange sense of disappointment suddenly welled up in Victor. So this place wasn't mine alone after all?
It felt like finally getting your hands on a toy, only to find that someone else had licked it—and that several people had done so!
Hiss—
He didn't dare move rashly. All he could do was listen and imagine what the others were doing.
At least five or six people entered the hall. They kept their voices low, so he couldn't make out what they were saying. But in the end, they seemed to place something in front of the statue and chant what sounded like a hymn.
The atmosphere grew tense.
It was lucky Victor had such strong willpower. If it had been Robert, he would surely have been screaming in terror by now.
As the chant reached a certain point, the white light around the statue seemed to flow, growing brighter and brighter.
Victor craned his neck and saw that some of the statue's tiny flaws were being carefully mended!
"Could this just be a group of Tinkerers here to repair the statue?"
The thought came and went in an instant. Even Victor didn't believe it.
Once the chanting ended, the atmosphere eased a little, and the group of "Tinkerers" began speaking more freely.
Victor could just make out what they were saying. "Burn them alive!"
"For the Goddess!"
"We will succeed!"
"This is a Holy War!"
The moon faded, and daylight drew near.
The light of dawn shone over the land, like the eternal presence of righteousness.
Dark Demon opened his door and stepped out of his bedroom. Something sliding down through the gap caught his attention.
Before you continue