The Villain Young Master Just Wants to Live a Buddhist Life

It took quite a while before a student finally raised their hand.

Professor Sylph scanned the room and called her name directly: "Emma Metis, why don't you answer?"

Emma Metis was a little girl with brown hair and round, chubby cheeks. She still looked quite young and seemed to have developed more slowly than her peers, though she was taller than Diana.

She was nervous when she stood up and accidentally bit her tongue. Still, she managed to answer smoothly enough: "The easiest way to earn credits is to attend class diligently; every lesson grants 10 credits. If you can answer a professor's question correctly or satisfy them, you can earn extra points. Additionally, final exam grades can be converted into credits, and also... um, there are also Magic Duels!"

"Excellent, 5 points to Metis!"

Professor Sylph clapped to signal her to sit down, then continued, "Correctly answering questions in class can earn you extra points, but if you are not attentive, the professor also has the right to deduct corresponding credits. Furthermore, Magic Duel competitions are highly valued at St. Marian; they can bring a large number of credits to each house! As for how to participate in duels, your Dueling professor will inform you. Now, let's begin the lesson. Open your Beginner's Guide to Summoning."

Miss Know-It-All?

Dark glanced at Emma's back again, realizing she must be the final member of the main trio.

However, Emma's fluffy brown hair and the lingering baby fat on her face didn't spark any interest in him.

Dark neither wanted to associate with them nor felt any need to deliberately avoid them.

Especially since this heroine's appearance didn't hit his preferences.

Next, Professor Sylph began to teach the most fundamental form of summoning.

Summoning is a technique based on Magic Cards, capable of summoning various things such as spirits, items, and Magic Potions sealed within the cards.

It is said that at deeper levels, there are also Sacrificial Summoning, Fusion Summoning, Ritual Summoning, Reversal Summoning, and many other types.

Some Magic Cards even come with special summoning incantations!

The proficiency of one's summoning determines how many Magic Cards a duelist can use within the same amount of time.

In short, if it takes you 5 seconds to perform a summon and your opponent only needs 3, they can act 2 seconds before you.

If your summoning cooldown is 30 seconds, you might not even be able to use a third Magic Card within a minute.

The famous dueling master Swiss Lu Xun once said: "Summoning determines the ceiling and floor of a duelist."

The learning objective for this lesson was to use summoning to call forth the Familiar sealed within the Sorting Card.

Professor Sylph spent half an hour explaining school rules, another half hour teaching the preliminary theory of summoning, and finally left half an hour for the students to experiment.

After confirming that his "Greed" index hadn't increased, Dark followed the steps in the textbook to attempt the summon.

Because he had previewed the material in the common room that morning, his progress was faster than almost all the other freshmen.

Furthermore, the Sorting Card itself was a beginner's tool, so the settings for initiating the summon were easier than those of standard Magic Cards.

Thus, at just past nine o'clock, Dark successfully summoned the Familiar from his Sorting Card!

The Sorting Card is a composite Magic Card, very special and containing powerful functions.

Because the final step of creating the Sorting Card is completed by the student themselves, the Familiar summoned by each student is unique.

"In the name of Dark Demon, Familiar Summon!"

The Sorting Card utilized a special incantation to lower the difficulty of the summon.

As Dark correctly recited the spell, the magic power within him flowed through his fingertips and into the Sorting Card.

The card erupted with a brilliance as bright as day, drawing countless gazes.

Emma, who had also previewed the material but failed several attempts, couldn't help but look over.

Framed by the white light, Dark's fair complexion, handsome features, and calm eyes left a deep impression on her.

Gritting her teeth, she didn't even look to see what Dark had summoned; she quickly flipped through her textbook, searched for her mistakes, and attempted the summon again!

Her competitive spirit was on full display.

However, Dark was not feeling relaxed at this moment.

He suddenly realized that the speed at which his magic power was draining was increasing, as if the Sorting Card were actively absorbing it!

The magic power he had gained from the awakening phase of his Demon God Bloodline was almost entirely depleted.

Just then, a hexagram magic circle suddenly emerged from the Sorting Card!

"This is..."

It was a little devil that looked like a bat.

And not just any ordinary little devil!

Chapter 8: Dark Demon Understands the Balance of Work and Rest

"Is that a Demon Species?"

Professor Sylph had arrived at Dark's side at some point, the unique fragrance of the Elf race drifting into his nostrils, making his heart itch.

Dark took a slight breath and asked in confusion, "Professor, hasn't the era of the Demon race already passed? Why am I able to summon a Demon Species?"

Professor Sylph explained in an extremely calm tone, "The Familiar from a Sorting Card is just a type of Magic Spirit; strictly speaking, it is an alchemical product. It is just like a Golem—it is not a living being in the true sense. The so-called 'Demon Species' is merely a classification for a Magic Spirit, not an indication that it is an actual demon. As a mage, you must learn to distinguish reality and explore the truth; do not let appearances deceive your eyes. As for why you summoned a Demon Species, it relates to your magic power, knowledge, and personality. Furthermore, the technology of Magic Spirits is not yet perfect, and many things remain unexplained."

The surrounding freshmen nodded their heads as if they understood, though they were clearly bewildered.

Only Dark asked very seriously, "Then Professor, what is the name of my Familiar?"

Professor Sylph said sternly, "That will be your homework. Before the next Summoning Class begins, successfully summon your own Familiar, identify its species, name, and characteristics, and write a report of about 300 words for me. Alright, 5 points to Dimon!"

With that, Professor Sylph walked toward another student.

Dark watched her back, suspecting that she might not even know the name of this Demon Species at all.

After all, this thing was a DemiDevimon!

Duel! St. Marian Academy was truly an ultimate hodgepodge; it had even borrowed (plagiarized) from Digimon!

Although he had known this game was a mishmash, he hadn't expected it to copy things so directly.

Dark felt a slight headache.

Could a DemiDevimon evolve into a VenomMyotismon?

The evolutionary branches of Digimon were too numerous and complex, and he couldn't quite remember them clearly.

However, the Familiars from the Sorting Card should belong to a relatively low-tier Magic Spirit. Their main purpose was to help their masters deliver messages or send and receive letters, serving as a substitute for the role of an "owl."

According to the magister, the intelligence level of a Familiar was 2.5, slightly lower than that of a common beast, and they were harmless.

Dark poked the head of the DemiDevimon and found its reaction to be somewhat sluggish, perhaps because it had just been born?

The DemiDevimon had a round body, bat-like wings, and claws with three fingers, with a white skull imprinted on its forehead; after looking at it for a while, it was actually kind of ugly-cute.

The key was that it had wings and could fly, making it a type well-suited to be a Familiar!

Dark quickly accepted the fact that he had summoned a DemiDevimon. After all, wasn't the Familiar of a Demon God just a little devil?

Next, Dark began to glance around.

To put it nicely, he was observing the progress of his classmates; in reality, he was "slacking off"!

Unknowingly, he had been studying seriously for over an hour. If he didn't slack off a bit to relax, wouldn't that be a disaster?

A thought gradually formed in Dark's mind.

He suddenly realized!

If being too absorbed in studying would trigger the "Greed" index, then by slacking off during study time to achieve a "balance of work and rest," wouldn't that be the perfect solution?

Bingo!

Dark timely suppressed his feeling of "smugness," not letting it evolve into "Pride."

Perhaps because they had him as an example, the freshmen became even more active in learning the Summoning Technique.

Finally, the Miss Know-It-All was the second to complete her Familiar summoning!

The moment Emma successfully summoned her Familiar, she didn't immediately observe what species it was. Instead, she subconsciously looked back at the seat in the very corner of the classroom.

Her eyes clearly carried a sense of rivalry, as if she wanted to say, "Look, I succeeded too!"

However, Dark's gaze only brushed against hers for a moment before passing by, as if he didn't care about her at all.

Emma turned her head back, feeling a bit unhappy.

But the tiny Familiar crouching on her desk quickly made her regain her smile.

It was a small otter with snow-white fur.

Whether it was its bean-sized eyes, its short limbs, or its timid posture as it rubbed its cheeks and chirped, it deeply struck the cute-loving heart of the little girl!

"So it really is an otter?"

Dark had expected this.

Otters were sharp, alert, and highly curious, and they were the Patronus of the Miss Know-It-All in the original work.

Naturally, it was the most likely option.

"Then Robert's Familiar should be a hound, and Victor's Familiar should be a stag?"

Dark glanced over there, only to find that both Robert and Victor were scratching their heads in distress; their progress was clearly not going very smoothly.

In fact, the freshmen of the Noble House were generally faster at summoning Familiars than those of the Knight Academy.

This was the advantage of preschool education.

"Wow!"

An overly surprised cry caught Dark's attention.

He discovered that Diana had also successfully summoned her Familiar before the end of class!

It was a round, chubby Iron-Eating Beast!

The panda, no bigger than a plush toy, lay sprawled on the desk, its eyes still dazed and looking utterly dim-witted.

"What a perfectly matched familiar for her..."

Dark couldn't help but cover his eyes.

The Greatbear family, the dignified Bears of the Kingdom—how did they end up with such a simpleton?

Well.

A panda is still a bear!

Diana, however, was clearly more than satisfied with her familiar, even lifting it high above her head and spinning it around. She only reined it in after receiving a glare from Professor Sylph.

Rose, the only one who hadn't summoned a familiar, couldn't help but grow anxious.

The second period of the morning was Magic Theory.

If the Summoning Technique was the method for using Magic Cards.

Then Magic Theory was the foundational theory for crafting them.

And the corresponding Dueling class was the practical application!

Students were strictly forbidden from summoning familiars in the academy corridors. Yet, there were still those who ignored the rules, running around while clutching their familiars.

Dark paid no mind to those people and arrived at the Magic Theory classroom ahead of the crowd.

The break between classes lasted a full half-hour; the lazy wasted their time, while the diligent had already begun to preview the material.

To avoid being judged as "Slothful," Dark took out his textbook—Basic Magic Theory 1—and began flipping through it, though not particularly seriously.

Thus, when Emma Metis hurried into the classroom, she saw someone sitting in the last row by the window, looking diligent and earnest.

This was truly not something one would expect from someone in the Noble House.