[3s]
[2s]
[1s]
[0s]
...
The instant the countdown ended.
The final number transformed into a brand-new countdown: "29:59."
A few seconds later.
Throughout the entire arena, the solemn voices of the duelists rang out.
"Magic Guide Summon!"
Amid the impassioned summoning calls, one Magic Guide Spirit after another was called forth.
A grand spectacle like this—over a hundred Magic Guide Spirits summoned in one breath—had become a rare sight ever since the war ended.
Even though the spirits summoned in this opening phase were all first-tier, numbers were justice in themselves.
Watching so many Magic Guide Spirits appear at once, the spectators almost instantly fell in love with this new dueling format.
And the contestants in the thick of it were swept up by the atmosphere too; excitement surfaced on many of their faces.
Yet the world of Magic Guide dueling is cruel.
Nearly half of those smiles came to an abrupt halt mere seconds after their Magic Guide Spirits were summoned.
Because their Magic Guide Spirits were slaughtered in an instant, right before their eyes!
...
The attacks from those around him came even faster than he'd imagined.
After opening with the summon of [Curse Cage: DemiDevimon], Dark Demon was merely waiting out the three-second cooldown when he discovered that an attack from contestant No. 80 on his right had already descended!
That third-year senior, who had summoned his first Magic Guide Spirit in the bare minimum of three seconds, had immediately chosen to pick on a first-year rookie who looked like easier prey.
Although Dark had performed decently enough in his debut at the Rookie Tournament, that didn't change the fact that he was indeed only a first-year.
That third-year senior had opened by choosing the three-star Magic Guide Spirit with the strongest panel stats and the nimblest movement in his hand—a great steel serpent with wings!
[Card Name: Steel Drill Serpent]
[Type: Spirit Card]
[Level: ???]
[Species: Animal species]
[Attribute: Steel-type / Flying-type]
[Mana: 1200]
[Attack: 1500]
[Defense: 1500]
[Ultimate Moves: Spiral Steel Drill, Gale Rush]
The Steel Drill Serpent, with steel wings sprouting from its back, has a mouth of conical structure, like a steel drill, capable of spinning at high speed—its armor-piercing ability is first-rate.
And its Ultimate Move "Gale Rush" makes excellent use of Flying-type energy, raising its already swift speed even further to launch a fatal charge at the enemy!
At the instant the "Steel Drill Serpent" launched "Gale Rush" at DemiDevimon, if Dark—DemiDevimon's master—were to call out a command, it would inevitably cut off the second summon already on his lips.
So Dark chose to trust.
Bearing its master's trust, DemiDevimon reacted in time the moment it was targeted, beating its wings and darting frantically upward.
Its flight speed was far inferior to the "Steel Drill Serpent's," but its keen alertness was enough to spare it from disaster.
And the "Steel Drill Serpent" that rushed past beneath it did not turn to continue its attack; instead it rode its momentum to strike at the Magic Guide Spirit of contestant No. 76 on the left!
That second-year, who had likewise chosen to open by summoning a three-star Magic Guide Spirit, shouted out the moment he spotted the "Steel Drill Serpent."
And his three-star Magic Guide Spirit—a horse-headed humanoid carrying a great shield—immediately raised that great shield to face the "Steel Drill Serpent."
"BOOM!"
Spear and shield collided in this moment!
[Card Name: Horsehead Shield Guard]
[Type: Spirit Card]
[Level: ???]
[Species: Demi-human Species]
[Attribute: Fighting-type]
[Mana: 1300]
[Attack: 1300]
[Defense: 1600]
[Ultimate Moves: Unwavering, Blast Greatshield]
In that instant.
The "Horsehead Shield Guard's" body flickered with an orange-yellow light; the triggering of its Ultimate Move "Unwavering" granted it a greater capacity to withstand damage.
The presence of "Blast Greatshield" sent its defense skyrocketing even further.
A base defense surpassing the top-tier values of a three-star gave it the means to resist a powerful impact as well!
But the innate counter of Flying-type against Fighting-type.
Still forced it back several steps under the "Steel Drill Serpent's" "Gale Rush"; its lower body thereby lost its stability, and the great shield in its hands was flung high!
Attribute counters exist between Magic Guide Spirits—this is knowledge taught as early as first year, but its actual application usually begins in second year.
Fortunately, the attribute counters of this world were not as pronounced as those in the Pokémon world, where it was always one-times or two-times at the drop of a hat.
Depending on the species and energy nature of the various Magic Guide Spirits, this counter would also fluctuate within a certain range.
So effectively leveraging attribute counters to land a kill still belonged to high-level application.
In terms of raw power, the "Steel Drill Serpent's" Steel-type Ultimate Move "Spiral Steel Drill" was stronger than "Gale Rush," but against the Fighting-type Horsehead Shield Guard, the effect of "Gale Rush" was actually better.
After using "Gale Rush" to ride its momentum and break open the "Horsehead Shield Guard's" great shield, it immediately switched to "Spiral Steel Drill" and struck the "Horsehead Shield Guard" head-on in the chest!
A massive gaping hole was drilled into that solid chest!
This battle was, without a doubt, a victory for the spear.
But just as contestant No. 80 calmly prepared to summon his second Magic Guide Spirit and deal a fatal wound to that second-year's Magic Guide Spirit.
Between contestants No. 76 and No. 80, a resplendent dark-gold light suddenly erupted!
Bathed in that thread of light, the hearts of contestant No. 80 and contestant No. 76 were abruptly stirred by an abnormal emotion.
Contestant No. 80's heart wavered, his gaze turned sharp, and even the tone of his summoning changed as a result.
"Come forth, Steel Drill Serpent—let these clueless underclassmen learn who the true strong are!"
A second "Steel Drill Serpent" abruptly appeared amid that condescending tone.
And contestant No. 76 trembled all over too, bellowing: "A mere steel snake—by what right can it break through my defense? Magic Guide Summon—'Golden Armor Curse'!"
Golden energy armor wrapped around the "Horsehead Shield Guard's" body, raising its already formidable defense once again.
Clad in golden armor and wielding its great shield, the horse-headed humanoid was, in this moment, as majestic as a god of war.
Its eyes glittered with the light of "Unwavering"; it actually raised its great shield anew and delivered a ferocious shield bash at the "Steel Drill Serpent"!
"BOOM!"
That Steel Drill Serpent was actually struck so hard it let out a wretched shriek.
But the appearance of the second Steel Drill Serpent again plunged the "Horsehead Shield Guard" into a predicament.
Then, in the very next instant, a massive, sharp "Death Claw" suddenly descended from the heavens, demolishing the "Horsehead Shield Guard's" defense as though sweeping away rotten wood, and pressing down hard on its horse head, pinning it to the ground.
"Devimon, Death Claw!"
Dark Demon's voice only barely rang out afterward.
The Devimon, which had triggered its Ultimate Move on its own, let out an unbridled, maniacal laughter; its other arm suddenly lengthened as well, and "Death Claw" savagely seized the head of one of the Steel Drill Serpents, pressing it down to the ground all the same!
The two three-star Magic Guide Spirits had no power to resist before the four-star "Devimon."
Contestant No. 80 and contestant No. 76, who had been influenced by "Pride" into spouting chuunibyou lines, instantly went pale.
At this critical moment, contestant No. 76 restrained his urge to summon a second Magic Guide Spirit.
Contestant No. 80, however, drew out a six-star [Magic Guide Spirit Card]...
But his "Steel Drill Serpent" did not hold out long enough for him to complete the "Sacrificial Summoning."
Once Dark noticed his intent, he immediately directed Devimon to concentrate its attacks on the "Steel Drill Serpent," utterly slaying one of the "Steel Drill Serpents"!
[Score +1]
...
The name of the contestant who had completed a kill in such a short span immediately leapt to the front of the rankings.
Dark Demon's "first-year" mixed in among a pile of "second-years" and "third-years" looked extremely out of place.
But after the students made out his name, they were instead not so surprised.
"If it's Demon, then it's somewhat acceptable."
This was the attitude of most students who had heard of him.
But the spectators noticing this name for the first time were all extraordinarily shocked.
It was just that the pace of this qualifier battle royale's opening phase was unexpectedly fast.
The spectators had only just felt their shock when they saw the rankings change again!
...
[Score +1]
Contestant No. 76's "Horsehead Shield Guard" and contestant No. 80's two "Steel Drill Serpents" all fell to the cruel hand.
After regaining their senses, both contestants chose to stop summoning and cut their losses in time.
The rules of the qualifier battle royale made this course of action viable; gritting one's teeth and continuing to summon would only keep handing over points.
Contestant No. 76, having lost one Magic Guide Spirit, had already turned to a negative score.
Contestant No. 80, who had lost two Magic Guide Spirits in succession, was outright at -2 points!
Meanwhile Dark, who had gained 3 points in succession over such a short time, had already begun the summon of his third Magic Guide Card.
As a "Holy Sword" radiating a sacred aura appeared in Devimon's hand, Dark Demon's opening summons were all complete.
The great Devimon wielding the "Holy Sword" would ultimately become a reaper that harvests souls!
The four-star Magic Guide Spirit Devimon, with a base attack of a full 2000 points, surged by 1200 points of attack after equipping the "Honedge," reaching a terrifying 3200 points.
Combined with its discounted Ultimate Moves "Combo Slash" and "Swords Dance," it could push its attack power to the very limit, erupting with its strongest single strike at the critical moment!
...
The name "Holy Sword" was indeed no ordinary thing.
...
"What's that?"
The appearance of the "Honedge" caused a thread of its aura to leak out slightly.
Virt Gold, who was the most sensitive to this, suddenly turned his head, a trace of astonishment showing in his eyes—he had caught a whiff of the "Holy Sword's" aura from the direction his gaze pointed.
This thread of aura was quickly drowned out amid the tide-like surging of mana fluctuations.
Virt turned his head back with a hint of confusion.
But this brief lapse of attention made him pay a heavy price.
The thoroughly unsporting Diana had already commanded the "[Bear Spirit]" to launch an inhumane sneak attack on his "Troll"!
...
As for the "Devimon" that had finally obtained ownership of the "Holy Sword," it was completely submerged in the emotion of "ecstasy."
Although it couldn't fully unleash the "Holy Sword's" power, the feeling of wielding "Gatomon's Holy Sword" only made it all the more excited.
Obeying the command Dark had given beforehand, it unleashed slaughter upon the low-star Magic Guide Spirits nearby!
After contestant No. 76 and contestant No. 80 stopped summoning, the Magic Guide Spirit of contestant No. 75 naturally became Devimon's target.
It was a three-star Magic Guide Spirit similar to the "Horsehead Shield Guard," excelling in defense.
But before the Devimon empowered by the "Honedge," that three-star Magic Guide Spirit's sturdy defense was no better than paper, easily torn to shreds.
Under the horrified gaze of that third-year student, the Devimon that had slain his Magic Guide Spirit turned around with a sinister grin, brandishing its sacred longsword as it slew toward the next target.
[Score +1]
Dark, who had considerable confidence in Devimon's abilities, raised his head to look at the contestant rankings on the big screen after completing these three consecutive summons.
No one would go all out in the preliminaries.
His tactic was to harvest the lives of low-star Magic Guide Spirits with all his might in the opening phase of the qualifier battle royale, so as to secure enough of a base score.
Then he would look at the rankings to decide whether to keep summoning.
Within the format of the qualifier battle royale, the result of summoning a weaker Magic Guide Spirit was "Score -1."
If one performed too dazzlingly, one would inevitably draw the combined attacks of some contestants.
Among the Magic Guide Spirits in his hand, only "Devimon" could easily escape from such a siege.
Apart from "Devimon," even "Gatomon" couldn't withstand a siege by multiple Magic Guide Spirits.
And in the contestant rankings at this moment.
His name had, unsurprisingly, entered the top ten.
In a qualifier battle royale with nearly sixty third-years competing, this was already quite respectable.
But this was only the beginning.
Dark shifted his gaze to look at "Devimon."
At this glance, his brow quietly furrowed.
Devimon had actually been restrained!
A red Magic Guide Spirit and a blue Magic Guide Spirit stood on either side; the red light-chain and blue light-chain they released simultaneously formed a red-and-blue entangled light prison, locking Devimon in mid-air!
"Targeted already?"
Dark was slightly astonished, then immediately looked toward the masters of those two Magic Guide Spirits.
...
"He's looking this way!"
Contestant No. 74, Oligo Ruther, broke into a cold sweat inwardly.
Because the act of contestant No. 74 leaping directly across two people to attack contestant No. 77 might have been too abrupt, he had not summoned a Magic Guide Spirit to attack Dark Demon right from the start.
Yet with this delay, he discovered that Dark Demon had actually taken the initiative to attack and kill his way over!
This caught him quite off guard, and also brought a slight pleasant surprise.
Because this way, his resistance would be perfectly justified.
But even so, after being fixed by Dark's gaze, he still grew nervous.
Even though he hadn't done anything out of line at all, he felt incredibly guilty.
Ruther tried his best not to let his gaze turn that way, concentrating his attention on the field.
Both of his Magic Guide Spirits were three-star, Psychic-type; because they had been refined from the same materials, they had unexpectedly gained a combined Ultimate Move.
When the two Magic Guide Spirits used their Ultimate Move in tandem, they could bind even a second-tier Magic Guide Spirit!
As long as he bound that clearly highly threatening Demon Species, he believed that any surrounding contestant whose brain wasn't on the fritz would choose to launch a siege on that Devimon!
...
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