With the entry of [Vampire Vlad], the situation reversed instantly.
The [Gnoll Axeman], also Level 3, was instantly killed by [Vampire Vlad] in a single move!
Doron, watching from the side, saw this incredibly familiar scene and his mouth couldn't help but twitch.
But he quickly thought, "Since Robert dared to issue a letter of challenge, he should have some countermeasure. Maybe it's an even more powerful rare piece!"
However.
Robert did not.
The appearance of [Vampire Vlad] directly killed the match!
Robert had absolutely no pieces capable of turning the tables.
Relying on [Vampire Vlad], Dark quickly formed a crushing momentum.
When he definitively secured victory, the atmosphere in the classroom underwent a subtle shift.
In the following second round.
Although Robert exhausted every method, he was still powerless to reverse the situation.
The gap in piece strength between the two sides was so large that it completely negated the gap in skill.
Dark didn't just have a single [Vampire Vlad]; his other pieces were also rare items mooched from the two professors!
When [Vampire Vlad] destroyed Robert's [Castle] for the second time, the match ended completely!
Robert sucked in a sharp breath, staring dead at that "cheating" piece, almost unable to hold back from standing up and exposing the matter.
But Dark narrowed his eyes slightly, picked up that piece, and said softly, "How is it? This piece I found in the secret passage."
Robert was suddenly stunned, and the words stuck in his throat were instantly swallowed.
He keenly perceived that there was a deep meaning hidden in Dark's words, but he didn't understand exactly what that meaning was.
So he asked directly, "When did you find..."
Virt, whose thinking was slightly more agile than his, hurriedly held down his shoulder and interrupted, "Have you forgotten, Robert? We found it together!"
Robert: "Uh, oh, oh, oh!"
Dark winked at them and then stood up. "It turns out Magic Guide Chess is actually quite interesting. No wonder you guys like it so much."
Speaking of the fun level of Magic Guide Chess, Robert immediately got energized. "That's right! It's not too late for you to start getting into it now. How about it, shall we schedule another game next time?"
"Sure." Dark shook his head slightly. "But I have to go back first tonight."
After saying that, he stood up and began to pack up the chessboard.
...
Now that the outcome was decided.
The students of the Noble House held their heads high with pride.
The students of the Knight House were wilted and dejected.
Doron asked curiously, "How can Magic Guide Chess pieces be found in a secret passage?"
Dark said airily, "Who knows?"
He put the last piece away, closed the chess box, and said to Robert, "Well then, see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow," Robert replied, suddenly feeling his chest was much less stuffy.
Immediately after, both sides bid their farewells.
The students of the Noble House surrounded Dark as they walked out of the classroom. As soon as they were out the door, they erupted in noise, excited like soldiers who had won a battle.
The Knight House students left in the classroom were extremely depressed.
Suddenly, no one knew who said it, but a voice spoke up: "There was no helping it, that Vampire piece was just too strong!"
The atmosphere relaxed in an instant.
Subsequently, someone sighed. "Yeah, we can't blame Robert either. After all, it's a piece found in a secret passage, just like a secret treasure."
The boys of the Knight House spoke up one after another. Some comforted Robert, some comforted themselves. In short, they gradually became lively again.
As for comments mixed in like, "Even if that piece being overly powerful accounted for 99% of the reason, doesn't Robert have 1% of the fault?"—these were selectively ignored.
Surrounded by everyone, Robert felt a sense of reintegrating into the collective. He suddenly felt that this defeat wasn't unacceptable.
On the contrary, Virt, standing beside him, seemed like an outsider.
...
That night.
Dark politely declined Doron's invitation for a game and quickly returned to the dormitory.
Overall, this match, with Robert's cooperation, had achieved effects beyond expectations.
Not only had the existence of the [Vampire Vlad] piece been spread, but it had also been linked to the secret passage.
The key was that it wasn't information available on the surface, but information that could only be obtained through a little in-depth investigation.
This worked very well.
"In short, the bait is cast. Now it just depends on when they bite!"
Dark put the Magic Guide Chess set into the drawer; he didn't plan to have much contact with it hereafter.
For a product heavily leaned towards entertainment like this, stopping after a taste was about right.
Then he settled his mind and continued filling in the content of the teaching materials.
...
The long night grew deeper.
The lamplight was a warm red.
Dark felt no drowsiness, becoming increasingly serious.
The cultivation of spiritual power was beneficial for the condensation of will.
Otherwise, it would have been difficult for him to maintain focus for such a long time like today.
"Mang-mang!"
[Magic Beast (Ditto)], who had climbed onto the table at some point, poked Dark's shoulder gently with a tentacle.
Dark was slightly stunned and turned to look at it. "What's wrong?"
"Mang-mang!"
Ditto cried out again, then turned and picked up the [Trash Slime] behind it, balancing it on top of its head.
Dark couldn't help but look up, and he saw that the [Trash Slime] balanced on its head was also balancing a Magic Guide Card.
That was naturally [Meowth]'s Magic Guide Card.
Except, on the edge of the [Meowth] Magic Guide Card, a small copper coin was clipped.
"A copper coin?"
Dark's brow jumped. He reached out and took the copper coin from the top of [Trash Slime]'s head.
"Where did this come from?"
Dark clamped the copper coin with two fingers and shone it against the magic lamp's light.
The copper coin was circular overall, with a total of seven small holes in the center. The area around each hole was engraved with patterns resembling celestial phenomena, on both the front and back.
There were rust marks remaining on the surface of the copper coin; obviously, it was from a distant age.
But it felt very different from Emma's [Ancient Gold Coin], and he didn't know which era it belonged to.
Dark immediately looked at the Meowth in the Magic Guide Card and suddenly realized that this Meowth was crossing its arms, holding its head high, and pointing its chin outward.
This was completely different from its usual behavior of eyes glowing whenever it saw good things.
Dark scrutinized it carefully, and a thought suddenly moved in his heart. "Could it be, this is the additional effect of [Pay Day]—[Treasure Gathering]?"
Once this thought arose, Dark could no longer sit still.
He lowered his head and asked [Magic Beast (Ditto)], "How did it appear?"
"Mang-mang."
Ditto immediately began to dance with its hands and feet.
It took Dark a long time to understand its meaning—while babysitting, it suddenly appeared at its feet.
But the location of its babysitting was limited to within the dormitory, and naturally, there shouldn't be such a thing inside the dormitory.
"So it really appeared out of thin air?"
Dark couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised.
That [Treasure Gathering] was actually the "Heaven-sent Treasure" type!
If this were in the past, he certainly wouldn't have believed such a thing existed.
But this was a world where True Gods existed, possessing [Real Projection] technology that was like creating something out of nothing.
That meant almost infinite possibilities.
What's more, this was St. Marian, an ancient castle located on the wheel of time and space!
He just didn't know what the trigger conditions for [Treasure Gathering] were.
Was it time, location, or completely random?
If not in St. Marian, could it still trigger?
What types of treasures could be summoned out of thin air?
These were all points that needed detailed research.
...
"But for now, it's more reliable to first research the value of this copper coin."
Dark smiled faintly, then summoned [Meowth], giving it time for free action purely as a reward.
"Meow!"
The summoned Meowth let out a proud cry, and then, ignoring the [Trash Slime] looking at it expectantly, it began to wander around the dormitory.
Cats always habitually left their scent in their own territory.
When [Gatomon] was first summoned back then, it also patrolled this dormitory immediately.
Meowth just hadn't had the opportunity until now.
Soon, its eyes lit up. Among the twelve small beds against the wall, it found the one hanging with the "Meowth" nameplate. The bed also had a complete set of bedding.
That was, of course, prepared by Dark beforehand.
He had originally prepared twelve sets of bedding, keeping two sets in reserve. Meowth was the eleventh Magic Guide Spirit.
However, after bouncing on the small bed twice, Meowth's line of sight was uncontrollably attracted to the gold and silver decorations placed in the cabinet!
A creature like Meowth had almost no immunity to round, sparkling things.
Especially since this [Meowth] was the incarnation of [Greed]!
"Meow~"
(It would be great if I could turn those gold and silver things into body pillows.)
...
While Meowth tried its best to adapt to the environment, Dark had already discovered the origin of the copper coin in a book close at hand!
It was an astronomy book he had borrowed a long time ago—Secret of the Starry Sky!
After observing the copper coin carefully, he locked onto the book Secret of the Starry Sky relying on a very shallow impression, and through rapid flipping, he found the page related to it!
The book happened to have an illustration of the same type of copper coin. The seven small holes on that copper coin were extremely iconic.
"Seven Star Coin originating from the ancient Sky Capital..."
Although the content explaining it was only half a page.
But this half-page still allowed Dark to figure out some things.
After reading it carefully, he immediately took that Seven Star Coin to the balcony.
Then he opened the balcony's protective window, letting the moonlight project directly in.
The bright moonlight shone on the Seven Star Coin. The moonlight passed through the seven holes and formed an image on the wall.
That projection of light was actually a Starry Sky Array Chart!
A Starry Sky Array Chart possessing seven main stars.
What it depicted was the starry sky of that era.
The special symbols engraved between the starry skies endowed it with mysterious power.
According to the records in Secret of the Starry Sky, this was originally supposed to be a counterfeit-proof authentication for the Seven Star Coin.
But as the celestial phenomena gradually changed, this Starry Sky Array Chart also underwent subtle changes.
Time and history endowed the Seven Star Coin with mysterious effects.
The person carrying the Seven Star Coin could see the trajectories of the stars' movements more clearly!
This meant that it would be a very rare auxiliary tool for divination.
Dark's mind moved slightly, gaining some realization.
This unexpectedly obtained Seven Star Coin could perhaps be used as a material for refining Magic Guide Spirits, like the [Ancient Gold Coin].
But if looking toward the future, it would be better to give it to Little Eevee to use.
Thus, he found a thread, passed it through one of the holes of the Seven Star Coin, made it into an accessory, and then hung it around Little Eevee's neck.
"Vee-vee~"
Eevee-chan rubbed against his hand, letting out a cheerful cry.
At the same time, it attracted the gazes of the other few Magic Guide Spirits.
The atmosphere in the dormitory underwent a subtle shift.
Even Meowth, who was rolling around on the small bed, couldn't help but stare over, gazing tightly at that Seven Star Coin that originally belonged to it.
A glint flickered in the depths of its eyes; it wished it could pounce over immediately and snatch it back!
...
Approaching eleven o'clock, Dark tucked every Magic Guide Spirit except Meowth into their small beds and covered them with quilts before going to sleep himself.
As for Meowth, it had already been recalled into the Magic Guide Card.
Meowth, who had not been recorded into [Paradise], required constant mana replenishment to survive outside for a long time.
Dark had not mastered the "Dream Mana Replenishment Art," so he could only recall it.
When his breathing gradually became steady, movement suddenly stirred in the dark dormitory.
The Magic Guide Spirits lifted the corners of their quilts and opened their eyes one after another.
But on this night, the customary battle for the bed did not unfold.
The Magic Guide Spirits gathered on the balcony under the moonlight. Communicating only with their eyes, they took out tools and materials they had each hidden away and began the nocturnal activity that had already persisted for some time.
Dancing tongues of fire licked the bottom of the cauldron. A pitch-black paste rolled inside the cauldron, just like a witch brewing a potion.
[Sylveon], who could manipulate tools using ribbons, and [Gatomon], who had dexterous hands, were the main force of "brewing the potion."
Two Magic Guide Spirits who never liked each other had actually chosen to cooperate for some unspoken purpose.
[DemiDevimon] fluttered in the air; it was the supplier of materials and considered itself the one contributing the most.
[Magic Beast (Ditto)] protected [Trash Slime] behind it. The latter held the [Meowth] Magic Guide Card, sticking its head out from time to time to look at the fire.
[Hawlucha] leaned against the corner of the wall with a cold expression. Although it was useless from beginning to end, it still stubbornly stood guard.
[Miltank] wanted to pour its milk into the cauldron more than once, but was sternly stopped by Teacher [Shuckle]!
The self-produced products of Magic Guide Spirits were ultimately magical creations that would disappear and could not participate in any substantive transmutation.
They had already failed many times because of [Miltank]'s stubborn behavior.
On the contrary, the grass juice of [Cow Grass] was a very good additive.
Little Eevee and [Popplio] stayed together, gesturing wildly at each other, pursing their lips tightly to avoid making noise, often arguing until their faces were red.
[Sylveon] always wanted to add random things into the cauldron, but [Gatomon] slapped them away.
The moon in the night sky quietly curved its lips, revealing a doting smile.
The busyness of the Magic Guide Spirits continued until the light of dawn showed its traces, and then they hurriedly ended it.
After packing up their things one by one, they crept back into their small beds with light hands and feet, pretending to be fast asleep.
Not long after, Dark Demon's biological clock urged him to wake up before the alarm rang, welcoming a brand new Monday once again.
Today was February 12th, only two days left until Valentine's Day.
...
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