svetikya Page 1488
Page 1488
Vivian's mouth dropped open in disbelief: she was even more worried!
But Cecilia Doyle, on the other hand, signed her name decisively after hearing this.
—Don't miss the opportunity to stay on campus during the holidays, or you'll never get another chance!
Chapter 1023 Please Follow in My Footsteps (4k)
Vivian Alvind eventually signed the confidentiality agreement.
Dak nodded slightly and carefully collected and put away all the signed agreements.
These are ordinary agreements and do not possess magical power. However, being expelled from the academy is still a very serious punishment for students who are only in their first or second year.
That's basically enough to ensure they won't leak information.
Moreover, everyone present had actually passed the "political vetting" by St. Mary's College.
Leaving aside Cecilia Doyle and Vivian Alvind, the two most problematic women, Sara Swati and Emma Metis, have also had their two sages investigated. Sara Swati's father is an "Ancient Sage." The "Ancient Sage" and the "Sage of Reason" are two extremes. The "Ancient Sage" has many friends and a very good reputation within the community. Although the sages are somewhat wary of him because he always carries some strange things, that cancels out his habit of giving gifts to everyone he meets.
However, being an archaeologist by training, the "ancient sage" spent most of the year traveling between various archaeological sites.
Therefore, although he had a fairly good relationship with most of the sages, he did not join any sage organization.
He preferred to work alone—but after marriage, it became a doubles affair. Therefore, Sara Swati was actually raised by her uncle. Her uncle, the younger brother of the "Old Sage's" wife, was a highly renowned antique dealer.
Incidentally, Sara Swati is currently under forty years old, making her and the "Ancient Sage" a truly age-gap couple.
the other side.
Emma Metis is now the successor of the "Sage of Mystery." However, she is different from what Dark had imagined.
She was not personally recruited by the "Sage of Mystery," but was recommended by her mother.
Emma's mother was a disciple of the "Sage of Mystery," but just an ordinary one among many disciples.
The "secret" in "Sage of Secrets" refers to "secret treasures." Unlike the "Ancient Sages" who are happy to collect any ancient item, the "Sage of Secrets" is only interested in expensive, rare, and powerful "secret treasures."
He had many disciples and successors... too many!
Emma's mother even offered a hard-earned treasure to introduce her to the "Sage of Mystery," which secured her the opportunity to take the test.
Fortunately, Emma lived up to expectations and passed the "Sage of Mystery" test, becoming his youngest successor.
However, Emma only saw the "Sage of Mystery" twice, once when she was taking the test and once when she passed the test.
Instead of her teacher, she was instructed by the second successor of the "Sage of Mystery," a viscountess in her early thirties.
The viscountess's family belonged to the Valkyrie faction.
Therefore, Emma's connection to the "Sage of Mystery" actually lies with that viscountess.
While the "Sage of Mystery" himself has joined a certain sage organization, he does not restrict his close disciples and does not require them to join the same organization as him.
Only when his disciples are spread across all walks of life can he collect more "secret treasures".
Emma learned (the Mystic Aura) from the "Sage of Mystery".
In other words, the "Sage of Mystery" did not value Emma, and Emma was not bound by any particular stance.
Sara Swati is even more independent and has a very strong personality.
After reviewing the materials, Dak even began to doubt whether the "ancient sages" still had to listen to her.
It is said that her family status was second only to her mother and higher than her uncle, ranking second.
The materials strongly recommend recruiting Sara Swati.
Because recruiting her is tantamount to recruiting an "ancient sage".
"Now that everyone has signed a confidentiality agreement, it's time for us to get down to business."
Dark clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention to himself. "Due to certain special reasons, I will be temporarily in charge of the first- and second-year members of 'The Hidden Serpent.' Of course, as you can see, not all first- and second-year members are here."
The only one not actually present was "Orc Prince" Spike Leon. But Dark didn't say so, so they just felt that many others were absent. This helped to improve team cohesion.
"Before we continue, we must first clarify one fact. That is, the 'Hidden Serpent' is actually an official organization of St. Marian Academy, and we will eventually come into the open."
Bringing the "hidden snake" into the open is the current established strategy.
[The Hidden Serpent] was originally established as an outer organization of the "Serpent of Wisdom". It will eventually become a special student organization of St. Marian Academy and step onto the stage to compete for the divine position.
As the "Virtual Lord" of the "Serpent of Wisdom," Dark Dimon has already been designated as the leader of the "Hidden Serpent"—although Principal Art and Professor Sylph have not yet revealed this decision.
Therefore, Dark's current idea is to rely on the "Hidden Serpent" to temporarily form a relatively private organization with himself at its core.
He certainly wouldn't explicitly state this intention, but that's always how he positioned himself.
The purpose of clarifying the nature of the "Hidden Serpent" organization was to dispel any remaining concerns of those present.
After giving them a moment to process this, Dark continued, “Joining the Hidden Serpent, besides what you already know—being granted the blessing of wisdom—will also grant you personal instruction from Professor Bod. Yes, he was the previous head of the Hidden Serpent. However… all that is in the past. Starting this week, the Hidden Serpent will embark on a path never before trodden. You will be entrusted with important responsibilities, and therefore will have access to more resources from the Academy.”
"Stop keeping me in suspense!" Cecilia Doyle said, frowning.
Dark smiled slightly and said, "We've already discussed a topic before—what are your thoughts on the future evolution of the times? Now I'm going to tell you about the future!"
After saying that, he took a sip of black tea, turned his head and said, "Aurora, come here."
Aurora responded and continued, "Just as Dark said, the future era will be the era of mages, but also the era of duelists. Magic duels will be given a completely new meaning. They will no longer be practice or entertainment, but a ladder to godhood!"
“Wait,” Sara Swati interrupted Aurora, “What do you mean by the Ladder to God?”
Aurora said calmly, "As the name suggests, it is the stairway to godhood."
Sarah Swart raised an eyebrow and said, "This is no joke. She has a very deep understanding of the vast difference between gods and humans, so she naturally won't believe this empty talk."
Aurora said, “In the past, this might have been a joke. But now, the curtain of a new era has already been quietly raised in places you are unaware of. But you are also lucky; by joining us, you have the opportunity to be among the first to board the ship to the new era.”
Looking at Aurora's calm expression, Sarah Swati gradually realized that it might not be a joke.
But to make her believe that statement is as absurd as making her believe that the ugly duckling can actually turn into a swan.
However, Emma Metis was clearly more receptive than her. She didn't even bother to ask how the "veil of the new era" had been drawn; she went straight to the point: "What do we need to do, or what sacrifices are required?"
As she asked those two questions, her eyes remained fixed on Dark Dimon. The others immediately followed her gaze, focusing on Dark's face.
Dark said calmly, "First, clarify your own position. Second, follow me."
Two things. The first one isn't too difficult.
It's not that difficult, at least compared to the second one.
Especially the twins Jon and Joey, they agreed without even having to think about it.
On matters of principle alone, they always stand on the same side as Cousin Dak.
But the second issue was daunting. Jon and Joey hadn't even considered it.
Heidi didn't think she could catch up with Dark either.
The remaining few, however, all possessed the spirit to face challenges head-on. The second point Dark made actually ignited their fighting spirit!
"The cause and details don't need to be traced. You only need to understand that a new rule has been added to this world. Through magical duels, we can obtain things that were impossible to obtain at any time before. We call it 'Divine Cause.'"
Regardless of whether Sarah accepted it or not, Dak then had Aurora explain in detail what "divine cause" was.
To explain the "divine cause" clearly, one will naturally need to delve into things related to deities.
The revival of the gods, divine rituals, divine factors, divine cards... As the definitions of these terms became clearer, an exceptionally grand picture naturally emerged in everyone's minds.
Sara Swati had no choice but to believe it at this point.
The first thing that came to her mind was the collection of ancient artifacts from a mysterious era that she kept at home!
The ancient sages had already speculated about the "awakening of the gods."
But that was two or three years ago, and then the "ancient sages" embarked on a journey to find the divine object, and have not returned to this day.
This made Sarah very unhappy.
However, after verifying her memories, Sarah completely believed in the claim of the gods' resurrection.
But the idea that one can obtain "divine essence" through magical duels, and that after obtaining "divine essence," one can forge a true "God Card"... still sounds very fantastical.
Sarah Swati directly questioned, "Now that the curtain has been raised, why haven't any duelists noticed the changes yet?"
Dark said, "Because they are unaware of the new dueling rules." "A new era naturally brings new rules," Aurora said. "The core purpose of today's gathering is to teach you this entirely new set of dueling rules."
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone, including Sarah, instantly perked up. Dark continued, "By dueling with each other, you can attract 'Divine Cause.' You are the first to board the ship of this new era. Before the new dueling rules are announced, you will have priority over most duelists in this world, obtaining a portion of 'Divine Cause.' This will lay the foundation for your future path."
“Step by step, step by step,” Emma whispered, deeply agreeing. Cecilia Doyle asked, “But if that’s the case, why not keep it a secret and never reveal it?”
"Because it's necessary," Dark said. In other words, no comment.
Considering that Duck was away from school for a week and even missed the "Golden Cup," Emma and the others roughly knew when the "curtain would be drawn."
“If there’s anything else you want to ask, you should ask it clearly,” Dark said. “Even if you can’t answer it right now, you can still ask. You can look into it yourselves later.”
As soon as he said that, the crowd, full of questions, immediately bombarded him with a barrage of questions.
Dak answered all the questions very patiently, skipping over information that couldn't be disclosed at the moment.
About half an hour later, everyone finally had a clearer understanding of the current situation.
They no longer questioned the claims of Dark and others, and their hearts were filled with excitement.
Before glimpsing the true nature of the gods, almost everyone desires to become a god. Now, the path to godhood has reached us; all that remains is to be grounded and climb step by step.
How to avoid getting excited
Looking at the excited crowd, Dark slowly said, "The matter has been explained. Since no one wants to quit halfway, let's move on to explaining the new rules. But before that, let's set a small goal. I hope that all of you can obtain at least one 'God Card' containing a fragment of divine soul before the start of the next school year."
The atmosphere that had just become heated cooled down in an instant. But Dark had already stood up from his seat and said, "Aurora, come and demonstrate with me how to set up the dueling arena."
“Okay,” Aurora said, standing up.
Everyone present was aware of the importance of the new rules, and they watched with great seriousness.
However, they didn't know that this was also Dark's first time setting up a duel arena. But he knew the method for setting up a duel arena very well and wouldn't make a mistake.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Dark and Aurora walked to an open space to the side.
Dark said, "Everything in the new rules is based on the establishment of dueling arenas. The dueling arena is like a ticket, the only way for the Shinto ritual to recognize you and bring you into the rules. But to establish a dueling arena, both sides do not need to attack at the same time."
After he finished speaking, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
"Snapped!"
The dueling arena opened instantly.
My dad has a fever, and I guess it'll be my turn soon. If I don't update one morning, it means he's in bed. Everyone, please take care and don't underestimate the situation.
[Double Monthly Pass] Annual Bounty
The 2022 year-end review has begun.
I still remember the Rookie of the Year champion in 2020 and the Rookie of the Year champion in 2021... Since I won the championship with a score far exceeding that of the second place, I didn't really have any feelings about it.
I joined Hedgehog Cat two years ago, around the Dragon Boat Festival. It took me two and a half years to grow from a newbie to a seasoned veteran.
Now I can delete posts without batting an eye...hehe.
There are fundamental differences between people. Some people like to keep up with the pace, while others like to seek attention. But I just want to write books quietly, so I will delete any comments that are provocative or likely to cause controversy. New readers should also refrain from posting meaningless things.
An author's sole responsibility is to write books.
I've always felt that writing a book is a very personal thing.
The author creates a dream based on their own ideas, and the reader can travel through the dream and gain feelings such as happiness, happiness, and more happiness, which is enough.
Now in 2022, as the author, I have only one wish: to be able to quietly finish writing this book in the future.
Two and a half years is too long. During those two and a half years, I haven't been able to sleep peacefully for a single day. My mind was always on this book.
This year, in particular, because I was building and decorating a house in the countryside, I usually spent the whole day running around and only at night could I sit down and write in peace. Then I would find that my mind was blank and I couldn't write anything at all, and before I knew it, I had stayed up all night.
I really did my best; no other author has done a better job with long novels than me.
Setting aside fanfiction elements that essentially eliminate the need for a title change, the overall structure and plot of this book are entirely original, with no prior content to reference. Instead, this book becomes "previous content" that is repeatedly referenced.
Online writers are required to update daily, and the pressure of full attendance bonuses and semi-annual bonuses weighs on their heads like a mountain at all times.
Especially my book, the sheer volume of its setting alone is enough to overwhelm anyone.
I've been really exhausted this past year.