From the moment Orcus handed over the Republic Knight's Badge to Miles, not even a full minute had passed.
And now Miles understood why Orcus had said that even a minute's delay in delivering it would be a dereliction of duty.
Four Magic Points gained naturally in one minute… what kind of concept was that?
Sixty minutes in an hour meant 240 points per hour.
Twenty-four hours in a day meant 5,760 points per day.
Unbelievable!
At that kind of natural growth rate, this Republic Knight's Badge would surpass the realm of legendary artifacts… it would be a total bug item capable of breaking the Spirit Continent's entire Spellcraft Synthesis balance.
If he wore it for a few days, forget the three Great Spell Cards with their original anime effects—even the 2,400-point synthesis requirement of [Underworld Circle] could be easily maxed out in his Deck within minutes.
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"
Not letting himself be carried away by this bug-tier euphoria, Miles calmed down and carefully examined the intricately designed badge.
He waited another minute, then rechecked the Magic Point increase.
Sure enough, in the second minute, it only increased by two points. Each +1 that appeared before his eyes now took longer to come.
So the actual growth rate wasn't nearly as absurd as 5,000 points per day.
Still, the fact that it produced natural Magic Point growth at all—and accumulated steadily over time—was no small thing.
What a treasure.
Just moments ago, Miles had been complaining that Axet only gave him a fancy-sounding badge with no card rewards or cash bonus.
Albeit now, seeing the true value of the Republic Knight's Badge, he realized its contribution to his Deck's potential far surpassed even Livorden's Royal Knight title.
The Royal Knight title granted him and Aisha the authority to freely access the Royal Card Vault.
Though that vault contained numerous rare and powerful spells and traps, it was still just a small portion of the enormous Duel Monsters pool.
The Republic Knight's Badge, on the other hand, granted him and Aisha something far greater… an endless source of Magic Points for synthesis.
With that, Miles could now craft any exclusive branch card he wanted—or even the anime's "three great spell cards", or Underworld Circle—so long as he was patient enough to wait.
And if his Magic Points ever became excessive, he could even sell off surplus tradable cards. That alone could bring in a handsome profit—one step closer to his 200,000 gold goal.
"I'm glad you're pleased, Aisha Carlos."
Seeing Miles's expression shift from dissatisfaction to a light, irrepressible smile, Orcus stroked his beard with visible relief.
"Although this reward may pale beside the feat of saving all of Axet, it remains the Republic's duty to thank you. And because of Aisha Carlos—the Republic Knight—Axet and Livorden will surely build stronger ties from now on."
Great. Miles hadn't wanted to get involved in international politics, and yet now, with the badge on his chest, he'd become at least a symbolic mascot of diplomatic friendship.
Still, being a mascot wasn't too bad.
And carrying both the Royal Knight and Republic Knight titles, Aisha's status would certainly elevate the Carlos family's prestige even further.
Helping Aisha, his host, restore her family's honor—that had been one of Miles's goals ever since crossing into this world.
"By the way, there's something else," Orcus coughed lightly. "Ahem… go change your clothes. Though yesterday's Turbo Duel Tournament was interrupted, Synchron Academy has decided to restart the Tri-Academy competition this afternoon."
"This afternoon?!" The shocking news drew a collective gasp from the three.
After everything that had happened—the near-catastrophe of the magic stone meltdown that almost overturned the nation—how could Synchron Academy be the first to resume the Turbo Duel Tournament before the Axet government had even announced its decision?
"Is that really okay, Grandpa Principal?" Krista asked anxiously.
Just as Orcus understood Krista, Krista also knew Orcus all too well.
Restarting the tournament had to be another of Orcus's stubborn decisions.
"At a time like this, who'd even want to attend the Turbo Duel Tournament again?"
After the magic stone rampage, most of Axet's citizens had developed a deep aversion to magic stones.
Previously, many spectators came to the tournament or other Synchron Academy events mainly to help charge the stones with energy.
"Precisely because it's a time like this that we must not stop the tournament!"
Orcus's eyes shone with conviction… almost literally gleaming gold.
"I've always believed that Dueling is never about generating energy. Even without charging the magic stones, a truly magnificent Duel—a clash of fiery souls—has the power to captivate onlookers!"
He didn't want the people of Axet to admire Dueling merely for its energy output. He wanted them to understand its intrinsic beauty.
Miles found himself thinking that this silver-haired yet steadfast old man really was far more dependable than Vice Principal Raiden.
"So, whether you can deliver a truly great Duel this afternoon—one that reignites Axet's fallen spirit—depends on you."
"To let everyone find hope again... through a Duel," Krista murmured, seeming to glimpse a new meaning in his words.
"I understand, Grandpa Principal! In this afternoon's Duel, I'll make sure everyone sees hope once more!"
Miles blinked in surprise. "See hope again? Krista, you don't mean…"
"That's right!"
To make everyone see hope again… Miles could think of only one thing.
To free herself from their shared soul link, Krista would have to successfully summon Shooting Quasar Dragon.
"This afternoon, during the Turbo Duel, I'm going to summon Quasar!"
"But haven't you already dueled once?"
In the Turbo Duel Tournament, each Duelist only had two chances to compete… and Krista had already used her first, losing to Miles.
"Still, there's no rule saying I can't go twice in a row. The plan from Synchron Academy was for me to duel twice on the first day anyway."
"Two duels in a row on the first day, huh?" Ren sighed. "As expected of Synchron's ace. So brave... even if you lost the first one~."
"This time, I definitely won't lose!"
Unlike Synchron Academy's Krista, who would enter consecutive matches, Fusion Academy's lineup had Aisha (Miles) opening, followed by Ren (Miles) in the relay Duel.
That meant in the afternoon's restarted Turbo Duel Tournament, Ren would be representing Fusion Academy.
The thought made Ren's heart pound with excitement.
At last, she'd have the chance to let Miles experience her fully rebuilt HERO Deck firsthand.
When he saw just how powerful her upgraded HERO Deck was, would Miles—already fond of HERO cards—fall for her all over?
"Ren, I've decided to use your HERO Deck forever! I'll never play Mokey Mokey again!"
"No, you can't betray little Ai! Dame, no good, Miles~!"
↑ Ren's delusions.
That redhead girl was daydreaming in broad daylight.
Orcus added, "One more thing. I've already notified the others. To prevent another overcharge incident with the magic stones, all future Synchron Academy Turbo Duels will now use [Speed World – Novel] as the official field. Here—this is the Field Spell card."
"Speed World – Novel?"
Miles took the card from Orcus and examined it carefully.
Compared to [Speed World 2], [Speed World – Novel] had only one change—it removed the effect that inflicted 2000 damage to the user when activating Normal Spells.
All other rules regarding Speed Counters remained the same.
This meant that in the coming Turbo Duels, Duelists could use both Speed Spells and Normal Spells—vastly expanding tactical possibilities.
It was an enormous advantage for HERO Decks, which relied heavily on Spell-based Fusion.
"As expected, the advantage is mine!" Ren thought proudly.
"Will this alone prevent another magic stone overload?" Miles asked, doubtful.
Orcus explained, "Speed World's original restrictions on Spell use were designed to tie Duel pacing and Speed Counter growth together—to prolong each Turbo Duel and generate more energy."
Replacing [Speed World 2] with [Speed World – Novel] would remove those limits, allowing Normal Spells to be used freely and letting Speed Spells and Counters accelerate the tempo even further.
It would bring about true high-speed Dueling.
"Things are getting more and more interesting!"
Spinning the new Field Spell card between his fingers, Miles slid it into the card case strapped to Aisha's thigh.
Fusion Academy had already seized the lead in the Turbo Duel Tournament—one more winning streak, and they could overturn their perennial bottom-place reputation.
Though after witnessing Miles's final battle against the Earthbound Gods, no one in Axet likely still viewed Fusion Academy as last place.
It was, after all, the academy that combined all summoning methods!
"Well then, Grandpa Principal, we'll... go change our clothes now."
Only now did Krista remember to tug at her torn skirt, which barely covered her pale thighs.
Bidding Orcus farewell, they left. During that brief conversation, the Republic Knight's Badge had already provided Miles with ten Magic Points—basically a free D-rank card in a few minutes.
Naturally, the rate of increase from the Badge's natural Magic Point growth had slowed considerably.
The uneven increments made Miles decide to wait until night to see how much it would generate in a full day.
Having taken a direct hit from the Emperor's slash, Krista's outfit was in tatters, and she urgently needed a change.
The three took a detour back to Synchron Academy's dormitory. Of course, within the academy grounds, not even Krista dared to pull the stunt of three girls riding one D-Wheel.
The dorms were mostly empty, class was in session at this hour, so no one noticed the hero who had saved the nation.
"Um, Miles, could you wait outside for a bit?" Krista asked shyly, her cheeks tinged pink.
Until she fully summoned Shooting Quasar Dragon, Krista remained soul-bound to Miles and couldn't be more than twenty meters away.
So even to change clothes, Miles had to stay within that range.
"Go on inside, Krista. I'll keep an eye on him!" Ren said, covering Miles's eyes with both hands.
"You really don't have to be that strict. I trust Miles," Krista said, poking her head back out the door before closing it. "It might take a little while, though~."
"Changing clothes doesn't take that long, does it?" Miles muttered.
"You're such a hopeless straight man, Miles!"
Ren's hands shifted from covering his eyes to lightly pinching Aisha's cheeks.
"It's not just about changing clothes. You should think about Krista… a girl needs some time, okay? She spent the night in that busted dorm yesterday."
Right as she said that, the sound of running water came from inside.
After two days of sun, dust, and nonstop battle, taking a shower was only natural.
About twenty minutes later, Krista reappeared before Miles, looking entirely different.
Indeed, she had taken her time to dress up—swapping her uniform for casual clothes, a crisp white shirt that subtly accentuated what Aisha lacked, and a hint of shampoo fragrance clinging to her hair.
"How do I look, Miles? Not bad, right?"
Krista figured that when she put effort into it, she could be quite charming.
"Krista, I just realized something really important."
Miles ignored her question—not out of insensitivity, but because he had truly thought of a serious issue while waiting.
"If you're planning to summon Shooting Quasar Dragon in the afternoon Turbo Duel... where should I be?"
The Duel track and the spectator stands were unquestionably more than twenty meters apart.
And since Krista could only stay separated from him for two minutes, there was no way she'd finish an entire Turbo Duel in that time.
Once the limit expired, she'd be transported back to his side in no time—exposing everything.
So Miles needed to figure out the best place to be.
"Do you really need to think about that?"
Freshly showered and radiating warmth, Krista leaned in close and placed a fingertip on the Millennium Puzzle.
"Miles, the best place for you... is right here with me. Borrowing the Millennium Puzzle just for the Duel shouldn't be a problem, right?"
...
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