Bang!
Wardson's second red balloon burst.
The entire plaza fell silent.
Everyone held their breath, eyes fixed on the stage without blinking, as if they themselves were the ones dueling.
This was already the fifth round.
The current score: 2–2.
This final game would decide the winner.
And at this moment, both Wardson and Rowell each had only one red balloon left.
Whoever failed to withstand the next attack would lose completely.
"Damn… this is tense…"
"Shh!"
The audience waited quietly for the final result.
Every time they heard even the slightest sound, their eyes would instinctively dart toward the wooden frames on either side.
The competitive appeal of Magic Duels was beginning to show.
Especially with balloons representing health, this kind of direct, visual feedback made it incredibly gripping.
"Betty, can Wardson win?" a noble lady in the booth area asked nervously.
Betty stared intently at the whiteboard displaying both players' hands. The cards played in this round rapidly flashed through her mind, aligning one by one with the full deck.
The cards that didn't match were the ones still left in their decks.
If even Betty could track this, then the two players on stage certainly could as well.
At this point, each player had only seven or eight cards left in their deck. The duel had fully entered its most intense phase.
Both sides knew what cards the other still had and were carefully considering what combinations to use for offense—
while also keeping enough defensive options to avoid being successfully attacked.
With every card played, their understanding of each other's remaining options became even clearer.
"Now it depends on how they allocate offense and defense," Betty said, lips pressed together, eyes locked on the board. "With the cards they have left, either one could win."
"There's no guaranteed finishing move available right now."
"Both sides are trying to bait out and exhaust each other's high-value cards."
"All Legendary-tier cards have already been used, and their two trump cards have canceled each other out."
"It comes down to who handles the finer details better."
Betty's analysis was thorough and precise, leaving those around her stunned.
Feeling like she hadn't explained clearly enough, she even listed the remaining cards in both players' decks one by one.
"What matters now is the order of the remaining cards in their decks."
"If one side has a more favorable draw order, they'll have a better chance of winning."
In the previous four rounds, each match had ended after 20–30 cards were used, so no one had thought much of it.
But now that Betty had laid out the remaining deck compositions so clearly, everyone was astonished.
"You actually memorized every card they've played? Isn't that exhausting?"
Betty smiled shyly. "It's actually pretty simple."
"Element Cards are categorized by element and spell tier. Each element only has 13 cards, from Tier 1 to Tier 7."
"After they play a card, you just match it to the full template—it's quite easy to keep track."
The others exchanged looks, offered a few compliments, and quickly dropped the topic.
Because… they simply couldn't do it.
It was like when a top student says, "This is actually really simple…"
Anything that follows is usually a mysterious realm forever beyond average students.
At that point, all they could do was give a few polite compliments and awkwardly change the subject—
Otherwise, they'd just embarrass themselves.
On the duel platform, the tension was palpable.
Wardson and Rowell both stared at their hands, their minds racing as they analyzed the situation.
The pace of play slowed significantly.
Yet the audience showed no impatience—everyone leaned forward, hearts pounding.
Two more exchanges passed.
After drawing cards again, Wardson's deck was down to just one final card.
According to the rules of Magic Duels, if one player's deck is exhausted and both players still have the same "health," the match is declared a draw.
Because reshuffling and continuing could easily lead to situations where someone draws the Elemental God card immediately—
making the outcome overly dependent on luck and even the dealer's shuffle.
That wouldn't be fair.
So if Wardson failed to secure victory during this final turn, the round would end in a draw.
Wardson reached out, flipped over his last card, and handed it to the dealer for display.
"Fire 4" — Tier 2 Spell: Burst.
A relatively weak card.
Wardson chose to forgo using this random attack card and instead played two cards from his hand:
"Water 9" — Rainfall Spell
"Wind 9" — Hurricane Spell
—Combined into the Ice-element composite magic: Ice Spike Rain.
The dealer confirmed the cards and presented them to Rowell.
Rowell quickly responded—
"Water 10" — Sinking Water
"Earth 9" — Fertile Soil Spell
These combined into the Wood-element magic: Wood Barrier, successfully blocking Wardson's attack.
The round ended—
A draw.
Wardson and Rowell both fell silent.
A wave of disappointed sighs rose from the audience.
The score remained 2–2, with one red balloon still swaying on each side.
If they wanted a winner, they would need an additional round.
Just as the host was about to announce the continuation—
Wardson suddenly stood up and stored his Element Cards back into his storage space.
"Let's end it here today," Wardson said, looking at Rowell. "This is fate. It shows we're evenly matched. Forcing a result doesn't mean much to me."
"When I've improved further, I'll challenge you again."
With that, he ignored Rowell and the crowd, stepped down from the platform, and strode away through the crowd.
Rowell shot to his feet, opening his mouth—
Don't leave!
If I don't win, what about my promised "wonderful night" with Leticia!?
What kind of result is a draw!?
Who said deciding a winner has no meaning???
It means a lot to me!!!
Rowell roared internally—but in the end, he didn't shout it out.
He knew Wardson well. Once he made a decision, not even ten oxen could drag him back.
There was no point wasting his breath.
"Sorry, Leticia," Rowell said with an apologetic expression.
Leticia, who had still been immersed in the duel, snapped back to reality. She immediately wrapped her arms around his and leaned close to his ear, whispering:
"No need to apologize. I think you did amazing today… I'll reward you tonight~."
Rowell's face instantly lit up, and he completely forgot his frustration over Wardson leaving.