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( Bonus chapter )
In the advancement section, Lily Fairchild felt something cold settle in her stomach.
Silence Seal. Luke had never used it during the exchange match. If he had, her Nebula Rainbow Butterfly's environmental manipulation, which was fundamentally a magical effect, would have been stripped away instantly. She wouldn't have lasted half as long.
The gap between us is even bigger than I thought. The realization stung more than she wanted to admit.
Beside her, Elise adjusted her glasses and smiled. "Interesting ability. But it wouldn't work on my Mandragora Queen."
The little Mandragora loli sitting on Elise's lap tilted her head to one side, blinking innocently. Silence Seal nullified magic. The Queen's poison was a physical, biological effect. Her thorns were physical attacks. Nothing about her kit relied on spell casting.
Against Mana, the Mandragora Queen might actually be the perfect counter.
-----
On the main stage, Miles Thornton turned to Harrison with narrowed eyes.
"Harrison. That card spirit of your representative. I can't find a single record of it in any database. What is it?"
Harrison's expression was the picture of serene innocence. He said nothing. His lips curved upward by approximately two millimeters.
You spent weeks showing off Serena Frost to my face. Bragging about Everhold's "generational talent." Well, Miles. How's the view from THIS side?
Harrison had waited a long time for this moment, and he was going to savor every second of it.
Miles's eye twitched. He recognized a smug silence when he saw one.
At the front of the stage, Edmund and Roland exchanged a look.
"Putting spell nullification on a Spellcaster-type card." Edmund's tone was analytical, not surprised. At Immortal Realm, he'd seen similar abilities on high-tier cards. The concept itself wasn't new. "The design choice is what's interesting. Spell nullification typically appears on non-magical card types. Giving it to a Spellcaster is a double-edged sword."
"Used well, it's devastatingly effective," Roland agreed. "Used poorly, and you've crippled your own card's primary offense. Whoever designed this card trusted their Spellcaster enough to give it a weapon that could theoretically shut itself down."
Neither of them said "Original Card." Not here. Not with a dozen Sovereign Realm branch presidents within earshot.
-----
Luke advanced without fanfare. The remaining first-stage matches held nothing that required his attention. He settled back into his mental workspace and continued refining the Sistermon evolution card backgrounds, making efficient use of the downtime.
By evening, the first stage was complete. The clock dial dissolved into fading light, and Edmund Hargrove stood to address the survivors.
"Congratulations to all who advanced. Tomorrow, same time, the second stage begins. It will take place inside a Dimensional Plane. Rules will be distributed to your personal terminals shortly."
Back at the Ashenvale team's quarters, Harrison spoke to his group. Some had been eliminated. Some had advanced. He addressed them all.
"Those who didn't make it: don't let it eat at you. Being selected as a representative already proves you're above average. Use this as fuel to improve." His tone was encouraging without being patronizing. "Those who advanced: tomorrow's stage will be held inside a Dimensional Plane. The danger level goes up significantly. Prepare accordingly."
-----
That evening, Luke's terminal chimed. The second-stage briefing had arrived.
*「 Stage Two: Mist Relic 」*
He read through the details.
The Mist Relic was a Dimensional Plane permanently shrouded in dense fog. Visibility was severely limited. Spiritual sensing was suppressed by the mist's inherent energy, restricting detection range to a fraction of normal. Commander and Leader Realm Card Masters had no means of clearing the fog.
The objective: reach the Relic's core and retrieve the victory artifact. Simple enough on paper.
The catch: entering the core required ten Magic Card Vouchers. Every competitor started with one. The remaining nine had to be taken from other competitors.
Forced PvP. No hiding, no waiting, no pacifist strategy. If you wanted to win, you had to fight. Everyone was an enemy.
Competitors who lost their voucher would be teleported out automatically, eliminated from the competition. A separate Teleportation Card was provided as an emergency exit, but using it meant forfeiting.
"What's a 'plunder battle'?" Mana emerged from the bathroom, golden hair still trailing wisps of steam, and draped herself over Luke's shoulder to read the screen. The scent of her shampoo drifted past his nose.
"Second stage rules." Luke explained the voucher system, the mist limitations, the forced confrontation design.
"Sounds simple enough!" Mana said brightly.
"On paper." Luke shook his head. "The mist shuts down long-range sensing. You can't see who's coming until they're close. And you need nine vouchers, which means nine fights minimum."
"Oh." Mana's expression shifted as the implications caught up with her enthusiasm.
"Yeah. 'Oh.'" Luke closed the terminal. "Get some sleep. Early morning tomorrow."