It was still yesterday’s street.
After a night of heavy rain, the road was still a bit muddy, but it no longer hindered normal traffic.
The street, which should have only been used by nearby residents, was bustling with people today, circles upon circles surrounding the center.
They had all come specifically because they heard about the duel.
Sonia was the hottest topic in the vicinity recently, and even if people weren’t interested before, they would come to watch today if they had time.
However, from their discussions, it was clear they weren’t optimistic about Sonia.
“Sonia… what a pity.”
“I didn’t expect the Mad Heart Gang to reach this far. Looks like we’ll have to avoid this street from now on.”
“Why are you all so pessimistic? Sonia might still win, right?”
“What if she wins? Even if she defeats the duelist they sent, the Mad Heart Gang won’t just let her off the hook.”
“The bet between that little girl and the Mad Heart Gang is her house, right? Tsk tsk tsk, another person forced to leave their home by the Mad Heart Gang.”
Sighs, worries, sarcasm.
Countless good intentions and malice simultaneously pressed down on the girl.
But the girl seemed to hear nothing at all, walking leisurely through the crowd.
Yide even admired his host a little.
He didn’t expect this girl, despite her poor dueling skills, to surprisingly have a big heart.
Until he heard what Sonia was constantly muttering.
“I’m not nervous, I’m not nervous, I’m not nervous…”
“So she’s hypnotizing herself?”
Yide grumbled.
Just as he was about to say something more, a fragrant figure pounced on Sonia.
“Xiaoya!”
“Ah!”
Sonia was startled, her incantation interrupted. She only relaxed after turning around and seeing who had pounced on her.
“Divya, you scared me.”
Yide curiously observed the pouncing, much taller, red-haired girl and asked, “Your friend?”
“Yes, Mr. Yide.”
Sonia responded in her mind, “She’s my only friend from the Dueling Academy and my neighbor when I lived in the upper district.”
“I just thought she wouldn’t know about this duel.”
“Xiaoya, don’t duel with these gang duelists!”
While Sonia was busy responding to Yide, the girl gripping Sonia’s shoulders shook her.
“My butler told me that these gang duelists in the lower district, who specialize in dueling, almost all have D-class strength.”
“That’s already the level of second and third-year students. It’s impossible for a first-year new student to defeat them!”
“Come on, let’s go back. I’ll help you convince the principal to approve your re-enrollment.”
Divya pulled Sonia’s wrist, trying to drag her away.
But Sonia just stood still.
“Divya, I’m no longer a student of the Dueling Academy.”
“And, are gang duelists truly invincible for first-year new students?”
Sonia looked directly into her friend’s eyes, her gaze naive yet resolute: “Leaving others aside, even for you, it wouldn’t be difficult to defeat him, would it?”
“But I’m…”
Divya was about to say something but suddenly stopped.
Sonia knew the reason why the other party didn’t continue.
She was different from her.
Not only because the other party was a top student in her first year, but also because she was a noble from the upper district.
Not a fallen noble like her, who had ended up in the lower district and sold all her family’s ancestral cards, but a noble who still stood at the pinnacle of the Ring City.
As a noble, even without successfully summoning a dueling spirit, it wasn’t difficult to achieve cross-tier duels at lower levels.
Because they possessed the most precious thing in the dueling world — tradable cards.
Even high-level tradable cards were not difficult for their family to obtain.
This financial power was simply a dimensionality reduction attack for duelists in the lower district.
Sonia didn’t envy the other party, because this girl in front of her was arguably the only friend in the upper district who truly cared about her.
Before coming to the lower district, Divya even suggested Sonia stay with her family.
According to the unspoken rules among upper district nobles, staying at Divya’s home meant that Divya’s family acknowledged and would shelter her.
Whatever past issues her family had would directly become Divya’s family’s concern.
Sonia had once been tempted to agree.
But, would that really be alright?
Could she truly escape that way?
Sonia didn’t have a clear answer then.
But she didn’t want to just, for her entire life, comfortably accept her friend’s help.
“Xiaoya…”
Divya’s face showed worry, but she didn’t know what to say.
A moment later, she gritted her teeth and pulled something out of her pocket.
“Since you insist on participating in this duel, take this card.”
Mana Wyrm ★★ (Two Stars) D-Class
[Fire]
[Element 1/3]
Whenever you cast a spell, Mana Wyrm gains +1/+0.
“This is… a tradable card?”
Sonia was surprised, then pushed it away: “No, Divya, this is too precious!”
Divya shook her head: “It’s fine, it’s just D-class.”
“I bought this card with my pocket money, it has nothing to do with the family. Xiaoya, just take it.”
Sonia was about to refuse again.
But Yide’s voice rang out in Sonia’s mind.
“Don’t decline, Sonia.”
Sonia’s words, which she was about to say, paused.
“Mr. Yide?”
“Your deck happens to be short on minion cards, and this card can also synergize with magic, perfectly fitting your deck.”
“The most important thing now is to increase your chances of winning, so, take it.”
Although Yide was confident in the deck he built for Sonia, he wasn’t blindly overconfident to the point of a sure win, otherwise, he wouldn’t even be concerned about Sonia missing the crafting of one card.
Moreover, this card’s strength could be considered among the strongest in Sonia’s deck.
…Thank you, Divya.
I will definitely cherish it.
The girl put away the card, not voicing her thanks but silently engraving it in her heart.
However, even after giving the card, Divya still hugged Sonia, looking worried.
“Xiaoya, can you really not come back to the upper district with me…?”
Seeing Divya’s expression, Sonia’s own expression relaxed instead: “Don’t worry, Divya.”
“I’m different now.”
“I will win.”
After speaking, Sonia didn’t linger and turned directly towards the center surrounded by the crowd.
Watching the girl’s resolute demeanor, Yide leaned back in the mental space of the Millennium Puzzle: “What, finally not nervous?”
Sonia hummed: “I just… don’t want my friend to worry about me anymore.”
“And, knowing that Mr. Yide is by my side, I’m not that nervous anymore.”
Yide smiled.
“Then, let’s begin with this duel.”
“We will start with this duel, and let everyone know that you are not a weakling, but a strong person who can decide your own destiny.”
I will.
Sonia didn’t respond further, just quickened her pace, about to head to the surrounded battleground.
But after a glance at the deck she was still holding, not yet put away, her small face suddenly stiffened, and she stopped again.
“Mr. Yide, maybe we should change my deck again.”
Yide was a little confused: “What’s wrong?”
Sonia’s eyes welled up: “That card, can we not bring it?”
“Anyway, didn’t you say, Mr. Yide, that card might not even be useful?”
What happened last night could be said to have overturned Sonia’s imagination.
But if it were just that, Sonia wouldn’t be worried to the point that her opponent would lose their mind in anger after the duel.
But there was one card that was just too impactful.
So impactful that even if Sonia didn’t say it, Yide knew exactly which card she was talking about.
Yide just didn’t expect Sonia to remember this now.
This girl really can’t maintain her coolness for more than three seconds.
Yide spread his hands: “It’s already printed, there’s no reason not to bring it.”
Sonia panicked a bit: “But, but, but, the opponent is a gang member. Are you sure the opponent won’t get enraged halfway through and switch to another way of dueling?”
If she angered the opponent, the duel’s style might really turn into an unrestricted fighting match!
But Yide just smiled.
“Don’t worry.”
“If the situation changes, I’ll immediately give your body back to you.”
“Weren’t you quite fast when you ran home last night?”
“As long as you run at that speed, your opponent will definitely not be able to catch you.”
Sonia: “…”