Chapter 18: Saint Marian Gradually Succumbs to Love Brain Rot
Chapter 18: St. Marian Gradually Eroded by Love-Struck Minds
Knight Academy Common Room.
The common room, quieter than usual, was the scene of a game of Magical Chess between Vitte and Robert.
Magical Chess, a variant based on Capsule Monster Chess, features twenty-one pieces per side. Each piece has its own attack, defense, health points, skills, and movement range per turn. Players deploy their pieces within their own territory, moving one piece per turn to advance, attack the opponent's pieces, and ultimately capture the fortress to plant their flag and claim victory!
The brand-new Magical Chess set Vitte and Robert had pooled 5 credits to purchase was a sight to behold. Each piece was a miniature golem with an intelligence level of 0.5, capable of moving based on specific commands and even singing, dancing, and rapping!
At the moment, Vitte was commanding a mermaid piece to sing, utterly entranced by its performance. Meanwhile, Robert was making a Medusa piece dance, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Not far away, Emma Metis watched them with a cold, disdainful gaze, a sneer forming in her heart.
These two low-achievers from St. Marian Academy have no idea their carefree days are numbered!
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St. Marian Open-Air Dueling Arena.
A stunningly beautiful white dragon, so elegant it seemed capable of breaking the barriers of reproductive isolation, coiled in the air. Its snow-white scales shimmered with a silvery glow under the sunlight, while jade-like antlers gathered intense beams of light.
Pandora Dragon, standing on the contestant's platform, exuded a lazy grace that seemed to harmonize perfectly with the white dragon. Leaning forward, her elbows resting on the platform, she propped her delicate chin on her jade-like hands, gazing boredly at her panicking classmate across the arena.
Too easy.
Life had become dull because everything was too effortless. The only thing that brought her joy was watching cute, naive, and shy little boys that's where she found her purpose.
Pandora lowered her head, playing with her nails slightly narrower, longer, and sharper than a normal human's and couldn't help but let out a dreamy smile.
When she looked up again, her opponent had completely crumbled.
In the stands, fans from all walks of life cheered her name, holding up massive banners with shamelessly bold declarations.
As Pandora stepped down from the platform, she waved toward the loudest section of the crowd, instantly amplifying the excitement.
Her smile was bewitching.
This was Pandora Dragon, a fourth-year student of the Magic Academy, the Silver Dragon Maiden, an ultra-popular duelist with countless fans!
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Traveler's Street.
Rose, who had been dragged around snack stalls by Diana all afternoon, slumped exhausted on a chair in an ice cream shop. She lowered her head, touching her slightly rounded belly, and couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.
"Rose-chan, you need to learn to say no!"
But still, it was so sweet!
---
Youth was indeed beautiful, with everyone moving forward at their own pace.
A small card game called Love Divination had quietly become a trend.
Diana fiddled with a cherry blossom card she had received as a gift from a candy store. Suddenly, she gave it a firm shake, causing the cherry blossoms on the card to flutter into the air literally flying off the card!
Pink and white cherry blossoms danced in the air, their fragrance wafting through the space. Once the blossoms scattered and naturally dissolved, the card would reveal the image of the person the holder cared about most.
"Diana, did you get your result?" Rose struggled to sit up, trying to peek at the card.
Diana brushed away the petals and saw the figure that appeared on the Love Divination Card. A faint blush spread across her fair cheeks.
She quickly raised her slightly chubby hand to cover the card, then pouted at Rose. "Show me yours first!"
Rose leaned back in her chair, looking troubled. "I told you, I didn't get anything. Oh, by the way, I heard yesterday that if you pour strong emotions and magic into the card after divining your lover, you can find out who they like. Want to try?"
"No!" Diana shook her head vigorously, but her fingertips secretly flickered with magic.
She peeked through her fingers and suddenly paled it wasn't her!
---
Back in the library, Pandora stared at the blond boy who had appeared on her Love Divination Card, seriously considering the possibility of "a woman three years older bringing good fortune."
---
Emma Metis picked up a thumb-thick book from the corner of the table, flipping it open to find a lily-themed Love Divination Card used as a bookmark. She still hadn't used it.
At the next table, a corner of a flower card peeked out from Vitte Gold's textbook.
---
In the library reading room, Dark carefully pored over Magical Theory Basics 2.
The library didn't stock textbooks, so this second-year magical theory book was borrowed from the librarian, Ms. Bella. It was an old textbook left behind by a former student.
Of course, Magical Theory Basics 2 wasn't some priceless treasure like Advanced Potion-Making from the "Half-Blood Prince" in Harry Potter. It was just an ordinary textbook with some class notes scribbled in the margins.
Still, those notes helped Dark grasp some of the more obscure concepts in the book.
Starting from the second year, the difficulty of St. Marian is curriculum took a qualitative leap. If the first year was about laying the groundwork, the second year dove straight into advanced studies!
The gap was so vast that students who hadn't taken their first year seriously would immediately fall behind, plunging into an endless abyss of remedial hell!
Even Dark found it challenging.
Fortunately, his strong grasp of language, combined with the notes, allowed him to slowly but surely make progress.
Soon, he found the chapter on "Precision Crafting of Emotion Cards."
The first-year curriculum only covered how to create "Simple Emotion Cards." To improve Arrogance I, he needed to learn more complex and advanced crafting methods!
"So, the 7th Alchemy Array is just a basic imprinting array, used to transfer emotional energy into a magic card."
"To refine emotions, you need the 13th Alchemy Array."
"To amplify effects, the 9th Alchemy Array."
"To prevent energy loss, the 18th Alchemy Array."
"And for reusable cards, you need the 21st, 33rd, and 34th Alchemy Arrays!"
"Who would've thought such a small emotion card could involve so much complexity?"
Dark took a deep breath.
Besides the alchemy arrays, crafting precision emotion cards also required some supplementary materials.
Glancing at his nearly depleted credit balance, he thought it might be a better idea to apply for temporary access to the Magic Theory professor's lab.
After all, who doesn't love free resources?
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