Chapter 32
Simon was attending Aron’s Summonology class for the first time in a while.
And today’s topic was “Restoration”. The lesson involved destroying the Island Ratman Skeleton they had made last time and then restoring it again.
“The greatest strength of a skeleton is its ability to regenerate.”
Aron, dressed as always in baggy shorts and with brittle hair, raised his finger as he spoke.
Fwoosh!
Whoosh!
Bones scattered throughout the classroom flew into the air at an incredible speed.
In mere seconds, they assembled mid-air into a skeleton and landed gracefully on the ground, even giving a neat bow. The classroom erupted with cheers and applause from the students.
“The principle behind restoration isn’t difficult. Even if a skeleton’s body is shattered by a strong impact, residual Darkness remains in the bones.”
Aron pulled out one of the skeleton’s bones with his hand.
“By activating this Darkness and maximizing its ‘gravitational property’ that wants to return to its original form, restoration is achieved.”
Then he released his grip, and the bone flew back and snapped into place like a magnet.
“Alright, let’s begin the practice.”
Since the lesson was on restoration, Simon had effectively already previewed the topic.
While other students practiced by separately restoring the torso, arms, and legs, Simon successfully restored the entire skeleton in a single move.
Even Maelyn, and Hector, struggled with the restoration.
It was a realm of sheer talent, unreachable by practice and training alone. In terms of skeleton restoration, Simon stood unmatched in Class A.
Thus, Simon, who was usually struggling just to keep up with class, now enjoyed a rare moment of ease. After helping Dick and Kamibarez with their restoration work, he still had time to doodle in his textbook.
“Hey, are you sure you should be slacking off like that?”
Maelyn grumbled, seemingly irritated.
Instead of replying, Simon casually waved his hand in the air. The bones scattered across his desk clicked into place, forming a skeleton’s torso.
“…Well, not bad.”
Maelyn fell silent. Dick, sitting behind her, laughed smugly but quieted down when he caught the passing assistant’s eye.
“D-Don’t act so high and mighty just because you’re good at restoration!”
Maelyn said with a competitive gleam in her eye. She was the kind who couldn’t rest unless she was number one in every subject.
“Didn’t you say you’d leave Keyzen if you didn’t beat my Summonology score next month? If you think I’ll go easy on you just because we’re in the same group…!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll surpass it, no matter what.”
Simon replied, resting his chin on his hand and flipping the textbook.
Maelyn clenched her fist in frustration, but at least in today’s restoration lesson, she had no grounds to criticize Simon.
“Haa, if only I solved question 20, I’d have gotten in the 90s for Summonology…”
Hearing her muttering to herself, Simon lifted his head.
“Question 20 from Summonology? The one on the last page?”
“Yeah.”
“That one was easy.”
Her brows furrowed.
“…Hey. What’s with the attitude all of a sudden? Are you saying you’re better at Summonology than me?”
“No.”
“Then how did you solve question 20? Did you use the formula?”
“I don’t know any formula.”
Unbelievable.
Question 20 was one you solved by applying the Teron Theorem. After getting it wrong, Maelyn had even gone to Aron directly for an explanation.
But Simon, who hadn’t even studied ahead, solved it without knowing the Teron Theorem?
“What answer did you get?”
“1,200,146.”
Maelyn’s eyes widened dramatically. The correct answer was 1,200,000—his was practically right.
“Spit it out! How the heck did you solve it?!”
“I just combined all the formulas I learned at Keyzen. Mmm, I don’t remember exactly which problem it was, so I can’t really explain it.”
She bit her lip. She made a mental note to copy the problem later and have him solve it again.
With Maelyn quieted, Simon turned his attention back to the textbook.
Summonology was endlessly fascinating. Just reading ahead about the new Undead and Black Magic they would soon cover made his heart race.
‘I really want to make a golem as soon as possible. If I just buy the materials in Rochest, maybe I can self-study it?’
“Simon Follentia.”
A sudden voice pierced his ear, and Simon flinched and turned around in shock.
“What are you doing right now?”
Aron was staring down at him with an ominous gaze.
Simon’s face went pale.
He’d been caught slacking off! And he wasn’t even on the same page as the other students, there was no room for excuses.
“Answer me.”
Aron asked in an icy tone. He looked genuinely angry, so Simon decided to be honest.
“I had finished the restoration, so I was briefly reviewing the next lesson’s content.”
“……”
Of course, Aron already knew.
Simon was the only student in the class who had succeeded in a complete restoration within 10 seconds.
But despite that, Aron’s expression remained harsh and threatening.
“Stay after class in the lecture room.”
With only those words, Aron turned his back and walked away. A chilling fear wrapped around Simon.
“S-Simon… you didn’t just get marked, did you?”
Dick muttered with a tense face. Maelyn crossed her arms with a huff.
“I told you, didn’t I? That you’d regret slacking off.”
Still, she couldn’t hide her concern, and kept sneaking glances at Simon.
Of course, none of his friends’ voices reached Simon’s ears.
* * *
Summonology class ended.
It was time to head to the dorm and have dinner, to wrap up the day, but Simon had to stay behind in the lecture room.
He stood alone in the empty classroom, worried about what might happen. Then Aron approached, hands in his pockets.
“Follow me.”
The two left the classroom. Simon hung his head low and followed behind.
‘…I should’ve just kept practicing restoration.’
Aron said nothing.
It was clearly Simon’s fault, and he was prepared to accept any scolding, but Aron treated him like he didn’t even exist. The silence was even more painful.
They walked past the building and entered an empty clearing. It was a wide-open space surrounded by trees, with no one around.
“There are a few things I absolutely cannot tolerate.”
Aron pulled an old cigar from his pocket and bit down on it. With a snap of his fingers, a spark lit the end.
As he took in a puff, his gaze turned deadly serious.
Simon shrank further, lowering his head.
“Students who have the will, but fail to learn in my class.”
“…Sir?”
“Summon your skeleton.”
What is he talking about?
Though confused, Simon complied and pulled his skeleton out from Subspace.
“Restore it, right in front of me.”
With a flick of the hand opposite the one holding his cigar, Aron blasted Simon’s skeleton apart with a pop.
As the connection broke, Simon felt a sharp headache and staggered, but instinctively reached out his right arm.
‘Restore!’
Bones scattered on the ground flew toward the skull like magnets, rapidly reconstructing the skeleton.
“…Alright. I admit it. You’re unmatched when it comes to restoration. Then I’ll teach you an advanced restoration technique.”
Simon’s eyes widened.
“W-Weren’t you going to punish me?”
“This is an extra lesson.”
Aron said, fitting the cigar between his fingers.
“I’m saying this in case you take it the wrong way, but offering additional lessons to students who’ve gone beyond the achievements of standard coursework is part of a professor’s duty.”
Simon’s eyes welled up with emotion.
“…Professor Aron!”
“Get ready. Don’t waste any more of my off-hours.”
“Ah, yes!”
Simon, face bright with joy, focused his attention. Aron, meanwhile, pulled out a skeleton from his subspace.
‘Whoa.’
It was much larger and more elaborate than Simon’s.
The bones were black, and the number and complexity of bones used far exceeded those of the Island Ratman. A red cloak draped across its back, and it carried an array of weapons and armor.
“It’s a skeleton made from demon bones.”
“It’s amazing!”
A glorious sword. Gleaming armor. A magnificent steed.
Simon, who had never been fazed by material wealth, now felt an overwhelming desire to own that skeleton.
“I won’t show it twice, so pay attention.”
Aron snapped his fingers and disassembled the skeleton. Then he raised his arm and pointed to a nearby tree.
Rattle-rattle!
Bones scattered across the ground began to twitch, then shot into the air like missiles.
Thudthudthudthudthud!
Hundreds of bones pierced through the tree like skewers.
“An offensive technique using restoration. Bone Piercing.”
A squirrel, startled from gnawing on fruit nearby, scampered off in a panic. Aron lazily waved a thin arm toward the fleeing squirrel.
Chachachachachak!
Bones flew like beams of light, sealing off every path around the squirrel.
“A restraining technique using restoration. Bone Prison.”
Aron raised his index finger, and the prison shattered upward, allowing the squirrel to escape.
“Lastly,”
Aron clenched his fist tightly.
The bones, previously scattered in the sky, now shot toward Aron’s body like arrows.
Click!
Clack!
His body was encased in bones. It looked as if he were donning a suit made entirely of bone.
Empty joints aligned with precision, Darkness flowed like fibers to fill the gaps between bones, and a red cloak settled over his back. Finally, the skeleton’s skull dropped onto Aron’s head like a helmet.
“A defensive technique using restoration. Bone Armor.”
“Wow…!”
Simon shivered from the overwhelming thrill. Aron in bone armor was dazzlingly majestic.
‘So cool!’
Aron extended his right arm. The armor shed away like living fabric, returning to the kneeling form of a skeleton.
“A skeleton can become a weapon, a prison, or armor depending on the necromancer’s ability. All of this is black magic adapted from restoration. Do you understand?”
Simon nodded frantically.
“Of course, these restoration techniques are normally taught in the second year… but your mastery of restoration is exceptional. I’ll teach you an adapted version you can use now.”
“Th-Thank you!”
“For now, the only technique you could imitate right away is Bone Piercing. Get ready.”
Aron had Simon perform restoration again and analyzed the process.
“You’re initiating restoration from the skull.”
“Yes.”
“Break that habit, starting now. The key is to guide the skeleton to go where you want it. I’ll give you a tip.”
Thanks to his training with Feer in controlling willpower, Simon was able to understand Aron’s explanation immediately.
‘Come to me!’
After several trials, the scattered bones of the skeleton gathered in front of Simon. While the speed of the skull determined how fast the rest followed, the fact that he could now restore at range was already a big achievement.
“Restoration and Bone Piercing are fundamentally different. It’s not just about using restoration power, it’s an entirely different technique.”
“When summoning bones through restoration, develop the habit of tilting them sideways. That allows the sharp edges to pierce into the enemy’s flesh.”
“If you concentrate Darkness in a single direction on a bone, it becomes like a sharpened blade. For bones without a stabbing edge, just aim to have them latch onto the enemy’s body. That alone provides significant restraint.”
Simon absorbed Aron’s teachings like a sponge. They immediately moved on to live training.
Chachachachachak!
Bones from the skeleton latched onto nearby bamboo. The sharp edges of the bones dug into the surface of the tree, and others stuck to it like magnets.
‘Restore!’
As Simon clenched his fist, the bones tightened around the bamboo.
And at last—
Snap!
The bamboo cracked in half.
“Yes!”
Simon clenched both fists and shouted with a satisfying roar.
In just a few hours, he had mastered a brand-new technique.
‘Aahhh, I’m so happy!’
The sheer sense of achievement made his whole body tremble.
This was truly… a sensation as addictive as a drug.
Superb.