Chapter 64
“The match begins!”
Simon immediately pulled the imaginary lever. Three skeletons, armed with weapons, popped out of subspace.
Haren drew a magical circle of Darkness behind his back. Moments later—squelch!—a demonic arm made of Darkness shot upward.
It was his specialty, Black Hand.
‘Simon Follentia. I came fully prepared to counter you.’
Haren twisted his lips into a smile as he moved the Black Hand, ready to react to any situation.
‘He’s a Summonology major, but the real threat is his Magical Combat. As long as I don’t get close, I’ll be fine.’
Simon was a slightly offbeat case among summoners.
Normally, one would bypass the skeletons and go straight for the summoner himself, but Simon was also skilled in Magical Combat.
Rushing into close quarters without thinking was dangerous.
‘He’ll probably attack me with skeletons while baiting me into charging. But I’m not falling for that.’
Haren kept his distance without making a move. But then, Simon was the one who made the first move.
‘He’s coming…!’
Haren watched with a tense expression, but Simon wasn’t advancing. He was retreating.
Step. Step.
He kept walking backward. The skeletons guarding him did the same, maintaining formation as they moved back.
‘...What’s he doing now?’
Haren’s eyebrows twitched.
He kept watching, curious how far Simon would go, until Simon reached the very edge of the arena.
Now behind him was a wall. He had effectively cut off his own retreat.
‘Whatever strategy he’s come with…’
Haren could still attack from range. He summoned black magic circles into the air. Four Darkness Arrows rushed to completion and flew forward.
“Huh? What the—what’s going on?!”
Dick jumped out of his seat in the audience.
“He shouldn’t be able to cast other black magic while maintaining Black Hand, right?!”
But Haren, having completed his magic circles with ease, sent the Darkness Arrows flying.
Simon reacted swiftly. Three shields burst out of subspace on the ground, and the skeletons dropped their swords and grabbed the shields with both hands.
‘Block it!’
The skeletons rushed toward the incoming arrows, shields raised.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The impact echoed. The skeletons were pushed back, but successfully blocked the attack.
‘Look at this guy.’
Haren’s lips curled into a grin. His gaze shifted to the weapons the skeletons had discarded on the ground.
‘So he’s given up on attacking completely. Is that it?’
Simon had retreated, and the skeletons had thrown away their weapons.
Feeling suspicious, Haren closely observed Simon.
From Simon’s right arm, a deep blue Darkness was rising. It wasn’t a magic circle, but he was clearly preparing something. Or perhaps, even that was a bluff.
‘If he’s not planning to attack…!’
Haren opened his palm. Darkness flowed from it and began drawing a curse magic circle.
It was a level of curse beyond what Haren should’ve been able to cast, but Bahil’s procedure had made it possible.
Using Darkness’s inherent memory-like quality, Bahil’s secret technique allowed even the untrained to replicate magic circles.
As the circle completed, Haren extended his hand.
‘Sickness!’
A jet-black curse shot out from the circle like lightning.
The skeletons leapt in front of Simon to block it, but the curse passed through the undead easily and pierced Simon’s chest.
“...Ugh!”
His vision spun wildly. Nausea and retching surged up, and Simon dropped to one knee.
The motion sickness curse, Sickness. It was known to be quite effective against Magical Combat specialists.
‘This is… motion sickness?!’
His head spun as the world split into three and recombined over and over.
Simon clenched his teeth, struggling to stay conscious.
“Oh?”
Haren smiled.
“Most people lose the will to fight after taking that. Looks like you still want to continue?”
Simon, drenched in sweat, smiled back without answering.
Haren found that smile incredibly irritating and swung the Black Hand.
Vooooom!
The demonic arm whipped forward like a lash. Simon pushed his shield-bearing skeletons forward to defend.
CRACK!
Two skeletons were flung away with ease. The Black Hand adjusted its trajectory mid-air and lashed toward Simon.
Despite the overwhelming nausea, Simon summoned Darkness to his right foot and leapt into the air.
‘Damn it, I’m gonna die!’
He avoided the attack, but the jump made his nausea and urge to vomit even worse. Landing, Simon wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
‘That damn rat…!’
Haren swung Black Hand again. The attack twisted mid-air like a whip, and Simon barely rolled on the ground to avoid it.
The one-sided assault continued.
“What are you doing, Simon!”
Maelyn jumped up and shouted.
“Attack! Fight back already!”
“Hey, student in front, please quiet down!”
Maelyn turned red and bowed her head at the voice from behind.
Dick would normally seize the chance to tease Maelyn, but he was too distracted, sweating as he watched the battle.
“...Something’s off. Seriously off.”
“Hey, Dick.”
Maelyn shot him a glare.
“All the intel you brought was useless! You said he couldn’t use other black magic while casting Black Hand! You said its max range was two meters! You said he sucks at curses and only knows Darkness Dynamics! Nothing’s right!”
Dick scratched his head furiously.
“I don’t know, okay?! Was he hiding his power all along?! Is he one of those secretly OP types?!”
“What does that even mean?!”
“I don’t know either!”
Dick shouted back.
“What I do know is, this Haren Koak is way stronger than the rumors say!”
Boom!
Simon barely avoided the whip-like strike from Black Hand and covered his mouth. He looked like he might throw up any second.
“...Damn it, he dodges too well.”
Haren Koak grumbled. A new Sickness magic circle was forming in his left hand.
“But once this is ready, it’s over. Let’s see if you can endure two stacks of it.”
“......”
A blatant provocation.
Haren crept closer, deliberately swinging Black Hand wide open to expose his defenses, hoping to bait Simon into charging.
But Simon didn’t use Magical Combat at all.
He silently replaced his destroyed skeletons with new ones from subspace.
It was strange. Clearly, Haren was the one dominating the match.
He’d already landed a curse, and a second one was nearing completion.
And yet.
‘What the hell is he preparing?!’
It was Haren who felt the psychological pressure.
Thud!
Boom!
Meanwhile, Bahil watched the match silently from the audience with his arms crossed.
The match was proceeding exactly as he had predicted, completely one-sided.
“Interesting.”
Bahil murmured as he turned his head.
“This is your first time attending a first-year evaluation match, isn’t it, senior?”
From the stairs, Aron—dressed in a shirt and shorts—was walking up into the stands. He passed by Bahil without a word.
“Guilt.”
Aron stopped in his tracks.
“That’s why you never take on a personal disciple, isn’t it? You know full well what hardships await those who choose Summonology. Most of your students switched majors after failing to overcome those trials. You can’t bear to witness that again, can you?”
Bahil shrugged.
“But now, are you feeling greedy?”
“……”
Aron glanced at Bahil with a chilling gaze. Bahil met it with a smile.
“Let’s take a look.”
Bahil said, spreading his hand.
“At what our student is going through.”
Now, Haren was actively closing the distance, swinging Black Hand with aggression.
Simon only defended and dodged. A purely defensive stance.
The skeletons’ shields finally broke. In the next strike, the skeletons shattered, but Simon persistently restored them with Restoration.
“Once Haren finishes his second Sickness, the match will be over.”
“......”
“Am I wrong, senior?”
Aron silently looked down at the match. Then, he turned around and headed back toward the stairs he came from.
“Senior, where are you going?”
“The match is already decided.”
Aron glanced back at Bahil and added,
“I came just in case, but there’s no point in watching further.”
“......?”
Bahil stared after the disappearing Aron with a puzzled look.
Ruuuumble!
The arena was engulfed in smoke from Haren’s unrelenting assault. Haren, his face flushed red, was panting heavily.
“This bastard…!”
He had no idea what Simon's strategy was. The Darkness flickering on Simon’s right arm wasn’t forming any magic circle or recognizable spell.
‘No, it doesn’t matter. This really is the end now!’
Haren thrust out his right hand.
The second Sickness shot toward Simon, whose posture had crumbled while dodging Black Hand.
‘Urgh!’
That made two stacks.
Simon felt the world twist around him grotesquely. Dizziness and nausea surged to their absolute peak.
He was in no condition to fight.
“How’s that? Feels like crap, doesn’t it? Special Admission No. 1.”
Haren bared his teeth in a grin.
“You came in here thinking you’d crush me with ease, didn’t you? But reality is crawling on the floor like that.”
“There’s no such thing as a guarantee in this world.”
With his left hand pressed to his forehead, Simon slowly rose to his feet.
“Huuu.”
The Darkness flickering on Simon’s right hand vanished. Haren grinned from ear to ear.
“You gave up. Ready to surrender?”
“No.”
Simon slowly brought his hand to his neck, rolling the tense muscles with a pop, pop.
“It’s done now. Time to counterattack.”
“......?!”
Was it that thing he’d been preparing this whole time?
Haren quickly glanced around the arena.
There was no change—neither to Simon, the arena, nor his own body. No curse or hallucination either.
‘So it was just bluff until the end—!’
“You know something?”
Simon clenched his fist and threw a punch into the air.
Ruuuuuuuumble!
“W-What?!”
“Kyaaah!”
The entire arena shook.
Screams erupted from all around the stands as startled people looked around in panic.
With a blank expression, Simon drew back his fist and punched again.
“Dueling Evaluation, Detailed Rule, Article 3, Clause 4.”
Ruuuuuuuumble!
“A student participating in a duel will be disqualified if they leave the arena during the evaluation.”
Ruuuuuuuuuumble!
Haren’s eyes flew wide open.
The wall behind Simon, on the far end of the arena, now bore massive dents in the shape of a fist.
“But no matter how closely I checked, I couldn’t find a single clause that prohibited bringing something in from outside the arena.”
KWAAAAAAAANG!
The arena wall finally shattered and collapsed with a crash.
The scenery outside came into view. Judges, staff, and spectators all gaped, mouths hanging open.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Something massive was storming into the arena from outside. With every step its enormous legs took, cracks formed across the duel ground.
“......Ha.”
Haren gave a dry laugh.
“...Khh! Ha! Hahahahaha! You f***ing crazy bastard!!”
A massive summoned creature, formed by fusing soil and mud around a summoning ‘Core’ using summoning magic.
The symbol of a summoner.
Haren screamed at Simon, who stood there smiling calmly.
“This is a first-year duel evaluation, you lunatic! What the hell! Why the hell is there a golem here!!!”
Summon: Mud Golem.
A summoning spell that forms a golem by pulling soil into shape around an internal Golem Core.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH—!
A first-year student bringing a golem to their very first duel evaluation?! The crowd exploded into chaos.
Maelyn and Kamibarez both stood frozen, jaws dropped. Dick, like Haren, could only laugh dryly.
“When I went outside to look for Simon, he was burying a Golem Core behind the arena. He was planning to make the golem from outside the arena from the start.”
Maelyn whipped her head around.
“Fine, skeleton archers I can accept! But a first-year making a golem?! Is that even possible?!”
Dick shrugged.
“You’re watching it happen right now.”
Of course, the one most shaken was Haren himself.
“No way! That’s impossible! Judge! Isn’t that an external summon?! That has to be a foul—!”
The judge shook their head coolly.
“That summon is operating through Simon’s Darkness. It is indeed his golem.”
Simon had buried the Golem Core behind the arena and moved toward it the moment the duel started. To Haren, it must have looked like he was retreating.
Then, while holding the line with defense, Simon began completing the golem beyond the wall. With it outside the arena, the core wasn’t at risk of being attacked.
And so, without even visual aid, Simon had used Darkness to bind surrounding soil to the core, creating the golem.
“Now then.”
Simon smiled.
“It’s my turn, right?”
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
At Simon’s command, the golem charged forward at frightening speed.
Despite its massive frame, it was shockingly fast. Haren clenched his fists, facing the monstrous creature alone, feeling the rising tension.
‘Damn it...!’
Life is unfair.
People are born with different things.
Talent. Wealth. Status. Body. Race. Nationality.
He knew that.
That’s why he wanted to break through it.
As a commoner, born without talent, he wanted to prove what value he could create if given a chance.
But still—
‘A golem?! That’s just too much...!’
An unfathomable wall of talent loomed before him.
More than the golem bearing down on him, it was Simon behind it who looked far larger and higher to Haren now.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
Desperate, Haren shouted and charged forward.
Do or die now.
Leaping into the air, he spun his body and hurled Black Hand with everything he had.
The air split violently, and the demonic fist slammed into the golem’s chest.
THOOM.
But.
The golem didn’t budge.
A few clumps of dirt fell from its chest. Black Hand’s arm bent like soft jelly.
“A straight punch,”
Behind the golem, Simon drew his fist back.
“is all about putting your weight into it.”
As Simon punched forward, the golem—linked to his intent—swung its massive arm in kind.
RUMMMMMMMMMBLE!
The world shook.
Haren’s body, struck by the golem’s punch, shot across the arena at light speed and slammed into the far wall. The wall crumbled inward like a crater, cracks tearing through the arena floor.
A violent shockwave tore through the field like a rampaging beast, forcing the entire audience to crouch low in their seats.
“Huuu.”
Simon slowly lowered his arm. As the curse Haren cast faded, his vision cleared again.
[Simon Follentia: 76%]
[Haren Koak: 0%]
The dazed referee snapped back to attention, raising his hand. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
“The winner! From Class A—Simon Follentia!”
Superb.