Chapter 65
"The winner is! Simon Follentia from Class A!"
A mix of cheers, both loud and soft, erupted from the stands. It wasn’t an explosive roar of excitement, but rather a slightly dazed applause.
“…Whoa.”
“As expected of Special Admission No. 1.”
“Where’s that guy going after graduation? If we could just…”
“Pfft, bro. At that level, Keyzen’s not going to let him go.”
“How long has it been since a top ace came out of Summonology? He’s got personality.”
As representatives from various institutions and organizations exchanged opinions, students sitting in the front rows suddenly jumped to their feet.
“Simooon! Great job! You were amazing!”
“Jeez, seriously! You really had us on edge.”
“Loved the big picture plan! Wahaha!”
Kamibarez, Maelyn, and Dick were shouting and waving excitedly. Simon spotted the three of them and gave a sheepish smile as he waved back.
An official crossed his arms and chuckled.
“They’re cute, our kids.”
“Uh, sir. That comment just now…”
“You idiot! I meant my juniors!”
“Ah—right. You’re a Keyzen graduate.”
Simon, after waving to his teammates, turned his head. Haren, who had been slammed into the wall, collapsed to the floor as medics rushed over and placed him on a stretcher.
Listening in on what the medics were saying, it seemed there were no injuries thanks to the protective vest, but the shock had left his body momentarily paralyzed.
Haren was blinking dazedly.
“Haren.”
Simon approached him.
“……”
“I don’t know what kind of grudge you have against me,”
Simon continued with a gentle smile,
“But with ‘that kind of power’, not your own strength, you’ll never beat me.”
“……!!”
Haren’s eyes flew open in rage at those words.
“L-let’s move.”
Pale as a ghost, Haren was carried off on the stretcher.
Simon casually dusted off his hands and turned around. Seeing the gaping hole in the wall of the indoor arena with wind blowing through it, a wave of embarrassment hit him.
‘They can fix it quickly with magic, but still… not a good look.’
If he dismantled the golem here, it would just cause more trouble. So Simon left the arena with the golem in tow.
In the meantime, the referee began the next match.
“Simon!”
Before long, Kamibarez and the rest of his team came running out of the arena.
“Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Hey! What the hell, seriously! You scared us half to death! And didn’t even tell us anything!”
Simon gave a sheepish laugh at Maelyn’s outburst.
“Sorry for worrying you.”
“Ugh, whatever! It’s not like I was actually worried!”
Meanwhile, Dick was approaching the mud golem with a look of admiration.
“Whoa, so this is Simon’s golem!”
As he reached out to touch it, the golem leaned back and glared at Dick. He flinched and stepped away.
“Hey there, easy now~”
This time, Kamibarez walked up and petted the golem.
The golem didn’t resist her touch. In fact, it slightly lowered itself, adjusting to a posture that made it easier for her to pet it.
“……”
Dick made a sour face.
“…That thing might not even be a real golem.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Simon! Can I ride it, just once?”
Kamibarez asked, eyes sparkling. Simon broke into a nervous sweat and just laughed.
“…?”
“Kami.”
Maelyn swept her hair back and said,
“Keeping the golem active constantly drains Darkness. If you keep this up, Simon’s gonna shrivel up and die, right?”
“Ah! Aah! Sorry! I didn’t realize…!”
Kamibarez quickly jumped off the golem.
Only then did Simon release his thoughts and deactivate the golem. The golem crumbled down like a collapsing hill.
Simon approached the pile of dirt and retrieved a large orb from within. This was the golem’s Core.
“So this is what it looks like.”
Kamibarez and Maelyn crouched down, gently touching the Core with curiosity.
Just then, a soft ting! sound came from the surface of the Core. Kamibarez squeaked and backed away.
“It’s okay.”
Simon said with a smile.
“It sometimes plays tricks when it’s in a good mood.”
“Ah…”
“But this thing must’ve been super expensive, right? How’d you get it?”
At Maelyn’s question, Simon grinned.
“I used the money I made from missions… and took out a bit on credit.”
Simon had earned 500 gold from the previous mission. After clearing out a mountain range and dealing with the Gray Orcs, he’d received an additional 200 gold from Lord Raymond as a bonus.
Then, a few days ago, when he went to Rochest to buy Skeleton Archers, he spent 90 gold on three of them.
That left him with 610 gold.
—Golem Cores start at a minimum of 700 gold.
The necromancer shop owner’s words had made Simon consider giving up.
But then, the shop owner made a new offer.
—This isn’t exactly cheap, so how about a special discount? 650 gold. I’ll let you take it for 600 gold and pay the remaining 50 on credit. Sounds good?
Hooked by the offer, Simon impulsively bought the golem’s Core.
‘Might’ve been a bit of a splurge, but whatever.’
Still, the golem was worth every coin. Its combat strength was unquestionable, and unlike Skeletons, it was built to last.
Simon carefully stored the golem’s Core into his subspace.
“By the way, Dick, when’s the next mission period?”
“…Why the sudden interest?”
Because he was eager to go back out and earn more money.
Necromancers run on money.
Simon smiled at the thought.
* * *
The morning duel evaluations had all concluded.
After a light lunch, Simon’s team moved over to Arena 4. Here, the duels for Dick, Maelyn, and Kamibarez would take place.
Dick, who was up first, headed off to the waiting room to prepare.
“Kami. Are you sure you’re okay not eating anything?”
Simon asked.
Perhaps from the nerves before the duel, Kamibarez was huddled up with her knees together, forcing a weak smile.
“…Yeah, I’m fine. I just can’t get anything down.”
“And you? You sure you’re okay?”
Maelyn crossed her arms and gave Simon a stern look.
“You don’t have to push yourself just to watch our matches. Go take a nap if you need to.”
“I’m really fine. That duel earlier woke me right up.”
“…Seriously.”
“Ah, look! Dick’s coming out!”
Just as Kamibarez said, Dick in his protective suit appeared in the center of the arena alongside his opponent.
Dick’s opponent was a female student named Ligang Chopra. Her dark brown hair was tied in a ponytail, and her skin was slightly tanned.
“Jeez, another girl opponent, huh.”
Dick muttered as he rested his arm behind his head. Ligang’s face immediately twisted into a scowl.
“What, got a problem with that? I’ll make sure you can’t even squeak by the end of this.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Dick smirked as he shook hands with her. Once the two stepped apart, the mana projector displayed their barrier gauges.
[Dick Hayword: 100%]
[Ligang Chopra: 100%]
"Are both students ready?"
"Yes!"
"Yes."
The referee nodded.
"Then, we will now begin the duel evaluation between Dick Hayword and Ligang Chopra."
The referee lowered his arm.
"Begin the match!"
Dick immediately opened his subspace and drew a sleek sword, gripping it in his hand.
‘Enchant.’
A magic circle unfolded over the sword, dyeing the blade pitch-black. Dick lightly swung it, assuming a combat stance.
"That's it?"
Ligang scoffed as she opened her subspace. From it, a whopping twenty swords tumbled out, clattering across the floor.
Voices of confusion rose from the stands.
"What is that?"
"...Can she even use all of those?"
Maelyn and Kamibarez each chimed in.
Just then, a magic circle appeared over the pile of swords, and they all began turning pitch-black simultaneously.
‘Multiple Enchant...!’
By chance, it was a match between two Enchanters.
Even as he watched twenty swords being enchanted at once, Dick remained calm. Unlike Ligang, he was layering his Enchantments onto a single blade.
"Heh, she doesn't know a thing about Enchanting. The performance of an Enchanted weapon is determined by how much Darkness you cram into it. Multiple Enchants are generally discouraged unless you're a seasoned pro."
"Shut up and just watch!"
Ligang spread her fingers. The twenty swords quivered as if alive, then floated up into the air.
Ooooh—
Gasps and screams erupted throughout the stands. The swords danced around her as if protecting their queen.
Looking closely, strands of Darkness were attached to the ends of the blades, she was using those to keep the swords suspended in midair.
"Die."
Ligang growled and flicked her fingers. Three of the airborne swords shot toward Dick with incredible speed.
"Yikes!"
Dick sprinted across the Darkness and swung his short sword.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew with each metallic clash, and the blades clattered to the ground.
Shushushushushuk!
As if zeroing in on their target, ten more swords now flew at him from different angles.
"Wow, this one's tough!"
Dick dropped his sword and quickly pulled a handle-attached object from his subspace. Dropping to one knee, he thrust it out in front of him.
‘Enchant!’
Fwooosh!
Dick’s Darkness unfurled into a structure resembling an umbrella. The swords clashed into it with ferocity.
The metallic sound that burst forth was deafening.
He couldn’t block all ten, part of the Darkness shield was torn, and the swords grazed various parts of Dick’s body.
"Dick!!"
Kamibarez cried out in worry as she glanced at the mana display screen.
[Dick Hayword: 69%]
[Ligang Chopra: 100%]
Dick stumbled back, his Barrier Gauge having taken a hit.
“Phew, that was close! But now it’s my turn... huh?”
The swords that had fallen to the ground after attacking Dick trembled and returned to Ligang’s side. Dick opened his mouth and let out a hollow laugh.
"She's good~"
Ligang frowned deeply.
"You still have the energy to run your mouth?"
"Of course, of course! Want to see how much more I can say?"
Dick took a breath in.
"Name: Ligang Chopra. Real name: Priyanka Chopra."
"!!"
Ligang’s eyes widened.
"Native of the Dipak region of the Shahed Kingdom. Took her mother’s surname, Chopra. Her Core was unlocked by the village sage. Took a year from Core opening to first Darkness activation. Specialty: hunting. Hobby: cooking."
"What, what the hell are you doing!"
"After entering Keyzen, placed in Class G. Average subject test score in the 70s. First friend: Narsha Abra. Originally aimed for Darkness Dynamics, but recently interested in Magical Combat. Slight knee injury. Height: 163, weight: 61, waist size—"
"Shut up! You psycho!!"
Ligang Chopra shouted, face turning crimson.
Maelyn, embarrassed to be in the same team, covered her face with her hand, and Kamibarez lowered her head.
“Know yourself, know your enemy, and you’ll never lose.”
Grinning, Dick opened his subspace.
From among five metal stakes protruding from within, he pulled one out and slammed it into the ground.
“That’s my motto. I know better than anyone that I’m weak~ That’s why I’m really interested in knowing others.”
“Stop yapping and just die already!”
Ligang hurled all ten swords at once. Dick placed his palm on the metal stake and channeled mana into it.
‘Enchant!’
The mana surged through the metal stake. All the flying swords were pulled toward it and stuck fast, clanging against it.
“……!”
“It’s like an electromagnet. When activated with Darkness, it attracts metals of similar properties.”
Dick pushed himself up using the stake.
“Carbon steel mixed with Amarium, fifty-fifty. Right?”
“H-how do you even…!”
Dick pulled a slip of paper from his coat and grinned as he unfolded it.
“It’s the purchase list from the weapons shop in Rochest, showing what you bought.”
“......!”
“As soon as you got paid from the last mission evaluation, you bought twenty swords. There’s one more thing this info tells me.”
He tossed the slip of paper behind him, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a single silver coin. It was already pitch-black, having been Enchanted at some point.
“You didn’t buy a single shield or piece of armor, did you?”
Dick conjured a magic circle on his right palm and another on the coin. Then, with the two circles aligned, he clenched his fist tightly.
“I’m guessing you let your guard down because your opponent is a pure Enchanter. But in that case…!”
He brought both arms over his head and raised his left leg. As he stepped forward, his body naturally leaned forward with momentum.
At the same time, his right hand swung with force, and the two magic circles sparked as they made contact.
“You’re wide open to accelerated ranged attacks!”
Shwaaack!
With a fierce sonic boom, the coin shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
‘…F-fast!’
She couldn’t dodge it.
Ligang hastily tried to shield herself with nearby swords, but the coin slipped through and struck her forehead.
Thump!
A circular shockwave burst from the point of impact on her forehead. Though blocked by the protective suit’s barrier, the force concentrated on her head caused her eyes to roll back.
Thud!
Her body collapsed to the floor.
[Dick Hayword: 69%]
[Ligang Chopra: 35%]
The Enchanted coin lacked the power to knock her out in a single blow, but the impact was enough to render Ligang unconscious.
The referee checked her condition and announced,
“Match halted! Ligang Chopra has lost consciousness. The winner is Dick Hayword!”
“Kya-ha!”
With a broad, cheerful smile, Dick pumped his fist into the air.
Superb.