Chapter 72
‘Ughhhhhh…’
Jessica, who had fallen to the floor along with a pile of bones, couldn't get up for a moment.
How embarrassing and shameful.
She had let her opponent get under her skin, acted rashly, and ultimately tried to settle it with Magical Combat. No—truthfully, everything had probably been orchestrated by her opponent from the start.
With all her techniques blocked, the only thing she could do was clench her fists and charge in like a moth to a flame.
Defeated in skill.
Defeated in mind games.
The difference in ability was that vast.
‘...Now I’m going to the lower squad. Maybe that’s for the best. The upper ranks must be full of monsters like him.’
With such thoughts to justify her situation, she let out deep sighs, when Simon approached.
"You okay?"
He knelt on one knee, offering his hand with a gentle smile.
"..."
Jessica stared blankly at Simon’s outstretched hand and smiling face.
Then suddenly—
A flood of emotions surged up, and her eyes began to burn.
"Y-You…"
"Huh?"
"You damn jerk with no manners!"
Jessica shouted in a teary voice. Simon flinched and pulled his head back.
"You think you're the only one who's amazing in the world, huh? Looking down on people like it’s nothing! Winning the match! And now trying to act all nice at the end? You awful jerk!"
"N-No, I was just—"
"That makes you worse! Waaaah!"
She burst into tears and ran out of the arena.
Simon stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, staring at Jessica’s retreating figure.
"Student."
At that moment, the referee came up to him.
"The next match needs to begin, so please step away."
"Ah, yes."
Scratching his head awkwardly, Simon asked the referee quietly,
"Um, did I go a little too far earlier?"
The referee let out a cheerful laugh as if to say "What are you talking about?"
"That was so like +Keyzen! Haven’t seen such a satisfying match in a while! Haha."
It was the first time Simon felt so uncomfortable hearing someone say he was “like Keyzen”.
Just as he was about to leave, a female staff member who had been cleaning the floor murmured softly,
"Honestly, it was a bit much."
"...Haha."
Simon covered his face with his palm.
He had gotten so absorbed in his own situation, he hadn’t considered his opponent’s feelings at all.
‘...I should go apologize to her personally tomorrow.’
* * *
Now, only the midterms remained.
The weekend, in particular, was hell. After hearing Dick’s advice, Simon went to line up for the library at 4 a.m., only to find it already swarming with people.
After waiting two more hours, the library doors opened, and an incredible bottleneck ensued. Some students flew in using Darkness, others ran up the walls, and some aspiring Spiritology majors phased through using incorporeal techniques.
All the seats were filled within twenty minutes, and Simon barely managed to secure a corner seat just in time.
And then it was studying. Studying. Studying.
During exam week, the library was open 24 hours a day. There was nothing to think about except studying.
Being holed up in the library, the weekend passed in a flash, and the midterms began.
There were eight subjects, with two exams per day. Each exam lasted two hours.
"Number 8 is 2!"
"2! Kyaa! I got it right!"
"Hey, isn't this number 4? The mana flow is blocked because of the resistance here."
"Idiot! It's a direct-infusion system, why would there be resistance?"
"Argh! Oh, I missed that it was direct-infusion!"
After each exam, students would swarm around top scorers like Maelyn.
Simon also found himself eavesdropping without realizing, but he had no time for self-scoring.
He went right back to the library. Study was survival.
Everyone called exam week hell, but Simon didn’t find it so bad. Everyone was completely focused on a single goal.
No one was sabotaging or hindering anyone else, just striving for their own growth.
Simon liked this kind of healthy competitive atmosphere.
And so—
"We’re—free—at—last!"
With the final exams, Defense Against Holiness and Magical Combat, completed on the last day, the bell rang signaling the end of the test.
At that moment, all the students burst into joyous cheers and threw their hands up in the air.
Dick, with a quill pen in his mouth, climbed onto a desk and lifted his shirt to flash his stomach in celebration, only to get smacked mercilessly by Maelyn.
Everyone was reveling in the joy of liberation, but Simon simply leaned back in his chair and savored the moment.
‘...I really did give it everything I had.’
"Hey, hey, Simon."
Maelyn approached with her hands behind her back.
"Did you do well on Summonology? I hope I’ll keep seeing you around in Keyzen~"
She asked playfully, and Simon let out a sigh.
"Seriously, if I could go back a month, I’d smack myself in the head."
"Huh?"
"Because I now realize just how reckless my words were."
That he'd score higher than Maelyn’s 85 in Summonology.
He thought it would only take a ten-point difference, but that ten points turned out to be an absurd gap.
‘...Simon.’
Kamibarez looked at Simon with a worried gaze.
If Maelyn really won and demanded Simon's expulsion, she was prepared to beg Maelyn if that’s what it took to stop a catastrophe.
Maelyn was also caught off guard.
She had brought it up as a light joke, why was he taking it so seriously?
"Wait, don’t tell me… you bombed Summonology?"
"Nope."
Simon smiled gently.
"But I’m still going to win in the end."
"Ah, seriously!"
Maelyn burst out laughing, and the mood lightened again.
While everyone was talking about where to hang out and what to eat over the weekend, Dick suddenly poked his head in.
"Sorry to ruin the fun when everyone's thinking about going out, but there's an important issue. Want me to tell you?"
"What is it?"
Dick glanced around to check that no one was eavesdropping, then spoke in a secretive tone.
"After this weekend, next week, all first-years might be heading to an island. Island Survival."
At those words, Maelyn's face turned serious, and Simon and Kamibarez exchanged puzzled glances.
"What's that?"
Dick let out a spooky chuckle, wiggling his fingers.
"They drop all the first-years onto a monster-infested island, and you have to survive for four days. It's also called the Island Survival Evaluation."
"...F-Four days?"
Kamibarez shuddered and rubbed her shoulders.
"Once you're on the island, you're responsible for your own food and shelter, and you need to hunt monsters to earn points. You can even fight other students to steal their points. And of course, in true Keyzen fashion, the lowest scorers get expelled."
"Ah…"
While Kamibarez trembled in fear, Simon’s eyes sparkled brightly.
"What's with you?"
"I mean,"
Simon couldn’t hide his rising smile as he continued,
"That sounds insanely fun!"
"...Are you serious?"
"Yeah! Camping on a deserted island, hunting, defending against monster attacks—survival stuff! Wow, I love that kind of thing."
Simon had a lot of experience with that back in the harsh mountain ranges of Leshill.
Meanwhile, Dick and Kamibarez wore expressions that said they just didn’t get it.
"But Dick. How reliable is this info?"
Maelyn cut in.
"How do you know Keyzen’s schedule, anyway?"
"No, no."
Dick waved his hands.
"Of course it's not 100% certain. It's still just speculation."
"Based on what?"
"First off, they say the assistants are secretly pulling out Tongpads from the storage."
Tongpads were devices students wore on their arms during large-scale evaluations like Island Survival. They were used to track point data and other metrics.
"And starting two days ago, the entire teleportation team from Keyzen HQ came to the school and started a massive setup. They also brought in a bunch of magic circle materials from Rochest. Some professors even made vacation reservations for next week. But there are classes next week, why would they suddenly take time off? The answer’s obvious, right?"
The plausible quality of the intel left everyone looking stunned. Dick crossed his arms and puffed out his chest.
"Huhu, in this cutthroat world, this level of information gathering is the bare minimum!"
"You're amazing, Dick! How do you know everything going on at Keyzen?"
Kamibarez looked at him with admiration, and Dick, clearly pleased, replied,
"My main info sources are confidential, but, well—basically, I try to get close to all the assistants at Keyzen. Even if they’re uncomfortable at first, I keep calling them ‘big bro’ or ‘big sis’ and follow them around. Sometimes I give them allowances, treat them to meals, lend my name when needed as a Keyzen student."
Simon nodded in agreement.
When he walked around with Dick, most assistants talked to him casually or treated him like an old friend, despite him being a student.
"Other noble kids usually just think of assistants as servants or helpers and don't really care, right? But assistants are actually the source of all information."
"Yeah, yeah. You're amazing, got it."
Maelyn turned her head with a scoff.
This time, Simon spoke up.
"So, if that evaluation is really happening, what should we prepare?"
"Hmm, well. I guess just power up like we do for duel evaluations. Oh, and…"
Dick smacked his knee.
"Survival skills!"
"Huh?"
"You know, stuff like building shelters, starting fires, butchering game, identifying edible herbs."
The two girls' faces darkened instantly.
"R-Right. We might have to… eat monsters… maybe."
Even the ever-confident Maelyn looked visibly shaken. Kamibarez looked pale.
"...Can’t we just starve for a few days?"
"That’s easier said than done. And if you're starving, you won’t have the strength to fight off monsters or other students. You’ll have to eat if you want to survive."
The more they understood the situation, the darker their faces grew.
Meanwhile—
"...Ah, this is gonna be so fun."
Simon’s face lit up with pure excitement. The three looked at him as if they couldn't possibly understand.
"This won't do."
Maelyn said firmly.
"I'm going down to Rochest this weekend to eat some monster meat."
Dick let out a short laugh.
"You think eating the stuff they sell in stores will help? That’s chef-prepared food. It’s completely different from what you get in the field."
"Ugh, whatever! At least it'll change my palate!"
"Come to think of it."
Simon spoke, drawing everyone’s attention.
"Remember that meat soup we ate at Professor Hongpeng’s cabin?"
"Ah! That! It was so good!"
"I still think about it sometimes."
Simon smiled broadly.
"Turns out, that was made with monster meat."
The three of them snapped to attention.
"What!!"
Suddenly, Maelyn lunged forward and grabbed Simon by the collar, shaking him.
"Contact Professor Hongpeng! Please! Ask her to teach us the recipe! She especially likes you!"
She shook him desperately, pleading.
Simon gave a bitter smile.
"Not sure if it'll work, but I’ll send her a letter."
"Y-You mean it?"
"Please, Simon! We're begging you!"
And then, the very next day—
A reply from Hongpeng actually arrived.
Superb.