Chapter 112
“Hurry up! This way, comrade!”
That evening, Simon visited Rochest with Benya. It was to meet Gellen Eclipse, the creator who had made Simon’s subspace.
‘But why are we running?!’
Sometimes having too much energy could be a problem.
Though they were in a hurry, Benya was laughing loudly—“Hahaha!”—and greeted every single resident of Rochest they passed by. Every one of them recognized Benya of the Vanilla family.
“But, senior,”
“What is it, comrade?”
“We’re not supposed to be outside Rochest on a weekday. Isn’t it a problem to be walking around so openly like this?”
They had changed out of their uniforms, put on robes, and even pulled up their hoods to avoid being spotted by school officials, yet Benya was still waving and greeting everyone.
Benya grinned with her pearly white teeth.
“Of course it’s not okay!”
“......?”
“If we get caught, well, I’ll just treat it like a vacation, take the punishment, and come back rested!”
Was it the composure of a second-year, or just her nature from birth? She remained someone Simon couldn’t easily understand by common sense.
Fortunately, they arrived at their destination without incident.
The meeting place was a small cafe in the city. After ordering drinks and heading to the second floor, they spotted a man sitting at a table.
A middle-aged man wearing an outdated, leaf-colored coat and a fedora.
He saw Simon and Benya coming up the stairs, stood up with a bright smile.
“Hello, Gellen!”
Benya waved first in greeting. The man took off his fedora, neatly placing it against his chest as he bowed his head.
“It’s been a while, young lady.”
“......”
Simon and Benya fell silent for a moment. When Gellen removed his fedora, the bald spot in the center of his head was glaringly visible. The long sideburns only emphasized the emptiness.
Simon closed his eyes, and even the lively Benya averted her gaze without saying a word.
Apparently unaware, Gellen put his hat back on and looked at Simon.
“You must be the student...!”
“Yes, I’m Simon Follentia from Keyzen.”
“Ah, a pleasure to meet you!”
The two shook hands.
“I heard the story! When I found out the person who bought my greatest masterpiece was Keyzen’s top special admission, I was so surprised! Haha! It’s an honor as a craftsman!”
“The honor is mine. I’ve been using the subspace ring very well.”
The three of them sat down and began their discussion in earnest.
“I heard from the young lady. This time, you’d like to order a custom subspace item.”
“Yes!”
“I’d like to see the undead in question firsthand, if that’s alright.”
“Of course.”
Luckily, they had the second floor to themselves, and the space was open. Simon immediately brought out the Overlord.
“Oh... so this is it!”
Gellen couldn’t hide his excitement. Despite having seen it plenty yesterday, even Benya’s eyes were gleaming.
Simon lightly moved its leg, mimicking an attack against an imaginary enemy.
“Like this. I want to keep just the leg outside of the subspace to attack.”
“Haha, that’s impressive. Truly impressive!”
Excited, Gellen returned to the table and pulled a pouch from his inner coat.
He spilled its contents onto the table with a rustle. Rings, earrings, necklaces, and other accessories rolled out.
“This one! Or maybe this?”
Curious, Simon stepped closer as Gellen examined the accessories.
“What are all these?”
“Oh, every item here is a subspace!”
Simon’s eyes widened. It was like dozens of mansions had just been placed on the table.
“To be more precise, these are ‘on hold’ pieces that haven’t been officially released. I never make the same product twice. When inspiration strikes, I create something immediately, but if it turns out to have practical issues, I put it on hold, these are those prototypes.”
He lifted a smooth ring and looked at Simon.
“I heard you don’t have much time.”
“Yes, there’s an important evaluation coming up soon...”
“I’ll only be staying on Roke Mountain for about four days. To finish a subspace in that time, rather than starting from scratch, modifying one of these hold pieces into a custom version would be faster. It’d also be much cheaper.”
Simon’s eyes grew even wider.
“Is it really possible in just four days?”
“I’ll do my best. But there are a few conditions you’ll need to agree to regarding the product.”
Said Gellen.
“First, a custom subspace item is strictly tailored, so I don’t recommend using it for anything outside its intended purpose. Second, since you’ll be drawing out nonstandard output, there is a risk of overload. I won’t know the exact extent of that risk until it’s complete. Are you okay with that?”
The item Simon would be receiving wasn’t something that could be bought on the market. And since the risks were due to ‘overload’ and not a flaw in the item itself, it was understandable.
Simon nodded.
“Alright. Then... about the cost...”
He trailed off as he glanced at the subspace ring already on his right hand.
The standard model had cost 5,000 gold. How much would a custom one be? He only had 1,000 gold on hand.
Gellen closed his eyes, seemingly pondering the price as well.
“You’ll give us a good price, right, Gellen?”
Suddenly, Benya jumped in with a thud, slamming her elbow onto the table, cradling her chin in her hands and smiling sweetly.
“Do it for my sake.”
‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’
Simon groaned inwardly.
‘Please stop, senior... This is business. That kind of approach won’t work with someone like...’
“Ahem.”
But surprisingly, Gellen beamed like a proud father.
“In fact, even if you hadn’t said anything, young lady...”
Gellen turned his head to look at Simon.
“Just having Keyzen’s special admission number one using my product is already great publicity. I took that into consideration.”
“Good job!”
Benya beamed and held out her palm. Simon, equally excited, high-fived her and looked back at Gellen.
“The deposit is 500 gold.”
Said Gellen.
“Depending on the materials and magical effects used afterward, the price may increase by a few hundred gold. Let’s set the maximum at 1,000 gold. Will you make the deal?”
Considering that this subspace item was being crafted personally for Simon, it wasn’t just reasonable, it was a steal. And just barely within his budget.
Simon quickly nodded before Gellen could change his mind.
“Let’s make the deal, Gellen.”
* * *
The discussion wrapped up smoothly.
Gellen agreed to start work immediately, and Benya, after finishing her remaining errands in Rochest, planned to return to Keyzen.
Simon walked alone under the night sky.
“What nice weather.”
Maybe because of the excitement for the new subspace item, even the cold night breeze felt pleasant. The rustling of leaves in the wind sounded refreshing.
All that was left was to return safely to Keyzen while avoiding the wardens. It wasn’t his first time sneaking off campus, and even the night roads were starting to feel familiar.
[Boy.]
Feer spoke up.
[You just paid a hefty sum to someone you’ve never met. Is this Gellen fellow trustworthy?]
“More than anything, it was senior Benya who arranged the meeting.”
Since the daughter of the chairman of the Vanilla Group had arranged it personally, Simon trusted its reliability.
And Gellen, being a big name in that field, wouldn’t risk ruining his reputation by swindling a Keyzen student out of 500 gold, it was nearly a 0% chance.
‘The price is one thing, but the real issue is whether he can finish it in time.’
There was a reason Simon needed the subspace ready as soon as possible. His next opponent in the duel evaluation was special admission number ten, Malcolm.
It was Simon’s first time facing another special admission. Though Simon had become number one through Neftis’ recommendation, the special admissions were all selected for proven achievements and ability. Strength was a given.
Dick had given him information about Malcolm, and explained it using an interesting example.
—There’s this famous second-year who runs gambling rings. Apparently, lots of second-years place bets on first-year duel evaluations just for fun, and I checked the odds out of curiosity. It was kind of shocking.
Dick had worn a very serious expression at the time.
—The odds of Malcolm winning were over 80%. That’s insanely rare. The upperclassmen haven’t even seen your skills yet, right? With no information, anyone would assume the number one would beat the number ten. But for the odds to be this skewed... it means they’re really confident Malcolm will win.
While you couldn’t take students’ casual betting too seriously, it wasn’t something to ignore, either. This duel wasn’t going to be easy.
To win against Malcolm, Simon couldn’t rely on the Mud Golem or Skeleton Archers. He had to raise the Overlord’s performance to the highest possible level before the duel.
‘Once I’m back, I’ll get in three more hours of Overlord training…’
—Kiiiiiiiiik!
That’s when it happened. As Simon was making his way toward Keyzen, Erzebet’s Corpse Spider appeared in front of him.
Simon bent his knees and looked at the Corpse Spider.
“What’s going on?”
—Kirik! Kiriririi!
The Corpse Spider scratched two large Xs on the ground with its front legs.
The moment Simon saw that signal, his heart dropped.
Two Xs from the Corpse Spider could mean only one thing.
‘…A Priest has appeared!’
He could still clearly remember that night under the full moon.
While fleeing from the wardens with Kamibarez, they had stumbled upon a priest conducting a divine ritual and had nearly been killed.
He’d never forget the chilling look in that hood.
‘Feer!’
[I just got the report too! I’m heading for the forest!]
‘I’m on my way!’
Simon immediately stepped onto the Darkness and sprinted toward the Forbidden Forest.
Rushing through the bushes at full speed, Simon recalled what Neftis had told him.
—Remember the Cyclops evaluation? The reason that Cyclops your group faced was abnormally strong wasn’t because of drugs or curse side effects. Someone tampered with it on purpose.
Simon was increasingly convinced that the priest’s influence was spreading.
That’s why he had Erzebet release her Corpse Spiders in the Forbidden Forest, with instructions to immediately alert him if a priest appeared.
The next step would be for Erzebet to transform into one of the priest’s associates and extract information.
If she were discovered or failed, then they would subdue the priest or retreat and report to Loraine, so they could investigate every entry route into Keyzen.
“Huff! Huff!”
This time, he absolutely could not let it get away. Gasping, Simon charged into the middle of the Forbidden Forest.
Rrrrrrrrrrumble!
In the distance, he heard an enormous crash and trees falling.
Things had already gone south.
Combat had already begun.
‘…You have to be safe, Erze!’
The opponent was a professor-level threat.
Simon stepped onto the Darkness and sprinted at full power.
Superb.