Chapter 118
‘Wow.’
Peeking into the arena from the student waiting room, Simon was startled. He had heard that today would be attended by a large number of outside guests, but he hadn’t expected this many people.
From the very bottom row of the audience to the top floor seats, everything was packed. Students in Keyzen uniforms sat in the lower sections, while beyond the partition, there were outsiders.
“Just so you know.”
Dick, who had come to hang out in the waiting room for the afternoon match, said as he chewed on gum.
“All those people are here to see your duel.”
“Huh?”
“The hottest topic in Arena 2 right now is, without a doubt, the duel between Special Admission No. 1 and No. 10. Looking at the bracket, you two are the only ones who could be called ‘named’ students. Everyone’s come to lay eyes on the mysterious Special No. 1.”
Simon gave a wry smile.
“Hey, what the hell? Why are you making me nervous all of a sudden?”
“You’re the type who performs better under pressure. And I said it so you’d face reality squarely.”
Dick moved his fingers in a V-shape across his eyes.
“This is a match at the edge of a cliff with nowhere to retreat. If you lose in front of this many spectators, rumors will spread all across the continent that Special No. 1 is nothing special! People might start seriously underestimating you!”
Simon made a thoughtful “Hmm” sound and crossed his arms.
“Come to think of it, that might not be so bad.”
“Simon!”
“Haha! I’m joking. More importantly…”
Simon chuckled playfully and tapped Dick’s forearm.
“Tell me. You placed a bet too, didn’t you?”
Dick flinched noticeably. Then, averting his gaze, he let out an awkward laugh. It was obvious.
“Be honest. Who’d you bet on?”
“Ah! Of course, I bet on you! The whole thrill of gambling is the under— I mean! I trust my friend, no matter what!”
Simon giggled.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure your money’s safe.”
“Hehe, I knew I could count on you! I’m counting on you, Simon!”
As Dick spoke, he glanced behind him and said,
“But who’s that, anyway? Come out.”
There had been a presence behind them. Simon had also noticed it.
After a moment’s hesitation, a female student shyly emerged.
“Kami!”
It was Kamibarez. She leaned against the wall and timidly peeked her head out.
Recalling that she was also scheduled for an afternoon match, Simon looked surprised.
“Why are you here so early? Showing up early just makes you more nervous.”
“Si-Simon!”
She shut her eyes tight and scurried up to Simon.
“G-Good luck!!”
“...Huh?”
“No matter who your opponent is, I know you’ll win! Of all the people I’ve ever seen, Simon is...!”
Her voice trembled, and as she kept repeating “of all people”, it eventually trailed off into a whisper.
“B-Because you’ve worked harder than anyone else!”
As soon as she blurted it out, it was as if all her courage had been used up. She crouched down and covered her face with her palms.
Her intended line probably wasn’t “because you’ve worked hard”, but Simon felt the stress of the upcoming duel melt away like a lie.
He knelt on one knee and spoke gently.
“Kami.”
He called her name softly and waited. After a moment, Kamibarez peeked through her fingers, her cheeks flushed, and looked at Simon.
“Thank you! That really means a lot. I’ll definitely win this duel evaluation.”
“...Yes, Simon!”
It felt like a moment that shouldn’t be interrupted.
Dick chuckled and tiptoed out of the waiting room.
“Huh?”
Outside the waiting room, Maelyn was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.
Wearing a complex expression as she stared at the wall, she finally noticed Dick and turned red in the face, mouthing words at him.
‘Why the hell are you here, you crazy bastard!?’
“Huh?”
‘You’re seriously the densest idiot alive!’
Dick let out a quiet laugh and whispered back,
“I’m not dense. That’s why I came out.”
“Tch, whatever.”
Maelyn said calmly and turned on her heel to walk away.
“Maelyn.”
“What.”
Dick pointed to the waiting room where Simon was.
“You’re not going to say a word to him before you go?”
She stopped at that.
Her gaze flicked toward the waiting room, then she sighed as if resigning herself.
“That’s why you really are unbelievably clueless.”
With those words, she walked off down the hallway again.
Dick rested his arms behind his head and watched her disappear.
* * *
—Student Simon Follentia from Class A. Student Malcolm Randolph from Class M. Please come to the arena.
Time passed quickly.
As Simon exited the waiting room, just his appearance drew a thunderous roar of cheers.
“Let’s go, Special Admission No. 1!”
“I bet on you!”
From the opposite waiting room, Malcolm was also getting ready in his protective suit.
The two locked eyes. Malcolm grinned, while Simon showed no reaction.
Soon the arena was cleaned, and break time ended. Spectators who had gone to the bathroom returned, and people from other matches started gathering to watch the special admission duel.
Dick and Kamibarez found seats in a corner of the stands, and Maelyn, whose match had ended, also joined them.
The result, of course, was a win. Looking pleased, Maelyn gave both of them a high-five and sat down with a plop.
“Hey, how’s Simon’s condition?”
“He looks good so far.”
Dick answered while folding his arms.
“It all depends on how well he’s mastered Overload Control.”
Soon after, Simon and Malcolm stepped forward at the referee’s signal.
“Both players shake hands.”
They approached and shook hands.
Squeeze.
Malcolm tightened his grip. Simon, expressionless, said,
“Even after what happened at the mansion, you’re still like this?”
“I never forget someone who humiliated me.”
Malcolm smirked and continued.
“And it’s not just me. There are a lot of people who think you embarrassed them.”
Simon’s gaze shifted to the artifact around Malcolm’s neck, marked with the insignia of the Dresden Royal Family.
“Makes sense now.”
Malcolm’s face stiffened. Simon was now gripping back just as tightly. Malcolm clenched his teeth and returned the pressure.
“Let’s have a good match.”
Simon smiled.
“I’ll make this the worst day of your life in front of a full house.”
Malcolm smiled back.
They released their hands at the same time and turned away.
“Are both students ready?”
At the referee’s question, both nodded and lowered their stances.
“Then, we will now begin OOOOO!
Cheers erupted from all directions, and Simon was stunned.
No matter how many times he the duel evaluation between Class A’s Simon Follentia and Class M’s Malcolm Randolph.”
The size of the crowd left him speechless.
On the lower floor, Simon’s teammates from Team 7, his Class A friends, Hector’s faction, second-years, Benya and the members of the Mutant Club were all seated together. Above them were nobles in luxurious attire and scouts feverishly scribbling with quill pens.
‘This is bad.’
Simon gave a wry smile and wiped the sweat pooling in his palm. For the first time, he felt nervous in a duel evaluation.
The referee, who had been glancing between Simon and Malcolm, lowered the arm he had raised overhead.
“Match, begin!”
The shout jolted Simon awake.
He activated his Core at full capacity and summoned Darkness throughout his body, while Malcolm raised the silver staff in his hand high.
Thud!
He slammed it down like a gavel. From the staff’s center, a massive black magic circle spread across the floor.
“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this stage, Simon Follentia.”
Clack, clack, clack!
The magic circle on the ground began deploying at a terrifying speed. Seeing that speed, Simon instantly realized—
This wasn’t something Malcolm had just learned at Keyzen, nor something practiced once or twice.
It had been repeated thousands, tens of thousands of times, to the point that he could cast it with his eyes closed. A true specialty, in every sense.
Everyone in the arena widened their eyes at Special Admission No. 10’s dark magic.
<Doppelganger>
From the massive magic circle on the ground, copies identical to Malcolm began sliding out.
There was no way to distinguish real from fake. Their clothing, hairstyle, even gait—all identical. In an instant, over twenty Malcolms filled the arena.
“A doppelganger user?!”
“The rumors were true.”
Excited murmurs broke out in all directions.
Among the crowd, Maelyn too stared blankly, stunned.
“What the hell is that?”
“It’s Malcolm’s specialty, Doppelganger,”
Dick, seated beside her, explained.
“Malcolm got special admission to Keyzen using only that one dark spell. He took control of Class M and has been top of every evaluation.”
Simply put, Doppelganger was a dark magic spell that created countless identical summons of oneself. But Malcolm had taken it beyond that level.
Through his doppelgangers, Malcolm could see, hear, and even smell. They had excellent combat ability, and their completeness was so high that the real one was indistinguishable.
Considering that a typical Keyzen first-year could barely control three or four skeletons, Doppelganger, which could endlessly summon clones regardless of number, was an overwhelmingly powerful dark magic.
Of course, later on in Keyzen’s second or third year, when all students get normalized upgrades, its performance might be less overwhelming. But at least for first-years, numbers were everything.
That’s why Special Admission No. 10, Malcolm, was evaluated to have higher combat power than other special admission students.
“To beat Malcolm, you need a wide-area dark spell that can sweep away both the real body and the clones at once, or detection magic that can identify the real one. Otherwise, you’d need a cancel-type curse that can directly neutralize the Doppelganger spell itself.”
At Dick’s words, Kamibarez showed a face full of concern.
“But Simon doesn’t have any of those!”
“That’s why the second-year bets are 8 to 2. With Doppelganger, either you beat it easily, or it’s impossible to beat.”
The number of Malcolm’s doppelgangers was still increasing. In response, Simon activated his Core to 100%, raised his concentration, and calmly walked toward Malcolm.
“Have you lost your mind?”
Malcolm grinned.
“Coming in with no area spell?”
Simon shrugged.
“So what.”
“Cocky bastard!”
Malcolm sent all twenty-plus doppelgangers charging forward. At last, Simon stopped in place.
He set his left foot on the ground. A virtual magic circle expanded from the point, and he injected Darkness to materialize it. Meanwhile, the doppelgangers began encircling him in a wide ring.
“What’s he doing? Special Admission No. 1!”
“He’s surrounded! They’re closing in from all sides!”
All twenty doppelgangers simultaneously lunged toward Simon. His eyes were shut as he gathered focus, but now they snapped wide open.
‘Gate open!’
Woom! Woom! Woom! Woom!
Subspace opened around Simon. Just as the doppelgangers reached right in front of him—
Shhhhrk!
Shrrrrrk!
Legs of the Overlord, made of metal and bone, burst from subspace. The blades slashed through the surrounding doppelgangers, circling around Simon like a rising spiral.
Not a single charging doppelganger was left intact, they were shredded to pieces and scattered into the air like black powder.
“Whoa! W-What is that?!”
“That’s insane!”
The crowd exploded in response. Even Malcolm stood frozen, mouth agape.
‘That’s… dark magic?’
At that moment, one of the blades circling Simon shot out toward Malcolm’s real body.
“Guh!”
Malcolm recoiled in panic.
In his rush to escape, he lost balance and landed flat on his backside. The blade, now swinging like a long whip, destroyed more doppelgangers and even ripped the staff from the ground, hurling it into the air.
BOOOOOM!
Malcolm’s staff embedded itself straight into the arena ceiling. The blades made a shrrrk sound as they returned to Simon’s subspace.
Simon, previously hidden within the forest of blades, now stepped forward with a relaxed smile.
“What was that about area spells again?”
WAAAAAAAH—!
A thunderous cheer erupted from all directions.
Superb.