Chapter 140
The final match had begun.
Class A’s sure-win team vs. Class C’s weakest team.
Judging that they had no chance of winning through normal means, Class C brought out a highly unusual strategy.
An all-in tactic. They poured all their Darkness into one student, a boy named Rexio, the top scorer of Class C's midterms.
Rexio was a boy with wildly tangled curly hair and tired-looking eyes.
At the center of it all, a girl capable of using link-type black magic connected Rexio to the other students, injecting him with Darkness.
About six students were clinging to Rexio, while the rest stepped forward and played the game normally.
“They’re definitely hiding something.”
“...What happens if that guy gets strong?”
Class A couldn’t help but stay on high alert regarding Class C’s strategy. They held a quick strategy session, and the method they chose was simple.
“You guys hang back.”
“We’ll handle the early game.”
Just in case things went south, they decided to conserve the stamina of their aces, Simon and Hector. The two didn’t mind either way, so they stepped back and waited.
Of course, even without Simon and Hector, Class A’s offense didn’t slow down.
All the students here were Keyzen cadets who had survived over half of the first semester. Their skills were solid. They maintained a 100% attack success rate with a variety of attack patterns.
“Huff!”
They performed well on defense too. A chubby student from Class A named Miller received the ball using a magic circle attached to his body.
“Nice defense, Miller!”
“Counterattack!”
The boy looked around, then tossed the ball to a girl who signaled with her hand.
She created a round tennis racket using blood from the haematological system wrapped around her arm and smashed the ball. A Class C student was hit in the face and collapsed.
“Great finish!”
“You two were awesome!”
Class A was in high spirits. Simon clapped his hands and cheered for his classmates. Hector simply watched with a displeased look, hands in his pockets.
Regardless, Class C remained thoroughly committed to their all-in strategy on Rexio. Students who’d depleted their Darkness rushed to the front to burn through the opponent’s attack turns and get outed.
Time passed.
8 members remained for Class A.
3 remained for Class C.
Now both teams had dropped to single-digit numbers. Simon joined a few attacks, but Hector continued to stand back and watch.
Whack!
Then, the girl linking Rexio got caught by Class A’s attack. Only two students from Class C remained.
“No choice then.”
Rexio finally stepped forward.
“Guess I’ll give it a shot.”
One of the remaining Class C students regained the serve and knocked out a Class A student, making it 7 to 2.
Now it was Class A’s turn to attack. The main striker girl from Class A stepped up.
She tossed the ball, formed a racket with her haematological powers, and struck the ball hard at Rexio.
“He’ll never dodge that!”
She was confident in her strike.
Rexio responded by activating a black magic spell he had prepared. Transparent glass-like walls unfolded, covering all sides around him.
Thud!
The ball hit the wall directly, spun off, and stopped. Rexio stretched out his arm and pointed at the boy next to the girl.
Thunk!
The ball, propelled by its original momentum, flew straight at the boy’s torso and knocked him down.
“What, what the heck?”
“Was that a reflection?”
Murmurs spread through the crowd.
This wasn’t ordinary black magic. It was a family-exclusive black magic like that of Haren Koak.
Class A reorganized their formation and attacked again. But another ball thrown at Rexio was also blocked by the wall and bounced back, knocking out another student.
More whispers escaped around the court.
“How do you break that?”
“This spell’s broken, at least in this game.”
They managed to catch one Class C student roaming outside Rexio’s barrier during the next turn, but Rexio struck back and took down another Class A member.
In an instant, it became 5 to 1. Rexio had to face five alone, yet he showed no signs of strain.
“How long are you guys going to pose back there?”
Rexio sneered crookedly.
“Come at me.”
Yaaaaawn.
Everyone’s attention turned in confusion at the loud, blatant yawn. Hector was stretching his jaw wide in a yawn.
“Ball.”
At Hector’s words, the girl with the tennis racket flinched.
“Bring me the ball.”
“Ah, okay!”
She quickly handed him the ball. Hector inhaled, then hurled the ball toward Rexio’s glass wall.
BOOM!
“Oooooh!”
Even the sound was different from the others.
But even Hector couldn’t break through the glass. The ball rebounded and hit the girl who handed it to him in the arm. Disappointed gasps rippled through the crowd.
“Even Hector can’t break it?”
“We’ve lost then.”
Hector saw the ball rolling on the floor and twisted his lips meaningfully. He picked up the ball and threw it again.
Wham!
This time, it hit a girl hiding in the back.
Wham!
Even Miller, who had performed well defensively, couldn’t hold out and collapsed.
Only two remained for Class A. In a flash, it became 2 to 1.
“He, Hector! Stop it!”
“Throwing blindly won’t work! Find a way!”
Hector ignored the voices and hurled another ball. It struck the glass, bounced back, heading straight for Simon.
Hector smirked.
“Bye-bye.”
Thud!
Suddenly, the court fell silent.
Simon casually reached out and caught the ball with one hand.
Screeeeech.
The spin on the ball slowed under Simon’s strong grip, then stopped completely.
‘...This bastard!’
Hector bit his lip. Then Simon threw the ball.
BOOOOM!
The rebounded ball smashed into Hector’s face.
Hector caught it with both hands, face twisted in pain, and slid back.
“.......”
As he peeled the ball away, a round mark remained on his face.
In the silence that followed, faint giggles could be heard.
‘How...?’
Hector turned his head in disbelief.
More than anger, it was confusion. He knew Simon’s magical combat prowess was top-tier, but he didn’t expect him to catch the ball so effortlessly.
As expected, droplets of Darkness were trickling down from Simon’s body.
Internal Darkness Divergence. He was already using today’s lesson in real combat.
‘What the hell is he...!’
All of Hector’s efforts, everything he had built up with blood and sweat, were being brushed aside as mere “talent”.
‘What is this guy!’
Pre-learning was Hector’s pride. Proof that he worked harder and earlier than anyone else. Wasn’t it natural that students who worked harder should beat those who didn’t?
But Simon was different. He showed explosive growth just from the material taught in Keyzen. Professors and scouts alike kept saying, “He didn’t even pre-learn, and yet...”
It made Hector’s blood boil.
Why was the pre-studier being treated like an idiot? Why did he have to be compared to Simon?
To Hector, Simon Follentia was a being that denied everything he had built.
“Why the hell!!”
Hector shouted furiously and threw the ball again. It hit the glass and rebounded toward Simon.
Thud!
Simon crouched into a stable posture and caught the ball.
“Nice block!”
“Good defense!”
Class A students buzzed with excitement. Simon smiled.
“All that observing finally paid off.”
The ball homed in like a guided missile, no matter how much a person tried to run. In this case, the ball always targeted the torso, specifically, the side where the Core was located.
As the ball approached, Simon stood slightly off the ball’s expected trajectory. That way, the ball would change its angle midair and fly toward Simon’s chest.
As long as one could accurately anticipate the impact point, and with Internal Darkness Divergence added to that, even ‘defense’ wasn’t all that difficult.
“Huup!”
Simon hurled the ball with all his might.
THOOOOM!
The reflected ball pushed Hector back as he caught it. Gritting his teeth, he threw it again.
THUD!
THOOM!
THUD!
THOOOOOOM!
“Hey, you maniacs!”
Maelyn finally snapped and shouted.
“Who the hell are you even fighting right now!”
Simon and Hector no longer had any interest in Rexio. Simon was focused on his own growth, and Hector, on Simon.
To the two of them, Rexio was nothing more than a bouncy wall.
‘No, fuck.’
Rexio himself was visibly panicking.
‘What kind of lunatics are these?!’
THUD!
THOOOM!
THOOOOOOOOOOM!
With the repeated impacts, the glass wall started to crack. The brute-force attacks were taking their toll, even on Rexio, who was casting the black magic.
“Simon Follentiaaaa!”
Hector roared with rage as he opened his subspace. From within, foul-smelling scales of a corpse dragon poured out and clung to his right arm.
“I’ll kill you!!”
Hector shouted toward his target across the court and threw the ball. The ball ricocheted off the glass with that same overwhelming force and came flying at Simon.
THOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Simon slid backward, barely holding his ground. Long skid marks stretched beneath his shoes.
“Heh!”
Hector smirked. But Simon, expressionless, stood back up and opened his subspace.
“Bone Armor.”
The bodies of broken skeletons wrapped around Simon’s right arm, transforming into Gauntlet Mode.
Wearing the gauntlet, Simon concentrated Internal Darkness Divergence into his right arm and threw the ball.
THOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The rebounding ball slammed into Hector, pushing him back violently.
This time, he stopped just short of stepping on the court’s boundary line. Any further and he would’ve been out.
“Grrrrrgh!”
Hector opened more of his subspace. Soon, scales covered both his upper and lower body. His flesh twisted as though craving the scales themselves.
Flaap!
Then, massive wings unfolded from his back. Hector’s back muscles clenched, gripping the wings tightly.
SWOOOOSH!
Hector rose into the sky, ball in hand.
‘Watch closely, Simon Follentia.’
From high above, he glared down at Simon.
Simon calmly looked back up at him, unshaken.
Just seeing that face made Hector’s blood boil. He was the one looking down from above, so why was he the one feeling anxious?
“GRRAAAAAAAAH!”
Hector hurled the ball down with all his strength. The sky flashed as the ball streaked down like a comet and struck the glass wall.
RRRRRRUMMMMBLE!
“Whoa!”
“Kyaaah!”
A fierce shockwave swept over the court. Students outside the field crouched and backed away. The glass wall cracked with thunderous noise.
Simon’s eyes sharpened as he watched.
‘Not yet! It’s not broken yet!’
He sprinted toward the front of the court, opening his subspace.
“Simon! Get back!”
“He’s gonna hurt you! Just get out and be done with it, please!”
Kamibarez and Maelyn shouted. Simon smirked and stood firm at the front.
‘Sorry, but I’m not backing down in this match!’
THOOOOOOM!
The ball, launched with the full might of Hector’s overhead smash, came flying at Simon. He opened his subspace and unleashed his entire unit of summoned skeletons.
CRASH!
BOOM!
BAAANG!
The skeletons shattered like dominoes as they collided with the ball. At the same time, bones started sticking to the ball.
‘Full-body, Internal Darkness Divergence.’
Darkness flowed from Simon’s entire body. Taking a deep breath, he slowly raised both hands in front of his chest.
THOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The ball struck him immediately. Simon was pushed backward, arms outstretched, slammed back against his chest.
The sheer force nearly lifted both feet off the ground, but gritting his teeth, he activated Absolute Order.
‘Stop!’
The bones attached to the ball generated reverse gravitational pull.
‘Open Gate!’
From a second subspace, blades of Overlord shot out, wrapping around Simon’s arms, legs, and waist like ropes. Power was transmitted to the Overlord.
As Simon’s body was about to be forced out of bounds—
SMACK!
He stopped, just barely, at the very edge.
Internal Darkness Divergence, skeleton gravitational pull, Overlord, the three forces came together in perfect harmony to stop the ball.
Bones clattered to the floor, and the blades of Overlord retracted into subspace.
.......
Silence blanketed the court. Both Class A and Class C stared, jaws dropped.
‘They told us to play ball, not shoot an action movie.’
‘They really are on another level.’
Simon stepped forward, slowly. Beyond the nearly shattered glass wall, Rexio’s face had gone ghostly pale.
‘These psychos! That’s several students’ worth of Darkness! And he broke through with pure strength?!’
THWACK.
Simon gripped the ball with both hands and readied himself.
30 seconds until Internal Darkness Divergence wore off.
This was his final chance to attack.
Superb.