Chapter 221
“Bleeeergh!”
“Urgh!”
Simon finally understood what had happened during the earlier vomiting incident in the cafeteria.
Because the exact same thing was now happening to the students of Class A. Most likely, the ones who had thrown up at lunch had attended Belya’s morning class.
“Quit whining and swallow it! Humans don’t die as easily as you think, you brats!”
Belya was striding across the lecture hall, flushed with heat and shouting.
Here’s what had happened:
Belya had announced a practicum, and the teaching assistants had placed a case in front of each student. Inside were colorful, clay-like blocks.
Were they supposed to do some kind of playdough activity? Could these be poison ingredients? They’d never seen anything like it. Fascinated, the students began trying to light their magical cauldrons, but then Belya made her declaration:
“Alright! Eat it!”
It was actually meant to be ingested.
Inside each case were two contrasting substances. One was real poison. The other was a pharmaceutical compound designed to stimulate the immune system and generate antibodies.
With repeated warnings from the assistants (if you eat the poison first, you’ll actually die), students were instructed to take the pharmaceutical first, then ingest the real poison.
Though stunned and hesitant, the students had no choice but to obey Professor Keyzen’s absolute command. They cautiously swallowed the antidote first.
But even that compound alone seemed to be quite toxic, students began developing rashes, fevers, and nausea.
Five minutes later, once the antidote had sufficiently circulated through the body, they had to swallow the actual poison.
“P-Professor! Is this really part of the class?”
“We won’t die, right?”
A few queasy students asked with pale, sickly faces. Belya grinned, baring her triangular teeth.
“What, you think a professor would poison her own students? None of the kids who took this earlier died, so stop whining and swallow it.”
Intimidated by Belya’s fierce glare, the students reluctantly swallowed the poison.
Simon was no exception. The moment the poison slid down his throat, his digestive organs revolted, trying to force it back out through the esophagus.
It felt like every organ in his body was crying out together: “This isn’t right”, “This is seriously not right”.
“If anyone spits it out or tries to puke on purpose, I’ll stomp their skull in.”
When some students hesitated, Belya came down from the podium and began patrolling the lecture hall.
Simon squeezed his eyes shut and gulped down the poison he had been holding in his mouth.
“......!”
His organs convulsed. The components of the poison and antidote clashed violently, causing hives and strange markings to erupt all over his body.
“W-What the hell is this?!”
“I-I can’t breathe...! Gah! Cough!”
It was total chaos.
Maelyn collapsed face-first onto her desk, Kamibarez trembled, unable to swallow, and Dick gave a hollow laugh while muttering his siblings’ names.
“This is a process to create antibodies in your bodies.”
Belya spoke.
“If you just master the poisons I provide in my class, you’ll be immune to most toxins. This is the absolute basics.”
She explained while placing one hand on her hip.
“The most pathetic thing I see is necromancers scared of poison. Trembling just from holding a potion bottle. They go all-out with chemical warfare to kill their enemies but show up in hazmat suits with metal masks and antibiotics when it’s their turn. Absolutely pathetic. I just want to tell those losers to give up on poison altogether.”
She raised her voice threateningly.
“If you’re going to use poison, then at least get used to it.”
Even as students collapsed and vomited, Belya pressed forward with her poison-eating lesson.
The class reached its midpoint.
It didn’t end after just one dose of poison. After taking a purification agent to cleanse the remaining toxins, they had to move on to the next poison.
A total of three sets. Students who finished all three would get a short break, then attend textbook lectures with a teaching assistant.
Those who couldn’t finish would be held back until they did.
“......Professor, this really isn’t right.”
Eventually, someone voiced their dissatisfaction.
Speaking for everyone, Class A’s top student in Toxicology, Claudia Menzies, stood up to protest.
“I question the very existence of a class that forces us to ingest poison to gain resistance. We came to learn the great Keyzen’s toxic-type black magic, not undergo such barbaric training.”
True to her status as a noble lady with nothing to fear, she didn’t hold back, calling it “barbaric training”.
Several students nodded slightly in agreement. The assistants looked horrified and nervously glanced at Belya, but she simply gestured for Claudia to go on.
“A-And I question the purpose of this lesson.”
Though clearly nervous, Claudia continued.
“Our primary enemies are priests. You should be teaching us how to defeat them with Toxicology, not how to adapt our bodies to poison. I don’t understand this approach.”
“Hey.”
Belya gave a sly grin and leaned in close.
“Claudia, was it? The little prodigy the TAs said was Class A’s top. I’ve got one question for you. Do you think you’re better than Professor Keyzen?”
“N-No, I don’t.”
Was she trying to crush her with authority?
Claudia was a little disappointed but kept her expression composed and bowed her head.
“No, not me, kid. I mean Professor Lang Strauss, the former toxicology professor. Do you think you’ll ever become someone like him once you grow up?”
Although Lang Strauss had been embroiled in strange incidents late in his life, in his prime—his 30s—he had established the fundamental framework of Toxicology and advanced the field by over 20 years. He was considered a legend among legends.
At that, Claudia immediately looked up and shook her head emphatically.
“N-Not at all! I’m not even worthy of licking his boots—”
“That great man you necromancers worshipped so blindly?”
Belya flicked her tongue.
“Was killed by a priests’ poison. Did you already forget?”
A chilly silence swept through the classroom.
It was an extremely sensitive topic that everyone avoided mentioning. Students who had been listening carefully now turned their heads, pretending they hadn’t heard. The assistants’ faces turned pale.
“There’s a reason the Witch of Death chose me for this seat over all the other brilliant candidates. ......Probably left her feeling conflicted too. Got anything else to say?”
Claudia lowered her head in utter defeat.
“......No, Professor.”
“Then swallow it. Whine one more time, and I’ll throw you out for real.”
Turning her back coldly, Belya resumed the lesson. Nobody dared make another sound and focused solely on swallowing the poisons.
The class progressed into its late phase, and only then did the students who had managed to get through all three poisons rise from their seats.
“Man, seriously. I saw my dead grandpa waving at me.”
The fastest to finish in Group 7 was Dick. Having forced down all three poisons, he staggered into the adjacent classroom for the theory lecture.
And Simon, the very icon of talent, who had achieved better results than anyone else without any prior study—
‘……’
—was on the verge of death. Simon had no talent whatsoever for enduring poison. Of course, there was no reason he should. It was a matter of constitution.
“Hey, you okay?”
Belya herself walked over to Simon, flashing her crooked teeth. Simon, his face pale and yellowish, looked up.
“Y-Yes, I’m fine.”
“One poison left. Hurry up and swallow it, then go attend the textbook lecture you all love so much.”
“Yes, but I have one question.”
Simon spoke in a low voice.
“These poisons and antibiotic compounds… how were they made? They don’t seem like anything that exists on the market.”
Having witnessed Belya’s eccentricity firsthand, Simon felt bold enough to ask.
Even Belya seemed surprised by the question and paused for a moment. Then she burst out laughing loudly.
“To explain that…”
She flicked her tongue, loosened the strap on her shoulder, and exposed a bit of bare skin on her arm. Placing her index finger against her skin, she gave a sly grin once again.
“…is about three years too early for you guys. Want me to tell you anyway?”
“……Please don’t. I’m sorry. Just, don’t tell me.”
Simon said quickly and swallowed the third poison.
Chuckling, Belya ruffled his hair and walked away.
‘Ugh.’
The effects of the poison began. His consciousness started to blur.
“A-Are you okay, Simon?”
A few seats away, Kamibarez asked in a weak voice. She had just managed to finish her second poison.
In the fading haze of his consciousness, Simon replied.
“Hang in there, Kami….”
He drifted in a daze for several minutes. Strange thoughts popped into his mind.
Who am I? Where am I?
Mom’s homemade tomato omelet is delicious.
If we had to teach monkeys a word before humanity goes extinct, what word should we teach?
Ah, damn. This poison has a soap aftertaste.
They say one of an octopus’s arms is its genitalia. Then what does that make my Overlord?
What would my soap taste like?
“………”
In the midst of the dreamy fog, a strange sensation suddenly surfaced. His mind had cleared, but he couldn’t feel his body. His head felt clearer, and a euphoric rush surged through him.
The kind of mood where studying would be really effective.
Simon swam through the endless ocean of his imagination for a moment.
“Simon! Simon!”
Kamibarez shook his body. Simon, his eyes still sleepy, slowly raised himself.
“Ah, thank goodness! Are you alright?”
She asked with worry in her voice.
“……How long was I out?”
“About a minute?”
After taking the third poison, Simon oddly felt refreshed. His body even felt lighter? He loosened up his shoulders with ease.
Just then, a TA’s voice rang out.
“Students who’ve digested all three poisons, please head to the adjacent classroom now!”
“Ah, yes.”
Simon nodded and looked at Kamibarez with concern.
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“I’ll be there soon!”
She said with forced cheer. Simon gave her a small nod and headed into the next classroom.
“Alright, please turn to the next page.”
Inside, a TA was diligently going over textbook content.
“You’ve heard of food combinations that become toxic when eaten together, right? On their own, individual components aren’t dangerous to the human body, but when combined, they can pose a severe threat. In Toxicology, we call this phenomenon… ah, student, good work. Please take any seat.”
“Yes, thank you.”
A perfectly normal toxicology lecture. Originally, Belya had planned to restructure the entire class in her own style, but Jane had pressured her to stick to the textbook curriculum at least, which is how this session came to be.
Simon took a seat next to Maelyn and asked,
“You okay?”
“………”
She had a paper bag over her head. There were only two eye holes, seemingly poked out by her own hand.
“What’s that?”
When Simon reached for the bag, she recoiled in horror.
“Don’t look at my face!!”
“?”
Clutching the bag tightly, she quietly muttered with her cheeks flushed red,
“……I broke out in hives. I look awful.”
Simon laughed and pointed to his own face.
“I look awful too.”
“Ugh, shut up! I don’t want to show you!!”
As if it were her last line of defense, she hugged the paper bag to herself protectively.
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