Chapter 261
The next day.
Indoor Arena No. 3.
Unlike the BMAT, which was conducted as a public exam, this semester’s duel evaluation was conducted entirely behind closed doors.
As a result, the atmosphere in the arena was quiet. The scattered individuals seated in the stands were mostly students waiting for their afternoon matches, students who had come to scout out their opponents’ strength, and—
“Yaaawn.”
—upperclassmen who had come out of boredom. One such student, a second-year girl with bobbed hair, sat in the very back row, legs crossed.
“Hello, senior!”
At that moment, a male student suddenly approached and addressed her.
“...First-year?”
“Yup! My name is Dick Hayword.”
Dick bowed politely with a bright, business-like smile.
“Watching the duel evaluation is great and all, but isn’t it about time you got a little hungry?”
Standing next to Dick was Kamibarez, holding a pile of drinks and snacks.
The second-year frowned.
“What is this? I’m not buying this kind of junk.”
“Haha! How could I dare accept money from a senior as lofty as you? This is just a little token of encouragement from a junior, wishing you strength as you push through that notoriously grueling second-year Keyzen curriculum!”
“Is that so?”
Upon hearing the word “free”, she snatched a drink from him.
“Looks like you’ve at least got the sense to show respect to your seniors. I’ll pass on the snacks though, I’m dieting.”
“Got it! Please enjoy!”
Just as Dick and Kamibarez turned to leave, the second-year called out, “Hey!”
“There’s nothing weird in this, right?”
“Hahaha! Would I do something bad to a senior as divine as yourself? It’s a completely sealed, brand-new item from the campus cafe!”
“Alright, then get going.”
The second-year stuck a straw in the drink and waved them off. Dick and Kamibarez continued to make their rounds, handing out drinks and snacks to a few more seniors.
“Okay, that’s the last of it!”
Dick spoke with a satisfied expression as he flopped into a seat.
“Thanks so much for helping, Kami! I’ll treat you to lunch and dinner today and tomorrow!”
Looking slightly awkward, Kamibarez blushed and sat down next to him.
“But Dick, why are you handing out drinks and snacks to seniors?”
“It’s all about connections~ building relationships.”
Dick smugly crossed his arms.
“If I talk to a hundred seniors like this, and I just happen to click with one or two, that’s already a win. The seniors who come to watch the evaluations are usually more generous to juniors! Also—”
Dick pointed to the drink Kamibarez was holding. A logo was stuck on it like a sticker.
“Ah!”
It was an advertisement.
Dick’s proxy trading business: if you ordered from his catalogue, he would deliver the goods to your dorm the very next day.
The logo sticker featured winged sandals, and beneath it, in small print, was the brand name Talaria.
“Second-years still don’t know much about my business, so I’m sneaking in some ads when I can.”
At that, Kamibarez let out a small exclamation of admiration.
“Dick, I think you live way more diligently than people assume!”
“Hm? Wait a sec! How do people usually see me?”
“As lazy and always trying to take shortcuts!”
Dick dramatically clutched his chest in mock pain, making Kamibarez laugh out loud.
“It would’ve been nice if Maelyn had come too.”
“She has a match in the morning. Oh—looks like it’s about to start!”
“Look, there’s Simon too!”
The students could be seen slowly warming up, and among them was Simon.
The referee stepped forward to explain the rules.
“Starting with this duel evaluation, a new protective suit will be introduced.”
The participants, including Simon, were already wearing the new protective suits. The garments were a clean, dark navy from top to bottom and emitted a faint glow, likely due to powerful black magic.
“The previous suits triggered a barrier upon detecting impact, and the 'barrier gauge' on the screen would decrease according to the damage taken.”
The referee then took a dagger in hand and slashed his own thigh. The students gasped.
But the moment the blade touched his leg, instead of blood, a violet magical energy oozed out like blood. His thigh remained completely unharmed.
“This suit takes the opponent’s attacks head-on. Pain, curses, and poison effects will all feel completely real. Furthermore—”
The referee took a few steps sideways. His leg was now limping.
“When hit, the suit will simulate effects like bleeding, fractures, and amputations, providing a combat experience as vivid as the real thing.”
‘Nobody needs that kind of realism!’
All the students screamed inwardly in unison.
“Of course, the wearer’s actual body remains unharmed, as long as the suit doesn’t get torn, so rest assured. Until now, only second-years wore these suits, but starting this year, they’ve also been assigned to first-years in the integrated second semester.”
The audience stirred at this new information. Clicking his tongue, Dick rested his head on his arm.
“Man, those Keyzen guys are ruthless. Everything’s semi-wartime curriculum’ or ‘integrated second semester’—they just keep ramping up the difficulty.”
“Ugh, that sounds painful... right?”
Kamibarez asked, looking scared. Dick smiled nonchalantly.
“Apparently, it’s still just fake pain. Not as bad as being actually cut or stabbed. Oh, oh?”
“What is it?”
“Professor Bahil is here too!”
Kamibarez looked up as well.
Sure enough, at the far edge of the stands, Bahil and his head teaching assistant Chehekle were seated side by side.
As attention shifted to the famous figure, Bahil playfully put a finger to his lips and gave a small wave. Suppressed squeals erupted across the arena.
“Who do you think he came to see?”
“Obviously me!”
Dick shouted, thrilled.
“I even got invited to Professor Bahil’s lab, you know! I mean, I was just cleaning, but still!”
“...Your match is in the afternoon, Dick.”
At that moment, the referee called out.
“Then let’s begin the first match. Simon Follentia of Class A.”
Simon stepped to the center of the arena as his name was called.
“And—”
The referee turned his head to the opposite side.
“Claudia Menzies of Class A.”
Claudia walked out from the opposite end. Simon looked troubled.
‘Of all people, it had to be Claudia.’
Their recent conflict had left things awkward between them. The two now stood facing each other.
“Hey. Fancy meeting you here.”
Simon greeted her first. His face was relatively calm, but Claudia’s eyes burned with fierce hostility.
“All day yesterday and today—”
“?”
“I’ve been thinking about how to beat you. I watched your duel evaluation footage over and over using a memorial crystal, and I stayed up all night studying how to counter you.”
Simon couldn’t help but feel a pure curiosity.
“Then you figured out how to beat me?”
“Of course.”
If everything went according to plan, Claudia was confident that her win rate would be 100%.
At that moment, the referee leaned both arms forward.
“Both students, shake hands.”
Simon and Claudia stepped forward and clasped hands.
“I’m looking forward to this. Let’s have a good match.”
“Do you still—”
Claudia spoke.
“Do you still believe in Professor Belya?”
As she released the handshake, Simon nodded. Claudia gritted her teeth and turned her back.
Once the two had distanced themselves and faced off, the referee shouted,
“Then, we will now begin the duel evaluation between Simon Follentia of Class A and Claudia Menzies of Class A!”
An excited uproar erupted from the stands.
“Simon! Wrap it up cleanly!”
“Fighting! You got this, Simon!!”
The cheers from Dick and Kamibarez rang out as well. A small smile formed on Simon’s lips when he spotted them.
The referee looked back and forth between Simon and Claudia, then lowered the arm he had raised above his head.
“Begin!”
Chaak! Chik!
As soon as the match started, Claudia grabbed the two potion bottles strapped to her waist and dropped them at her feet.
Chiieeeee!
From the shattered bottles, thick brown smoke hissed out and enveloped her body, concealing her from view.
‘Poison gas, right from the start.’
Simon, who had placed the base magic circle for Blood Golem behind him, stared straight ahead.
The poison didn’t spread far, instead lingering and settling around her. Judging by the stinging odor, the toxicity seemed quite strong.
‘There’s no way you’ll be able to come in here.’
From within the poison mist, Claudia’s eyes sparkled with determination.
‘I’ve analyzed your fighting style and every black magic you use, down to perfection.’
Claudia had broken Simon’s combat style into three major phases based on time.
Early phase – Magical Combat.
Mid-phase – Overlord.
Late phase – Blood Golem followed by original skeleton techniques.
‘Simon’s Magical Combat is top-tier. If we go into close combat, I’ve got no chance of winning.’
That’s why she preemptively sealed off melee combat by laying poison at her own feet.
It was a somewhat reckless move, and even though she had taken an antidote, it still hurt her, but she figured it was a small price to pay if it meant stopping Simon’s Magical Combat.
‘Simon’s stamina is also pretty formidable. If he summons a Blood Golem in the late game, I’m done for. I mean, he can control like 23 skeletons at once, how am I supposed to beat that?’
Going into melee = guaranteed loss. Dragging the match out too long = also guaranteed loss.
Replaying that information in her mind, she deployed a new magic circle.
‘Simon’s weakest point is during the mid-phase. If I just keep an eye out for Overlord, the ideal outcome is to take him down before he summons Blood Golem.’
She placed a Toxic Potion on the completed magic circle and activated it.
<Poison Fog>
From the potion within the circle, a green orb began to rise and soon scattered poisonous mist in all directions.
Unlike the brown poison gas surrounding her, Poison Fog spread far and wide, quickly engulfing the entire arena.
Naturally, the stands were protected by a mana-blocking barrier, so the smoke remained trapped within the arena itself.
‘Good. That’s phase one complete.’
Poison Fog was a fundamental black magic used by all students specializing in Toxicology.
The basic strategy for toxic mages was to spread Poison Fog, gradually wear down the opponent’s health, and maintain a defense-heavy stance while looking for counters.
Time was always on the toxic mage’s side, and it applied psychological pressure on their opponents as well.
Meanwhile, Simon looked around with interest as he prepared a new black magic.
‘As expected, Claudia came out with Poison Fog.’
Simon had dueled against a Toxicology student during the first semester, so he was well aware of how this played out. He turned to glance at the mana screen.
[Simon Follentia: 98%]
[Claudia Menzies: 94%]
His barrier gauge had already started to drop. Inside the poison mist, his throat was tightening, and his entire body tingled.
Meanwhile, Claudia had cast multiple instances of Poison Fog in succession. This time, yellow and orange poison fumes were added.
They were poisons that respectively paralyzed the nervous system and distorted vision, clearly designed to disrupt Simon’s Magical Combat and Blood Golem summoning. She had prepared meticulously.
Simon, honestly, was impressed.
‘No wonder she’s considered the top Toxicology student in Class A.’
Just because Poison Fog was stacked three times didn’t mean its power was tripled. Each poison had its own interaction, and if mishandled, one could cancel out another or interfere with how they acted inside the opponent’s body.
But Claudia’s ability to combine poisons was clearly exceptional.
[Kuhuhu! Is this the time to be admiring someone else’s skills, boy!]
‘I just finished it. I’m still not used to curses, so it took me a while to prepare.’
Simon finally completed the curse and cast it on himself, then looked straight ahead.
[Simon Follentia: 92%]
[Claudia Menzies: 94%]
His barrier gauge had now fallen below hers. The poison effects continued, his suit flickered violet as it tried to resist and reset.
‘You said you’d analyzed me perfectly, didn’t you?’
Simon, with a faint smile, began walking toward Claudia.
‘Then I’ll make full use of that fact.’
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