Chapter 271
Simon’s actions were nothing short of sensational.
Not only had he taken down a 100,000-point monster—the Abyssal Horror—but he also used Deimos’ Alpha ability to command a horde of sea monsters, sweeping through the outer sea regions and completely wiping them clean. Any monster in his path was, quite literally, erased from the ocean.
Naturally, under the summoning creature rules that applied uniformly to the necromancer exam, any monsters hunted by those controlled through Simon’s Alpha ability counted toward his points.
By now, there wasn’t even a trace of monsters left in the areas Simon had passed through.
He had effortlessly achieved what was once thought impossible, scoring in the six-digit range. Considering the second place was just barely at ten thousand points, it was a truly overwhelming lead.
But now, his mental stamina was beginning to hit its limit.
Thinking he’d earned more than enough points, Simon released Deimos’ Alpha ability and began to wander.
That’s when he discovered a small, isolated island.
‘Let’s hide there and rest until the exam ends.’
Simon cut through the waves and safely arrived on the island.
“Good work, Deimos.”
After ruffling Deimos’ head in thanks, he sent it back into subspace. Then, alone, he trudged across the beach, leaving footprints in the sand as he stepped onto the deserted island.
It was a small island, and there were no signs of people.
Every so often, he spotted rotund, bipedal birds that seemed to be native to the island, but they didn’t appear aggressive toward humans. In fact, they seemed curious about Simon, peeking at him inquisitively, making him chuckle softly.
“I’m gonna die…”
Simon leaned against a nearby rock and let out a long breath.
Having entered ‘Compello’ mode and overworked his brain, he felt like he could faint at any moment. Of course, if he passed out and was ruled out of the exam, that would be a disaster.
‘I’m scared I’ll pass out, so I can’t even sleep.’
The fact that he’d just fought the Abyssal Horror while leading tens of thousands of sea creatures felt like a dream now.
Simon checked the Tongue Pad on his wrist.
1st – Simon: 223,500 Points
The numbers didn’t lie. He was ahead of current second-place Elisa by 210,000 points.
Simon let out a pleased giggle and gazed up at the blue sky with a satisfied smile.
‘I got first place again, Father!’
Less than an hour remained. If he could just hang on and keep his points, victory would be his.
He gazed at the sky, lost in various thoughts.
* * *
Splash, splash.
Hector, clad in the scales of the Sea Dragon, emerged from the ocean with an irritated expression. His eyes were filled with exhaustion.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”
Everything had gone off the rails.
He had sped up his pace and successfully overtaken Elisa, the most likely first-place candidate. Up to that point, everything had gone according to his plan.
But then, out of nowhere, Simon Follentia had leapt from outside the top ten to first place with an unbelievable score of 100,000 points.
Seething with rage, Hector had forced himself to continue hunting and re-entered the sea.
But with his stamina failing, urgency alone wasn’t enough to make his hunts successful.
To make matters worse, for some unknown reason, the sea monsters that had once swarmed the area had completely vanished.
With all these disadvantages stacked against him, Hector floundered. Not only did Elisa reclaim second place, but he was pushed down to fourth.
“God damn it…!”
His frustration boiled over.
This was all because of Simon Follentia. That bastard had thrown everything into chaos.
It was impossible not to be conscious of him. It was always like this, how could he not be aware of that guy?
“One day, I’m going to wipe that smug face of his…”
Muttering up to that point, Hector’s eyes suddenly widened.
‘?!’
For a moment, he thought it was a hallucination born of his desperation. He slowly rubbed his eyes and looked again.
It wasn’t a mirage.
There, leaning against a rock overgrown with vegetation, was a boy—Simon Follentia—checking his Tongue Pad.
“…Ah!”
Simon also spotted him belatedly, his eyes widening in shock.
“Hah.”
Hector could only laugh.
“Kuh. Kuhuhuh. Kuh!”
The world hadn’t abandoned him yet.
“Ha. Hahahahahaha!”
To think they’d run into each other here, of all places!
“Simon Follentiaaaaaa!”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
Simon scratched his temple, visibly fed up.
‘How the hell do we meet here of all places?’
It was the worst possible crisis.
His stamina and mental strength were both depleted. If Hector knocked him out now, not only would all his coins and points be stolen, but the exam would end before he could return to the test site.
In other words, expulsion.
He’d intentionally paced himself slowly to avoid exactly this kind of disaster.
Though the unexpected enemies, Raheim and the Abyssal Horror, had thrown a wrench in that plan.
“Finally.”
Hector’s lips curled into a grin that reached his ears, his body burning with volcano-like battle spirit.
“Finally, the moment of resolution has come.”
“Wait, wait, Hector!”
Simon forced a friendly smile and raised both hands.
It was too early to give up. There’s a saying that even if you enter a dragon’s lair, you can survive if you keep your wits about you.
“Just calm down and listen to what I—!”
Paahh!
The Sea Dragon scale Hector threw embedded itself in the rock behind Simon like a shuriken.
“There’s nothing to listen to.”
Hector peeled off another scale dangling from his body and held it in his hand.
But Hector’s condition didn’t look great either. His legs trembled, as if he were about to collapse.
‘Luckily, Hector’s also worn out. His condition isn’t much different from mine.’
Simon’s heart was pounding, but he tried persuasion again.
“Listen. This isn’t the right time or place for the two of us to fight!”
Hector, without a word, hurled another scale. Simon quickly ducked to dodge it.
Having thrown it with too much force, Hector stumbled from the recoil and nearly fell. Both of them were on the brink of collapse.
“There’s only about thirty minutes left!”
Simon shouted, still not giving up.
“If one of us goes down here, we won’t even get a chance to pick up coins! We’ll fail the exam and get kicked out of Keyzen!”
“That sounds great.”
This time, Hector held a scale in each hand.
As Simon desperately racked his brain for a way out, Dick’s voice suddenly echoed in his head.
“You don’t understand why Hector wants to fight you? Maybe he thinks beating you is the ultimate proof of his own strength.”
Recalling Dick’s words, Simon quickly spoke up.
“Let’s set a proper date and time! Settling things when we’re both exhausted would just leave a bad taste, right?”
“Don’t try your little tricks, Simon Follentia.”
From Hector’s body, where darkness was thought to be depleted, a surge of pitch-black energy began to rise.
“I never turn my eyes away from the fight in front of me!”
Hector charged like an enraged rhinoceros.
‘Ah, seriously!’
Simon barely managed to get to his feet and timed a sliding tackle to meet Hector’s charge.
“Guh!”
Hector leaped up and dodged.
As soon as Hector landed, Simon rushed in and threw a straight punch.
Vwoooom!
Hector leaned his torso back, and Simon’s fist sliced through the air.
A grin formed at Hector’s lips.
“Weakened, are you?”
This time, Hector clenched his fist tightly.
“You’re practically dead on your feet, Simon Follentia!”
Fwoooosh!
His massive fist swung, but Simon tilted his head to the side and dodged.
“!”
“Looks like you’re just as worn out.”
Crack!
Simon’s rising fist connected squarely with Hector’s jaw. His barrier gauge was shaved down, but even as his chin tilted up, Hector grinned.
He didn’t seem particularly hurt.
“Weak.”
Thwack!
This time, Hector countered with a hook that smashed into Simon’s face.
“Urgh!”
Simon took the hit but immediately slapped Hector’s face with his opposite hand.
Crack! Thud! Smack! Whack!
The two began trading blows.
They were both so exhausted that they didn’t even have the strength to infuse their fists with darkness. There was no defense.
A punch for a punch—when Simon’s head snapped to one side, Hector’s followed.
“Enough already!”
Bam!
Simon’s rising knee slammed into Hector’s face. Hector toppled over, kicking up dust, but bounced back up like a spring.
“Khruugh!”
Like a beast, Hector lunged, grabbed both of Simon’s shoulders, and slammed him down with a loud crack!
Mounting Simon, Hector raised his fist with a triumphant grin.
“Die.”
Wham! Whack! Whack!
His fists alternated as they hammered down on Simon’s face. The barrier flickered, rapidly draining.
“!”
Just as Hector was landing blow after blow, his balance suddenly wavered.
Simon, still pinned, planted his feet and lifted his torso abruptly, his upper body twisting and his elbow hitting the ground.
Grab!
Grab!
Simon’s hands seized Hector’s waist, and his legs wrapped around Hector’s body like a snake, flipping him over.
‘What kind of technique is this?!’
Before he knew it, Hector was on his back, and Simon had mounted him.
Wham! Whack!
The roles reversed. Now Simon was the one pounding away, and Hector was the one getting hit.
“Graaaaagh!”
After taking several punches, Hector used his raw strength and size to shove Simon off.
The fight entered a brief lull, both of them gasping for breath.
“Haa, haa!”
“Huff! Huff!”
Knees bent and breathing ragged, both slowly got to their feet. Then, without hesitation, they launched themselves at each other again.
Whoosh! Wham!
A fierce brawl unfolded. Their punches had terrible accuracy, and it was more exhausting to swing than to get hit.
Then, their gazes locked onto each other’s heads, and without prompting, both raised a leg.
Kwaaaang!
Their kicks collided midair, crossing in an X-shape.
Both boys staggered backward, then dropped to one knee, panting heavily.
‘Khh!’
As they rushed at each other once more—
“!”
Hector’s eyes widened.
“Damn it, get out of the way!!”
Simon instantly knew the desperate shout was meant for him.
He dove to the side just as a massive stone pillar slammed down where he had been, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Kugugugug―
Simon sat in a daze, stunned. Hector had barely managed to stop himself.
The rock towered taller than the combined height of both boys.
Thoom! Thoom! Thoom!
The ground trembled with each footstep. The two boys steadied themselves and rose.
As Simon sensed the presence drawing near, a chill ran down his spine.
‘This is the worst.’
For a moment, he mistook it for a monster, but the diving suit and protective gear it wore proved it was a student.
‘It’s my first time seeing them up close.’
A towering figure, well over three meters tall.
With a bulging, rounded body, gray hair and eyebrows, half-closed eyes, and beast-like fangs jutting from its mouth, it radiated the aura of a top predator that saw humans as prey.
‘Shatel Maer, Special Admission No. 3…!’
The giant’s drooping eyes opened slightly, revealing a sliver of pale sclera gleaming ominously.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters