Chapter 272
Simon instinctively realized that the worst-case scenario had arrived.
Special Admission No. 3, known to have surpassed the level of a mere student, rivaling Loraine and Serne, and said to possess combat ability equal to theirs.
The pride of Keyzen, of the greatest bloodline, a giant-blooded hybrid, Shatel Maer, had entered the fray.
‘Will persuasion work?’
Thinking it couldn’t hurt to try, Simon opened his mouth.
“Uh…”
Before the words even left his lips, Shatel’s massive form, which had been in front of him, appeared behind Simon.
As the punch was thrown, Simon felt as though a meteor had crashed down right before his eyes.
SMAAACK!
Simon’s body was brutally smashed to the side. Even though he’d raised both arms to guard his chest, the guard was instantly broken, and he was flung dozens of meters away. His barrier gauge plummeted rapidly.
“You bastard!”
Shatel’s gaze shifted sideways. Hector had leapt into the air, face twisted into a vicious snarl.
“I’m his opponent!”
Thump!
His rough kick was gently blocked by Shatel’s palm.
The soft sensation of his palm seemed to not only absorb the impact, but even suck it in. Hector snapped back to awareness and rolled his eyes, Shatel’s opposite fist was already coming at him.
CRAAACK!
Hector’s body slammed into the ground, forming a massive crater.
“Guhk!”
Even the protective suit couldn’t stop the immense shock, and blood spurted from Hector’s mouth.
Meanwhile, Simon, gasping for breath, was rising to his feet.
‘That thing’s supposed to be a teenager like us?’
It felt like they were simply on different starting lines.
Like a race among three-year-olds, and suddenly an adult shows up saying “I’m three too”, and lines up at the start.
‘Same breed as Kajan. Just born different.’
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Shatel was approaching Simon, aiming for the first-place points.
Fortunately, this was still an exam, meaning there was some method to attack him strategically.
Click! Click!
Simon’s fingers moved deftly. The remains of skeletons spilled from subspace and floated gently into the air.
<Bone Nail>
As the bone fragments shot out in a pure-white trajectory, Shatel waved his arm through the air like swatting a fly.
The gust alone blew all the fragments away.
‘He’s still paying attention to my attacks.’
Though he had the strongest defense, right now he was wearing a protective suit, and his life was tied to the barrier gauge.
If the gauge hit zero, even someone like Shatel would be expelled.
Keyzen was inflexible about such things.
‘Let’s just keep poking him.’
Click. Click.
The bones that had been blown away to a rock were lifted back into the air and continued flying at Shatel.
Though he blocked them with sweeping arms, a few still peppered his barrier, like raindrops soaking clothes.
Shatel scowled and stomped the ground.
Thud!
Simon felt a chilling sensation.
The surrounding terrain was suddenly dyed in pitch-black darkness, as though he had stepped into a world painted in ink.
<Domain Reversal>
‘What kind of black magic is this?’
Simon stared ahead, tense, as Shatel placed both hands on the ground, then lifted them violently.
“!”
Suddenly, a shadow loomed over Simon.
He looked up, a massive slab of rock was falling straight down. The ground where Shatel had just touched was now roughly torn open.
BOOOOOM—!!
He narrowly dodged it by leaping backward.
This time, Shatel raised his stubby fingers upward, and the ground bulged like a rising tectonic plate.
When he smashed it with his fist — bang! — the debris didn’t scatter randomly but flew straight at Simon.
Bang! Boom! Boom!
A downpour of falling rock bombarded the area, turning everything to ruin. Simon darted through the darkness frantically.
‘His size, his black magic, it’s all just overwhelming.’
Shatel once again touched the ground. Simon caught the angle of his arms and wrists, and using the darkened ground, leapt to his highest altitude.
SHHHHAAA—!
Shatel swung his arms upward. The terrain rose along his motion, forming a giant mountain range.
‘He can make mountains now?!’
Simon landed, tumbling along the ground.
Shatel punched one edge of the artificial mountain — BOOM! — and the entire mountain turned to rock fragments, flying at Simon.
KRAK! BOOM! BOOM!
Simon barely dodged, panting hard. Just a few grazes had nearly drained his barrier gauge.
If he had more stamina or darkness to spare, he might’ve tried something, but in this state, he had no chance of beating him.
‘A place his black magic can’t reach!’
Simon ran toward the ocean.
CRAAASH!
Suddenly, a massive rock wall fell into his path. He stopped abruptly and turned.
‘Danger…!’
But no follow-up attack came. Behind him, Hector was now hurling the Dragon of the Beginning’s scales like shuriken.
“I said, he’s my opponent!”
Shatel raised a rock to block the attack. Simon didn’t know what Hector was doing exactly, but it was his chance.
Simon dove into the ocean with a splash and opened his subspace.
‘Sorry, but just one more time, Deimos!’
From subspace, the skeletal Deimos emerged, carrying Simon and beginning to move.
Shatel, having deflected Hector’s attacks, approached, but Simon had already fled into the sea.
Boom!
Shatel stomped again.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three more stomps followed.
The entire island turned pitch-black. Not just the ground — trees, grass, everything turned like a sumi-e painting.
With creaking sounds, the ground split, and the soil and rock composing the island all floated into the air.
RUMBLEEEEE!
He crushed and shattered the island into rocks, lifting it into the sky. The entire island became Shatel’s bullet.
‘Deimos, Current Cannon.’
Simon didn’t back down. Squeezing out its last bit of strength, Deimos opened its mouth wide, swirling with darkness and magic.
‘Fire first!’
KRAAAAAA-BOOM!
With a thunderous roar, Deimos’ Current Cannon shot out. At the same time, from the sky, Hector, with the wings of the Dragon, unleashed his breath attack.
Two massive blasts from sea and sky met at Shatel’s location, and erupted into a tremendous explosion.
RRRRUUUMMMBBBLLEE!!!
They had truly squeezed out the last of their strength. Simon and Hector, the two boys, were gasping for air, faces nearly drained from exhaustion.
Soon, through the hazy smoke, Shatel could be seen hiding behind a rock wall. Just as he was about to resume his attack—
BEEEEEEP!
[All exams are over! Reminding you again! All exams are over! Students, please immediately cease combat and wait for teleportation.]
[Points will not increase or decrease from this point on. Please stop fighting and wait in a safe place.]
As the test ended, Shatel also halted his offensive. When he released his black magic, the massive chunks of floating rock returned to the ground.
Haaaa.
Simon let out a sigh of relief.
He had somehow survived.
Meanwhile, Hector, still floating in midair, clutched his head with a frustrated expression.
‘I really thought we’d finally settle it this time! And once again, someone gets in the way! Ruined agaaaaain!’
“……”
Shatel, saying nothing, turned his back and strode away.
* * *
Once the exam ended, students who had been out at sea began arriving one by one at the teleportation magic circle within the Keyzen campus.
Those who were injured and needed treatment were taken straight to the infirmary.
Having just completed a major exam, the students were all chattering nonstop in a frenzy.
Some students were disappointed by their scores, but for the most part, the atmosphere was bright, they had survived a major trial without being eliminated.
Simon, now returned to Keyzen, let out a breath while draping a towel given to him by a servant.
“Simon—!”
Just then, Kamibarez’s voice rang out. Turning around, he saw her rushing over, face full of emotion.
“Kami! You’re safe!”
The two reunited with bright smiles. The tiny wings on her back fluttered happily.
“I’m so glad! We both made it through another test!”
“Yeah, good job.”
She looked tired, but her expression was brighter than anyone’s. Simon asked,
“Did you happen to run into Maelyn or Dick during the exam?”
“No, I didn’t. We must’ve been far apart.”
The two of them chatted and exchanged information about the exam with cheerful smiles.
Checking the rankings, Maelyn had achieved 10th place overall, once again rising into the top tier.
Kamibarez was in 205th.
Though her rank dropped slightly due to the ocean terrain, it was still a stable high-tier performance.
And Dick, this time, had placed in the mid-to-high 400s, a bit better than usual.
He’d apparently used his own inventions, the Discharge Suit and Electric Emitter, to easily shock and catch monsters.
Just then, a teaching assistant came running in.
“Attention! Please pay attention! The following top-ranking students must proceed to the Keyzen campus for interviews!”
Several names were called, and among them, of course, was Simon’s.
“I’ll be back, Kami.”
“Yes, go ahead! I’ll watch your interview on the screen!”
Following the assistant’s guidance, Simon stepped into the teleportation magic circle and disappeared.
When the scenery changed and he opened his eyes, Simon was standing on the stage in front of Keyzen’s main entrance. Screens were displayed all around, showing the examination arena, and below them were countless spectators.
“WAAAAAAAHHHH!”
A thunderous roar of cheers erupted.
Looking around, Simon saw a massive crowd standing and giving him a standing ovation. He could hear people calling out the names of students from every direction.
“Simon! Simon!”
Among them, he even heard chants for himself.
Smiling, Simon waved in that direction.
“…What the hell did you do?”
Just then, a small girl’s voice came from beside him.
Wearing a navy uniform draped over a diving suit, Special Admission No. 7, and the one who had achieved 2nd place overall, it was the captain of the Ghost Ships, Elisa.
“How the hell did you get 200,000 points?”
Elisa, who had been absolutely confident in her ability in underwater combat, was stunned.
Simon smiled.
“Got lucky and took down a Abyssal Horror.”
“…W-What? Abyssal Horror? That colossal monster?”
Suddenly, Simon felt a burning sensation on the back of his head. Sensing a menacing gaze, he turned his head.
‘Ugh.’
Hector was on stage too.
“Did you enjoy the show, everyone?!”
At that moment, the event host appeared, holding an amplifying crystal, both arms raised high.
Next to him stood this round’s commentator, Jane.
The students bowed their heads slightly, and she gave a polite nod in return.
“Let’s give a big round of applause and support to the heroes of this exam, who will one day bear the future of the Dark Alliance!”
The sound of clapping and the flash of magic cameras erupted from all directions.
The students quickly composed themselves and looked forward.
“Now, let’s reveal the Top 5 rankings!”
The screen displayed the rankings in order.
5th – Hector: 9,500 Points
4th – Raheim: 11,200 Points
3rd – Jule: 11,600 Points
2nd – Elisa: 18,650 Points
1st – Simon: 223,500 Points
There was no question about who the strongest student of this BMAT was. Of course, the gap between 1st and 2nd place was overwhelming.
“Now, let’s meet today’s ultimate hero of heroes! The student who broke through the limits of Summonology and became, without a doubt, the top underwater combat specialist of Keyzen’s first year!”
The host extended his hand.
“Let’s welcome Simon Follentia!”
Taking a deep breath, Simon stepped forward before the countless spectators.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters
Very good story and translation but half the chapter aren't for free and it is wayyyy too expensive will it stat like tjis foreve or will it get free after some time