Chapter 274
Washburn Mountain Summit, the Demon King’s Castle.
“……Failure. Huh.”
Atop a throne piled high with countless skeletons, a man with long hair and androgynous features sat with his chin resting on his hand.
[A sudden variable has occurred.]
In front of him, an undead with no discernible features or body shape—like a lump of biological dough—spoke haltingly.
[The operation’s opening phase was a complete success. Harddile, entered through the mouth of the mutant. Mutant, secured. Mutant, persistently targeted a student other than Loraine. Mutant, was completely defeated by that student.]
[That’s strange.]
A zombie dressed like a butler, standing beside the throne, replied.
[If things had gone according to plan, the mutant should have followed the Darkness trace of that Ancient Undead encountered in the Jungle of Screams. But if it chased someone other than Loraine—]
“Alaze.”
Magnus, who had been listening in silence, finally spoke.
“That guy the mutant followed, who was it?”
[Simon Follentia. Special admission student number one, brought in by the Witch of Death. Majoring in Summonology. Ranked first in the most recent BMAT exam.]
“Interesting.”
Magnus licked his lips with his tongue.
“So he’s also connected to the Witch of Death. Why would the mutant chase him?”
[You’re suggesting that the 7th Legion Commander might not be Loraine Arkbold, but Simon Follentia.]
The zombie butler responded.
[However, at the time of Talaze’s death, he was not present.]
“That does bother me. But our opponent is the cunning Witch of Death. We need to consider every possible outcome.”
Magnus closed his eyes in thought for a moment before speaking again.
“For now, keep Loraine as the highest priority target. But also start an investigation on Simon Follentia. Anything at all, no matter how trivial.”
Alaze and the zombie butler bowed their heads and began to withdraw.
“Oh, right.”
Magnus opened his mouth again.
“Is that guy talking yet? That Ancient Undead from the 7th Legion we captured last time.”
The zombie butler shook his head.
[Still silent. No matter what we try, he hasn’t said a word.]
“Hmph, a friend loyal to a legion that’s already been disbanded. Unusual for an undead.”
Magnus waved his hand casually to dismiss them.
‘……Ancient Undead.’
After his subordinates withdrew, Magnus rose from the throne and walked leisurely to the window.
The steep slopes of the mountain range spread out below.
‘I need more Ancient Undead, for my goals.’
* * *
Now, only two BMAT exams remained, the core events that defined the unified second semester.
Simon’s performance had been nothing short of stellar.
1st BMAT – 1st place.
2nd BMAT – 10th place.
3rd BMAT – 1st place.
Looking at it now, placing 10th in the second BMAT stung a little, but if he could finish in the top ranks for the 4th and 5th, he might just graduate his first year as the valedictorian.
‘Nice! Let’s not get complacent, time to work even harder!’
With some time before the 4th BMAT, students were able to relax slightly and immerse themselves in daily classes.
The first class was Defense Against Holiness.
“Today, we’ll be learning about the subjects taught in Efnelle.”
The old man in the white, sage-like martial robes, gently fanning himself with a folding fan, was none other than Farahan Imidor, professor of Defense Against Holiness.
He had once been a bishop of Efnelle and was now the president of the Anti-Holy Federation Association.
As the de facto leader of the priests who defected from the Holy Federation, his appointment had caused even greater controversy than that of Belya.
Many students harbored discomfort or dislike for the idea of a priest teaching necromancers, but no one could deny the usefulness of his class.
“Efnelle students are your greatest obstacle and adversary. Expect to face them 4 to 5 times before you graduate.”
At Farahan’s words, the students of Class A swallowed nervously.
To these young boys and girls who had just become necromancers, priests were beings of mystery and fear. That fear had only grown after the Saint incident.
“I have a question.”
At that moment, one male student raised his hand.
Sometimes, students from radical families who disapproved of Farahan would throw out questions like this to derail the lecture.
“Speak.”
But Farahan actually welcomed students who showed interest and asked questions.
“I just don’t get it. Why do we have to learn about priests’ classes?”
“I’ll explain that shortly.”
Just then, another male student stood up, without being given the floor.
“This is suspicious! Professor, which students do you think are better, those from Keyzen or Efnelle?”
A question bound to get backlash no matter how you answer.
It was, essentially, the age-old “mom or dad” question with no real winner.
“I’ve experienced both Efnelle and Keyzen.”
Farahan stroked his beard and spoke in a composed voice.
“In terms of skill, they’re neck and neck. But in terms of mental discipline, you’re no match for Efnelle’s youths.”
Murmur, murmur.
Students began whispering. The one who asked the question raised his voice, as if he’d caught something controversial.
“Professor! That statement just now…!”
Flash!
Farahan instantly pointed a finger toward the student. A stream of holiness shot out like a bullet and stopped just in front of the boy’s forehead.
“Gah!”
The student’s eyes widened in shock. For a moment, he thought the holy power had pierced his forehead.
“Just like that.”
The student stood frozen, legs trembling, mouth agape. A dark stain spread across his pants.
“Efnelle students undergo a rather inhumane, intense level of training. To them, faith and mental strength are the very source of holiness. You should go clean up.”
One of the assistants quietly escorted the student to the back of the lecture hall.
Farahan returned to the podium, gently waving his fan.
“Of course, it’s just a difference in teaching methods. In terms of flexibility, creativity, and the ability to generate variables in battle, you are far superior. Now, let’s resume.”
He walked over to the blackboard.
“Efnelle’s core curriculum consists of seven subjects.”
He picked up a piece of chalk and began writing each word carefully.
Blessing Studies
Holiness Dynamics
Divine Beastology
Healing Studies
Defensive Arts
Spiritual Studies
Holy Combat Studies
After putting down the chalk, Farahan stroked his beard and smiled.
“Looks familiar, doesn’t it?”
The students began murmuring. Jaime Victoria raised her hand high.
“Jaime Victoria! The top three subjects! They sound like ‘Curse, Darkness Dynamics, and Summonology!’”
“Well done. I’ll give you 5 points for participation.”
Jaime clenched her fist in triumph.
“Just like how you choose a major, Efnelle students also choose one of these. And when you face a priest in battle, if you observe their white magic carefully, you can figure out which subject they specialize in.”
Farahan’s gaze sharpened.
“If you know their major, you gain a wealth of information. The type of white magic they use, strengths and weaknesses, combat style, personality, attack and defense patterns—an immense amount of data, all acquired without paying a single price.”
Simon, absorbed in the lecture, found himself nodding instinctively.
“Now, do you understand,”
Farahan smiled as he set the chalk down.
“Why you must know your enemy?”
The classroom fell silent once more.
Regardless of him being a priest, no one could deny that Farahan’s class was genuinely helpful.
“Fortunately, priests rarely dig deep into necromancer strategies. The very act of learning something evil and unclean is forbidden to them, and they have an obsessive compulsion to never do anything that could shake their faith, even slightly. That’s precisely why you must study them thoroughly and dig in mercilessly. That’s how necromancers, who are at a disadvantage in compatibility, can defeat priests. In other words—”
Farahan lightly tapped the blackboard with his folding fan and added,
“Like a true necromancer.”
Simon nearly clapped. The other students were gulping hard.
“Now then, let’s go into detail on each subject.”
In truth, Simon already knew almost everything covered in Defense Against Holiness thanks to his preview studies.
Before crossing over to the Holy Federation during break, Lete had drilled the subject into him harshly so that he wouldn’t be discovered by inquisitors.
Because of that, Simon’s understanding of the Holy Federation was high, enough to fool even a seasoned inquisitor.
“Is there any student here who can explain Defensive Arts?”
Simon raised his hand and replied,
“Simon Follentia. It’s a discipline specialized in defense, deploying holy shields and barriers.”
“Well done. Name one representative barrier white magic—”
“Barrier of Praise. It’s a white magic used by priests to buy time to apply blessings. Since it operates in the unconscious domain, it can be broken using confusion-type curses.”
The assistant professors of Defense Against Holiness were clicking their tongues in disbelief. Their expressions screamed, ‘What is this kid?’
Farahan let out a hearty laugh.
“Well done—no, excellent. You get 10 points for participation.”
“Thank you!”
For Simon, Defense Against Holiness was basically a free points dispenser.
Maelyn, sitting beside him, nudged his elbow and whispered,
“Hey, who even are you? When did you manage to study Defense Against Holiness?”
Seeing the envy on her face, Simon grinned.
“I’ve got my ways.”
“Ugh, not fair! Tell me too!”
After the theory class, they moved straight to training.
Today’s focus was on accepting holiness into the body. The goal was to overcome fear of holiness and learn how to expel it using Darkness.
“Aaaargh!”
“Gah! Gahhh!”
The students’ reactions were even more intense than when drinking poison in Toxicology class.
Even injecting a trace amount of holiness into their bodies caused some students to scream like they were losing their minds.
‘Focus, focus.’
Simon was tense for a different reason.
“If you really can’t handle it, just say so.”
The assistant standing before Simon grabbed his arm and began channeling holiness into him. The assistant, too, was a former priest.
“Hngh!”
Simon’s face turned pale.
“A-Are you okay?”
“……Ah, yes. For now.”
Though his voice came out frayed and pained, Simon was actually experiencing a different emotion, something close to doubt or embarrassment.
‘Feels like I’m only getting better at acting.’
First, he had to act like holiness hurt him. Second, he had to be on guard not to accidentally use holiness himself.
Sometimes during class, he’d get so immersed that holy light would suddenly burst out from his hands. It had happened once or twice before, but thankfully, he hadn’t been caught. Ever since then, he’d been extra cautious.
“Heheh, wait a moment.”
Just then, Farahan approached.
“I’ll take over this student personally.”
“Ah, yes, Professor.”
The assistant stepped back, and Farahan took Simon’s hand, channeling holiness into him.
Simon furrowed his brow.
“You okay? In the end, holiness and darkness share the same root. Try expelling it with Darkness.”
“Yes!”
Simon easily summoned Darkness and suppressed the holiness that had entered his body.
“Hmm. Well done.”
He faked failing once, then succeeded on the second try. Farahan nodded in satisfaction and sent Simon back to his seat.
‘Did I succeed too quickly?’
Simon stared down at his hand, then shook his head and returned to his seat.
Thus, another session of Defense Against Holiness came to an end.
“Today’s lunch special is steak! Run for it!”
Dick shouted, stuffing his textbook into his waistband.
Maelyn and Kamibarez got ready, and Simon stood up as well—
“Simon.”
Suddenly, an assistant professor of Defense Against Holiness called out to him.
“Professor Farahan would like to see you for a moment.”
“Huh?”
Farahan could be seen in the distance, gently fanning himself and waiting.
“Go ahead without me, guys.”
Simon said. Dick looked surprised.
“Whoa, what? Is this a personal disciple offer?”
“There you go again, running your mouth without thinking. Required subjects don’t even have direct disciples.”
As Dick and Maelyn argued, Simon quickly walked over to Farahan.
“Let’s go to my office.”
“Ah, yes.”
Farahan’s office was in the building just upstairs.
The two of them entered a room with neat white wallpaper and sat across from each other on a sofa.
“Would you like some tea?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Farahan nodded and opened his fan with a snap.
At that signal, the curtains fell with a shhhhk, the lights turned off, and heavy darkness descended. Simultaneously, holy magic circles activated and began to glow.
“P-Professor?”
“Don’t be alarmed. This is just a simple mechanism to block external sound and vision. Now then, I have just one question.”
Stroking his beard, Farahan’s expression turned extremely serious.
“Can you use holiness?”
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters