Chapter 370
A duel evaluation where you can directly choose your opponent, the designated duel system.
To Hector, this wasn’t something he could just ignore.
“Wh-what the! When did you get here?”
Startled, Dick quickly backed away.
Hector was glaring down at him with fierce eyes.
“Speak, worm. Is that information reliable?”
“So what if it is? What’re you gonna do about it?”
At that moment, Maelyn stepped forward with a determined look in her eyes.
“If it’s a designated duel system, it’s inevitable that you’ll pick Simon, but Simon is free to pick whoever he wants.”
“Th-that’s right!”
Kamibarez also gathered her courage and nodded her head vigorously.
“Hector! You were here?”
“What are you talking about?”
Rumble!
Not to be outdone, Hector’s faction—who had been scattered around—rushed over.
Just as they were about to back him up—
“Stop, this is a personal matter.”
Surprisingly, Hector raised his arm and held them back.
“It’s fine.”
Simon also stepped forward, pushing his teammates aside.
Soon, the two stood face-to-face.
“......”
The surrounding students swallowed nervously. Whenever these two shared the spotlight, the atmosphere always turned tense and electrified.
Just as Hector was about to say something—
“Alright, I understand.”
Stillness.
Everyone froze at Simon’s words.
“If what Dick said is true, and this duel evaluation uses a designated format, you plan to designate me, right?”
Hector answered coldly.
“Of course.”
“Good. When it’s my turn, I’ll designate you too.”
Hector’s eyes widened. Dick, Maelyn, and Kamibarez also turned to Simon in shock at the unexpected turn of events.
‘Yeah, having a go at Hector here and now wouldn’t be so bad.’
Simon had long known Hector was itching to settle the score with him.
Up until now, he had avoided him, finding Hector burdensome. He was reckless enough to start a fight in the middle of Langerstine City, and when he picked fights, others often got caught in the crossfire. So Simon had generally avoided engaging with him altogether.
But this time…
‘I need to test Herseba.’
Before the promotion exams, Simon had acquired a new supernatural ability—Herseba. He needed to see if he could actually use it in live combat.
It wouldn’t do to test it on a weak opponent. And Hector, who exceeded even the level of most special-admission students, seemed like a perfect candidate to draw out Herseba’s full power.
Hector, looking somewhat surprised, stared Simon down. Then Simon smiled and extended his hand.
“I hope this duel will benefit us both. Looking forward to it, Hector.”
“......”
Hector didn’t shake his hand.
He kept his mouth shut and stared deeply into Simon’s eyes, as if trying to read his intentions.
At last—
“...Arrogant bastard.”
Baring his teeth, Hector finally revealed his true feelings.
“You were planning to use me as your lab rat, weren’t you?”
“!”
Simon flinched, as though his true thoughts had been exposed. Meanwhile, Dick leaned back with a smirk, propping his arm behind his head.
“Well, what now? Whether you accept it or not, you’re pissed either way~”
“Of course I’ll accept the duel. But you seem to be taking this a little lightly.”
A chilling gleam flashed in Hector’s eyes.
“I’ll make sure it’s a difficult, painful fight for you. And in the end, I’ll crush you under the weight of utter helplessness and despair.”
Whoosh!
Leaving those words behind, Hector turned away with a dramatic sweep of his uniform. His faction quickly followed.
The tense atmosphere dissipated, and Simon let out a long sigh.
“What’s his problem?”
Maelyn said, clearly exasperated.
“The whole point of this evaluation is to test your new abilities against fellow classmates, isn’t it? What does he even think this evaluation is for?”
Simon scratched the side of his head and squinted one eye.
“...This time, I feel like Hector got me.”
“What?”
“This duel evaluation. I really need to prepare for it. I’m heading out.”
Simon grabbed his bag and left. The remaining three exchanged confused glances.
“Are all boys like that?”
Maelyn asked with a puzzled expression.
“Not all of them.”
Dick shrugged.
“By the way, Dick! If the duel evaluation really is a designated system, how exactly does the designation process work?”
Kamibarez asked curiously. Dick shook his head.
“No idea.”
“Whaaat?!”
Maelyn raised her voice.
“You just said it was a designated system!”
“I said it might be. That’s just what I heard.”
“You idiot! You stirred them all up and now you’ve got no plan for the aftermath?”
Dick shoved his hands in his pockets and chuckled.
“Ehh~ When have I ever cared about stuff like that? What’s more important is the order. I wonder how that’ll be decided?”
* * *
That question didn’t remain unanswered for long.
The very next day, during the Shamime Festival.
The entire first-year student body, the largest group in the school, had gathered in the grand auditorium.
While the students enjoyed a lavish banquet in their stylish tuxedos and dresses, the host made a shocking announcement.
“Tomorrow’s duel evaluation will begin with a designated system! And the order will be based on the latest afterschool BMAT rankings!”
Students who hadn’t heard anything beforehand began murmuring in confusion.
“What?”
“They’re holding the duel evaluation all of a sudden?”
“I thought tonight was the ball!”
Amidst the chaos, Dick—already in the know—held back laughter, while Maelyn sighed in frustration, annoyed she’d gone all out on her dress for nothing.
“Pwahahaha! Ah, ah! I apologize for laughing! I totally understand how you all feel! I’ve been through the same thing for three years!”
Today’s host was a third-year student named Darell. Holding an amplified crystal mic, he began roasting the system mercilessly.
“Keyzen are seriously twisted. Throwing a duel evaluation into the Shamime Festival is practically tradition for them! Coming in to pick a dance partner and ending up picking a duel opponent—what a mood swing! Trust me, once you’re in second year, it gets even worse! And can I say this? I’m about to graduate, so what do I have to be afraid of? Hahaha!”
“Darell.”
The host, Darell, flinched and turned around.
Sitting in her chair, Jane was glaring at him with a deadly look.
“That’s a warning.”
At her cold tone, Darell quickly turned his head back around.
“Ha! Haha! B-but there's no doubt that Keyzen is a great school and produces excellent necromancers every year! Absolutely!”
Darell, sweating profusely, held up his cue cards.
“When they say jump, you jump. Now, let’s begin the designated duel evaluation! The previous test scores were... let’s seeee.”
With a broad grin, Darell looked back at the underclassmen.
“Joint first place, Simon Follentia, and Shatel Maer. Step forward.”
As the students murmured, the two boys with the top afterschool BMAT scores rose from their seats and walked toward the podium in the auditorium.
“Hmph.”
Watching this, Hector crossed his arms with a satisfied expression.
Both Simon and he had agreed to choose each other.
If the designation order went top-down based on the last test, then there were no variables to worry about.
“Yesterday really was something~”
One of the girls from Hector’s faction chuckled, recalling the previous day.
—Elisa Celine!! Give up on your duel with Simon Follentia!
—Kyaaaaa! Oh my god!
“Seriously, a guy barging into the girls' dorm like that?”
“Shut it.”
“Yessir~”
At Hector’s sharp rebuke, her mouth closed instantly, though her teasing smile remained.
Soon, the other faction students began snickering as well, prompting Hector to close his eyes and explain like a teacher.
“Elisa Celine had a grudge against Simon Follentia.”
In other words, there was a risk she might’ve picked Simon during the designated duel evaluation.
“Wow, so you went around finding everyone who might pick Simon Follentia and pressured them?”
“Hector’s secretly kinda cute, isn’t he.”
“Shut up.”
Laughter burst from the faction students. Regardless, Hector kept his arms crossed, watching Simon ascend the stage with the most serious expression of all.
“This is so entertaining since it’s not my problem! Designated duels really let you see the flow of personal relationships!”
Grinning, Darell turned to the first-year students.
“In this rule, you must pick someone from your own ranking squad. You get to see who’s watching who, who’s holding grudges against who—it all comes out. Fascinating, isn’t it, underclassmen!”
The first-years, intimidated by the mighty voice of a third-year, straightened up and responded loudly.
“Yes, senior!”
Darell, ever the theatrical type, cupped a hand to his ear and shouted,
“Oh, that’s too quiet!”
“Yeeees!!!”
“Oh, do we not have any girls at Keyzen?! This time, only the girls!!”
“Yeeees~!”
“Good, good!”
“Darell.”
Finally, Jane, still seated, spoke again. Darell trembled as if struck by lightning and turned around.
Jane was beckoning with a curled finger.
“P-professor Jane! I’ll be completely serious now, I swear!”
“Come here.”
Darell trudged over with the look of a man on death row. Standing stiffly at attention before her, he braced himself.
“Do you not want to graduate?”
“N-no, ma’am!”
“You think once you’re a pro necromancer you won’t have to see me again?”
“No, ma’am!”
“I’ll personally check every single line of the graduation thesis you submitted.”
“Please, professor! Have mercy!”
A brief moment passed where Jane lovingly “disciplined” her student.
Though Darell was a third-year said to be strong enough to chew up most active necromancers, even among them, vice-chancellor Jane was someone on another level entirely.
At last, a thoroughly deflated Darell trudged back to the stage.
“S-sorry. Let’s start again.”
He gave a brief explanation of the rules.
Based on the recent afterschool BMAT rankings, students would take turns in order, each choosing someone from their own squad as their duel opponent.
In cases of tied scores and rankings, the detailed evaluation indicators from the BMAT would be referenced.
“Currently, Simon and Shatel are tied for first place.”
Receiving a set of papers from an assistant, Darell spread them out with a flourish.
“So, we’ll decide the order based on the total of the sub-indicators!”
Simon had carried his squad in major themes like siege battles and summoned creature defense, but in “Curses Written Test”, he had help from Maelyn, and in “Spiritology Theme”, he was assisted one-sidedly by Cindy Vivace.
In contrast, Shatel had completed every test entirely on his own, from start to finish. Though not reflected in the final grades, the sub-evaluation favored Shatel.
“Right, there you have it! So our half-giant, Shatel Maer, will go first! Who, oh who, will he choose?”
An assistant offered Shatel a list of students in higher squads, but he raised a hand, declining it.
“Well then, Shatel, who will you designate…!”
Darell’s voice abruptly stopped.
The murmuring crowd fell silent in an instant.
“......!”
Even Simon’s pupils quivered.
An unexpected situation.
Shatel’s large, thick finger was pointing—at Simon himself.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters