Chapter 374
Thud! Thud!
Shatel approached Simon, exuding a menacing aura. Each step reverberated with heavy tremors.
“Herseba.”
Simon, stepping backward, spoke to Herseba.
“That’s all we’ve got left now.”
[You mean the third-stage Authority, kid?]
Simon nodded and raised his staff. A brilliant golden robe now enveloped his entire body.
“I’ll correct myself, Shatel.”
“?”
Shatel looked at Simon with a questioning gaze.
“It’s not just a bad matchup—”
Holding his staff upright before his chest like a sword, Simon declared,
“It’s overwhelmingly bad.”
Swoooooosh—!
Simon swung his staff. Every time it cut through the air, golden sand spilled out and whirled around the surroundings.
Shatel narrowed his eyes and stretched out his right arm.
Rrrumble!
RRRRRRRRRUMBLE!
The ground responded to his gesture.
From the edge of the arena, the earth shot up vertically and surged toward the center like a massive tidal wave.
“Can’t dodge. This.”
The tidal wave of earth approached from all directions, yet Simon remained unbothered. As if performing a sacred ritual, he busied himself swinging his staff in the air.
Swoooosh—!
The amount of golden sand emitted from his staff increased, blanketing the area in a hazy fog.
Just in case, Shatel strengthened the Dark Veil cloaking his body, but the sand had no offensive power. It merely drifted on the wind.
“Here we go.”
Simon’s entire body soon disappeared into the sand, and Shatel’s vision too was consumed by it.
<Herseba Original – World of Sand>
Shatel’s field of view was drowned in utter blackness.
The moment he frantically brushed away the sand and opened his eyes—
“......!”
He had fallen into the middle of a barren desert, with nothing but sand in all directions.
Wheeeeeew—
Hot winds blew across the desolate desert in vain.
And standing a short distance away was Simon. His golden robe and staff were gone.
“Where. Is this?”
With a triumphant smile, Simon replied,
“Dungeon.”
Herseba’s final, third-stage Authority.
It was a skill that dragged the opponent into a dungeon of her creation.
A low mutter escaped Shatel’s mouth.
“To create a dungeon... impossible......!”
[You’re free to think so~]
Herseba’s voice echoed throughout the entire area.
Shatel looked up. In the sky, void of even a single cloud above the golden desert, two massive eyes had appeared.
[If you don’t catch on quick, you’ll die, you know?]
Herseba’s eyes looked down upon Shatel.
* * *
Murmur, murmur!
“What just happened?”
The arena had suddenly shot up into the air. The abrupt event plunged the spectators into chaos.
“I can’t tell who’s winning!”
“Shouldn’t the organizers do something?!”
Reactions burst forth from the crowd—some shocked, others simply curious about the match.
At that moment, the judge spoke into an amplification crystal.
—We apologize for the inconvenience. We’ve just launched an observer into the sky.
The central mana screen switched to the view provided by the observer.
At last, the view of the arena became visible, but—
“Th-They disappeared?!”
There was no one in the arena.
No trace left. Not even residual Darkness could be felt. Even the barrier gauges of the two students on screen now read “Connection Lost”.
“Th-Then......”
“How are they going to determine the winner?”
As the audience buzzed in confusion, the judge himself was equally flustered. For the first time in five years, he opened the rulebook he’d only seen during qualification exams.
—Th-The arena is technically still afloat, so the 'Out of Bounds' rule doesn’t apply, but since both students disappeared mid-match, it would mean......
“Hold it.”
A sudden voice cut in, causing the judge to stiffen and turn around. Who dared override the judge’s authority and give orders...?
“V-Vice-chancellor?!”
It was someone who had the right to give orders.
The judge immediately bowed low. But the voice hadn’t come from her, it came from beneath her.
A girl licking an ice cream cone, holding Jane’s hand.
“Gasp! L-Lady Neftis!”
“Shh.”
The silver-haired girl winked and gestured for silence. The judge clamped his mouth shut like a man cursed with silence, sweat pouring down his body.
‘W-Why is she here?!’
He looked up at Jane, seeking an answer, but she only shook her head.
“Want some ice cream?”
Neftis beamed as she offered her saliva-covered ice cream.
It seemed she had used distortion magic, as Neftis was invisible to the audience.
The judge trembled as he politely declined.
“Even if you ask, I wouldn’t share!”
Then she cheerfully popped the ice cream into her own mouth. Jane pressed a hand to Neftis’ head, looking down at her in dismay.
“Enough with the jokes. Would you please explain?”
“Hm? Explain what?”
“We need to understand what’s happening so the judge can make a decision.”
“Ah~”
Neftis giggled.
“They just moved the battlefield to another space. They’ll be back soon.”
“......What?”
“Jus’ wait, jus’ wait~”
And with that, Neftis devoured the last of the ice cream inside the cone.
* * *
‘...What is this.’
Shatel thought he was witnessing the most unbelievable sight of his life.
[Bit desolate for a dungeon, huh? Let’s spruce it up a bit!]
“Don’t overdo it, Herseba.”
Centered around Simon, countless structures began to rise from the barren desert.
It was nothing like what had occurred in the arena earlier in terms of size or scale.
Rrrrummmmble!
[Kekekekeke!]
A massive temple, towering obelisks, gardens, statues, and forests of skyscrapers.
As if painting on a blank canvas, a city was born upon the empty desert of golden sand.
‘......’
At this rate, the growing golden city would smother him.
Shatel activated his strongest black magic, Domain Domination. A black ink-like aura rippled beneath his feet, forming a pond-sized area.
That was the limit of his territory.
Even with Domain Domination, which granted sovereignty over the land, this was all he could claim.
[Oh ho? What do we have here.]
Herseba’s mocking voice rang out.
[You pay rent, you face the consequences, right?]
Clatter! Clatter!
Doors to countless structures flung open, revealing the inhabitants of this golden city—mummies.
—Gyagyagyagyak!
Simon’s maximum number of sustained mummies in the arena had been 51.
But here, the number was at least—
Gyagyagyagyagyagyak!
Gyagyagyagyak!
Gyagyagyagyak!
Gyagyagyagyak!
Gyagyagyagyak!
Over 5,000.
‘Wait, Herseba.’
[Hm?]
‘Didn’t you say the third Authority doesn’t last very long?’
[Yeah, that’s right.]
He had overwhelming forces, but no time to spare.
Simon stepped directly toward Shatel’s limited domain, now just the size of a pond.
‘Shatel has only one tactic left, he’ll go for me directly.’
Both sides wanted a swift conclusion.
Simon closed his eyes. Herseba’s body had vanished the moment the dungeon opened, but her thoughts were still connected to his.
No, it was more than just a connection. It felt like the entire world was in his hand.
“All units.”
Simon raised his arm, and the countless mummies halted, awaiting orders.
“Advance!”
Rrrruuuuumble!
An uncountable army of mummies marched forward, kicking up sand and dust. Simon charged in alongside them.
The mummies came in all forms—quadrupedal, those wielding spears and weapons wrapped in bandages, mummies on horseback, and even giant mummies wearing masks.
And in front of this massive army, Shatel’s eyes were fixed solely on Simon. He clenched his fists.
Swoooosh!
Black sand, loyal to Shatel, wrapped around his body. The sand armor repeatedly shifted into sharp spikes and then reverted, generating continuous, moving thorns.
Soon, clad in the sand armor, Shatel stretched his knees and leapt.
Boom!
One bound was all it took to reach Simon. Simon retreated, and countless mummies surged forward in front of him.
Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!
A fierce clash followed.
Mummies that touched Shatel bit him with sharp teeth and tried to bind him in bandages, but the sand armor he wore sprouted endless thorns.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
Like bundles of paper shredded in front of a cutting machine, mummy corpses piled up wherever Shatel passed. The giant tore through the forest of mummies and finally arrived before Simon.
Vwoooooom!
A single strike, powerful enough to bring Simon’s barrier gauge to zero, was hurled with monstrous strength. Simon twisted his waist in a sliding motion to dodge and placed strength in his left foot.
‘Open Gate!’
Six Overlord blades branched out in different directions and sliced across Shatel’s body, leaving wounds in their wake.
“Grrk!”
Shatel tried to punch again, but—
Thud!
As if crushed by a tremendous weight, his right knee hit the ground. Mummies had swarmed up behind him without him noticing.
“Now!”
As Simon stretched out his arm, the mummy cavalry hurled their spears.
Spears wrapped in bandages flew through the air and battered Shatel’s abdomen one after another. Several pierced through the Dark Veil and struck the barrier, emitting dull thuds.
Shatel violently shook off the mummies on his back and charged again. Simon didn’t confront him directly but continued to attack solely using mummies.
[Kid! Forget the little ones, summon a big one!]
‘How?’
[Don’t pretend you don’t know. Haven’t you already been picturing the buildings in your mind?]
It was true.
From the moment he entered this space, architectural blueprints had eerily come to mind via thought projection.
[Go on, build it. You’ve got clearance too.]
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
Shatel, like a demon, marched forward with mummies clinging to his body.
Simon plunged both hands into the sand with a loud thump! Then, as if lifting a buried boulder, he pulled upward with force.
Rrrrrrrrrumble!
In front of Simon, a square pyramid-shaped brick structure rose. Its size rivaled the high-rises of Pentamonium.
Boom!
Soon, the entrance opened, and out burst a masked mummy monster, 10 meters in length. Both hands ended in hooked claws.
Crash!
When the mummy giant kicked Shatel, not only him but the surrounding mummies were blown away by the shockwave.
“!!”
Staggering backward, Shatel gathered Darkness and countered with a punch. The dark shockwave struck the mummy in the head, knocking it backward as clouds of sand dust exploded around.
Despite being dragged into this world, Shatel was putting up a tenacious fight.
‘No wonder he’s half-giant.’
Even without using Darkness, his physical prowess alone was top-tier in Keyzen.
With explosive punches and by slicing off the mummies clinging to his body, he sent dozens of them flying at once.
If it had been a pure head-on fight without Herseba, victory might not have been assured.
But Simon had no intention of backing down either. He was already creating the next structure.
“Come forth.”
As Simon raised his arm, a long, elongated tomb structure emerged from the ground.
Crack!
The lid shattered, and a ‘dragon’ completely wrapped in bandages shot into the air.
‘A mummy-shaped dragon!’
KAAAAAAHHH!
It even unleashed Dragon Fear. Shatel’s expression stiffened, but he didn’t stop walking.
“Let’s go!”
Simon leapt onto the mummy dragon’s back and charged at Shatel. Exhausted beyond belief, Shatel drooled as his eyes glazed over, loading Darkness into his fists.
Just as the two giants were about to collide—
Crack!
The world fractured like glass.
Craaaaack!
Cra-cra-cra-crack!
BOOM—!
The world shattered to pieces, and the surrounding environment around Simon and Shatel changed entirely.
“Guh!”
“Ugh!”
The two boys staggered and collapsed to the floor.
“Ah......!”
Before they knew it, the two had returned to the floating arena. But since Shatel had been absent longer, the arena was in the midst of collapse.
Kaboom!
At last, the ground crumbled completely.
Rrrruuuumble!
Along with the countless stone fragments falling like rain, Simon and Shatel were also transported back inside the 1st Indoor Arena.
“Look! It’s them!”
“They’re back!!”
WAAAAAAAH—!
Despite the evacuation efforts by staff, many students had remained to witness the climax of this epic match.
Dick, Kamibarez, and Benya cheered wildly, and Elisa, who had been hesitating about running away, quickly sat back down and pretended nothing had happened, shouting Shatel’s name.
“What on earth happened in there?”
Dick muttered in a dazed voice.
The appearance of the two who vanished from the arena and returned was strikingly different.
“Huff! Huff! Hufff!”
Shatel lay face-down on the ground, breathing heavily like a dying man. His pupils trembled as if still unable to process what had occurred in that other world.
“Hah.”
In contrast, Simon calmly straightened his clothes with a composed expression. In his hand, Herseba had returned.
[Simon Follentia: 98%]
[Shatel Maer: 7%]
An overwhelming difference.
It was such a drastic gap that it could be believed this had been a match between a top-tier squad student and a lower-tier one, but his opponent was none other than Shatel Maer.
“Give it up, Shatel. It’s over.”
“......You’re boasting too much.”
Shatel supported his heavy body with trembling legs and stood.
“If you used a skill like that, there’s no way you’d come out unscathed.”
A reasonable suspicion.
However—
“Nope.”
Simon shrugged with a calm face.
“I’m totally fine.”
As he completed the magic circle attached to his belt, Simon pulled out a golem core.
Recognizing the technique, Shatel’s pupils quaked.
“Sorry, but—”
A brilliant teal flash passed through the golem core and soared into the air, then settled into the bodies of dozens of skeletons Simon had summoned.
“You’ll have to fight me ‘from now on’.”
Flutter! Flutter!
Twenty-four skeletons, their emerald capes fluttering, rose and stood around Simon.
To use such a decisive-grade black magic after building a world like that, just to force a surrender.
<Simon Follentia Original – Royal Guard>
It was excessive.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters