Chapter 476
The Skeleton Knight was a far more difficult task than expected.
There were especially many details to pay attention to. Unlike a regular skeleton, where you simply snapped the bones together like a puzzle, this required consideration of armor as well.
Some parts were just bones that you had to put armor on afterward, while others came fused with armor and bones as a single part. Confuse the order even once, and you’d end up with a disaster.
“Ugh, this really isn’t easy.”
One had to fully understand the structure of the armor and the sequence of connections before assembling the bones.
When Simon glanced around, quite a few students were raising their hands for help. The teaching assistants of Summonology were, once again, running ragged until their mouths were dry.
“Don’t overthink it.”
Aron’s voice rang out.
“In the end, armor is just another part. Don’t get lost in the details, keep the big picture in mind and fit the pieces step by step.”
Simon quickly completed both legs first. Taking a step back to admire his work, he couldn’t help but smile proudly.
‘Not bad. So this is the charm of a Knight!’
To necromancers, skeletons were thought of as fragile undead that collapsed with a tap and demanded endless maintenance. But when those weak joints were covered with metal, they looked incomparably sturdy.
Once his hands warmed up, Simon moved on to the torso and attached the breastplate. Now that he’d gotten the hang of it, he proceeded swiftly without pause.
‘Here, slot it in… and here, connect with Darkness.’
As Simon’s Skeleton Knight rapidly took form, Toto let out a voice of envy.
“Wow! You already got that much done?”
“Once your hands get used to it, it’s manageable.”
At first he’d struggled, lacking knowledge of armor and metal forging. But once he broke through that wall, the rest flowed smoothly.
Now, Simon’s work table displayed a Skeleton Knight divided into lower and upper halves, forced by the armor’s structure.
‘The last step!’
Rolling up his sleeves, Simon prepared.
‘If I connect this upper body to the lower body and cover it with the armor…!’
Grrrk!
The weight of the armor made it heavy. As Simon strained to lift it, a white hand reached from the opposite side to help.
“I’ll give you a hand.”
“Thanks, Loraine!”
The two stabilized the torso from each side. At the signal of “one, two, three”, they carefully joined the upper half to the lower.
Clack.
A proper connection sound. Darkness fused the two spines together, melding them into one.
“Yes! It’s done!”
Simon cried out in delight at the completion.
But then—
Creeeak!
An ominous sound echoed.
The Skeleton Knight wobbled, then with a snapping noise, its waist bent sharply forward, collapsing toward Simon.
“??”
Simon and Loraine exchanged bewildered looks.
* * *
Simon immediately sought Aron’s help.
After examining the hunched Skeleton Knight carefully, Aron finally spoke.
“There’s nothing wrong with your assembly.”
“Th-then?”
“It’s defective.”
Thud!
Simon’s heart sank.
“Factories produce defective goods sometimes. With undead products, it’s hardly rare. The joint between upper and lower body connected properly, but the bone above was damaged from the start. In the end, it couldn’t withstand the armor’s weight.”
“Ah……”
Simon let out a regretful sigh.
‘Damn, I should’ve bought the Vanilla brand!’
Before orientation in Langerstine, he had stopped by a necromancer shop. The Vanilla-brand Skeleton Knights were sold out, so the clerk had recommended a ‘Pastel’ brand instead—one grade lower. After wavering between buying overpriced goods in Rochest or just settling there, Simon chose the Pastel.
“Don’t be too discouraged. Every summoner experiences this sooner or later.”
With those words, Aron moved on to another student.
“Contact the vendor and request a refund.”
“……Yes.”
Simon stared blankly at his slumped Skeleton Knight.
“President! Thanks for the glue, it worked great!”
Just then, the orange-haired girl who’d borrowed bone adhesive returned with a bright smile.
“Hm?”
Her eyes fell on the dejected Simon and the Skeleton Knight with its collapsed waist.
“Kyahahahaha!”
She burst out laughing uncontrollably. Students around frowned and turned their heads at the loud laughter.
“What is this! Hahaha! What, is this some kind of grandpa skeleton?”
“They said it’s defective.”
Simon, blushing, reclaimed the adhesive.
“Kya-ha-ha-ha! Pfft! Oh, sorry! Hahaha!”
Still giggling, she lost strength and leaned against Toto’s back. Toto froze stiff and turned beet red.
“Your pose and your skeleton’s pose looked the same earlier. Hahaha! Like master, like summon! Kekeke!”
“Quit laughing!”
Meanwhile, not far away—
Hearing the laughter, the 5th-ranked student, Aseraz, turned her head with gleaming eyes.
“A defective product? That was the toughest assignment. Lucky break for the first class.”
At the very back, Hector also watched silently.
‘Well, days like this happen too.’
Left alone again, Simon struggled to prop up the crooked Skeleton Knight. But once more, its waist flopped the other way with a whump.
“I can’t give up here. There’s still plenty of class time left.”
Although Aron promised full points for effort, the lack of completeness would inevitably lower his overall score.
Keyzen had no leniency—only results mattered.
‘Then I’ll try everything possible!’
If results were all that counted, then whether temporary or not, he just needed the waist to stay firm and functional for the rest of class.
Simon ripped open a roll of Summonology tape from his bag.
He wrapped the waist tightly, layer after layer.
‘The Darkness flow path—reroute it sideways.’
He sketched a small magic circle over the defective bone, then drew another atop it, creating an alternate circuit so Darkness could bypass the bone entirely.
‘Good, that feels right.’
Simon stepped back, arms folded.
“Move, Knight!”
Clank, clank.
At his mental command, the Skeleton Knight staggered forward, one shaky step at a time. Awkward, but walking nonetheless.
‘Running might be impossible, but this is still something.’
Relieved, Simon pulled a sword from subspace and placed it in the Knight’s hand, then pointed it toward an empty area.
“Swing it!”
Whoooosh!
A crisp sound. Simon’s eyes lit up with hope. Other students murmured and turned to watch.
“Now sideways!”
Whoooom!
The Skeleton Knight twisted its waist and unleashed a wide swing.
Crack!
Unable to withstand the strain, its waist buckled again, wobbling like a spring with boing, boing. Simon covered his forehead while laughter erupted around him.
“You okay, Simon?”
Loraine came closer and asked. Simon forced himself to nod energetically.
“Of course. I haven’t given up yet.”
“Mm, keep it up.”
Did she come over just to encourage him? Simon truly felt strength return to his body.
‘Still, I’ve seen the path just now.’
Simon laid out every piece of equipment he had on the table. Giving up was never an option.
* * *
Time passed.
Students began finishing their Skeleton Knights one by one and lining up to have them inspected.
The very first in the 2nd-year Summonology class to complete hers was Aseraz Mikel.
Vwoom— Vwoom—
Each time her Knight swung its sword, exclamations of awe burst out across the room.
A powerful downward strike, clean and sharp. It was nothing like the messy swordplay of ordinary skeletons.
“Well done, Aseraz.”
Aron, holding the evaluation sheets, nodded.
“Your score is……”
“It’s not over yet, Professor.”
At her mental command, the Skeleton Knight set down its shield and grasped another sword in its left hand.
‘Twin Blades?’
The moment Aseraz issued her order—
Shiiing! Shiiing!
The two swords traced graceful arcs, crossing each other. Students gasped in open-mouthed admiration, and even Aron nodded with satisfaction.
“Impressive. How did you achieve that?”
“The material for my Skeleton Knight came from a level-3 danger monster, the Galvaren.”
She quickly explained.
“It’s a monster that uses irregular combat styles. I focused on forging a strong link with my Knight’s consciousness, to bring out the most fitting techniques it used in life. When I placed two swords in its hands, the effect doubled. To support that, I adjusted the bones of the wrists and arms.”
“……Not just summoning basics, but you’ve already given your summon individuality.”
Aron smiled.
“It’s a shame I can’t give a grade higher than A+. Well done.”
Clap clap clap!
Amid applause, Aseraz stepped down from the platform.
“Next!”
Hector presented a Skeleton Knight that was one and a half times the size of normal ones—fitting for his own physique—and received an A+. Everyone knew that in Summonology, the larger a skeleton, the harder it was to build.
Fitzgerald engraved enchantment circles onto the equipment, creating a unique undead that could infuse its sword and armor with Darkness on its own once combat began. The students marveled.
But Aron thought otherwise.
“Good idea, but you didn’t consider the Knight’s Darkness consumption and stamina. As it is, it’s not an unstoppable force, but something that won’t even last five minutes.”
The unexpected criticism rattled Fitzgerald, but he pushed up his glasses and answered.
“My goal was to create a Skeleton Knight model specialized in short battles, compensating for that flaw.”
“Not a bad improvised answer.”
Still, Aron towered above him.
“If you truly wanted a short-battle model, you wouldn’t have engraved enchantments on the armor at all.”
“……”
“And you would’ve used lighter, medium armor instead. Then I might’ve let your words pass. B+, Fitzgerald.”
Keyzen professors couldn’t be fooled by half measures.
Fitzgerald accepted it calmly and returned to his seat, muttering to Toto:
“I still think it was worth trying.”
“……Haha.”
And then—
“Simon Follentia.”
Simon came forward for evaluation. Next to him staggered his crooked Skeleton Knight. Laughter erupted here and there.
“……You worked hard.”
Aron spoke with regret.
Simon had poured every resource he had into propping up the defective waist, succeeding in making it stand straight. But the price was high—the armor had been cut down into light armor to reduce weight.
“As I said earlier, your assembly had no flaws. But as a Summonology professor, I must grade the result I see before me.”
“I understand.”
“Simon, your score is—”
“Wait, Professor.”
Aron turned his head. Simon spread his arms with a meaningful smile.
“I am confident this Knight can defeat any other Knight here.”
The students stirred. Some openly sneered.
“Bluffing?”
“Didn’t he see Fitzgerald get shut down just now?”
“You can’t fool Professor Aron.”
Aron’s lips curved into a deeper smile at those words.
“Can you take responsibility for that claim?”
“Of course.”
Aron’s gaze shifted.
The first student he saw was Hector.
Honestly, having watched Simon and Hector grow together in Class A, he wanted to see them clash. But as a professor, he had to put aside personal wishes. The proper opponent was the student who had crafted the finest Skeleton Knight today.
“Aseraz Mikel. Step forward.”
Clatter!
As though waiting for this, Aseraz rose, leading her dual-sword Skeleton Knight.
Hector half rose from his seat, then clenched his teeth as he saw her go out instead.
“Simon Follentia.”
Aron turned back.
“If you can defeat Aseraz’s Skeleton Knight, I’ll believe your words.”
A smile formed on Simon’s lips.
“I’ll show you.”
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