Chapter 513
“Match start!”
The moment the match began, Benz raised both arms and activated a magic circle.
“I’ll show you the true power of Aland!”
Koo-goong!
From behind the arena, the iron bars opened, and glowing beastly eyes flashed within the darkness beyond.
Tapak—tapak—
Monsters began stepping one by one into the arena. On their bodies, all of them bore Benz’s magic circle.
“What the…? Is that even allowed?”
Simon placed his hand on his waist with a dumbfounded expression.
“That’s not the concept of pulling out undead from subspace.”
“You don’t know anything!”
Benz shrugged.
“In Aland, as long as you preregister before the match, you can queue up to six monsters or creatures in the arena!”
‘How the hell would I know that?’
Simon let out a hollow laugh.
—Of course, they’ll exploit every petty trick, including home advantage.
It was exactly as Jane had warned. So this was what she meant.
The audience, dressed in green uniforms, erupted with noisy shouts.
“Quit yapping, Keyzen! Just fight already!”
“When in Aland, follow Aland’s rules!”
“Booo—!”
They stuck their thumbs down and jeered, clearly trying to wear down his mental state. But Simon merely smiled in amusement, finding it almost cute.
“You go first!”
Benz raised his arm.
“Gillion!”
The red-eyed grizzly bear, three times the size of a man, snorted steam. The magic circle on its back glowed, and with a fierce roar it charged at Simon.
‘Simon! I’ve built the perfect strategy just for you!’
With a confident grin, Benz licked the corner of his lips.
‘Step one! First, I’ll send my tamed monsters to drain Simon’s stamina and Darkness!’
The opponent would have to pour every bit of black magic to overcome the monsters, but for Benz, it only cost a trickle of Darkness to keep the taming spells active.
Of course, that was only if Simon could even defeat Gillion in the first place.
“Crush him!”
Thud!
Gillion pounded across the dirt floor in a wild charge.
Hands still tucked in his coat pockets, Simon simply twisted his body slightly, letting the monster brush past him.
“After him, Gillion!”
But as Benz shouted, he blinked in confusion.
Kwoong!
Just from brushing past, Gillion collapsed flat on the ground. Calmly, Simon stood, the student council coat fluttering behind him.
The spectators stirred in shock.
“What was that? What did he just do?”
“That massive monster went down in a single blow…!”
Benz was equally dumbfounded.
It couldn’t be a curse, Gillion had curse resistance. Poison? No, it made no sense. He just brushed past him!
“S-still! Next one!”
This time, a fanged, leopard-like monster leapt at Simon.
Thud!
But once again, it fell flat without so much as scratching him.
“?!”
Benz, face slack with disbelief, ground his teeth.
“Damn it! Next! Next!”
But no matter which tamed monster he sent, the results were the same. Simon flitted like a butterfly, his coat fluttering, while the monsters collapsed one after another.
Eventually, all six registered monsters were defeated. Benz stood slack-jawed in despair.
“Well then, that’s all six. Got anything else left to show?”
Simon dusted his hands casually.
From the stands, Jane nodded in satisfaction, while an Aland professor gripped the fence with trembling hands.
“Ghhhk!”
Benz spread his arms wide.
“Of course I do!”
As he unleashed black magic, holes burst open across the arena floor, and massive plant stalks erupted upward.
‘Haha! Maybe dirty, but I planted seeds laced with taming magic beneath the arena in advance!’
The vines quickly coiled around Simon, lifting him high into the air.
With the tables turned, Aland’s students leapt to their feet.
“Nice, Benz!”
“His arms are bound! Finish Keyzen off!”
Simon looked down at the vines binding him, then spoke flatly:
“Open Gate.”
Chwarurururuk—!
Six subspaces bloomed in midair, and from them, blades shot out, easily slicing the vines apart.
“Ahhh!”
He slipped free so easily that the audience groaned in despair. As Simon landed gracefully, head rising, Benz was already charging toward him.
‘This technique was just to buy time! Step three!’
If there was one thing Benz excelled at besides summonology, it was Magical Combat.
Clasping his hands at his waist, he focused Darkness into a single point. Keeping some distance from Simon, he thrust both hands forward.
Tuquuaaaaang!
A surge of Darkness blasted forward—a ranged martial technique.
But Simon merely drew his fist to his shoulder.
<Hongpeng’s Original – Impalement>
Chwaaaaaaak—!
For an instant, Benz thought the world itself had been split in half.
Simon’s strike cleaved the black wave in two, gouging a scar into the arena floor as it streaked past Benz, grazing his shoulder.
Crack! Crack!
His barrier suit flared with damage readings, and nearly half his gauge dropped at once.
‘W-what the hell…?’
Staggering backward, Benz reeled.
‘…How is it this strong?’
That such power could come from a fellow second-year was unthinkable. Standing there, student council coat billowing, Simon felt like an insurmountable wall.
‘Damn it! He’s too close!’
Grinding his teeth, Benz made more vines sprout from his remaining seeds, binding Simon once again.
‘Oh?’
But this time was different. Simon didn’t summon strange beings to cut free; instead, he seemed bound and struggling.
Yes—without doubt.
Those summons earlier must’ve had a time limit or strict conditions.
Victory was still possible! There was hope!
With renewed resolve, Benz finally pulled a skeleton from subspace, shaping it into a Bone Spear.
But just then—
“───────!!!”
The crowd shot to their feet, shouting.
Though muffled by his focus on the spear, Benz could just make out: Dodge. Move. Danger.
Danger? What danger?
He had Simon captured. He was in control.
Tak—!
A sharp snap of fingers. Suddenly, clarity washed over his vision. And Simon was standing right behind him.
“What—!”
The bound Simon had vanished. His vines were clutching nothing but air.
Original Curse: Delusion.
One of Bahil’s Four Great Curses, it made the opponent see hallucinations.
“When you drew close to use your martial arts…”
Simon’s body spun lightly.
“…you stepped into the range of my curse.”
His palm pressed flat against Benz’s back.
<Simon’s Original – Shockwave>
Boooom!
Benz’s body was hurled forward and slammed into the ground face-first.
“Ghhhk!”
He quickly lifted his head. Around him were the very summons that Simon had supposedly defeated earlier.
‘What the…?’
His pupils trembled as he looked at the monsters.
‘They weren’t defeated… they were asleep?!’
“Taming. I’ll admit, it’s a powerful branch of black magic.”
Simon turned his body.
“But you can only control one at a time, can’t you?”
Clap!
With that, Simon smacked his palms together. At once, the six monsters shook off the ‘Sleep’ curse and rose to their feet.
And the first thing they saw upon waking—was Benz.
“Since you only kept sending them at me one by one…”
“U-urghhhhhh!”
Pwoook!
Thud!
Crunch!
Benz was swarmed by the five monsters, beaten down mercilessly. With a light smile, Simon lowered his arms.
“Match over! Winner!”
The referee raised his hand.
[Simon Follentia : 94%]
[Benz McBeef : 0%]
“The Student Council President of Keyzen, Simon Follentia!”
From start to finish, it had been Simon’s flawless victory.
* * *
“An excellent match.”
Jane, basking in her student’s triumph, extended a hand to the Aland professor. He couldn’t hide his bitter smile as he shook it.
“…Ahaha. Well, as expected of Keyzen. It seemed Student Council President Simon didn’t even use half his strength. Embarrassing for us, really.”
At that, Jane’s brow twitched.
“Correction.”
“…Pardon?”
“He only used one-third of his strength.”
The Aland professor gave a hollow laugh.
‘What on earth is this woman saying all of a sudden…’
“Professor Jane!”
At that moment, Simon ran over, beaming. Jane forced her expression back to blankness as she looked at him.
“I won!”
“As expected.”
She sighed.
“There’s no need to get so worked up. Prepare yourself, we move on to the next necromancer school, Sierra.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The Aland professor chuckled quietly as he watched her.
‘A woman who hides her true feelings.’
Meanwhile, the students in the stands began streaming out like a receding tide. Benz too trudged forward with heavy steps toward his professor.
“I’m sorry, Professor.”
He spoke gloomily.
“There were students with better grades than me… but I insisted on going out there…”
The professor patted his shoulder.
“It would’ve been the same no matter who went. You gave it your all. The opponent was simply too strong.”
“….”
“You worked hard this past year, Benz.”
Then, with a gentle smile, he added:
“Keyzen is an incredible place. Go and learn even more.”
“Ughh… Professor!”
Benz’s eyes brimmed with emotion.
“Thank you! Thank you for everything!!”
He bowed deeply.
“Your teachings! My life at Aland! I’ll never forget them!”
“Yes, yes. Now go.”
Every year, from the three great necromancer schools, the top three students are taken by Keyzen.
That was reality.
But for the student’s future, he could never ask them to remain in Aland.
And for the school’s reputation, it was better to send them off to Keyzen—where even being mid-tier meant more than being the top in Aland.
The world was cruel at times.
“You’ll adjust quickly to your new school, whether now or in two years. Sending students off… that is the fate of a teacher.”
* * *
At the same time.
Inside the Sierra principal’s office.
“Aland has fallen.”
The Sierra principal, hands clasped behind his back, stared out the window as he spoke.
“They’ll be here soon.”
Turning his head, he looked at a boy in a crimson uniform sitting on the sofa, legs crossed, smiling calmly.
“How’s your condition?”
“Perfect.”
“Can you win?”
The student spread his palm in response.
Whoosh!
Not the usual black flames—bright green flames flared violently to life.
“As long as the fight happens in Sierra’s arena, there is no chance I’ll lose.”
He clenched his fist, extinguishing the fire.
“But… am I really allowed to defeat Keyzen? For hundreds of years, it’s been tradition for us to be pummeled by them. Won’t that cause trouble if they take offense?”
The principal’s lips curved upward.
“Of course not! I’ll take full responsibility.”
Tilting his head, he added:
“I expect a one-sided match.”
The boy rose to his feet, grinning.
“I can’t wait for Keyzen to get here.”
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters