Chapter 514
Leaving Aland, new comrades joined the group.
“Simon! Earlier, I let my guard down too much!”
The green-uniformed Benz slapped Simon’s shoulder with a laugh.
“I never thought a student from the Summonology Department would use a hallucination curse! Ah, if I hadn’t fallen for that, who knows how the match would’ve ended!”
An Aland girl walking alongside them snorted in disbelief.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You saw Keyzen’s president smash through all the plant stems with his summon and escape. And you still think it would’ve worked again? If you’re a necromancer, suspicion should come first, obviously.”
“You wouldn’t understand unless you experienced it! It was such a realistic illusion!”
Benz said that and looked at Simon.
“Right, Simon? It was just a clever feint between summoners! Next time, I’ll definitely win!”
“Of course, I’ll welcome your challenge anytime.”
Simon replied with a bright smile.
“I’m glad to study together at Keyzen, Benz. Let’s all work hard and climb up together.”
“Sounds good!”
Benz grinned broadly, while the Aland girl sighed deeply.
“...Defeated in skill, defeated in personality too.”
“You at the back! Stop being so noisy!”
Simon, Jane, and the transfer students from Aland exited the small forest path that led into the academy. The forest quietly shifted again, blocking the way once more.
“Farewell, Aland!”
Benz threw both arms into the air and shouted toward his former school. The other two students also gazed at the forest with complex emotions as if organizing their thoughts.
“You have arrived.”
At the path’s exit, an underling from Keyzen awaited them.
“Professor Jane, the teleportation circle to Sierra is ready.”
“Thank you. Let’s go.”
With her expressionless eyes, she gestured, and the students hurried onto the teleportation circle.
* * *
Carlos Kingdom, Melberg Canyon.
The air was stiflingly hot, the stench of damp rock thick, and the surrounding landscape was full of towering rocky mountains.
Narrow, deep valleys and steep cliffs formed sheer drops. One misstep could send someone tumbling hundreds of meters down to a deadly precipice.
‘There’s a school in a place like this?’
Simon wiped the sweat from his brow, scanning the surroundings. Walking ahead, Jane stepped out of the canyon and said.
“We’ve arrived.”
The students quickly ran to her side. Their eyes widened in awe.
“Woooow...!”
As if God had painted with crimson ink, there stood an impossibly vast, blood-red rocky mountain. No grass or trees, only smooth rock surfaces, and atop its peaks jutted rows of sharp buildings.
Simon’s eyes sparkled.
“That must be the next necromancer school—Sierra!”
“N-no way...”
Benz’s lips twitched.
“Don’t tell me they expect us to climb all the way up there? Damn Sierra bastards! Are they trying to wear Simon down in advance...!”
“There should be a mana elevator.”
Just as Jane said.
Near the cliff wall, Sierra staff stood by with an elevator built with magic. It was large enough for about five people.
As Jane and the students stepped onto the elevator platform marked with a magic circle, the staff kindly closed the door. Simon touched the wall, it was made of mana.
“We’ll begin the ascent. For safety, please refrain from running inside.”
Clunk!
The sound of an engine whirred a few times, then the elevator began pumping upward at high speed.
“W-whoa! It’s so fast!”
“I can’t look down!”
The Aland students, apparently visiting Sierra for the first time, crouched down in fear. Jane looked to Simon.
“Student Council President, how’s your condition? Can you handle one more opponent?”
“Of course, Professor!”
Simon answered confidently.
He already knew today’s schedule was to face Sierra’s representative after Aland’s. That was why he had fought Benz with curse techniques to conserve his strength.
‘In this fight, I’ll probably have to use either the Royal Guard or Chaos.’
Boom—
At last, the elevator reached the summit and stopped. They had ascended several thousand meters of cliff in mere minutes.
The doors opened, and Jane and the students stepped outside.
“Ugh, what’s this?”
“The air feels heavy.”
The sudden rise in altitude made the lack of oxygen immediately noticeable. Their ears popped, and dizziness set in.
Ahead stood Sierra’s academy.
Matching the crimson cliffs, the school buildings were built of red bricks and clay. The architecture was unique, with rounded rooftops and solemn stone statues everywhere.
And just like Aland, Sierra’s chancellor and faculty stood at the entrance to welcome them.
“Wercom! Karamut!”
Sierra’s chancellor greeted them in the local tongue. He was a man in a red suit, with a slicked-back parting that revealed his forehead, and a thick beard.
With open arms, he welcomed Jane and the students.
“Welcome! Vice-chancellor Jane and dear students! Welcome to Sierra, a prestigious academy proud of its long history and tradition!”
“Thank you for your hospitality.”
Jane and Sierra’s chancellor smiled and shook hands.
“Now, now, please come inside. I’ll personally give you a tour of the school.”
The Sierra chancellor brimmed with pride, loudly pointing out every building and facility without skipping a single detail.
“This is a special training facility where our students can experience simulated combat! It cost a fortune, but seeing our students enjoy it, I know the investment was worthwhile!”
“That’s wonderful.”
“Ah, vice-chancellor Jane! Last year, the exchange match was canceled due to Keyzen’s wartime curriculum, but surely this year, we can look forward to it?”
“Yes, I’ll personally submit the request to Lady Neftis.”
While the adults exchanged business-like conversation, the Aland students whispered among themselves, sharpening their rivalry and nitpicking Sierra’s academy.
“Don’t you think their gym looks smaller? Ours is at least three times the size.”
“Wow, an apple pie costs 100 silver here. Everything’s so overpriced.”
Simon, on the other hand, looked around like a tourist, eyes gleaming.
When else would he get the chance to visit Sierra? From architecture to classrooms, everything was different.
Sometimes, students in red uniforms waved to him from windows. Simon happily waved back.
“Hm—”
Quietly observing Simon, Sierra’s chancellor turned his head.
“So, that young man is Keyzen’s new Student Council President?”
“Yes.”
Jane nodded.
“A second-year president! How refreshing! Keyzen truly is ahead in every respect! To be honest, when I heard he was a second-year, I assumed it would be Loraine Arkbold or Serne Eindark! Ha ha!”
“......”
Jane’s eyebrow twitched at those words.
“He’s the top student among all second-years. It was only natural he became the student president.”
“I see! However, the original transfer evaluation matches were meant for Keyzen’s upperclassmen to instruct and assess our Sierra students, were they not? So I can’t help but worry a little.”
The chancellor narrowed his eyes.
“If, by chance, our student were to win… Keyzen’s dignity might suffer a little… hahah!”
“There’s no need for you to worry about that at all.”
Jane’s expressionless face turned into a smiling one.
“You’d better wake from your dream.”
But her voice was chilling to the bone.
“Hahaha! As expected of vice-chancellor Jane!”
The Sierra chancellor then lowered his voice slyly.
“Then how about we make a personal wager? If our student wins, you’ll take charge of Sierra’s Darkness Dynamics class for a year.”
‘That’s absurd!’
Simon, who was secretly eavesdropping, gaped.
Even Keyzen students couldn’t attend Jane’s classes easily. And as vice-chancellor, she was already overworked, yet Sierra wanted to exploit her as a visiting professor? Ridiculous!
“Very well.”
‘Professor Jane?!’
“In return, if our student wins, you, chancellor, will personally handle cleaning the restrooms in Keyzen’s main building for a year.”
Jane didn’t just raise the stakes, she multiplied them fivefold.
“Hahaha! Delightful! I accept!”
As the two adults waged their battle of nerves, Simon, caught in the middle, felt his throat go dry. Cold sweat trickled down his back.
‘T-this is just a joke… right?’
* * *
“Now, that concludes the school tour. Let’s head to the arena.”
Following the Sierra chancellor’s lead, the group stepped onto the teleportation circle set up in the plaza and were instantly transported to the stadium.
The moment Simon opened his eyes after the teleportation.
WOOOOAAAAAHHH!
A deafening roar exploded from the stands. The entire stadium was packed with students in crimson uniforms, so many it looked like molten magma boiling atop a mountain.
BOOOOM!
BOOM!
Mana fireworks burst across the sky, flames roared upward, and lively music blared—it sounded like Sierra’s school anthem. Students sang in unison, arms linked, shaking the arena with their voices.
In the middle, uniformed cheerleaders shook their pom-poms, stoking the crowd’s frenzy.
“Insane.”
But what shocked Simon wasn’t the crowd or the fireworks.
It was the arena itself.
Built thousands of meters above sea level, this “sky stadium” was formed of dozens of narrow rocky pillars rising like columns, spaced apart at intervals. When Simon looked down, clouds floated far below, with an abyss stretching endlessly.
A fall from this height meant not even a corpse would remain.
“Welcome, Keyzen!”
“First time in Sierra’s Sky Arena, isn’t it?”
“Wahahahaha!”
Taunts rained from the crowd. Simon scratched his cheek with a wry smile.
‘...There’s a limit to home advantage, isn’t there?’
Compared to this, the Aland duel felt like a child’s game.
Without flight skills, fighting here was practically impossible. Simon himself didn’t have a technique purely specialized for flight. Naturally, Sierra’s champion would be their strongest aerial necromancer.
[Weeeelcome, everyoneee—!]
From the stands, a male student in a crimson uniform shouted through a magic loudspeaker.
[I am this match’s commentator, third-year Merhoven! Let’s start with player introductions! On the right, all the way from Roke Island, the young second-year Student Council President of Keyzen—Simon Follentia! Give him a big hand~]
The applause was half genuine welcome, half jeering boos meant to crush morale.
The commentator quickly wrapped up Simon’s introduction and swung his arm.
[And now, to the red corner! The red corner, everyone! Our hero! Our star! Our ace!]
Scarlet lights flashed on the opposite side of the arena.
[Introducing—Jetz Shimerat!]
WOOOOOOOOHHHHH!
Explosions of cheers and fireworks erupted.
A magic circle flared, and from it leapt a boy in Sierra’s crimson uniform, wearing a scarf of lizard scales. With black-magic-forged wings, he soared effortlessly through the air.
“Jetz! Jetz! Jetz! Jetz! Jetz!”
As Jetz Shimerat sped past the stands in high-speed flight, students roared in a wave of cheers.
He tumbled gracefully in midair before returning to his spot, basking in the fervor.
“Simon Follentia! Your exploits are known even here, across the continent!”
Thud.
Jetz stretched out his hand and pointed at Simon.
“But this is Sierra! This is our nest! And here—we are invincible!”
WOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!
“Jetz! Jetz! Jetz! Jetz! Jetz!”
“Invincible, huh.”
Simon smiled calmly, resting a hand on his waist. His black coat billowed in the wind.
“Then let’s see if that’s true.”
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters