Chapter 515
Thousands of meters above sea level.
The famed landmark of Sierra, the Sky Arena, built above the clouds.
There was no ground. Instead, jagged rock pillars, barely wide enough for a single person to crouch on, jutted upward. Simon and Jetz each stood upon one of them.
Wearing his barrier suit, Simon lightly swung his arms, loosening up his body. Jetz, meanwhile, waved cheerfully toward the stands and even threw in a wink.
“Simooon! Don’t you dare lose!”
Surprisingly, cheers came from the away side. Benz and the transfer students from Aland were seated in the front row.
In particular, Benz was so fervent that the veins in his neck bulged.
“Since you already beat me, at least take Sierra’s guy down even faster! You get what I’m saying, right? No holding back, slam him down with pure force!”
Even though Sierra’s students shot him sharp glares, Benz wasn’t intimidated. He only raised his voice louder. Simon smirked and waved back at him.
Flutter—
At that moment, a violet butterfly fluttered to Simon’s side.
‘Professor Jane’s black magic.’
A magic circle was etched into the butterfly, and Jane’s voice flowed from within.
[Listen carefully, Student Council President. Your opponent will use this arena to his fullest advantage to win.]
“Yes, Professor.”
[The footholds will be destroyed quickly by his attacks. Before that happens, prepare your flight technique. If you can reverse the terrain advantage he’s relying on, you’ll be able to catch him off guard.]
Use the terrain against him.
Simon immediately understood.
“I’ll remember that. Thank you for the advice!”
Having delivered its message, Jane’s butterfly scattered into the air and vanished. Simon turned his gaze back to Jetz.
[Now then, the match between Sierra’s representative Jetz Shimerat and Keyzen’s Student Council President Simon Follentia will begin!]
The referee for this match raised a whistle.
[Begin the match!]
Fweeeeeeeet!
The whistle’s shrill echo rang across the arena. At the same time, Simon and Jetz both crouched low, preparing black magic.
Because of the arena’s design, surprise assaults with Magical Combat were impossible right from the start.
Both were given time, and the priority was to secure a flight method not bound by the terrain before the opponent did.
‘Royal Guard.’
While preparing the Royal Guard magic circle, Simon observed Jetz. As expected, Jetz was also preparing a flight spell.
He deployed a massive magic circle in the air, with three auxiliary circles orbiting it, assembling the formulas at an astonishing pace.
“Wooooaaah!”
“So fast!”
Sierra’s students shouted with excitement.
“He must’ve drilled that spell to death beforehand.”
“Cheap tactics.”
Aland’s transfer students grumbled.
In no time, Jetz completed the flight magic circle and attached it to his back. Darkness formed wings that unfurled and flapped vigorously up and down.
[Jetz takes off first!]
The student commentator exclaimed, propping their legs up on the seat in front.
[As expected of Jetz! The necromancer who controls the skies has the advantage here in the ‘Sky Arena!’ With this alone, you could say he’s already 70% of the way to victory!]
“Shut up with your biased commentary!”
Benz shouted back, but his voice was drowned out by Sierra’s cheers.
‘Hmph.’
Simon, unshaken, calmly prepared the Royal Guard. Overhead, Jetz spread his arms wide in triumph.
Fwoosh!
Fwoosh!
Green flames surged from his palms.
It wasn’t the ordinary Dark Flare. The swaying shapes and colors revealed it to be a Remade or Original darkness flame variant.
“Simon, I don’t know what spell you’re preparing.”
Jetz raised his arms high.
“But you’d be better off giving up now!”
Fwoooooosh!
A blazing fire projectile streaked toward him. Diverting his attention from the Royal Guard circle he was focusing on, Simon pushed off with darkness under his feet and leapt away.
Kwaaaang!
The fireball smashed into the pillar he had stood on, shattering it in half. The pillar’s top tilted and plunged into the clouds below.
Simon safely leapt to the next pillar and wiped the sweat from his brow. The commentator’s excited voice rang out:
[From the very start, Jetz is going all out! Truly the peak of Sierra’s 2nd-year firepower!]
Fireballs continued to rain down, blowing apart Simon’s footholds. Simon stepped on darkness again, launching himself into the air.
‘Too far!’
The distance between the rock pillars was random. Earlier, his darkness steps had been enough, but this gap was wider.
Simon extended his index finger.
<Cloud>
A turquoise line shot out and latched onto the pillar’s side. Gripping it with both hands, Simon thrust his legs forward, swinging across.
Fwoosh!
Fwoosh!
Even as fireballs chased him, he smoothly swung away, dodging them with ease. Gasps of amazement rose from all around.
“Whew.”
Simon landed safely on the opposite pillar.
“Not bad! Let’s see how long you can keep dodging!”
Jetz summoned more flames, intensifying his assault.
The battle unfolded as Simon dodging while Jetz unleashed relentless barrages. As expected of a transfer who had beaten hundreds-to-one odds, Jetz’s firepower was formidable.
[Ah—Keyzen’s Student Council President! He looks too busy dodging to even prepare a higher-tier spell!]
Not only did Jetz attack Simon with fireballs, but he also destroyed more rock pillars, steadily cutting away at his footholds.
Wooooaaaah!
But Simon’s evasions were just as spectacular. With his Cloud rope, he swung freely from pillar to pillar, even climbing steep angles with nothing but leg strength.
‘…A monster’s stamina.’
Jetz’s expression stiffened slightly.
With this much pressure, most opponents would’ve broken already. But Simon wasn’t even panting. He was steadily buying time with a solid Magical Combat foundation.
“Jetz! Behind you!”
A shout from the stands drew Jetz’s eyes back.
Simon, who had been swinging away with his Cloud, suddenly launched from behind.
‘He used the rope’s centrifugal force to slingshot himself back…!’
Simon grinned and swung his arm.
A Bone Spear, formed of skeleton remains, shot forward. Jetz hastily raised a defense.
Thud!
A wall of green fire flared up, blocking the spear. Deflected, the Bone Spear broke apart into multiple bones and, at lightning speed, returned to coat Simon’s right arm.
<Bone Armor – Handgun Mode>
Bone bullets fired in rapid succession from the makeshift launcher. Jetz darted upward, barely dodging as several bullets grazed his body.
‘Even counterattacking in this situation…!’
Jetz laughed, his mouth wide.
“Now that’s more like it! Come at me, Student Council President of Keyzen!”
Once Simon fully adapted to the terrain and environment, he no longer relied solely on evasion. While weaving through with Cloud and Magical Combat, he stationed his undead on each pillar he passed.
Jetz, who had been soaring across the battlefield with his wings of darkness, now had to deal with zombies attacking from the rock pillars, or dodge arrows shot by Skeleton Archers perched on other columns.
Because of this, he could no longer unleash one-sided barrages. Concerned about Simon’s counterattacks, Jetz’s movements grew cautious.
‘There he is!’
Just as Jetz spotted Simon’s back and prepared another fireball, an arrow from a Skeleton Archer whizzed in from the side.
“Ghhk!”
Jetz barely twisted his neck to avoid it. By then, Simon had already slipped behind a pillar.
‘Damn it, how is he not making a single mistake?!’
One misstep—if his foot faltered, if his Cloud line wavered, if a skeleton was misplaced—then victory would be Jetz’s.
But Simon was perfectly managing that razor-thin balance.
A monstrous concentration. Reinforced by immense stamina. And feats that would be impossible without rich experience.
What was supposed to be a one-sided match was turning out strangely different.
“Heh heh! So Professor Jane’s words weren’t empty after all.”
In the VIP stands of the arena, Sierra’s chancellor stood beside Jane, watching the match. The chancellor stroked his beard.
“I thought you’d safely bring in a 3rd-year, but it seems there was a reason you pushed forward with a 2nd-year Student Council President instead.”
Jane turned to him with her usual expressionless face.
“You haven’t forgotten our wager, have you?”
“Of course not!”
The Sierra chancellor still wore a look of composure.
“You may think time favors your side, but don’t underestimate Jetz’s staying power!”
* * *
‘Where the hell did he vanish to?’
Jetz flapped his wings of darkness, scanning the surroundings. Simon was nowhere to be seen, likely hiding in the blind spots behind a pillar.
He’d probably have to look from above to find him.
The moment Jetz rose higher into the sky—
Shrring!
An emerald flash curved toward him like a comet.
‘Fast!’
Jetz hastily raised a wall of fire, but the turquoise swordlight cut through it cleanly. Bursting through that gap was a skeleton, cape fluttering.
Crackle!
The skeleton struck Jetz with a sword slash as it passed. His barrier gauge, once green, flickered orange and plummeted to nearly half.
‘A flying skeleton?!’
As Jetz climbed rapidly to gain altitude, six more emerald comets awaited him. They were all skeletons.
“Damn it!”
He cursed, finally unleashing the black magic he had been holding back. Fire erupted from his entire body in a circular wave, repelling the attackers.
“Jetz! Watch out!”
“Jetz!”
Even without the crowd’s shouts, the overwhelming presence behind him was unmistakable.
<Simon’s Original – Royal Guard Flight Mode>
Simon soared upward, clad in a radiant turquoise Bone Armor made from his Royal Guard Skeletons.
A charge pushed to its very limit.
A flame shield wouldn’t block it. Jetz frantically drew the sword strapped at his waist.
Claaaaang!
Turquoise brilliance and white light clashed, releasing a storm-like shockwave. Students in the stands screamed and ducked.
Ka-ka-ka-kak!
The two blades pressed together, locked in a fierce contest of strength. Simon, wielding the Royal Guard’s sword, grinned.
“Urgh! That technique lets you fly too?!”
“Of course.”
Jetz overloaded his body with another buff spell, instantly sketching three fireball circles around him.
Seeing them, Simon shoved Jetz’s sword aside and pulled back, just as three massive fireballs burst forth toward him.
Shrring!
Simon swung the Royal Guard’s sword with grace. Turquoise swordlight traced three afterimages, slicing apart the fireballs and scattering them into the air.
‘Swordsmanship too?!’
A chill ran down Jetz’s spine as he retreated. Simon only smiled calmly.
“Got you.”
Crunch!
Pain flared across Jetz’s back. One of Simon’s Royal Guards had swooped in from behind, slicing through his right wing.
‘Damn it!’
With only one wing left, he could no longer fly. His body tilted, losing balance.
‘Stay calm! Calm! Land somewhere first, buy time, and then repair the wing…!’
But Simon wasn’t about to give him that chance.
“Corpse Explosion.”
The moment Simon clenched his fist, deafening blasts erupted all around.
The rock pillars surrounding them toppled in a chain reaction like falling dominoes.
‘No way… this bastard!’
Jetz’s eyes widened as he watched the very footholds disappear in real time.
‘From the very start, he set his undead for this…!’
Only now did he recall the zombies Simon had planted on the pillars.
He’d been hit.
Perfectly.
‘In this Sky Arena, I…!’
With just one wing left, Jetz plummeted along with the collapsing pillars.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters