Chapter 536
-Group 10: Simon Follentia.
At last.
The name everyone had been waiting for had finally been called.
The students who hadn’t been chosen yet tensed up to the extreme. Loraine sharpened her gaze, and Serne licked her lips with a meaningful smile.
Group 10’s A-member was Simon Follentia.
And then, the assistant reached into the box for the next draw—the B-member.
In this format, the selection of the B-member, usually another top student, was just as important. Whoever came after Simon would matter greatly.
Clack.
The assistant rolled the ball forward, and the head assistant wrote the name down.
-Group 10: Simon Follentia, Eshu Arzel.
“Yeeeeeessss!”
An explosive shout rang out from somewhere.
Students frowned, glancing around. Then, from among the gathered students, a girl sprinted toward Simon with incredible speed.
“The best! The best card ever! Woo-hoo!”
Her excitement was off the charts.
Simon chuckled awkwardly, thinking to himself, What’s with this tension… who even is she?
Ripened tangerine-colored hair, a unique necromancer-style hairpin, a short skirt with a tie, a neatly tailored uniform.
Her face radiated liveliness, filled with a bright grin.
“Yay! Yayyy~!”
Like someone who’d already scored the top grade in the performance test, she skipped and bounced her way up to Simon.
“Nice to meet you, my partner! No need to introduce myself, right?”
Simon blinked, slightly startled.
“Oh, come on! Don’t pretend you don’t know me. Remember during the initiation, when the 3rd-years collapsed the bridge, you saved me! You even lent me your Bone Adhesive.”
“Ah.”
They’d never exchanged names, but she was familiar—one of those classmates you’d recognize on sight even if you hadn’t talked much.
“I’m Eshu Arzel!”
She smiled brightly, hands clasped behind her back.
Her personality burst with energy and vitality.
“I’m Simon Follentia. Nice to team up.”
When Simon extended his hand, she blinked twice, then smirked and clasped it.
So B-member turned out to be a new face after all. Still…
Simon turned his head.
‘C-member is taking a while, huh?’
One assistant was whispering to the one drawing balls. They nodded, then separated, and the drawing resumed.
But when the assistant reached into the box, his pupils glazed over.
‘Success.’
Watching from a distance, Serne’s lips curled in a sly grin.
‘Making a Mind-Control Feather strong enough to dominate even assistants took me time, but…’
She was controlling the assistant’s mind with dark magic.
The assistant kept swirling his hand inside the box. Even Loraine, who would normally notice, seemed too nervous to pay attention, her eyes locked ahead.
‘I’ll make sure my name is drawn. I must join Simon’s group. First, I’ll use Black Magic to see inside the box…’
“But let me make this clear.”
Tap.
Aron stepped down from the platform, walking straight over.
“This grouping is completely fair. Entirely random.”
As he brushed past, the assistant’s pupils snapped back into focus.
Serne’s face twisted into a snarl, but Aron, expressionless, reached into the box himself.
“Step aside. I’ll draw.”
“Y-yes, Professor.”
The assistant retreated. Aron pulled out a ball and announced:
“Loraine Arkbold.”
“Woooaaah!”
The students erupted into cheers. The head assistant jotted it down, and the C-member for Group 10 was confirmed: 287th-ranked Loraine.
“Welcome, Loraine!”
Simon greeted her with a wide smile.
“No way! For real? Neftis’ daughter is in our group!”
Eshu bounced in joy. Loraine, a little embarrassed, approached with a shy smile.
“H-hi. Nice to meet you all. I’m glad we’re together.”
“If you’re glad, why the gloomy face?”
Simon teased, and Loraine smiled faintly, lowering her gaze.
“Of course I’m happy to be in your group. If my Ability wasn’t sealed, I could have been a bigger help, though.”
“What are you talking about?”
It was pure modesty. Her potential was still beyond anyone else in the department.
“I’ll do my best to help.”
“Same here. Let’s work hard.”
Simon glanced back.
Fwoooosh—!
Serne glared daggers at Loraine, fury blazing.
But Loraine, arms folded, turned her back on Serne, a victor’s smile tugging at her lips.
“Yay! Awesome! Our group is stacked! Only the last D-member left!”
Eshu exclaimed, glancing over.
The four remaining boys looked tense but determined.
Not bad odds—two of them would end up in either Simon’s or Serne’s group.
“Who do you want?”
Simon asked Eshu. She lowered her voice.
“Honestly, it doesn’t matter. Everyone says D-members don’t affect much. But if I had to choose…”
Her eyes drifted to the smallest boy at the end of the line.
“As long as it’s not the Death Knight boy…”
“The last member of Group 10 is Toto Amoriya.”
“Yeeees!”
Toto burst into tears of relief, sprinting forward and hugging Simon.
“I made it! I was so scared I’d be left out!”
“Welcome, Toto.”
Simon smiled, patting his back. Loraine welcomed him too, while Eshu awkwardly turned her head.
“Ah, you’re…!”
Toto suddenly noticed her.
“You saved me in Summon Materials Science class!”
“Yep! Hi~”
Eshu waved cheerfully.
He still remembered vividly how close he came to being killed by a ghoul that time—but trusted Simon would keep things under control.
“What do you think, Aseraz?”
A teammate asked. Aseraz coldly turned her head.
“A complete Simon Follentia one-man team. They’re no threat to us.”
Hector, however, was eyeing Simon’s group carefully.
“…Having Neftis’ daughter in Simon’s group is painful.”
“Really?”
His friend Pierre Buckley shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Rumor has it her ability’s sealed. Doesn’t that make her basically average?”
“…Don’t underestimate bloodlines, Pierre.”
Hector rose to his full, hulking height.
“We need to widen the gap before her talents bloom. This test is critical.”
* * *
With that, the rest of the groups were finalized.
As for Serne, who everyone had been watching nearly as closely as Simon—she ended up in Group 11, with Simon’s clubmate Fitzgerald Ingels as the A-member.
Clutching a book under his arm, Fitzgerald adjusted his glasses and extended his hand.
“Looking forward to—”
Thwack!
A feather stabbed into his neck, and Fitzgerald froze like a statue, hand still outstretched.
“…Knew that would happen.”
“...Didn’t I tell you not to talk to me carelessly?”
Her teammates sighed heavily. Serne sat with a vicious scowl on her face.
‘I didn’t expect the professor himself to interfere… but what’s done is done.’
In the end, what truly mattered was this: Which faction—Keyzen or the Ivory Tower—would recruit Simon? Being in the same group didn’t automatically guarantee an advantage in the recruitment war.
Her eyes drifted toward Loraine, who was speaking with Simon.
‘Meeting Simon at the weakest point of your life, huh? I hope you keep dragging him down like that, you toothless tiger.’
After the group selection ended, the students were given a short 30-minute break.
Simon’s Group 10 sat together, crouched in a circle, introducing themselves.
“I’m Simon Follentia. I serve as Student Council President, and though I specialize in summoning magic in general, I’m especially confident in restorative techniques using skeletons.”
Eshu clapped enthusiastically, crying, “Of course I know that!” again and again, filling the air with excitement. Loraine and Toto also applauded.
“Okay, then it’s my turn!”
Eshu sprang to her feet, already playing the role of mood-maker perfectly.
“I’m Eshu Arzel! Ranked 180th overall, and my specialty is… cursed dolls!”
The others looked puzzled. Simon spoke on their behalf.
“Cursed dolls are your specialty, but you’re in Summonology instead of Katarology?”
“Yep. I’m more specialized in the doll part than the curse part.”
With a wave of her hand, circles of summoning magic blossomed around her.
Pop! Pop!
From them appeared translucent dolls, reminiscent of little fairy spirits out of a storybook.
They were chubby and stubby like caricatures, with distinct faces. Though they looked adorable, stitches ran faintly along their backs as though crudely sewn together.
Kyarrk! Kyarrk!
They played tag with each other, giggling, or climbed atop Eshu’s head to nap.
Loraine’s eyes sparkled brightly at the sight of their cuteness, but she quickly coughed and forced herself to repress the reaction, cheeks tinged red.
Simon folded his arms, studying seriously.
‘Family-specific Black Magic… summoned familiars linked with curses.’
“Okay, time to go home, kids.”
Eshu opened a shadowy gate with black magic, and the dolls scampered inside with gleeful laughter.
“I’ve got tiny ones like these, and also huge ones. I’ll show you later.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Typically, cursed dolls served as mediums: link a curse between target and doll, cast Life Link, then stab the doll with needles to inflict pain on the victim.
But as she said earlier, Eshu seemed more focused on summoning and control than curses themselves. She had probably wrestled over choosing between Katarology and Summonology in late 1st year, but ultimately went with Summonology.
Such talent was rare in Summonology. A necromancer adept at curses was useful in any battlefield and highly versatile—Eshu would become a strong asset.
“Then, next.”
All eyes turned to Loraine expectantly. She swept back her midnight-black hair and spoke.
“I’m Loraine Arkbold. Last year I ranked 287th. My specialty is… single-summon control and Darkness expansion.”
Simon, knowing she couldn’t reveal her true ability, silently sent her encouragement.
Eshu cheered wildly, clapping.
“I believe in you! I believe in you! I believe in you, Lady Loraine! I’m so happy we’re in the same group!”
Loraine sighed, clearly used to this treatment.
“No need to call me ‘Lady Loraine’. We’re both 2nd-years, so speak comfortably.”
“Don’t you remember me?”
Eshu suddenly pointed at her own chest, leaning forward. Loraine blinked, leaning back.
“Didn’t we meet first in Summonology?”
“Nope! I knew you from the start!”
She pressed her palms together with a mysterious grin.
“When I was little, I didn’t even call you ‘Loraine’. I called you Mistress.”
“...!”
A bombshell statement.
Simon and Toto both flushed, glancing at Loraine. She too looked flustered at first, but after giving Eshu a closer look, her eyes widened.
“Wait! Don’t tell me—when we were kids—!”
“Yes! I worked briefly as a maid in your household! Unofficially, but still!”
Eshu laughed, scratching her head.
“Well, I quit when I grew older, but back then, working at the mansion of the Witch of Death, maybe I absorbed that dark energy and became a necromancer myself! I always felt grateful for it!”
“I remember now! My only maid around my age suddenly moved away, and I never got to say goodbye. I never thought we’d meet again like this!”
The two girls clasped hands, overflowing with memories.
Simon and Toto, pushed to the background, simply smiled quietly.
‘A childhood friend reunion, huh? Not much room to cut in there.’
Still, Simon thought to himself, She must have gone through hardships at a young age.
From her background, she was most likely a commoner, or perhaps from a fallen noble family. Either way, seeing her now—bright, healthy, and laughing inside Keyzen—was good to see.
Soon, introductions resumed.
“I-I’m Toto Amori! Ranked 382nd overall… I joined the same Mutant Club as Simon. My specialty is surprise attacks underground, using Death Worms.”
Simon nodded.
“Toto, didn’t you mainly use parasite-type undead, like Parasites, before?”
He recalled Toto handling dog-monsters with parasites during the Mutant Club interview.
“Ah, I did, but at Keyzen, the students are too strong for monsters like that. So I switched from parasites to Death Worms.”
“So basically, you’re insect-specialized? Death Knight boy!”
Eshu chuckled, poking fun. Toto’s face reddened.
“Please don’t call me that…!”
Then she mimicked a deep voice, hand to her mouth:
“Professor! If I can make a Dullahan in 1st year, then next—can I make one of those?! The dream of every summoner, a Death Knight!“
“Uwaaaah!”
Mortified by his embarrassing past being blurted out, Toto flailed desperately. Simon and Loraine burst out laughing.
‘This group’s atmosphere… not bad at all.’
There wasn’t that one killjoy dragging everyone down, nor anyone hogging the spotlight excessively. It felt like a team that could build solid teamwork.
“Attention, all.”
At that moment, Aron stepped forward.
“Don’t get too attached to your groups. As I’ve said, unlike the absolute group projects in 1st year, this time you’ll often be given the option of forming new teams or working with separate group members.”
Students all nodded. In other words, these weren’t permanent squads.
“Break’s over. Move to the testing grounds.”
“Yes, Professor!”
At last, it was about to begin.
All the students, gathered in fours, rose from their seats with determination.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters