Chapter 540
20 minutes remaining.
Simon was also moving busily.
After defeating Pierre Buckley at the 1st team’s altar and claiming the red artifact, he had been leisurely searching for more artifacts nearby. When 20 minutes remained until the end of the exam, he returned to the starting point.
Since charging in directly could be dangerous, he circled around and looked down at the altar from atop a hill. A troubled smile appeared on Simon’s lips.
“Just as I thought.”
The altar of their base had been plundered, and the strategy Hector chose—who would otherwise have returned empty-handed—was simple.
Block Simon’s team’s altar and hold out.
The scores of this exam were determined at the very end, based on the artifacts placed on each altar.
No matter how many artifacts one held, if they were not inside the altar at the final moment, it meant nothing.
In other words, Hector was trying to drag Simon down.
“......Looks like Hector is serious this time.”
When Simon turned around, Toto was approaching while gasping for breath.
“Toto!”
“I was watching to see if there was an opening, but they hardly move from around the altar.”
A so-called mutually assured destruction tactic.
If it continued like this, both team 1 and team 10 would end up with a nice round score of zero.
“Hey! Prez~ And Death Knight boy!”
Eshu soon joined them. Toto’s face instantly flushed red.
“Don’t call me that!!”
“Ahaha! Sorry, sorry! But Hector’s guys are still hanging around our altar. Looks like we’ll have to fight, right Prez?”
“Of course. The artifacts?”
Eshu smirked and summoned her ghoul. It spat out several artifacts, including team 13’s red one, onto the ground.
“Well done! You even brought team 13’s red artifact.”
“Of course, of course! By the way, where’s Lady Loraine?”
“She’s waiting in the rear. By now, she should be fighting Pierre Buckley, so let’s go in on our own.”
“Okay!”
Simon stretched his body with a long yawn.
“Then, let’s get star—……”
“Simon Follentia!!”
A booming shout startled everyone as they looked down.
“You dare call yourself first place?! Quit with the petty tricks and fight me head-on! Beat me with strength and claim the altar!”
“......Oh boy.”
Sweat trickled down Eshu’s face.
“He’s got real killing intent.”
“If we get caught, we’re dead.”
Toto’s lips trembled, but Simon smiled calmly and began walking.
“Let’s go.”
“W-wait, I’m coming too! Simon!”
Simon descended the hill and revealed himself. Hector’s eyes twisted upon seeing him.
“......You.”
“Hello, Hector.”
At Simon’s appearance, the other two members of team 1 stiffened and took combat stances.
“Where are your ghouls? Surely you know time is running out.”
Hector spoke in a domineering tone, but Simon only answered with a faint smile.
Swish!
It happened in an instant. Simon’s ghoul, bound by funeral rites, emerged from the fog in the rear.
Too late, one of Hector’s teammates shouted.
“Hector! Behind—!”
Craaaash!
Hector’s gorilla-like ghoul sprang forth and smashed Simon’s ghoul into the ground like a nail. Its head was crushed in a single blow. Eshu and Toto both turned pale.
‘A ghoul under funeral rites......!’
‘Taken down in one hit?’
“I won’t repeat myself, Simon Follentia.”
Rumble...!
Hector erupted with dreadful Darkness from his whole body. His other three ghouls exuded the same black aura as their master.
“Fight me properly.”
“......”
Simon slowly raised his right arm.
“If you insist.”
* * *
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”
Pierre Buckley was running frantically toward team 10’s altar, where Hector was already in combat.
“No! Hector! You can’t fight them at their home base! Dammit!”
He had to warn him quickly.
Simon’s ghoul possessed a weapon beyond imagination. If one didn’t know about it, they would be doomed to fall. It was a technique that, once entangled, could spiral out of control.
“I need to tell him—ah!”
Slash!
At that moment, a ghoul dropped from a tree and swung its claws. Pierre’s ghoul barely intercepted it with a raised foreleg.
As his ghoul slid back from the impact, Pierre shouted,
“Who’s there!”
Rustle.
From behind the tree, a black-haired girl stepped out.
Pierre’s face darkened instantly.
‘Loraine Arkbold! Of all times!’
“Sorry.”
With crimson eyes, she looked down coldly.
“I can’t let you pass.”
“Out of my way!!”
Pierre ignited his willpower, and Loraine did not back down.
Their ghouls lunged simultaneously, sparks flying as claws clashed in rapid succession.
* * *
Step.
Simon raised his right arm.
Hector lowered his stance in tension, while the other two from team 1 looked puzzled.
“What are you doing?”
“You’re not summoning your ghouls? If a test-taker stays without a ghoul for over a minute, that’s a violation of the rules......”
At that moment—
Simon’s palm slowly curled into a fist.
‘?!’
Hector’s expression twisted grotesquely, and he suddenly shouted in alarm.
“Damn it! Move!!”
“......Corpse—”
Rumble!
In a split second, three ghouls thrust their heads out of the ground around the altar.
Simon clenched his fist tightly.
“—Poison Explosion.”
KAAAA-BOOOOM!!
The ghouls’ bodies all detonated at once, spewing clouds of green gas that engulfed the altar like a massive biochemical attack.
“Ugh, what the hell?!”
“The ghouls exploded?!”
By overloading ghouls with funeral rites, then bursting them together with decomposition gas, Simon had forced them to unleash all the toxins inside their bodies in every direction.
A brand-new hidden technique of Simon’s.
Hector quickly covered his mouth, and the other two followed suit.
‘That was... Corpse Explosion?’
Simon had undeniably used black magic, but since it was applied through ghouls like funeral rites, it was allowed in the exam.
The green mist filled the entire area, though thankfully, it didn’t seem lethal. The test-takers were unharmed, as were the ghouls.
‘The ghouls?’
They stopped in place.
As if time itself had frozen.
The thought link was intact, and the summoning circle unbroken, but the Darkness was not spreading properly.
“It’s the poison of Kabara, the natural enemy of summons.”
Simon spoke.
“Kabara’s poison drastically lowers Darkness sensitivity. Originally, it’s closer to a liquid, but I remade it in gaseous form.”
“Ghhk!”
Hector tried to move his ghouls out of the toxic smoke, but they wouldn’t budge.
“You bastard!!”
Flash!
Taking advantage of the chaos, Toto’s ghoul charged forward. Of course, Simon had personally modified it to be immune to the poison.
Toto’s ghoul pushed through the green haze and dropped all the collected artifacts onto the altar, including team 1’s red artifact.
“Simon Follentia!!!”
Hector’s eyes blazed with fury, as if he would pounce on Simon at any moment. One of his teammates burst out of the poisonous smoke and summoned a new ghoul.
“Bring back the artifact!”
The ghoul rushed into the green cloud but soon staggered and halted before reaching the altar. In that instant, Toto’s ghoul tore its throat apart and destroyed it.
“Ghhk!”
The controller’s link was severed, making him stumble. His teammate clicked his tongue.
“...Ha, seriously? The altar is right there and we can’t even take it back?”
“What the hell is going on? Since when do ghouls explode like corpses?!”
Finally seizing the advantage, Simon turned his head.
“Give it up, Hector.”
“......”
“There’s only about fifteen minutes left now.”
Hector bit down hard on his lip.
“This poison cloud lingers in the air for about twenty minutes, and I still have three poison ghouls left. Want to keep going?”
“Don’t fall for it, Hector!”
“In that case, we might as well wait until the end—……”
“......Enough.”
Hector shut his eyes tightly.
Blood dripped from his trembling fists. Deep down, he knew it.
“We’re pulling back.”
The battle was already decided.
* * *
Simon’s strategy had been the deciding factor.
With the cooperation of Professor Belya and senior Benya, Simon had obtained a new technique called Corpse Poison Explosion, and he had crafted a plan to make full use of it.
He knew from the beginning that Hector would inevitably attack. By surrendering the red artifact to team 4, he had predicted Hector would hole up at Simon’s altar rather than return empty-handed.
And the exam rules had a crucial detail.
A test-taker may control up to three ghouls at once. Once summoned, a ghoul cannot be returned to subspace.
A strict three-ghoul limit.
In other words, as long as the thought link was not activated, it was possible to pre-summon ghouls in advance. Toto had tested the rule, and Simon buried three ghouls underground near the altar.
Then, with 20 minutes remaining, he detonated them with corpse poison explosion, covering the altar in poison smoke.
Fortunately, the wind didn’t scatter it, and he still had enough ghouls left to trigger further explosions if needed.
It was the perfect victory formula.
Hector conceded defeat and withdrew from the altar. A swift and wise judgment. Had he stubbornly clung to Simon’s team’s artifacts, things would have grown far worse.
Hector instead devoted his remaining time to collecting as many artifacts as possible and returned to his own altar.
Meanwhile, teams 4 and 13 were still fighting tooth and nail, but the battle ended with team 4 barely holding on to their artifact. Of course, they hadn’t managed to secure many others in the process.
At last, time ran out.
Results:
1st place – team 10 (40 points)
2nd place – team 4 (32 points)
3rd place – team 1 (9 points)
4th place – team 13 (5 points)
It was a complete victory for team 10.
“We wonnnnnnn!!”
Eshu jumped up and down, waving her arms wildly. Toto and Loraine rejoiced, and Simon exhaled in relief.
Everyone had followed the strategy to perfection, and they had secured victory together. As they exited the arena, even the students who had been watching on the screen applauded them.
“Well done.”
Aron stood the freshly-finished students in a line and gave his briefing.
“Team 10 succeeded because every single member did their part.”
Simon’s new technique and strategy.
Loraine’s disruption and defense.
Toto’s monster carrying and artifact securing.
Eshu’s deception and scavenging.
“Using ghouls for corpse poison explosion, huh......”
Aron glanced at Simon as if he’d created yet another bizarre contraption. Simon gave an embarrassed smile.
‘Still, this technique has considerable academic value. If I register it with Pentamonium, it’ll sell like crazy.’
The typical corpse explosion suffered a crippling flaw: the zombie bombs were unbearably slow. Simon’s new technique overcame that risk by using ghouls.
Funeral rites boosted a ghoul’s speed, followed by a toxic explosion, a completely new kind of secret art.
It could also be adapted to alter poisons, or even detonate after underground burrowing. The applications were limitless.
“No need for further words. A+. Well done.”
“Thank you!!”
The four high-fived and burst out in radiant smiles.
And though not quite as triumphant as team 10, team 4’s mood was also bright. They hadn’t won first place, but they had defeated their rivals, team 13, and even surpassed Hector’s team 1 to claim second place.
“Thanks. Even if you used us, I won’t forget your help this time!”
The leader of team 4 grinned broadly as he spoke.
Finally, it was Hector’s turn for feedback.
“Hector Moore. The ghouls you developed were by no means inferior to Simon’s exploding ghouls. In fact, their versatility was greater.”
Aron folded his arms.
“But you should know better than anyone why you lost.”
“......Yes.”
Grinding his teeth, Hector bowed his head.
Had he kept his cool instead of being consumed by rage at seeing team 10’s altar empty, and pursued the team that had taken those artifacts instead, the outcome might have been different.
As the briefing wound down, two other matches had already started simultaneously.
Waaaaah!!
Every time someone stood out, the students watching the screens erupted into cheers. Out of curiosity, Simon walked over to watch as well.
“Oh.”
It was the strongest team in this exam.
Aseraz and White’s team 8 had just appeared on the screen.
“What the hell is that?”
Loraine, who had followed behind, widened her eyes.
On the screen, the entire world was dyed pure white.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters