Chapter 541
The exploits of team 8, hailed as the strongest, were extraordinary.
In particular, White’s firepower was astonishing.
He engraved a magic circle with his ability into the body of his ghoul, and the moment the enemy appeared, he activated it. The ghoul became wrapped in a white light and instantly transformed into a shell that soared straight into the enemy ranks, reducing them to scorched earth.
At first it seemed like such a method shouldn’t even be possible, but since it was a technique directly infused into the ghoul, much like Simon’s Corpse Poison Explosion, it wasn’t considered a violation of the detailed rules.
Ranked 5th overall, Aseraz also lived up to her reputation. Her performance was Top 10 quality, no doubt about it.
She had modified the claws of her ghouls into long metal blades, longer than their arms, and when she cast Funeral Chant on them and sent them into the enemy ranks, they cut down groups of four with ease.
—The test has ended.
The result was overwhelming.
1st place – team 8 (60 points)
2nd place – team 3 (12 points)
3rd place – team 14 (6 points)
4th place – team 9 (2 points)
The strongest team 8 crushed the alliance of the other three teams purely with power. Not only did they secure the red relic, but they also stole every relic the other teams had managed to gather.
Of course, even in a seemingly flawless team 8, there were points of criticism.
“—White! White! We need to head to team 9 right now! What are you doing? Follow me!”
“......”
“Please, just listen! White!”
In terms of communication, there were definite shortcomings.
Even after their sweeping victory, Aseraz was already looking at her own teammate White with eyes full of irritation. The other members seemed to think that White’s usage needed to be simplified as well.
Still, to the rest of the students, such flaws were invisible compared to the overwhelming power of team 8.
“......That’s suffocating. How are we supposed to beat that?”
“The only group that might match them would be the president’s team 10.”
“Let’s say the president manages to hold back White. Then who’s going to stop Aseraz?”
The two-headed powerhouse of team 8 had become the focus of everyone’s vigilance.
Meanwhile, Serne’s team 11 was emerging as a new contender.
Serne had pierced feathers into all her ghouls, drawing out their latent fury and destructive instincts, and they consistently overwhelmed the ghouls of the other teams.
Exaggerating a little, it almost looked like she had cast a Funeral Chant with an unusually long duration.
On top of that, Fitzgerald’s precise tactical support made their strategy flawless.
Team 11 also finished the exam in first place for their round.
“This test was truly a victory of strategy.”
Fitzgerald adjusted his glasses and gave his final evaluation.
“If Simon built his plan around the unpredictable variable of Corpse Poison Explosion, then my strategy was based entirely on thoroughly analyzed outcomes to find the path with the highest probability of succe—”
Thwack!
“Be quiet.”
A feather stabbed into the back of his neck, and Fitzgerald suddenly declared he would perform avant-garde interpretive art as an earthworm, then passionately writhed across the floor.
His team members hurriedly helped him up, stealing glances at Serne.
“W-where are you going, Serne?”
“To see Simon~”
And so, one of the most important exams for the second-years came to an end.
“You’ve all worked hard preparing for this evaluation in such a short time.”
Finally, Aron gathered the entire Department of Summonology. With his hands in his pockets, he spoke.
“Let’s hear some brief reflections. What did you learn?”
Hands shot up all over.
“In a short period, by pushing ourselves to the extreme, I realized we can produce meaningful results!”
“I never thought I’d master ghouls in just a few days!”
“I learned that the human body is tougher than I expected!”
Aron waved a hand.
“No need to force yourself. This is individual reflection, unrelated to points or penalties. Feel free to share regrets as well.”
At that, Aseraz and several others raised their hands.
“I feel like I’m dying from stress and insomnia!”
“It was frustrating being forced to use nothing but ghouls throughout the exam!”
“Good.”
Aron nodded, looking around.
“From now on, we professors will continue to burden you in various ways, restrict you, tie your limbs, and pressure you. To you, it may feel like we’re pushing you to drop out. But—”
He lifted his head.
“—the more we do, the stronger you will become. You’ll grow even more than you did moving from first to second year. Remember, the second year is the stage of greatest growth within the three years of Keyzen. Go rest early today and take care of your bodies.”
The students answered in unison.
“Yes, Professor!”
“Thank you, Professor!”
* * *
With the exam over, the entire Department of Summonology returned to Roke Island via teleportation magic circle.
Most, including Simon, had pulled all-nighters preparing for the test, so their condition was terrible.
After returning to the dormitory, Simon requested a day off from student council duties and slept the whole day away.
He remembered collapsing onto his bed... then woke to find it was already the next morning.
‘Wow, I really passed out.’
It seemed the accumulated fatigue had exploded all at once.
Still, after such a deep sleep, his head felt clear and refreshed. His roommate Toto was still out cold.
Simon rubbed his eyes and stumbled toward the bathroom.
‘Actually, since I woke up earlier than usual...’
He checked this week’s schedule.
Today was filled with general and liberal arts courses. There was still plenty of time before his first class, Darkness Dynamics.
‘Maybe I’ll go to the bathhouse.’
He wanted to soak in the hot water and melt away the lingering fatigue.
He packed a towel and a few necessities, then opened the dorm room door.
‘Huh?’
Something was hanging behind the door. A few boxes had been placed in front of his room.
He thought they might’ve been delivered to the wrong place, but checking the labels—
“To Simon Follentia.”
“To the Student Council President of Keyzen.”
They were all addressed correctly.
Inside were expensive wines, luxurious desserts, even high-grade necromancer supplies.
‘What the...?’
Since there were too many to go through right away, Simon pushed them inside his room and continued on to the bathhouse.
“President.”
On the way, students began approaching him.
“Someone asked me to give this to you.”
“Here, take this.”
“Why am I even doing this errand? Some third-year... don’t know who exactly...”
By the time he returned from the bathhouse, Simon’s arms were full of gifts.
“???”
The situation made no sense.
Was this someone’s prank? A new school holiday? His birthday wasn’t for a while.
Back in his dorm room, Simon placed the pile of gifts on his desk with a troubled expression.
‘......This feels a little ominous.’
As Student Council President, it might cause problems if he recklessly opened gifts from unknown sources. Maelyn had even warned him once with similar implications.
Simon merely organized them neatly on his desk, changed into his uniform, and headed for the dorm lobby.
“Hey, President!”
“Morning! Did you eat?”
There were far more greetings than usual. Even students who had never spoken to him before smiled and greeted him warmly.
Even—
“Oh, Student Council President! Thank you for your hard work!”
“Thanks for all you do for the school!”
Even the third-years, who hadn’t acknowledged him as president, were now smiling, patting him on the shoulder, and offering encouragement before walking away.
‘......What the hell is going on?’
At this point, it wasn’t just pleasant, it was downright uncomfortable.
They all had one thing in common.
They were glancing around, checking the reactions of others.
It felt like once someone truly made a move, something big would erupt.
Sensing the unease, Simon hurried to the self-study room to grab his textbooks.
“Simon Follentia.”
But even there, someone was waiting.
Leaning against the door to the self-study room with his arms crossed was Hector. Perhaps still feeling the sting of yesterday’s defeat, his expression was less than pleasant.
Simon forced a smile and greeted him.
“Ah, hey. Hector.”
“Leonard-senior returned yesterday.”
Hector sighed deeply, as if even saying this out loud was a burden.
“You should at least go pay your respects, shouldn’t you?”
‘......Out of nowhere?’
Leonard was ranked 4th among all third-years, and the overall representative of the Department of Summonology.
It was true he held the highest position here, but Simon wondered if it was really necessary to seek him out just to say hello. He was about to politely refuse when—
“No, no, there’s no need for that.”
Both of them stiffened and turned their heads.
It was Leonard himself, standing right there.
Wearing light training clothes as if he had gone for an early morning run, with a crimson jacket draped over his shoulders, he exuded an unmistakable aura.
‘Well, as always...’
Strong. That was the only word that came to mind when seeing him.
“You’re here, sir.”
Hector bowed deeply, and Simon also gave a small nod.
Somehow... Simon had the sinking feeling that he wasn’t going to be able to slip away easily.
“Haha! Don’t be so tense, I just wanted to talk about school matters, that’s all.”
Leonard scratched the back of his neck with a sheepish grin, his trademark friendly smile on his face.
“Truth is, a junior I personally know asked me a favor. Ah~ where do I even start explaining this...”
“Leonard.”
Leonard’s eyes narrowed as he turned.
Another third-year, wearing the same golden badge on her uniform, approached with sharp steps—Benya Vanilla.
“What are you doing right now?”
Her voice was icy. Leonard chuckled awkwardly as he faced her.
“Good morning, Benya.”
“I asked what you think you’re doing.”
“Is it really such a serious matter that the department representative asking a junior how their morning is could be considered ‘what are you doing’?”
Benya’s gaze sharpened.
“If all you wanted was to ask after his morning, then it’s finished now, isn’t it? Let’s go, kid.”
She wrapped an arm around Simon’s shoulder and led him away. Leonard clicked his tongue in annoyance, but said nothing more.
At that moment, Hector spoke up.
“Senior, there was no need to lower yourself and waste words on that guy.”
Leonard just laughed heartily.
“Well, never mind. I was hoping Aizel would be back by this season... but I guess it can’t be helped.”
Simon managed to grab his textbooks safely and headed down the stairs.
“Thank you, Benya-senior. But... is something going on?”
“Hmm—”
She gave him a meaningful smile.
“If you and I are seen sticking together too long, that’ll just look suspicious. I’ll take my leave here.”
“Huh?”
“Goodbye! Let’s meet again later!”
With that, Benya briskly walked away.
‘???’
What did she mean, it would look suspicious for them to be together?
The more time passed, the more questions piled up in Simon’s head.
He walked over to the window and peeked outside.
‘Ah!’
Murmur, murmur, murmur!
Students were crowding in front of the dormitory entrance. Amidst the noise, he could hear mentions of his own name and “the Student Council President”. Clearly, they were all looking for him.
“Good morning, Simon.”
Just then, a black-haired girl approached, completely unconcerned with the changing atmosphere around them. Her demeanor was exactly the same as always.
“Ah, good morning, Loraine! Do you know if today’s some kind of special day?”
“Some kind of day...?”
She tilted her head.
“Not that I know of.”
So even Loraine didn’t know.
After a moment of thought, Simon asked,
“What’s your first class this morning?”
“Toxicology.”
“I’ve got Darkness Dynamics. The lecture halls are close by... want to go together?”
Simon made the suggestion with desperate earnestness. She simply nodded lightly.
“Sure, let’s do that.”
‘Yes!’
Taking Loraine along had been a stroke of genius.
When the students outside saw him walking side by side with the daughter of Neftis, chatting casually, none of them dared approach. Even the mighty third-years were cautious around the daughter of the chancellor.
“Let’s go.”
Simon quickly shaped a golem’s core into a board.
“Hold on tight. We’re leaving right away.”
Loraine climbed on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
Whirrrrrr—!
As Simon sped away, the crowd of students could only watch with frustration, clicking their tongues in regret.
“Hey, Simon!”
Only when he met Dick in the Darkness Dynamics classroom did the truth finally come to light.
Dick slung an arm around Simon’s neck with a grin.
“Nice escape! You know, Maelyn was making such a fuss about how she had to grab you.”
“......Can you please explain what all this commotion is about?”
“Oh, right. You didn’t come to the student council room yesterday, so you missed it. Starting today, it’s that time again.”
Dick smirked and gave a thumbs-up.
“Club Season! The silent war of Keyzen, where everyone fights to secure activity funds!”
Simon let out a hollow laugh.
‘......Since when did Club Season turn into a full-scale war for funding?’
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters