Chapter 550
Benya Vanilla of the 3rd year entered the clubroom.
‘Who?’
The 1st years blinked their eyes wide, wondering who she was.
Then, seeing the 2nd year seniors all bow their heads at once, they realized something unusual was going on.
And then they noticed it belatedly, the gleaming golden badge on the collar of her school uniform.
That symbolized only one thing.
‘A 3rd year!’
For the 1st years who were still preoccupied with competing against classmates, and even the 2nd years they only sometimes encountered, a 3rd year was someone they almost never got to meet.
They were like legendary beasts, and at the same time, objects of admiration.
After just a few months of this life, they already felt like they were dying—how could anyone endure over two years of it here?
“Greetings, Milady Senior!”
Catching the mood, the 1st years all bent their waists in greeting. Even Molly and Sasha did the same.
Benya clapped her hands with a flushed face.
“Hello, 1st years~ Oh my, you’re all such babies! So adorable!”
She, too, was seeing the 1st years for the first time. As Benya and the 1st years exchanged small talk, the room grew warm and lively.
“I had a bit of time, so I stopped by. You’re holding entrance interviews, right?”
Benya glanced at the 2nd years as she spoke. Fitzgerald pushed up his glasses.
“Yes, Senior. We’re honored you came. Please observe with us.”
“Thanks.”
Simon brought a chair from behind. Once she sat down, he even kindly draped a blanket over her knees. Benya thanked him with a gentle eye-smile.
“Toto.”
At Fitzgerald’s call, Toto, who had been spacing out, grabbed his black hat in a fluster.
“T-then! N-now! W-we will begin the interview!”
With Benya watching, his nervousness was written all over his face.
From his 1st year, Toto had always seemed to have a crush on Benya.
Fitzgerald gave him a signal to steady himself, and Toto nodded back.
“You, you all saw the flyers, right! Our Mutant Club does not deal with common summons! We handle only special summons of our own!”
He turned with a flourish, his hat covering one eye.
“That’s the most basic condition for entry! Through this interview, we’ll confirm what unique summons you possess!”
He stretched out his arm at the 1st years.
“What distinct summon do you commune with? Show me!”
Kyaaaaaah—!
But the cheers weren’t from the 1st years. Benya was behind them, clapping like a seal.
“Little cadet! You still remember the lines I used when I did the interview? I’m so touched!”
Toto’s face went beet red.
As he stammered wordlessly, Simon quickly stepped forward and spoke in his place.
“Then we’ll evaluate the summons one by one starting from the right. Only the person on the far right will remain, the others step back and sit.”
“Yes, Senior!”
As they moved back, the 1st years couldn’t resist whispering noisily.
“As expected, a 3rd year is different! She just called that scary senior ‘little cadet’.”
“But doesn’t that hat-wearing senior look familiar?”
“What?”
“That cute girl who handed out flyers, remember?”
“No way~”
Toto was facing the greatest crisis of his life. Cold sweat dripped down the back of his neck.
‘If the 1st years find out here, my school life is over!’
Breathing heavily, he pressed his black hat down firmly.
‘I am Senior Will Douglas. I am Senior Will Douglas. I am…!’
“Cheer up! Little cadet!”
Benya cheerfully waved her hand, shouting encouragement.
Of course, from Toto’s point of view, it only made things worse.
Thus, with preparations complete, the 1st years stepped up one by one.
“The summon I’ve prepared is…!”
“I brought this summon!”
The 1st years hesitantly pulled from subspace their modified zombies or skeletons.
It was obvious they had hastily prepared them for the interview.
“How is that different from an ordinary skeleton?”
“Well… its color is pink!”
“Rejected—!”
Without another look, Toto shouted loudly.
“You thought you could pass with just this? Don’t underestimate mutants!”
Even the second candidate was rejected and left the room. The 1st years trembled at the sudden chill in the atmosphere, while Toto, his hat shadowing his eyes, approached Simon.
Simon whispered.
“What’s wrong, Toto? You’re doing fine…”
‘I can’t do this anymore!’
His eyes welled with tears.
“I-I’m the one rejecting them! I feel so sorry! When I failed the last one, I looked into their eyes and they were teary! I feel insanely guilty!”
Though acting as the stern officer, he couldn’t escape his soft-hearted nature.
Simon soothed him, saying he would give the rejection signs instead. Toto nodded and steeled himself once more.
“Next!”
This time his voice was slightly nasal, as if holding back tears.
And now came the turn everyone was waiting for—Sasha’s turn.
“Special Admission No.1, Sasha Endrasil.”
Declaring her special number boldly, she smirked and glanced back. Princess Molly bit her lip.
“I’ll show you.”
Sasha pulled her summon from subspace.
It was a summon entwined in brown vines, with two round eyes peeking out from within.
“Vinepus!”
Benya, excited, stomped her feet and shrieked with delight.
“You undeadified a vine monster, didn’t you? Not many necromancers can handle that properly!”
“Yes. But I can use my ability.”
Sasha raised a finger.
Chwarrrrk!
Chwarrrrk!
Vines lashed wildly in every direction.
“I can forcibly amplify Vinepus’ vine ability.”
The problem was, Sasha’s ability was too strong. The rampaging vines quickly filled the narrow clubroom.
Simon easily leaned his body aside to avoid them and struck away the vines reaching Benya. Fitzgerald and Toto ducked under a desk.
The 1st years crouched low to avoid them, but unfortunately, Molly was caught. Her leg was snared and she was hoisted upside down.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
Molly clutched her uniform skirt in panic. The 1st year boys and Toto quickly averted their eyes.
“Ah, sorry.”
With a wave of Sasha’s hand, Molly was dropped to the floor with a thud.
“Ugh, hey!”
Molly shouted with a blazing red face.
“You did that on purpose!”
“My undead control is still immature, but I wish to refine it further in the Mutant Club. That’s all.”
“Don’t ignore me!!”
‘…Ha ha.’
Simon gave a wry smile.
Even if inside Keyzen everyone was equal without class, treating a royal princess like that—was she simply careless, or just bold?
“The result?”
Sasha asked brazenly.
Benya looked like she could barely restrain herself from touching Vinepus, and Toto also tried hard to hide his surprise.
Simon spoke for them.
“You pass. Well done, Sasha.”
“Thank you!”
Beaming at Simon, Sasha then turned sharply, wearing a victor’s expression as she returned to the 1st years.
“Wow, not bad! Sasha!”
Arthur held out his palm for a high-five, but Sasha breezed right past him. Arthur scratched his head awkwardly.
“Next.”
“That’s me!”
This time it was Arthur’s turn.
“I am Arthur Bleman! Still lacking, but I inherited the name of the Mercenary King!”
“Mercenary King!”
Benya clapped her hands.
“I love stories about the Mercenary King grandpa.”
Fitzgerald also pushed up his glasses.
“There are many books about him too. A warm-hearted hero who helped the struggling people of the continent.”
“Thank you for your kind words!”
But grandson or not, Arthur had to prove his skill to join the Mutant Club.
Arthur drew a sword from subspace.
“A sword?”
Toto frowned.
“Are you mocking our Mutant Club? Taking out a weapon in a summon interview!”
“It’s not an ordinary weapon.”
Gripping the hilt with both hands, Arthur spoke.
“It is properly a summon!”
Kiiiiiiiing—!
As Arthur infused it with Darkness, the sword rattled and came alive.
‘Ah, that.’
Simon had seen it once before, when fighting alongside Arthur on the Pharonna Peninsula.
A serpent sword made from the bones of a giant monster.
Large bone fragments connected by wire, extending and retracting like a whip. It resembled the Overlord, and the control was managed through a summoning magic circle like an undead.
The room was too small to swing it, so Arthur only infused it with Darkness, demonstrating its extending and contracting form.
Exclamations of awe erupted all around.
“This sword was passed down from my grandfather.”
Arthur spoke.
“After my grandfather passed away, I replaced the sword’s magic circle with my own Darkness, but the sword does not fully obey my commands. It’s because I’m still too weak.”
With a bitter smile, he slowly lowered the sword.
“But one day, I want to perfectly master this serpent sword, and the other two swords my grandfather left behind as well! Here in Keyzen, and here in the Mutant Club!”
“O-of course it’s impressive, but!”
Toto muttered, pulling his black hat low.
“That’s still… difficult to call an actual summon…”
“Magnificent!”
Benya cried out with a face full of emotion, clapping her hands in a loud bravo.
“Mercenary King cadet! Your sword is exactly the kind of grotesque, peculiar summon that belongs in our Mutant Club! And it even comes with a story!”
“Hahaha! Thank you!”
“May I touch it?”
“Yes! As much as you like!”
Benya had already fallen head over heels.
Fitzgerald was the president, Toto the examiner, but in truth, Benya of the Vanilla family was the absolute authority in this club.
Even Simon thought Arthur’s summoned weapon lacked nothing to qualify for Mutant Club.
Toto cleared his throat.
“Y-you pass.”
“Thank you very much!”
And so, the rest of the 1st years went through their interviews.
From then on, Simon didn’t even need to give signals anymore—just by watching Benya’s reactions, they knew.
If she sat on her chair, bouncing her hips with excitement, wanting to rush out—pass.
If her reaction was lukewarm, or if she only gave a pitying smile—fail.
Toto, too, judged based on Benya’s responses now. In fact, no one here knew more about undead than the heir of the Vanilla family.
Now it was finally the turn of Special Admission No. 10, Princess Molly.
Nervously glancing at her seniors, she pulled a skeleton from subspace.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary skeleton.
“A-a special skeleton crafted from blue-gold, rarer than even gold itself!”
Benya leapt forward and ran her hands eagerly over the skeleton, then whipped her head around.
“Where on earth did you get something like this, Princess?!”
Molly bowed her head with a bright red face.
“M-my father gave it as a gift for my admission into Keyzen… He had all the undead in the textbooks remade in blue-gold for me.”
“Incredible!”
Truly the royalty of wealthy Dresden.
It was a passing result powered by overwhelming capital, far beyond any standard.
So far, out of 17 candidates, 9 had passed.
And at last—
Clack.
White stepped forward.
Toto was desperately trying to maintain his air of authority before the juniors, but in front of White, a fellow 2nd-year Summonology major, he immediately shrank.
“…S-start, then.”
White gave a nod, then looked toward Simon.
Simon blinked in confusion.
‘Why me again?’
White gestured—asking him to come forward.
“Use your ability.”
‘Ah.’
White’s ability was to absorb another’s Darkness and transform it into an alien “white Darkness”.
To use it, he needed someone else’s Darkness.
“Simon, you don’t need to. I can—”
Fitzgerald rose from his seat, but Simon raised a hand to stop him.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll go.”
White was clearly aiming for him.
Calmly, Simon walked forward and stood before White. The two faced each other in silence for a moment.
“What should I do?”
At Simon’s question, White silently raised his palm.
‘Just a touch, then.’
Simon raised his own palm, placing it against White’s.
‘!’
His Darkness began to be drawn out, sucked into White. Fitzgerald and Toto readied curses, in case something happened.
But nothing did.
Though tense, expecting his Darkness to be drained dry, White only absorbed just enough for himself before stepping back.
Wooong!
From his hand, alien white Darkness unfolded. With his ability, he traced a summoning magic circle on the floor and pulled something from subspace.
An empty suit of armor.
When he dropped it onto the circle, the white Darkness flowed into the armor.
‘This is…’
The white Darkness formed the shape of a human, taking on the appearance of a warrior clad in armor.
It seemed bound within the circle, but it was clearly a summon created with a magic circle.
“White cadet! Amaaaazing!”
Unable to restrain herself, Benya dashed forward. Running her hands all over the armor, she showered it with praise.
“The ability itself is incredible, but the summoning circle’s structure is so original! I’ve never seen such an arrangement before—wow! How did you even think of this?”
‘…There’s no way I can fail him after this.’
Among all the summons they’d seen, this was the most powerful.
Then, the massive white entity White had created turned its gaze toward Simon.
Zzzzt!
Sparks jumped from its body as it raised its arm toward him.
“?”
Simon blinked.
$@&!#^&
A voice was felt.
Like the thoughts of an undead.
Was it trying to take his hand?
Entranced, Simon placed his palm against the white summon’s outstretched hand.
Paaaat!
The white summon’s body crumbled, and the Darkness that composed it surged directly into Simon’s body.
Clatter!
Clunk!
The summoning released, the empty armor pieces clattering to the floor.
“?”
Simon looked down at his hand in bewilderment. The Darkness that had been taken by White had returned entirely.
Thud!
White suddenly grimaced and dropped to one knee.
“What’s wrong?”
“Are you alright?”
The students rushed over in alarm.
White, sweat streaming down his forehead, stared up at Simon.
“……”
His eyes were filled with a look.
As though he was staring at a monster.
Whatever had just happened, it was clearly something White had never expected.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters