Chapter 580
“Fwooo―”
Simon closed his eyes and slowly exhaled, steadying his breathing as he drew his concentration higher.
After taking time to clear every distracting thought from his mind, he opened his eyes. On the table before him lay a training-grade biological organ.
It resembled a lung, twitching and flexing on its own. Its sole function was to inhale mana from the air and exhale it back out.
Next.
Simon’s gaze shifted to the magic circle set beneath it.
Only about one-third complete. The perimeter and the base formula were in place, but the slots for the runes and core formulas were still blank.
It was like staring at a quiz problem.
What formula was needed for this blank space?
Which rune would best fit this configuration?
If he filled it in correctly and applied it to the biological organ, the result would be an engine capable of converting mana into Darkness.
‘Alright, alright… how do I do this?’
First, he reminded himself of the goal.
‘I have to convert mana into Darkness.’
Then he recalled the knowledge required for that goal.
‘Since I’m dealing with Darkness, I’ll need to mutate the biological organ into an undead organ first.’
For undead conversion? A modification formula, plus the Decomposition Formula. Learned that during Ghoul class.
What auxiliary formula supports the main rune? Subsidiary circuits should be enough. Just like with a Crypt Guard in the textbook.
By questioning and answering himself, Simon built hypotheses and assembled a framework.
Strangely, the answers came smoothly.
As soon as he thought of one piece, another clicked into place. All the knowledge he’d accumulated up until now surfaced, bolstering his reasoning.
Let’s make the mental draft more solid.
While other students were still bickering over materials, Simon dumped every single note he had taken in Summonology out of his bag.
Other tables were piled high with materials. Simon’s desk, in contrast, was covered only with notebooks.
On a blank page, he drew a magic circle, branching out formulas around it like a tree.
Link with a modification formula.
‘Professor Aron put so much emphasis on the Rune of Reminiscence. Where can I apply it? Keep the lung’s function intact? Ah, then…!’
Ideas linked to more ideas.
Like floodgates bursting, realizations flooded his mind.
‘I’ve got the theory pinned down. Now for practice.’
Carefully, Simon began completing the magic circle. He first drafted the formulas that formed the foundation for the main rune, then attached the sub-formulas and secondary runes around them.
Soon, he engraved the completed magic circle onto the biological organ. But it didn’t function as he wanted.
‘I aligned it with the modification formula. So why isn’t it moving? Something missing? If the circle itself is fine, then… ah!’
Once he had the circle finished, he finally saw which materials he needed. Simon was the very last among all 52 Summonology students to grab a basket and dash off to gather ingredients.
White-silk herb extract, a base node, and Opel.
After acquiring what he needed, he boiled water in a prepared cauldron, added the ingredients, and stirred, slowly reinforcing the organ.
At one stage he had to puncture holes in the organ with a scalpel. Passing Darkness threads through and knotting them in reverse—a technique unmistakably from Chimera design.
‘All stuff I know already.’
It was different from when he had relied on raw talent to make a Lich.
Now he was leaning on knowledge he’d studied, arranging it intuitively.
What once seemed an unsolvable riddle was becoming a puzzle. Fragments of knowledge, once unrelated, clicked together neatly, revealing the bigger picture.
‘Perfect.’
He couldn’t help the smile tugging at his lips.
While Simon surged ahead like this, the other students were slowly starting to catch on as well.
The complaining voices were gone. Only the scratching of quills and the slicing of scalpels filled the air. The workshop had fallen into near silence as everyone concentrated.
“Wh-what the…?”
Those who had given up at the start now looked foolish.
“Did you figure something out? How the hell—?”
“Busy. Don’t talk.”
The important thing was trying something, anything.
Aron’s assignment—to create the “engine” of a Dullahan despite never being taught it—had naturally seemed absurd to everyone.
But once you dared to try, once you thought hard on it, as Summonology students, mental images began surfacing bit by bit.
Grasp onto those and take the first step, and you were moving forward.
Some students split their organs in half. Others wrapped them in layers, or dripped toxins to spark chemical reactions.
Because this wasn’t a rigidly structured class but an open, freeform one, clever ideas kept bubbling up.
“Assistant teacher.”
Focused on his work, Simon raised his hand. The assistant approached.
“Yes, student? What is it?”
“Do we have to use only the materials provided here?”
“No. This is free creative practice. Anything you want to use is—”
Riiiip!
Before the assistant even finished speaking, Simon tore apart the “Mini Night Terror” he had once made in Summon Materials Science class.
Then he began attaching its parts all over the biological organ.
The assistant’s eyes widened.
‘…What sort of bizarre contraption is he trying now?’
* * *
“Time’s up. Everyone, hands off.”
Aron’s voice rang out. The students stepped back from their tables.
“Well done. I saw plenty of bold and creative methods—enough to inspire even me. But remember: we are necromancers. This is an exam, and points must be given by results.”
He tapped his shoulder with the clipboard in his hand.
“Anyone whose outlet isn’t emitting Darkness, step out.”
Groans of regret echoed as a tide of students shuffled away. Soon only about a dozen remained in the outdoor training ground.
Simon, Hector, Aseraz, Fitzgerald—the model students—were there, but also some surprising names.
‘…Toto!’
Even though top students like Eshu Arzel and Pierre Buckley had failed, Toto had proudly remained. Aron went to him first.
“Toto Amoriya, activate your engine.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Toto set his biological organ in motion. Outwardly, little changed. But soon the organ began pounding vigorously, drawing in mana.
From the outlet emerged unmistakable mana—but tinged with a faint, smoky darkness.
“…Oh? That counts as a success, doesn’t it?”
“There’s a trace amount of Darkness, yes.”
“Well done, Toto!”
Eshu shouted last:
“To make a Death Knight, a Dullahan’s nothing!”
Toto’s face flushed red as scattered laughter rose.
“Hmph.”
But Aron’s expression was grim.
“Did you inscribe a Darkness magic circle inside the organ?”
“Uh, yes, Professor!”
“The mana isn’t converting into Darkness. What’s happening is that the internal Darkness circle is collapsing and leaking out with the mana. Wrong approach. Step back.”
Hahahahaha!
Laughter exploded all around. Toto’s face reddened even further as he retreated.
“…I still think it was a good attempt.”
Kind-hearted Loraine offered encouragement, but with Eshu clutching her belly and cackling beside her, the words barely helped.
The next evaluations continued.
Particularly, all eyes turned to Aseraz’s creation. From her outlet oozed thick, black sludge that maintained a tar-like consistency, the Darkness concentration visibly high.
“You walked the orthodox path while chasing maximum efficiency. This could be used in a textbook.”
“Thank you, Professor!”
Next up was Hector.
His creation had been altered so much that its original form was hardly recognizable. Holes dotted its surface, making it impossible to tell which were inlets and which were outlets.
“You forced in a strong mutation.”
“Yes, Professor.”
Hector replied proudly.
“I altered the modification formula and the Decomposition Formula to drive the mutation to an even more extreme state.”
“Activate it.”
When Hector triggered the magic circle, every hole in the organ began sucking in mana. The inflow was so strong it was visibly detectable.
“What the? It’s just inhaling mana endlessly!”
“What about the output?”
Students muttered in confusion, but Hector’s faction wore knowing smiles.
Bwoooom!
Suddenly, Darkness spewed out thick and black from every opening. The output matched the tremendous intake.
The chatter died at once. Even Aron nodded in approval.
“You converted the output system.”
Hector nodded.
“Yes. I thought of a way to unleash tremendous force in a single burst.”
“It deviates a little from a Dullahan’s base design, but it’s undeniably an impressive engine. Well done. Top marks.”
“Thank you, Professor.”
Hector bowed deeply. His friends rushed over noisily, slapping his back and throwing their arms around his shoulders.
“And next…”
Aron strode to Simon’s desk.
“I distinctly said to create a Darkness emission organ, Simon Follentia.”
On Simon’s table sat the “Night Terror” he had crafted before. From its rear swayed a tail of Darkness, flicking back and forth.
“Yes, I constructed the emission organ properly, Professor.”
Simon replied.
Looking closer, the organ was embedded inside the Night Terror’s shell.
Aron chuckled.
“Activate it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Simon lifted the Night Terror and set it down onto the snowy ground.
“??”
Students in the back stepped closer with puzzled faces. Simon spread his palm and activated the circle.
Kiiiiing!
The internal circle lit up, and the shell began drawing in mana through its holes. Then—
Boomboomboomboom!
The Night Terror suddenly whipped its tail of Darkness at incredible speed and shot forward.
“Wha—!”
“How is that thing moving?!”
Students gasped and leapt aside as the Night Terror rocketed across the snow like a missile, plowing forward until it slammed into the fence.
Thuuuud!
Even then, it kept straining forward, tail lashing furiously, emitting a screeching grind.
“I not only converted mana into Darkness, but also transformed the harvested Darkness into speed.”
Simon explained.
‘…Utterly outrageous.’
Aron’s lips curved into a smile.
That “speed into motive force” was the principle behind the Dullahan.
‘Don’t get too far ahead, you damned genius.’
The screeching continued as the fence groaned under the Night Terror’s pressure.
* * *
After the evaluation ended, the assistants gathered all the students.
“I am an educator.”
Aron began.
“In a department of more than fifty, the in-school curriculum must inevitably be standardized, and students often take a passive role in absorbing knowledge.”
The students stood silently at attention, listening.
“So before teaching you to make a Dullahan, I gave you the opportunity to display your own creativity. Yes, some of you had complaints—”
A few students flinched guiltily.
“I understand those complaints. But right before injecting fixed knowledge, you must reflect. If I were the first person to create a Dullahan, how would I do it? If I were the pioneer, how would I begin? I wanted you to experience even a fraction of the revelations those countless trailblazers felt. To deny you such opportunities and calcify your minds with rote knowledge alone would make me unfit as an educator.”
Simon quietly nodded.
Whether success or failure, the outcome didn’t matter. The knowledge understood and realized through one’s own inquiry—that was the knowledge that truly became yours.
“Professor.”
The head assistant approached Aron and whispered something. Aron nodded.
“Now, we’ll begin the official class on constructing a Dullahan. Students with no results today must follow desperately. Students with results—compare what you thought was correct with the actual method as we go.”
“Yes, Professor!”
The special lecture lasted until evening.
After rotating between outdoor practice and indoor theory, the students finally shuffled out of the lecture hall with hollow faces.
“Oh.”
“That smells good.”
As they staggered like zombies, a large pot of warm meat soup was simmering nearby.
“Waaaah!”
Distribution began. Students lined up, receiving bowls of soup and bread before sitting down to eat.
Simon blew on a spoonful, then tasted it.
‘Ahh, I feel alive again.’
On a cold day like this, nothing beat hot soup.
“Mmm. Tasty, but for such a grueling schedule, isn’t this dinner a bit stingy?”
Eshu piped up suddenly.
“Meat! More meat! We came all the way here—shouldn’t we at least have a barbecue feast?!”
“We’re not here on vacation, Eshu.”
Loraine sat demurely, dipping bread into her soup as she spoke. Eshu pouted.
“W-well, of course!”
“Listen up.”
Aron walked among them, projecting his voice.
“Tonight, the assistants prepared your meal because you lacked time. But starting tomorrow, you will handle meals yourselves.”
A chorus of groans rose.
Nothing was ever easy.
“Tomorrow’s special lecture also begins early, so don’t be late. That’s all.”
Aron left with just those words. The members of Team 10 immediately began to discuss.
“What do we eat tomorrow?”
Simon asked.
Eshu smirked, folding her arms.
“Monster meat, of course. They say plenty of those dinosaur-type beasts roam outside.”
Toto and Loraine froze, their faces stiff.
“D-don’t tell me we really have to eat that?”
“It’ll be all tendon and no meat.”
Good meals and proper sleep were vital to surviving such harsh training. Sleeping quarters had been settled, but meals remained a problem.
‘Troublesome. If we factor in both hunting and cooking, do we have to wake before dawn?’
Simon frowned in thought.
“President!”
Eshu nudged Simon playfully with a grin.
“I’ve got a great idea!”
“What is it?”
She glanced around, lowered her voice, and whispered.
“Tonight—let’s sneak down to the village. I know where it is.”
Simon’s eyes widened.
‘A village?’
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters