Chapter 598
"Comrade. Are you ready?"
Benya walked toward the skull of Manus, which she had placed on the pedestal.
As she tied her hair while walking, her expression was unusually resolute, making Simon answer with a tense face.
"Yes."
Benya swung her arm, floating a series of magic circles connected to Manus into the air, and then manipulated something with her fingertips.
But then—
‘?’
Nothing happened.
Just as Simon, who had been waiting nervously, was about to ask if something had gone wrong—
Krrrrrrrrrr!
The atmosphere trembled and the ground began to shake. A gleam of light flashed in the hollow sockets of Manus’s skull, which had been reduced to pure white bone.
From inside the skull, extremely complex magic circles began to operate. Various polyhedrons shifted positions and interlocked, while circuits stretched outward from the center, neatly interweaving.
Now—the switch of the former Swordmaster “Manus” was turning on.
Kiiiiing―!
The gleaming light grew larger and larger. Soon, the skull’s jaw opened wide.
-!@&!^*$@%&!!!
And a ferocious scream burst out. Simon hurriedly spread his Darkness Shield. The blade-like darkness slashed scars across the underground chamber.
"Ugh! All I did was activate it, and this is what happens!"
[Khhhhh! This is fascinating!]
At some point, Feer’s clone, clinging to Simon’s uniform, spoke.
[With only the faintest residue of lingering will, it constructed this much! Human black magic has certainly advanced.]
‘B-but the result seems strange!’
[It must be.]
Feer’s voice sank heavily.
[That is no longer the Swordmaster we saw in Deathland. That thing is merely—]
Manus’ skull, twitching and trembling, floated up into the air. Black sparks erupted, and a raging gale swirled around them.
[—nothing but a rampaging slaughter weapon.]
Kkigigigigigik!
This was dangerous. Simon shouted urgently.
"Benya-senior! The underground chamber can’t hold any longer!"
"Got it!"
At last, she forcibly shut down the power of the summoning magic circle. The blazing light in Manus’ skull gradually faded, and it descended back onto the pedestal.
When the rampage ended, Simon and Benya collapsed to the floor at the same time, breathing heavily.
"......As you can see, this is the situation."
Benya spoke.
"We managed to forcibly bind a body that had lost its self and thoughts as a natural undead, dragging it up as a summoned undead. But—"
She gazed at Manus’ skull with a complicated expression.
"From the moment darkness is breathed in to activate it, this undead devotes all of its resources to ‘rampage’. In the end, it will even consume the summoning circle sustaining it, boiling itself away."
"......."
"If it self-destructs like that, restoration will never be possible."
Simon’s expression hardened.
As it stood, this was an uncontrollable and dangerous summon. Just as Feer had said, it was nothing more than a mindless slaughter machine.
‘But it’s also true that this is a powerful material.’
It was an Ancient Undead, equal—or superior—to Prince.
Seeing that overwhelming output sparked a necromancer’s interest in him.
"But what exactly do you plan to use this for?"
"Ah, well......."
Simon answered with a bitter smile.
"I intend to make it the head of a Dullahan."
"????"
Benya’s jaw dropped, dumbfounded.
"To put Manus’ head on a Guardian’s body, making a Dullahan?"
"Yes, senior!"
"......Think it over, comrade."
After carefully checking the seal of the underground chamber, Benya spoke as they ascended the stairs.
"There are many methods to conquer a Dullahan. Taking out a Guardian, which is banned from export, is impossible. But through my connections, I can get you an A+ grade Ogre Lord or Abaddon corpse."
"I appreciate the offer."
Simon smiled as he followed her up the stairs.
"But if my research fails, I’ll ask you then."
"......Ha-ha."
Benya curved her lips, as if helpless.
"Ever since you made an undead out of an Underworld Whale calf’s bones, or created explosive ghouls, I knew."
She lightly patted Simon’s shoulder.
"You, more than anyone, embody the true spirit of the ‘Mutant’."
"If you see me that way, I’m honored."
"Good! I’ll support you with any materials you need for your grotesque Dullahan conquest!"
"Ah, then I’ll gladly accept!"
Simon bowed in thanks and opened the door to the clubroom.
"Ah, they’re out!"
"Student Council President!"
The moment the door opened, first-years were huddled together like chicks.
"Student Council President! Benya-senior!"
"Are you hurt?"
"Are you okay?"
Simon smiled gently.
"Sorry, the sudden tremor must have scared you. Nothing serious happened."
Benya also opened her mouth wide in a cheerful smile.
"My little ones! Were you worried about us?"
For a moment, the atmosphere grew warm and harmonious. Fitzgerald, meanwhile, was already shoved aside by the first-years’ attention, scribbling in a book with teary eyes in the distance.
"Simon-oppa, but what’s down there?"
Sasha asked.
Thinking about it, it wasn’t something to hide, so Simon answered plainly.
"The materials for a Dullahan I’ll use for the midterms."
"Whoaaa―!"
Gasps erupted everywhere.
"A Dullahan! The headless knight, right? I know it!"
"Do second-years really get to make Dullahans?"
"I want to make one too!"
"You should fix that skeleton’s clumsy dance first."
"Yaaahk! Don’t say that!"
Simon chuckled faintly.
Still, having confirmed Manus’ power left him in good spirits today.
"Shall we keep going over your problems?"
"Yeees!"
* * *
In Keyzen, exam-period classes were infamous for being intense.
Of course, Magical Combat was no exception. On the mountain slope of Roke Island, Simon, dressed in PE clothes, was running and panting.
"We’re almost there! Almost!"
"Just a little more strength, students!"
This time, Hongpeng’s combat lesson theme was a ‘Comprehensive Obstacle Course’. Simon looked back and called out.
"Cheer up, Kami!"
"Haa! Haa! Yes, Simon!"
She too, dressed in PE clothes, clenched her eyes shut and pushed forward desperately. Simon encouraged her and looked ahead.
The next course appeared.
On a shelf were arranged a variety of weapons—maces, spears, shields, bows, whips, and more.
"What’s with the weapons all of a sudden?"
"Look, it says we can each only take one!"
After a moment of silence, the students dashed forward to seize weapons.
‘A greatsword!’
Simon immediately spotted what he wanted.
As he reached for the massive greatsword boasting its presence on the shelf—
Chuk!
A large hand grabbed the hilt first.
"Predictable."
Hector sneered with a crooked smile.
He too was taking Hongpeng’s combat class.
"As if I’d let you use your main weapon so easily."
‘Damn it!’
Robbed of the greatsword by a hair’s breadth, Simon had no choice but to look for something else. By now, the later students had already taken most of the familiar blades.
Kamibarez chose a shield.
‘As for me.......’
Few weapons were left.
Simon, reluctantly, chose the whip, shunned by the others. He tugged it experimentally—its elasticity wasn’t bad.
Clank! Clank!
Suddenly, the ground split open, and mechanisms rose up, pointing crossbows at the students.
They recoiled in shock, but fortunately, the bolts weren’t real—they had blunt tips.
"This time it’s about dodging arrows, huh."
"Thank goodness."
The students looked relieved. After all, arrows were something they could easily dodge with their bare bodies, without even needing weapons.
—C Team, now for the next task!
At that moment, Hongpeng’s voice rang out.
—Only the ten students who shoot down the most arrows will pass!
“?!”
So it wasn’t about dodging?!
The thought had barely formed when arrows began pouring in from every direction.
“Ugh!”
Students swung swords and spears awkwardly, but it wasn’t easy to strike arrows with the narrow edges of their blades.
They couldn’t even block the ones flying at them directly, and one after another, they were struck and knocked down.
Kamibarez, her face pale with fear, hid completely behind her shield. Her small frame allowed her to cover herself entirely.
Just by holding up her shield and blocking arrows, she was ranking high.
“Damn it! Should’ve grabbed a shield instead of a weapon!”
“Still, Kami’s cute like this!”
Wham! Wham!
Meanwhile, Hector was furiously swinging his greatsword. Though it had more breadth than other weapons, it was heavy, making it difficult to hit arrows precisely.
“Damn it all!”
Hector hadn’t chosen the greatsword only to interfere with Simon. He was confident in his swordsmanship too, but rules about shooting arrows had been totally unexpected.
And then—
“Wooooaaahhh!”
“What the hell?! Look at him!”
Simon was practically flying.
He wrapped his whip in strands of darkness, freely controlling its curves, then lashed it in every direction.
Pwak!
Thwack!
Not only did he strike down arrows coming at him, but he also sniped arrows flying in midair.
Each time Simon swung the whip, three to four arrows fell.
“Damn bastard!”
Watching him, Hector’s body began oozing streams of black droplets. It was Internal Darkness Divergence, a technique that temporarily strengthened his body.
With his enhanced power, Hector swung the heavy greatsword like a toy, but Simon only smiled faintly.
“Won’t you wear yourself out using ‘Divergence’ this soon?”
“Shut up!”
The fierce competition between the two boys made the other students cry out.
“You lunatics! At least look before you swing!”
Once again, this obstacle course became a stage for 1st place Simon and 2nd place Hector.
* * *
The next class was Defense Against Holiness, taught by Professor Farahan, once a priest.
Stroking his long beard like a sage, Farahan began asking the students questions one by one from the textbook.
“The meaning of the cross traced up and down, as shown in the diagram—?”
At once, a hand shot up higher than anyone else’s.
“Simon Follentia. It signifies ‘obedience to superiors’.”
“And the meaning of the garido?”
“Simon Follentia. ‘The rite of Eucharist’.”
“And in this formula, the use of the audio rune is—?”
“Simon Follentia. A white magic spell in Blessing Studies for auditory enhancement.”
Just like in his first year, Simon completely dominated Defense Against Holiness in his second year too.
The A-class students were used to it, but the others were all stunned.
“How the hell does he know all that?”
“......At this point, isn’t he basically a priest himself?”
As Simon steadily racked up points for shop credits and performance evaluations, Farahan let out a wry smile.
“Student, see me after class.”
“Yes, sir!”
After finishing the last Defense Against Holiness lecture before midterms, Simon accompanied Farahan to his home, far from the campus.
His house was up in the mountains. The distance was long, but it was a pleasant walk.
“Why work so hard?”
Farahan smiled as he spoke.
“You’ll be first in Defense Against Holiness anyway.”
No necromancer student could beat Simon, who had actually been to the Holy Federation and could wield holiness directly, unlike the others who only studied theory.
Simon also smiled back.
“I can’t afford to get complacent.”
—Meow! Meeooow!
—Nya! Nya! Nya!
As they neared the house, loud cries rang out. Simon’s familiars, the kittens Whitey and Blackey, came rushing to greet him.
“Hey there! How’ve you been?”
Simon ran over and scooped them into his arms. The kittens squirmed and pawed at his head, messing up his hair.
—Why don’t you visit more often?
—Bad human!
That’s what they seemed to be saying. Simon laughed warmly, stroking them.
“Sorry, I’ve just been insanely busy. I’ll come more often.”
Before long, his bear-like divine beast, Akallion, came up and rubbed its cheek against his leg.
Together with his three familiars, Simon entered Farahan’s house.
Over tea, they talked. Simon recounted what had happened in the Tower of Time—especially about Chaos and Void.
“So your future self mastered those powers at will.”
“Yes.”
Simon raised both hands, conjuring white and black energies.
“But I still can’t fully merge the two.”
“Don’t rush it.”
Farahan waved his fan gently.
“You haven’t mastered either darkness or holiness yet. Once your ability grows, the path to Void will open naturally.”
Simon nodded, agreeing.
Merging darkness and holiness.
The concept seemed simple, but the enlightenment and level of mastery it demanded were immeasurable.
“In that case, holiness is the more urgent side.”
Farahan spoke again.
“Thanks to your familiars, your Divine Beastology is advanced, but you’ve never trained in offensive holy magic.”
“Ah, but I know one.”
Simon immediately unleashed white magic.
<Lete’s Original – La Escrime>
Lines of holiness spread, wrapping bands of blessing around a spear shaft, transforming it into a drill shape.
“Oooh! What technique is this?!”
Farahan shot up from his seat.
“Such beauty, such efficiency! A fusion of Holiness Dynamics and Blessing Studies! Yes, this refines the Holy Spear series into fivefold blessings....”
Working in Keyzen, Farahan rarely saw white magic at this level, so he was visibly thrilled.
He bustled back and forth, observing La Escrime from every angle. Simon, chin resting on his hand, simply watched—then his gaze shifted.
‘Come to think of it.’
White clouds drifted outside the window.
‘I wonder how Lete is doing these days.’
* * *
In the Holy Federation’s sanctuary, the base of Efnelle.
Heaven Island.
“Gratula mi kibílis.”
“We greet the closest daughter of the Goddess.”
“Please bestow blessings upon our sons who have gone to war....”
The residents all bowed deeply or fell prostrate in reverence.
And then—
“I shall pray that your son returns safely. The Goddess will surely watch over him.”
On a spotless, dust-free street, a girl with silver-white hair walked, trailing starlight as she passed.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters