Chapter 610
Three days had passed since the news that the <Dark Emperor> tournament would be held spread throughout the entire school.
The Summonology Department, ambitiously aiming for overall victory, was doubling its efforts with both morning and evening training. Students once again stepped out of their dorms at dawn, facing the brisk morning breeze.
After changing into training uniforms, they finished some light stretching and group jogging before moving on to individual practice.
“Ready?”
Raising herself from a leg stretch, Loraine asked calmly.
“Anytime.”
Simon, standing a little apart, nodded.
They even had spectators. Toto and Eshu, perched side by side on a rock, clapped their hands with a cheer.
“Go Simon!”
“You must win, Lady Loraine!”
Loraine exhaled sharply and spread her legs shoulder-width apart. Darkness surged within her as she thrust both arms forward with force. Bones scattered across the grass floated up and shot toward Simon.
It was Bone Nail, the most basic of skeletal restoration techniques.
Simon flicked his fingers in reply.
Bang! Crack!
His countering bones, moving so quickly they were nearly invisible, struck Loraine’s projectiles with precision, knocking them down.
Then, raising one hand and pressing down with the other, Simon caused more bones above her head to rain down.
‘Fast!’
Loraine stopped her assault and leapt aside. Bones hammered into the ground where she had just been.
Whoosh!
Her ebony-black hair flew as she sprang into the air, swinging her arms wide. Subspace tore open, and bones shot out like arrows.
<Bone Spear>
While flying, the bones clicked together midair, forming spears with reinforced power and piercing force.
Simon calmly lowered his arms.
<Bone Prison>
Bones, already waiting above, arranged themselves into a cage and trapped him. Almost simultaneously, the incoming spears clashed against the bars and ricocheted away.
A flicker of surprise passed over Loraine’s face.
‘He used Bone Prison, a restraining technique, for defense?!’
Swish!
Simon kicked the ground and charged straight at her.
The instant his body touched the bone bars, they collapsed smoothly and refitted themselves into armor shaped perfectly to his body.
Toto and Eshu gasped.
“Bone Prison turned into Bone Armor!”
“Whoa! That skeleton control is insane!”
Loraine lifted more bones and fired another wave of Bone Nail. Simon responded by breaking parts of his armor apart.
With a clatter, fragments of the armor launched like bullets, intercepting her projectiles midair.
‘As expected of Simon.’
Loraine couldn’t help but admire him inwardly.
Clack!
Simon swept his arm back. The bones scattered across the ground reassembled themselves into several Bone Spears.
Vwoom!
At his forward thrust, five spears shot out with a sonic boom.
“Hmph!”
Loraine hastily cast black magic. She couldn’t intercept them as precisely as Simon, but she latched floating bones onto the incoming spears, exerting gravitational pull and twisted their trajectory aside.
‘And from the front!’
Simon, still clad in Bone Armor, came charging. Loraine prepared for Magical Combat stance.
‘!’
But Simon abruptly twisted back, withdrawing. Instead, the Bone Armor, still molded to his body’s shape, surged forward on its own and latched onto Loraine.
‘Ah!’
Shhhk!
As Simon slid back across the dirt, he gestured.
<Bone Chain>
Clank!
The armor constricted tightly, twisting her arms behind her back and binding her legs together.
‘?!’
With a raise of his arm, Simon lifted her, suspended midair, shackled by bone.
‘The finish.’
His hands moved like a conductor’s baton.
<Simon’s Original – Bone Nail>
Aside from the chains binding her, every remaining bone fragment aimed its sharpened tips at Loraine.
Countless spikes shot toward her as Simon turned his back.
That moment—
Voooooom!
Darkness rippled in Loraine’s eyes.
Fwaaaaaash!
She flexed her limbs, breaking free. A massive wave of Darkness pulsed outward, shattering the Bone Chain and repelling every incoming bone in all directions.
Thud! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
The bones, bouncing back with several times their launched force, embedded themselves deep into the field and even flew into the forest.
“......”
“......”
Silence fell.
Landing on the ground, Loraine brushed her hair awkwardly.
“Sorry, Simon. We said only skeleton techniques, but I couldn’t help myself... It’s my loss.”
Simon smiled faintly.
“Your restoration skills have improved a lot.”
Just three days ago, when she’d first asked Simon to teach her skeletal restoration, it had taken her quite some time to assemble even a single Bone Spear.
But now, she was already this advanced. While her theory and academic work seemed ordinary, her absurd talent and skill left no doubt that she was indeed the daughter of Lady Neftis.
‘...But still.’
It felt like watching someone wear clothes that didn’t fit.
Like a giant awkwardly learning to knit with a needle meant for humans.
Loraine’s Darkness wasn’t just abundant—“abundant” was far too weak a word. It was vast, like the ocean.
She certainly had the greatest Darkness reserves in her year. Perhaps even in all of Keyzen.
‘Does someone like Loraine really need techniques like Bone Spear or Bone Armor?’
Restoration arts suited Simon, who thrived in stylish, versatile combat. But for Loraine, they were ill-fitting. With her sheer ocean of Darkness, brute force conversions into destructive blows would be far more powerful.
‘...Still, Lady Neftis must have had a reason to seal Loraine’s powers herself.’
Simon’s gaze drifted briefly to the choker necklace around Loraine’s throat, the shackle that always bound her.
She was back to being an ordinary student, relearning necromancer knowledge from the ground up. Simon hoped that someday all this studying would bear fruit for her.
“You two okay?”
Toto and Eshu rushed over. Loraine smiled.
“I’m fine, thank you, Toto.”
“Y-yeah!”
Toto still seemed intimidated by her.
But Eshu, without such restraint, grinned and tapped Simon’s arm.
“Wow~ Prez, you’re ruthless. No mercy at all! Do you realize if Lady Loraine even got scratched, the entire Dark Alliance would go berserk?”
“...She was wearing a barrier under her uniform anyway.”
“Seriously? That’s not the point. Do you even get the context?”
Then it happened.
“Hey~ hey~!”
A male student came jogging up, waving from afar. His loose, swaggering gait was instantly recognizable.
“Simon!”
Simon’s eyes widened in shock at the unexpected arrival.
“Dick?”
“Hahaha!”
Dick Hayword laughed heartily and threw an arm around Simon’s neck.
“What are you doing all the way out here?”
Simon asked.
“What kind of best friend lets distance get in the way of a visit?”
Simon chuckled.
“Student council business?”
“Heh, actually, a notice just came down. This afternoon...”
Dick muttered as his eyes darted, and at that moment, he locked eyes with Eshu, who was glaring at him with clear displeasure.
“Hey, hey! Stop right there!”
Eshu marched forward with big strides.
“Never seen you before. What department are you in?”
Dick shrugged his shoulders.
“Toxicology.”
“So you’re a Toxicology spy, huh? Came here to check on our situation?”
Dick waved his hands.
“I’m the student council’s Treasurer! You don’t know? Just because I’m not wearing the armband, you can’t recognize me. I came here to talk to the president.”
“If you had business with the president, you would’ve sent one of your lackeys!”
Suddenly, Eshu clamped a hand over his mouth and shouted out.
“There’s a spy from Toxicology here!!”
‘What?!’
The Summonology students training nearby froze. All over, their practice stopped as they crowded around.
“Hah, I figured this might happen~”
Dick chuckled and waved to Simon.
“See you later at the student council room, Simon.”
“Get him!!”
Dick quickly pulled a potion bottle out of subspace and smashed it on the ground.
Pooooof!
In an instant, thick smoke engulfed the surroundings. Simon coughed and backed off while Summonology students summoned undead to track him.
But when the haze cleared, Dick had already vanished without a trace.
“Damn it, lost him!”
“Toxicology bastards already knew we were training here!”
As the students raged, Simon gave a bitter smile.
‘So all he’s gained from joining Toxicology are weird tricks, huh.’
* * *
As it turned out, Eshu wasn’t just being paranoid.
At Keyzen, after the announcement of the Dark Emperor Tournament, and until it ended, there was a special tradition.
That was—
“Spiritology scum, what are you staring at?”
“You’re the one staring. Are you Martial Combat idiots’ brains and eyes made of muscles too?”
“What’d you say, punk? Want me to put you in a permanent spirit state?”
—Departments would start clashing fiercely.
It was considered part of school culture. During this period, students were only allowed to stick with their own department. Everyone else was treated as “enemies”, an unwritten rule.
It was a sort of game, meant to boost departmental unity before the main tournament and amplify the competitive spirit, Keyzen’s core value.
But the problem was—
“Hey, hey, let go!”
“Come on, scared already?”
—some people got way too immersed.
Chaos erupted in the school cafeteria.
“Martial Combat and Spiritology are fighting!”
“Oooh!”
Sitting down for a quiet meal, Simon let out a deep sigh.
All he wanted was to eat in peace, but Darkness flared up everywhere as spells and energy rose across the room.
Even Summonology wasn’t spared.
“Hey, Summonology trash! Can you even afford food here?”
“Summonology? More like a prep course for dropouts!”
“Puhahahaha!”
‘.......’
Simon felt he could sort of understand why people got swept up in this madness.
“You wannabe magicians!”
That insult lit a fire. Summonology students shot to their feet, furious.
This time it was Summonology versus Darkness Dynamics. Summonology students pulled undead from subspace, while Darkness Dynamics students conjured spells of Dark Flare in their palms.
A fight was about to break out.
“Disperse them.”
Simon pulled a communication crystal from his robe and spoke.
Bweeeeep!
Fweeep!
Almost instantly, whistles rang from all corners of the cafeteria. Mojo and the student council enforcers poured in.
“That’s enough! Stop right now!”
“Students, back off! Back off!”
“Let go of me! That bastard started it—!”
“Just wait for the Dark Emperor Tournament. I’ve got your face memorized!”
Dragged apart by enforcers, the students reluctantly backed down.
Peace returned, and Simon finally got to focus on his meal.
Eshu plopped down next to him with his tray, snickering.
“President, that was pretty cool just now.”
“What was?”
Eshu mimicked spooning food into her mouth.
“‘Disperse them’. Just like that, enforcers come swarming in. Whoa~ that’s power for you!”
Simon was about to answer when—
“Simon!”
A voice rang out. Flowing sky-blue hair bounced as Maelyn Villene rushed toward him. Simon’s face lit up with joy.
“Ah, Maelyn!”
“Hi! This afternoon, at the student council room—”
Thump!
Suddenly, Darkness Dynamics students grabbed both her arms.
“Vice president! Are you talking to Summonology scum right now?”
“Let’s go!”
They started dragging her off.
“You crazy bastards! This is just student council business—let go of me!”
Maelyn kicked and struggled, but it was no use. She shot Simon a look.
“See you at the council room later!”
“Got it!”
Simon gave a wry smile and waved. Eshu, meanwhile, sprang up onto her chair and jeered.
“Kyahaha! Running away, huh, wannabe magicians? This year’s number one will be Summonology!”
Simon let out a helpless chuckle.
This is mass hysteria.
But the Dark Emperor Tournament fever wasn’t just limited to the students.
Jane Olivia hounded her students, demanding “inevitable” results. Hongpeng wordlessly tripled the physical training time.
And—
“Welcome.”
In Bahil Amagar’s laboratory.
One by one, students of Katarology entered.
“You all know very well...”
Bahil’s eyes narrowed, twisting into a cruel smile.
“...what I’m about to say.”
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters