Chapter 717
A week passed in the blink of an eye, and the final exams arrived.
“Everyone, take your seats.”
A bright, sunny morning. The first exam was Aron’s Intermediate Summonology.
Simon, along with the other students, dipped their quills into the inkwell with disheveled hair and hollow eyes. Their expressions were solemn, like warriors performing a ritual before battle.
At the tip of these quills, it would be decided whether they could remain in Keyzen for the next semester, or not.
“Good luck on this one too, Simon.”
From the front row, Loraine waved her hand. She looked tired, but her smile had not lost its light.
“Thanks, Loraine. You too.”
“Mm.”
While the two exchanged encouragement, a little further away Eshu was dipping her quill into the inkwell with a deathly serious face.
“Lino’s Golden Line is S-shape, ghoul is the Decomposition Formula, Defiler’s tail is Darkness Circuit, Dullahan’s head and body separation reason is Darkness overload……”
She was muttering memorized content like a dark incantation, when suddenly she screamed.
“Aaagh!”
At her piercing cry, the students, deep in concentration, frowned and turned their heads. Even the assistant rushed over in a panic.
“Student! What happened?”
“T, teaching assistant……!”
With teary eyes, she pointed at the floor.
“It dropped! It dropped! I’m doomed!”
She had merely dropped her quill into the inkwell.
Eshu made a great fuss with all sorts of ominous implications, and the assistant sighed before using black magic to return the quill to the inkwell.
“Attention, everyone.”
Aron spoke.
All the students turned their heads and responded in unison, “Attention!”
“You’ve worked hard preparing. The importance of this final exam goes without saying. Do your best without regrets. As I said during midterms, cheating—try it if you dare. Just remember, the risk is astronomically greater than the reward.”
The head assistant came in carrying exam papers.
“Students, take your hands off your quills and raise them above your heads.”
The students raised their hands.
A tense moment.
The flipped exam papers landed one by one on the desks. The moment had come to pour out everything they had learned. Checking the time, Aron spoke in a solemn voice.
“Begin.”
Flapflapflapflapflap!
The exam papers turned over like the wings of a flock of birds taking flight.
* * *
Simon devoted himself fully to the final exam in this moment.
Even if he were to wither away and die right here, he would write every word he knew onto this white sheet in black ink, pouring all of his strength onto the paper.
But in the middle of concentrating on the test, Aizel’s face came to mind again and again.
The final showdown with him was right ahead. Just the thought of it made Simon’s heart pound and his blood boil.
‘No!’
Simon shook his head wildly and forced his mind back onto the questions.
And so, in that state of complete immersion, he went through each subject exam one after another.
When he had finished the major exams and came to take Jane’s Darkness Dynamics general exam.
“Hey!”
Maelyn had come by to cheer them on. She was a major in Darkness Dynamics, so she didn’t have to take this exam.
“You guys didn’t eat lunch, right? Here, drink this.”
She kindly handed out vegetable juice to the student council members, easy to drink and refreshing.
“Thanks.”
“Nice, you’ve got sense!”
“Thank you, Maelyn!”
Simon drank the juice and looked at her.
As always, during exam period Maelyn turned into a different person. Her proud sky-blue hair was pulled back tight so that her forehead was fully revealed, gleaming with an oily shine as if it hadn’t been washed in days. She wore glasses, and below her uniform skirt one could see loose sweatpants and slippers.
As Simon sipped more juice, he suddenly asked,
“Senior Aizel is doing okay, right?”
Simon was startled at himself the moment he asked. Why did I bring this up now?
Immediately, Maelyn’s eyes narrowed.
“Hey! You are focusing on finals, right?”
“Y, yeah.”
“Honestly.”
She sighed and sat down in the front row.
“He looks fine physically. But, well, rumor has it he fought with Senior Sota recently.”
“If you mean Senior Sota…… he’s the representative of Spiritology, right?”
“Yeah, Kami.”
Maelyn shrugged her shoulders.
“It’s probably nothing. I heard they’ve been close since their first year, same class and all. Guys always fight and then make up anyway, right?”
While the members chatted here and there, Jane’s assistants began filing into the exam hall. Maelyn quickly stood up.
“It’s about to start. Remember, for our student council, doing well on Professor Jane’s exam is an absolute must! You get what I mean, right?”
She nagged them all the way out.
Simon finished his juice and stretched his arms behind his head, fingers interlaced.
‘Senior Aizel and Senior Sota fought, huh.’
Just as Maelyn had said, he hoped it was nothing serious.
* * *
All the exams ended.
“Aaaaagh!”
“Fxxk! It’s over! It’s over!”
The moment the assistants collected the answer sheets, the lecture hall turned into a madhouse. Students burned their exams, shredded them, melted them with poison, and cast all manner of horrific curses upon them.
It was a savage sight.
Use of black magic on campus was strictly forbidden, but in this moment even the assistants didn’t dare interfere. With faces saying “please spare us”, they quietly slipped out into the hall.
Having vented their rage on the innocent test papers, the students finally smiled brightly like ordinary teenagers and went outside.
“I’m going first!”
Unable to contain the pounding in his chest, Simon leapt out the window.
Thud, the feeling of his feet landing on the grass was delightful. Stirring up Darkness, he ran across the garden. The cool headwind washed away his fatigue, and looking up at the sky dotted with drifting clouds quenched his thirst.
‘Tomorrow!’
In front of everyone’s eyes, he would challenge the strongest in Keyzen. Exams were over, but Simon’s true test still had one more day left.
After running hard, Simon arrived at the student council building’s rooftop. No one else was there yet.
He leaned against the railing and waited.
Whoooosh—!
Feeling the Darkness carried in the wind, Simon grinned.
‘They’re here.’
Fwooooom!
Two men descended onto the rooftop with the wind.
One was Aizel Bringer, whom Simon knew well. The other was an unfamiliar third-year.
“It’s been a while.”
Aizel, acting the part of the cold elite, pushed up his glasses as he spoke. Simon smiled as he greeted him.
“Of course. I look forward to our duel tomorrow.”
Arms crossed, Aizel struck a stoic pose, but hidden from his companion, he playfully waved his other hand at Simon. Simon chuckled and waved back.
“Nice to meet you, Simon Follentia.”
The third-year student with a calm demeanor stepped forward and held out his hand.
“At the request of former president Phantasus, I’ll be overseeing and managing this Student Council Presidency Duel. My name is Ednic Grerion.”
“Please take care of me.”
The two shook hands.
“Did finals go well?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Good to hear.”
After a brief greeting, he went straight to the point. From his bag, he pulled out documents and handed them to Simon and Aizel.
“Before graduation, Senior Phantasus came to our Grerion family and asked that we mediate and manage the president’s duel. I swear, on the honor of the prestigious Grerion family, that I will manage your duel fairly, with not a hint of bias.”
The Student Council President’s Duel was a sanctuary where neither the school nor headquarters could intervene, it was wholly the domain of students. Naturally, the administrator of the match was also customarily a student.
In that sense, Ednic was from the renowned Grerion ducal house, which had produced many diplomats, and within the school he held a seat on the disciplinary committee, enjoying an excellent reputation for his integrity.
He was a man whose credibility was acknowledged by all.
“Read the first page, it’s about the rules of the duel.”
Simon quickly scanned the explanation.
‘As expected.’
He had already heard hints from Aizel before, but the Student Council President’s Duel was under “real-combat rules”.
Real-combat rules meant a true duel, without protective suits, vests, or barriers.
Unlike duel evaluations at school, which were fought for grades with safety in mind, this was a genuine necromancer’s duel. Even in Keyzen, only third-years were permitted to fight under real-combat rules.
The conditions for ending such a duel were only two: one side collapsing unconscious, or declaring surrender.
“Of course, on the honor of the Grerion family, there will be no danger beyond control. The best medical team has been prepared. They’ve already gone through the strict procedures to enter Roke Island a week ago.”
Though it was his first time encountering such a format, Simon remained calm.
Not only did he have ample real combat experience as a Legion Commander, but even the practice duels with Aizel so far had all been without barriers, true combat in every sense. Aizel had been training Simon to adapt to “real-combat rules”.
“If you agree, sign below.”
Both of them signed and turned to the next page.
“The duel will be held in private, with a total of ten witnesses. These ten will certify the new president at the end of the duel.”
Simon first checked the listed witnesses.
Two third-years, one second-year, and even a first-year. Someone Simon knew.
‘Princess Molly.’
Perfect. With royalty present to observe and certify, there was no chance of unfairness.
“Oh, and each participant can bring three witnesses. Write down the names of the students you wish to bring.”
Simon thought for a moment.
Since this duel was for the rights of the president’s office, he decided to bring fellow student council members. He wrote down Maelyn Villene, Dick Hayword, and Kamibarez Ursula.
“When you’re done, sign in the last box and return it to me.”
Simon signed first and handed over the file, then Aizel did the same. By chance, Simon caught a glimpse of the witnesses Aizel had listed.
– [Leonard Feiron.]
– [Vino Marshal.]
– [Anthony Aikman.]
‘!’
Simon was inwardly surprised.
He had fully expected Aizel to list Sota Psyche, his trusted right-hand man.
‘So the rumors of them fighting were true?’
“Good.”
Ednic organized the files and then presented them with a token.
“This is the ‘Emblem of Honorable Duel’ to be used in the presidential match. Only its bearer may take part in the duel. Be sure to bring it tomorrow.”
Simon and Aizel both tucked the duel’s emblem into their robes.
“Next, let’s go look at the place where the duel will be held. The arena has been prepared with such thorough security that even headquarters staff don’t know of it.”
At those words, Simon asked,
“No one outside the Grerion family knows?”
“Of course!”
He winked at Simon.
“No matter how much of a tradition Keyzen’s council duels may be, if adults heard that second-years were fighting under real-combat rules, it would cause an uproar.”
Aizel nodded.
“Tell us the location. We’ll head there at once.”
* * *
Wondering how they could have built a secret arena within Roke Island, they arrived at the destination.
It was a cliff facing the crashing waves, with the deep blue sea below.
“This way.”
Ednic strode toward the precipice, and then vanished.
Simon was startled, but Aizel only adjusted his glasses knowingly.
“Let’s go too.”
“Y, yes.”
Following after, Simon and Aizel passed through a barrier just before the cliff, and the environment around them changed.
A massive piece of land was attached to the cliff. It was as though rock had been fused to the precipice, creating a new plateau. It looked broad and solid, as though no matter what they did, it would never collapse.
As Simon stared in amazement, Ednic spread his arms and smiled like a gentleman.
“This is Grerion class.”
“……Ah, haha. Impressive.”
“For a duel to decide Keyzen’s strongest, it has to be like this. Since it’s just a plain, neither of you will have any terrain advantage, right?”
Both of them nodded.
“Then, let’s meet here at dawn tomorrow. I’ll inform the witnesses personally.”
Ednic clapped his hands once.
“Both of you, give us a splendid match.”
No comments yet. Be the first to leave a review!