Chapter 813
Simon, who arrived at Rochest Harbor, immediately entered a warehouse owned by the Vanilla Group.
The moment he faced the sight inside, he was startled.
“It looks like an undead market.”
He had said it would be nice if there were undead available for the upcoming group exam, but the variety and richness of materials prepared in the warehouse were staggering.
Benya shrugged his shoulders.
“I was also surprised when I saw the things Sir Carlo had brought.”
Carlo, the undead craftsman, chuckled.
“If I’m going to prepare something, I may as well prepare the full package. Please, take a look to your heart’s content!”
Fortunately, funds were no longer a problem. From the magic stone mine contract, he had already received a portion of the down payment in advance from Jin.
A full 3,000 gold. He could buy whatever he wanted.
But before that—
“Let’s first look at the most important thing.”
“You must mean the item you reserved!”
Carlo handed Simon a ring.
It was a subspace ring containing Overlord. The surface seemed slightly altered.
“As you requested, our subspace craftsman made some adjustments to Overlord’s subspace. We modified it so that the subspace can be maintained even if your feet leave the ground, and if the caster moves away, the subspace will automatically close.”
“That’s good!”
Simon immediately tried it out. After putting on the ring and making sure his left foot touched the ground firmly, he muttered the trigger word in his heart.
‘Open Gate!’
Chwarururururururururuk!
This time, the noise that erupted was far more violent and ferocious.
Simon’s face lit with surprise when he saw the newly emerged form of Overlord from the subspace, then quickly filled with satisfaction.
“Wow…!”
“Hahahaha! I’m glad it pleases you!”
It was the same awe he had felt when he first obtained Overlord.
While Simon was lost in excitement, playing around with his newly reborn summon, Benya came up beside him.
“Not bad, right? With this, I think you can conquer even a battlefield at the level of a Keyzen second or third year without much trouble.”
“It’s amazing.”
Simon had to fight hard not to let his grin split his face in two.
After finishing several adjustments together with Carlo, the remade Overlord was stored away again.
He already couldn’t wait to use it in actual combat.
“Oh, by the way! Remember that Chaos Dullahan you left with us?”
“Yes.”
The Chaos Dullahan had been heavily damaged in the recent battle against Ballack, and Simon had asked Benya’s side to repair it.
“Sorry, but the poison spread all the way into the Core, so it’ll take a bit more time to repair.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
Indeed, when he last saw it, Simon had suspected repairs wouldn’t be easy.
Fortunately, the anti-mage function could still be substituted with the Dragonian, so that much was a relief.
“Should we reinforce it through modification rather than just repair?”
“Yes, please.”
This would not end with a simple fix—it was an area where luck would be needed.
“A shame. Undead are not eternal. Losing them in battle is also the summoner’s fate.”
Carlo’s face grew solemn as he spoke.
“I too have lost many undead I considered like children, so I know that pain. But where there is parting, there is also meeting!”
He spread his hands wide, pointing to the new undead under the Vanilla brand.
“Choose freely, as much as you like!”
“…Sir Carlo, you sound too much like a merchant.”
Benya rebuked him.
Simon just smiled and swept his eyes across the area.
Bones of a giant ogre, modified dullahans, even special flying-type undead like gargoyles. Plenty of materials seemed likely to synergize with his Royal Guard.
Simon decided to buy mainly those that required little preparation and could be used immediately in combat.
Carlo stayed to his right, boasting about how amazing each product was, while Benya stayed to his left, grounding the claims and checking if each undead fit Simon’s style.
“What am I going to do once you graduate, Benya-senior?”
Simon asked with a bitter smile while choosing materials.
Benya covered her mouth and laughed softly.
“Don’t worry. Even after I graduate, I’ll still be in Langerstine. You’ll be able to see me as much as you like.”
“That’s a relief.”
When their undead shopping was about finished, the most important matter remained.
“Remember the item you left with us for appraisal?”
Benya placed a long, elegant black case on the table. She skillfully unraveled several seals before opening it at last.
Goooooooooo!
Simon instinctively frowned. A sticky Darkness seeped out of the case.
Carefully, Simon lifted the “item” inside.
It was the mysterious bone of a priest, found in a museum beyond the Holy Federation’s borders. And clutched in that bony hand had been this—“flag”.
“This isn’t something you come across every day. The closest comparison would be—”
Benya’s face turned grave.
“A cursed sword.”
Gooooooooooooooo!
As Simon grasped the shaft, the end flared with a crimson, immaterial banner that fluttered into view.
* * *
Two weeks earlier.
Simon had visited several people to learn about the corpse he had retrieved from the museum.
First, he had gone to Professor Farahan of Defense Against Holiness, showing him the bones. But as a priest, Farahan could not guess who the individual had been just from the remains.
Next, Simon had gone to his advisor, Aron. Although a necromancer with no knowledge of priests, Aron had made an unexpected discovery.
He had focused on the flag held by the remains.
—It takes the form of a flag, but this is essentially a “holy sword”.
And not just any holy sword, but a bound-type. Once a user possesses it, it eternally remains theirs, even beyond death.
—That’s why something so precious was buried with it.
Simon then gave voice to a thought that had been lingering only in his mind.
—If I were to turn this paladin into a corrupted death knight, would the sword’s effect also change with the corruption of its owner?
—…
After a long silence, Aron replied.
—It may be worth trying.
Surprisingly, the process had been smooth. The sword’s light was already gone. Simply linking it to the priest’s corpse that Simon had brought was enough to revive its effect.
However, its power was far too overwhelming. If it were to be used as a tool, it needed to be restrained. So Simon had asked Vanilla to handle its adjustment.
“Professor Aron handled the hardest part. We just reinforced its stability. We modified it so that the power only reveals itself when released, but even so, it’s still too much for anyone to wield directly.”
Benya raised her index finger.
“Its detailed effects will only be clear once the corrupted death knight, its true master, is complete.”
Simon examined the flag from every angle.
“Is it different from the cursed sword that Jule, the Magical Combat representative, uses?”
“That’s right. They are from completely different lineages.”
Holy swords and cursed swords had entirely separate origins.
All the more so, a holy sword that had long since lost its light and been twisted by centuries of corruption magic was an anomaly. They simply called it a cursed sword for lack of a better term, but it was not a true cursed sword.
“In any case, make sure to store it carefully.”
Benya spoke firmly.
“And don’t even think about trying it out!”
“Ahaha, I understand.”
Simon carefully put it away.
He said that in front of her worried face, but in truth, his head was full of ways to try using it somehow.
Of course, it would take time to grasp its usage and applications.
‘…Who should I seek out for guidance?’
* * *
A week later.
At last, the day of the second-year “group exam” had arrived.
All second-year students rose early in the morning and gathered in the grand auditorium, where teleportation magic circles had been prepared to transport them to a new location.
Their destination was a small, nameless island.
Since it was too far to teleport directly to the exam grounds in one jump, the school had selected this island as the midpoint.
The underlings simply called it “Camp Island”, meaning it would serve as the base camp for the exam, and before long both the assistants and the professors had adopted the same name.
Here on Camp Island, the students would hear the explanation of the exam rules, receive their necessary supplies and equipment, and then proceed to take the group exam.
Wung-sung, wung-sung, wung-sung!
The students gathered and mingled, exchanging chatter of all sorts.
Though it was still early dawn, their faces showed no sign of fatigue, only taut with tension.
“Department representatives, check your students and report!”
“Don’t stray too far! We’ll soon begin explaining the exam rules!”
The assistants seemed busy keeping the students under control.
Simon was chatting with Maelyn, Dick, and Kamibarez.
“Everyone ready?”
Maelyn, with her hands on her hips, continued.
“It looks like the school went all-out preparing this group exam. It won’t be easy, but let’s grit our teeth and survive again this time.”
“Of course!”
“Absolutely!”
Dick and Kamibarez answered energetically. Maelyn turned her head to look at Simon.
“Simon?”
Simon didn’t reply. She puckered her lips, then flicked her fingers right in front of his face.
“Idiot! Snap out of it!”
“Ah, yeah.”
Simon finally grinned and shook his head quickly.
“Sorry. I’ve been a bit distracted lately.”
“Hehe.”
Dick smirked meaningfully, pointing at Simon.
“You’ve been preparing something big lately, haven’t you? I’m looking forwar—whoa! Damn it.”
A huge figure suddenly squeezed into their circle.
It was Hector Moore.
“Hello, Hector.”
Simon greeted him. Hector only looked at him coldly with a stiff face, his lips pressed tight. Maelyn and Kamibarez’s expressions tensed with wariness.
“Want me to guess what you’re trying to say?”
Dick butted in cheekily.
“Brace yourself, Simon Follentia! I’m the one who’ll take you down in this exam!”
“……”
But Hector didn’t even give Dick a glance. With his hands shoved into his pockets, he turned his back.
“Be careful.”
“?”
That was all Hector said before walking away. Dick stared at his back in disbelief.
“That’s it? Did he eat something weird?”
“Idiot, seriously!”
Maelyn was about to scold him when—
[Students! Gather up, please!]
An assistant’s voice rang out.
[We will now begin the exam orientation!]
The students surged forward, sitting freely in the seats prepared for them.
In front of them stood a high platform, and Simon smiled when he saw who was seated there.
All of the second-year professors of each department had gathered.
“Professor Jane!”
“Professor Bahil!”
The students waved at their advisors. The professors acknowledged their greetings, but their faces were stiff. After all, their students’ results in this exam carried great weight, and they were visibly on edge.
“Haha. Yes, hello. Glad to see you.”
But one man casually waved back at the students.
Professor Bahil of Katarology.
The moment he waved, shrieks of delight erupted from the female students.
“Aron-senior.”
Bahil lowered his hand and glanced at Aron, seated beside him.
“I heard you’ve been working hard. Not only did you tought a Death Knight, but you even went to the Holy Federation, secured the paladin’s corpses, and evaded Inquisitor Chief Leight, too.”
Aron’s weary eyes turned toward him.
“Keep it down. Your voice echoes.”
“Haha.”
Bahil’s lips curled upward.
“Splendid. I look forward to the continued struggle of the Summonology Department.”
“…You.”
Aron rubbed his brow with the heel of his palm as he muttered.
“Annoying bastard, why do you look so happy?”
Bahil only smiled quietly, gazing off to the side.
In the direction of his gaze, Simon was talking with Kamibarez.
“Quiet.”
Just then, vice-chancellor Jane stepped up to the platform.
The students immediately hushed. Receiving an amplifying crystal from an assistant, she activated it and began speaking in a calm voice.
“Good morning. I will now explain the rules of the group exam.”
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