Chapter 532: Episode 532
Next up was the Funerary Rites class, taught by Professors Lin and Lune.
All the students stood in formation on the outdoor training grounds. In front of them stood the teaching assistants and the twin professors.
"Today, we shall learn the Ghoul’s Dirge!" Lin announced.
"We discussed this in our last theory class," Lune added, "but just in case some of you have your ears plugged—"
"—I’ll explain it one more time. You should be grateful to Lin!"
"No! You should be grateful to Lune!"
After a moment of bickering, the twins clasped their hands together, and a surge of black magic coalesced between them. A summoning circle materialized in the air.
"This is the ghoul magic circle you have all learned," Lin said.
"Isn’t it amazing?" Lune chimed in.
Like a hologram, its size could be adjusted at will, making it visible to every student. At Lin’s gesture, explanations for the main runic words and formulas materialized at various points on the circle. Simon was concentrating intently on the lesson when a sudden commotion erupted behind him.
"Ancient Undead are actually teaching a class!" Benz exclaimed, his voice filled with awe. "I thought for sure it was a prank to mess with the transfer students!" He popped his head out from behind Simon’s right shoulder. "Wow! The magic circle is getting huge! How are they doing that?" He then zipped over to Simon’s left. "Does Kizen always have this many teaching assistants? My old school only had two or three..."
"Quiet."
Unable to watch any longer, a teaching assistant’s expression hardened as he raised a finger to his lips. Benz immediately clamped his mouth shut, allowing Simon to refocus on the twins’ explanation.
"As you all know," Lin began, "a Dirge is a black magic spell that temporarily strengthens an undead."
"And for a ghoul," Lune continued, "there is only one possible Dirge."
The professor on the right, Lune, spread her fingers and drew a sharp, diagonal line from top to bottom. With a faint hiss, a long line of pure Jet-Black sliced through the magic circle.
"Wh-What did you just do?" a student gasped.
The students’ eyes widened in disbelief. The professors had just sliced through the very summoning circle they had all worked so hard to create.
"Ghouls are a bit unique for undead, as their biological abilities are their main feature!" Lin explained cheerfully.
"This is the only Dirge that can be cast on a ghoul’s magic circle!" Lune declared.
"It’s called ’Rino’s Golden Line,’ named after the necromancer, Rino, who first developed the technique."
The students looked utterly bewildered. A Dirge was just... drawing a line through the magic circle and ruining it? Just then, Lin and Lune glided forward to stand on either side of the circle.
"If you look closely, you’ll see this line isn’t perfectly straight," Lin pointed out.
"It starts here at ’Om,’ grazes the edge of the main runic word, and exits at ’Lex’," Lune elaborated.
"It’s not a straight line, but more of a slightly curved S-shape, I’d say?"
At that moment, a student who couldn’t contain his curiosity raised his hand.
"Coiter Pizen, Professor! Won’t doing that break the magic circle and render the ghoul useless?"
"That’s right. It breaks," Lune confirmed, plunging the students into even greater confusion. "I told you to listen to the full explanation, you lot!"
Lune, on the right, smiled and flicked her finger once more, and the magic circle returned to its original state.
"I’ll show you something amazing. When you draw a line with Jet-Black starting from ’Om’—"
Lin, on the left, drew the line with her finger. As it moved, the magic circle on the screen followed its path.
"Ah!"
"The Jet-Black!"
All the Jet-Black in the circle, which had been maintaining its ecosystem in perfect balance, began to gather and flow along the line she had drawn. It wasn’t just a simple line; it had created a new circuit.
"Om, Rir, Vold, Lex. Just as separate rivers eventually flow into the sea, all the Jet-Black will pass through this line," Lin explained as the twins continued to extend the line. The moment their line passed the final point, ’Lex,’ and exited the edge of the magic circle... a massive amount of Jet-Black erupted and was channeled into the ghoul’s entire body.
"This is the forced rampage of a ghoul using ’Rino’s Golden Line’," Lune announced.
"A ghoul under the effect of this Dirge can exert three to four times its usual strength," Lin added.
They demonstrated with a ghoul they had prepared earlier. The creature, which had been hopping around playfully, let out a piercing scream the moment the line was drawn on the magic circle etched onto its skull. It then dashed across the clearing at such an incredible speed that it left afterimages. The ghoul swung its arm, and a tree shattered with a deafening ’crack’. The rampaging creature laid waste to its surroundings, while the teaching assistants, looking entirely accustomed to the chaos, propped up other trees and protected the equipment.
A buzz of excitement went through the students.
"Is that really how a ghoul moves?"
"That’s insane."
The twin professors spread their palms and shouted, "Stop!" and the ghoul finally skidded to a halt. However, as if unable to control its power, it continued to twitch and convulse intermittently.
"Professor!" Aseraz, ranked fifth, also seemed surprised as he raised his hand. "But if you pour out Jet-Black like that to strengthen its whole body, the ghoul will..."
"That’s right."
The students’ gazes belatedly turned to the magic circle floating in the air. After the Jet-Black, which was supposed to circulate, had been drained away, the magic circle lost its vitality and withered like a dying flower. Following the formulas, the main runic word finally shriveled, and the entire circle scattered into the air. The ghoul the professors had been handling also froze in place, stiffened, and then stopped moving altogether. It was completely destroyed, even as an undead.
"As you have all seen!" Lin called out.
"Rino’s Golden Line is a rampage technique that requires the sacrifice of the ghoul," Lune finished.
Simon crossed his arms, his expression serious. ’So it’s like a ghoul version of Corpse Explosion.’
Ghouls were the undead tier just above zombies; it wasn’t an exaggeration to say they were practically the same type of creature. But while a zombie’s Corpse Explosion overloaded the summoning circle to turn it into a bomb, a ghoul’s Dirge sacrificed the circle to grant a brief, massive surge of power.
"Ghouls aren’t as common as zombies, so it’s true that ’Rino’s Golden Line’ has mixed opinions among necromancers," Lin said.
"But when facing a foe stronger than a ghoul, or when you are outnumbered, it is more rational to strengthen the ghoul to reduce the enemy’s numbers rather than losing it to a blade in vain," Lune added.
It was a chillingly pragmatic, necromancer’s logic, and the students nodded in grim understanding.
"Well then, right away!"
"Shall we move on to the practical exercise!"
At the twin professors’ immediate declaration, cries of protest erupted from all over.
"W-Wait! Isn’t there any practice?"
"At least let us draw it on paper or something!"
"There’s no such thing as practice in Kizen!" Lin giggled like a mischievous child.
"We’re going straight to the real thing—"
"—and we’re starting now!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than seven teaching assistants stepped forward, their expressions grave. The students flinched, taking a collective step back.
"Explain the rules, Head Assistant!" Lune commanded.
"Yes, Professors."
The Head Assistant bowed respectfully to the twins and then fixed the students with a stern gaze.
"I will now explain the rules of the practical exercise."
The seven teaching assistants opened their subspaces and each took out a skeleton. It was different from an ordinary one; its bones had a faint purple tinge, it wore armor, and it held an axe in one hand.
"You must face Kizen’s ’Modified Skeleton’ using only the ghouls you acquired in the previous class."
A battle between a ghoul and a skeleton. A wave of focus washed over the students. They leaned forward, some bending at the waist, others rising onto their tiptoes, all desperate not to miss a single detail.
"The exercise only permits a one-on-one engagement between a ghoul and a Modified Skeleton. If your ghoul destroys the Modified Skeleton, the exercise ends. If your ghoul is destroyed first, you will summon a new ghoul and fight again. This process will be repeated until the Modified Skeleton is destroyed."
The students began to murmur anxiously among themselves. ’We have to keep going until we destroy that thing?’
Just then, the twin professors stepped forward, holding hands.
"Pass or Fail!" Lin announced. "There is one condition to pass this class: destroy the Modified Skeleton with a ghoul!"
"Pass or Fail!" Lune echoed. "There is also one condition to fail: run out of ghouls to summon from your subspace!"
Finally understanding all the rules, a slow smile spread across Simon’s face. ’Aha... so it’s all connected to the previous classes.’
The more ghouls one acquired during the materials class, the more ammunition they would have, making it easier to pass this one. Of course, the only ghouls that could be used were the ones secured in the previous class—the mana stamp on their bodies was for that very distinction. But Kizen took it a step further.
"And with the ghouls you have left after passing this class," the Head Assistant continued, "you will take your final exam, a practical performance evaluation."
"Ah...!"
In conclusion, securing many ghouls in the materials class and minimizing losses in the Dirge class would give them a crucial advantage in the final exam.
"Finally, a tip—" The Head Assistant’s lips twisted into a cruel smirk. "This Modified Skeleton, I should mention, is specifically designed to be unbeatable by a standard ghoul. That is all."
A bead of sweat trickled down Simon’s forehead. In other words... ’They want us to use the Dirge to win, right?’
And they had to master it on the fly, with no practice. Listening to the brutal terms, Benz, the transfer student, began to tremble.
"A-Are classes at Kizen... always this intense?" he muttered, his voice shaking.
---
"Everyone, sit down right where you are!" Lin ordered.
"Using black magic or Jet-Black is forbidden from now on!" Lune added.
At the professors’ instruction, the students had no choice but to sit. Forbidden from even practicing with magic, they began desperately image-training, tracing diagonal lines in the air. A peculiar scene unfolded, with dozens of students waving their hands about as if they were blind. It was an action born from the compulsion to do ’something’, but in truth, there was no way they could get a feel for it like this.
"Now, the students whose names are called, please come forward," the Head Assistant announced, holding a roll book.
"Not first turn. Not first turn. Not first turn," Toto muttered, trembling.
Simon and Lorraine were quietly discussing the exercise.
"Simon Polentia."
A teaching assistant called his name. Simon was one of the first seven. He stood up nonchalantly, as if it didn’t matter.
"Aaaah! Simon!" Toto cried out, still trembling.
"Stay calm and do well," Lorraine said with a bright smile.
Simon thanked them both and walked out. While everyone else’s expressions were sour with tension and pressure, Serne was yawning, waving at him with sleepy eyes. As expected, she marched to the beat of her own drum.
"Hector Moore."
The last name called was Hector’s. A massive hill rose from among the students huddled together. Soon, seven students stood in a line before the teaching assistants. As it was the first turn, the other students’ gazes were fixed on them.
’Hm.’
A flicker of tension appeared in Simon’s eyes. As fate would have it, his opponent was none other than the intimidating Head Assistant. In front of him stood the Modified Skeleton. It had a rather peculiar appearance, with spikes jutting out from all over its body; he couldn’t even tell what kind of undead it was made from. The armor it wore looked sturdy, and the axe in its hand was menacing.
’He said it was designed to be unbeatable by a ghoul, right?’
As Simon was pondering this, Hector, who was two spots down from him, raised his hand. Professors Lin and Lune noticed him.
"Yes, you there," said Lin.
"Do you have a question?" asked Lune.
Hector lowered his arm. "Hector Moore. I’m curious if we must use the Dirge to win."
The students on the starting line looked at him, puzzled. What did he mean by asking if it was okay to win without using a Dirge against an undead that could only be beaten by using one?
"Hee hee—"
But surprisingly, it seemed to be an interesting question, as Professors Lin and Lune shared a meaningful smile.
"The condition for passing is to destroy the Modified Skeleton with a ghoul," Lin stated.
"If you can destroy it, we’ll count it as a pass," Lune added. "It would mean your undead control is excellent enough that you don’t need a Dirge."
"Understood," Hector replied.
He had brought it up casually, but a commotion broke out among the students sitting in the back.
"Hey, did you hear that? We don’t necessarily have to use the Dirge."
"Now there’s some hope."
"Maybe I’ll test the waters with one or two."
While the students were swelling with hope, Simon let out a bitter smile. ’It’s a trap.’
Now, the students’ mindset had shifted from "we must use the Dirge to win" to "maybe we can win without using the Dirge." To anyone, mastering ’Rino’s Golden Line’ right here and now seemed nearly impossible. It was a task they subconsciously wanted to avoid. Simon was certain: Hector had floated the idea, but he would absolutely go for the Dirge on his very first attempt.
’Tsk.’
At the same time, Hector clicked his tongue when he saw that Simon was completely unfazed. Only the other students around them were glancing about nervously.
"All students, please summon your ghouls," the Head Assistant commanded.
The students moved their arms in unison and opened their subspaces. Simon did the same.
’You’re up first. I’m counting on you.’
With a soft ’whoosh’, Simon’s first ghoul stepped forward and growled at the skeleton. The Head Assistant moved his finger. A rectangular line was drawn on the ground around the ghoul and the Modified Skeleton, creating a small, temporary arena.
"Inside this arena, you can do anything with your ghoul. However, the moment the ghoul steps outside the line, I will capture it with a curse and execute it."
Going out of bounds meant you were out. Simon nodded and lowered his stance.
"Alright, first team!"
"Are you ready?"
Lin and Lune lowered their clasped hands and shouted.
"Practical exercise!"
"Begin!"
The students on the starting line all let out a battle cry. Seven ghouls charged fiercely toward the TAs’ Modified Skeletons.