Chapter 541: Episode 541
The performance of Team 8, hailed as the strongest, was nothing short of incredible. White’s firepower, in particular, was astonishing.
He had engraved magic circles of his own design inside his ghouls. The moment an enemy came into view, he activated his ability. The ghoul would become enveloped in a searing white light before launching itself like a cannonball, utterly devastating the enemy position. It was a questionable application, but like Simon’s ‘Corpse Explosion’, it was a technique directly applied to the ghoul and thus didn’t violate the rules.
Aseraz, ranked fifth overall, also lived up to his reputation. His skills were every bit worthy of the Top 10. He had modified his ghouls’ claws, replacing them with metal blades longer than their own arms. When he cast ‘Dirge’ and sent them into the enemy lines, they effortlessly sliced through four opponents at once.
—The exam has concluded.
The result was an overwhelming rout.
1st Place – Team 8 (60 points)
2nd Place – Team 3 (12 points)
3rd Place – Team 14 (6 points)
4th Place – Team 9 (2 points)
Team 8 had crushed the alliance of the other three teams with sheer, brute force. They had seized not only the red artifact but every other artifact the teams had collected, claiming an absolute victory.
Of course, even the seemingly perfect Team 8 had its flaws.
"White! White! I told you we need to go to Team 9 right now! What are you doing? Follow me!"
White didn’t respond.
"Just listen to me for once! White!"
Their communication left much to be desired. Despite their resounding victory, Aseraz was already looking at his teammate with an expression of utter exasperation. The other team members also seemed to think White’s methods needed to be simplified.
To the other students, however, such a flaw was barely noticeable in the face of Team 8’s terrifying power.
"...It’s suffocating. How are you supposed to beat that?"
"The only ones who could possibly stand a chance would be the President’s Team 10."
"Let’s say the President manages to stop White. Then who’s going to stop Aseraz?"
Team 8’s formidable duo became a threat every other team had to account for.
Meanwhile, Serne’s Team 11 was also emerging as a new powerhouse. She had stuck feathers into all of her team’s ghouls, drawing out their latent rage and destructive instincts to consistently overwhelm their opponents. To put it mildly, it looked like a long-lasting ‘Dirge’.
On top of that, Fitzgerald’s brilliant tactics provided perfect support. Team 11 also finished the exam in first place.
"This performance evaluation was truly a victory of strategy," Fitzgerald announced, adjusting his glasses. "If Simon built his plan around the variable of ‘Corpse Explosion’, my strategy was to follow the route with the highest probability based on thoroughly analyzed outcomes..."
’Thwip.’
"Be quiet," Serne chirped.
A feather suddenly sprouted from the back of his neck. Fitzgerald immediately announced he would perform an interpretive dance of a worm and began to crawl passionately across the floor. His teammates exchanged nervous glances at Serne as they helped him up.
"Uh, where are you going, Serne?" one asked.
"I’m going to see Simon."
And so, one of the most important exams for the second-year students came to an end.
"You all worked hard preparing for this evaluation on such short notice," Aaron said, finally gathering all the students of the Summoning Department. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "I’d like to hear some brief impressions. What did you learn?"
Hands shot up across the crowd.
"I realized that by pushing ourselves to the extreme in a short period, we can achieve meaningful results!"
"I honestly didn’t think I could master the ghoul in just a few days!"
"I learned that the human body is stronger than I thought!"
Aaron waved a dismissive hand. "No need to kiss up. This has nothing to do with merits or demerits, so feel free to share your complaints, too."
At his words, a new wave of hands went up, Aseraz’s among them.
"I feel like I’m going to die from stress and insomnia!"
"It was frustrating having to use only ghouls the entire time!"
"Right," Aaron said, nodding as he paced. "From now on, the faculty will continue to stress you, impose restrictions, tie your hands and feet, and coerce you. To you, it might feel as harsh as being forced to drop out. But." He lifted his head, his gaze sweeping over them. "You will become that much stronger. Your growth will surpass what you achieved moving from first to second year. Do not forget that the second year is the period of greatest growth in your three years at Kizen. For today, go home early and take care of yourselves."
The students roared in response.
"Yes, Professor!"
"Thank you for your hard work!"
---
After the exam, the entire Summoning Department returned to Roc Island via a teleportation circle. Most of them, including Simon, were running on fumes after pulling all-nighters, and their conditions were a mess. Upon returning to the dormitory, Simon requested a day off from his student council duties and slept straight through.
He remembered collapsing onto his bed, but when he opened his eyes, it was the next morning.
’Wow, I really passed out.’
The accumulated fatigue had finally caught up to him. Still, after a deep sleep, his head felt clear and refreshed. His roommate, Toto, was still dead to the world.
Simon rubbed his eyes, got out of bed, and started for the bathroom.
’No, wait. Since I’m up a little early for once...’
He checked his schedule. Today was filled with general and elective courses. There was still plenty of time before his first class, Jet-Black Dynamics.
’Maybe I’ll go to the bathhouse.’
He wanted to soak in a hot tub to ease his lingering exhaustion. He grabbed a towel and some toiletries and opened his door.
’Huh?’
Something was blocking it. He stepped out to find several boxes piled in front of his room. He thought they might have been delivered by mistake, but when he checked the labels...
—To Mr. Simon Polentia.
—A gift for the Student Council President of Kizen.
They were all addressed to him. Inside were expensive wines, luxurious desserts, and even high-end necromancer supplies.
’What’s all this, suddenly?’
There were too many to open now, so he pushed them inside his room and headed for the bathhouse.
"Hey, President."
Students started approaching him on the way.
"Someone asked me to give this to you."
"Here, this is for you."
"Seriously, why do I have to run an errand like this?"
"A third-year... I don’t know who..."
By the time he returned from the bathhouse, Simon’s arms were laden with gifts.
He was completely baffled.
It was a strange situation. Was it a prank? A new school holiday? His birthday wasn’t for months.
Back in his room, Simon set the gifts on his desk with a complicated expression.
’This is making me a little anxious.’
As the Student Council President, opening gifts from strangers could spell trouble. Meirin had warned him about something similar before.
Simon tidied his desk, changed into his uniform, and went down to the dormitory lobby.
"Oh, President!"
"Hi! Have you had breakfast?"
More people than usual were greeting him. Even students he’d never spoken to before were smiling and saying hello.
Even...
"Oh, Student Council President! Working hard again today!"
"Thanks for all your hard work for the school!"
The third-year seniors, who had never even acknowledged him as president, were now greeting him with beaming smiles. Some even clapped him on the shoulder encouragingly before leaving.
’What in the world is going on?’
At this point, it was more stressful than pleasant. Everyone greeting him had one thing in common: they were being watchful. Not of him, but of the other students around them. It felt like the calm before a storm.
Sensing trouble, Simon quickly headed to the study hall to grab his textbooks.
"Simon Polentia."
But someone was there, too. Leaning against the study hall door with his arms crossed was Hector. His expression was grim, likely a lingering effect of yesterday’s defeat.
Simon forced a smile. "Ah, hello, Hector."
"Senior Leonard returned yesterday," Hector stated, then sighed as if he couldn’t believe he was the one delivering the message. "Shouldn’t you go and pay your respects?"
’All of a sudden?’
Leonard was the fourth-ranked student among all third-years and the head representative of the Summoning Department. He was the top dog, but Simon didn’t see why he needed to go out of his way to greet him.
Just as Simon was about to refuse...
"No, no, there’s no need for that."
Both of them flinched and turned. Leonard himself had appeared. He was in light training clothes, a red jacket draped over his shoulders as if he’d just returned from a dawn run. He radiated a powerful aura.
’Well, he’s always like this.’
He was strong. That was the undeniable impression he gave off.
"Welcome, sir," Hector said, bowing deeply. Simon gave a simple nod.
For some reason, he had a feeling this wouldn’t be easy to get out of.
"Haha! Don’t be so tense. I just wanted to talk a bit about school matters," Leonard said with his characteristic friendly smile, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Actually, a junior I know personally asked me for a favor. Ah, where should I start..."
"Leonard."
Leonard’s eyes narrowed as he turned. Venya Vanilla, a third-year with a matching golden badge pinned to her uniform, was approaching, the sharp ’click-clack’ of her heels echoing in the hall.
"What do you think you’re doing right now?" she demanded, her voice impossibly cold.
Leonard chuckled and turned to face her. "Good morning, Venya."
"I asked what you think you’re doing."
"Is a department representative checking on a junior’s well-being such a serious matter that it warrants that tone?"
Venya’s gaze sharpened. "If you were just checking on him, then you must be done. Let’s go, my friend."
She wrapped an arm around Simon’s shoulder and guided him away. Leonard clicked his tongue but said nothing more.
Then, Hector spoke up. "There was no need for you to stoop to asking him for a favor, sir."
Leonard laughed heartily. "Well, it’s fine. I was hoping Aizel would be back before this season, but I guess it can’t be helped."
---
Simon safely retrieved his textbooks and headed down the stairs.
"Thank you, Venya. But is something going on?"
"Hmm..." She gave him a cryptic smile. "It would be suspicious for you and me to be seen together, too. So I’ll be on my way now."
"Huh?"
"Bye! See you later!" With that, Venya hurried away.
’What was that about?’
’What did she mean, it’s suspicious for them to be seen together?’ The questions were piling up. Simon went to a window and peeked outside.
’Ah!’
A murmuring crowd of students had gathered in front of the dormitory entrance. He could pick out the words ‘Simon’ and ‘Student Council President’ from the din; they were all looking for him.
"Good morning, Simon."
Just then, a girl with black hair, completely unfazed by the strange atmosphere, walked toward him. She, at least, was the same as always.
"Ah, hello, Lorraine! Do you happen to know if today is some special day?"
"A special day...? I don’t think so. I’m not sure."
It seemed Lorraine was in the dark, too. Simon thought for a moment, then asked, "What class do you have this morning?"
"Venomology."
"I have Jet-Black Dynamics. The lecture halls are close. Want to walk to class together?" Simon asked, a hint of desperation in his voice.
She nodded lightly. "Okay, let’s."
’Yes!’
And so, Simon emerged from the dormitory with Lorraine. The murmuring students fell silent as they saw him.
A heavy silence fell over the crowd.
It was the perfect plan. Coming out with Lorraine was an excellent choice. As he chatted cheerfully with Nephthys’s daughter, no one dared to interrupt. Even the formidable third-years were wary of the Headmaster’s daughter.
"Let’s go," Simon said, quickly forming the golem’s core into a board. "Hold on tight. We’re leaving now."
Lorraine hopped on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
The board shot forward with a ’whoosh’, and the students watched them speed away, a collective sigh of disappointment rising from the crowd.
---
"Hey, Simon!"
The mystery was finally solved when he met Dick in the Jet-Black Dynamics lecture hall. He snickered and slung an arm around Simon’s neck.
"You got away pretty well, huh? Meirin was making a huge fuss about having to come get you."
"...Can you please explain what all this commotion is about?"
"Oh, right. You weren’t at the student council room yesterday, so you wouldn’t know. Starting today, it’s that time." Dick grinned and gave a thumbs-up. "Club Season! It’s Kizen’s silent war to secure funding!"
Simon let out a hollow laugh.
’Since when did Club Season become a war for funding?’