Chapter 551: Episode 551
"Whether we fail White or not, Simon, we’ll follow your lead."
"Alright. Let’s do this."
The Mutants’ plan was simple. Since a Kizen student had formally applied, no club could reject him without a clear reason. The strategy, therefore, was to accept his application but design an entrance exam that would put him at a distinct disadvantage.
First, Fitzgerald’s written exam had successfully failed White, but it had also failed every other first-year, which was a problem. Second, Toto’s interview had operated on the assumption that White, who relied on his Innate Ability, wouldn’t possess a special summon. But White had a summon he could conjure with that very ability.
And now, it was time for the third and final stage: Simon’s practical exam.
"Is everyone ready?" Simon asked, the club flag held firmly in his hand.
"Yes, Senior!" the first-years at the starting line roared in unison.
Beside them, White simply stared blankly into the distance.
"The final test is a summon race!" Simon announced. "Any magic or abilities unrelated to your summon, including black magic, are forbidden! By any chance, can anyone here use Jet-Black Stepping?"
Jet-Black Stepping was a skill taught at the very beginning of their first-year Combat Magic class. Most of the first-years raised their hands, though a few admitted they hadn’t quite mastered it yet.
"It’s a mixed bag, so we’ll ban Jet-Black Stepping as well. You can only run on your own two feet or use your summon. Understood?"
"Yes!"
"Alright, everyone... get ready!"
The first-years all crouched down, their faces etched with serious determination. Arthur stretched his legs out, assuming a low stance that was almost a full prostration.
With a sharp ’snap’, Simon whipped the flag through the air.
"Begin!"
In a flash, the entire group of first-years shot forward with ferocious momentum.
And yet...
White remained at the starting line, his dazed eyes still fixed on the sky.
’Just as I expected,’ Fitzgerald mused, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. They had deliberately chosen a park on the Kizen campus known for its abundance of birds, knowing White would be captivated by them. More importantly, White’s summon was a fixed-magic-circle type, completely unsuitable for a race.
’I just hope he gets eliminated without any more trouble.’
Oblivious to the scheming, the first-years were already locked in a heated competition. Sasha tore open a subspace.
"Come out, Vinepus!"
A creature wreathed in thick vines sprang forth. Sasha leaped onto its back, and Vinepus began to move, its vines churning like powerful legs. It quickly left the students running on foot far behind.
"I’m in first place—!"
"In your dreams!"
A sudden, thunderous clatter of hooves made Sasha whip her head around. Molly was closing in, mounted on an incredibly expensive-looking Skull Horse, its bones gleaming with the same lapis lazuli coating as her other undead.
"Just another filthy rich brat," Sasha sneered.
"You! How dare you—!" Molly began, but then she caught herself, sweeping a lock of hair from her face as if deciding not to rise to the bait. "Belittle it all you want, but wealth is a vital asset for any necromancer. I shall use everything at my disposal to win."
A vine from Vinepus suddenly lashed out, aiming to ensnare Molly. She yelped and threw herself back to dodge it.
"Hey! What was that for?"
"Simon said we could use skills related to our summons to run, didn’t he?" Sasha’s lips curled into a smirk as she extended an arm. "But he never said we couldn’t interfere with each other."
Vinepus’s vines shot out again and again, forcing Molly to weave and dodge frantically atop her Skull Horse.
"That’s so cheap!"
"And a first-year owning a Skull Horse isn’t?"
"If you’re going to be that childish, then fine." Molly opened her own subspace. "I’ll just attack with my summon, too—!"
A booming laugh suddenly echoed across the field.
Both girls snapped their heads toward the sound. A cloud of dust erupted as a red-haired boy, running on his own two feet, sprinted past them both.
’What?!’
Their jaws dropped in unison. He was outrunning a Skull Horse with nothing but his raw physical power, not even using Jet-Black Stepping.
’Are my eyes broken?’ Sasha wondered. It was hard to believe he was even the same species. There had to be a limit to how superhuman a person could be.
"Hey, you!" Sasha yelled, having lost her lead. "This is a Summoning Club test, not Combat Magic class! What do you think you’re doing?"
"Hm?" Arthur glanced back. "It’s okay to just run, isn’t it?"
Sasha shot an urgent look at Molly, who hesitated for a moment before chiming in. "Even if you’re not technically breaking the rules, it’s... poor sportsmanship! It goes against the spirit of the competition!"
"That’s right!" Sasha added. "You should at least use a summon to run!"
Facing their combined verbal assault, Arthur just scratched his head. Then, with a grin, he thrust his arm out to the side.
"Fine by me!"
A subspace shimmered open, and the same Snake Sword from his interview shot out. Arthur gripped it tightly with both hands and swung it with all his might.
"Extend!"
The sword’s segments instantly unfolded, stretching out across the distance. He embedded its tip into a faraway tree and lifted his feet from the ground. With a ’whoosh’, his body shot forward at a terrifying speed.
Molly watched, her mouth agape in astonishment. "What kind of necromancer even is... huh?"
Her thought was cut short as Sasha suddenly flew past her as well. She had secretly wrapped one of Vinepus’s vines around Arthur’s waist, hitching a ride.
"See ya, Princess!" Sasha called back.
"You!" Molly’s face turned beet red as she gripped her reins. "I’ll get you for this!"
---
While the first-year trio raced far ahead, White remained at the starting line, his gaze still fixed on the flock of birds in the sky.
"Ah."
The birds suddenly took flight, scattering into the distance. Only when they had disappeared behind a building did White finally look forward and prepare to run. Fitzgerald, watching from afar, pushed up his glasses.
’He’s going to run now? It’s far too late.’
White opened a subspace. A gurgling sound accompanied the emergence of a summon he hadn’t shown during the interview. It resembled a living, biological well, with a pool of Jet-Black rippling in its center, surrounded by swaying, unidentifiable tentacles. White placed a hand on its body.
’He’s absorbing its Jet-Black. He’s planning to use his Innate Ability.’
As the Jet-Black flowed into him, the pool within the summon began to shrink.
’So he has a summon that stores Jet-Black, yet he specifically asked Simon for help during the interview?’ Fitzgerald’s expression grew grave as he crossed his arms. ’He’s definitely suspicious. He must be eliminated here.’
Once the absorption was complete, White used his Innate Ability to draw a magic circle on the ground with white Jet-Black. He then retrieved an empty suit of armor from his subspace and dropped it onto the circle. The inside of the armor began to fill with the white energy, solidifying into the same form he had shown in the interview. The summon rose to its feet.
’A summon that can only exist within a magic circle. I’ve already confirmed it’s fixed. What could he possibly do with that?’
White nimbly leaped onto the soldier’s shoulder. The creature spread its arms wide, assuming a throwing stance.
’Don’t tell me!’
An expression of pure disbelief crossed Fitzgerald’s face, his glasses sliding down his nose.
With an explosive crack, the soldier launched White’s body into the sky like a cannonball. The resulting shockwave knocked Fitzgerald off his feet and sent the surrounding trees into a violent shudder. In an instant, White had vanished from sight.
---
"Pant! Hah!"
Meanwhile, the first-year trio was closing in on the finish line, gasping for breath.
"Arrrgh! Dammit! Let go!" Arthur yelled, running frantically while trying to tear the vine from his waist.
’This gorilla!’ Sasha thought, amazed. She had wrapped the vine around several trees to anchor him, but Arthur was simply dragging the trees along with him. His stamina was monstrous.
"I’ve... almost caught up!"
As Arthur and Sasha battled, Princess Molly on her Skull Horse was gaining on them. All three sets of eyes locked onto Simon, who stood waiting at the finish line.
’I’ll be first!’
Arthur slammed his Snake Sword into the ground at the finish line, while Sasha wrapped Vinepus’s vine around a tree just beyond it. Just as they both launched themselves into the air...
A massive gust of wind erupted as a white-haired boy descended from the sky with a deafening ’whoosh’.
The ground at the finish line shattered with a deafening crash, sending a plume of dirt and rock into the air. Sasha and Arthur shot through the dust cloud, followed moments later by the clatter of hooves as Molly crossed the line.
Simon checked his stopwatch and looked up. ’I guess this was inevitable.’
"Second place, Sasha. Third, Arthur. Fourth, Molly. And first place... is White."
A huge crater now marked the finish line. Standing in its center, the white-haired boy calmly dusted off his head.
"Good work, everyone! Congratulations!" Benya called out, clapping from the sidelines.
The first-year trio collapsed to the ground, heaving for breath. Benya walked over, handing each of them a water bottle and a towel. Soon, the other first-years began to trickle in. After White and the three special admission students, the fifth, sixth, and seventh place finishers arrived, securing their spots as official members of the Mutants. Though the new members were decided, even the students who arrived later gave it their all until the very end.
"Simon." Fitzgerald approached from the starting line.
"Ah, good work, Fitzgerald."
Fitzgerald studied Simon’s expression for a moment before pushing his glasses up. "You knew this would happen, didn’t you?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Simon’s face, followed by a faint smile. "Was it that obvious?"
"The summon race. I expected you to choose a test that would more definitively eliminate him. I thought it was strange when you proposed something so... moderate."
Simon hesitated, then finally spoke. "I know the Kizen higher-ups are watching White, and I know he approached me for a reason." He met Fitzgerald’s gaze. "Avoiding him won’t solve the problem. If he’s going to get close to me, then I’ll keep an even closer watch on him."
"That’s too dangerous."
Simon laughed as if the idea was absurd. "When has anything at Kizen not been dangerous?"
After a moment of consideration, Fitzgerald let out a laugh of his own, one of resignation. "You have a point."
---
The seven new members had been decided. Inside the clubroom, the successful applicants were buzzing with excitement, chattering about their future plans. Those who hadn’t made the cut swallowed their disappointment, said their goodbyes to the upperclassmen, and filed out. Fortunately, since the Mutants held their tryouts early, they still had a chance to join other clubs.
White, however, didn’t join the celebration. After securing his spot, he slipped out of the clubroom and began a leisurely stroll down the street alone.
Suddenly, the sound of crying stopped him in his tracks. Behind the Mutants’ club building, a first-year girl was weeping, fat tears rolling down her cheeks as two other girls tried to comfort her.
"...I’m sorry," she sobbed. "I really wanted to be in the club with you guys."
"Calm down. It’s okay, don’t cry."
"We’re the ones who should be sorry. We passed and left you behind."
They patted the crying girl’s back gently.
"Ruri, if you really feel that way, we can quit, too..."
"Don’t you dare!" the girl named Ruri snapped, even through her tears. "If you do that, I’ll be furious!" Her crying only intensified, and she didn’t calm down until her friends promised they wouldn’t even think of it.
"I really wanted to get in," she said, her voice thick with congestion. "At first, I just thought the Student Council President was cool, but all the seniors are so nice, and the club seemed like so much fun... But I just wasn’t good enough. It can’t be helped." As she spoke, fresh tears welled in her eyes. One of her friends pulled her into a tight hug.
"You’re still such a crybaby."
---
’I could just die.’
After a good, long cry, Ruri parted ways with her friends and found herself creeping back toward the Mutants clubroom. She had left her school uniform jacket behind. She needed it for tomorrow, and since she’d left it tucked away in a corner, she doubted her friends would have seen it. She had to get it herself.
’I’ll just grab it and get out before things get awkward.’
Standing before the clubroom door, she could hear boisterous laughter from within. They all sounded so happy. Pushing down the fresh wave of gloom, she knocked and stepped inside.
"Um, excuse me! I left my jacket, so I’ll just grab it real quick and—"
"Ah, perfect timing."
Simon stood up from his seat, and every eye in the room turned to her.
"You’re Ruri Vidore, right? You came in eighth."
"Ah, yes!"
"A spot just opened up," Simon continued with a slightly sheepish smile. "If you’re okay with it, would you like to join the club?"
"Whaaaat?!"
"That’s great, Ruri!"
"Welcome!"
Before she could even respond, her friends rushed over and pulled her inside. Sasha and the other first-years clapped and cheered for her. While one side of the room was filled with a warm, celebratory atmosphere, the two second-years sat on the sofa, their expressions deeply conflicted.
"...I’m officially giving up on trying to understand White," Fitzgerald declared, shaking his head.
Next to him, Toto looked equally baffled. "Me too. Why go through all the trouble of passing the test just to quit?"
"Maybe he already achieved his goal."
"You mean absorbing Simon’s Jet-Black during the interview? But Simon got that back, didn’t he?"
While Fitzgerald and Toto debated fervently, Simon stared at the paper on the table with a heavy heart.
’Letter of Resignation – White’
He let out a long sigh and looked up. "Worrying about it won’t give us an answer. Let’s set this aside for now." Turning to the new members, he announced, "First-years, how about a small welcome party? We can head out to Rochest—"
"YEEEEEEEEEAH!"
A deafening cheer erupted. The first-years shot to their feet, giggling as they grabbed their jackets.
’I have no idea what’s gotten into them, but...’
Simon straightened his tie and picked up White’s resignation letter, tucking it into his pocket.
’I will find out what you’re planning.’
He sent a message to Erzebet.