The Summoning Genius of the Necromancer School
"The winner is! Student Simon Polentia from Class A!"
A chorus of cheers erupted from the audience, a mix of loud and soft voices.
It was less of a jubilant cheer and more of a stunned reaction.
"Wow."
"That's definitely the special case number one."
"Where's that guy going? After graduation, we..."
"Ah, brother. With skills like that, I doubt they'll let him go from Kizen."
"How long has it been since we had an ace from the Summoning Department? Quite unique."
As officials from various organizations exchanged opinions, suddenly, the students in the front row of the audience jumped up.
"Simon! You did great! You're the best!"
"Wow, seriously! You really made us anxious."
"Great strategy! Hahaha!"
Kamibarez, Meilin, and Dick were waving their hands and shouting loudly.
Simon spotted the three and gave a shy smile while waving back.
An official crossed his arms.
"Aren't they cute, our kids?"
"Uh, brother. That comment just now..."
"You crazy fool! He's my direct junior!"
"Oh, right. You came from Kizen."
After waving to his teammates, Simon turned his head.
Haren, who had been knocked against the wall, was being carried away on a stretcher by medical staff.
Listening in on the medical staff's conversation, Simon heard that thanks to the protective suit, Haren had no injuries, but he was just shocked from the impact.
Haren blinked with a dazed expression.
"Haren."
Simon approached him.
"..."
"I don't know what grudge you hold against me, but..."
Simon smiled gently and continued, "You can never defeat me with 'that kind of power' that isn't your own."
"......!!" Haren's eyes widened at those words.
"Alright, let's go."
Haren, pale-faced, was carried away on the stretcher.
Simon lightly brushed off his hands and turned away.
As he saw the wind blowing against one side of the indoor arena wall, a sense of embarrassment washed over him.
'They say it can be fixed with magic, but I feel so ashamed.' If he dismantled the golem here, it would only cause more trouble, so Simon took the golem and exited the arena.
Meanwhile, the referee proceeded with the next match.
"Simon!" Before long, Kamibarez and his teammates rushed out of the arena.
"Are you hurt?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Hey! What was that all about! You scared us! You didn't say anything!"
At Meilin's shout, Simon smiled awkwardly.
"Sorry for worrying you."
"Oh, come on! I wasn't worried at all!"
On the other hand, Dick approached the mud golem with an amazed expression.
"Wow, this is Simon's golem!" As he reached out to touch it, the golem pulled back and glared at Dick.
Dick flinched and took a step back.
"Hello? Be nice—" This time, Kamibarez approached and patted the golem.
The golem did not reject her touch.
Instead, it slightly bent down, making it easier for her to pet it.
"......"
Dick made a sour face. "...... That thing might not be a golem."
"What are you talking about?"
"Simon! Can I ride it?" Kamibarez asked with sparkling eyes.
Simon was sweating profusely while just smiling.
"......?"
"Kamii."
Meilin brushed her hair back and said, "Maintaining the golem consumes a lot of black energy. If we keep this up, won't Simon dry up?"
"Ah! Oh no! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to..."
Kamibarez quickly stepped back from the golem.
Only then did Simon release his thoughts and stop the golem's operation.
The golem collapsed like a pile of dirt.
Simon approached the mound and pulled out a large orb-like object from the rubble.
This was the core of the golem.
"So this is what it looks like."
Kamibarez and Meilin crouched down and carefully touched the golem's core.
At that moment, a pinging sound came from the surface of the core.
Kamibarez let out a short scream and jumped back.
"It's okay."
Simon said with a smile.
"It sometimes plays tricks when it's in a good mood."
"Ah...."
"But isn't this super expensive? How did you get it?" Meilin asked.
Simon grinned.
"I managed it with the money I earned from missions and some credit."
Simon had earned 500 gold from his last mission and received an additional 200 gold from Lord Raymond for dealing with the Gray Orcs after clearing a mountain.
A few days ago, when he went to Rochester to buy Skeleton Archers, Simon spent 90 gold on three Skeleton Archers.
Now, he had 610 gold left.
- The core of the golem starts at a minimum of 700 gold.
Hearing this from the necromancer shop owner, Simon had reluctantly decided to give up.
At that moment, the shop owner made a new offer.
- This isn't just a few coins; with a special discount, it's 650 gold.
I'll give you 50 gold on credit.
How about taking it for 600 gold?
Having been swayed by the shop owner's words, Simon ended up purchasing the golem's core. 'I think I overspent a bit, but oh well.' Still, the golem was worth the price.
Its combat power was unquestionable, and unlike skeletons, it could be used for a long time.
Simon carefully placed the golem's core into his spatial pocket.
"By the way, Dick, when's the next mission period?"
"...... Why the sudden question?" He wanted to go out and earn money again quickly.
Necromancers are all about money.
Simon smiled at that thought.
The morning duel evaluations had all concluded.
After a light lunch, Simon and his group moved on to the fourth arena.
Here, Dick, Meilin, and Kamibarez would all have their duel evaluations.
The first to compete, Dick, headed to the waiting room to prepare.
"Kamii. Are you really okay not eating?" Simon asked.
Perhaps due to the tension of the upcoming duel, she was curled up with her knees together, forcing a smile.
"...... Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't seem to swallow anything."
"But are you really okay?" Meilin crossed her arms and glared at Simon.
"Don't push yourself just to watch our match; just go take a nap."
"I'm fine, really. The excitement from the duel earlier chased away my sleepiness."
"...... Seriously."
"Oh, look! Dick is coming out!"
As Kamibarez said, Dick, wearing a protective suit, and his opponent stepped into the center of the arena.
Dick's opponent was a girl named 'Rikang Chofra.' She had dark brown hair tied in a ponytail and a slightly tanned complexion.
"Tsk, another girl as my opponent."
Dick muttered, resting his arm on the back of his head.
Hearing that, Rikang frowned.
"What of it? Just wait, and I'll crush you so you can't even squeak."
"Hey, hey."
Dick grinned playfully as he shook hands with her.
As the two stepped back, the mana projector displayed their barrier gauges.
[ Dick Hayward: 100% ]
[ Rikang Chofra: 100% ]
"Are both students ready?"
"Yes!"
"Yes."
The referee nodded.
"Then, we will now begin the duel evaluation between Dick Hayward and Rikang Chofra."
The referee lowered his arm.
"Begin!"
Dick immediately opened a spatial pocket and pulled out a sleek sword, gripping it in his hand.
'Enchant.'
A magic circle unfolded on the sword, and the blade turned pitch black.
Dick swung it lightly, taking a combat stance.
"Is that all you've got?" Rikang chuckled as she opened her own spatial pocket.
From her pocket, a whopping twenty swords burst forth and clattered to the ground.
Surprised murmurs filled the audience.
"What is that?"
"...... Can she even use all of those?"
Meilin and Kamibarez chimed in with their comments.
At that moment, a magic circle spread over the pile of swords, and they all began to turn black simultaneously.
'Multiple enchantments...!'
Coincidentally, it was a duel between two enchanters.
Even seeing the twenty swords turn black at once, Dick remained calm.
Unlike Rikang, he was layering enchantments on a single sword.
"Heh, you don't know much about enchantments. The amount of black energy you infuse determines the performance of the enchanted weapon. Multiple enchantments are a technique avoided unless you're a pro."
"Shut up and just watch!" Rikang spread her fingers.
The twenty swords trembled as if alive and floated into the air.
Ooh—gasps and screams echoed throughout the arena.
The swords danced as if guarding her.
Upon closer inspection, black threads were attached to the tips of the swords, which were used to lift them into the air.
"Die."
Rikang spat harshly as she spread her fingers.
Three of the floating swords shot towards Dick at high speed.
"Ha!"
Dick dashed forward, stepping on the black energy while swinging his short sword.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Each metallic sound sent sparks flying as the swords fell to the ground.
Swish, swish, swish, swoosh! As if he had finished aiming, ten swords flew from different directions.
"Wow, this is tough!"
Dropping the sword he was holding, Dick pulled out an object with a handle from his spatial pocket.
Kneeling on one knee, he extended it forward.
'Enchant!'
With a whoosh, Dick's black energy spread out like an umbrella.
The swords came flying at him fiercely, colliding with it.
The deafening metallic sounds echoed.
It seemed impossible to block all ten swords, as the edges of the black shield began to tear.
The swords grazed Dick's body.
"Dick!!" Kamibarez shouted worriedly as she watched the mana projector screen.
[ Dick Hayward: 69% ]
[ Rikang Chofra: 100% ]
With his barrier gauge reduced, Dick staggered back.
"Phew, that was close! But now it's my turn... huh?"
After attacking Dick, the swords that had fallen to the ground trembled and returned to Rikang's side.
Dick opened his mouth in a dazed smile.
"Nice job~"
Rikang frowned.
"You still have the energy to talk?"
"Of course! Want me to show you how much more I can talk?" Dick inhaled sharply.
"Name, Rikang Chofra. And her real name is Priyanka Chofra."
"!!" Rikang's eyes widened.
"She's a native of the Dipak territory in the Shahed Kingdom. Chofra is her mother's surname, and the core was opened by the village sage. It took a year to reach the first black energy after opening the core, and her specialty is hunting. Her hobby is cooking."
"W-what are you doing?!"
"After entering Kizen, she was placed in Class G, with an average score of 70 in subject tests. Her first friend was Narsha Abra, and although she aspires to study black energy mechanics, she's recently taken an interest in martial studies. She has a minor injury on her knee. Height 163, weight 61, waist circumference..."
"Shut up! You crazy bastard!" Rikang Chofra shouted, her face turning bright red.
Meilin, feeling embarrassed to be in the same group, covered her face with her palm, while Kamibarez hung her head low.
"If you know yourself and your opponent, you will never lose."
Dick grinned as he opened a spatial pocket.
He pulled out one of five metal stakes that extended from it and drove it into the ground.
"That's my motto. First of all, I know better than anyone that I'm weak~ So I'm very interested in knowing others."
"Stop talking and die! Now!" Rikang sent all ten swords flying at once.
Dick placed his palm on the metal stake and infused it with mana.
'Enchant!'
The mana flowed into the metal stake.
As a result, all the swords flying towards Dick stuck to the stake with a thud.
"......!"
"It's like an electromagnet. When activated with black energy, it attracts metals of the same property."
Dick leaned on the metal stake and raised his upper body.
"Carbon steel and amaryllium mixed half and half, right?"
"H-how do you know that?!"
Dick pulled out a note from his pocket and unfolded it, smiling.
"It's the purchase list of the items you bought from the Rochester weapon shop."
"......!"
"Right after the money comes in from this mission evaluation, you bought twenty swords. From this information, I can deduce one more thing."
Throwing the note behind him, Dick rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a single silver coin, which had turned black from the enchantment he had used.
"You didn't buy any shields or armor, did you?"
Dick spread a magic circle on both his right palm and the coin.
Then, he pressed the two magic circles together and clenched his fist.
"Maybe you let your guard down because I'm a pure enchanter, but if that's the case...!"
Dick sent his arms behind his head and lifted his left leg.
He stepped on the ground with his leg, naturally shifting his center of gravity forward.
At the same time, his right arm swung powerfully, and the two magic circles sparked.
"You'll be vulnerable to long-range attacks!"
Swoosh!
With a fierce sound, the coin shot out like a flash.
'......
Fast!'
There was no way to dodge.
Rikang hurriedly sent the surrounding swords forward, but the coin slipped past them and struck her forehead.
Boom! A shockwave erupted from her forehead in a circular pattern.
Though it was blocked by the barrier of her protective suit, the sudden impact on her head made her vision spin.
Thud! Her body collapsed to the ground.
[ Dick Hayward: 69% ]
[ Rikang Chofra: 35% ]
Though the enchanted coin lacked the power to knock her out in one hit, the shock from just now caused Rikang to lose consciousness.
The referee checked her condition and announced, "Match halted! Rikang Chofra has lost consciousness. The winner is Dick Hayward!"
"Yay!" Dick clenched his fist with a cheerful smile.