The Summoning Genius of the Necromancer School

The corners of Bread's mouth lifted.

"Good momentum. Here I come!" He slammed his feet against the dirt floor and charged forward.

Simon watched with wide eyes.

His movements were unusual.

The sight of a man with a gorilla-like build twisting his body as he approached was incredibly intimidating. 'Right hand straight.' Just as Simon's head began to move, Bread's arm shot forward with a whoosh, arriving right in front of him without any intermediate motion.

Bang! A tsunami-like shockwave crashed against the barrier and struck Simon's face.

At the moment of impact, Simon clenched his right fist and swung, but Bread had already lowered his stance and moved to Simon's left.

Clang! Again to the right.

Wham! Back to the left.

"Ugh!" Simon staggered back.

If he hadn't been wearing protective gear, each hit could have knocked him out or even killed him.

"Hahaha! What are you doing?" Simon wiped his mouth and tried to track his opponent's movements. 'Does this guy really think he can beat me?' Bread found it absurd.

Honestly, even he thought this fight made no sense.

No matter how you looked at it, it was a situation where a fifth-year teaching assistant was beating up a first-year freshman.

Those who heard about it would surely blame him.

Whether it was called venting or bullying, he had no excuse.

Still, he thought, 'If I don't do this, my anger won't settle!'

Boom! A proper strike landed in Simon's abdomen.

His body bent sharply, and Bread's elbow followed up, striking the back of Simon's head and sending him crashing to the ground. 'This guy is going to become Professor Hongpeng's direct disciple.

I need to correct his habits now!'

Just as Bread lifted his leg to stomp on Simon's head, Simon twisted Bread's ankle and grabbed it. 'What the!'

At the same time, Simon's legs coiled around Bread's like a snake, and with a fluid motion, he flipped his body and applied pressure.

Bread's body wobbled, exposing his back. 'Joint lock?'

Then, a skeleton emerged from Simon's spatial pocket and threw a spear at Bread. 'Look at this guy.'

Though his stance was unstable, Bread quickly gathered darkness in his palm and exploded it outward.

It was an application of the martial art technique 'Wind Crush.' The rough wind pressure blew away the spear and the skeleton.

In the meantime, Simon released Bread's legs and slipped to the other side.

"You're skilled. Were you a fighter before coming to Kizen?"

In response to Bread's question, Simon raised both fists.

"I just studied under my father."

"Believe that!" Bread charged again.

Simon summoned two skeletons and sent them left and right while lowering his stance. 'No need to think about other conditions.

If I land just one hit, I win.'

With Bread's speed increasing, Simon stepped onto the darkness and rushed forward.

As they nearly collided, Simon extended his arm.

"......!" Bread's body dropped down suddenly.

As Simon's arm sliced through the air, he felt a firm grip around his waist. 'I know exactly how you'll come at me!'

In a perfect German suplex position, Bread flipped his body and bent Simon's waist like a shrimp.

Simon's head and neck slammed into the ground with a loud thud, kicking up dust.

Having successfully executed the technique, Bread released his arms and stood up.

Whoosh! Simon's leg shot out from the smoke and struck Bread's arm with a loud smack. 'Kicking while falling? Does this guy feel no shock?'

This kick was a feint.

Bread quickly covered his face with his opposite arm.

Bang! Just as expected, Simon's other leg collided, creating a shockwave.

Simon’s leg then retracted, launching a flurry of kicks.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Bread stepped back, dodging by leaning his shoulder away.

The corners of his mouth lifted. 'Not bad.

Where did this guy come from?'

It was embarrassing, but he felt his blood boiling against a mere freshman.

He had thought Simon was just a typical overachiever, but now he began to understand why Professor Hongpeng was struggling with someone like him. 'This guy has both physical strength and innate sense.

But his stance is unstable, and his power isn't being transmitted properly.

This is a problem from not receiving systematic training from a professional.'

Professor Hongpeng must have felt the same way.

With such a genius in front of him, how could he not be eager to teach...!

Suddenly, Bread was startled and turned around.

As he stepped back, two trees fell in an X shape behind him.

The skeletons Simon had sent were chopping down the trees.

'When did he summon skeletons...!' How dare he engage me while connecting with his thoughts? Bread wrapped darkness around both fists as he dodged Simon's kick.

Swish.

When Bread opened his fists, serrated darkness flew like blades, easily splitting the trees in two.

This was an application of the martial art technique 'Piercing Blade.' The split trees fell to the ground as Bread steadied his stance.

"Whoosh!" Simon charged again. 'Let's end this.' Just as Bread twisted his waist and threw a powerful punch, Simon gritted his teeth and thrust his forehead forward.

Bread's eyes widened.

'This guy is really trying to kill himself...!' "Main Nail."

Simon flicked his fingers upward.

Thud.

Whack. "......!!" Bread's astonished gaze turned to the back.

The sharp bones of a skeleton had cut into his thigh.

His skin split, and blood flowed freely.

'What is this? Why is this here...!' His gaze shifted.

He saw the bones of the skeleton embedded in the surface of the fallen trees. 'Was this all planned from the start?'

For a moment, Bread was distracted by the situation, but then he felt a chilling aura and raised his head.

Boom! Simon's leg, twisting in mid-air, came down in a massive arc.

Bread hurriedly covered his head with his arms.

Wham! "Cough!" It was so fast he couldn't block it properly.

Blood splattered from his nose as he stumbled back.

Simon landed and grinned.

"Now you can't make any more excuses, can you? I won."

Thud.

Bread felt his patience, which had been holding onto his sanity, snap. "...... Huh. Hahaha!"

A tremendous surge of darkness erupted from Bread's entire body.

The darkness that spread into the air soon wrapped around him like clothing.

The symbol of a martial arts major, 'Black Garb.'

Before long, Bread was enveloped in a black armor.

"I admit it. I admit it."

Bread gritted his teeth and said.

"I lost, and the promise stands. I will follow your words, whatever the punishment. But before I leave Kizen!"

He clenched his fists tightly.

"If I don't take you down right here, I feel like I'll regret it for the rest of my life!"

"......"

Simon sighed deeply.

"Isn't this different from the promise? How low do you plan to stoop?"

"I don't care what you say!"

"Then do as you please."

As Simon let his arms hang down, Bread's eyebrows twitched.

"What are you doing! Get into position immediately!"

"I'm reaching my limit of patience in indulging you. I'm going to do as I please. If you're going to act like this, just hurry up and beat me!"

"You little...!" Just as Bread approached, radiating killing intent and grabbed Simon by the collar, a thunderous voice echoed.

"Bread!!!"

Boom! The enormous shout shook the island, almost bursting Simon's eardrums.

Bread, startled, turned his head, and his mouth dropped open.

"H-Hongpeng Professor...?" Professor Hongpeng approached with a fierce expression.

Bread felt the blood in his body turn cold and quickly released the black garb.

"Teaching Assistant Bread."

Hongpeng approached and glared at him.

It was a complete 180 from her usual gentle and kind demeanor.

"Explain what this is about."

Bread stood at attention, sweating profusely.

"I-I was giving Simon a sparring lesson..."

Slap! Hongpeng slapped Bread's cheek.

With just that, Bread's body flew several meters, rolling across the dirt.

'Ah...' Bread, lying on the ground, held his cheek.

In five years of serving Hongpeng, he had never been hit by her even once.

Yet, with this one blow, he realized the true extent of her power.

"Get up."

At her command, Bread stood up straight, approaching her.

His cheek was swollen and red.

"Turn around."

Bread turned his back.

"From now on, maintain the most painful appearance possible for the teaching assistant."

"Y-Yes? Painful appearance...?"

"Execute."

At her words, Bread immediately slammed his head to the ground and lifted his body.

In that position, he pushed his body up with his fingertips, balancing his weight on a single finger while spreading the edges of his black garb upward toward the sky.

It was a state that required managing both stamina and darkness.

It looked incredibly painful.

"Simon!" Hongpeng approached.

Her expression was filled with deep relief.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No, I'm fine. I was wearing protective gear..."

"Your face looks quite swollen."

Saying this, she grabbed Simon's face with both hands and began to massage it gently.

"P-Professor?"

"Is this okay? How about here?" While one hand roamed Simon's forearm and abdomen, the other stretched his cheek, pulling it like taffy.

No matter how he looked at it, her touch was filled with ulterior motives.

Simon gritted his teeth and muttered quietly.

"Ugh..."

In truth, this woman was not Hongpeng.

It was Erzebet, transformed into Hongpeng's appearance.

Originally, she had come to collect the corpses of the Nusslack under Simon's orders, but when Simon and Bread's fight broke out, she intervened by transforming into Hongpeng.

Erzebet had memorized the voices of Kizen's professors and important figures in case she ever needed to escape Kizen.

She leaned in close to Simon, whispering so only he could hear.

"How is it? Now the girl can be of help to the Legion Commander, can't she?"

"...... Thanks to you, I survived, but could you back off a bit?"

She grinned and grabbed the buttons of Simon's school uniform shirt, speaking in Hongpeng's voice.

"Simon. I think we need to check your wounds."

"...... There are no wounds, Professor."

Simon trembled as he spoke.

He had no choice but to play along so as not to be caught by Bread.

As Simon gestured for them to leave quickly, Erzebet reluctantly brushed her hair back and spoke.

"Teaching Assistant Bread."

"Y-Yes, Professor!"

Bread was now hitting himself with the black garb he had created.

He was faithfully executing the command to maintain the most painful state.

"I'm really disappointed in this matter. Maintain that form for the next twenty hours before returning."

"Understood!"

Twenty hours? Isn't that a bit too harsh? Simon looked at her with such eyes, but Erzebet placed her hand on her chest as if to say, 'Leave it to me.'

"From tomorrow, act naturally, and absolutely do not mention or think about this incident, including me. Just act as if it never happened. Just thinking about it makes me want to tear you apart."

"...... Yes, understood."

"And never lay a hand on Simon. If this happens again..."

Her eyes gleamed.

"There will be no second chances."

"...... Yes, understood."

"Let's go, Simon."

Erzebet took Simon's hand and led him away.

Bread didn't even dare to turn around.