Chapter 11

　　This time, Aaron called on Hector. Meirin pouted in disappointment and leaned back in her seat as Hector slowly rose. Just like in their first class, Simon and Hector stood facing each other. An assistant placed a skeleton kit at each of their feet.

　　"There are about ten minutes left until the bell rings," Aaron announced, glancing at his wristwatch. He rummaged through his pockets, pulled out a cheap-looking necklace, and hung it on a skeleton model he had set up in front of the lectern. "Use your skeletons to retrieve this necklace. Whoever possesses the necklace when class ends, wins. You are forbidden from moving yourselves or using any other black magic, but anything else is permitted. Now, get ready."

　　Aaron extended his arm. The two boys lowered their stances.

　　"Begin."

　　Simon and Hector simultaneously dropped to their knees before the skeleton kits.

　　I can do this! Simon’s eyes shone as he grabbed the skull. I can win this class!

　　He sent his Jet-Black flowing into the magic circle, awakening the undead. A dark light flickered in its eye sockets as the skull came to life with a clatter.

　　I’ll assemble the spine all at once. From number two to number seven…

　　Simon glanced up at the blackboard. But…

　　The assistant was taking down the bone structure diagram, an apologetic look on his face.

　　"No ‘cheating’ will be allowed in this match," Aaron stated flatly.

　　Simon bit his lip. Hector’s pupils also wavered in surprise, but he quickly turned his attention back to the skeleton kit. Simon forced himself to refocus and picked out a bone.

　　The bones still have numbers on them, though. I just have to assemble them in order, starting from one!

　　However, no matter how closely he examined the bones, their surfaces were bare.

　　"What you used before was a teaching aid. Our assistants went through the trouble of numbering them for you. Skeleton kits sold on the market don’t come with such kindness," Aaron’s calm voice echoed. "I believe I told you, didn’t I? A necromancer must be completely familiar with them."

　　It felt like the sky was falling. Simon risked a glance at Hector. Having already studied all his subjects in advance, Hector was assembling his skeleton without any hesitation, the order and structure of the Island Ratman’s bones clearly committed to memory.

　　…I won’t give up. I’ve built one before. The order of the important bones has to be in my head somewhere.

　　Simon found the number two neck bone and began to assemble it step by step. Aaron watched them with his arms crossed.

　　Special Admission No. 1 is touching a skeleton for the first time, he noted. He turned his gaze to Hector. On the other hand, that big one has memorized the order and structure. He’s building it based purely on knowledge and memory.

　　There was a reason Aaron had hidden the diagram and used unnumbered bones. Of course, this gave an overwhelming advantage to the student who had studied ahead, but Aaron wasn’t interested in who won. His goal was to find a student with a true feel for Summoning.

　　Hector, was it? He has a knack for it. His knowledge was the foundation, but it was his intuition that allowed him to avoid mistakes at critical moments. When faced with two confusing options, he chose the correct one with an almost preternatural accuracy.

　　As for Special Admission No. 1…

　　He was fumbling from the very start. The order of the core bones was wrong, throwing the entire assembly off balance. From the way he was frantically swapping out pieces, his composure was clearly shot. Aaron didn’t look favorably on studying ahead, but if one lacked skill, they should at least be well-prepared.

　　The only one worth anything in this class is Hector, I suppose.

　　Click. Clack.

　　Hector’s skeleton, its legs now complete, stood up straight. Applause erupted from the class. The four who had declared themselves his faction jumped to their feet, chanting his name.

　　I’m going to win. Hector began assembling the arms, glancing at Simon from the corner of his eye. The boy was still stuck on the torso, looking like he was in a complete panic. And while I’m at it, I’ll crush him so thoroughly he’ll never get back up.

　　Hector finished the right arm. He could have taken the necklace right then, but he showed off his confidence by assembling the left arm as well. I have to make him a laughingstock. I have to shatter that special admission confidence and drag him down to the very bottom.

　　In an instant, the left arm was done. Hector had assembled an entire skeleton without even looking at a diagram. His creation began to move. It was a little unsteady, but it took one deliberate step after another. It circled Simon mockingly before plucking the necklace from the model and draping it around its own neck.

　　Hector raised his muscular right arm high into the air. His skeleton mirrored the gesture, and the seated students burst into raucous laughter.

　　"Five minutes left," Aaron announced coldly.

　　Simon was still struggling with the torso. Was it nerves? Was he too conscious of his opponent? Even the sequence of bones he thought he remembered had evaporated from his mind.

　　Calm down.

　　Simon put down the bones he was holding. He had been trying to recall what he’d learned, but knowledge and intuition were clashing, tangling his thoughts into knots.

　　So he decided to abandon that approach.

　　Unless he had a photographic memory, memorizing the detailed order of every bone in a single lesson was impossible. So, he would abandon the knowledge he’d just learned.

　　This time, I’ll just follow my gut. My intuition.

　　With a sweep of his arm, Simon knocked over the skeleton he was building, shattering it. Surprised gasps echoed around him.

　　"Did he give up?"

　　"No skill, no grit."

　　"And that’s supposed to be Special Admission No. 1?"

　　Simon ignored them. He didn’t want to have a single regret when time ran out. He picked up the skull. The common sense he had just formed screamed at him to grab the number two neck bone.

　　I’ll do it my way!

　　He ignored the impulse, instead connecting the number five, seven, and ten bones to the skull in quick succession.

　　"Huh? Isn’t he wrong from the start?"

　　"It’s over."

　　Simon gritted his teeth. He didn’t have to create the ‘correct’ answer. Professor Aaron’s challenge was simply to get a skeleton up and retrieve the necklace.

　　There’s no time. I’ll discard the complex structures and simplify it.

　　I’ll make the forelegs centered around number twenty.

　　Number twenty-seven is essential, so I can’t leave it out. I’ll take twenty-nine instead.

　　Aaron, who had been silently watching, felt his eyes widen.

　　This is…!

　　What Simon was creating was not a bipedal Island Ratman. It was the form of a four-legged beast, its arms and legs planted on the ground.

　　No way. It’s absurd. But…!

　　There was no mistake. The bone structure was uncannily similar to that of the Gray Rat, a large rodent monster from the western continent. They were in the same biological family, the Gray Rat being the Island Ratman’s evolutionary predecessor.

　　He’s assembling the bones differently to recreate its pre-evolutionary form?

　　Of course, their anatomy and internal organs were different; he couldn’t create a perfect replica. But he wasn’t creating a living creature. He was creating an ‘undead’. With black magic, he could make the bones move regardless of whether they fit together properly.

　　He connected the tailbone to the chest. It’s plausible.

　　How does he know that numbers eleven and sixteen are compatible?

　　He hasn’t memorized it through concepts and knowledge… he’s understanding it through pure, natural insight.

　　What was taking shape before his eyes was a defective product, a world away from the correct answer Aaron had presented. And yet… Aaron felt a profound thrill.

　　Something’s happening.

　　Hector also sensed that something was off. Simon’s creation—low to the ground on all fours—was a grotesque thing that couldn’t be called an Island Ratman. But it was undeniably taking form.

　　"Go, Simon!"

　　In the silent classroom, Cindy Vivace suddenly shot to her feet, pumping her fist. "The form is good! I don’t know what it is, but finish it!"

　　Nearby, Dick was also on his feet, shouting encouragement. The other students watched, their expressions tense. Even Meirin, the top student of Class A, was half-risen from her seat.

　　Hector bit his lip. I’m the one who made the finished product. In record time, without a diagram. I’m the protagonist. So why isn’t anyone looking at me?

　　Anxiety gnawed at him, just like in the first class.

　　You think I’ll just stand by and watch?!

　　He gave a command to his skeleton. Aaron had only forbidden them from moving themselves or using other magic; any other action was fair game.

　　Hector’s skeleton charged toward Simon.

　　Simon, completely absorbed in his work, didn’t seem to notice. Cries of "Look out!" erupted from the students.

　　Hector’s skeleton kicked Simon’s creation, shattering it. It crumbled from the torso, bone fragments flying into the air. Students gasped, jumping to their feet.

　　I’ve won, Simon Polentia! Hector thought, sweat pouring down his face as a victorious smile spread across his lips.

　　But.

　　…Why?

　　Simon, as if he had known all along, was extending his right arm, a faint smile on his face.

　　Something was wrong. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Hector’s gaze followed the direction of Simon’s outstretched hand. Among the bones sent flying by the kick, an arm bone was arcing through the air. As it flew past Hector’s skeleton, it performed a single, simple, yet impossibly precise action.

　　The arm grabbed the necklace from the skeleton’s neck, pulling it free. Then, its energy spent, it fell to the floor with a thud.

　　A stunned silence fell over the room.

　　And at that exact moment.

　　The shrill tone of the bell signaled the end of class.

　　A heavy silence filled the room. No one spoke. Even Aaron stared blankly at the skeletal arm on the floor, clutching the necklace.

　　"Th-This… No!" Hector shrieked. "Professor Aaron! You said to get the necklace with a skeleton! That’s not a skeleton, it’s just a meaningless piece of bone!"

　　A small chuckle cut through the tension. Heh.

　　All eyes turned to the source of the sound. Simon, sitting on the floor drenched in sweat, lifted his head and looked straight at Hector.

　　"I don’t think so."

　　Whir!

　　The arm bone clutching the necklace flew as if pulled by a magnet and slammed into the collapsed torso.

　　Clack!

　　The scattered bone fragments began to reattach themselves to the fallen skeleton’s body. It staggered to its feet, and in moments, had perfectly reformed itself.

　　Hector’s pupils trembled in disbelief.

　　The skeleton, necklace in hand, approached Simon. It then stood on its two legs and placed the necklace around his neck.

　　Staring at Hector’s thunderous expression, Simon grinned.

　　"Is this good enough for you?"

　　As if on cue, the classroom erupted in a thunderous roar of cheers.