Chapter 41

　　The spear Simon hurled grazed the Cyclops’s cheek by a hair’s breadth.

　　So close! he thought, swallowing his disappointment as he landed.

　　Enraged, the Cyclops swung its club in a mad frenzy.

　　The dungeon trembled with every impact. Simon’s evasive maneuvers looked almost graceful, but in truth, he was on a razor’s edge.

　　Thank you, Professor Hongfeng!

　　Without the internal Jet-Black circulation she had taught him, he would have been crushed long ago.

　　The Cyclops lunged forward, slamming its club down with a clang.

　　"Simon!" Kamibarez screamed.

　　Just then, Simon darted out from the thick cloud of dust that had billowed up from the floor.

　　[Barrier Gauge: 72%]

　　He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. None of those were direct hits. They were just grazes, but this is insane!

　　Thump! Thump! Thump!

　　The Cyclops advanced, its eye gleaming with malice. A deep sense of unease settled in Simon’s stomach. It had been hit with three Exhaust spells, yet it moved as if completely unaffected.

　　Dick was clearly thinking the same thing, a bead of cold sweat tracing a path down his temple. If it’s still this strong after three hits, just how many stacks will it take to stop that thing?

　　***

　　In the upper-level control room, Jane sat before a multi-angled view of the battle, her quill scratching rapidly across a grading sheet.

　　"Professor Jane! There’s definitely something wrong with the Cyclops!" the assistant beside her exclaimed, his face grim. "Its strength is far beyond what the other groups faced! It’s going berserk, and curses aren’t working properly! We should stop the test and bring in a new one—!"

　　"Let’s just watch for now," Jane said coolly.

　　"Pardon?"

　　Jane offered no further explanation, her attention fixed on her grading.

　　The assistant, who had never once questioned a Kizen professor, felt a surge of protest. "Professor! This isn’t fair! This is an accident, and a berserk Cyclops is uncontrollable! We have to stop the test!"

　　"Fairness." Jane paused, tapping her quill. She removed her glasses and set them on the table. "That is not a particularly important virtue in Kizen."

　　"Professor?"

　　"Tell me, assistant, does one get to pick only weak opponents in a real battle? Do you turn tail and abandon your mission every time you face an unexpected variable?"

　　"W-Well, no, but!" The assistant bit his lip, momentarily speechless, before pressing on. "This isn’t a real battle! And these students are too young!"

　　"Their age is irrelevant. The fact that they are Kizen is what matters."

　　"Professor!"

　　"Let’s trust them and watch," Jane said, her eyes shining with a keen light. "It seems they’ve finally realized that they, too, need to change."

　　***

　　"Guys," Simon called out, having put some distance between himself and the Cyclops. He turned to his teammates. "Let’s give up on the curses. They aren’t working."

　　"Th-That can’t be right!" Meirin retorted. "Didn’t you see the other groups? They all succeeded using Exhaust! Why is it just us—!"

　　"I don’t know why," Simon admitted, his eyes carefully scanning the Cyclops. Bloodshot eye, muscles bulging to the point of bursting, unnaturally prominent veins. Was it just bad luck? Had they drawn the one in peak physical condition?

　　"I’m with Simon. It’s true that Exhaust isn’t working right now," Dick added. Even Meirin, though loath to abandon their strategy, couldn’t deny the monster’s unnatural vitality.

　　Simon spoke again.

　　"So we need to try something else."

　　"How?" Meirin’s expression was on the verge of tears. A part of her felt deeply wronged. Everything was going so horribly, so absurdly wrong. Their combatant, their aggro-drawing strategy, even their curses—all useless. With every plan they’d made reduced to nothing, what more could they possibly do?

　　"Just do whatever you want."

　　Simon dodged another diagonal swing from the club.

　　"Scrap all the tactics we’ve planned. Just help me however you see fit."

　　"What does that even mean—!"

　　After evading the third attack, Simon’s footing faltered. The Cyclops saw its chance and raised its club again, but just then…

　　A wave of crimson liquid, thick with the scent of blood, washed over the Cyclops’s face. Startled by its vision suddenly turning red, the monster staggered back.

　　"I get it!" Kamibarez declared, having cast the hemomancy spell ‘Blood Silk’. She gave a quick wink. "I just have to help you however I want, right?"

　　"Simon!" Dick shouted, tossing an enchanted sword he’d pulled from his Subspace. "Use this!"

　　The sword flew in a high arc, seemingly destined to land far behind the Cyclops. But just as everyone wondered what he was doing, a skeleton materialized as if from thin air and snatched it.

　　It spun, swinging the blade in a vicious slash. A long gash opened on the Cyclops’s waist, and blood sprayed from the wound.

　　Enraged, the Cyclops turned on the skeleton.

　　"Dick! Nice enchant!" Simon yelled.

　　While the skeleton drew the Cyclops’s attention, Simon created more distance. Dick began pulling a small arsenal from his Subspace, enchanting each weapon before flinging it into the fray. Kamibarez, meanwhile, expertly manipulated the Blood Silk, blinding and harassing the beast.

　　Now, focus.

　　His mind was still too cluttered. In the heat of battle, it was a crazy risk, but Simon slowly closed his eyes.

　　The roar of the arena faded. His consciousness expanded. His mind soared.

　　Phew. Sound vanished. Time slowed. He was back in that world Professor Bahil had shown him. Having experienced it once, Simon could partially recreate that mental state.

　　Thank you, Professor Bahil!

　　Simon’s eyes snapped open. From a Subspace portal on the floor, twenty skeletons erupted at once.

　　Thank you, Pier!

　　Using Cross-Operation, he sent them at the Cyclops in waves of three. Within moments, the beast was completely surrounded.

　　The enraged Cyclops swung its club, shattering several skeletons with a single blow. Bones scattered across the floor.

　　It didn’t matter.

　　Restoration!

　　A skeleton, instantly reassembled, snatched a fallen sword and swung.

　　It carved a chunk of flesh from the Cyclops’s heel.

　　As the monster staggered, another skeleton thrust a spear up from the ground.

　　Simultaneously, a skeleton on its back left another long gash.

　　"Two more spears, coming up!" Dick yelled, enchanting more weapons and scattering them around the Cyclops.

　　Simon moved the skeletons in response. Scattered bone fragments would reassemble, grab the nearest weapon, and attack. No matter how fast or strong the Cyclops was, it couldn’t defend against attacks from every direction at once. It was completely disoriented. If it looked forward, its back was slashed; if it turned, a spear lunged from below; if it stomped the ground, its flank was pierced.

　　The Cyclops was a beast caught in a trap, its struggles only serving to cover its body in more wounds.

　　"WOOOOOOOOAAAAAAH!"

　　"PUSH IT!"

　　The Class A students were plastered against the glass, roaring their approval. This was nothing like the monotonous, predictable strategies they’d seen so far.

　　Swept up in the euphoria, Simon conducted his skeletons like an orchestra of death.

　　But it still wasn’t enough. He could feel it, a tingling at the edge of his senses. Something was missing. He could do more. He could do better.

　　[Do you understand now, boy! A stronger will can draw out the latent power and aggression of the undead!]

　　Will. A will stronger than anything.

　　Simon’s eyes blazed.

　　Kill it!

　　The shattered skeletons re-formed even faster.

　　Kill it!

　　Their limbs became a chaotic whirlwind, dicing the Cyclops.

　　KILL IT!

　　The dead howled. Blades danced in a frenzy. By Simon’s absolute command, the legion now existed for a single purpose: to destroy the Cyclops.

　　A relentless assault. Unpredictable attack patterns. A fusion of orthodox and unorthodox tactics. It was the very essence of necromancy on full display.

　　Covered in countless wounds, the Cyclops roared in fury, broke through the skeletal cordon, and charged straight for Simon.

　　"Dodge it, Simon!"

　　But Simon was beyond mere focus; he was in a state of perfect immersion. His reaction was a fraction too slow. Before he could even brace himself, the club was already descending on his head.

　　Jet-Black Elemental Magic, Black Ice Series – Wall of Ice

　　A wall of black ice erupted from a magic circle on the floor, deflecting the club. Startled, Simon glanced behind him.

　　"Keep going, Simon!" Meirin screamed, gritting her teeth. "Now that it’s come to this, you absolutely cannot lose!"

　　The ice wall continued to rise, hemming the Cyclops in. The beast began to smash its way through, its blood staining the black glacier a deep crimson.

　　The momentary reprieve gave Simon time to catch his breath. He watched the Cyclops battering the ice and prepared his next spell.

　　Finally, the frenzied beast shattered the last of the walls and leaped at Simon.

　　That’s dangerous, thought Andrew, the hidden safety officer, as he raised his arm.

　　The Cyclops’s attack was now powerful enough to shatter Simon’s barrier vest in a single blow. A direct hit would cripple him.

　　My, my, these professors and their students!

　　He had to stop this madness. But just as Andrew resolved to intervene, a new magic circle caught his eye.

　　It was blood-red, drawn in the very center of the Cyclops’s abdomen.

　　"Now, Kami!" Simon yelled.

　　Andrew hastily lowered his arm.

　　Jet-Black erupted like a bonfire from Kamibarez’s entire body. Her hair stood on end, and black tears that looked like blood streamed from her eyes.

　　It was a hemomancy spell only a vampire of the Ursula family could wield. The pinnacle of the art.

　　Great Hemorrhage – Overflow

　　Forearms, chest, shoulders, thighs, heels—from every single wound Simon’s skeletons had inflicted, fountains of blood erupted at once.

　　Bleeding and poison were the most powerful support spells a stationary caster could provide.

　　"Whoa!"

　　The sight of the massive monster spewing blood from every inch of its body was both gruesome and breathtaking. In an instant, the arena floor was dyed crimson.

　　Even Simon, watching from a distance, was in awe. So this is the Great Hemorrhage spell!

　　They all knew Kamibarez could use it, but it was too unstable for a primary strategy, and it required the difficult setup of inflicting numerous wounds first. It had been their Plan B.

　　But with Meirin’s Dark Flare unavailable, it had become their main plan. Kamibarez was now their key damage dealer.

　　"Ugh!" Having expended so much power, Kamibarez swayed from anemia and sank to her knees. Her part was done.

　　"I’m counting on you, Simon!"

　　"Leave it to me."

　　This time, Simon raised both his arms, preparing a secret technique he had practiced countless times—one that only he, among all the first-years at Kizen, possessed.

　　The skeleton bones scattered across the dungeon floor shot into the air.

　　Thank you, Professor Aaron!

　　Everything he had learned at Kizen was becoming his strength.

　　Simon clenched his fist.

　　Simon Polentia Original – Bone Nail

　　The cloud of bones swarmed forward, burrowing deep into the wounds Kamibarez’s spell had torn open.

　　It was an attack that targeted over a hundred wounds simultaneously. The Cyclops thrashed, driven mad with agony. It screamed and fell, ramming its head against the wall over and over.

　　But it wasn’t over yet.

　　Clenching his fist, Simon twisted his right arm.

　　Restoration!

　　Inside the Cyclops’s body, the bone fragments began to obey the command, pulling toward a central point. They severed blood vessels, tore organs, and shredded muscle from the inside out.

　　The Cyclops was being destroyed.

　　"No way," a student in the observation room breathed, his face pressed against the glass.

　　After the crippling blow of losing Meirin, no one had expected such an overwhelming display from Group 7.

　　"Holy shit! That’s insane!"

　　"Go, Simon!"

　　"WOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAH!"

　　Their expectations had been spectacularly shattered. Those who had scoffed, those who had pitied them—everyone was now pounding on the glass, roaring with excitement. Forgetting for a moment that they were rivals, they were simply fellow necromancers, and the performance Simon and Group 7 were putting on was setting their hearts ablaze.

　　Simon gasped as his right arm hung limp. He had used up every last trace of residual Jet-Black in the bones; he couldn’t issue another Restoration command.

　　Meanwhile, Dick and Meirin were throwing Narbier potions at the mangled Cyclops. As the liquid seeped into its wounds, its muscles began to twist and contract violently.

　　"It worked!"

　　"It’s effective!"

　　Simon was on one knee, panting. He had truly done everything he could.

　　Please, just stay down.

　　Thud!

　　The blood-soaked Cyclops began to push itself up from the floor. Kamibarez, still on the ground, stared in horror.

　　"I-It can still get up?"

　　Its bones were twisted, its blood was drained, its organs were shredded, yet the Cyclops was staggering toward Simon like a walking corpse. Its gleaming eye held a tenacious, murderous will.

　　So in the end, anything short of an instant kill is useless, huh?

　　Meeting its gaze, Simon spoke calmly.

　　"Dick."

　　"All set! Catch!" Dick threw an enchanted claymore that landed at Simon’s feet. The blade was pitch-black, saturated with Jet-Black. "I poured every last drop I had into this! It’ll only last ten minutes!"

　　"Thanks."

　　Simon gripped the hilt and took a stance. He couldn’t use the body activation he’d learned from Hongfeng anymore. Both he and the monster were running on fumes. From here on, it was a battle of pure willpower.

　　Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

　　The living corpse charged.

　　Not to be outdone, Simon rushed forward, claymore in hand.

　　The Cyclops swung first.

　　Bwoosh!

　　Simon twisted aside, dodging the blow. The monster’s movements were now incomparably slow and clumsy.

　　Just as Simon moved to exploit the opening, something went wrong.

　　Huh?

　　His vision spun. In his drive to finish the Cyclops, he hadn’t realized his own body was at its absolute limit. His right leg gave out, and he tumbled to the floor.

　　"Simon!"

　　"Get up!"

　　Gritting his teeth, Simon forced himself to his feet. The Cyclops charged again, swinging its club. Simon ducked under it.

　　"You can win, Simon!"

　　"Dodge it!"

　　The Class A students were shouting themselves hoarse. Even Hector had shoved his way to the front of the crowd, his breath misting on the glass as he stared down at Simon.

　　Impossible, the assistant in the monitor room thought, aghast. Simon’s performance was astonishing, but… Professor Jane is standing up?

　　She had risen from her seat, dropping her grading sheet, her eyes glued to the screen. In five years of serving under her, he had never seen her like this.

　　Down in the dungeon, Andrew glanced at his own palm. It was slick with sweat.

　　How embarrassing. A professional getting this worked up over a student fight. He was getting old. He wiped his sweaty palm on his pants.

　　Leaning back to dodge the club, Simon staggered. He could close the distance, but the creature was too tall to land a decisive blow to the heart or head.

　　"Simon!" Meirin shouted. "I’m putting an ice wall under your feet! Use it as a foothold and go for the kill! You can do it, right?"

　　Good call! Simon nodded quickly.

　　The Cyclops, oblivious, swung its club horizontally. Instead of dodging, Simon dropped to one knee. A magic circle flared to life, and Meirin’s ice wall erupted from the floor.

　　The club crashed against the ice. Simon was launched two meters into the air. He landed on the wall and leaped.

　　Got it.

　　Time was still moving in slow motion. His focus was absolute. The nape of the Cyclops’s neck was right in front of him.

　　He put all his strength into his arm. The unwavering tip of the claymore flew toward its target—

　　Crack!

　　"Ah!"

　　A scream tore through the air. The Cyclops had lashed out with its other fist.

　　Simon’s body was sent flying, crashing into the far wall with brutal force.

　　"Simon!!"

　　"Are you okay?!" his teammates cried out.

　　An excruciating pain shot through him as Simon forced his eyes open.

　　[Barrier Gauge: 7%]

　　Still. Time was slow.

　　He could see the Cyclops, its fist still extended. Above it, the claymore he had dropped was spinning through the air.

　　Just as I thought.

　　A smirk touched Simon’s lips as he extended his arm.

　　Ending it like that wouldn’t be very necromancer-like.

　　It was the final move he’d been saving.

　　He issued a Restoration command.

　　Chak-chak-chak!

　　The arm bones scattered on the floor shot up like lightning, snapping onto the skeleton’s shoulder blade still lodged in the Cyclops’s chest, forming a complete arm.

　　The newly formed arm snatched the spinning claymore from the air.

　　Without a moment’s hesitation, it plunged the blade through the Cyclops’s neck.

　　"Aah!"

　　A profound silence fell over the dungeon.

　　Simon staggered to his feet on trembling legs.

　　The Cyclops collapsed.

　　Letting out a ragged breath, Simon tilted his head back.

　　Finally!

　　His chest felt like it would explode. He raised his right arm and clenched his blood-soaked fist in triumph.

　　"WOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAH!" A thunderous roar erupted from all sides. Hector turned his back.

　　In the monitor room, Jane finally sat down.

　　Andrew materialized out of thin air, wiping the sweat from his brow.

　　"Group 7," he announced, his voice filled with grudging respect. "You have successfully hunted the Cyclops."

　　"WE DID ITTT!"

　　The three in the set position let out a triumphant yell and rushed toward Simon.

　　"SIMOOOOOON!" Kamibarez reached him first, throwing herself into his arms with all her might.

　　"Whoa! You’re unbelievable!" Dick came next, ruffling Simon’s hair wildly as he shouted in a hoarse voice. "You did great! You really, really did great! Mwahahaha!"

　　"I’m so glad! I’m so, so glad!" Kamibarez sobbed happily.

　　Simon smiled through his coughing fit, feeling the air being squeezed from his lungs. Just then, Meirin approached, having left her position. A storm of emotions crossed her face. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, schooling her features into her usual prim expression as she held out her palm.

　　"Hmph. W-Well done," she said, though the tremor in her voice betrayed her. "I’ll consider this a debt I owe you."

　　Simon grinned and met her hand in a high-five.

　　"You did great too, Meirin."

　　"Simon."

　　"Yeah?"

　　"About yesterday, I’m sor—"

　　Before she could finish, Dick and Kamibarez threw their arms around both of them in a group hug. They all burst into cheers again, savoring the moment.

　　"I’m trying to be serious here, you idiots!" Meirin yelled, but she was smiling more brightly than ever.

　　***