Chapter 309
Simon entered Aron's laboratory.
Aron had called him because he wanted to hear Simon's explanation of this lesson.
"Alright."
Tak.
Aron set down his teacup.
"After watching my battle with Magnus?"
"Yes."
The four massive undead warships Aron possessed.
Magnus had dismissed them as trivial, saying their number had a limit, but Simon's heart had burned with excitement upon seeing them.
'To be able to bind that many undead into a single system and use them like that!'
Ever since then, the image of Aron's hive magic had lingered in his mind, and by chance, he had found the original rune for the hive magic within the Rune Fragment.
'The Rune of Transmission.'
After reading the explanation written under the rune and grasping its concept, Simon had moved immediately.
The Magiste System the students used while seated wasn't built separately for each seat, but rather, the entire practice hall's magic circle was connected as one.
So, Simon accessed the main system of the Magiste System through the Rune of Transmission, infused it with his Darkness, and simply issued an Absolute Order.
He commanded all the Skeleton Mages in the classroom to reuse the magic they had just cast.
It was something only possible in Aron's class, using the Magiste System.
'One might theoretically imagine it, but to have the daring to actually execute it in such a short time, that's genius.'
Aron turned his head slightly to look at Simon.
'This kid said he replicated my hive magic, but he only took inspiration from it. He used a completely different concept of black magic, yet managed to achieve the same effect.'
As the boy, called a genius, sipped his tea and then scrunched up his face at the bitterness, Aron smirked inwardly.
"Professor, I have something to tell you."
This time, Simon opened his mouth.
Although he had come here at Aron's invitation, Simon had been planning to visit him anyway.
"Speak."
"For this magic undead creation assignment."
Simon's eyes lit up.
"There's something I really, really want to make."
"What is it?"
Because the boy was so unpredictable, Aron already feared the answer.
Technically, even attaching some unusual magic to a Skeleton Mage would be enough to succeed in the undead creation assignment. But this boy, from his very first evaluation, had pulled off the stunt of moving other students' Skeleton Mages.
He simply saw the world differently from the others.
"Just a moment."
Simon rummaged in his bag and pulled out the Introduction to Summonology textbook. Then, he flipped to the back pages.
"Ah, found it. Please take a look here. I don't know if we'll learn this in class later."
Aron braced himself and took a sip of tea.
No matter what kind of Skeleton Mage the boy said he wanted to make, he would not be surprised.
"When can we make a Lich?"
Pffft!
Aron spat out the tea he was drinking.
The innocent face of Simon, who had been asking while holding the textbook open, was now drenched with tea.
"Enough already!!"
Aron shouted, then clutched his throat, coughing.
"Is it something we learn in third year?"
"A Lich!"
Aron's voice was now slightly hoarse.
"The school doesn't teach that!"
"What?"
"That's an ultra-high-grade undead! Even most professional necromancers can't touch a summoning spell of that difficulty!"
Simon tilted his head as he set down the textbook.
"So you can't make one either, Professor?"
'This brat…'
Aron pressed his hand to his forehead, let out a long sigh, then reached out his arm.
"Don't regret this."
Behind Aron, subspace ripped open.
Jjeoreong—
"!"
Suddenly, it felt as though the entire laboratory was being dyed in darkness.
From the subspace, a figure emerged, its head covered by a deep hood. Beneath the hood, there was no human face, only a skull with glowing eyes.
—Thump! Thump!
Simon felt his heart pounding.
He thought he had never heard his heartbeat so loud before.
—Thump! Thump! Thump!
And when the creature's upper body emerged from the subspace, Simon realized the sound wasn't his own heartbeat.
—Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
It was…..the heartbeat of the Lich.
'This… is it even possible?'
Within the ribcage visible under its robe, a bright red heart was beating.
An undead.
A being of the dead.
With a heart that beat.
"A Lich is called the pinnacle of magical-type undead because it operates a special heart known as the Life Vessel."
The Lich then fully emerged from the subspace. Its robe was full of holes and bound tightly with chains. It held a large wooden staff, and the glow in its skull's eye sockets was chilling.
"Do you know why it operates a heart?"
Simon swallowed hard and nodded.
"…To operate an independent Core. Am I wrong?"
"Correct."
To use even more powerful black magic, necromancers gave the dead a beating heart and had it operate a Core, Simon felt as if the sheer obsession of it was suffocating him.
Truly amazing.
Was something like this really possible?
Then, the Lich slowly turned its head to look at Simon.
A bony hand emerged from its robe and grabbed Simon's chin, lifting it.
'Ugh!'
Cold sweat poured down Simon's body, and he couldn't move a muscle.
The red glow that replaced pupils moved to gaze at Simon's chest. The lower jawbone slowly shifted, opening its mouth.
—Keeeeeeeee!
The Lich opened its jaws wide, aiming for Simon's left chest.
"Enough."
The loose chains tightened around the Lich's body.
With a wave of Aron's hand, the chains dragged the Lich back into the subspace.
Soon, the subspace closed completely.
"Haa, haa."
The suffocating pressure finally eased. Simon let out a sigh of relief, and Aron opened the window to air out the lab.
"Now—"
Aron turned to Simon and continued.
"You understand now just how foolish your words were, right?"
"I want to make one!"
"You insane—"
Aron stopped himself before cursing at a student, covering his face with his palm.
Simon, eyes sparkling, rose from his seat.
"Please teach me how to make a Lich! I'm begging you!"
He had planned to shock him into giving up, but it seemed he had only further provoked him instead.
'What should I say? That it's impossible for you. That it's black magic first-years can't touch. But…'
Simon had already achieved it all.
He had mastered Bone Armor—a spell taught to second-years—during the first semester, and in the second semester, he had succeeded in creating Blood Golem, a black magic spell for third-years.
Trying to stop that genius with ordinary, common-sense reasoning was impossible.
Aron slowly walked toward the bookshelf in the corner of the laboratory.
He opened the glass door and pulled out a thick, old book, then tossed it.
"Catch."
Simon stretched out both hands and, as if cradling a treasure, barely managed to receive the heavy tome.
"If you read that book and at least bring me the basic structure of a Lich, I'll consider it."
A bright gleam of intelligence flickered in Simon's eyes.
"Thank you, Professor! I'll make it soon and come back to see you!"
* * *
In the very next classes, the professors also talked about the schedules for the performance evaluations.
Since the 4th BMAT had been simplified, and instead of holding BMAT after school, there was now an outright bombardment of performance evaluations.
And just like how Aron had announced the final, highest-scoring performance evaluation task—Magical-Type Undead Creation—in advance, other professors were doing the same.
For Professor Bahil of Katarology, the assignment was Curse Synergy.
"Complete a curse that produces a synergy effect using three or more curses."
In short, either find your own combination where three or more curses produce some powerful effect, or create a single curse that incorporates three or more curse formulas and produces a synergy effect.
While other students were panicking at the difficulty, Simon felt a bit different.
'This feels like…'
For Simon, the answer was already clear.
If he mastered the Four Great Curses given by Bahil and created Compellonia, the problem would be solved naturally. Simon decided to simply continue his usual curse studies.
And in the next class, Hongpeng's Magical Combat, a rather grueling performance evaluation awaited them.
"You're going to fight one-on-one in magical combat against the teaching assistants and win! Easy, right?"
At this point, the students looked as if they were about to cry.
Shouts of protest rang out from all over.
"Professor! Forget magical combat, we couldn't win even if we gave it everything we had!"
"It's impossible!"
It was rare for students to complain directly to a professor. TA Bred, standing behind Hongpeng, made a sharp fwak! sound and gave them a warning glance.
"Of course,"
Hongpeng clasped her hands together with a smile.
"the TAs will have handicaps! So do your best so it won't be one-sided!"
Even knowing there would be handicaps didn't make it much more reassuring.
"…Sparring with a TA? We're really going to get beaten to death."
Maelyn muttered as she sat with her knees together. Dick and Kamibarez wore equally frightened expressions.
But Simon was thinking something else entirely.
'I've done something similar before.'
Back in the first semester, he had gotten into a match with Bred, the Magical Combat TA, after Bred picked a fight over being Hongpeng's direct disciple.
Of course, back then Simon had only needed to land one hit to win, and without that handicap, he stood no chance.
"Alright! For the day of the final practical exam, let's run even harder!"
Then, after Magical Combat, came the Haematology class.
In the lecture hall of the magic bullet shooting range, Professor Walter also announced the highest-scoring performance evaluation.
"The heart."
Walter simply said that.
"Prepare and demonstrate a black magic spell related to the heart, that's your final performance evaluation."
'…This guy really does love hearts.'
Simon thought, resting his chin on his hand. He could still vividly recall the scene at the market.
What had he been planning to do with so many hearts, piled high like a mountain?
As he pondered that, Simon's eyes suddenly widened.
'Ah. The Life Vessel!'
If it was a black magic spell related to the heart, then the Lich's Life Vessel would qualify.
In other words, if he really completed the Lich, it would essentially guarantee him the highest score in both Summonology and Haematology performance evaluations.
Simon became more and more serious about creating the Lich. While Walter was eagerly explaining theory, he set down the chalk and said,
"Now, I'll give you a moment to take notes."
Scratch, scratch.
While the students busily copied down the haematology formulas covering the chalkboard, Simon subtly turned his head.
A familiar friend was sitting two seats over.
"Toto."
Simon called out in a low voice. Toto immediately turned his head, recognizing his voice.
"Want to go to the club room after class?"
Toto nodded.
"Yeah! Sounds good!"
First, he thought he should talk to Benya for advice. Simon's mind spread its wings of imagination.
'What kind of heart would make the best Life Vessel?'