Chapter 320
"This, what is all this?"
The underground passage, which Simon had thought would continue endlessly shrouded in darkness, had at some point changed into a wall of living tissue.
The crimson walls, with veins and arteries clearly visible, pulsed and moved as if alive.
It felt like being inside the belly of a beast, and Simon was reminded of the time he had boarded the Underworld Whale.
'Is this really the basement of the school building?'
Ssssk.
Sss.
And within the passage, countless things resembling the limbs of monsters were writhing and squirming.
"Step back."
Kajan said firmly.
"From here on, it's an unknown domain. Even as your bodyguard, I can't guarantee your life."
"..."
When Simon bit his lip and hesitated, Kajan spoke again.
"Seeking the truth is fine, but your life comes first above all."
In the end, Simon nodded grimly.
He wanted to know what was inside, what Walter was plotting, but there was now a stench of real danger.
Even with this much, the outcome was enough.
"Let's go back."
Simon and Kajan escaped the building safely and returned to the dormitory. Seeing the two of them completely exhausted, Dick's eyes widened in surprise.
"Where did you two go? Weren't you just going to have a glass of wine?"
Kajan tossed his clothes aside and climbed straight up to the top bunk, pulling the blanket over himself.
With a wry smile, Simon answered,
"Just did a bit of training late at night. Kajan helped me with Magical Combat."
"Kkhh! Jealous! I want to train with Kajan to—!"
Fwp.
Before he could finish his sentence, something like a needle dart flew into Dick's neck. Under the blanket, Kajan had a blowpipe-like weapon to his lips.
"Uhhgh."
Dick collapsed onto his bed, snoring peacefully.
"It's a sleeping dart I often use. He'll sleep soundly."
Kajan pushed the blanket aside, revealing his face.
"When the sun rises, I'll make a brief report to Lady Neftis with the information we've gathered so far. Even if he's a necromancer, what we saw was not a normal sight."
"Yes, please do."
"Now you should sleep as well."
Kajan burrowed back under his blanket.
'Haa.'
Simon turned off the lights and lay in bed, but sleep wouldn't come easily.
The horrific scenes he had witnessed there wouldn't leave his mind.
What on earth was that place?
Where exactly had they been?
Was Walter truly a bishop of the Blood Heaven Cult?
And what was he plotting in Keyzen?
Simon tossed and turned that dawn, barely getting any rest.
* * *
The next morning.
Despite the thrilling adventure of the previous night, the sun rose as brightly as ever, and daily life began again.
Today was a Magical Combat class day.
The A-Class students arrived riding hippos, to a training ground they hadn't been to before.
Here stood various classic training tools—wooden dummies, scarecrows, straw bundles.
"Alright, alright, sit down!"
Magical Combat professor Hongpeng clapped her hands.
The students, sweating from the hippo ride, each grabbed a drink and gathered.
"Today, we'll briefly review what we've learned so far!"
Dressed in training gear, she lightly walked over to a nearby boulder.
"Now, watch the technique I'm about to use, and guess what it is!"
She placed her hand on the rock.
Puuuong!
Suddenly, the boulder dented deeply around her palm. The students exclaimed in surprise and called out in unison,
"It's Chwita!"
Chwita, Hongpeng's original striking technique, gathering Darkness into the fist or palm, then explosively releasing it in one burst.
"Well done! Bred, assistant?"
Bred stepped up onto the boulder and blocked it with a shield. Hongpeng didn't dodge, instead striking the shield directly with her fist.
Kwang!!
Her punch passed through the wooden shield and left a large dent in the rock behind it, while the shield itself remained unscathed.
The students responded in unison,
"It's Sky Calamity!"
Sky Calamity, a piercing technique capable of ignoring armor or defenses and striking the body directly.
Hongpeng nodded lightly, then lowered her stance. Darkness wrapped around her right hand, and from it protruded a short blade of Darkness, as though she were holding a dagger.
When she swung it through the air—
Jjeong!
The massive rock split cleanly in half, revealing a smooth cut surface. Students quickly shouted,
"It's Impalement!"
Another of Hongpeng's original techniques, Impalement—providing "bladed" attacks in Magical Combat, which primarily relied on fists and legs, and offering great versatility including ranged attacks.
After demonstrating the three techniques, she brought her fists and palms together in a bow, and the students rewarded her with loud applause.
"You've all learned these at least once, right?"
Hongpeng wagged her index finger.
"Alright, raise your hand if you can't do a single one of these yet!"
Tension suddenly spread through the group.
Two female students raised their hands nervously, beads of sweat forming on their brows. In the back, Toto also had his hand raised.
Hongpeng spoke again.
"But you can at least do one of them?"
More than half the students raised their hands—among them Maelyn, Kamibarez, and Dick.
"Then two of them!"
The remaining students raised their hands with confident expressions. Among those Simon knew, class rep Jaime was in this group. It seemed she was skilled in Magical Combat too.
"And those who can do all three!"
Most hands went down, but four hands went up.
"Oooh~"
Students let out whistles and exclamations.
Simon, who had his hand raised, met the eyes of Hector—sitting a bit away—with a faint scowl on his face.
The other two were majoring in Magical Combat.
"Good! Everyone learns at a different pace, but by the end, you should all be able to use Chwita, Sky Calamity, and Impalement freely! At the very least, you must master these techniques."
She added with a smile,
"That way, you'll be able to fight on equal footing with the assistants, right?"
Indeed, Hongpeng's final announced test was a one-on-one Magical Combat match against an assistant.
"Today, we're going to train these techniques intensely! Everyone, stand up!"
After a short stretch, training began right away. Assistants walked around, correcting students' stances and techniques.
Students who could already use two or more of the techniques learned the last one quickly.
Since Simon could already use all three, he had some leeway.
"Hey, Simon."
Maelyn approached him hesitantly.
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Hmm-hmm."
Her cheeks flushed red, Maelyn chose her words carefully, then spoke firmly,
"If, if you're free, could you watch my Impalement for me…?"
"Students who can use all three techniques, come over here!!"
At the assistant's shout, Simon's gaze shifted. Maelyn let out a silent "Ack!" of frustration inside, but forced an awkward smile.
"Ah, it's nothing. Hurry and go!"
"It's fine."
Simon brushed it off casually.
"You're more important. I'll teach you, so get into position."
"...!"
Maelyn's face turned red like a beet.
This guy sometimes—
Very, veeeery rarely—
Would suddenly come close like this.
"What's the one technique you can use?"
Simon asked.
"Ch, Chwita."
"Then let's start with Sky Calamity. If you can use Chwita, you'll learn it faster."
Simon corrected Maelyn's stance, sharing the tips he had in mind.
"We're used to letting Darkness flow into an object when our palm touches it, right?"
He lightly held her wrist as he spoke, making her shoulders flinch.
"Because of the habit of letting Darkness settle, it can be a bit tricky. When using Sky Calamity, instead of simply letting Darkness flow as usual, you have to consciously pass it through. Don't focus on what your palm is touching, but feel like you're piercing through to what's beyond."
Simon gently placed his right hand on the back of her white hand. When he summoned Darkness, a wisp of Darkness seeped out from beneath her palm.
"How is it? You can't feel my Darkness, right?"
"..."
"Maelyn?"
"Ah, ah, right! I can't feel it at all! Yeah!"
She stammered as she replied. Simon smiled and continued explaining.
"Don't consciously think about the object in front of you. Focus on the target beyond it. Now, give it a tr—"
"Simon Follentia—!!"
With a booming voice, a burly man strode over.
It was Bred, the Magical Combat assistant. He had been about to bark out in irritation, but upon seeing Simon and Maelyn holding hands, he snorted.
"Ha! And here I thought you were doing something useful, turns out you're flirting?"
"Wh, what are you talking about!"
Maelyn quickly pulled her hand away and shouted back. Bred made a show of picking his ear before turning to Simon.
"Those who can use all three techniques, head over to the training course. Teaching is our job as assistants."
"Yes, I'll go. Sorry, Maelyn."
After Simon headed toward the training ground, Bred crossed his arms.
"So you were teaching her Sky Calamity, huh? Let's see it. I'll teach it way better!"
Maelyn gave him a look of disbelief, but reluctantly swung her arm, using Sky Calamity into the air.
"That's not it!"
Bred shouted.
"There's no power! It should be more—Pah-bat! Chwah-ahk!—like that!"
'What the hell is "Pah-bat Chwah-ahk" supposed to mean?'
She tried a few more times, but Bred clutched his chest in frustration and demonstrated Sky Calamity himself, then told her to copy it right away.
"Why can't you get it! Pah-bat! Chwah-ahk! I'm telling you, just do exactly what I do!"
"That's enough. Thank you."
Maelyn gave him another look of disbelief, then turned on her heel, her blue hair swaying as she walked away.
She was convinced this man would never make it as a teacher in his life.
Meanwhile, Simon arrived at the training ground.
The course was well-structured. On both sides of the track, rails were laid down, and wooden dummies mounted on them moved along, their torsos bristling with rotating wooden arms.
At that moment, a Magical Combat major was running between the rails, training. As the dummies spun, the wooden arms came at the student, who deflected them quickly, making the arms bend at the joints so they could pass.
Then Hongpeng called out,
"You're here, Simon! You're next!"
With a puzzled expression, Simon asked,
"What is all this?"
"It's a running evaluation! Originally scheduled for next week's class!"
She smiled brightly.
"But for top students, I'm offering the chance to try it out early without any pressure!"
Thud!
The student running the course crashed into a shield that suddenly came toward him and was knocked out of the track.
'I see.'
It seemed to be a basic Magical Combat course that required freely using Chwita, Sky Calamity, and Impalement to pass through.
"Think you can do it?"
At Hongpeng's question, Simon grinned.
"Yes, I think I can."
Hongpeng gave an OK sign. Seeing this, an assistant shouted,
"Student Simon Follentia! Attempting the training course!"
At the mention of Simon's name, other students came closer, curious for the show.
'Simon Follentia?'
Hector also approached with a stiff expression. Two others had already been knocked out, but Hector had barely managed to pass.
With his arms crossed, he ground his teeth.
'Well, this time won't be so easy.'
Simon took a slow, deep breath and stood before the training course.