Chapter 322
Simon slowly retraced the battle with Hongpeng.
Since she had sealed her power against Simon, in terms of strength and speed, Simon, who had manifested Internal Darkness Divergence, had the upper hand.
Even so, he lost.
The difference in experience or technical proficiency could not be ignored, but since Hongpeng knew all of Simon's techniques inside out, they were blocked, and as for Hongpeng's techniques, they were the kind Simon had never seen in his life, so he could not even respond and was defeated.
The techniques she had just used did not appear to be more difficult than Chwita, Sky Calamity, or Impalement.
He simply lost because he didn't know them.
"Lack of novelty."
Simon came to that conclusion and looked at Hongpeng.
"The problem is that I don't have my own technique to create variables in battle."
Hongpeng smiled faintly and nodded.
"Correct!"
At first glance, it might seem contradictory.
After all, Hongpeng was now teaching students general combat techniques such as Chwita, Sky Calamity, and Impalement.
However, these three techniques were the basics, the minimum qualifications to fight against the teaching assistants.
Ultimately, to defeat the teaching assistants, one had to have a technique of their own that they did not know.
"The techniques I teach are, of course, ones the teaching assistants have also learned. They know the counters, and they know the applications. To catch them off guard, you need a fresh approach."
The final performance test for Magical Combat was not simply a spar with a teaching assistant.
It was the acquisition of one's own combat technique.
Whether or not it worked on the teaching assistants, simply having a technique they did not know drastically increased the odds of victory.
"That's hard."
Although Simon had realized Hongpeng's hidden meaning, he scratched his head. A new combat technique wasn't something you could just whip up in an instant.
"Then, shall we try a bit of a special training from now on?"
As she said that, she took out from her robe a candlestick without a wick. Using Darkness, she lit it, and blue flames flared up on the candlestick.
"Until the end of this week's lessons."
She placed the candle on a nearby rock.
"Try to put out this flame without touching it with your body."
Putting out the candle without touching it.
It seemed easy at a glance, but because it was Hongpeng, Simon naturally suspected she had prepared some sort of trick.
"And now, a quick question! What's the biggest difference between black magic and Magical Combat?"
Simon answered immediately.
"The presence or absence of a magic circle."
"Correct! So if you try to put out the candle, you can't create a magic circle. Only use Magical Combat to extinguish it. Now, do your best!"
Hongpeng, her hair fluttering, headed back toward the training ground.
"Thank you for your guidance, Professor!"
After bowing to her, Simon stood in front of the candle.
[Khehehe!]
As soon as Hongpeng disappeared, Feer's laughter echoed in his head.
Startled, Simon stammered.
"F–Feer! How long have you been watching?"
[Since you were fighting that woman. More importantly.]
Feer's clone's eyes turned toward the candle.
[They still do this classic training nowadays!]
"Huh?"
[When Richard attended Keyzen, they also did this training in Magical Combat class!]
At that, Simon's eyes lit up.
"How long did it take my father?"
[Two days.]
"Then I,"
Simon snapped into a battle stance.
"I'll finish it in one day!"
Then, brimming with energy, he threw out a straight punch.
Bwoong!
Simon's fist stopped right in front of the candle. The wind it generated made the flame flicker, but then it returned to normal.
"Oh, this is more doable than I thought."
[Khehehe!]
After withdrawing his fist, Simon gathered Darkness into it and launched a Chwita.
Buaaang!
It was the same result. The candle merely flickered.
He tried Sky Calamity next, but the result was the same.
"Then how about this…!"
Simon summoned Impalement to his hand and swung it horizontally. The candle shook more violently than ever before, but soon regained its original form.
[Kahahahaha!]
Feer burst into loud, hearty laughter.
[You're doing exactly what your father did!]
"…Be quiet!"
Simon retorted, his face flushed.
When he calmed down and thought rationally, this candle-blowing exercise was training to develop Simon's new technique. Using the exact same techniques he'd learned wouldn't put out the flame.
'I was being stupid. I was too focused on just putting out the fire.'
Simon tried various methods.
He punched with different grips, kicked, and did all sorts of things in front of the candle.
He even ran in to punch, or spun around to deliver an exaggerated wheel kick, but the candle only flickered and then mockingly returned to normal.
Before he knew it, sweat was pouring down Simon's forehead like rain.
"…The one that worked best so far,"
Simon placed a wooden board in front of the candle, then took out a potion from Toxicology class and stuck it firmly to the rock. Using Sky Calamity in that state, the flame shook violently.
From this, he confirmed one thing for certain.
This candle had to be put out using Darkness, not wind pressure.
"Hmm."
Simon pulled the board away, letting it drop to the ground, then stood facing the candle.
'Sky Calamity—'
Simon spread his palm before the candle with a serious expression.
'Explode it in a straight line!'
Whoosh!
Darkness burst from his palm, shaking the flame. It was better than before.
"…But this isn't Magical Combat. It's just blasting condensed Darkness."
A proper striking posture was needed. Simon recalled Hongpeng's stance from earlier.
"Was it like this?"
He placed his right hand at his waist, and his left hand in a relaxed position before his face.
From that posture, he turned his waist naturally and thrust the right arm from his waist with force.
'Thrust!'
Whooooom!
Darkness shot from Simon's palm and struck the candle. The flame shook more precariously than ever, as if about to go out, but soon returned to its original state.
"So close!"
[Khehehe!]
It had become fun.
Simon immediately began moving, coming up with various ideas.
"Partial Internal Darkness Divergence."
Gathering Darkness to the extreme in his right arm, he thrust out his palm. Again, the flame was on the verge of going out, but narrowly survived.
At this level, Simon thought, it could be used in actual combat. Panting, he still smiled in satisfaction.
"But the Darkness still feels scattered when it's fired. I need it more precise."
Focusing Darkness into his middle finger, Simon took a flicking posture before the candle. Then, feeling as if to eject the Darkness, he flicked his finger.
Ttaang!
The effect was clear. The candle seemed to vanish entirely, but barely, it reignited.
"One isn't enough!"
He pressed his middle and ring fingers together, took a flicking posture, and supported his right hand with his left.
"Once more!"
Ttaaaaang!
With a heavy sound, the flame went out. Simon, watching tensely, saw that it did not reignite.
"Got it!!"
Simon clenched his fist and shouted.
[Khehehehe!]
Feer's clone, watching from the front, also lit up his eyes.
'This one might truly surpass you, Richard.'
* * *
With about twenty minutes left before class ended, Simon returned to the training ground.
Hongpeng and the teaching assistants were all busy having the students run the training course.
'I'll take a little rest.'
As Simon sat under the shade of a tree, leaning his back against it to rest—
"Hey."
Someone spoke to him.
It was someone from the same Class A, familiar in face but whom he had never spoken to.
"I'm Philip Elland."
It was a male student with wavy brown hair. Simon realized he had been the one right ahead of him during the course earlier, a Magical Combat aspiring major.
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Oh, nothing."
Philip glanced at the students falling over from the wooden dummy's arm, then looked back at Simon.
"I was just wondering why a Summonology aspirant is so good at Magical Combat."
What's he trying to say?
While Simon was wondering, Philip shrugged.
"You're not thinking of switching to this major, are you?"
"Not yet."
Philip paused for a moment, watching the next student run through the course.
Since it was the turn of the class rep, Jaime, many students had come to watch.
"Got beaten to a pulp by the teaching assistant earlier."
"Hm?"
"How can a Magical Combat aspirant lose to someone from another department? Honestly, this isn't the first time something like this has happened."
"..."
There was a barb in his words.
It carried a tone of blame.
"If you got scolded, that's really unfortunate, but what exactly are you trying to say?"
"No, just, let's keep things civil."
Philip ran a hand through his hair and continued.
"Tests like BMAT can't be helped, but in classes like this, you should be a bit more mindful."
"Mindful?"
"To put it bluntly, it's because of you that we're getting beaten."
Simon was dumbfounded.
He never thought that in Keyzen, a place of meritocracy, he'd be told to watch himself just for working hard.
"I…"
"What are you two doing here."
Both of them flinched and turned their heads.
A male student in a black robe over his Keyzen uniform was approaching. Familiar gray hair, and a scar on his eye.
"Kajan!"
Simon blinked in surprise. Philip frowned.
"…What the hell, you're not from Class A, are you?"
Philip stopped talking.
Kajan simply stared at him without saying a word.
He did nothing.
And yet, Philip's face gradually drained of color, as if someone were choking him.
"Whatever."
Kajan turned his head toward Simon.
"I have something to say to you, Simon."
"Ah, yes."
As Simon and Kajan walked away, Philip, left alone, finally gasped for breath.
'W–what the hell? Is he even human? What kind of pressure…'
"Hey, Philip."
This time, a voice came from behind. When Philip turned around, a female student was crooking her finger at him.
"Hector wants to see you for a moment."
"!"
Hector? Why him all of a sudden?
He didn't know the reason, but there was no choice. With a worried face, Philip followed her.
"I'm telling you!"
"Hahahaha!"
"It's all pointless."
Hector was in the back, chatting idly with his faction members.
Philip, looking nervous, approached him.
"Y–you called me? Hector."
Hector didn't answer. Everyone seemed too caught up in their own conversations.
Just as Philip was awkwardly shuffling his feet, Hector's massive body rose to its feet.
"Hey."
Philip flinched and reflexively responded.
"Yes! Ah, no! Yeah!"
"I heard you were saying something interesting just now."
Hector narrowed his eyes and stepped up to Philip.
"Telling people to watch themselves and keep things civil in class? Were you saying that for me to hear?"
"N–no! Not you, I was talking to Simon…!"
The playful grins on the faction members' faces took on a dangerous edge.
"Oh wow, he's crazy."
"Don't you know Hector also passed the training course?"
Hector took off his tracksuit, revealing a solid, muscular body built through effort.
"Clench your teeth."
His massive arm lifted.
"This is a street fight, so you can hit back."
"W–wait, Hector…!"
Crack!
With a raw sound, a tooth flew from Philip's mouth, glinting in the sunlight. He staggered and fell to the ground.
"Magical Combat."
Smack!
"Aspirant, huh."
Whack!
"And all you can do is get beaten."
Thud! Wham! Thunk!
His shoe slammed into Philip's face on the ground. The sound of blood splattering was audible.
Some students nearby subtly turned their heads away. Others quietly used black magic to block the sound and presence from being noticed.
"Now,"
Hector lowered his leg and spoke in a chilling voice.
"Do you feel like fighting back?"
Philip's bloodied eyes flashed fiercely. With a roar, he got up and threw a punch.
But just before Philip's fist could reach Hector's face—
Smaaack!
Hector's fist was faster, grabbing Philip's head and slamming it into the ground.
Even with just Magical Combat, the gap was overwhelming.
"Ha, seriously."
"You'll get caught, Hector."
The faction members chuckled, and Hector casually brushed off his hands.
Philip, his face a bloody mess, was unconscious with his mouth wide open.
"Take care of it so it doesn't leave a trace."
"Yeah, yeah~"
A faction member aspiring in Toxicology opened a potion and poured it over Philip's bloodied face.
"But seriously, you've gotten a lot stronger lately."
A male student sitting on a rock spoke with a smile.
"At this rate, even Simon—"
"Not yet."
Hector clenched his rock-like fist.
"I still haven't worked hard enough."
* * *
Meanwhile, Simon and Kajan had gone to a quiet place away from the training ground.
"What's the sudden occasion, Kajan?"
"Open it."
Kajan handed over a paper envelope.
"It's new information on Professor Walter."