Chapter 330
Neftis' specially selected, first special-admission student of the year.
Eric also knew Simon quite well.
"So, what brings you here, what are you curious about?"
"I was wondering if you could take a look at this formula."
With Maelyn's help, he had resolved the error in the elemental magic formula, but there was still a long way to go.
This time, Simon showed Eric the structure of the summoning magic circle.
"Let's see."
Eric's eyes studied the magic circle with a serious gaze.
"A summoning magic circle is such that each individual component greatly influences the whole, so it's hard to just pick one part out, still, this part."
Eric pointed to a section of the circle with his fingertip.
"This part is definitely wrong, instead of simply summing, it's better to adopt the Gael formula."
"What about this side?"
Each time Simon pointed out an issue, Eric answered without hesitation.
Then Simon asked back,
"Why is that?"
"Because using the Gael formula is more efficient."
"But if I use the Gael formula, the pattern becomes more complicated, I can't quite understand why it's more efficient that way."
Sometimes, there are such cases, students in Keyzen who ask why.
It had been so long since the last such question, that even Eric, who taught Darkness Dynamics, was a little caught off guard.
"Well, alright, if that's what you're curious about."
Still, answering a student's question was the duty of a professor.
Eric personally picked up a piece of chalk and began writing out the explanation.
"In this part, my thinking is…"
Simon also picked up a piece of chalk, writing down what he thought.
Eric's eyes widened, arranging the formulas from the fundamentals without applying the formula directly, yet, the result was an approximate value to what the formula would produce.
"This interpretation is interesting."
Eric smiled.
"But you learned the Hexa formula back in the first semester, didn't you, why go through the trouble of calculating it this way?"
"The Hexa formula."
Simon put the chalk down and looked at Eric,
"I haven't fully understood it, so I didn't think it was mine."
"..."
"I don't want to put an element of uncertainty into my magic circle."
Eric let out a silent exclamation inside.
When new runes or formulas are taught in class, students rarely question the underlying principles, because they're too busy using them.
They all rush to strengthen their magic circles and use them in the upcoming duel evaluations or the BMAT.
Extreme practicality.
Keyzen advocates pure meritocracy, and the students have adapted to survive in that system.
Not that it's bad, competition always brings high efficiency and results.
But if you were to ask a Keyzen graduate necromancer why they used the Hexa formula there?
Nine out of ten wouldn't be able to answer.
They'd say, that's just how it's always been, or, we've done it this way for ages.
Young necromancers who don't even know the principles behind the formulas will one day stand at the top of this world.
Eric lamented this as an educator, but he, too, could not remain unchanged.
Professors in Keyzen also compete fiercely, and to survive with an "uninteresting" subject like Darkness Dynamics, and be evaluated as giving good lectures, making students truly understand wasn't the priority.
Still, once a year, a student like this appearing was, to Eric, like rain in a drought.
"The explanation might get a bit long."
— the magic words that make students give up.
"Is that alright?"
Nine out of ten would say to just skip it.
"Yes, as much as you want!"
But this child, no, Simon, surprisingly sought the origin itself.
"Watch closely."
As he wrote out the proof on the blackboard, Eric was happy.
How long had it been since he'd last done a proof like this.
— Do we really need to prove something like this?
— As long as the rune works, that's enough.
— It's not like a Keyzen professor would teach us a faulty formula.
He'd heard it countless times.
And they were right.
The runes and formulas taught at Keyzen were thoroughly verified by the previous generations.
We simply build upon their achievements to grow stronger.
Proofs were purely in the realm of non-practical research.
Even so,
'This is fun.'
A smile formed at Eric's lips, here he was, enjoying proving a formula in front of this student.
"Now, is that enough for you?"
"Yes! That clears it up completely, thank you!"
After exchanging a few more words with Eric, Simon bowed his head and left the lecture room.
Watching his satisfied figure walking out, Eric suddenly picked up the chalk again.
'How long has it been since I suppressed this urge.'
Tap.
And then he began proving other formulas in a long chain across the board.
Even this old man's heart was still capable of beating this vigorously, and for that, he was grateful.
* * *
"Alright! Let's do this again!"
After class, back at the dormitory, Simon began filling his notebook with the newly learned formulas.
Truthfully, Simon hadn't wanted to know the roots of formulas from the start.
His grades in Darkness Dynamics were perfectly average, middle-tier.
He couldn't even properly keep up when formulas were handed to him in an easy, ready-to-use form, so fully understanding proofs was overreaching.
Moreover, proving them required far more knowledge and study.
But this time, he wanted proof because it was about a summoning magic circle.
Simon had hit a wall in creating the Skeleton Mage, yet at the same time, his mind was itching.
It felt like something was about to come.
The insight he had on the first day of Summonology class, when he reverse-engineered and reassembled the bones of an Island Ratman skeleton into a four-legged Gray Rat.
But it hadn't been easy since then, and he thought the reason such insight had eluded him was because he hadn't fully understood these difficult formulas.
Now, with Eric's help, it was possible.
Every symbol was now in his hands.
Scribble, scratch, scratch.
As Simon kept filling the blank notebook with formulas, Dick, lying on the bed, clicked his tongue.
"…Impressive, impressive."
With such dedication, he couldn't even bring himself to make snide remarks anymore.
But he did have a bit of concern.
"You're not gonna lose it like you did when you first made a golem, right?"
"I don't make mistakes like that anymore."
Simon replied while writing formulas.
"I'm keeping my condition up, eating well, exercising regularly, so I'm fine."
"It's the lack of sleep that's the problem, man."
"More importantly,"
Simon kept writing and spoke,
"How's Professor Walter's handwriting analysis going?"
"Ah, I safely handed it over to a specialist, but they said it might take some time,
since it's not the original handwriting but a photographed copy, it could take longer."
"And the analysis of the haematopoiesis injection?"
"I'm looking for someone who can conduct the experiment discreetly, there's an academic conference going on right now so I think I'll find someone soon."
"What about the Abyssal Horror corpse auction?"
"It starts tomorrow, apparently they've found academic value in its skin tissue so the price might go up a bit, you can look forw—"
Right then, Dick suddenly sat up.
"Hey, wait! I'm not your manager, how many things have you dumped on me?!"
Simon stopped his quill pen and laughed out loud.
"Don't keep making me laugh from the side, you're breaking my concentration."
"And after working your roommate like this, you can still focus on studying, Milord?"
Dick stretched his legs from the bed, looped them around Simon's neck as he sat in the chair, and shook him back and forth.
"Dizzy!"
Simon shouted, still laughing.
"And I always pay you back, don't I? Aren't you the one taking too much money from your roommate?"
"That's an occupational hazard of being a merchant, can't be helped!"
Letting go of Simon's neck, Dick suddenly put on a serious expression.
"I don't know why you're digging into Professor Walter, but be careful, don't get yourself mixed up in unnecessary trouble."
"Got it."
Click.
Just then, the door opened and Kajan came in. Dick shut his mouth with a tense look, while Kajan looked at Simon and said,
"The job you gave me, it's in progress, I'll let you know when there's an update."
"Yes, thank you, I'm counting on you."
Kajan tossed his uniform off and climbed up to the top bunk. He fidgeted under the blanket for a moment, then soon grew still.
Dick rushed over and put Simon in a rough headlock.
"Hey! You gave work to Kajan too? That's betrayal!"
"Ow, it hurts! What kind of betrayal—!"
"So you think the thieves' guild is better than my information network, huh?!"
Swish.
Simon slid his arm between Dick's and pressed down firmly, forcing the headlock to break.
Then he lifted Dick and tossed him back onto the bed.
"Huh."
Dick clicked his tongue.
"Your Magical Combat is getting better."
"I've been practicing some new magical combat techniques lately."
Dick mimicked Hector's voice.
"How far are you planning to go, Simon Follentia!"
The imitation wasn't even close, and Simon clutched his stomach laughing.
Dick laughed along with him.
* * *
"Mmmgh."
In the early dawn, Dick stirred under the blankets and woke up.
Rubbing his eyes, he let out a long yawn and headed for the bathroom.
After taking care of business, he smacked his lips and checked the clock on the wall.
There were still four hours until class.
Feeling a little happy, he turned to head back to bed.
'…?'
Simon wasn't in bed.
'He's at it again.'
"Never met someone this unhinged before."
Dick slipped on his slippers and stepped out of room 409.
Dragging his slippers, he headed first for the break room.
Click.
Pushing the door open, Dick rubbed his eyes and called out,
"Hey, Simon! You sleeping in here?"
But Simon wasn't there.
Only traces remained, empty Skeleton Mage boxes scattered messily in the corner.
"Tsk."
Clicking his tongue at the mess, Dick muttered,
"If he keeps this up, the caretaker's gonna ban us from using the break room."
Fighting off sleep, he shuffled over and cleaned up the mess Simon had left.
Next, he headed to the garden behind the dormitory.
'Man, it's cold.'
Dick hugged his shoulders as the chilly dawn breeze hit him, taking a few more steps.
"Hey! Working hard is fine, but you should sleep in your—"
His words stopped.
Simon was there.
He was furiously manipulating a spread-out magic circle, muttering to himself.
"I think it's finally working, this time for sure."
Who is he talking to?
Looks like he's finally lost it.
As Dick thought that, his eyes moved to the side.
'…Whoa!'
Standing beside Simon were three fully assembled Skeleton Mages.
'He actually made all those? Self-taught?'
Simon's expression grew serious, as if he was about to test them. Dark circles under his eyes, his face thinner, the effort he'd gone through was evident.
"Ready."
When Simon extended his arm, the three Skeleton Mages raised their staves in unison.
Gulp.
Dick swallowed nervously for no reason, he'd been watching Simon's efforts this whole time.
"Activate!"
The moment Simon spoke—
Fwoosh!
Clatter!
Whooosh!
From the tips of the Skeleton Mages' staves, fire, ice, and wind began to stir.
"It worked!!!"
Simon shouted with joy.
He raised both arms high, fists clenched, as the brilliant rays of the rising dawn shone down on his back.
Dick was awestruck.
He actually pulled it off before Summonology class.
In a few hours, during Summonology, the other students would think nothing of it.
— He's a genius, of course he can.
— He's Special Admission Number 1, that's basic for him.
They'd rationalize Simon's accomplishment in a way that made it easier for them to accept.
But who would know, that behind the face of a genius, there is also this side — a person working until it bleeds.
"…Ha."
Looking at Simon's back, Dick felt a shiver run up his spine.
"Damn, that's cool."
Just as a premise leads to a conclusion, there's a reason why a person is called a genius.