"I'll go first," Fitzgerald announced, stepping forward.
The undead he summoned from his Subspace was unlike any monster Simon had ever seen. In place of legs, it had biological wheels. Its rectangular body was reminiscent of a carriage, but from the chest up, it took a humanoid form. Its large, unfocused eyes darted erratically, and its six arms were contorted into strange, unnatural positions.
'...This is an undead?'
It was a perplexing, almost nightmarish creation, difficult to define. At a glance, it looked like an ancient, forgotten statue from some crumbling ruin. Simon was baffled, but the second-years' reactions were entirely different. Deo leaned forward, his expression alight with curiosity, while Benya's face was flushed with excitement.
"This is a chimera! Isn't it?" she shouted.
"Yes, that's correct."
Chimeras were considered masterpieces of undead research. In living creatures, even the slightest alteration to their original form could disrupt their physiological balance, leading to a shortened lifespan. Siamese twins and other mutations were examples of this.
But the undead, existing far outside the laws of living things, allowed for radical biological experimentation. The chimera was the result: a monster meticulously crafted by necromancers who had learned to combine the cells of different undead.
"What's the main monster used in this one?" Deo asked, referring to the chimera's core component.
Fitzgerald answered without hesitation. "A Seiren."
Benya and Deo both gasped. The Seiren was a rare monster, half-human, half-seabird.
"A first year with a magic-type undead already."
"I heard the Seiren's consciousness is so complex that just connecting to it can drive a person mad!"
"Yes. My limit for maintaining the connection is five minutes," Fitzgerald stated, pushing up his glasses. "And going mad isn't much of a problem."
Somehow, everyone in the room found themselves agreeing with that statement. Benya's eyes shone as she observed the chimera from every angle before finally turning back to Fitzgerald.
"Say, could you give us a demonstration? Ah, of course, if it's too much of a burden, you don't have to..."
"I'll do it."
Fitzgerald quietly closed his eyes. Instantly, the chimera's own eyes snapped open. Its six arms twisted in different directions, each assuming a distinct and bizarre posture.
Six magic circles materialized, one for each arm. From within them, blasts of Jet-Black fire and ice erupted, slamming into the far wall.
'Incredible. A summon that can cast six black magic spells simultaneously!'
For the first time, Simon was genuinely stunned. With a creature like this, Fitzgerald could easily secure a high rank at Kizen.
"...That's all."
Fitzgerald staggered slightly as he broke the connection.
"Amazing!" Benya cheered, jumping up and down with her arms raised. She pointed a finger at him. "You pass! You absolutely pass!"
"Thank you."
"What do you think?" Benya asked, glancing at Deo.
He gave a slow, deliberate nod. "...He's a perfect fit for our club's concept. He's fine."
"Alright, one pass confirmed! Next!"
It was Toto's turn.
'Toto's special undead...'
Simon was intensely curious. Toto had only ever used skeletons before. What kind of special undead could he have acquired in such a short time?
"I-I'll begin!"
Under Benya's expectant gaze, a visibly nervous Toto opened his Subspace. What emerged was not a monster, but...
"...Dogs?"
Three fluffy, medium-sized dogs with lush fur trotted out. They were large, with sharp teeth, and could have passed for wolves.
Simon scratched the side of his head. 'But no matter how I look at them, those aren't undead, are they?'
To him, this seemed less like Summoning and more like Taming—the art of domesticating monsters with black magic.
"Interesting, little fella," Benya said, her expression thoughtful. "These dogs... they're all dead, aren't they?"
"Yes," Toto confirmed.
"Whoa...!"
'They're really undead?' But for corpses, they had thick fur and were so lively they looked perfectly healthy.
"...So that's what it is." Deo, seeming to understand, crouched down for a closer look.
Benya nodded. "The parasitic undead, Parasite."
'The Parasite' was one of the most peculiar undead in the world. It lived by entering an animal's body and taking over as a parasite. After inducing stages of hypnosis, paralysis, and hallucination, it would finally devour the host's heart, dissolving its own body in its place to form a new 'Core.' The host animal remained unaware that it had died and become undead, but its mind was gradually consumed by the Parasite. Because of this unique trait, Parasites were actively researched by necromancers interested in achieving immortality.
"Quite impressive," Benya remarked with a smile, placing her hands on her hips. "Handling Parasites is no easy task."
At her praise, Toto looked embarrassed but was clearly over the moon.
"Could we see them in action?"
"Yes, yes!"
"...Try fighting against my skeletons." Deo summoned a group of skeletons from his Subspace and ordered them to attack.
Toto immediately sent a command to the Parasite-infected dogs.
The undead hounds blurred across the floor, their speed eclipsing the skeletons' clumsy gait. With a single, brutal leap, each one clamped its jaws around a skeleton's neck, snapping the bone and dragging the construct to the ground. Jet-Black stained their paws and fangs, a sign that the dark energy was being channeled properly through their undead forms. Within minutes, the skeletons were torn to ribbons, their pieces scattered across the stone floor.
"Come back!" Toto called.
The dogs, which had been gnawing on the bones like chew toys, trotted back to their master. As Toto knelt to pet their heads, they wagged their tails and eagerly licked his face.
"Excellent!" Benya declared. "You've passed too, young man!"
"Thank you, Senior!" Toto bowed his head deeply.
"Alright, last but not least..." Benya's cream-colored hair fluttered as she turned her gaze to Simon. "What kind of undead will you be showing us?"
It was finally his turn. Simon mulled it over for a moment before looking at Deo.
"Senior, could you raise that skeleton again for me?"
With a gesture from Deo, the skeleton reassembled, returning to its original form. Simon settled into his stance and took a deep breath.
'What's he planning?'
A palpable tension filled the basement. As everyone watched with wide eyes, Simon made a gesture like pulling a lever, opening his Subspace.
'Attack,' he commanded internally.
But the creature within remained silent. He hadn't expected it to work on the first try. He issued the command again, and again.
Just then, a razor-sharp tentacle of bone and metal erupted from the Subspace. In a single, devastating strike, it tore through the skeleton, shattering it instantly.
"Whoa!"
"What was that?!"
Exclamations burst from all sides. At Simon's gesture, the tentacle retracted as quickly as it had appeared, vanishing back into the Subspace.
"...Damn, that was surprising," one of the seniors muttered.
"You're telling me that's an undead?"
While the others buzzed with questions, Benya stood frozen, her expression blank and her mouth agape.
"...I've never seen an undead like that before," she finally whispered, her voice filled with shock. She launched herself forward, grabbing Simon by the shoulders and shaking him frantically. "Hey! What was that? Don't keep me in the dark, show it to me! Now!"
"...Ah, yes. Right away."
Simon opened his Subspace and carefully brought out the Overlord. A fresh wave of gasps swept through the room.
"What in the world is that thing?"
"A mollusk undead? I never even knew something like this existed."
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Simon, demanding an explanation. He slowly recounted his story: he had traveled to Blue Harbor for the Undead Exhibition, received the creature from a client as a mission reward, and revealed that it was an undead created from a kraken.
"The Blue Harbor Undead Exhibition!" Benya clapped her hands in realization. "I was dying to go! I kept waiting, hoping a mission request for it would come in!"
"I got lucky," Simon admitted. "It was a direct request."
"So it was one of the undead exhibited there? Now it's starting to make sense."
Benya looked desperate to get a closer look, but the Overlord remained on high alert, waving its long tentacles menacingly. She could only sigh in disappointment. Seeing her frustration, Simon connected with the Overlord's consciousness. He guided one of its tentacles forward and gently stroked its surface with his palm.
"Would you like to touch it?"
"Yes! Yes!" Benya was beside him in a flash.
"Be careful not to cut your fingers," Simon warned. "It's sharp."
Her expression grew serious as she ran her fingers along the Overlord's bladed edge.
"Bone mixed with mithril, right?"
"Exactly."
"The balance is fantastic."
She flicked one of the Overlord's tentacles, and a clear, high-pitched note rang out.
"Of course, the creator's skill is exceptional, but achieving such a golden ratio of bone and mithril... that's a miracle born from a series of happy accidents! I doubt we'll see another Kraken undead this exquisite anytime soon."
"Oh..."
"My point is, take good care of it," she said, letting go of the tentacle. She gave Simon a few hearty slaps on the back, a wide grin spreading across her face. "Excellent! Welcome to the club, young man!"
Even as he winced, Simon didn't forget to thank her. With that, all three of them were officially members of the 'Mutant' club.
"This feels great!" Benya declared. "Ask me anything! About the club, life at Kizen, undead—whatever you want!"
They settled onto the sofas with a mountain of snacks and dove into conversation. Simon was discovering how wonderful it could be to share a common passion so seriously with others. He lost all track of time, completely absorbed. When the topic eventually circled back to the Overlord, Benya grew thoughtful.
"The Overlord's base specs are certainly impressive, but I think you'll struggle to use it with its main body exposed." Her assessment was sharp, echoing Pier's own concerns. "Losing a summon is a summoner's fate, but the Overlord itself is just too fragile."
"I know," Simon agreed. "That's why I've been practicing a method of keeping it in my Subspace and attacking with its tentacles."
"But it's not easy, is it?"
"No. The problem with the consciousness link is..."
She considered this for a moment, then snapped her fingers.
"Hey! How would you like to meet a Subspace artisan?"
"Pardon?"
"We find the solution 'in' the Subspace," she explained, her eyes gleaming. "In my opinion, Subspace operation isn't an option for the Overlord—it's a necessity. So, you have a dedicated Subspace built just for it!"
Simon's eyes widened. "Is something like that even possible? We can't leave Roc Island during the semester."
"I'm only suggesting it because he happens to be on Roc Island right now," she said with a wink. "Ever heard of Gellen Eclipse? He has a contract with the Vanilla Group."
'Where have I heard that name before?' Simon racked his brain, searching for the memory.
—"This piece has not yet been released to the public. It is the latest work from Gellen Eclipse, hailed as the young master of the next generation!"
Simon glanced down at the ring on his finger. Then it hit him. 'Gellen Eclipse.' The man who had crafted the very Subspace he was currently using.
Adrenaline surged through him, and he shot to his feet.
"Please, Benya! Tell me how I can meet him!"
Finally, a path was opening up.

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