"TA, get ready."
At Aaron’s nod, a male TA, holding a sword, scurried onto the track. The TA ran quite a distance from the starting line before stopping. Aaron took out a skeleton from his Subspace. It was just a common, ordinary Irish ratman skeleton that could be seen anywhere. The skeleton held a sword and stood at the starting line of the track.
’What is he planning to do?’
Simon and all the other students were watching the skeleton with curious eyes. The skeleton could be seen bending its knees and lifting its heels. It appeared to be a preparatory stance for a charge.
The skeleton at the starting line vanished, kicking up a gale of wind. The surrounding students let out small screams, cowering or holding down their skirts. At that moment, Simon saw it clearly with his own eyes. The skeleton at the starting point had, in a single charge, reached the front of the TA, who was over twenty meters away. The skeleton swung its sword, adding the force of its charge.
’CLAANG!’ A deafening roar that was unbelievable for a skeleton’s swing. The TA who took the attack was sent flying by the force, rolling several times on the track before stopping with a breakfall.
The skeleton that landed on the ground pointed its sword at the fallen TA. The TA, sitting on the ground, shook his head with a half-dazed expression.
"Skeleton Dash." Amidst the shocked students’ silence, Aaron spoke. "It’s a dedicated charge skill used by skeletons."
"Wooooow-!"
Gasps of admiration and applause erupted from all over. Simon, who was clapping, already felt his body itching with anticipation.
"Quiet."
The surroundings instantly fell silent.
"If you thought black magic was the exclusive domain of necromancers, you’d be mistaken. A necromancer can also command the undead they control to use black magic. If you develop your skills further, you can even handle magic-type undead like a Skeleton Mage."
A laugh escaped from between Simon’s teeth. Meirin, standing next to him, flinched and turned to look at him.
"Hey! What’s with that creepy laugh?"
"No, I’m just happy."
He thought about how vast and wide black magic truly was. The mere fact that there was still so much to learn made him feel elated. Simon came to his senses and listened to Aaron’s explanation again.
"Of course, it won’t be easy, but if you master this technique, you can take down priests or other opponents with just a skeleton. Do you understand?"
"Yes!" the students roared.
Indeed, if a skeleton could use a charge skill of that level, it would be possible to launch a preemptive strike or apply pressure before a priest’s divinity could be unleashed. It was no different from turning a Monster A holding a sword into a high-speed cannon loaded with live ammunition. Everyone wanted to learn this skill.
"Then let’s move on to practice right away."
The TAs moved busily, setting up straw dummies tied to poles all over the track. They were the very things knights used for swordsmanship training.
"The principle of Skeleton Dash is not difficult. To put it very simply, think of it as commanding a skeleton connected to your mind to perform ‘Jet-black Stepping.’"
The magical principle was simply to add a small formula next to the ‘summoning magic circle’ drawn on the skeleton’s skull. Now, you guide the skeleton’s Jet-Black to its feet, concentrate it, and then make it explode to shoot forward. It certainly wasn’t a difficult principle, but doing it yourself was another matter. Aaron gave detailed tips on commanding an undead to use black magic, then had the students stand on the track and practice.
"I will begin!"
The first to step forward confidently was Meirin. She had her skeleton grip a sword and commanded it to charge. The skeleton stepped on the Jet-Black and was properly launched into the air. Gasps of admiration were heard from the watching students.
"As expected of an elite student!"
"She succeeded on her first try?"
However, while it was good that she had made the Jet-Black explode under the skeleton’s feet, the pressure was so strong that its leg bones shattered and scattered. In the end, her skeleton, with its lower body completely blown away, dropped with just its upper body in front of the straw dummy. A grand failure.
"Ugh."
Meirin’s face turned beet red, and Dick and the other students burst out in boisterous laughter.
"Muhahaha!"
"She was told to practice, but she developed a whole new skill instead!"
"Is that a new technique where you sacrifice the entire lower body for a single charge?"
Just then, Dick cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone and shouted, "Meirin Original! Lower Body Break!"
Her face flushed red, she picked up a bone from the ground and threw it at Dick.
"Ugh! Let’s see how well you all do!" After roughly snapping at her classmates, she glanced at Aaron. She had expected to be scolded, but Aaron’s expression was surprisingly not bad.
"Well done for a first attempt. This is in the top tier."
"H-Huh?" Meirin blinked in surprise.
"This is a problem that occurs when you neglect the skeleton’s condition while pouring all your focus into the dash," Aaron explained, pointing to his own shin and ankle in turn. "It’s natural for this area to be strained when you push off with great force. A person would just have their muscles overloaded, but a skeleton simply collapses. Next time, try to pay attention to the connection between the lower body bones while attempting the charge."
"Th-Thank you!" Meirin bowed her head and then looked down at Dick and the students who had been teasing her with a ‘See?’ expression. Their mouths snapped shut.
The next turns followed. There was a reason Aaron had told Meirin ‘this is in the top tier’. Most of the students couldn’t even send their skeletons forward and just had them collapse at the starting line. Besides that, there were cases where they managed to charge but jumped in place instead of forward. And cases where all the skeleton’s bones flew off at the same time as the charge, unintentionally embedding a bone spear into the straw dummy.
"Toto Amori!"
Toto, who was a promising Summoning aspirant in this class, also failed. The skeleton’s body remained, but only its feet flew off and hit the straw dummy. Another huge burst of laughter erupted from the surroundings. The nickname ‘Toto Original - Skull Kick’ was born.
"Well done. Top tier."
"Th-Thank you."
Aaron praised him, but Toto, who had wanted to show a good performance, was a little dejected.
Aaron spoke.
"There’s no need to be discouraged. Let me tell you, there are no students who succeed on their first try..."
’Oooooohhhh!!!!’
Just then, a fierce cheer erupted from the track where the TAs were conducting the practice. Aaron and Toto’s heads also turned in the direction of the sound. It was Simon’s turn. The skeleton he sent shot out in a straight line, and as it swung its sword, the straw dummy split in half and fell to the ground. The skeleton, which had stopped on the track in a slashing pose, straightened up and raised its sword, and Simon, who was standing at the starting line, was seen clenching his fists in joy.
A stunned silence fell over the two. When Toto turned his head to look at Aaron, Aaron avoided his gaze and cleared his throat.
"Just don’t mind him. He’s just a crazy bastard."
’One more time.’
Simon was completely absorbed in honing the new skill, his first in a long time. The skeleton that had returned from the track stood once more at the starting line. The skeleton’s Jet-black flowed from its skull, moved from joint to joint, and gathered intensively at its toes. In that state, he had it bend its knees and assume a leaping stance.
’With the sensation of pressing down on the Jet-black.’
He remembered his first Combat Magic class. But now, in the second semester, it wasn’t him stepping on the Jet-black, but him ordering the skeleton to do so. This was a problem on a whole different level. Simon, who had been slowly building his concentration, opened his eyes wide and activated Absolute Command.
’Fly!’ The skeleton kicked off the ground and soared into the air.
Dust scattered from where the skeleton had been, and a black mark could be seen spreading out. Having leaped ten meters, the skeleton swung its sword and cut the straw dummy.
"Whoa!"
Gasps of admiration erupted from the students watching nearby. The Summoning teaching assistant holding a clipboard checked the record.
"Leap distance, ten meters. It cut the target, too! Very good."
He thought it was a really good technique. No matter how he looked at it, being able to instantly close a ten-meter gap with an opponent using that undead made of nothing but bones was an absurdly useful ability. However.
’Something’s lacking.’
The distance itself had increased compared to the first attempt, but Simon wasn’t satisfied yet. He walked over to the destination and examined the straw dummy that had just been cut.
’It didn’t cut all the way through, just grazed the edge.’
Using Absolute Command to issue a dash order could maximize the skeleton’s rushing speed and stability. But the details were the problem. When using Absolute Command, the skeleton would focus solely on realizing the order to ‘fly’. It focused so much on executing that one movement that its concentration on attacking the most important target dropped.
Once he identified the problem, a solution immediately came to mind.
’Then this time, I’ll use two Absolute Commands!’
Simon attempted it twice in a row.
’Fly, then slash. Fly and slash.’ Every attempt failed. With the first command, the skeleton focused solely on ‘Fly,’ completely ignoring ‘Slash.’ With the second, when he issued both Absolute Commands simultaneously, the skeleton only concentrated on flying. Despite the repeated failures and lack of satisfactory results, Simon’s resolve only hardened.
’I will break through this wall before class ends today!’ he vowed internally.
As Simon progressed, achieving results faster than anyone else, one person had been watching him, stealing glances from the side.
’As expected, he succeeded,’ Hector fumed, his competitive spirit igniting like a wildfire at the sight of Simon so ostentatiously using the Dash.
"Hector Moore? You may begin," the teaching assistant prompted.
At her words, Hector’s gaze snapped back to his skeleton. The fiery intensity in his eyes made even the assistant flinch.
’There’s nothing I can’t do. If he can do it, then so can I.’
Hector extended his right arm, issuing the Dash command to his skeleton. The skeleton dashed forward, slashing the straw dummy five meters away. The faction members watching from behind erupted in cheers.
"That’s our boy!"
"He’s on a completely different level from the others... eh?"
Suddenly, the cheers died. The faction members fell silent. Hector froze, his head boiling with irritation.
"A failure," the teaching assistant announced, making a check mark on her clipboard.
While the dash and the attack had been successful, the skeleton’s foot bones had detached and flown off. After striking the dummy, the skeleton collapsed to the ground, footless.
"Debriefing," Hector bit out, his glare fixed on the assistant. "If you please."
His voice was laced with raw anger and frustration. The teaching assistant merely shrugged, a small smile playing on her lips.
’This kid has some serious attitude.’
"The connection between the bones seems to have been properly established," she explained. "However, you were too excited, and your enthusiasm got the better of you. Your control over the undead wavered for a moment, weakening the connection. Why don’t you try again, a little more relaxed this time?"
At her suggestion, Hector immediately summoned a new skeleton and placed it at the starting line. He closed his eyes, slowly reining in his frustration.
’Clear your mind. Banish all useless thoughts. Focus only on what’s ahead.’
Hector’s eyes slowly opened. Now, his entire world had narrowed to the straw dummy standing ten meters away.
’Go—‘
"Woooooah!"
"That bastard Simon! He made it eleven meters this time!"
"You’re amazing, Simon!"
The moment Hector’s skeleton leaped, it disintegrated into a shower of bone fragments with a clatter. The sword it held embedded itself in the straw dummy, but the skeleton itself shattered, scattering across the ground.
"AAARGHH!" Hector’s fury finally boiled over.

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