"Simon! Simon! Simon! Simon!"
Amidst the crowd’s boisterous chanting of his name, Simon received the amplifying crystal sphere from the announcer.
"Now, student Simon! Please give us your thoughts!" the announcer said with a wink.
Simon brought the crystal sphere to his mouth.
"Hello. I’m Simon Polentia," he began, offering the formal but necessary remarks. "I’m grateful to the professors and thankful to my teammates who trained with me from time to time. I will continue to strive harder."
The announcer, who had been listening, cut in at an appropriate moment.
"We have to talk about Deimos! I’m curious how you obtained such a rare summon, and also why you didn’t create a Nether Whale!"
Simon, about to answer, hesitated for a moment. ‘Is it okay for Professor Walter to find out that I went to the fish market?’
He slightly altered his answer.
"I received help from my club senior, Benya Vanilla." He explained that he had the successor of the Vanilla family in the same club and had obtained it through their connections. The reason he hadn’t made a Nether Whale was because the state of the raw materials was poor. But in the end, he thought it was the best choice, as he had obtained the Deimos skeleton with its Alpha ability salvaged.
The announcer nodded with satisfaction at Simon’s eloquence as he answered smoothly while keeping information to a minimum.
"I’d like to take this opportunity to give a special thanks," Simon continued. "To Benya and... ah!"
Simon’s eyes widened. Among the numerous spectators, he saw some men who were cheering particularly loudly, and they looked very familiar. ‘They came to watch!’ Diego and his juniors were in attendance.
Simon quickly went on.
"To the master necromancers of Vanilla who perfectly created Deimos, which I was working on for the first time, I’d like to express my gratitude to Master Diego, Master Marco, and Master Rodion! You’re here!"
As Simon pointed, the crowd’s attention focused on them. Applause poured down on them as well, and the three of them were shown on screen, smiling awkwardly. Since he had received great help from Vanilla for this third БМАТ, he thought it would be okay to help them out with a little advertisement like this.
"Then finally, a word on your future resolve! Please!" At the announcer’s words, Simon nodded.
"I was lucky to get first place this time, but I believe that in the БМАТ, anyone can end up in the bottom fifty at any time. I won’t be complacent and will work even harder. Thank you!"
And so, Simon safely finished his interview to a round of applause and came down from the stage. He could hear the announcer calling the next interviewee, Elisa, to the stage.
"Good work," Jane, who was standing with her arms crossed, said.
Simon bowed his head with a smiling face.
"Thank you! I’m back in first place, Professor."
"Yes."
Simon scratched his head. ‘She’s more stoic than I thought. I thought she’d be happy since I got first place.’ Jane stood with a blank expression, but in truth, one of her arms, hidden from the students’ view, was trembling with delight.
"Hello! I’m Elisa Celine!" Having safely passed his turn, Simon listened to the other students’ interviews with a relaxed heart.
Elisa’s list of thanks was rather long. She was thankful to her parents for giving birth to her, thankful to the nanny and maids who took good care of her when she was young, thankful to all the professors including the Necrology professor Umbra, thankful to all the teaching assistants, thankful to the dormitory supervisor who provided a good place to sleep, and thankful to the friend who lent her a notebook. It felt more like a medal ceremony than an interview. The announcer, who couldn’t listen anymore, finally cut her off and called the next student. At that point, Elisa was even mentioning the name of the carriage driver who had brought her to Kizen for the entrance ceremony and thanking him.
And the next turn was Raheim. He suddenly turned his back and pointed at Simon, shouting, "The duel in this exam was a draw! Jamon Bilentor!"
A dry laugh escaped Simon’s lips. ‘...Is he still going on about that?’
"We both didn’t get logged out back then, did we? Let’s postpone the fight over Meirin until next time!"
After Raheim, it was Hector’s turn. As soon as he received the amplifying crystal sphere, he took a shot at Raheim.
"What bullshit. I’m the one who will defeat Simon Polentia."
Simon was trying to maintain his composure and smile, but the corners of his mouth were twitching. ‘Stop mentioning me, it’s embarrassing.’
"And." Hector completely turned his back on the crowd and glared at Simon with a murderous gaze. "Don’t think that spot will be yours forever."
The announcer, who had wanted exactly this kind of provocative interview, reacted with excitement.
"Wow! A declaration of war! It’s a declaration of war from student Hector! Will the two be able to settle the score in the fourth БМАТ? Please be sure to come and watch the next exam! Yes, then the last student to be interviewed is...!"
Just then, a broadcast minion ran up onto the stage and handed the announcer a note.
"Ah, it seems there will be a slight adjustment!" the announcer said as he looked at the note. "The current third-place student, Jul, is said to be receiving treatment in the infirmary due to an injury. Instead, for the last interview, we’d like to invite the student who achieved sixth place! The sixth-place student of this exam! Please come up!"
’Step, step.’
A female student was walking up onto the stage. Simon was so surprised he couldn’t close his mouth.
"Here’s the amplifying crystal sphere, student."
"Thank you." After receiving the crystal sphere, she lightly cleared her throat, "Ah, ah." Then, with a slightly nervous expression, she opened her mouth. "Um, hello. I’m Claudia Mendes."
The sixth-place overall in this third БМАТ was... none other than Claudia.
"Welcome, student Claudia! One of the big topics of this third БМАТ was the struggle of the Venomology aspirants! They showed an absolute dominance in the sea, and among them, student Claudia’s growth was the most prominent! 710th place in the second БМАТ, and now an incredible sixth place overall! It’s truly amazing! Is there a secret to growing so much at Kizen?"
She answered with a stiff smile due to nervousness.
"R-rather than me growing in any special way, I think this third exam’s theme was very advantageous for Venomology students. There were many venomous monsters, and the only ones who could easily perform wide-area attacks in the sea were the Venomology aspirants."
The announcer clapped his hands. He wasn’t a broadcast veteran who would let it slide like that.
"Hahaha! You’re being modest! Isn’t the position of ‘sixth overall’ too amazing to be explained away simply as an advantageous theme? I think there must have been a big change in thinking or a realization for you as an individual student!"
She slowly nodded her head and continued her answer. Claudia was so nervous in front of the numerous spectators that her voice trembled, and she even made mistakes because she couldn’t think of the right words. It was a completely different image from the one who had so passionately appealed to and pushed the Class A students. It felt as if she had returned to being an ordinary girl, before the boycott.
"Uh, um."
"Yes! Please speak!"
"Can I... also give my thoughts?"
"Ah! Of course! Absolutely!"
She took a deep breath. Then, she turned her head, glanced at Simon behind her, and then turned her head back.
"There was a moment when I wanted to turn back time." Her clear voice spread out. "It was a foolish act born from my paranoia, sense of crisis, and despair. I led a class boycott."
The crowd’s voices grew louder.
"It was for a shabby reason that I can’t even bring myself to say, so I tacked on various nice-sounding excuses like student rights. My actions gave some people wounds that can never be washed away. I will go to each and every one of them and ask for forgiveness." She let out a breath and continued speaking again. "In truth, everything stemmed from my misunderstanding. Fortunately, the professor came to talk to me first, and I realized my foolishness. And thanks to the professor’s teachings, I am here in this glorious position."
Claudia smiled faintly.
"But at that time, the professor said something I couldn’t understand."
’—Some guy asked me to. He said to have a talk with you guys.’
’—The more I think about it, the funnier it is. I said I’d grant any request, and he asked me to create an opportunity like this for someone who has nothing to do with him.’
Whether it was goodwill, pity, meddling, or just a casually thrown word. She didn’t know why he had made such a request to Byulya. But one thing was certain.
"I don’t know who it was, but..." She wiped away the tear hanging from the corner of her eye with her fingertip. "If that person is listening, I really want to say this."
She smiled brightly.
"Thank you. That one word from you changed my life."
The whirlwind at the center of this third БМАТ was, without a doubt, Byulya. An unprecedented class boycott had occurred, and there was considerable criticism from the elders and parents about Byulya’s poison-drinking class. But then, the Venomology aspirants suddenly withdrew their boycott and appeared at the exam equipped with a new technique called ‘Original Jet-Black Venomology,’ achieving dazzling results. Not to mention Claudia recording sixth place overall.
If the story had ended with it being simply an advantageous theme for Venomology aspirants, the situation wouldn’t have grown this big. The problem was in a different area. The performance gap between the general students who took Byulya’s Venomology class and the general students who took another professor’s Venomology class had widened noticeably. After the exam, students from the lower-ranking classes began to rush to apply for an audit of Professor Byulya’s Venomology class.
It was only natural that Byulya’s stock rose significantly. There was also a change in the thinking of Kizen Headquarters.
’She was dismissed as a wild woman, but she really hit a home run.’
’They say when Professor Hongfeng was first appointed, there was strong criticism of her outdoor classes too! But now, she’s been at the top of the class satisfaction rankings for five years in a row and has become a representative professor of Kizen.’
’Good. Are there any more necromancers from the plains? Contact them.’
’Don’t even mention it. I heard Aland, Sierra, and Moiran have already started making their moves.’
’Hahaha! That’s why they’re always second place. Always one step behind.’
Although some controversies still remained, Byulya’s adaptation to Kizen seemed to have succeeded, barely.
"Cheers!"
’Clink!’ The sound was followed by a burst of boisterous laughter. In front of Hongfeng’s hut, Hongfeng had personally gathered the Venomology TAs who had suffered so much and Byulya to throw a party for them.
"Everyone, eat up!"
"Thank you, Professor Hongfeng!" the TAs said.
Byulya, her face flushed red from the alcohol, waved her hand back and forth.
"Hey, hey! You come over here and drink too."
"Just after I finish boiling thiz." Hongfeng was frantically going back and forth between the hut and the fire.
A male TA, tipsy from the alcohol, laughed heartily.
"Wow! You really never know what life has in store! I thought it was all over—but then it turned out like this."
"I thought for sure we were getting kicked out."
"They say the number of audit applications has skyrocketed. I can’t wait to see the look on Professor Duncan’s face, who teaches Venomology to the lower-ranking kids."
"That’s what I’m talkin’ about!" Byulya shouted, raising her glass high. "I told you to just trust your big sis and follow me!"
"Of course, of course!" the TAs cheered.
"Another round!"
’Hahahaha!’ For the first time in a long while, everyone let go of their worries and enjoyed themselves. The Head TA, who couldn’t drink much, was taking care of the professor and her juniors with a smiling face when she saw the girl sitting next to Byulya and spoke.
"Claudia, how long are you going to sit there making everyone uncomfortable?"
Claudia, who was kneeling next to Byulya, just fiddled with her glass with an awkward expression.
"Ah, no matter how I think about it, I don’t think I deserve to be in a place like this..."
"Forget it, forget it! It’s all in the past!" Byulya patted her on the head. "And even if you caused me some trouble with the boycott, you made this big sis proud by hitting a sweet sixth place in the БМАТ, didn’t you! Right? Huh?"
"That’s right, that’s right!" the TAs agreed.
"You brats!" Byulya shouted, looking at the TAs. "I’m thinking of taking Claudia as my direct disciple starting today, what do you all think!"
"Great!"
"Unconditional approval!"
Boisterous cheers erupted from all over. Claudia’s eyes welled up with emotion.
"I, I... I only ever caused you all trouble, why..."
"She’s crying again, crying again! Hahaha!"
"Damn it! Just say it!" Byulya said, thrusting her face forward. "Are you going to refuse like ‘that guy’? Huh?"
"N-no! Your direct disciple... I want to be it so much! It’s an honor!"
"That’s more like it!"
"Then, in the spirit of welcoming a new family member!"
"Cheers!"
The atmosphere of the night grew more and more festive. Some of the TAs passed out from drinking. Byulya chuckled and stood up.
The Head TA asked, "Professor, where are you going?"
"To the bathroom!"
Saying that, she staggered over to the back of Hongfeng’s hut. She saw Hongfeng boiling soup in a large cauldron.
"Hey."
Hongfeng turned around.
"Ah, sis."
"I told you to just go and eat."
The two stood a short distance apart. A moment of silence passed.
"Congratulations, sis."
"For what?"
"For pulling off a big achievement this time. I thought you wouldn’t be able to adapt to life at Kizen."
Byulya chuckled. "You only drop that ridiculously awkward accent when you’re in front of me, huh?"
"Don’t talk nonsense, and keep this in mind." Hongfeng’s eyes sharpened. "This place is a more brutal survival of the fittest than the plains we lived on. If you show any weakness, you’ll be torn apart immediately. How long do you think they’ll go easy on us just because we lived in a different culture?"
"Jeez, nagging as soon as we meet." Byulya chuckled.
Hongfeng also let out a faint laugh.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"I heard from Simon. You looked out for me, didn’t you?"
A slight smile appeared on Hongfeng’s lips, but she quickly returned to her original expression.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about," she replied, stirring the soup in the pot with a ladle.
Byulya asked again."Do you want Simon too?"
"Any professor would want to take him. You too, sis?"
Byulya bared her triangular teeth. "I’m going to take him, so give up."
"That’s ridiculous." The two twin sisters laughed out loud.

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