That night, the Venomology TAs were busier than ever. After getting permission from the dormitory staff, they went to each and every Venomology aspirant participating in the boycott to personally deliver Byulya's message.
"Professor Byulya has something she wishes to say to you in person."
The news reached Claudia, who gathered all the boycotting students in front of the dormitory.
"What are we going to do, Claudia?" a male student with a large bald patch asked, his tone sour. "The БМАТ is just around the corner. What's the point now? Let's just ignore it."
"Yeah," another agreed. "She should be apologizing, but summoning us like this by sending TAs around just proves she still looks down on us."
Some students had moved beyond simply denouncing Byulya's class; they now treated her as an enemy to be defeated.
"Let's go," Claudia said, shaking her head. "If Professor Byulya has had a change of heart, there's no reason for us not to go."
The other students nodded in agreement.
"But if she just spouts nonsense or says she's going to continue the poison-eating class, let's just walk out."
"Okay."
"That's the right move."
Claudia's expression hardened slightly. She had thought she was the most passionate about the boycott, but somewhere along the line, the other students had become even more extreme. She needed to rein them in.
"Remember, our goal isn't Professor Byulya's retirement. It's to stop the poison-eating class and guarantee our rights as students. That's all."
And so, Claudia and the students headed to the meeting place. It was a research building tucked away in a corner of the Kizen campus. They descended a dark, dusty staircase into the basement.
"This place is gloomy." The basement was completely empty. "I'm telling you, this is definitely to intimidate us."
Claudia raised a finger to her lips, signaling for quiet. A moment later, footsteps echoed from the top of the stairs, and Byulya and her TAs descended.
The students glared at Byulya, the air thick with tension. Finally, she stood before them, her TAs fanned out in a line behind her.
"Is everyone here?" Byeolya asked.
Claudia, as their representative, stepped forward. "Yes, we're all here. We heard you had something to say, Professor."
"Yeah, I did," Byeolya replied, her voice a lazy drawl.
Claudia struck first. "Are you going to abandon the class that forces students to ingest poison?"
"Am I crazy?"
The students' expressions immediately turned hostile. Though taken aback, Claudia calmly continued. "Then why did you summon us?"
Byeolya scratched at her spiky, grayish-brown hair. "Some guy asked me to."
"Pardon?"
"He told me to try talking to you all." After her cryptic statement, she clasped her hands behind her back and began to pace. "The more I think about it, the funnier it is. I said I'd grant any favor, and he asks me to arrange a meeting for people who have nothing to do with him." Byeolya was starting to like Simon more and more.
"...I don't know what you're talking about."
"You little shits don't need to know." Grinning, Byeolya stopped pacing, looked straight at Claudia, and spoke. "Alright, let's talk. The poison-eating class is almost over, you know. I'll tell you the true nature of the black magic I plan to teach after that."
'Huh!'
An earthquake rocked Claudia's pupils.
"Let's just go! She said she's going to keep feeding us poison. There's nothing more to talk about!" The male student who had objected earlier placed a hand on her shoulder, but Claudia forcefully shook it off.
"Tell us."
Byeolya smirked and held out her palm. A magic circle materialized in her hand with incredible speed, and from it, a thorny, olive-colored vine shot upward. She grabbed the vine and swung it.
The students flinched and ducked as the thorny vine whipped over their heads and struck the basement wall.
The wall began to melt like liquid where the vine had made contact.
"Wh-what is that?"
"Was that poison?"
Claudia's gaze shot to Byeolya, demanding an explanation.
"It's a technique you all know well—the 'Venom Whip.'"
"Th-this is a Venom Whip?"
"No way!"
Commonly known as 'Poison Whip,' the technique involved mixing poison from a potion with jet-black and swinging it like a long-range weapon. But the whip she had just demonstrated was far larger, thicker, and more powerful. Most importantly, she hadn't used a potion. In that instant, Claudia understood.
"...Don't tell me. Jet-Black Venomics?"
"As expected of an elite. You got it right away."
At one time, Venomics had been a sub-discipline of Jet-Black Dynamics. There were runes that could create fire, ice, wind, and earth; it stood to reason that a rune for poison existed as well. However, this 'Jet-Black Venomics' had been completely abandoned during the hundred-year war with Efnel. The biggest problem was its predictability. Priests grew accustomed to the same poison and could neutralize it with a single purification spell. After a few encounters, they even developed antibodies, rendering the magic useless. Even monsters began to appear that had adapted to its toxins.
Eventually, venomologists turned to alchemy to survive. They created artificially complex poison combinations that priests couldn't easily purify and new toxins that worked on monsters. This was the origin of modern Venomics. Today's venomologists used potions, scattering their contents with black magic or enhancing their toxicity. But now...
'She's going to teach the obsolete Jet-Black Venomics?'
The corners of Byeolya's mouth lifted. "I can see what you're thinking all over your face. Then how about this?"
She conjured a magic circle on her other palm. To Claudia, it looked identical to the first, but this time, a pink, thorny vine shot out. She grabbed it and swung it at the opposite wall.
The whip struck the wall, but it didn't melt. Instead, the wall's color turned a sickly yellow, the discoloration spreading rapidly.
'The magic circle was the same, but the type of poison was different!'
The other students, finally grasping the situation, fell silent.
"What I'm going to teach isn't that predictable, unoriginal Jet-Black Venomics," Byeolya said, lowering her arm. "It's an original technique that I developed myself."
"Ah...!"
If that was true, then it was no exaggeration to say that Byeolya's original Jet-Black Venomics had taken only the best aspects of the past and present. There was no risk of it being easily countered, and there would be no more time wasted on cumbersome tasks like pulling potions from a subspace.
"To use this technique, you must master 'Blood Poison,' which turns your own blood into a weapon. That's why I was building up your antibodies—to prepare your bodies. I was planning to teach you this before the third БМАТ."
A heavy silence descended upon the basement. Claudia, her face beet red, couldn't even meet Byeolya's gaze.
"Now, you all have exactly two choices."
Byeolya snapped her fingers, and the TAs moved quickly, placing poison sets at the students' feet.
"For all the classes you missed with that ridiculous boycott, you're going to ingest all the backed-up poison by tomorrow, get your antibodies, and then come to class."
At the mention of 'by tomorrow,' the students' jaws dropped.
"This all happened because you threw a fit. I don't care if you get side effects from rushing it. But if you catch up, I'll teach you my original Jet-Black Venomics before the БМАТ as planned."
She crossed her arms. "Or maybe I misjudged you. Maybe you really did refuse my class because of some grand mission for universal human rights or whatever. Even though you're necromancers."
At her words, Claudia's face turned as red as an apple.
"Anyone like that is free to turn around and leave right now. I'll congratulate you on the birth of a true human rights activist, and I'll even applaud you on your way out, marveling at the size of your conviction."
Ten minutes passed. Not a single student left.
Survival at Kizen versus a pointless struggle and a shred of pride. For a necromancer, the choice was obvious. They all just stood there with their heads bowed, unable to utter a single word.
"I'll take it that you'll all follow my instructions," Byeolya said with a dismissive wave. "Take those and get out. I expect to see a full class starting tomorrow."
"Yes!"
Claudia and the others scrambled to pick up the poison cases and hurried up the stairs. The night air was bitingly cold.
"Hah! Hah!"
"Claudia! Wait up!"
Claudia ran, clutching the case of poison to her chest as if it were a precious treasure. 'I'm so stupid! So hopelessly stupid it brings tears to my eyes!'
Her eyes were brimming with tears, but her mouth was stretched in a wide smile. She even laughed out loud, a wild, joyous sound. Let them point and call her a madwoman. The feeling of liberation from finally being able to stop this agonizing group action, the sense of relief that she could learn from a professor as brilliant as any other...
This was the happiest night she'd had since enrolling in Kizen.
The next day, news of Claudia's group being summoned by Byulya spread throughout Kizen like wildfire.
"Who do you think won?"
"The students must have. Professor Byulya was the one who called them, right?"
"But they had spots all over their faces this morning. Looked like they'd been eating poison."
The topic was on everyone's lips in the dormitory hallways.
"Claudia and the others who went aren't saying a word," Dick said, his curiosity palpable. "What the hell happened after they were summoned? Ugh! I'm dying to know!"
Simon, who had a good idea of what had transpired, just smiled and stretched. 'Thank you, Professor Byulya!'
He had no classes that morning. It was originally Necrology, but since all four members of Team 7 had dropped the subject, their schedule was clear. They planned to use the time for БМАТ training.
All four of them woke up early, got their leave passes, and agreed to meet at the beach. Simon and Dick hailed a carriage at the Kizen entrance and soon arrived at the shore.
The beach was crowded again today. Many students without classes were in the water, practicing for underwater combat.
"Simon, Dick! Over here!"
"What took you so long!"
Kamibarez and Meirin had already changed into their swimsuits and were stretching. After Simon and Dick joined them, Meirin, as team leader, got everyone's attention. "Today is our last beach training session before the БМАТ! Let's work hard so we have no regrets!"
"Okay."
"Yes!"
The four of them sprinted across the sand and plunged into the sea. Simon, swimming fastest through the waves, stretched his arm above his head.
'Bone Armor - Handgun Mode.'
'Chk! Chk! Chk!'
Skeleton bones flew from his Subspace and assembled on his right arm. He submerged himself.
First, he checked his mental link with the skeleton. 'Much better.' Undead lost power just by being in saltwater, but with Benya's help at the Mutant club, he had applied a chemical to the bones to help them withstand it.
Next, he unfolded a magic circle in front of the handgun's muzzle. It was a new spell he had developed by extracting the core formula from his 'Jet-Black Torpedo.'
'Fire!'
As the bone bullets shot from the muzzle, they passed through the magic circle, their speed through the water increasing dramatically. He had used the formula that reduced water resistance.
'Okay, first try is a success!'
Simon resurfaced. This time, he took a little longer to draw a magic circle, then brought it down onto the handgun. The circle melted into the bone bullets, coating them. He immediately aimed below the surface and gave the fire command.
The bones flew with the same power as before. He was confident that at this level, he could hit even a Kizen student. 'Attack magic is fine. Now for the last thing...'
Simon opened a Subspace above his head and summoned a new creature into the sea.
A huge spray of water erupted as the summon descended. Simon climbed on top of it. "Let's go, Deimos."
His goal for this third БМАТ was to take first place overall.

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