Two days later, the students returned to Lok Island, their replacement promotion exam complete.
’I couldn’t get discharged in time after all,’ Simon thought, smacking his lips as he gazed out the window. Just then, the door slid open with a screech.
“Ah!”
A girl with lavender hair stood in the doorway, her eyes brimming with tears. Simon smiled warmly and waved.
“Long time no see, Kami.”
At his greeting, the girl, who looked ready to burst into tears, finally let them fall in thick droplets down her cheeks. Then, she broke into the brightest smile he had ever seen.
“Simoooon!”
She ran forward and buried her face in his chest as he sat on the bed. The faint scent of lavender filled the air, and he felt his patient gown grow damp. He gently patted her shoulder.
“Hey! Simon!”
“Are you really okay?”
Meirin and Dick stumbled into the ward right after her, red-faced and panting. It was clear all three had sprinted up the hill at full speed the moment they’d stepped out of the teleportation circle.
To keep them from worrying, Simon put on a nonchalant smile. “I’m fine. Perfectly okay.”
A wave of profound relief washed over Meirin and Dick’s faces. From his chest, Simon could hear muffled hiccups and whispers. It sounded like she was saying, ’I’m so glad.’
“...D-Don’t make us worry like that!” Meirin huffed, crossing her arms with a pout. “It was hard enough to concentrate during the exam!”
“Hey, Simon! You have no idea how wild things are right now, do you?” Dick exclaimed, waving his arms excitedly. “Hurry up and spill the details about your fight with the Blood Cult!”
“C-Calm down.”
Simon recounted the events, carefully staying within the bounds of what he could disclose. The three of them were left speechless, especially by the tale of the Blood Cult led by Silage.
“I-I’d heard the stories, but hearing it from you makes it even more shocking,” Kamibarez murmured, her head bowed. The revelation that Silage and Professor Walter were the same person—the mastermind and an archbishop of the cult—was a nightmarish twist.
Dick leaned against the window. “That’s why Lady Nephthys is tearing the Blood Cult apart right now. I heard she’s close to finding and killing the one behind it all, Inquisitor General Leight. The whole island is on edge with all this talk of war.”
“Fortunately, it doesn’t look like there will be a war with the Holy Federation,” Simon clarified. “And the Inquisitor General isn’t the true mastermind.”
Meirin blinked. “You say that with such certainty.”
“I spoke with Lady Nephthys.”
The four of them chattered on about the incident until Simon suddenly remembered something. “Wait, more importantly! How did you all do on the promotion exam?”
At his question, all three hung their heads and fell silent. A heavy quiet descended on the room.
“D-Don’t tell me...”
As Simon stuttered, glancing between them, he noticed Dick’s eyebrow twitching and Meirin covering her mouth to hide a smile. Kamibarez, a terrible actress, was fidgeting uncontrollably.
A laugh escaped him. “Congratulations on passing, everyone!”
“Woo!”
At last, they broke into wide grins and cheered.
“Second year! We’re finally second-years, Simon!” Kamibarez jumped for joy and threw her arms around Meirin.
“Yeah! We finally have the same qualifications as a professional necromancer!”
“Hehehe, get ready, next year’s first-years! Your senior is going to take good care of you!” Dick cackled, rubbing his hands together.
Meirin immediately shot him down. “Hey! Don’t celebrate just yet. You may have passed the exam, but your overall grade is so borderline that your promotion isn’t even guaranteed!”
“Eh, it’ll work out somehow.”
“Actually, only Simon and Meirin are guaranteed to advance,” Kamibarez admitted. “I’m a little worried about my final exam and performance evaluation scores, too.”
Simon offered a gentle smile. “It’ll all be fine, Kami.”
At his words, her eyes curved into a happy, puppy-like smile. “Okay, Simon!”
’SLAM!’
The warm atmosphere was shattered as the ward door was thrown open, and an uninvited guest strode in.
“What the—? How did you find this place?” Dick muttered, bewildered.
It was Hector, the boy who had surpassed Chatel to claim first place in the exam. He ignored the others completely, his gaze fixed on Simon in the bed.
“Are you recovered?”
His blunt question left the others stunned. Hector, asking about Simon’s well-being? Simon simply nodded in response.
“Heal quickly and keep your promise. I’ll give you three days.” With that, Hector turned to leave.
“I’ve had enough of you,” Meirin snarled, her patience snapping. “Hey! How can you act like that in front of someone who’s injured?”
’THUMP.’ Hector paused at the door.
“Simon is hurt!” she yelled. “And he got that way saving us! He has no obligation to accept your selfish request for a duel—!”
“The choice,” Hector cut in, turning back to face Simon, “is his to make.”
“...You!”
“I gave you three days because the second-year promotion ceremony is in three days.” Hector’s fist tightened. “And let me be clear: I don’t have the patience to wait until the end of the vacation.”
“Fine,” Simon said with an easy smile. “A promise is a promise. See you after the promotion ceremony.”
The corners of Hector’s mouth lifted into a smirk. “I knew you’d say that.”
With a swirl of his uniform, Hector was gone. A chilly silence fell in his wake.
“You idiot!” Meirin shrieked. “What do you mean, ‘see you after the ceremony’? You should be going home to rest!”
“Th-That’s right! Fighting again as soon as you’re discharged...” Kamibarez added, her hands clasped worriedly.
“Ahem. I respect it,” Dick intoned, his voice uncharacteristically deep and pretentious. “A man sometimes has a fight he can’t avoi—”
Meirin and Kamibarez shot him a death glare, and he quickly changed his tune. “—d, but! I don’t think this is one of those times! Haha! Recovery comes first. Absolutely.”
Simon calmed them down. “Thanks for worrying, everyone. But I’m really fine. I’m recovering steadily, and besides... there’s something I want to try against Hector.”
“Something you want to try?”
Simon grinned and held out his palms. “Yeah. I developed a new technique while I was in here. Wanna see?”
“...While you were hospitalized?”
The three of them stared at Simon as if he had lost his mind.
Simon was discharged the day before the promotion ceremony. In the meantime, the comprehensive first-year grades were released, a total score combining the first and integrated second semesters. It included everything: midterms, finals, performance evaluations, duels, missions, BMATs, and the promotion exam.
“I did it!” Simon cheered, spinning in his dorm chair and holding the report card high.
[Rank 1, Simon Polentia]
The golden ‘Rank 1’ glittered next to the word ‘Valedictorian’. He checked it again and again, unable to believe his eyes. Tears of joy pricked at his eyelids. To have come this far after enrolling with no prior training, with only his core opened... For today, at least, he would allow himself to be proud.
’Although it was a ridiculously close call.’
His midterm scores had been an anchor. He’d only managed to clinch the top spot thanks to Kizen’s focus on practical skills and the reduced weight of the first semester due to the quasi-wartime status. Under normal circumstances, he might have been pushed out of the top ten. The point difference between him, second, and third place was negligible.
’This means I can’t let my guard down next year, either.’
Still, valedictorian was valedictorian. It felt incredible. Smiling, he scanned the rest of the list.
[Rank 2, Chatel Maer]
Unsurprisingly, second place went to the giant-kin, Chatel. Though she’d lost to Simon in the duel evaluation and Hector in the promotion exam, her excellent balance of practical and written scores had secured her the spot.
[Rank 3, Hector Moore]
This was a true underdog story. Hector, a non-special admission student, had clawed his way to third place through sheer effort. His score was barely different from Simon’s or Chatel’s. In truth, the three of them were so close it was almost meaningless to rank them.
[Rank 4, Merida Hue Ikel]
Special Admission No. 4, Merida Hue Ikel, held her rank, finishing fourth. She was the younger sister of the legendary Phantastus Hue Ikel, the greatest student council president in Kizen’s history.
’She’s terrifying,’ Simon thought. Her detailed scores were even more impressive. She had bombed the written exams even worse than he had, yet her practical and performance evaluations were all top-tier. She had also consistently placed in the Top 10 in BMATs. If her written scores had been merely average, she could have easily surpassed him.
’...Looks like studying next year won’t be any easier.’
With a bitter smile at the mounting pressure, Simon continued down the list.
[Rank 5, Aseraz Mikel]
[Rank 6, Merdiana Ann Sudndeath]
Students he had never even seen before. This was the terrifying reality of Kizen. Non-special admission students with overwhelming growth rates were effortlessly surpassing their specially admitted peers. As the academy gathered the best talents of the Dark Alliance, there was no telling which new monster’s potential would explode next. In Kizen, there were no eternal champions and no eternal weaklings.
[Rank 7, Elisa Celine]
Still, Elisa of the Ghost Ship, a pride of the special admissions, secured seventh place, matching her admission number.
[Rank 8, Meirin Villenne]
’Meirin! Congratulations!’
Meirin, a non-special admission student, had proudly broken into the Top 10. While her weakness in practical skills and crisis management was a handicap, her absolute dominance in written exams—ranking second overall in both midterms and finals—had carried her through. In a normal semester, she might have even aimed for the top three. For reference, first place in both written exams had gone to Aseraz Mikel, who ranked fifth overall.
[Rank 9, Elysia Rosenfeld]
[Rank 10, Jule Vinchere]
A girl named Elysia took ninth. Though not a special admission, she was famous enough that Simon had heard her name. And Jule, the magic sword user and Special Admission No. 5, landed in tenth. Jule’s case was understandable. His pure combat power was on par with Simon, Chatel, and Hector, but his focus on the magic sword had caused his other grades to suffer. He had essentially fought his way into the top ten on strength alone.
Other notable names, like Raheim Northspole and Malcolm Randolph, had been pushed out of the top rankings.
’And... and...’
Simon’s eyes scanned anxiously down the list.
“Ah!”
[Rank 95, Kamibarez Ursula]
’Thank goodness, Kami!’
Despite her timid nature, so unbefitting a necromancer, the talented Kamibarez had secured a solid rank for her promotion. She had focused entirely on Hemomancy, leaving her other grades average, but with the major-focused curriculum of the second year, she was poised to climb much higher.
’Now, Dick is the one I’m most worried about.’
Simon’s gaze traveled further and further down the report card.
’He should be around here...’
He scanned the 200s, but Dick’s name was nowhere to be found. A knot of anxiety tightened in his stomach, and a cold sweat broke out on his brow.
’Dick! Don’t tell me you...!’
He couldn’t imagine Kizen without his cheerful friend. Anxiously, he scanned the 300s, then shot his gaze all the way to the bottom.
“Please...!”
And there, astonishingly:
[Rank 400, Dick Hayward]
’PFFT!’ A loud laugh burst out of Simon. 400th place out of 400 promotees. Only his friend could pull off something so ridiculous.
Relieved, Simon slumped back in his chair. ’The Blood Cult saved Dick.’
Due to the incident, Kizen had increased the second-year quota from the usual 350 to 400. It was an ironic twist of fate that proved you could never predict what life would throw at you.
“Let’s see how the others did.”
He scanned the list from the bottom up. Toto was 382nd. The powerhouses who didn’t care about grades—Lorraine, Serne, and Kajan—were scattered in the mid-ranks. Near the top, he saw familiar A-class aces like Jamie, Cindy, and Claudia. Fitzgerald, from his Mutants club, had placed an impressive 20th.
“Haaah.”
Finally, he looked one last time at the very top. One student out of a thousand.
[Rank 1, Simon Polentia]
No matter how many times he looked, it filled him with happiness. His gaze drifted to the window. The thought of telling his father back in Leshill made his heart soar.
’Father! You’ll praise me this time, right?’
The next day, at dawn on the day of the promotion ceremony, Netherwhales and other vessels frantically ferried people to Lok Island. Parents and relatives were arriving for the event, their faces bright with the news of their children’s success. Their arms were laden with flowers and gifts.
Amid the crowd, one figure in particular drew the women’s gazes.
“Who is that?”
“...My goodness.”
The crowd murmured and parted as a gentleman in a neat suit and glasses made his way from the pier.
“Ah!”
A lady, distracted by the handsome stranger, slipped on the wet dock. As she tilted precariously toward the sea, a strong arm wrapped around her waist.
“Are you alright, my lady?”
The gentleman had moved like lightning to catch her. As their faces drew close, her cheeks flushed crimson.
“Th-Th-Thank you!”
He gave a charming wink. “Don’t mention it.”
Swoons could be heard from the middle-aged noblewomen nearby. The gentleman lightly brushed off his suit and gazed toward the dormitories.
’This school hasn’t changed a bit.’
Fiddling with a fake mustache under his glasses, he took in the nostalgic sight before his gaze settled on the distant dorms.
’I’ll be seeing you soon, Simon.’

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