After earning an ’A+’ in the Martial Arts evaluation, the next test awaited Simon.
The subject was Professor Byulya’s Venomology, and the final evaluation was the ’Comprehensive Evaluation of Jet-Black Venom and Resistance’.
"Isn’t this pretty much the first time we’ve actually fought?" Dick asked from across the outdoor training ground. He stretched his arms, massaging his biceps as if showing them off.
"You’re right," Simon replied, placing his hands on his hips with a smile.
This final evaluation took the form of a one-on-one match, but it was graded on an absolute scale, not a relative one. The rules were simple: infect your opponent with Jet-Black Venom, then activate your resistance. The first to fully recover from the poison would win.
Of course, the final grade had nothing to do with winning or losing; it was based on detailed metrics of the venom used and the resistance demonstrated.
"Even if you’re my roommate, I’m not going easy on you!" Dick declared as he completed his magic circle.
"I was about to say the same thing." Simon mirrored him, a magic circle unfolding in his own palm as he took his stance.
Just then, Professor Byulya, having finished with the previous team, walked over to them. "Ooh, lookie here, it’s my little cutie’s turn, isn’t it?" She flashed her spiky, shark-like teeth and playfully ruffled Simon’s hair.
Dick was quick to object. "Hey, wait a minute! Isn’t that favoritism right before a duel?! I object!"
"Ah, you’re so uptight! A professor can dote on her student a little. You got a problem with that? Huh?"
"If you’re going to do it, do it for me too!" Dick shot back, confidently pointing to the top of his own head.
"Get lost, you slacker."
"Whoa, that’s discrimination! I’m against discrimination!" Byulya cackled, amused by Dick’s antics.
The head TA came running up, clutching an evaluation sheet to her chest. "Professor! What did you do now?"
Byulya quickly feigned innocence. "Ahem, I didn’t do anything."
"I’ve told you so many times to be serious when the students’ grades are on the line! They’re sensitive at times like these!" the TA scolded. Byulya just pouted and cleaned out her ear.
Simon watched with satisfaction. The head TA, who couldn’t even meet Byulya’s eyes during the ’Claudia boycott incident’, seemed to have developed quite a backbone by the end of the semester. It also seemed the two of them had grown closer.
"Alright, get ready," Byulya said. Her tone was nonchalant, but her voice carried the charisma of a Kizen professor.
Simon and Dick brought their hands together in front of their chests.
"Okay, okay, aaand... begin!" Byulya snapped her fingers.
’Venom Whip’
’Venom Whip’
The two boys simultaneously cast their spells, lashing out at each other. Simon’s whip was a vibrant green, while Dick’s was a dark brown.
The moment they were struck and infected, they both sat down cross-legged on the ground and began to channel their jet-black.
’Focus...!’
Simon’s venom was average, but he was confident in his immunity. He activated his black magic, converting the blood in the infected area into hemo-toxin to analyze the foreign substance.
’Huh.’
As he reached for the herbs in the detoxification kit, Simon’s eyebrow twitched. ’The composition is tricky.’
The protein particles were so tangled that analysis was difficult. He was supposed to determine the course of detoxification by observing the changes in the hemo-toxin, but he couldn’t tell which reaction was which.
’Impressive.’ Dick’s skill in Venomology was far greater than it seemed.
While Simon chewed on herbs and analyzed the poison, Dick was grunting, working on his own detoxification, though he didn’t forget to sneak a peek at Simon.
’His condition is already getting better. Is that guy an alien or something?’
Dick’s own immunity skills weren’t great, but he was lucky that Simon’s venom was as simple as a textbook example.
The two boys grunted and groaned as they worked.
Dick raised his hand first. The head TA checked the timer. "Alright, student Dick Hayward, six minutes and twenty-eight seconds."
"I won!" Dick cheered, throwing his hands in the air.
Shortly after, Simon raised his arm. "Six minutes and thirty seconds."
Simon offered a wry smile. Dick wagged his index finger as if to say, ’You’ve still got a long way to go.’
"Analysis results," Byulya announced after the other TAs had analyzed the poison left on the ground. "Simon’s resistance is, without a doubt, the highest among the first-years. However, his Jet-Black Venom is average. You lost a lot of points there, but still, B+. Good work."
"Thank you!" A B+ was an excellent score. Simon was satisfied.
"And as for the slacker, it’s the opposite. His Jet-Black Venom is top-tier, but his sense for resistance is relatively trashy."
"T-Trashy!" Dick protested.
"Nevertheless, your skill in creating a venom with a composition so twisted it prevents detoxification is certainly impressive. You get an A."
"Ooooh!"
It was Dick’s first ’A’ in a performance evaluation. Excluding specialists like Claudia, it was an overwhelmingly high score. He bowed deeply. "Thank you, Professor! Starting today, I’m a Venomology major!"
"You little slacker!" Byulya laughed and kicked him in the shin.
Dick yelped, "Ow! Ow!" and hopped around clutching his leg, but he was grinning from ear to ear.
"Congratulations, Dick," Simon said.
As Byulya and the TAs moved on to the next students, Dick suddenly asked, "Hey, should I really major in Venomology?"
"The first year is almost over, and you still haven’t decided?"
"The sorrows of being an all-rounder, I suppose." Dick touched his forehead dramatically and shook his head, then extended a hand toward Simon. "Anyway, the final Summoning evaluation is this afternoon, right? Look forward to it. I’ll even beat you in your preferred subject!"
Simon just smiled.
Three hours later.
"Dick Hayward."
The Summoning professor, Aaron, was scowling as he held a copy of Dick’s thesis. "A remarkable presentation."
It was the final performance evaluation for Summoning: the thesis presentation for Class A on "The Creation of and Thesis on a Magical Undead." Dick stood stiffly on the podium, his face tense. In front of him was a single crow in a cage. Professor Aaron, however, did not look pleased.
"Training an undead ’phantom crow’ to replace the existing carrier pigeon system..."
"Th-That’s right! Isn’t it awesome?!" Dick exclaimed, giving two thumbs up, but he quickly snapped back to attention the moment he met Aaron’s glare.
"Prove it."
"Huh?"
Aaron casually tossed a nearby bundle of papers to Dick. "Prove right now that your phantom crow can fulfill the role of a carrier pigeon, even if it’s just to the other end of this classroom."
"Oh, oh! That’s a piece of cake!"
Dick opened the cage and took out the phantom crow. Though undead, it looked just like an ordinary crow. He met its eyes for a moment, as if connecting to its consciousness, before running to the far end of the classroom.
"Yes! Then let’s get started!" Dick’s voice echoed from across the room.
"Grab that wad of paper and come here!" he commanded.
However...
The phantom crow didn’t respond. It simply preened its feathers with its beak or hopped around the classroom floor.
"Come here! I said, come here!"
The classroom instantly erupted into laughter. The students howled, especially when the phantom crow lifted its leg and unceremoniously splattered its droppings onto the wad of paper.
"Enough. Return," Aaron finally interjected, unable to watch any longer.
Dick returned to the podium, his head hung low in shame.
"What’s the point if the author of the thesis can’t even control his own phantom crow?" Aaron asked, his tone sharp.
"I-I’m sorry."
"There are more problems." As a Summoning professor, Aaron proceeded to dismantle the thesis’s flaws one by one. "The services of a necromancer are quite expensive. What kind of necromancer would accept a meager salary to sit in a rookery, caring for and releasing crows? Furthermore, if the delivery distance is too great and the telepathic connection is severed, you’d have to rely on the crow’s homing instinct—a biological trait that fades when it becomes undead."
He paused, his gaze cold. "And to top it all off, the absolute coordinate formula drawn in the summoning circle was wrong from the start."
He delivered the final verdict.
"E-."
Aaron’s voice was like ice. "That’s the highest grade I can give you. The only reason it’s not an F is because I commend your imagination. That is all."
Dick shuffled back to his seat, completely dejected as a few kind-hearted students offered a small, encouraging round of applause.
"Pfft. Pffft." As he sat down, Meirin was covering her mouth, desperately trying to stifle her laughter. "Phantom crow carrier pigeons... ’Pfft’! Isn’t that just brilliant... ’Pfft’!"
"Just kill me now," Dick muttered, unable to bear the embarrassment.
Next to him, Simon silently patted his shoulder before lowering his own head, also fighting back a smile.
"...P-Please cheer up, Dick," Kamibarez offered, clasping her hands together in a gesture of comfort.
Dick pretended to wipe away tears, declaring that she was the only one who truly understood him.
"Anyway," he began, quickly changing the subject, knowing this blunder would be fodder for ridicule for at least a week. "Why are there so many people here?"
Though it wasn’t a formal thesis presentation, the room was packed not only with Class A students but also with second- and third-year seniors. Even adults were in attendance—teaching assistants sent by professors and researchers from Kizen’s main headquarters.
"Why do you think?" Meirin chuckled, glancing at Simon.
"Next, Simon Polentia. Come forward."
At Aaron’s announcement, a buzz of anticipation finally swept through the crowd. Aside from the Class A presenters, most of the people gathered here were waiting for Simon’s presentation on Herseva.
"Do well!"
"You can do it, Simon!"
Bolstered by his teammates’ encouragement, Simon tucked his presentation materials and thesis under his arm and walked to the front. He politely handed a copy of his thesis to Aaron, then turned to face the audience.
"Good morning. I am Simon Polentia of Class A."
’Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!’
A burst of excited applause erupted, the atmosphere already electric.
"I shall now begin."
When Simon opened his subspace, Herseva emerged.
A wave of murmurs swept the room.
Immediately, order broke down. People shot up from their seats, craning their necks to get a better look at the ancient lich.
"Hey, sit down!"
"Are you the only one with eyes?"
Even the normally composed adults were on their feet, caught up in the excitement.
[Kid, what is this? I feel like an animal in a zoo.]
’Just bear with it for a little while,’ Simon thought.
’Thump!’
The murmuring died down instantly. Aaron had slammed his hand on the chalkboard.
"I permitted you to observe this class because you pleaded, but if you disrupt my student one more time, I will throw every last one of you out."
His words fell with such authority that the audience became unbelievably silent. Simon gave a slight nod of gratitude toward Aaron before facing forward again.
"I’ll begin."
An A+ in Summoning. As an aspiring major, it was a grade he was determined to earn. With a serious expression, Simon picked up the chalk.

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