In keeping with the nature of a thesis presentation, Simon broke down the concept of Herseva in purely academic terms. He detailed the properties of the heart as a lich’s core ingredient, the complex formulas and runes of the summoning circle, and the unique structure and characteristics of the Life Vessel. The part that drew the most interest, however, was the fusion of the autonomous staff, ‘Areldelu’, with Herseva. Even Aaron was visibly surprised to learn that the lich’s consciousness had transferred to the artifact.
"That is a rare occurrence indeed."
"Lich creation is notoriously variable."
"The fusion of an autonomous staff and a lich is worth dedicated research," one of the researchers noted aloud. "It’s a method that could greatly reduce the inherent risks."
The researchers scribbled furiously, writing down Simon’s every word. It was an unfamiliar experience for Simon, who was always the one taking notes. But this was a Summoning class, so he drew on his experience from the Pentamonium Academic Conference and focused his explanation on the scholarly aspects. There wasn’t enough time to delve into the three authorities Herseva commanded or the mummy’s detailed specifications.
When he finished, the room exploded with applause.
’Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!’
Enthusiastic cheers filled the hall. Simon bowed politely to the audience and nodded respectfully to Aaron.
But while most were celebrating, a different conversation was unfolding in a corner of the classroom.
"A genius even gives a slick presentation."
"I guess they’re just built different, huh? Born on another level from us."
"I wish I was born a genius..." A few Summoning hopefuls from Class A, who had resented Simon since the Skeleton Mage incident, were muttering amongst themselves with a hint of sarcasm. To a student, a professor’s ‘interest’ was a valuable asset, and a rumor had spread that Simon had used his Skeleton Mage to pressure Aaron into giving him private tutoring on the Life Vessel.
"I’m so jealous."
"Let’s be honest, who couldn’t do it if they got one-on-one tutoring from a Kizen professor?"
"Special Admission No. 1 was Lady Nephthys’s personal pick. Aaron probably takes care of him just to stay on her good side."
Just as their bitter remarks began to escalate, a voice cut in.
"N-No, that’s not it!"
It was Toto, jumping into their conversation.
"You don’t know anything about Simon, so don’t talk like that!"
Though his voice was mostly lost in the roar of the crowd, it was loud enough for the group to hear. The Summoning hopefuls’ expressions turned cold.
"Are you talking to us right now?" one of the girls sneered.
As she glared at him, Toto’s face crumpled.
"What’s a loser like you butting in for?"
"Isn’t he in the same club as Simon, anyway?"
"Wow, sucking up already? You think being friends with Simon makes you special?"
Toto waved his hands frantically, a flustered look on his face.
"M-My point is, regardless of all that, Simon is—!"
Aaron clapped his hands loudly, silencing the boisterous cheers.
"Well done," he began, his voice cutting through the quiet. "The summoning magic for a lich is a bundle of variables. If even one of the three core elements is changed, the properties of the final product will vary wildly. I don’t believe it’s my place to dictate one approach over another. There were no points to criticize in the formulas or runes, either. However, what I want to say is..."
Aaron’s gaze shifted from Simon to the other students.
"Setting aside the content of the thesis, how was Simon’s presentation?"
As if on cue, a hand shot up. It was the class president, Jamie.
"It was incredibly polished!"
"Right."
Aaron nodded. "I’m not talking about the quality of the thesis. Simon attended the Pentamonium Academic Conference last month. He has written theses like this before, and he has presented in front of large crowds before. That sliver of experience is what creates this kind of result."
He scanned the room.
"Is there anyone here who has so much as raised their hand to challenge Pentamonium?"
The classroom fell silent. Some students lowered their heads in shame.
"Simon’s presentation wasn’t polished because he’s a genius," Aaron continued, his voice firm. "Everything in this world has a cause and an effect. While others were resting, he was creating a mage. While others were creating mages, he was preparing a lich. There’s nothing more pathetic than ignoring the effort it takes to get ahead and writing everything off as a difference in talent."
Aaron’s eyes locked onto the three students. At his words, the faces of the Summoning hopefuls who had been bad-mouthing Simon turned bright red. The gazes of the audience followed Aaron’s, landing on the trio.
"Hey! Were you guys talking behind Simon’s back again?" Claudia Mendes was the first to jump to her feet.
"You guys, really..." Jamie shot them a pitying look.
"If you’re so jealous of Professor Aaron’s tutoring, why don’t you try getting ahead of the curriculum and asking for it yourselves?" Cindy Vivace remarked bitingly. "You don’t want to put in the effort, but you want the reward. All you do is complain and run your mouths."
The three felt a murderous intent stabbing them in the back and stiffly turned around. Lounging in the shadows of the classroom, Hector’s eyes were glinting menacingly.
"...You pathetic worms."
As someone who was trying harder than anyone to surpass Simon, Hector despised their kind the most.
"You three, see me later, okay?" Meirin added, smiling sweetly as she crooked a finger. Her lips were smiling, but a dark shadow hung over her brow.
"Quiet!"
At Aaron’s shout, everyone’s attention returned to the podium.
"Finals, performance evaluations, BMATs, promotion exams. I’m well aware that you’re busy. But you cannot become exceptional by only doing what everyone else does. Understand that."
"Yes, sir!" the students roared in unison.
"Simon Polentia." Aaron turned his head, his gaze finally settling on Simon. "A+."
"Ah... Thank you!"
A huge round of applause broke out. The eyes of the other students now sparkled as they looked at Simon, who had earned the highest grade.
In a corner seat of the audience, Chehekle, the head teaching assistant of Cursology who had come to observe on Bahil’s orders, was clapping in stunned silence.
’Professor Aaron, saying something like that...’
Having been a TA for some time, she had known Aaron for quite a while. Challenges, effort—those were words the jaded, worn-out Aaron from the beginning of the semester would never have uttered.
’Simon’s positive influence must have changed Professor Aaron’s cynical disposition,’ she mused, resting her chin on her hand with a gentle smile. Then she let out a small sigh. ’...I wonder if that kid can change our crazy professor, too?’
"Amazing! Amazing! Absolutely splendid, Simon!"
It was Cursology class, during the final performance evaluation for ‘A Synergy Curse Using Three or More Curses’. An ecstatic Bahil was explaining, spittle flying, just how perfect and beautiful Simon’s theory was, while Simon scratched the side of his head with an embarrassed expression.
’I somehow managed to learn the four great curses, but...’
The curse of painlessness, ‘Indolence’.
The curse of hostility, ‘Hostile’.
The curse of delusion, ‘Delusion’.
The curse of awakening, ‘Waker’.
The presentation was scheduled for the day right after Simon had mastered the four curses. He’d had no choice but to postpone creating ‘Compellonia’ and instead extracted what he could from the four formulas to create a single, new curse. Since all four were mental-type curses, they shared a commonality: an awakening formula that acted on the central nervous system. He presented a new formula that combined the four to maximize this awakening effect, and Bahil was lavishing it with praise, looking utterly satisfied.
"Absolutely splendid! Of course, the subject of grading is ‘curse synergy’, but creatively arranging the four curse formulas alone is more than enough reason to receive an A+."
"Thank you!" Simon bowed his head deeply.
Behind the podium, Chehekle, who had just inscribed Simon’s A+ on the list, looked up at Bahil.
’You’re grinning from ear to ear.’
Bahil seemed incredibly pleased that Simon had created an original curse. Even to Chehekle’s eyes, the synergy was novel. He was a student whose very perspective on black magic was fundamentally creative.
She saw Bahil signaling her with a subtle hand gesture. Chehekle sighed, rose from her seat, and quietly approached Simon.
"Simon."
"Ah, yes, ma’am," Simon replied, respectfully straightening his posture.
"Professor Bahil would like to see you in his lab for a moment after class."
"Understood. I’ll head up right away."
After Chehekle left, Dick, Meirin, and Kamibarez stared intently at Simon.
"Hmph, an offer for a direct discipleship," Meirin stated as if it were a fact.
"B-But! Simon is thinking of becoming Professor Aaron’s direct disciple!" Kamibarez said in a panic.
"Hey, if you’re going to turn him down, recommend me," Dick chimed in, shamelessly pointing to himself.
"I don’t think he’s calling me about a discipleship," Simon said. He figured that since he had learned all four of Bahil’s great curses, it was now time to learn the mysterious technique called ‘Compellonia’.
Simon’s prediction was spot on.
Summoned to Bahil’s lab, he was finally taught ‘Compellonia’. Since he had already mastered the core formulas while studying the other four curses, it wasn’t particularly difficult to learn.
"Simon, I explained what Compello is before, didn’t I?" Bahil asked with a satisfied smile, still basking in the afterglow of the presentation.
"Yes, Professor! You said it was a realm of absolute truth that great necromancers sometimes experience."
"You remember correctly. Have you had any recent memories of using it?" Bahil’s eyes were full of anticipation as he asked.
Simon thought for a moment, then slapped his knee.
"I think I entered it slightly when I was making the lich!"
A muscle in Bahil’s smiling face twitched. Chehekle, who was bringing them coffee, couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter.
"Ahem! Professor, Simon. Have some coffee."
"Thank you." Simon bowed his head and took a small sip. As expected, the coffee in this lab was sweet.
"You are about to have an experience that can’t even compare to opening Compello on your own," Bahil said, returning to the topic. "However, there is one condition for using ‘Compellonia’."
"A condition?"
Bahil nodded. "With ‘Compellonia’, the ‘first use’ is crucial. What you feel and what you realize when you cross the ‘gate’ for the first time—that’s the key. An incorrect first use can leave one mentally ruined."
Simon swallowed hard.
"Then when would be a good time to use it?"
"A crisis," Bahil answered immediately. "In the most desperate moment of your entire life. When your life is in danger and all other means are exhausted, when the situation is so dire that all you can do is pray to the heavens... trust me and use ‘Compellonia’."
The corners of his mouth lifted into a cryptic smile.
"Then this curse will grant you an answer."
"Ah, I understand."
"Remember. Keep it in reserve until the very end, and use it only at the very, very last moment."
"I’ll keep that in mind."
With that, Simon bowed deeply and left the lab. Bahil quietly picked up the pipe from the table and placed it between his lips.
’Phew.’
Hazy smoke filled the room.
"Chehekle."
"Yes, Professor." Chehekle stood before him, her posture respectful.
Bahil gazed out the window for a moment before speaking in a cool voice.
"A life-threatening, desperate crisis for Simon. What would be a good one?"

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