"Begin!"
The instant the match started, Benz threw up his arms, activating a magic circle.
"I’ll show you the true power of Aland!"
A gate at the back of the arena slid open, and from the darkness beyond, a pair of beastly eyes flashed.
’Thump. Thump.’
Monsters began to file into the arena, each marked with Benz’s magic circle.
"What is this? Is this even allowed?" Simon asked, placing a hand on his hip with a dumbfounded look. "This is nothing like summoning an undead from a subspace."
"You just don’t get it!" Benz retorted with a shrug. "At Aland, as long as you pre-register them, you can have up to six creatures on standby in the arena!"
’How was I supposed to know that?’
Simon thought with a hollow laugh.
"Of course, they will use every petty trick in the book, including their home-field advantage."
It was exactly as Jane had said. The students in the stands roared.
"Enough talk, Kizen! Shut up and fight!"
"When in Aland, you follow Aland’s rules!"
"Boooooooo!"
They jeered, thumbs pointed down. It was such a blatant attempt to rattle him that Simon found it almost endearing and simply laughed it off.
"You’re first!" Benz shouted, pointing. "Gillion!"
A crimson-eyed fire bear, easily three times the size of a man, snorted. The magic circle on its back flared to life, and it let out a guttural roar as it charged.
’I’ve got the perfect strategy for you, Simon!’ Benz thought, wiping the corner of his mouth with a confident smirk. ’Step one: Send in the tamed monsters to drain his stamina and jet-black!’
While Simon would have to expend considerable energy to defeat them, Benz only needed a sliver of power to activate his taming magic. That was, of course, assuming Simon could even beat Gillion.
"Crush him!"
Gillion tore across the dirt floor. Simon, hands casually tucked in his coat pockets, simply twisted his body, letting the massive beast brush past him.
"After him, Gillion!" Benz yelled, but his expression quickly turned to one of confusion.
’Thud!’
It had only been a graze, but Gillion collapsed in a heap. Simon stood calmly, his Student Council President’s coat fluttering around him. A murmur of disbelief rippled through the crowd.
"What? What did he just do?"
"To take down a monster that huge in a single blow...!"
Benz was just as bewildered. He was certain it was not a curse; he had equipped the monster with curse resistance. And it could not be poison. He had barely touched it.
"I-It doesn’t matter! You’re next!"
A fanged, leopard-like creature charged, only to meet the same fate.
’Thud!’
It collapsed without laying a claw on Simon.
Benz gritted his teeth, his face a mask of disbelief.
"Damn it! Next! Next!"
But no matter which monster he sent, the result was the same. Simon moved with the grace of a butterfly, his coattails swirling, and one by one, the beasts dropped. Soon, all six of his prepared monsters lay defeated.
Benz stood with his mouth agape, utterly dejected.
"Alright, that’s all six, right? Anything else to show me?" Simon asked, lightly dusting off his hands.
From the sidelines, Jane nodded in satisfaction, while the Aland professor gripped the fence, his knuckles white.
"Grr!" Benz spread his arms wide. "Of course there’s more!"
As he activated his black magic, the ground of the arena erupted. Thick plant stems shot out, instantly ensnaring Simon and hoisting him into the air.
’Haha! It’s a bit cheap, but I planted tamed seeds in the arena beforehand!’
The tide had turned. The Aland students leaped to their feet.
"Go, Benz!"
"He’s got his arms pinned! Take Kizen down!"
Simon glanced down at the vines with an indifferent expression.
"Open Gates."
’Swoooosh—!’
Six portals to his subspace tore open in the air. From within, long, sharp blades shot out, effortlessly severing the stems that bound him.
"Aww!" the crowd groaned in disappointment as he freed himself so easily.
As Simon landed, he saw Benz charging toward him.
’This is just a diversion! Step three!’
Aside from summoning, Benz’s greatest strength was Combat Magic. He cupped his hands at his waist, concentrating his jet-black into a single point. Stopping a short distance away, he thrust his hands forward.
’Booooom!’
A powerful, long-range blast of jet-black energy shot toward Simon. In response, Simon simply clenched his right fist and drew it back to his shoulder.
’Hongfeng Original – Blade Attachment’
’Slaaaaaash!’
For a moment, Benz thought the world had been split in two. Simon’s attack tore through his jet-black wave, carved a deep scar in the ground, and grazed past his shoulder.
His protective suit registered the damage, the gauge dropping by nearly half in an instant.
’What is this?’
Benz staggered backward.
’How is he so strong?’
It was impossible to believe they were both second-years. Suddenly, Simon, standing there with his coat billowing around him, seemed like an insurmountable wall.
’Ugh! He’s too close!’
Gritting his teeth, Benz activated his remaining seeds. Vines erupted from the ground, once again wrapping around Simon.
’Oh?’
But this time was different. Simon did not use his strange summons. He was trapped, writhing in the vines’ grip. This was it! That previous summon must have had a time limit or some other restriction. He could still win!
Benz finally summoned a skeleton from his subspace and began disassembling it to form a Bone Spear.
The crowd, which should have been cheering, was on its feet, shouting frantically. He could not make out the words over the din of his own spellcasting, but he heard their cries.
"Dodge!"
"It’s dangerous!"
What was dangerous? He had the advantage.
’Snap!’
With the sharp sound of a finger snap, the world snapped back into focus. Simon was standing behind him.
"What!"
The Simon he had trapped was gone; the vines were clutching at empty air. It was an original curse, ’Delusion’—one of Bahil’s four great curses, which traps the target in a powerful illusion.
"When you get close enough to use your combat magic," Simon said, spinning around, "you also enter the range of my curse."
His palm connected with Benz’s back.
’Simon Original – Touch Wave’
’Thwack!’
Benz flew forward and crashed face-first into the dirt.
"Ugh!"
He scrambled to lift his head and saw his own summons surrounding him.
’What the...’
Benz’s eyes widened in horror.
’They weren’t defeated... they were sleeping?’
"Taming is an impressive art," Simon said, turning away. "But you can only control one monster at a time, can’t you?"
’Clap!’
Simon clapped his hands together. The ’Sleep’ curse on the six monsters broke, and they all rose to their feet. The first thing they saw upon waking was Benz.
"And you kept sending them at me one by one."
"Ah, ahhh!"
’Wham! Pow! Crunch!’
Benz was swarmed.
Simon lowered his arms with an easy smile as the referee raised his hand.
"Match over! The winner is..."
[Simon Polentia: 94%]
[Benz McBeef: 0%]
"Kizen’s Student Council President, Simon Polentia!"
From start to finish, it had been a complete and utter victory.
"A fine match." Jane extended a hand to the Aland professor, a hint of satisfaction in her voice.
He could not hide a bitter smile as he shook it.
"Ahaha, well. Kizen is Kizen, after all. It seems Student Council President Simon didn’t even use half his strength. This is quite embarrassing."
At that, Jane’s eyebrow twitched.
"You should correct yourself."
"Pardon?"
"He won using not half, but a third of his power."
The Aland professor let out a hollow laugh.
’What is this woman talking about?’
"Professor Jane!"
Simon came running over, beaming. Jane quickly schooled her features back into a neutral mask.
"I won!"
"That was the expected outcome," she said with a sigh. "There is no need to get so excited. Prepare to move on to the next school, Sierra."
"Yes!"
The Aland professor watched her go, a quiet smile on his face.
’She is not a very honest person.’
The students in the stands were beginning to file out. Benz trudged over to his professor, his shoulders slumped.
"I’m sorry, Professor," he said dejectedly. "There were others with better grades. I was selfish to insist on going first..."
The professor patted his shoulder.
"It would have been the same no matter who went. You did your best. Your opponent was simply too strong."
"You worked hard all year, Benz." He gave the boy a gentle smile. "Kizen is an incredible place. Go and learn as much as you can."
"Sniff! Professor!" Benz’s eyes filled with emotion. "Thank you so much for everything!" He bowed deeply. "Your teachings... my life at Aland... I will never forget them!"
"Yes, yes. Go on now."
Every year, the three great necromancer schools lost their three most brilliant students to Kizen. That was the reality. But for the sake of their students’ futures, they could never ask them to stay. Besides, having them maintain an upper-middle rank at Kizen was more beneficial to the school’s honor than having them remain at the top of Aland. The world was sometimes cruel.
’You will all adapt to the new school in no time.’
Whether now or in two years, a teacher’s fate was to eventually let their students go.
At the same time, in the Sierra Headmaster’s Office.
"Aland has fallen," the headmaster of Sierra stated, gazing out the window with his hands clasped behind his back. "They will be here soon."
He turned. On the sofa, a boy in a red uniform sat with his legs crossed, a casual laugh playing on his lips.
"How are you feeling?" the headmaster asked.
"In top shape."
"Can you win?"
Instead of answering, the student opened his palm.
’Fwoosh!’
A vivid green flame, unlike any normal jet-black fire, blazed to life.
"As long as we fight in Sierra’s arena, there is no way I can lose." He clenched his fist, and the flame vanished. "But is it really okay for me to beat Kizen? Getting thoroughly beaten by them has been the tradition for hundreds of years. They won’t get upset and cause trouble, will they?"
A smirk touched the headmaster’s lips.
"Of course not! I will take full responsibility." He tilted his head. "I expect a one-sided match."
The boy rose from his seat and smiled.
"I hope they get here soon."

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