Chapter 9

The following classes were also a series of troubles.

The 2nd period was Defense against the Holy Arts, and the 3rd period was Hemomancy, and every single professor tested Simon as the No.1 Special Admission by calling him out to the platform.

It was like a yearly event. The truth was, in Kizen, obviously the competition between students was fierce, but it also was for the professors.

Professors with poor performance were fired, even during the semester. Their salaries fluctuated according to performance, and their power of influence inside Kizen also changed.

Therefore, the professors tried to secure as many students as possible in their majors and especially attract outstanding students as their direct disciples. 

As part of that, they were testing the skills of the best students in their first class, and it was natural for Simon, the No.1 Special Admission, to come up to the platform.

In those two classes, Simon had to go against a female student named 'Meilyn Villenne'.

She was the top of class A and the holder of the highest entrance exam score in the whole first year. Judging from the written exam alone, she was practically a person with talent close to the top of the whole school.

There was no way Simon, who had just begun to study dark magic, could win against her. In the battle against Hector, he somehow managed to return a single shot, but it was almost impossible to win against Meilyn

The professor tilted their heads at this unexpected situation, and the students of Class A now noticed that Simon was a total beginner.

'Errrrgh...'

They restlessly finished the third class too. Fortunately, the next class ended a little earlier, so they had some free time.

Simon was resting alone on the empty cafeteria table.

'The classes are fun, but it's so hard.'

He didn't know that school classes would be this hard. The fact that he lost all his strength in the battle against Hector was a huge factor too.

Simon groaned and rested his head on his arm.

"Hi."

While Simon was catching his breath, somebody came up and spoke to him.

When he looked up, he saw a smiling young male student with short blonde hair and sunglasses on his forehead.

"I'm in Class A, just like you. My name is Rick Hayward."

"…Simon Polentia."

The two shook their hands lightly.

"You've become so famous already. Your name is on the lips of other classes too, you know?"

Simon shrugged.

"They're probably talking about how overrated the No.1 Special Admission is."

"Hahaha!"

Rick laughed and sat down opposite Simon.

"Actually, you're perfectly normal. I wonder why everyone's acting rashly when we're still on our first day."

"Thank you for your words."

Rick locked his fingers together with a slightly serious expression on his face.

"Did you know? Hector is already forming his own faction."

"…Faction?"

"Since he showed an impressive appearance in the first class. It's only natural for him to attract people. He's also the eldest son of a powerful family, so he's popular among the nobles too."

Simon rested his chin on his hands with a sour face.

"I'm not really interested."

"Hey, hey, listen. 'Politics' are also important in Kizen! What do you think would happen if Class A falls to the hands of Hector like this? Those who gets marked by Hector would meet their end. It'll be difficult to find a team member to work with on group assignments too."

Then it was a different story. Simon fixed his posture.

"You seem to have a quick grasp of the situation. But why are you here instead of going to Hector?"

Rick gave a surprised look, as if Simon hit the nail right on the head.

'He's pretty sharp, unlike his innocent looks.'

Rick smiled awkwardly and scratched the side of his head.

"Actually, I'm a commoner. From a merchant family."

Then he got up and respectfully bowed his head.

"I apologize if a commoner like me was being rude, Sir."

"…Stop that. I heard that we're all the same 1st-year students in Kizen."

Rick chuckled, pleased, and sat down.

"I know, but there are some kids who give themselves the air of a noble so…"

"Well, I don't at least."

"That's a relief. Actually, I have something to offer to you."

Rick held out his hand.

"Come to my faction, Simon."

"…?"

"Whether you're lacking in skills or marked as overrated, it's unequivocally true that you're the No.1 Special Admission. The advance preparation for lessons might seem big now, but eventually, everything will be equal. Wouldn't Nefthis have brought you here as a special admission for a reason? You're worth it."

Simon smiled.

"Instead of factions or anything like that."

"...?"

Simon reached out his hand in front of Rick's.

"How about we just become equal friends?"

Rick let out a silly laugh.

"...Wow. That sounded super awkward."

To think that there were still people who want to be friends rather than being 'allies' or 'faction members'.

Honestly, it was so out of style.

It was cringe.

However, Simon's approach felt special among all the people guided by self-interest.

Rick reached out and grabbed Simon's hand firmly.

"This kind of thing wouldn't be bad at times."

"...Haha."

It wasn't bad for Simon to be friends with a student who knew Kizen well and had a sense for politics.

The two got up from their seats after shaking hands.

They had to move to the lecture room where the next class will be held soon.

"What's our next class again?"

"Gimme a sec."

Rick pulled a notebook out of his pocket and opened it.

"Ah. It's summoning."

Hearing that, Simon's eyes lit up.

Simon and Rick got to the lecture room on time.

Unlike in the first class, the air had loosened up. Everyone was sharing stories with classmates they became close with.

And just as Rick said, four boys were chatting and laughing around Hector. Then, as Simon passed by, they let out a silent sneer.

"Oh my, dear No.1 Special Admission is passing by."

"The rare 'overrated' in the history of Kizen."

"Does it make sense that someone like him beat Serne, Chatel, and Lorain?"

They were ridiculing Simon, but Hector, who was in the group's center, was quiet. He just looked at Simon for a moment then turned his head. 

"Don't mind them, Simon"

Said Rick.

"You don't have to listen to what wingmen are saying."

Simon sat down with an expressionless face and took out the textbook for summoning class.

"I'm excited."

"...Huh?"

"For the Summoning class."

Simon's eyes were sparkling. Without having to tell him, he looked like he didn't care at all.

Rick giggled.

'He really is a different one after all.'

After a while, the bell rang to signal the start of class. The students hurriedly returned to their seats. 

Scuff. Scuff.

They could hear foot-dragging outside the lecture room. 

Including 'Bahil Amagar' of Curses, all of the professors they'd seen until now were amazing people. The students waited in high hopes of who would enter.

Click.

Finally, the lecture room door opened, and a man that looks like he was in his thirties entered.

Messy hair, as if he had just woken up, a ragged beard that looked like he hadn't shaved for a long time, a baggy shirt and shorts, and old slippers.

Simon wondered if a passing neighborhood old man had entered the lecture room by mistake.

It was the same for the other students. Since they'd only been seeing neat and smartly dressed professors until now, it was a bit shocking for them.

The professor dragged his slippers and stood in front of the professor's desk.

"I'm 'Aaron Deia', who'll be in charge of your Summoning class for the semester."

A languid voice echoed through the lecture room.

Aaron walked to the blackboard and slowly wrote down the word Summoning.

You could feel his tiredness, with one hand in his pocket and writing with the other, but perhaps that was another charming point. Some female students babbled with their flushed faces.

"Summoning is the root of the Necromancer and can be said to be the history itself. Scholars are reluctant to admit it, but it's hard to deny that our origins come from the undertaker, grave robber, and Necrophilia."

Aaron put down the chalk with a gloomy smile.

"Now let us proceed. If you guys have ears, you've probably heard a lot about the Summoning. As it's outdated, it's not treated well, or it's difficult to study, and there are too many handicaps."

Some students nodded their heads sympathetically.

"Those kinds of prejudices that you all heard..."

Simon felt his heart beating little by little. The other students gulped and waited for Aaron's next words.

"Most of them are true."

"...?!"

Simon doubted his ears.

What did this Summoning professor just say?

Aaron continued explaining in a drowsy voice.

"In the classes you took earlier, I believe there were a lot of talks on why their major is great and why you should take it. Personally, I'm against it. We need to clearly state all the pros and cons so that students can make the right choice."

Aaron went back to the blackboard and took the chalk. Students also held their quills to take notes.

"The first disadvantage of Summoning." 

Simon let out a bitter laugh.

You're telling us the disadvantages first?

"Summoning is expensive."

After Aaron had written it on the blackboard, he turned to the students.

"I'm not just saying it. No matter how much you're imagining, Summoning is a study that costs a lot more than that."

Suddenly there was silence in the lecture room.

"The cost for the material of one summoning class may be higher than the material cost of all other subjects combined. That's natural. Are you going to kill the people next to you, raid the village, search for animals, and slaughter them one by one whenever you create a skeleton or a zombie? No. Necromancers these days use a skeleton set, or specially processed corpses that can be turned directly into zombies. Besides, most of the undead created this way are one-time use."

Some students' faces sombered. In particular, the expression of commoner students noticeably worsened.

"It's common that the cost of materials consumed during the battle is more than the reward of a mission. If you're going to major in Summoning, give up on making money. And secondly,"

Aaron wrote the next statement.

"The dependency on your Summons is high. Well, this is pretty much obvious too. Summoning is the study of fighting using your summons."

Aaron raised his hand holding the chalk and circled the word 'Dependency' several times.

"When the summoned creature is destroyed, the fighting power of a summoner drops by over 80%."

"..."

"Especially these days, there are many cases of using your own semi-permanent undead that has been modified and modified rather than a single-use undead. But what if this undead is destroyed during the battle?"

Aaron raised the corner of his lips.

"In an actual situation, imagine yourself sucking your thumb after losing your summon while your comrades spread the map and discuss their tactics diligently."

Simon became more and more dumbfounded.

Isn't this too much? Is this person really a professor for Summoning?

"And this dependency is in line with the first disadvantage."

Aaron drew a line around the circled word 'dependency' and connected it to 'expensive'.

"If you lose your primary summon, the Summoner suffers critical damage both financially and in fighting power. You'll have to spend a lot of time gathering money to restore the fighting power."

A deep silence fell on the lecture room.

"And lastly, the third."

Aaron, who was writing on the blackboard, grinned a toothy grin.

"This one is the most important."