Kugugugugu! House-sized white fists rained down from the sky in a frenzy. Simon, riding his Golem Board, skillfully weaved through them like an eel. 'Faster! Even faster than this!' The Golem Board accelerated once more, slipping between the legs of the Prima Materia monsters. As the large creatures forcibly smashed their fists into the gaps, they collided and tangled with each other. Kwakwakwang! Kwoong! It was a perilous adventure where every single blow could lead to death, but Simon executed it boldly. 'Hill ahead.' A blunt, protruding landform appeared a few meters in front. Simon gripped the end of the board and tilted his body slightly. Bwoooong! The board soared over the hill. After lingering in the air for a few seconds, it descended and landed back on the dirt ground. -Grrrrrrrrrr! The monsters roared and chased after him, but there was a significant difference in speed. Simon grabbed his disheveled hair and grinned. "I'm going ahead!" Simon, having safely traversed the monster-infested plains in an instant, now reached a familiar place. It was Rochester, the students' city. 'It's been a long time since I've been here.' This was the place he used to sneak out to through secret routes after classes. It was a major dating spot for students and a weekend gathering place. But seeing the once vibrant city deserted and empty felt a little strange. Still, arriving here meant Kizen was just a little further. Simon was increasing the speed of the Golem Board he was controlling when suddenly... Piiing! Ping! He saw pure white arrows flying from the roof of a building directly ahead. 'Divine Arrows?' Simon immediately swerved the Golem Board sideways, and the arrows struck the ground with a rapid 'pababak' sound. 'What? Why is Priest white magic here...?' Thump-thump. A chilling sound of footsteps echoed in his ears. Simon, his nerves on edge, turned his head in the opposite direction. Two men in white robes were approaching him. "Death to the Goddess's enemies." "Judgment upon the impure." They muttered in gloomy, fanatical voices, made the sign of the cross, and began to cast white magic. Simon immediately understood the white magic just from their movements. Having been to the Divine Federation, there was no way he wouldn't recognize that technique. <Exorcism> Kwa-rurung! Pure white divine power, like lightning, fell from a magic circle in the sky. Simon rapidly accelerated the Golem Board, narrowly dodging it. "No way! Why are you here?!" Simon shouted, but the Priests showed no intention of conversing. The fact that Priests were on Locke Island was extremely shocking. The option that this was all Kizen's test momentarily blurred in Simon's mind, and he even wondered if Efnel had truly attacked Kizen. "Death to the Goddess's enemies." The two Priests' white magic casting speed increased. Multiple magic circles unfolded in the air, and pillars of light poured down with explosive sounds. 'I can't dodge Exorcism!' Simon immediately placed his hand on the front of the board. 'Come up!' Kkudeudeuk! Half of the board folded up, rising high enough to cover Simon's entire body. Then, Exorcism struck the front, shaking the board continuously from the impact. But. 'It held up!' A triumphant smile appeared on Simon's lips. From Simon's direct experience in the Divine Federation, Priests dealing with Necromancers from a distance generally fell into two categories. The first was 'Demon-Slaying' type white magic. This involved pouring down a massive amount of pure divine power like a bombardment, without physical force, with Exorcism being a prime example. If the opponent was a Necromancer or Undead, it could destroy their core in a single hit, rendering them combat-incapable. The second was white magic that added physical force to divine power. The Divine Arrows that just flew were an example of this. Exorcism had difficulty destroying obstacles like walls unless it had considerable firepower, but with physical force, it was possible. However, it couldn't incapacitate a Necromancer in one hit like the Demon-Slaying type. 'In the end, I just need to be careful of Exorcism.' The Priests just fired Exorcism, a kind of 'instant kill' spell. So Simon raised his Golem to create a physical barrier and successfully defended. The opponents seemed to realize that spamming Exorcism wouldn't work, so they changed their magic circles and conjured divine spears in the air. Simon, as if he had been waiting, lowered the Golem's guard and increased his speed. "!" For divine power to gain physical force, it needed to take shape, and most of the time, it had to be a projectile launch. This was the perfect timing to overtake them with the Golem Board's overwhelming speed. Hwoong! Hwoong! He deftly dodged the incoming divine spears and raced through the streets of Rochester. He had to get out of this city quickly and reach the Kizen campus. -Kikikikikikik! A chilling sound came from somewhere, and a Prima Materia monster suddenly leaped out from an alley on the opposite side. 'As expected, they were here too!' Other monsters lurking in the streets also saw Simon and began to charge. 'My Jet Black reserves are getting a bit tight!' Simon, sweating profusely, still increased the board's speed. As he got closer to the Kizen campus, the proportion of small monsters decreased, and the proportion of powerful medium and large monsters increased. This was actually better. Simon poured Jet Black into the board, skillfully dodging the attacks of the white monsters. Pabak! But a divine spear struck the end of the Golem board and bounced off. Simon, startled, looked up to see divine spears cutting through the wind, flying in from the side. 'There were more Priests?' It wasn't the Priests from behind. Priests were running on distant rooftops, firing divine spears and Exorcism. At the same time, a medium-sized monster charged head-on, swinging its hook-like forelegs. Simultaneously, Exorcism flew in from the side. 'Focus.' In the tense atmosphere, sounds faded, and time slowed down. The monster's claw and the trajectory of the incoming Exorcism seemed to move in slow motion. Simon stepped on Jet Black and leaped. Simon's body, which was on the board, shot into the sky, and the monster's claws and Exorcism cut through the empty air. Simon, suspended in the air for a moment, straightened his body and extended both legs. The board, which had been moving forward at a constant speed, descended precisely beneath his feet, aligning perfectly with his direction of travel. Chaak! The moment Simon's feet touched the board, time returned to normal. Simon, having perfectly evaded, broke through the encirclement and shot forward. 'Phew, I can handle the monsters somehow, but the Priests are tricky.' The Priests were now safely firing Exorcism from a distance, leaving the physical attacks to the monsters scattered on the streets. Simon decided to counterattack. First, he went behind a building and stopped the Golem Board. He firmly pressed his left foot on the ground, prepared Overlord, and then pulled out three zombies from his subspace. The Overlord's tentacle blades, rising from the ground, wrapped around the zombies' torsos, bending taut like bowstrings. Simon, calmly completing the magic circle, his eyes gleaming. 'Fire!' The Overlord's tentacles, bent like bows, launched the zombies over the roof like catapults. Simon counted a few numbers in his mind and clenched his fist. 'Corpse Explosion!' Kwaaaang! Kwaaaaaaaang! Two explosions were heard from beyond the house. One must have been hit before it could even fly. But the incoming Exorcism also stopped. At that moment, Simon sped out onto the road at full throttle. *** "Oh, oh! Well done!" Evangelos, who had been watching everything on the mana screen, gripped his staff and waved it. "This is it! I've been waiting for someone like this!" The creativity of using a Mud Golem as transportation, using a tentacle summon as a catapult to launch zombies, and even Corpse Explosion. Compared to the previous years' Special Admission Student No. 1s who had ruthlessly pushed through with overwhelming power, this year's Special Admission Student No. 1 was humble, but his quick judgment and ingenuity were truly top-tier. In fact, these types of students had even higher potential. 'Hmm, I want to nurture him. Is this why everyone covets a Kizen professor position?' "Supervisor. Shatel Maer is approaching Rochester." Evangelos waved his hand at the staff member's report. "Forget it, send all available Priests to Simon Pollentia." The staff member looked horrified. "A-Are you serious? Student Simon has already dealt with several Priests..." "Hurry up. We have important guests here, don't we need to show them something entertaining? Leave the direction to me." Evangelos seemed completely fixated on Simon, his gaze glued to the screen showing Simon on the Golem Board. "What, no answer?" "..." Suddenly, the atmosphere in the command center froze. All the staff members were sweating cold and glancing behind them. Evangelos muttered, 'Are these guys crazy?' and turned his back. His pupils, like those of the other staff, widened. "...Isn't this guy completely insane?" A man in a white suit, who had suddenly appeared in the test command center. Everyone stood still, staring at him. Evangelos chuckled, letting out a hollow laugh. "Is a professor supposed to enter a test run by Kizen Headquarters? What kind of talk about fairness do you want to hear now?" Bahil, a Curse Studies professor and a member of The Crows, smiled faintly. "I've entered as a Crow, not a professor. And what you're trying to do, senior, isn't exactly clean enough to babble about fairness, is it?" "...Hey." Evangelos's eyes flashed. "Are you really crazy?" Swoosh. A thousand needles, appearing from nowhere, stopped in front of Bahil. They were positioned so that a single twitch of a finger would result in a prick. "You're a Kizen professor, and Neptis-nim spoils you, so your guts have swollen up, haven't they?" "Senior." Bahil said calmly. "The kids are watching. Don't make a fool of yourself and put away these toys." Pat! Evangelos spread his palm. All thousand needles turned pitch black. "Want to get pricked and see if they're toys or not?" Bahil chuckled. "Go on, try it." Evangelos, who had been burning with rage, suddenly froze. "..." A long silence fell. Then, Evangelos shrugged his shoulders and burst into loud laughter. "Wahaha, this bastard!" Evangelos covered his forehead and eyes with his palm. After a few seconds, he slowly lowered his palm, and his needles were surrounding empty air, as if they had vanished. And Bahil was leaning against the opposite wall, arms crossed, as if he had teleported. "...A curse. When did you cast it?" Evangelos's curse resistance had been completely bypassed. Such clean and subtle curse manipulation sent shivers down his spine. Bahil shrugged casually, as if it was nothing. "...You never get tired of this, do you?" Evangelos flicked his hand, and all the needles vanished with a 'swoosh!' sound, as if concealed in the air. He leaned back in his chair and patted his shoulder. "Alright, damn it. Why did a bastard like you crawl in here? What do you want?" "I knew you'd be showing off, senior." Bahil pointed a finger at the screen. His voice turned cold. "Don't you dare harm what's mine."
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