"Haaah! Haaah!""Over here!"Dick, who had landed on the northern part of Locke Island, was already gathering the scattered Kizen students on the beach and responding to the situation as soon as he opened his eyes.It was truly simple for Dick to rally the students, who were in a panic from the impact of the crash and the appearance of the divine monsters, and to become their emotional pillar with his glib tongue."They're coming from above!"At someone's shout, Dick's head also shot up. A Prima Materia monster in the shape of a bird was visible."Get down! That one can attack from range!"Everyone simultaneously threw themselves down and hid behind a hill.Thwack!The bird monster fired a pillar of divine light from a hole in the center of its body.As clumps of dirt flew everywhere, Dick and the students huddled low. The monster continued to fire divine energy wildly in all directions before flying off to another location."Th-they really shot to kill!"A male student muttered in a panic. The freckled female student next to him chimed in."......It's weird, after all. No matter how much this is Kizen, firing divine energy with the intent to destroy a student's core is too much!""Right, for a simulation, the intensity is too high. This is a real situation."Dick sighed deeply, watching them once again let their imaginations run wild.The island survival evaluation was perfect. He had gently coaxed the bumbling nobles, who couldn't even start a fire, into following him.But this time, the situation was so extreme that the kids kept trying to break free from his control."And why are we even going into the forest? Let's just hide around here. Someone might pass by on a boat, you know.""Alright, alright! Listen to me carefully!"This wouldn't do. Dick, unable to watch any longer, clapped his hands together.It was tough having to lead these ordinary kids after always being with smart ones like Simon, but there was no choice now. These guys were better at fighting than he was, so he had to take care of them somehow."If you have a brain, think about it! Didn't your professors say that the Unified Second Semester would be conducted as a quasi-war curriculum? Did they or didn't they?""......Th-they did.""Still, this is too much.""Alright! Snap out of it, all of you. Your brains must be shriveling up from the shock, making it hard to think, but if you calm down and think about it, the examiner's intention is clear."Dick raised his index finger."To confront your trauma head-on."Dick spoke passionately, glancing furtively at the empty air out of the corner of his eye."The Holy Maiden's terror caused the entire first semester to fall apart. There were many injured, and many complained of mental stress. In the end, even the vacation was moved up, right? This situation hasn't been properly concluded. There's no way Kizen would just let this pass, is there? The examiner's intention is to recreate the Holy Maiden's terror and then have us overcome our past fears and transcend our limits!""B-but you saw it too!"A male student, clearly terrified, shouted."Those things are really firing divine energy with the intent to kill! If we get hit properly, it's not just Kizen student disqualification, it's Necromancer disqualification! How could Kizen allow something like that......""Then I'll ask you a question."Dick cut him off."What was the most important assignment for this vacation?""!"Only then did all the students' mouths fall open. They exchanged glances and began to murmur."......Competitiveness in Priest combat!""Th-that's right! It was about how to block divine power! They said we'd present what we prepared in the first class of the second semester."Dick nodded and interjected."The presentation is a fake. The biggest assignment of the vacation, competitiveness against Priests. That's exactly what—"Dick spread his arms wide."—is being tested in this simulation right now!"The students' widened eyes slowly began to regain composure.Indeed, they had been worrying too much.If Kizen had truly fallen to Efnel's attack, what would happen to them, trapped on this island? Would the Dark Alliance collapse like this and become a vassal state of the Divine Federation? If war broke out, where would they flee?It wasn't a real situation. This was merely a test, a simulation.Just thinking that was enough to steady their wavering minds."And."Dick subtly picked up a nearby stone and enchanted it."I'll show you the biggest proof right now!"Dick turned his back and threw the stone hard.The black stone, flying in a straight line, suddenly hit something in mid-air with a 'tick!' sound and bounced back."Huh?"All the students jumped up. From the seemingly empty air, an Observer, its invisibility effect dispelled by the impact, popped out."Whoa!"Dick was already skillfully casting a net like an experienced fisherman.The Observer, trying to escape, was caught in the net and pulled in. Dick leaped up, grabbed the Observer, and slammed it to the ground."Got it!""I-it's really an Observer!""It was secretly watching us!"The students shouted excitedly. Dick picked up a sharp stone nearby and enchanted it."No, that might not be it.""What? But you just kept......""It means it's not 100%. Efnel might have sent it to observe us, you know? I'll have to break it open and dissect it."Dick chuckled, looking at the dumbfounded students."There's no harm in being sure, right? I heard this is really expensive equipment, but it's a shame, being observed by the enemy means death."As Dick pinned the Observer with both knees and forcefully raised the stone above his head, a red light urgently flashed from the Observer, indicating a warning.-Beep! Do not damage the Observer during the test.-Beep! Beep!Dick gave a sly smile, watching the Observer frantically emit warning sounds as if begging for its life."Do you need more proof?"All the students quickly shook their heads. Dick stood up and brushed the dirt from his uniform.The Observer quickly fled, becoming invisible again and disappearing. "Alright! I know more information about this test. You want to survive, right? You'd rather die than go home on the first day of school without even stepping foot on campus, right? How would you face your parents after just saying goodbye? Am I right?"As the students nodded with grim faces, the corners of Dick's mouth curled up."So, from now on, just trust me."Welcome to being my pawns.* * *Test Command Center."Hmph, that little rascal. His skills are mediocre, but his quick wit is sharp."Evangelos, the chief test supervisor, who had been watching all this on screen, burst out laughing."He found the Observer and used it to his advantage? Indeed, a Necromancer should have that much guts! Mark that friend down too.""Yes!"Evangelos, who had been observing Dick, smoothly pulled his wheeled chair back to the center.The situation was ordinary.There were still students who hadn't emerged from their panic, but a few prominent ones were slowly making their way towards the center of Kizen's island. Their quick situational judgment was very pleasing.Serene, Special Case #2, who commanded her own guard unit made of feathers, reigning like a queen.Shatel, Special Case #3, who was steadily marching forward like a tank, annihilating every monster he encountered.Elisa, Special Case #7, who was utilizing an aerial route on a Ghost Ship instead of the ground. 'The Special Admission Students are beyond reproach. Well, their starting point is different from regular students, after all.'Besides them, Mei-rin was using an ice boat to navigate the river route.Kamibarez was creating a large cooperative organization by finding injured students or Hemomancy students through the scent of blood in the scattered situation.And Fitzgerald, who was luring the monsters' attention by enchanting the island's animals or monsters with Chimera, proceeding without combat.In fact, the regular students' progress speed was faster than the Special Admission Students'.As the semester progressed, the gap between Special Admission Students and regular students would gradually narrow.'But still.'Evangelos's gaze turned to one screen.'There's one guy who stands out the most.'Evangelos stared intently at Simon's image on the screen, then turned his head."Prepare the next trial for the five who arrive first, including Simon Pollentia.""Yes!"Evangelos clasped his hands together and smiled sinisterly.'Now, let's see how you handle this one.'* * *Simon, standing on a hill, looked down at the situation from above.The closer he got to Kizen, the larger and more numerous the monsters lurking around became. The terrain wasn't helping either. Ahead was a wide-open grassland with no cover or obstacles like trees or bushes.It went without saying that it was impossible to deal with such a large number of enemies one by one alone.'Time to prepare.'This wasn't the time to conserve Jet Black. Simon pulled something out of his Subspace and placed it on the ground."It's been a while."It was a Mud Golem.At its long-awaited appearance, the Golem Core also made 'ting! ting!' sounds as if happy to see him.Simon lightly stroked the Golem Core, then dug a pit in the nearby ground and placed the core inside.'Now, focus.'Kizen's vacation assignment. Dealing with Priests who fire divine energy.Simon had thought about it in various ways.Of course, it was difficult. It was hard for a Summoning Studies major, whose main force was undead, to counter Priests who poured out divine energy, and more than anything, honestly.'......Why do I have to counter it?'After his battle with Flema, Simon's body had gained a certain degree of immunity to divine attacks.He could even take white magic like Exorcism, which was extremely fatal to Necromancers, head-on without issue.But he couldn't announce in front of Jane, 'I'm fine because divine power doesn't affect me.' So, as a Summoning Studies major, he researched a new countermeasure.'And this was the answer.'Simon stroked the Golem Core, raising his concentration.Golems were a somewhat unique type of summoned creature.While the Golem Core was treated as an undead that could connect to thoughts, strictly speaking, it was closer to a Chimera than an undead. The materials that composed its body were natural elements, not flesh, so they weren't fatally vulnerable to divine power.Simon stepped back and stood a little distance from the Golem Core.Then he closed his eyes and slowly raised both arms.<Summon Golem>Swoosh!Swoosh!The Jet Black Simon injected into the Golem Core began to run wild. The surrounding sand, mud, and rocks began to stick to the core with slapping sounds.'I'll construct it in a different form than a typical Mud Golem.'He needed to create it in a form specialized for speed and evasion, not combat. So, he abandoned the Golem's usual shape.'Simple and mobile.'He formed a wide, flat shape like a surfboard around the Golem Core. Instead of arms and legs, he attached wheels and built an engine at the rear to drive the wheels. The power to run the engine was, of course, Jet Black.Swoosh.Swoosh.Swoosh.From above, it looked like a streamlined mud board.Simon lightly jumped onto it.This was Simon's prepared Mud Golem in 'board style', inspired by the wheels of the Divine Train."Let's go!"Kiiiiiiiiing!The Jet Black engine activated, and the Golem's wheels began to move.Soon, the board carrying Simon shot forward like an arrow, scattering sand.
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