"Could that person, Pion, possibly be Simon?""......."Mei-rin, who had been momentarily blank, burst into laughter."Ahahaha! What? Simon? No way!"Mei-rin bent over, laughing. Kamibarez and Dick exchanged bewildered glances."But Kami's not entirely wrong, is she? The timing kinda matches.""Absolutely not."She raised her head with a serious expression."Absolutely, ab-so-lutely, ab-so-lutely! It's not Simon.""I-is that so?""First of all, his physique and height are different, and his voice and accent were different too! No, it's funny that I'm even explaining this."She wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes."You just know when you see him. Simon has that kind of image, right?""What image?""Well, you know, the image that immediately comes to mind when you think of Simon. Upright, amiable, diligent, smart."Kamibarez's eyes sparkled as she interjected."Yes, that's right! Gentle! Kind! Considerate! Friendly! And sometimes tough and passionate.......""?""A-anyway! But why are you asking that?!"Mei-rin crossed her arms with a serious expression."But Pion, how should I put it. He's incredibly ruthless. I couldn't even properly meet his eyes, he was so scary.""M-Mei-rin?""Yeah. Just, if I had to describe it with a gut feeling......."She pondered for a moment before speaking."A tyrant? He felt like someone who would overturn everything and kill if things didn't go his way and he didn't like it.""......Ah."Kamibarez overlaid the image of Simon with what Mei-rin had just said.It didn't fit at all, to the point of feeling alien."......I guess not.""See? Explaining this is just a waste of time.""Hmm-"Dick crossed his arms.'Though, if you observe closely, that side isn't entirely absent either.'"Anyway! More importantly!"Mei-rin turned her head."Why is Simon so late?!"Mei-rin looked anxiously at the long line at the camp. At this rate, they wouldn't even be able to get their inspection done before the performance evaluation time ran out."S-shouldn't we go look for him?""I was going to if he didn't show up in 10 minutes."Dick shrugged his shoulders and pointed a finger."No need for that~"In the direction Dick pointed, Simon was sprinting towards them, drenched in sweat."Simon! Over here!""Ah, I swear that idiot! You said you escaped, so why are you so late?!""Simon! Thank goodness! Are you hurt anywhere?"Simon arrived in front of the three, panting.He rested his hands on his knees for a few breaths, then immediately opened his subspace."Our assignment, let's use this."And what Simon pulled out was a body wrapped in white bandages. It had frost on it and was cold, as if it had been in a freezer.Simon quickly unwrapped the bandages."W-what is this?""It's not human."Simon explained."It's a monster called a Baekgwi. We'll use this to make a zombie.""Wow!"Mei-rin jumped up and down with joy."It's a top-grade zombie material! How did you get something so rare?""It was in the basement of the mansion where I was held captive.""You were captured by corpse-collectors and still thought about the performance evaluation? Hahaha! That's commendable!"Simon scratched his head with an embarrassed smile."I just got lucky.""Alright, no time to waste, let's start quickly!"The four gathered around the Baekgwi once more.This time, Simon was the main focus. He rolled up his sleeves and said,"I'll begin."Planting the magic circle was easy. Perhaps because they had gone through trial and error at Prince's mansion before, they were able to finish the work much faster.Thump.As soon as the magic circle was completed, the zombie, which had been a Baekgwi, rose to its feet. The four finally cheered and high-fived."Students over there! Evaluation is closing!"The teaching assistant's voice was heard."Yes!""We're coming now!"They put the zombie into the subspace and barely made it to the end of the line."Ah, I'm a little worried."Mei-rin bit her fingertip with an anxious expression."I'm bothered that we couldn't perfectly utilize the Baekgwi's racial characteristics at the end, and just made it into a regular zombie.""It'll be fine."Simon replied with a gentle smile. His gaze then fell on the dirt on Mei-rin's uniform."Wait a minute. You have a lot of dirt on your back."Simon carefully brushed the dirt off her uniform.Her gaze went to Simon's arm. Perhaps because he had just rolled up his sleeve, his arm muscles and veins were prominently visible.Mei-rin unconsciously imagined that sturdy arm wrapping around her waist.When Pion hugged her, his arm was roughly that thick......."&%$@^*@$!!!"Her face flushed crimson as she let out a strange sound and stumbled backward.Simon, who was purely brushing off his friend's uniform, paused. Then he awkwardly lowered his hand."Ah, sorry. I was just.......""Huh? Oh, no! No! You didn't surprise me."She mumbled an excuse and glanced at Simon.He was scratching the back of his neck, looking embarrassed, his gaze turned to the side.And then she recalled Pion, who had terrifyingly kicked the perverted old man earlier and stared at her with cold, ruthless eyes like a machine.'.......'She was certain.She felt even the slightest doubt Kamibarez had raised completely vanish.Indeed, they didn't resemble each other at all."Students, come in."A moment later, it was Group 7's turn.Aaron, wearing a black coat, sat in a chair with a languid expression, and the four bowed respectfully."You're the last ones.""Yes. We're Group 7!"Mei-rin, as the leader, spoke for the group. Aaron nodded."Show me."Simon opened his subspace and took out the zombie made from the Baekgwi.Ohhh-The teaching assistants who recognized the Baekgwi let out small gasps of admiration. Aaron also adjusted his posture."Where did you get this?""It was in the basement of an old mansion in the outskirts of Deathland.""You did well to find a Baekgwi."Aaron stood up and touched and examined various parts of the zombie. He pulled open its eyes with his hand and even sniffed its breath.Next, Aaron asked about the formula used to create this zombie, and Simon answered fluently."Why did you omit the duration formula?""Because of the unique characteristics of the Deathland region. We considered that it's a place where things don't decay."Aaron turned his head to the other students."Why did you exclude the Corpse Poison effect, which is an important element of zombies?"This time, Mei-rin answered."Baekgwi is an ice-attribute monster. We judged that the infection effect from corpse poison would be reduced.""Not bad. Who checked the actomyosin?""I-I did!""Explain the muscle rigidity before and after the summoning magic."Aaron also asked Kamibarez and Dick questions, one by one, and both answered without much difficulty, despite being nervous.Aaron nodded and sat down."The material was excellent. And you all seem to have processed it to the best of your ability. It looks like it was made a bit hastily, but it's good enough."At his words, the four inwardly flinched.The teaching assistant handed Aaron a file and a quill. Aaron put a checkmark next to the four students' names."Group 7 gets an A+. You may go.""Wow!"The four hugged each other and cheered. The teaching assistants also lightly clapped for them."Everyone, assemble."After the final evaluation of Group 7, Aaron stepped out of the tent.Students who had been showing off their self-made zombies outside rushed over and stood at attention.Students also ran out from the tent made for rest, having quickly finished their evaluations."Good work."Aaron looked around at the students and said."I believe you've learned a lot from this performance evaluation. Some of you might resent me for making you do such gruesome things."Some students' eyes shifted.The corpses in Deathland were all perfectly preserved, retaining their appearance from when they were alive.Turning them into zombies was something that could leave deep trauma for some students."Some might criticize my teaching as outdated. After all, it's an era where you can easily get zombies or skeletons in the city if you just have money. But, you are Kizen students."Aaron's eyes became serious."As elites in this field, knowing the roots and understanding the fundamentals is paramount. It's foolish to treat tradition and roots as old-fashioned and ignore them in the name of practicality. Even if a tree looks lush with leaves and flowers on the outside, if its roots are rotten, it won't survive a typhoon."Aaron slowly walked in a circle."Perhaps, this peace won't last forever. Anyone who can't even create a single undead because their corpse factories or supply bases have been destroyed by Priests doesn't deserve to be called a Necromancer. No matter what situation arises, remain calm and establish efficient methods."His eyes gleamed."If there are no corpses in the market, go to a nearby bombed village and turn their corpses into an army. If you're short on numbers, even raise the corpse of a dead friend and win. That is practicality, and that is a Necromancer."Flap!Aaron walked away, his coat tails fluttering. "All Class A students, take out all the zombies you brought from Deathland. Even those that weren't evaluated, and the failures, all of them.""Yes!"The students did as they were told, taking out all the zombies they had obtained from Deathland from their subspaces.Once the teaching assistants finished checking and nodded, Aaron stomped his foot on the ground with a thud!Whoosh!A Jet Black magic circle spread out from his feet, covering the entire camp. The zombies' eyes lit up, and they suddenly lost control and began to run.'Ah!'Simon's Baekgwi zombie and the guard zombie were no different.'My control over their consciousness was taken! So easily......!'It was a moment that truly showed the prestige of a Kizen professor.All the zombies gathered in the open space. They clumped together, forming a large mound."I have unfortunate news for you, but the zombies brought from Deathland have side effects."Aaron spread his palm. The Jet Black magic circle began to assemble with clicking sounds."They intermittently exhibit extreme aggression once they leave Deathland. Students are incapable of controlling them with their consciousness, so they will be confiscated by the school as soon as you arrive."Finally, Aaron's magic circle was completed, scattering pure black light. Simon's shoulders trembled as he watched it.'Why?'He instinctively knew what dark magic Aaron was casting right now."Corpse-"He clenched his fist and moved his lips."—Explosion."The cores of all the zombies emitted a massive light,then simultaneously caused a huge explosion.A scorching heat spread in all directions, causing students to scream, duck down, and cover their faces with their arms. Their uniforms flapped wildly, and the trees swayed. "......Ah."Simon's eyes were wide as he took in the sight. All thoughts of the Baekgwi he borrowed from Prince completely vanished.Ash and black explosions spread out, forming mushroom clouds against the pitch-black night sky. Other students also raised their heads, mouths agape.It was as if the world was turning to ash and scattering.Overwhelmed, he couldn't think of anything.Aaron nodded, like an exorcist offering prayers for the dead, then turned around."Do you find it beautiful?"Aaron smiled."If you felt that, even for a fleeting moment, then you too have taken a step forward as Necromancers."Simon's heart began to pound.
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