Summoning Genius of Kizen - Chapter 36 -Kwoooaaarrrgh! The Cyclops let out a ferocious roar and charged. Its target was, of course, Mei-rin. She recoiled, her face pale. 'Come out.' Simon pulled an imaginary lever. A subspace opened in the floor, and two skeletons sprang out. 'Advance!' The skeletons charged forward at terrifying speed. Seeing them, the Cyclops lifted the log in its hand. The Cyclops was a monster that used tools; its primary attack method was uprooting trees and swinging them like clubs. Whoosh! With a chilling whooshing sound, one skeleton was struck by the wooden club and shattered into pieces. At the same time, the other skeleton, which had moved to the flank, thrust its shortsword. Clank! It was indeed tough. The sword passed, but only a slight scratch appeared on its skin. The enraged Cyclops twisted its waist again and swung its club. 'As expected, it's better to use only one in this situation.' Simon gritted his teeth and extended his arm. He focused all his mental power solely on the thought of one skeleton. 'Duck!' Simon's absolute command fell. The skeleton reacted instantly, lowering its waist to dodge the club, then swiftly dashed sideways. "Nice, Simon!" Dick's shout was heard. Simon could control two undead at once, but his true value was revealed when he focused entirely on a single skeleton. The enraged Cyclops began swinging its club like mad. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The skeleton dodged the attacks like a seesaw. Not only the three watching from behind but also the observing students' mouths hung open. Originally, Simon's role was to buy time with undead, but Simon was doing better than everyone expected. "Hurry! It can't last long!" "We're preparing!" Dick and Kamibarez prepared the exhaustion curse, 'Exhaust', while Mei-rin prepared the Jet Black Elemental Magic, 'Dark Flare'. Three magic circles were rapidly nearing completion. Bang! The skeleton, which had been stubbornly holding on and buying time, was finally struck by the club and shattered. The Cyclops, panting and scanning its surroundings with burning eyes, spotted Mei-rin and charged. "Gah!" Simon pulled out two more skeletons from his subspace and sent them forward. However, the damage from the shock of the summoned creature being destroyed had not recovered, and they were breached by the Cyclops's tank-like charge. "It's ready!" Dick shouted. Kamibarez was also seen raising both arms. "Exhaust!" "Exhaust!" Both of their magic circles flashed and activated simultaneously. The curses hit accurately! The Cyclops's movements slowed. "It worked!" Dick and Kamibarez's faces brightened, but Simon's expression remained grim. 'Still fast!' The speed reduction from the curse was less than expected. The Cyclops continued to charge, and Mei-rin completed the burning black flame in her right hand. The distance between the monster and Mei-rin was three meters. She let out a powerful cry and swung her right hand. The black flames flew, spewing smoke. Whoosh! The black flames exploded, engulfing the Cyclops's body. Just as everyone cheered and clenched their fists. Boom! Breaking through the flames, a wildly swung club struck her head. Beep! [Simulation Failed] Time Elapsed: 2 minutes 11 seconds Damage Dealt: 26% Barrier Gauge: 0% Overall Rating: F "......!" The dense forest, as if turning to the next page, returned to the indoor training room. Mei-rin, who had been sent flying several meters by the Cyclops's club, lay on the floor. "Mei-rin!" "A-Are you okay?" Everyone rushed to her in alarm. Fortunately, she seemed fine. She was frowning, propping herself up with her hands. "Mei-rin! Mei-rin! Are you really okay?" Kamibarez grabbed Mei-rin's hand, tears welling up in her eyes. Mei-rin forced a smile and said she felt no pain. -Good work, Group 7. Jane's voice came from the loudspeaker on the ceiling. Dick, startled, jumped to his feet, and Simon and Kamibarez helped Mei-rin up from both sides. -Group 7 realized their initial plan to some extent. In particular, the summoner's performance in distracting the Cyclops with skeletons was impressive. "Thank you." Simon bowed his head. -However, the rest of the group members were generally lacking. Restraining movement with Exhaust and then defeating the Cyclops with Dark Flare. It sounds plausible in theory, but you must have realized that reality is a bit different. Everyone nodded with grim expressions. -The biggest problem is lack of proficiency. Try to minimize misses when casting Dark Flare or Exhaust. That is all. "Thank you!" Group 7 trudged out of the training room, guided by the teaching assistant. But then. "Whoa!" As soon as they came out into the waiting room, a loud cheer erupted. "......W-Whoa." Of course, the cheers were not for Group 7. It was for Group 3's training room right next door. A Cyclops lay on the floor, bleeding, and Hector, standing proudly on top of it, was exhaling a long breath. Black smoke continuously flowed from the surrounding floor. [Simulation Success] Time Elapsed: 4 minutes 02 seconds Damage Dealt: 100% Barrier Gauge: 98% Overall Rating: A "......D-Did they catch it? That thing?" "The barrier gauge is 98%. That means they practically didn't get hit at all, right?" The atmosphere in Group 3, the only group to hunt the Cyclops on their first attempt, was at its peak. The group members approached Hector and high-fived him. -Well done, Group 3. This was practically the first praise from Jane, Kizen's Vice Dean. Students gasped enviously, and even the usually stoic Hector grinned, showing his teeth. After Jane's detailed comments ended, they finally came out of the training room. "Whoa!" "Nice, Hector!" Hector's faction members chanted his name. Other students also clapped and congratulated him. "....... At that moment, Hector and Simon's gazes met. Hector looked up at Group 7's results and chuckled. It was as if to say, 'See?'. "Us." Simon turned around at Mei-rin's voice. Her eyes were burning like sparks. "Let's definitely win." Everyone nodded. "That's right! No time to be discouraged! We still have three games left!" "Let's slowly figure out what went wrong." Group 7 entered an emergency strategy meeting. "First, as Professor Jane pointed out, the proficiency issue is the biggest." Dick said. "While Simon buys time with the skeletons, Kamibarez and I need to activate Exhaust quickly and without mistakes." "That too, but." Simon opened his mouth. "Exhaust is a curse that gets stronger the more it stacks, right? Even if your first curses hit, the Cyclops didn't slow down much." Saying that, Simon turned his head to look at Mei-rin. "Mei-rin. You have to evade." "Huh?" "Don't think about whether an attack will come from behind or not; always assume an attack is coming for you and watch the Cyclops's movements. I'll do my best to protect you too." Mei-rin nodded with a grim face. Simon stood up. "You know that thing we learned in Martial Arts? The sensation of treading on Jet Black." "Treading on...... what?" "Stand up. I'll show you again." Simon gave Mei-rin various tips, while Dick and Kamibarez discussed the Exhaust magic circle between themselves. "Let's remove the duration formula." "Wouldn't that make it too unstable?" "It's high risk, high reward. It's important to stack the curses quickly. Anyway, if Mei-rin gets hit even once, it's game over." Soon, a round passed, and it was Group 3 and Group 7's turn again. Simon's group entered the training room. "Alright, let's do our best!" "Fighting!" Everyone boosted the atmosphere and steadied their unsettled feelings. A moment later, the surroundings changed to a grassy field, and the Cyclops appeared with a roar. Having experienced it once, the tension was considerably reduced. The battle began with the Cyclops spotting Mei-rin and charging. 'Advance!' As if on cue, Simon's skeletons also charged. This time too, one was defeated first, and the other stubbornly held onto the Cyclops. 'Indeed, its movements are slowly becoming familiar.' The Cyclops's attack patterns are not difficult. It has power and speed, but its movements are simple. Just by looking at the movements of its shoulder and arm muscles, one can distinguish between a swing and a downward strike. But no matter how excellent Simon's abilities were, there was a limit to dodging all attacks with the stiff body of a skeleton. Eventually, the skeleton was shattered, and the Cyclops charged at Mei-rin. "Exhaust!" "Exhaust!" This time too, two curses successfully landed, and the Cyclops's movements visibly slowed. Mei-rin also completed her Dark Flare. Overall, there was more composure than in the first attempt. "Hmph!" She took a deep breath and launched the black flames. The Cyclops paused and raised its club, but the fireball that exploded on the club spread everywhere, catching fire on its skin. -Kyaaaaaaah! With a painful scream, black smoke enveloped the Cyclops. 'Good! It hit properly!' Dark Flare was certainly an effective offensive tool. The Cyclops's health gauge displayed on the mana projector was rapidly decreasing. "Mei-rin! It starts now!" "I know!" With immense pain from its burning flesh, the Cyclops's gaze fixed on Mei-rin. Then it charged like crazy. Simon sent out skeletons, but the Cyclops, blinded by pain, no longer bothered with the undead. It took the skeletons' attacks with its body, charging solely to kill Mei-rin, who had inflicted this terrible pain. And at this moment, Mei-rin was preparing her second Dark Flare. 'Gah!' Mei-rin canceled her magic and bent her knees. The Cyclops's club, soaring into the sky, cut through the air and came down. 'The sensation of treading on...... Jet Black!' Thud! The club hit the bare ground. Mei-rin, who had properly used Jet Black to evade, rolled roughly across the grassy field. "The next attack is coming! Dodge!" Mei-rin, hearing Simon's shout, hurriedly got up, while the demon, raging with fire all over its body, swung its club. Mei-rin threw herself with all her might. Crunch! The club grazed Mei-rin's leg. The mana projector displayed 'Right Leg Fracture'. "Ah!" "Mei-rin!" Mei-rin tried to run again, but her leg gave out. The training uniform she was wearing simulated the leg fracture symptoms. "Exhaust!" "Exhaust!" The next round of Exhaust curses landed. This time, the Cyclops's movements visibly slowed, but Mei-rin couldn't dodge due to her injured leg. "Ah, ahh......!" Above her head, as she crawled away, the persistent Cyclops's club fell. [Simulation Failed] Time Elapsed: 3 minutes 45 seconds Damage Dealt: 42% Barrier Gauge: 0% Overall Rating: E "Too bad!" The forest returned to the indoor setting, and Dick let out a regretful sigh. Simon also bit his lip and nodded. If it hadn't been for the leg fracture, they could have easily dealt with the Cyclops, whose movements were slowed by the curses. After listening to Jane's comments and coming out of the training room, Hector's Group 3 had once again smoothly defeated the Cyclops. They had also saved nearly 20 seconds. "......The next one is the last, isn't it?" Kamibarez mumbled. Dick and Mei-rin also nodded bitterly, their morale seemingly low. "Gather around for a moment." Simon said. Everyone turned their heads to look at Simon. "We can definitely clear it next time." Simon's eyes were burning. He seemed to have already forgotten the previous defeats. No. "I have a winning strategy." He looked as if he was enjoying this challenge immensely.
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