Summoning Genius of Kizen Chapter 16 As all the students gathered and lined up, the teaching assistants approached. They then personally placed plain, sturdy white bracelets on their arms. Simon moved his arm; it felt quite heavy. “Flow your Jet Black into the bracelet, alright?” At Hongpeng’s words, the students flowed their Jet Black into the bracelets without much suspicion. “Gasp!” “W-What is this?” Suddenly, the students’ bodies bent downwards. “You all know the Exhaust curse, right?” Hongpeng smiled, placing her hands on her hips. “That’s our next course.” She pointed to the very steep hill the students had descended earlier. At the top of the hill, a teaching assistant stood waving a flag. “You’re going to climb to the top of that hill with the Exhaust curse attached.” The students’ faces all turned pale. ‘Oh, come on, wait a minute…….’ ‘Isn’t this a bit much?’ But no one dared to protest against a Kizen professor. Hongpeng chuckled. “Get ready right away. I’ll be checking who falls behind.” Only then did the students, having assessed the situation, stand at the starting line with stiff faces. Simon, following behind, was already sweating profusely. It was hard enough just getting to the starting line with the curse, and he worried if he could even climb that steep hill. “Alright. Then, start!” At Hongpeng’s shout, all the Class A students rushed forward. At first, everyone walked upright for dignity, even with the heavy curse, but from the mid-point where the slope became increasingly steep, there was no mercy. Commoners and nobles alike had to crawl on the dirt ground. “Huff! Huff!” “Ugh!” Pained breaths and groans erupted from everywhere. Their entire bodies became covered in dirt, but with Hongpeng and the teaching assistants watching, they had no choice but to move forward. ‘Huuuuh……!’ Simon pressed his bloodied hands, torn by stones, against the ground and moved a little further. Each step was heavy. His vision spun, and the sky turned yellow. ‘I have to make it, no matter what.’ Forget about advanced studies or anything else, this was purely a matter of stamina and will. If he fell behind his peers here, he wouldn’t be able to catch up later. Simon somehow squeezed out strength and climbed, even while others rested. He set his own pace and refused to compromise on maintaining it. Tremble, tremble. His arms trembled, beyond the control of his brain, but Simon moved them as if wringing them out. Now, the summit was in sight. A teaching assistant and Hongpeng stood where the flag, signaling the destination, fluttered. ‘Just a little more!’ Simon was in the lead. There wasn’t a huge difference from the runners below, including Dick, but Simon was definitely ahead of the other Class A students. And one more person beside him. Hector was climbing the hill at almost the same pace as Simon. ‘……Damn it, you again.’ Hector gritted his teeth and looked at Simon. It was tiresome. He kept catching his eye from the very first class. Hector was even climbing by reducing the curse effect of Exhaust using his own method, but Simon, climbing bare-bodied without such tricks, was his equal. At this point, he couldn’t lose due to his pride. Hector also unleashed his fighting spirit. As the flag drew closer, the slope of the hill became steeper. The two, in first and second place respectively, widened the gap with the runners below and picked up their pace. “Keep it up!” Hongpeng clenched her fist and shouted. The teaching assistant also clapped and cheered. ‘I’m first!’ ‘I’m first!’ Just as Simon and Hector stretched out their arms. Step. Someone walked over their outstretched arms, standing upright. Unlike the two, who were covered in dirt, a sky-blue haired girl, perfectly clean, passed by with light steps, her skirt fluttering. Class A’s first-place student, Mei-rin Billenne. She was the first to reach the summit. “Congratulations. You’re the top student.” “Thank you, Professor.” The teaching assistant standing beside her checked her name on the list. Simon and Hector were dumbfounded and momentarily stopped moving. “How did you do that?” Hongpeng asked, and Mei-rin raised her head to answer. “I calculated a resistance formula and dispelled the curse to climb.” Upon hearing that, Simon felt as if he had been hit on the head with a hammer. To think there was a way to dispel the curse and climb, instead of struggling with brute force! “You worked hard. You can rest now.” Mei-rin politely received the drink from the teaching assistant and sat down in the shade of a tree, leaning back. This time, she was first again. “Professor Hongpeng!” Just then, a teaching assistant came up from the bottom of the hill. “We have an injured student! It seems they’ve slightly twisted an ankle.” “I’ll go.” She glanced at Simon and Hector once, then followed the teaching assistant down the hill. “……Ha, this is ridiculous.” And as soon as Hongpeng disappeared, Hector, who had finally completely dispelled the curse, stood up. Simon’s eyes widened in surprise. Stomp, stomp. Hector strode up the hill and reached the summit. As the second-place finisher, he received a drink and looked at Mei-rin. “Hey.” She turned her head. “What kind of stunt is dispelling the curse in a Martial Arts class? Do you know how much I struggled because I couldn’t do that?” “What are you talking about?” Mei-rin snorted, an indifferent expression on her face. Hector let out a sarcastic smile. “Well, I guess a young lady who lived cooped up in the Ivory Tower wouldn’t know anything about the real world.” “…….” This time, her eyebrow twitched. “Are you picking a fight?” “I’m not picking a fight, I’m stating a fact. Anyway, during the student protection period, grades aren’t evaluated. The key for us is to appeal to the professor by showing diligent class attitude. What you just did was a foolish act that would only get you on Professor Hongpeng’s bad side, not earn you any points.” Her eyes turned fierce. “Your personality is twisted. Why are you bothering someone who’s minding their own business? Are you that upset about being second place?” “I’m saying this so you don’t ruin Class A’s class. And let me tell you, I don’t care about someone like you.” Hector said that and turned his head. Just then, Simon was struggling to climb to the summit. The teaching assistant smiled and handed him a drink. “Simon Pollentia. You’re third place.” “Th-Thank you.” Simon, utterly exhausted, stumbled and collapsed into the shade of a tree. He then chugged the drink. “…….” “…….” Mei-rin and Hector’s gazes briefly lingered on him. The three of them silently caught their breath together in the shade of the tree for a while. *** As time passed, students one by one climbed to the summit. Even students who were struggling to climb the hill due to lack of stamina were able to make it as the curse’s effect gradually wore off over time. “I-I think I’m going to die, Simon.” Dick also reached the top with a fairly high rank, but a moment later, he joined the group of students vomiting in the distance. Simon went with him and patted his back. Except for a few who dropped out due to symptoms of exhaustion, everyone made it to the top, but the fatigue accumulated from this class was immense. As all the students lay unable to lift a finger, Simon felt a sense of helplessness about how they would return to Kizen. He wondered if half of Class A would drop out if they had to ride hippos again. However, fortunately, Hongpeng contacted Kizen and received permission to use a temporary teleportation magic circle. “Whoa!” A magic circle unfolded at the class location, and simply stepping on it would take them to Kizen. The servants who brought the meals had also arrived using this method. The students sighed in relief and stepped onto the magic circle, heading for Kizen. Simon, waiting in line with Dick, also stepped onto the magic circle. Whoosh! The ink-black radiance emanating from the magic circle enveloped Simon’s body. Just as the sensation of his two legs floating began, and the transfer was about to proceed. Thump! He felt something block him. Simon fell to the ground, feeling the pain of hitting a wall. “……Huh?” He raised his head, and the surroundings had changed. Dick, who had stepped on the magic circle with him, was nowhere to be seen, and Simon found himself alone in a small cabin. ‘This isn’t Kizen, is it……?’ Simon got up. It had a cozy atmosphere, similar to the house he used to live in Reshill. Only, this place felt smaller and wilder. The walls and floor retained the rough texture of unprocessed wood, and there was a hammock instead of a bed, animal fur instead of a carpet. And on one wall, salted game hung, drying in the sun. Click. The cabin door opened, and a tall woman entered. “Sorry to surprise you, Simon.” “Professor Hongpeng!” She smiled and gestured for him to sit. Simon sat on a chair, looking bewildered, and she brought out tea. Then, she briefly explained what had happened. There was a suspicious formula in the teleportation magic circle, and when she had her teaching assistants investigate, they found a formula that reacted to a specific person’s Jet Black and sent them elsewhere. And the target of that formula was Simon. “Do you have any idea who would do such a thing?” Simon, who had no idea at all, shook his head. Hongpeng made a sound of “Hmm-” and crossed her arms. Unlike Simon, she seemed to have an idea. “So I interfered with the magic circle and redirected the coordinates to my house.” “Ah…….” “It’s my role to protect students from unknown threats. And.” Her eyes sparkled. “To be honest, I also wanted to talk to you alone, Simon.” “……Me?” “Normally, contacting students during the protection period is against the rules, but considering the circumstances, it seems someone has already broken them.” Her perpetually smiling expression became a little serious. “Simon Pollentia. How about majoring in Martial Arts?” Simon’s pupils widened sharply, and she continued. “If you wish, I am willing to take you as my direct disciple.” “……Ah!” Direct disciple. This referred to students whom Kizen’s professors themselves took direct responsibility for and nurtured. A professor could have three direct disciples per year, and a student could only be taught by one direct professor. In fact, the benefits a Kizen student could receive by becoming a direct disciple were countless. Above all, because the professor himself took absolute responsibility and provided one-on-one guidance, everyone wanted to become a direct disciple. Professors also approached the selection of direct disciples very carefully, as it was directly linked to their own achievements and had a limited number of slots. But Hongpeng was telling Simon on the very first day of class that she would make him her direct disciple. “I… I don’t quite understand.” Simon was a little flustered. Of course, Hongpeng’s offer of direct discipleship was overwhelmingly grateful and humbling, but Simon felt he hadn’t shown much in this first class. He had merely followed the class like other students, and even in the final hill climb, he had been outpaced by Mei-rin and Hector. Moreover, it was only the second day of admission. Hongpeng had chosen him even though she would meet many more students in the future. Regardless of whether he liked it or not, he couldn’t quite grasp the situation. “Students might look at rankings, but I look at talent.” Hongpeng took a sip of tea and continued. “When you leaped across the valley earlier, the way you bounced your Jet Black. It was your first time, right?” How did she know? Simon nodded, surprised inwardly. “Even so, your leaping ability was the best in Class A. This is no longer a matter of talent or coincidence. On top of that, you proved your stamina and endurance with this hill climb. Do you need any more praise?” “…….” Simon swallowed dryly. He still found it hard to believe, but there was no way he could say no when a Kizen professor spoke like that. “That stamina, that mentality, and above all, that incredible talent for Jet Black. If you come to Martial Arts, you will make your greatest talent blossom.” Hongpeng’s face, with her fingers intertwined, became terrifyingly serious. Her pronunciation of the common language also became much more accurate. “I will make you strong enough to surpass me within a few years, no, stronger than anyone.”
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