novelraw Chapter 600: Episode 600
Chapter 600: Episode 600
A major performance evaluation starting right after midterms. In some ways, it was more important than the written-only exams.
Since the professors had held a special lecture on Dullahans, the students had fully expected a Dullahan-related evaluation and weren’t particularly surprised.
’It’s finally here.’
That was the general consensus. As everyone sat with their eyes fixed on Aaron’s lips, he finally spoke.
"The content of this major performance evaluation is ’Single Undead Operation’."
Single Undead Operation. According to Aaron’s subsequent explanation, students could only use ’a single undead’ at the exam site. They had to accomplish everything the exam required with just that one undead.
"Of course," Aaron added in a placid voice, "you are free to choose which undead to use for the exam."
At those words, the classroom erupted in a murmur like a pot of boiling water. Aseraz immediately raised her hand.
"Aseraz Mikel! Does the tier or type of undead matter?"
"No."
Aaron gave a slight nod.
"Whether it’s a Tier 10 Bone Dragon or a Tier 1 Skeleton, the only condition is that you can use a single undead. The other specific rules will be announced on the day of the exam."
Simon’s Group 10 immediately put their heads together.
"I-I was so sure it would be a Dullahan evaluation," Toto muttered.
"It practically is," Simon said.
Lorraine, next to him, nodded in agreement. "Simon’s right. If the only condition is that you can only use a single undead, then the most powerful card most students can play will be a Dullahan."
Of course, there were exceptions, like Fitzgerald with his ’Siren Chimera’, or students like Chendra Glivice who specialized in ’Gravekeeper Undead’. Students who already possessed their own firmly established specialized undead would have a headache deciding which one to use.
"But hey!" As always, Eshe chimed in with her sharp, clear voice. "The Summoning Department professors have been emphasizing Dullahans this whole time with special lectures and even a training camp, right?"
"They have," Toto agreed.
Eshe rubbed her hands together with a triumphant smile. "Then common sense dictates that the exam will be structured to favor those who use a Dullahan, right? It’s an exam where you have to make and use a Dullahan no matter what!"
Simon looked at her with surprise. "That’s surprisingly sharp, Eshe."
"Hmph! That’s just basic... wait! What do you mean, ’surprisingly’?!"
Aaron had said the ’specific rules’ would be announced on the day of the exam. There was a nuance to this. If they had held a week-long Dullahan special lecture only to make the next performance evaluation unrelated to Dullahans, they would have announced the rules in advance or at least given a hint. The recent ’Ghoul Performance Evaluation’ was a good example. The professors taught about ghouls, then evaluated them on ghouls. It was logical and normal for a Dullahan special lecture to be followed by a Dullahan performance evaluation. This wasn’t something worth agonizing over.
Simon boldly lifted his quill.
"Assuming Eshe’s guess is correct, we can get a rough idea of the exam’s content by considering the Dullahan’s abilities."
-Specialized for short battles, 10-30 minutes.
-Absorbs large amounts of mana and converts it to Jet-Black.
-Powerful strength and speed.
-Excellent durability.
-Can use weaponry and aura.
After writing that much, Simon put down his quill and grinned.
"The others are a bit ambiguous, but one thing is certain."
"What is it?" a group member asked.
"There will definitely be a time limit."
Hearing that, the group members let out a small "Ohh~" of admiration.
"That’s right. To account for the Dullahan’s short operation time."
"To reach this conclusion with such limited information... Wow! As expected of the top student!"
Lorraine nodded, and Eshe made a fuss. Simon waved his hands dismissively.
"No, no. It’s a conclusion we all reached together."
Anyway.
’Fitzgerald must be having a tough time.’
If the exam had been limited to Dullahans, it would have been one thing, but the condition was that any single undead could be used. It meant that if you were confident enough in your specialized undead to not use a Dullahan, that was also acceptable.
Indeed, looking over at Group 11, Fitzgerald was frozen in place with his hand on the frame of his glasses. He seemed to be agonizing over the decision.
"Well, I’ve made the announcement about the exam," Aaron said, opening his textbook. "We will now resume the Dullahan special lecture."
"Yes, sir!"
On a weekend that came after a week of regular classes, a time when students might have slacked off, Aaron skillfully used the topic of the ’exam’ to motivate them and build tension.
"Of course, even if you use a different undead for the exam, the Dullahan you complete will be graded separately from the performance evaluation, so keep that in mind."
Fitzgerald, who had been lost in deep thought, flinched and then grabbed his quill.
"Everyone, get ready. We will now move to the practical lab."
---
The students moved to the practical lab.
Of the three major materials for a Dullahan—’Ogre Lord-Abaddon-Guardian’—most students were taking out the corpse of an ’Abaddon’. An Abaddon was a bipedal swamp monster that resembled a reptile covered in scales and wielded weapons. At first glance, it looked similar to a ’Lizardman’, but it was in a different league from the common creature. Also known as the King of the Swamp, it was quite powerful.
"What brand is yours?"
"Frang brand! I wanted to buy Vanilla, but my budget... hehe!"
The students were all taking out full ’Abaddon’ sets from their subspaces. The corpses, vacuum-sealed to prevent decay, were maintained in optimal condition by various preservation magic circles.
"Sniffle."
Eshe was taking out an Abaddon set from her subspace, pretending to cry. Hers was the cheapest ’Kerak’ brand. When she opened the packaging, the corpse of an Abaddon with badly damaged scales was tied up with something like a rough rope.
"My six months of part-time wages..."
"I used up all the money I got from my sponsor, too," Toto next to her said with a long face, taking out a ’Kerak’ brand Abaddon.
It wasn’t just the two of them; many students were struggling with the expense, which was on a completely different level from the undead they had dealt with so far.
’Should I take mine out too?’
Simon also opened his subspace. What emerged was a large, luxurious-looking coffin with a combination of gold trim and black color. In the middle of the coffin, the word ’Vanilla’ was inscribed in splendid golden letters.
"Oh!"
"It’s the top-of-the-line Vanilla brand!"
Simon, who had some financial leeway from various missions, had gone down to Rochest and generously purchased a Vanilla brand Abaddon set. The gazes of students from all around focused on him.
"Open it, quick!"
"Alright."
Simon placed his palm on the ’Security Magic Circle’ drawn on the coffin lid. The magic circle detected Simon’s Jet-Black and released the lock.
Steam hissed from inside the coffin as it opened on its own.
"Woah!"
The coffin was filled with black flowers, and nestled within was the Abaddon. Its blood vessels were prominent, and its muscles were perfectly preserved.
"It’s huge! It looks like it’s two heads taller than my Abaddon."
Naturally, the bigger and heavier the Abaddon, the more expensive it was.
Eshe picked up one of the black flowers from the coffin. "A Magic Beast Flower that prevents decay. Isn’t a single one of these several hundred silver?"
"That must have been really expensive."
But it wasn’t the full set yet. What Simon took out next was a suit of black armor.
One of the advantages of a Dullahan was that it could freely wear heavy and sturdy equipment that humans wouldn’t even dream of wearing, as it operated on an explosive amount of Jet-Black. And due to the Dullahan’s characteristic of absorbing mana through its entire body, the armor had to be custom-made to account for mana absorption.
’It really is huge.’
Simon lifted the large helmet. It was so heavy he could barely lift it without using Jet-Black. To think that a dead corpse would wear something this heavy was a testament to the incredible power of a necromancer’s black magic.
"Look at the shine on that."
"The sleek design is really well-made."
The students watching commented one by one. Simon replied to them, but his gaze was directed elsewhere.
’A Dullahan made from an Abaddon will surely be strong, but...’
It couldn’t beat a Dullahan made from the highest-grade material, a ’Guardian’.
As it happened, Hector and Aseraz, who possessed Guardians, were also taking out Abaddon corpses, likely just to follow along with the class. It would be fatal if they used the precious material for their first attempt and damaged it. They would undoubtedly complete their Dullahans with Guardians for the performance evaluation.
’Don’t get anxious.’
Simon turned his head back.
’If I can just complete the Dullahan with the materials I’ve prepared, I’ll definitely win. For now, let’s focus on learning the creation method step by step.’
"Attention."
Just then, Aaron entered the practical lab. The students all fell silent and stared at him.
"Are there any students who haven’t prepared the practical materials?"
In the back, two students raised their arms with their heads bowed low. The expressions of the other students who turned to look at them turned cold. Procuring class materials was the most basic of basics. At Kizen, no one would do it for you. Whether you worked a part-time job or went out and hunted monsters yourself, securing the materials by any means necessary was a sign of respect for the class.
But Aaron didn’t get angry and slowly nodded his head.
"...I’ve asked a dealer and secured two old Abaddon corpses that were being cleared from stock. Take those for now."
"Th-Thank you!"
"Of course, I can’t guarantee their condition. Make sure to get proper Abaddons by the time of the exam."
"Yes, sir!"
The teaching assistants brought over two Abaddon corpses with flies buzzing around them. Some students with weak stomachs held their noses. The condition was clearly awful, but for now, being able to proceed with the class even with such materials was a stroke of luck.
"Well then, let’s begin," Aaron said, putting on work gloves. The students followed suit, their eyes shining with anticipation.
---
The weekend special lecture didn’t end until late at night.
"Ughhhhh."
Students streamed out of the Summoning Department building, their faces etched with exhaustion.
"Th-That was intense!"
"How are we supposed to study for the other midterms at this rate?"
Everyone was drained, trudging along. Their heads felt like they were about to explode from all the information crammed into them.
And in the midst of this...
"I’m heading out first!"
Only Simon was brimming with energy. As if he couldn’t stand it any longer, he quickly packed his bag and started running.
Toto reached out his arm.
"S-Simon? Aren’t you going back to the dorm?"
"Yeah! I think I’ll be a little late. You guys go ahead and rest!"
Watching his back as he quickly disappeared, Eshe tilted her head.
"It’s amazing that he still has the energy to run, but where is he going in such a hurry? Is he off to appease a girlfriend whose date he missed because class ran late?"
Lorraine smiled faintly.
"He’s probably going to make a Dullahan."
"Again?" Eshe yelped. "We spent the whole day making Dullahans!"
"That’s just how Simon is."
Toto, who knew Simon’s personality, silently nodded. Eshe stuck out her tongue as if she was fed up.
"Hmph, being the top student at Kizen is really not for everyone. If you have to be that hardcore to be number one, I’ll just give up peacefully!"
"...It would be hard even if you were hardcore," Lorraine muttered.
Meanwhile, Simon was running frantically. After finally getting to work on a Dullahan in class, he just couldn’t hold back.
Simon smiled as he ran, his feet propelled by Jet-Black.
’I have to try making it as soon as possible!’
Covering the long distance in an instant, Simon entered the Mutants club room and turned on the light. Of course, no one was left at this hour. He immediately ran down to the basement, undid the seal as Benya had taught him, and went inside.
’Good, it’s safe.’
In the center of the basement, Manus’s skull was placed upright on a display stand. The walls still bore the large claw marks from the last incident.
Simon rummaged around for a moment before opening his subspace.
’Alright! Let’s get started right away.’
Without hesitation, Simon opened his subspace.
’Tonight, I will awaken you in a new body.’