NOVPUB[Translator - Ramen]
[Proofreader - Artethrax]
Chapter 272
Simon felt deep in his bones that the worst case scenario had arrived.
The S.A.3.
The man who is beaten out by only the likes of Lorain and Serene.
The man who is the closest competitor to the pair who already surpassed the level of students.
In fact, rumor had it that he is even on par with them in terms of combat ability.
The product of the best bloodline in the current Kizen, the half-giant Chatelle Maerre, had joined the fight.
'Will persuasion work? No harm in trying.'
Opening his mouth, Simon began,
"Sa—"
Chatelle appeared behind Simon's back before Simon could even finish a word.
When the half-giant threw a punch, Simon felt as if a meteor was crashing down right in front of him.
Crrrrrrrrrrrunch!
Simon was brutally slammed into the ground before bouncing back up with enough force to be sent flying. Despite him having enough time to guard with his arms, his defenses were pierced in an instant, sending him flying over a dozen meters.
His already dwindling barrier gauge fell even lower.
"You bastard!"
Chatelle looked to the side. Hector, having leaped into the air, wore a ferocious scowl on his face.
"That asshole's opponent is me!"
Phat!
However, Chatelle easily blocked the violent kick with a single hand.
It felt almost like his strike was being absorbed under the soft flesh or, even worse, sucked in. Slightly dazed by the impact, Hector took too long to realize Chatelle's other fist was flying into him.
Katoooosh!
Struck, Hector smashed into the ground, creating a large pit.
"Kugh!"
Blood spurted from Hector's mouth from the impact that even his barrier suit couldn't prevent.
Meanwhile, Simon was gasping for breath as he pulled himself up.
'And you're telling me that's just a teenager like us?'
It seemed that even their starting points and initial talents were miles apart.
Chatelle was like a fully grown adult running a race with a bunch of three year olds.
'He's the same as Kajann. He's just built different.'
Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!
Chatelle was approaching Simon, aiming to steal his points and take first place for himself.
Despite everything, there was some good news. This was a test, giving Simon some extra ways of coming out on top in this fight.
Click! Clack!
Simon's fingers moved fluidly, commanding a hundred actions with even the smallest movement. Skeletons broke apart and flew in pieces out from his subspace, floating in the air at his command.
{Bone Nail}
As the sharpened bones shot out, white trails forming behind them from the speed, Chatelle swung his arm like he was shooing away a swarm of flies.
The wind alone was enough to send the bones flying.
'Chatelle is also aware of what my attack can do here.'
Although the half-giant was by far the toughest of the first-years, he was wearing a protective suit, so his life was based solely on his barrier gauge.
If the gauge reached zero, he'd be expelled, even as the S.A.3.
Kizen wasn't known for its forgiveness in these kinds of matters.
'So let's try to rile him up.'
Click. Clack.
The bones that had been blown away to the shore by the winds rose back into the air and continued to fly at Chatelle.
He swung his arms with destructive tenacity to blow them away, but a few pushed through and thrummed against his barrier.
Chatelle grimaced, then stomped down once more.
Thump!
Simon felt a shiver go down his back.
The ground around them turned pure black. It was like entering a world of ink.
{Territory Reversal}
"What kind of dark magic is this?
As Simon nervously looked ahead of him, Chatelle grabbed the ground with both hands and pulled with all his might.
"!"
Suddenly, a dark shadow formed around Simon.
When Simon looked up, he saw a large boulder crashing down toward him. Looking back, he saw a giant hole in the ground after Chatelle uprooted it.
Smaaaaaassssshhhhh!!
He barely dodged back in time.
This time, Chatelle punched him into the air and a lump of condensed dirt rose up with it. With a firm punch, the mass was sent soaring toward Simon instead of scattering into mist from the impact.
Thud! Crash! Slam!
A rain of falling rocks continued, wrecking havoc to the surroundings. Simon frantically gathered jet-black in his feet and ran.
'Both his movements and his spells are as giant as he is!'
He could see Chatelle grabbing the ground once more. But this time, instead of reaching down to grab as much as he could, Chatelle had dug his hands deep and was beginning to… lift?
Realizing what was about to happen not a second too soon, Simon leaped up on platforms of jet-black and went as high as he could.
"Grraaaaaaaaahhhh!"
With a bone-chilling battlecry, Chatelle raised the floor into a tidal wave crashing down onto where Simon was just standing. Once the dust settled, a giant mound of dirt had formed beneath Simon.
'You're kidding me… He basically just made a mountain!!'
Soaring through the air, Simon landed once more with a roll.
Chatelle slammed his fist into the side of the artificial mountain with a loud bang, shattering the entire mountain into countless rocks that flew toward Simon.
Crush! Thud! Thummp!
Gasping for air, Simon desperately dodged as much of the air-bourne mudslide as he could. Just a few grazes were enough to almost drain his barrier gauge completely.
If he had more stamina or jet-black, he might have at least tried something extra, but in his current state, he'd never be able to defeat this monster.
'I need to get to where Chatelle's dark magic can't reach!'
Simon was running towards the sea, but…
Slam!
Chatelle had beat him to the chase. A large boulder fell in his path, forcing him to stop. He looked back, knees bent so he could jump away from whatever natural disaster came next.
'This is b—!'
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator - Ramen
Proofreader - Artethrax
Join our discord for updates on releases!
https://dsc.gg/reapercomics
* * *
But there was no follow-up attack. Without Simon realizing it, Hector had started throwing corpse dragon scales like shurikens.
"I told you, his opponent is me!"
Being thrown onto the defensive, Chatelle was lifting another boulder to deflect the attack. Simon wasn't sure what was happening, but this was his chance.
Simon entered the water and opened the subspace.
'I'm sorry, but I'll be counting on you just one more time, deimos!'
The skeletal deimos came out from his subspace and carried Simon away on its back.
Having dealt with Hector's attack, Chatelle began running after him, but Simon had already fled into the sea.
Stomp!
Chatelle stamped the ground once more.
Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!
Then again, and again, and again.
The entire island was dyed black. Not just the ground but the trees and grass looked like they were part of a painting drawn in ink.
Crack!
The ground split.
Soon, every bit of dirt that formed this island rose into the air at once.
Rrrrrrrrrumble!
Chatelle crushed and smashed the unwieldy mass into dense rock, then launched it into the air. The entire island was Chatelle's weapon.
But Simon didn't back down, either.
'Deimos, tidal cannon!'
Squeezing out the last bit of its strength, the deimos' jaw opened, and jet-black and mana swirled around it.
'Shoot him first!'
Kabooooooooooom!
With a roar, a beam of water shot out across the surging waves. At the same time, Hector, wearing the wings of the corpse dragon, unleashed his fiery breath.
Two natural enemies, fire and water, clashed in a destructive duel, and Chatelle was caught in the center.
Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrumble!
They had really squeezed out every last drop of power left in them. Simon and Hector gasped for air, looking like they were about to pass out.
From the resulting steam, they could see Chatelle shielded behind a rock wall. And just as he was about to resume his attack…
Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!
[The test is now over! I repeat! The test is now over! Students, please stop fighting immediately and standby for teleport. Points will not increase or decrease from this point on. Please cease all combat and standby in a safe area.]
The test was over.
Knowing that, Chatelle also stopped his offense. As he deactivated his dark magic, the chunks of rock that he held suspended in the air crashed back down around him.
'Phewwww.'
Simon breathed a sigh of relief.
He had somehow survived.
On the other hand, Hector—who was flapping his wings in the air—was pulling at his hair in frustration.
'I thought this was going to be the deciding battle! I've been interrupted again!! Damn iiiiiiiiiiit!!!'
'…'
Chatelle just silently turned and strode away.
* * *
After the test, the students returned one by one from the teleportation magic circle inside the Kizen campus. Those who had injuries and needed medical attention went straight to the ward.
Since they had just taken an exam, the students were busy talking.
Some were disappointed with their scores, but for the time being, the mood was cheerful as they realized they had made it through another big test without failing.
Simon was also taking a breather after receiving a towel from a servant.
"Simon~!"
Then he heard Camibarez' voice. When he turned around, he saw Cami running up to him with a look of excitement on her face.
"Cami! You were fine!"
The two of them reunited with a smiling face. The cute little wings on her back flapped in joy.
"That's a relief! We both made it through this test!"
"Yeah, well done!"
She looked exhausted, but her face was as cheerful as ever. Simon asked,
"Did you happen to run into Meilyn and Rick during the exam?"
"No, I didn't… They must've gone far."
The two laughed and started talking about their experiences during the test.
When they checked the rankings, Meilyn had climbed back to the top, finishing 10th overall.
Meanwhile, Camibarez was ranked 205th. The ocean environment may have put her at a bit of a disadvantage, but she was still holding her own.
Rick gave a little more measure than usual this time, achieving a mid-to-high 400th-place finish. With his inventions—an electric suit and baton—he easily shocked and fried the monsters he hunted down.
Just then, now that everyone was back, an assistant teacher rushed in.
"Attention! May I have everyone's attention, please! The top-ranked students, whom I shall be calling right now, please head to the Kizen campus for an interview!"
Several students' names were called, and among them, of course, was Simon's.
"I'll be off, Cami."
"Yeah, go get 'em! I'll be watching your interview on the screen!"
Simon followed the assistant teacher's guidance and stepped on the teleportation magic circle.
When he opened his eyes, he was standing on a stage in front of the entrance to the Kizen campus. Screens projecting the examination grounds were spread out all around him, and he could see the countless spectators below.
"Waaaaaaaah!"
A thunderous cheer erupted.
Simon looked around and saw that the crowd had jumped to their feet, giving him a standing ovation. He could hear students' names being chanted all around him.
"Simon! Simon!"
Some of them were even chanting his name.
Simon smiled and waved in their direction.
"…What in the world did you do?"
Then, he heard a small female student's voice beside him.
It was Elissa, a girl with a navy uniform slung over her shoulders on top of her wetsuit. She was the captain of the Phantom Ships, the S.A.7 who had just won second place overall.
"How is 200,000 points even possible?"
Elissa was perplexed, being convinced that she'd take first in underwater combat.
Simon smiled.
"I got lucky and hunted the monster duke."
"…Wh-What? The monster duke? That giant beast?"
Suddenly, Simon felt a sting in the back of his head. He looked back to see the source of the murderous gaze he felt upon him.
'Ugh.'
Hector was here, too.
"Did you enjoy this test, everyone?"
Called the MC from where he was seated, his arms raised in the air in celebration.
Next to him was Jane, the guest commentator for the day.
She gave a light nod as the students bowed their heads.
"Please, can we have a round of applause for the heroes of this test, who will be responsible for the future of the Dark Territory!"
Clapping erupted from all directions, accompanied by flashes from the mana cameras. The students quickly controlled their expressions and looked ahead.
"Now, let's check the rankings of the top 5!"
The screen flashed the rankings.
5th - Hector: 9,500 Points
4th - Laheim : 11,200 Points
3rd - Jule : 11,600 Points
2nd - Elissa: 18,650 Points
1st - Simon: 223,500 Points
There was no doubt about who was the best student in this BDMAT. Of course, the gap between 1st and 2nd was overwhelming.
"Now, let's meet the main character among the main characters of the day! The student who pushed the limits of summoning and became the best underwater combat specialist of Kizen's first-years!"
The MC stretched out his arm toward the man he was praising so highly.
"I present to you all… Simon Polentia!"
Taking a quick deep breath, Simon stepped to the front of the crowd.
