The Half-Giant's Rampage

Simon knew at once that the worst-case scenario had arrived.

Chatel Maer—already proven to be beyond student level, comparable to Lorraine and Serne, the Special Admission No. 3 whose combat prowess was said to equal theirs. The finest bloodline in all of Kizen, the half-giant, had barged in.

Will persuasion work?

Nothing ventured, nothing gained—and with that thought, Simon opened his mouth.

"Um—"

Barely had the word left his lips when Chatel's fist appeared from behind him, materializing right in front of Simon's face.

Throwing a punch—it felt to Simon like a meteor was plummeting down before his very eyes.

BOOOOM!

Simon's body was crushed sickeningly sideways. He'd raised both arms to guard his chest, but the guard shattered in a single blow, launching his body dozens of meters through the air. His Barrier Gauge plummeted at an alarming rate.

"You bastard!"

Chatel's gaze snapped to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the side. Hector, who had leapt into the air, was snarling with a twisted expression.

"His opponent is ME!"

THWACK!

The viciously thrown kick landed squarely—softly—on Chatel's open palm. The spongy sensation in that palm didn't just absorb the impact; it seemed to suck the force right out of it. Hector's eyes went wide as he realized what was happening, and Chatel's other fist was already flying toward him.

CRUUUUNCH!

Struck full-force, Hector's body slammed into the ground, carving out a massive crater.

"Gahk—!"

An impact that even the protective suit couldn't fully stop; blood flecked from the corner of Hector's mouth.

In the meantime, Simon was hauling himself up, gasping for breath.

'He's our age? A teenager, like us?'

That thing wasn't just on a different level—it felt like he'd started life on a completely different track. It was like watching toddlers race each other, only for a full-grown adult to suddenly stride up to the starting line, spouting nonsense about being three years old too.

'He's in the same department as Kajan. He was just born different.'

KUUM! KUUM! KUUM!

Chatel was closing in on Simon, aiming for the top spot's points.

The one small mercy was that this was still an exam—which meant there had to be some way to bring him down.

Clack! Clack!

Simon's fingers danced with practiced grace. The scattered remains of his skeletons poured out of subspace and, at his command, floated up into the air.

<Bone Nail>

The bone shards shot out, trailing streaks of pure white—and Chatel swatted his arm through the air as if chasing off flies.

The sheer wind pressure alone sent every last ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fragment flying.

'So Chatel is wary of our attacks too, huh.'

He possessed the strongest defense there was—but right now he was wearing the protective suit, and his life was tied to his Barrier Gauge.

If the gauge hit zero, even Chatel would face expulsion. The Kizen organization wasn't known for being flexible on that front.

'So let's just chip away, nice and slow.'

Tak. Tak.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The bones that had been blown away and scattered across the rocks rose back into the air, flying at Chatel again and again. He kept deflecting them with sweeps of his arm, but like a drizzle soaking through a coat, a few strikes here and there battered at the protective suit's barrier.

Chatel's brow furrowed. Then he rolled his foot against the ground.

KUNG!

A chill crawled up Simon's spine.

The earth around him flooded with jet-black ink, splashing outward. It was as if he'd stepped into a world inside an ink-wash painting.

<Domain Inversion>

'What kind of dark magic is THIS?'

As Simon stared ahead, tense, Chatel pressed both hands firmly against the ground and heaved upward with all his strength.

"!"

A shadow fell over Simon without warning.

He looked up to find an enormous slab of rock plummeting down toward his head. Where Chatel had just touched the ground, only a raw, torn-away scar remained.

KRAAAASH—!!

He dodged by a hair's breadth, escaping the impact.

This time Chatel raised his blunt, thick fingers skyward, and the ground bulged up like an emerging geological stratum. He smashed his fist down onto it with a resounding CRACK—and the debris didn't scatter elsewhere. Every last fragment flew straight at Simon.

BAM! KUUM! KUUM!

An endless rain of falling stone devastated everything around him. Simon scrambled desperately, sprinting over the jet-black surface.

'His size, his dark magic—both are just a lot of noise and nothing else.'

He spotted Chatel touching the ground once more. Catching the angle of the man's arm and wrist, Simon pumped jet-black beneath his feet and leapt straight up as high as he could.

SHRAAAAAAAAK!

Chatel swung his arm in an enormous uppercut. The earth rose in that direction, forming a towering mountain range.

'Seriously? A mountain? He MADE a mountain?'

Simon came down from the air, tumbling into a rough landing.

Chatel hammered his fist into one corner of the artificial mountain range with a deafening CRUNCH—and the entire range shattered into rock fragments that all went hurtling toward Simon.

KRAK! KUUUM! KUUUUM!

Simon dodged, gasping ragged breaths. A few grazing hits, and his Barrier Gauge was already scraping bottom.

If he had stamina or jet-black to spare, he might have tried something—but in his current state, there was absolutely no way he could beat the guy.

'Somewhere Chatel's dark magic can't reach!'

Simon was running for the sea.

KRAK!

A massive rock wall dropped right in front of his path. He skidded to a halt and spun around.

'Danger—!'

But no follow-up attack came. Instead, Hector had somehow circled around behind him, hurling the scales of his shiryong like throwing knives.

"I TOLD you his opponent is me!"

Chatel was raising rocks to block the assault. Simon didn't know exactly what was going on—but right now was his chance.

He splashed into the sea and tore open his subspace.

'Sorry, but just one more time—Deimos!'

A bone-built Deimos bounded out of subspace, scooped Simon onto its back, and surged forward.

Chatel, having deflected Hector's attack, advanced—but Simon was already gone, fled into the sea.

KUNG!

Chatel rolled his foot against the ground once more.

KUNG! KUNG! KUNG!

Three more times in succession.

The entire island turned pitch-black. Not just the ground—the trees and grass as well, darkening like brushstrokes in an ink painting. With a sound of splitting stone, the earth fractured, and then every scrap of soil and rock wall that formed the island rose into the air all at once.

KUGUGUGUGUGU!

The whole island was crushed, ground down, pulverized into stone, and lifted skyward. That entire island was Chatel's ammunition.

'Deimos—Ocean Current Cannon.'

Simon didn't retreat either. Squeezing out the very last of his strength, the Deimos's jaws gaped wide as jet-black and mana swirled violently around them.

'FIRE FIRST!'

THWOOOOOOM!

With a thunderous roar, the Deimos's Ocean Current Cannon tore across the water. At the same moment, from the sky above, Hector—wings of the shiryong strapped to his back—loosed a breath attack of his own.

Two colossal streams of firepower, one from the sea and one from the sky, converged on Chatel and erupted in a colossal explosion.

KUGUGUGUGUGU!

They had wrung out truly the last dregs of their power. Simon and Hector—the two boys gasped for air, their faces drained nearly to the point of collapse.

Soon, through the hazy smoke, they spotted Chatel—shielding himself behind a rock wall. The instant he moved to resume his attack—

PIIIIIIIIIIIP!

The moment the exam ended, Chatel halted his offensive as well. When he released his dark magic, the massive rock masses floating in the air came crashing down.

'Haaah.'

Simon let out a long sigh of relief.

Somehow, he'd survived.

Hector, meanwhile, hovered in the air, tearing at his hair with a look of pure frustration.

'This time, THIS time we'd finally settle it! And I got interrupted again, and AGAIN! Damn it aaall!'

"……"

Chatel said nothing at all. He simply turned his back and strode away.

After the exam, the students scattered across the sea arrived at the teleportation arrays inside the Kizen campus one by one. Those with injuries who wanted treatment were sent straight to the infirmary.

They'd just come off an exam, and the students were too busy chattering excitedly to do anything else. Some lamented their scores, but for the most part the mood was bright—everyone had survived, uneliminated, through one more of the great trials.

Simon, newly arrived at Kizen, draped the towel a henchman handed him around his neck and finally let himself breathe.

"Simon—!"

Camibarez's voice rang out. He turned to find her sprinting toward him, her face glowing with emotion.

"Cami! You made it through!"

The two met again, beaming. The adorable little wings on her back fluttered happily behind her.

"Oh, thank goodness! We both made it through this exam alive too!"

"Yeah, good ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠work out there."

She looked exhausted, but her smile was brighter than anyone's. Simon asked, "Did you happen to run into Meilin or Rick during the exam?"

"No, I never saw them. I guess we got split up pretty far apart."

Laughing, the two of them chattered away, trading everything they knew about the exam.

Checking the rankings, Meilin had placed 10th overall, clawing her way back into the top tier.

Camibarez had come in at 205th—the sea's terrain had cost her a few places, but it was still a solidly upper-tier result.

And Rick, this time with a bit more breathing room than usual, had landed in the mid-to-upper 400s. Apparently he'd electrocuted monsters into easy submission with his own inventions—the discharge suit and his electric release device.

Just then, a TA came sprinting in.

"Attention! May I have your attention, please! High-ranking students called by name must proceed to the Kizen campus for interviews!"

Several students' names were called—and of course, Simon's was among them.

"I'll be back, Cami."

"Go get 'em! I'll be watching the interview on the screens!"

Following the TA's guidance, Simon stepped onto the teleportation array at once.

His surroundings shifted, and when he opened his eyes, he was standing on the stage before the Kizen campus entrance. Screens on every side broadcast live feeds of the exam grounds, and below stretched a sea of countless spectators.

"WAAAAAAAH!"

A cheer like rolling thunder erupted.

Simon glanced around to see crowds of spectators rising from their seats, giving a standing ovation. From every direction came voices chanting students' names.

"Simon! Simon!"

Some of them were even chanting his name.

Simon smiled and waved toward that section of the crowd.

"……What exactly did you do?"

A small girl's voice spoke up beside him.

A girl with a naval uniform slung over her shoulders atop a diving suit—Special Admission No. 7, captain of the Ghost Ship, Elisa, who had claimed 2nd place overall this time around.

"How is 200,000 points even possible?"

Elisa, who had considered herself the undisputed queen of underwater combat, was utterly dumbfounded.

Simon smiled.

"Got lucky and caught a Gwaegong."

"Wh-what? A Gwaegong? That colossal monster?"

Just then, the back of his neck started to prickle. Simon felt a murderous stare boring into him and turned his head.

'Ugh.'

Hector had made it up here too.

"Did you all enjoy this year's exam, everyone!"

Just then, an emcee appeared, arms thrust high, gripping an amplifying crystal orb.

Beside him stood Jane, this year's guest commentator. The students bowed their heads, and she gave a slight nod in return.

"Please give a thunderous round of applause for the heroes of this exam—the ones who will one day carry the future of the Dark League!"

Applause rang out from every corner as flashes popped from mana cameras. The students hurriedly composed their faces and faced forward.

"Now then, let's start by confirming the Top 5 rankings!"

The rankings rolled out across the screen.

The strongest student of this BMAT went without question. Of course, the gap between 1st and 2nd place was simply overwhelming.

"And now, let's meet the star of today's show! The student who shattered the limits of Summoning and earned his title as Kizen's undisputed 1st-year specialist of underwater warfare!"

The emcee stretched out his arm.

"Introducing—Simon Polentia!"

Taking a light, steadying breath, Simon walked out before the roaring crowd.