A+ and the Answer to Despair
True to the spirit of an academic conference, Simon laid out Herseba in purely scholarly terms. The properties of the heart — the core material of a Lich — the formulas and Rune Script of the summoning circle, the structure and characteristics of the Life Vessel. What drew the most attention from the audience, though, was the fusion between the autonomous staff Areldelu and Herseba herself. Even Aaron looked astonished at the revelation that a Lich's mind had migrated into an artifact. "That's a rare occurrence." "Lich creation is inherently volatile, after all." "The combination of an autonomous staff and a Lich deserves proper research. It could be a means of dramatically reducing a Lich's risks." The researchers were busy scribbling down every word Simon spoke. Simon, who had always been the one taking notes, found the experience somewhat unfamiliar. In any case, this was Summoning class, so drawing on his experience from the Pentamonium Academic Conference, Simon focused his explanation on the academic side. There simply wasn't enough time to cover Herseba's three Authorities or the detailed specifications of the Mummies.
And with that, his presentation came to an end. Clap clap clap clap clap! Enthusiastic applause erupted. Simon bowed politely to the audience and inclined his head toward Aaron as well. Just as everyone was cheering—
"Our genius sure knows how to put on a show." "Guess geniuses really are built different? Born wired unlike the rest of us." "I wish I'd been born a genius too~" From a corner of the lecture hall came a stream of subtly mocking remarks. A few of the Summoning-track students from Class A had been looking at Simon with resentment ever since the Skeleton Mage lesson. A professor's 'attention' was, for students, an asset in itself. And rumors were flying everywhere that Simon had pushed Skeleton Mages forward during class to pressure Aaron into giving him private Life Vessel tutoring on top of it. "So jealous~" "Let's be honest here — anyone could do it if they got one-on-one tutoring from a Kizen professor." "Special Admission No. 1 is Nephthys's pick, after all. Even just watching her mood, she'd look after him."
Just as the barbs were rising to new heights— "No, you're wrong!" A voice suddenly cut into the conversation. "Don't talk like that when you don't even know Simon!" It was none other than Toto. Drowned out at first by the deafening cheers from all sides, Toto's voice was actually quite loud. The faces of the Summoning-track students turned frosty. "Are you talking to us right now?" When one of the girls glared at him with icy eyes, Toto's face crumpled at record speed. "Since when do outcasts get a say?" "Wait, isn't he in the same club as Simon?" "Wow~ already riding the coat tails, huh? What does being friends with Simon make you?" Toto waved his hands frantically, flustered. "M-my point is, regardless of any of that, Simon is—!" Clap! At that moment, Aaron clapped his hands loudly, silencing the raucous cheering.
"Well done." Aaron began. "The summoning magic of a Lich is a mass of variables. Change just one of the three elements used, and the finished product transforms in a thousand different ways. This is not something for me to nitpick. There was nothing worth criticizing in the formulas or Rune Script either. That said, what I want to say is this—" Aaron's gaze shifted from Simon to the other students. "Setting aside the paper's content itself — how was Simon's presentation this time?" As if they'd been waiting for the question, a single hand shot up. Jamie, the class representative. "He was incredibly polished!" "Right." Aaron nodded. "I'm not talking about the level of the thesis. Simon attended the Pentamonium Academic Conference just last month. He wrote a paper like this before any of you, and presented in front of a large crowd before any of you. That one handspan's difference in experience produces exactly this kind of result." Aaron swept his gaze around the room. "Anyone here who's so much as raised a hand and said they'd challenge Pentamonium?" Silence swallowed the lecture hall. A few students lowered their heads.
"Simon's presentation was polished not because he's a genius. Just like that, everything in this world has cause and effect, has a reason." The students looked at Aaron with bewildered eyes. What was he getting at all of a sudden? "While the rest of you rested, he built his Mages. While the rest of you built your Mages, he prepared his Lich. There's nothing filthier than dismissing the effort it takes to get ahead, then writing everything off as a difference in talent while tearing the person down." Aaron was staring with pinpoint precision at the three students. At his words, the faces of the Summoning-track students who'd been belittling Simon earlier flushed scarlet. The gazes of the other audience members followed Aaron's, all landing on those three.
"Hey! You guys are bad-mouthing Simon again?" Claudia Menzies was the first to spring to her feet. "Seriously, you guys……." Jamie shot them a look of pure disgust. "If you're that jealous of Professor Aaron's tutoring, then push past your limits and beg for it yourselves. Too lazy to put in the work, but dying for the rewards. Nothing but complaints, all mouth and no substance~" Cindy Vivace lashed out with cutting venom. Flinch! Then the three of them felt a chill stab into their backs like knives and spun stiffly around. Shrunk into the dim shadows at the back of the lecture hall, Hector was blazing with murderous intensity in his eyes. "……Disgusting little vermin." From the standpoint of Hector — who worked himself half to death trying to catch up to Simon more than anyone — they were the very species of human he despised most. "You three. Come see me later, hm?" Meilin smiled sweetly and beckoned with a wiggling finger. Her mouth was smiling, but a deep shadow hung over her forehead.
"Quiet!" At Aaron's shout, everyone's attention snapped back to the podium. "Final exams, practical assessments, BMAT, advancement tests. Of course I know you're all buried in the academic calendar. But if you only do what everyone else does, you will never be different from everyone else. Understand that." "Yes, sir!!" "Simon Polentia." Aaron turned his head and finally looked at Simon. "A+." "Ah…… thank you, Professor!" A thunderous round of applause broke out. Before anyone knew it, the other students' eyes were shining brightly as they looked at Simon, the recipient of the highest grade.
And in a corner of the stands. Chehekl, the chief TA of Curse Studies, who had slipped in on Bahil's orders to observe, was applauding even as she stared in astonishment. Professor Aaron just said something like that. Chehekl had spent her own time as a TA and had watched Aaron for a long while. Challenge, effort — words he never could have uttered back when he was that withered wreck at the start of the first semester. Simon's good influence has changed Professor Aaron's negative disposition. She rested her chin on her hand with a faint smile. Then she let out a small sigh. ……Could that boy change our lunatic professor too?
"Astonishing! Simply astonishing! Magnificent work, Simon!" Curse Studies class. The presentation for the final practical assessment: A Synergy Curse Employing Three or More Curses. An excited Bahil was spraying spit as he expounded on just how perfect and beautiful Simon's theory was. And Simon, looking somewhat embarrassed, scratched at the side of his head. Somehow, somehow, he'd managed to master all Four Great Curses. The Curse of Painlessness, Indolence. The Curse of Hostility, Hostile. The Curse of Delusion, Delusion. The Curse of Awakening, Waker. The very day after Simon completed all four curses happened to be the day of the presentation. Left with no choice, he shelved Compellonia for the moment and pulled what he could from the four curse formulas, weaving them into a single curse of his own. Since all four formulas were mental-affliction curses, they shared a certain common ground: each contained an awakening formula that acted on the central nervous system. So he blended the four formulas in just the right proportions to maximize the awakening effect and presented the result — and Bahil, looking thoroughly delighted, was heaping praise upon praise.
"Truly outstanding! Of course, the grading criterion is the 'synergy of the curses,' but your creative arrangement of the four curse formulas alone is more than enough justification for an A+." "Thank you, Professor!" Simon bowed deeply. Behind the podium, Chehekl — who had just carved Simon's A+ into the list — lifted her head and looked at Bahil. His grin's about to swallow his ears whole. At the news that Simon had created an original curse circle, Bahil looked positively elated. Even by Chehekl's judgment, the synergy structure was genuinely novel. At his core, this was a student whose entire way of viewing dark magic was creative.
Slide. Slide. Then Bahil caught her eye and gestured for her to come over. Chehekl heaved a deep sigh, rose from her seat, and quietly approached Simon. "Simon." "Ah, yes, ma'am. Miss TA." Simon straightened his posture with crisp formality. "Professor Bahil asks that you stop by his office after class." "Understood. I'll head up right away." Once Chehekl withdrew, Dick, Meilin, and Camibarez stared at Simon. "Hmm, it's a Direct Disciple offer." Meilin declared flatly. "B-but! Simon's set on being Professor Aaron's Direct Disciple!" Camibarez said in a fluster. "If you're going to turn him down, recommend me instead." Dick shamelessly pointed at himself. "That's probably not why he's calling for me, though." Simon had now learned all Four Great Curses from Bahil — so he had a feeling it might finally be time for that mysterious technique called Compellonia.
Simon's guess was exactly right. Summoned to Bahil's office, Simon at last received the transmission of Compellonia. Since studying the other four curses had naturally imprinted their core formulas in his mind, the difficulty of learning it wasn't particularly high.
"Simon. I've explained what Compello is before, haven't I?" Still basking in the afterglow of the presentation, Bahil asked with a satisfied smile. "Yes, Professor! You said it's the realm of absolute truth that great necromancers occasionally experience." "Perfectly remembered. Yes, that's right. Tell me — have you happened to enter it recently?" Bahil asked, looking faintly expectant. Simon pondered for a moment, then clapped a hand to his knee with an 'Ah!' "I think I slipped into it briefly when I was making the Lich!" Crrrack. Only the muscles around Bahil's smiling eyes twitched. Chehekl, who had been bringing coffee over, failed to hold in her laughter and let out a loud "Pfft!" "Hm! Professor, Simon. Your coffee." "Thank you." Simon bowed politely and took a light sip. Sure enough, the coffee in this office was sweet.
"You're about to have an experience that pales in comparison to opening Compello on your own." Bahil returned to the matter at hand. "However, there is one condition attached to using Compellonia." "A condition?" Bahil nodded. "With Compellonia, the 'first use' is everything. The first time you cross that 'door' — what you feel, what you come to realize. That is the crux of it. Those whose first use goes wrong can be reduced to utter husks." Simon swallowed dryly. "Then when should I use it?" "Crisis." Bahil answered without a beat of hesitation. "The single most despairing moment of your entire life — when your life hangs by a thread, when every avenue is sealed off, when your situation is so bleak that all you can do is pray to the heavens. In that moment, trust me, and use Compellonia." The corner of his mouth curled upward. "Then this curse will hand you the answer, Simon." "Y-yes, sir." "Remember this well. Plan for the very last moment — and use it only at the very last of that last." "I'll remember." With that, Simon bowed and left the office.
Bahil quietly picked up the pipe resting on the table and set it between his lips. Hooooh. A hazy cloud of smoke filled the room. "Chehekl." "Yes, Professor." Chehekl stood before him in a respectful posture. Bahil let his gaze drift out the window for a moment, then spoke in a chilled voice. "For Simon, a life-threatening, absolutely desperate crisis. Which one would you recommend?"