Ten Thousand Monsters
Uwaaaaaaaah!
The students watching the screens in the lounge threw their hands up and cheered.
"That's Hector for you! Two hundred monsters in fifteen minutes!"
"How did he even do that?"
"His time management was pure art."
Needless to say, the teammates waiting at the standby area were beside themselves, chanting Hector's name over and over in a frenzy.
Hector, drenched in sweat, exchanged high-fives with everyone.
— Student Hector Moore. Of the 200 monsters within the time limit, 200 eliminated.
— Student Hector Moore and Team 1 have earned 200 points.
Watching it all through the lounge screen, Simon let out a hollow laugh and sank onto the sofa.
He's incredible.
The feeling of being utterly outclassed. A Dullahan built from a Guardian really was on another level entirely.
Though it can't just be the Dullahan itself.
It was strong because it was Hector's summon. Instead of weighing his Dullahan down with heavy plate armor, he had sheathed its entire body in dragon scales, making its movements lighter. No other Guardian Dullahan would manage that kind of performance.
"Amazing."
Lorraine murmured in genuine admiration.
"I couldn't breathe for the whole fifteen minutes."
Toto said in a trembling voice.
"Hehehe—"
And when Simon turned his head, Eshu was clasping her hands together with literal hearts popping in her eyes.
"Oh my god, the Class Rep is SO cool! I just want to bury my face once in that wide, solid, sweaty chest of his!"
"Get a grip, Eshu."
Simon said with a wry smile. Behind him, he caught Toto briefly glancing down at his own narrow chest.
"Here's the problem, though."
Fitzgerald had appeared beside them at some point and pushed up his glasses.
"The gap between a Guardian-made Dullahan and a Dullahan made from a standard Abaddon is absolute. As things stand, we can't win."
Fitzgerald was also one of those who had failed to secure a Guardian back in the Frigod Autonomous Region. Simon looked at him.
"So what's your plan?"
"......This exam clearly favors Dullahan users, anyone can see that. But."
Light glinted off Fitzgerald's lenses.
"To beat that Guardian Dullahan, I have no choice but to gamble on my own specialty."
Toto's eyes went round.
"Fitz! You're going to use your Siren Chimera, aren't you!"
"Well, obviously—"
Whack!
At that moment, a girl appeared from behind and smacked Fitzgerald across the back of the head with a textbook.
"Reciting your secrets to the enemy—real smooth, you walking strategy guide!"
She seized him by the collar and dragged him away. Simon and Toto could only laugh awkwardly and wave him off.
From there, the exam proceeded in rapid succession.
Team 1, Hector's team, finished with a total of 520 points. The following Team 2 and Team 3 earned 400 and 410 respectively.
As the data piled up, the watching students began to get a feel for the scoring.
Complete an Abaddon Dullahan without major issues — around 40 points. A Guardian Dullahan could reach 100.
But the variables were endless. Unforeseen rune-casting errors under live conditions. Insufficient mastery of Dullahan control. Poor understanding of slashes and aura. And on top of all that, the monsters' own reactions.
"Why? Why me!"
A student who had been clearing monsters smoothly with his Guardian Dullahan scowled at the sight of monsters scattering in every direction in the final moments.
"Why does this only happen to me!"
A Guardian-made Dullahan wasn't automatically a good one. Guardian Dullahans were vastly harder to construct than standard models. He had rushed the build to meet the exam schedule, and in the end one of its legs was deformed. Chasing every single monster with his greatsword raised, sprinting this way and that, he burned far too much Jet-Black just on movement.
The result:
— Student Joseph Varga. Of the 100 monsters within the time limit, 65 eliminated.
Even between two Guardian Dullahans, scores varied wildly depending on the wielder. Better to use the Abaddon Dullahan built in class than a half-finished Guardian.
Watching zeroes pop up one after another, Eshu blurted out:
"Abaddon's good for 40, Guardian's good for 100 — safe and easy! Guess assuming that was the mistake."
"Right. Quantifying the scores is meaningless."
Simon nodded in agreement.
"Every Dullahan is different in personality and completeness. Your own judgment matters most."
There had been some early trial and error, but the current leader was still Team 1 — Hector's team — at 520 points.
And then—
"There it is!"
The infamous Squad 8 made its appearance.
"Now then, White. Remember this."
Snap, snap.
Asseraz flicked her fingers as she spoke.
"I'll respect your decision to use your special summon instead of a Dullahan. But the problem is time. Erase the word 'fifteen minutes' from your head entirely."
She would proudly claim that lately she studied how to utilize White far more diligently than her own coursework.
"What matters for you is the first four minutes. Don't bother pacing yourself. Go all-out from second one, burn everything you have within four minutes, and collapse—"
Her face suddenly twisted.
"Are you even listening to me?"
White was staring blankly at the ceiling. Asseraz snapped her fingers sharply right beside his ear, trying to draw his attention, but it was useless.
"Damn it."
Asseraz let out a ground-shaking sigh and covered her face.
I did not come to the Summoning Department to babysit this idiot.
She was fuming inside, but there was nothing to be done. Squad 8 was taking the exam with only four members. If even one person failed and scored a 'zero,' it was equivalent to two members scoring zero compared to a full team. They couldn't afford to give up on a single soul. Asseraz looked back over her shoulder.
"Begin."
Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp.
At the sudden sound of birdsong, a spark of light returned to White's clouded eyes.
Birds were flying around.
Chirp chirp chirp.
They were not, of course, real birds. The members of Squad 8 were bent low, waving sticks with paper birds taped to them back and forth to catch White's gaze — making the chirping sounds with their own mouths as a bonus.
"Ugh, seriously...... I'm about to enter sage mode."
"Shut up and do it properly!"
White's gaze swayed this way and that, following the paper birds. Then Asseraz grabbed one of the sticks, pressed the paper bird against her own face, and thrust her head forward.
"White!"
His gaze followed, landing on her.
"Four minutes! You have to catch all 200 monsters in four minutes! Take a long prep time, and once the exam starts, dump out every ounce of your power until it's spent! Got it? Do you understand?"
Nod.
White's head bobbed up and down.
Then, his focus apparently spent, his eyes drifted back into their hazy haze.
"God damn it."
Asseraz spat out a curse as if she'd finally reached her limit and turned her back. The other squad members holding the paper-bird sticks were covering their faces with their palms.
"......Is this why I came to Kizen?"
"I'm the precious only son in my family too, you know."
"Guys. Why are YOU two doing this too?"
Asseraz said that, then turned her head and stared off at something in the distance.
Absolutely.
Before long, it was Squad 8's turn.
White walked toward the exam chamber first.
"White! Remember! 200 monsters in 4 minutes!"
"Four minutes!"
Asseraz and the squad members shouted. White, still wearing that dazed look, shuffled forward until he stood before the dungeon keeper.
"Name."
"White."
"Number of monsters?"
White paused for a moment here, staring blankly.
He seemed to be thinking hard. How many was I supposed to say again?
"Number of monsters?"
The dungeon keeper asked again, and White tilted his head back and forth before blurting out:
"Four minutes."
"Four minutes? State the number precisely, in monsters."
"Hmm."
White tilted his head once more, then said:
"400 monsters."
A massive groan echoed from the standby area where Asseraz stood. It was followed by the sharp crack of a stick snapping against her knee.
HAHAHAHAHA—!
Thunderous laughter erupted among the students watching from the lounge.
"Holy crap, did he just say four hundred?"
"And there goes Squad 8, straight down the drain! Safe travels!"
"We won't be going far!"
Considering an Abaddon Dullahan averaged '40' kills, the number was absurd. On top of that, White had opted to use his special summon instead of a Dullahan at all. Even the students who had been bewildered at first were now laughing it off as a total disaster.
Hmm.
But Simon was still watching the screen, dead serious.
White's preparation time was unusually long, thanks to his unique power. He drew out a summon that looked like a pool of black Jet-Black, siphoned dark energy into it with his ability, traced a magic circle on the ground, and dropped an empty suit of armor onto it.
Vmmm!
In no time, limbs formed from the hollow armor, and White's original creation — the Ability Soldier — revealed itself.
So that's the technique.
Simon had seen it before at the Mutant Club interview, but the students seeing this summon for the first time all reacted with shock at its bizarre appearance.
"......Begin."
White murmured.
— Student White. The exam has begun.
Clang! Clang!
Monsters began pouring into the chamber in endless waves. A full 400 monsters blacked out the room in an instant.
White slowly raised his arm.
"Grow."
Vmmm!
The Ability Soldier's body swelled outward into the shape of an enormous sphere. Every trace of its human form vanished — the armor now looked like plates embedded in a giant white orb.
The students watching the screens whispered.
"What's he planning to do with that?"
"Looks like that technique White usually uses."
White swung his arm roughly, and the white sphere moved in the same direction.
KRUUUUUUNK!
The monsters caught in the sphere's path were crushed flat and ground into pulp. White swung his arm left and right, again and again.
WHUUUM!
WHUUUM!
The bloated Ability Soldier churned through the entire exam chamber in a mindless blur, and each pass turned a fresh batch of monsters into bloody paste. Naturally.
Thus, fifteen minutes later—
— Student White. Of the 400 monsters within the time limit, 400 eliminated.
— Student White and Team 5 have earned 800 points.
Everyone watching fell silent.
"...Whoa."
"Wh-what did I just witness."
Hector's team, the former leaders at 520 points, slid down the rankings. White's team leapt to first place with a monstrous 800 points from a single examinee.
"KAHA! I knew it!"
"That's our White! Never doubted you!"
Squad 8 turned into a festival. Going next, Asseraz calmly felled 250 monsters with her own Dullahan and banked 500 points. Just the two of them had already stacked 1,300 team points. The remaining two students safely added 40 monsters each for 80 more, bringing the total to 1,460.
No one could stop them now.
"That's...... huge."
Lorraine's expression darkened as she watched the screen.
And of all times, theirs was the very next slot.
"Team 6! Squads 10 and 4, step forward!"
At last, it was Team 6's turn — Simon's team.
Aside from putting Simon in as the final runner, their order was nothing special; the rest simply chose whichever slot they preferred.
But coming right off Squad 8's spectacle, the students' morale had taken a bit of a dent.
"Alright! In true Kizen fashion, the goal is first place — no exceptions! Let's give it everything!"
the Squad 4 leader shouted with gusto.
"Let's just do what we can. No regrets."
Simon said calmly.
All eight of them placed their hands over one another's palms.
"Fighting!"
They raised their hands together to seal their resolve. The students stepped back, and the dungeon keeper approached.
"First slot, enter."
The first slot went to Squad 4 — the boy whose hunter father had taught him to describe monsters in exhaustive detail.
"We have to catch the leaders."
He murmured with his eyes closed.
"The Student Council President, Lorraine, and our squad leader. If those three can get close to White's and Asseraz's scores......"
"Number of monsters."
At the dungeon keeper's words, the boy snapped his eyes wide open and answered.
"80, please."
Hearing the number, Eshu's face went stiff.
"Th-that's way too many. You're confident, right?"
And then—
— Student Rolington Kolochini. Of the 80 monsters within the time limit, 61 eliminated.
— 19 monsters remaining.
— Student Rolington Kolochini and Team 6 have earned 0 points.
Aaaaah—
A chorus of groans burst from the standby area. The student who'd called for 80 clutched at his hair in despair, and Simon broke out in a cold sweat.
Everyone's way too hung up on the scores ahead of us!
Later slots being luckier than earlier ones was a given, but there was a drawback too: when your rivals perform well, you obsess over their numbers and your own standards waver. And with White's 400 and Asseraz's 250 fresh in everyone's eyes, their sense of scale had gone blurry.
"Guys, let's just stay calm."
Lorraine, thinking the same thing, clapped her hands to reset the mood. At the words of the future headmistress, everyone nodded with grim faces.
Going next, Toto dispatched 40 monsters with his mainline undead, the Death Worm. Eshu fought hard and took down 60 with her Abaddon Dullahan. The Squad 4 members also posted above-average results, ranging from 40 to 70.
And then—
"WOOOOOAAAH!"
"That's Nephthys's daughter for you!"
Lorraine cleared 100 monsters with twenty seconds left on the clock — using a standard Abaddon Dullahan. It was a feat made possible by her specialty: single-undead control. Both Squads 10 and 4 roared back to life.
"Squad 10's kids can actually trade blows with Squad 8 now!"
"At this rate, don't we actually have a shot?"
The students in the lounge, thoroughly entertained by how things were unfolding, leaned in with sparkling eyes.
Then came the de facto ace — the Squad 4 leader, the only one among the eight who possessed a Guardian Dullahan. He stepped forward.
"Name."
"Vicente Boromeo."
"Number of monsters?"
The Squad 4 leader closed his eyes.
The goal, obviously, was first place. It would be hard — but if, just if, Simon could surpass White's 400 monsters and go beyond—
"200, please!"
OOOOOOOH—!
200 monsters — the same tier as Hector. The lounge heated up in an instant. Back at the standby area, though, the other squad members wore uneasy faces.
"You'll really be okay, Leader?"
a girl from Squad 4 asked worriedly. The leader thrust his thumb up.
"Just believe in me."
He boldly summoned his Dullahan.
— Student Vicente Boromeo. Of the 200 monsters within the time limit, 182 eliminated.
— 18 monsters remaining.
— Student Vicente Boromeo and Team 6 have earned 0 points.
He had poured out every drop of Jet-Black and strength he had, but it wasn't enough.
The Squad 4 leader collapsed, pale as a ghost.
"Leader!"
"Are you okay?"
Medics rushed over with a stretcher, but he raised a hand to refuse them.
"I'm...... fine."
He forced himself to walk on his own two feet, but in the end his legs gave out and he crumpled right in front of Simon, who had been waiting behind him.
"......I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
he said, eyes trembling.
"I didn't want to put this on you. I just wanted to fan even the tiniest speck of a chance into some kind of hope......"
"It's fine. You did well."
Simon smiled gently.
"President."
The Squad 4 leader looked up at Simon with trembling eyes.
"I know it's rich coming from someone who just wrecked everything, but the team score is already done for. So—"
Simon nodded simply.
"Yeah. I'll do what I can."
At last—
It was Simon's turn.
Even the students dozing or sprawled out in the lounge scrambled to crowd in front of the monitors at the arrival of a genuine headliner.
"The Student Council President uses a Guardian Dullahan, right?"
"Just an Abaddon. Vanilla Brand, I heard."
"No, no — word is he DOES have a Guardian. No head, though. Body only."
"What? Then what's the point?"
Simon rolled his shoulders in a light stretch, double-checked the magic circles he'd prepared, and headed for the exam chamber.
"That's the boy!"
"Elders, up you get. The second-year Student Council President is on."
The main event of the day had finally arrived. At the appearance of Simon Polentia, everyone held their breath.
"This should be fun. I wonder how many he'll call."
Grelion crossed his arms.
"I'm dying to know!"
"So curious!"
Professors Lyn and Rune clapped their palms together and chattered away like songbirds.
"......"
Aaron simply stared at the screen in silence, a cigar clamped between his lips.
"Name."
said the dungeon keeper.
"Simon Polentia."
"Number of monsters."
The moment had finally come.
Simon turned his head.
Team 6 currently stood at 360 points. The earlier runners had done well, but two zeroes had blown the whole thing apart. To claim first place from Squad 8's 1,460, the points needed were—
1,100.
Which meant Simon alone would have to hunt down a staggering 1,100 monsters.
"Will he call for over a thousand?"
"No chance. Even White only did 400."
As the crowd murmured—
Simon finally spoke.
"I'll do what I can."
Meaning: he would ignore everyone else's rankings and sit the exam purely for his own personal score. The elders and Crows clicked their tongues in disappointment.
"Realistic, I suppose."
"About the size of his talent, then."
The dungeon keeper nodded slowly.
"Number of monsters."
Simon, who had been staring straight ahead with grave eyes, parted his lips at last.
"10,000, please."