Chapter 248: Episode 248

Despite the commotion, Simon successfully secured the exclusive rights to a dungeon. The queen and her officials were rather surprised by his choice. Given his hard-nosed negotiating, they had been on pins and needles, worried he would demand one of the kingdom’s largest dungeons—perhaps even one they were currently preparing to conquer. But Simon’s choice was unexpected.

The White Grave Dungeon. It was named for the dungeon gate discovered within an underground tomb built of white stone. Many expedition teams had been dispatched, but all had failed to even enter. Whether it held some special secret or was sealed by a unique power, no one could pass through the gate. The conquest teams had long since withdrawn, and for the past ten years, archaeologists had been trying to unravel the mystery of its entrance. Simon had requested this dungeon, which had become something of a white elephant for the kingdom.

The crown still held some hope for the dungeon’s potential value, but Simon’s choice was within an acceptable range. However, they stipulated that if he took the exclusive rights, all archaeologists would be withdrawn, and no information gathered by the kingdom would be provided. Simon would have to uncover the dungeon’s secrets on his own.

The queen and her officials were confident that Simon would never solve a riddle that had stumped everyone for a decade. They expected he would eventually come crawling back, willing to concede some of the rights in exchange for their help. But…

[Bwahahaha! I know how to get in, so it doesn’t matter!] Pier’s voice boomed in Simon’s mind.

As it turned out, Pier knew the dungeon’s secret. In the end, Simon was promised the exclusive rights, signed the official documents, and prepared to return to Kizen. He didn’t have time to enter the dungeon immediately, and with the threat of Magnus still looming, he planned to take his time preparing. He also safely received his two-thousand-gold commission fee.

—

’A short but fruitful trip,’ Simon mused. Of course, being caught in the middle of Serne and Lorraine’s power struggle all day had been mentally exhausting.

That afternoon, Simon took a teleportation magic circle back to Kizen. After parting ways with the two girls, he arrived at his dormitory to find Room 409 empty.

’I guess they’re not done with their missions yet.’

Since it was the third day, he figured he wouldn’t see them until tomorrow, the final day of the evaluation. As Simon was leisurely unpacking, he noticed a note stuck to his desk. The handwriting, like a crawling worm, was unmistakably Dick’s.

—Emergency strategy meeting! As soon as you see this, pack an overnight bag and come to the address below!

An address in Rochest was scrawled beneath the message. A look of puzzlement crossed Simon’s face.

’A strategy meeting?’

—

As soon as he returned to Kizen, Simon changed his clothes and headed for Rochest. As dusk fell, streetlights powered by mana bulbs flickered to life across the city.

’It’s crowded, even at night.’

During the mission evaluation period, curfews and other restrictions were lifted, allowing the city’s youth to enjoy the night. Besides, with the third BMAT exam starting the day after tomorrow, everyone knew they would be swamped. It was a chance to burn off some steam before the grind began.

“This is it.”

Simon arrived at the address from Dick’s note. It was an ordinary two-story house. The note indicated the second floor, and as he climbed the stairs, he could already hear a boisterous clamor.

“Excuse me.”

He knocked on the wooden door, but there was no response. The noise from inside seemed to drown out the sound. The door wasn’t locked, so Simon carefully opened it and stepped inside.

“Oh.”

It was a cozy house built of logs. The night air had been chilly, but inside it was pleasantly warm.

’Meow!’

As soon as Simon entered, small black and white kittens came scampering over.

’Huh? Why are they here?’

They were the kittens Kamibarez was raising in the girls’ dormitory. They rubbed against his legs, purring affectionately, and the fatigue from his long day began to melt away. Simon squatted down and gently scratched their ears.

“Hey! What are you doing? If you’re late, hurry up and get in here!” Meirin’s familiar, sharp shout echoed from inside.

“Simon!” Kamibarez peeked her head out and giggled. “Hello!”

“Hey, Kami! You’re all here.”

“Yes! Meirin and I arrived this morning.”

Simon slipped on a pair of indoor slippers and entered the room, the kittens trotting along behind him.

“You made it?” Dick, sitting at a desk, grinned and waved. A fire crackled in the nearby fireplace, and a table was laden with simple snacks and wine. On a plush sofa, various magic circle drawing tools and books were piled high.

“What is all this?” Simon asked, bewildered.

Dick spread his arms wide. “We rented it for the day for our strategy meeting! We’re all sleeping here tonight!”

“A strategy meeting? What for?”

“Looks like you haven’t heard.” Meirin turned to face him. “The theme for the third BMAT exam has been revealed.”

Simon’s eyes widened. “It’s already been revealed?”

“Mwahaha! Who do you think I am? This great Dick found out faster than anyone—!”

“Stop bragging! Pretty much everyone knows by now,” Meirin chided. Dick’s face fell.

“Sob, this isn’t the intense information war I was hoping for!”

“But is this information reliable?”

“Yes! It’s solid!” Kamibarez chimed in, clenching her fists. “The theme for this exam is ‘The Sea’!”

According to her, a large-scale magic circle and an underwater testing facility were being constructed in the sea not far from Roc Island.

“The sea…!”

His mind went blank. An exam held in the sea was something he had never even considered.

“I’ve dug into all the details, like the flow of goods and personnel Kizen is moving. It’s certain,” Dick said, lacing his fingers behind his head. “But Kizen Headquarters is strictly prohibiting entry to the site, so we still don’t know what kind of test it will be.”

“But the theme is definitely the sea.”

“Exactly!”

Just thinking about it made his head spin. ’How on earth are you supposed to fight in the sea?’

He now understood why they had called an emergency meeting. He couldn’t begin to fathom how to fight underwater. He’d had one experience fighting at sea during his second mission evaluation in Blue Harbor against the traitor Pinch, but he had been wearing Pier at the time, and it was more of a shipboard battle than an aquatic one.

“The sea is a necromancer’s nightmare,” Meirin explained. “Jet-black magic circles struggle to maintain cohesion in water and disperse easily. The spells you can use are limited, and ranged projectiles like Jet-Black Arrows slow to a crawl. Most undead are vulnerable to saltwater, and skeletons are practically useless. Bones are lighter than water, so they’ll just float.”

Simon’s expression grew grim. “That’s true, but how do you even breathe?”

“Exactly. Breathing is the biggest problem,” said Kamibarez, who was cuddling the kittens in her lap. “Wouldn’t it be fine if it’s a test where we fight on a boat?”

“It’s definitely not going to be a naval battle,” Dick said with a grim smile. “Kizen being vicious isn’t exactly news, is it? It wouldn’t be strange for them to handcuff us and teleport us to the bottom of the sea.”

“H-Handcuffs…” Kamibarez’s face turned pale.

Meirin pressed a finger to Dick’s forehead. “Enough with the morbid talk. We have to prepare for underwater combat, no matter what. Even if it is a naval battle like Kami said, we need a plan for falling overboard.”

“Right, that makes sense.” Simon and Kamibarez nodded in agreement.

Meirin clapped her hands, drawing everyone’s attention. “Then, as team leader, I’ll give the orders.” She picked up a book from the sofa and opened it. The title read, ’Necromancer, Survive in the Sea!’

“Now that Simon is here, I’ll start from the beginning. It’s not that there’s no black magic for underwater use, but they all involve high-level formulas you don’t learn until the upper years.”

Simon took the book and examined the diagram. It was a magic circle for a simple artificial gill, but it was filled with formulas he had never seen. A quick glance told him he’d have to learn a rune called ‘Deviation’ to even attempt it, and there were several prerequisite runes before that.

“Most of the other books are like this.”

“They seem kind of user-unfriendly.”

“Haha! What do you expect? That’s just how necromancers are!” Dick cut in. “Necromancers are pragmatists at heart. They develop the most efficient magic circles they can. Unless it’s a textbook, you’ll be hard-pressed to find black magic that caters to beginners, especially underwater beginners!”

“So you’re saying we have to create the spells for the exam ourselves?”

“That’s it! You catch on quick.”

“Alright.” Meirin looked at her teammates. “Our top priority is to create a spell that will help us breathe underwater. After that, we need an offensive spell for underwater combat and a movement spell for mobility. The exam could be this week or next, so let’s hurry.”

Meirin assigned roles to each of them. “Let’s begin!”

Simon and Meirin took charge of the crucial breathing magic circle. They spread out books borrowed from the library, planning to extract only the most important formulas. After creating a prototype, they would run a simple test before taking it to a professor or TA for a stability check.

“How did you manage to borrow all these books, anyway?” Simon asked.

Meirin smirked. “Because I ran to the library the second I heard the news from that commoner.”

The three of them had apparently checked out every book related to the sea and black magic. There had even been students who had gotten there before them.

“The latecomers who arrived at the library after us must have been panicking.”

“You did a good job.” Simon examined the diagram Meirin had created. “This is an air tank design that stores air within the magic circle.”

“Uh-huh.”

“But to maintain the circle for a long time underwater, don’t we need to add more formulas to strengthen its cohesion?”

She shrugged. “There’s no room. Look at the circle. It’s already packed.”

“Then let’s start by simplifying the unnecessary structures to free up space. We can begin by straightening the complex Jet-Black circuit.”

“Idiot! This isn’t an attack spell! If you straighten the circuit, it’ll just be an air gun!”

“We can disperse the circuit at the end. Hold on.” Simon rummaged through the books for relevant material. “Kami! Can you find an example of circuit dispersion?”

“On it, Simon!” Kamibarez, who was in charge of research and offensive magic, was sitting in a corner surrounded by a fortress of open books. She diligently flipped through the pages. “How about this?”

“Ah, you found it fast! Thanks!” Simon took the book, spread it open, and began modifying the diagram with a quill pen.

“I’ll try building it now,” Meirin said. She floated the magic circle in the air and channeled Jet-Black into it, but a leak appeared in the middle. “It’s a failure. The Jet-Black is seeping out.”

“There’s resistance building up on this line, so it’s accumulating damage. Hold on.”

The four of them became completely engrossed in developing their underwater magic circle. While Meirin reviewed the runes, Simon took a short break and picked up an unopened bottle of wine from the table.

“Can I drink this?”

“Yeah, yeah, help yourself!” Dick nodded.

Simon poured a small amount, just enough not to get drunk, and took a sip along with some snacks. He was starving, having missed dinner.

“Hey, Simon! Take a look at this!”

“Okay.”

Two hours flew by in an instant. The night deepened, but their work continued in a lively atmosphere.

“Ahaha! Look at them!” Dick pointed. Two kittens had curled up together in a pot and fallen asleep. Meirin and Kamibarez clasped their hands and squealed with delight.

“They’re so cute!”

“Ugh, my heart can’t take it.”

“Should we take a break?” At Simon’s suggestion, the two girls rushed over to the kittens. Dick sprawled out on the sofa and closed his eyes, but a moment later, Meirin smacked him on the back to wake him up.

“Simon! Can you look at the attack spell I made, too?”

“Alright.”

Kamibarez had created a modified version of the Jet-Black Arrow, which she had already named the ‘Jet-Black Torpedo.’ Dick peeked over her shoulder and gasped in admiration.

“Ooh, solid design! Let’s test it.”

“W-Where?”

Dick ran to the bathroom and started filling the tub with water.

“Hey!!” Meirin shouted. “Don’t! You’ll cause an accident!” “Don’t do it!” Dick mimicked a girl’s voice.

A pepper shaker flew from Meirin’s hand and sailed toward his forehead. He dodged it nimbly.

“Hey, it’s not dangerous! It’s just a simple spell, on par with a Jet-Black Arrow. It’s fine! I’ll take full responsibility!”

A moment later, Kamibarez stepped into the tub and deployed a magic circle beneath the water’s surface. At first, she failed as the Jet-Black kept dispersing, but she soon got the hang of it, her control solidifying until she could successfully form the circle underwater.

“Okay! Shoot it here!” Dick stood on the opposite side, a defensive magic circle at the ready. Simon came over to watch, and even Meirin, who had been trying to ignore them, eventually gave in to her curiosity and stood on her tiptoes behind Simon.

“Jet-Black Torpedo!”

The projectile shot through the water with a ’swoosh!’. Everyone gasped.

But suddenly, the torpedo, which had been heading straight, ricocheted off Dick’s defensive circle and shot up into the air. It slammed into the mana bulb on the bathroom ceiling with a loud sound and exploded.

“Wooowww!”

“Whoa!”

Dick and Kamibarez scrambled out of the tub. The mana bulb shattered, showering the floor with glass, and Dick tripped on the edge of the tub, crashing down with a clatter.

“I can’t believe you guys! I told you not to do it, you troublemakers!” Meirin scolded, but a smile played on her lips. Simon was laughing, too. Kamibarez hung her head.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Meirin gently patted Kamibarez’s head and glared at Dick. “This is all your fault for putting up such a thick defensive circle for a simple test.”

“…Wow, talk about playing favorites. I can’t live like this.” Despite his words, Dick climbed onto the tub to inspect the light fixture. “Phew, thank goodness! The ceiling’s fine, only the bulb broke.”

He cleaned up the debris and pulled a new bulb from his Subspace to install it. When he activated the magic circle on the ceiling, the light flickered on. “I replaced it with a better one than you can buy in stores! The landlady won’t have any complaints, right?”

Simon smiled. “You should still tell her.”

“Oh, of course. I’ll have to beg her for a discount on the rent since I replaced the bulb.”

Everyone burst out laughing. The night of the strategy meeting wore on.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep