Chapter 475: Episode 475

“Simon Polentia,” he announced, rising from his seat. Aaron’s question lingered in the air: the meaning of the ‘strength that doesn’t require control’ possessed by a Skeleton Knight.

“A regular Skeleton requires precise undead control,” Simon began. “Because it’s an undead held together by Jet-Black, it collapses easily from even simple impacts.”

He turned to look at the Skeleton Knight Aaron had created. “However, a Skeleton Knight wears armor, giving it defensive capabilities. I believe that as long as you maintain a mental link, it can perform its duties without the caster needing to constantly manage it.”

“Indeed. That is correct.”

Applause broke out across the room. Toto, sitting beside him, was clapping with particular enthusiasm.

“You may sit. A Skeleton Knight wears equipment. Therefore, its use of a Skeleton’s unique ‘restoration skills’ like Bone Armor, Bone Spear, and Bone Wall is restricted.”

As Aaron waved his hand, the Skeleton Knight’s bones disassembled and floated in mid-air. It seemed to be trying to use ‘Bone Spear’, but the armor got in the way, preventing proper movement. The weight of the armor also caused some parts to sink toward the floor.

“It can’t use restoration skills, but when you need to leave the fighting to your summon while you prepare other black magic, a Knight is far more effective than a regular Skeleton. That’s enough of an explanation. Open your textbooks to page two.”

A soft ’rustle’ filled the room as pages turned.

“The differences between a Skeleton and a Skeleton Knight, and the unique characteristics of the Knight. This is a classic question for the midterm exam. It would be best to memorize all of it.”

A peaceful quiet fell as the students began taking notes. Simon rested his chin on his hand, jotting down the key points Aaron wrote on the blackboard.

’Still, after this class, I think I’ll just stick with regular Skeletons.’

They were perfect for buying time to prepare a main skill, just as Aaron had demonstrated. And for students who lacked precise undead control, a Knight was an expensive but much better alternative. Simon, however, was extremely confident in his control and didn’t see enough of a benefit to justify giving up the restoration skills that were his mainstays.

’Once this class is over…’

“Some of you must be wondering,” Aaron’s voice cut through his thoughts. Simon’s head snapped up. “You’ve done well with Skeletons so far, so why do you need to learn about Skeleton Knights now?”

With a scrape of chalk, Aaron picked up a new piece. “I will now explain the reason. This isn’t in the textbook, so pay close attention.”

The students swallowed nervously. Aaron moved to the far left of the blackboard and wrote 「Skeleton Knight」 at the very edge.

“To create a Skeleton Knight, you must master the ‘Lune of Remembrance’ and its related formulas. It’s a technique that controls a corpse’s residual thoughts to more powerfully draw out the skills it had in life.”

He wrote 「Lune of Remembrance」 beneath Skeleton Knight, then drew a long line extending from it.

“And the ‘Lune of Remembrance’ you learn here becomes a core component for creating a Ghoul, a higher-tier version of the Zombie.”

Aaron wrote 「Ghoul」 on the board.

“To create a Ghoul, you must master the alteration formula that causes mutations in corpses, as well as the decay mutation formula. Afterward, by combining the Ghoul’s decay mutation formula with the Lune of Remembrance learned from the Skeleton Knight…”

The chalk scraped across the board as Aaron drew lines from the two undead. At the point where they met, he drew a new circle and wrote a name inside it.

“You can create the magic undead, 「Devourer」.”

Aaron’s chalk danced across the blackboard. He showed how combining various learned runes and formulas could create a wide variety of undead, and how the formulas required to create those undead could then be combined to summon even higher-tier creatures. He was drawing a grand ‘roadmap’.

“Night Terror, Colossus, Crypt Guard.”

The faces of the Summoning students flushed with excitement at the list of powerful undead they had only ever heard of. If necessary, Aaron even incorporated runes and techniques from other departments. He combined the existing ‘Death Bat’ with a blood-sucking formula from Hemomancy to create a ‘Blood Bat’, and added a curse formula to create a ‘Nosferatu’.

The students’ mouths fell open each time a new undead was added to the board. Finally, at the very end of the blackboard, the chalk scraped again and again as all the runes and formulas converged from the left side of the board to the far right.

“This is our goal for the semester. Only when you have built up all these fundamentals…”

He tapped the board.

“Will you finally be able to create the Tier 3 undead, the headless knight, ‘Dullahan’.”

A collective gasp of awe erupted from the classroom. It was one of a summoner’s greatest aspirations: a monster that never fell, no matter the attack, and cut down enemies with overwhelming, tireless strength. It was the infamous creature that had brought an end to the ‘Great Knight Era’ that once dominated the continent.

“I’m not saying you have to use every undead you learn in actual combat,” Aaron said, tapping the chalk to his temple. “However, all the knowledge and experience you gain while creating these undead will become nourishment, allowing you to create and command even higher-tier undead.”

Simon smiled as he studied the formulas needed to create a Dullahan. Unlike a Lich from a ‘Life Vessel’, which was purely a matter of talent and instinct, a Dullahan could not be created with innate talent alone. It required knowledge. This one summon demanded a solid foundation and an immense understanding of the summoning arts. As all of this accumulated in his mind, becoming truly his own, Simon was certain he would become much stronger.

’To be honest, even if someone told me to create a Lich right now, I’m not confident I could do it as well as I did back then.’

He had relied too much on Compello, and too many people had helped him. The accidental combination of the autonomous staff and Herseva had been a stroke of luck. He couldn’t rely on instinct and coincidence forever.

’I have to study,’ Simon resolved, his eyes shining. He would make all of this his own, no matter what.

“Any questions?”

A male student, swept up in the excitement of Aaron’s lecture, shot his hand up and stood. “Matt Comer! Can we really create a Dullahan in just one semester?”

In the standard Kizen curriculum, the Dullahan was widely considered a third-year undead. But Aaron simply nodded.

“Of course. That is, if you can keep up with the class.”

“Th-Then!” Toto suddenly leaped to his feet, so excited he forgot to state his name. “If we’re making a Dullahan in the first semester, does that mean next we can make… ’that’?”

His voice grew louder. “The dream of every summoner! A Death Knight!”

At the name ‘Death Knight’, a heavy silence fell over the classroom. Instead of answering, Aaron offered a slight smile.

“Toto Amori, that is something you’ll have to survive until next semester to find out.”

“…Ah.” As if belatedly overcome with embarrassment, Toto’s face turned bright red as he sank back into his seat.

“That’s enough motivation for now. Let’s end the theory lecture here,” Aaron said, checking his wristwatch. “From now on, it’s practical application. We will create a Skeleton Knight with the materials you’ve brought. I see no need to explain how important this first step is.”

“Yes!!” the students roared.

As they quickly took out their remaining materials, Lorraine, seated next to Simon, smiled faintly. “Professor Aaron is a good teacher.”

Come to think of it, Lorraine had been in the back-row class. Simon grinned. “Look forward to more.”

Dullahan and Death Knight. For the first time, Simon truly felt like a Summoning major.

—

The students began creating their Skeleton Knights in a relaxed atmosphere. Teaching assistants circulated, helping those who were stuck. As it was the first class, things were a bit chaotic.

“Anyone have some bone glue I can borrow?!”

Many students hadn’t brought all their materials. A girl with orange hair was eagerly looking around when she spotted Toto in front of Simon and waved. “Hey! You, Death Knight boy!”

Simon couldn’t hold back a ’snort’ of laughter as he assembled the bones. Thanks to the earlier exchange, Toto was now known among the department students as ‘Death Knight boy’.

“Don’t laugh, Simon!” Toto cried, his face beet red.

Just then, the orange-haired girl approached. “Can I borrow some bone glue?”

“M-Me?” Toto’s chronic problem flared up. The moment a girl spoke to him, his face turned red and he started stuttering.

“Hurry up! Can you or can’t you?”

“Ah, uh, yes!” After a moment of jerky hesitation, Toto handed over the bone glue.

Simon watched him. ’He hasn’t even started his own bonding work yet.’

He sighed softly and offered his own bottle. “Just use mine.”

Both Toto and the girl turned their heads.

“Ooh, thanks, President!” she said, taking the glue with both hands.

“Just call me Simon during class.”

She paused for a moment, then let out a soft “hmm” and smiled. ’What does that mean?’

“Anyway, thanks for what you did during the initiation ceremony,” she added.

“For what?”

“Ahaha! Don’t pretend you forgot! When we were crossing the skeleton bridge, you saved me with that weird technique of yours!”

’Ah, right.’ Simon nodded. It had been too dark to see clearly, but he supposed it must have been her. He smiled brightly. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”

“Hah.” She smirked, her eyes narrowing in a way that seemed to say, ’Look at this guy.’ “Anyway, I’ll use this real quick and give it back!” she chirped, humming as she returned to her seat.

Just as Simon was about to resume his own work, a cloying voice called out.

“Simon…?”

He pretended not to hear, but the voice called his name again, and he had no choice but to turn around. Serne, who had arrived late and taken the seat diagonally from him, was holding two bones and trying to stick them together.

“I can’t do this. It’s too hard for me…”

’If this is too hard, why did you even join the Department of Summoning?’ Simon thought with a dry laugh. “Of course it’s not working. You’re trying to connect bone number 34 with bone number 102. Look at the textbook and assemble the parts in the correct order.”

“But it’s too hard! Can’t you come over here and help me?”

“Ah. That.” A sturdy male student in the seat behind Serne raised a finger. “The one in your left hand is number 34, and the bone under your elbow is number 35. You just have to connect those two.”

He had offered the advice kindly, perhaps hoping to get on the good side of the Ivory Tower’s heir, but Serne’s icy gaze fell upon him.

A moment later, the male student was licking a skeleton bone like a dog treat, his eyes completely glazed over.

“Serne! You’re at it again!” Lorraine cried, rushing over to intervene. Another fight was brewing.

“What is all this commotion?”

In the end, Aaron had to come over to mediate, and he began teaching the problem child, Serne, himself. The way her lips pouted as she connected the bones made her look like a duck, and Simon found it amusing.

With a ’clatter’ of bone, the elites had made considerable progress while Simon had been distracted. Hector, ranked third. Aseraz, ranked fifth. And Fitzgerald, from the mutation club. The other students marveled at the insane speed at which the three of them were assembling their skeletons.

’Alright, time for me to focus, too.’

He couldn’t fall behind. Simon cracked his knuckles and began constructing his Knight in earnest.

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