Chapter 476: Episode 476

The Skeleton Knight was a more difficult task than he had anticipated. There were countless details to consider. It wasn’t just a matter of connecting bones like a puzzle, as with a regular Skeleton; he also had to account for the armor. Some parts required attaching the armor after assembly, while others came with the bone and armor already fused into a single piece. One mistake in the sequence would lead to disaster.

’Ugh, this definitely isn’t easy.’

He had to fully understand the armor’s structure and the connection sequence before even starting. Looking around, Simon saw quite a few students raising their hands for help. The Summoning department’s teaching assistants were running themselves ragged again today.

“There’s no need to overthink it,” Aaron’s voice cut through the low hum of the classroom. “The armor is ultimately just another component. Don’t get bogged down in the details; look at the overall picture and assemble it step by step.”

Following his advice, Simon quickly completed the two legs. He stepped back to admire his work, a proud smile spreading across his face.

’Not bad. So this is the appeal of a Knight!’

Most necromancers viewed Skeletons as fragile, high-maintenance undead that could crumble at the slightest touch. But covering those vulnerable bone joints with metal made it look incredibly sturdy.

As he started to get the hang of it, Simon moved on to the torso, attaching the chest armor. Once he found his rhythm, he was able to assemble the pieces in order without pause.

’This part fits into the groove here, and this part connects with Jet-Black thread.’

Watching Simon’s Skeleton Knight quickly take shape, Toto let out an envious sigh. “Amazing! You’ve already made that much?”

“It gets easier once you get warmed up,” Simon replied.

He had struggled at first due to his lack of knowledge about armor and metalworking, but once he broke through that initial barrier, the rest of the process was smooth sailing. Now, on his lab table, sat a Skeleton Knight divided into an upper and lower half—a necessary step due to the armor’s structure.

’The final step!’

Simon rolled up his sleeves. ’Now I just have to connect the upper body to the lower body and cover it with the last piece of armor…!’

With a ’grunt’, Simon strained to lift the surprisingly heavy upper torso. As he did, a white hand reached out from the other side to help.

“I’ll help,” Lorraine offered.

“Thanks, Lorraine!”

Together, they securely held the upper body from both sides. On the count of three, they slowly lowered it onto the lower half.

With a satisfying ’click’, the connection was made. The Jet-Black in the two spinal columns met and fused, healing into a single, solid frame.

“Alright, it’s done!” Simon exclaimed in triumph.

But then…

An incredibly ominous ’creak’ echoed from the Knight. It swayed precariously, and then, with the sickening ’crack’ of something breaking, its waist bent sharply, and it slumped forward into a deep, pathetic bow.

Simon and Lorraine stared at each other, their expressions a perfect match of bewilderment.

—

Simon immediately called Aaron over for help. After carefully examining the bent-over Skeleton Knight, the professor finally spoke.

“There doesn’t seem to be any problem with the assembly.”

“Th-Then what is it?”

“It’s defective.”

Simon’s heart sank into his stomach with a ’thud’.

“Even factory-made products have defects, so it’s hardly a rare occurrence for undead kits like this,” Aaron explained. “The connection between the upper and lower body was done properly, but it seems the bone just above the joint was damaged from the start. It must have finally given way under the weight of the armor.”

“Ah…” Simon let out a disappointed sigh.

’Damn it, I should have just bought the Vanilla brand!’

Before escorting the freshmen from Langerstine, he had briefly stopped by a necromancer shop, but the Vanilla brand Skeleton Knight kits were all out of stock. The clerk had recommended the ‘Pastel’ brand, a tier lower. Simon had debated whether to just wait and buy the more expensive kit in Rochest, but had ultimately purchased the Pastel one.

“Don’t be too disappointed. It’s a common experience for a summoner,” Aaron said before walking over to another student. “Contact the shop where you bought it and start the refund process.”

“…Yes, sir.”

Simon stared blankly at the Skeleton Knight, its waist slumped forward.

“Pres~ident! Thanks for lending me the glue!”

Just then, the orange-haired girl who had borrowed the bone glue approached with a cheerful smile. “Huh?”

Her eyes fell on Simon, whose head was hanging in frustration, and then to the Skeleton Knight, whose waist was slumped in a matching posture.

She burst out laughing, a loud peal that caused the surrounding students to turn and frown in her direction.

“What is this! Ugh! Hahahaha! Is this some kind of elderly skeleton or something?”

“It’s defective,” Simon muttered, taking back the adhesive with a flushed face.

“Pfft! Hahaha! Ah, sorry! Hehehe!” she wheezed, laughing so hard she lost her balance and staggered, leaning her back against Toto. He instantly froze solid, his face turning bright red.

“It’s just that your pose from earlier was the exact same as the skeleton’s. Heheheh! Like master, like summon. Keke!”

“Stop laughing!”

A short distance away, Aseraz, ranked fifth, turned her head at the sound of laughter, her eyes glinting.

’A defective product? He was the one I was most worried about, but it looks like I’m in luck for the first class.’

In the very back row, Hector watched the scene with an expressionless face.

’So, even he has days like this.’

Left alone again, Simon grunted with effort as he tried to straighten the skeleton knight’s badly bent waist.

But it just flopped backward again.

’I can’t give up like this. There’s still plenty of class time left.’

Of course, Aaron had promised full marks for construction, acknowledging the defective materials, but a missing final product would inevitably drag down his overall score. Kizen was inflexible with its evaluations; only results mattered.

’I’ll try everything I can!’

If results were all that mattered, then he would find a way. He would use whatever stopgap measures were necessary to make the skeleton stand, at least for the duration of the class. Simon pulled a roll of Summoning tape from his bag and ripped off a long strip with a sharp ’schrrrip’, then frantically wrapped it around the skeleton’s waist.

’I’ll just route the flow of Jet-Black around the break.’

Simon drew a small magic circle on the defective bone and another just above it, constructing a temporary circuit. This would allow the Jet-Black to flow between the circles, bypassing the damaged section entirely.

’Alright, something like this?’

Simon stepped back and crossed his arms.

“Move, Knight!” he commanded with a thought.

’Clank. Clank.’

The Skeleton Knight began to take hesitant steps forward. It was clumsy, but at least it could walk.

’Running will be tough, but this is better than nothing.’

With a sigh, Simon retrieved a sword from his subspace, placed it in the Skeleton Knight’s hand, and directed the blade toward an empty part of the room.

“Swing!”

’Whoosh!’

The blade cut through the air with a crisp sound. A glimmer of hope returned to Simon’s eyes as other students began to murmur and glance in his direction.

“This time, horizontally!”

’Whoooosh!’

The Skeleton Knight twisted at the waist and unleashed a powerful swing, but—

’Snap!’

Unable to withstand the force, its waist buckled again, the torso bobbing pathetically like a broken spring. Simon slapped a hand to his forehead as boisterous laughter erupted around him.

“Are you all right, Simon?” Lorraine asked, walking over.

Simon forced a vigorous nod. “Of course. I haven’t given up yet.”

“Okay. Good luck.”

Had she come over just to encourage him? Whatever the reason, Simon genuinely felt a surge of strength.

’Still, I think I just saw a way forward.’

Simon laid out all the equipment he had on the table. He had absolutely no intention of giving up.

—

Time passed. One by one, students finished their Skeleton Knights and lined up to be graded. The first to complete a knight in the second-year Summoning Department was Aseraz Mikel.

’Whoosh— Whoosh—’

Gasps of admiration followed every swing of her knight’s sword. Each downward strike was powerful and precise, a world away from the chaotic swordsmanship of a common skeleton.

“Well done, Aseraz,” Aaron said, nodding as he held the evaluation sheet. “Your score is…”

“I’m not finished yet, Professor,” Aseraz interjected.

At her mental command, the Skeleton Knight set down the shield in its left hand. In its place, it gripped another sword.

’Twin blades?’

The moment Aseraz gave the command, the two swords crossed in a beautiful, deadly arc. The students were so amazed their jaws dropped. Aaron, too, nodded in satisfaction.

“Quite impressive. How did you do it?”

“The material for my Skeleton Knight is a Grade 3 monster, the Galbaren,” she quickly explained. “It’s a creature that employs unconventional combat methods. I formed a strong connection with the Skeleton Knight’s consciousness and focused on finding the most appropriate technique it used in life. I found that giving it two swords doubled its effectiveness, so I modified the bones in its wrists and arms to accommodate that characteristic.”

“…So you’ve not only mastered the basics of summon creation but have already given it a unique personality.” Aaron smiled. “It’s a shame I can’t give you a score higher than A+. Good work.”

’Clap, clap, clap, clap!’

Aseraz descended from the platform to the sound of her classmates’ applause.

“Next!”

Hector received an A+ for assembling a knight as massive as himself—one and a half times the size of a normal Skeleton Knight. It was common knowledge in Summoning that the larger a skeleton, the harder it was to build.

Fitzgerald earned the students’ praise by creating a unique undead that could reinforce its own sword and armor by infusing them with Jet-Black once a battle began, having engraved enchantment magic circles on the equipment. However, Aaron had a different opinion.

“The idea is good, but you didn’t consider the knight’s Jet-Black consumption and operational time,” he critiqued. “As it is, far from being a power that doesn’t require control, it would struggle to move for more than five minutes.”

Fitzgerald was flustered by the unexpected criticism, but he quickly adjusted his glasses and replied, “My goal was to create a Skeleton Knight model specialized for short, decisive battles, which would offset that weakness.”

“Not a bad answer for an improvisation.” But Aaron was one step ahead of him. “If you had truly intended to create a model specialized for short battles, you wouldn’t have applied an enchantment magic circle to the armor.”

Fitzgerald fell silent.

“And if you had used lighter armor, I might have fallen for your excuse. It’s a B+, Fitzgerald.”

It took more than a simple trick to fool a Kizen professor. Fitzgerald accepted the grade cleanly and returned to his seat, whispering to Toto, “I thought it was worth a shot.”

“…Hahaha.”

And then, it was his turn.

“Simon Polentia.”

Simon came up to be evaluated, his Skeleton Knight following with a shambling gait. Bursts of loud laughter erupted from all around.

“…You tried hard,” Aaron said, a hint of pity in his voice.

Simon had succeeded in making the defective waist stand straight by pouring all sorts of materials into it, but the Skeleton Knight looked as though it had sacrificed much in return. Its armor had even been cut down to reduce weight, making it look more like light armor.

“As I said before, there were no flaws in your construction. However, as a Summoning professor, I must evaluate the final product.”

“I understand.”

“Simon, the score I’m giving you is…”

“Just a moment, Professor.”

Aaron turned his head. Simon gave a meaningful smile and spread his arms wide.

“I’m confident that this knight can defeat any other knight in a fight.”

The surrounding students began to murmur. Some even laughed openly.

“Is he bluffing?”

“He’s doing this even after seeing what happened to Fitzgerald.”

“It won’t work on Professor Aaron.”

Hearing this, a deep smile formed on Aaron’s lips.

“Can you take responsibility for those words?”

“Of course.”

Aaron’s head turned. The first person he saw was Hector. Honestly, as someone who had watched Simon and Hector grow together in Class A, he wanted to see them fight. But as a professor during class, he had to cast aside his personal feelings. He had to choose the student with the best-made Skeleton Knight from this class.

“Aseraz Mikel. Come forward.”

’Scrape!’

As if she had been waiting, Aseraz stood up and brought her twin-sword-wielding Skeleton Knight forward. Hector, who had been halfway out of his seat, ground his teeth as he watched her go.

“Simon Polentia.”

Aaron turned his head back to him.

“If you defeat Aseraz’s Skeleton Knight, I’ll allow myself to be fooled by your words.”

A smile spread across Simon’s lips.

“I’ll show you.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep