Chapter 13
***
"Hello, senior. I apologize for disturbing you while you're sleeping."
"...."
There was no reply. Simon tried again.
"We'd like to share this room as well, if you don't mind."
"...."
Still no response.
Lena, who had followed them in, trembled and clutched Simon's sleeve.
"L-Let's just go back, Simon. He's just as I said..."
Just then,
Bloodshot red eyes glared at them from within the opening of the blanket.
Rick gulped, and Lena stumbled backward in fear.
"...Freshmen."
Finally, the blanket was thrown back, and a man sat up with a rustle.
"Today was the entrance ceremony... Time flies, doesn't it?"
He was lean, but his muscles were well-defined.
Sharp eyes.
And a vivid scar bisecting his bloodshot right eye.
Numerous smaller scars littered his bare torso.
Dangerous.
That was everyone's first impression.
As he glared, Rick and Lena grabbed Simon's arms from both sides.
"...Don't call me senior. I'm a first-year too."
"Then, Mr. Kajann..."
"Just call me Kajann."
He brushed his hair back, revealing his fierce gaze.
It was the look of someone who would stab you to death without a second thought, a look that didn't belong on a teenager.
"I don't know how long you'll last in this school, but remember two things. First, mind your own business. Second, don't make noise before I fall asleep. Once I'm asleep, you can dance, sing, whatever you want."
"...Ah! So, you're giving us permission?"
"Permission or not, there are no empty rooms, so someone was bound to come in eventually."
Kajann lay back down and pulled the blanket over himself.
"...."
After a moment, they heard the even sound of his breathing as he fell asleep.
Simon and Rick exchanged glances and stepped out of the room.
Lena, the last to leave, carefully closed the door behind her.
"We'll take this room."
They decided on room 409. Lena asked with a worried look.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, we're sure. He doesn't seem like a bad person."
Lena nodded and marked the list.
She then placed their nameplates in the case on the door.
"Then, it's settled for room 409! Later, if anything... If he does anything to you, please let me know. I'll report it to the dormitory supervisor immediately."
"Yes, thank you for your concern."
After parting ways with Lena, Simon and Rick unpacked their belongings, each taking a bed.
Rick chose the one closer to the door, while Simon took the inner bed, closer to Kajann.
There were occasional noises as they unpacked, but Kajann remained asleep as if dead.
They only heard his soft breathing.
"Is he really not going to wake up?"
Suddenly emboldened, Rick dropped a textbook on the floor.
It landed with a thud, but Kajann remained undisturbed.
"...He said we could dance or sing after he fell asleep. He meant it."
"He doesn't seem like a bad guy."
Feeling more at ease, they finished unpacking.
"Simon! Let's go take a shower. I saw a bathhouse on the second floor on the way up."
"A bathhouse?"
***
It was Simon's first time in a public bathhouse.
The facility, which could accommodate over a hundred people at once, gleamed with gold tiles on the floor and walls, and hot spring water flowed into the baths.
Simon tried the shower stalls, marveling at the water cascading from the ceiling at the push of a button, and soaked in the bubbling hot water, relaxing his tired muscles.
"Ah, this is amazing."
As he was leaving after his bath,
Simon, a towel draped around his neck, walked up the stairs with a relaxed expression. Rick chuckled.
"First time I've seen someone so amazed by a shower stall. Did you live in a mountain or something?"
"Something like that."
Simon replied, rubbing his wet hair with a towel.
"Haha, even so, try to control your 'ooh's and 'aah's next time you push the shower button. Word travels fast around here."
"Was I really that bad?"
"You were something else."
They returned to their dormitory room.
Kajann was still asleep in the same position, as if time had stood still.
Looking out the window, they saw that darkness had fallen.
Feeling drowsy after his shower, Simon lay down on the soft bed.
A sigh of contentment escaped his lips.
It felt as if all the happiness in the world was concentrated here.
"Ahh, I'm glad I came to Kizen."
Rick chuckled at his words.
"Everyone wants to come to Kizen. Of course, whether we can stay here depends on our grades."
"I heard there are only 300 second-year students."
"That's right. Right now, it's the student protection period, so the professors are going easy on us, but soon enough, it'll be expulsion for failing grades, expulsion for lack of potential, expulsion for breaking the rules. Life at Kizen is survival of the fittest."
Rick put his arm behind his head and looked up at the ceiling.
"Just surviving the first year opens doors to most places. If you can overcome the insane competition and graduate... then you become one of the movers and shakers of the continent. Anything is possible, except maybe royalty. Well, no, maybe a Kizen graduate could even snag a princess from a smaller kingdom?"
Simon chuckled.
"Do you want to become a noble?"
"Not really. Of course, being a noble would be convenient and prevent people from looking down on you, but that's not my ultimate goal."
"Then what is your goal?"
Rick made a coin shape with his fingers.
"This."
"...."
For a simple statement like "I want to make money," Rick's expression seemed unusually complex.
Since they had only met today, Simon decided not to pry.
While Rick was lost in thought, Simon channeled mana into the ring on his finger.
The ring turned black, and Simon pulled on the setting.
A subspace opened up on the floor, and an Island Ratman skeleton set popped out.
These were the class materials he had bought on Campbell Road.
"Whoa! What was that?"
"Subspace."
Simon replied briefly and sat down in front of the skeleton set.
He opened the case and took out the packaged bones.
Running his fingers over their surface and sniffing them, he confirmed they were thoroughly sterilized and clean.
A bone diagram was also included.
Rick made a face.
"...Still studying after classes are over?"
"Just... I don't want to forget that feeling."
The match against Hector in Summoning class.
So much had happened at once that Simon wanted to recreate that wondrous feeling.
First, he channeled Jet Black into the magic circle on the skull, awakening the undead.
Click. Clack.
The skull's jaw clacked against its palate, as if alive.
Undead born from summoning magic recognized the user of Jet Black as their master.
Simon slowly closed his eyes, increasing his synchronization with the undead.
Countless thoughts filled his mind.
'This time, I'll rely solely on my intuition.'
Simon picked up bones 5, 7, and 10 and attached them to the skull.
The bones snapped into place effortlessly, a satisfying sensation.
He built the spine, formed the torso, and connected the legs.
Rick watched, open-mouthed, as Simon attached the bones with practiced ease.
"...Done!"
After 30 minutes, he had recreated the irregular, quadrupedal skeleton from class.
However, unlike during the class, it took much longer, and the legs seemed problematic, its gait awkward and unnatural.
It was a matter of focus and concentration.
Assembling the skeleton in a comfortable environment without stress didn't yield the same results as under pressure.
Still, Simon was satisfied with having recreated it.
Simon stroked the undead skull and said,
"Sorry."
Then, he exerted force on his fingers and broke the skeleton's torso.
Crash!
The assembled bones scattered, landing on the bed, desk, windowsill, and even inside the wardrobe.
Rick exclaimed in surprise,
"What are you doing? It's a waste to break it after all that effort...!"
Simon closed his eyes and focused. Sweat beaded on his freshly washed hair.
Skeletons formed through summoning magic possessed the ability to restore their previous form.
Its official name was "Restoration," but in the field, it was also called "Attraction."
Simon sensed the Jet Black contained within the 53 bones scattered throughout the room.
'Restore!'
As Simon opened his eyes, the scattered bones flew towards the skeleton's torso and reassembled themselves.
It took 30 minutes to create it initially, but it took only 15 seconds to reassemble it back to its original form.
Simon exhaled and opened his eyes.
"...Still freaking awesome, even after seeing it again."
Rick muttered with a chuckle.
The restored skeleton approached Simon and nuzzled its head against his leg affectionately.
Simon smiled and stroked the undead.
He then proceeded to assemble a standard Island Ratman skeleton according to the diagram.
Instead of simply following the numbers on the diagram, he contemplated why bone 11 should follow bone 10, and why the assembly order was established this way, jotting down his insights in a notebook.
This order was the standard, established by necromancers over a long period.
But countless trials and errors must have led to this standard.
Every action had a reason and a meaning.
Every time he realized this, a thrill ran through him, and he felt grateful for the knowledge and efforts of his predecessors.
Simon tried swapping bones 25 and 31.
"How's this?"
He experimented.
The skeleton, moving its arm, shook its head with a clicking sound.
He learned that even if a more logically sound arrangement existed based on human anatomy, there was a more effective arrangement for undead movement.
"...Hmm."
Rick, who had been dozing off, rubbed his eyes and sat up.
"Still at it? You're really into Summoning."
"Yeah, it's fun."
A smile spread across Simon's face.
"I can't wait for the next class."
Rick yawned and climbed back into bed, but Simon's night wasn't over yet.
He opened his Introduction to Summoning textbook and began his research in earnest.
'The basics of undead.'
Simon was still thirsty for knowledge.
The skeletons his father used to help the villagers.
The skeletons Lorain used to subdue the gangsters.
What was he lacking compared to them?
Click!
Clack!
Snap!
He continued his contemplation and repeated the assembly process.
He could now restore the skeleton in 10 seconds, down from 15.
But this time, something was different.
After over 70 reassemblies, dark blue Jet Black emanated from the skeleton's eye sockets.
This hadn't happened during class.
Hiss.
The skeleton, its eyes burning, turned its head and looked at Simon.
"...."
Simon met the skeleton's gaze.
Simon's first day at Kizen continued late into the night.
***
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