"Class A student Simon Polentia. Class H student Jessica Kananor. Please come to the arena."
A blurry image flickered to life on the memorial crystal ball. The picture quality was poor, likely filmed from the stands rather than an official school recording. It showed Simon and Jessica during their first year, looking even younger than they did now, walking out into the arena.
"Wow, I miss those days," Tay, the Newspaper Club President, remarked.
"Hahaha!" Vice President Silverberg let out a hearty laugh.
The two upperclassmen had already settled into their seats like eager spectators. Behind them, the first-year Newspaper Club students peeked out with curious expressions, fascinated by the past appearances of their seniors.
On the other hand, Jessica’s expression darkened in real-time as she watched the crystal ball.
The duel on the recording began.
Simon’s actions at the time were utterly eccentric. He had faced the duel evaluation with his midterm review notes wide open, covering his face, casually memorizing its contents while dodging.
"Memorization points for ’Jet-Black Arrow’," Simon’s voice drifted from the memory. "Fast casting. Easy multi-casting. Excellent piercing power. And be careful of damage to the left binding formula."
"Memorization points for ’Poison Whip’: stationary magic circle. Collapses if the coordinates of the magic circle are misaligned."
He was actually using the dark magic Jessica employed in the match as his own study material, simultaneously utilizing what he had learned for midterms to counter her every move.
"Man, this must be humiliating," Tay remarked with a grin. "Shouldn’t Student Council President Simon Polentia’s character be called into question? No matter how skilled he is, playing with his opponent while studying for an exam? That’s just bad manners."
"I have a slightly different opinion," Silverberg countered. "He’s undeniably one of Kizen’s powerhouses now, but back then, the President was a beginner with no prior learning. Now, this was a high-level psychological warfare tactic as a necromancer! He was waiting for his opponent, student Jessica, to get pissed off and charge at him. Look!"
"I am not your midterm tutor!" Jessica’s voice shrieked from the projection.
As Simon dodged every attack, Jessica eventually grew impatient and lunged first.
With a sickening smack, Simon lowered the notes from his face just as she closed the distance. He kicked Jessica into the air with a dazzling display of jet-black martial arts and ruthlessly finished her off with a ’Bone Needle’.
"Oof’," Tay and Silverberg winced in unison.
The recording ended with her collapsing to the floor.
"That was a great watch!" Tay said, looking over at Jessica with a sly grin.
Her head was bowed, her bangs hiding her expression, but it was clear she was absolutely furious. A jet-black aura was visibly billowing out from her body.
However, Tay wasn’t one to yield to something like this.
"Even though student Jessica has gone on to win the World Lethal Poison Contest, people still remember the Jessica from this era! She’s been called all sorts of mocking memes like ’Midterm Girl’, ’Tutor Girl’, and ’I’m Not Your Teacher’."
Several first-years desperately covered their mouths, stifling their laughter at Tay’s shameless rhetoric, which he delivered without a single change in complexion.
"I believe the time for revenge has come, but what do you think..."
Jessica slowly raised her fist.
With a deafening crash, her downward strike smashed the memorial crystal ball and the shelf beneath it to pieces.
The first-years clamped their mouths shut, their faces pale with terror. Silverberg shot Tay a look, as if to say he had gone too far.
"Ah, that was expensive."
But Tay, without batting an eye, shamelessly picked up the remains of the crystal ball.
"There’s something I need to correct from the interview." Jessica raised her head. "I actually knew my opponent was Simon Polentia. My heart has been beating like crazy ever since I checked the matchups. I haven’t been able to sleep properly for days because I was so excited."
’I know exactly what you’re doing, but I’ll let it slide this once.’
Dropping her coy act and revealing her true colors, she curled the corners of her mouth into a sharp smile. "At the thought of getting my revenge on him."
Tay clapped his hands in excitement. ’Perfect.’ He had caught his scoop.
"But I don’t think it’ll be easy," Silverberg interjected. "The President’s jet-black martial arts are at the very top of the second year. He’s better than most martial arts majors."
"Recently, in particular, the President has shown a tactic of rushing in alongside suspended ’Bone Nails’ to overpower his opponents early on. I imagine a Lethal Poison major, who requires time to prepare, would struggle against an early dash. What are your thoughts?"
"Maybe you’ll get launched into the air and finished off by a ’Bone Nail’ again?" Tay added slyly.
The moment the remark left his lips, she glared at him.
Tay suddenly gasped, grabbing his throat with both hands.
’P-Poison? Since when?’ he panicked inwardly.
Heavy thuds echoed as the first-years who had been giggling in the back collapsed to the floor, sneezing violently with pained expressions. The only ones still standing were the second-years, Tay and Silverberg.
Sitting back down with her legs modestly together, Jessica feigned a pretty smile. "My countermeasures for close-quarters combat are also perfect. I’ll show you the details during the match."
"G-Good!" Even while poisoned, Tay’s obsession with a scoop was terrifying. He smiled through a sallow face. "Then, lastly, could you say a word to Simon Polentia?"
She raised her head and glared fiercely at the camera.
"Other people haven’t just been playing around. I’ll show you how hard I’ve gritted my teeth and worked all this time, Simon Polentia."
---
Two days later, the day of the duel evaluation. Indoor Arena 3.
Dick sat in the stands, rustling the school newspaper as he skimmed the front page. "Hmm."
A massive photo of Jessica was plastered across it.
[Jessica Vows to Overcome Her Humiliation and Win Her Revenge Match Against the Student Council President]
"Someone like you isn’t even a match for me."
Dick chuckled. "So this article is why it’s been so noisy? Those crazy bastards in the Newspaper Club."
Due to the Simon Student Council’s club budget policy reforms, the Newspaper Club had received less funding than last year. Since then, they had been biting at the Student Council at every turn. It was blatantly obvious that they were trying to form negative public opinion and empower Aizel’s faction.
"A mad dog that keeps failing to recognize its owner and biting at their ankles. I need to pick a day and properly teach them a—"
"Dick! Look over there!" Kamibarez cried out, flapping her wings beside him.
Dick quickly fixed his expression and smiled. "What is it?"
"Meirin is!"
A deafening rumble shook the indoor arena as a massive tower of ice erupted in the center. Amidst a world frozen over like a winter kingdom, a girl stood proudly with her arms crossed atop the glacial peak.
"A crushing victory! It’s a crushing victory!" the announcer shouted over the loudspeaker.
[Meirin Villenne: 100%]
[Gleck Crow: 0%]
"She has defeated the former Special Admission No. 9, Metamorphosis user Gleck Crow, with an overwhelming difference in just five minutes! Meirin Villenne! She shows the majesty of Kizen’s Vice President!"
The crowd erupted into wild cheers.
Meirin snorted, treating it as the obvious result, and gracefully jumped down from the ice hill. Down below, a werewolf with only its head sticking out of the ice whimpered pitifully.
"That’s Meirin for you," Dick said with a hollow laugh. "She’s taking out the anger she got from Simon on Gleck, who was just minding his own business."
"Great job, Meirin! That was amazing!"
Just then, the rapid patter of footsteps approached from behind.
"How did Meirin’s match go? Is it over?" Simon asked, panting lightly in his gym uniform.
"Hey, Simon! Welcome!"
"It ended in five minutes, so there wasn’t much to see. That werewolf friend of ours is a Special Admission student, but his slump is really dragging on."
"It’s just that Meirin is too strong!"
Dick rummaged through his coat and handed over the newspaper. "More importantly, look at this, Simon."
Simon tilted his head in question.
"Looks like Jessica is seriously out for blood."
Simon smiled bitterly as he read down the school newspaper.
Kamibarez asked worriedly, "It seems they’ve prepared a lot on their end too. Are you really going to go with the Dullahan strategy, Simon?"
"Yeah. I’ve already mapped out all my plans around using the Chaos Dullahan. Even if I change it now, I can’t guarantee a better result." Simon turned his head. "And if I can’t overcome this here, it’ll be impossible to overcome what comes next."
A sudden buzz swept through the stands. The attention of not only the observing students but also the external scouts was drawn to the entrance.
Confident footsteps echoed as a man in a fluttering gray cardigan entered the stands with his entourage.
"I-It’s Senior Aizel!"
"Senior Aizel came to watch Simon’s match!"
"Senior Sota and Senior Leonard are here too!"
Their mere appearance commanded everyone’s attention.
Aizel walked over with a face as cold as ice and took a seat. The respective students sat down next to him, and the rows behind and in front of them were tightly packed with third-years.
"Man, your popularity is no joke, huh, Aizel?" Sota chuckled. He grabbed the scruff of a classmate who was about to sit next to Aizel, unceremoniously yanked him away, and took the seat for himself.
"But is there really a need to come watch a second-year’s match? I told you. Winning against Simon Polentia is a given, and it’s better to make people think that way too. If you go out of your way to come watch like this and give off the vibe of an equal matchup, it’ll only damage your image—"
"I just," Aizel said quietly, pushing up his glasses, "came because I wanted to watch."
Sota’s expression stiffened slightly before he smiled again. "Haha, of course your personal opinion is important too! But if you’re the emperor, you should act like—"
"Sota," Summoning major representative Leonard said, shaking his head. "Since we’re already here, why don’t we just watch quietly."
"Leonard," Sota growled, his expression hardening.
Ever since Leonard stopped Sota’s plan to ruin the Dark Festival, the relationship between the two, despite being in the same Aizel faction, had been deteriorating to an extreme degree. With the representatives acting like that, the relationship between the Summoning and Necromancy majors was worsening in tandem.
"Ah, the match is starting!" The other classmates tried their best to defuse the tension between the two.
---
"Summoning major student Simon Polentia. Lethal Poison major student Jessica Kananor. Please come to the arena."
Hearing the broadcast, both of them stepped up into the arena. Simon tugged at the combat suit he was wearing.
’I just can’t get used to how this feels.’
The protective suit worn in the second-year duel evaluations was different from the ones with barriers used by the first-years. It was a dummy suit that allowed the wearer to feel all impacts and pain for a more realistic combat experience. Injuries and wounds were properly applied as well.
Of course, medical staff were always on standby, and thanks to a curse placed on the dummy suit, any severe injuries were transferred to a dummy prepared by Kizen. It was a principle similar to a Blood Golem.
Additionally, the dummy suit calculated the amount of damage the wearer could take, quantified it, and displayed it in the center of the arena.
[Simon Polentia: 100%]
[Jessica Kananor: 100%]
Now, the damage values received varied depending on one’s own capabilities. Even if they took the same impact, the rate at which the gauges depleted for Chatel, a giant half-blood, and Meirin would be entirely different.
In fact, other than not getting seriously injured, the conditions were practically identical to real combat.
"Both players, shake hands."
At the referee’s instruction, the two approached and shook hands.
"We end up fighting like this again after a year," Simon said, forcing a smile.
Jessica smiled as well. However, her boiling insides were practically visible. "I won’t go down so easily this time. You’d better give it your all."
Having finished their handshake, the two backed away.
"You’ve got this, Simon!" Kamibarez shouted. Following suit, the other students also cheered loudly.
"Jessica! Win this!"
"Show him how much you’ve grown!"
The Lethal Poison students who had come to support her raised their voices.
On the day of the duel evaluations, exams were held simultaneously in three arenas, but this place had more people than any other. The fact that it was Student Council President Simon’s match was a big reason, but more than anything, it had become a significant issue due to the Newspaper Club’s article.
"Then, we will now begin the duel evaluation match between student Simon Polentia and student Jessica Kananor." The referee’s arm dropped. "Begin match!"
Simon immediately moved his arm, preparing to deploy a magic circle.
And Jessica—
A deep, resonant thrum echoed as she pulled something massive out of her subspace.
"I’ll show you!"
With a heavy clank and a rising mechanical whine, Jessica lifted the massive piece of heavy machinery she had pulled from her subspace, equipping it onto both arms. The roar of a giant engine erupted through the arena.
’What the hell is that?’ Simon dropped into a low stance, his face a picture of pure bewilderment.
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