A boring regular class period.
Sitting in the very back of the lecture hall, I was staring endlessly at Yustia’s straight, proper back while fighting off the waves of drowsiness that kept making my head nod.
The fortunate thing was that this sort of behavior didn’t particularly stand out.
Because beside me were everything from a massive brown bear to a monstrous stone golem, and even demonic beasts crouched on the floor, restlessly thumping their tails.
Countless summoned beasts waiting for their masters had taken up space in a disorderly mess.
Amid all that commotion, no one seemed to care that one humanoid summoned beast was dozing off.
‘Ugh… What kind of mess is this because of those Imperial bastards?’
I swallowed a small sigh inwardly.
If things had gone according to the original plan, I would have rested properly in the morning, trained with Yustia in the afternoon to coordinate with her, and then done personal physical training in the evening. It would have been the perfect routine.
But thanks to those damned Imperial friends, I had no idea when or where a trap might come flying, so I had no choice but to stick to Yustia’s side like glue.
At the lectern, Professor Raven’s monotonous voice continued without end.
If not for the creepy wrist crawling across the blackboard, I might have been snoring long ago.
“Poison is, for the most part, a universal and powerful means of attack with few elemental counters.”
My eyes snapped open at Professor Raven’s dry voice echoing from the lectern.
“Of course, its weaknesses are clear. Its efficiency drops sharply against earth-attribute summoned beasts, and it can also be easily countered by special summoned beings that do not possess life force in the first place, making physical attacks or physiological poisoning entirely ineffective—such as golems, or spirits themselves.”
His pale finger cut through the air as though tapping the blackboard.
“However, against other summoned beasts that possess life force, poison can ignore elemental affinities and display absolute destructive power. Especially from the moment it pierces the skin and seeps into the bloodstream, differences in mana or physical barriers become meaningless. The very concept of defense disappears.”
“For example, in cases like Gordin’s first summoned beast, the golem, or Evan’s spirit summon, they may have a chance to defeat a poison-attribute summon even if there is a significant level gap above them.”
Raven’s gaze slowly swept around the classroom before stopping precisely on Yustia.
“Yustia’s human summon, however, is particularly vulnerable to the poison attribute. For a living being whose blood circulates and who breathes, poisoning while lacking mana resistance is tantamount to defeat.”
Yustia’s shoulders stiffened ever so slightly.
She slowly raised her hand.
“In that case, Professor. Is there no way for a summoned beast with life force to gain the upper hand against the poison attribute?”
“A swift, decisive battle. Since you’re already at a disadvantage in terms of attribute, my lady, you’ll inevitably be the one pressed for time. Defeat the caster with overwhelming force before the poison circulates through the body, or before the opponent completes their trap. That would be the only answer.”
When the bell rang to signal the end of the lecture, the students in the noisy classroom began to leave one by one.
The summoned beasts that had been crouching while waiting for their masters also stretched and slowly followed after them.
Even Evan, who was usually with us, left the classroom alone today, lightly waving a hand.
“Then I’ll head out first today.”
“Yeah. Take care.”
“Well, call me anytime if you need me for practice.”
“Thank you.”
The empty lecture hall.
As the silence settled heavily, Yustia let out a long breath and came to sit beside me.
“This is quite stressful too.”
“Yeah. Since we have to keep waiting without knowing when they’ll attack.”
I muttered as I leaned back against the chair.
“Maybe that woman’s real strategy is to stress us out outside of battle too, wearing us down mentally. But we’ve already made a plan. There’s no need to rush. Let’s take it slow and wait at our own pace. If anything, thanks to that Ive, the other Imperial bastards aren’t coming around picking annoying fights with us. If you think of it that way, it’s not an entirely bad situation.”
At my words, Yustia’s expression softened a little.
“That’s true.”
After a brief silence, she looked out the window, then slowly rose from her seat.
As she lightly brushed the dust from her skirt and picked up her bag, her movements once again held their usual neat composure.
“It should have quieted down by now, right?”
“Yeah. Let’s head out.”
I also rose from my seat and followed after her.
“If her goal is to humiliate me in front of other people anyway, there’s no need for me to willingly step onto that noisy stage first.”
When we opened the lecture hall door, an unexpected uninvited guest was standing there.
“Oh my. You came out later than I expected.”
It was Ive.
She was leaning obliquely against the wall, staring straight at us.
She hadn’t brought along her rowdy Imperial companions.
Only she alone greeted us with a languid gaze.
“I thought my legs were going to give out waiting for you.”
“What brings you here? Surely you haven’t come to demand a battle right this instant.”
Ive pushed herself off the wall and took a step closer.
“I have, though?”
“Why? Wasn’t your goal to humiliate me in front of the other students?”
At her question, Ive slowly shifted her gaze toward me.
“Hmm… I thought about it, but what if I lose?”
“Pardon?”
Yustia’s eyes wavered for an instant.
Ive’s gaze remained fixed on me, clinging persistently.
“Then I’d be the one humiliated. I’m your senior who made it to the Grand Finals two years in a row, you know. I do have a reputation to protect.”
“I studied your insect spirit, senior. You already have an overwhelming advantage in terms of compatibility, so why are you being this cautious?”
“Because… meticulous calculations and layer upon layer of safety nets are my strengths. Little by little, but surely. That’s the power that brought me this far.”
Ive turned first and began to walk away.
“Follow me. Still, I can’t make the battle too convenient only for me. I’ll let you use the battlefield you want.”
“How do you know what field I want?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Ive’s gaze swept back and forth between Yustia and me.
“There are only so many fields where a colorless, odorless summon with nothing but stupid brute strength can avoid my poison.”
The place we arrived at after following Ive was an old-style battle field.
Inside the empty room, there were no structures, nor any special mana field—only an ordinary rectangular field sitting there.
The only notable feature was that a shallow layer of water covered the entire floor, damp and slick.
“In a place like this, the poison I use will sink into the water a little, making it easier to avoid. What do you think?”
Ive turned around, lightly stepping into the puddle.
“Wasn’t this the sort of simple, brute-force field you wanted?”
Yustia’s shoulders visibly stiffened.
It was true that this was the optimal place to ignore compatibility and push forward with sheer strength, but the very fact that the opponent had so kindly set the stage for us felt like an enormous trap.
“Then, shall we begin?”
A faint green mana began to rise like a haze from Ive’s fingertips.
As ripples spread over the still surface of the water, the air in the training hall froze cold in an instant.
Yustia drew in a short breath and looked toward me.
“Taesan, get ready.”
The magic circle drawn beneath Ive’s feet gave off an ominous violet glow.
What crept out from its center was a giant spider.
A monster flashing eight eerie compound eyes and sharp venomous fangs.
“Wait, Yustia. That isn’t the summon we saw at the park last time.”
“What? What do you mean…”
Her gaze wandered through the air before landing on Ive’s relaxed face.
Ive smiled languidly, as though dealing with a naïve child who knew nothing of the world.
“Did you think I was going to fight you with that summon? Did you think I’d show you my entire strategy without a thought and then say, ‘Let’s fight fair and square’?”
“What? Then what you showed us at the park last time was…”
“Don’t be so innocent. This is a place where, if you can only ever throw rock in rock-paper-scissors, even the strongest summon can’t survive.”
Her low whisper held a chilling venom as it seized control of the training hall’s air.
An unpleasant ripple spread across the shallow water, and the giant spider raised its front legs, letting out a sharp scraping sound.
“Now then… shall we play?”
“Don’t be too shaken, Taesan. We’ll proceed according to plan.”
Yustia’s calm voice dug into my ear.
Right. Its form had changed, but the essence of her handling the poison attribute remained the same.
In any case, she must be planning to block the first attack, inject me with poison, and drag it into a prolonged battle.
Our strategy of taking advantage of the opponent’s carelessness, recovering with Silver Moon Grass, and then aiming for an opening was still valid.
I drew in a short breath and kicked off the shallow water pooled on the floor, launching myself forward.
Breaking through the spray of water scattering in every direction, I reached the spider’s face in an instant.
Ive still only leaned against the wall with a languid expression, showing no sign whatsoever of deploying defensive magic.
‘I’ll end it right here.’
My fist tore through the air with a heavy boom and struck the giant spider squarely in the body.
Boom!
With a powerful impact, the spider’s form burst apart.
But in that instant, what scattered in every direction was not flesh or bodily fluid.
“…!”
From within the ruptured fragments, hundreds—no, thousands—of baby spiders poured out and began scattering all across the field.