NOVEL WEB Chapter 264
That night.
The Poisonous Alchemy assistant teachers were busier than ever.
They contacted the dormitories and personally visited each of the boycotting students to deliver Belya's message.
[Professor Belya has something to say.]
Of course, the news reached Claudia as well. She gathered up her fellow protestors in the front of the girls’ dormitory for an emergency meeting.
"What's your plan, Claudia?"
Said a boy with a big bald spot on his head, clearly dispirited with the reply.
Another student shouted back,
"The BDMAT is just around the corner. It's too late. Let's just ignore it."
Some of the students had gone beyond criticizing her class, and they were now treating her like an 'enemy' to be defeated.
"Let's give it a try."
But Claudia, the leader, shook her head.
"There's no reason for us not to go if Professor Belya changed her mind."
There were quite a few nods from among the crowd. However, not everyone was so accepting.
"If she blabbers unnecessary things or says she'll go on feeding us poison, then let's just leave, right?"
"Yeah."
"For sure."
Claudia's face slightly stiffened. She thought she was the most passionate about the boycott, but somehow, many of the normal students had become more extreme.
She needed to temper them a bit.
"Everyone, remember. Our goal isn't to retire Professor Belya. It's to stop her from poisoning us and to ensure the human rights of students."
With that, Claudia and the students headed to the meeting point given to them by the assistant teachers.
The meeting was in a research center on the corner of the campus. A dark, dusty staircase led them down to the basement.
"This place is spooky."
When they arrived at the bottom, it was just an empty basement.
"She must be trying to gather us all to get us expelled!"
Claudia put a finger to her lips to try to get them to stop scaring each other with baseless rumors.
A moment later, footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs, and Belya and her assistants entered the basement behind them.
"…"
The students stared at her with an odd tension in their eyes. Finally, she stood in front of them, her assistant teachers fanning out behind her.
"Are all of you here?"
Asked Belya.
Claudia, the leader of the protestors, stepped forward.
"Yes, we're all here. We were told you had something to say, Professor."
"Uh-huh, yeah."
Replied Belya with a yawn.
Claudia struck first.
"Will you give up feeding your students poison?"
"You think I'm crazy?"
The students' faces immediately went from scared to furious.
Claudia was bewildered, but she kept her cool and continued the conversation.
"Then, why did you gather us?"
Belya scratched at her spiky graying hair.
"Some guy asked me to."
"What?"
"He said I should talk to you guys."
She walked around, clasping her hands behind her back without properly elaborating.
"The more I think about it, the funnier it is. I told him I'd do him any favor, and then he makes an event like this for someone who has nothing to do with him."
Belya was beginning to like Simon more and more.
"…I don't understand what you're talking about."
"You don't need to."
Stopping and smirking, Belya looked straight at Claudia before saying,
"Alright, let's talk. You see, the lessons where you form antibodies by consuming poison are soon coming to an end. I'll tell you what dark spells I'll be teaching you afterward."
"!"
An earthquake of trembles ran through Claudia’s body.
"Let's just go. She said she'll keep feeding us poison. There's no reason to talk anymore!"
The boy who had objected earlier put a hand on Claudia’s shoulder to get her attention, but Claudia shook it off, her eyes fixed on Belya. Desperation in her voice, she said,
"Please tell us."
Belya smirked and opened her palm.
A magic circle formed in her hand with surprising speed, and an olive-green vine covered in thorns sprouted from it. She grew it to a certain length, grabbed the vine, and swung it.
Fwhiiiiiiiip!
The students ducked out of fright. The spiky vine swung over their heads and slammed into the basement wall.
Crassssshhhhhhhh!
Then, from the point of impact, the basement wall began to melt like a liquid.
"Wh-What was that?"
"Was it a poison?"
Claudia turned her gaze to Belya as if demanding an explanation.
"It's {Poison Whip}, a spell you guys should be familiar with."
"You're saying that was a Poison Whip?"
"No way!"
Poison Whip is a ranged offensive spell that involves gathering poison from a potion together with jet-black and swinging it like a whip.
However, the poison whip she demonstrated was much larger, thicker, and stronger. And most importantly, it wasn't made with a poison potion.
Seeing that, Claudia realized it.
"…Don't tell me, runic poison?"
"As expected from an elite. You got it in one."
Poisonous Alchemy was long ago a sub-discipline of Mechanics of Jet-Black.
There was no reason for runes for poison not to exist when there were runes for fire, ice, wind, and even magma and some unknown elements.
However, this type of dark magic, known as 'runic poison', was made completely useless in the Hundred Years' War against Efnel. The main problem was that the poison mix used in spells based on runic poison was always the same.
Priests, knowing they would keep facing the same type of poison, learned how to cure it using purification and even developed ways to build up antibodies to the poisons, to the point where they no longer needed to waste time casting a spell.
Even monsters started to adapt to runic poison.
Eventually, the poison users turned to alchemy to survive. By artificially complicating their formulations, they created new poisons that priests could not easily purify and that could work on monsters once more.
This was the origin of the modern poisonous alchemist. The modern movement focussed on potions and their containers so they could use dark magic to then either spread their concoctions or amplify them.
However…
'She's planning to teach the defunct runic poison?'
Belya smirked.
"I can see what you're thinking. It's written all over your face. How's this then?"
She conjured a magic circle in her opposite palm.
From what Claudia could see, it was the exact same magic circle for {Poison Whip}, but this time the thorny vine that came out of it was a bright pink. Belya grabbed it and swung it at the opposite wall.
Smack!
The poison whip slammed into the wall, but unlike before, it didn't melt the wall away. Instead, the wall changed color to a pale yellow, which then spread to a wider area.
'The type of poison changed, even if the structure of the magic circle is the same!'
"What I'm going to teach you isn't just the bland old runic poison."
Said Belya, lowering her arm.
"This is an original, developed by me."
* * *
* * *
"Ah…!"
If it really was able to change types of poison, then it wasn't an exaggeration to say that Belya's original runic poison was a combination of the best of the past and present.
It wouldn't be as easily countered as the repetitive poison was in the past.
Nor would the caster have to waste on retrieving potions from their subspace like they have to in the present.
"This technique requires the acquisition of 'Blood Poison', which—as the name implies—turns your blood into poison. That's why I've been building up your antibodies: to prepare your bodies before you learn Blood Poison. I planned to teach this skill before the 3rd BDMAT.
"…"
A heavy silence fell over the basement, especially in Claudia. Her face reddened, and she couldn't even dare to look Belya in the eyes.
"Now, you have but two choices."
As Belya snapped her fingers, the assistant teachers scrambled to drop a set of poisons at each of the students' feet.
"Since you missed classes for that stupid boycott of yours, you have until tomorrow to consume the entire backlog of poisons and build up your antibodies."
The students' jaws dropped.
"This is all your fault, and I don't care if you have side effects from rushing through it. However, if you're able to keep up with the progress of forming antibodies, I'll teach you my original runic poison before the BDMAT, as scheduled."
She continued, crossing her arms,
"Or maybe I've misjudged you all? Maybe you guys really are on some great mission for universal human rights, therefore refusing my classes, you know? Even if refusing to learn this invaluable skill means refusing the very essence of being a necromancer."
Claudia turned red as a tomato at that.
"If you really are, you can turn your backs on me and leave right now. I will congratulate you on the birth of a true human rights activist, admire your magnanimity, and at least give you a round of applause on your way out."
"…"
Ten minutes have passed.
None of the students who entered the basement left.
Survival in Kizen or a struggle without purpose and a fistful of pride? It was a question that no self-respecting necromancer would ponder on for even a second.
All the students were just silently standing with their heads sunk down to their chests.
"I'll take it that all of you will be following my instructions."
Belya waved them away.
"Take your poisons and get out of here. I hope the lecture room will be full starting tomorrow."
"Yes, Professor!"
Claudia and the students hurried up the stairs, each with a case of poisons under their arm.
Before they realized it, it was already the middle of the night, and the cold wind stabbed through them.
"Huff! Huff!"
"Claudia! wait for us!"
Claudia was running, dearly clutching the case with poisons tightly to her chest.
'I'm so stupid! I'm so helpless! I can't stop crying!'
Her eyes were full of tears, but at least her mouth was smiling. In fact, she was on the verge of laughter. Who cares anymore if people point at her and call her crazy?
Feeling the freedom of finally being able to drop this painful school-wide rebellion, she felt a wave of relief wash over her. She at long last knew that her professor was as good as any other professor.
This was the happiest Claudia had felt ever since she enrolled in Kizen.
* * *
The next day.
The news that Belya had summoned Claudia's protestors was already known by every student in Kizen.
"So, who won?"
"Don't you think the students won? Professor Belya must've broken and called for a ceasefire!"
"But they had rashes and all that stuff on their faces this morning. Looks like they ate the poison."
There was endless talk about Belya and the protestors in the hallways of the dormitories.
"None of the people who went there with Claudia are saying a word."
Said Rick. He looked very curious, too.
"What on earth happened to them after they were called in to see Professor Belya?! Ugh! I'm dying to know!'
Having a hunch, Simon smiled as he stretched himself awake.
'Thank you, Professor Belya!'
Their schedule was empty in the morning. It was supposed to be a Necromancy class, but all four members of Group 7 had dropped out of it. They decided to utilize the time for BDMAT training.
All four of them woke up early, got their permission slips, and decided to meet at the beach. Simon and Rick hopped on a carriage at the entrance of Kizen and soon arrived at the beach.
It was crowded again, as usual. Many of the students who had no classes and some who did have class were in the water practicing underwater combat.
"Simon, Rick! Over here!"
"Honestly, you two are so late!"
Camibarez and Meilyn had already changed into their swimsuits and were warming up. After Simon and Rick joined them, Meilyn—the group leader—got everyone's attention and said,
"This is the last beach training we can do before the BDMAT, so let's make sure we make the most of it!"
"Okay."
"Yeah!"
The four of them ran as fast as they could down the sandy beach and jumped into the water.
Simon, swimming the fastest through the water, moved his arm above his head.
{Bone Armor - Handgun Mode}
Click! Clack!
Rattle!
Bones flew out of his subspace and attached to his right arm. Simon then went under the waves.
Bubble bubble!
First, he checked his connection with the skeleton.
'It got much better than last attempt!'
Undead are normally weakened by simply being in salt water. But with Benya's help at the Mutant club, he had applied a chemical to the bones to increase their endurance.
He then conjured a magic circle in front of the handgun's muzzle. It was a newly developed dark spell, stripped of all extra formulas except the core forming the 'Jet-Black Torpedo'.
'Fire!'
The bones fired from the muzzle and passed through the magic circle in a flash, increasing the bullet's speed as it cut through the sea.
The chemical on the bones allowed him to reduce the over-reliance of structural runes in his {Jet-Black Torpedo} formula, thus allowing him to increase the speed and power.
'Alright, the first one succeeded!'
Simon resurfaced.
This time, he took some time to draw a more complex magic circle, then lowered it onto the handgun.
The magic circle melted and seeped into the handgun's bone bullet.
Then he aimed just below the surface and gave the command to fire.
Pshk!
The bone flew out with the same power as before. With this, he was confident that he could hit a Kizen student using the spell.
'I see no problem with the offensive side of things. Then, last of all…'
Simon opened his subspace above his head and called out his new summon into the sea.
With a loud splash, the summon descended.
Simon jumped on top of it and said,
"Let's run, Deimos."
His goal for this BDMAT was first place.
——