"Student Simon Polentia from Class A and Student Malcolm Randolph from Class M. Please proceed to the arena."
Time passed surprisingly quickly.
As Simon stepped out of the waiting room, his mere appearance immediately drew a thunderous wave of cheers from the spectator stands.
"Let's go, Special Entry No. 1!"
"I bet on you!"
From the opposite waiting room, Malcolm was also preparing to enter the arena in his protective suit. Their eyes briefly met across the passageway, and while Malcolm responded with a wide grin, Simon simply looked back at him without showing much of a reaction.
The arena was soon cleaned and prepared for the next match. Spectators who had left during the break hurried back to their seats, while people who had been watching matches in other arenas began gathering as well, unwilling to miss one of the few duels between Special Entry students.
Rick and Camibarez had already found seats together in one corner of the stands. Meilyn, whose own match had just ended, soon joined them with a visibly satisfied expression.
Naturally, she had won.
After exchanging high-fives with Rick and Cami, Meilyn dropped into the empty seat beside them and immediately looked toward Simon.
"Hey, how's Simon's condition?"
"He looks good so far." Rick folded his arms while observing the arena. "It all depends on how well he's mastered Overlord Control."
While Group 7 was busy worrying about Simon's upcoming match, the atmosphere over at Group 8 was almost the complete opposite.
Or, to be more precise, that was true for everyone except one person.
"Hey, Knox, I already bet all of my allowance for this month! I even asked my parents to give me next month's allowance in advance!" Cindy exclaimed before suddenly grabbing Knox's arm. "If Simon loses..."
Her face gradually turned pale as she imagined the consequences.
Beside her, Merida wasn't doing much better.
"...Me too. All of this month's allowance..."
Seeing the two of them already worrying about losing their money, Knox could only smile helplessly.
"Alright, alright, you two. Haven't all the previous bets worked out every time you followed my lead~?" He casually waved his hand, showing no concern whatsoever. "Relax. Simon will win."
"..."
Group 7, who had naturally overheard the entire conversation, slowly turned toward Group 8 with speechless expressions.
Feeling their gazes, Cindy and Merida immediately looked away. Knox, on the other hand, continued smiling without the slightest trace of guilt.
As for Claudia, the only relatively sensible member of Group 8...she awkwardly cleared her throat.
"Ahem... Sorry, everyone! I need to buy a lot of materials!"
Apparently, Group 8 had placed bets on Simon winning his upcoming duel.
As for who had started this betting pool, which organization was running it, or whether it was even officially allowed by Kizen...
Well, those were questions better left unanswered.
What mattered was that far more students were participating than anyone might expect. In fact, similar betting pools could be found for almost every Duel Evaluation match.
Perhaps the most surprising part was that even a model student like Claudia had joined in and placed her money on Simon.
But really, could anyone blame her?
Knox knew the future, so naturally, he already knew the results of many battles that were supposed to happen. Of course, Cindy, Claudia, and Merida knew absolutely nothing about that.
What they did know, however, was much simpler. Whenever Knox confidently predicted who would win...he was almost always right!
And if someone who was almost always right told you exactly where to put your money, what were you supposed to do?
Obviously...
Bet!
Somewhere in another world, a certain blond peacock gambler would undoubtedly approve.
Aventurine: "All or nothing!"
Not long afterward, Simon and Malcolm walked toward the center of the arena at the referee's signal.
"Both students, shake hands."
The two approached each other before clasping hands.
Squeeze.
Malcolm immediately tightened his grip.
Simon noticed it, yet his expression remained unchanged as he looked straight into Malcolm's eyes.
"Even after what happened at the mansion, you're still acting like this?"
"I never forget someone who humiliates me." Malcolm smirked as he tightened his grip even further. "And it's not just me. There are plenty of people who think you've embarrassed them as well."
Simon's gaze briefly lowered toward the artifact hanging around Malcolm's neck. The crest engraved upon it belonged unmistakably to the Dresden Royal Family.
Of course, Simon wasn't the only one who noticed it.
Having already known how this battle was supposed to unfold from the original story, Knox had naturally been keeping an eye on Malcolm from the beginning. Sure enough, just like he remembered, the artifact was still hanging around Malcolm's neck.
Seeing that nothing had changed in this regard, Knox quietly let out a sigh.
Unfortunately, that small reaction didn't escape the attention of the other members of Group 8.
Claudia raised an eyebrow, while Merida silently glanced toward him. Cindy, however, immediately began to panic.
W-Wait... Why did Knox suddenly sigh?!
Her eyes darted between Knox and the arena.
Don't tell me... his prediction was wrong this time?!
Fortunately for Cindy, Knox had absolutely no idea what was going through her head. Otherwise, she might have received a legendary forehead flick powerful enough to bend someone's neck.
Instead, Knox's attention remained fixed on the artifact around Malcolm's neck as his expression gradually became annoyed.
You damn mushroom-head Andre...
Looks like even after I beat you like that, you and your useless pride still managed to make a comeback, huh?
For a moment, Knox seriously wondered whether he should have beaten Andre even harder back then.
...Should I beat him up some more?
The thought remained in his mind for only a moment before Knox quickly dismissed it.
Hmm, never mind.
His eyes returned to the arena.
Because after this match... Andre Dresden, you're finished.
Back to the arena.
"Hoo, makes sense now." Simon's tone remained calm, yet the sarcasm behind it was obvious. "Considering 'his' situation is already dire enough."
Malcolm's face stiffened.
For the first time, Simon tightened his own grip in response. Malcolm immediately clenched his teeth and pushed back, neither willing to release the other's hand first.
"Let's have a good match," Simon said with a smile.
"I'll make this the worst day of your life in front of a full house," Malcolm replied with an equally sharp smile.
"Haha, the last time I heard something similar was from a certain second-year student. And you know what happened to him? He ended up getting beaten by a first-year student who was also Special Entry No. 1, just like me." Simon's smile remained perfectly relaxed. "In the end, he truly lost everything. Fate really is unpredictable, don't you think?"
A vein visibly throbbed on Malcolm's forehead.
The two finally released their hands at the same time and walked back toward their respective positions.
"Are both students ready?"
At the referee's question, Simon and Malcolm nodded before lowering their stances.
"Then, we will now begin the Duel Evaluation between Class A's Simon Polentia and Class M's Malcolm Randolph!"
Cheers erupted from every direction.
Even though Simon had already experienced Duel Evaluations before, the sheer size of today's audience still left him somewhat stunned. The lower sections alone were packed with Kizen students, while the upper sections were filled with nobles, representatives, and scouts feverishly scribbling notes with their quill pens.
Among the students below, Knox and the rest of Group 8 sat near Simon's Group 7 teammates. His other Class A friends were also there, along with Hector's faction, several second-years, Benya, and the members of Mutant.
Simon gave a wry smile as he wiped the sweat gathering in his palm. For the first time during a Duel Evaluation, he actually felt nervous.
The referee glanced between both participants one last time before finally bringing down the arm raised above his head.
"Match, begin!"
The shout immediately snapped Simon back to reality.
He activated his Core at full capacity and circulated jet-black throughout his body, while Malcolm raised the silver staff in his hand high above his head.
Thud!
Malcolm slammed the staff into the arena floor like a judge bringing down a gavel.
From the point of impact, a massive black magic circle instantly spread beneath his feet.
"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this stage, Simon Polentia."
Clack, clack, clack!
The magic circle began deploying at a terrifying speed.
The moment Simon saw it, he immediately understood.
This wasn't something Malcolm had learned after entering Kizen, nor was it a spell he had practiced only once or twice. Every movement had clearly been repeated thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of times, until Malcolm could probably deploy the entire spell with his eyes closed.
A true specialty in every sense of the word.
Everyone in the arena widened their eyes as Special Entry No. 10's black magic finally manifested.
One figure began rising from the enormous magic circle.
Then another. And another.
Copies identical to Malcolm continued appearing until more than twenty of them filled the arena. Their clothes, hairstyles, expressions, and even the smallest details of their movements were completely identical, leaving no obvious way to distinguish the real Malcolm from the fakes.
"A Doppelganger user?!"
"So the rumors were true!"
Excited murmurs immediately spread throughout the spectator stands.
Among Simon's friends, even Meilyn stared at the arena in disbelief.
"What the hell is that?"
"It's Malcolm's specialty, Doppelganger," Knox explained from his nearby seat.
Hearing him speak, several people around them naturally turned their attention toward him.
"According to my information, Malcolm earned his Special Entry position at Kizen using almost nothing but that one black magic spell. He took control of Class M through tyranny and has remained near the top of every evaluation. Not to mention, his background comes from some gangster group, so after hearing about Malcolm's Entry, his gang became even more unruly and arrogant."
Knox smiled brightly before casually adding,
"So... I made my move~"
Somewhere in another world, a certain Memokeeper suddenly felt strangely offended.
Black Swan: "...I feel like you're mocking me."
"..."
The smile on Knox's face really didn't match what he had just said.
"Anyway, simply put, Doppelganger is a black magic spell that creates countless identical copies of oneself. However, Malcolm has taken it far beyond the ordinary level."
Knox returned his attention to the arena. "Through his Doppelgangers, he can see, hear, and even smell. Their combat ability is also excellent, and their completeness is so high that distinguishing the real Malcolm from the copies is extremely difficult."
His explanation immediately caused several nearby students to look at the twenty-plus Malcolms with even more serious expressions.
"Considering that a typical Kizen first-year can barely control three or four Skeletons, Doppelganger is overwhelmingly powerful at this stage because Malcolm can continuously summon copies in large numbers. Of course, later in Kizen's second or third year, once everyone gets their usual upgrades, that advantage won't remain quite as overwhelming. But for first-years, numbers are everything."
"That was precisely why Special Entry No. 10, Malcolm Randolph, was considered to possess higher direct combat power than many other Special Entry students."
Hearing that statement, however, everyone around Knox couldn't help rolling their eyes.The same thought immediately crossed their minds.
Oh, please. Higher than many other Special Entry students?
Their gazes naturally shifted toward Knox.
Does that include you?
Completely ignoring their skeptical looks, Knox simply folded his arms before continuing.
"To beat Malcolm, you either need a wide-area black magic spell capable of sweeping away the real body and all the clones at once, detection magic that can identify the real Malcolm, or a cancel-type curse that can directly neutralize Doppelganger itself."
At those words, Cami's worried expression immediately deepened.
"But Simon doesn't have any of those!"
"That's why the second-year betting odds are eight to two," Knox said. "With Doppelganger, either you have a proper counter and beat it easily, or you don't have one and it becomes almost impossible."
Back inside the arena, the number of Malcolm's Doppelgangers was still increasing.
Simon responded by pushing his Core to one hundred percent and raising his concentration before calmly walking forward.
While Malcolm's grin widened. "Have you lost your mind? You're actually coming toward me without an area spell?"
Simon simply shrugged.
"So what."
"Cocky bastard!"
At Malcolm's command, more than twenty Doppelgangers rushed forward at once.
Simon finally stopped.
He firmly planted his left foot against the arena floor as a virtual magic circle spread outward from that point. Jet-black flowed into the formation, gradually materializing it while the Doppelgangers surrounded him in an increasingly tight circle.
"What is Special Entry No. 1 doing?!"
"He's surrounded! They're closing in from every direction!"
All twenty-plus copies lunged simultaneously.
Simon remained perfectly still with his eyes closed, gathering every bit of concentration he could muster.
Then, just as the Doppelgangers reached him, his eyes snapped open.
Gate open!
Woom! Woom! Woom! Woom!
Multiple subspaces opened around Simon.
Shhhhrk! Shrrrrrk! Shrrrrrk!
Long bladed limbs made of metal and bone exploded outward from the openings.
The Overlord's legs swept through the surrounding Doppelgangers in wide arcs, circling Simon like a rapidly rising spiral of blades. One after another, the charging copies were shredded apart before they could even touch him, their bodies scattering into clouds of black powder across the arena.
"Whoa! W-What is that?!"
"That's insane!"
The audience immediately exploded into cheers.
Even Malcolm stood frozen for a moment, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.
That's... black magic?
Before he could recover, one of the bladed limbs suddenly shot toward Malcolm's real body.
"Guh!"
Malcolm recoiled in panic.
He desperately tried to dodge, only to lose his balance and fall flat onto his backside. Meanwhile, the blade continued swinging through the arena like a gigantic whip, destroying several more Doppelgangers before striking the silver staff embedded in the ground.
BOOOOOM!
The staff was torn free and launched high into the air before embedding itself directly into the arena ceiling.
With a sharp shrrrk, the Overlord's blades finally withdrew into Simon's subspace.
The forest of blades that had hidden him disappeared, revealing Simon standing exactly where he had been before. He calmly stepped forward with a relaxed smile and looked toward the stunned Malcolm.
"What was that about area spells again?"
"WAAAAAAAH!!"
A thunderous cheer erupted from every direction.
————————————Character Voicelines · Knox: About the Overlord
Knox: "Simon, does your Overlord have a name? If not, how about... Ainz Ooal Gown?"
Knox: "Or, since the Overlord's tentacles remind me of a blue octopus, how about... Togawa Sakiko?"
Simon: "( ╹ -╹)?"