Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 369: Episode

"Haha! It’s not like that."

Finally understanding the situation, Simon explained everything. He had gone to Rochestr with Benya to get materials for his lich, and the reason he hadn’t returned to the dorms was that he had been completely engrossed in creating it all night. It was the truth, and a very Simon-like reason, so Meirin and Kamibarez were convinced. Thinking about it calmly, Simon was definitely not the type to hit on an upperclassman and elope.

"You’re unbelievable," Meirin said. The tense atmosphere that had filled the classroom instantly dissipated. She smiled prettily and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"That’s so like you, Simon," Kamibarez added, also smiling brightly.

Feeling the atmosphere suddenly turn into a field of pink flowers, Dick frowned.

"Then why did I get hit?" A small bump had formed on his head.

"Shut your mouth," Meirin growled, her face flushing.

"Please be quiet," Kamibarez added in a sulky tone.

Dick shrugged shamelessly.

"Jeez, I gave you a straight answer to what you were all dying to know! You should be grateful!"

"Ah, I said shut up! What do you mean, ‘did you have some fun with Benya’? That’s disgusting!"

"Ahem! Are you calling the sacred miracle of a new life’s creation disgusting? The miracle where two people go in and three come out...!"

"I said stop it!!" Meirin, whose earlobes had turned bright red, smacked Dick’s back with all her might.

Simon and Kamibarez exchanged small smiles.

"Simon! So you completed the lich last night?" Kamibarez asked.

"Well," Simon began with a vague smile. "I completed it, but the situation got a bit complicated."

It would be better to show them than to explain. He opened his subspace and summoned Herseva. At the sight of the staff flying into the air, Meirin quickly held down her skirt and ground her teeth.

"The pervert staff, Arelldelur...!"

"It’s not Arelldelur anymore." Simon spread his palm with a triumphant smile. "Let me introduce you. My new summon, the lich, Herseva."

[Who are these kids?]

Hearing Herseva’s voice, the group members reacted with surprise.

"Th-The staff is talking?"

"It’s a woman’s voice!"

[What’s the big deal? First time seeing a talking staff?] Herseva said, doing somersaults in the air with ease.

Meirin looked at Simon.

"But you said you made a lich. Where’s the lich, and what’s with this staff?"

"This staff ’is’ the lich."

Simon calmly explained the situation. The lich had been completed successfully, but during the process of linking it with the staff, the lich’s consciousness had transferred over. The main body, the lich, couldn’t move on its own—like a person in a vegetative state—but its Life Vessel was beating normally. And as long as the main body and the staff were close, there was no problem using black magic with just the staff.

"That’s awesome!" Dick exclaimed, pounding the desk with an excited face after hearing the full explanation. "Black magic is known for its variables, but I’ve never heard of a case like this! So now you just need to make a dedicated subspace to protect the lich’s main body, like with Overlord, right?"

"I’ve already spoken to a subspace artisan about it."

By now, Herseva had settled on Kamibarez’s lap. As she smiled brightly and stroked the staff with a gentle hand, Herseva made a pleased sound.

[Yes, right there. The lower part of the handle! Rub it a little more, kid.]

"Haha! It’s like having a cat."

Meirin was lost in thought, her chin resting on her hand.

"The ability to create mummies without consuming the caster’s Jet-Black... It’s a power befitting a summoner."

"Who’s going to stop Simon now?" Dick said with a chuckle. "He was already so strong with just Overlord and the Royal Guard, and now he’s got a new weapon!"

"Alright, alright! That’s enough chatter! Stop talking and open your books," Meirin said coolly, clapping her hands. "We gathered to study for the exams. Don’t forget our purpose." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Yes, Meirin!"

[Hey! What? Why did you stop stroking! Keep going!]

---

With the final and promotion exams approaching, the days at Kizen flew by faster than ever.

First, there was the final match of the "After-School BMAT." Simon only needed to collect green cards to complete the best combination, but the fact that it was a Necrology theme bothered him. So he came up with a plan: to cooperate with Cindy Vivace from his class. She also needed to obtain a yellow card, which was a Summoning theme, so their interests aligned, and the two of them entered the final BMAT together. Cindy excelled in the Necrology theme, and Simon excelled in the Summoning theme.

The result was...

’1st – Simon Polentia (25 points)’

’1st – Chatel Maer (25 points)’

’3rd – Merida Hugh Ikel (16 points)’

’3rd – Glek Crow (16 points)’

’5th – Hector Moore (15 points)’

With the seven-card rainbow combination plus a golden card, Simon completed the ultimate set. He earned 24 points for the combination and an additional point for being the top contributor on the defending team in the siege battle, for a total of 25 points. Naturally, he took first place. The giant-blooded Chatel, who tied for first, also completed the ultimate combination for 24 points and succeeded in killing a target player once for an additional point, totaling 25 points. The two boys had truly lived up to their reputations. The other high-ranking spots were mostly taken by students who excelled in all subjects.

Thus, the great mountain that was the 4th After-School BMAT was conquered. Now, three things remained for the students: the 2nd-year promotion exam, the final exam, and the gateway to these two big events—the performance evaluations for each subject that had been plaguing them lately.

Students were often pulling all-nighters, feeling deeply fatigued, but Simon’s situation was relatively better. The final performance evaluation for Summoning was the ’Creation of a Magic-Type Undead and Thesis’. The final performance evaluation for Hemomancy was the ’Demonstration of Black Magic Related to the Heart’. He could cover both of these final evaluations with his new lich.

He had a reliable backup for the other subjects as well. For the Combat Magic evaluation, ’One-on-One Combat with an Assistant’, he was smoothly developing his own original combat magic, including Shockwave. And in Venomology, he was showing clear promise in the ‘Immune System’ class, which was reassuring. His Jet-Black Dynamics was at a decent level, but his theory had been strengthened by preparing for the Pentamonium academic conference, so he had high hopes for his final exam score.

For now, Simon decided to focus on studying curses. To get a good grade on the final Cursology evaluation, ’A Synergy Curse Using Three or More Curses’, he needed to master all four of Bahil’s great curses and obtain the curse called ‘Compellonia’.

Currently, Simon had mastered two of the four: the Curse of Numbness, ‘Indolence’—a curse that postponed pain, then shared it all at once with a chosen opponent—and the Curse of Hostility, ‘Hostile’—a curse that made two targets hostile towards each other. For now, it was hard to find a common thread between them. It seemed he would only get a hint towards ‘Compellonia’ after acquiring all four.

’‘Next is the Curse of Delusion, ‘Delusion’.’’

Unlike the other two curses, which he had learned on his own, this one was proving quite difficult. He was contemplating whether he should go see Bahil when...

"Simon."

When Simon turned his head, he caught the fresh scent of shampoo. Kamibarez, who had been squatting, peeked her head over the desk and gave a bashful smile.

"Let’s go to the next class!"

"Ah."

He had been so engrossed in studying that he hadn’t realized how much time had passed. As Simon packed his things, he asked, "What’s the afternoon class again?"

Kamibarez answered with a bright smile.

"Professor Walter’s Hemomancy!"

"...Aha."

From Pentamonium onwards, he had been on a roll, even creating a lich that used mummies and a unique ability. For Simon, who was doing well in every aspect lately, the only thing that had seen no progress and left a bad taste in his mouth was the investigation into Walter.

With the help of Dick and Kajan, Simon had conducted several inquiries, but he hadn’t gotten the results he wanted. First, the investigation into the components of the hematopoietic injection, which he had requested from Dick, came back with a report from the Pentamonium scholars: ‘No problems that could pose a threat to the human body were found,’ and ‘The effect may diminish over time, but there are no safety issues.’ He had requested the investigation because he had doubts about the injections Walter had recently been giving to students, but instead, his own inquiry had ended up verifying their safety.

And then there was the ‘handwriting analysis’ request, which Simon had thought would be the most decisive evidence. He had compared Walter’s signature from his lab with the signature of ‘Judas, the bishop of the Blood Cult,’ found on the Holy Federation train. If he could just prove they were written by the same person, Simon could immediately contact Nephthys and have Walter arrested. But...

’I guarantee that these two signatures are of completely different handwriting.’

The guarantee came from the most credible handwriting analyst in Langerstine. Once again, it only produced evidence that Walter and Judas were different people.

Lastly, the request he had made to Kajan. The investigation into Count Caron, who had a connection with Walter, had ended inconclusively when the count went missing in a ship accident. Kajan and the Thieves’ Guild had investigated with the possibility that the accident was intentional, but the fact that the waves were high and there was a storm on the day of the incident weakened their argument.

’‘Ugh.’’

No evidence. The hematopoietic injection was safe. And above all, proof that ‘Hemomancy Professor Walter’ and ‘Blood Cult Bishop Judas’ were not the same person. At this point, Simon was confused. He even started to think that maybe his suspicions about Professor Walter were all just his imagination. After all, he had no decisive evidence; most of his suspicions were based on a gut feeling.

Nevertheless, Simon hadn’t abandoned the thought that ‘Walter is a suspicious person,’ so he had been refusing to get the hematopoietic injection.

"If that’s what you think, then I can’t help it. I can’t force you."

Despite Simon’s refusal, Walter had smiled and respected his choice. He had even shown various considerations for Simon because he hadn’t gotten the shot. With no evidence emerging, there was nothing else to be done. For the time being, he decided to focus a little more on his studies and training. At this rate, he was just suspecting an innocent person.

"Due to Professor Walter’s health issues, today’s class is canceled," the head assistant announced when they entered the Hemomancy classroom.

Cheers like firecrackers erupted from the male students, but a few female students gave them pointed looks.

"Being so immature is a problem, really," Meirin said, lightly tapping the top of Dick’s head with her textbook as he whistled.

Dick yelped and grabbed the back of his head.

"Why’d you hit me when you’re happy about it too!"

"Mind your manners, dummy!"

Kamibarez clasped her hands with a worried expression.

"Professor Walter has been coughing a lot lately. I’m a little worried."

"He’ll recover soon," Meirin said.

Simon also nodded and was packing his things when Dick suddenly popped up and slung an arm around his neck.

"Oh! By the way. Do you guys know? The ’Shamime Festival’ is tomorrow."

"I know," Simon nodded.

"Is there anyone who doesn’t know that?" Meirin chided. Shamime was one of the Dark Alliance’s biggest festivals and public holidays, a day to honor the vengeful spirits of the dead.

"We even got the dress code last week!" Kamibarez said excitedly.

"Yeah, the dress is a bit of a concern. It’s annoying during exam season. I’ll just wear something I already have," Meirin said, though in reality, she was quite excited at the thought of wearing the expensive dress she had ordered a full three weeks before the festival.

"But you know," Dick grinned, "they’re announcing the duel evaluation at the Shamime event."

"Oh, the duel evaluation? It’s about that time," Meirin said nonchalantly. "I’ll just grab an easy win and be done with it. It’s a decent chance to test my skills before the promotion exam."

’Finally!’

Meanwhile, Simon was grinning from ear to ear. Herseva’s debut! A duel evaluation for the upper squads would be a worthy stage.

"No, no. This isn’t an ordinary duel evaluation! They say it might even be a nomination system this time."

"Those words you just said."

The four of them flinched and turned around. A towering figure rose like a great hill, his eyes flashing. It was unclear how long he’d been there.

"That wasn’t a lie, was it?" Hector was glaring at Simon with burning eyes.