Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 388: Episode

Slowly, the dungeon was giving up its secrets. Simon had been constantly wondering how the monsters replenished their energy without eating; it turned out they simply transformed into natural elements like plants or rocks when their strength was depleted. After a while, an unknown entity would connect to them with a white, nerve-like tendril to transfer energy. He was convinced this entity was the Dungeon Lord—the boss monster. Only a being capable of orchestrating the entire ecosystem could hold such a title. And the way to make contact with it...

’Is to act like a monster.’

If he sat perfectly still and maintained his concentration, the being he presumed to be the Dungeon Lord would send out one of its white, nerve-like tentacles. The moment it made contact, however, it would realize he wasn’t a monster and retreat. But a strong residual sense of its escape route always remained. All he had to do was follow that feeling.

It was his compass.

If he lost his way, he could repeat the process to trick the Dungeon Lord and regain his bearings. It had taken considerable trial and error to figure it all out. His initial idea of covering himself in minerals had been a useless flourish. The real conditions were to remain motionless for at least an hour, maintain steady breathing, stay awake, and perform the meditation in an area with dense foliage.

And so, on the tenth day...

"Mm."

Deep in meditation, Simon felt the familiar probe of the Dungeon Lord and opened his eyes. He felt truly close now. The residual sensation after each contact was growing stronger.

’First, I should get something to eat.’

The meditation had left him famished. He gnawed on some leftover meat from his last hunt. It was as tasteless as ever, especially now that he knew the monsters here were part plant.

’No wonder the texture was more like a mushroom than meat.’

Worse, the monster’s flesh would turn into a limp, dried-out husk within hours. It only kept for a day, which meant he had to hunt daily.

"Alright."

After his meal, Simon did some light stretching. His direction was set, and it was about time to find dinner. His eyes fell upon a messy set of tracks on the forest floor.

’I’ll just follow these... huh?’

Simon’s eyes widened, and he dropped to his knees. The footprints were fresh. A single, regular pair of prints. More surprisingly, they weren’t the monster tracks he’d grown so tired of seeing.

’These are boot prints!’

A Kizen student was nearby. He immediately broke into a run, following the tracks. The damp ground held the impressions perfectly, and they grew deeper as he went—proof that someone had been here recently. Soon, the tracks led him out of the dense forest.

A gust of wind swirled with a brilliant light, whipping through the trees. He saw the back of a girl with long, flowing, sky-blue hair. As she tucked a stray strand behind her ear, she sensed his presence and turned.

"Ah?"

Her eyes widened in shock. The surprise was fleeting, quickly replaced by an expression of unconcealable relief and emotion.

"Si—!"

"Simoooon!!!"

But someone else shot out before she could. Toto latched onto Simon, sobbing with joy.

"Toto?"

"Whoa! Simon! It’s so good to see you! I was so scared!" Toto wailed, sneaking a sideways glance at Meirin.

Meirin’s face turned beet red.

"Hey! What did I do?!" she snapped.

"Eek!" Toto yelped, darting behind Simon for cover.

Simon smiled warmly. "You two never change."

"So much for an emotional reunion," Meirin muttered, pressing a hand to her forehead. "Seriously." She looked Simon over. After ten days, she’d expected the boys to be grimy and bearded, but he was as neat as ever, even clean-shaven. Then again, just like during the island survival evaluation, this guy could probably survive anywhere.

"Are there more of you?"

Simon shook his head. "No, you’re the first I’ve run into."

Meirin’s eyes lit up as she eagerly extended her hand. "Then, do you want to team up with us? If you’re okay with it, of course..."

Simon took her hand, his grip firm but gentle. "Of course, I’d love to."

An unabashed grin spread across Meirin’s lips. She had felt completely lost since arriving in the dungeon, but seeing Simon was an incredible relief. Toto was here, of course, but he was more of a liability she had to protect than an asset she could rely on.

"O-Of course, I’m the leader! Any objections?"

"Haha! Whatever you say."

The three of them quickly brought each other up to speed, sharing everything they had learned. All three knew the strategy for the mineral monsters and that they could turn into plants. Meirin and Toto didn’t know the Dungeon Lord’s location, but they had been following their own set of clues.

"If you look closely," Meirin explained, "the roots of the trees are all leaning in a certain direction."

"Really?"

Simon narrowed his eyes, scanning the roots of the nearby trees. "Hmm, I can’t really tell."

"If you look really, ’really’ closely, you’ll see the direction is subtly the same."

Simon scratched the side of his head. "If it’s that subtle, is it really a reliable clue?"

"You might think so. But!" Meirin spread her arms wide. "What if that condition is the same for every single tree here?"

One plant’s roots leaning to the side was meaningless. But if 299 out of 300 trees in the forest were leaning the exact same way, that was a different story. It became significant.

"It’s not a huge discovery, but it was all we had, so we were just blindly moving in this direction."

Simon nodded. "Good job."

The Dungeon Lord’s white tentacles traveled underground to nourish the plant-form monsters. It made sense that the roots might lean toward their source. It wasn’t a foolproof clue, since roots could be affected by terrain, wind, or light, but their directed movement had ultimately led them to Simon.

Now it was Simon’s turn to share what he had discovered.

"You can make contact with the Dungeon Lord?" Meirin and Toto’s eyes went wide.

"I want to try!"

Meirin quickly sat down with her knees together and closed her eyes. Beside her, Toto grew curious and leaned against a tree, closing his eyes as well.

However...

’Fidget! Fidget!’

Less than thirty minutes in, Meirin’s shoulders were already twitching with boredom. Toto was already dead asleep, a thin line of drool escaping his lips.

A wry smile touched Simon’s lips. "You both failed."

It seemed that even if you knew the method, it was impossible for anyone with a short attention span or a tendency to doze off. Though they had failed, Simon had already made contact with the Dungeon Lord once more to reconfirm the direction.

"I’ll lead the way. Let’s move."

"Okay!"

The priority now was to confirm Simon’s hypothesis and pinpoint the Dungeon Lord’s location.

The three of them set off at a brisk pace. The closer they got to the Dungeon Lord, the larger and more numerous the monsters became. Getting spotted meant a relentless attack, so they had to navigate carefully, taking detours whenever possible.

"Simon! The path ahead is swarming with monsters!" Toto reported after scouting ahead.

Simon nodded. "We need to conserve our mineral weapons. I think we can avoid a fight if we climb this hill. What do you think?" he asked, pointing upward.

Meirin looked up, her brow furrowed. "...It’ll drain our stamina, but I guess we have no choice."

"Wait a minute."

Simon opened his subspace. Six skeletons emerged, split into pieces, and attached themselves to the three students.

"Here. Climbing should be easier with this."

"Full-body Bone Armor!" Toto breathed, his eyes sparkling with pure admiration.

After equipping his own armor, Simon swung his arms with a soft ’swish’ to test it and then demonstrated. He reached up, grabbed a ledge, planted his foot on a solid hold, and pulled himself up smoothly.

"Follow me, Meirin!"

"Ah, okay!"

Meirin quickly tested the armor’s exoskeletal effect, grabbing a protrusion on the slope. "Nice! I can climb right up without much effort!"

She adapted in an instant. Even with her less-than-stellar athleticism, it was no problem with Simon directly assisting her through the armor.

"Hey! Loser!" she called back excitedly. "Why are you so slow? Hurry up!"

But Toto, who was following behind, blushed when he met her eyes and quickly looked away.

"What’s with you..."

Meirin’s expression shifted as she realized what he was looking at.

A sharp ’thwack’ echoed as her back kick connected, sending Toto sliding down the cliff face. He had to scramble back up the wall, this time making sure to stay ahead of Meirin.

"...Simon, I’ve had a really hard time," Toto said with a grimace, a fresh boot print on his face.

"Haha."

Simon chuckled to himself. Toto’s timid nature was no match for Meirin’s fiery temperament.

"M-Maybe Meirin actually hates me?" Toto mumbled, his confidence at rock bottom.

Simon shook his head. Meirin was a pragmatist who valued results above all else. Yet here she was, seriously aiming for first place in the promotion exam while protecting and dragging Toto along, even though he could be a liability. That fact alone said everything.

"Meirin isn’t very honest," Simon explained. "She sometimes says or does things she doesn’t mean." He continued, "If you just treated her a little more casually, you’d realize..."

"Th-That’s impossible to begin with!"

Simon laughed out loud at Toto’s complaint.

With the power of the Bone Armor, the three of them reached the top of the cliff.

"Wow, this definitely looks like a boss’s lair!" Meirin exclaimed, bouncing on her toes. Before them stretched a jet-black mountain range, a landscape unlike anything they had seen elsewhere in the dungeon.

"Alright, let’s head down. Be careful."

Simon was about to lead the way when Toto pointed at the sky.

"H-Hey, guys. Something’s coming."

"Huh?"

Simon looked up. He’d thought it was a bird, but he was wrong.

It was a black dragon.

With a powerful flap of its tattered black wings, a massive dragon descended, creating a fierce wind with every beat.

"Get down!"

Simon conjured a veil of jet-black, shielding Meirin and Toto as they dropped to the ground. The dragon landed on the dizzying precipice and folded its wings.

’Of all places...!’

Simon bit his lip. The dragon’s body began to shrink, its tightly packed scales popping out and dangling loosely. Its reptilian snout receded into a smooth human face, and its sharp teeth became even and neat.

"Simon Polentia."

Soon, he had returned to the familiar form of Hector Moore.

"Hector!"

Meirin shot to her feet, magic circles flaring in her hands.

"You know fighting between students is forbidden in the dungeon, right?"

"Fighting may be forbidden," Hector sneered, "but a slightly painful tumble down this hill could hardly be called a fight."

"You—!"

Simon raised an arm, stopping Meirin before she could charge. "What do you want?"

Hector was overly competitive and dangerously reckless when angered, but Simon didn’t think he was a fool.

Hector’s gaze locked onto him. "You would have found the boss’s location."

Simon said nothing.

"Lead the way."

Was he offering to cooperate? Simon was inwardly pleased, but Meirin crossed her arms with a huff. "And why should we do that for the likes of you?"

A corner of Hector’s mouth lifted in a silent smirk. He would probably just follow them anyway.

"We need all the strength we can muster," Simon stated calmly. "Let’s cooperate for this boss fight, Hector."