Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 137

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Necromancer School’s Summoning Genius — Chapter 137
Perfect silence.
All visual noise and sound erased except what was necessary.
In this world, I alone was the protagonist.
‘To see this mental image again here of all places.’
During combat, Simon could exert extreme concentration to deliberately ‘recreate’ this state. But the cradle of focus that Bahil’s curse and Serne’s Feather had forged—that was operating on an entirely different level.
What I felt was my own body, and the Dark Element flowing through it with almost unbearable clarity. And faintly, the presence of Serne pressed against my back.
[Shall we begin?]
Her mellifluous voice rang out sharp and clear. Simon pulled his concentration taut and activated his Core.
Three times the normal output.
Like a swollen river flooding its banks, the vast quantity of Dark Element was beginning to accumulate damage throughout his body.
[You need to strengthen your control.]
She guided him, preventing the flow from straying into unwanted channels, keeping it true.
The Core would not stop. The Dark Element’s volume kept swelling. Control was slipping.
[I’ll create an outlet for you.]
At the sound of her voice, Simon felt the Dark Element begin to drain from his body.
Now the balance was right. Simon released a breath and pushed his Core higher.
His body burned.
Blood roiled and every cell screamed for power. He felt a vitality that transcended Internal Dark Element Manipulation—something altogether different.
[Slowly now—]
Now the channeling and expulsion of Dark Element happened simultaneously. Power surged beyond his ability to contain.
And then.
Serne, who had been clinging to him from behind in a back embrace, stepped away. Simon’s world snapped back to normal.
“Serne?”
The surrounding students were murmuring, all eyes on Simon.
As Simon turned to her in bewilderment, she stood with hands clasped behind her back, smiling, and tilted her chin toward him.
“……!”
Dark Element dripped from his body in droplets.
He had not only manifested Internal Darkness Manifestation but had already mastered its expulsion as well.
Envious eyes fixed upon him.
“Wow! He succeeded, right?”
“Already at that level? Is he an alien or something?”
“Of course—it’s Special Exception Number One.”
No. I didn’t do this alone.
As Simon lifted his dazed face, Serne was smiling like spring blossoms.
“That makes one more debt. All right with you?”
“…….”
Simon let out a small laugh.
“Yeah. Thank you.”
She swept her platinum blonde hair back with elegant grace.
“Once we’ve collected ten favors like this, are you going to save it for one really big wish?”
“……Is this some kind of school café loyalty program?”
“Ahahaha!”
The two of them were laughing together, their easy banter flowing back and forth, when—
Rrraaagghhh!
There were two students radiating fury like a volcano.
Merin glared at Simon and Serne with a blazing expression, watching them laugh so pleasantly together.
‘Ugh! This is so infuriating! I warned you until my mouth hurt! I told you to avoid that woman at all costs! She’s only using you and manipulating you!’
Merin felt like she was going to lose her mind over Simon.
Why couldn’t he see her true nature? And here he was, some man who’d fallen head over heels for her pretty face, laughing like an idiot. The sight of it made her want to explode.
Part of her wanted to march over right now, grab both their heads, and smash them together.
Grrrgh.
And right beside her, a step forward, stood Hector—radiating fury like a personified god of wrath.
‘Simon Polentiaaaa!’
Hector’s teeth ground against each other.
‘You! How much further do you intend to mock me?!’
Hector, who had taken up Dark Magic years before Simon, could naturally perform Internal Darkness Manifestation.
But the technique that he had spent countless hours mastering—crossing the very threshold between life and death to attain—Simon had simply picked up in a single class period, right before his eyes.
Rrraaagghhh!
Sparks flew from the eyes of both students staring at Simon. A few others around them deliberately looked away and resumed their training.
At that moment, their gazes locked—both of them burning with fury at their peak.
“What are you staring at?”
Merin growled the words.
“Have you lost your mind? Can’t you look away?”
Killing intent flickered in Hector’s eyes.
The two were about to rush toward each other when—
“Merin! Stop!”
Kamibarez ran over in alarm and threw her arms around Merin. Hector’s faction rushed in as well, grabbing him by the waist to hold him back.
The two glared at each other with terrifying intensity until they noticed the instructors approaching, then finally turned away.
‘What was that about?’
As Simon turned at the sound of murmuring, Merin and Hector were already heading in opposite directions. The instructors arrived to quiet the students.
Training resumed.
By now, Simon had reached the point where he could trigger Internal Darkness Manifestation at will. But.
‘The risk is too great.’
Gaining immense power in a short time was one thing, but the physical strain from consuming so much Dark Element was severe. If he used it and didn’t utterly suppress his opponent, defeat was certain.
Moreover, expelling Dark Element outside his body so wastefully—it was brutally inefficient. It felt like something reserved for a final, decisive strike.
“That’s why even professional Necromancers rarely use Dark Element Manifestation as their main technique,” Serne said, waving her index finger.
Serne waved her index finger as she spoke.
“What Hong Peng is teaching you now is groundwork for what comes next. There are many applications that build on Manifestation.”
“I see.”
Simon nodded.
“Can you use it?”
“Using it isn’t difficult,” she said.
She extended her index finger toward Simon. Smoke curled lazily from just that fingertip.
“But it’s crude and inelegant, isn’t it? I’d rather not resort to Combat Magic.”
Besides, Serne’s arsenal didn’t depend on Combat Magic anyway.
She could hurl Feathers at will, weave Magical Circles from a distance by infusing Feathers with Dark Element, even unfold twenty Magical Circles simultaneously with twenty Feathers, and she’d seen her swap Feathers for other objects as well.
Her coasting through Combat Magic lessons was, in a way, a luxury.
“Still, I think there’s no harm in learning something you might never use.”
Simon was voicing his usual philosophy.
“Even Merin was a glass cannon with weak Combat Magic, but lately her form has improved dramatically since she started shoring up that weakness.”
“That’s true enough.”
Serne folded her arms and smiled. Simon read her expression as he spoke.
“And if you genuinely want to get closer to Merin, you’d do well to break the habit of looking down on people like that.”
“What do you mean~ It’s just a fact that Merin is below me. What needs fixing?”
Simon let out a hollow laugh.
“You’re one of the strangest people I know.”
Serne smiled back.
“Funny—we’re in perfect agreement. You’re the first person quite as strange as you I’ve ever met.”
As they spoke, Hong Peng clapped her hands to call everyone together. Students from both Class A and Class C rushed toward her.
“Make yourselves comfortable,” she said.
Once the students sat on the grass, Hong Peng began her explanation.
“Not being able to do it right away is completely normal! The Darkness Control techniques require steady, continuous practice above all else. You’ve all worked hard, so take twenty minutes to rest—and after that, I’ve prepared something fun for you!”
At the mention of something fun, every student’s expression went rigid.
‘Is she going to make us ride hippos on one leg or something?’
‘Might as well bet it’s climbing hills with weighted sandbags.’
Just then, instructor Bred, standing at a distance from Hong Peng, tossed a ball to her. She caught it easily with one hand and grinned widely.
“Inter-class ball game. How does that sound?”
“!!!!”
“Really?!”
An actual, normal event! A cheer of half-joy, half-shock erupted from all directions.
A ball was a genuinely rare sight since arriving at Kizen.
Students’ eyes gleamed at the prospect of real sport. Even those with little interest in ball games were genuinely delighted that it wasn’t hippos or hills.
“Now, let me explain the rules,” Hong Peng said.
Hong Peng tucked the ball into her belt and moved on to the detailed explanation.
In essence, the rules were similar to dodgeball. You enter the court, throw the ball, and hit your opponents.
The moment the ball touched your body, if you caught it cleanly and held on, you could claim the right to throw.
However, there was no free attack system where those marked out could assist from outside the court. Once out, you were completely eliminated from the game.
“Of course! It’d be boring otherwise, right?”
The students felt a sudden wave of unease wash over them.
She picked up the ball and tossed it toward Bred, who stood some distance away. But her aim went astray—the ball sailed toward the forest instead of him.
Screech!
Then, without warning, the ball’s trajectory twisted sharply and flew straight to Bred.
Bred lowered his stance and caught the ball solidly. His feet skidded backward several meters before he came to a stop.
“This ball has Dark Magic woven into it.”
The students murmured in alarm, exchanging uncertain glances.
“No matter where you throw it, as long as the receiver carries a Core, the ball will always fly toward them. In other words, you cannot throw it badly and miss.”
Bred threw it again. The ball sailed through the air for a long stretch, then pivoted like a hawk hunting prey and flew toward Hong Peng.
Hong Peng caught it easily with one hand, just as before.
“Evasion is impossible. Only attack and defense matter in this sport. Fail to block it, and you’re out!”
What kind of game is this?
The thought hung on every student’s lips. A few nodded as if to say, “Well, that makes sense.”
“Still, it does sound fun.”
“Yeah. We can’t lose to Class C!”
“Professor!”
Once again, Jamie Victoria—the perpetual question-asker of Class A—raised her hand.
“Are we allowed to use Dark Magic?”
“Yes. You may use Dark Magic to strengthen yourselves, your teammates, or the ball—but you cannot affect the opposing team’s students in any way. Breaking this rule results in immediate disqualification. And the technique called Ghost Transformation is forbidden. If you could become incorporeal, the game would never end since you could simply keep passing the ball.”
At that, Cindy Vivace’s expression fell noticeably.
“Twenty players per court. Best of three, first to two wins. The winning class gets a proper meal. And the losing team…”
She broke into a bright smile.
“…will have to fill their bellies with energy drinks while watching the victors eat.”
Fire kindled in every student’s eyes.
Competition!
The very air shifted, and Kizen’s signature competitive spirit began to blaze.
“Class A, gather round!”
“We can’t afford to lose!”
“Class C over here!”
“Finally gonna take down those vice-chancellor’s favorites!”
As everyone’s competitive fire burned brighter, Simon rose from his seat.
“Hey, Simon.”
Grab.
Merin had seized his wrist—she’d appeared without warning. Simon turned to her in mild surprise.
“M-Merin?”
“The class rep wants you. We’re plotting Class A strategy.”
She pulled him along briskly.
As Simon glanced back, Serne waved at him with an unhurried smile. C Class students were already clustering around her.
“Where’s Kamibarez?”
…….
“Merin?”
She snorted disdainfully and turned her head away with a pout.
Simon gave a wry smile. Why does she look angry again?
“Come on, Simon! Hurry over!”
Class A had gathered in one cluster, with Jamie Victoria seated at the center and Dick standing beside her.
At a nod from Jamie, Dick cleared his throat and commanded everyone’s attention.
“Yes! I’m Dick Hayward, the brain of Class A.”
Oooh.
Playful jeers arose from various corners, but Dick handled them with wit, responding like a seasoned emcee thanking the audience for their enthusiasm.
“I’ll explain on behalf of the rep. First, the teams have already been decided by the teaching assistants.”
Dick pulled out a folding table from his Subspace—the kind of thing you’d never expect someone to carry—unfolded it, and spread papers across the top.
Students crowded around to check the roster. Simon stepped closer to verify his own name.
‘I’m on Team Two.’
Simon scanned primarily for names of students he knew well.
Team One: Merin, Dick, Toto.
Team Two: Simon, Hector.
Team Three: Cindy, Jamie, Kamibarez.
‘The balance isn’t bad.’
Simon thought as much and cast a sidelong glance.
Hector stood with folded arms and a deeply furrowed brow—clearly unhappy with his team composition.
“Alright, everyone. Lend me your ears for a moment.”
Dick opened his mouth again.
“Our strategic options have narrowed somewhat, but what we can control is which teams we field in rounds one, two, and three. That’s psychological warfare. When Class C sends out their strongest team, we make them face our weakest squad to wear them down. Then our strongest team takes out their mid-tier players. That’s the ideal scenario.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Then a student raised his hand.
“But it’s best of three, right? Wouldn’t it be better to just send out two strong teams back-to-back and win it all in one go?”
“Of course.”
Dick smirked as he continued.
“Class C will definitely field Serne’s strongest team at least once in rounds one or two—unless they’re going completely unconventional.”
“……Hmm.”
At the mention of Serne, everyone’s expression grew weary.
Serne’s presence alongside Lorain from L Class as one of Kizen’s top two was undeniably threatening.
This time Jamie spoke up.
“Then we need to figure out our strong and weak teams fast too.”
“Right. Our balance is solid, but if I had to pick…….”
Dick’s gaze shifted.
“The two-team lineup with Simon and Hector seems like our strongest. Any objections?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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