Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 217

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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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Necromancer Academy’s Summoning Genius – Chapter 217
“Did you all have a good break?”
The answer came pouring out as if they’d been waiting for the question. Jane raised her palm lightly and quieted the students.
At that moment, the teaching assistant standing behind Jane raised both hands above his head, made a gesture of horns, pointed at Jane with a grin, and then returned to an at-ease stance.
“It’s good to see you all again after so long. Though I must say it’s a shame that four of you couldn’t manage proper preparation for dealing with Holiness, despite my clear instructions.”
Only then did the students flinch. Her face was certainly smiling, but her tone was not.
“I hear that in the adjacent Class B, only one student failed. When Professor Bahil told me that, I felt my own face burning with embarrassment.”
‘Ah, Professor Bahil really…!’
Several students, including Dick, cursed Bahil inwardly. Why did he have to provoke this woman and make things harder for them?
As the students hung their heads, Jane smiled.
“I’m not blaming you. The fault lies not with you, but with the incompetent dropouts.”
She turned her back to them.
Her footsteps clicking sharply, she walked to the blackboard, and the teaching assistants quickly installed a Mana Projector, bringing a screen to life in the air.
“We should provide feedback on this exam so nothing like this happens again. I’ll start from the lowest rank.”

* * *
Jane played through the footage, methodically pointing out the mistakes and errors of the Class A students. By the first class, the students’ morale was already frayed.
Dick’s case: his words were flashy but lacked substance, and there was a critical error in his route selection.
Kamibarez: she faltered when she first saw the Holiness monster, making a slow start, and when saving her teammates, she showed far too much unnecessary sentiment.
Merin: her creativity in building an ice boat to cross the river was commendable, but she was weak to cold, so she kept shivering—work on that, Jane advised.
Most of the students were thoroughly criticized. The only two people Jane passed over were Simon and Hector.
“Even if you’re in the same class, learn from those worth learning from. Everyone should follow these two’s example of judgment. Let’s have a round of applause.”
Clap clap clap clap!
As the sudden applause washed over him, Simon laughed awkwardly, while Hector, still bitter at being ranked second to Simon, frowned with irritation.
“Professor! Isn’t our class still amazing, though?”
Dick spoke up suddenly, addressing Jane as casually as he might a friend sitting beside him.
‘Is he insane?’
Merin and the students around her looked appalled, placing fingers to their lips, but Jane surprisingly engaged him.
“Amazing? What exactly is so amazing about that, Dick Hayward?”
“We have 1st, 2nd, and 9th place in our class! Class B only has one person in the top ten—at 8th place!”
Jane’s gaze turned cold, and Dick quickly shut his mouth and lowered his head.
“Let’s move on to the next announcement.”
Remarkably, Jane’s voice softened noticeably from that point on. Dick, who had been pretending to take careful notes, quietly gave Simon a thumbs up.
“This is somewhat sudden, but there is something you must decide by today.”
She took new materials from a teaching assistant and spoke.
“During this Integrated 2nd Semester, you may skip at most two of the nine courses you’re currently taking.”
The students’ eyes widened at this.
“Beginner Black Magic, taught by the faculty advisor; Sacred Defense Studies, the core of this semester’s curriculum; and Dark Reversal Magic are designated mandatory courses. Kizen recommends exempting only one course. If you wish to exempt two courses, you will need to meet with your faculty advisor. Of course, don’t expect that having fewer classes will help your grades.”
Simon nodded as he listened to the explanation.
It made sense—dropping from nine courses down to seven was far too risky. No student would do it unless they were the type to go all-in on a single subject.
“So choose one course to exempt by this week. That’s all.”
Simon decided immediately.
‘…Professor Umbra, I’m sorry.’
Simon was still trapped in Necromancy’s chicken-scratch dance, so his decision was inevitable. Most students who hadn’t yet felt spirit would likely drop Necromancy.
Kamibarez was no exception.
“What are you going to do, Merin?”
“I’ve decided.”
“Oh, I’m good too.”
Surprisingly, both Merin and Dick had chosen to drop Necromancy.
Merin’s reason was that she couldn’t prepare her Dark Element magic during Spirit Form Transformation, the core of Necromancy.
Dick’s reason was that since all three of them were dropping it, he’d follow along. Merin immediately criticized him for it.
“You’re shameless, really. This is a matter that affects your future—please think seriously about it.”
“I’m all-rounder, so I’m confident in everything.”
Dick shrugged.
“And Necromancy has a huge gap between majors and regular students, and it’s tough to get good grades. It makes sense to drop this one.”
And so all four of them had decided.

* * *
After Jane’s Beginner Black Magic class ended, Simon and his groupmates headed to their next class.
Simon was in a very good mood.
‘So the second class is Summoning Magic!’
Simon had been anticipating Aaron’s lessons so much.
He’d grown tired of just studying passive material. He wanted to learn new things quickly and create them with his own power.
But Dick, walking beside him, flipped through his notebook and spoke up.
“This Summoning Magic class isn’t in the usual lecture hall?”
“No! It’s an outdoor class!”
Kamibarez said. Merin beside her let out a soft, “Hmm,” through her nose.
“An outdoor class from day one? I’m getting a feeling about this.”
“What kind of feeling?”
“A hint about the Comprehensive Black Magic Aptitude Assessment.”
Certainly, Aaron had said it himself during the opening ceremony.
-You’ll have to figure out the test theme yourselves. We’ll provide hints through various methods. There could be hints even in jokes the professors casually throw out, so stay focused at all times.
Recalling that voice, Simon let out a small exclamation.
“Sharp thinking.”
Merin tossed her head proudly, running her fingertips through her long, pale-blue hair.
“I mean, it’s natural to think like me, isn’t it? You all seem rusty since it’s been a while—come on, snap out of it.”
And so all the Class A students, Simon included, arrived at the classroom location Aaron had designated.
It was behind the 3rd Indoor Arena, where they often came for duel evaluations, and a track had been set up.
Rulers were drawn on the track tiles so records could be measured. Male students were jumping on the spot and comparing their distances with each other.
Simon rested his chin in his hand.
‘Summoning Magic… a track… the Comprehensive Black Magic Aptitude Assessment? I can’t quite piece it together.’
The other three were working hard to deduce the next test theme as well. Various theories bounced around—a marathon for Necromancers, a speed competition, and so on.
“Gather up, please!”
Aaron and the teaching assistants appeared. All of Class A lined up, their faces taut with nerves.
‘Still the same as ever.’
Simon chuckled to himself.
Gone was yesterday’s neat outfit; Aaron had returned to his half-sleeved shirt, shorts, and slippers. His stubbled jaw, rough as if unshaved, was touched occasionally by his hand, and his eyes flickered with fatigue and apathy.
Aaron stepped forward and the assistants lined up behind him.
“It’s been a while.”
The students greeted him warmly at Aaron’s languid voice. All their eyes shone with anticipation.
“I hope you rested well during the break. All the professors plan to work you hard throughout the Integrated 2nd Semester.”
Having said that, Aaron turned his gaze toward the track.
“But there’s no need to be heavy-handed and intense from day one. Today we’ll study a new branch of Summoning Magic—Black Magic. Everyone, summon one of your Skeletons.”
At those words, the sight of all the students simultaneously opening their pocket dimensions and calling forth their Skeletons was spectacular.
Simon too summoned a single ordinary Skeleton that hadn’t been integrated into the Legion.
“Considering the two-month gap, let’s do a quick review first.”
Aaron opened his mouth.
“The unique strength of Skeletons among Undead summons.”
The moment he said the word “strength,” an arm shot up faster than anyone else’s. Aaron gave an expression of ‘not you again’ and nodded.
“Jamie Victoria, Professor! The Skeleton’s greatest strength is definitely the versatility and utility of Restoration through exploiting how bones bind and connect to each other! Even when destroyed, as long Dark Element remains at the bone joints, they can be rebuilt and raised at any time!”
Aaron nodded and turned his head the other way.
“Then what’s the weakness?”
Simon wanted to answer himself and shot his hand up, but too many students in front of him had already raised theirs.
Aaron’s finger pointed toward the one with the most imposing presence among them.
“Hector Moore, Professor. They’re vulnerable to the Holiness of Priests.”
“That’s a weakness nearly all Undead share. Next.”
This time Simon raised his hand eagerly, and Aaron smiled slightly, pointing to him.
“Simon Polentia, Professor. The Skeleton’s disadvantage is mobility and defense. When used independently rather than as a restoration tool, they’re easily destroyed before reaching the opponent.”
“Correct.”
The moment Aaron said he was correct, Simon felt a surge of pure joy. It might not be much, but the simple fact of participating in class and getting the answer right felt genuinely good.
‘This guy! Intentionally answering right after me…!’
Hector ground his teeth in silent fury, but Simon didn’t notice at all. Aaron’s explanation continued.
“Since Skeletons are Undead made only of bone, their physical capability isn’t exceptional. When they take strong impact, the bone connections simply scatter and collapse. They hold meaning beyond nothing more than numbers.”
Simon nodded in agreement with those words.
In the early part of first semester’s duel evaluations, he’d been able to use the Skeleton swarms fairly effectively. The opponent had no choice but to pay attention to armed Undead approaching, and he could force them into action.
But that was all. Now that the overall capacity of Kizen students had risen, they could all sweep away multiple Skeletons at once with area-of-effect techniques.
They’d even gained Combat Magic that didn’t easily succumb to weapons wielded by Undead. Now that they were halfway through first year, Skeletons held no real meaning beyond raw numbers. Their threat level was low, making it hard to draw the opponent’s attacks.
And if the opponent was a Priest, it was even worse. They could just release Holiness with a bang and make the Skeletons unusable.
So Simon relied more on combat focused through Restoration tools rather than the Skeletons’ inherent combat strength. Even in the fight with Hector at Langoustin, they’d both only used Restoration.
“Then.”
At the sound of Aaron’s voice, Simon pulled himself from his thoughts.
“Are Skeletons summons that only Necromancers with talent in Restoration can use? To such a question, I answer a decisive no.”
Aaron’s voice rang out, measured and deliberate.
“There is a method by which you can cover, to a considerable degree, the shortcomings you’ve identified in Skeletons. The Integrated 2nd Semester begins precisely here.”

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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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