Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 321

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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 Summoning Genius of the Necromancer School – Episode 321
Simon stood before the Training Grounds course.
He steadied his breathing and emptied his mind. Into that vacant space, he poured rigorous combat logic, filling every corner.
‘Good.’
He opened his eyes. Before starting, he surveyed the course once more with careful deliberation.
A path ran between rails on either side.
Wooden mannequins moved up and down along the rails, their torsos rotating as wooden arms attached to them swung toward the challenger.
The challenger had to strike those wooden arms directly with fist or foot to break the joints; if struck by them without deflection, it would hurt considerably.
“Simon! You’ve got this!”
“Well, do your best or don’t!”
Kamibarez and Merin had arrived to cheer him on.
“All right then, get ready—”
At Hong Peng’s signal, Simon slowly bent his knees.
“Go!”
He immediately pushed off the ground and sprinted forward. A buzz of excitement rippled through the watching students.
First, a wooden mannequin approached from the right rail. Its torso began to rotate, and the attached wooden arm transformed into an “enemy’s assault.”
Simon swung his hand knife, striking the approaching wooden arm with a light tap.
Click!
The impact caused the joint to fold and the arm to snap against the torso. The satisfying click of the joint folding was pleasant to the ear.
‘Get used to this feeling.’
The wooden arm came from below as well. He lifted his knee and gave it a light upward strike; again the joint folded with a click. Simon passed the first wooden mannequin without issue.
Just when he thought it manageable, the difficulty ramped up. Now two wooden mannequins approached simultaneously from left and right.
‘Don’t rush. Stay measured.’
Simon’s arms moved with sharp precision. He threw a straight punch to deflect one, then immediately tilted his elbow to strike the one below. Backing away, he raised his left hand to parry yet another. Varied, fluid.
Not bound by pattern.
Not hypnotized by rotation.
Simply honest—moving limbs as things came, as they approached.
Click! Click! Click! Click!
Simon’s arms moved at tremendous speed, striking every wooden limb, and gasps erupted from all around.
“Well done!”
“…Whatever, that actually looked pretty slick.”
The wooden mannequins kept coming, but Simon, once he had momentum, didn’t slow.
He arched his back to dodge strikes aimed at his head, or he hopped lightly and spread both legs to kick two wooden arms simultaneously.
“Simon! Watch out!”
Whoosh! Rumble rumble!
While striking at the mannequins frantically, a massive sphere made of bundled straw suddenly rolled toward him. It looked weighted, as if an enchant had been placed on it.
But he’d already timed it roughly.
Simon drove forward the fist he’d already drawn back in a straight line.

Boom!
His fist, wrapped in Dark Element, collided with the straw sphere.
A massive hole tore open in the sphere and the enchant shattered. Wisps of straw like hair scattered through the air, and Simon striding through their midst looked like a masterpiece captured in a single frame.
‘Next!’
The speed of the wooden mannequins coming down the rails increased. More arms were attached to them.
Simon pressed forward, calmly striking down the barrage of wooden limbs.
‘Hgh!’
He was moving so hard he could taste blood, when suddenly tremors traveled up through the ground beneath his feet.
‘Frontal assault!’
Three skeletons were charging straight at him, pushing massive shields. An instructor stood at a distance, clearly controlling the skeletons.
‘The first student who came through here dropped out right at this point.’
An unavoidable charge while he labored to beat down the wooden mannequin arms.
It was designed to panic, but Simon calmly gathered Dark Element in his left hand.
There was no rule saying he had to go only forward. He had enough distance; he could back up while striking the mannequins. The skeletons advanced with their shields as he retreated, and he let them enter his space on his own terms.
With ample room, Simon drove his fist straight into the middle shield of the three.

Crash!
When his fist collided with the shield, it wasn’t the shield that warped—it was the skeleton holding it that crumbled.
The other two skeletons continued forward with their shields, and Simon dashed ahead, stepping over the now-masterless shield.
“You’re almost there!”
“Just a little more!”
But the course’s difficulty only grew more brutal with each stage.
There were rotating wooden mannequins, and strung across the front were hanging ropes.
Simon crouched low to pass under the ropes while simultaneously striking away the mannequin’s arms. His arms accelerated with gathering speed.
Click! Click! Click! Click! Click!
“Hah!”
“How is he striking them down so fast?”
Simon’s eyes gleamed with intensity.
At the final stretch stood scarecrows made of bundled straw.
Five scarecrows of varying heights stood in a line—the foremost smallest, each one behind it progressively taller.
Like a step pyramid. Everything except the neck was clad in metal armor.
‘Then it must be…!’
Dropping into a nearly kneeling stance, Simon surged through the ropes, and dark shadow energy coiled around his right hand—its tip honed sharp as a dagger.
“Gruh!”
Calculating angle and distance, Simon launched himself forward in a spring and swept his right arm diagonally upward.

Shwaaaaaaack!
A black blade arcing upward from below sliced cleanly through the necks of all five scarecrows.
Thud. Thunk.
The scarecrows’ heads tumbled across the floor. With a metallic clang, the course’s mechanisms ground to a halt, and Simon wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve.
Professor Hong Peng cried out in satisfaction.
“Simon Polentia! Perfect execution. Full marks—you’ve passed!”
Woooaaahhh!
The excited students erupted in cheers. Kamibarez and Merin clapped enthusiastically, and Dick whistled with delight.
Meanwhile, Hector, who had been watching from a distance with his arms crossed, let out a soft tsk of disapproval.
“Well, if he couldn’t manage that much, it would’ve been boring.”
“Hector.”
The assistant instructor smiled as she spoke.
“You left one neck untouched at the end, so you didn’t earn full marks either, you know.”
“…….”
Whoosh! Fire blazed in Hector’s eyes.
“I’ll attempt it again.”
Meanwhile, Simon returned with a drink the assistant instructor had prepared for him, a towel draped around his neck.
As he wiped away the sweat with the towel, Hong Peng approached.
“Congratulations, Simon.”
“Thank you! It’s all thanks to your guidance, Professor.”
She moved her fingers with a smiling expression.
“Do you have a moment for me?”

* * *
Hong Peng had led Simon to a quiet cottage set a short distance from the Training Grounds.
It was an exotic-looking house with a spacious courtyard, and a small waterfall flowed beside it.
“Is this also your home, Professor Hong Peng?”
She shook her head.
“This is where the old Kizen headmaster used to live. I’m told she was the Sword Arts headmaster.”
Simon’s eyes widened sharply.
“I’ve never heard of that! Was there really a Sword Arts course back then?”
“Of course!”
In Kizen’s early days, Sword Arts was taught instead of Combat Magic.
But later, Combat Magic developed further, and more importantly, Necromancers didn’t favor swords. They wouldn’t even use staffs, finding them inconvenient—wielding a blade made it difficult to utilize other dark magic abilities.
“Still, it hasn’t disappeared entirely. In essence, the martial way is one. It was simply integrated into Combat Magic.”
Hong Peng continued with gleaming eyes.
“In second year, your Combat Magic curriculum will allow you to specialize in weapons training as well, so you have much to look forward to.”
“Yes, I’m looking forward to it!”
“Well, enough idle talk. Since you demonstrated remarkable skill in today’s practical assessment—”
She placed her index finger above her lips and spoke with perfect enunciation.
“I think a reward is in order.”
Whoosh!
She raised one hand, presenting the back of her hand toward Simon in a distinctive combat stance.
“I’ll give you the chance to spar with me.”
“Yes, I—what?”
Simon’s face went slack with bewilderment.
Surely this wasn’t a reward—it was a punishment.
“So… I’m to spar with you, Professor?”
“Yes! Won’t that be fun?”
The initial shock faded, and as Simon cleared his head, he realized such an opportunity didn’t come around every day. He shifted into a ready stance at once.
“Then I’m grateful for this chance.”
“The rules are the same as the practical assessment—combat magic only. Come at me as if this were a real exam.”
A practical assessment.
Hong Peng seemed to be offering him a hint.
Understanding her intent, Simon felt a swell of gratitude and gathered Dark Element into his right leg.
“Then I won’t hold back—here I come!”
Simon pushed hard off the ground and rushed forward with terrifying speed. His fist, wrapped in Dark Element, unleashed a Chwita technique in a single breath.
Boom!
Hong Peng slipped aside with a light tilt of her body. Simon braked hard, spun his frame, and stretched out a leg to send a Spinning Kick whistling toward her.
Whiff!
She raised an arm easily to intercept his kick. Wind stirred, and her hair danced in the current.
“Hah!”
Simon withdrew his leg and came charging in with a flurry of rapid strikes.
Tap! Thud-thud. Crack! Crack!
She deflected each blow with a single hand, moving with effortless grace.
Simon felt as though he’d become one of those wooden mannequins he’d faced moments before. When he cut off his punches and threw a back kick, she simply tilted her head to slip past it.
‘As I thought.’
Yet she wasn’t overwhelming him with superior physical specs.
The strength she used, the speed she displayed—
she had matched every aspect of his own perfectly.
Now the only difference between them lay in experience and refinement.
‘Then I’ll—!’
Simon stepped his right foot forward and bore in close, nestling into her guard. As she raised both arms to form a defensive stance, Simon smiled and swung his right fist.
Wound around the punch was Cheonheung—a technique that pierces through enemy defense.
‘That guard was a mistake, Professor!’
The moment Simon’s fist wrapped in Cheonheung shot forward—
Swoosh.
The space between her two arms opened the barest fraction, creating a gap.
“!”
It happened so fast he couldn’t react. His fist was drawn into the opening, and she snapped both arms shut, trapping his wrist.
The Cheonheung, deprived of its target, failed to activate and dissipated uselessly into empty air.
“Ugh!”
The pressure was immense. His right arm throbbed and went numb as though it might snap clean off.
‘M-my wrist is going to be torn away!’
Hong Peng knew exactly what technique Simon would attempt. That’s why such a counter was possible.
Simon hammered at her guard with his left fist again and again, but it wouldn’t give. His strikes had no power behind them.
Thinking punches were useless, Simon raised his right leg to kick her away—
“!”
She released his wrist and bore down on him instead, seizing his shoulders.
One leg raised, Simon’s body tilted backward, and—
Splash!
he crashed hard to the ground.
“Hmm—”
She tilted her head, bringing her face level with his.
Close. Impossibly close.
He felt her breath. Her hair brushed his face.
“Did Simon just die, then?”
She smiled softly and stepped back. Simon clenched his teeth, pushed off the ground, and rose into a kick in one fluid motion.
Thud!
She caught his leg on her forearm.
“Such fighting spirit! That’s excellent!”
‘Internal Dark Energy Manifestation!’
Simon immediately withdrew his leg and spun his body.
‘The Professor matched my physical specs with hers, so then—!’
Channeling his momentarily heightened physical power, he unleashed spinning kick after spinning kick, driving her back until her body finally slammed against a tree.
“Hmm~”
With her back against the tree, she turned to look behind her.
‘The professor knows all my techniques.’
So I must mix in feints.
‘Make it look like I’m doing a Spinning Kick!’
She showed rippling Dark Element through her legs and rotated her body once more.
‘The real strike is this way!’
Simon’s right arm, which she’d used as her pivot point, drove forward, while the leg he’d thought was executing a Spinning Kick angled downward instead.
<Hong Peng Original – Chakgeom>
Shwoooosh!
The black blade cleaved through the tree in two, but Hong Peng had anticipated even that, launching herself into the air to evade.
Simon, committed to the large sweeping motion that brought his waist through, couldn’t pull back.
Her two legs swept hard across his chest.
Crack!
Simon skidded backward, leaving a long furrow in the ground.
‘Damn—I’m still maintaining the manifestation state! Stay calm!’
Hong Peng touched down and rushed at him again. The moment Simon took his combat stance, her arm moved.
“?!”
A curve no human arm should make. Her arm bent like a whip.
<Hong Peng Original – Pyeongon>
Thwack!
Simon felt the impact across his face. And as she withdrew her fist, his body tilted sideways, his weight pitching forward.
‘?!’
His center had been broken. He saw her fist launching from her waist.
The instant Simon raised both arms in a guard, the fist vanished with a whisper into empty air.
<Hong Peng Original – Geohwi>
Crack! Bang!
Pain exploded in his head and his legs.
‘Striking such distant points simultaneously—!’
Even as he staggered, Simon gritted his teeth and drove his fist forward.
“!!”
<Hong Peng Original – Saheoun>
Before he knew it, she’d mounted him. Her legs, serpentine, coiled around his neck and face as she descended.
Crack. Crunch.
A dull ache bloomed in his throat.
Simon broke into a cold sweat.
If this had been real, his neck would have snapped. He’d be dead.
Thud.
She released him and stepped back. The moment Simon turned to face her again—
Booooom!
A fist the size of a mountain came barreling toward him. Simon’s thoughts and senses froze completely.
Her fist halted inches from his face. Even that was enough—the ground around him turned to dust and scattered, while nearby trees swayed dangerously with a sharp whistle.
“I lo—”
Simon opened his mouth, trembling.
“I have lost.”
Three times over, he was dead.
Simon gasped for breath, his face drained of color.
“You did well.”
She lowered her fist.
Simon continued to heave for air, his entire body slick as though he’d stepped straight out of a shower.
“Tell me—what did you learn from that bout?”
“…….”
Even through his daze, Simon chose his words carefully.
Truly, you are remarkable.
The gap between my strength and yours is the distance between heaven and earth.
But she wouldn’t want hollow flattery like that. She wasn’t the type to show off her power, and she certainly wasn’t the sort to fish for praise after defeating a student.
From start to finish, she’d fought him using only his own specifications.
What he could gain from this one-sided bout—
It was precisely—
“Innovation.”
Simon’s mouth fell open.
“There’s nothing new for me.”
A crescent smile curved across her lips.

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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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