Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 354

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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 School’s Summoning Genius – Episode 354
“Have you given no thought to becoming the next Student Council president?”
At the shocking proposal, Simon’s thoughts ground to a halt.
“I myself am approaching graduation, and I’ll have to step down as Kizen president, but truthfully, the second-years just don’t quite fit the bill! Hmph!”
Phantasus stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“They’re capable and talented, those second-years, but they’re far too calculating. I wouldn’t call them men with burning hearts, you see.”
Simon’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Burning hearts! My father used to say something just like that!”
“Indeed! You’ve been blessed with a fine parent!”
Despite his imposing, weighty appearance, Phantasus proved to be the talkative sort.
Before long, Simon found himself hanging on the man’s every verbose word, while Serne gazed off into the distance and Kassan stared blankly ahead.
Still.
“The Student Council matter is difficult for me to commit to just yet, I’m afraid.”
In truth, even if he agreed, it wasn’t a position he could actually hold—and Simon didn’t even know what the Student Council president did.
“A heavy responsibility, indeed.”
Phantasus nodded solemnly.
“The Kizen Student Council president must always be exceptional. Even if I offered you the role, the second-years wouldn’t sit idly by—you’d have to overcome their challenges too!”
“…I see.”
“Still, I do hope you’ll think it over carefully! Of course, I’m not forcing you into anything. As I said before, who is the master of your own life?”
“I am.”
“Precisely!”
Sensing the conversation might drag on indefinitely, Kassan checked his wristwatch and cut things short.
“We should be wrapping up. We have the next appointment to attend to, president.”
“What a shame! It’s been so long since I’ve met friends I can actually talk to. Hmph!”
Phantasus thumped his chest with conviction.
“Remember this, my juniors! Don’t let others drag your life along. Armed with a burning heart and grand dreams, live a life that is yours alone! That is the way of true freedom!”
“I’m not a man, though?”
Serne interjected with a light laugh.
“Then it is equally the way of a woman of strength!”
Phantasus corrected himself.
“Should you need aid, come find me anytime. If you mean to fight in pursuit of true freedom, I will help you however I can! Hmph!”

* * *
After the whirlwind meeting with the Student Council president, the three stepped outside.
Their next destination was somewhere Simon insisted they had to visit. He glanced back as he spoke.
“This is rather a personal matter of mine. The two of you needn’t come along if you’d prefer elsewhere.”
“Protecting you is my duty.”
Kassan replied flatly.
“I want to stay with Simon too.”
Serne beamed, refusing to leave Simon’s side.
“If the Ivory Tower elders see us separated, they’ll grow suspicious!”
“…All right. Do as you wish.”
And so Simon led them to one of the seven glass tower buildings—the one hosting events for the Dark Reversal Magic division.
Here, Simon experienced the Magical Circle Elevator for the first time. After presenting his Student ID to a guide for identity verification, stepping onto the magic circle would transport him to whichever floor he desired.
The thirty-seventh floor.
The walls were transparent as glass, allowing a clear view downward. The grand expanse of Pentamonium sprawled before them in all its majesty.
“Kassan, what is that place?”
Simon pointed toward the outskirts of Pentamonium. Beyond the protective barrier surrounding the city lay a world thick with what looked like pitch-black fog.
“The Demon Realm.”
Pentamonium was a repository of knowledge and historical records from across the continent. Countless continental powers had sought to claim the city as their own, yet not a single one had ever succeeded.
Geography was the reason.
Pentamonium lay at the very heart of a region known as the Demon Realm.
This region had no oxygen. A third atmospheric layer—one that did not exist elsewhere in the world—blanketed it thickly, making it uninhabitable for humans and other living creatures, transforming it instead into a paradise for the Undead.
There was only one way to enter Pentamonium, encircled as it was by the Demon Realm: permission from Pentamonium itself, and passage through a Teleport Magic Circle.
“According to legend passed down through the ages, an asteroid fell to this spot a thousand years ago.”
Kassan spoke, gazing outward.
“Only the impact site remained safe, while everything else became shrouded in black clouds, forming the Demon Realm. And based on the extraterrestrial knowledge contained within that asteroid, the native inhabitants of this region built Pentamonium. Something like that, anyway.”
Simon’s eyes gleamed with interest.
“That’s rather fascinating.”
“Of course, the barrier has never been breached once in all of Pentamonium’s long history, so you can rest assured.”
As the three of them exchanged pleasantries, they arrived at the entrance to the Medical Ward. The door stood open, but Simon knocked lightly out of courtesy.
A rustling sound came from within, followed by a cheerful “Yes~”
“I’m coming in.”
As Simon slowly opened the door and stepped inside, he saw a young girl in patient’s clothes lying on a white bed.
“How have you been? Sasha.”
She opened her eyes wide upon seeing Simon.
“Simon!”
She was Sasha, a candidate to become a Saint whom Simon had met during his deployment to the Neutral Territory.
It had only been a few months, so Simon’s memory of her was still vivid.
Sasha had been kidnapped by a Priest named Figaro who was researching the essence of sainthood, and forced to have her ability run wild, leaving her as nothing but a plant-like Saint—but Simon had managed to rescue her safely using the power of the Legion Commander.
He’d learned only recently that she was receiving treatment here at Pentamonium, after he’d mentioned he would attend the Academic Symposium.
“Have you been doing well since then?”
“Yes!”
Simon set down a Fruit Gift he’d purchased in Rochester and chatted with her about various things.
The girl he’d first met in the Neutral Territory had seemed fragile, withdrawn, and opening her heart only to Kamibarez—a timid creature by nature.
Yet since coming here, she appeared to have gained much vigor. Her complexion had improved, she’d grown a little taller, and her hair had grown longer.
She was currently in the midst of physical recovery, undergoing treatment with the latest technology rather than participating in Pentamonium’s experiments.
After the essence of sainthood had left her body, she could never again summon Holy Power—but recently, upon persuasion from Pentamonium’s side, she had opened her Core and become a Necromancer.
With her ability, branches growing wildly from her body, it was deemed necessary to train with either White Magic or Dark Magic to maintain control.
“Here, this is for you.”
Simon handed over a Letter. Sasha’s eyes grew wide.
“What is this?”
“A letter from Kamibarez.”
“Really? From Kamibarez?”
Kamibarez hadn’t been able to come to Pentamonium due to thesis preparation, but upon learning belatedly that Sasha was here, she’d left behind a lengthy letter.
Sasha read the letter with a happy expression, and soon tears began to well up in her eyes.
“She says that when 1st Year ends and break begins, she’ll definitely come find me.”
“…Yes, thank you for bringing the letter to me. Simon.”
Simon smiled kindly and gently stroked her hair.
“Oh! Look at this, Simon!”
As she spread both arms wide, wooden vines flowed from her body. She could extend and retract them at will.
Kassan and Serne, witnessing this phenomenon for the first time, wore expressions of keen interest.
“Though nothing is confirmed yet,”
Kassan interjected abruptly.
“According to what Neftis mentioned, she is scheduled to be brought in next year as a Special Admission Student and enrolled at Kizen.”
At those words, Simon jumped to his feet.
“Sasha? With a special exception?”
“Yes. Sasha’s ability possesses remarkably rare and supreme potential.”
Certainly.
When Sasha had merged with that mad Priest, even with the aid of the essence of sainthood, the sheer magnitude of the tree she had created spoke volumes about her potential.
In truth, it was common knowledge that people with high Holy Power potential were weak in Dark Element potential, yet she excelled in both.
“But isn’t Sasha too young?” Simon asked with a worried expression.
Kassan shook his head.
“Sasha is fourteen. She meets the minimum enrollment requirements.”
Simon turned to look at Sasha with shock written across his face. At his expression, Sasha puffed out her cheeks.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
He’d thought she was barely ten at most; he hadn’t expected her to be only three years younger.
“It appears her own growth has been stunted due to the side effects of her ability to make plants grow. Much like Neftis, one might say.”
“I see. But Sasha,”
Simon forced a smile as he spoke.
“Do you remember?”
“Remember what?”
“What happened back then.”
She shook her head.
“Since I was kidnapped by that bad Priest—or rather, the headmaster—I can’t recall anything.”
“Is that so?”
Simon thought to himself that it was probably for the best.
……
Sasha continued to gaze at Simon.
The truth is.
Sometimes I have nightmares.
Dreams where I become a massive tree.
Hurting so terribly.
Aching, aching, aching without end.
To survive, her mind had erased those memories on its own, yet fragments of them lingered in her dreams.
But within that nightmare.
There was one moment she loved most.
-No matter what happens!
From impossibly far away.
-I’ll bring Sasha back!
A white-haired man swirling a cloak.
-I’ll return her safely!
A dream where he saved her.
And in the final scene, always, that long-haired white-haired prince held her in his arms.
That strength.
That smile.
That kindness.
In the moment she was cradled in his embrace without waking from the nightmare, Sasha could fall asleep peacefully.
And that prince from her dreams.
“Why do you look like that?”
Right beside her, he was smiling.
…….
Sasha’s face flushed crimson as she looked at Simon. She quickly turned her head away and spoke.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
She didn’t know if it had actually happened.
That prince and Simon had different hair color, different eye color.
More than that, if Simon really were that prince, it would be strange for a Necromancer to wield Holy Power.
But she could be certain.
Her heart, her skin—they confirmed it.
‘It was him who saved me.’
Because Simon was at Kizen, Sasha resolved to enroll there as well.
“Simon. I’m curious about life at Kizen.”
“Yeah? Want me to explain briefly?”
Simon shifted his posture and began to speak.
“New students ride on a massive whale to enter, and the view when you descend is really beautiful. And the subjects you can specialize in are called the Low Seven Disciplines and the Four Blood Pact Battle. If I explain each one—”
The conversation seemed bound to stretch on again.
Kassan watched the two of them talk quietly, then turned his head away. Serne was standing at an odd angle, letting out a hollow laugh.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, just—”
Simon was enthusiastically rattling on about Kizen to his junior, while Sasha gazed at Simon’s face, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
“I just wondered how much longer he needs to be entranced before he’s satisfied.”
“Huh? I don’t follow.”
“You probably never will!”

* * *
At the same moment.
2nd Year Necromancer Student Thesis Presentation.
Rip—rip—rip—
The thesis pages tore to shreds and scattered across the floor before a female student in a green checkered school uniform, tears streaming down her face as she trembled.
“Garbage.”
The judges’ eyes widened.
“Absolute garbage!”
“You actually thought this patched-together trash would pass at Pentamonium?”
“You don’t even deserve to call yourself a Necromancer!”
Among thousands of spectators, the judges began shredding the student’s spirit. The crowd joined in with jeers and mockery.
The students all looked hollow and empty, while the next one set to present had gone pale with terror.
“Garbage! Garbage! Nothing but garbage! Second-year students at this level? How is it that not a single one of you can satisfy us?”
The thesis judge sitting in the middle slammed the table with a bang.
“Next! Call the next one!”

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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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