Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 357

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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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Summoning Genius: Necromancer School — Episode 357
Simon’s words were nothing short of revolutionary.
We are not garbage, judges.
The moment he finished speaking, the audience erupted in cheers, while the judges’ faces flushed crimson as they fled their seats.
As Simon turned and descended the platform, the three generations of necromancer students rushed toward him.
“You’re back, Kizen!”
“That felt incredible!!”
“I’m sorry about yesterday. You really are in a different class.”
Students from all directions showered him with gratitude. The crowd pressed in so thickly that Simon felt slightly flustered, though he accepted their praise with a smile.
“Thank you so much, Simon! Welcome back!”
Benz from Allard in particular trailed behind Simon, shouting his praises all the way down the stairs. Basking in their fervent welcome, Simon made his descent.
“My goodness—”
But out in the corridor leading away from the auditorium, Serne stood waiting, arms crossed. Benz, who had been trailing behind Simon, reflexively flinched.
“Wasn’t your principle to make as few enemies as possible?”
……
“There was no need to say such things for the sake of those mediocre rabble.”
As Serne swept her gaze over Benz while speaking, his expression grew somber.
“Your thesis was the only one chosen by the judges. You should have trampled those fools and earned Pentamonium’s recognition—that would have been your finest moment. Why deliberately sabotage yourself?”
Then the voice of the student council president, whom he’d met yesterday, echoed in Simon’s mind.
Don’t let others drag your life along. Walk your own path, armed with a burning heart and grand dreams.
“I wasn’t thinking in such calculated terms.”
Simon smiled faintly. It wasn’t for the students’ sake, nor for personal gain.
“In that moment, I simply followed what I felt.”
Serne let out a soft hum and smiled meaningfully.
“Let’s go.”
Kassan’s voice suddenly cut through.
Looking up, Simon saw Kassan drop from where he’d been clinging to the ceiling like a bat, landing beside him.
“Argh! What the—”
Benz yelped in surprise and fell backward onto his seat.
“Kassan, what were you doing up there?”
“Physical conditioning. Let’s go.”
The two of them departed with Simon between them. Benz and the other students watched Simon’s receding figure with eyes full of conflicting emotions.

* * *
The news that a first-year from Kizen had outwitted the panel of elder judges at the student thesis presentation spread rapidly throughout Pentamonium.
Remarkably, there was almost no reaction along the lines of “How dare a student be so presumptuous.” The necromancers found the new scandal entertaining.
And as originally planned, Simon registered his thesis, “Skeleton Mages and Corpse Explosion,” with the Pentamonium auction.
The process, which typically took weeks to complete, was astonishingly concluded in just two hours, and the thesis went straight to auction. Kassan remarked that the upper echelons of Pentamonium seemed to have moved directly.
“You think they took a liking to us?”
At Simon’s bemused question, Kassan shook his head.
“The word spread faster than we anticipated. And Pentamonium isn’t foolish enough to try covering for a few judges only to have the entire scandal blow back on them. They’ll use this incident to their advantage instead.”
“I see. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.”
Serne spoke with a knowing smile. Though she’d just called Simon’s action a losing move, her expression suggested she’d foreseen it unfolding exactly this way from the start.
In the end, Simon’s actions became the perfect publicity stunt.
The rumor spread that the first-year from Kizen who’d outwitted the judges had written about Skeleton Mages and Corpse Explosion, and the central auction house filled to capacity, as did the secondary and tertiary venues.
Simon watched from the spectator section alongside Serne and Kassan.
Though it bore the name of an auction, it was closer to an event for buying and selling knowledge. To put it more simply, Simon would receive payment in exchange for sharing his “original” research with others.
Beyond that, since Simon had formally registered his thesis with Pentamonium, whenever other necromancers produced new results based on his research, Simon would receive royalties. No matter what, if this turned into a windfall, he’d be sitting on a fortune.
Simon turned his attention to the auctioneer.
“We’ll begin at five thousand Gold.”
The starting bid already exceeded Simon’s projected target.
Simon, tense with anticipation, began gnawing at his thumbnail.
‘This is too high, isn’t it? Nobody’s going to bid on five thousand Gold…’
He was nervously gauging the room’s reaction when the auctioneer finally declared the auction open. Bids came in immediately.
“Five thousand Gold! Five thousand five hundred!”
The numbers climbed rapidly.
Each time hands shot up, Simon squirmed with delight in his seat. It felt as though all these people participating in the auction were validating the worth of his research, and it thrilled him.
The price swept past six thousand, then seven thousand in quick succession, and then—
“Ten thousand Gold! Do we have any higher bids?”
It took less than a minute to reach ten thousand. Even then, the audience continued raising their hands eagerly.
“Fifteen thousand gold!”
“Sixteen thousand gold!”
Triple his target of five thousand gold. At this point, Simon had decided to stop thinking altogether.
“Seventeen thousand gold!”
“Twenty thousand gold!”
“Twenty-five thousand gold!”
The price climbed exponentially, and then—
“Thirty thousand gold! Thirty thousand gold! Thirty thousand gold! Congratulations, Earl Bollore! Sold for thirty thousand gold!”
Applause erupted throughout the hall. The man named Bollore, who’d made the winning bid, sprang from his seat with both arms raised in triumph.
……
Simon stared with a vacant expression and pinched his own cheek.
It hurt.
This was no dream.
‘Thirty thousand gold!’
If Simon had been a man without ambition, it was enough to let him bury himself in some remote village and live comfortably for life without ever worrying about money again.
‘All I did was make a Skeleton Mage that uses Corpse Explosion. Was my research really worth that much?’
He felt genuinely bewildered.
He’d come to find materials for a Lich’s Life Vessel, but with this kind of income, he could acquire the finest heart available.
“Congratulations, Simon!”
“Well done.”
Serne and Kassan offered their congratulations. Serne in particular shook Simon’s arm with playful affection in her voice.
“Since you’ve made so much money, buy us something delicious!”
“Oh, sure! Of course.”
He felt like running through an expensive restaurant ringing the chandeliers.
But before heading out to celebrate with a fine meal, there was business to attend to. As the auction house required, Simon went to meet Bollore, the purchaser.
The two men sat across from each other in an extravagantly appointed room.
“I’ve wanted to meet you, Simon. Such a pleasure!”
Bollore, an earl with impressive twin mustaches, governed the volcanic territory of Clonmel in the Kingdom and was himself a Necromancer.
His domain, Clonmel, suffered frequent monster attacks and had been granted royal permission to maintain a private Necromancer army, yet even that proved insufficient against every assault.
But when he learned of a Skeleton Mage that could effectively employ Corpse Explosion in monster combat, and that it used materials common to volcanic regions called Muspel, he’d decided to bid.
Simon disclosed one hundred percent of his paper’s contents to the buyer. As Bollore listened to Simon’s explanation, he nodded continuously in admiration.
“So you could even substitute for the Hexa Formula here! I’m envious. The professors at Kizen must teach such creative methods!”
Simon merely smiled. In truth, he’d never learned any of it.
Simon and Bollore spent the following hours exchanging thoughts on the new research without noticing the time passing.
“Remarkable! Your research, Simon, has all but saved our entire domain!”
Bollore carefully placed a copy of the paper into his bag as he spoke.
“I’m honored if my work has been of service.”
Simon smiled as well.
Talking with Bollore filled him with something immense and uplifting. He’d come to sell a paper for Lich materials, yet now he was receiving high praise from active Necromancers in the field, and his work would be put to good use besides.
Though still just a student, stepping beyond the school and contributing something to the world felt genuinely fulfilling.
“I’m quite eager to see what you’ll do after graduation. As a senior in the field, I’ll certainly be watching your progress.”
“Thank you so much!”
Bollore stepped out and informed the auction house staff that he would finalize the purchase. The two men pressed their seals to the documents, shook hands one last time, and parted ways.
Soon after, a staff member from the auction house approached Simon.
“Will you be taking payment in gold coins or a check?”
“Gold coins, please.
Simon followed the employee down a corridor. And moments later—
‘Extraordinary.’
A treasure chest packed solid with gold coins awaited him. After the auction house’s ten percent commission, twenty-seven thousand gold remained as Simon’s share.
Simon carefully placed the treasure chest in his Subspace.
“Are you that pleased? Your face has absolutely lit up.”
Serne giggled and spoke. Simon felt suddenly embarrassed and scratched at the side of his head.
“Did you know?”
Serne broached the subject casually, as if just making conversation.
“When you enter the Ivory Tower, they’ll pay you tens of times this amount—”
“Serne!”
Simon suddenly cried out, his eyes widening sharply.
“What if—”
“Yes?”
Serne jumped in surprise, her eyes blinking rapidly.
Could money really work on him? Was he a type who could be bought, contrary to appearances?
“Never mind knowledge auctions—does Pentamonium have commodity auctions too?!”
“…….”
In truth, Simon wasn’t listening. His mind was already fixed on one thing: he had to secure the finest Life Vessel from the Lich.
Serne’s lips pouted out stubbornly.
“Hmph, how should I know!”
“Of course they do.”
Kassan, who had dropped from the ceiling again, answered matter-of-factly.
“Should we go take a look?”
“Yes! I want to go!”
With thirty thousand Gold in his pocket, the world suddenly looked different.

* * *
At the same moment.
“Come now, come now, ladies and gentlemen! Please follow me!”
The Pentamonium Academic Conference, opened to the public once a year.
Anyone from the Dark Alliance yearned to attend this event.
Entry required a Teleport Magic Circle, which consumed astronomical sums, and one needed an invitation from Pentamonium itself.
To receive an invitation from Pentamonium was a tremendous honor; in noble society circles, whether or not one received an invitation determined the fortune or disgrace of entire families. Such invitations had become the very measure by which a noble’s power and wealth were evaluated.
“This time, I shall guide you to the most dangerous place in Pentamonium!”
The high nobles who had entered Pentamonium were in an extraordinarily elevated mood, thrilled by the fact that they had been chosen.
The guide employed by Pentamonium carefully indulged the high nobles and their ladies, conducting them on a city tour.
“We shall venture to the very edge of the Barrier. I do hope you won’t make eye contact with the dreadful things beyond it. Should you accidentally meet their gaze—”
As the carriage rolled along, the guide wiggled his fingers with a meaningful smile.
“You might find yourselves cursed!”
The ladies shrieked as if terrified and leaned demurely against the gentlemen’s arms, while the gentlemen blushed and reassured them, boasting that they would protect them.
The carriage soon arrived at the Barrier.
“This Barrier was created by Goris, the first chairman of Pentamonium, and was personally maintained by the great Death Witch. Throughout Pentamonium’s entire history, it has never once allowed external invasion—the very reason this city stands today.”
Beyond the Barrier lay a desolate black plain so bleak that no sign of life could be felt. Zombies shambled about on the far side.
Centered on a Barrier thin as tissue paper, the interior was a city of human civilization at its most advanced, while the exterior was a wasteland of death—a spectacular sight.
“It w-won’t collapse, will it?”
One noblewoman, watching the distant shambling zombies, spoke with trepidation.
“Ha ha! Since Pentamonium’s founding, it has never collapsed even once! Now, you shall have twenty minutes of free time. Feel free to look around as you wish!”
Pentamonium’s Barrier was a very famous photography spot among the nobility. Groups of nobles gathered and indulged in the luxury of taking photographs with expensive Mana Cameras.
Once the photographs were finished and the nobles had grown weary of watching the zombies beyond the Barrier, their interest waned quickly.
“Guide! We’ve seen enough here. Let’s go somewhere else.”
“Yes, yes, madam! Understood! Now we shall proceed to the Artifact Auction House, the highlight of today’s tour. You may directly participate and purchase rare treasures from across the world.”
“Finally, the moment we’ve been waiting for!”
It was then that the nobles boarded their carriages again and moved toward the heart of Pentamonium.
Crack.
Crack.
The Barrier that had never once permitted invasion in all of history.
Was beginning to fracture, little by little.

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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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