Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 365
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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 365
Simon followed Benya into a small tavern in Rochester.
The wooden building, dark with age and grime, reeked of dark beer.
A place that smelled of people—the kind of atmosphere where townspeople would stop for a drink rather than students from Kizen.
But the moment Simon stepped inside, one table erupted in commotion.
“Welcome, Simon!”
A bearded man lifted his mug in cheerful greeting. Two others at his table waved their hands in welcome.
“Ah!”
Simon recognized them immediately.
They were the craftsmen from Vanilla whom he’d met when visiting the fish market with Benya—the ones who’d constructed his marine Undead, Deimos.
“Diego! Marco! Rodrion!”
The memory of receiving instruction from these three while crafting Magic Circles came back vividly.
Simon broke into a broad grin and rushed toward them. Diego, the de facto leader, rose and opened his arms wide; Simon embraced him warmly, and they held each other in a hearty greeting.
“Ha ha! It’s been ages! Have you grown?”
“Do you think so?”
“It’s been a while.”
“Look at us too, would you?”
Meeting in such an unexpected place only heightened their joy. The four of them talked animatedly.
“Am I invisible or something, gentlemen?”
As Benya approached from behind, the craftsmen greeted her with the deference due to a young lady. Simon then asked—
“What a surprise! What brings you to Rocksum?”
“Had some business on Kizen’s behalf, so we stopped by. And—”
Diego pointed his thumb toward the back.
“There’s someone here who wanted to see you.”
A man was approaching through the tables.
He wore an outdated autumn-leaf-colored coat and a bowler hat. He removed the hat with courteous respect.
“It’s been a while, Simon. You remember me, I trust?”
“Of course! It’s been so long!”
Gerlen Eclipse—the Subspace craftsman.
The man who’d created Simon’s Overlord-exclusive Subspace.
Simon regarded them with a slightly bewildered gaze.
‘How did everyone manage to gather here?’
Whether Subspace or Deimos, all of these people had assisted him in technical ways—they were the engineers who’d shaped his capabilities.
“We’ve come to deliver this to you.”
Gerlen Eclipse slid a small box across the table.
It was about the size of a ring case. He tapped the box with his finger.
Pop!
The box opened, and a Subspace split open in midair.
Inside lay a heart—a heart radiating a bluish light as if emphasizing its magical potency.
“Here is Herceba’s Heart, as ordered.”
“Ah!”
Simon’s eyes gleamed with delight.
An item worth twenty-five thousand gold, right before his eyes.
“Lifevessel hearts require extreme care in storage and transport, so we’ve transferred it to a Subspace where temperature and humidity can be precisely controlled. And there’s one more thing.”
Gerlen handed Simon the heart along with its Subspace, then pointed to another object beside it.
“Herceba’s Skull. Since it’s meaningless without being paired with the heart, the seller included it as a free gift.”
“Thank you so much!”
Gerlen smiled faintly.
“Of course, you’ll need to return the Subspace once your work is complete.”
“Understood.”
“You’ve been using the Overlord Subspace I made for you well, I hope?”
He gestured to the ring on Simon’s left hand with a satisfied smirk.
“Yes, thanks to this, I’ve gotten through countless crises.”
Next, Diego, the leader among Vanilla’s craftsmen, approached.
“This is on the house.”
With that, he began laying out several boards inscribed with Magic Circles. Simon’s eyes widened.
“What—what are all these?”
“Heard you’re making a Lich? Got word of it and prepared some setup circles. All you need to do is channel your Darkness into them.”
Simon’s eyes glistened with gratitude.
“Thank you so much for thinking of me!”
“Ah, it’s nothing special, really.”
Diego scratched his head, looking sheepish, before his expression turned earnest.
“Truth is, we’d all love to pitch in and help however we can, but you know how it is? Creating a Lich—”
“—can’t have anyone else’s Dark Element mixed in. Yes, I understand perfectly.”
I’d learned that from Aaron.
Why there were no assembly-kit Liches in Necromancer shops.
A Lifevessel had to be worked from a single, pure strain of Dark Element. If other impurities seeped in, the Dark Aura Conversion efficiency would plummet later on.
It was an Undead that only I could create, without anyone’s help.
‘I’m nervous.’
Before, I’d had the assistance of the craftsmen here, but now I had to manage it all on my own.
“Thank you so much! I’ll do my best!”
Still, I felt I was drawing tremendous energy from this place.
The craftsmen clapped their hands and cheered me on.
* * *
“Well then, I’ll be heading out!”
I bowed respectfully and left the tavern. The Necromancer craftsmen gathered around the table, making loud toasts and cheering sounds.
“The beer’s gone warm!”
“Get fresh ones!”
“Master Gerlen, please join us and have a drink.”
“Ah, is that alright?”
The four men chatted and laughed noisily together.
Just then, Benya—who’d been sipping beer from the next seat over—approached with both cheeks flushed.
“Well, isn’t this something.”
“What’s the matter, miss?” Diego asked.
Diego asked.
“Coming all the way to see Simon, lying about having business for Kizen and everything.”
“Mm.”
Diego’s face reddened and he coughed awkwardly, while the others burst into loud laughter.
Diego had handed me the Magical Circle Boards as if it were nothing, but in truth it was something he’d stayed up nearly all night to create.
“Why go that far for Simon, anyway? Is it… something like that? An investment in future power because he’s Kizen’s Special Case Number One?”
“Ha ha ha! Miss!”
Diego laughed loudly and waved his hand dismissively.
“You don’t seem like the type, but sometimes you really do show off that Vanilla bloodline. We Necromancers are peculiar. Such things don’t matter to us.”
“Then…?”
“There’s a saying that a great blade chooses its master. So what about the person who creates that blade? It’s no different. Nothing feels better than having someone I care about use my work. I’m not expecting anything in return.”
Simon had a power that drew people toward him.
Being captivated by his human charm and wanting to help him—it wasn’t charity, and there was no calculation in it.
“If you’re not expecting anything in return…?”
Diego spread both arms wide.
“Then it’s pure self-satisfaction!”
“Ha ha ha!”
“He’s already drunk! Definitely drunk!”
Clang!
Benya laughed loudly as well and squeezed herself right into the midst of the men’s drinking circle.
“I love it, love it! Tonight I’m going all out too!”
She lifted her beer glass high above her head and shouted.
“To our pride and joy, our junior, Simon Polentia!”
“Cheers!”
Five glasses clinked together.
* * *
I arrived at Pier’s Ruins with all my preparations complete.
Tonight, I was going to create the Lich in a place where no one could disturb me.
[Master!]
Erzsebet came bounding toward me first.
[Welcome back, young master.]
Achemous bowed deeply and formally. Prince, who’d been playing cards, complained loudly, “Why did you take so long!” Pier, too, swept toward me with his cloak billowing, and I smiled back as I headed with him toward the altar at the center.
[Kehehehe! So you’ve come, boy!]
Pier came sweeping toward me with his cloak trailing. I smiled and followed him toward the central altar.
“It brings back memories.”
Simon set down the Subspace he’d received from Geldan on the altar, along with various configuration Magic Circles, as he spoke.
“When I first enrolled at Kizen, I assembled Pier right here.”
[Khekhekhe! That’s right!]
Simon lowered the items and took a light breath, centering his focus.
[Are you prepared enough?]
“Yes. I can create three bands now. Though it was an experimental heart.”
[Excellent!]
Four Ancient Undead arranged themselves around Simon at a measured distance.
“I’m beginning.”
There was no point in delaying further. First, he unwrapped the “Crystal Mage” he’d obtained from the post-class BMAT.
Crack!
Snap!
He withdrew the contents and assembled the Skeleton layer by layer like stacking a tower. Skeleton assembly was Simon’s greatest strength, and it reached completion in moments.
[Commander! Should the skull be Crystal Skeleton as well?]
Erzsebet, who had been assisting closely beside him, asked.
“No, that one—”
Simon retrieved Herceba’s Skull from his Subspace, where it rested beside the heart.
“We’ll use this instead.”
He’d originally intended to fashion the entire body from Crystal Skeleton, but now that better material had arrived, he changed course.
When he placed the plain-looking skull atop the glittering, crystal-studded Skeleton body, the result was somewhat unbalanced in appearance.
‘Now for the Summoning Magic Circle work.’
Simon drew a large Magic Circle on sheet material, then retrieved all the Magical Circle Boards he’d received from the craftsmen.
As he examined the designs drawn on the boards, he felt a surge of gratitude. He’d asked for merely simple Magic Circles, yet several of considerable difficulty were included.
‘I’m truly grateful. Master craftspeople!’
Deeply thankful in his heart, Simon poured his Teal-Blue Darkness into the Magic Circles on the boards. Thanks to the craftsmen’s aid, he could allocate his concentration and Dark Aura sparingly, completing the Summoning Magic Circle in moments.
“Now, prepare yourselves!”
Yet the true heart of a Lich is always the Lifevessel. Body, summoning circle—none of it matters without it.
Only by completing this Lifevessel could he truly raise the Undead creature known as a Lich.
Simon withdrew the heart he’d ordered from the Subspace Ring.
[Oh!]
[That’s magnificent.]
The Ancient Undead murmured among themselves.
Simply by withdrawing the heart from the Subspace, the Ruins blazed brighter, flooding with mana he could palpably feel.
What would happen if he created a Lich with this?
Simon flexed his hands once, his heart racing with anticipation.
“Beginning now!”
The creation of a Lich’s Lifevessel requires aid from no one.
A battle with oneself alone.
The difficulty is extreme, and even with expensive materials, the failure rate remains high—which is why most Summoners avoid attempting to create a Lich.
But.
[Commander! We’ve threaded the Magic Circle here!]
The Ancient Undead assisted him from their positions nearby.
The Ancient Undead shared Dark Aura with the Legion Commander. All four were operating through Simon’s Teal-Blue Darkness as they worked.
A technique only available to a Legion Commander—a sort of clever loophole. The Ancient Undead had each honed their specialty for this very Lich creation.
On the Magic Circle Simon had carved into the heart, Erzsebet was fixing several formula sections by coating a web-pattern with Dark Aura—performing the high-difficulty operation called “stock” through her own ability.
[How much longer do we have to keep going?]
[You may proceed at your own pace, young master.]
Prince and Achemous maintained the floating Magic Circle in perfect stability.
[I’ll refine the circuits.]
Pier interfered with the Magic Circle, adjusting the Dark Aura circuits. Following which, Simon inscribed Rune Language and extended the formulas.
‘I can do this!’
He had come this far with the help of countless people.
Even now, creating this Lich, he was not alone.
Simon drew micro-scale Magic Circles, sweat dripping steadily from his brow.
Hours passed in what felt like moments.
‘Now to synchronize the heart’s Magic Circle with the Summoning Magic Circle.’
Flare!
Flare!
Light ignited simultaneously in both Magic Circles.
‘First band!’
The magic circle rippled and released a surge of dark energy, which twisted into the shape of a band and coiled around the heart.
‘Second band!’
Two bands of darkness now circled the heart. Cheers erupted from the Ancient Undead.
[You’re doing great!]
[Keep going at this pace!]
As Prince and Erzsebet’s forms wavered before him, Simon paused to wipe his eyes with the back of his hand.
A wave of dizziness passed through him, but he couldn’t afford to stop.
Thump—thump.
The heart was still beating. Once he’d withdrawn it from the Subspace, he had to complete everything quickly. The longer it took to transform the heart into a Lifevessel, the worse its performance would become.
‘Now the third band!’
He gathered all his consciousness into a single point. His mind expanded, his spirit soaring.
His vision had already shifted to shades of gray.
Herceba’s heart before his eyes began to beat slowly, deliberately, and all sound sank into the muffled depths of his unconscious mind like something drowning in the abyss.
Complete Immersion.
Under the Black Magic’s influence, he could see with crystalline clarity both the beating of the heart and the movements of the two bands flowing in opposite directions.
‘Now! I have to do it now!’
Simon’s arm moved. Perhaps from his intense focus, he couldn’t recall Aaron’s specific instructions on how to create the third band—they hadn’t stuck in his mind.
But he knew what needed to be done. His hands moved with perfect precision.
He drew the third small band over and over, pausing and starting again, all the while conscious of the two existing bands and the rhythm of the heart’s pulse. It flowed as one with the pattern of that beating.
An endless battle of concentration so total that the sense of time itself fell away.
‘Exhale.’
After what felt like hours, Simon finally withdrew his hands.
Three bands rippled into completion before him. They matched exactly the form Aaron had shown him.
‘Now for the final step!’
Simon traced a simple magic circle in front of the heart. Simple it was—just a “button.”
He intoned the incantation.
<Summon Lich>
Then he activated the circle.
Whoooooosh!
All the elements began to turn like gears. The heart pulsed; the bands rotated.
And the skull Simon had completed moments before stirred of its own accord, lifting the heart carefully.
Prince stumbled backward in shock.
[What?! What’s happening?]
[Kehehehe. Just watch!]
The skull then opened its own ribcage and placed the heart tenderly at its center.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The heart’s beating rang out like a drum. Mana was drawn into the rotating bands.
The mana flowed along the bands like veins, and the moment it passed through the third band and the heart, it turned black.
‘Done!’
The Dark Aura Conversion had been achieved.
As the transformed darkness swept across the Crystal Skeleton’s entire frame, the creature rose onto its legs and moved its arms with far greater freedom.
At last, when the darkness reached the magic circle inscribed upon the skull.
Flash!
A “spirit” took hold of this Lich.
[Mmm.]
A human voice resonated from the magic circle on the skull.
[Ah?]
The skeleton creaked and stirred, its crystal-covered body moving with growing awareness. It tilted its skull and looked toward Simon.
‘……!’
Simon stood rigid, trembling from the strain, eyes fixed ahead. Then the Lich’s jaw unhinged.
[So, you are my creator?]
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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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