Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 381

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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 of the Necromancer School — Chapter 381
A few days later.
Elementary Dark Magic class.
The information that all the students had been desperately waiting for spilled from Jane’s lips.
“Kizen headquarters has released notice regarding the exam.”
‘Finally!’
Simon and the Class A students couldn’t hide their tension, swallowing hard.
That notorious exam where two or three hundred first-year students would fail. Jane rustled the documents she’d received from the teaching assistant and unfolded them.
“The stage for this advancement exam, fifth BMAT, and integrated test is.”
Her voice rang out with crystalline clarity.
“A dungeon.”
A dungeon!
Simon clenched his fist tightly. Finally, he would actually step into that truly unknown space.
“See? I told you so!”
Dik chuckled as he spoke.
The advancement exam varies by different formats each year. Last year they’d gone to an island teeming with monsters, and the year before that it had been a dungeon.
Since they’d already completed the Island Survival Assessment this year, Dik had predicted it might be a dungeon, and his guess had proven correct.
“First, there are some documents you all need to complete.”
At Jane’s gesture, the teaching assistants bustled about, placing documents on the students’ desks.
“……Ah, I see.”
Simon let out a wry smile as he flipped through the paperwork.
That very document commonly referred to among students as the “Waiver of Liability.”
In short, it stated that they acknowledged the danger of this exam and would not hold the school responsible for anything that happened during the test.
Since students at Kizen had already written this document several times before, they showed more resignation than surprise.
“The danger level of this advancement exam will be on an entirely different scale from any previous tests.”
Jane continued.
“All previous exams were administered and controlled by Kizen headquarters, but this one is not. Inside the dungeon, you will receive no assistance from anyone. If your Barrier Gauge reaches zero percent, there is no convenient Teleportation Magic to send you back to school—”
Her voice.
“None.”
Fell through the lecture hall with striking force.
“Death in this exam means actual death. In the dungeon, anything can happen, and nothing is guaranteed. If you intend to withdraw, this is your last chance.”
Tap.
She set the documents down on the lectern and seated herself in the chair. Even her posture as she sat carried an aristocratic elegance.
“You could make a living somewhere off the credential of having survived through first year at Kizen. The choice is yours.”
Click.
Before her words had even finished, Dik was the first to sign the document. Simon and the other students followed, gripping their quill pens and pressing their names and signatures firmly onto the page.
After making it this far, there was no thought of backing away before advancement to second year at Kizen.
“It seems there are no cowards among you, at least.”
As the teaching assistants collected the documents, Jane rose from her chair and returned to the podium.
“Then I’ll explain the exam rules.”
As Simon listened to her explanation, he thought that the scale of the test was quite substantial, very much in keeping with Kizen’s style.
All first-year students would enter the dungeon. Each of them would wear an artifact around their neck that had Recording Magic built in and would never break.
The goal of all students was one: clearing the dungeon.
Because the dungeon was an extremely dangerous space, combat between students was strictly forbidden. Anyone caught would be expelled.
And the moment the dungeon was cleared, the exam ended.
“In other words.”
Jane emphasized.
“The exam continues until the dungeon is cleared. It could be a week, or it could be a month. Or you might not come out of the dungeon even when your junior classmates enroll next year.”
Brutal.
That was the thought that flashed through every student’s mind simultaneously.
This was why Kizen’s notoriously difficult advancement exam earned its reputation. It made sense that only about three hundred out of the original thousand first-year admits survived.
And because the danger of the exam was enormous, Jane was deliberately instilling a sense of crisis into her students with her words.
Click.
Then a hand shot up. It was the person everyone had expected.
“Jamie Victoria. Professor! How do we clear the dungeon?”
Jane gave her a slight nod.
“The dungeon contains an entity called the ‘Dungeon Master’ or sometimes the ‘Boss Monster.’ If you destroy this core individual that drives the spatial transformation, the dungeon will naturally collapse and you will return to your original world.”
This time a male student’s hand went up.
“Scott Snyder! Professor, you said earlier that the goal of all students is to clear the dungeon! So does that mean everyone can swarm the Dungeon Master, even if it’s like 647 of us against it one-on-one?”
“Yes, you can.”
The students murmured among themselves, trading remarks back and forth.
Scott Snyder, the one who had asked the question, lowered his hand and turned to his group members. “Wouldn’t that make it too easy, then?”
“Of course.”
Jane added her agreement.
“Among 647 students, only a tiny fraction will manage to reach the final chamber where the Dungeon Master awaits.”
“Y-yes, I suppose so.”
This time Merin, sitting in the back row, raised her hand. Jane nodded in her direction.
“I’m Merin Billenne! I’d like to know the evaluation and grading criteria for the Advancement Exam.”
A question worthy of a model student, indeed.
“The grading standard is your performance within the dungeon. How you make decisions in there, which monsters you hunt and with which Dark Magic spells, how you respond to emergencies, how you secure food and shelter, manage your mental state, and set clear objectives—everything you do becomes subject to evaluation.”
The Advancement Exam, being the final test of the 1st Year, is a kind of comprehensive assessment.
Jane explained that they would evaluate everything students had learned, experienced, felt, and mastered as Necromancers up to this point.
“However, since the grading standard is ‘your performance in the dungeon,’ you’ll only receive meaningful marks if you act in accordance with the goal of clearing it.”
At those words, even the clever Merin tilted her head in confusion.
“I—I’m not quite following. Could you give us an example?”
“Say there’s a student whose sole aim is grades, so throughout the test period they indiscriminately hunt as many monsters as possible in the dungeon.”
She drew a stick figure on the board with remarkable speed.
“Now consider a different student—one who deliberately lures and confronts the swarms of approaching monsters in order to buy time for their classmates fighting the Dungeon Master. Even if the first student hunted more monsters overall, Kizen would award the second student far more points.”
‘Ah.’
Simon let out a small murmur of appreciation.
The principle that ran through the entire exam.
It became fundamentally impossible to waste effort on meaningless monster hunts while thinking, ‘Someone else will clear it anyway.’
To earn a good score, everyone had no choice but to work toward the goal of clearing the dungeon.
“Hmm… hmm, hmm.”
At that moment, Dick, sitting next to Simon, was tapping his desk with his fingertips, his expression troubled.
Then he shot his hand up. Jane gestured toward him.
“My beloved Professor Jane! I’m Dick Hayward!”
Dick sprang to his feet and called out.
“Yes, the most worrisome student in our class, Dick Hayward.”
Jane replied.
“So if cooperation between students is possible, is it always better to cooperate unconditionally? In that case, how would the grading criteria work?”
Jane studied Dick silently for a moment before answering.
“I wouldn’t say unconditional cooperation is always better. When students form a party through cooperation, the scoring will factor in teamwork and positional roles, among other things.”
In a party, a student assigned to defense earns points simply by focusing on defense.
A student dedicated to support receives credit for providing support alone.
Of course, there’s also room for teamwork and coordination to work against you.
“In other words, if your clever scheming contributes to the party’s success, that too can become points in your favor.”
“I knew it, Professor Jane! You see right through me!”
“Take your seat.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Dick quickly planted himself back in his chair amid scattered laughter.
Merin, sitting in the back row, sighed heavily and pressed her hand to her forehead.
“…I’ve never seen anyone in this world as shameless as you.”
“Much obliged! Thank you so very much!”
“You’re completely insane, seriously.”
Other students then peppered Jane with further questions, which she answered without hesitation.
First, the type and theme of the dungeon could not be disclosed—that was Kizen headquarters’ directive. Jane told them to enter the dungeon themselves and find out.
The only information she could share was that the dungeon is vast. Though student cooperation is possible, it’s so expansive that one might explore the entire time without encountering another person.
“The Advancement Exam takes place one week from now.”
Jane said.
“I trust there are no students in Class A who will slack off just because the midterms are over. Polish your abilities to their absolute limit. And it would be wise to study basic dungeon lore as well. That’s all.”

* * *
After the schedule and details of the Advancement Exam were announced, the students were in an uproar.
Students from other classes had also received the information from their respective professors, so throughout lunch in the Student Cafeteria, one could hear endless talk about the dungeon.
[A dungeon the size of a small kingdom….]
Simon was climbing the Hill with Herseba as a stroll. Herseba, floating weightlessly through the air, had formed a feminine silhouette from the sand around her.
[How fascinating!]
“What I want to ask is something else.”
Simon said.
“Whether I can use my Third Authority to invite someone into my dungeon even when we’re inside another dungeon—or if I can’t.”
[Of course you can!]
Herseba spoke as if wondering why Simon would ask such a thing.
[Are you having trouble understanding because of the word ‘dungeon’? Space is just space. Whether I use it here or inside a dungeon, my Authority works just fine. Once the duration ends, you’ll return to wherever you were before.]
“That’s a relief, then.”
Herseba frowned.
[But why are you asking? I’d rather not use my Third Authority if I can help it.]
After the battle with Shatel, Herseba had been ailing for a full week. The aftereffects were considerable, and she’d even shown some symptoms of trauma.
So Simon had been gently coaxing her, despite her reluctance to move, researching various ways to use her anomaly more efficiently.
“Now that you mention it—!”
Simon grabbed Herseba firmly, and she let out a startled squeak. He picked up a pebble from the ground nearby, tossed it lightly upward, then brought his staff down hard against the earth.
‘Aurification!’
The ground underwent Aurification only to its minimum necessary extent, and a sharp golden spire rose from the solidified structure below, striking the falling pebble with perfect precision.
“Doesn’t that feel manageable?”
[W-well, yes, but—! Don’t squeeze so hard!]
Herseba grumbled.
[The real problem is the third Authority.]
“I’ll fine-tune that as much as I can. Though I think summoning that Mummy at the end was too much.”
As Simon swung Herseba vigorously through the air, testing her abilities, he’d wandered all the way to a densely forested mountainside.
“Get into the Subspace now, Herseba.”
She blinked.
[Why? Can’t I look around a bit more? The scenery’s lovely.]
“Because you’re a Lich, it might be rough for you if we go much further.”
—Meow!
—Mew! Mew! Mew! Mew!
At that moment, along with cat cries, two tiny kittens—one white, one black—came bounding toward Simon with unsteady paws.
“Whitey! Blackie! How have you been?”
[What—cats?]
The two kittens rubbed their entire bodies against Simon’s legs, demanding to be petted and held at once.
“You two still haven’t grown at all.”
Simon chuckled warmly and scooped both kittens up. One fit snugly in each hand.
“So you’ve come.”
An elderly man with a white beard, wearing a martial robe, then emerged from the grass.
“Professor Parahan!”
It was Parahan, the professor of Holy Numerology.
[Gasp! Who—who is that?]
Herseba trembled violently. As a Lich, this was the first time she’d felt Holiness, so her reaction was only natural.
Simon, mindful of her state, placed her inside the Subspace and then made his way toward Parahan’s House.
‘Once I trap someone in Herseba’s dungeon, one constraint disappears.’
A confident smile played at Simon’s lips.
‘A space just for Herseba and me. If I can solve the problem with the Recording Magic artifact in this test, I’ll be able to use Holiness without hesitation.’
Everything I’m capable of.
Simon resolved to keep all his options open and move forward.
“Today, let’s check your grasp of the fundamentals of Holy Numerology.”
“Yes, Professor!”

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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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