Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 386

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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 386
Tap. Tap.
Night was drawing near. Simon sat tending a small campfire, waiting for the meat to cook.
The flesh of a monster he’d hunted for the first time in the dungeon. As the surface browned and fat dripped steadily from it, his mouth watered despite himself.
After days of rationing himself to two calorie bars a day, his hunger had only grown sharper.
“Now should be about right.”
He sprinkled the Special Spice Hong Peng had given him over the meat with care, then brought a well-cooked piece to his lips.
The appearance was deceptive enough—just a lumpy, irregular mass like venison.
Hungry as he was, Simon took a large bite.
Chew, chew.
As he worked the meat between his teeth, Simon’s expression grew uncertain.
‘Is this really meat?’
The texture was unlike anything he’d ever encountered before.
If forced to compare it to something from the continent, it was less like meat and more akin to biting into a plump mushroom or eggplant. The taste, too, was almost entirely absent—or perhaps best described as having no taste at all.
Still, with hunger as his seasoning, he pressed on. Once grilled over fire and sprinkled with Hong Peng’s monster-meat spice, it became bearable enough.
He wolfed down six chunks in quick succession.
“Something’s missing.”
Simon smacked his lips and turned to look back at the carcass.
Despite the monster’s size, its back shell made up most of its upper body, and the rest was riddled with sinew, contamination, and pieces he couldn’t eat—not to mention his own butchering skills were still crude at best.
As he walked toward the remains to see if there was anything else worth roasting—
“Hm?”
Something caught his eye.
From among the monster’s dismembered parts, something like a long leather cord was protruding. It seemed to have been in its stomach.
Simon carefully grasped it and pulled.
As it slid free with a soft scraping sound, the object that emerged was—
“…A bag?”
A bag tumbled out of the monster’s stomach, of all things. He quickly split open the creature’s abdomen and rummaged thoroughly through the stomach cavity.
Inside, he also found a skull, apparently the bag’s owner.
As a Necromancer—a specialist in death and bones—he could analyze it: the form was primate-like. The skull was large, and it possessed the clavicle structure characteristic of primates.
Though it differed somewhat from the humans of the continent, it occurred to him that there might well be human-like creatures in this dungeon too.
“Setting that aside for now.”
Simon frowned and examined the bag from all angles.
“How did this not get digested?”
Monsters that swallowed humans whole normally dissolved bones themselves with powerful stomach acid.
Yet there was no acid here. The bag’s surface wasn’t even damp—it was stiff and dry.
‘No, wait. This is a dungeon. I shouldn’t be bound by the continent’s logic here.’
Simon set aside his puzzlement for the moment and rummaged through the bag. Something familiar emerged.
‘This is—’
A book.

* * *
Rocksum.
Grand Hall.
“Thank you all for your patience!”
The Announcer, who had been darting back and forth across the podium, called out while holding an Amplification Crystal.
“We’re currently receiving the Observer’s footage and preparing to display it shortly, so please bear with us just a moment longer! And as always, I’m delighted to have Professor Hong Peng with me today!”
Hong Peng, seated beside him, waved both hands in greeting.
“Hello there!”
The Announcer’s face lit up for a moment.
Hong Peng was quite different from the notorious professors of Kizen—a model of propriety. Her exotic beauty and vibrant vitality aligned perfectly with his tastes.
Still, the Announcer composed himself professionally.
‘Honey, Nellie, your father keeps his eyes only on duty today!’
He turned his gaze to the audience.
“Since we received many inquiries after the first day’s broadcast, I’d like to clarify: because the exam takes place within the dungeon, we cannot guarantee perfect image quality or consistent coverage, nor can we focus exclusively on the standout students. The dungeon is simply too vast and expansive, so we appreciate your understanding. Now then, Professor!”
Hong Peng smiled warmly.
“Of course~”
Her hair swayed as she moved. An exotic spice fragrance mingled with her natural scent, tickling the Announcer’s nose.
He fought with all his strength to keep his expression under control.
“Before the footage is ready, could you briefly explain what this dungeon actually is?”
“Absolutely!”
Hong Peng dragged her chair back with a scrape and stood before the chalkboard. She dampened the chalk slightly with her palm and drew a single circle.
“We live on this continent. Many people think this continent is the whole of the world. But scholars believe there are other realms beyond the continent we inhabit—”
She sketched far larger circles around the one she’d labeled as the continent, drawing them in quick succession.
“Other worlds exist, we believe.”
“Ah! So you mean there are ‘other worlds’!”
“Yes! And from these other worlds, various fragments have broken off and scattered.”
She drew countless tiny specks on the board between the “continent” and the “other world.”
“These space fragments drift through the spatial realm, and for various reasons they create distortions in the subspace above the continent, forming gateways. This is the fundamental nature of a Dungeon.”
“I, I see! I’ve only heard people mention Dungeons in passing. This is the first time I’ve heard an explanation like this!”
Contrary to the prejudice of being a grassland native and a Magical Combat instructor, she possessed considerable insight into history and scholarship.
Strong yet beautiful, and even intellectual besides. What on earth could be lacking in this woman?
“The word ‘Dungeon’ originates from the ancient Kingdom, now long fallen, where spatial distortions tore open beneath its earth, and the monsters dwelling within laid waste to its halls.”
Her full lips moved with vitality. Her hair danced with the passionate sweep of her arms as she moved between the board and her audience.
“Dungeons appear alongside calamities, bringing forth catastrophe to the world. The Dungeons our students are exploring right now also…….”
Just as the Announcer hung on Hong Peng’s words with an entranced expression, the broadcast assistant had been frantically signaling him to cut it short.
Noticing the signal belatedly, the Announcer snapped to attention and called out.
“Ah! Right now—we’re ready to show the students’ next footage! We’ll continue Professor’s lecture on Dungeons afterward, but first let’s watch the video together!”

* * *
Day Two in the Dungeon.
The students fell into two categories.
“M, my attacks aren’t working!”
“What kind of thing is this?!”
The students still hadn’t discovered the Dungeon monster’s weakness.
“Hey, runt! Do it right!”
“Y, yes!”
And those who had unlocked the strategy.
Thwack!
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Merin had unfortunately encountered Toto from her same class again in this Promotion Exam.
“Now! Runt!”
“Yes!”
At Toto’s command, the Skeletons hurled the fruits they clutched skyward with all their strength. Merin stretched out her arm, her eyes gleaming with focus.

Merin’s specialty—precision targeting.
The ice shards fired with perfect accuracy caught the fruits and flew toward the buffalo-shaped monster charging forward, striking it dead on.
Crack! Thud!
As the fruit hit, the monster covered in stone armor shrieked in pain. Chunks of ore shattered, exposing raw flesh beneath.
Only then did Merin draw forth the blazing Flame Sphere she’d prepared in her left hand.

Boom!
Under the onslaught of her firepower, the monster turned to ash and crumpled to the ground.
“Yay!”
Toto bounded up in delight. Merin snorted dismissively and swept her hair back.
‘……I never imagined there was a strategy like that.’
For a moment, the struggles of Day One returned to her mind.
No matter how hard she pounded the monster, it wouldn’t fall. In despair, she’d taken to climbing trees whenever she saw one, trembling until it passed by.
But meeting Toto and learning the strategy made it seem so easy. The memory of spending the whole night in that tree made heat rise to her cheeks.
“I was right, wasn’t I? Hehe.”
When Merin shot a sharp look at the proud-seeming Toto, he immediately hunched over with a yelp.
“Thanks for teaching me the strategy, Toto. I’m heading out now.”
“M, Merin! Come with me!”
Toto quickly followed after her.
Merin growled and tried to shake off the clinging deadweight that was Toto.
“Oh.”
Suddenly something occurred to her.
“You’re in the same club as Simon, right?”
“Y, yes! I’m in the Mutation Club.”
“Then you know Benya pretty well?”
The instant Benya’s name came up, heat flooded Toto’s face.
“Ah, yes, yes! Well! Ha ha ha!”
Watching him stumble through his words, his face flushed crimson, Merin let out a soft grunt. A sly smile played at the corners of her mouth.
“Hey. Don’t tell me you like Benya?”
“I don’t!!”
Toto’s face turned scarlet as he cried out.
Strong denial is strong affirmation, they say. She chuckled to herself.
“That’s nice, though. We might actually be able to be friends.”
“R-really?”
A promotion from servant to friend! Toto’s eyes brightened with hope.
“So if you end up dating Benya, we could be even better friends. I could help you…….”
Merin caught sight of Toto’s pathetic little face as she spoke.
Setting aside the matter of height, what struck her most was that complete lack of confidence in his expression. She tried to picture him standing next to Benya, a second-year who was composed and graceful.
No matter how hard she tried, the image wouldn’t come.
“……Let’s just go our separate ways.”
“M-Merin! Come with me!”

* * *
Meanwhile, in the Grand Hall at Kizen, footage was showing Merin and Toto hunting monsters with the Pierce of Blizzard technique.
Hong Peng, watching from the side, began to clap.
“Remarkable combination! Absolutely stellar teamwork!”
“I’m sorry?”
The Announcer looked up, startled.
“Absolutely stellar teamwork!”
“Ah, yes, yes! F-fantastic…… teamwork……! Ha ha!”
The Announcer’s forehead glistened with nervous sweat.
“Hmm, but what strikes me is how few students have actually figured out the strategy. Professor.”
And on the screen that appeared next, scenes of students running away in terror flashed across one after another.
“Wouldn’t it be worth at least trying to gather some ore and strike at the monsters?”
Hong Peng smiled knowingly.
“There’s a world of difference between entering a dungeon yourself, never knowing when death might come, and observing from a safe distance as a third party with a broad field of view.”
“Ah! Y-yes, quite right! I spoke carelessly!”
“Furthermore.”
Hong Peng held up his palm.
“We must consider the inclinations of Necromancers. The students have learned an extraordinary amount of Black Magic here at Kizen. With magnificent swords and rare artifacts in their possession, it’s hardly surprising they wouldn’t bother striking with a common stone from the roadside.”
“Y-yes, certainly……! That makes sense.”
“Of course, there are students who excel at it!”
Just then, a figure appeared on screen.
By the second day, he was already striding about with ten Stone Weapons strapped across his back and shoulders, cackling with glee. He was the first student in the entire school to discover the strategy.
“So! Students will certainly figure out how to defeat the monsters in a matter of time! Now, Professor, in your assessment—do you think any of the students shown in the footage have come even remotely close to reaching the Dungeon Master?”
As various students performed feats of their own elsewhere, Hong Peng smiled faintly.
“Not a single 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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