Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 39

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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 Prodigy — Episode 39
As Simon’s sudden interest in his “private tutor” surged among the students, he wore an awkward smile, while Pier’s avatar dangling from his school uniform seemed to relish the moment, grinning wickedly.
[Kha-ha-ha-ha-ha! This one is quite popular with the little brats!]
‘…My ears are ringing. Could you please be quiet, Pier?’
[I am prepared to offer instruction most eagerly! So long as they join my legion in death!]
‘At Kyzen, turning living people into the Undead is forbidden.’
Simon forced a smile and spoke up.
“I’m sorry. The person in question prefers to keep their identity hidden. Besides, they’re terribly busy, so even teaching just me is already quite a burden on their schedule.”
Merlin’s face turned pouty.
“So you won’t tell us? How stingy.”
A boy named Dick chuckled while supporting the back of his head.
“It’s not stingy, it’s only natural. If your Summoning grades improve, Simon might have to show up at school. Would you tell if you were Simon?”
“…Well, I suppose that’s true…”
“It’s not even about that—the person’s genuinely that busy, so it just can’t happen.”
“Come on, come on!”
As always, the peacemaker was Kamibarez. She sprang to her feet, clenching her fists.
“We’ve rested for ten minutes! Let’s get back to practice!”
“Oh, already?”
“Let’s go another round!”
The Practical Evaluation training stretched on late into the night.

* * *
The weekend passed, and a new week dawned with the Cyclops Practical Evaluation scheduled.
At the same time, Kyzen would see one major shift beginning this week—namely,
“Scott Snyder. Ten points deducted.”
the Student Protection Period had come to an end.
Now professors could officially evaluate and grade students, and they could also mete out punishments and disciplinary action.
“You brought me this garbage and called it an assignment?”
“Slow! Slow! Everything’s too slow! Teaching assistants! Any students who can’t keep up with the current pace lose twenty points!”
“Get out of my class right now.”
Kyzen’s faculty revealed their true colors as though they’d been waiting for this moment.
The professors who had treated students kindly until now seemed like different people entirely—a complete one-eighty transformation.
Classes became far more demanding, and students who fell behind were mercilessly stripped of points. Those deemed inadequate were simply ejected from class.
The students grimaced at the professors’ changed attitudes, but now they truly understood what it meant to be at Kyzen.
The weak had no place at Kyzen.
As if to prove that point, twenty students had packed their bags and left within two days of the Student Protection Period ending.
And this was before the Midterm Exam, the Practical Evaluation, or the Duel Evaluation had even taken place.
Simon himself had struggled to adapt to the atmosphere’s transformation over those two days since the protection period lifted.
Still, if there was one professor who treated students the same as before,
“Come on, run!”
“Yes!”
it was Hong Peng from Martial Arts class.
To be precise, she had never cared about the Student Protection Period in the first place—she’d been making students dangle from galloping hippos, casting curses and making them crawl up hillsides, and recklessly hurling them into hippo herds from the very beginning.
So unlike the other professors whose class difficulty had skyrocketed, Hong Peng’s lessons remained unchanged. The students had come to find her Martial Arts class relatively comfortable by comparison.
Of course, Hong Peng was also not the type to nitpick students and dock points, nor did she apply mental pressure.
“Huff! Huff! Still, mindlessly running like this feels better!”
Dick, running beside Simon, spoke between ragged breaths.
“I still can’t shake the look in Professor Vahil’s eyes when he deducted points from me in rapid succession! Huff! Huff! Martial Arts class forever! I’m taking it next semester too!”
Simon laughed lightly.
“Hah! Hah! You two really know how to take it easy!”
Simon and Dick turned their heads.
“Huh? Merlin?”
Merlin, who’d always fallen behind during runs, had caught up with them today. She was gasping for breath, flailing somewhat, yet pushing forward with grim determination.
“Huff! Pant! What’s with you? Are you really pushing your pace like that?”
Instead of answering, Merlin clenched her teeth and surged past both of them. Dick’s pupils trembled.
“…She’s really fired up. Whoosh! But why is she like this?”
“Tomorrow’s the Cyclops Practical Evaluation.”
As the captain and squad member of Group 7, she carried a stronger sense of responsibility for tomorrow’s Cyclops Practical Evaluation than anyone.
Merlin’s greatest weakness was poor stamina, and her sluggish footwork meant she couldn’t properly evade the Cyclops’s attacks. That’s why she’d poured more effort into physical conditioning than Dark Flare in the time remaining.
‘She really is impressive.’
Top grades in the entrance exam’s written test across the entire school.
First in Class A.
The only student averaging in the 90s across all of Jane’s assessments.
Simon had assumed Merlin was simply a genius, but the truth was far grimmer—she was a relentless worker.
According to what Kamibarez had told him, Merlin barely slept, driven by her studies day and night.
They’d study together late into the evening in the Female Dormitory common room, and when Simon returned the next morning after a few hours’ rest, he’d find Merlin still seated in the exact same spot, tissue wedged in her nose, bent over her books.
She conquered the mounting fatigue and drowsiness that threatened to interfere with classes through medication, he’d heard.
From the moment she woke until sleep finally claimed her—study, study, study.
Simon couldn’t fathom what drove her to such relentless ambition.
“All right, everyone take a break!”
The moment Hong Peng’s order fell, the students sprawled across the grass as if they’d been waiting for permission. Assistants moved through their ranks, distributing recovery drinks.
“Ahhhhh.”
Dick drained his drink in one gulp and collapsed flat on his back.
“I don’t know about anything else, but if you take Martial Arts classes for three straight years, you’ll graduate looking like a bodybuilder. I’m certain of that much at least.”
…….
Hearing Dick’s joke, Kamibarez ran her hands down her own legs with a rueful expression.
Seeing this, Simon chuckled quietly.
“You don’t build muscle in your legs just from running during Martial Arts class, Kamibarez.”
“Huh? No, no! That’s not what I—”
“Besides, you’re delicate enough that a little more definition wouldn’t hurt.”
“That’s not—I’m not—!”
Amid the warm laughter shared between the three of them, Merlin approached at a brisk pace.
“Simon! Watch me for a second.”
“Hmm?”
“That thing you do with the Dark Aura.”
She bent her knees and launched herself upward from where she stood. She achieved surprising height, and beneath both legs, the Dark Aura formed cleanly and completely.
Screeeech!
As she descended, dragging through the grass, her eyes gleamed with excitement as she turned back to Simon.
“How was that? How was it?”
“Well, um.”
Simon scratched his head.
“That was impressive, honestly.”
“Really? Really truly? Hehe! I kept practicing for tomorrow!”
“That’s genuinely amazing, Merlin!”
To overcome a weakness in such a short time—it was truly a remarkable achievement, as Kamibarez said.
Of course, behind it all lay an effort almost impossible to imagine.
Judging by the condition of her feet as they landed, worn and strained from relentless practice, her body had paid a price.
“Don’t push yourself too hard, Merlin.”
Simon spoke with concern.
“We already defeated the Cyclops during the simulation. Success on the Practical Evaluation is well within our reach.”
“……I know. But I won’t settle for mere success.”
Fire ignited in Merlin’s eyes.
“First place. I’m aiming for first place, no matter what.”
Just as Simon was about to respond, the assistants began clapping their hands sharply.
“All right, everyone up! We’re running to the next location in one go!”
“Yes!”
The students, now accustomed to Hong Peng’s classes, quickly rose and lined up.
“Move out!”
At Hong Peng’s call, they all set off down the graceful slope of the hillside, relishing the cool breeze that met them.
Yellow rapeseed flowers bloomed in profusion across the landscape, as if gold had blanketed the entire hill.
Simon couldn’t help but admire Hong Peng’s eye for selecting such beautiful natural vistas as her classroom.
“Simon!”
Hong Peng suddenly appeared, catching him off guard. He answered with a startled response.
“Oh, yes, Professor!”
“How’s your practice with the Dark Aura technique I taught you progressing?”
“Very well!”
Hong Peng had taught Simon a technique for activating the Dark Aura within his body to temporarily boost his physical capabilities.
“Excellent, you learn quickly! No matter who I teach, Simon, you’re a natural for Martial Arts specialization.”
“……Ha, well.”
“Professor!”
It was then that Bred, a Martial Arts instructor, came sprinting over in a panic.
Bred glanced sideways at Simon once, then quickly turned to report to Hong Peng.
“We have an injury in the rear group. One of the students appears to have twisted their leg.”
“Ah, I’ll go take a look.”
Hong Peng gave Simon’s shoulder a quick pat and dashed after Bred. Another instructor then led the remaining students down the hillside and called for a break.
Everyone sat on the grass and drank from their water bottles.
“Kamibarez, where did Merlin go?”
At Dick’s question, Kamibarez shrugged.
“I’m not sure. I fell behind the whole time, so I thought she was keeping up with Simon.”
A murmur of voices drifted from behind them.
Simon turned to look back and sprang to his feet, while Kamibarez covered her mouth with both hands.
“No, surely not…….”
Dick’s face went ashen. Through the cluster of murmuring students, they could see a female student being carried on an instructor’s back.
Her ankle was wrapped in bandages.
“Merlin!”

* * *
Kyzen’s Central Medical Facility.
Merlin lay in bed like someone whose soul had left her body, staring blankly at nothing.
Simon, Dick, and Kamibarez stood around her with grim expressions.
“Student Merlin Billeneuse.”
A doctor in a white coat flipped through a folder as he spoke.
“You’ve sprained your leg badly. For now you’ll need to use crutches, and attending lectures should be fine, but for the next week you’re to skip all practical training courses that involve physical exertion.”
It was a thunderbolt from a clear sky. Merlin sat up with eyes burning red.
“No, that can’t be! With an injury this minor, I can walk just fine!”
“Student.”
The doctor smiled gently and tapped the folder.
“This isn’t a recommendation. It’s an order.”
“……!”
Merlin bit her lip hard.
“I understand your enthusiasm for your studies, but there are rules. You’ll be excused from all courses that require walking.”
This was precisely why Kyzen students refused to visit the medical facility even when they were hurt.
The doctors prioritized patient recovery above all else, while the students prioritized survival at Kyzen.
These two values were always in conflict.
The doctors thought it natural to give students a few weeks of rest after serious injuries sustained in training, but that lost time strangled the students’ futures.
Getting injured was your own loss.
“…….”
The doctor who had delivered his unilateral decree left the room, and a heavy silence fell over the ward with only four of them remaining.
They had all prepared so hard for the Practical Evaluation, and now one of their team members had injured their leg the day before the actual event.
But no one blamed Merlin.
It had been an accident, and they all knew better than anyone how hard Merlin had worked and sacrificed for this group assignment.
“……Merlin.”
“I’m really sorry. Please leave.”
Merlin spoke with her head bowed low.
“I want to be alone.”
“…….”
Her face was completely broken.
It seemed no words of comfort would reach her now.
Dick and Kamibarez exchanged glances and nodded at each other.
“S-Simon.”
Kamibarez called to Simon in a small voice while tugging at his collar. But Simon didn’t move.
“Sitting here whimpering won’t change anything.”
Kamibarez and Dick were startled.
It was a coldness utterly unlike the usual Simon.
Merlin bit her lip fiercely and lifted her head.
“……Then what am I supposed to do.”
“Find another way.”
“Another way?”
She let out a laugh.
It was bitter and hysterical.
“You know what this is, don’t you? A week of careful planning—tactics and positioning we’ve drilled into our bones. We’ve trained until our legs gave out just to hold these positions, and tomorrow we’re facing a live Cyclops in actual combat! Methods? What methods are you talking about? Oh, I see. You’re mocking me, aren’t you? Yeah, yeah, that’s right—it’s all my fault! Your bottom scores on the Practical Evaluation! If this ranking ends up costing you everything and you get expelled from Kyzen! All of it—every bit of it is on me! I was the one who was reckless enough to get my leg injured……!”
“Enough.”
Simon’s eyes gleamed.
All three of them felt goosebumps crawl down their spines. Was this really Simon? He felt like a completely different person.
As the silence settled around them, Simon exhaled softly and spoke.
“If you’re all willing, I’ll take the field tomorrow as a combatant.”

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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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