Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 398
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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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The Summoning Genius of the Necromancer School — Chapter 398
“…….”
Neftis’s contemplation deepened.
Eyes shut tight, both hands laid neatly across her lap, she sat motionless on the bed as if turned to stone.
Swoosh—
Her velvet-soft silver hair caught the breeze and danced. A few strands drifted into her mouth, but she remained so focused that she didn’t notice—
“Ptooey! Ack! What is this!”
Apparently not that focused.
Neftis hastily brushed the hair from her fingertips and turned her gaze to Simon.
“Mm, all right. Can I ask you something honestly?”
“Yes.”
Simon straightened his posture with equal gravity.
“First, you need to understand this: even if I declare ‘I shall forgive the 7th Legion’s crime!’ it won’t end there.”
She pressed both palms against the bed and leaned back.
“Necromancers were killed for the sake of a Priest—it’s an unprecedented tragedy. The public sentiment is extremely poor. The elders, the high-ranking necromancers, the survivors of that incident, their families—they’re all watching with eyes wide open.”
“Y-yes, I suppose so.”
Simon lowered his head.
‘Will I really have to hide this for my whole life?’
“But!”
Neftis raised her index finger decisively.
“I’m not saying it’s impossible. It just takes time. Gradually quell the roiling public opinion, reshape people’s perceptions from the ground up—and it becomes possible.”
At that, Simon’s head snapped up.
“Can we really change people’s minds that much?”
“Mm-hmm. Of course Richard’s crime itself won’t fade easily, but we push forward with the idea that ‘Simon’s Legion’ and ‘Richard’s Legion’ are fundamentally different. The Ancient Undead merely followed orders, after all. And it’s a valid argument that burying such formidable military strength over past events is a problem for the Dark Alliance when facing the Sacred Federation.”
Neftis met Simon’s eyes and smiled brightly.
“Of course, if you’d failed to adapt here at Kizen and remained just another mediocre necromancer, the elders wouldn’t have hesitated to eliminate you and appoint a different Legion Commander.”
“……I see.”
“But the name Simon Polentia is growing in influence every day.”
She flopped backward onto the bed, her transparent silver hair spreading across the bedspread like a fan.
“Admitted as a Special Case 1st Year, passed the Promotion Exam in first place. You’ve fought a Saint, thwarted the Blood Heavenly Cult’s machinations. You’re genuinely doing well. And being recognized within Kizen means being recognized across the entire Dark Alliance.”
Neftis’s lake-like eyes turned toward Simon.
“So keep working hard~ The stronger your influence grows, the easier it becomes for me to lay the groundwork for changing perceptions and public opinion regarding the 7th Legion.”
It was, in essence, a yes. Simon’s heart surged with quiet exultation as he bowed his head respectfully.
“Thank you! I’ll work hard, Neftis.”
Neftis hopped up and gently ruffled Simon’s hair.
“That’s right, good boy~”
Simon let out an embarrassed laugh. Being patted on the head by someone who appeared far younger was a strange sensation.
‘I never expected this to be solved all at once. But with Neftis…’
From this incident, he’d seen her political acumen and command of media firsthand. Having witnessed her abilities, he could trust that she would personally handle the groundwork for the 7th Legion’s rehabilitation.
“Of course.”
Neftis withdrew her hand from Simon’s head, clasped her hands behind her back, and hopped down from the bed.
“But that’s not the complete fulfillment of your request. I’ll give you a personal gift later. That’s all right?”
“A-a gift?”
“Yep! That’s a secret for now~ I’ll give it to you as a new school year present!”
Neftis winked mischievously.
“Anyway! Congratulations on advancing to Kizen 2nd Year, Simon!”
* * *
After Neftis left, the medical staff entered to conduct a detailed examination of Simon’s condition.
Simon wanted to leave immediately, but his current health made discharge impossible. The medical staff emphasized “complete bed rest” once more before filing out.
‘……Is anyone still here?’
After the staff had gone, Simon glanced around repeatedly.
Only after confirming multiple times that he was alone did he close the window and draw the curtains.
‘Good.’
In truth, he’d been anxious ever since waking.
Five days asleep! Far more time had passed than he’d expected.
‘I wish the sensation had stayed with me.’
That power called Void, which he’d used in his battle against Silaji.
—I’m sorry, but when you return, that information will be forgotten. If you tried to remember, your brain would burn up entirely.
The ‘presence’ that had taught him Void had said he wouldn’t be able to remember it.
Of course, I did receive Void as a gift from that ‘being.’ But to use Void, I’d need to apply transcendent theories that don’t exist anywhere on this Continent, along with an incomprehensible amount of knowledge.
Now, having woken five days later with all other information evaporated, there was no way I could use it. It was like being an engineer who’d lost the entire train but still gripped the steering wheel.
‘Still, the fact that I’ve used that power once is clear enough.’
I’m not hoping to recreate it exactly. If I could even approximate that force, mimic it in some lesser form, I could become incomprehensibly stronger.
And there’s another reason I need to master this technique.
‘I can’t use Herseba in front of people anymore.’
I’d deployed Herseba during a Duel Evaluation with countless observers watching, and I’d even written and presented a paper on it before researchers.
But if Herseba, who once wielded her own Dark Element, suddenly started channeling my Dark Element and using her abilities, and the Mummies that emerged from her used the same Dark Element?
It would be strange for the Legion Commander not to grow suspicious.
‘Fine. No time to waste lying around!’
With my goal set, I sat up on the bed and opened both palms before me.
‘Dark Element.’
Dark Element surged from my right hand.
‘Holiness.’
But my left hand remained silent.
The difficulty struck immediately.
Back then it had come the moment I opened my palm. Eyes closed, I thought back on that sensation.
‘I can do anything!’
Whoosh!
At last, Holiness flowed from my left hand. I smiled with satisfaction and looked at my right.
“This is driving me insane.”
The moment I activated Holiness, the Dark Element switched off. I flopped backward onto the bed.
It really was difficult.
I could handle either Dark Element or Holiness separately, but wielding both simultaneously was an entirely different matter.
Eyes closed, I tried to recall the sensation from that moment.
‘That’s right—I need to grasp the feel while my body’s sensation remains, however faintly.’
I decided to work through the fundamentals methodically first.
Dark Element is created by breathing in the Mana from the air around you, passing that Mana through your Core, and then storing it there—withdrawing it as needed whenever you require it.
Holiness works on a slightly different principle: you hold an unwavering, blind faith mentally, and the moment you draw Mana from inside your body to the outside, that Mana manifests as Holiness. Of course, it consumes considerable mental strength.
‘That’s it!’
I snapped my fingers.
‘The instant I open my Core, Dark Element spreads throughout my entire body. My time at Kizen has hardened the habits of a Necromancer.’
This time, I deliberately controlled the Dark Element.
Let it spread only on the right side.
Leave the left side for Holiness.
“Dark Element.”
I drew out only a small amount of Dark Element and summoned it in my right hand. Consciously holding that state steady.
“I can do anything!”
Burst!
Holiness bloomed in my left hand.
Glancing right quickly, the Dark Element looked watery and unstable, but it was being resupplied from my heart and holding steady.
“I did it! Now to combine these two forces!”
I clapped both palms together.
“If I merge them—!”
Catastrophic boom!
“What in the—what’s happened?!”
The Medical Ward attendant, startled by the explosion, yanked open the door to my room.
Crash-crash-crash—
It was like a Mana explosion. The bed lay in splinters, debris falling from the ceiling.
Lying in the center of it all, I laughed with a “ha-ha,” waving my hand.
“Ah, ah—it’s nothing, really!”
After that, I received an enormous scolding from the Medical Ward for using Dark Magic.
* * *
I was moved to a different new room in the Medical Ward.
Fortunately, this was after Neftis had issued orders to make my comfort the absolute priority, so the Medical Ward staff didn’t make a major issue of it. The paperwork went through remarkably fast.
“I have one request!”
I hurriedly grabbed the Medical Ward doctor as he turned to leave after delivering nearly thirty minutes of nagging. He looked back at me.
“…Go ahead. Simon.”
“Would it be possible for you to call Professor Parahan, who teaches 1st Year Holiness Defense?”
At those words, a surge of fury blazed from the Medical Ward physician’s entire frame.
“……You’re telling me you want to summon a Priest into this sacred ward!!”
Not long after.
“Heh-heh-heh! My boy, I’m so glad to see you well!”
Parahan, dressed in a white martial robe and sporting a long white beard, had indeed come to Simon’s hospital room.
Above him, two kittens poked their heads out with a “Meow!”
“Hayangyi! Kkamang!”
The moment they spotted Simon, they bounded down and erupted into chaos—demanding to be petted, to be held, rubbing against him and mewing endlessly without a shred of composure.
“……To bring a Priest—and pets no less—into this sacred ward! Arrgh!”
The physician trembled with barely contained rage while the attendants smiled through gritted teeth, trying to soothe him.
No matter what, Neftis’s orders were absolute.
Click.
The ward door closed, and Parahan and Simon faced each other.
“Summoning me to such a sensitive place—heh-heh!”
Parahan stroked his beard thoughtfully.
“As you can see, I’m a Priest, so I must be careful about propriety.”
“I—I apologize, sir. The truth is, there’s something urgent I need to discuss with you.”
Simon explained the situation to Parahan briefly.
It was about the Void.
During his fight with Silaji, he’d cast a Curse called Comfelonia upon himself, taught to him by Bahil—and though he couldn’t recall how it happened, he was certain he’d fought Silaji by merging both Darkness and Holiness.
“……This old man finds it hard to believe, I must confess.”
Parahan shook his head slowly.
“In all my years, I’ve never heard of such a thing. Are you certain you didn’t experience a phantom or an illusion while you were unconscious?”
Parahan clearly remained skeptical.
Silaji had felt the same way before. He too had refused to believe it, even having witnessed it.
Whether Necromancer or Priest, those who had devoted long years to their craft seemed all the more inclined to dismiss it as impossible.
But convincing Parahan was not the real issue.
“There is something I’d like to ask of you.”
Simon requested that Parahan install the same Holiness-concealing Magic Circle that he had placed in Simon’s home and study—here as well.
Parahan agreed readily. He drew it behind the bed and in corner crevices where others wouldn’t notice, and added a Sound Suppression Magic Circle for good measure.
“Thank you so much, Professor!”
Simon bowed deeply.
“I cannot say whether what you saw was real, but the desire to explore new frontiers is not in itself a bad thing. I do hope you achieve results.”
Hayangyi, who had somehow made her way atop Parahan’s head, let out a gentle “Meow~.”
* * *
The fusion of Darkness and Holiness.
Continuing with this mad experiment, Simon began to develop a method.
By scaling down the overall firepower of both attributes and lowering the Holiness ratio even further than before, he could gain a brief window when they collided.
Since Holiness held the elemental advantage, reducing its proportion was the key.
And yet.
Boom!
Another failure. When Darkness and Holiness collided, they coexisted for less than 0.1 seconds before the two attributes either exploded or Holiness consumed the Darkness.
True coexistence of the two forces proved impossible.
‘……I’m exhausted.’
By now, evening had fallen. Simon, completely drained, lay sprawled across his bed.
‘Maybe I really did see an illusion.’
Simon moved his hands, relying on his senses.
This way. Like this. Just blending the two forces like this had worked.
Knock-knock.
A knock sounded at the door.
Startled, Simon quickly dispersed the lingering traces of Holiness. The Magic Circle Parahan had installed acted like a drain, and the Holiness was sucked away into it.
“Yes. Come in.”
Click.
The door swung open and a ward attendant stepped inside.
“Simon? It’s time for your injection.”
The attendant held up the syringe, her tongue darting out eagerly.
“Now, lower your pants and underwear and lie face-down on the bed!”
“…….”
Simon’s expression turned ice-cold.
“Don’t talk nonsense, Elisabeth.”
[Sigh.]
The administrator let out a wistful breath.
Her form then rippled and dissolved, reforming into a pink-haired girl in a Kizen School Uniform. It was Elisabeth Wefer—a face Simon hadn’t seen in far too long.
“No one spotted you?”
[Of course not! What do you take me for~ A capable spy who can pierce even Kizen’s surveillance barriers!]
“Good. Let’s go then.”
Simon drew a robe from his Subspace and draped it over himself before rising to his feet.
“I have to be back by morning.”
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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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