Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 477

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Summoning Genius of the Necromancer School — Episode 477
One hour earlier.
While most of the students had finished assembling their Skeleton Knights, Simon remained utterly focused on constructing his own.
“Now!”
Simon’s Skeleton Knight swung its sword.
Whirrrr—
As the blade cut through the air, its waist twisted along with it, and the entire upper body spun around twice. The watching students were too busy clutching their sides with laughter to say anything.
“I—I’m sorry, Simon. Hahaha!”
Even Toto had turned red in the face, pressing a hand to his mouth. It was nothing but a spectacle to laugh at, yet among all the students, Simon alone stood with an exhilarated expression, his eyes gleaming.
“That’s amazing!”
“…What?”
Toto looked at Simon with a confused expression.

* * *
And then, an hour later, Simon and Aseraz stood on the platform, each leading their own Skeleton Knight.
“An Undead Duel. You learned the rules well enough in your first year, I’m sure. The summoner’s use of Dark Magic is strictly forbidden, and the first to sever the head of their opponent’s undead wins.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
Simon and Aseraz answered with vigor.
‘Simon Polentian.’
Aaron’s gaze shifted.
‘You’ve always had a gift for crafting unexpected moves.’
The memory of him switching from a skeleton that walked on two legs to one that ran on four still gave him goosebumps.
But this time, the circumstances were different. The undead was defective, and more importantly, it was a Skeleton Knight. With armor fitted to it, restructuring the bones into a new form was impossible.
‘Still, the fact that he stepped forward saying he’d win means he must have a reason.’
Once Aaron confirmed that both students were ready, he opened his mouth.
“Begin.”
Tap.
Tap.
Simon and Aseraz both took their stances simultaneously.
“I’m sorry, but I have no intention of losing.”
Aseraz raised her slender arm. Her Skeleton Knight drew two swords and assumed a flawless, economical combat stance.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Simon replied and readied his Skeleton Knight. Upon seeing this, she furrowed her brow.
“…What are you doing right now?”
Just like Aseraz’s Skeleton Knight, Simon’s had emerged with two swords—a Twin Blade formation. Murmurs rippled through the students.
“Did you even conduct Thought Blooming? Did you properly grasp the nature of the Skeleton Knight and guide it accordingly? Or are you just trying to insult me?”
“None of the above.”
Simon smiled faintly.
“But I’ll still win.”
Sparks flew in her eyes.
“Try it, then!”
Dash!
Responding to her will, the Skeleton Knight charged forward fiercely. With arms spread slightly and both swords hanging loose, it adopted an exemplary Twin Blade stance.
And the stance Simon’s Skeleton Knight took in response was peculiar.
Tap!
Tap!
It simply splayed both sword-bearing arms outward like wings, spread wide to either side.
“Come at me!”
Aseraz cried out in exasperation.
The twin swords of the Skeleton Knight she controlled traced a perfect angle, flying toward the opponent’s neck.
‘Got him!’
Whoosh!
But the swords merely slashed empty air. Watching from behind, Aseraz felt as though her target had simply vanished. Simon’s Skeleton Knight had arched its spine backward to an almost inhuman degree, evading the blow.
“Dirty trick!”
Aseraz’s Skeleton Knight reacted instantly, bringing its swords downward even as Simon’s Skeleton Knight unbent its knees and drove back into her, counterattacking.
‘The timing is perfect!’
Simon deactivated one of the Magic Circles connected to the skeleton. Immediately, the fine threads around its waist snapped apart, and the coiled darkness around its midsection began to unwind.
Whirrrrrr!
With both arms spread wide and swords in hand, the Skeleton Knight spun like a top. Aseraz’s Knight hurriedly brought both blades together to form a guard, but—
Clang!
Sparks flew as the two blades snapped apart.
‘What?!’
Simon’s Knight passed through Aseraz’s Knight and landed on the floor.
Whirrr—
The Skeleton Knight, its rotation complete, knelt on one knee and came to a stop.
In that same instant, Aseraz’s Skeleton Knight’s head flew high into the air.
‘Rotation!’
Aseraz’s pupils trembled.
The watching students’ jaws fell open. Her Skeleton Knight’s head dropped to the ground with a thunk and rolled away.
Aaron lowered his arm and shouted.
“Simon Polentia’s victory.”
Roaaaaaaaar!
It was an ending no one had foreseen. The students erupted into stunned chatter.
“What—did you see that?”
“How did he—the Skeleton was just spinning—”
Aseraz stood slack-jawed, her arms hanging limply at her sides.
Simon’s Skeleton Knight struck an impressive pose with both blades raised high, but its waist promptly began to wobble, then buckled backward, undermining the effect somewhat.
“Explain to your classmates what happened. Simon Polentia.”
Simon nodded.
“The Knight I purchased initially had a defective joint near the waist. So I simply separated the upper and lower body.”
“Separated?”
“Yes.”
Whoosh.
Simon drew from his pocket what looked like Artificial Cartilage, shimmering with a blue sheen. He pulled at it with his fingertips, and it stretched out with remarkable elasticity.
“I used this—the material we use for Skeleton Archer joints—to connect the upper and lower halves, and I twisted it myself like a spinning top. Then I sealed it with a Magic Circle so it wouldn’t come loose. The mechanism is simple. When I remotely unseal the Magic Circle, the twisted cartilage snaps back into place, and the sword-wielding Skeleton Knight spins at high speed for ten seconds.”
Simon made a spinning gesture with his fingertips.
“Even though it was defective, I was lucky to figure out this gimmick! If I can pull the Knights out of my Subspace and set them spinning right away, wouldn’t that be incredible? I’m thinking of refining it further and registering it as a patent with Pentamonium.”
……
Aaron simply pressed his palm to his forehead.
Despite the dull throb behind his eyes, the corners of his mouth had lifted.
“Madman.”

* * *
Simon ended up earning an A+ on his first Practical Assessment, Skeleton Knight Creation.
Whistling cheerfully, he stored his spinning Knight in his Subspace, then left the lecture hall.
He’d have liked to take a leisurely lunch, but his next Major Coursework was scheduled back-to-back, so he grabbed a sandwich from the campus shop and moved on.
Other students were doing the same, buying convenient food and eating as they walked.
“The next class is Summoning Materials Studies, and the classroom’s pretty far from here!”
Toto pulled out a notebook and spoke.
“How far do we have to go?”
“Here.”
Toto unfolded the Kizen 2nd Year Campus map he’d tucked in his notebook and pointed.
“Wow, that’s pretty far.”
“Yeah. About the same distance as Professor Hong Peng’s outdoor class.”
Since that class happened to be an hour away, the Summoning Department students had to move briskly. Fortunately, the sprawling Kizen 2nd Year Campus had free carriages running throughout it.
They rode the carriage across a bridge and through the forest, until at last they arrived at their destination.
Grooooooan—
The entrance to an enormous cave.
“We’re having class here?”
“I’d believe it if you told me it was a dungeon.”
While the students stirred uneasily, someone suddenly burst from the darkness of the cave. Toto next to him yelped, “Yaaah!”
“Good morning.”
A strangely dressed man.
He wore an unfamiliar martial robe, his head shaved smooth and bound with a cloth. Strange tattoos marked the space beneath his eyes and across his face, and his gaze seemed unfocused.
He greeted the students with a bow, hands clasped together.
“I’m the teaching assistant assigned to guide you today. Please follow me.”
With that, the teaching assistant turned and walked into the cave’s darkness. The students murmured nervously and hurried after him.
Drip—drip—
The sound of water falling in the cave echoed unusually loud. From far off came the sound of waves, and the scraping of stone against stone.
Simon looked around with curious eyes.
‘How deep does this cave go?’
After walking for roughly twenty minutes, he spotted railroad tracks laid out along the cavern floor.
“Please put on your safety helmets before boarding the train.”
Toto glanced nervously around the space, his eyes darting in every direction.
“Seriously? We’re going even deeper from here?”
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
A sharp cry rang out!
Screams pierced the air!
Students shrieked and crouched low as a swarm of bats suddenly swept overhead.
‘That startled me.’
Simon lifted his head. The assistant instructor here seemed entirely unbothered, as though he’d merely watched a bird pass by.
“Well then, let’s board.”
This track train had a structure that could accommodate three people per car. Simon handed one of the safety helmets hanging from the wall to the short Toto, then fitted one onto his own head.
Grab!
But then someone suddenly seized his wrist and pulled.
“Come on~ Simon!”
“Wait, Serne?”
She winked at him.
“Dark places scare me, so you have to stay with me. What are you doing?”
“No, what are you—”
In the end, Simon was dragged along by Serne and stood at the front of the train.
The car clearly wasn’t designed for passengers; it was covered in soot and ash.
“Hmm—”
Displeased with the sight, Serne gathered her skirt and bounced in place.
That ability never ceased to amaze him, no matter how many times he witnessed it.
White feathers cascaded from her body in a shimmering torrent, settling across the train car before transforming into a lavish feather bedding and carpet.
The rest of the car remained filthy, but this corner had become a luxury compartment.
“Now, sit with me. Simon.”
Yet darkness suddenly enveloped that luxurious space, and a black-haired girl appeared in that spot as though she’d been sitting there all along.
Serne’s expression hardened.
“What are you doing here without permission?”
Lorain replied coldly without turning around.
“You already have a record. I can’t let you two sit alone together.”
“Seriously~ You’re always getting in the way!”
Since departure was imminent, there was no help for it.
Serne grumbled as she boarded the train, and the moment Simon tried to follow her into that car—
“Train number one will depart first.”
An assistant instructor suddenly emerged and entered that final car, pushing Simon backward by bumping into him.
Jolt!
The train departed immediately, and the instructor bowed with fists pressed together. From inside, separated without Simon, Serne’s furious screams rang out.
……
Clackety-clack!
Train number two arrived on the parallel track beside Simon. A new assistant instructor, dressed identically to the first, suddenly appeared from the darkness.
“Students, please board the next train.”

* * *
Clackety-clack—clackety-clack—
Train number two pulled away. Simon gazed up at the cavern ceiling with an awkward smile.
‘How did it come to this?’
He’d expected to ride with Lorain and Serne, but when he came to his senses, he found himself wedged between men.
“Eek—aahhh!”
On his right was Toto, who’d chased after him. Gripped with terror, the small man clung to Simon’s arm and trembled violently.
And on his left—
……
was Hector.
He too had been separated from his intended companions and looked thoroughly displeased. Given his massive frame, Simon was now pinned in place within the car.
Simon and Hector maintained an uncomfortable silence, while Toto alone whimpered pathetically—”Eek! Eek!”—in a state of panic.
“Shut your mouth.”
Hector spoke.
“Knock it off. You’re being loud. Runt.”
The words were directed at Toto. Under Hector’s stern rebuke, Toto hiccupped and clamped his mouth shut. But whenever something frightening appeared, he’d whimper and squeeze Simon’s arm tighter.
Simon watched Hector for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“Hector.”
“Don’t talk to me.”
Hector’s reply was cold, but Simon decided to push forward anyway—awkward silence seemed worse.
Since the end of first year, he hadn’t had a single proper conversation with the man.
“Didn’t the third-year seniors give you grief? You let me out before the department welcome even started.”
“Don’t waste my time with pointless talk.”
Hector’s eyes sharpened.
“And by regulation, the department head can only recommend—he has no authority over Student Council affairs. That’s why I didn’t stop you.”
“I see.”
“But the reverse holds too. Just because you’re on the Student Council doesn’t mean you can dictate how the department runs things. That’d be overstepping your bounds.”
Simon smiled faintly.
“Still, if you cross the line again like last time, we won’t have a choice but to step in.”
“……You bastard.”
The two boys’ sharp gazes locked head-on.
Hector stared at Simon for a tense moment, then suddenly exhaled a long breath and closed his eyes.
“To be honest, I’m personally grateful you stopped that initiation last time.”
Simon’s eyes went wide.
What did he just say?
“But there won’t be a second time.”
After that, Hector said nothing until the train arrived.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————