Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 538

—————
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 538
“…….”
The Teleport Magic Circle’s passage came to an end. Simon opened his eyes as he felt his feet settle against solid ground.
A darker, thicker mist spread across an eerie forest landscape before him.
“Ugh.”
“……My head.”
Beside him, Eshu and Toto lay sprawled on the ground, having tumbled backward, while Lorain stood upright behind them, her ruby eyes opening with perfect composure.
“Is everyone all right?”
Simon approached and extended his hand. Eshu made a puzzled expression before grinning strangely and pushing himself up on his own.
“Ufufufu~ Thanks.”
What was that laugh about?
Simon gave him a pointed look, then grasped Toto’s hand and pulled him to his feet.
“Simon, look here.”
Lorain called to him. A massive skeletal Altar that he’d only seen on a screen now stood before his eyes. Inside it gleamed a crimson Red Relic.
“Whoa! So that’s really a fifteen-point Relic?”
Eshu approached with eager steps and reached out to touch the Relic. Both Simon and Lorain flinched simultaneously.
“Wait, Eshu!”
“If we move our own Red Relic, it violates the rules. We talked about this earlier.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Just touching it a little should be fine, right?”
Eshu gave a casual wink and lifted the Relic from the Altar, waving it back and forth. Clearly he wasn’t the cautious type.
“Mm, it’s darker than I expected.”
Meanwhile, Toto gazed quietly at the shadowed forest. Eshu set the Relic down and raised his eyebrows playfully.
“Our little one—will you be able to walk around by yourself without crying?”
Toto’s face flushed crimson in an instant.
“Of—of course! I’m a Necromancer too!”
“Ahahaha!”
Thanks to Eshu’s lighthearted spirit, the tense atmosphere dissolved.
Simon let out a laugh as well and placed a hand on Toto’s shoulder, when an announcement suddenly blared through the air.
-In thirty seconds, the exam will begin. You must summon at least one Ghoul immediately.
-Once the exam starts, you may leave the starting position.
“You heard that?”
All four of them opened Subspaces at once and withdrew Ghouls.
In moments, the area was teeming with Undead. The Ghouls that appeared in the test grounds wailed and looked around uncertainly.
-Beginning the exam countdown. Ten. Nine.
“Everyone, move according to the plan we discussed earlier.”
All of them nodded at Simon’s words.
-Seven. Six. Five.
“Leader, isn’t it customary here to do a group cheer before we start?”
At Eshu’s suggestion, Simon immediately lowered his palm downward. The other three placed their palms on top of his.
“Let’s do our best, without regret. Group 10, fighting spirit!”
“Fighting spirit!”
As a signal, the young people’s palms thrust upward together, the countdown ended, and a sharp whistle sounded the start—Peeeep!
“Um, ah.”
Toto, still holding his palm down, murmured with an awkward expression.
“Wasn’t that supposed to come down after cheering?”

* * *
Thud-thud-thud!
Thud-thud!
Simon and three Ghouls were crossing the mist-laden battlefield rapidly.
Thanks to the Footstep Synchronization Training that Benya had taught him that morning, running alongside the Ghouls felt remarkably natural.
‘First, let’s make our way to the destination and search for Relics at a leisurely pace.’
-Snarl! Sniff-sniff!
The Ghoul ahead thrust its snout to the ground and sniffed. Soon it locked eyes with Simon once, then bolted forward.
Simon quickly followed, and the Ghoul began digging at the ground with its feet.
“Help out, you two.”
At Simon’s word, the other Ghouls dug alongside it, and before long they unearthed something from the earth—a Vessel Fragment with a bluish-bronze sheen.
The Ghoul picked it up in its mouth and dashed back to Simon, dropping it at his feet before panting heavily.
Simon knelt on one knee and stroked the Ghoul’s head, and it looked pleased. The other Ghouls behind watched with envy.
‘So this is a one-point Blue Relic.’
The relics had to be transported only by ghouls.
Simon gave the order.
“Good work. Store it for me.”
At his command, the ghoul immediately swallowed the relic whole. Objects of this size could be ingested and regurgitated by ghouls with perfect control.
“Next. Let’s move.”
This exam was designed rigorously to evaluate ghouls alone.
How well could one utilize a ghoul’s detection ability to locate targets buried in the ground?
When encountering monsters lurking in the field during the search, how effectively could one fight with a ghoul?
How well could one synchronize with the ghouls controlled by fellow group members?
The examiner’s intent was clear. There might well be an exam where two hours slipped away as everyone simply hunted for relics.
But.
‘At least this exam won’t unfold smoothly.’

* * *
Boom-boom-boom!
Bang!
Nine ghouls were racing swiftly through the thick darkness.
Among them was a ghoul with an unusually developed shoulder skeleton and bone spikes jutting out like blades, its front limbs grotesquely enlarged by dark magic and alchemical enhancement, moving like a gorilla.
They were Hector’s ghouls.
‘…Wait, Simon Polentia.’
Following behind, Hector’s eyes gleamed with a dangerous light.
“Hector!”
A student running beside him called out.
“Grey Orcs incoming—!”
Thud!
In an instant, the muscular ghoul kicked off the ground and leaped, slamming the charging orc down with a single devastating blow.
The watching students whistled low.
“Whoa… whoa…!”
“Third overall, as expected.”
The ghoul Hector had prepared for this exam possessed overwhelming power and stamina.
He didn’t spare a glance for the felled orc, his eyes fixed ahead as he ran.
“Everyone stay alert. We’re about to enter Group 10’s territory.”
Group 10 would certainly be on guard as well.
If one had to identify the moment when inter-group combat was most likely to occur, it would be an hour in, once the collection of surrounding relics was complete.
But Hector’s group had planned to launch a surprise attack on Simon’s formation the instant the exam began.
“Shatter their formation in one assault, break through to the Altar, and seize the red relic.”
“Roger!”
It was none other than Simon and Lorain’s group.
Last year as first-years, they’d let things slide and lost the valedictorian position, but this time would be different. From the start, they intended to bite down hard.
‘…’
Hector’s eyes, fixed forward, narrowed into slits.
‘Something’s there.’
—Keeeeek!
At the sudden cry, everyone halted simultaneously. The shrill scream of a ghoul echoed, then faded into the distance.
“Tch!”
One group member grimaced and pressed a hand to his forehead.
“Damn it! One down! When did—!”
Hector lifted his head quietly. From the trees came the sound of something whooshing—whoosh, whoosh—moving back and forth.
‘Ratchers shouldn’t be tree-dwelling monsters.’
Every student in the Summoning Studies program had crafted ghouls from ‘Ratchers,’ creatures that lived in rocky terrain.
Which meant whatever was now moving through the treetops was either a natural monster, or a ghoul controlled by a necromancer with insanely advanced Undead Control.
“Prepare for assault.”
Hector listened attentively to the sounds in the trees, then suddenly thrust out his right arm with a sharp snap!
The muscular ghoul immediately lunged in that direction, slashing at the tree, and as the thin trunk tilted, a ghoul on the branches tumbled down.
“Catch it!”
Thud!
Hector’s waiting ghoul pounced.
The falling ghoul extended its hind legs straight forward in an acrobatic motion, then coiled and lashed out both front legs, striking Hector’s ghoul’s jaw.
“!!”
Everyone’s eyes widened. The ghoul smoothly regained its stance and darted back into the forest.
“Did you see that? The way that ghoul moved just now!”
“Twisted. Unnatural movements.”
Hector’s lips curved upward.
‘So you’re here, Simon. I knew you’d be expecting me.’
-Krek!
-Kek-kek-kek!
Sinister laughter echoed through the swirling mist. There seemed to be far more of them than anticipated.
“Hector! Maybe we should fall back and regroup—”
“No.”
Hector dropped into a lower stance.
“That’s exactly what they want. Follow me.”
Hector drove forward, three muscular ghouls leading the charge, the rest of his team surging behind them.
When leaves rustled in the tree above, Hector’s smile widened.
‘I’ve known all along there’s only one guard at the altar. Come down.’
Thud!
A ghoul dropped from the branches.
In a single motion it wrapped its legs around Hector’s ghoul’s neck and bared its fangs to tear into the exposed nape—
Crash!
Hector’s ghoul slammed it to the ground like a pestle pounding in a mortar.
‘A speed-type ghoul, built for lightness. But in close combat, we have the advantage.’
Hector gestured—a signal to advance. Two others moved out with their ghouls in support.
-Screeeeeeeech!
Smack!
One student’s ghoul took the hit and flew backward into the mist. Medium-sized monsters with bared eyes glowed within the haze.
“Hector! There are too many monsters ahead!”
His expression tightened.
‘Damn nuisance.’

* * *
“Hah. Hah.”
Lorain, hidden behind the tree, pressed a hand to her forehead.
Hector had naturally assumed Simon commanded such brilliant ghoul control, but the true defensive anchor was none other than Lorain herself.
She’d just lost a ghoul to Hector and felt the feedback through her link.
‘Next.’
She summoned a fourth ghoul from her Subspace and sent it into battle.
Knowing Hector would come, Simon had positioned Lorain as the defender on the path to Group 1’s position—her nine ghouls were meant to hold him off as long as possible.
Toto played a crucial role as well. Originally a relic scout, she’d been tasked with using ghouls to draw the surrounding monsters toward them in the opening phase.
Toto had created ghouls specialized in Earth Digging; she’d lure masses of monsters into pits she’d dug beforehand, and once they lost their target they’d mill about aimlessly in the surrounding area.
A natural wall of monsters formed that way.
Lorain’s harassment and the monsters Toto had herded served as defense.
Somehow they were holding the line.
But Hector was no easy opponent. He’d quickly discerned that Group 10 had only one defender, and through sheer force had drawn Lorain’s ghouls into pursuit.
The moment her speed-and-disruption-specialized ghouls’ movements became predictable, they became prey. Lorain had been losing them one after another.
‘There it is.’
Now Simon’s altar came into view.
“Wait, Hector!”
One of his teammates shouted.
“We have a problem! Look behind you!”
Hector’s gaze snapped back. Red powder drifted across the distant sky.
A distress signal—Group 1’s main altar was under attack.

* * *
Pierre, Hector’s most trusted lieutenant, held the defensive line at Group 1’s main camp.
But now—
“H-how is this possible…?”
Four ghouls already lay scattered across the ground.
Crack!
Another ghoul’s Black Magic Circle shattered, and the creature collapsed. His head turned.
“Simon…”
Through the thick green haze, a blue-haired boy with gleaming eyes approached.
“I’m sorry, but.”
Even he stood alone.
“I’m going to need that Red Relic of yours.”

* * *
The main base was under attack.
The moment Hector learned this fact, he pressed forward with even greater urgency.
“Out of my way!”
Hector’s eyes blazed. Rino’s Golden Line traced itself across the muscular Ghoul’s Magic Circle, and Funeral Magic activated.
With tremendous force, he sent Lorain’s Ghouls flying and broke through, finally reaching Simon’s Altar.
‘So that’s where you went. But even if we strip your Altar, if our main base gets stripped too, what’s the point?’
Hector walked toward Simon’s Altar with a satisfied smile.
“……?!”
Yet his expression crumpled spectacularly.
Group 10’s Altar was.
‘What.’
Already emptied by someone else.

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