Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 554

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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 — Episode 554
The Ivory Tower.
A society of mages that has led humanity’s advancement for two thousand years.
The point at which this once-absolute power stumbled stemmed not merely from the rise of the Necromancer and Priest era, but from one decisive incident that preceded it.
At the very pinnacle of the Ivory Tower, a Dungeon Gate opened.
It appeared roughly three hundred years ago—a dungeon with the bizarre property of warping time itself. As it absorbed and merged with the various magics scattered throughout the tower, it swelled into humanity’s gravest catastrophe.
“From an outsider’s perspective, one might say the inevitable finally happened.”
The Headquarters Staff spoke.
“The uppermost level of the Ivory Tower’s main headquarters was conducting research into Time Magic, after all.”
Simon’s eyes widened as he listened to the explanation.
“Time Magic?”
“Yes. The Ivory Tower is the core force that governed humanity for a full two thousand years and drove human progress. Their ambition to conquer even time itself is, in a sense, natural enough.”
The Headquarters Staff continued, adjusting his glasses.
“They wanted to acquire lost magical knowledge from the past and secure eternal dominion over the future. Arrogance, plain and simple.”
The Headquarters Staff characterized the Dungeon Gate that opened at the tower’s apex not as a natural disaster, but as a human one—a calamity born of human ambition. He believed their reckless magic, meant to control time itself, had summoned a dungeon tied to temporal forces.
In any case, the Tower Lord of that era and his disciples—thousands perished before they finally succeeded in sealing the dungeon.
Thus the Ivory Tower abandoned the tower left in ruins by the Gate Incident, relocating to a new structure. That became the current Ivory Tower headquarters.
And the sealed dungeon, left behind as the old tower.
“People call it the Tower of Time,” the Headquarters Staff said.
He interlaced his fingers and continued in a low voice.
“But as the years pass and the seal grows loose, the power of time gradually leaks outward. Within the Tower of Time, there now pours forth a mountain range of knowledge accumulated over more than two thousand years while the Ivory Tower used it as headquarters, along with wondrous and mysterious phenomena. The Ivory Tower holds a festival once every five years to showcase these ‘mysteries’ to outsiders as well.”
The Headquarters Staff raised his hand sharply.
“That festival—that is precisely the Festival of Time you will be attending.”
Simon’s eyes brightened as he listened.
“…That… actually sounds quite interesting?”
He’d been tense at the word “dispatch,” but this place seemed genuinely fascinating. A location where time itself on the continent converged—he genuinely wanted to visit it.
Merida seemed to share the sentiment; her slightly drowsy eyes scanned through the documents.
“What are we supposed to do there?”
She posed her first question.
“The interior of the tower is a space of mystery, but it remains a dungeon nonetheless, so monsters will appear.”
The Headquarters Staff answered.
“You’ll be tasked with eliminating monsters, cleaning the tower, excavating buried knowledge—roughly that sort of work. The Ivory Tower will provide more detailed briefing.”
It wasn’t bad at all.
Not a visit to the Ivory Tower’s main headquarters itself, but a dispatch where they’d participate in the festival at the Tower of Time while also working.
Of course, as dispatched personnel they’d face greater hardship than ordinary guests, but it was undeniably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“So long as you remain cautious of unexpected variables, I believe the mission should proceed smoothly.”
With that, the Headquarters Staff withdrew two small necklace artifacts from his bag and offered them forward.
“What are these?”
“Artifacts personally crafted by Neftis.”
Simon and Merida each accepted a necklace.
“She said they will protect you from any unforeseen incidents within the Tower of Time.”
Simon examined the artifact.
A tiny clock hung at the end of the necklace. It seemed different from that artifact used to reverse time during the Saint Incident.
The Headquarters Staff offered no special explanation regarding this artifact.
He merely said they’d come to understand it naturally enough—just keep it with them.
“For now, you’ll be visiting the Festival of Time as invited guests. Here are the detailed guidelines sent by the Ivory Tower—dress codes, regulations, and so forth.”
A dress code too?
This festival seemed quite formal.
“That concludes my briefing. I wish you luck.”

* * *
After bidding the Headquarters Staff farewell, Simon and Merida left the Reception Room.
Night had fallen without their noticing. The two walked side by side down a moonlit corridor.
“…….”
Only the soft pad of footsteps echoed between them.
Feeling oddly awkward, Simon glanced sideways at Merida. The drowsiness she’d been suppressing came pouring out—her head nodded rhythmically as she walked.
While standing, no less.
“Merida, are you alright?”
Her steps halted. Still nodding with drowsiness, she opened a Subspace and rummaged out a blanket, spreading it on the floor.
Then she simply threw herself forward in a dive, landing flat on the blanket beneath her.
“Wait! You can’t sleep here!”
Alarmed, Simon rushed over and shook her awake, but—
She snapped her hand up, her fingertip touching his forehead.
“?!”
Simon staggered and collapsed forward onto Merida.
‘Sl-Sleep?’
Overwhelming drowsiness crashed through his mind.
‘My consciousness nearly scattered in an instant——!’
He didn’t know how many stacks she’d applied at once, but even Simon struggled to resist.
Somehow summoning superhuman willpower to endure, he managed to stay conscious.
“Hmm.”
Merida’s eyes, still closed as she lay there, suddenly opened.
“I had high expectations since Phantasus chose you.”
She continued in an expressionless tone.
“But you’re nothing special.”
“Mer-Merida!”
Merida placed her finger on Simon’s forehead again. More Sleep stacks piled on, and unable to resist, Simon crumbled forward onto her.
“You, urgh! What are you doing——!”
“A test.”
Her voice emerged soft and drowsy, like a lullaby.
“To see if you’re truly worthy of the Ikel family’s Sleep magic.”
“This Sleep——! Release it——!”
Simon clenched his teeth and spoke, but Merida simply blinked blankly at him.
“Having trouble? You should just be drowsy and sleepy.”
“No, that’s—that’s not the problem——!”
Just then, cheerful laughter echoed up from the stairs below.
“So that night, he actually did it with Rebecca——!”
“Really? They actually kissed?”
“I saw it clearly! He was wrapping his arms around her waist and everything——”
The two female students chattering away suddenly froze in their tracks.
“?!”
A blanket scattered across the floor.
A girl lying motionless with half-closed eyes, completely defenseless.
A boy sprawled on top of her, his body writhing.
The moment the two girls witnessed this raw display of intertwined bodies, their faces flushed crimson as if they’d seen a ghost.
“Kyaaaaaaa!”
“In-in the school! At school! School! At schoool!”
The very scene they’d only read about in stories and books—their eyes spun wildly at this shocking spectacle.
“Wait!”
Simon cried out, his face blazing red.
“This is——!”
“Sorry for interrupting!”
They bolted down the stairs as fast as they’d come.
So this is how it ends, Simon thought with exasperation, letting out a groan.
“Merida! What is the meaning of this?”
Merida merely tilted her head, as if she didn’t understand the situation—or perhaps didn’t care.
By now, Simon was genuinely irritated. He decided he couldn’t just take this lying down.
“!”
This time, Merida’s eyelids trembled. Then she tensed her eyes with force.
“You dare. Hmm—challenge me with that technique?”
“You—started—this……”
“I won’t hold back……”
And the female students hiding down the stairs trembled, their hands clamped over their mouths.
‘What technique are they competing with?’
‘What does he mean she started it!’
Unable to bear the escalating suggestiveness of the conversation, they gave up eavesdropping entirely and fled with crimson faces.
“Hah. Hah.”
Meanwhile, Merida and Simon stood facing each other, each with four stacks applied, their index fingers pointed at each other’s foreheads.
“You’re not…… getting sleepy? You might as well…… just go to sleep……”
Simon spoke through blurred vision, forcing a smile.
“I…… shouldn’t…… say this.”
Merida blinked, her words stumbling.
Simon had detonated his Dark Element across his entire body, forcing himself into an awakened state just to endure. Merida too was wreathed in billows of shadow, her Dark Element roiling from her skin.
From a distance, the sight was grotesque—two figures tangled beneath quilts, nothing but darkness pouring from them.
The pair, locked in this strange contest of wills, suddenly grasped the same terrifying truth: if they continued like this, they’d both fall asleep here.
“On three, we let go. One…… two, three.”
“……Okay.”
“One…… two, three.”
“…….”
“…….”
“Why won’t you…… let go?”
“That’s your…… line.”
Both were teetering on the edge of losing all rational thought. At last, Simon—clinging to a shred more sense than she—exhaled sharply.
“Fine…… okay. I’ll release first…… so you do the same.”
Merida, eyes already half-shut as though she’d hit her limit, bit her lip and nodded. Simon lifted his heavy, sluggish arms with effort and clapped his hands together.
Clap!
The sound of the clap had barely faded when Merida’s eyes snapped wide open.
“Done.”
She lurched from the floor. Now it was Simon’s turn to collapse defenseless, with her perched on top of him.
“I won.”
She pressed her fingertip to his forehead like the barrel of a gun. Simon’s face flushed crimson as he protested.
“That’s not the deal…… wait, before that…… don’t just climb on like that……! Please……!”
Her expression turned meaningful as she raised the finger still aimed at his brow.
Then.
Flick—
She snapped it. As though that were the signal, drowsiness evaporated like a ghost.
“I’ll stop here.”
Merida lowered her hand. Simon, who’d been wringing out Dark Element, finally relaxed, melting back into the bedding.
Cough. Cough.
At the sound of a cough from beside them, Simon’s head snapped around.
The Headquarters Staff member, documents in hand and ready to leave, stood watching the scene with an odd, knowing smile.
‘……Oh no. We’re done for.’

* * *
Fortunately, the Headquarters Staff member said nothing particular.
He calmly admonished Simon and Merida for their quarrel, then sent them off toward the Dormitory.
‘Please, just don’t let any strange rumors reach the school.’
Simon was walking with that thought churning in his head when he noticed a business card jutting from his shirt pocket—one he hadn’t seen before.
The Headquarters Staff member had slipped it in without his noticing. On the back was a handwritten message.
[Forgive the trouble, but would you please return to the Reception Room? Of course, alone.]
So that’s why he’d let them off so easily.
A scolding from an adult was coming. In the worst case, they might tell the Professors.
Though he’d done nothing truly wrong, Simon found his feet shuffling of their own accord, dragging him back to the Reception Room.
“Ah, you’ve arrived. Please, sit.”
The Headquarters Staff member remained in the same posture as before. Simon quickly took his seat.
“Please, let me explain! What happened was……!”
“Ah, youth is wonderful, isn’t it?”
The corners of the Headquarters Staff member’s mouth lifted.
“Everyone is like that at your age. I was too. Memories come back—my first meeting with ‘the girl from Poison Studies’, my old duel evaluation partner. It started when she put laxatives in my meal…….”
“I don’t want to hear this!”
Simon shook his head vigorously, waving an X before his face. The Headquarters Staff member, disappointed at not getting to finish his nostalgic tale, leaned back against his chair.
“Then let’s move to the main matter.”
He gestured through the air, and suddenly the entire room was encased in a black veil.
Layers upon layers of Soundproofing and Barrier Magic Circles wrapped around the Reception Room.
“I’ve taken some care with security. What follows is classified information of the highest order.”
The very air had shifted.
The Headquarters Staff member opened a Subspace and retrieved a black envelope from his briefcase, extending it to Simon.
“You must not disclose this to your partner, Merida.”
This mission was entrusted to Simon alone.
“The Ivory Tower has invited two students under the guise of a Dispatch to the ‘Festival of Time,’ which opens once every five years. Kizen has accepted the proposal. The two of you will carry out your dispatch duties at the Tower of Time. That is the official story.”
Simon listened to the staff member’s words, his face taut with tension as he withdrew a crisp white sheet of paper from the black envelope.
“From this moment forward, this is a classified assignment entrusted by headquarters to the Student Council President alone.”

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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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