Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 600

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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 Genius — Chapter 600
A large-scale practical assessment that begins after the midterm examination.
In some ways, it was a more important test than the written midterm had been.
Since the professors had conducted a special lecture on Durahans, the students weren’t particularly surprised—they’d all anticipated with near certainty that the practical assessment would involve Durahans.
‘Here it comes.’
That was what most of them thought.
With everyone seated and watching Aaron’s lips intently, he finally began to speak.
“The content of this large-scale practical assessment is ‘Single Undead Operation.'”
Single Undead Operation.
According to Aaron’s explanation that followed, students would be permitted to use only a single undead during the exam. They would have to solve everything the test demanded using just that one undead.
“Of course.”
Aaron added in his matter-of-fact tone.
“Which undead you use in that exam is entirely up to you.”
At those words, the classroom erupted with a murmur like water beginning to boil.
Aseraz’s hand shot up at once.
“This is Aseraz Mikel! Does the undead’s tier or type not matter?”
“That’s right.”
Aaron nodded.
“Whether it’s a Tier 10 Bone Dragon or a Tier 1 Skeleton, the condition is that you can only deploy a single undead. The specific rules beyond that will be announced on the day of the exam.”
Simon’s Group 10 immediately huddled together.
“I—I really thought it was going to be a Durahan assessment.”
Toto muttered.
“It’s basically the same thing as a Durahan assessment.”
Simon said, and Lorain beside him nodded in agreement.
“Simon’s right. ‘You can only use a single undead.’ If that’s the only condition, then most students’ most powerful option will be a Durahan.”
Of course, there were exceptions—students like Fitzgerald, who uses the Siren Chimera, or Chendra Gliviche, who specializes in Gravedigger Undead.
Students who already possessed their own firmly established specialized undead would have a headache deciding which one to bring to the exam.
“But think about it!”
As always, Eshu cut in with her bright, sharp voice.
“The Summoning Department professors have been hammering away at Durahans this whole time—with the special lecture and the overnight retreat and everything, right?”
“Yeah, they have.”
Toto agreed, and Eshu rubbed her hands together with a satisfied grin.
“So logically speaking, wouldn’t the exam naturally favor using a Durahan? This has to be a test where you absolutely need to create and deploy a Durahan!”
Simon looked at her with surprised eyes.
“That’s surprisingly sharp of you, Eshu.”
“Hmph! This much is basic… wait—’surprisingly’?!”
Aaron said that the “specific rules” would be announced on the day of the exam.
There’s subtext in that statement.
If the professors had spent a whole week on Durahan lectures and then released a practical assessment unrelated to Durahans, they would have either announced the rules in advance or at least dropped some hints. Looking back at the “Ghoul Assessment” from relatively recently, the professors taught ghouls and then tested ghouls. This time, it only makes sense—it’s the natural sequence—that a Durahan assessment would follow the Durahan lecture.
This was no scenario that required weighing variables. Simon confidently picked up his quill pen.
“Assuming Eshu’s guess is correct, we can infer the basic content of the test by considering the Durahan’s abilities.”
-10 to 30 minutes, specialized in short-term combat.
-Massive mana absorption and conversion to Dark Element.
-Formidable strength and speed.
-Exceptional durability.
-Capable of wielding weapons and using auras.
Simon set down his quill after writing up to this point and smiled with satisfaction.
“The rest is a bit fuzzy, but one thing I’m certain about.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s definitely going to be a timed exam.”
His teammates let out a small, impressed “Ooh.”
“That makes sense. You’re accounting for the Durahan’s limited operational window, right?”
“Getting this far from limited information—ha! Classic valedictorian work!”
Lorain nodded, and Eshu made an exaggerated fuss. Simon waved his hand dismissively.
“No, no. This is a conclusion we all reached together.”
At any rate.
‘Fitzgerald’s going to have quite the headache.’
If the rule had simply been “use only a Durahan,” that would be one thing, but the condition allowing any single undead opened the door. If he was confident enough in his specialized undead not to rely on a Durahan, then that too was legitimate.

Looking over at Group 11, Fitzgerald was frozen mid-thought, his hand poised on his glasses frame. He appeared to be in the midst of deep deliberation.
“Well then, I’ve announced the exam details.”
Aaron opened his textbook.
“Now we’ll begin the Durahan special lecture again.”
“Yes!”
The weekend had arrived after general coursework.
At a moment when attention might have flagged, Aaron deftly rallied the students with talk of the “exam,” drawing their focus taut.
“Of course, even if you use different undead in the exam, the completed Durahan will be graded separately from the practical assessment, so keep that in mind.”
Fitzgerald, lost in heavy thought, started and reached for his quill pen.
“Everyone prepare yourselves. We’re moving to the Practice Room now.”

* * *
The students relocated to the Practice Room.
The “three great materials” of Durahan construction—Ogre Lord, Abaddon, Guardian. Most students were now withdrawing corpses of Abaddon.
Abaddon resembled a bipedal reptile whose entire body was covered in scales, a swamp terror that wielded weapons with lethal precision.
At first glance it seemed similar to a Lizardman, but it was an entirely different caliber from the common variety. Known also as the Swamp King, it was formidably powerful.
“What brand is yours?”
“Frang Brand! I wanted to go with Vanilla, but the budget was… hehe!”
The students were all retrieving full Abaddon sets from their dimensional storage. The vacuum-sealed corpses maintained optimal condition through various preservation magic circles.
“Ugh.”
Eshu made a groaning sound as she withdrew her Abaddon set from the subspace.
She had the cheapest brand—Kelak. When she tore open the packaging, the Abaddon corpse’s scales were badly damaged, and the body was bound together haphazardly with what looked like twine.
“Six months of my part-time wages…”
“I spent all the money I got sponsored too.”
Toto beside her also wore a look of dismay as she pulled out a Kelak brand Abaddon.
It wasn’t just the two of them—many students were struggling under the weight of expenses that dwarfed anything they’d spent on undead before.
‘Guess I should open mine too.’
Simon opened his dimensional storage. What tumbled out was a massive coffin, its appearance refined by a combination of golden trim and black coloring.
Emblazoned across the middle of the coffin in elegant gold lettering was “Vanilla.”
“Oh!”
“The ultimate Vanilla Brand!”
With funds available from various missions, Simon had made the trip down to Rochester and purchased the Abaddon set from Vanilla Brand without hesitation.
Eyes from all corners of the room converged on him.
“Open it, quickly!”
“Alright.”
Simon placed his palm over the Security Magic Circle inscribed on the coffin lid.
The magic circle detected Simon’s dark aura and disengaged the lock. A hissing sound escaped from within as the coffin opened of its own accord.
“Wow!”
The coffin was filled with pitch-black flowers, and beneath them lay the Abaddon that would serve as Durahan material. Blood vessels stood prominently across its body, and the musculature was perfectly preserved.
“It’s huge! My Abaddon looks like it’s got two heads’ worth smaller than this one?”
Of course, the larger and heavier the Abaddon, the higher the price.
Eshu reached in and lifted one of the black flowers.
“Demon Flowers that prevent decay. A single one of these costs hundreds of silver, doesn’t it?”
“It must be incredibly expensive.”
But the full set wasn’t complete yet.
What Simon withdrew next were jet-black suits of armor.
Because Durahan operates explosive quantities of dark aura, they can equip themselves with heavy, durable gear that humans couldn’t even dream of wearing—a distinct advantage.
Moreover, given that Durahan absorb mana across their entire frame, the armor had to be custom-fitted to account for mana absorption.
‘It really is massive.’
Simon lifted an enormous helmet. Even with his dark aura, it was a weight difficult to bear.
Considering that this massive thing would be worn by an already-dead corpse, one could grasp just how formidable necromantic black magic truly was.
“Look at that luster.”
“The design is sleek, really stands out.”
Observing students offered their comments one by one. Simon responded to them, though his gaze drifted elsewhere.
‘A Durahan made from Abaddon would certainly be strong enough, but…’
It couldn’t match a Durahan forged from Guardian, the premium-tier material. Coincidentally, Hector and Aseraz, who possessed Guardian specimens, were now withdrawing their Abaddon corpses.
They were likely doing so for purposes of keeping up with the lesson. Using rare materials on a first attempt risked catastrophic damage.
Without a doubt, come the practical assessment, they’d bring completed Durahans fashioned from Guardian.
‘Don’t let yourself panic.’
Simon turned his attention back.
‘If I can just complete the Durahan with the materials I’ve prepared, I’ll win without question. For now, I need to focus on learning the crafting method step by step.’
“Attention.”
Aaron had just entered the Practice Room. The students fell silent at once, their eyes fixed on him.
“Has anyone failed to bring materials for the practical?”
In the back, two students hung their heads and raised their hands. The other students who turned to look at them wore expressions of pity.
Procuring coursework materials was basic, absolute basic.
At Kizen, nobody held your hand. Whether you worked a part-time job or hunted monsters yourself, gathering materials without regard to method was simply the courteous thing to do for your education.
But Aaron didn’t grow angry. He nodded slowly instead.
“I’ve arranged with a supplier to get two old Abaddon corpses that were being cleared from inventory. Take those for now.”
“Th-thank you so much!”
“Of course, I can’t guarantee their condition. By exam time, make sure you’ve sourced proper Abaddon specimens.”
“Yes!”
The instructors brought over the two Abaddon corpses, flies buzzing around them in clouds. A few of the more squeamish students pinched their noses.
The state of the bodies was clearly abysmal, but for now, being able to conduct class with such materials was a stroke of luck.
“Then, shall we begin.”
Aaron pulled on work gloves as he spoke. The students followed suit, their eyes brightening as they donned their own.

* * *
The weekend special lecture didn’t end until late into the night.
“Uuuuugggghhhhh.”
Students poured out of the Summoning Department Building, every face etched with exhaustion.
“Man, that was brutal!”
“So when are we supposed to study for midterms in our other subjects?”
They all shuffled along, drained and hollow-eyed. Their minds felt so crammed they might burst.
And yet, in the midst of it all.
“I’m heading out first!”
Simon alone was brimming with energy. Unable to contain himself, he quickly stuffed his bag and bolted away.
Toto reached out an arm.
“S-Simon? You’re not going back to the dormitory?”
“Nope! I’ll be a bit late. You go on ahead and rest!”
Watching his receding figure vanish, Eshu tilted her head.
“It’s impressive that he still has the energy to run, but what’s he rushing off to like that? Going to placate some girlfriend he stood up because class ran late?”
Lorain smiled slightly.
“I’d wager he’s off to craft a Durahan.”
“Again?”
Eshu bounced back in disbelief.
“But we’ve been making Durahans all day!”
“That’s just how Simon is.”
Toto, who knew Simon’s nature well, nodded wordlessly. Eshu smacked her tongue as if she’d had enough.
“Phew—so that’s what it takes to be Kizen’s valedictorian. If you have to be this relentless about it, I’d just as soon give up and save myself the trouble!”
“Even with that kind of drive, it’s still rough going.”
Meanwhile, Simon was sprinting forward in a daze.
Having actually crafted a Durahan during class, he simply couldn’t hold himself back anymore.
Simon ran while treading on shadows, grinning.
‘I want to make one so badly!’
In no time, having covered the long distance, Simon burst into the Mutation Club Room and switched on the lights. Naturally, no one else remained at this hour.
He raced straight down to the basement, unsealed it the way Benya had taught him, and stepped inside.
‘Good—it’s still here.’
In the center of the basement.
Manus’s Skull sits upright on its display stand. Along the walls, large gouges and scars from the recent incident are still visible.
Simon quickly opened his Subspace.
‘Perfect! Let me start right away.’
Simon unhesitatingly opened his Subspace.
‘Tonight, I’m going to awaken you in a new body.’

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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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