Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner - Chapter 604

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

Summoning Genius of the Necromancer School — Chapter 604
The rules were merciless.
If you failed to defeat all the monsters you’d summoned within fifteen minutes, you’d receive zero points — no exceptions.
Of course, there was some safety measure in place: this exam included a team score component.
Eight students from two combined teams formed one team. Each team’s total score was calculated by summing the individual scores of its members, and team rankings were awarded based on their combined performance.
Even if you scored zero on the individual assessment because you’d failed to defeat your monsters, if your team ranked high enough overall, you at least had a sliver of a chance to recover.
But that was just a sliver — in reality, scoring well on the individual assessment remained paramount.
“Eshu Argel, ma’am!”
Eshu shot her hand up while the Dungeon Master was explaining the team score system.
“You said two teams make one team, but our department has thirteen teams, doesn’t it?”
“I was about to explain that anyway.”
Aaron replied without hesitation.
Teaching assistants approached his side, set down a box, and began pouring numbered stones out of it for all to see.
“Since the number of teams is odd, a single team drawn at random from this box will compete with only four members. In exchange, their team score multiplier is doubled.”
With that, Aaron reached into the box, and the students murmured amongst themselves with uncertain expressions.
“Is a four-person team good?”
“…I guess it depends on the situation. The upside and downside both double.”
“It’d be an advantage if your team is strong.”
“Sounds painfully risky to me.”
Click!
Aaron withdrew a single stone from the box.
He checked the number on its surface.
“The team that will compete with four members is Team 8.”
Grooooan!
Sighs echoed throughout the chamber.
Team 8, of all teams, was currently considered the strongest in Class A.
They were anchored by two powerhouses: Aseraz Mikel and someone called White.
“Understood.”
Aseraz, the team leader, answered with a confident smile. White stared vacantly into empty space as usual, while the other two team members were visibly suppressing their grins of satisfaction.
“How does this happen?”
“Team 8’s taking first place for sure.”
After that, Aaron designated the remaining teams.
“Let me draw one!”
“I want to draw one too!”
The twin professors Lin and Rune seemed to find it entertaining and pestered him to let them do it instead.
Lin drew one team, Rune drew another, and together they formed a single team pairing.
Team 1: Team 1, Team 9.
Team 2: Team 3, Team 12.
Team 3: Team 5, Team 7.
Team 4: Team 6, Team 13.
Team 5: Team 8.
Team 6: Team 4, Team 10.
Team 7: Team 2, Team 11.
Simon was in Team 6 — that is, sixth in the testing order.
‘At least I’m going later in the rotation.’
Simon naturally believed that a later order was advantageous.
The psychological pressure from watching earlier students’ scores would be intense, true, but being able to observe their performances first would make his own decisions far easier.
“Oh, Student Council President!”
The Team 4 leader — someone Simon had been seeing fairly often lately — approached with a grin.
In the last Ghoul Practical Assessment, they’d joined Simon’s strategy to defeat Hector’s team and had secured second place.
“We’re teamed up with Team 10 again? Thanks for the partnership!”
The Team 4 leader extended his hand, and Simon clasped it with a smile.
“Sure thing. Let’s do our best.”
Team 4 wasn’t a bad match at all.
Ideally, he would’ve united with Hector’s Team 1 and Serne and Fitzgerald’s Team 11 to counterbalance Aseraz’s Team 8, but that was asking too much.
The other Team 4 members who followed approached and shook hands with Lorain, Toto, and Eshu, steeling their resolve.
“Eshu!”
“Great to see you!”
Eshu in particular seemed delighted — she had a best friend in Team 4 whom she often ate with. The two clasped hands and bounced around together.
“Excuse me.”
While the team members were huddled together discussing their strategy, a Summoning Studies assistant approached and distributed a handout to each of them.
“This is a list of monsters that appear in the Underground Dungeon. There are also characteristics for each, so please use it as reference for your strategy.”
“Thank you!”
Team 10 and Team 4 huddled around and immediately began formulating their plan.
“There are five types of monsters total.”
Lorain said.
>
“None of them are particularly difficult. The Stone Harpies that can fly are a bit troublesome, though.”
“So they come mixed randomly among these five types?”
“That’s right.”
A male student from Team 4 who’d mentioned his father was a hunter took charge of the explanation. He knew the detailed characteristics of each monster.
“I think Jezili is the variable.”
A male student with drooping, sleepy eyes pointed at a monster photograph with his fingertip.
“This one’s nickname is ‘Cowardly Jezili.’ If the battle turns against it, it runs away.”
“It doesn’t tunnel underground or fly away to escape, right?”
“No, it can’t do that.”
“Thank goodness for that, at least.”
“We’ll need to save some Dark Element for the pursuit.”
The students rapidly shared the critical points.
The certain thing was that these monsters weren’t strong enough to destroy a Dullahan, so for fifteen minutes they should push relentlessly without holding back and focus on reducing their numbers.
If the tide turns unfavorable, Jezili will flee, so it should be prioritized for elimination early in the battle if possible. Next, Stone Harpy can also fly, so it should be priority two for elimination.
After sharing the information that way, they decided on the order of deployment.
“Who should go first?”
“I think the vanguard is really crucial. It’s a battle of momentum.”
The team members got heated as if the order was tremendously important, but Simon, who had been listening quietly in the background, thought differently.
‘There’s a team score, but this isn’t a test that requires teamplay or teamwork.’
Thinking that way, Simon leaned back in his seat.
‘This is a pure individual contest. When my turn comes, the best way to help the team is to take down exactly as many monsters as I can.’
Then Professor Grerion’s voice rang out.
“All right! We’re starting. First team, come on out!”

* * *
Hector’s Team 1 and Team 6 moved to the Test Arena.
The rest of the students moved to the Break Room, which doubled as the observation area.
“Wow, they really upgraded this couch!”
Though everyone was tense before the major exam, Eshu laughed without a care in the world and sprawled across the sofa.
‘It really is nice.’
It was a decent place to spend time. There was a fireplace, snacks to munch on when your mouth got bored, and the restroom was fairly close.
And in front of the Break Room was a screen powered by a Mana output device, and students were already gathering in clusters around it.
“Now it begins!”
The Mana Screen activated.
Students from Team 1 and Team 6 lined up in order of deployment in front of the Test Arena. Hector, the strongest, was scheduled to go last.
Then a Dungeon Master in a Black Robe approached.
He was a middle-aged man with a weathered, creased face, and his arms, visible beneath the robe, were covered with scratch wounds and scars.
“Name.”
“C-Coiter Pizon, sir.”
Coiter seemed extremely nervous, being the first from his department. His lips were trembling.
“How many monsters?”
Coiter drew a long, heavy breath with a groan before opening his mouth.
“Twenty, if you please.”
Simon, watching from the Waiting Room, tilted his head in confusion.
Twenty? Wasn’t that too few?
And Coiter Pizon was the student who had shouted “A-Rank” first when responding to Aaron’s question.
“Confirmed.”
The Dungeon Master stepped back, and Coiter Pizon arrived at the Test Arena.
The spacious underground area looked empty, as no monsters had appeared yet.
Coiter Pizon stood at the far end of the space.
He stood at the place sealed by the Barrier.
—Student Coiter Pizon. Please summon your Undead.
An announcement sounded. Coiter Pizon nodded and took out a Dullahan he’d created from his Subspace.
The primary summon appeared to be a Dullahan. It was encased in armor from head to toe, and he’d chosen a Greatsword as its weapon.
“We’ll begin once you’re ready.”
Fortunately, there was no time limit for preparation.
Coiter Pizon methodically layered formula after formula into the prepared Magic Circle, and the moment the final touches were complete, he affixed the Magic Circle to the Dullahan’s back.
Whirrrr!
The Magic Circle hummed to life like a power switch, beginning to awaken the Dullahan.
The Dullahan, which had been standing motionless, slowly raised its head and lifted its own severed head from the ground.
Screeeee!
Flames flickered in the two eye sockets of the head.
“P-please start!”
Coiter Pizon called out urgently.
“Student Coiter Pizon, your exam begins now.”
Clang! Clang!
The entrance to the Underground Dungeon burst open, and twenty monsters poured out. Coiter thrust his arm forward with a mighty shout.
“Let’s go! Dullahan!”

* * *
The result was anticlimactic.
“?!”
Coiter Pizon’s Dullahan was formidable.
It took merely four minutes to defeat all twenty monsters.
That left him with a full eleven minutes remaining.
“W-what……?”
But the exam didn’t end once the monsters were defeated. The exam would continue until the full fifteen-minute time limit elapsed—no exceptions.
Coiter stood pulling at his hair, his face twisted in distress.
“I-it was a mistake! A mistake! Even if there’d been several times more monsters, I could’ve won!”
He spent the remaining time wallowing in anguish and self-recrimination.
He’d been too preoccupied with the risk that missing even a single monster would result in zero points.
And so.
“Time’s up.”
No amount of remaining strength mattered now.
For eleven minutes, he could only stand helplessly beside his Dullahan.
Those eleven minutes felt like an eternity.
“Student Coiter Pizon has successfully defeated all twenty monsters within the time limit.”
“Student Coiter Pizon and Team 1 have earned twenty points.”
Bang!
The moment Coiter returned to the Waiting Room, Hector grabbed him and slammed him against the wall.
“What in hell were you thinking?”
Hector’s voice rumbled with barely contained fury. Coiter flailed his arms, his eyes glistening with tears.
“I-I didn’t think it would be like this! I didn’t think it would be like this!”
“And with that kind of confidence, you had the nerve to boast about A-Rank in front of the Professor!”
Coiter Pizon cast a pleading look at the other students.
“But you all said it! Even if our score was a bit lower, we just had to avoid zero points! We’d go steady and safe! If we just didn’t get zeros, we’d win! That was the strategy!”
The students who received Coiter’s gaze all quickly averted their eyes.
“Come on. Calm down, Hector.”
Someone placed a hand on Hector’s shoulder. When Hector turned with blazing eyes, a tall, narrow-faced male student was grinning widely.
“He’s learned his lesson from going first—that’s enough. I’ll go in and rack up some serious points.”
“Next participant, please come forward.”
“Yay! Yay!”
Hearing the announcement, the student waved his hands cheerfully as he made his way toward the Test Arena.
“Just watch me work.”
The male student positioned himself in front of the Barrier to the Underground Dungeon.
“My name is Kurt Tremblay!”
The Dungeon Master nodded.
“How many monsters?”
Kurt grinned wickedly.
“Twenty? That’s nothing. Real men go big—I’ll take eighty, if you please.”

* * *
Fifteen minutes later.
-Time’s up.
Kurt’s face had gone deathly pale.
-Student Kurt Tremblay, within the time limit you defeated 76 of the 80 monsters.
-4 monsters remaining.
-You and Team 1 have earned zero points.
Roooaaarrr!
From beyond the wall, in the Test Arena waiting area, Hector’s furious cry echoed through.
Even a Dragon Fear laced with killing intent rippled out.
“I… I… how did this happen……”
Kurt collapsed where he stood, his expression hollow.
This exam.
It wasn’t as simple as he’d thought.

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