Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 259: Episode

"Thank you for your hard work!"

"You too!"

It took four full hours with three artisans working nonstop, but they finally succeeded in engraving the magic circle onto the skeletal remains of Deimos. Everyone exchanged words of thanks, showing no signs of fatigue.

"You all worked very hard," Benya said, approaching the group.

"Not at all, Young Lady. It was a fun job for us, too."

"It’s not often you get to work on a Deimos."

Diego turned to Simon with a gentle smile. "Alright, now the owner should try starting it up, right?"

"Yes!" Simon closed his eyes and connected to Deimos’s consciousness. The skeleton, reborn with Simon’s Jet-Black, began to squirm and stir.

’So this is what a high-level monster is like. The resistance is stronger than I thought.’

However, Simon was confident in his undead control. He repeatedly sent a strong command to the skeleton.

’Get up!’

’Flop! Flop!’

The bones of Deimos, which had been as still as a fossil, began to flop and leap about. It was full of power and vitality, like a massive fish just hauled from the sea.

"Ooh!" Benya, the artisans, and even the warehouse staff cried out in amazement.

’I really did it!’ Simon’s heart swelled with pride. He had been involved in every step, from procuring the materials to creating the final magic circle. It was the first time he had put so much of himself into an undead from the very beginning.

"Be careful! It’s knocking everything over!"

But it had almost too much power. Even without water, Deimos thrashed around, knocking things off shelves and spilling buckets.

"S-stop it!" It was a nuisance.

A flustered Simon, sweating profusely, approached, only for the flopping creature to strike his cheek with a tail bone. As Simon fell, Benya and the artisans burst out laughing.

"When you first awaken an undead, they’re surprised and show a peculiar reaction. In the industry, we call it ’Fever Time’."

Simon belatedly remembered how the skull had bitten his arm when he first created the Skeleton Archer. "...Y-you could have told me a little sooner."

"Sorry, it’s just so obvious to us."

At this rate, it would spend all day making a mess of the warehouse. As Simon approached again, the artisans stopped him.

"Let it tire itself out a bit."

"It’ll calm down after a few hours."

He couldn’t just let it cause trouble for the Vanilla staff, and he couldn’t wait that long. Simon issued an Absolute Command to Deimos.

’Stop!’

As if by magic, the thrashing Deimos went still. It hadn’t let its guard down yet, though. Simon spread his arms in a peaceful gesture and took a cautious step forward. He extended his right arm, palm open, and slowly approached. Thankfully, Deimos remained still. Simon calmly stroked the bridge of its nose with his right hand.

He could feel its consciousness gradually calming. It, too, seemed to recognize its master, not rejecting his touch and letting down its guard. Gathering his courage, Simon knelt, hugged Deimos, and stroked its body. Exclamations of admiration came from all around.

"...He’s good."

"As expected. Kizen kids are different from the start."

As Deimos calmed, Diego approached. "Since you’ve succeeded in controlling it, let’s test that technique too. I told you how to do it, right?"

"Yes, I’ll try it right now." Simon stood up and closed his eyes.

The presence of Deimos’s consciousness and the magic circle powered by his Jet-Black felt clear. He activated one of the magic circle’s runes with his Jet-Black, then issued an Absolute Command.

’Tidal Current Cannon.’

At Simon’s command, Deimos opened its mouth wide. Inside, Jet-Black gathered in a swirling vortex, sucking in everything around it. Simon pointed to an empty space.

"That way!"

A torrent of wind shot out from its mouth. The aftershock made everyone’s clothes and hair whip around violently. The blast of wind scattered before it could hit the wall.

"Ooh-!" The staff members watching let out a low exclamation of wonder.

"When a monster dies and becomes an undead, it loses the skills and powers it had in life," Diego explained. "But you helped so well, Simon, that we were able to preserve as many functions as possible. We even successfully recovered the most crucial one, the Tidal Current Cannon. If you try it in the water, you’ll feel its true power."

’Ah...’ An image of the sea spread through Simon’s mind. He imagined cutting through the waves with Deimos, then wiping out an enemy with a cannon blast. The thought alone was thrilling.

’I’m not afraid of underwater combat anymore!’

Of course, he hadn’t even tested it yet, but he felt himself overflowing with confidence. He turned around and said, "It’s all thanks to you seniors! Thank you so much."

The artisans smiled with satisfaction.

"We learned a lot, too."

"Thanks to Sir Simon, we finished smoothly."

Just then, Diego cleared his throat, glanced to the side, and said quietly, "Sorry about earlier."

"...Ye-yes?"

"For being so harsh."

The two artisans next to him burst out laughing.

"Ah, oh! It’s alright! I really don’t mind at all!"

"You little rascal." Diego came over and put his arm around Simon’s shoulder. "If you ever need work later, come anytime. You’re always welcome."

"Oh, my friend, just quit Kizen and settle down here! We make good money!"

"We’d welcome Sir Simon with open arms."

Suddenly, the three artisans surrounded Simon and started trying to persuade him to work with them. Standing stiffly, Simon shot Benya a desperate look, pleading for help.

"Why are you old guys being so creepy?" Benya strode over and pulled Simon away. "You all looked so miserable when I first called you here to do some work."

Diego laughed cheerfully. "That was then, this is now. Are you already getting protective of your trusted subordinate?"

"If you take Sir Simon to the management department, I’m quitting! Simon is a perfect fit as an engineer!" another artisan declared.

Simon looked bewildered. The three were already talking as if he had joined Vanilla.

"Well, in my personal opinion—" Benya lightly placed her hand on Simon’s shoulder. "—I think he’s too big a fish for us to conquer and keep."

Diego laughed. "Haha! If he’s too big for the great Vanilla, what, is he going to Kizen headquarters or the Ivory Tower?"

Simon just scratched the side of his head.

---

After returning to Kizen from the fish market, Simon immediately wrote a letter.

’To Mom,’

First, he asked after Anna and Richard and gave them an update on his own life. Then, he added a small note at the bottom.

’Is there any way to send a letter to Lethe? There’s something I want to tell her.’

Right below that, he wrote the message for Lethe. Along with a simple greeting, he got straight to the point, just in case the letter was intercepted.

’Remember the evidence we got from the train? Please check if the name ’Judas’ is in there.’

He’d been racking his brain, wondering why the name ‘Judas’ bothered him so much, and a faint memory surfaced of seeing something similar on the Divine Train. He was asking her to investigate the documents and evidence they had obtained after defeating the Blood Heaven Cult’s bishop. Putting down his quill, Simon stretched and looked up at the ceiling.

’I wonder if Lethe is doing well at Efnel. Is she still holding first place? I wonder if the baby dragon, Ran, has grown much?’ He had a mountain of questions, but decided to hold back. Simon put the letter in an envelope, sealed it neatly, and dropped it into the dormitory mailbox.

For the rest of the weekend, he practiced handling Deimos. Going to the same sea as before would definitely attract attention, and there was nothing to be gained by exposing his full power, so Simon immersed himself in practice alone on a deserted beach.

And so, the next morning, a new week began. Jane’s announcement at the start of the first class sent the students into an uproar.

"The third BMAT exam is scheduled for the end of this week."

"Ugh—"

Students groaned or clutched their heads, their faces full of pressure. By now, everyone knew the theme was the sea, but the very method of fighting in the water was a considerable challenge.

’I wish the exam would hurry up and get here.’

On the other hand, Simon, who had successfully acquired a new summon from the Ballot Fish Market, was feeling confident. It was less that he was looking forward to the exam and more that he was eager to try out the Deimos skeleton in a real battle.

"And there is one more important announcement," Jane said, turning the page of her document. "There will be one round of Dueling Evaluations before the BMAT exam."

"Ughhh—"

Groans erupted from all over. The BMAT was already a killer burden, and now a Dueling Evaluation on top of it.

"Wow, Kizen’s schedule is famously tough, but isn’t this too much?"

"The sea adaptation training is already killing me."

Everyone reacted with dismay, but Meirin just snorted. "Just do what you always do. Everyone’s being so dramatic."

Simon nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Let’s just do what we normally do."

"As expected of the top squads! Your confidence is on another level," Dick said playfully.

Simon and Meirin were currently in the top squads, maintaining their winning streaks. Dick and Kamibarez, on the other hand, had slipped a few times and were stuck in the middle squads.

"My little Kami is moving up to the top this time, right? You improved so much over the vacation," Meirin said, her eyes sparkling.

Kamibarez laughed, and gave a diffident smile. "I’m not sure yet... Actually, I like the middle squads! I don’t want to fight Simon and Meirin!"

"Wait! What’s that supposed to mean?" Dick interjected. "The middle squads have me, the resident expert of the middle, Dick Hayward!"

"I’ll fight hard against you, Dick!"

"Mhmhm! You know I don’t go easy on girls, right?" Dick playfully threw a jab in the air, declaring war.

Kamibarez, though a bit clumsy, responded with a cute little punch of her own. Meirin, fussing over how cute she was, hugged Kamibarez tightly, making her yelp in surprise. Jane, who had been letting the students chatter while she looked over the next document, spoke again.

"Quiet."

At her single word, the classroom was instantly enveloped in silence.

"This evening, the opponents will be announced in the male and female dormitories, so be sure to check. I expect students in the lowest squads to focus more on the Dueling Evaluation, and the rest to go all-in on the BMAT to get good scores. That is all."

"Thank you!"

Jane ended class early today. Everyone was laughing and noisily packing up their things when a voice cut through the din.

"Everyone! Can I have a moment of your time?" Claudia Mendes and her friends had come up onto the podium.

"She’s really trying everything," Meirin muttered, her tone dripping with disdain. Claudia made eye contact with her, but they both turned their heads away in unison.

"We held a class boycott all last week, but as you know, Professor Byulya forced us to go through with the poison-drinking class," Claudia raised her voice.

Meanwhile, Hector and his faction got up and started leaving the classroom. Claudia waited quietly, watching Hector, and as soon as he was gone, she raised her voice even louder.

"This isn’t just ignoring the students’ opinions; it’s a declaration that she’ll trample on our human rights. If we go to the next class, Professor Byulya will just make you drink poison again. No, she might make you drink poison all year long. More importantly, the poison we’re drinking has no clear source. How do we know what side effects it might have? We could suffer from them for the rest of our lives! I can say with certainty that this class is truly insane."

Just then, the classroom doors flew open and students from other classes flooded in. They were all students boycotting Byulya’s class.

"Once more—no, I’ll ask you as many times as it takes," Claudia said, her voice ringing with conviction. "For the sake of our rights as students, I hope you’ll join the boycott of Professor Byulya’s class."