Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 271: Episode

Simon’s movements were nothing short of extraordinary. Not only had he defeated the 100,000-point monster, Gwoegong, but he had also used Deimos’s Alpha ability to lead a swarm of sea monsters and completely sweep the outer regions of the sea. Any monsters he came across were utterly annihilated. Of course, according to the summoner regulations that applied uniformly to the necromancer exam, even when the monsters controlled by Alpha succeeded in a hunt, the points were converted to Simon’s.

It had reached a point where not even a trace of a monster remained where Simon had passed. Thus, Simon effortlessly achieved a six-digit score, a realm previously considered impossible. Considering the second-place student was now around 10,000 points, the gap was truly overwhelming. However, he was now reaching the limits of his mental strength.

Deciding he had earned enough points, Simon deactivated Deimos’s Alpha ability and wandered around. Then, he spotted a small, remote island. ’Let’s hide there and rest until the exam is over.’

Simon cut through the water and safely reached the island.

"Good work, Deimos."

After stroking the head of his tireless summon, he sent it into his Subspace. Then, he trudged alone onto the deserted island, leaving footprints in the sand. It was a small island, and he felt no human presence. Occasionally, he saw a fat, bipedal bird that seemed to be a native creature, but it didn’t appear to be aggressive towards humans. In fact, it showed curiosity, and its peeking made him chuckle softly.

"I’m exhausted." Simon leaned his body against a nearby rock and let out a long breath. Having just used his mind to the limit by entering the ‘Compello’ state, he felt like he could pass out at any moment. Of course, fainting and being logged out would be a disaster. ’I’m so afraid of losing consciousness that I can’t even sleep.’

The memory of fighting Gwoegong with tens of thousands of sea creatures felt like a distant dream. Simon checked the Tonguepad on his arm.

1st – Simon: 223,500 Points

The numbers definitely didn’t lie. The difference between him and the current 2nd place, Elisa, who was in the 10,000-point range, was 210,000 points. A soft chuckle escaped him, and he looked up at the blue sky with a satisfied face. ’I got first place again, Father.’

Less than an hour remained. If he could just hold on and protect his points, victory was his. Simon gazed at the blue sky, lost in thought.

---

Hector, clad in Wyrm Scales, irritably emerged from the sea, his eyes filled with fatigue.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

Everything he had planned had gone wrong. He had managed to pick up the pace and surpass Elisa, the likely first-place candidate. Up to that point, everything had been going according to his plan. But then, Simon Polentia had suddenly shot up from outside the top ten and taken first place with an absurd score of 100,000 points.

Furious, Hector had gone back into the sea, despite having pushed himself to the limit. However, with his mind racing but his stamina failing, the hunt was a disaster. On top of that, for some unknown reason, the sea monsters that had been teeming in the nearby waters had all vanished. With these adverse conditions piling up, Hector struggled greatly. In the meantime, he had not only lost second place to Elisa again but had dropped all the way to fourth.

"That son of a bitch...!" Irritation surged. This was all because of Simon Polentia. Everything was going wrong because of that guy. It was impossible not to be bothered by him. How could he not be obsessed with him when it was like this every single time? "That bastard’s smug face, someday I’ll..."

Hector, who had been muttering, suddenly widened his eyes. ’?!’

For a moment, he thought it might be a mirage created by his own expectations. He slowly rubbed his eyes and looked forward again. It wasn’t a mirage. He could see a boy leaning against a rock overgrown with bushes, checking his Tonguepad—it was none other than Simon Polentia.

"...Ah!" Simon, having spotted him late, also had his eyes wide open.

"Ha." A laugh escaped Hector’s lips. "Heh. Heheheh. Heh!" The world hadn’t abandoned him yet. "Heh. Hahahahahaha!" To think they would run into each other right here! "Simon Polentiaaaaa!"

"Ugh, damn it." Simon scratched the side of his head with an expression of utter exasperation. ’How could we run into each other right here?’ This was the worst possible crisis. His stamina and mental energy were both depleted. If he got logged out by Hector here, not only would he lose all his coins and points, but the exam would end before he could even return to the exam site. In other words, expulsion. He had intended to take it slow precisely to avoid this kind of situation, but unexpected enemies like Raheim and Gwoegong had messed everything up.

"Finally." A grin stretched to his ears as Hector burned with a volcanic fighting spirit. "The time for our long-awaited conclusion has come."

"Wait, just a minute, Hector!" Simon forced a gentle smile and held up both his palms. It was too early to give up. They say you can even survive in a dragon’s lair if you just keep your wits about you. "Just calm down and listen to what I have to—!"

A Wyrm Scale thrown by Hector flew like a shuriken and embedded itself in the rock behind Simon.

"There’s nothing to listen to." Hector tore off another dangling scale and held it in his hand. But Hector’s own condition didn’t look good either; his legs were trembling as if they were about to give out.

’Thankfully, Hector’s exhausted too. His condition isn’t much different from mine.’ Simon’s heart was pounding, but he tried to persuade him again. "Listen. This isn’t a good situation for us to settle things!"

Hector threw the scale without a word, and Simon quickly ducked to avoid it. The recoil from throwing the scale so hard made Hector stumble, almost falling over. Both of them were utterly exhausted.

"There’s only about thirty minutes left!" Simon shouted, not giving up. "Whoever falls here won’t even have a chance to pick up their coins! They’ll fail the exam and have to leave Kizen!"

"Sounds good to me." Hector held a scale in each hand this time.

Simon was desperately racking his brain when Dick’s voice suddenly came to mind.

’You don’t know why Hector wants to fight you? Maybe he thinks that defeating you is proof of his own strength?’

Remembering those words, Simon quickly said, "Let’s set a proper schedule and do this right! It’ll leave a bad taste if we settle this when we’re both out of energy!"

"Stop trying to be clever, Simon Polentia." The Jet-Black that Hector thought he had exhausted began to surge from his body. "I never, ever turn my back on a fight that’s right in front of me!"

Hector charged forward like an enraged rhinoceros.

’Ah, seriously!’

Barely managing to get to his feet, Simon timed Hector’s charge and went for a sliding tackle.

"Hmph!" Hector leaped up to avoid it.

No sooner had Hector landed than Simon rushed in and threw a straight punch. ’Whoosh!’ Hector bent his back, and Simon’s fist cut through the air. A smile formed on Hector’s lips.

"You’ve gotten weak." This time, Hector clenched his fist. "You look like you’re on your last legs, Simon Polentia!"

His large fist swung, but Simon just tilted his head slightly to dodge it.

"Huh!"

"Looks like you’re out of energy too." ’Thwack!’ Simon’s rising fist connected with Hector’s chin. Hector’s barrier gauge depleted, but a smile hung on his lips as his chin went up. It didn’t seem to hurt much.

"Weak." ’Thwack!’ This time, Hector landed a counter, a hook to Simon’s face.

"Ugh!" Though he took a hit, Simon immediately struck Hector’s face with his other hand. ’Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!’

The two exchanged punches. Both were too exhausted to even infuse their fists with Jet-Black. There was no defense. For every punch taken, one was given. When Simon’s head snapped back, Hector’s head snapped back too.

"Stop it already!" ’Thwack!’ Simon’s knee flew up and struck Hector in the face. Hector fell, kicking up dust, but shot back up like a roly-poly toy.

"Khuff!" Hector leaped like a beast, grabbed both of Simon’s shoulders, and slammed him to the ground with a ’thud!’ Pinning Simon down, Hector let out a triumphant smile and raised his fist. "Die."

’Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!’

His two fists took turns pounding Simon’s face. The barrier flickered, rapidly depleting.

"!" Hector, who had been delivering a one-sided beating, suddenly swayed and lost his balance. Simon, who had been on the ground, pushed his body up with his legs, causing Hector’s upper body to fall back until his elbows hit the ground.

’Grab! Grab!’

Simon’s hands seized Hector’s waist, and his legs wrapped around Hector’s body like a snake, then flipped him over to the side. ’What is this technique!’

When he came to his senses, Hector found himself flipped over, with Simon on top of him.

’Thwack! Thwack!’

The situation was immediately reversed. Simon was the one pounding, and Hector was the one taking the beating.

"Aargh!" After taking a few hits, Hector pushed Simon off with pure strength and size. The two, in a brief lull, panted for breath.

"Haa, haa!"

Panting on their knees, the two simultaneously rose to their feet. They then kicked off the ground and charged at each other again.

A fierce exchange of punches ensued. Their accuracy was terrible, and it was more tiring to throw a punch than to get hit by one. At that moment, their gazes turned to each other’s heads, and without a word, their legs came up first.

’Thw-kwaaak!’ The kicks the two threw collided in an X-shape. Staggering back, the two boys dropped to one knee, letting out ragged breaths.

The moment the two started running toward each other again...

Hector’s eyes widened. "Damn it, move!"

Simon could tell that desperate shout was directed at him. The instant Simon threw himself to the side, a massive rock pillar slammed into the spot where he had been with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Simon sat on the ground, stunned. Hector had also managed to brake just in time. The rock wall was taller than the two of them combined.

’Thud! Thud! Thud!’

Footsteps that seemed to shake the very earth could be heard. The two righted themselves and stood up. The moment Simon sensed its presence, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. ’This is the worst.’

For a moment, he mistook it for a monster, but the wetsuit and protective suit it wore proved it was a student. ’This is the first time I’m seeing him up close.’

A giant among giants, over ten feet tall. A bulky, round body with gray hair and eyebrows. Droopy, half-closed eyes, and beast-like molars protruding from the corners of his mouth. He exuded the aura of an apex predator.

’Special Admission No. 3, Chatel Maer...!’

The giant’s droopy, half-closed eyes opened, and gloomy white sclera were briefly revealed.