Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 323: Episode

"New information on Professor Walter."

Simon immediately tore open the envelope and scanned the contents. Inside was a newspaper clipping.

[Kizen’s Professor Walter Han Unveils New Chimera at Academic Conference]

The accompanying photo showed Walter on a podium, waving to a crowd. But Simon’s gaze was fixed on the creature standing beside him. It was unmistakably the fused male-female monster he had fought just the night before. The world seemed to tilt on its axis.

"H-How is this possible?"

"It seems Walter realized an intruder was in the basement," Kajan stated flatly. "So he unveiled the chimera at the conference this morning. He beat us to the punch."

Simon’s eyes widened as he scrutinized the photo. It was definitely the same type of chimera, but the one he’d fought had been enormous, a grotesque horror. The creature in the picture was incomparably smaller, like a conjoined infant with two heads on a single body. It had also been constructed from beast-type monsters, making it far less repulsive to look at.

’He countered us this perfectly...’

With this, going public about the chimera in the basement was pointless. Even if they raised the issue, Walter could simply apologize for the poor security and promise to be more careful in the future.

"At this rate, reporting this to Lady Nephthys and Kizen headquarters is impossible." Kajan seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

"Th-Then what if I speak to Lady Nephthys personally...?"

"Get a grip," Kajan cut him off, shaking his head. "Lady Nephthys is the ruler of the entire Dark Alliance, Simon."

Kajan didn’t answer.

"And whether she believes you or not is irrelevant. There is no justification, no benefit, and no evidence to launch an investigation into Professor Walter. An official inquiry is out of the question."

Simon knew he was right. ’Ugh.’

He leaned his head back. He had never faced an adversary so meticulous, so far ahead of him. What was truly terrifying was that he still wasn’t one hundred percent certain if Walter was an enemy or just a dangerously eccentric professor.

"He is an active Kizen professor, Simon," Kajan’s voice softened slightly. "He has far more power and resources than we do. I know you’re in a hurry, but acting rashly will only backfire on us."

Simon sighed and looked at his roommate.

"What about Count Caron? The one with ties to Walter?"

"I contacted the Thieves’ Guild at dawn. They’re on the move. I’ll let you know as soon as I get anything useful."

"Right."

Walter’s ability to slip through their fingers like an eel only fueled Simon’s determination. As his fighting spirit surged, a voice suddenly spoke from behind them.

"What are you two discuzzing zo zeriouzly, Zimon?"

"P-Professor Hongfeng!" Simon exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Kajan offered a silent, respectful nod.

"Zhouldn’t you be back at the candle?" she asked.

Simon broke into a wide grin.

"I put it out before I came!" He demonstrated his new technique, gathering jet-black into two fingertips and flicking them. A proud smile spread across Hongfeng’s face.

"Exzellent." Watching him, she felt her resolve melt. She desperately wanted to just kidnap the boy, lock him away, and force him to train in martial arts and nothing else.

"However," her gaze shifted from Simon to Kajan. "Who iz thiz ztudent zkipping clazz all the way out here?"

"Kajan Edvalt, Class K," he answered. "My business here is finished, so I will be on my way." He nodded once more and turned to leave.

"Ztop," Hongfeng commanded. "What about your clazz? Why are you here?"

Kajan didn’t answer.

"As a profezzor of Kizen, I cannot zimply ignore a ztudent’z delinquency."

While Kajan was technically an undercover agent for Nephthys, his official status was still that of a student. He turned back to face Hongfeng, his expression unreadable.

"If you cannot ignore it, what will you do?"

"I’ll have to escort you to the professor in charge of Class K for a little chat."

Kajan began to scratch the scar by his eye, a weary gesture.

"You won’t learn much."

The atmosphere grew tense. Caught in the middle, Simon glanced nervously between them. ’They’re not going to fight, are they?’ Kajan had already clashed with her twin sister, Byulya, and the memory made him uneasy.

"Or," Hongfeng’s eyes curved into a sly, fox-like smile, "you could prove your ztrength, as iz the Kizen way, and I’ll turn a blind eye." She gestured toward the training course.

Kajan sighed.

"I don’t know what this is about, but please make it quick."

---

With only a few minutes of class left, the TAs were preparing to clear the training course when Hongfeng approached.

"Zorry! Just one more ztudent is going to run the courze!"

The TAs exchanged confused looks. Hadn’t all the noteworthy students already had their turn? Hongfeng clapped her hands, gathering everyone’s attention.

"Everyone, azzemble!"

Students who had been chatting or getting water hurried over, Simon among them. Once they were seated, Hongfeng asked, "Zo, what did you think of the training courze?"

A chorus of voices erupted.

"It was fun but way too hard!"

"I could never get the timing right!"

Amid the chatter, Hongfeng smiled and turned.

"Alright, we’ll watch one lazt person run the courze, and then we’ll call it a day!"

’Thump, thump.’

Kajan strode toward the starting line, a look of clear displeasure on his face. A small laugh escaped Simon’s lips. ’So Professor Hongfeng planned this from the start.’ Proving his strength was just a pretext; she must have recognized his power at a glance. They were both martial artists, after all.

"Simon! What’s going on?" Dick rushed over. "Why is Kajan over there?"

"Simon!" Meirin and Kamibarez followed close behind.

"That’s Senior Kajan, isn’t it?" Meirin asked, her eyes fixed on the course.

"It is."

"What happened?" Kamibarez asked worriedly.

Simon smiled reassuringly.

"It’s nothing serious. He just got caught by Professor Hongfeng while we were talking."

Kajan reached the starting line and spoke bluntly to the professor.

"My movements won’t be much of a reference for the other students."

"That’z fine," Hongfeng replied with a serene smile. "It’z enough just to show them that a martial artizt like you exiztz."

Kajan grumbled and scratched the scar by his eye. The TA, Brad, stepped forward.

"Ah, well. We’re short on time, so let’s get started, student."

Kajan gave a curt nod. Brad muttered, "So disrespectful," under his breath before swinging his arm down.

"Begin!"

Kajan shot forward. The wooden dummies, their countless arms spinning, rushed toward him. His own arms became a blur.

"Woooooah!!"

Kajan didn’t bother parrying or retreating. He simply charged forward at full speed, his arms a blur as he indifferently swatted the wooden limbs aside. His head and joints moved at bizarre, unnatural angles, a sight that was both grotesque and mesmerizing.

The first obstacle: a massive, enchanted hay bale descended from above. Kajan didn’t even break stride. He just kicked it.

’Pow!’

The bale shot out of the course like a cannonball and exploded as it hit the ground. Immediately, three skeletons with shields charged him. Kajan, still weaving through the dummies, stomped hard on the ground.

The earth cracked, a deep fissure opening beneath the skeletons’ feet. They stumbled, and Kajan kicked their shields aside, moving on to the final obstacle. The number of dummies increased, and behind them stood five scarecrows in a neat row. Kajan extended his index finger, and his nail darkened to pitch black.

’Kajan Original - Fang’

A single gray flash of energy shot upward, severing all five heads in one clean motion.

"T-Training complete!" Brad announced, his face a mask of disbelief. "C-Cleared in one minute and twelve seconds!"

"Woooooooooah!"

"That’s insane!"

"What did I just see?"

Students leaped to their feet, erupting in cheers. Standing in the back, Simon clapped enthusiastically.

"Did you see that? That’s my roommate! Mine and Simon’s!" Dick boasted excitedly to the nearby Class A students.

"Are you close?" one asked.

"Of course! The three of us are like sworn brothers!"

Kajan gave Hongfeng a slight bow before vanishing from the training ground. The TA, Brad, was still sweating. ’Is that really a student? I think I’d lose if we fought.’

Hongfeng beamed, clearly satisfied, and addressed the students.

"Did you all zee that? I hope hiz performance haz given you zome interezting inzpiration. That’z all for today!"

"Thank you, Professor!"

---

The weekend was a whirlwind of activity. They successfully recovered the Gwigong’s corpse from the seafloor. It was in excellent condition, and Vanilla immediately expressed interest in purchasing it, along with several other companies. An auction would be held as soon as the appraisers set a price.

Meanwhile, Vanilla headquarters confirmed they would return the skull of the ancient undead, Manus, the former Swordmaster. However, they warned that he was unsuitable for lichdom; as an undead who had never used magic, his jet-black conductivity was too low. The lack of a matching skeleton was another major issue. In response, Benya volunteered to personally search for a more suitable set of bones.

While external affairs were progressing smoothly, Simon spent the rest of the weekend frantically preparing for his evaluations. He had to master the creation of Skeleton Mages before attempting a lich. On top of that, he had to learn the four great curses, train with advanced blood poisons, create a new martial arts technique, practice handling the divine beast Akallion and the kittens’ transformations, and continue his legion commander lessons with Pier. It felt like ten bodies wouldn’t be enough.

Still, he was certain that if he could just get through this period, he would emerge significantly stronger—not just in one or two areas, but as a complete necromancer. The anticipation was so thrilling that he barely noticed his own exhaustion.

And so the weekend passed.

The second match of the fourth after-school BMAT, hosted by the Necromancer of Cards, Endolas Bordeville, had begun.

"Hurry, hurry!"

"This way!"

Students scattered from the main Kizen campus, desperate to find new cards. Simon, however, watched them from a second-floor window, his arms crossed.

[You will be awarded 1 additional point for winning a battle against the next student.]

[Distributed: Volletdis]

A new message materialized on the card attached to his chest. ’So the target changes with each test.’ He couldn’t afford to let his guard down. It meant at least one person in the entire school was actively hunting him.

It was time to move. Dick had begged him to join the siege warfare theme, but Simon had other plans. This time, he had a personal objective.

’Ah, she’s moving.’

He was watching a black-haired girl outside. As she entered the academic building, Simon leaped from the window and shadowed her from a distance. ’I can’t hear her footsteps.’

He followed her inside, but she had already vanished. As he turned to check the main hallway...

A flash of crimson light shot toward him. Simon ducked, channeling jet-black into his legs. He spun into a roundhouse kick just as the crimson light lunged for his face.

A leg and a dagger stopped, a mere paper’s width from each other’s faces.

"...Simon?" Lorraine asked, lowering her dagger with a look of surprise.

Simon lowered his leg and smiled.

"Hey, Lorraine. Looking for a particular card?"