Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner

Chapter 215

"Nice to meet you, kids! Name's Belya!"

Her voice overwhelmed the audience, shaking the Great Hall.

"Looking at you only brings me sympathy! Huddling together like sick chickens, sitting in the same posture and wearing the same clothes. It makes me want to scream! I used to run around the world and just fucking play when I was your age! That's what kids should do!"

Several students covered their ears. Her voice was already loud, and the loudspeaker ball made it even louder.

"Listen! Education is always uniform and standardized! What do you expect? It is like a factory, churning out manufactured goods for society! How can that be inspiring? How can you have a personality when you're fed the same things in the same places? The finished product may look perfect, but it's actually hollow inside! There's no uniqueness! I'll say it again, uniqueness! I, Belya, ask you all…!"

She stepped forward, resting her foot on the mic stand, and lifted her hand to the sky.

"Who are you?!!"

"…!"

"Students of Kizen? Sons and daughters of nobodies? Residents of your kingdoms? Heirs to a throne? No! I ask not of your social status, but who you really are! No one decides that but you! You need to know at least that to become a necromancer or anything in this world!"

She moved around freely as she made her speech.

As spit flew out of mouth and sweat flew from her hair due to her violent movements, the wooden stage sizzled around her. It was as if she was spreading special effects everywhere.

"I hope all those who didn't cover your ears understood me! Oh, and if you want to be the best, come to me! Hahahah!"

She shouted with the intensity of a thunderbolt, overwhelming the students. The students were so stunned that there was no time for applause or cheers.

Aaron, the only one with even a shred of sanity remaining, said into his own loudspeaker,

"Thank you for your effort, Professor Belya. Please return to your seat."

"Ahem!"

She threw the crystal ball to the floor and returned to her seat. The floor behind her was a wreck, with parts of the stage crumbling and melted.

"Gossshhh."

Having to watch all that, Hong Feng's sighs only deepened.

Then, the ragged Belya sprinted in and sat beside her.

"Kyhaha! Hey! Did you see that? I totally destroyed the stage!"

"…Please just go back to the grasslands. You're embarrassing me."

Students compared the twins as they sat down together.

Sitting next to each other, it was obvious that they were nothing alike, even if their physical appearances carried many similarities.

"That concludes the opening ceremony."

Declared Aaron.

"Classes start tomorrow. I'm sure you're tired from your test today, so don't keep yourselves too busy and get a good night's rest in your dorms. Remember, sleep is an important part in training."

* * *

Simon and Rick parted ways with Meilyn and Camibarez and entered the boys' dorm.

Feeling giddy with excitement, they made their ways up to the fourth floor.

"Woo! Long time no see, room 409!"

Shouted Rick, throwing his arms in the air as he jumped into his bed. It was nice to see Kajann's, Simon's, and Rick's names side by side on the plaque by the door.

The room was all too familiar. There were the two bunk beds, the simple furniture, and a familiar person sleeping on one of the bunks in the corner, covered in a blanket.

"We're back, Kajann."

Of course, the sound of his voice wouldn't wake Kajann from his deep sleep. They both knew from experience that forcing him awake would unleash the wrath of a monster onto them both, so they didn't bother.

They unpacked their luggage from the subspace.

"Whoa! Now that we're in our room, don't you really feel like you're back?"

Said Rick, shifting around to get comfortable on his bed.

"It sure does."

"Back to regular classes tomorrow, huh~ We've got to try our best to survive another semester!"

Simon neatly arranged his textbooks on his desk and stretched. Then, he looked out the window and saw it was already dark outside.

"Rick, I'm going out tonight. Can you recommend a good route?"

"What?"

Rick gave Simon a look like asking if he'd gone nuts.

"Planning to climb the wall on the very first day? Why would you want to go to Rochest right now while they're still rebuilding from the test?"

"Oh, there's someone I want to meet."

Rick looked confused but did as Simon asked and flipped through his notes of the Keepers' schedules.

"Hmm, I guess the barn route and the hills to the north are safe. But who are you planning to see? …Is it a girl?"

Simon grinned and held his tongue.

* * *

* * *

"Long time no see, Simon! It's been two months!"

Kevin, the stable manager for the Kizen campus, greeted him. Simon had been frequently using this spot, so they were both quite familiar with each other.

Simon tossed him a coin, and he made his way to the edge of the stable.

At the edge was a small hole covered with straw, and he crawled through it into a narrow underground tunnel.

Shimmying his way through, making sure not to hit his head, he reached the end and pushed away the dirt covering the end of the tunnel so he could climb out.

And just like that, he was out in the middle of the forest, having to turn back to see Kizen's high walls. Covering the entrance to the tunnel with the surrounding dirt, Simon walked through the Forbidden Forest for the first time in a while.

Knowing he wouldn't run into the priests here anymore was a relief.

He reached the Pier's ruin with ease.

[Kieeeeeee!]

The two corpse spiders guarding the entrance of the ruins rushed toward him.

They seemed to have recognized the Commander, and one of them clung to his feet and nuzzled its head against him while the other lay down like a dog, rolling over so Simon could rub its stomach.

"Have you guys been doing well?"

To think that creatures like them were undead… After playing with the spiders for a bit, he went inside.

He walked cautiously down the treacherous, unfenced stone stairs.

The ruin echoed with the occasional clattering of bones and voices of the undead. The average person would be shivering in fear upon hearing such noises, but Simon found it to be music to his ears.

As soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs…

[Commanderrrrrrr~!!]

Somebody threw themselves onto Simon, pinning him to the floor by accident.

"I-I can't breathe! Eliza!"

It was the Captain of the Spider Troops, Elizabeth.

Simon was pinned down by the full strength of an Ancient Undead, unable to move.

[I haven't been able to see you in two months, Commander! I feel like my mouth has grown cobwebs with the lack of good company to talk to!]

Elizabeth just wouldn't get off. But after a few pats on the back, Simon choosing not to use an absolute command, she finally moved aside. She wore a satisfied grin as she did.

Simon stood up, dusting himself off.

"Long time no see, Pier!"

The moonlight streaming down from the ceiling illuminated a tall skeleton seated at the altar where the skeleton first awoke. Its mouth moved, forming shapes freely like a human's.

[Kuhahahahaha! Have you been well, Boy!]

Maybe it was because he hadn't seen him in a long time, but Simon suddenly hugged him.

[What is it?! You must've been all pampered while I didn't see you, haven't you!]

"It's just good to see you."

Said Simon, pouting. Just then, the conscripted skeletons also approached, clatters filling the cavernous room.

"How are you all?"

Click. Clack.

"I see a lot of new faces."

[Bwahahaha! We've recruited more since we last met!]

As Simon and Pier chatted, Simon realized they were missing a member and opened his subspace.

He pulled a zombie out of it, then spoke to the gray ring on his hand.

"Prince, it's been a while since we've all been together. Would you like to join us?"

As he spoke, he let the ring touch the zombie, and with a crackle, a black thunderbolt descended upon it. Soon, the zombie's form changed to that of a young boy wearing a faded crown.

[Aah! Why are you so late?! Death Land is boring, you know!!]

Apparently, he'd been waiting to be called.

Prince immediately raised a fist, and Simon also raised his fist with a grin and bumped Prince's.

It then continued into a flurry of sporadic motions before finally ending with them bumping backs.

Prince's eyes were filled with deep emotion and joy when they succeeded in just one try.

[You guys saw that, right? I practiced this with Simon while you guys weren't around!]

[Oh my, that…]

Said Elizabeth.

[Isn't that what Richard used to do when he played with you back when he was the Commander?]

[N-No! I invented it!]

Simon, Pier, and Prince sat down, each just resting comfortably. Elizabeth sat down on her knees beside Simon, then laid down on Simon's thighs as if it were natural.

Simon felt incredibly embarrassed and uncomfortable, but he just decided to let it slide, it being a cheap price to pay for her loyalty.

Pier spoke first.

[I suppose we should tell each other what we've been doing and the results of it!]

"Yeah."

Simon talked about how he awakened his divinity and explained how he came to master Corpse Explosion and the priest's light magic.

At the mention of him using the crown during the battle in divine train, Pier glared fiercely at Prince, who looked to the side and whistled innocently.

Then, the story moved on to the highlight.

[A Celestial Explosion with divine zombies?!]

Elizabeth jumped to her feet.

[Is that even possible? Does that mean I can also become a divine Elizabeth?]

"Hmm, I'm not so sure about that."

Said Simon, looking down at his left hand.

"I did sanctify Prince and the other zombies, but I can't really remember how."

[Boy, this sounds exactly how it was when you cast your first Corpse Explosion, which no one taught you, in Death Land!]

Pier crossed his arms and continued,

[You don't have to fret over it! You'll need that skill to fight the priests, but you shouldn't have to concern yourself over it for now as you start your life in Kizen. Now that you're in the Dark Alliance, focus on your dark magic!]

"Yes, and lastly…"

Simon jumped to his feet. As everyone stared at him out of curiosity, he grabbed the space behind him and pulled it sideways.josei

Sliiiiiiiiiiiide!

It was a giant subspace that looked like a vast open field. Everyone was excited.

"Thanks to our performance in the Saintess incident, Nefthis gifted me a new subspace."

[Kuhahahahahaha!]

Pier howled with laughter.

[Isn't this obviously a subspace for operating a Legion!? I commend this level of preparedness from her!]

Pier seemed very satisfied. He even went in and out of the subspace himself.

"That concludes my update."

Next up was Elizabeth, who had been in the 'Bug Tomb' for two months.

She had brought something back from the lower levels of the ruins, and one of them skittered out at Eliza's command.

Giant corpse spiders! They were about ten times the size of normal corpse spiders.

[Aren't they cute?]

The spider made a gurgling noise and spat out bits of animal bone in its mouth.

Simon frowned.

"What are they?"

[They're queen corpse spiders capable of laying eggs. I found them in the Bug Tomb and also finished conscripting them. So now we can dramatically increase our corpse spider population.]

Simon nodded.

"Well done. Could you lend me a few pre-conscripted spiders, ones that are newly born? I'd like to use them in my Kizen tests."

[If that is what you command, then I'll give it a try. However, spiders can be tricky to control without conscription.]

"I gotta get used to it."

Next was Pier, who had been to the Jungle of Screams.

[The reason I went to the Jungle of Screams was to find Ancient Undead Akemus, another former Captain in the Legion.]

Akemus was the leader of a group of powerful flying undead.

He was half human, half harpy. He was a creature known as a 'Swing' to Summoners.

'The captain of flying undead!'

Simon's eyes sparkled at Pier's explanation.

"Although I believe it'd be really, really helpful if he could join… I'm guessing you couldn't find him, right?"

After all, if he did, and Pier did conscript the former Captain, he'd be here by now.

However, Pier calmly said,

[I found them.]

——