Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner

Chapter 224

Walter's first Hemomancy class had begun.

As Walter said, not much changed from Silage's class. After unpacking the theory from the textbook and going into scrutinizing detail on magic circles, the class moved on to practical exercises.

The nervous students felt great relief after having suffered Belya's class.

The younger, newer professor was also more approachable than the somewhat blunt and authoritative Silage. Walter was interacting with the students and cracking jokes to make them feel at ease.

"Okay, let us start our practical exercise by creating a {Blood Film}."

Blood Film was a versatile shield of blood that could be quickly made by mixing blood and jet-black. If it was pre-prepared, it could be drawn out faster than a jet-black shield.

As the students drew blood from their bodies in unison, they mixed it with jet-black to form a Blood Film.

It was all so different. Some students' Blood Films melted and dripped out, some Blood Films were only the size of the casters' palm, and others lacked the structure required to not collapse.

This was all the result of different types of blood.

"Assistant teachers, please begin feedback."

"Yes, Professor!"

At Walter's command, the assistant teachers moved in.

The base magic circle had the same structure, but it was modified according to the blood type.

The students whose Blood Films were melting were taught to add an extra layer of blood, and those whose Blood Films were collapsing were told to add a density formula to their magic circle.

"It worked! Professor!"

"Excellent. Did you see that? Those with the LP-2 type simply have to repeat what this gentleman perfectly demonstrated here."

"Thank you!"

Walter took care of a group of students before walking over to Camibarez.

She eagerly unfolded her Blood Film, but it didn't last long before detonating. She looked frustrated that it wasn't working as well as she'd hoped.

"Patience, little vampire. There is no need to rush."

Walter smiled softly.

"KP-1 has a tendency to explode when combined with jet-black. So, how about this?"

Camibarez raised her head in curiosity.

"Divide the roles. You can use your regular jet-black shield taught in Mechanics of Jet-Black to block small attacks and reserve the Blood Film for larger attacks."

"Larger attacks? H-How?"

Walter formed a heavy sphere of blood.

"Can you control when your Blood Film explodes?"

"Yes! But no matter how much I try to extend it, it eventually explodes, so…"

"Then, try to detonate it simultaneously with an object hitting the Blood Film."

Walter flung a jet-black sphere toward her, followed quickly by jet-black arrows.

Camibarez, who had been waiting with her Blood Film unfolded, detonated it the moment the jet-black sphere struck the surface of Film. The sphere and even the following arrows were caught in the explosion and blasted away.

"With this, you can not only block attacks but reflect them. Originally, your Blood Film would not be thick enough to block the sphere I shot out, but you compensated with your explosion. Just because you carry the vampire's explosive KP-1 blood does not mean you must only use it to attack. Try to find other uses for it."

"…Ah, I never thought of it like that! Thank you!"

Camibarez bowed her head in gratitude.

The students next to her were showing off their Blood Films, bragging about how theirs was bigger or sturdier.

But one boy was sitting alone, spacing out as he rested his head in his hands.

'…Must be fun.'

It was Simon.

His 'SM-1' blood, a completely new type of blood, didn't hold together well when combined with jet-black, so he had nothing to do in most classes.

Bored and envious of his classmates, he yawned and stretched.

'If only I had a normal blood type like everyone else… Then I could join in with this class.'

"Simon."

An assistant teacher quietly approached him.

"Professor Walter wants to see you."

"What?"

Simon turned his head and saw Walter standing in the doorway leading out of the lecture room, smiling and waving at him.

"…"

Considering his first encounter with Walter, Simon was skeptical of the professor. However, he had no reasonable excuse to defy a professor's orders in class.

As Simon approached, Walter explained,

"Your blood type is unique, so let me explain this to you in my lab on the fourth floor. Follow me."

Walter and Simon walked up the stairs side by side.

Not a word was shared as they walked. Simon felt oddly nervous, so he wasn't up to conversation.

Every time he saw Walter, he remembered the pen with the name 'Judas' engraved on it. Also…

"Did you see it?"

He could never forget the look in Walter's eyes when they first met. Of course, he could have just imagined it. The professor seemed too kind to be able to carry such a murderous gaze.

They finally arrived in front of the lab on the fourth floor.

"You seem so nervous."

Chuckled Walter.

"Is this your first time visiting a professor's lab?'

Simon shook his head silently. He'd been in Aaron's, Jane's, and Professor Lang's labs before.

"Well, my one is nothing special, so make yourself at home."

Walter opened the door and gestured for Simon to enter.

Simon tensed up but followed orders and walked in.

"?"

There was indeed nothing special. The lab was nearly empty, with boxes of papers and books scattered about as if Walter hadn't had time to unpack them yet.

There was just a desk, a chair, and a couch.

"I have been busy the moment I set foot in Kizen, you see."josei

Walter smiled and offered Simon a seat on the couch.

As Simon nervously sat down, Walter asked if he wanted some tea. Simon shook his head.

"Then, let me get straight to the point."

Walter came over with a crystal ball from his desk and set it down on the table.

He tapped it lightly, and a mana screen appeared in the air.

"These are materials that Professor Silage handed me. Shall we take a look?"

* * *

* * *

The mana screen showed Simon firing his first Blood bullet at the Magical Bullet Shooting Range in the first semester.

"6th shooter, Simon Polentia, ready, sir!"

The video showed Simon closing one eye as he looked down the tip of his finger to aim at a target.

Moments later, Silage shouted for him to shoot, and Simon's arm flung back as he fired the Blood Bullet.

Simon's bullet suddenly vanished in midair, only to appear momentarily in a blue glow before the target.

As the light struck the target, the force fanned out, tearing apart the two targets behind it and the other targets left and right.

"A very interesting phenomenon."

Said Walter, watching the footage.

"I can see why Professor Silage was so fascinated with your 'SM-1'. He spent the entire first semester working on it, and while on his mission, he assigned several disciples, including myself, to analyze it. I do not mean to brag, but I was the best of the bunch."

Walter's gaze shifted to Simon.

"Perhaps we should start with this. What do you know about that blood you have?"

Simon answered,

"I know it as some sort of multiplicative effect. When my blood combines with jet-black, the jet-black feeds on the blood, increasing its capacity and power but without any special quirks."

"You are not wrong."

Walter nodded.

"But if that was all it was, Professor Silage would not have studied it for an entire semester."

"…D-Do you mean to tell me there's something more than that?"

Instead of answering, Walter opened a box on his desk and took out an item which he handed to Simon.

'I haven't seen one of these for a long time.'

A magic circle rectifying tool. It was a beginner's tool that would help the user form a magic circle by channeling jet-black into the mold.

Simon had used one when he first learned Exhaust in Curses but had rarely used another since.

"This is a magic circle developed by Professor Silage himself to help you operate your SM-1 more effectively. Would you like to try it?"

He looked closely at the rectifying tool, and he didn't see anything off about the magic circle.

Simon nodded, grabbed both handles of the rectifying tool, and poured in his jet-black.

Whirrrr!

The jet-black followed the rectifier and began to form the designed shape. There were some formulas in it that Simon couldn't create even with the rectifying tool, but Walter talked him through them clearly and concisely. Overall, it wasn't too difficult.

Finally, the magic circle was complete, and it floated into the air.

"Now, try implanting it with blood. You learned the spell to manipulate your blood in the first semester, right?"

"Yes."

Simon formed a small magic circle on the tip of his index finger, and a drop of blood traveled upward through the circle and through the magic circle that just been made with the rectifying tool.

Bwooooooom!

The magic circle and the drop of blood merged, and it began to react. Simon stepped back in surprise.

First, it started hissing and popping. As it did, the magic circle turned blood red, then black, the blood red again. It swapped every few seconds.

Then, finally, the reaction was complete. The circle turned into a smoke that was neither red nor black, but a brilliant aqua. There were also small swirls of teal woven into the blue-green mass.

'It looks kinda cool.'

Simon's eyes sparkled.

"This is an effect unique to SM-1 which only appears when channeled through this specific magic circle at a precise ratio. Professor Silage called this power SMF24-CLOUD, or just 'Cloud' in short."

'A cloud, huh?'

As Simon stared at his new power, Walter announced,

"This is the dark magic made from your blood! What do you think you can do with it?"

"…"

Simon flinched. He felt uncomfortable, not just from Walter being so intense but also from the smoke cloud being right in his face.

But the moment he thought that, the cloud drifted away. The sensation felt… familiar.

It was like…

'It's like accessing and controlling the thoughts of the undead.'

It didn't take long.

Walter smiled at Simon maneuvering the Cloud within a minute of forming it.

"You're pretty good at controlling it already. Then, can you also do this?"

He pointed to a box of papers in the corner.

"Try lifting the box over there with smoke."

"…"

It would normally be impossible for a gas to lift objects, but Simon, controlling the Cloud, thought that he might actually be able to do it.

As he stretched out his right arm, the smoke quickly moved forward and enveloped the box.

'Just like that.'

Simon flipped his hand palm-up and raised it upward.

'Lift!'

Ssssssssss.

Walter, looking at the box of papers being slowly lifted, let out an exclamation of surprise.

"You succeeded right away! Impressive."

"Kugh."

Simon's arm trembled.

It felt somewhat tough. Not only was this mentally draining, but he felt like he was actually lifting the thing with his arms.

As he slowly set the box down, his arm stopped trembling.

"There is one more unique property of the Cloud."

Walter stood up, walked over to the smoke, and pinched it.

"Ouch!"

Simon was surprised. It felt like a real pinch.

"This power shares your senses. Did that hurt?"

Walter poked at the smoke, this time bringing blood over his nails to form sharp points. Simon let out a startled yelp, nearly falling out of his chair.

"Professor!"

"Haha, I apologize. Without realizing, my inquisitive mind took over. I forgot that I am now a professor, not a researcher."

Walter returned his nails to their original state and Simon sat back up in his chair, dissipating the Cloud.

He felt grateful to Walter for working alongside Silage for this power, but he glared at the man for what he did.

"Are you angry?"

"…No, professor."

"Anyway, it has been concluded that the Cloud is a power which cannot be defined by modern Hemomancy. Professor Silage was originally going to present it as a full paper at the Hemomancy Science Council, but he changed his mind."

"Why?"

"Because it might put you in danger. It might attract crazed scholars who believe SM-1 is the true key to the world. There are many truly insane minds among the necromancer researchers."

He added with a smile,

"Like me."

"…"

"Actually, the reason that I accepted the position as Professor of Hemomancy…"

His eyes met Simon's.

"…was to meet you. We would have great synergy in the future. I can unlock the secrets of your new blood, and you can learn to operate this special Cloud of yours."

Walter held out his hand.

"I wish to formally offer this to you. Will you please become my direct disciple?"

——