Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner

Simon gulped. Lena spoke calmly after looking at Camibarez’s wound once again.

“You fought with other students, didn’t you? It’d be better to deal while you’re still on the student protection period if you have a problem. It’s not something to be brooding over by yourse—”

“We didn’t fight with a student.”

He couldn’t tell the truth. That they were attacked by a Priest who betrayed the Kizen. It was a secret that could shake the entire organization called Kizen and could put Lena in danger because of it.

“Then what was it?”

“I can’t tell you everything because it’s a little bit complicated. I’m sorry.”

“……”

Lena pressed her hand to her forehead with a hard face. She could see Simon’s silhouette bowing down his head.

In fact, she knew it from her long experience. Nothing would change, even if a servant interfered with the students’ affairs.

‘For now, treatment comes first.’

She pulled out a first aid kit and several medications from the drawer. She wiped off the blood with gauze and skillfully disinfected the wound.

Camibarez, still asleep, groaned while frowning. After disinfecting, Lena applied the slime ointment that regenerated wounds so scars wouldn’t remain and placed the band-aid. 

Fortunately, she had no huge injuries. The most severe injury, her thigh, was covered with bandages. Her sleeping expression became more relaxed.

“Simon.”

Lena came out after pulling the curtains open. 

“Take off your clothes.”

“………Yes? What?”

Simon’s eyes shook. She folded her arms with an expressionless face. 

“We’ll have to take a look at your wound, right? Take off your top.”

“Ah. Okay!”

Simon took his school uniform off while thinking that he was getting startled quite a lot today. He took off his jacket and shirt and rolled his school pants up to his knees.

“I’ll disinfect you first.”

Lena crouched in front of Simon after putting disinfectant on the cotton.

‘Mmm.’

Blood flushed to her face when she saw Simon’s naked body.

‘I mean, why does a student have this great body.’

‘What are those abs at that age?’

‘……Ugh. So embarrassing. Calm down, heart.’

There was this thing called an adult’s pride. She couldn’t have indecent desires against a minor who was still wet behind the ears.

After pulling herself together, she disinfected the wounds in a professional manner. During that, Simon groaned in pain and twisted his body.

“Uggh! It hurts so much!”

“Bear with it.”

Said Lena while slapping Simon’s leg. Looks like a kid is a kid, judging from his whines.

After disinfecting the wound, she spread the ointment well and wrapped it with a bandage.

“The wound might get infected, so it would be best not to overdo yourself for a while.”

“Thank you very much!”

Simon bowed down respectfully.

A student bowing towards a servant. Lena took a step back in slight surprise and then cleared her throat.

“I don’t know what happened to you today…… but there’s nothing more important than your health. Your body needs to be healthy to survive in Kizen. You get what I mean, right?”

“Yes!”

“The female student is also fine. I’ll ask the people I can trust in the female dormitory and take her silently.

“Thank you very much! I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me.”

Simon once again bowed down respectfully.

After Simon went out of the night-duty room, Lena sighed and sat down on the chair.

‘……I might be able to see him for a long time.’

She thought that he was a down to earth boy. That was rare in Kizen.

A strange feeling lingered on her.

* * *

“S-Simon! So you were alright!”

As Simon entered the dormitory room, Rick, who had been anxiously roaming around the same place, ran up to him.

“What in the world happened?! How’s Cami?”

Simon calmly explained what had happened.

The story where they were chased by Keepers, went deep into the forest, and got lost.

Of course, he didn’t share the part about the Priest. He thought that he should discuss this matter with Camibarez separately.

Rick also arrived a little late to get past the Keepers, and he said that Meilyn, who was left alone in the lab, was shaking with anger and sadness. Of course, she seemed to understand when he explained that Keepers were around.

In the end, Rick was also able to acquire the ingredients in Rochester, so it seemed like they could make the potion tomorrow.

Thud!

“Whoa, that startled me!”

The door opened roughly and Kajann Edvalt came in.

A towel was placed over his wet head like he’d been to the bathroom.

“You’re back, Kajann?”

Simon greeted him with a smile.

He tossed off his uniform without answering, climbed up to the bunk bed, and laid down with the blanket covering up his head.

And within a minute, you could hear snoring.

“……I really don’t understand him at all.”

Rick shrugged and went to his bed. Simon also grabbed his blanket and went to his bed after looking at Kajann sleeping.

The day was extremely tiring.

* * *

The next morning.

Simon was waiting at the building entrance, leaning his back against the wall after telling Rick to go to the lecture room first.

As the familiar Class A students passed by, he saw Hector and his faction walking. They looked at Simon with slightly surprised faces and talked in whispers.

‘She’s late.’

Simon’s face started to fill with anxiousness as he looked at the wall clock. The time for class was drawing near, but Camibarez wasn’t showing up.

‘What’s happening? Is she that hurt? Or is she not coming to the class because she’s so shocked by what happened yesterday?’

In fact, it was so frightening that his hair stood on end when he recalled the Priest praying in the Forbidden Forest last night. He also had some nightmares.

At least Simon was used to looking at someone praying since his mother was a priest, but it had to have been a much larger psychological shock for Camibarez.

‘I guess I’ll have to pass by the girl’s dormitory after class… Hm?’

At that moment, He saw a female student with a bag passing next to him. She had a really familiar face. She smiled broadly as she met her eyes with Simon’s.

“Ah, Simon! Good morning!”

Camibarez trotted towards Simon. Compared to what Simon expected, she looked energetic.

“……Let me see you for a second. Cami.”

The two moved to a quiet, vacant park behind the building.

“You must’ve been surprised yesterday. Are you really okay?”

She slightly nodded her head.

“Yes, I’m fine. It just feels like… I was dreaming.”

“Dreaming?”

A pleasant night walk after a long time.

That time when she was picking mushrooms with Simon in peace.

That time when they were running away after being chased by the Keepers.

That time when Simon carried her and jumped off the cliff.

And lastly, that moment when she faced that indescribably terrible Priest.

“It feels like I woke up after the memory was cut off when the dream turned into a nightmare…… How should I put this? Like I can’t feel the sense of reality.”

‘Is the shock less because she perceived it like she was dreaming?’

Whatever the case was, Simon was relieved that she looked okay. Simon went straight to the point.

“The Priest ran away after seeing the keepers. There’s a high chance that they haven’t seen your face yet.”

“Ah……”

“Don’t tell anyone else and just act as usual. I’ll find out who the Priest is.”

“I……!”

Suddenly, she came closer to Simon and stood on her tiptoes.

“I want to help too, Simon!”

“H-Hm?”

“It’s too mean to put me out of this case because my face wasn’t discovered! This is for both of us!”

Simon was a little startled by her spirit and leant back.

“R-Right. Okay. I’ll ask for your help when that time comes.”

“Yes!”

Just then, the bell rang, announcing the start of class. The two ran to the lecture room in a hurry.

* * *

* * *

The first class was Bahil’s Curses. The class was so hectic that he’d completely forgotten about what happened last night in the Forbidden Forest. Bahil finished explaining the theory and went straight to practical exercises.

“I saw a lot of students depending on the rectifying tool in our Exhaust class the other day, so this time, we’ll practice with an easier curse.”

The ‘Curse of Transmitting’ used the formula that was the basis of all curses, which attached the jet-black to the target creature. The objective of this class was to make the magic circle of this curse float in the air without the rectifying tool.

‘Hrrrrrrf.’

Simon raised his concentration and spread his palms facing each other.

Like holding a large fruit in your hands.

Now, he had to draw a magic circle in the air by flowing jet-black in from both palms.

Simon’s dark-blue jet-black flowed out and drew a ‘circle’, the basic step of the magic circle.

‘……Even the beginning is tough.’

After, with difficulty, placing the circle that later would be the base, he drew a rune in its center.

Of course, it didn’t go as well as he had planned. The base repulsed and trembled as he tried to add the rune, and his hands shook as if he had tremors.

Even though it was quite inept, Simon wrote the runes and formulas. Originally, it was supposed to look like a picture from a copy machine, but Simon’s magic circle was a shape where the letters were wriggling as if alive.

‘Ugh.’

He decided to try casting the magic with it first. A tall vertical plant was placed on his desk.

It was a plant that grew by consuming jet-black, and it’s said that, if the Curse of Transmitting succeeded, flower buds bloomed from its body. Simon activated the magic circle eagerly.

“Boom!”

However, the magic circle dispersed instead of activating. 

Simon sighed in frustration.

‘It’s not easy after all.’

He had no time for this when they had to hunt the Cyclops next week right away. Simon clenched his teeth and spread the palms of his hands again.

“How is it? Is it doable?”

Simon felt a warm hand on his shoulder at that moment.

When he turned his head, Bahil was there, smiling. Simon replied tensely.

“Ah, yes! I’m trying my bes—”

“Management of the core.”

Simon stopped speaking.

“It’s because you’re inexperienced with managing the core. The concentration of jet-black is lowered, and therefore the magic circle isn’t constructed properly.”

“Ah……”

Simon’s heart started racing. It was a part where he kept feeling his limits, but it was a completely different feeling to hear it directly from a Professor of Kizen compared to thinking it by himself.

“There’ll be no place to learn how to properly manage the core. It’s too basic to be taught at Kizen, and each person has a different management method.”

Bahil raised his index finger from the hand that was touching Simon's shoulder.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

He then pressed Simon’s shoulder with his index finger.

Drop.

In an instant, his mind went blank, and he could hear the sound of water dripping. The noise of the surrounding students disappeared like magic, and Simon’s body drifted to the empty world, far from the classroom.

“There’s a prejudice that curses are only harmful. As a person who’s in this field, it saddens me.”

Said Bahil with a bitter laugh.

Perhaps it was because the noise around him had disappeared. His voice could be heard very clearly.

“Professor, this is……”

“Please don’t be surprised. With the modification of the Sense Curse, I simply maximized your senses. Now, focus again.”

With Bahil’s voice resounding softly, Simon somehow felt at ease. He didn’t seem like Bahil was going to do anything bad.

“Take a deep breath and try to collect the mana from the air into your body.”

As instructed, Simon drew the mana into his body. This time, Bahil also placed his left hand on Simon’s shoulder.

“Now, we’re going to pass the mana through the core. First, take a look at how I do it.”

Among the mana in his body, he felt a string of mana that he couldn’t control. It went into the core under the heart.

However, it didn’t pass through the core as is. The mana rotated along his core and underwent a profound process of change.

“Simon, your jet-black is different from ordinary people’s. The image of simply extracting it will inevitably lower the efficiency.”

“Then……”

“Circulation.”

The mana rotating in the core naturally turned into jet-black and was discharged to the outside. It was an image reminiscent of the corona of a black hole.

“Abandon the image of transformation, modification, and falsification. Think of the core as a living creature and lead it gently. Wait for the jet-black to fall outside naturally.”

“Ah……!”

“Now it’s your turn, Simon.”

Simon nodded his head and focused on the mana in his body.

Circulation, not transformation. An image of circulation.

Simon imaged the words that repeated in his head over and over again with mana. As if responding to his will, mana streamed into his core and began to flow.

“There’s no need to strain yourself to control the core. Just relax, and contemplate. Let this child do whatever it wants.”

Just like Bahil said, the core really moved with its own power. As the core circulated the jet-black, it drew in the mana around it, and the jet-black got stronger as well. Soon, the inside of the core became full and emitted jet-black to the outside.

‘Ah……!’

Finally.

The black sun was completed in Simon’s body.

“Good job! Then, shall we try dropping the senses to 50% this time?”

The blurred vision came back to normal. From a feeling of complete isolation, he could now hear the noisy voices of the students sitting next to him.

“Now, try again.”

“Yes!”

Simon repeated it over and over again. The first attempt was unsuccessful as the jet-black didn’t move as freely as when his senses and concentration were maximized, but he got the hang of it on the second and succeeded on the third try.

“Jet-black has a tendency to remember.”

Said Bahil while tapping his forehead.

“Just like the hands and feet of humans. If you repeat the same movements hundreds of thousands of times, the jet-black tries to reproduce the acquired flow without realizing it. Isn’t it amazing? That’s why it’s important to practice repeatedly and develop the right habits.”

Simon felt great.

A feeling of enlightenment being engraved in your head.

He thought Bahil was just a cold and calculating person. Simon thought that he was seeing a new side of Bahil.

“Now then, while we’re at it, shall we try performing the curse too?”

Simon’s senses were maximized again with Bahil’s voice. All other distractions disappeared, and he was able to focus on himself, the jet-black, and the plant in front of him.

“Try stirring up the jet-black.”

With Bahil’s voice, Simon raised his hands facing each other. Jet-black flew out of his fingertips like paint.

“Rest assured. I’m assisting you. Please complete the magic circle the way you like it.”

“Ah, yes!”

It was a completely different feeling than when he was doing it alone. Since the magic circle floating in the air was perfectly centered without being shaken, Simon was able to create as much jet-black as he wanted in peace.

It was a wonderful feeling. The magic circle was completed in an instant, to the point that him struggling a few minutes ago seemed ridiculous.

“And then, activate it!”

As soon as his senses returned, Simon opened his eyes and activated the magic circle.

A single ray of jet-black, resembling a lightning strike, went out with a flash and hit the plant.

Fwaaaaah!

Then, a spectacular view spread out.

Numerous flower buds bloomed profusely like an explosion from the plant’s body.

The flowers already covered Simon’s desk and spread out around him. It was like Simon was instantly buried in the middle of a flower bed.

“Woaaaah!”

“What, what is this?”

Exclamations of students broke loose everywhere.

“P-Professor, this is……!”

“This is the potential that you have.”

Bahil spoke in a low voice that only Simon could hear.

“Please don’t get me wrong. I was only assisting you in making a stable output. This is a level that you’ll be able to do by yourself in no distant future.”

What he’s saying was true. It was indeed Simon’s power that made the flowers bloom.

“Your jet-black is special, Simon Polentia.”

Bahils’ fingers, which were resting on Simon’s shoulder, trembled. The blue flower that was growing even now was already covering Simon’s entire torso.

“Please think about it carefully.”

Bahil’s face turned serious.

“On what would be the best way to blossom your talents. And in what direction to proceed to get 200% the advantage of this unique jet-black.”

——