Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner

The next day.

In the third indoor arena.

Since the BDMAT tests were public, all of the Duel Evaluations this semester were being held privately.

The indoor arena was eerily quiet because of that. The few people scattered across the mostly empty spectator stands were generally just the students waiting for their duels later in the afternoon.

However, there were some watching to get more information on their competition as well as…

"Yawwwwwwnnnnn."

Some bored students from higher year levels. One of the second-years, her short hair barely visible from where she sat cross-legged in the back row, was being approached by a certain overeager man.

"Hello, senior!"

The voice of someone calling out to her dragged her back into reality as she looked in the man’s direction.

"Yes, a first-year indeed! The name’s Rick Hayward!"

Rick gave a flashy business smile before rubbing his hands together both in an act of subservience and greed.

"Spectating the Duel Evals is great and all, but aren't you getting a little hungry?"

As Rick said that, Camibarez—who was standing beside him—raised a tray of drinks and snacks.

The second-year frowned.

"What the hell are you up to? I ain’t buying jack shit."

"Hehe! How could I forgive myself if I took money from one of my oh so glorious seniors? Here’s a little gift from your junior to you for surviving that tough second-year curriculum!"

"You sure?"

She snatched a drink off the tray the moment the word ‘gift’ left Rick’s mouth.

"I see you have some respect towards seniors, huh? I won't take the sweets. I'm on a diet."

"Alright! Have a great time!

Rick and Camibarez were about to turn away when she called back out to them.

"Hey, I shouldn’t hafta ask this, but you didn't put anything weird in this thing, did ya?"

"Hahaha! I wouldn't be able to look anyone in the eye again if I did such a heinous act to such a glorious senior! It's brand new, untouched, and from the cafe on campus!"

"Alright, then get lost."

The second-year waved them off as she stuck the complementary straw in the cup. After that, Rick and Camibarez went around to a few more seniors, handing out drinks and snacks.

"Okay, we're done!"

Said Rick, sitting down with a proud look on his face.

"Thanks so much for your help, Cami. Your lunch and dinner are on me for today and tomorrow!"

Cami blushed and sat down beside him, not used to doing things like this.

"But Rick, you still haven’t told me why we handed out drinks and snacks to the seniors…"

"It's all for connections~ Connections!"

Rick crossed his arms arrogantly.

"If I talk to a hundred seniors like this and get to be friends with one or two by chance, it'll be worth it. Plus, the seniors who come to watch Duel Evals are usually generous to juniors! And…"

Rick pointed to the drink that Camibarez was holding. There was a sticker on the bottom.

"Ah!"

It was an advertisement.

On it were details of Rick's remote purchasing business, where you could order from one of the listed categories, and he'd pick it up in Rochest the next day and deliver it to your dorm.

"The second-year students don't know about my business yet, so I'm advertising it as much as possible in my spare time."

Camibarez’ eyes shone in amazement.

"I think you're working harder than people think, Rick!"

"Huh? Wait! How hard do people think I’m working?"

"Everyone thinks you’re lazy and take all the shortcuts!"

Camibarez giggled to herself as Rick clutched his chest in exaggerated agony.

"Too bad Meilyn couldn't come with us."

"She's got one of the morning duels, after all. Oh, it's starting!"

"I can see Simon over there, too!"

You could see the students with duels coming up soon warming up, and among them was Simon.

The referee stepped forward to explain the rules.

"From this Duel Evaluation onward, we will be using a different kind of protective suit."

The participating students, including Simon, were already wearing the new suits. They were closely tailored from tip to tail, and the navy blue coloring glowed faintly. It was seemingly enchanted with powerful dark magic.

"The old suits would detect a hit coming, then conjure a barrier, and then communicate the damage in the form of the 'barrier gauge' displayed on the main screen indicating how much strength the barrier had left."

The referee then pulled out a dagger and slashed his own thigh. The spectators gasped in surprise.

But once the dagger sliced through his thigh, instead of blood, mana with a purple-ish hue flowed out with the same kind of consistency. The referee's thigh was also unharmed.

"This suit will take the attacks in the way the damage is dealt. The pain, the curses, the poisoning, it will all feel real. And on top of that…"

The referee took a few steps to the side. He was limping.

"When attacked, the suit even replicates the effects of bleeding, fractures, and even dismemberment, giving the wearer the exact conditions they would face in a real battle."

'We don't need that kind of realism!'

That’s what all of the students were thinking, but none of them dared say it aloud.

"Of course, the wearer's body will be fine as long as the suit isn't torn, so please rest assured. You would typically start using these suits from second year on, but due to the integrated second semester, first-years will also be equipped with these."

The crowd burst into uproar at the new information. Rick clicked his tongue as he leaned back into his hands.

"Man, those Kizen bastards are so toxic. They raise the difficulty however they feel like and just brush it off as part of the new curriculum."

"Th-This is going to hurt, isn't it?"

As Camibarez looked on in horror, Rick laughed nonchalantly.

"It's only fake pain anyway. My sources tell me it doesn't hurt more than a real— H-Huh?"

"What's the matter?"

"Professor Bahil came to see the duel as well!"

Camibarez followed Rick’s eyes and, sure enough, she saw Bahil and his chief assistant Chehekle sitting side by side at the far end of the seats.

As the crowd all individually turned to look at the appearance of a big name, Bahil furtively raised his finger to his lips and waved. There were silenced squeals all around.

"Who do you think they came to see?"

"Me, of course!"

Shouted Rick in excitement.

"You know, I even went to see Professor Bahil's lab! Although all I did was clean…!"

"…Rick. Your match is in the afternoon."

Just then, the referee's shout was heard.

"Then, we shall begin with the first match right away. Mr. Simon Polentia from Class A."

Simon walked to the center of the arena as his name was called.

"And…"

The referee pointed to the other side of the arena.

* * *

* * *

"Ms. Claudia Menzis from Class A."

On cue, Claudia walked over and met Simon at the center.

Despite finding out yesterday that she was his opponent, Simon was still a bit perplexed.

'Of all people, it had to be Claudia, huh…?'

With the recent happenings, he had an awkward relationship with her. And now he was standing face to face with her.

"Hi, good to see you here."

Simon greeted her first.

In complete juxtaposition to Simon's somewhat relaxed expression, Claudia's eyes burned with murderous hostility.

"For all of yesterday and today…"

"?"

"…I've been trying to figure out how to take you down. I've rewatched your Duel Evaluations over and over again with the memory crystal balls in the library, staying up all night researching for strategies."

Simon was filled with curiosity.

"So, did you figure out a strategy?"

"Of course."

If everything went according to her plan, Claudia was confident she had a 100% chance of winning.

At that moment, the referee leaned his arms forward.

"Both students, please shake hands."

Simon and Claudia stepped forward and clasped hands.

"I'm looking forward to it. Let's have a good one."

"Do you…"

Began Claudia.

"Do you still have faith in Professor Belya?"

Simon let go of her hand and nodded his head. She gritted her teeth and turned away.

As soon as the two stood facing each other with some distance between them, the referee announced,

"Let the duel between Simon Polentia and Claudia Menzies, both of Class A…!"

Already loud cheering could be heard coming from the spectators’ seats.

"Simon! Make it quick!"

"Go, Simon, go! Do your best!!"

He could even hear Rick’s and Camibarez' cheers. A small smile formed on Simon's lips as he spotted them.

The referee, looking back and forth between Simon and Claudia, cut down with his raised arm.

"Begin!"

Clatter! Crash!

As soon as the referee’s hand fell, so did two potion bottles attached to Claudia’s waist.

Ptchhhhhhhhhhh!

Brown smoke leaked from the broken bottles, enveloping her entirely.

It was a poisonous gas with no time given for Simon to break through.

Fixing the still-charging {Blood Golem} magic circle to his back, Simon looked straight ahead.

The poison was hovering around her, not spreading but settling. Judging by the sourness that could be smelled from even where he stood, it was likely quite toxic.

'You won't be able to get in here.'

Claudia's eyes flashed through the fumes.

'I've perfectly analyzed how you fight and what kind of dark magic you use.'

Claudia had divided Simon's fighting style into three main phases.

Early - Combat Dark Magic

Mid - Overlord

Late - Blood golem into royal guards

'Simon's Combat Dark Magic is extremely strong. I have no chance in a melee.'

So she spread poison at her feet to completely shut down that hopeless scenario.

'Simon only gets stronger as the fight goes on, especially with his inhuman stamina. I won't have any chance of winning if he summons a blood golem. Later on, he'll be controlling 23 skeletons at once. How am I supposed to win against that?'

Going into a melee early will result in defeat. Taking too long will result in defeat.

She had stewed on that information for 48 hours, and the result was the magic circle she was forming now.

'The only time Simon is somewhat weak is around the middle phase. It's most ideal to watch out for his Overlord and take him down before he can summon his blood golem.'

She cracked a poison vial above her completed magic circle and activated the spell.

{Poison Fog}

A green orb rose from the circle, consuming the potion before a fine mist sprayed out of it.

Unlike the brown poisonous gas that hovered around her, the poison fog spread quickly, covering the entire arena in an instant.

Of course, it didn't spread to the spectator seats, being blocked by the mana barrier the servants had set up in advance, but the whole arena was clouded in fog.

'Alright. The first step is a success.'

Poison Fog was the core dark spell of any aspiring poisonous alchemist.

Laying down poison fog and slowly chipping away at the opponent's health as the caster focused on defending and countering was the basic fighting style of a poisonous alchemist.

Time was always on the alchemists' side, allowing them to pressure their opponents into being reckless.

Meanwhile, Simon looked around in excitement as he prepared a dark spell of his own.

'As expected, Claudia is using Poison Fog.'

Simon knew this well, having had a duel against a Poisonous Alchemy aspirant in the first semester. He turned his head to stare at the mana screen.

[Simon Polentia: 98%]

[Claudia Menzies: 94%]

His barrier gauge was already starting to chip down. His throat was closing up, and his body tingled as the poison fog washed over him.

Meanwhile, Claudia unleashed another poison fog overlapping the first. This time, she added yellow and orange poisons into the mix.

Each concoction was designed to paralyze the nervous system or disrupt the opponent's vision. They had been thoroughly prepared to neutralize Simon's Combat Dark Magic and delay him casting the blood golem.

Simon was honestly impressed.

'So she's not the best Poisonous Alchemy student in Class A for nothing.'

Triple-stacking a poison fog doesn't triple its potency. There had to be compatibility between poisons, and there were plenty of combinations where one poison would become ineffective or interfere with another poisons' effectiveness if used incorrectly.

But Claudia's ability to combine poisons seemed quite extraordinary.

[Kuhehehe! This isn't the time to admire other people's skills, Boy!]

'I just completed it. Took me some time because I'm not so used to using curses yet.'

Simon looked straight ahead as he placed the curse he had finally completed on his body.

[Simon Polentia: 92%]

[Claudia Menzies: 94%]

Already, he had fallen behind on percentage. Simon's suit kept on flashing purple as the poison continued to damage it.

'She said she had completely analyzed me, did she?'

Simon walked toward Claudia with a sly grin on his face.

'I'm going to take full advantage of that.'

——