Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner

To think that they were being asked to hunt a dangerous, venomous monster with just two people!

As all the students in Class A were stuck processing the absurd task, Belya called out,

"Chief!"

"A-Ah, yes, Professor?"

The chief assistant teacher, standing at the back, rushed in and stood at the front.

"Pick pairs of people at random and send them up to the teleportation magic circle."

"U-Understood! What about you, professor?"

"I'm going to make some antidotes in advance."

As she said that, Belya gave a peculiar smile.

"I'm sure some of them will return right before they die from poison."

A heavy tension filled the room. Belya looked at the students.

"Remember, you lot. Don't act rashly just because you want a high grade."

With that. She left the lecture room.

The chief assistant teacher put her hand to her chest, let out a small sigh of relief, and turned to the students.

"Now, you heard that right? We're sending you out in pairs."

Just then, Claudia raised her hand.

"A-Assistant teacher! Can we form the pairs oursel—?"

"I'm sure you know you can't do that. The professor said 'randomly'."

In this school, a professor's word was absolute.

As the students nervously murmured about who they may end up going with, the assistant teachers wrote down all the names from the roll.

"Instead…"

"?"

The assistant teacher smiled as she placed two empty boxes on the table.

"We'll put students in pairs of one male and one female. Doesn't that sound great?"

Professor Belya's order was to pick random people, but how they were divided was up to the assistant teacher's discretion.

The chief assistant's idea sparked a huge reaction.

The male students seemed half-pressured, half-excited, and many of the female students were verbally objecting but secretly fixed their hair or took out a mirror as smiles formed on their faces.

"…How bothersome."

Hector clicked his tongue as he rested his chin on his hand.

Soon, the chief assistant teacher picked a name out of the 'male' box, and another assistant teacher picked a name from the 'female' box to go with him. The next time around, they reversed it. The chief assistant teacher picked a female student, and the other assistant teacher picked a male student. And so on.

The chief assistant teacher intended to relax the students before the performance assessment, but this simple drawing of lots turned into a pretty fun event.

Before long, every student in the class was extremely attentive, loudly reacting to each and every pairing.

"Then, we will start with the male student for this one!"

The chief assistant teacher pulled a slip of paper out of the 'male' box. She unfolded it, the rustling paper being the only thing heard amid the hushed silence, which was soon broken as she called out the name written on it.

"Rick Hayward!"

Knowing that it was his turn now, Rick opened his arms widely, expecting some cheers, but the female students all looked disgusted.

"There goes the landmine."

"Gross."

"Rick is fun and all… but… he's a little, y'know…"

Hearing those, Rick choked up and glared at the female students.

"Hey now! What's wrong with you guys?! You know how much I am trying to–...!"

"The female student he'll be paired with is Kathryn Theurel!"

The girl, presumably Kathryn, smacked with her face down on the table with a loud thud.

The male students burst into laughter, while the female students patted her on the back and comforted her.

"Thanks for your service, bomb-disposal agent."

"Good luck."

Meilyn, a member of Rick's regular group, chimed in,

"Kathryn, we will never forget your sacrifice."

Rick glared at the forming group of female students, seething with anger.

"Just wait and see! I'll show you all!!"

Sitting behind Rick, Simon tugged on his arm as if stopping him.

"Don't get too upset about it. They're just teasing you."

"Alright! The next student is… Simon Polentia!"

Suddenly, a thick silence fell over the lecture room.

The girls teasing Rick suddenly looked ahead with a straight face, with no traces of laughter to be found. Meilyn was fidgeting with the hem of her clothes, and Camibarez clasped her hands together. Gulps were heard in the wave of silence.

"This is nonsense! You guys are acting so differently!"

Rick, now being directly compared to this reaction to Simon, died for the second time in less than a minute.

"Honestly, the difference is too great."

Cindy Vivace confirmed the kill.

Meanwhile, Simon was thinking about who'd be a good pair with him. A complete stranger would be too much and tactically disadvantageous.

'I'd like to go with Meilyn or Cami or at least one of the girls I know.'

Then, a male student spoke up.

"Assistant Teacher. It's the girls' turn to be picked now."

"Ah, right~"

The chief assistant teacher stuck her tongue out in joking embarrassment as if realizing her mistake. Then, she folded Simon's note neatly and put it aside. The girls glared at the male student.

"Well then, the next female student is…!"

She unfolded a note and read it.

"Camibarez Ursula!"

Woooooooaaaaaaah!

It was the loudest cheer yet.

Cami was the younger sister of Class A. Cute, sweet, and a gentle personality. Many boys wanted to be with her.

But perhaps Camibarez was nervous. She was trembling like a prisoner on death row.

She lowered her head down with a blush, dazed as she looked at Simon's side .

'Is this a dream…??'

"Yes, the pairing is Simon Polentia and Camibarez Ursula!"

Cami' face turned blank upon hearing that.

'Really?'

"Die!"

"It's always the people from Group 7 who always take Cami!"

"Isn't this rigged?!"

Blinded by rage, Rick and the boys grabbed Simon by the collar and shook him.

"Now, now, be quiet! We're going to pick the next male student! Hector Moore!"

Thankfully, attention quickly shifted to the next student. In the meantime, Camibarez trotted toward Simon.

"Simon~!"

She smiled broadly as she grabbed Simon by the hem of his shirt.

"I'm so relieved I'm going with you, Simon!"

Simon smiled back.

However, he felt a sting in the back of his head from the hostile glares behind him.

* * *

* * *

Soon, the pairs had been finalized, and all of Class A headed to the hill where Belya had set up a teleportation magic circle.

Meilyn got paired with Toto, and she looked very displeased about it. Her arms were crossed and a deep frown creased her brow. She looked like she was going to kill anyone who dared talk to her.

'I feel bad for Toto.'

Toto, a head shorter than Meilyn, looked horrified as he saw her furious expression.

Simon approached Meilyn.

"Come on, don't be like that. Be kind to him."

Toto looked touched, but Meilyn scoffed grumpily.

"Must be nice going with Cami. It's almost certain that you guys will get an A+ on this performance assessment."

Still, Meilyn's grumpiness didn't last long.

As expected from a necromancer, she accepted the situation and took it in stride, asking about Toto's skills and reviewing the strategy.

"Then, we'll get ready right away!"

The performance assessment this time was quite rigorous.

The subspace was checked for any other antidotes, and the students were required to change out of their Kizen uniforms into something else, such as gym clothes.

They also had to wear a small crystal ball around their necks that would record the battle footage. It was a device to ensure that the performance assessment was carried out properly and without cheating.

It also was a form of security. Pressing the back of the crystal ball would alert Kizen to an emergency and call for help. However, accepting help from the school would be considered accepting the lowest possible score on the performance assessment.

"Then, we'll begin teleportation! Students whose names are called, please come up quickly!"

* * *

The distance they teleported was shorter than he expected.

'We're already here.'

When Simon opened his eyes, he saw vast sand dunes. It was even more desert-like than the neutral area he had traveled to not that long ago.

He turned around and looked behind him, and he saw a normal forest filled with trees.

Desert in front of him, forest behind him.

It looked like a border made of nature.

"So there was a place like this in the Dresden Kingdom."

"Apparently, this entire area was once forest, but after a dungeon appeared nearby, it became a desert!"

Camibarez, who had come over with him, grinned and waved the mission sheet in her hand.

"That's what it says here!"

"…Haha."

Camibarez's wings flapped restlessly from the fact that she was out with Simon alone. Simon let out a small laugh at the sight.

"Shall we get going?"

"Yes!"

They went outside Roke Island, but it was only a one-day performance assessment. Eight hours remained.

For now, the two walked and talked. Camibarez continued to read the mission sheet.

"The venomous monster we have to hunt is the desert scorpion! It's a danger-level five monster!"

"Five?"

That was the same level as the 'monster duke' he had fought in the sea during the third BDMAT.

Of course, the reported danger level of the monster duke was much lower than it actually was because the monster didn't come out of its undersea cave, while the desert scorpion's danger level increased due to its poison.

One couldn't really say they have the same strength, but the fact that they were categorized in the same class meant that the scorpion was still extremely dangerous.

"Looks like we're in scorpion's territory now."

Simon pointed to a sign. The two were standing at the point where the desert began, and there were more signs all over the place that said [Beware of scorpions!] or [Extremely Dangerous!]. Each and every one of them had a skull.

Simon was walking slowly, scanning his surroundings with every step. Then, he felt his foot step down on something hard.

An old skull, presumably a human's, was buried in the sand.

"That's creepy."

Camibarez shivered, holding her arms close to body in fear. The two moved on without rushing, taking each step cautiously.

"First, we need to look for scorpions to make an antidote or something."

As Simon said that, he abruptly stopped.

The flat sand on one side was slowly beginning to rise.

'One's here!'

Simon hurriedly swooped Camibarez up in his arms and jumped. A large tail rising from the sand stabbed the ground with force.

Pooooooow!

The sand splashed up like a fountain. It was clear what would happen if they were hit by that.

Simon looked back after putting Camibarez back down. The tail had disappeared, leaving only a greenish liquid mixed in the sand.

"That's the thing's venom. Let's be careful, Cami!"

"Yes!"

As expected from a level five monster. It was much faster than he thought.

The two of them were on high alert, and sand began to rise from one side again.

Spotting it first, Camibarez shouted,

"Simon! On your right!"

Simon realized his left foot was stuck to the ground. He opened his eyes wide.

'Open!'

Fwhiiiiiiiiiiip!

The scorpion's tail slammed down just as the blades rose to block the path.

Clannnnggggg!

The two tentacles and the tail collided in the center, the resulting noise ringing in the air for a few seconds after.

It was a hit and run strategy.

Immediately feeling its attack getting blocked, the desert scorpion tried to hide in the sand again.

Bubble bubble!

However, a necromancer never makes the same mistake twice.

A small pond of blood rose up around the scorpion, surrounding it. Closing her eyes in concentration, Camibarez swung her arms gracefully upward.

{Blood Thread}

Fwiiiiiish!

Fwiiish!

Threads of blood gushed out of the pond and wrapped around the scorpion's body. The threads then tightened as the scorpion tried to force itself back down into the sand.

"Urk!"

Camibarez groaned in pain, staggering against the force.

"I'll help you out, Cami!"

{Cloud}

A rope of emerald smoke shot out from Simon's ten fingers and wrapped around the Scorpion's body.

"Heave… ho!!"

Simon and Camibarez pulled as hard as they could, and the scorpion—wrapped in green and red ropes—wavered.

It lost balance, and was pulled fully out of the sand.

Slam!

The scorpion struggled violently. Its razor-sharp front claws slicing at the Cloud and a few strands of Blood Thread.

'Ugh!'

Simon, whose nerves were connected to the Cloud, felt an excruciating pain.

"Simon!!"

Slaaaash!

The scorpion's front claw grazed across Simon's shoulder as he jumped back out of the way. Simon, only barely avoiding an amputation, clutched his shoulder.

'Ugh, the venom…!'

In a frenzy, the desert scorpion lunged at Simon.

Clang!

Simon and the scorpion clashed in the center. Losing in the battle of strength, Simon found himself getting pushed back in the struggle, leaving long marks on the sand.

'Jet-Black Eruption!'

Black sweat began to drip from Simon's body. With his enhanced physical strength, he barely managed to stop the scorpion.

Bewildered, the scorpion raised its giant tail and tried to strike Simon down, but…

Yank!

Camibarez cleverly concentrated and wrapped the blood threads around the tail, stopping its movement.

"Nice one, Cami!"

Simon opened his original, ground subspace while holding back the scorpion. Skeletons poured out, climbing on top of the scorpion as it struggled to move.

From their vantage point, the skeletons then shoved spears into the gaps of its carapace to widen them and slashed at the exposed weak points.

The scorpion writhed in pain, its cry piercing Simon's ears.

"You ready?"

"Yeah! I've completed it in advance!"

Simon flexed his eyes wider as he ordered,

'Open!'

Shunk!

Six overlord blades shot up from the ground, lifting the scorpion's body into the air. Simon staggered back and shouted,

"Now!!"

Camiibarez raised her arms above her head with bloodshot eyes.

The skill that hemomancy was most famous for.

{Hemorrhage - Overflow}

Fwoooooooooosh!

Blood gushed out from the monster's wounds, and red rain fell from the sky.

——