Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 107: Episode

"Now, now, let’s all calm down," the man from the throne said, turning to the others. "In the end, the choice is Simon’s to make. Isn’t it right to let him decide?"

The presidents of the Curses Research Society and Sadam clicked their tongues in annoyance. The man stepped forward, placing a hand on his chest.

"I am Andre, third prince of the Dresden Kingdom. And Noble is a gathering of the future rulers of the Dark Alliance."

A prince! There was royalty at Kizen? As Simon moved to bow, Andre stopped him with a wave of his hand.

"None of that. Here at Kizen, the only thing that determines one’s standing is skill."

"Ah, right."

"To the matter at hand," Andre continued, his eyes gleaming. "Noble exists to shape the grand future of the Dark Alliance. Once we are adults, securing what we want from each other will come at a great diplomatic cost. But right now, we are merely students. There are promises we can make now that will bind us later. Noble—we are the students who will one day shape the continent."

So that’s what a club for the powerful was. Simon nodded in understanding.

"Every student at Kizen wishes to join Noble, but our conditions are strict. One’s parents must hold a title of marquis or higher, or possess equivalent wealth and power. Your classmate, Elisa, has already joined our ranks."

The Special Admission No. 7, who had summoned a ghost ship? That suited her, he thought.

"But I don’t have anything that could be called power," Simon pointed out.

"Nonsense! You meet the conditions. As Special Admission No. 1, you fall under a special provision..."

"You talk far too much," the Sadam president cut in, pushing Andre’s face aside.

Andre sputtered, "How dare a mere commoner be so rude!" but she ignored him completely.

"Hey, Freshman," she said, her focus entirely on Simon. "Join Sadam, and I’ll teach you how to maximize the potential of your SM-1 blood and wield limitless Jet-Black."

This time, the president of the Curses Research Society pushed his way forward.

"Is that all you can offer? You said you’re a Summoning major, right?" He activated a magic projector, displaying the image of an undead creature that looked like a rotten tree with a single, baleful eye. "This is a Deadviron, a rare species of cursed undead. We’ve already acquired it. If you want, it’s yours, free of charge. We’ll even teach you how to control it."

"Hey, you!" the Sadam president snapped.

"Cursing is an inseparable field of study for any necromancer, and it’s incredibly versatile," he continued, ignoring her. "Combine it with your Summoning, and the synergy will be immense..."

"Move!" Prince Andre shoved both of them aside and reclaimed the center stage.

"What’s the point of any of that?" one senior scoffed. "It’s all about power! Power! Everything we do here, all this struggling—it’s for power eventually! Joining Noble is the fastest way to get there—!"

"Get lost!"

"You get out of my way! And you reek! Go take a damn shower!"

"I can’t help it!"

The three seniors descended into a brawl. Simon let out a soft sigh and offered them a polite bow.

"My apologies. I’d like some time to think it over."

With that, he turned and walked toward the dormitory. The three sophomores watched him go, each of them smiling with absolute certainty.

’He’s as good as ours.’

---

He hadn’t given clubs much thought. The moment he returned to his dorm and unpacked, Simon headed straight for the Forbidden Forest and crossed over into Pier’s ruins. He summoned every skeleton and corpse spider from his Subspace, and then, at last, it was time for the main event.

[Hurry and bring it out, Legion Commander!]

"Right."

He opened his Subspace and carefully withdrew the Overlord.

’Damn, it’s just as insane every time I see it.’

It wasn’t just Pier and Erzebet; even the nearby skeletons and corpse spiders edged closer, their curiosity piqued. But the Overlord, possessing a wary nature, brandished its long, whip-like tentacles through the air, warning off any undead that dared to approach.

’It truly is a marvel.’

The Kraken, a nightmarish fusion of octopus and jellyfish, was a boneless, mollusk-type monster. Yet here it was, constructed entirely of bone, ready to be commanded by a necromancer. At a glance, it resembled an octopus model meticulously assembled from skeletal parts.

Simon ran a hand along one of the Overlord’s tentacles. According to Finch’s earlier explanation, the creature’s bones had been incredibly soft. After a cold-tempering process, a large amount of hard yet elastic mithril had been infused into them—a stroke of genius that resulted in flexible, razor-sharp blades.

’That’s good.’

Simon connected to the Overlord’s consciousness, testing its limbs. It was deeply satisfying to watch the tentacles slice through the air, perfectly mirroring his will. This was his first time controlling such a monster, so his movements were still clumsy, but he was confident he could master it with a little practice.

[Do you wish to test its power?]

Erzebet had appeared beside him, waving a flat piece of rock.

[Think of this as a target!] she offered.

Simon grinned and extended his right arm.

A single tentacle shot out with terrifying speed. When it suddenly changed direction mid-flight, a startled Erzebet shrieked, tossed the rock into the air, and scrambled for cover. The tentacle pursued it, ascending in a fluid arc before piercing straight through the center of the stone.

[Th-That was startling, Legion Commander!]

"Ah, my apologies," Simon said. "I’m still getting the hang of it."

And yet...

He had only swung it once, but the feedback was electrifying. This was an undead that was truly fun to control.

[It is an anomaly, but its power and speed are flawless,] Pier observed, his arms crossed. [It is certainly an undead worthy of its price. However!]

[The Overlord has a fatal flaw.]

"What is it?"

[Its main body has virtually no defense.] It was true. The Overlord wasn’t a naturally occurring undead, so its form couldn’t be constructed from bone alone.

It was a product of artificial techniques, and if its main body were ever destroyed... 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

[It could never be restored.]

Its creator, Finch, was gone. If it was destroyed even once, that would be the end. The Overlord was an entity incapable of the skeletal restoration unique to other undead.

[You will have to endure much trial and error to utilize it to its full potential in combat. But we can’t help it. The Overlord is a unique undead that only you possess on this continent, boy!]

"...A unique undead."

[That’s right! Therefore, no one can teach you how to use it. You must discover the proper method of operation for the Overlord on your own!]

"You’re right."

Simon crossed his arms, sinking into deep thought.

"Ah! Then what about this?"

He returned the Overlord to his Subspace.

"If external attacks are the main threat, I can just keep its body safe inside my Subspace. And then!"

Simon mimed pulling a lever.

"If I open a gate and only extend its tentacles...!"

He gestured at the empty air. When nothing happened, he strained, issuing a series of commands, but the Overlord remained silent.

"What’s wrong? Why isn’t it listening to me...?"

Suddenly, a tentacle shot out from the Subspace gate and slammed into the ruin wall before him. With a loud crash, its tip shattered the stone and embedded itself deep within.

’Wow.’

[Magnificent!]

Feeling the thrilling jolt of power, Simon once again ordered the Overlord to retract its tentacle. But again, it was unresponsive.

[The connection to its consciousness is weak while it’s in the Subspace,] Pier stated. [The Kraken was never meant to become a skeleton, so its consciousness is difficult to transmit. Confining it to a Subspace on top of that significantly reduces its responsiveness.]

’Hmm.’

The power was undeniable. But it was like a crossbow that refused to fire when the trigger was pulled. If he had to keep trying over and over just to get a single shot off, it was far too unreliable to be his main weapon.

"There’s a lot to improve and research."

Still, Simon’s heart pounded with excitement. It was now up to him to figure out how to best utilize this powerful new asset. The potential for growth was limitless.

---

After spending some time practicing with the Overlord in Pier’s ruins, Simon returned to his dorm to find a note from Dick on his desk. His study group was meeting in an empty classroom, and he was invited to join them.

Simon grabbed a few textbooks and headed for the building Dick had indicated. Outside, the sophomores were still making their last-ditch efforts to recruit freshmen. As far as he knew, the deadline to join a club was tomorrow.

’Clubs, huh.’

It wasn’t that he was uninterested, but nothing had truly caught his eye yet. His mind was still completely fixated on the Overlord.

"...Hey."

Startled by the sudden voice, Simon spun around. A male student with sunken, dark-circled eyes and slumped shoulders was approaching. Spotting the red insignia on his collar, Simon bowed and greeted him. "Hello. Can I help you?"

"Here... take this, if you want..."

He held out a flyer.

"It’d be nice if you stopped by... but I know you won’t..."

The senior yawned and shuffled away. Thinking him a bit strange, Simon unfolded the flyer.

Special Undead Research Society: ‘Mutant’

What a peculiar name. It was the first Summoning-related club he’d been approached by.

’What exactly do they do?’

"Hey! Simon!"

A cheerful face appeared down the hall. It was Meirin.

"What are you doing just standing there? Come on in."

As she spoke, she gave him a hearty smack on the back.

"Ugh!" Simon cried out, collapsing to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.

"Hey, hey! What’s wrong with you?!" she yelped, jumping back in shock.

"I’m still... injured..."

"I-Injured?! You should have said something, you idiot!"

"...You didn’t give me a chance to."

Drawn by the commotion, Dick and Kamibarez opened the classroom door, snacks in their mouths.

They stared, bewildered, at the scene before them: Simon crumpled on the floor, and a beet-red Meirin shaking her foot in a panic.

"Meirin..." Dick began, shaking his head gravely. "Blinded by grades and jealousy, you finally turned on your friend..."

"It’s not like that, you psycho!"