Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 133: Episode

It was a rainy day. A small boy was huddled down, though he didn’t know how long he had been there, or even why. He wasn’t hungry. He wasn’t thirsty. He simply existed.

One day, as he continued his endless routine of staring blankly at the black sky and red clouds, he heard a clamor.

"This place is so scary, honey!"

"When are we going back? The professor will worry if we’re too late."

Two women and one man. The women clung to each of the man’s arms, chattering away in an attempt to win his affection. In contrast, the man between them wore an expressionless face, seemingly unimpressed.

Then, they spotted the boy.

"Oh, honey, I’m scared! I think that’s an undead."

The man stopped walking. He stood still for a long moment, just looking at the boy. The women, stealing glances at him, began to whine.

"Let’s just go!"

"For once, we agree. Honey, we don’t have time to waste in a place like th—" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The man snapped his fingers twice. As if it were a signal, the two women pouted, turned their backs, and walked away. After sending them off, the man slowly approached the boy.

"What are you doing in a dump like this?"

The boy didn’t answer. He scanned the man up and down with frightened eyes, then buried his face in his arms again.

"Little bastard’s ignoring me," the man chuckled, craning his neck. "Isn’t it fucking boring? A gloomy neighborhood like this."

When the boy raised his head again, he saw the man’s outstretched hand.

"If you have nothing better to do, follow me. I may not know much else, but..." The man’s grinning face was reflected in the boy’s retinas. "I can guarantee you one thing for sure—‘fun’!"

He didn’t know why, but for some reason, he thought that smile was warm. The boy took the man’s hand.

---

And so, Prince joined Richard’s Legion. At the time, Richard already commanded many undead, but he always gave Prince special treatment. Prince grew up to be respectable, just as Richard had hoped, and eventually rose to the rank of ‘Captain,’ leading the zombie unit.

Every day with him was joyful and happy. He wished those days would never end.

But nothing lasts forever. The Legion was disbanded, and Richard disappeared.

’...What a way to stir up unsettling feelings,’ Prince thought, emerging from his reminiscence as he rolled his eyes. He saw Simon sprawled out on the sofa in his mansion. Next to him, Pier was boasting about his newly chosen Legion Commander. He sounded like a doting fool, so Prince let the words go in one ear and out the other.

A soft sound came as Simon shifted, and then his eyes fluttered open.

"Mhmm."

[Oh! You’re up earlier than I thought, boy!]

With a groggy expression, he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"...Pier? What happened?"

[What do you mean, what happened? You blew away Manus and his entire group! Only about an hour has passed since then!]

Simon pressed a hand to his forehead and grimaced. "I blew away Manus... right?"

[That’s right! And with Corpse Explosion, no less!]

Simon blinked and looked up at him.

"I vaguely remember that, but Corpse... what? What’s that?"

[Heheheheh!] Pier clicked his tongue. Could creating a miracle through an insight bordering on pure instinct truly be called just ‘talent’? At this point, it felt like a new word needed to be invented for Simon. He then explained the whole story to the bewildered boy.

[Alright, how much do you remember?]

"Up to sending the zombies to cover Manus. And then I focused like crazy and somehow..." Simon looked at Prince. "I think I said something cool to him at the end..."

At those words, Prince snickered.

[That whole thing about showing me how you win? What a shame you don’t remember.]

"Ugh." Simon groaned and turned his head away. The crown was once again on Prince’s main body.

[Don’t get the wrong idea,] Prince said defensively. [You dropped the crown, so I had to put it on to control the zombies again.] He approached his main body and picked up the crown. [I hate to admit it, but you handle this power better than I do. If you want to take it, well...]

Simon shook his head.

"I’m never using that again."

[I agree with the boy’s decision,] Pier said, nodding seriously. [He maintained perfect control of himself while wearing the crown up to a certain point! But in the end, he lost his mind to its power and was nearly robbed of his own self. His consciousness at that time was completely out of control!]

Simon nodded. More than anything, his hand was trembling. It shook as if beyond the control of his brain, constantly trying to reach for the crown. His gaze also kept drifting toward it unless he consciously stopped it.

[It’s a symptom of addiction,] Pier stated. [The more you wear the crown, the more captivated by its power you become. If you keep relying on it, you’ll eventually be consumed by it.]

"Yes, it’s too dangerous for now." Simon decided it would be better for Prince to keep the crown, unless it was a truly critical moment. Prince looked somewhat relieved.

[But really, you don’t remember using Corpse Explosion?]

"I told you I don’t," Simon retorted, drawing runes in the air. "It was something like this, and this, and I think I did this."

He definitely didn’t remember, but his body tingled with a phantom sensation. The memory had vanished from his mind, but his body remembered. Simon traced his finger in the air a few more times.

"The main rune is ‘Berserk,’ which acts on the core. Right?"

[Correct.]

It seemed he had inadvertently learned a new skill. He made a mental note to review it when he returned to Kizen, but then another thought struck him.

"The performance evaluation!!"

"I have to get back quickly! I still have the zombie with me! The others will be worried."

Watching Simon hastily grab his coat, Prince chuckled. It was a familiar sight. Richard had also been a Kizen student when Prince first joined his ranks. He even remembered times when Richard forgot his materials and Prince had to deliver them to the Kizen entrance for him.

’Hah, does this mean I have to go back to Kizen, too?’ Prince wondered, looking at his main body. It would take at least two years to move it to Kizen, but Simon wouldn’t let him off the hook. His days as a king were over...

"Your main body can stay here, Prince."

Prince was startled by Simon’s words.

[R-Really?]

"You’re the one ruling Deathland, right? And since I control you, that means Deathland is ultimately mine, too."

[Uh...]

"Getting a dedicated territory just by installing one captain seems like a pretty good deal to me. Right, Pier?"

Pier nodded.

[Of course! Some of the undead are too large to enter my ruins or are harmful to humans! We can just release them in Deathland and manage them appropriately!]

"Sounds good."

Above all, as long as certain conditions were met, Prince could descend into any zombie anywhere on the continent, regardless of distance. Only his main body would be in Deathland; he could be summoned to Kizen anytime.

"In that sense, I’m counting on you to take care of Deathland from now on, Prince."

The expression on Prince’s face was hard to pinpoint. He seemed both confused and deeply moved.

[B-But are you really just going? No shackles? What if I betray you?]

"What betrayal? Becoming part of the Legion is shackle enough."

[Um...]

Prince let out a long sigh and approached his main body.

He then tore off the little finger and ear from the body he cherished so much. Simon’s eyes widened.

"Prince! What are you doing—!"

[Wait a second.] Prince kneaded the flesh in his hand.

A black lightning bolt fell from the ceiling and entered his palm, compressing the body parts to an extreme degree.

[This should be enough, right?]

When he opened his hand, a gray ring had formed. Prince tossed it to Simon.

[Wear that on any finger. If you channel Jet-Black into it, you can talk to me.]

Simon did as Prince said, putting on the ring and channeling Jet-Black into it. He then brought the now-blackened ring to his lips.

"Can you hear me?"

[Loud and clear,] Prince confirmed with a nod. [The next function is to place your hand so the ring touches a zombie’s body. Then I can descend into that zombie. If you need my help, that is,] he added, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

Simon smiled as he looked down at the ring on his finger.

"I’ll treasure it."

[Heheheh! When I call, you’d better come over immediately without any funny business! Let’s go, boy.]

"Oh, right, Prince!" Simon said, as if just remembering something.

[What?]

"By any chance, is there anything in this mansion good enough to make a zombie out of?"

---

Only an hour remained until the end of the performance evaluation. The students who had been wandering Deathland for zombie materials were now returning to camp to prepare. Class A students were lined up in a long queue before a large tent where Aaron and the TAs were busy evaluating zombies.

"Simon! Why is he so late?!" Meirin shouted, stomping her feet impatiently. "He said he escaped safely! He should have been here by now. Where is he and what is he doing?"

"I’m worried about Simon...," Kamibarez muttered, constantly looking around.

After the battle with Prince, Dick and Kamibarez had been knocked out cold. Meirin, rescued by Simon, had joined them later and woken them up, and the three had safely made it back to camp.

According to ‘Pion,’ the one who had saved Meirin, Simon had also been kidnapped by the corpse collectors but had escaped on his own through the sewers. They knew he should be safe, but they couldn’t help but worry.

Dick shivered.

"Ugh, I can still remember it. When we faced that incredibly strong zombie, I thought I was a goner for sure."

Kamibarez nodded.

"Yes, it was a miracle we survived."

"You should be grateful! It was Pion who saved us!" Meirin declared.

Dick slowly turned his head.

"But hey, we’re waiting for Simon based solely on what this Pion person said, right? Is he really trustworthy?"

"Of course! He’s the one who saved my life!" Meirin insisted, getting worked up. "And he told me to go back to my friends! Why do you think Pion knew you guys? He saved you from that strong zombie!"

Dick rested his head on his arms.

"What I find a little questionable is, you said Pion was wearing that cool skeleton we saw at the mansion as Bone Armor?"

"Yeah."

"That skeleton attacked us, remember?"

Meirin fell silent. There was no way she could forget. A slash had flown at her, and Simon had thrown himself in front of her to save her. The thought suddenly made her face flush, and she fanned herself with her hands.

"W-Well! He probably didn’t know who we were back then! He must have made a mistake!"

"It’s a little strange..."

Meirin glared daggers at Dick.

"Are you doubting Pion right now?"

Afraid of getting hit again, Dick flinched and backed away. Just then, Kamibarez, who had been quietly lost in thought, spoke up.

"Could it be..."

The other two turned their gazes to her. Kamibarez cautiously offered her opinion.

"Could it be that this Pion person is actually Simon?"