Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 215: Episode

Her voice overwhelmed the audience, shaking the grand auditorium.

"Looking at you all just makes me think you’re so fucking pathetic! All crammed together in the same clothes, in the same posture, like sick chickens in a coop, just blinking your eyes like morons—it makes me sick to my stomach! When I was your age, I was running around the world, playing my ass off! Damn right! That’s what kids should do!"

A few students covered their ears. Her voice was already loud, but with the amplification effect of the crystal, it echoed throughout the entire auditorium.

"Listen up! Education, by its nature, has to be fucking uniform! What do you expect? Education is like a factory’s manufacturing process, churning out commodities for society to use! How are you supposed to get any inspiration or develop any individuality when you’re all injected with the same thing in the same place! The finished product might look flawless on the outside, but it’s really just an empty shell! There’s nothing of your own in it! I, Byulya, ask you!"

She stretched out her leg, stomped on the railing of the stage, and raised her right arm to the sky.

"Who are you?!"

The students were taken aback.

"A Kizen student? Someone’s son or daughter? A resident of some kingdom? The successor of some group? I’m not talking about some position defined by social norms, I’m asking who you truly are! That’s not something someone else defines for you; it’s something you define for yourselves! You at least need to be prepared for that much before you can be a necromancer or whatever!"

She walked around freely as she gave her speech. As she sprayed spit and shook her hair, corrosive liquids poured out, melting and burning the stage. It was as if she were spreading special effects everywhere.

"I hope your ears aren’t clogged and you heard every damn word I said! Oh, and if you want to be the best, come to me! Hahahaha!" she shouted like a thunderclap.

She had single-handedly overwhelmed—no, crushed—the students so completely that the timing for applause or cheers had passed. The only one who had kept his wits was Aaron, who picked up an amplification crystal and said, "Thank you for the speech, Professor Byulya. Please return to your seat."

"Ahem!"

She threw the crystal in her hand to the floor and returned to her seat. The floor she had passed over was so utterly shattered and melted that it could be called a ruin.

Hongfeng, sitting in the professors’ section, let out an even deeper sigh. Just then, Byulya, dressed in her ragged clothes, popped up and sat in the seat next to her.

"Bwahaha! Hey! Did you see me tear up the stage?"

"Juzt go back to the prairie, pleaze," Hongfeng muttered. "You’re embarrazzing me."

Seeing the twin sisters sitting together, the students began to whisper, comparing the two. Now that they were sitting side by side, it was clear that although their auras they gave off were completely different, they had many similar physical features.

"This concludes the opening ceremony," Aaron announced. "Classes will begin tomorrow. You must all be tired from taking the exam today, so don’t wander off and get plenty of rest in the dormitory. Remember that rest is also an important part of training. That is all."

---

Simon and Dick parted ways with Meirin and Kamibarez and entered the male dormitory. Savoring the exciting, tingly feeling, the two went up to the fourth floor.

"Ah! Long time no see, Room 409!" Dick shouted, throwing both arms up in the air. He was happy to see the nameplates with Kajan, Simon, and Dick’s names lined up next to the door.

Simon knocked lightly on the door and went inside. A very familiar space unfolded before him: a familiar bed, a familiar furniture arrangement, and a familiar person, sleeping under the covers on the top bunk in the corner.

"We’re back, Kajan."

Of course, the deeply sleeping Kajan wouldn’t wake up for any ordinary noise. Since they both knew from experience that he would get monstrously angry if forcibly woken up, they didn’t bother trying to wake him to say hello. They unpacked the luggage they had brought from their Subspaces.

"Hah! Being in 409 really makes it feel like we’re back, doesn’t it?" Dick said, hopping onto his bed.

"It really does."

"Regular classes start tomorrow. Guess I’ll have to give it my all to survive another semester!"

Simon neatly arranged his textbooks on his desk and stretched. He looked out the window and saw that it was already getting dark outside.

"Dick," he said. "I’m going out tonight. Can you recommend a good route?"

"What?" Dick looked at him as if he were the craziest person he’d ever seen. "Climbing the wall on the first day? Even if you go to Rochest now, they’ll still be rebuilding. Why bother?"

"Ah, there’s someone I need to meet."

Dick’s expression showed he didn’t understand, but he did as asked and flipped through a notebook with the watchmen’s schedules.

"Hmm, Kevin’s stable course or the northern hill should be empty. But who are you in such a rush to meet? A girl?"

Simon just smiled and said nothing.

---

"It’s been a while, Simon! A whole two months!" Kevin, the stable hand on the Kizen campus, greeted him cheerfully. They had come and gone so often that they were both familiar with each other now.

Simon tossed him a coin and made his way to the end of the stables. At the end of the straw-covered stable, there was a small hole. He went inside and found a narrow tunnel. Keeping his head down, he walked in a crouch until he reached the end, where he opened a lid and climbed up.

’Whoooooosh!’

And just like that, he came out into the middle of a forest with a view of Kizen’s high walls. After carefully covering the tunnel entrance with surrounding soil so it wouldn’t be noticeable, Simon walked through the Forbidden Forest for the first time in a while. He felt at ease, knowing he wouldn’t run into any priests here.

With light steps, Simon arrived at Pier’s Ruins.

Two Corpse Spiders guarding the entrance to the ruins rushed toward Simon. As if they recognized the Legion Commander, one stuck to Simon’s foot and rubbed its head against it, while the other lay on its back like a dog, showing its belly.

"Have you all been well?"

To think these things were undead. Simon played with the spiders for a moment before heading inside. He carefully walked down the perilous stone steps that had no railings. From the ruins, the sound of clattering bones and the voices of the undead echoed intermittently. Any normal person would have been scared stiff, but to Simon, it was just a welcoming sound.

He had no sooner descended all the stairs than...

[Legion Commander!!]

Someone tackled Simon with a crash. The force knocked him to the floor.

"I-I can’t breathe! Erze!"

It was Erzebet, the commander of the Spider Corps. Trapped in the grip of an Ancient Undead’s strength, Simon couldn’t move an inch.

[Not being able to see you for two months, Legion Commander, I thought my mouth would seal shut from disuse!]

"Isn’t that what people say when they’re broke?" Simon grunted.

Erzebet absolutely would not let go. Still, rather than using Absolute Command, he patted her on the back a few times to coax her, and she finally let go with a satisfied look on her face. Simon stood up, brushing the dust off his back.

"Long time no see, Pier!"

The moonlight coming down from the ceiling illuminated a tall skeleton sitting on the altar. The skeleton’s jaw moved freely, as if it were human, and opened.

[Bwahahahaha! Have you been well, boy!]

Perhaps because it had been a while since he’d seen Pier, Simon was suddenly overcome with emotion and ran to embrace him.

[What’s this! You’ve become a crybaby in the time I haven’t seen you!]

"I’m just happy to see you," Simon said with a pout.

Just then, the Legionized skeletons also approached with clattering sounds.

"Have you all been well?"

’Clatter. Clack.’

"I see a lot of new faces."

[Bwahahah! We’ve recruited some new ones in the meantime!]

As Simon was chatting with Pier, he belatedly remembered that one person was missing and opened his Subspace. He took out a zombie, then spoke to the gray ring on his finger.

"Prince. It’s been a while since we were all together. Do you want to come too?"

As he said that and brought the ring to the zombie, a black lightning bolt struck it with a rumble. Soon, the zombie’s form changed into that of a young boy wearing a faded crown.

[Ah! What took you so long! Deathland is boring!]

It seemed he had actually been waiting to be called. Prince immediately put up his fist, and Simon let out a hollow laugh as he bumped fists with him in a handshake. When they succeeded on the first try, Prince’s eyes filled with deep emotion and joy.

[Did you all see that? Huh? While you guys were gone, Simon and I practiced this!]

[Oh my, that,] Erzebet said. [Isn’t that the little hand game Richard used to play with you during the former Commander’s time?] 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

[N-No! It’s something I developed myself!]

And so, the Legion Commander and the commanders of the Legion gathered. Simon, Pier, and Prince each sat down in a comfortable position. Erzebet knelt beside Simon before promptly lying down with her head in his lap as if it were the most natural thing in the world. It was incredibly awkward and uncomfortable, but since this was the kind of thing Erzebet wanted as a reward for her loyalty, he decided to let it go.

Pier spoke up.

[Then let’s share our progress and achievements from this time!]

"Yes."

Simon explained how he had awakened his divinity and learned Corpse Explosion, as well as the priests’ white magic. When he mentioned wearing the crown during the battle on the Divine Train, Pier shot a fierce glare at Prince. Prince pretended not to see and turned his head to the side, whistling. And now, the story moved on to the highlight.

[Sanctified zombies and Corpse Explosion!] Erzebet shot up. [Is that even possible? Then can I become a Holy Erzebet too?]

"Hmm, I’m not sure about that," Simon said, looking down at his left hand. "I sanctified Pier, and I sanctified the zombies, but I have no idea how I did it."

[Indeed, it was the same in Deathland when you used Corpse Explosion without anyone teaching you!] Pier continued, crossing his arms. [There’s no need to be impatient! That’s a power needed for battles with priests, so you won’t have to stress about it for now as you start your life at Kizen. Now that you’re at Kizen, focus on black magic!]

"Yes, and finally."

Simon shot up from his seat. Everyone was watching to see what was happening when Simon grabbed the space behind him and tore it open.

It was a super-large Subspace that resembled a vast field. Everyone gasped in admiration.

"I received a new Subspace from Lady Nephthys for my performance in the recent Saintess incident."

[Bwahahahahahaha!] Pier laughed thunderously. [Is that not a Subspace clearly meant for operating a legion! I quite like that woman’s preparedness!]

Pier seemed very satisfied. He even went in and out of the Subspace himself.

"That’s all for my briefing."

Next was Erzebet’s turn, who had been in the ‘Tomb of Insects’ for two months. She brought something from the lower floor of the ruins. They were large Corpse Spiders, about ten times the size of normal ones.

[Aren’t they cute?]

A spider made a gurgling sound and spat out a ball of animal bone fragments mixed with saliva. Simon’s face soured.

"What are these?"

[They’re Queen-type Corpse Spiders. They can lay eggs. I found these Corpse Spiders in the ‘Tomb of Insects’ and have already completed their Legionization. Now we can dramatically increase the number of Corpse Spiders.]

Simon nodded.

"Well done. If any babies are born, could you lend me a few before they’re Legionized? I want to try using them in the Kizen exams."

[If it is the Commander’s order, I will try. However, spiders can be difficult to control if they are not Legionized.]

"I’ll have to get used to it."

Next was Pier’s turn, who had been to the Jungle of Screams.

[The reason I went to the Jungle of Screams was to find the former captain of the Legion and Ancient Undead, Akemus.]

Akemus was a captain who led powerful flying-type undead. They were individuals who had fallen from the demi-human Harpies and become undead, also known in the necromancer world as ‘Skullwings’.

’A captain who leads flying-type undead!’

Simon’s eyes sparkled as he listened to Pier’s explanation.

"It seems like he would be a really, really big help if he joined us... but you probably couldn’t find him, right?"

If Pier had found and Legionized him, he should be here right now. Just then, Pier spoke in a nonchalant voice.

[I found him.]