Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 421: Episode

Lethe’s lesson on divine beasts was a revelation. While Kizen’s Professor of Defense Against Divinity, Parahan, was an excellent teacher, his expertise was in Divine Dynamics; his lessons on divine beasts were strictly by the book. According to Lethe, the study of divine beasts was a highly specialized field, and even the most accomplished priest would only know the fundamentals.

"Did you know?" Lethe asked, placing a hand on Akallion’s massive body. "This divine beast can fly."

"Whaaat?!"

Simon shot to his feet and whirled around to face Akallion.

"Is that true? Why have you never flown before?"

Akallion let out a soft, mournful whine.

"Don’t be so hard on him. He just didn’t know how," Lethe said, gently stroking Akallion’s head. The beast let out a pleased ’Woooof’. "Besides, he needs the help of divine beast magic to fly."

"Divine beast magic! You mean drawing magic circles on them?"

"Exactly. You use the power of divinity and magic circles to draw out two hundred percent of a divine beast’s abilities. That’s the simplest way to put it."

Lethe immediately drew magic circles on all four of Akallion’s legs. Then she inscribed a larger one on his back, connecting it to the others. Finishing her work, she looked at Simon.

"Shirt off."

When Simon flinched, Lethe scowled as if the mere act of explaining was a chore.

"I have to draw a magic circle on you, too. Turn around, sit down, and take off your shirt, you idiot!"

"...Ah, alright."

Simon obediently removed his shirt and sat down. She approached, muttering a thoughtful "Hmm," and then slapped his bare back. He jumped, a shiver running through him.

"W-Wait! Is this part of the ritual for drawing a divine beast magic circle?"

"Nope," she said flatly. "Your back is well-defined. I just felt like hitting it."

’...Why would you say that so brazenly!’

Lethe crouched behind him, placed a finger on his skin, and began to draw.

’Ugh.’

Simon’s face flushed, and he squeezed his eyes shut. It tickled. Her thin, cool fingers danced across his back, tracing every contour. It felt as if every hair on his body was standing on end. A strange, tingling heat washed over him, and his nose prickled.

"Hey, stay still!"

’Smack!’

She slapped his back again. Simon clenched his jaw in frustration and straightened his posture, which earned him a faint, amused smile from Lethe. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"...You’re doing this on purpose to tease me, aren’t you?"

"Don’t talk. I need to concentrate."

Twenty minutes later, the divine magic circle on his back was complete.

"This is just for testing; it’s not permanent, so don’t worry. If you want to keep it, you’ll have to maintain it yourself." Lethe stood up and crossed her arms. "Now, infuse divinity to activate the magic circles. Both yours and Akallion’s."

Simon nodded and simultaneously activated the circle on his back and the ones on Akallion.

A tingling sensation shot through him as his senses expanded. He felt completely connected to Akallion. It was similar to linking with an undead through Ideology, but this connection felt more direct, more intuitive.

"Thirty minutes," Lethe announced, checking the time. "Go play with Akallion for a bit."

"Play with him?"

"Yes. It’s a warm-up to increase your attunement."

Simon did as he was told, taking Akallion for a lap around the house. Perhaps because it had been a while, Akallion’s joy flowed directly into him. When they returned, Lethe was rummaging through her bag.

"Does Akallion have a favorite food?"

"He usually just consumes my divinity, but otherwise he likes nuts, fruits, mushrooms, corn... that sort of thing."

Lethe pulled out a sweet fruit, had Simon imbue it with divinity, and dangled it in front of Akallion. The rich scent made the beast’s eyes glint with greed as drool trickled from his mouth.

"Up we go."

Using white magic, Lethe levitated the fruit.

"Akallion! Go get it!"

She tossed it into the air. Akallion let out a great ’Woooof!’ and charged at an incredible speed.

"Faster, faster!"

Lethe’s training methods were remarkable. She controlled the fruit with masterful precision, keeping it just out of reach, teasing him by letting it brush against his mouth before pulling it away. After a few tastes, Akallion grew even more frantic.

"More! Run faster! More! More! More! More!"

And then...

Simon’s jaw dropped.

’No way!’

The fruit soared higher into the sky, and Akallion, his eyes locked on his prize, began to rise into the air with it. His heavy, massive body was running on nothing. The magic circles on his paws sparked with white light at every stride.

’Amazing!’

Simon clenched his fists, his face flushed with excitement. Finally, Akallion snatched the fruit with a triumphant snap of his jaws and devoured it.

Lethe spread her arms wide.

"Good job, Akallion! Look at what you did!"

-Woof?

Akallion glanced down. And then he realized he was floating more than thirty feet in the air.

-Wooooof!

Startled, he flailed wildly before beginning to plummet. Seeing this, Simon kicked off the ground and dashed forward.

’Release!’

He severed the link between the magic circles and dispelled the divinity from Akallion’s body. The beast shrank back to the size of a small teddy bear as he fell, and Simon slid across the grass to catch him gently.

"Phew." Simon let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "Are you okay?"

-Woooof!

Clearly terrified, Akallion burrowed into Simon’s arms. Simon held him close, gently stroking his fur.

"I didn’t think he’d succeed on the first try," Lethe remarked, approaching as she brushed her hair back. "Of course, he’ll need a lot more practice."

Simon’s eyes began to sparkle with admiration as he looked at her. Lethe grimaced.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Thank you so much! I’m seeing you in a whole new light. As expected of Efnel’s number one recruit!"

She spun away from him.

"I don’t particularly care to hear that from a Kizen necromancer."

"Hahaha!"

"Wh-What’s so funny!"

’Then why are the corners of your lips twitching?’ he wondered.

Akallion’s training ended there. After returning the divine beast to his subspace, Simon grimaced and pressed a hand to his forehead.

’I feel a little dizzy.’

Divinity consumed a great deal of mental energy, and it seemed that brief flight had used more than he’d expected.

Noticing his state, Lethe commented, "It’ll be difficult to use Akallion for flight right away. For now, you should focus on applying it in combat."

"If his efficiency improves with training, will he be able to fly freely?"

"I doubt it. You’d be better off finding a divine beast-specific artifact to assist his flight."

Next, he summoned the kitten divine beasts, Whity and Blacky. They immediately began meowing and pouncing around the yard.

"Mm-hmm."

Even the great Lethe was helpless against their charms. She wiggled a finger to get their attention, and Blacky immediately pounced, nibbling on it with his harmless baby teeth.

"When these two awaken, they’ll most likely become Objectification Divine Beasts, like Mimi."

"Mimi? You mean that turtle divine beast?"

"Yes. We’re both incredibly lucky. Objectification Divine Beasts are exceptionally rare." She stood up. "What have you been doing to help them awaken?"

"...Nothing in particular. I just feed them divinity to induce the transformation. I’m mostly just waiting for them to grow a little more."

Even as he spoke, the kittens were meowing and pawing at him, begging for divinity. He sighed and fed one to each of them. Their bodies floated into the air, shimmering within a halo of light, but then they simply returned to their original forms and dropped back to the ground.

"That’s strange," Lethe mused.

"What is?"

"It seems like you’re doing everything right. Their development and health are good, and their forms during the transformation are ideal. I honestly can’t figure out why they aren’t fully awakening."

Lethe offered some corrections to his training methods and advised him to vary their diet, but she couldn’t pinpoint the reason for their stalled progress. Nevertheless, Simon was more than satisfied with the day’s results.

"Well then, let’s head back," Lethe said, stretching her arms wide. "The children will be here soon, and we need to prepare for today’s class."

"Okay. Let’s go."

---

The hectic days continued. Early mornings were for divine beast training with Lethe, followed by his role as a teacher for the children. After the children went home, he would finally eat and rest, only to venture beyond the barrier in the dead of night to search the snowy mountain. The blinding cold persisted, and they frequently got lost, but Simon and Lethe were slowly getting their bearings.

He was also growing closer to the children.

"Mr. Sean! Mr. Sean!"

As Simon was putting away toys, three little girls tugged on his clothes. He turned with a warm smile.

"Yes? How can I help you?"

One of the girls beamed.

"I want to marry you, Mr. Sean!"

A series of choked coughs erupted from the kitchen, where Lethe was preparing snacks.

"Can’t you live with us in our village forever?" another girl pleaded.

"Even if you marry Anda, I want to have your baby, Mr. Sean!" the third declared.

Simon was a big hit with the children. He gently patted their heads and smiled kindly.

"I think it’s a little too early for that. If you still feel the same way in fifteen years, will you tell me again then?"

"That’s too long!"

"Anda is only five now!"

"How many nights is fifteen years?"

Simon managed to placate the children and get them back to cleaning up. As he walked over to grab a picture book, he saw Lethe setting a plate of snacks on the table, a mocking smirk on her face.

"Well, well. Congratulations on your fifteen-year engagement, Mr. Sean."

"...Don’t tease me."

And so, the peaceful days passed.

---

At the same time, in Kula.

"My lord! The food supplies are gone!"

"We’ve run out of winter gear!"

"Monsters have occupied the outskirts of the city! The displaced residents are demanding compensation!"

"We don’t have enough medicine to treat the injured!"

The cold grew ever more severe, and the city’s situation became dire. The lord of Kula pressed a hand to his forehead, his face etched with worry.

"People are boiling tree bark to survive. We have two days at most!"

"You must make a decision, my lord! We can’t just sit here and die."

The lord, gaunt from days of stress and starvation, lifted his head. His gaze drifted to the snowy mountain beyond the window.

"You’re right."

With a soft clink of metal, his hand closed around the hilt of the sword leaning against the wall.

"We can’t just sit here and die."