Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 77: Episode

Simon’s eyes widened. A guest instructor? This was a first.

"Pleaze come in," Jane said.

At her gesture, a middle-aged man with a friendly smile and wearing work clothes covered in pockets walked to the podium.

"I’d like to introduze Hunter Edward Burckbeck," Jane announced. "He may be an unfamiliar faze to zome of you, but he iz a legend in hiz field, a top-tier treazure hunter who haz dizcovered over twenty ancient ruinz."

Applause filled the room. Dick was practically bouncing in his seat. "Holy crap! For real? ’The’ Treasure Hunter Edward? Professor Jane’s connections are on another level..."

"Is he famous or something?" Meirin asked with a bored expression.

Dick turned to her, aghast. "How can you not know Edward? That’s just a stunning lack of general knowledge!"

"I’m asking who he is," she repeated flatly.

"Aaargh!"

On the podium, Edward offered a nervous smile. "Ah, um. A pleasure to meet you. You’re all Kizen first-years, correct?"

"Yes!" the students roared back.

"Ohoho! To think I’d see the day I’d be teaching at Kizen! I must have really made it. Actually, my success is all thanks to my father. I was born into unfortunate circumstances, but..."

’Ahem.’

Jane, standing behind him with her arms crossed, cleared her throat. Edward flinched and straightened his back. "Ah, right! I’ll skip the life story and get to it! I pride myself on having been to every corner of the Dark Alliance. Well, to be precise, there’s nowhere on the continent I haven’t explored. I’ve even snuck into the Holy Federation’s territory a few times..."

"Hunter Edward," Jane’s voice was a low warning.

"Ah! My apologies! Hahaha! Simply put, I’m a survival expert. I may not possess powerful black magic like you, but the weak have their own methods of survival. It all comes down to thorough preparation! Now, now."

Done with his rambling introduction, Edward pulled materials from his bag and stuck them to the blackboard—charts and illustrations of the island’s flora and fauna. Assistants began distributing copies to the students.

"The location of your test is called ’Kera Island’," Edward explained. "It’s a restricted area, but there are several other islands nearby. I’ve explored all of them, which has allowed me to make educated guesses about Kera Island’s ecosystem."

Though he was clearly intimidated by Jane and the prestige of Kizen, Edward became a consummate professional once he started speaking about his field. He covered edible and poisonous plants, which monsters were edible and how to prepare them, weather patterns, dangerous terrain, tides, how to avoid attracting monsters, and methods for repelling wild snakes. Even the haughty nobles who had been slouching in their seats were now leaning forward, completely captivated. This was, after all, vital information they would need in just two days. Quills scratched furiously across parchment.

"Yep! That’s all for my presentation. Thank you for your attention! Any questions?"

Hands shot up across the room. As Edward answered them one by one, Simon scanned his copy of the materials.

’Huh?’

Among the various monsters listed, one stood out. He wasn’t sure why, but his eyes were drawn to it—a creature with its face wrapped in what looked like bandages. As Simon stared at the image, Pier’s clone stirred.

[Hey, boy...!]

’Oh, Pier. When did you get here?’

Pier’s clone’s eyes widened. [That picture! Bring it closer!]

Simon held the paper to his chest so Pier could see. The clone’s pupils were trembling violently. [This can’t be. Impossible! Why is he there?]

"Do you know him?"

[Of course I do! That is an Ancient Undead who served as a commander of the Legion!]

Simon’s eyes widened. ’A commander? Here?’

[Hehehe. To think I’d see that face again...] Pier’s clone muttered, his voice turning grave. [Boy! You remember the Legion’s sin, do you not?]

’Yes. On my father’s orders, they betrayed the Dark Alliance to protect my mother...’

[Correct. After a long and brutal war, as the Legion retreated from a massive Alliance offensive, one among us gave his life to hold back their forces, allowing the rest of us to escape to the sea.]

’Don’t tell me that’s...’ Simon’s gaze returned to the bandaged monster.

[His name is Vickrum,] Pier said, his tone heavy with meaning. [Commander of the Legion’s Giant Squad.]

Pier explained that Vickrum was an Ancient Undead who had willingly sacrificed himself for the Legion. He was known for his uncharacteristic loyalty and devotion.

[I was certain he had perished then. To think he survived... and on an island owned by Kizen, of all places.]

Simon stroked his chin, deep in thought. It was strange. One of his father’s undead, on the very island where he was about to take an evaluation? The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence. But the potential prize was too great to ignore.

[There is a connection!] Pier insisted. [If you travel inland from Kera Island, you reach the port city of Valot. Vickrum went missing during the battle there.]

’That makes sense. Since he’s my father’s undead, I’d like to recruit him. Is that alright?’

[Hehehe! Of course! He is a vital asset. Securing him would grant you immense power.]

’Alright. Nothing to lose. I’ll try to make contact.’ On top of the survival evaluation, Simon now had a new objective—one that might be far more important than his grade.

[But a great deal of time has passed,] Pier warned. [His personality may have twisted, or his loyalties may have changed.]

Simon nodded. Erzebet had been uncooperative at first, too.

[Therefore, you must take me with you! I will persuade him myself.]

’Hmm.’ Simon flipped through the guidebook with a troubled expression. ’It says here they inspect all students’ Subspaces right before teleportation. Unnecessary items and food are prohibited...’

[A Subspace inspection? What a nuisance.]

’I’ll figure something out. I should stop by the ruins tonight and talk to Erzebet.’

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Jane clapped her hands and returned to the podium. "That concludez today’z lezzon. Prepare thoroughly over the next two dayz. It would be wize to familiarize yourzelvez with the detailed rulez and the operation of the Tonguepad. Dizmizzed."

"Good job today!"

The students flooded out of the classroom. A few, including Dick, lingered, hoping to get an autograph from Edward, but they scurried away under Jane’s withering glare.

"Simon, what are you doing? Let’s go get something to eat," Dick said.

Simon smiled. "Sorry, can you eat with Meirin’s group today? I have some personal business to take care of."

---

"Three minutes and twenty-one seconds remaining for mealtime."

Edward decided that the Vice-Principal of Kizen was more terrifying than any monster or trap he had ever faced. He shoveled food into his mouth without tasting it and was now being escorted—or rather, marched—by Jane toward the teleportation circle.

"M-Ma’am," he began, forcing a smile. He had to at least try. Surely she wouldn’t turn him into a skeleton just for asking. "Five hours! No, just two! A professional treasure hunter can’t come all the way to the mysterious Roc Island and leave without a look around...!"

Jane glanced at her wristwatch, her expression blank. "Entry to Roc Izland iz forbidden without official permizzion. Your permit expirez in zix minutez and twenty-three zecondz."

Cold sweat trickled down Edward’s back. ’How can anyone be so stubborn?’ But he couldn’t give up. "Th-Then couldn’t you extend the permit? A professor named Bahil asked me to give a lecture to Class B as well..."

At that, a fire ignited in Jane’s eyes. Realizing his mistake, Edward clapped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late. Jane beckoned to a nearby assistant. "Tell Profezzor Bahil to come to my rezearch lab. Immediately."

"Uh, for what purpose should I summon him...?" the assistant asked nervously.

"Juzt tell him if he doezn’t run here in ten minutez, I’m coming to find him."

The assistant took off like a man possessed. A twitch started at the corner of Edward’s mouth. Forget adventuring. He’d be lucky to get off this island in one piece.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the teleportation circle leading back to the mainland.

"Does that make any sense?" But the trouble wasn’t over. A teleportation manager approached with a grim report, and Jane erupted. The manager bowed repeatedly, looking like a condemned man. "The magic zircle iz overloaded due to preparationz for the Izland Zurvival, and you’re offering that az an excuze?"

"I-I’ll rectify it at once!"

"Have the entire teleportation team azzemble in my rezearch lab by zix o’clock."

"Yes, ma’am!"

Jane sighed and turned to Edward, bowing her head slightly. "Due to internal maintenanze, your return will be delayed by approximately ten minutez. On behalf of Kizen, I apologize."

"Ah, ahaha... I-I’m fine! Really!" ’She’s going to discipline them that harshly over a ten-minute delay for an outsider? Is this place run like a military camp?’

"I will have to in-zpect the magic zircle myzelf," Jane stated. "Hunter, pleaze wait here. Do not move."

Her words seemed to root him to the spot. ’Is this that curse I’ve only heard about?’

"Understood! Take your time! Haha!"

As Jane went to inspect the circle, Edward let out a sigh of relief. His legs felt weak, and he squatted down to rest.

"Hello!"

A voice startled him. He looked up to see a male student in a Kizen uniform smiling down at him.

"Oh! A student...!"

"I’m from Class A. I was in your lecture earlier, Hunter. It was a great class."

Edward’s self-esteem instantly rebounded. He shot to his feet, pulling a pen and paper from his pocket with lightning speed. "Heh heh, excellent. What was your name again?"

"I didn’t come for an autograph," Simon said. "I have a question about your lecture."

Edward’s face fell as he lowered the pen. ’Why is everyone at this school so cold?’

"This monster," Simon said, holding out the picture of Vickrum. "Do you happen to know anything about it?"

Edward took the photo, studying it with a thoughtful "Hmm."

"So there was a picture of this one in the batch, huh. I printed them all at once, so I didn’t check every single one." He shook his head and handed the photo back.

"I found it fascinating, so I snapped a picture, but I have no idea what kind of monster it is," Edward explained. "I’ve been in this business for thirty years, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like it."

"What do you mean, ’fascinating’?"

Edward’s eyes narrowed in recollection.

"The fog was thick that day, so I can’t be sure I saw it clearly, but the monster was suddenly wandering the island in a gigantic form. By the time I scrambled to get my magic camera out, it had already shrunk back down."

Simon swallowed hard. "How big did it get?"

Edward’s face hardened as he recalled the moment. "Big enough to cover the entire island."