The Summoning Genius of the Necromancer School
The recruitment targets for the group class tomorrow were set from first to tenth place.
The first priority target was 'Jamie Victoria.' She was an excellent student majoring in curse studies.
Her lively and proactive personality was also a plus factor.
The second priority target was 'Claudia Menzies.' She was the talent in main blood studies and sub-poison studies, whom Dick had said was the most ideal.
If they could recruit her, the entire first semester would be much easier.
They had also compiled a list up to the tenth priority.
"Even if we can't catch Jamie or Claudia, it's important to quickly move on to the next candidates. Oh! And I’ll actively appeal to the fact that you are the special case number one when recruiting the others. Is that okay?"
"Yeah. No problem."
The two of them lay down on the bed after tightly planning their strategy.
Simon felt a sense of pride.
Was there another group that prepared their strategy this diligently? Deep down, he was looking forward to the class tomorrow.
The next morning, a new week at Kizen began.
When they entered the classroom for the first period of 'Beginner Black Magic,' it was completely different from the quiet atmosphere of the previous week.
Now, familiar faces had emerged, and they were chatting noisily with each other.
As Simon quietly sat down and took out his textbook, Dick placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I just talked to Jamie! We’ve more or less broken the ice."
Simon showed an expression of admiration.
"You’re really good at this."
"Hehe, networking is essential in business. This is what I used to do."
Just then, footsteps were heard outside the classroom.
The students quickly took their seats.
It was finally the moment to find out who would be the professor for Class A.
"Please be Bahil!" Dick muttered.
Simon secretly hoped that Aaron from the Summoning Studies would be the professor for Class A.
Other than that, Hong Peng from the Martial Studies was also acceptable, and Eric from the Dark Arts seemed kind and would likely teach black magic well.
And then, the door opened.
"Ah...!" Everyone's mouths dropped open.
"No, this must be a joke?" Dick's pupils shook as if an earthquake had struck.
The professor stood at the podium, cutting through the silence.
With an extremely restrained bob cut, a cold and sharp impression, and charismatic purple eyes, she was the deputy president of Kizen.
"I am Jane Olivia."
She was the second-in-command at Kizen.
"Although I hold the title of deputy president, you may call me professor during class."
She was Nephthys's closest aide and, in fact, wielded the full authority of Kizen on her behalf.
She was one of the most prominent figures among the professors they had seen so far.
"... Why is she teaching a first-year class?" Dick murmured in a hushed voice.
As he said, it was rare for the deputy president to directly teach students, and if she did, it was mostly third-year classes.
"Well, unexpected situations can arise in life, don't you think? Dick Hayward."
Dick stiffened in shock as if he had seen a horror film. 'H-how does she know my name?' Cold sweat dripped down the back of Dick's neck.
Jane turned to look at the students.
"I will be in charge of the Beginner Black Magic class for Class A this semester. As Dick Hayward mentioned earlier, I have only taught third-year classes until now..."
Her gaze narrowed.
"I hope you all make an effort not to feel the level difference too much."
Sounds of gulping could be heard from various places.
In fact, being able to attend a class taught by the deputy president of Kizen was an incredible stroke of luck, but due to the rumors surrounding her, the students couldn't smile freely.
Jane was the person who best fit the slang term 'Kizen-like' commonly used among students.
She was known for expelling anyone who showed even the slightest sign of incompetence or whose attitude displeased her.
Even the top-tier 'third-year' students, who were cherished at Kizen, could not escape the blade of expulsion, so it was no wonder that Class A students were already filled with fear.
"Then, let’s begin the class."
Jane broke the silence and spoke.
"As you all know, <Beginner Black Magic> encompasses eight subjects and supplements the basics of necromancers that the eight subjects cannot teach."
As she signaled, the teaching assistants entered with thick bundles of paper and began distributing them to the students.
"Before that, you need to know how proficient you are in the eight subjects."
Simon and Dick's shoulders trembled.
A test for all subjects right from the first class! This was completely unexpected.
"The test time is 22 minutes per subject. First, you will take four subjects, then have a four-minute break, and then take the remaining four subjects consecutively. If any cheating is detected, I will remember your name and expel you once the student protection period is over."
There was no time to catch a breath.
Jane declared, crossing her arms, "Then, let’s start the test."
For Simon, this was the first school test he had ever taken.
At the same time, it was one of the most difficult and painful three hours of his entire life.
Of course, it was not so much physically exhausting as it was mentally torturous.
[7. After casting the Paralysis Curse, the subject's body showed symptoms of muscle rigidity and hypertonia, and petrification occurred 20 minutes later.
Assuming the subject's mana loss rate is 0, what is the correct black value that needs to be added to the subject's curse resistance and the Paralysis magic circle?]
'...
I can't solve this at all.' The black was the letters, and the white was the paper.
It was clearly written in the continental language, but he couldn't understand what it meant at all.
He felt frustrated.
It was clearly a problem meant to be solved, yet while the other students were moving their quills, he had to sit there blankly.
A sense of helplessness he had never experienced before took over his body.
Just because things had been going well recently, and he had obtained his father's undead army, he thought he could easily adapt to Kizen, which was a foolish assumption.
'Yeah, this is reality.'
Since he hadn’t done any preparatory learning, he had to work much harder than others.
Faced with problems he couldn't even touch, Simon's determination grew stronger and more stubborn.
The three hours that felt like an eternity finally passed.
"Ugh."
"This is really hard."
After the test was over, the expressions of the other students were not good either.
Dick turned to a student in the back as he handed in his test paper.
"How was it? Simon."
Simon forced a smile. "...... I really need to study hard."
"I agree."
After collecting all the test papers, Jane looked at the students.
"You all did well on the test. Enjoy your lunch, and I’ll see you in two hours."
"Thank you for your hard work!"
No matter how miserable he felt, the mention of lunchtime made his body spring up as it always did.
The students of Class A flowed out of the classroom like a tide.
"Let’s get started."
"Yes!"
Jane and the teaching assistants' work was just beginning.
They began distributing the test papers and grading them at their respective desks.
Among them, Jane was undoubtedly the fastest.
Her hands moved so quickly that they were almost invisible to the eye.
The quill came down from top to bottom and immediately turned to the next page.
"......"
But when did it start? A girl's face appeared next to Jane's desk.
She rested her cheeks on the edge of the desk, blinking her large blue eyes.
"...... You must be busy, but why are you here? Nephthys."
With a cold tone, Jane asked, and the girl innocently smiled and replied, "To play!"
"......"
Ignoring her, Jane resumed grading.
Nephthys, feeling mischievous, swung her legs while sticking to the desk.
After holding back for a while, Jane finally snapped and struck Nephthys on the top of her head with her palm.
"Ouch!"
"Don’t disturb me."
"Uwaaa! Jane always hits me!"
Holding her head, Nephthys ran over to grab the clothes of a nearby teaching assistant, tears streaming down her face.
The sudden appearance of Kizen's ruler turned the assistant's face pale.
"Phew."
Jane sighed.
"Don’t bother my poor subordinate and come over here."
"No! No! If I go, you’ll hit me again!"
"Come quickly."
When Jane said coldly, Nephthys pouted her lips and approached.
"You all move to the empty classroom next door and continue grading."
"Yes!"
As if they had been waiting for those words, the teaching assistants hurriedly fled the classroom with the test papers.
Nephthys puffed out her cheeks, glaring at Jane.
"Jane! You’ve been so cold to me lately!"
"I’m the same as usual."
"Hmph. You’ve really changed! When I picked you up from the slums, you were a pure child who held my hand tightly with scared eyes and trembled!"
"That pure child has been suffering from overwork and job stress for 24 hours and has become like this."
Jane said decisively, handing half of the test papers to Nephthys.
She blinked in surprise.
"Huh? What is this?"
"What do you mean? Since you’re here, don’t disturb me and help with the grading."
"......"
Realizing the situation late, Nephthys smiled sheepishly and took a step back.
Just as she turned to run away, Jane, who was faster, caught her and held her by the waist.
"No! Let go! I don’t want to work!"
Jane struck Nephthys on the head again, making her behave, then sat her down properly and handed her a test paper and quill.
"Jane. Do you know this is child abuse and a violation of labor laws?"
"Who the hell is a child? Stop talking nonsense and hurry up."
"...... Yes."
For a while, only the sound of quills moving could be heard.
After finishing five test papers in one go, Jane glanced sideways at Nephthys.
Nephthys, pouting her cheeks in annoyance while grading, wrote 'fool' on a wrong answer.
"What are you doing? Don’t mess around."
Another merciless strike to the head followed.
Nephthys covered the spot she was hit with both hands, on the verge of tears.
"Stop it! She’s really a complete fool! She got the basic question number 2 right, but got the comparison question right below it wrong!"
"Hmm."
Jane examined the problem and chuckled.
"Number 2 was solved using a formula, while number 3 was solved based on common sense without going through the brain. It’s a common mistake students make."
"You fool! What’s her name?"
Nephthys flipped the test paper to see the front.
"Huh?" The name was obscured.
"It’s a blind evaluation. If I grade by name, there might be bias."
"...... You’re going this far for just a test? Thorough."
"Even if it’s just a test, there are many interesting samples."
Jane pulled out one of the graded test papers.
"And this is the opposite of what Nephthys has graded."
"What is it?"
"From questions 1 to 15, the basic problems submitted for scoring were mostly wrong. However..."
She flipped the test paper over.
"Question 20. They challenged the most difficult problem."
On the last page, question 20 was filled with dense formulas that made the whole paper look chaotic.
"What is all this?"
"Ancient runes of the Dark Arts, summoning formulas for instance skeletons, and the calculation method for curses."
"...... No way?"
Jane smiled and nodded.
"Yes. This student did not do any preparatory learning. They meticulously combined the content learned just last week to infer the answer."
Nephthys read through the test paper.
"What? It’s a calculation problem for dark quantities, but they used a summoning formula? They assumed that resistance is proportional to the dark quantity loss rate."
"Yes."
"So they got it right?"
Jane shook her head.
"If you use the Teron formula, the answer is exactly '1,200,000.'"
"Then what did this student write?"
"1,200,146."
Jane's expression became frighteningly serious.
"The answer they provided was not the intended correct answer, but it was closer to the correct answer."
Nephthys peeked at the test paper.
She could see that the strict Jane had marked question 20 as correct.
"Nephthys. I have a question for you."
"What is it?"
"Why did you assign me to the first-year class? Especially..."
She tore off the white paper that had been blindfolded over the name.
[Simon Polentia]
"To the Class A where this boy is."
Nephthys rested her chin on her hand and smiled brightly.
"Hehe, I don’t really know what you’re talking about."
Jane sighed inwardly. '......
That old fox who has been around for 300 years.'