The Summoning Genius of the Necromancer School
Simon proposed, "So the problem is that Mei Lin can't dodge the Cyclops' attack? Then I can help Mei Lin with my summoning magic."
"...... How?"
"Skeletons. I'll summon the undead to distract the Cyclops. In the meantime, Mei Lin can prepare her Dark Flare to strike."
There was no doubt that Mei Lin's 'Dark Flare' was the most effective means of attack for Team 7. If the issue was protecting Mei Lin, Simon could certainly take action from the perspective of summoning magic.
Not only could he draw attention away, but he could also take the attacks aimed at her with the undead.
"Wow."
Mei Lin smiled with satisfaction.
"You make sense. But still, a special case is a special case, right?"
"Uh-huh."
With the most important issue of Mei Lin's survival seemingly resolved, Dick had no choice but to accept his role.
Mei Lin turned to him with a brightened expression.
"What about Kami? Don't you know any binding techniques related to blood flow?"
Kami Barez scratched his head and laughed.
"Blood flow magic is a constantly changing attack-oriented study... I think it would be better for me to just use curses."
Mei Lin nodded in satisfaction and then looked at Dick.
Dick, who had been squeezing his brain for ideas, finally sighed deeply and seemed to give up.
"I’ll practice for a week."
"Yes, yes. That's the way for the team!" Mei Lin said with enthusiasm.
Simon smiled and reassured Dick.
"We haven't finalized the strategy yet. We still have time before the next strategy evaluation class, so let's keep thinking."
"Y-yeah."
As Dick replied, he looked at Simon again.
Although Mei Lin was the leader, it was Simon who truly coordinated the opinions of the members and led the atmosphere.
At the same time, he took care of his own interests.
If he could protect Mei Lin, who was the core of their attack with the undead, a high teamwork score was practically guaranteed.
While they were discussing specific details, the bell signaling the end of class rang.
Jane stood up and said, "Prepare a 10-minute presentation on how to tackle the Cyclops by the next class. Each member's role and the dark magic used must be specified in the materials. That's all."
"Thank you for your hard work!"
Simon, who had been seriously discussing, finally relaxed his face.
The moment class ended was always a pleasant one, no matter how many times he experienced it.
"Run, Simon!" Dick said while packing his bag.
"Today, the limited edition hamburger steak is at the cafeteria!"
Simon also smiled and got up.
"I can't miss the limited edition."
After finishing their meal, Simon and Dick arrived at the classroom for their last class of the day, the Poison Studies lecture.
To be precise, it was not just a classroom, but the 'Poison Studies Second Practice Room,' where a large magic cauldron was placed under the desks where they could take notes.
As Simon and Dick settled into their seats, Mei Lin entered the classroom with her eyelids raised.
Kami Barez followed her with a smile.
"The information was wrong! You said there was limited edition hamburger steak in the cafeteria? There wasn't even a menu!"
Dick chuckled.
"It sold out in five minutes, so they took it off the menu."
"...... Ugh, that's annoying."
"Well, you should have run like crazy with Simon, taking the shortcut."
"I don't know that way! What's wrong with going together?"
Dick waved his wrist dismissively.
"Oh, are you trying to eat with us? No way. Let's not pretend to know each other outside of our beginner dark magic class."
"I don't want to either."
Mei Lin said this as she unpacked her things next to Simon.
"But until the Cyclops performance evaluation, I can't help it. Just to be clear, if you guys act uncooperatively and mess up my grades, I won't let it slide."
"Wow, how scary. What will you do if you don't let it slide?"
As she fell silent, Dick leaned in and pretended to listen closely.
"I'll listen carefully! What will you do? What will you do? Speak calmly."
She growled, "I-I'll curse you! I'll throw a hundred curse dolls into your room!"
Dick burst out laughing.
"Before that, you'll probably get caught for breaking into the boys' dormitory by my information network or be found as a corpse by the angry Kazan Edvaldt."
"Who is Kazan Edvaldt?"
"Just someone."
Dick grinned and patted the back of his head.
"Who is it?" Mei Lin shouted, demanding an answer, while Dick teased her, and they playfully bickered.
Meanwhile, Kami Barez and Simon exchanged glances.
"Hello~"
"Hi."
Soon after, other students entered, filling the classroom.
Then, the Poison Studies professor walked in.
"Uh, who is the class leader in this class?"
The professor's name was Lang Strouds.
He was a very thin old necromancer with a hunched back and wrinkled skin that made him look quite aged.
"There isn't a class leader!"
"Then you'll introduce yourself from now on."
"Yes!"
Jamie Victoria jumped up.
"Attention! Salute to the professor!"
"Hello!"
"Alright, alright. Come on in."
Lang was the only professor who made students stand at attention and salute in Kizen.
He leaned on his staff and slowly walked up to the podium.
"Uh, what class are you all in?"
"We're in Class A!"
"Oh, really? Is this your first class in Class A?"
"Yes, it is!"
Lang opened the textbook and said, "Then everyone, please open to page one."
Then, Lang began to read the textbook in a slow tone.
The impact was tremendous.
Just ten minutes into the class, students began to blink sleepily.
The damp tone of his voice and the slow pace of the class were incredibly powerful, almost like he was releasing sleep gas from his mouth.
"Uh, so Poison Studies is not just a study that deals with poison. It involves combining and arranging various drugs—"
Dick's head suddenly drooped.
Simon sighed and nudged him with his elbow to wake him up.
Startled, Dick woke up but soon let his head droop again after just five minutes.
The boring theoretical explanation disguised as reading the textbook continued for forty minutes.
Before long, half of the students had their heads down on their desks.
Lang looked up and said, "Uh, now we will make a low-level poison potion..."
Finally, it was time for practice! Students who had been dozing off began to lift their heads one by one.
The teaching assistants quickly moved to place potion ingredients in front of the students' desks.
"Uh, then we will begin... Let's see. Potion preparation requires thorough measurement..."
Thorough measurement and the order of ingredient addition were of utmost importance.
The students accurately weighed the ingredients using the scale set up on one side.
The teaching assistants filled the cauldron with water, and under Lang's direction, they first added 'Black Spore Mushroom' and 'Frog Tongue.'
"And next..."
Suddenly, Lang bent over and began to cough violently.
"Cough! Cough! Ugh! Gah!"
The symptoms looked quite severe.
The students were startled, their eyes wide as the teaching assistants rushed over to check on Lang's condition.
Blood-like purple fluid gathered in his hand as he coughed.
"Professor, you overexerted yourself. You should take a break."
One of the teaching assistants said.
Lang shook his head while coughing.
"Oh, that's not acceptable. If I'm not here, the class will..."
"But it's time for practice. We can manage the practice without you. You need to think about your health."
After being persuaded several times, Lang was finally helped out of the classroom by the other teaching assistants.
The students blinked, wondering what was happening.
Then, a teaching assistant with red hair stepped up to the podium in place of Lang.
She sighed softly and noticed a male student still dozing off among the students.
She lifted a heavy textbook with one hand and threw it at the student.
Thud!
The textbook hit the male student's desk and he jolted awake in surprise.
"Everyone, wake up."
"......?"
"Wake up!"
The students, finally coming to their senses, jumped up.
The red-haired teaching assistant crossed her arms and glared at the students.
"How dare you show such disrespect to the professor, Class A?"
"......."
"Are you going to sleep with your head on the desk during class? What kind of rotten students are you to be in Kizen?"
The atmosphere was tense.
Everyone straightened their backs, looking nervous.
She paused for a moment, as if to calm her anger, placing her hand on her forehead.
"Let's at least maintain a minimum level of courtesy. Do you understand?"
"Yes, we understand!"
"Take your seats."
The students, now fully alert, sat down.
She sighed deeply and tied her hair back with a string.
"I am Francesca Belmond, the teaching assistant of Professor Lang. From now on, I will conduct the class on his behalf. The practical product will be a low-level poison potion. Please close your textbooks."
The students, looking bewildered, closed their textbooks.
She picked up chalk and approached the blackboard.
"The most important key in preparing low-level potions is not controlling the variables through uniformity of ingredient measurement and order, but the fluid adaptability of the sorcerer. By now, the water in the cauldron should be boiling. Please add Salamander Powder and Barley Powder from the left ingredient bundle."
One student raised his hand.
"How much should we add?"
"The amount doesn't matter. Add as much as you feel is right."
Following Francesca's instructions, Simon and the other students freely added the ingredients.
Soon, Simon's cauldron began to turn green and emit a bitter smell.
"Now, students whose cauldron is producing blue smoke, please raise your hands."
About half of the students raised their hands.
"These students will create a poison potion with nerve-paralyzing effects. Next, students whose cauldron is producing green smoke?"
The rest, including Simon, raised their hands.
"Students with green smoke will create a poison potion with acute headache and hallucination effects. This is advantageous against wizards or necromancers."
The students blinked at each other, realizing this was definitely knowledge not found in textbooks or prior studies.
She walked down from the podium, moving among the students and rapidly pouring out information.
"Students with green smoke, please take off your uniform jackets and hang them on your chairs. The teaching assistants will prepare additional materials for you."
"From now on, this is a common step. Please skim off the layer of oil that is forming on the surface. Plant-based fatty acids reduce the potency of the poison."
"Keep stirring. You must stir steadily until the potion reaches a sticky viscosity. If the heat is too high, the potion may solidify, so please be careful with the fire."
Perhaps because they had just come from Lang's sleepy class, Francesca's class felt vibrant and dynamic.
She was also sweating profusely as she passionately guided the students.
Perhaps inspired by her skill and effort, the students began to follow her with sparkling eyes.
"My potion is turning yellow. Is that okay?"
"Very well done, student. A slight yellow tint is a special product among poison potions. You could probably sell that in Rochester."
The student, surprised by the unexpected praise, beamed with joy.
His friends patted his arm to congratulate him.
"I'm Catherine Meyer! At first, it produced blue smoke, but then it changed back to green!"
"When you stirred with the ladle, the ingredients at the bottom came up, changing the effect. You should steer it towards the hallucination effect. Hesse, please prepare the ingredients for the green smoke."
Francesca began to check the cauldrons as she moved among the students.
At that moment, a female student raised her hand.
"I'm Claudia Menzies! Professor, my potion seems a bit strange..."
Francesca's expression hardened.
Claudia quickly realized her mistake and covered her mouth.
"I'm not the professor. I'm just a teaching assistant, Claudia."
"I-I'm sorry, teaching assistant!"
"Alright, what's the problem?"
That was as far as her anger went.
Francesca smiled gently and guided Claudia's potion.
When Claudia added more Salamander Powder as instructed, Francesca even patted her head, praising her.
"Hey, hey. Simon."
Dick leaned towards Simon and whispered quietly.
"I think I understand why the old professor Lang survived in Kizen. The teaching assistant is incredibly capable!"
"...... Indeed."
Claudia, deeply engrossed in Poison Studies, was even consulting about her major.
Simon watched Francesca, who was kindly answering her questions, with a complex expression.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's fine."
As the class approached its end, Francesca granted free time to the students who successfully completed their potions.
For those who failed, she provided another opportunity to teach them.
Having successfully made the poison potion, Simon flipped through his textbook.
"Simon! Should we take this for the Cyclops battle? I think the poison potion might work!"
Just as Simon was thinking the same thing, he smiled.
- To face the Cyclops, you will need to push your abilities to the limit this week.
Don’t let any class pass by carelessly; make sure to master everything to use in your performance evaluation.
He felt that all the class content could be applied in practice.
Jane's teaching skills were indeed impressive.
"You're foolish. This won't work."
At that moment, Mei Lin approached with her arms crossed.
Kami Barez stood beside Simon with a bright smile.
"A low-level poison potion won't work on medium monsters. The Cyclops definitely won't be affected."
"Is that so?"
Simon continued to flip through the textbook in silence.
Then, his hand paused on a certain page. 'The ingredient is Lehak Mushroom?'
It was the mushroom that Anna Polentia sometimes used to neutralize poison and cook for him.
Simon read through the content with his head down.
"Mei Lin, what about this?"
"What is it?"
Mei Lin came closer to check the part Simon was pointing at.
"......."
After a moment of silence, Mei Lin suddenly lifted her head and dashed back to her seat.
"Simon! What page is this?"
"254."
Mei Lin hurriedly opened her textbook and began to read the relevant content seriously.
"Guys! If we can make this, it might work!"