The Summoning Genius of the Necromancer School Chapter 37
After another round, it was finally the last turn for Group 7. If they failed this time as well, their chances of winning against the real Cyclops next week would become even slimmer.
Everyone was determined, especially Mei Lin, who stood seriously warming up her body.
"It's coming!" With Dick's shout, the Cyclops emerged through the dense trees and roared.
Once again, Simon's skeleton rushed out first. 'I must hold on!' While Simon's skeletons drew the Cyclops' attention, Mei Lin prepared Dark Flare, and Dick and Kamibarez readied their Exgests.
Up to this point, everything was the same as before.
Crash! One skeleton couldn't withstand the Cyclops' barrage and was shattered.
Immediately, Simon connected with the thoughts of the skeletons standing behind and issued an attack command.
Slash! The Cyclops, having been struck in the back, became furious and attacked the skeleton.
"Dark Flare is 80% complete!" Mei Lin shouted.
"The first Exgest is complete!" "Me too! I'm moving on to the next stage!" The two of them held the completed Exgests in their right hands and began creating a new Exgest with their left hands.
This was the core of their new plan.
The only time Simon's skeletons could hold the Cyclops was at the beginning, when the Cyclops recognized the skeletons as its only enemies before Mei Lin or the other members could launch their attacks.
By extending that initial phase, they would reap all the benefits.
Even after completing Dark Flare, Mei Lin stood still, while the other two prepared the second Exgest.
Since it was almost their first time with multi-casting, both of them made several mistakes, but Simon miraculously managed to control the undead well enough to cover for them. 'Seventh skeleton deployed.
Go!' Of course, this strategy relied heavily on Simon's role in holding the Cyclops at bay.
If Simon's concentration wavered even slightly, the Cyclops would immediately turn its attention to Mei Lin.
"Simon! It's time!" Finally, Dick and Kamibarez completed four Exgests.
Hearing that, Simon released the assembly state of the skeletons without hesitation.
The skeletons scattered to the ground, and the Cyclops, having lost its target, looked around and spotted Mei Lin.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! The monster charged forward, shaking the ground.
At the same time, it entered the range of the curse.
"Exgest!" "Exgest!" The magic circles of Dick and Kamibarez erupted with flames, and the curse latched onto the Cyclops' body.
The Cyclops slowed down.
In that moment, Mei Lin threw the Dark Flare.
The black flames began to scorch its skin, filling the air with a terrible burning smell.
- Kyaaaaaah! The Cyclops flailed and raised its club.
Watching closely, Simon shouted, "Straight down, smash!" Mei Lin leaped, landing where the club had just struck, creating a crater in the ground.
"Get back! Bend your body and swing sideways!" Boom! The Cyclops slammed the ground, twisting its body to raise its club again, but Mei Lin dodged even that.
"Dash forward!" Simon, having grasped the Cyclops' movements, gave the command, and Mei Lin followed suit.
Since the opponent was under the effect of four stacked Exgests, even Mei Lin, with her poor reflexes, could avoid it.
"One more hit!" Dick and Kamibarez added another pair of Exgests.
That made it the sixth Exgest! The Cyclops, which had been wildly swinging its club without regard, finally showed signs of fatigue.
"I'll use blood magic!" Kamibarez drew blood from his fingertips, summoning a red magic circle.
The blood magic 'Blood Silk' surged forward like a carpet, passing right in front of the Cyclops' face.
Though it lacked lethality, the thick scent of blood made the Cyclops flinch and stop moving.
"Now's the time! Simon!" Two skeletons that had been hanging on the Cyclops' back suddenly wrapped chains around its neck.
They were borrowed items from Dick's pocket dimension.
The monster roared and tried to charge at Mei Lin, but the chains tightened, halting its movements.
The ends of the chains were already secured to the trees by the skeletons.
- Kyaaaaaah! The Cyclops writhed in pain from the lingering embers of Dark Flare.
With some breathing room, Mei Lin pushed forward to prepare the next Dark Flare. 'Did, did we really pull it off?' The tactic using terrain formed by the undead.
When Simon first shared his plan, it seemed reckless, but he executed it far too simply.
Mei Lin, astonished, unleashed her second Dark Flare.
Whoosh! The flames that had been dying down flared back up fiercely.
The Cyclops' eyes bulged with blood vessels as it screamed madly, resembling a damned soul thrashing in sulfurous flames.
"Now, the seventh!" Dick continued stacking Exgests.
Now, Simon joined in after Kamibarez.
Thud! Thud! The Cyclops thrashed violently.
Finally, two trees that had been tied down by the chains were uprooted.
The Cyclops began dragging the chains and trees toward them.
"Leave it to me!" Seeing this, Dick cleverly infused the chains with darkness.
Dick's specialty was 'Enchant', based on infusing darkness.
The darkness contained in the chains was converted entirely into weight, making it as if the Cyclops was dragging heavy tools.
"And now, fall down!" With an unusual shout, Mei Lin's third Dark Flare exploded against the Cyclops' body.
Boom! Only then did it kneel to the ground.
The roaring flames engulfed the Cyclops entirely, and the stench of burning flesh spread throughout the forest.
Soon, the sight of its ashes collapsing to the ground was visible.
[Simulation Success] Time Taken: 6 minutes 48 seconds.
Damage Inflicted: 100%.
Barrier Gauge: 97%.
Overall Evaluation: B.
"We did it!" Mei Lin shouted, clenching her fists.
"Wow, wow! We really caught it! Hahaha!" The other three rushed over.
Perfectly according to plan! Moreover, everyone had performed their roles well.
Group 7 embraced each other and jumped with joy.
- Congratulations on clearing, Group 7. Jane's comments followed.
While pointing out the tendency to rely too heavily on the capabilities of a single summoner and the lengthy hunting time, the overall feedback was positive.
The remaining time and the weekend would be dedicated to maximizing their proficiency in Dark Flare and curses.
"Thank you, Professor!" As they exited the training room, several students applauded them.
There were also plenty of envious glances.
Although it took a long time, capturing the Cyclops was no small feat.
"Wow, Simon! You're truly my rival! Well done!" Cindy Vivace approached, raising her hand high.
When Simon smiled and opened his palm, she gave him a loud high five. 'That hurt.' Simon shook his hand and asked, "Did your group succeed?"
"Of course! Once I got the hang of spirit transformation, it was easy!" If Group 7 was centered around Mei Lin, Group 5 was entirely focused on Cindy Vivace.
She transformed into a spirit form that couldn't be hit by physical attacks, dodging the Cyclops' strikes, then returned to slash with the black scythe made by her teammates.
They successfully captured the Cyclops without any issues.
"But Simon, weren't you majoring in necromancy?" "...... No, I wasn't."
While everyone was chatting in a friendly atmosphere, Hector, who had just finished the simulation and was resting, had a sinister glint in his eyes.
Contrary to the notorious reputation of Kizen in the world, Simon was enjoying the best days of his life there.
The classes from Kizen's professors were tough but undeniably fun.
Chatting with friends during breaks about their performance evaluations, rushing to have limited menu items with Dick during lunch, visiting the library during spare moments, or learning undead management through tutoring from Pier were all enjoyable experiences.
In the curse class, Bahil had been paying more attention to Simon lately.
Mei Lin was now reconsidering Dick's words. 'Is Professor Bahil really favoring Simon?' Of course, Simon shook his head.
He had low grades in curse studies and hadn't done any preparatory learning, so he was always lagging behind in practicals.
He couldn't find any reason for someone like Bahil, who was a perfectionist, to favor him.
"That's all for today's class. Have a great weekend."
"Thank you for your hard work!" With Eric's class on dark mechanics wrapping up, the week passed safely.
Tomorrow was finally the weekend! The students were excitedly planning their outings to Rochester.
"Pathetic. Pathetic."
Watching the cheerful students, Mei Lin grumbled while packing her things.
"How can they even think about going to Rochester when next week is the Cyclops performance evaluation? They're really hopeless fools."
"Oh, really?" Dick, sitting in a chair with his head propped up, chuckled.
"Aren't you just sulking? Kamibarez got asked out, but no one is inviting the ace of the Ivory Tower to hang out, right?" "Hey!!" They were two people who would always bicker first.
And as Dick said, Kamibarez had just been called out by a male student.
Even Simon thought she was quite popular.
With her cute appearance, gentle personality, and kindness, she was a girl who smiled and was friendly to everyone.
The boys wouldn't let her be.
Just then, Kamibarez, who had been called out, rushed back into the classroom.
"Kamibarez! What happened?" Dick quickly asked.
"Um..."
Her face flushed as she spoke in a crawling voice.
"I'm sorry, but... I declined..."
"Just as I thought!" Mei Lin's expression, which had been anxious, brightened 200%.
"I knew Kamibarez had a mind of her own! You're going to stay and practice with us this weekend, right?" "Ah, yes! I realized my shortcomings during the simulation... I want to practice with all of you."
Kamibarez, who answered like that, subtly glanced at Simon's face.
When their eyes met, she startled and quickly looked away.
"Sorry, but~ I'm passing. I'm busy with business schedules."
Dick shrugged.
Mei Lin glared at him sharply, but she didn't say anything more.
For Dick, who aimed to be a merchant, weekend plans were just as important as classes.
With her arms crossed, Mei Lin turned to Simon.
"You’re not planning to have some weekend schedule like that fool, are you?" At Mei Lin's question, Simon felt a jolt.
He was indeed planning to visit the ruins to meet Pier over the weekend.
"... Tomorrow might be tough, but I'll join the training the day after."
"Oh, really! You're going to do this too? Don't you know your role is the most important in this performance evaluation?" Simon quickly waved his hands.
"It's not just for fun. I'm going for personal training."
"Personal training?" "Yeah. I have someone in Rochester who helps me with my summoning studies."
Mei Lin blinked in surprise.
"Oh my, did you manage to get weekend tutoring? So you were aware that you hadn't done any preparatory learning."
"Y-yeah."
Kamibarez, who had been sulking, suddenly perked up.
"W-well, you can still see us at Kizen the day after tomorrow, right?" "Yeah. I need to practice with you guys."
"That's a relief!" "Hey, Dick! You should come tomorrow night too."
"I don't know how it will turn out, but I'll try."
"You really act busy."
"A sad girl with nothing to do on the weekend, Mei Lin."
"Just die!"
Watching the two bicker, Simon laughed out loud.
At the same time, he was recalling his weekend plans in his mind. 'There are only a few days left until the real battle.' Simon was planning to train intensely with Pier this weekend.
In fact, he hadn't shared this with the other members, but Simon's goal this time was not just to stall for time with the undead. 'I will defeat the Cyclops with skeletons.' It was something none of the summoning students in Class A could even dream of, but Simon was planning it.