The Summoning Genius of the Necromancer School
"Ugh..."
Jessica, who had fallen to the ground along with the bones, could not get up for a moment.
She felt embarrassed and ashamed.
In her eagerness to retaliate against her opponent's actions, she had rushed in and ended up betting everything on a match.
No, in truth, it was all part of her opponent's scheme.
With all her techniques blocked, all she could do was clench her fists and charge in like a moth drawn to a flame.
She had lost completely, both in skill and in psychological warfare.
The gap in their abilities was that vast.
"... Now I'm going to the lower squad. Maybe that's for the best. The upper ranks must be crawling with monsters like that."
As she sighed deeply, rationalizing her situation, Simon approached her.
"Are you okay?" He knelt down, smiling gently, and extended his hand.
"......"
Jessica stared blankly between Simon's outstretched hand and his smiling face.
Suddenly, a rush of emotions surged up, and her eyes grew hot with tears.
"T-This..."
"?"
"You arrogant, spoiled brat!" Jessica cried out, her voice trembling.
Simon flinched and pulled back his head in surprise.
"Do you think you're the only one who's great? Huh? You just look down on people! You win the match and then pretend to be nice at the end? You bad person!"
"N-No, I was just..."
"You're worse! Uwaah!" She sobbed as she ran out of the arena.
Simon stood there for a moment, staring at Jessica's retreating figure, lost in thought.
"Student."
At that moment, the referee approached.
"We need to proceed to the next match, so please step aside."
"Ah, yes."
Simon scratched his head awkwardly, feeling embarrassed, and then hesitantly asked the referee, "Um, was I a bit too harsh just now?"
The referee laughed cheerfully, as if to say, "What do you mean?"
"It was very much like you! It was refreshing to see such a lively match after a long time! Haha."
Simon had never felt so uneasy about being told he was "like himself."
As he turned to leave, a female staff member who was cleaning the floor quietly said, "Actually, it was a bit harsh."
"...... Haha."
Simon covered his face with his palm.
He had been so focused on his own situation that he hadn't considered his opponent's feelings at all. '......
I should go apologize to her personally tomorrow.'
Now, only the midterm exams remained.
The weekend was especially hellish.
After hearing information from Dick, he went to line up at the library from 4 AM, but there were already many people ahead of him.
After waiting for another two hours, the library doors opened, and a massive bottleneck occurred.
Some students flew up by stepping on the darkness or ran along the walls, while a few aspiring necromancers passed through the walls using spirit transformation techniques.
All the seats were filled within 20 minutes, and Simon barely managed to secure a corner seat before it was too late.
Then it was study, study, study.
The library was open 24 hours during the exam period.
He could focus solely on studying without any distractions.
As he remained holed up in the library, the weekend flew by like lightning, and the midterms began immediately.
There were exams for eight subjects, with two subjects tested each day, and each subject required two hours of testing.
"Number 8, number 2!"
"Number 2! Yay! I got it!"
"Hey, isn't this number 4? This is where resistance occurs and blocks the mana flow."
"You're an idiot! This is direct formula; why would there be resistance?"
"Ah! I didn't see it was a direct formula!"
After each exam, students flocked around Mei Lin, who was known for her excellent studying skills.
Simon found himself drawn in but had no time to spare for grading.
He returned to the library.
He had to study.
Studying was his only path to survival.
Everyone said the exam period was hell, but Simon didn’t find it that bad.
Everyone was focused on a single goal without worrying about anything else.
No one was harming or obstructing anyone; they were all just looking to grow themselves.
Simon enjoyed this atmosphere of healthy competition.
And then, "The exam is over!" The last exam for the Sacred Defense and Martial Arts courses was finished.
The moment the bell rang to signal the end of the exam, all the students erupted into smiles and raised their arms in celebration.
Dick, with a quill in his mouth, climbed onto his desk and lifted his shirt to show his belly, only to be promptly hit by Mei Lin.
While everyone was writhing in joy at their newfound freedom, Simon quietly leaned back in his chair, savoring the aftertaste of the exams. '......
I really did my best.'
"Hey, hey. Simon."
Mei Lin approached with her arms crossed.
"Did you do well in Summoning Studies? I hope to see you at Kizen again~" she asked playfully, and Simon sighed.
"Really, if I could just go back a month, I would want to smack my own head."
"Huh?"
"Now I realize how reckless my words were."
He needed to surpass Mei Lin's score of 85 in Summoning Studies.
He thought he could surpass it by just 10 points, but that 10 points turned out to be an insurmountable gap.
'......
Simon.' Kamibarez looked at Simon with concern.
If Mei Lin won and forced Simon to drop out, he would do anything to prevent that disaster, even if it meant begging Mei Lin.
Mei Lin was equally flustered.
What had started as a playful topic had turned serious.
"You're not saying... you messed up in Summoning Studies, are you?"
"No." Simon smiled brightly.
"But the conclusion is that I will win."
"Ah—what?!" Mei Lin burst into laughter, and the atmosphere brightened again.
They began discussing where to go for fun over the weekend and what to eat when Dick suddenly leaned in.
"Sorry to interrupt your plans, but there's an important issue. Should I tell you?"
"What is it?"
Dick looked around cautiously, ensuring no one was eavesdropping, and then spoke in a hushed voice.
"After this weekend, the entire first-year class might be sent to an island. Island Survival."
At those words, Mei Lin's face hardened seriously, and Simon and Kamibarez exchanged puzzled glances.
"What is that?"
Dick grinned ominously and waved his finger.
"They'll drop the entire first-year class on an island crawling with monsters and see who can survive for four days. It's also called the Island Survival Evaluation."
"...... Four days?" Kamibarez gasped, rubbing his shoulders.
"Once you're on the island, you'll have to fend for yourself for food and shelter, and you'll need to hunt monsters to earn points. You can even compete with other students for points. Naturally, the lowest-ranking students will be expelled."
"Ah...."
While Kamibarez trembled in fear, Simon's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Why are you so happy about this?"
"Well," Simon couldn't hide his rising smile as he continued, "It sounds like so much fun!"
"...... Are you serious?"
"Yeah. Camping on a deserted island, hunting, and surviving against monster attacks! Wow, I really love that kind of stuff."
Simon had experienced many such adventures in the treacherous mountains of Reshill.
Meanwhile, Dick and Kamibarez looked at him as if they couldn't understand.
"But Dick, is that information reliable?" Mei Lin interjected.
"How do you know about Kizen's schedule?"
"No, no."
Dick waved his hands.
"Of course, it's not 100% certain. It's still in the speculation stage."
"Based on what?"
"Well, apparently, the minions have been secretly taking 'Tengpads' out of the storage."
Tengpads were devices that students wore during large evaluations like Island Survival to track points and other statistics.
"And for the past two days, the teleportation team from Kizen headquarters has been working on a large-scale operation at the school, bringing in a lot of materials for magic circles. Some professors even booked vacations for next week? Classes are clearly scheduled for next week, so why the sudden vacation? Doesn't that give you an answer?"
Everyone was taken aback by the quality of the information.
Dick crossed his arms, looking smug.
"Hehe, to survive in this harsh world, you need this level of information!"
"Impressive! Dick! How do you know so much about Kizen's affairs?" Kamibarez looked at him in admiration, and Dick puffed out his chest.
"The key information routes are confidential, so I can't really say. But, well, I try to befriend all the minions at Kizen. At first, they find me burdensome, but I keep following them around, calling them 'brother' or 'sister,' and sometimes I treat them to meals or give them pocket money. As a Kizen student, I lend my name when needed."
Simon nodded.
When he hung out with Dick, most of the minions treated him casually and comfortably.
"Actually, other noble kids think of minions as mere servants or helpers, so they don't care much about them. But minions are the true source of information."
"Yeah, yeah. You're so great."
Mei Lin turned her head and scoffed.
This time, Simon spoke up.
"So, if that evaluation is true, what should we prepare?"
"Well, I guess we should power up like we do for duel evaluations. Oh, and..."
Dick snapped his fingers.
"Survival skills!"
"Huh?"
"You know, things like building shelters, starting fires, gutting game, and identifying edible herbs."
The faces of the two girls suddenly darkened.
"Y-Yeah. We might have to eat monsters..."
Mei Lin, who was always confident, suddenly looked shaken.
Kamibarez's complexion also turned pale.
"...... Can't we just go a few days without food?"
"Do you think that's as easy as it sounds? And if you just starve, you won't have the strength to fend off monsters or other students' attacks. You have to eat to survive."
The two girls' faces grew increasingly grim as they grasped the situation.
On the other hand, "...... Ah, this is going to be so much fun."
Simon was beaming with excitement.
The three of them looked at him as if they couldn't comprehend.
"This won't do."
Mei Lin said.
"I'm going to go down to Roche to eat monster meat this weekend."
Dick chuckled.
"What difference does it make if you eat the ones sold in stores? The difference between a chef's cooking and what you eat on-site is like heaven and earth."
"Ah, I don't care! My taste buds might change a bit!"
"Speaking of which..."
Simon spoke up, and everyone's attention turned to him.
"Remember that meat soup we had at Professor Hongpeng's cabin?"
"Oh! That! It was so delicious!"
"I still think about it sometimes."
Simon smiled as he spoke.
"I heard that it was actually made from monster meat."
The eyes of the three widened in surprise.
"Hey!!" Suddenly, Mei Lin lunged at Simon, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him.
"Contact Professor Hongpeng! Please! Ask for the recipe! He especially likes you!" She shook him desperately with a pleading look.
Simon sighed with a wry smile.
"I don't know if it will work, but I'll send a letter."
"Y-You really will?"
"Please, Simon!"
And the very next day, a reply from Hongpeng indeed arrived.