The Summoning Genius of the Necromancer School
Simon was pushing through the dense underbrush.
Behind him, skeletons carrying the wooden house he had made yesterday followed closely. 'This is why I love summoning studies.' Ever since he learned about summoning, his hands and shoulders always felt light.
Even in a place swarming with monsters like this, he felt at ease.
Before Simon could even spot the monsters, his summoned creatures would rush in and take care of them.
He only needed to arrive at the scene and collect the teleport point.
The countless advantages of having a large number of summoned creatures were beyond words.
'Oh?' Simon, who had been walking ahead, stopped to examine the droppings of a monster that had fallen in the bushes.
Next to the droppings, he noticed some footprints.
It seemed he had entered the territory of a level two monster, the Lacker.
"Guys, let's hurry past here."
At Simon's command, the skeletons quickened their pace.
[But, boy.] Pier's voice came through. [Didn’t you say you would go straight to the center? What method are you planning to use?] "Oh, it's simple."
As Simon pushed aside a large leaf and emerged from the jungle, a wide view opened up before him.
The sound of water flowing refreshingly filled his ears.
"We're going to row up that river."
[Rowing? When did you make a...
Hah!] Pier's clone moved its eyes to look at the wooden house the skeletons were carrying.
Indeed! Now that he looked closely, it was unmistakably the shape of a wooden boat.
"Alright, be careful coming down."
With a thud, Simon helped the skeletons carry the wooden house down the steep cliff carefully.
Pier continued the conversation. [The idea itself isn’t bad, but rivers usually flow from inland to the sea, don’t they?] "Let me explain."
Simon drew a picture in the air with one free hand.
"Imagine a large island in the center, surrounded closely by four smaller islands. Do you understand?" [Hmm! I understand.]
"I heard from Dick that this entire area is not called 'Kera Island.'" Simon gestured towards the large landmass in the center.
"Only this central island is called Kera Island." [What?] "The exact name of this area is 'Kera Archipelago.' The other islands are separate from Kera Island. In other words," Simon pointed to the water streams between the islands surrounding Kera Island.
This was exactly where Simon was standing.
"This is not a river; it's the sea." [Oh!]
"If you actually taste it, it’s salty. It’s the sea flowing between the islands, not a river."
Simon checked the time on his watch and opened a space pocket.
"And the current in this time zone is said to be exactly consistent."
- Grrr! Grrr! -
At that moment, the sound of barking dogs echoed from the forest. 'Oh no!' A group of Lackers with six legs spotted Simon and came rushing towards him.
It seemed they had caught his scent.
"Everyone, hurry!" Simon and the skeletons quickened their pace down the cliff.
However, the opponents were the native monsters of this area.
They swiftly descended the steep cliff with ease. 'At this rate, we’ll be caught.' Fighting on such a cliff was truly dangerous.
Simon quickly thought and gazed at the sea below.
"Stop! Let’s just drop it here!" Simon and the skeletons bent their knees slightly and then threw the wooden house with all their might.
With a splash, the wooden house fell into the water.
- Kunk! Kunk! Kunk!
Simon recalled all the skeletons into the space pocket and ran.
"Huff!" Then, without looking back, he leaped down the cliff with all his strength.
The claws of the Lackers barely grazed Simon's uniform. 'The timing is perfect!'
Boom! Simon's body landed precisely on the wooden house that was floating in the current.
The boat rocked violently, and the seawater splashed up, soaking Simon completely. 'Got it!' Simon clenched his fist.
The boat had not sunk, and he had successfully boarded it.
In the distance, the Lackers that had become like dogs chasing a chicken barked loudly.
[Hahaha! Good! Very good!] Pier laughed teasingly.
Soon, the wooden boat began to drift away at an incredible speed.
It was surprisingly pleasant.
Water droplets splashed up continuously.
"I told you, right? We’ll turn the tables in one go."
Early in the morning, while most of the Kizen students were exhausted from building houses, lighting fires, and hunting, Simon was almost on a free pass heading towards the central Kera Island.
In terms of speed, it was incomparable, and since it was dawn, the risk of being attacked by other students was greatly reduced.
[Hahaha! This is great!] Simon and Pier glided smoothly along the current.
"I came just in case."
Dick sighed deeply.
Behind him stood seven Kizen students armed with weapons.
This was the area leading from the other four islands of the Kera Archipelago to the central Kera Island.
The islands were connected by large rocky bridges.
At first glance, it looked like a natural bridge that had always existed, but in reality, it was a bridge built by Kizen for the island survival.
It was a structure enchanted with black magic, making it nearly indestructible unless one unleashed considerable firepower.
Dick had gathered a team using his wits to guard this bridge, facing off against students on the opposite side. 'Well, they wouldn’t just leave this place unguarded.' Dick scratched his head.
To advance to the center, they had to break through here.
So he had come out early in the morning when others were tired and asleep, but as expected, other students were guarding the area.
"What are we going to do, Dick?" asked a male student carrying a skeletal scythe.
Dick was held in absolute trust by his team members.
He could easily find paths even in the dense jungle, build houses, identify edible fruits, and dismantle monsters, possessing knowledge and survival skills that other noble students lacked.
In just one day, all the team members had come to rely heavily on Dick.
"Um."
Dick crossed his arms and pondered for a moment.
"In this terrain, there aren’t many sharp strategies. For now, I’ll go negotiate with them. I’ll try trading some food, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll have to charge through."
"Got it."
"I trust you, Dick."
Just as Dick took a deep breath and was about to walk towards the bridge, he heard a commotion.
"Hey, what’s that?" "It’s a person!" Murmurs arose from various places.
Dick turned his head to look towards the sea.
A smile filled with joy appeared on his face. 'Simon!'
Swish! Simon, riding on the wooden boat, was approaching the central Kera Island along the current.
"Wow! Did he really think of rowing in this rapid current?" "…That’s quite bold."
Dick desperately tried to suppress his smile as he looked down at Simon. 'As expected, Simon! That crazy guy!'
Dick had imagined a way to ride the sea, but he had concluded it was practically impossible.
The current was too strong, making it impossible to steer with paddles.
Moreover, "Hey! Shoot that guy!" The students on the opposite side of the bridge wouldn’t just let him be.
Black arrows and various dark magic began to rain down on Simon's boat. 'I have to help him.'
The team members here were just people he met out of necessity, but Simon was different.
He was the most important friend he wanted to be with for the next three years.
Dick turned around and shouted.
"Guys, now’s the time! Let’s cross the bridge!" "…Now?" "That guy on the boat is drawing their attention! We have to cross now!"
At Dick’s urging, the other students nodded.
Soon, they all shouted and rushed towards the bridge.
"They’re coming over the bridge!" "Take them down from that side!" The firepower that had been focused on Simon was now dispersed towards the bridge.
Seeing this, Simon smiled. 'Fortunately, they’re moving too.
Now’s the chance.'
The current quickened, and the boat was getting closer to the landing point Simon desired. 'Just a little more, just a little closer…' Boom! A loud explosion echoed, as if his eardrums would burst.
When Simon looked up, a shadow briefly passed over him.
A large black cannonball was falling towards the boat he was on.
It seemed there were skilled individuals on the other side of the bridge as well.
The trajectory was precise, making it impossible to dodge.
Simon raised the corners of his mouth and summoned black energy to his legs.
Without hesitation, he jumped off the boat.
Boom! The boat Simon was on was directly hit by the cannonball and shattered into pieces.
"Huff!" Now was the crucial moment.
Simon opened a space pocket and dropped the skeletons.
The skeletons’ arm bones were holding onto the 'Buressali' he had obtained in the jungle earlier.
Buressali was a plant that floated on water, and even skeletons made of bones would float as well.
'Over there!' The skeletons fell precisely holding the Buressali in the direction Simon wanted.
Simon stepped on it and jumped again.
He repeated dropping the skeletons into the space pocket and stepping on them.
It was like hopping on stepping stones.
"Wow!" "…Is that even possible?" The students watching were left speechless at Simon’s almost acrobatic movements.
As the attacks from the ground intensified, Simon began to lay the skeletons densely on the water’s surface and started running. 'Stepping on the black!'
Whoosh! Avoiding the incoming black arrows, Simon soared several meters into the air, spinning gracefully before landing on the ground.
He immediately opened the space pocket and dumped out the remains of the skeletons.
Most were left with only their lower halves.
Simon turned around and stretched out his right arm. 'Restoration!' The bone fragments that had been swept away by the current floated into the air and swiftly flew towards the bodies of the skeletons on the ground, attaching themselves like lightning.
In an instant, more than ten skeletons were fully restored.
Only the Buressalis were swept away by the rapid current.
"Let’s go!" Simon dashed into the forest with the skeletons. 'Wow, that guy is really…!' Dick couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at the sight.
Both Dick and the students on the other side of the bridge were wide-eyed.
"Who is that?" "He can use skeletons like that?"
However, among the students on the other side of the bridge, one suddenly turned his back.
He had left the formation without permission.
"Hey, wait! Why are you moving on your own?" A student beside him grabbed his shoulder.
At that moment, a black demonic arm shot out from the man’s back, striking the student.
"You crazy!" "What are you doing?!"
Betrayal at this timing! Haren Cork, who had drawn the Black Hand from behind, smiled as he said, "You all do what you want. I have other business to attend to."
Haren left those words behind and dashed towards the forest where Simon had disappeared.