Chapter 351
“You came just in time, come in.”
Click!
The door opened, and the third participant revealed himself.
It was someone Simon knew very well. No, more than just knowing—he saw him every single day.
A male student with gray hair, and a scar over one eye.
“Kajan!!”
Simon was thrown into utter confusion.
This was clearly an academic conference, and not just that—it was the schedule for participating in a Summonology thesis presentation. And the ones going with him were Serne and Kajan?
“Sorry I’m late.”
Kajan showed no particular emotion. He gave a slight bow to Aron, and then turned his gaze to Simon as well.
From the side, Serne smiled with crescent-moon eyes and waved elegantly, but Kajan cleanly ignored her. When she pouted in annoyance, he ignored her once more.
“Since it seems you already know each other, no introductions needed. Sit down.”
As the three students sat side by side on the sofa, Aron continued speaking.
“I will now begin reviewing your theses.”
If Aron read the thesis and judged it insufficient, they would not be able to attend the conference. Simon suddenly felt a wave of tension surge through him.
Aron started by examining Serne’s paper.
Flip.
Flip.
The papers turned one by one at a brisk pace.
Anyone would be nervous having Professor Keyzen himself reviewing their thesis, yet Serne only kept her calm smile.
Indeed, Simon had never seen Serne be afraid of, or intimidated by, anyone. Not Professor Keyzen, not even when a saintess stood right before her.
She simply looked down, as if the entire world lay beneath her feet.
Sss.
At last, Aron finished reading Serne’s thesis and set it down on the desk.
“I have no idea what you’ve written here.”
Simon’s mouth dropped open. A Summonology professor couldn’t understand it?
“But.”
Aron’s voice sank low.
“To the mad eccentric necromancers at the conference, this would hit the mark. Well done.”
“This much is basic for me!”
With a smug air, Serne ran her fingers through her slightly tousled hair.
Now it was the next turn. Aron began reviewing Kajan’s thesis.
Simon glanced at Kajan with a somewhat uneasy expression.
‘What is going on here, Kajan?!’
This was the most mysterious part. Kajan was the epitome of an “all-in on Magical Combat” type, with every subject other than Magical Combat at failing level. He had even admitted himself that he scored 20 marks on the Summonology midterm.
And such a person had written a Summonology thesis?
“......”
From the very first page, Aron was stuck. His expression hardened, and he lingered on one section for quite a while.
“......Kajan Edvalt.”
Aron raised his head, eyes cold.
“What in the hell are you?”
Kajan replied in a blunt voice.
“Just a repeat student.”
The atmosphere turned strange. A tense current sparked between the two, while Simon, caught between them, could only fidget nervously. Serne, already bored, rested her chin on her hand and idly trimmed her fingernails.
Aron looked again at the first page. The content was terrible, but in the corner of the page, in atrocious handwriting, was scrawled:
Just let this guy pass!
- Neftis -
Above it were childish doodles of flowers, trees, and clouds, presumably drawn by Neftis herself.
Aron sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead, and finally set the thesis down after only reading the first page.
“Pass.”
‘That’s a pass?’
Simon gaped at Aron. Without offering any explanation, Aron picked up the last thesis, Simon’s.
‘At least I hope this one heals my rotten eyes after the last two.’
He opened to the first page.
‘......!’
For the first time, a look of surprise appeared on Aron’s face. Before he realized it, he had already read to page five.
He glanced up at Simon, back at the thesis, back at Simon again, repeatedly.
‘Why… why is he looking at me like that?’
Simon was in a state of extreme tension. His hands, folded politely on his lap, were damp with sweat. A few parts of his thesis began pricking at his chest like needles.
‘...Haah, I wish I could fix a few things now. I should’ve kept it simple, it’s my first thesis after all.’
Time passed without him even noticing. Finally, Aron finished reading Simon’s paper.
Quietly setting it down, he closed his eyes as though savoring the lingering aftertaste.
‘The writing is sweet.’
The opening seized attention with a bold development, while the later pages thoroughly supported that boldness with meticulous detail. It brimmed with content to satisfy a necromancer’s burning curiosity.
On top of that, it carried the fresh perspective of a student whose mind had not yet ossified.
It pinpointed areas the stale, decayed minds of veteran necromancers could no longer see, and altered them with a creative touch.
Aron opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on Simon.
“Simon Follentia.”
“Y-yes, Professor!”
“Separate from the conference,”
He tapped Simon’s thesis with his fingertip.
“You may submit this paper as your final evaluation for Summonology.”
“!”
Simon’s mind raced.
The final evaluation in Summonology was a massive assignment worth 40% of the grade: “Create a Magic-Type Undead and Write a Thesis”.
This meant Aron was willing to accept this thesis in place of that important assignment.
‘It’s worth that much.’
Aron thought that if Simon submitted it as-is, he would have no choice but to give him an A+. The paper was simply that good.
However—
“I refuse.”
Simon answered without a moment’s hesitation. The tense boy from earlier was gone, replaced by eyes firmly set with resolve as he met Aron’s gaze.
“I’m not changing what I said before. For my final evaluation, I will submit a lich, no matter what.”
“......”
That bursting youth and passion.
No matter how many times he saw it, Aron thought Simon looked a lot like his younger self.
But now, as an adult, Aron could only speak like an adult.
“Even if you really do create a lich and submit it, if the quality of the lich is lacking, your score could end up lower than with this thesis.”
Simon closed his mouth, and simply gave a faint smile.
That was answer enough.
“......Fine. Your thesis passes. In many ways, this academic conference will be quite the commotion.”
After that, Aron went over a few points of caution.
Because it was an event where people of all kinds would gather, the three of them were to always move together. He also told them to avoid giving other necromancers any cause to find fault with them.
The three nodded.
“I think this academic conference will be a good experience for you. Learn a lot, that’s all.”
* * *
And so, the next morning.
Simon arrived in Pentamonium, where the conference would be held, via a teleportation magic circle along with Serne and Kajan.
“Woooooah......!”
If he had to describe his first impression of the city in one phrase, it would be, ‘the city of glass’.
Especially striking were the dozens-of-stories-tall giant structures, processed from translucent ore that looked like glass, rising toward the sky as if to pierce it.
People called these buildings the “glass towers”, a concept paralleling the Ivory Tower, with each tower dedicated to a different field of black magic. There were a total of seven towers.
There are so many people, Simon thought.
Along the streets, necromancers in stylish suits could be seen.
There were also many ordinary people who had not opened their Cores, and during the conference, the ratio of ordinary people to necromancers was about 3:7.
During the conference, nearly all areas except the core zones were open to the public.
Even if one wasn’t a necromancer, modern industry revolved around Darkness and black magic. This conference was useful for keeping up with trends and catching the scent of profit.
“It feels good to be outside the stifling Roke Island for the first time in a while.”
Serne said, smiling as she pushed her sunglasses up onto her forehead.
The eyes of passersby naturally turned toward her. People, young and old, male and female alike, glanced at her. He could hear comments here and there—about how beautiful she was, or that it was the Keyzen uniform.
Indeed, just wearing the Keyzen uniform was enough to draw tremendous attention. Such was the overwhelming influence of the “Keyzen” brand name to outsiders.
Serne snorted lightly and took out a mirror. Kajan checked the time once and spoke.
“I’ll be taking the role of leader, so I’ll guide you.”
“Hold on.”
Simon looked at Kajan as if to say, Good that you brought it up.
“Kajan, why are you even here? You never told me a word about it.”
“A mission.”
Kajan’s answer was curt.
It was that word he often used, “mission”. The kind of word that gave off the feeling that asking further would only get you hurt.
“What kind of mission?”
Now that Simon was more familiar with Kajan, he asked without much thought. Kajan let out a sigh before answering.
“A security mission.”
Then he glanced briefly toward Serne as well.
“And surveillance, too.”
“?”
Serne blinked innocently, but Kajan ignored her.
“Would security even be necessary in such a closed, crowded place?”
In response to Simon’s question, Kajan scratched at the scar near his eye.
“Even on Roke Island, you were attacked by Legion Commander Magnus. Only recently, thanks to the Crows tracking him, has Magnus been keeping his head down, but there’s no harm in being careful.”
“Yes, I understand. I’ll be caref—”
“Oh! That reminds me!”
Serne cut in suddenly, throwing her arms around both Simon and Kajan’s shoulders.
“This combination! We’ve gathered again! The saintess-killer trio hiding our power!”
Simon gave a wry smile.
‘That naming is awful.’
“Get off.”
Kajan said, his face twisting in annoyance.
When Serne finally let go with a sulky look, Kajan gestured.
“Follow me.”
Following Kajan, they arrived at the first floor of the glass tower dedicated to Summonology. According to the description, the entire building was for Summonology-related facilities.
‘Oh!’
On the wall was a massive board filled with schedules for events being held in the building. There was a New Summoned Creature Contest, heated debates, and speeches by famous figures.
‘Amazing. So this is an academic conference!’
From the perspective of someone deeply interested in Summonology, this place was paradise. Simon’s eyes darted left and right.
‘I want to go to all of them! I wish I had ten bodies.’
As Simon scanned the schedule, he found his own time slot.
<Necromancer Student Thesis Presentation>
—Keyzen, Aland, Sierra, Moyran.
It seemed that students from other schools besides Keyzen were participating as well.
Today was for second-year students’ presentations, and tomorrow would be for first-years.
‘I can’t wait!’
While Simon’s heart pounded as he looked over the schedule, Serne and Kajan were arguing.
“Five minutes is all I need, I said.”
“We’re going together.”
“Oh my, how far are you planning to follow me? You have a sly side, don’t you?”
“I’ll decide how far to follow.”
In the end, Serne and Kajan walked off together.
Simon decided to wait in a nearby seat, his head full of thoughts about what to see first.
“Oh! Look who it is.”
A high-pitched voice broke him out of his thoughts.
“A noble Keyzen student has come.”
“Elite among elites.”
Three students—two male and one female—wearing green plaid uniforms, were approaching Simon.
Simon’s eyes widened.
‘No way.’
This was the first time he had come face to face with students from another necromancer school.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters