Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner-Chapter 312: Episode

The moment the divinity touched its body, the kitten trembled slightly, as if savoring the sensation. Its white fur gained a sheen, and soon, it began to glow.

"This is an important moment of awakening for this child as well," Parahan said, waving his fan. "Yes, the moment it finally realizes it is a ’divine beast’."

Simon frowned slightly. He felt all his divinity being sucked into Hayangi in a sudden rush.

And then, with a great flash, the kitten floated into the air, enveloped in a dazzling aura of light. ’Here it comes!’ Simon’s eyes shone with anticipation. The cat’s form seemed to distort and change, and then... with a soft pop, the light vanished, and it fell back to the ground in its original form.

"Huh?" Simon blinked, bewildered. Nothing had changed at all.

Hayangi hopped up and down on the spot, then came over to Simon and started rubbing against his face, meowing. ’How did you do that? That was fun! Do it again!’ That’s what Hayangi seemed to be saying.

"P-Professor." Simon looked up at Parahan. "The divine beast isn’t changing. Did I do something wrong?"

But a deep smile was spread across Parahan’s lips.

"This is even better!"

"Sir?"

Parahan said, unable to hide his excitement, "This cat seems to be no ordinary divine beast! In my opinion, there’s a possibility it could transform into an object, or some unknown entity."

"...An object? It’s an animal, can it do that?"

Parahan nodded.

"Have you heard of ’Akan’, the continent’s greatest Arch Paladin? He transforms his drake into a flying airship and pilots it. This kind of objectification requires a significant level of enlightenment from the divine beast itself. I believe the reason this cat failed to transform is likely because it is too young and inexperienced."

Simon tried with Kkamangi, who was right next to him, but the result was the same. A halo of light appeared, then it returned to its original form and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Ugh, this isn’t easy. Akalion did it in one go."

While he was at it, Simon tried infusing Akalion’s body with divinity. The small, teddy-bear-like creature’s body grew several times larger, transforming into a muscular bear.

’Meow!’

The kittens, who had been approaching to bother Akalion, were startled by its enlarged form and ran away. They hid behind Simon’s legs, trembling. The now-larger Akalion snorted proudly. The tables had turned.

’It’s amazing that he could do it after seeing a divine beast activation just once.’ Parahan watched Simon with a satisfied smile.

"Although you failed today, the potential of these divine beasts has only grown, so don’t be too anxious. They will be able to transform in the not-too-distant future."

"Thank you, Professor!" Simon bowed his head deeply.

"Then I’ll have to change the lesson plan a bit. From now on, we’ll increase the focus on Divine Beast Studies, and the cats will have to train as well. We must have them attempt to transform consistently so they can awaken as divine beasts."

Simon nodded.

"Yes, sir! I’ll leave it to you, Professor."

"Then for today, let’s go over some basic attack techniques using Akalion—" Parahan stopped mid-sentence and looked at the watch on Simon’s wrist. "I’d like to, but time does not permit it."

"What?" Simon quickly checked the time, his expression turning to one of surprise. He had no idea how much time had passed. Two hours had vanished.

’Ugh! I wanted to learn the divine beast techniques before I left!’

It was a shame, but he had to prepare for his Venomology class that morning. During evaluation season, every single class was important.

"You should get going," Parahan said, gathering the cats into his arms.

Simon recalled Akalion into his divine subspace.

"Please take good care of the cats! I’ll tell Kami, too!"

"I will."

Simon summoned his jet-black and started running toward the school. The cats meowed and tried to run into Simon’s arms, but Parahan held them back.

"It seems these children have already chosen their master." A satisfied smile appeared on Parahan’s lips as the angry cats bit his fingers.

---

He had made incredible time. Simon felt like he would have broken his personal best if he had timed his run. With a few minutes to spare, he arrived at the Venomology lecture hall.

’Is Dick not here?’ He was looking around for Dick’s seat when he noticed the classroom was in an uproar.

"Woooow!"

"So cute!"

There was always at least one student who would bring some strange item to class for attention. This time, it was an event-style bunny-ear hat that covered the entire face. They were trying it on each other and bursting into laughter.

"Don’t you think it would look good on Kami?"

"Totally! This was made for Kami!"

Suddenly, the students swarmed Kamibarez, trying to put the hat on her.

"Wh-What?" Surrounded by people, Kamibarez blushed in embarrassment. But when she saw the bunny ears, her own interest was piqued, and her wings started to flutter.

"Just once! Please wear it just once! Pleeease!"

As the students begged, Kamibarez reluctantly put it on.

"L-Like this...?"

As she tilted her head while wearing the bunny-ear hat, screams erupted from all directions.

"Kami is so cuuute!"

The girls were squealing, hugging her and calling her cute, while the boys stood with their mouths agape, wearing fond, dopey smiles.

"Hey, wait! Stop bothering Kami!" Hearing the commotion, Meirin came running over, her sky-blue hair flying. At her appearance, the surrounding girls exchanged glances and quickly spoke up.

"W-We weren’t bothering her!"

"Shut up," Meirin growled. "You know she’s uncomfortable, so what are you doing surrounding her like this?"

"Meirin?" However, the moment she witnessed Kamibarez in the bunny-ear hat, Meirin clutched her heart and collapsed as if her legs had given out.

"M-Meirin! What’s wrong?"

She couldn’t breathe. This was, in all seriousness, a lethal level of cuteness.

"Hmm." Just then, Class President Jamie let out a slight smile and threw out a suggestion. "Don’t you think it would look good on Meirin, too?"

"Yeah, yeah!"

The arrow suddenly turned toward her, and Meirin shouted in alarm, "Hey! Why me all of a sudden?!"

"Oh, did you think you could just enjoy the show? Everyone here has worn it at least once."

Meirin scooted backward while still sitting.

"Th-That’s none of my business! And I didn’t see you guys wear it!"

"Awww..." Dick, not missing his chance, jumped in with a sly wiggle of his eyebrows. "You’re backing out now? How cowardly! Where’s your sense of sportsmanship!"

"You stay out of this, commoner!"

Even Kamibarez took off the bunny-ear hat and offered it to Meirin with both hands.

"I want to see you in bunny ears, too, Meirin!" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"...Ugh." Blushing, Meirin finally took the bunny hat with trembling hands. As she held it, deliberating as if she were at a major crossroads in her life, she saw a male student quietly approaching the group of onlookers.

"S-Simon!" When Simon gave a small wave, Meirin’s face turned beet red, and she shouted, "Y-You, get away from here!"

"Huh? Why?"

Jamie leaned in with a sly grin.

"You were just about to put it on, weren’t you? What, are you embarrassed because Simon’s watching?"

"Hey!" Meirin shot daggers from her eyes, a clear sign to shut her mouth, but Jamie casually ignored her and looked back. "Then to be fair, Simon can wear it next. Okay?"

Simon smiled warmly.

"Sure, why not."

"WHOA!"

Now, there was no escaping it. As Meirin, red to her earlobes, just stood there trembling with the hat in her hands, Cindy Vivace frowned and waved a dismissive hand.

"Stop playing coy and put it on already. I need to see Simon in bunny ears."

Cindy and a few other girls were already waiting for the next turn. Her face contorted with humiliation, Meirin let out a choked sound and was about to place the bunny-ear hat on her head when—

"Ah!"

"The professor’s here!"

At those words, the students rushed back to their seats with incredible speed.

Cindy clicked her tongue.

"Ah, she got saved."

"Cindy, you’re so dead!"

"Holding a grudge is unbecoming..."

As the students settled down, Professor Byulya appeared, her coat riddled with holes draped over her shoulders.

"How’s everyone been!"

The students greeted her cheerfully. She tossed her coat aside.

"Were you guys having fun? I could hear you laughing all the way from the hallway."

The students gave awkward laughs and avoided answering. Soon, the teaching assistants all entered and stood at the back.

"Right, right. It’s important to play hard when it’s time to play! So, shall we talk about the serious evaluation now?"

Evaluation. The weight of that word made the students’ expressions harden.

’It’s probably poison-eating.’

’Maybe the person who eats the strongest poison gets an A+.’

Most of them were thinking of an evaluation like that. Byulya took a document from an assistant.

"The previous Venomology professor barely did any evaluations in the first semester. From now on, there will be a ton of high-stakes evaluations, so be prepared. Today is the first of them." She grinned, revealing her sharp, triangular teeth. "Hunting venomous monsters. It’s worth thirty percent of your grade!"

Thirty percent! The students’ eyes widened.

"Don’t think this is just some ordinary monster hunt. We’re going after the tricky monsters that each territory has all but given up on hunting."

Venomous monsters were known to have a danger rating one level higher than their actual strength. This was, of course, due to the danger of their venom. Even if a hunter succeeded in killing the monster, getting covered in its venom could often be life-threatening or fatal.

"And the monsters you’ll be hunting have been specifically selected so that the venom resistance and antibodies you’ve built up in class won’t work on them," she continued. "In other words, if you get poisoned, your lives will be on the line just like any normal person."

’So nothing’s ever easy, huh,’ Simon thought with a nod.

"The evaluation has two criteria," Byulya said, holding up two fingers. "First, whether or not you succeed in the hunt. Second, the quality of the antidote. You have to extract the monster’s venom, concoct an antidote on the spot, take it, and then successfully hunt the monster."

The teaching assistant opened a case with a click, revealing colorful ingredients in vials.

"We’ve prepared a basic antidote kit. Of course, this alone won’t be enough. You’ll have to procure the other antidote ingredients on-site."

Hunting a venomous monster whose poison bypassed their existing antibodies, and on top of that, concocting an antidote on the spot. As expected of an evaluation worth thirty percent, the difficulty was considerable.

"Jeez, don’t be so scared." Seeing the students’ stiff expressions, Byulya waved her hand dismissively.

"If you do exactly as you’ve been taught, you’ll pass without any major issues," the professor announced. "The exam begins in two hours. A teleportation circle will take you directly to the site. You have eight hours to hunt a venomous monster and concoct its antidote. Succeed, and you pass. That is all."

A hand shot into the air. "Professor! How many of us will be going? It seems like we’ll need at least four." said Jamie Victoria.

The other students nodded in fervent agreement.

"Four?" Byulya’s lips curved into a wicked grin. "You cheeky brat. Trying to coast through a performance evaluation, are you?"

Her voice dropped, sharp as glass.

"For this evaluation, you’ll be going in pairs."