Necromancer Academy and the Genius Summoner

Chapter 15

　　The grueling mountain run continued for over thirty minutes. Just as Simon and the others were keeping pace, the path abruptly ended at the edge of a cliff. Across a wide ravine, a stream churned with white foam.

　　"You muzt uze Jet-Black to leap acrozz the ravine ahead," Hongfeng announced. A wave of fear rippled through the students.

　　"Y-You want us to jump over that?"

　　"It’z fine. You juzt need a little trick. Juzt az you manifezt Jet-Black in your palmz, thiz time you’ll blazt it from the zolez of your feet." As if to demonstrate, she leaped into the air.

　　POOF!

　　Black smoke exploded from beneath her feet, propelling her into a double, then a triple jump in mid-air. Gasps of admiration echoed from the students.

　　"You don’t even need mid-air jumpz," she said, landing with a light somersault. "The moment you plant your foot, blazt out the Jet-Black you’ve gathered there. It’z the zenzation of treading on Jet-Black and leaping up."

　　Hongfeng dashed forward, planted her foot on the edge, and leaped. With a powerful boost, she soared several meters, easily clearing the ravine and landing gracefully on the other side.

　　"Come on!" she called, waving her arms with a grin.

　　The students hesitated. The ravine wasn’t terribly deep, but no one wanted to be the first to fall in and become a laughingstock. The more cautious students slowed their pace, while the confident ones let out a battle cry and surged forward.

　　"Aaaaaaaah!"

　　WHOOOOSH!

　　They jumped. Faint wisps of black smoke swirled beneath their feet. Three of the five stuck their landings perfectly. One tumbled upon impact, and the last, lacking momentum, just barely managed to grab the far edge of the cliff.

　　"Good job!" Hongfeng praised, walking over to pull him up by the hand.

　　The student smiled sheepishly as he scaled the hill.

　　"You releazed your Jet-Black a little late," Hongfeng observed. "Be fazter next time!"

　　"Thank you, Professor!" he replied, cresting the top.

　　One after another, the other students launched themselves from the ground. It was a testament to the caliber of Kizen’s students that all twenty of them succeeded. Watching from the back of the line, Simon felt a knot of anxiety tighten in his stomach.

　　The sensation of treading on Jet-Blackness, the sensation of treading on Jet-Blackness… he chanted internally.

　　"You’re overthinking it, Simon," Dick remarked, casually waving his fingers. "I’m going first!"

　　He turned and broke into a sprint. Pushing off the ground, he tucked his knees to his chest and soared powerfully into the air.

　　"Woooow!" a few of the girls cried out.

　　Dick smirked at their cheers, but they weren’t for him. When he looked up, he saw Hector a full meter above him, executing a perfect mid-air rotation.

　　Whirr!

　　He slid to a stop, his feet planted firmly on the dirt. A flawless landing.

　　"Good job!" Hongfeng beamed, giving him a thumbs-up.

　　Hector returned the gesture before finishing with a respectful bow.

　　"Nice one, Hector!"

　　"As expected!"

　　He high-fived the members of his faction who had already made it across.

　　"…I really can’t stand that guy," Dick muttered, his face buried in the dirt from his own failed landing.

　　"Oooooh!"

　　Just then, a second cheer erupted from the group. Startled, Dick and Hector spun around.

　　What in the world…!

　　He was flying. Simon was truly airborne, the soles of his feet pointed toward the sky. In a fluid motion, his body bent at the waist and his legs swung down, sending him sliding backward across the ground.

　　Whirr!

　　He shot past Dick and Hector, coming to a dead stop before a nearby rock.

　　"Very good job!" Hongfeng clapped, thoroughly delighted.

　　This bastard… Hector’s facial muscles contorted into a snarl.

　　Simon bowed to Hongfeng and walked back to the other students. Dick, who was now leaning against a tree in a contrived pose of nonchalance, held up his palm. Grinning, Simon slapped it with a loud smack!

　　He’s finally starting to act like Special Admission No. 1.

　　Is his major Combat Magic?

　　The students buzzed with conversation about Simon, and Hector’s expression continued to darken. He could feel his carefully laid plans beginning to unravel.

　　"Alright! Other ztudentz, now jump!"

　　From then on, the trial proceeded quickly. Most of the students, their initial hesitation gone, succeeded. Only two from the class failed, but they were spared a dunking thanks to the teaching assistants waiting discreetly in the ravine below to catch them.

　　"Hmmmm."

　　Dick had a notebook out and was scribbling something down. "What are you doing?" Simon asked, his curiosity piqued.

　　"Scouting list for group projects. They start next week, so I need to get a head start."

　　The notebook was filled with the names of noteworthy Class A students, their strongest subjects, and notes on their personalities. Simon realized Dick was different from the others. Most students were so overwhelmed just trying to keep up that they had no time for anything else. Dick, however, was always observing.

　　"So, what’s your assessment so far?"

　　"Our class is high-level across the board. Everyone’s talented, but…" Dick closed his notebook and shrugged. "That one over there seems a bit shaky. I bet she’ll drop out the second the protection period ends."

　　Simon followed Dick’s gaze. The girl he had helped onto the hippo earlier was being carried up the hill in the arms of a teaching assistant.

　　"Iz everyone here? Then on to the neckzt area!"

　　Once all the students had gathered, Hongfeng took off running again, giving them no time to catch their breath. The startled students scrambled to follow.

　　Haha! What is this? Simon thought, a grin spreading across his face. This was nothing like a stuffy classroom lecture; it was dynamic, raw, and utterly exhilarating.

　　After a twenty-minute run, they emerged from the forest onto a wide-open hill. The gentle slope made it easy to pick up speed. Just as everyone was falling into formation behind Hongfeng…

　　THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!

　　The scene from a few hours ago began to repeat itself. The very same herd of hippos that had brought them there was now charging up the mountainside from the opposite direction.

　　"Uhh, oh no!"

　　"They’re coming this way! P-Professor?!"

　　But Hongfeng had already vanished, as had the other teaching assistants. The students skidded to a halt in confusion, but the approaching herd showed no signs of slowing.

　　This is dangerous!

　　Simon stopped, his eyes narrowing. A hippo was charging straight for him.

　　The sensation of treading on Jet-Blackness!

　　Simon launched himself into the air just as the hippo herd thundered past beneath him, kicking up a storm of dust. Several other students around him were also airborne.

　　I’m falling!

　　He angled his body, trying to land as far from the stampede as possible. The moment his feet hit the ground, he was forced into a frantic roll, scrambling to avoid the pounding hooves.

　　"Ugh!"

　　Two more charged him from the front. Pushing himself up, Simon stomped hard on the ground and leaped, clearing them by a hair’s breadth.

　　I-I almost died.

　　A primal fear of death shot through him, every hair on his body standing on end as his mind snapped into sharp focus. Breaking out in a cold sweat, he glanced back.

　　Don’t tell me this is part of the class, too. At this rate, someone’s going to get hurt…!

　　His eyes widened. He had expected utter chaos, but the scene unfolding was completely different. One girl had cast an Exhaust curse, causing the hippos before her to collapse into a makeshift wall. A boy had used black magic to burrow into the ground for cover. Others had managed to climb onto the hippos’ backs and were cheering wildly, while some had fashioned ropes from Jet-Black to escape into the trees. Everyone was dealing with the crisis in their own unique way.

　　"Ahahahaha!"

　　Cindy Vivace was hovering in the air, held aloft by her necromancy. Only then did Simon realize the truth.

　　I’m in no position to be worrying about anyone else.

　　It was a pointless concern. He had to compete with a thousand students just like these.

　　"You okay, Simon?"

　　Dick, who had been perched on a pole made of Jet-Black, landed with a soft thud.

　　"Don’t worry. All those hippos are under Professor Hongfeng’s control. A few students fell, but the hippos just ran around them."

　　"…Oh, so that’s what was happening?"

　　Anyone who’d done their homework knew that Hongfeng could wield the power of her druid lineage in addition to her Combat Magic. Just then, the teaching assistants descended from the sky, clapping their hands.

　　"Alright, alright, no time to laze around! On your feet!"

　　"The hippos will be turning around to come back down soon! Everyone, up!"

　　At the mere mention of hippos, the students scrambled to their feet. A teaching assistant pointed down the hill. "The professor is already waiting! We’re leaving immediately!"

　　Once again, a full-out sprint began. They passed through a dense thicket of trees and emerged onto a picturesque hill blanketed in colorful flowers. On the flat ground below, Hongfeng was waving to them.

　　"No more obstacles! Full speed to the professor!" a TA shouted.

　　"Waaaaah!"

　　The students roared and charged down the flower-strewn hill. Simon and Dick, caught up in the excitement, dashed down the slope. A cool headwind rushed to meet them, drying the sweat from their brows. Dandelion seeds drifted through the air, and leaves spiraled down in a gentle dance. Simon felt an inexplicable sense of liberation as he descended.

　　"Good work! Time for a break!" Hongfeng shouted.

　　As if on cue, the students collapsed to the ground. The TAs, who had somehow already prepared them, began handing out drinks. As the tension melted away, boisterous laughter erupted from the crowd. Students excitedly recounted their recent heroics.

　　"Hey! Look over there!"

　　"It’s food!"

　　In the middle of their break, Kizen’s servants arrived with a food cart. Everyone’s eyes went wide.

　　"Normally, we eat after the clazz endz," Hongfeng explained. "But I thought the ztudentz would be very tired, zo I called Kizen. Iz that okay?"

　　"Yay!"

　　"You’re the best, Professor!"

　　Lunchtime commenced. The menu was a high-protein offering centered on meat. The quality of Kizen’s food was legendary, and the portions were generous. There was even soy meat for the vegetarians. Everyone grabbed a plate and found a spot on the scenic grass, enjoying their meal with a view of the mountains and the lake. Simon and Dick settled in the shade of a tree. Perhaps because it was an outdoor meal after a hard workout, the food tasted divine.

　　"Man, there’s really no professor like her." Dick, like the others, had clearly fallen for the charms of Combat Magic. "Using her own class time to feed us… That’s unheard of at a place as strict as Kizen."

　　Simon nodded, smiling in agreement. "But this is a little different from what I heard."

　　"What is?"

　　"I heard Professor Hongfeng is actually a very typical Kizen professor."

　　Dick shot him a look that said, What are you talking about?

　　"Professor Hongfeng? The pure-hearted nature lover? Nah. I don’t know where you got your info, but it’s dead wrong."

　　Simon blinked. Lorraine had been the one to tell him.

　　Hongfeng clapped her hands, drawing the students’ attention.

　　"Ztudentz! Finish up. We leave again in ten minutez."

　　At her words, the TAs shot to their feet.

　　"We depart in ten minutes!"

　　"Finish your meals and prepare to leave!"

　　The TAs circulated, relaying Hongfeng’s orders. The students, who had been lounging about, finally cleared their trays and began to stretch.

　　"We’re doing more?"

　　"I thought we’d rest and then ride the hippos back."

　　The students murmured as they gathered. Watching the TAs move about busily, Simon had a sinking feeling.