Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner

Chapter 249

The four stayed up all night to prepare for an underwater battle.

"Whew, now I know the pain of invention…"

Said Rick, wiping the sweat of his brow as he looked at the drawings.

"But what if the professors will teach us a magic circle later on after we went through all this trouble to develop a new one? Don't you think we're all working for nothing?"

Meilyn glanced at Rick pathetically.

"Of course not, you dumbass."

They had learned a few things about how the tests would be run from the second BDMAT test.

The key to the second BDMAT test was how fast you could get through the three stages of infinite weapon drops. In other words, it was all about defense and stamina.

But while their professors taught them some dark spells for navigating traps, no one taught them how to survive an infinite supply of weapons.

In fact, all students who thought the professors would take care of them paid for it dearly.

"It's always better to be overprepared than to be unprepared."

That was Meilyn's usual philosophy for studying.

"Hey, and be honest."

She glared at Rick and growled,

"You really just want to play, don't you?"

"Oops, you got me there."

"You little! I'm going to pick your eyes out if I see you fooling around!"

Rick flicked his wrist dismissively as he yawned from exhaustion.

"Uh-huh, I'm tired. The leader is such a perfectionist, right Cami?"

Camibarez, who had the kittens on her lap and was petting them, smiled.

"I'm always rooting for Rick with all my heart!"

"…I-I'd rather hear you say mean things about me."

A smile tugged at the corners of Simon's mouth as he watched the bickering group.

Meilyn, who had been scribbling away at her drawings, looked up, and her shoulders twitched as her eyes met Simon's.

"…Hey."

"Huh?"

"Why are you smiling while looking at me? It's creeping me out."

"No, just…"

It was because it's fun.

Pulling an all-nighter with a group of friends with a single goal in mind.

Spending quality time with good people.

It was just fun.

Being in the middle of a power struggle between Serene and Lorain yesterday seemed to emphasize that. It was a completely different atmosphere today for Simon.

"I'm running out of sugar."

Said Simon, turning away and stretching.

"Can we have something sweet?"

"Sounds good!"

Camibarez agreed, and Rick added as if he'd been waiting,

"This meeting is gonna last all night, so let's get some midnight snacks while we're at it. You know Mrs. Kinu's general store? It's open until dawn during mission evaluations."

"Hold on! Midnight snacks?! Know your priorities!"

Meilyn immediately objected, but Simon smirked.

"You're the one who eats the most whenever someone brings anything."

Meilyn was speechless at that, and a raucous laugh erupted across the room. Rick high-fived Simon for the perfect comeback.

"Then let's just pick one person to go as a punishment!"

Rick impromptu grabbed chopsticks and drew a black mark on one of them. He then held them so the mark would be hidden and motioned for the rest to draw randomly.

Simon and Meilyn drew first, and Camibarez took the third chopstick when…

"Cami drew it!"

The surviving members of the group cheered as she stood up hesitantly.

"I-I'll be off then."

"I'll come with you."

As Simon said that and looked for his coat, Rick interrupted,

"Hey now, that's no fun. Going alone is part of the punishment!"

"I know, but it's not fair to send a girl out alone at this late hour."

Camibarez looked touched at having a guy actually consider that side of things, but Rick gave a wry laugh to himself.

'Wow, I can't believe he said something so cheesy with a straight face.'

Meilyn nodded, worried about sending Camibarez alone.

"Well, be a good escort, then. And don't dawdle! We've got a lot of work to do."

"Okay!"

"We'll be right back."

Throwing on their coats, they opened the door and stepped outside, where it was chilly in contrast to the warmth inside.

"Thanks for coming with me."

Camibarez whispered, both cheeks slightly red. Simon smiled back.

She was always good company at times like these. Listening to her talk with a bright smile made the time go by faster.

"I think when the four of us have fun together like this, it makes me even more determined."

Simon scratched his head.

"Determined for what?"

"I hate to think about it, but I think it would be really a big inconvenience if one of us failed the test and left the other three."

Simon only then realized she was saying that about herself.

"The happier I feel every day, the more I worry that this life I have gotten used to will fall apart one day. And the more I think that, the more I realize I need to work harder, and— Oh, was I rambling? Sorry…"

Simon smiled and shook his head.

"I feel the same way. Let's survive this together."

"Yeah!"

* * *

* * *

The four ended up pulling an all-nighter.

They had prepared an air storage magic circle for breathing, a jet-black torpedo, and Rick's mana-powered flippers.

Right after they completed all these, the four collapsed into their beds and practically went unconscious.

When Simon woke up, the sun was high in the sky.

It was the fourth and final day of the mission evaluation. Tomorrow, it was back to school.

Meow!

Meow!

Simon opened his eyes to two kittens on top of him. The white one kneaded his face with its front paws while the black one played with his hair.

"Okay, okay."

With the two cats urging him to get up, Simon rubbed his eyes and pushed himself to his feet. Next to him, Rick was snoring in an odd position, his arms and legs stretched out like a crane.

"Sorry, were you hungry?"

Simon stood up from the bed and walked over, the cats trotting after him.

As he poured the cat food into the bowl Camibarez had brought, they began to gobble their kibble down. Setting a bucket of water next to it, Simon yawned and cleaned up the cat poop from this morning.

'Are the girls up already?'

Today was the day they were supposed to go to the sea and test the dark spells.

He knocked gently on the door of the girls' room.

"…?"

There was no response. He couldn't even hear them snoring.

Covering his eyes slightly with the palm of his hand in case of an embarrassing situation, he opened the door.

They weren't there. The beds were neatly cleaned as well.

"Where did they go this early morning?"

Simon was coming out of the room with a puzzled look when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs outside.

The door opened to reveal Camibarez and Meilyn.

"Simon, good morning!"

"What, you're up?"

Simon greeted them both, then asked.

"Where have you been?"

"Just doing a little shopping. Since we're going to the sea today."

"…You need to buy things for the sea?"

It was an innocent question.

Growing up in the mountainside town of Les Hill, the idea of going to the sea was unfamiliar to him.

"Well, yeah, you know."

Meilyn winked lightly and strode toward the room, only to realize one person was missing.

"Oh, come on, get up! You did practically nothing yesterday!"

A sound came from the men's bedroom that was clearly Meilyn hitting Rick with a pillow.

Simon laughed it off and headed to the kitchen to make lunch.

"We're going to the ocean, huh?"

* * *

The waters near Roke Island had strong currents.

The currents were intentionally manipulated by the Kizen headquarters, making it impossible for unauthorized ships to enter the area. Anyone who tried to come close to the island would be wrecked and sink to the bottom of the sea.

Only special undead, such as the Nether Whale or Ancient Undead like Talahze, could pass through the currents.

On the east coast of Roke Island, however, there was a calm beachfront where people could swim to their heart's content.

The waves and temperature were just right for swimming, and the sandy beach was packed with students and locals on weekends.

And today was the last mission evaluation day, the only 'vacation' for students.

"…!"

Simon's eyes widened as he looked at the beach.

There were so many people. Students were swimming, surfing, chatting in the shade of parasols, and playing various games with nets and balls.

"But what is this…?'

Simon's eyes widened.

Everyone, boys and girls alike, were running around and playing in skimpy clothes that showed an excessive level of skin.

It was quite the culture shock for Simon, having spent most of his life in the mountains. He blushed with embarrassment.

"…Simon, this is paradise."

"Rick?"

Rick had the most serious look Simon had ever seen on him.

His gaze drifted toward the girls with swimsuits.

"Let's come back even after the mission evaluation. We can come back next weekend, and the weekend after that, and the weekend after that, and the weekend after that, and the—"

"…Get a grip."

That was what Simon said, but he was equally bewildered.

'Is this the kind of culture and attire that's expected for the beach?'

He looked around at the other students, all smiling and laughing without a trace of embarrassment.

"…I want to ask you something, Rick."

"What?"

Answered Rick, his eyes stuck on a pack of people straight ahead and only his mouth moving.

"You see…"

Simon gulped and paused momentarily before asking, unable to contain his curiosity,

"They're probably wearing underwear beneath that, right?"

"Like hell they would!!!"

Thud!

He was suddenly hit on the back of the head.

Simon turned around, rubbing the spot where he was hit, to see a blushing Meilyn holding up a shade pole.

"…!!"

Simon's blush intensified.

He hadn't expected even Meilyn to wear such a swimsuit. At least she had put a thin, cardigan-looking cloth over her top.

"Urk, hey, don't stare! It's embarrassing!!"

Meilyn swung the shade pole around like a weapon, and Simon quickly dodged it with his combat experience.

"......Ahaha, hello."

Camibarez, awkwardly hiding behind Meilyn, poked her head out and waved.

She was wearing a very frilly red and white bikini, and it suited her very well. In one of her hands, she also held a basket of kittens.

'I was wondering where they went this morning. So they went to buy swimsuits, huh?'

"Wow."

Said Rick, his eyes scanning Meilyn's outfit up and down.

"You're quite—"

"One more word out of your mouth, and I'm going to call the campus gender equality committee and have you thrown out."

Rick, intimidated by her energy, hunched over with a sullen expression.

"You're so mean… I was just gonna complime—"

"I said shut up!"

Rick yelped as Meilyn swung the shade pole into his side, likely bruising his arm.

"I'll take this."

Simon quickly snatched Meilyn's weapon from her before she could turn Rick into a pile of ground meat.

She coughed lightly in embarrassment as she recovered from her anger and looked at the group.

"Anyway, we're here to practice dark magic in the actual field today, not to play!"

"Not convincing when you've been shopping for bikinis since morning......"

Crraaaaash!

Without warning, Meilyn fired a blast of ice, freezing Rick's lower half. Rick rolled around the sand, shivering.

"Don't mind him and look at that."

She brushed her hair back and pointed toward the ocean.

A few students had come to play, but mostly, like Simon's group, they were practicing their dark spells underwater. Given the ocean theme, it was clear that everyone was here to prepare for the BDMAT.

"Some of us have gotten ahead of ourselves. Remember, we don't know if the BDMAT is this week or the next. Maybe today is the last time we get to try our dark spells at sea."

The three of them nodded.

"Then let's start testing new magic right away!"

——