Necromancer Academy's Genius Summoner – Episode 4
Simon and Loraine returned to Camellord Road.
It turned out Camellord Road was a street that specialized in items for necromancers.
The deeper they went, the more explicit the displayed goods became. Skeletons, monster corpses, and even some organs that moved as if still alive, all sold in liquid-filled jars.
Simon felt like he had stepped into a whole other world, far removed from the one he used to live in.
"Do you know the most exciting moment in the entire school life?"
Loraine asked as they walked side by side.
"Uh, um… I'm not sure?"
"It's before you even enter school, when you're going around buying your uniform, textbooks, and supplies all excited! This moment right now is the most fun, so enjoy it, Simon."
She curled up the corners of her lips in a smile.
"Once you're in Keyzen, things'll get seriously hectic."
"…Haha."
The first place they headed to was a bookstore.
While tuition and admission fees for Keyzen were all free, textbooks naturally had to be purchased out of pocket.
"There's a lot of books we need to buy. Do you still have your admission notice?"
"Yes! Here it is."
Inside the envelope, along with the admission letter, was a list of required supplies.
Loraine skimmed only the book section of the list and handed the letter back.
"Got it memorized. This way."
Simon was following her when suddenly, something heavy came down with a thud.
He quickly reached out both arms to catch it, it was a terrifyingly thick book. The cover read: Introduction to Summoning Studies – Written by Elricmoor Trinble.
'Summoning Studies?'
Before Simon could finish that thought, another book was stacked on top of it. This time it was Necromancy Studies.
'T-This one's heavy too!'
Loraine continued pulling books from the shelves.
More and more titles stacked up: Cursing Studies, Hemodynamics, Holy Defense Studies, Martial Necromancy Studies. Simon's arms were trembling.
"Miss Loraine! Don't tell me we're supposed to learn all this in our first year?"
"Of course not."
She turned back with a bright smile.
"This is Keyzen we're talking about. The basic expectation is that you master all this in the first semester of the first year."
"..."
"Here you go, take Toxicology Studies too!"
…He was already starting to miss Leshill.
As she busily browsed for books, Loraine said she'd go find a copy of Darkness Dynamics and ran off.
Left alone for a moment, Simon looked around.
'Come to think of it.'
Most of the people in the bookstore were about Simon's age.
Seeing them carrying books like Summonology or Necromancy Studies, it was clear they were also new students of Keyzen.
This was the first time Simon had ever seen so many people his own age gathered in one place. Back in Leshill, the only kids close to his age were Calon, who was a year older, and Sophia, who was two years younger.
A new life surrounded by students his age. Simon was beginning to look forward to this whole school thing.
"Yes! I'm coming!"
"?"
While he was distracted for a moment, a girl he didn't recognize ran past him. Simon narrowed his eyes and watched her movement.
In a split second, her body twisted toward Simon.
'What the?'
There was no reason to let her bump into him, so Simon subtly shifted his body to the side and avoided her.
"…Ah!"
She stumbled straight into a bookshelf, and the books stacked on top wobbled dangerously.
This was bad.
Simon instinctively jumped forward and shielded her.
Crashhhhh!
Books came tumbling down onto Simon's back as he crouched over her.
It hurt. The pain in his back felt like he'd been smashed with a boulder.
The girl, now looking up at him in shock, quickly bowed her head.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! This is all my fault…!"
"No, it's fine. I'm the one who was standing in the way, spaced out."
Simon forced a smile as he replied.
"More importantly, let's put these back. We'll get scolded."
"Ah, yes!"
The two of them hurried to pick up the scattered books. She passed the books from the floor to Simon, who went on tiptoe to put them back on the shelf.
A store clerk, having heard the noise, came over to see what was going on, but left without saying anything when he saw them restoring the shelves.
'Last one.'
As Simon returned the final book to its place, the girl was organizing the books Simon had dropped.
"U-Um, you're a Keyzen student too, right?"
She must have seen his textbooks. When Simon nodded, her face lit up.
"I-I'm a new student too! I'm Cindy Vivace! And you?"
"Simon Follentia."
"I see, nice to meet you! I'm actually from the northern region, from Shahed, so I don't really know anyone here and I was a little scared."
Simon nodded.
"Guess we're in the same boat."
"I-If it's okay with you…"
Blushing, Cindy poked her two index fingers together. Then in a voice as tiny as an ant crawling, she said,
"Later… at school… could I say hi to you?"
As if it were a huge favor.
Simon let out a quiet chuckle.
"Of course. I'll be the one to say hi first."
"Thanks!"
She jumped to her feet.
"Then I'll get going! My dad's waiting outside."
"Got it."
"See you at Keyzen!"
She waved and started walking away.
"Wait, Cindy."
"Huh?"
She turned around. Simon was holding something.
"Would you mind giving back my wallet now?"
In Simon's hand was Cindy's wallet.
In that moment, the innocent glimmer in her eyes sharpened. Her pupils split vertically, like a cat's.
'No way.'
She quickly searched her pocket. It was empty.
"…Ha."
She'd been caught perfectly.
With a smile tugging at her lips, she turned to Simon.
"I used necromancy to lift that. I was sure I wouldn't get caught. How'd you know?"
"Well, you know, my wallet suddenly started floating."
Cindy marched right up to Simon and stared him straight in the eyes.
"You figured that out just like that? Don't lie. You're aiming for a necromancy major too, aren't you?"
"I haven't decided ye—"
"Knew it!"
Her eyes sparkled.
"Of course, Keyzen's on a different level! Oh man, what am I gonna do? There's probably gonna be tons of kids like you, huh? Ugh, I'm really looking forward to school!"
'…She's awfully bold for a pickpocket.'
With a giggle, she pulled Simon's wallet out from her coat and tossed it back.
"If we're both necromancy majors, we might be stuck with each other for three years straight. Right? Let's battle it out till we bleed, Simon!"
She clearly wasn't the type to listen to others.
As Simon let out a small sigh and tried to return her wallet, Cindy waved him off.
"It's fine. I lost this round. Consider it your victory prize."
Oddly cool-headed in strange places.
Simon was starting to think the rumors about all necromancers being weirdos might be true after all.
"Looking forward to seeing you. Say hi if you spot me at school!"
She waved and walked away, passing right through the bookstore wall and disappearing.
'...'
It felt like a storm had just blown through.
Simon stared blankly at the wall Cindy had vanished through, then opened her wallet.
Only a few coins were inside.
'Show-off.'
Simon let out a small snort.
"Simon!"
Just then, Loraine came running back with her black hair fluttering.
"They said the 'Introduction to Darkness Dynamics' is sold out! But more stock's coming in two hours, so I arranged to have all the books delivered to our dorm later."
"Oh, that's great!"
Loraine playfully jabbed Simon's arm with her elbow.
"But hey, who was that girl earlier? You already made a friend?"
Simon averted his eyes, sweating a little.
"L-Let's just say… something like that."
"Oho, why are you stammering? Don't tell me you already exchanged hearts?"
Well, they did almost exchange wallets.
"Anyway, the books are taken care of, so let's head out. We've still got lots of places to visit."
"Where are we going next?"
"Bag shop."
Do I really have to buy a new bag too?
Simon glanced back at the backpack he was carrying.
"The one I'm using now isn't that bad though."
"Hm?"
Loraine blinked, not understanding what he meant at first, then suddenly burst out laughing.
"Ah, too cute. You really are a country bumpkin."
"Ahem."
Simon blushed with embarrassment.
"When necromancers say 'bag', they usually mean a magical inventory. Or more simply put, a subspace."
Simon's eyes widened rapidly.
"So we're going to buy… a subspace right now?"
* * *
A large building located a few blocks away from the bookstore.
Simon and Loraine were guided to the basement level. Only after passing through several layers of security black magic were they able to enter the softly lit underground showroom.
"…Wow."
The entire room was filled with displays of backpacks, pouches, briefcases, and more.
There were long coats, pocket watches, even carriage carts and living, moving lizards.
Objects of uncertain function were hung on the walls or floated in the air through magical effects.
"Welcome, Miss Loraine!"
An elderly woman in a luxurious mink coat appeared at the stairs.
Her body was thin, her expression rather finicky, and she wore expensive gold ornaments all over her body.
Loraine waved cheerfully.
"How've you been, Stephanie?"
Stephanie smiled as she rubbed her hands together.
"What brings a VVIP guest like you without prior notice? You just bought a bag last month…"
Loraine lightly placed a hand on Simon's shoulder.
"Today, we're here to look at bags for this friend."
"Ah!"
Stephanie suddenly appeared right in front of Simon. Her hooked nose thrust in so close that Simon instinctively pulled his head back.
"A Keyzen entrant, I see! Welcome! Necromancers are always our best customers!"
"Th-Thank you."
"Now then, what type of product shall I show you?"
Loraine answered in his stead.
"The best and most expensive one."
"Unbelievable!"
Stephanie shrieked.
"VVIPs, this way please!"
She led them to another room. The products here weren't hanging on walls but stored inside display cases made of glass.
Stephanie tapped one display case with her finger, and the glass vanished cleanly as if it had evaporated.
"Please try this on, dear customer."
What she handed over was a dark blue glove with a luxurious patterned design.
When Simon carefully slipped it onto his right hand, he immediately felt a cushiony sensation that screamed high-end comfort.
"This is a creation by the subspace master of the century, Ellen Bator. Please try touching any wall and draw a rectangle."
Simon nodded and did as instructed, drawing a rectangle on the wall.
Shrrk!
A hole opened in the wall.
Startled, Simon peeked inside and saw a vast space, it was large enough to fit an entire house.
'So this is subspace!'
As Simon silently marveled, Stephanie continued explaining.
"As expected of Ellen Bator's masterpiece, the storage capacity is a staggering 8,000UB! And as long as you're wearing the glove, you can summon the subspace anytime you want! It's truly an innovation in inventory storage!"
"…Hmm."
Loraine, on the other hand, seemed unimpressed.
"It does look convenient, but needing a wall to open the subspace is a clear limitation. In actual combat, you're often out in open plains with nothing around. And Simon's still a beginner necromancer, he doesn't need high capacity yet."
"That makes sense."
"Do you have anything more compact and simple, even if it holds less?"
Stephanie smiled knowingly and walked over. At the very end of the display, she removed the glass case.
"This product hasn't even been released to the public yet. It's the latest work of Gellen Eclipse, a young master craftsman considered the next generation's rising star!"
What she delicately lifted was a ring. Its base color was silver, but depending on how the light hit it, it shifted to shades of purple or green.
"Try it on, please."
"Ah, yes!"
Simon carefully put on the ring. Its subtle prismatic glow was beautiful.
"The usage is simple! Please channel your Darkness into the ring."
Simon did as told, guiding his Darkness into the ring. It absorbed the energy like a sponge, changing from silver to a dark navy hue.
"How does it feel?"
"…It feels like there's some kind of handle forming beneath the ring."
"That means it's functioning properly! Now imagine that handle as a lever and pull it."
Simon grabbed the imaginary handle and slowly pulled back.
Then—
Clackkk!
With a sound like stones grinding together, a vertical space opened up in the floor. A mist-like white vapor wafted from the rift.
"…Wow!"
Simon's heart began to race. Even Loraine looked slightly impressed.
"With a 4,000UB capacity—half of the previous one—it's far more practical in actual use! The subspace opens on the ground, unaffected by slope or terrain irregularities. Inside are seven types of magic, including top-grade preservation spells and temperature control magic."
"What about launch functionality?"
Loraine asked.
"Of course it has that! Allow me to demonstrate."
Scanning the area for a suitable object, Stephanie spotted a worn-out stuffed rabbit lying in a corner.
"Hm? Why is there a plushie here?"
"My mischievous granddaughter often plays around the shop."
With a wry smile, Stephanie tossed the plush toy into the subspace.
"You're a new student, correct? You'll need a lot of practice before you can use the launch function properly in real situations. Now, operate the subspace mana to wrap the object…"
Simon followed the instructions and wrapped the rabbit in mana.
It wasn't hard. Maybe because the ring was directly touching his body, the mana of the subspace moved as freely as if it were his own.
"…Just wrapping the object activates the subspace's internal launch spell. Now release the mana around the object with a flick!"
Pwhoomp!
The rabbit plush shot out from the subspace. It drew a gentle arc through the air and landed perfectly upright on the floor.
Stephanie and Loraine both let out exclamations of admiration.
"Amazing, dear customer!"
"You're good! Are you sure this is your first time?"
Simon's heart pounded so hard he couldn't even hear their voices. Now he understood why subspaces were considered an essential item for necromancers.
He pictured himself in the near future, opening his subspace and summoning undead.
"Simon, do you like it?"
Loraine came over and smiled. Snapping out of his trance, Simon nodded repeatedly.
Of course he liked it. He'd never wanted something so badly before.
However—
Simon's gaze quietly drifted toward Stephanie.
"…How much does this subspace cost?"