Summoning Genius of Kizen - Chapter 56 After the first period ended, the next class began. Today, Class A had four short two-hour classes scheduled, and the second class was Necromancy. "With spirit! Let's go in with spirit again today!" The man shouting loudly in the middle of the classroom with a thick voice was named 'Umbra Warframe'. A peculiar characteristic was that his body was blurry compared to others, and his legs even disappeared like a ghost, floating in the air. It was said that he had become so engrossed in Spirit Form magic, frequently crossing between reality and the spirit world, that he ended up in this state. He wore a realistic wolf mask on his face. It was so realistic that rumors circulated among students that it was his real face, or that Umbra was a werewolf hybrid. Necromancy, taught by Umbra, is the study of handling spiritual entities called 'Spirits'. Everyone thought it would be a very delicate and quiet class, but they were completely mistaken. "You lack grit! Your spirit is rotten! Why are you all already concluding that you can't do it! Come on! Raise your arms!" Umbra was a passionate professor. Unlike his floppy ghost-like body, he was full of strength and energy. Simon, trying to concentrate to feel the Spirit, was awakened by Umbra's bomb-like voice more than once or twice. Once, a student asked, "Professor! I can't feel the Spirit no matter what I do, what should I do?" Umbra replied, "Feel it! Don't think you can't, just feel it! Just feel it no matter what! You still lack effort! With all your strength and heart! Pour out your energy!" ......That wasn't very helpful advice. However, Umbra's words weren't entirely wrong, as feeling the Spirit wasn't something that could be solved with strength, knowledge, or know-how. The 'inspiration power' to resonate with spirits differs from person to person, and whether one can feel spirits with little inspiration power is also a matter of individual constitution. And Simon, who was never lacking in talent, was also... '......Why can't I feel it?' He was terrible at Necromancy. Simon and the students gathered around a round table were diligently operating an occult tool called a 'Ouija Board'. "Is it my turn to chant the spell this time?" Jamie Victoria said with a dejected voice. Even she, the honorary class representative of Class A and outstanding in all subjects, still couldn't feel the Spirit. The foundation of Necromancy is 'Spirit'. Unless one can feel this, no other lesson has meaning. So Umbra divided the class into two teams. The first team was the education team, learning how to operate Spirits by following Umbra's lessons. The second was the preparation team. Since they couldn't yet feel Spirits, they would repeatedly perform various actions to feel Spirits using various tools throughout the class. They would spend the entire class spinning the Ouija board, or holding occult tools and performing strange dances to summon spirits, or meditating like corpses in coffins (of course, they'd be scolded if they fell asleep or dozed off), repeating only these strange actions. "You lack grit!" Sometimes Umbra would have the education team practice and then come to check on the preparation team. "Put more spirit into it!" Five students had their hands on the handle, spinning the Ouija board, when Umbra grabbed the handle with his large hand. "Grip the handle harder! Like this! Like this! Spin it with all your might and sincerity!" "Yes!" He was so strong that he alone overpowered the strength of five teenage students. "Your voices are too small!" "YES!!" Jamie Victoria squeezed her eyes shut and began to chant the spell to summon spirits in a loud voice. Umbra nodded with satisfaction and his gaze shifted. "No, you! What are you doing now!" Umbra's gaze now turned to Kamibarez, who was sweating profusely and flailing her arms in a ritual dance. She was startled and said, "S-sorry, Professor!" "Lift your legs higher! Flashily! That's right! The ritual to summon spirits is no joke! Make your movements bigger!" "Yeees!" As she awkwardly lifted her knees and performed the bizarre dance, small tears welled up in her eyes. Her entire body was drenched in sweat. Honestly, it wasn't a dance a girl should be doing. It wasn't some 'Sungguri Dangdang Sungdangdang' dance; she shook her head wildly, her shoulders swayed back and forth, and her arms twisted into a cobra shape, flailing front and back. It was impossible to tell how that was a spirit-summoning dance. Students had already given it nicknames like 'chicken feed dance' and 'squid courtship dance'. 'P-poor Kami.......' Simon was looking at her with a pitiful expression when it happened. "Alright! Teaching Assistants! Time for a switch!" "Yes!" The teaching assistants approached Simon's group, who were operating the Ouija board, and said, "Leave all items as they are and stand up. We will move to perform the ritual dance." Finally, their turn came. Simon sighed inwardly and stood at the spot where Kamibarez had been dancing earlier, at the back of the classroom covered with a sheet. There was a specific positioning for this, where students had to stand facing each other, maintaining a slight distance. And, of all people, Jamie Victoria, a female student, was standing in front of Simon. "I trust you've memorized the dance by now. Let's begin." The teaching assistants began to play strange instruments adorned with skulls. *Piiiriririri~* A strange flute sound echoed. 'Just clear my mind.' Honestly, it wasn't a dance one could perform with a clear mind. Simon emptied his mind and moved his body as he had learned, stepping to the rhythm. His leg went forward, then his knee rose so high it almost touched his chest. He flailed his limbs in a wave-like motion, then his upper body extended, making his whole body writhe like a mollusk. Students who furtively squinted to gauge Umbra's reaction let out hollow laughs as they watched Simon's passionate dance. 'What's with him...... he even dances this hard.' 'He's good at everything physical.' Simon began to dance, his mind and body becoming one, without a single thought. It was practically a state of 'Mura-ilche' (oneness with nature). Umbra also chuckled with satisfaction at the sight. "Very good! Excellent! Even if you can't feel the Spirit, that kind of tenacity and effort is all you need!" Umbra thought he should take Simon to the 50th anniversary of Goliath's death event scheduled for this weekend and have him work part-time performing the spirit dance. He was truly an amazing dancer. '......He seems to be praising me, but I'm not happy at all.' Simon diligently danced, then furtively opened his eyes. Class representative Jamie Victoria was awkwardly flailing her limbs, performing the chicken feed dance. The moment their eyes met, her face flushed with embarrassment. "P-please don't look this way......." At her plea, Simon quickly turned his head. It wasn't that students had no complaints about being made to do such things. But they dared not protest to Umbra, only timidly grumbling to the teaching assistants. Each time, the teaching assistants' response was similar: 'If you don't like it, go to the education team yourself.' They said it in a roundabout way. In truth, the students in the preparation team had nothing to say, as they were there because their own skills were lacking. Moreover, the most astonishing thing was that in every class, one or two students would genuinely feel the Spirit and raise their hands after performing the chicken feed dance or spinning the Ouija board. "Congratulations. You'll be moving to the education team." Students who finally escaped this embarrassing hell to the education team cheered with expressions as if they had gained the whole world. At this point, rumors even circulated that it wasn't so much that the occult rituals were effective, but rather that students desperately tried to feel the Spirit to avoid dying of embarrassment. And so, the arduous Necromancy class ended. 'Ugh.......' After completing the preparation team course, Simon walked down the hallway, his limbs flailing like a mollusk. "Hey, are you really okay?" Mei-rin asked in surprise. Simon raised a limp arm, gesturing that he was fine. "What did your education team learn?" "Offensive magic, of course." Dick, walking on the left, said, propping his head with his arm. Hard to believe, but Dick also succeeded in feeling the Spirit in his very first class. "Because of the Duel Evaluation, all professors are teaching practical offensive magic rather than theory. I guess it's the same for other classes." "Hmm, what was the next class?" Dick grinned and replied, "Hemomancy." The very class that had been continuously postponed due to Syllage's mission schedule and personal circumstances. Today was Class A's first lesson. *** Hemomancy class was held inside a building called the 'Magic Bullet Firing Range'. The professor was the famous Syllage Bisavar. The same middle-aged professor who had brought Simon to Kizen on the Netherwhale. He still had a pale complexion like a patient battling illness, sunken cheeks. Now, white hair outnumbered black, and his hands were yellowish. Simon thought his condition had worsened since he first saw him. "*Cough, cough*. Hemomancy is dark magic that uses blood as a medium." Simon and seven other students stood on the firing line. 200 meters in front of them were targets. "It's commonly known as a discipline that recreates the secret arts of vampires or werewolves, but *ahem*! That's not true. As the caster's blood is the most compatible substance with Jet Black, it boasts a long history." Students on the firing line prepared to shoot, while the rest sat and listened to Syllage's explanation. "Jet Black and the Jet Black user's blood are compatible in some way. Necromancers can 'artificially' mix Jet Black and blood to cause various magical reactions." Syllage spread his hands. A drop of Jet Black formed in one hand, and blood flowed from the other. When the blood drop and Jet Black met in mid-air, they reacted violently, bouncing around at incredible speed. Students gasped in admiration. "*Cough, cough*! Aside from being a Hemomancy professor, I can strongly state that a Necromancer not using 'blood' is a waste of power. Although it has the drawback of consuming the caster's stamina, Hemomancy can be the fastest and most powerful weapon for a Necromancer." Under the teaching assistant's control, the students on the firing line curled one hand into a fist, extended only their right index finger, and aimed it at the target. All of them had an IV-like device attached to their arm. When the teaching assistants activated the device and a magic circle unfolded in front of the student's finger, the magic circle turned red with blood. This was the basic technique of Hemomancy, the 'Blood Bullet'. This IV device was, simply put, the Hemomancy version of a 'Magic Circle Correction Tool'. "*Ahem*. As today is Class A's first lesson, we're quite behind. Today's class will involve discovering what properties your blood has, how this blood can help you, and finally, practical use of the Blood Bullet." Even if they were behind, how many things were they doing at once? Simon thought that as he looked at the target 200 meters away. There wasn't just one target; ten more were set up behind it. Syllage turned his head, his hands behind his back. "Now, for the practical application."
Please login to track progress