Chapter 29: That Day, at the Cemetery (4)
[Stop!]
At the necromancer’s command, the ghouls halted their attacks in unison.
In the process, Gwyn and Ivan each sliced through the necks of the ghouls in front of them, but the necromancer, after glancing at me, remained silent.
“What’s going on?”
“Huff! Hah! I don’t know. They just stopped attacking out of nowhere.”
“What the hell! They’re retreating! What are you all doing? We need to take down at least one more while we have the chance!”
It seemed they had taken quite a beating in the meantime.
Karina shouted frantically, urging Gwyn, Ivan, and Yuria to act.
Naturally, the necromancer didn’t stay idle after hearing her words.
[Return!]
The necromancer swiftly sent the ghouls back into the ground.
Frustrated at her failed attempt, Karina kicked the innocent dirt in anger.
Before long, only me, the necromancer, and the exhausted cadets remained in the clearing.
The necromancer spoke to me.
[……Follow me.]
With that, he turned and headed into the mist.
I was about to follow when it happened.
Ivan and Yuria rushed over and grabbed me.
“Hey, wait a second!”
What?
Wondering if they had somehow figured out my identity, I looked at them.
“Thank you for helping us.”
“Thank you.”
Of course, that wasn’t the case.
I nodded at the two, who were performing the Royal knight’s salute.
Yuria’s once-awkward salute had improved considerably.
She must have recently received training in formalities.
My gaze naturally drifted past their shoulders.
Gwyn, who had been standing there hesitantly, bowed to me as well.
And Karina──,
……stood with her back straight, arms crossed.
“How rude. Why are you staring like that?”
“Don’t you feel anything watching your friends?”
“Not at all? I don’t show courtesy to sneaky people who hide their identities.”
In other words, if I wanted her gratitude, I should take off my mask and reveal who I was.
My response to that was simple.
“If you don’t like it, get lost.”
I glanced at her and turned away.
How long had I walked?
Karina’s loud yell echoed through the cemetery.
“Ugh. What a jerk──!”
I had suspected it since our first encounter, but today confirmed it.
No matter how I looked at it, she was definitely the craziest person in this area.
The necromancer led me to a large gravestone.
He muttered something, and the gravestone vanished, revealing an empty space—a passage leading underground.
[It’s a complicated place. Follow closely.]
The stairs ended, and we arrived at a deep burrow.
The burrow was wide enough for five people to pass through comfortably.
Considering the manpower and time it must have taken to dig such a tunnel, I couldn’t help but be impressed.
Hmm.
I never thought about this when I encountered it in the game.
Sometimes, the gap between the game and reality left me with a strange sense of nostalgia.
Walking in silence was boring, so I decided to dwell on that feeling.
In the game, this burrow was a passage leading to the boss room.
It was also a trap-filled corridor where hidden ghouls ambushed players.
During my first attempt, I had nearly died.
Now, thanks to the necromancer’s misunderstanding, I was passing through easily.
But in a typical scenario, like in the game, I’d be in quite a troublesome situation right now.
And that’s when the thought hit me.
Just to be safe, I cautiously scanned my surroundings with [Detection].
“…….”
A smile crept onto my lips.
Of course.
I knew things were going too smoothly.
Step, step──
After that, I walked through the burrow in silence.
The necromancer did the same.
Occasionally, he glanced back to check if I was following, but otherwise, he made no other moves.
He was obediently guiding me to his lair.
But now, I could see it.
The subtle shift in his demeanor.
Unlike before, when he trembled in fear, overwhelmed by my strength, he now seemed more relaxed, as if he had something to rely on.
Whatever it was, it didn’t matter.
The outcome wouldn’t change.
Before long, the uneven burrow ended, and a wide-open space appeared.
The necromancer stopped there.
[You’ve worked hard to get this far.]
I asked, feigning ignorance.
“Is this the laboratory? It’s cleaner than I expected for a lab. Nothing looks particularly expensive.”
[Of course. This isn’t the laboratory. The lab is beyond the door behind me.]
“Is that so? Then let’s go.”
[No. This is as far as you go.]
“What do you mean?”
[Because…….]
The necromancer threw off his hood and shouted.
[This is your grave! Heh heh heh!]
At that moment.
The walls surrounding the space crumbled, and ghouls hidden within them emerged one by one.
They were the ones that had been trailing us from the burrow.
Then.
Rumble!
A massive stone wall descended, completely sealing the entrance to the burrow I had come through.
I was now perfectly trapped in this space.
Still, I asked calmly.
“Do you really think you can defeat me like this?”
[Heh heh. You’re trying hard to act unfazed. Of course, in a direct confrontation, I’d lose. We necromancers aren’t exactly compatible with mages! But here, it’s different.]
In short, he was confident he could win because this was his home turf.
A place brimming with the aura of death, where corpses—his weapons—were plentiful and easily accessible.
[And you never planned to let me go, did you?]
That was unexpected.
How did he know?
[Heh heh heh. Surprised? At my level, I can tell whether someone harbors killing intent toward me.]
I nodded, readily admitting it.
“You’re right. I planned to erase you from this world. You’re not worth existing.”
I hadn’t shown it, but the air here was thick with a nauseating stench.
The smell of rotting, decaying corpses.
And the source of that stench was the necromancer’s laboratory.
How many atrocities had he committed here, how many innocent lives had he taken under the guise of experiments?
That’s why I had been waiting for this moment.
The moment to kill him.
I was actually glad when I noticed the ghouls following me.
It meant I could beat them to a pulp without hesitation.
I drew Raven from my back and asked.
“I’ll ask one more time. Do you really think you can defeat me here?”
[Heh. Stop bluffing! Do you think I don’t know the weaknesses of you mage wannabes? I’ve even taken down a 5th Circle mage.]
It didn’t seem like a lie.
He clearly knew the weaknesses of mages.
Their frail bodies.
Compared to knights who rely on physical prowess, mages are naturally vulnerable in close combat.
If surrounded by enemies, the difference in skill becomes irrelevant.
A stray arrow could kill them if they’re unlucky.
In a confined space like this, the restrictions are even greater.
Mages risk being caught in their own spells, making them hesitant to fight aggressively.
Visions like [Spatial Leap], which require open terrain, are also limited here.
[You fool. Sending those kids away was your mistake. Heh heh. I’ll make good use of your body!]
The necromancer raised his arm.
The ghouls, salivating at their prey, prepared to charge.
And then,
Seeing that, I burst into laughter that echoed through the burrow.
“Pfft……!”
[Why are you laughing? Have you gone mad with death staring you in the face?]
“No? It’s just funny that a fool is calling me a fool.”
[……!]
“Let me ask you one thing. Do you think necromancy is exclusive to you?”
[What?]
“Exactly what I said. Death and corpses aren’t something only you can control. And just so you know.”
I raised Raven.
“Sending them away wasn’t a mistake.”
At that moment, the raven’s head at the tip of Raven opened its beak wide.
“Devour and seize, Raven.”
Caw──
A black beam of light shot toward the necromancer’s head.
He hurriedly raised a barrier, but it was futile.
The beam easily pierced the barrier and passed through his head or rather, it scanned him, like a laser in a copier.
[Power Seizure]
The unique ability once wielded by the great thief, the master of Shadow.
A special ability of Raven, a divine relic and a top-tier artifact.
I had practiced using it before, but this was my first time using it in combat.
The beam located the source of the necromancer’s power and memories, and soon, that information was laid out before my eyes.
[Understanding of Death]
[Call of the Dead]
[Corpse Enhancement]
.
.
.
I chose one of them.
Crunch!
The mana in my body stirred.
Not by my will, but by Raven’s.
My mouth was already muttering a spell, one imbued with the essence of death.
Rumble…….
Dust fell from the ceiling.
From the ground beneath my feet to the walls surrounding us, the entire chamber trembled.
And at the center of it all was me.
Sensing the ominous atmosphere, the necromancer hurriedly pointed at me.
[Kill him!]
The ghouls charged at me in unison.
They raised their long claws and bared their sharp teeth.
But they were stopped.
By other entities that suddenly burst through the walls.
Clack──
Rattle──!
They were dozens of bones.
Skeletons.
A wave of white bones surged from the walls, engulfing the ghouls from behind.
Kyaaah!
A skeleton’s hand shot up from the ground, grabbing a ghoul’s leg and toppling it.
Another skeleton fell from the ceiling, crushing the fallen ghoul’s chest.
The ghoul swung its arm, shattering the skeleton’s arm, but the skeleton stabbed its now-sharpened forearm into the ghoul’s eye.
Kieee!
In no time, the chamber had become a fierce battleground between two types of undead.
[This, this can’t be…….]
The necromancer muttered in disbelief.
He had realized whose will the skeletons were connected to.
[You’re, you’re clearly a mage! How could you wield the land of death…….]
I walked toward him silently, step by step.
In contrast, the necromancer stumbled backward.
But this was a sealed space. He soon hit the wall.
“How does it feel to be caught in your own trap?”
[Argh! Shut up! Flesh of the Spine!]
A long bone materialized in the air and shot toward me.
I dodged it with a slight twist of my shoulder.
In that moment, the necromancer hurriedly tried to open the laboratory door to escape.
How much of an idiot did he think I was?
Of course, I wasn’t going to let him get away.
Crack!
A dagger flew through the air, piercing the necromancer’s hand bone and pinning it to the door.
[Aaaah!]
He screamed at the top of his lungs.
“You lunatic. You can’t even feel pain, so why are you screaming? So noisy.”
Of course, it wasn’t a scream of pain but one of despair.
[Urgh! Spinal Prison!]
A white wall shot up from the ground.
I leaped over it effortlessly with [Dagger Shift].
In an instant, I was standing right in front of the laboratory door.
The necromancer, noticing me too late, fell backward onto his rear.
“You know what?”
I retrieved the dagger.
Then, I grabbed Raven’s head and tail, slowly pulling them apart.
“I’m not a mage.”
With a smooth sound, the transparent blade hidden within the staff gleamed in the dark burrow.
“And I’m definitely not a magic swordsman.”
[……!]
“I came here on purpose. To take down you and those ghouls. All by myself.”
The necromancer’s jawbone clattered noisily.
[W-What are you talking about…….]
“In simple terms, you and those things are just my experience points. Now die.”
──Stab
The blade pierced the skull’s crown without hesitation.
A sensation like fragile glass shattering wrapped around my hand.
I pulled out the sword. A dark smoke rose from the narrow gap, dissipating into the air. It was the necromancer’s lingering will.
Kyaaa!
With their master gone, the ghouls, now without a chain of command, went berserk.
They tore into not only the skeletons I had summoned but also their fellow ghouls.
I went around finishing them off one by one.
And so, the fierce and brutal battle ended somewhat anticlimactically.
“What a mess.”
Scattered across the battlefield were torn, rotting corpses and crushed bone fragments.
And in the center, one skeleton stood alone.
“Oh. A survivor.”
Calling an undead a survivor felt a bit odd, but it seemed to understand, as its dark eye sockets turned toward me.
I raised my sword.
The necromancy I had stolen from the necromancer, [Land of Death], had long since expired.
Naturally, my connection to the skeletons had been severed.
So, I intended to kill it.
But.
The skeleton’s next action forced me to lower my sword.
Thud! Thud!
The skeleton suddenly began frantically smashing a skull on the ground with its fist.
The skull with a pierced crown was the necromancer’s.
Crack! Crack!
I didn’t know its story, but it was clear it harbored a deep grudge against the necromancer.
“But. It’s just a skeleton?”
Normally, low-tier undead only possess hatred and a desire for destruction toward the living.
Yet this one held a grudge.
That was proof it retained some of its memories from life.
“A special specimen?”
Or perhaps, in life, it had been a formidable warrior.
This was a cemetery, after all.
No, considering its body was still intact after battling enhanced ghouls, I was half-convinced.
“For now, let’s check the loot.”
I turned and opened the laboratory door.
“Ugh.”
The concentrated stench inside the laboratory assaulted my nose.
It was dizzying.
I quickly summoned Sylph to blow the smell away.
But the sight before me was even more horrific than the odor.
Rotting corpses and grotesque, unidentifiable body parts.
Maggots writhing atop them and swarms of flies covering the walls.
“Damn. Did I let that necromancer die too easily?”
He was undead, so I couldn’t have made him suffer anyway.
Still, now that I was here, the disgust and unease outweighed any excitement or anticipation of loot.
So, I quickly scanned the laboratory.
I opened vials and leather pouches on the desk, checking their colors, sniffing them, and verifying their labels to confirm their authenticity.
Some could be sold for money, while others would be useful to me.
I stored them all in my subspace.
“Huh? What’s this? ‘Hydra Venom’ is here? It wasn’t in the game.”
The secret tomes, [Understanding of Death] and [Corpse Enhancement], were significant finds.
There was also a hefty coin pouch—perhaps dug up from the cemetery or stolen from travelers—along with a nearly scrap-metal sword, a rusted shield, and other miscellaneous items.
Luis will love these.
So, I decided to contact Luis to handle the rest.
When I stepped outside, a skeleton was standing tall by the door, greeting me.
Beneath it was a pile of bone dust that had once been the necromancer.
“Satisfied?”
Clack, the skeleton rattled its jawbone.
It looked almost as if it was smiling, pleased to have achieved its goal.
So, I opened my subspace.
“Choose. Stay here, or come with me.”
In my hand was a dagger.
The skeleton tilted its head once.
Then, after glancing at my hand, it stepped forward without hesitation.
Clack──!
I closed the subspace and left the place.
* * *
It had been a long night.
Though maybe it felt longer because I hadn’t slept a wink.
Not that I was sleepy.
There hadn’t been time to feel tired.
“I leveled up.”
A thrill of excitement coursed through me.
Leveling up granted me 3 points.
I invested them in Strength, Agility, and Mental Strength.
Name: Gerard
Age: 30
Occupation: Thief / Frey Academy 888th Class Cadet
Level: 34
Strength: 37
Agility: 55
Stamina: 34
Mental Strength: 48
Traits ─ Versatile / Instinct / Endurance / Memory and Understanding / Coolheadedness / Sharp Perception / Gaius’s Insight
Seeing my stats rise almost daily filled my chest with pride.
It hadn’t been long since my last level-up, and here I was again.
Clearing the field dungeon, the Cemetery Core, single-handedly must have paid off.
Come to think of it, I also took down that Ghost Knight at the start.
No wonder I leveled up.
But my experience points didn’t end there.
There was more.
The quests.
Since I had two quests this time, the experience points would be doubled.
So?
“Could I level up again?”
I checked the time.
Two hours remained until my meeting with Luis.
I wasn’t going to sleep anyway, and sitting idle wouldn’t make time pass faster, so I decided to spend it organizing the two quests.
For Quest A, I reviewed the cadets’ personal information.
For Quest B, I wrapped the artifact, ‘Gaze of Amplification,’ in paper to make it look like trash.
As I worked, it was time to leave.
I changed into athletic clothes and headed out.
Step, step.
I was yawning, shaking a canteen filled with Lumigan Grass root tea, when I saw it.
Through the foggy mist, a silhouette appeared.
In front of the men’s dormitory gate stood Yuria.
“What’s up? What are you doing here?”
“I was waiting for you, Senior.”
The look in Yuria’s eyes as she stared at me was oddly meaningful.
It snapped me awake.
At the crack of dawn, why had Yuria come looking for me, unable to sleep?
And of all days, today.
The events at the cemetery flashed through my mind.
Could she have noticed something about me back then……?
“……Why? Why were you waiting for me?”
“There’s something I need to ask you urgently. Only you.”
Before I knew it, I was holding Yuria’s hand, heading toward a secluded spot.