Chapter 83

Chapter 83

Spendthrift Necromancer (83)

Second Arrangement (9)

He'd known for a long time that the Wave was coming. Snowy had scouted it for him.‘At least three thousand.’To stop them?

He needed more summons.

The Mages were still receiving their lessons.

He would have to cancel their summons first.‘Can't be helped.’After canceling the Mages, he used every summoning Skill he had.[Using Summon Bone Golem(A)

!][Using Summon Specter(C)+9!][Using Summon Skeleton Mage(E)+9!][Using Summon Skeleton(F)+9!]

A gigantic Bone Golem.

One hundred Specters.

Five hundred Skeleton Mages.

And finally, nearly twelve hundred Skeletons.

A tremendous undead army rose before the path of the approaching Wave.

“Prepare!”

Clatter!

Skeleton Number One, better known as Hail, gave a vigorous salute and thrust his sword forward as though ordering the troops to advance.[‘Hail’ begins commanding the soldiers!]

Step. Step.

Apparently all that training under Cedric had paid off. The skeletal soldiers marched forward in orderly ranks.

They formed a battle formation.

Skeletons holding massive shields took the very front. Those carrying various weapons positioned themselves behind.

The Mages didn't remain idle either.[‘Mail’ begins commanding the Mages!][The Skeleton Mage Corps obeys its Commander's orders!][One hundred Mages attempt ‘Magic Circle Construction’!][Success!][A medium-sized magic circle has been completed!][Four hundred Mages begin gathering ‘Rain of Bones’ into the magic circle!]

A gigantic magic circle appeared overhead.

Mana continued pouring into it.

The Specters took positions throughout the sky.

The strategy itself was simple.

While the Skeletons held the enemy's attention, the Mages would pour in magical damage. The Specters occupied a role similar to Assassins, so they could freely burst down enemies amid the chaos.‘And that's not all.’Kim Minwoo drank a Highest-Grade Mana Potion.

His Mana rapidly refilled.

In the distance, he could see hordes of monsters charging toward them. Gremlins, Gnolls, Dryads, Giant Spiders, and more.

Their bodies had been horribly twisted by demonic energy. Their average level was probably around 220.

And that wasn't all.

High-ranking monsters like Minotaurs, Ogres, and Trolls were mixed among them.

If they clashed like this, the undead army would be at a disadvantage. He'd strengthened them in various ways, but their average level was still far too low.

So he needed to give them a bonus.

There was a Skill he'd learned but had never once used in actual combat.

Land of Death.

The range was enormous.

And there weren't even any humans nearby.

Only enemies.‘Let's see.’Just how powerful could a truly prepared Necromancer become in war?[Casting Land of Death(S)

!][Land of Death spreads its energy!][All allied undead gain 20% to all stats!]

A 20% stat increase for allied undead.

And that wasn't the only effect.

The charging monsters staggered as though they'd tripped over something.

Some fell and were trampled.[Land of Death effect activates!][Enemies rise again as undead!][Death Lord's effect applies!]

Those trampled to death rose again as undead. Normally, a corpse raised as undead became weaker than it had been while alive. But these undead were different.

Death Lord increased all summoned undead's stats by 50%.

And apparently the definition of ‘summoned’ here.

Included undead raised by Land of Death.‘Fucking sweet.’The newly risen undead roared viciously and attacked the monsters around them.

Monsters began dying in an instant.

And their misfortune didn't end there.

Tap.

Ratatatat.

A rain made of sharp bones began falling from the enormous magic circle in the sky.

Across an area broad enough to cover all three thousand monsters.

Sharp bone spikes pierced their bodies. Area damage from Land of Death and Rain of Bones accumulated steadily.

The undead created more undead, which created still more undead.

The monsters weren't mindless. Apparently realizing there was no answer at this rate, the horde began rushing toward Minwoo's forces.

Then.

Boom!

The Skeleton army collided with the Monster Wave. Skeletons flew through the air when an Ogre corrupted by demonic energy swung its log.

And against that Ogre.

Thoom!

A massive shield blocked the way.

A summon that would lose to no one in pure strength, Dolsoe.

He was roughly the Ogre's size as well.

Feeling the heavy resistance under its grip, the Ogre's expression turned serious.―Raaagh!

The Ogre swung its log.

Dolsoe raised his mace and smashed it into the Ogre's torso.

Kill and be killed.

A chaotic melee erupted.

Skeletons and Specters alike began dying one by one.

Yet the size of the undead army only continued to grow.[Specter 2 is unsummoned…….][Death Lord's effect activates!]

The fading Specter instantly revived in perfect condition, swung its weapon, and sent a monster's head flying.

One more resurrection.

The undead raised by Land of Death were the same.

In moments, the undead outnumbered the monsters.‘Insane.’Kim Minwoo was genuinely impressed.

Death Lord and Land of Death.

The synergy between the two Skills was absolutely deranged.

He'd been prepared to step in if necessary, but now it seemed there was no need. The overwhelming power made his chest swell.

Sweet, delicious auto-hunting.

He was simply standing still while his level climbed and climbed.‘That's what I'm talking about.’This was why he'd chosen Necromancer.

The class's ceiling was truly absurd.* * *The Knights and Magic Corps waiting near the watchtowers erupted into chaos. Dolores and a Swordsmanship student had been the first to come racing back, reporting signs of a Wave.

“Stop the exam right now! It's a Wave!”

“Student Dolores, are you certain?”

“Of course! You think vibrations like that happen for no reason? I knew there was way too much demonic energy!”

Dolores's pair wasn't the only one who had noticed the abnormalities and tried to escape.

The other leading groups had also been ahead, so they'd felt the tremors too. Naturally, they'd fled the forest without looking back.

As more reports arrived, the professors' faces hardened.

“W-We need to launch a rescue immediately!”

Most of the students were still inside the Demon Forest.

Defensive magic?

If it collided directly with a Wave, it wouldn't last even three minutes.

If the students died en masse, the fallout would be unimaginable. The exam no longer mattered. Rescue came first.

The Knight Order and Magic Corps.

Even the professors all entered the forest. The students who had returned early followed as well.

A Monster Wave was no small incident, so they were in a situation where even student manpower might be needed.

Magical flares burst throughout the forest. Nearby students joined one after another, and the group steadily grew.

Once most of the students had gathered.

The professors tilted their heads.‘A Wave happened…….’‘But nobody died?’‘There weren't even any rescue signals?’They could understand the top-ranked pairs. Those students were fundamentally skilled.

It wouldn't have been strange for them to escape faster than the Wave advanced.

But the middle and lower-ranked groups were different.

Enough time had passed that many of them should already have been swallowed by the Wave.

Yet there hadn't been a single casualty.

Not even one rescue signal had activated.

Had the Wave somehow vanished into thin air?

The Knight Commander looked at a professor and asked.

“How many teams are still missing?”

“Team 232. That's the only pair we haven't found. Merhen and Kern.”

“……

Hmm.”

The knights and Mages' thoughts grew complicated.

This was a Monster Wave.

They'd expected some casualties.

That was the mindset with which they'd entered the forest.

By good fortune, they'd rescued almost every student.

Only two remained.

“If they haven't appeared even after the magical flares…….”

“Then they must be deeper inside…….”

Should they head all the way into the depths of the Demon Forest just to rescue two people?

While bringing the students with them?

As they hesitated.

A Skeleton and a person appeared in the distance. Strangely enough, the dragon-headed Skeleton was half-carrying someone on its back.

“H-Help!”

“Student Merhen?”

“Where is Student Kern?”

“He went to stop the Wave! Alone!”

“……!”

Everyone's eyes widened.

Could the Wave have remained quiet because Kern had drawn its attention?

That certainly seemed to be the case.

Noble self-sacrifice.

Easy to say.

Far harder to practice.

Yet Kern had done exactly that.

In front of thousands of monsters, no less.

The Knight Commander tightened his grip on his sword.‘That isn't the mindset of a mere student.’It was the noble resolve of a fully formed knight.

“Student Merhen. Do not worry. Our Sun Knights will rescue him.”

“Our Magic Corps will go as well. Students, you should return now.”

“No. We're going too!”

“We survived because of Kern. What does that make our Swordsmanship Department if we just leave?”

“The Magic Department is going too.”

The students hardened their resolve.

There were already hundreds gathered here.

On top of that, they had the Knight Order and Magic Corps. They could probably handle an ordinary Wave by themselves. And after receiving help, wasn't it only natural to repay it?

“Then let's go.”

No one objected.

Everyone headed deeper into the Demon Forest. The demonic energy grew thicker with every step. Faced with the bizarre forest, they tightened their grips on their weapons.

After traveling for quite some time.

They saw a single figure approaching in the distance.

“K-Kern?”

It was Kern.

Everyone stared blankly at him walking toward them completely unharmed. After a brief silence, the professors hurried forward.

“Th-The Wave?”

“I dealt with it.”

Everyone blinked.

He dealt with the Monster Wave?

Alone?

“Y-You didn't just lure it away or something?”

Kern shrugged and pulled out the crystal orb. The professors' eyes widened at the orb, now completely black. Dozens of exams had been held over the years, yet no student had ever absorbed that much demonic energy into one.―5,032 Points.

They were even more shocked when they saw the score floating above it.

“F-Five thousand points?!”

Monsters like Gremlins usually gave 1 point. In other words, he'd killed at least five thousand enemies of that level.‘Could he have tampered with it?’The result was so absurd they almost suspected Kern of manipulating the crystal's score.

But only for a moment.

Everyone moved to verify whether the Wave had truly ended.

Before long, they encountered an unbelievable sight.

Ogres, Trolls, Minotaurs, and thousands of other monsters lay shriveled across the ground as though every drop of blood had been drained from them.

“M-My god…….”

“Impossible…….”

As though staring at a monster.

Everyone looked at Kern—no, Kim Minwoo—with incomprehension. This wasn't performance a mere student should've been capable of.

After the initial shock.

The Knight Commander's expression grew solemn.

Their original highest priority had been rescuing the students and escaping the forest.

Subjugating the Wave came after that. But the Wave had suddenly been wiped out.‘……

Then.’Perhaps they could even resolve the cause behind the incident.

He looked at the Mages.

“……

Have you located the source of the demonic energy?”

“Yes. We have a direction. We should hurry. The energy is becoming stronger, almost as if something is forcibly widening the passage.”

“Can you stop it?”

“If we draw a sealing magic circle, we can block it for a while. After that, a proper investigation team will need to be dispatched.”

Then.―Heh. Too late.

A grotesque voice echoed.

The air cracked open.

A gigantic winged demon burst out. Kim Minwoo tilted his head at the sight.‘……

A Balrog?’A top-tier demon.

Their levels started at a minimum of 700.

And this Balrog looked completely different from any he'd seen before.

It was far larger.

The aura rolling off it was enormous too.

Enough to remind him of Cedric in the past.―Hahaha! This sweet air! It has been far too long since I visited the human world!

Cedric appeared beside him with a rigid expression.―……

That's Valkan.

“Valkan?”―……

The Lord's First Legion Commander. Be careful. If he's here, then…….

As he spoke, an undead emerged from the torn space.

A Lich wearing a jewel-studded crown.

The figure looked strangely familiar.

It closely resembled the image of the Death Lord he'd encountered just before beginning the second Arrangement.‘Don't tell me this is where he appeared?’Kim Minwoo's face hardened.

So did the faces of everyone gathered there.