Necromancy Exploration (2)

“Ah, hello, everyoneee…. Oh, thank you so much for coming all this way today to hear my lecture…”

With long, disheveled purple hair and an unbalanced physique of short stature with large breasts, was Professor Mamari, who taught the Necromancy Exploration class.

She, whose voice was so eerie it was almost indistinguishable from a ghost’s, began explaining the format of the Necromancy Exploration class to the students gathered before her.

“Oh, starting today, for five days, you’ll be taking a class with me in this area to understand Undead-type Monsters…”

“……”

“As there are many areas around here where various types of Undead-type Monsters reside, it’s a good place to collect, ah, no, to pacify various Undead-type Monsters…. Eheheh, heh, heh heh…”

…Didn’t she just say ‘collect’?

An ominous premonition slowly crept up, along with the thought that I hadn’t misheard her.

Still, to properly engage in the class, I had to listen to the full explanation, so I focused on Professor Mamari’s words for now.

“F-first, Undead-type Monsters can be largely divided into three types. There are Ghost-type, Skeleton-type, and Zombie-type. The closer they are to Ghost-type, the more effective attacks using mana or life force are, rather than physical force. Conversely, physical attacks work on Zombie-type, but Zombie-type Monsters sometimes exhibit monstrous strength beyond imagination because their physical limits are broken…”

Up until now, I had skipped the explanations from the professors of the exploration subjects because I didn’t particularly need to listen, but even I couldn’t just ignore this explanation from the Necromancy Exploration professor.

It wasn’t that I had suddenly realized the importance of diligently attending classes; it was just that I had almost no experience playing this part of the game, so I knew nothing about it.

My only experience was playing it once with tears in my eyes, hoping to gain even a tiny bit of information related to Lilith’s virginity capture route, so in essence, this class was practically my first Necromancy Exploration class.

Just as I had discussed with Ethan on the carriage ride here, I would ultimately have to rely quite a bit on him for this class.

“S-so, everyone, you need to weaken the Undead-type Monsters’ health according to the explanation I just gave, and then collect them in this ‘Undead Sealing Magic Stone’ and submit them…”

‘…What?’

“You must collect one Ghost-type Monster, one Skeleton-type Monster, and one Zombie-type Monster each, and evaluation will be based on a comprehensive assessment of each monster type’s danger level, preservation status, and so on…”

‘Oh, come on.’

The professor’s final explanation wasn’t just to defeat them, but to ‘collect’ the monsters without killing them and bring them back.

It was the moment my head spun from a class assignment that was far more difficult than I had imagined.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The Undead Sealing Magic Stones that the Necromancy Exploration class assistant had distributed, three per person.

They were Sealing Magic Stones, each meant to capture one Ghost-type, one Skeleton-type, and one Zombie-type Monster.

‘Haa, at this rate, I’d rather just become an Undead myself.’

Something that’s hard enough to do even if you just had to defeat them with your eyes closed, and now I have to slowly chip away at their health and put them into a Sealing Magic Stone? That’s just ridiculous.

If it were up to me, I’d want to give up on this class right away, but unfortunately, I couldn’t.

It wasn’t a class I was taking alone; I was taking it with Ethan. And since Ethan had personally signed up for it, if I didn’t approach it diligently, he would clearly feel disappointed or regretful.

“Are you sure, Lilith?”

“…I’m fine. After all, this is a class I joined to overcome my weaknesses, so it’s right to build up my resistance thoroughly with this opportunity.”

“If it seems too hard, I could do your assignment for you, Lilith.”

“Submitting assignments in that manner would be meaningless, Young Master Ethan. I enrolled in Luminor Academy to learn and gain something, not to cheat my way to good grades.”

“…My apologies, Lilith. I was thoughtless.”

“Still, I appreciate the offer, Young Master Ethan.”

Right. Since the exploration class has already begun, there’s no turning back.

If it’s an unavoidable class anyway, then attending properly and earning plenty of experience points along the way was the best I could do right now.

“First, it would be best to plan a route for collecting Undead-type Monsters. The places where Undead-type Monsters can be found nearby are the Abandoned Church, the Grave of the Dead, and the Ancient Battlefield, three locations.”

“That’s right.”

“According to the professor, it would be tight to visit even one location per day, so it seems we should decide on a place to visit tonight, Young Master Ethan, what do you think?”

“Well. I’d like to give Lilith the choice. Where do you think we should go first, Lilith?”

“…Please wait a moment, I’ll think about it.”

The Abandoned Church was an area where Ghost-type Monsters appeared, the Grave of the Dead for Zombie-type Monsters, and the Ancient Battlefield for Skeleton-type Monsters.

Although I hated all three to death, there was still a certain order of revulsion among them, so the selection process wasn’t too difficult.

‘It’s probably better to face the monster I find least repulsive among the three as the first opponent.’

If I start by facing Skeleton-type Monsters, which are the most bearable to look at among the three, my threshold for revulsion towards Undead-type Monsters might increase slightly.

And recalling my memories from when I took this Necromancy Exploration class in my previous life, the named monster for this class would likely appear when visiting the very last area.

Considering a battle with a Boss Monster, it was most important to avoid the most troublesome named monster, the ‘Giant Skeleton’, so collecting Skeleton-type Monsters first was the correct decision in many ways.

“How about visiting the Ancient Battlefield, where Skeleton-type Monsters reside, first, Young Master Ethan?”

“Alright, let’s go there first then.”

“Skeleton-type Monsters are a type that exerts physical force based on magic, so if Young Master Ethan faces the monster, I will provide magical support from behind.”

“Understood, Lilith. I’ll handle facing the monsters directly, so I’ll ask Lilith for rear support.”

As quickly as possible. I should just collect two moderately strong monsters from the Ancient Battlefield and rest early today.

I didn’t want to engage in tiring battles on the very first day after driving the carriage all day.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

And then, about five minutes after Ethan and I entered the Ancient Battlefield.

While carefully walking across the red earth behind Ethan, the first monster attack came at a moment neither Ethan nor I had anticipated.

-Paak!

“…Huh?”

-Deopseok!

“Ughkyaaaaaaak!!”

The moment I felt a bony hand suddenly appear from beneath my feet, grabbing my ankle and pulling me down.

At the same time, I, in a state of panic, shook off Ethan’s hand, hastily pulled my foot free, and sprang up from my spot.

-Hwiing! Hwiing! Hwiing!

“Hiiyaaaaaak…!!! Let go! Let go, you motherfucker!!!”

I swung with all my might, the Skeleton Swordsman still clinging to my leg, having been dragged out from under the ground while holding my ankle.

Fortunately, thanks to the Skeleton’s uniquely weak grip, it soon let go of my ankle and flew far away from me. However, the utterly repulsive movements that continued even after it flew away made me scream again.

-Ttalgeurak, ttalgeurak….

“Ughkyaaaaaaak!! A skeleton!! A skeletooooon!!!”

The monster, which seemed to have shattered upon hitting the ground, quickly reassembled itself bone by bone, regaining its Skeleton form.

Startled by the grotesque sight, I almost collapsed onto the ground, but thanks to Ethan’s voice, which reached me belatedly, I was barely able to regain my composure.

“Lilith, this way!”

“Yes, yes…!!”

Ethan swung the sword in his right hand to face the Skeleton Swordsman, which had quickly reassembled and was approaching me again.

As I hid behind Ethan’s back, quietly burying my face, the exhilarating sound of swordsmanship soon reached my ears.

-Seogeok.

‘Ttalgeurararak…’

True to a monster appearing at the entrance of a hunting ground, it was easily sent flying with a single sword strike from Ethan.

It was the moment I felt strangely embarrassed, seeing the monster fall so easily compared to the fuss I had made.

“Ah, damn it. I misjudged my strength.”

“……Huh?”

“The professor said we had to collect monsters in the Sealing Magic Stone and bring them back, right? I think I accidentally killed it completely.”

“…Ah, th-that’s what you meant.”

The condition for passing the class, as stated by the professor, was to collect one of each type, a total of three kinds of Undead-type Monsters, and bring them back.

Even if it was a Skeleton that fell so easily with a single sword swing, an Undead-type Monster was still an Undead-type Monster, so I could understand why Ethan reacted that way.

Since I was trembling as soon as I entered this Skeleton habitat, he must have been worried. He might even want to get me out of here as quickly as possible.

While I appreciated Ethan’s concern, my personal opinion was that I couldn’t compromise on this particular point.

“I understand the meaning of Young Master Ethan’s words, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to catch weak monsters and leave the Skeleton habitat just for my sake.”

“…Lilith?”

“Objectively speaking, a Skeleton Swordsman is merely a very weak monster. Even against the monster from a moment ago, if I had truly put my mind to it, I could have easily handled it with just this dagger.

Since Professor Mamari said she would grade based on the level of monsters students brought, naturally, we must collect the strongest monsters we can handle with our skills and return.”

“You speak so well now that the Undead-type Monster is gone, Lilith. Just a moment ago, you darted behind my back and hid.”

“…I apologize for showing such an embarrassing side, but in any case, I will not change my mind. This class was originally meant to overcome my weakness towards Undead-type Monsters, so my pride absolutely will not allow for such a trick-based subjugation.”

“Alright, I get it. If Lilith thinks that way, then that must be right.”

In the end, Ethan agreed to proceed to an area where stronger monsters appeared, as I suggested, so Ethan and I slowly moved deeper into the habitat once more.

…Actually, the characteristic of Undead-type Monsters I hated most wasn’t their repulsive appearance.

Of course, their appearance, which resembled humans yet was undeniably unsettling, was one of the factors I disliked, but the biggest reason I hated Undead-type Monsters was….

-Paaak!!

“Hikyaaaaaak…!!”

This. Yes, this.

Please, I wish someone would do something about just this jump scare element. Seriously.