The protagonist’s training wrapped up more smoothly than expected.
Even though it’s the lower class, they had some basic physical abilities, after all.
“Are you really okay with just doing this and getting food?”
Since they seemed to handle it well, I decided to make them do three sets starting tomorrow.
Thinking of increasing the intensity? That’s for them to figure out once they taste the thrill of growth.
With the day’s training done and the timing a bit awkward, we decided to have an early dinner.
Artes asked if he could have two bowls, and when I said yes, he practically swallowed them whole without chewing.
Is this how it feels to feed consumable items in a game one after another?
Well… at least he enjoyed it, so it was worth it.
As I was about to eat, I noticed Seria sneakily moving a piece of meat from her plate to mine.
“Rudion, eat this too. I’m full with just one.”
“Then why do you always order double?”
“…I don’t know. Just eat quickly.”
She always does this.
It’s hard to refuse when she offers, so I just eat it, but there’s really no need for this.
I have money too. If I want more, I can just order another one, but she never changes.
Maybe it’s because she doesn’t have to worry about money. She just picks the most expensive option without thinking about how much she can eat.
With habits like this, she’ll never learn to save money. But I guess it’s fine since she’s a princess.
Just as I thought today’s schedule was finally over…
Ding!
The messenger in my bag rang again.
Instinctively, I thought it might be Seria, but she’s right here eating, so it couldn’t be.
Wondering what it was, I checked… and finally, what I was waiting for had arrived.
[Reina: Come to my private lab right now.]
It was a summons from Reina, who hadn’t been in touch at all until now.
But calling me during dinner is a bit much.
I couldn’t just throw away the food I had, so I quickly finished eating and got up.
Seria asked what was wrong, but with my mouth full, I couldn’t answer and just showed her Reina’s message.
“Finally, something to do after all the anxiety of having no work.”
Mhm. I couldn’t reply, but I nodded in agreement.
We received money again mid-month, but still, having nothing to do was really uncomfortable. I wondered what kind of task she would give us.
“Come back safely. Make sure to message me when you get back to the dorm.”
“Mhm.”
“And don’t just say you will. If you forget this time, I won’t let it slide.”
Maybe it was because of Seria’s serious magical bombardment today, but her warning felt really heavy.
I exchanged some casual goodbyes and left.
Reina’s private lab was…
It was inside the advanced class building.
Originally, it was somewhere else, but it seems like it was moved here after the professor in charge of the advanced class took over.
When I entered, Reina was already waiting for me with all sorts of luggage packed up.
“Did you come?”
“What did you call me for?”
“It’s almost midterms, you know.”
Saying that, Reina naturally handed me the luggage bag.
Judging by the weight, it seemed like it wasn’t just magic scrolls but also filled with various special tools.
“I’m going to catch some monsters for the midterm practical. If we’re too late, we’ll be tired tomorrow, so let’s move quickly.”
“Then why didn’t we leave earlier?”
“Those guys don’t come out unless it’s night, so leaving early wouldn’t make a difference.”
I see.
…Wait a minute. Among the monsters Reina is planning to catch for the exam, are there ones that only come out at night?
“By any chance, are those monsters Liches and Death Knights?”
“Oh, how did you know? Did I tell you before?”
No, is that appropriate for a first-year level?
Liches and Death Knights are more like second-year advanced class final exam level.
Even then, you can’t do it alone; you need a party of 4-6 people to even have a chance.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that. I’m just going to get a sturdy sandbag.”
“Ah, I see.”
As expected, the professor has it all figured out, huh?
Liches have high magic defense, and Death Knights have high physical defense, so it seems like she’s planning to use them to measure the students’ attack power.
I roughly understood the purpose, and we headed outside to depart.
Following Reina, we walked to the academy entrance, where a carriage was waiting.
The carriage started moving as soon as we boarded, moving at a fairly fast pace.
Reina looked out the window at the moving scenery and explained.
“We’re not going far. There’s been a lot of undead appearing near the empire lately. I think we can handle it around there.”
Judging by the sudden appearance of undead, there must be a Necromancer running wild.
I could immediately tell what episode this was related to.
The Necromancer’s attack.
It’s an incident where undead attack the protagonist coming out of the lower-class building in the first semester of the first year.
However, by that time, the protagonist had become quite strong and easily fended off the attack, but then suddenly a swarm of powerful undead monsters appeared, causing a struggle.
If you manage to stall for time, Seria comes by and takes care of everything, and the professors arrive late to arrest the Necromancer, ending the incident.
The Necromancer caught at that time never appears again. They’re just an early-game villain.
‘I was planning to pay attention to it in the second semester.’
I didn’t expect to get involved like this.
While I was thinking that, Reina, who was looking out the window, suddenly turned her gaze to me and spoke.
“So, how are things with Seria lately? I hear you two are getting along well, and the rumors are buzzing.”
“I don’t know if we’re close, but we do hang out together every day.”
“People say that hanging out together every day means you’re close.”
Hmm. It’s just that we’re in the same upperclass, and I’ve been spending a lot of time helping Lilith with her training.
But still… it’s pretty rare for Seria, who usually acts cold towards others, to invite me to go somewhere or send me messages.
If you think about it that way, maybe saying we’re close isn’t completely wrong.
Of course, I do wish I could make more friends, but for some reason, I don’t feel like doing that much.
“Take care of her. She’s a good kid, just struggles with dealing with people.”
“I know. There’s no one as kind as her.”
In the original work, she doesn’t have many lines, but in every scene she appears in, she’s always helping others. How could she be a bad person?
In fact, the character profile says ‘Alignment: Absolute Good.’ She can’t not be kind.
Although, thinking about how she blamed me for blowing up the student cafeteria ceiling last time, I wonder if even that has changed… Probably not.
As we talked about Seria, the carriage had already arrived at the gate leading outside the Empire.
We arrived pretty quickly because the Academy is located near the border.
The border… Well, if you go beyond the walls that mark the Empire’s boundaries, you don’t enter another kingdom but rather some kind of wilderness.
Think of it like game geography.
Inside the Empire is the town, and outside is the hunting ground.
That’s why all the kingdoms are spread far apart, each fending for themselves.
After all, it’s a world where monsters pop up.
People need to create safe zones to live in peace.
Of course, it’s called a hunting ground, but there are actual roads, so if you follow them, you can reach other kingdoms.
It’s just that it would take days by carriage, which is a problem.
Thinking about it, it’s really impressive that Lilith managed to escape all the way here.
“From here on, let’s go on our own.”
“Okay.”
Following Reina’s words, I grabbed my backpack and got off the carriage.
By now, it was late evening, and the sky was gradually darkening.
“You know how to ride a horse, right?”
“I haven’t tried before, but I’ll give it a shot.”
Walking all the way to where the undead are said to appear would be a waste of time, so we decided to ride the two horses that were pulling the carriage.
I was a bit worried since I’d never ridden a horse before, but my stats aren’t completely low, and the horses weren’t going too fast because of the heavy load, so it was manageable.
After about 40 minutes of riding, I started to see a sinister aura rising in the distance.
“We’re here. Let’s get off. Tie the horses here.”
If we lose the horses, it would be a disaster trying to walk back to the Empire.
So, I tied the horses as securely as possible to a tree to make sure they wouldn’t run away.
…Just in case, I tied a few extra knots, and it felt a bit excessive.
It became unsolvable.
“…Not very handy, huh?”
In the end, I did hear that from Reina… but it’s still sturdy, right?
If I really can’t solve it later, I can just cut it off. Better than letting the words run away.
We tied up the horses too. Reina and I quickly moved to a place overflowing with ominous energy.
As we walked… before I knew it, ominous energy was rising from beneath my feet.
Of course, this energy is probably only visible to me, but even if it weren’t, it wouldn’t matter much.
The ground was already blackened, so it was obvious it was tainted with dark energy.
Originally, monsters should have naturally spawned here… but it seems this land was artificially corrupted by a Necromancer, so that wasn’t the case.
“Hmm, the energy isn’t that strong… Maybe we can just suck it all up?”
Reina, who was looking around, muttered that and then opened the bag I was carrying, pulling something out and placing it on the ground.
“Ugh, it’s heavy. Rudion, can you take this over there?”
What she pulled out was a glass tube containing a sealed magic stone.
I had expected it when she mentioned working near the Empire, but seeing a magic stone the size of a human head right in front of me was quite ominous.
I did as she said and placed the glass tube, then came back to see Reina pouring her magical energy into it.
Soon, the glass tube shattered, and the magic stone began to emit light.
Then, all the ominous energy rising from the ground started being sucked into the stone.
As the tainted land regained its original color, the purple-tinged magic stone gradually turned black.
Just as most of the land had returned to its original state…
Crack-!
The magic stone began to crack.
And from there, black smoke seeped out, gathering and starting to take shape.
“…Huh?”
But when Reina saw that, she let out a sound of confusion.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well… I was sure two would come out, but why only one?”
That’s right.
Reina had clearly said she would capture a Lich and a Death Knight. The magic stone was probably adjusted to summon exactly those two.
But now, only one was forming before our eyes.
And that meant… could it be…?
“Grrr… Grr, Groooaaar!!”
Oh no, they really fused.
Lich + Death Knight, and thus, the Lich Knight made its appearance.
Seeing that, Reina casually asked.
“Hmm… Rudion? Is this even possible?”
Excuse me, Professor? A Lich Knight is something even graduating students would struggle to defeat.
But I was her direct assistant, and as a graduate student, there was only one answer I could give.
“Well… I’ll give it a try.”
If the Professor says so, I have to do it. What else can I do?
