Garet was rather proud of his skills.
Not that he came from some renowned noble family, but his family’s swordsmanship, the Escuea style, was undeniably strong and flashy. The style emphasized offense over defense and prioritized speed above all else. So far, in the academy, very few opponents had been able to withstand his consecutive strikes. Of course, the professors didn’t count, but still. Even last year during the dungeon expedition, countless monsters fell prey to his swift blade.
So, naturally, Garet expected more of the same this year. But alas…
“Berthe!”
“W-W-What IS this thing?!”
Clang!
“Oof!”
As Garet’s blade met the other’s, his hand involuntarily trembled from the sheer force behind the opponent’s swing.
“Berthe! Hurry!”
“Almost… done!”
Even Berthe, who normally maintained her composure in any situation, couldn’t hide the quiver in her voice. Garet could sense a surge of mana from Berthe’s direction and quickly jumped back after pushing the opponent’s sword aside.
Whoosh! BOOM!
Blue flames erupted from Berthe’s hands and shot forward in an impressive burst. Garet couldn’t help but admire Bernstein’s signature blue flames—it was always a satisfying sight.
“Phew.”
“An undead?! Are you kidding me?!”
Garet wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand while Berthe lost her cool entirely. What had just blocked their path was none other than a d*ath Knight—an undead that was far from ordinary. Not just any lowly undead, but a high-tier undead, to be precise.
This was their first time encountering an undead in person, and it had been decades since one was last sighted on the continent.
“Something’s off.”
“We didn’t have these insane monsters last year. The strongest ones were just giant spiders!”
“…Wait a second.”
“This is absolutely CRAZY!”
The chilling, metallic screech that followed froze both Garet and Berthe in place. Their eyes darted forward as the remnants of the blue flames dissipated, revealing the horrifying truth: the d*ath Knight was moving… completely unaffected.
Berthe’s voice quivered even more than before. Despite being engulfed in flames, the d*ath Knight stood firm, seemingly unscathed.
“Garet, behind me!”
“Aaaaaah!”
Clangggg!
Garet’s sharp blade met the massive, heavy sword of the d*ath Knight with a deafening metallic crash.
Gulp.
Garet’s instincts screamed danger. “An undead that doesn’t even flinch in flames? This is way too dangerous.”
He clenched his eyes shut and pushed the d*ath Knight back with all his might, though the creature barely budged. ‘Is THIS what they call the Grade Competition?’
“cr*p…”
Even Garet’s voice betrayed his growing fear.
*
“Geerrrrrr…”
“What the heck is that…?”
“Monster, I’d say.”
As the creature finally stepped into the light, it was clear they were dealing with something truly horrifying. Its grayish skin and slow, deliberate movements left little doubt about its nature.
“Synthia, stay behind me!”
Swoosh!
Irene drew her sword and aimed at the approaching creature while Cynthia quickly moved behind her, pulling out her bow.
“I-I… Is that even…?”
“Emily, do you know what it is?”
“T-That’s impossible! IT CAN’T BE!”
It was evident Emily knew something. Her voice shook uncontrollably as she stared down the approaching monster, reaching out with trembling hands toward Irene.
“Wait… UNDEAD… how…?”
“Undead?”
“I-it… Could it be a ghoul? But, HOW could something like that be here?”
While Synthia and I exchanged puzzled glances, Irene wasted no time and acted first.
Whoosh! Slice!
The sharp sound of Irene’s blade cutting through the air was followed by a clear cutting sound. Her sword cleanly sliced through the ghoul’s chest, but there was no bl**d—nothing but a dead silence.
“Geererrrr…”
“Wha…What the…?!”
Despite the gaping wound, the ghoul continued forward, seemingly unaffected by pain, trudging step by step toward them. Irene, stunned by the ghoul’s lack of reaction, quickly stumbled backward.
“Heads! We need to cut off the head to k*ll it!”
“Head…?”
Following Emily’s desperate cry, Irene quickly adjusted her stance and charged forward, her blade swinging sideways in one fluid motion.
Ssshhhhkkk!
Thud.
The ghoul’s head tumbled to the ground, and with a soft thud, the rest of its body collapsed lifelessly.
“Eww, disgusting!”
As the ghoul’s grotesque head rolled to a stop near my feet, I instinctively kicked it away, feeling thoroughly revolted.
Clunk!
“It… It’s down.”
The body lay motionless, and for the first time in what felt like forever, there was a brief moment of silence. But it didn’t last long.
“We need to RUN!”
“Huh? Emily?”
“NOW!”
Emily, panic evident in her wide eyes and trembling frame, tugged desperately at my sleeve. Her desperation was palpable.
“Well, we did k*ll it. Thanks to our top-tier swords-woman, Irene, it’s all good.”
My attempt to lighten the mood fell flat. Emily continued to cling to my arm, trembling harder than ever. The fear radiating from her was unmistakable.
“Emily… what’s gotten into you?”
“But—but ghouls NEVER travel alone!”
“Huh?”
Emily’s urgent shout pulled Irene and Synthia’s attention away from the fallen ghoul and toward her. Before anyone could ask further, a chilling, guttural groan echoed from the front.
“Geererrrr…”
Our bl**d ran cold. There it was again—the same sound as the ghoul Irene had just decapitated.
Shuffle… Shuffle…
“Wh-What the—!”
Swoosh!
“Everyone behind me!”
“AAHHHH! WE NEED TO RUN! OR ELSE… OR ELSE… AAAHHHHH!”
“Hey, Emily, hold on!”
It was chaos. Emerging from the shadows were easily a dozen—maybe more—ghouls. It was nearly impossible to gauge their numbers in the surrounding darkness. Emily collapsed on the spot, screaming. Synthia took a startled step back.
Only Irene remained calm, drawing her sword with steady hands and positioning herself between us and the advancing ghouls.
“Wait… I’ve never seen an undead before either…”
I had explored nearly every renown dungeon over the past few years—unexplored ones, partially looted ones, you name it—but seeing an undead was an entirely new experience. Even Addi mentioned that undead had disappeared after the ‘Black Magician Purge.’
“Run… we need to run… Quickly… Aunt…”
“Emily! Snap out of it!”
“Master Ryu! We must retreat!”
Swish! Slice!
Our situation couldn’t get any worse. Emily shaking uncontrollably and clutching my leg, the growing number of ghouls, and Irene frantically slicing through them one by one.
“Synthia, you take care of her!”
“O-Okay.”
“And move back a bit! Jeez, what’s with this?”
Synthia quickly sheathed her bow and started comforting Emily, helping pull her to the back. In the meantime…
Swish! Slice!
Irene was dispatching the ghouls with remarkable efficiency, cutting cleanly through their heads without hesitation. Watching her golden hair swish back and forth as she cleanly took down each ghoul, I couldn’t help but think, “This girl would make a great addition to the team.”
Calm amid chaos, Irene was handling the situation like a champ. While the rest of us were either freaking out or completely out of our depth, she was systematically clearing the path.
Still, the sheer number of ghouls was overwhelming. Despite her best efforts, Irene was slowly but surely being surrounded.
“Master Ryu!”
“Ugh, I really wanted to stay a wizard, but here we go…”
I had no choice but to step in. Though I wished I knew any area-of-effect spells, all I could manage was a basic mana-concentrated burst—not exactly ideal for this kind of situation.
“Is this even a test?”
“NOW ISN’T THE TIME TO THINK ABOUT THAT!”
Slice!
Irene slashed another ghoul that got dangerously close, but she was nearly surrounded now. Time to step in.
Grrk!
With a swift motion, I pulled out my sword for the first time in ages.
“Is this what they call ‘Academy Standard?'”
Every situation feels like a life-or-d*ath obstacle race lately. If this is what they’re calling an academy test, it might be too dangerous for words. I originally planned to avoid using my sword altogether during this trial. But this is my second time already, and looks like it won’t be the last.
Swoosh!
I tightened my grip on the sword.
