349
As the bodies of the monsters that had started rising were observed, Angr and Eclere instinctively shuddered, their shoulders trembling.
The phenomenon of corpses rising and moving had been studied countless times in class.
It was the work of necromancers under Commander Hel Kaiser, a Legion Commander serving Tartarus, the Demon King.
Among the vicious magics of the malevolent realm of Tartarus, necromancy was infamous as one of the most cruel.
“Undead…!”
The first-years taking the exam exchanged startled glances at the appearance of the undead.
The sudden emergence of undead in a test meant to deal with monsters was, understandably, perplexing.
Most notably, while the first-years had experience combating monsters, they lacked any combat experience against undead.
Yet, they quickly rose to the occasion, proving themselves as hero candidates.
“Hmph, low-tier undead, nothing more.”
A girl from the advanced class stepped forward, sneering disdainfully. She glanced sharply at the lower class students and clenched her teeth.
“I’m not about to lose to the likes of lower class students!”
The advanced class— especially Class 1— held a formidable sense of pride.
However, this pride was soundly shattered.
While the advanced class was leading the exam in terms of score, it was entirely due to Lea’s efforts. Not a single one of them had distinguished themselves against the lower class students.
Other students also readied themselves, determined. The pressure they felt was immense, especially as they noticed skeptical gazes from the seniors they admired and looked up to.
“I have to prove why I am in the top advanced class!”
A rumbling sound filled the air as magic was activated.
BOOM!
A powerful explosion and shockwave swept through the area, scattering the undead’s flesh in all directions.
Seeing the result, cheers of triumph arose from the advanced class.
“This kind of low-tier undead is no threat at all!”
“Yeah!”
The advanced class students boasted boastfully.
At this, Lea narrowed her eyes.
“Conserve your mana. When fighting undead, you have to think long-term.”
“Lea, this isn’t actual combat; it’s just a test. Besides, we’re right in the heart of Seirun.”
A boy laughed.
“Without black magic fueling them, there’s no way these undead can resurrect infinitely… ”
GURGLE… GURGLE…
The scattered pieces began twitching, gathering together once again.
Witnessing the monsters rapidly returning to their original forms, the advanced class students’ expressions turned slightly disoriented.
“Undead really are persistent.”
Nonetheless, they soon dismissed the situation as trivial and unleashed more magic, annihilating the undead as they revived over and over.
However, as this cycle continued, even the advanced class students began to tire.
“Why?! Why won’t it end?!”
“I… We might get defeated this way!”
Their faces were now painted with growing confusion.
“We have no choice but to ask for help. This is an unpredictable situation!”
One of the male students voiced their urgency.
He was correct.
This was an unforeseen situation, not part of the test plan.
Yet, the first-years remained unperturbed.
Being in the heart of Seirun, they believed that if students were ever in danger, they would be protected.
“KIIIIGGGHH!”
The undead, emitting a disturbing noise, lunged at the first-years.
Even monsters typically have a fear of d*ath. Not so for the unliving. The absence of fear of d*ath is one of the undead’s most terrifying traits.
DONG!
“Ugh?!”
A crude goblin sword pierced the shoulder of one of the advanced class students. Grasping his shoulder, the student fell to the ground, rolling about.
“My arm!”
Shrieks of pain erupted. The agony was doubled thanks to the peculiar poison unique to undead.
“What… What is this?”
“Teacher! We have an injured student here!”
In a flurry, the advanced students cried out for help.
However, the Seirun teachers showed no signs of intervening.
Not only the teachers, but senior students as well observed the first-years with cold, unyielding eyes.
Waves of undead, endlessly resurrecting, pressed forward without end.
“Help! Save me!”
“Please let us out!”
Thrown into real combat without warning, the students succumbed to their panic and started screaming.
“Shouldn’t… shouldn’t we help them?”
“Teacher! Senpai! Something bad is about to happen!”
From behind the exam area, urgent cries erupted among the gathered first-year students, but no one moved to aid.
“Pathetic! If they are truly in danger because they can’t handle one measly undead then they have no place being students of Seirun!”
Geras shouted heatedly.
“Show some pride! Don’t disgrace Seirun!”
Geras’s words twisted the first-years’ faces with discomfort.
Lower-class students looked anxiously at Laura.
“Teacher Laura! The students need help…”
“Everyone, this is a test for Seirun students,” Laura responded sternly, causing the first-years to flinch.
“You may be inexperienced first-years, but above all… you are hero candidates!” Laura emphasized firmly.
“You must face your trials with courage, fighting to earn the qualifications of a hero.”
Her decisive words made the first-years ball their fists tightly.
“There’s no need to worry too much.”
Leo, watching the exam area, spoke calmly.
“If it was truly beyond their capacity, the teachers or seniors would have intervened by now.”
Eyeing the lower-class students combating the undead, Leo added,
“I can sense the Demon King’s magic, but this isn’t something the Demon King himself orchestrated.”
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
“The magic is too crude.”
No one knew the Demon King’s magic better than Leo—it had once been unbearably familiar to him.
“It’s just a crude borrowing of the Demon King’s black magic.”
Leo’s face turned expressionless.
“If so, why did this magic activate all of a sudden?”
The monsters supplied for the test in Seirun were common wild monsters, undoubtedly captured from the elves’ territories.
“Someone could’ve tampered with the monsters beforehand, but Seirun would never have overlooked such a thing.”
It was impossible for demons to infiltrate Seirun. The academy’s protective barriers were formidable, and following last year’s Demon Queen attack, they’d been thoroughly reinforced.
“Yet, black magic fueled by the Demon King’s power was activated…”
“There must be someone within Seirun who’s dealing with the Demon King.”
Leo’s eyes flashed dangerously.
During the Era of Catastrophe, countless traitors had been buried in darkness.
That era, overseen by Erebus, was filled with the world’s descent into ruin. Survival became the natural instinct for the living.
Thus, the emergence of traitors had been unavoidable.
Now, however, was different.
It was an era of peace, with no apparent reason for treachery.
“Let alone those who claim to follow Luna!”
Leo clenched his fists, an urge to rip the traitor apart rising within him.
“But no fool leaves evidence unless necessary.”
Leo quickly thought, “What matters now is why such an event was suddenly orchestrated.”
Introducing undead into the exam, all of a sudden?
The current undead legion, although composed of low-tier undead resurrected through the Demon King’s magic, wasn’t an easy opponent for the first-years to handle, although they could defeat them given time.
If Leo stepped in, he could resolve it in an instant.
However, he waited.
“If you truly wish to follow Luna… If you aim to inherit the will of Seirun…”
Leo’s expression turned cold.
“Prove it now. That you’re not merely flowers in a greenhouse but seedlings of heroes.”
The undead legion surged forward like a tidal wave.
It wasn’t just the advanced class that was overwhelmed by the onslaught.
“I can’t hold on any longer!”
A male student from Angr’s group shouted frantically.
After taking a deep breath, Angr decided.
“We’ll have to use it.”
“What?”
“Our aura.”
Angr’s announcement caused the male student to look worried.
“Hey! Using anything other than magic during the exam will result in a fail!”
To that, Angr replied,
“So what? Should we just keep using magic? That’s not our true potential.”
Angr extended his hand, revealing a silver spear from an alternate space.
“Our family has been lance knights for generations. I’ve always been proud of that.”
Angr smiled and added,
“I came to Seirun to become a hero, not a wizard.”
GOOOOO-!
Angr’s body was enveloped by an aura.
“If I can’t gain recognition for the path I proudly walk…”
CHUNK!
Angr tightened his grip on the spear, lowering his stance.
“Then I see no point in staying at Seirun.”
Witnessing Angr’s determined resolve, the front-line students of the lower class exchanged glances, chuckled, and drew their weapons, channeling aura into them.
“Yeah, you’re right!”
“Magic alone is stifling. I’m a knight!”
Their expressions brightened, their eyes keen and determined. Gone was the image of them always holding back or second-guessing themselves.
KRAKRAKRAK-!
Swinging his spear, Angr unleashed a freezing wind that swept through the battlefield, advancing fearlessly into the ranks of the undead.
KRAKRAK-!
The unleashed aura sent undead flying.
Seeing this, the advanced class exclaimed,
“He’s using aura!”
“Cheating! He’ll fail the exam!”
At the cries of triumph from the advanced class students, Lea responded icily,
“And you people have the nerve to talk?”
The advanced class students flinched.
Lea, casting a disdainful look at her fellow classmates, turned her focus to the center of the undead legion.
KWAK! KWAK! KWAAKKKK!
Chunks of flesh began congealing, and a massive lump of corpses, emitting a foul stench and sinister qi, rose to its feet.
“A corpse golem?”
The sight of the higher-tier undead turned the advanced class students ghostly pale.
“Help… please!”
“We can’t possibly defeat this kind of undead with the power we currently have!”
Frightened, the advanced class students shouted in despair.
“Relying on frontline fighters in this situation might indeed be too much to ask.”
Lea sighed and moved forward.
In their panic, the advanced class students didn’t even realize Lea stepping up to the forefront.
“Stella Via.”
A radiant path of starlight stretched in front of Lea, created by her magic.
Caught in the starlight, the undead began melting away.
This was the same magic used by the Comet Wizard, Seirun, during the era when thousands of undead were breached long ago.
As everyone watched in astonishment, Lea arrived gracefully in front of Angr and spoke,
“We need a trustworthy vanguard. Would you help?”
Lea smiled gently, extending her hand.
Seeing this, the lower class students exchanged guarded glances. Before them stood Lea Tinggel, the pinnacle of the advanced class, someone they’d always detested.
Yet, having seen the hand extended numerous times before, Angr returned the smile and took it.
“Alright.”
“Ecclere, please assist Angr.”
“Uh, yes! Understood.”
Lea closed her eyes, beginning to chant a spell.
Noticing this, Angr announced,
“A powerful spell is coming. Protect Lea Tinggel!”
Upon his shout, all the lower-class students moved in unison to Lea’s defense.
This coordinated movement amazed Ecclere.
Despite lacking proper training, the bonds built from daily mutual efforts among the lower-class students proved their worth in a moment like this.
They fought off the undead waves through sheer eye contact, seamlessly coordinating their moves.
Angr used his aura-infused spear thrusts to hold back the corpse golem’s advance.
A grotesque sword, its blade dripping with rotten flesh, slashed through the air.
BOOM! KRAKRAKRAKK-!
“Ugh?!”
Angr gritted his teeth, blocking the sword imbued with black magic.
“Whoever… don’t think… I’ll give in! HAAAP!”
With a war cry, Angr unleashed his aura.
The cyclonic winds sent the corpse golem’s massive sword flying.
In that very instant, Lea’s eyes opened.
“Lux Strike.”
As she released the spell, a brilliant beam of light erupted from her staff, consuming the corpse golem.
KRAKRAKK-!
Lea let out a sigh, her spell having wiped away the golem without a trace. Even Angr, having poured all his strength into the fight, slumped down.
At this point, when it seemed the undead wouldn’t revive anymore, and the first-years were beginning to relax…
BOOOM!
GROWWWWWWWWWRRR!
A massive skeleton broke through the summoning circle.
Its sheer size dwarfed the corpse golem.
The oppressive aura and thick dark energy it radiated dominated the scene.
Most frighteningly, its very existence seemed to drain life from living things nearby.
Pale-faced, the first-years stared in shock.
“Skeleton… King?!”
Angr let out a cry of astonishment.
GROWWWWWWWWWRRR! BANG!
The Skeleton King’s sword came down toward Angr.
Instinctively closing his eyes, Angr awaited his fate.
CHICKCHICKCHICK-!
Then, hearing a metallic screech, Angr cautiously opened his eyes and met the gaze of a boy enveloped in flames.
“Le… Leiro?”
Leo smiled faintly.
“Excellent.”
KRAKRAKRAKK-!
A crimson flame erupted around Leo’s body.
With a single hand, Leo effortlessly blocked the Skeleton King’s attack and smirked at the stunned audience.
“Well, I guess everyone who needs to know now knows. No need to pretend to be a Seirun student anymore.”
THUD!
The pointed ears flattened, transforming back into human-like ones.
Angr’s jaw dropped.
“Y-you’re… a human?”
Leo grinned in response to Angr’s astonishment, tensing his hand.
CLANG!
Leo sent the Skeleton King’s arm soaring skyward.
“Thought I’d let you observe long enough…”
Leo wielded his sword, its crimson gleam shooting toward the heavens.
KRAKK!
Under the force of Leo’s sword strike, the Skeleton King’s body was severed.
WHUMP!
But it quickly reassembled itself, standing firm once again.
Upon seeing this, Leo narrowed his eyes and kicked the ground, launching himself upward with incredible speed.
WHOOSH!
Reaching the Skeleton King, Leo spoke.
“Your reconnaissance should be sufficient by now.”
[Hoo?]
From the Skeleton King’s glowing eyes, the Demon King Hel Kaiser observed with visible interest.
“Leo Flove, what exactly are you?”
“Me?”
Leo smirked as he raised his leg.
WHACK!
Smashing the Skeleton King’s eye until it exploded, Leo responded coldly.
“The one who will obliterate you and your kind.”
![[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1743806812-5548-TS-The-Protagonist-is-Conquered.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered")
