<Sub-Quest (3-1): "Be Thorough to the End">
Objective: Eliminate Landgar’s Subordinates
Description: Sweep away the remnants of the Nameless organization still hiding within the Academy.
Reward: 4 Stat Points
Penalty: Suspension from Crescent Academy
“Are there really still some left?”
This was the immediate thought that came to mind upon reading the quest details.
Come to think of it, it couldn’t have been Landgar alone orchestrating everything.
There had to be collaborators or subordinates somewhere.
Though, I hadn’t expected any of them to still be lurking around the Academy even after Landgar’s capture.
“How do we find them?”
“Hmm… If the Leader is saying this, there must definitely be remnants left, right?”
Yuria looked at me for confirmation.
Instead of answering, I nodded confidently.
Now, normally, any leads or intel would have been thoroughly cross-checked, but this was a quest.
And if anything, it was the very reason for my existence here – there was no way it could be false.
“The most ideal method would be to get the cooperation of the Academy’s staff and conduct a meticulous search throughout the campus…but…”
Yuria’s voice trailed off as she adopted an expression of deep thought.
“Searching overtly within the Academy is probably too much for them to handle. They’d assist if I ask, though.”
The most optimal strategy is often the least attainable.
Which meant we needed a secondary plan—and fast.
“Is Landgar still around?”
Secondary plan.
Gathering intel through Landgar’s remaining subordinates could be our way forward.
Yuria shook her head in response to my question and exhaled softly.
“That guy’s too tough. Not only was there never any expectation of getting a confession while he’s in his right mind, but various mind-affecting magic spells have also proven ineffective.”
“Hmmmm.”
An awkward silence momentarily hung in the air before Yuria broke it.
“But still, there’s not much we can do. I’ll check with Professor Amillion. Once the Academy learns there might be remnants of Landgar’s men around, they’ll likely take action. It’s just that…”
“Just that?”
“I’m not sure searching the entire Academy will help us find them. They’re an excessively thorough group when it comes to hiding their tracks.”
Yuria frowned, massaging her temples.
She had spent years chasing the organization Landgar belonged to.
Even someone as well-informed as Yuria, who sometimes had intel quicker than our own Black Shadow Guild, admitted that the group was genuinely hard to track down.
“Then why don’t we lure them out?”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, Eddi, who’d been quietly doing her thing in the corner of the office, chimed in.
“It’s one of the simplest methods, isn’t it? If you can’t find the hidden opponent, you draw them out.”
“…That’s actually not a bad idea. Eddi, do you have any good methods?”
Eddi’s eyes then shifted to me.
Why was she looking at me?
“Me? Why me?”
“The Leader brought something pretty tempting, didn’t they? Something the followers, now without their leader, might bite at.”
“Me?!”
I racked my brain, trying to think of anything useful I had, but nothing came to mind.
As I struggled to think and groaned softly, Eddi’s eyes widened slightly in surprise before continuing.
“Didn’t the Leader bring that Undead thing? That Undead horse. It seemed pretty powerful, and that should suffice as bait, right?”
“Oh.”
“Ah-ha!”
As Eddi spoke, I found myself nodding in agreement.
Judging by how Yuria, who’d been standing beside me, snapped her fingers and widened her eyes, she was on the same wavelength.
Right. I did have Green.
“Will this work?”
It was actually a pretty solid idea.
“Niguel-sama, what do we do?”
“Ughh! Shut up and let me think!”
Niguel waved away his aide who’d asked for his opinion in a rather irritated tone.
After that gesture, the aide bowed his head quietly and exited the room.
“d*mn it!”
What an absolute nightmare of a situation.
Once the aide left, Niguel reached for the letter sitting atop his desk and read it again.
He had read it so many times by now that he had it memorized, yet he read it once more out of habit.
At first, this letter had seemed like a godsend.
Our superior, the 3rd Elder, Landgar, had fallen in battle.
Not only that, but he’d been captured by the Empire.
This had Niguel convinced that it was only a matter of time before he, too, was caught by the authorities.
Until now, they had been able to hide away in the Academy under the cover provided by the Vice Chancellor’s position, but that protection was gone.
But strangely, Niguel and his fellow organization members hadn’t been captured.
Landgar was indeed captured, though not dead, preserving the protective barrier he had set up during his reign.
Thanks to this, Niguel’s crew had continued to hide undetected within the Academy.
But that was where it ended.
Stuck in the Academy without their leader, they were effectively paralyzed, unable to carry out any missions.
And with their most powerful Elder defeated in battle, what could the remaining members possibly accomplish?
It was as if they had been cornered within the Academy, without any way to fight or escape.
And then came the letter from the organization – like water to a drought-stricken land.
Naturally, Niguel read the letter filled with hope, expecting the organization to come rescue them.
“d*mn!”
Niguel threw the letter across the room in a fit of anger.
The contents of the letter were nothing like what he had hoped for.
Despite the absence of the 3rd Elder, they were commanded to proceed with the original plan.
Moreover, the organization stated it would offer no support at all, and if the plan was not executed within a set timeline, they were all to be executed.
It was a case of being damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
Executing the plan without the 3rd Elder assured failure, but doing nothing meant the organization would send assassins after them.
Clearly, the organization had no intention of saving them.
“Ughhh…”
In an effort to steady his shaking body and calm down, Niguel took a deep breath and tried his best to think rationally.
Niguel did not want to d*e so futilely after all he’d endured.
It was humbling and repulsive, but now was the time to think about the option with the highest chance of survival.
“If we do nothing, we’ll d*e, no doubt.”
Niguel was fully aware that escaping execution from the organization was impossible.
Unnameable assassins of ‘The Nameless’ were legendary within the organization.
Anyone who betrayed the organization or divulged secrets faced certain d*ath, courtesy of these enigmatic killers.
None, except the elders themselves, knew the true identities of these assassins.
Therefore, the only option with any chance of survival was to carry out the original plan.
“Had that damned Undead Wyvern been here, this might have been different…”
The original plan, masterminded by the 3rd Elder, was to transform the Academy into a fortress of Undead.
Crescent Academy sat right in the heart of the Empire’s capital, making this location ideal for their operation.
If they succeeded, it would effectively mean infiltrating the very core of their enemy.
With the combination of Landgar’s black magic barrier expertise and the powers of the Academy Founder, the chances of success were relatively high.
Even a Grand Mage like William wouldn’t have been able to break through the protective barriers.
Once the Academy was secured, its exceptional students, with their great magical potential and pure bloodlines, could have been sacrificed to create even stronger Undead warriors.
But ever since Landgar’s capture, Niguel had considered the plan dead in the water.
The most crucial element—someone to cast the protective barrier—was now missing.
While the Founder had left behind a set of incantations for casting the barrier, they weren’t entirely reliable.
“And now, they’re asking us to proceed anyway.”
It was essentially s*icide—like trying to break a rock with an egg.
At least there had been some hope with the Undead Wyvern, which could have marginally increased their chance of success to 1%.
But without it, and after the numerous Undead they had lost during the Festival Incident, they were severely underpowered.
Even the remaining Undead might struggle against the Academy staff, let alone the Empire’s forces.
“On the bright side, dying in action isn’t certain d*ath.”
Because of the looming crisis, Niguel, who typically became irrational when angered, was now unusually composed.
The best chance for survival was, indeed, to carry out the plan.
Without Landgar’s barrier, they still had the Founder’s incantation scrolls.
“Maybe this is our opportunity while they’re distracted by the 3rd Elder’s capture.”
On top of that, the remaining Undead were still formidable.
Not your average skeleton that could be frozen with a single spell, but something sturdier.
1% was definitely better than 0%.
As Niguel was solidifying this decision, a shadow passed by the moonlit window.
His first instinct was to think it was an assassin, but that wasn’t the case.
He instinctively glanced out the window.
Despite being in what was practically a basement, the moon seemed unusually high in the sky.
And in front of it, something was floating in mid-air.
“Uh…what?”
Crowing his brows, Niguel stared at the floating object.
It definitely wasn’t a bird—there were no wings.
This mysterious object hovering and scanning the surroundings turned out to be… a horse.
A horse without skin.
“Agh!”
Niguel practically pressed his face against the glass in shock.
There, floating in the air and rotating its legs surrounded by green flames, was that Undead.
That Undead that was lost in the tournament that day.
The d*ath Knight of Corrosion.
The Skeleton horse that had disappeared into thin air in that dungeon was now right there.
“What… is that thing doing here?!”
As if responding to Niguel’s shout, the floating horse began to move, casually, as though out for a stroll.
“Grab it!”
The first instinctive thought that popped into Niguel’s mind.
We need to capture that thing.
