Chapter 83

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 83: Second Trial (9)

He had known about the wave long before it happened, thanks to Whitey’s reconnaissance.

‘The numbers are at least three thousand

To stop it?

More summons were needed.

The mages, still undergoing continuous training.

First, he needed to cancel the summoning of those creatures.

‘It can’t be helped.’

After canceling the mages’ summons, all summoning skills were utilized.

[Bone Golem Summoning (A)!]

[Specter Summon (C)+9!]

Skeleton Mage Summon (E) +9

[Skeleton Summon (F) +9!]

A massive Bone Golem.

One hundred Specters.

Five hundred Skeleton Mages.

And finally, close to twelve hundred Skeletons.

An imposing army of undead rose up in front of the approaching wave.

“Prepare yourselves!”

Clank!

Skeleton No.1, also known as Hail, saluted vigorously, as if commanding the soldiers to advance, sword extended forward.

[Hail begins commanding the troops!]

Thud. Thud.

Skeleton soldiers, well-trained by Cedric, advanced in perfect formation.

They had formed ranks.

Skeletons holding giant shields took the forefront, while those wielding various weapons positioned themselves in the rear.

The mages were not idle either.

[Myra begins commanding the mages!]

[The Skeleton Mage Corps follows the commander’s orders!]

[One hundred mages attempt to ‘Construct Magic Circles’!]

[Success!]

[The medium-sized magic circle has been completed!]

[Four hundred mages begin gathering ‘Essence of the Bone Rain’ into the magic circle!]

A massive magic circle appeared in the sky.

Mana continued to flow into the circle.

The Specters were positioned throughout the sky.

The strategy itself was simple.

While the skeletons held the enemy’s attention, the mages unleashed their spells. The Specters, positioned like assassins, would deliver heavy damage during the chaos of battle.

“But it doesn’t end here.”

Kim Minwoo consumed a high-rank mana potion.

Mana surged rapidly.

In the distance, hordes of monsters could be seen charging: goblins, ogres, trolls, dryads, giant spiders, and more.

Their bodies seemed to writhe with magical enhancement. Their average level was probably around 220.

But that’s not all.

Among them were high-level monsters like minotaurs, ogres, and trolls, scattered intermittently.

A direct clash wouldn’t favor the undead forces. Despite various enhancements, their average level was still significantly lower.

So, they needed a bonus.

There was a skill he had learned but never used in combat.

Land of Death.

Its range was truly vast.

And there was no one around. Only enemies.

“Let’s give it a try.”

How strong could a truly prepared necromancer become in battle?

[Cast Land of Death (S)!]

[Land of Death channels its power!]

[All allied undead have their abilities increased by 20%!]

A 20% increase in allied abilities.

But that wasn’t the only effect.

The approaching monsters seemed to stagger as if caught by something.

Falling down was just an added bonus.

[The effect of Land of Death is activated!]

[The enemies are resurrected as undead!]

[The effect of Death Lord is applied!]

The trampled corpses rose as undead. Typically, undead resurrected from such corpses were weaker than when they were alive. But the undead that rose now were different.

A 50% increase in the abilities of all summoned undead.

It seemed that even the undead raised by Land of Death were included in the scope of this “summoning.”

‘This is amazing, isn’t it?’

The ferocious undead howled and attacked the surrounding monsters.

Monsters fell rapidly.

But the ordeal didn’t end there.

Thud.

Thudududuk.

Sharp bone rain began pouring from the massive magic circle in the sky.

It covered a wide enough area to encompass all three thousand of the horde.

Sharp bone spikes pierced the monsters’ bodies. Accumulated area damage from Land of Death and the bone rain continued to pile up.

Undead created more undead, and those undead created even more.

The monsters weren’t unintelligent. Realizing the hopelessness of the situation, the horde began charging towards them.

Soon after…

Boom!

The skeleton horde collided with the monster wave. Skeletons flew through the air as they were struck by the logs swung by the magic-drenched ogres.

But then…

Thump!

A massive shield blocked their path.

A summon that couldn’t be pushed back by anyone, Dolsoe.

It was as large as the ogres.

The ogre’s eyes hardened as it felt the immense force beneath its grip.

—Raaah!

The ogre swung its log.

Dolsoe, wielding a mace, struck the ogre’s torso.

Death and destruction.

The battle ensued.

Skeletons, including specters, fell one by one.

Nevertheless, the number of undead continued to increase.

[Specter 2 is re-summoned…]

[The effect of Death Lord is triggered!]

The faint specter regained its vigor and swung its weapon, sending monster heads flying.

Resurrected once more.

This was also the case for the undead raised by Land of Death.

In an instant, the undead surpassed the number of monsters.

‘This is insane.’

Kim Minwoo exclaimed in pure admiration.

Death Lord and Land of Death.

The synergy between these two skills was truly insane.

He had thought he might have to move himself, but it seemed unnecessary. He felt a surge of power at the tremendous efficacy.

The sweet automatic hunting.

Just standing still, his level was steadily rising.

‘This is it.’

This was why he became a necromancer.

The peak of an incredibly distant profession.

* * *

Chaos erupted among the knights and magic corps waiting near the surveillance tower. Dolores, the first to dash over, along with a swordsmanship student, reported the signs of the wave.

“We need to stop the exam immediately! It’s a wave!”

“Dolores, are you sure?”

“Do you think such vibrations just happened for no reason? It felt like magic was overflowing!”

Not only Dolores but also other leading figures felt the same vibrations, so they left the forest without looking back.

As the reports continued to come in, the professors’ faces hardened.

“We need to go for rescue immediately!”

Most of the students were still inside the Devil’s Forest.

Defensive magic?

It wouldn’t last more than three minutes against a clash with the wave and would explode.

If the students were massacred, it would lead to a tremendous aftermath. Rescuing them took top priority over exams and ego.

The knight corps and the magic corps.

Even the professors ventured into the forest. The students who returned first were followed by the rest.

Given the severity of the monster wave, it was a situation where even the students had to lend a hand.

Magic fireworks burst from all directions. As nearby students joined one by one, the crowd grew larger.

When most of the students had gathered,

The professors looked around, puzzled.

“The wave has hit, but…”

“No one died, have they?”

“And there’s no rescue signal?”

The top-ranking groups could understand.

They were students whose abilities were inherently strong.

It wouldn’t be strange if they had escaped the forest faster than the wave approached.

But it was different for the mid-ranking and lower-ranking groups.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Many of them should have been swept away by the wave by now.

Yet, there were no sacrifices.

Not even a single rescue signal had been sounded.

Had the wave vanished into thin air?

The knight commander looked at the professors and asked,

“How many groups are missing now?”

“The 232nd group. They’re the only ones we haven’t found yet. It’s Merhen and Cairn.”

“Hmm.”

The minds of the knights and mages became complicated.

It was a monster wave.

Some sacrifices were to be expected.

With that thought, they entered the forest.

Luckily, they had rescued almost all the students.

Now, only two remained.

“If they’re not visible even after setting off magic fireworks…”

“It means they’re deeper inside…”

Should they enter the depths of the Devil’s Forest to rescue just two people?

And with students under their care?

As they pondered, a skeleton and a person appeared in the distance. Strangely, the skeleton resembled a dragon’s head and was carrying the person halfway up.

“Help us, please!”

“Student Merhen?”

“Where’s Cairn?”

“He went to stop the wave! Alone!”

“…!”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

Could it be that the wave was quiet because Cairn drew its attention?

It certainly seemed that way.

Noble sacrifice.

Easy to say.

But putting it into practice was undoubtedly difficult.

Yet, Cairn did it.

And even in front of thousands of monster horde.

The knight commander tightened his grip on his sword.

‘It’s not just the mindset of an ordinary student.’

It was the mindset of a noble, already established knight.

“Student Merhen, don’t worry. We, the Knights of the Sun, will go to his rescue.”

“Our magic battalion will go too. Students, please return now.”

“No, we’re coming too!”

“We survived because of Cairn. What will our swordsmanship department be if we don’t go now?”

“Our magic department will go too.”

The students were determined.

Just the number gathered here was in the hundreds.

And with the knights and magic battalion present, they could handle a considerable wave themselves. They had received help, so it was only right to repay it.

“Let’s go then.”

There was no opposition.

Everyone entered the depths of the Devil’s Forest.

The deeper they went, the thicker the magic became.

As they encountered the eerie sight of the forest, the members gripped their weapons tightly.

After a while of advancing,

They could see a figure approaching in the distance.

“Ca-Cairn?”

It was Cairn.

Everyone was stunned to see him walking unscathed. After a moment of silence, the professors hurriedly ran towards him.

“The.. the wave?”

“I’ve dealt with it all.”

Everyone blinked in disbelief.

He handled the monster wave?

All by himself?

“You, you didn’t just evade them or something?”

Shrugging, Cairn pulled out a crystal ball.

The professors’ eyes widened at the completely darkened crystal ball.

In all the dozens of tests they had conducted so far, no student had absorbed as much magic as this.

―5,032 points.

Seeing the score floating above the crystal ball, they were even more astonished.

“Oh, five thousand points?!”

Typically, creatures like gremlins would give one point.

In other words, it meant he had defeated at least five thousand of them.

“Could it be… manipulated?”

They were so bewildered that they even suspected Cairn had manipulated the score on the crystal ball.

But that doubt lasted only a moment.

To confirm if the wave had truly ended, everyone moved.

Soon, they could witness a remarkable sight.

From ogres to trolls, minotaurs, and thousands of other monsters, they were lying on the ground as if drained of blood.

“My, my goodness…”

“It’s unbelievable…”

Everyone looked at Cairn, or rather, Kim Minwoo, as if they were looking at a monster. This wasn’t just a performance that an ordinary student could pull off.

Briefly confused, the knight commander’s expression grew serious.

Their original top priority was to rescue the students and escape from the forest. Dealing with the wave came after.

But suddenly, the wave was over.

‘If that’s the case…’

Perhaps they could even resolve the cause of this incident.

He looked at the mages.

“…Have the locations where magic is emanating been detected?”

“Yes. The direction has been identified. We should hurry. It seems like something is forcibly expanding the channel, and the magic is getting stronger and stronger.”

“Can we stop it?”

“If we draw a sealing magic circle, we should be able to hold it off for a certain period. After that, we’ll need to send an official investigation team.”

At that moment.

―Hehe, too late.

A eerie voice echoed.

Then, the air split open, and a winged giant demon emerged. Seeing it, Kim Minwoo smirked.

“Balrog?”

A top-tier demon.

Starting at level 700.

Moreover, this Balrog looked completely different from any other he had seen before.

Much larger in size.

And the aura emanating from it was incredibly powerful.

Almost like seeing Cedric from the past.

―Hahaha! What a sweet atmosphere! It’s been so long since I’ve been in the human world!

Cedric, who had approached without them noticing, spoke with a stern face.

―…Balkan.

“Balkan?”

―…The first Legion Commander of the Lord. Be careful. His presence means…

With those words, a undead figure appeared through the torn space.

A lich wearing a jewel-encrusted crown.

Its form was quite familiar.

It closely resembled the Death Lord they had encountered just before starting their second venture.

‘Could it be… he was coming out of here?’

Kim Minwoo’s face hardened as he saw it.

And everyone else gathered there had the same expression.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]