Episode 228

Unaware of Lee Han’s feelings, the other students lined up in front of the magic circle connected to the spirit realm.

Professor Millei advised them.

“It’s best to go in groups of five.”

No matter how many safety devices were in place, it was still quite dangerous for a first-year student to explore a strange dimension alone.

In times like this, it was safest to go together.

“But, Professor.”

“Yes?”

“Why is Wardanaz going in alone?”

Lee Han wasn’t sure whether to thank or be annoyed at the Black Turtle Tower student who mentioned him.

He didn’t really mind going in alone—just felt a bit bitter about it—but now that someone brought it up, the atmosphere was getting awkward.

“Students who are not suited for the undead realm won’t gain anything by entering.”

“Ah. There are other students learning black magic.”

Professor Millei’s eyes sparkled at those words.

“Really? Who?”

“……”

“……”

Gainando and Raphadael raised their hands with expressions as if they wanted to kill the Black Turtle Tower student who had just spoken.

Professor Millei spoke up.

“You two, enter the undead realm.”

“……”

“……”

“Wow. Nice to see you.”

“Damn it…”

At Lee Han’s cheerful greeting, Raphadael ground his teeth and muttered under his breath.

To end up in the evil, negative mana-filled undead realm instead of the bright and beautiful spirit realm…

Black magic was no help in life. His grudge against black magic flared up again.

“L-Lee Han. Can’t you let me go to the spirit realm?”

“Gainando, from what I see, you’re more suited to undead than spirits.”

“No… shouldn’t you try it first to know…”

“Alright, let’s go in.”

“Can’t you move your hand?”

Lee Han pushed his two friends forward. He didn’t want to let them slip into the spirit realm.

• * *

Whooooosh—

‘Gloomy.’

The undead realm was similar to the surroundings of Professor Mortum’s workshop, the Black Darkness Hall.

Since it was a place filled with negative and darkness-attributed mana, the atmosphere was bound to feel similar.

Darkness all around.

Masterless graves scattered everywhere.

A riverbank where black sludge boiled instead of a stream.

Having half given up, Gainando seemed to have changed his mind.

“Lee Han, what kind of undead should I go for? Can you recommend one?”

“All undead are trash.”

At Raphadael’s interruption, Gainando smiled and replied.

“Hey, don’t be like that, Raphadael. We’re all in this together.”

‘Wow. Since when is he so mature?’

Lee Han was surprised, and Gainando whispered quietly.

“Let’s ditch that guy in a grave and move on without him.”

“I can hear you, you sly bastard!”

“Tsk.”

“Both of you, cut it out. Raphadael, since you’re here with us, you need to cooperate.”

“Why should I…”

Lee Han immediately held out his staff, beating Raphadael to the punch before he could reach for his belt.

“…Come to think of it, I should cooperate.”

Raphadael ground his teeth and nodded. Lee Han said kindly,

“Thank you for understanding. Now, lead the way.”

“Why?!”

“You’re a knight.”

“You’re a knight!”

Raphadael was dumbfounded by the two Blue Dragon Tower students’ shamelessness.

Of course, knights or warriors traditionally took the front in a party.

The problem was…

“Wardanaz! You have better swordsmanship grades than I do!”

“Wow… to think you’d say something so shameless…”

Gainando was amazed.

To Gainando, who didn’t take swordsmanship lectures, it just looked like Raphadael was making excuses to avoid going first.

Why make such a fuss?

“Shut up, you prince! Do you know how good that guy is with a sword?”

“This time, I’m using a staff. You go first.”

“Ha…”

“Go.”

Lee Han’s voice turned cold. There was a pressure in that voice that brooked no argument.

Raphadael turned around, fuming.

And he vowed.

If he ever had to face Wardanaz, he would make sure to bring at least four friends with him!

“You all know the basic principles, right?”

“Of course.”

“I was asleep so I didn’t hear.”

Lee Han and Raphadael looked at Gainando as if he were trash.

“Basically, it’s no different from spirits. Walk around and see if there’s anyone useful.”

Whether you were in the spirit realm or the undead realm, the method of making a contract with an otherworldly being was similar.

You could call out to someone while walking around, or go to someone you spotted.

Of course, a wizard like Lee Han, who made the target run away whether he called or approached, was an exception.

“But Lee Han, aren’t most undead hostile, unlike spirits?”

“That’s right.”

Raphadael’s shoulders twitched as he led the way.

“It’s fine, Raphadael. We’ll support you from behind.”

“Yeah, Raphadael. We’ll back you up.”

“…How disgustingly kind.”

If contracts in the spirit realm were about persuasion and charm, in the undead realm it was more likely to be about strength and fighting.

Since undead were basically hostile, most would attack until subdued.

‘It’d be nice to find a skeleton mage.’

Lee Han thought as he recalled the names of low-level undead monsters.

In fact, whether it was a skeleton warrior, archer, or mage, as long as you could contract with one, it was a huge gain for a novice wizard.

Especially with mages, it was very useful to summon a skeleton warrior in front to fight for you.

However…

‘If it’s a skeleton mage, I could learn magic.’

The pursuit of knowledge.

This was also one of the goals of summoners.

Powerful beings from other realms often had knowledge unknown or forgotten by wizards.

Of course, you couldn’t expect that level from restricted low-level undead monsters. They didn’t even have intelligence for conversation.

At least a skeleton mage was one of the few magic users among low-level undead monsters.

They used magic by instinct, but given time, you could learn from them.

‘The more magic you learn, the better, whether you master it or not.’

After fighting the Rock Drake just to find a single black magic book in the library, Lee Han realized how precious such easy opportunities were.

“I-I found one!”

Lee Han looked up as he heard a shout from ahead.

A skeleton was charging with a rusty bone sword.

Raphadael immediately drew his wooden sword and clashed with the skeleton.

“How dare an undead come at me!”

Thud!

A mindless monster’s swordsmanship was easy to counter. Raphadael twisted the opponent’s sword and pushed it aside.

‘Got it!’

Raphadael’s face brightened.

He was lucky.

They hadn’t even been in the undead realm long, and they’d already found an undead monster.

At this rate, he might be able to subdue it and make a contract…

Wham!

Wham! Wham! Wham!

Just then, water orbs flew from behind and shattered the skeleton warrior’s skull, arms, and legs.

The skeleton warrior could no longer maintain its form and began to disappear.

Fsssh…

“Oops. Too strong.”

Lee Han clicked his tongue.

Because of the restrictions, the undead that appeared were weaker than expected.

He’d attacked based on the skull principal’s summoned creatures, but hadn’t expected this big a difference.

“It’s okay, Lee Han. You were just helping Raphadael.”

“Sorry, Raphadael. Did you want to contract with it?”

“…As if! You think I’d contract with an undead?”

Raphadael turned his head away sharply. Lee Han asked curiously,

“Don’t tell me you wa—”

“Let’s go! To find the next one! Not that I want to contract, but you two have to so this tedious exploration can end!”

“……”

• * *

‘Leaving luck aside, this group must have some talent for black magic.’

After accidentally smashing the skeleton, then running into two more skeleton warriors, Lee Han became convinced.

Come to think of it, Gainando had shown considerable talent for black magic.

With several such students, it was only natural that undead monsters would approach.

“What do you think?”

“…Uh… I just thought they were coming because you’re amazing?”

Gainando looked at Lee Han as if he was talking nonsense.

If you looked at it that way, it really was because of Lee Han, not Gainando or Raphadael.

“…Is that so? No, that can’t be it. Raphadael, what do you think?”

“Don’t drag me into your pointless arguments.”

Weariness was written all over Raphadael’s face.

He’d failed to contract with the two skeleton warriors they’d met afterward.

This time, it wasn’t Lee Han’s fault but Raphadael’s own.

When he tried to subdue and force the skeleton warrior to yield, the opponent refused and resisted until it vanished.

‘Damn it! What’s the problem?’

Raphadael had decided to learn black magic to deal with black wizards.

He couldn’t just ignore such a major field of black magic as undead summoning.

He had to find a proper summoned creature and get recognition from Professor Mortum…

“Ah. Another one. Lee Han, you try subduing it this time.”

“Raphadael is the vanguard, isn’t he?”

“But every time he tries to subdue one, it just keeps resisting. You try this time.”

“…What difference does it make if I do it?”

Lee Han frowned slightly. Gainando replied with a frightened look.

“You… you’re good at everything, right? You’re good at subduing too… aren’t you?”

“Ah, that’s what you meant. For a second I thought you meant beings from other dimensions would naturally be afraid of me.”

‘Aren’t they?’

Gainando thought so, but was too scared to say it.

“Raphadael, switch.”

“Hmph. Like it’ll be any different if you—”

Wham! Crash!

-■■■■■!

As the skeleton warrior submitted after a few blows, Raphadael’s jaw dropped.

Anyone could see that was 100% definite submission.

‘That… that guy?!’

“Well done, Lee Han! Will you contract with it?”

“Hmm. I’m not sure.”

Lee Han thought for a moment.

It wasn’t a bad idea to contract with another-dimensional being when the chance came, but he wanted a skeleton mage, so he hesitated.

You couldn’t contract infinitely.

Your own mana and mental strength limited you, and the more contracts you made, the more the traces of contractors lingered on your soul, making other beings wary and avoid you.

Most of all, the moment you made a contract, other nearby undead would sense it and instinctively keep their distance.

A strong soul wave in the area meant a wizard had just subdued and contracted an undead.

Just like after contracting with a spirit in the spirit realm, it became hard to find another one nearby for a while—same with undead.

Still…

‘This won’t be my only chance. I can find another elsewhere.’

Lee Han nodded.

“Alright. I’ll contract with it.”

As he declared his intent, he felt the sensation of his soul intertwining with the skeleton warrior’s, just like with Perkuntra before.

Of course, there was no hint of Perkuntra’s intelligence or strength, but Lee Han was confident he could summon it with this contract whenever he wished.

“Let’s work well together, skeleton warrior.”

“Raphadael, why the face?”

“…I’m just grimacing because I hate undead!”

• * *

As Lee Han finished the contract, Professor Millei’s magic circle seemed to detect it and summoned the three back.

The students who had returned earlier shrugged their shoulders with regret.

“…I’m telling you, it was definitely a spirit…”

“That was just a leaf. You were seeing things.”

Professor Millei looked at the three and asked curiously.

“You’re back a bit early. Did you perhaps make a contract?”

“Uh… yes, I did?”

“!”

Professor Millei was uncharacteristically surprised.

First-year students, entering with a safety-restricted magic circle, had encountered an undead so quickly?

That was even more surprising than the contract itself!