The Second Provision (9)

He had known a wave was coming for quite some time. He had been scouting through Snowy.

'At least three thousand of them.'

What would it take to stop them?

More summons. He would have to unsummon the mages who were still receiving lessons.

'Can't be helped.'

After unsummoning the mages, he used every summoning skill he had.

[Using Summon Bone Golem (A)!]

[Using Summon Specter (C) +9!]

[Using Summon Skeleton Mage (E) +9!]

[Using Summon Skeleton (F) +9!]

An enormous Bone Golem. A hundred specters. Five hundred skeleton mages. And finally, nearly twelve hundred skeletons.

A tremendous undead army rose to its feet in the path of the approaching wave.

"Get ready!"

CLATTER!

Skeleton No. 1, commonly known as Hail, snapped off a salute and thrust its sword forward as if ordering an advance.

['Hail' begins commanding the soldiers!]

THUD. THUD.

Cedric's training seemed to have paid off: the skeleton soldiers advanced in orderly ranks and files, taking formation. Skeletons bearing enormous shields took the front line, with others wielding assorted weapons behind them.

The mages were not idle, either.

['Miles' begins commanding the mages!]

[The skeleton mage corps follows its commander's orders!]

[One hundred mages attempt Magic Circle Construction!]

[Success!]

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

[Four hundred mages begin channeling Bone Rain into the magic circle!]

An enormous magic circle rose into the air, and mana continued pouring into it. The specters also took up positions across the sky.

The strategy itself was simple. While the skeletons held the enemy's attention, the mages would pour on damage with their spells. The specters filled a role similar to assassins, so they would deliver burst damage on their own amid the melee.

'And that's not all.'

Kim Minwoo downed a top-grade mana potion. His mana rapidly replenished.

In the distance, he could see a horde of monsters charging toward him: gremlins, gnolls, dryads, giant spiders, and more.

Their bodies were grotesquely twisted, perhaps from being thoroughly empowered by demonic energy. Their average level was probably around 220.

And that wasn't all. Here and there, he spotted high-tier monsters among them, from minotaurs to ogres and trolls.

If the armies clashed as they were, the undead would be at a disadvantage. He had given them all sorts of enhancements, but their average level was still far too low.

So he would have to give them a bonus.

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

Land of Death.

Its range was truly vast. Better still, there were no people nearby. Nothing but enemies.

'Let's see just how powerful a properly prepared necromancer can become in a war.'

[Casting Land of Death (S)!]

[Land of Death bestows its energy!]

[All allied undead's stats increase by 20%!]

A twenty-percent increase to his allies' stats.

But that wasn't its only effect. The charging monsters stumbled as if something had snagged them. Some even fell and were trampled.

[Land of Death's effect activates!]

[Enemies rise again as undead!]

[Death Lord's effect is applied!]

Those trampled to death rose again as undead. Ordinarily, reanimating corpses like those produced undead weaker than they had been in life. But these undead were different.

The effect that increased all summoned undead's stats by fifty percent—it seemed that the scope of "summoned" included undead raised by Land of Death.

'That's fucking sweet.'

Roaring ferociously, the undead pounced on the monsters around them. Monsters died in an instant.

And their troubles didn't end there.

PATTER.

PATTER-PATTER-PATTER.

Rain made of sharp bones began falling from the enormous magic circle overhead, covering an area wide enough to engulf the entire horde of three thousand.

Sharp bone spikes embedded themselves in the monsters' bodies. The area damage from Land of Death and Bone Rain steadily accumulated.

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

Monsters weren't devoid of intelligence. Perhaps realizing that they were doomed at this rate, the horde began charging toward him.

A moment later—

BOOM!

The skeleton army and the monster wave collided. An ogre tainted with demonic energy swung its log, sending skeletons flying.

But the ogre found its path blocked.

THUD!

An enormous shield stood before it.

Dolsoe, a summon whose sheer strength was second to none. It was also about the same size as the ogre.

Feeling the heavy resistance through its grip, the ogre's eyes turned serious.

"GRAAAH!"

The ogre swung its log. Dolsoe, mace in hand, struck the ogre's torso in return.

Killing and dying, they plunged into a chaotic melee.

The skeletons, and even the specters, began dying one by one. Yet the undead horde's numbers only continued to grow.

[Specter 2 is being unsummoned...]

[Death Lord's effect activates!]

The fading specter returned to full vigor and swung its weapon, sending a monster's head flying.

One more resurrection.

The same applied to the undead raised by Land of Death. In no time, the undead outnumbered the monsters.

'This is insane.'

Kim Minwoo was genuinely awestruck.

Death Lord and Land of Death. The synergy between those two skills was utterly absurd.

He had intended to step in himself if necessary, but it seemed there would be no need. The overwhelming power made his chest swell.

Sweet, sweet auto-hunting.

His levels kept climbing even though he was simply standing still.

'Now this is what I'm talking about.'

This was why he had become a necromancer. The class's ceiling was unimaginably high.

* * *

Pandemonium broke out among the knights and mage corps waiting near the watchtower. Dolores and a student from the Swordsmanship Department had come racing back first and reported signs of a wave.

"Stop the exam right now! It's a wave!"

"Dolores, are you certain?"

"Do you think tremors that strong happened for no reason? I knew there was far too much demonic energy!"

Dolores's team wasn't the only one to sense something wrong and attempt to escape. The other leading teams had also advanced far enough to feel the tremors. Naturally, they had fled the forest without looking back.

As reports continued pouring in, the professors' faces hardened.

"W-we must go rescue them immediately!"

Most of the students were still inside the Demon Forest.

Their defensive magic? Against a wave, it would shatter in less than three minutes.

If the students died en masse, the repercussions would be enormous. To hell with the exam—rescuing them came first.

The knight order, the mage corps, and all the professors entered the forest. The students who had returned first followed them in as well.

A monster wave was no trivial matter. They needed even the students' help.

Magical flares burst in every direction. Nearby students joined them one by one, and the group grew steadily larger.

Once most of the students had gathered, the professors tilted their heads in puzzlement.

'A wave broke out...'

'But no one's died?'

'And there haven't been any distress signals?'

They could understand the top-ranked teams making it. Those students had the skills to back up their rankings. It wouldn't be strange for them to escape the forest faster than the wave could reach them.

But the middle- and lower-ranked teams were different. By now, many of them should have been swept away.

Yet there hadn't been a single casualty. Not even one distress signal had gone off.

Had the wave simply vanished into thin air?

The knight commander turned to a professor.

"Which team are we still missing?"

"Team 232. They're the only team we haven't found. Merhen and Kern."

"... Hmm."

Conflicting thoughts filled the knights' and mages' minds.

This was a monster wave. They had entered the forest prepared for some casualties.

Fortunately, they had rescued almost all the students. Now only two remained.

"If they haven't shown up even after we set off the magical flares..."

"They must be farther inside..."

Should they venture deep into the Demon Forest to rescue just two people? And with the students in tow?

As they wrestled with the decision...

A skeleton and a person appeared in the distance. Strangely, the skeleton had a dragonlike head and was half carrying someone on its back.

"P-please help!"

"Merhen?"

"Where is Kern?"

"He went to stop the wave! All alone!"

"...!"

Everyone's eyes wavered in shock.

Was Kern drawing the monsters' attention? Was that why the wave had been so quiet?

That certainly seemed to be the case.

Noble self-sacrifice. Easy to talk about, but naturally difficult to put into practice.

Yet Kern had done it. In the face of thousands of monsters, no less.

The knight commander tightened his grip on his sword.

'That is not the resolve of a mere student.'

It was the noble resolve of a fully fledged knight.

"Merhen. Do not worry. We of the Order of the Sun will rescue him."

"Our mage corps will join you. Students, please head back now."

"No. We're coming too!"

"We're alive because of Kern! What would it say about our Swordsmanship Department if we left now?"

"The Magic Department will join you as well."

The students steeled their resolve.

There were hundreds of them here, not to mention the knight order and mage corps. Together, they should be able to handle an ordinary wave. Besides, after receiving his help, wasn't it only right to repay him?

"Then let us go."

No one objected.

Everyone advanced into the depths of the Demon Forest. The farther they went, the denser the demonic energy became. At the sight of the grotesque forest, they tightened their grips on their weapons.

After they had traveled for some time, they spotted a figure approaching in the distance.

"K-Kern?"

It was Kern.

Everyone stared blankly as he walked toward them, perfectly fine and without a scratch. After a brief silence, the professors hurried forward.

"Th-the wave?"

"I've taken care of it."

Everyone blinked.

He had dealt with the monster wave? All by himself?

"Y-you didn't just lose them or anything?"

Kern shrugged and took out his crystal orb. The professors' eyes widened at the sight of the pitch-black orb. Dozens of exams had been held, but no student had ever returned with an orb containing that much demonic energy.

—5,032 points.

The score floating above it shocked them even more.

"F-five thousand points?!"

Monsters like gremlins usually gave one point. In other words, he had killed at least five thousand of their equivalent.

'Could he have tampered with it?'

It was so preposterous that they even found themselves suddenly suspecting Kern of manipulating the orb's score.

But that suspicion was short-lived.

They all moved to confirm whether the wave truly was over, and before long, they encountered an astonishing sight.

Ogres, trolls, minotaurs, and thousands of other monsters lay on the ground, shriveled as though every drop of their blood had been drained.

"G-good heavens..."

"Impossible..."

They stared at Kern—no, Kim Minwoo—with incomprehension, as though looking at a monster.

This was not a feat a mere student could accomplish.

The knight commander's bewilderment soon gave way to a solemn expression.

Their first priority had been to rescue the students and escape the forest. Dealing with the wave would have come afterward. Yet now, the wave was already over.

'... In that case.'

Perhaps they could resolve the cause of this incident as well.

He turned to the mages.

"... Have you located the source of the demonic energy?"

"Yes. We've determined the direction. We should hurry. The demonic energy is growing steadily worse, as though something is forcibly widening the passage."

"Can it be stopped?"

"If we draw a sealing magic circle, we should be able to contain it for a time. Afterward, we will need to send an official investigation team."

Just then...

"Heh heh. Too late."

A grotesque voice rang out.

Space split open with a crack, and an enormous winged demon burst out. Kim Minwoo tilted his head at the sight.

'... A balrog?'

A highest-tier demon. Their levels started at 700.

What was more, this balrog looked completely different from any he had seen before. It was far larger, and the aura rising from it was tremendous.

It almost felt as though he were looking at Cedric as he had been in the past.

"Hahaha! This sweet air! It has been so long since I last visited the human world!"

Cedric had come up beside him before he knew it. His face was rigid as he spoke.

"... It's Balkan."

"Balkan?"

"... The Lord's first legion commander. Be careful. If he's here..."

As he spoke, an undead figure emerged through the rent in space.

A lich wearing a jeweled crown.

Its form was rather familiar. It closely resembled the Death Lord's appearance when Minwoo had met him just before beginning the second provision.

'Was he going to show up here all along?'

Kim Minwoo's face hardened at the sight. So did the faces of everyone gathered there.