706 – Poor Child (6)
The instructor was strong.
Chosen as the 18th Skull Instructor, replacing the giant-turned-skeleton from the 17th sarcophagus of the catacombs.
It wasn’t just skill; their intuition to grasp and execute the professors’ intentions surpassed that of their predecessor.
That extraordinary mind rang alarm bells.
The students were entrenched, using the sturdy coffins of the catacombs as shields.
Second-year transfers, the second-year students who crashed in before, newly aligned third-year seniors, the monstrous fourth-year student council, or the alumni who postponed graduation and took up the role of instructors, like Seoguyeon.
Even considering all those monsters, there was still Fearsome Velvet, renowned as Seoguyeon’s strongest.
Velvet slowly approached with her trademark clack-clack stride, unaffected by ambushes or concealment antics.
Her unchanging gait served as a timer for both herself and the other students.
The moment she arrived, the students would lose the precious opportunity of engaging with the stronger opponent.
Facing the formidable force they had to protect the catacombs from, it was hard for Sadako, the professor and instructor, to guarantee victory in an already precarious situation.
‘If we can’t settle this before Velvet arrives, defeat is basically assured.’
Whether they intended to counterattack or flee, it all relied on enduring the simultaneous assault from the ambushed students.
47th Level Magic Function
33rd Level Shooting Function
13th Level Interference Function
A barrage of assaults flooded their vision to the point of annoyance.
Some finishing moves had lengthy preparation times.
It was a trap set with murder in mind.
The more urgent the situation, the lighter the mind needs to be.
As he was before becoming a skeleton.
*
– No one can survive alone in this world.
– Cherish all the connections that come to you.
– Dance is a weapon that solidifies your bonds.
He, being a noble, could never accept the dull and mundane social circles and dances.
In life, he failed to recognize the colossal wave approaching his family and himself.
When the crisis loomed near, his clan faced an existential threat, and he became a reaper heading to the lord’s castle with desperate steps.
– I’m sorry. Those who live must survive.
– Isn’t there no reason to take risks?
– We are neither blood allies nor anything of the sort.
The sin of failing to blend into the ballroom’s warmth was met with the icy cold of the neighboring territories’ indifference.
Someone who isn’t valued by anyone cannot receive kindness from anyone.
He returned alone to his territory, confronting her atop the ruined lord’s castle.
– Alone, huh? I hoped you’d return fully matured, but might that have been too much to expect?
– …Did you know I was leaving?
– I lacked trust, didn’t I?
– Shamefully, that’s how it turned out.
– Why have you returned here, when you could give no one trust, possess no strength?
– In my foolishness, having betrayed the trust of all the elders of my family, the only faith I can uphold now is the belief that I shall not live as a fugitive for the rest of my life.
Living a life devoid of a need for faith made him underappreciate it; only upon facing the cold reality that required commitment did he recognize its value.
She didn’t mock him for preserving the one belief and conviction he would live by until the end.
– A mindset seeking a place to die without losing the purest heart. Impatient, but I liked it nonetheless. I shall permit you the ‘next’.
The man charged ahead and died, unable to surpass her.
Then he began his second life as an undead.
– Your vision is narrow. That’s why you were able to focus inward, but it’ll lead to a limit.
– Read the flow. The world moves in tremendous currents beyond your narrow view.
Only after becoming an undead did his perception of the world completely change.
His father, who had once been kind to his family, turned out to be a colossal criminal who amassed millions of addicts with his wealth, purchasing the territory. He also belatedly learned that he was just a flower in a greenhouse.
In a country where one could buy a lordship with money, there was a fierce competition among various villains, and the empire seized the opportunity to begin assembling a collective army.
– Now I can see it too. My homeland was destroyed by colossal criminals ousted by the empire, and now the empire reveals its hidden claws for the downfall of my weakened homeland.
– It’s somewhat improving. So, what’s next?
– The true great evil the empire didn’t intend, Queen Sadako, will create a nation of the dead and lead the undead together in rage towards the empire.
A flow emerged.
A flow originating from her, instructing the dead about the anger and hatred they need to rise against.
Whether this flow culminates in success or failure is still unknown.
But his heart raced.
Even though it was a heart that shouldn’t exist, one that had already faded away.
The dark heart conjured from mana revealed to him reasons to live, to seek revenge, to devote himself to her grace.
*
The instructor’s 4th level domain grasped three types of flows based on attributes, disregarding the order of attacks.
4th Level Domain – Contract Domain
Dark Ballroom
The catacombs, previously illuminated by eerie hues of blue, were suddenly engulfed in darkness.
In that complete absence of light, only overwhelming assaults laden with massive mana clawed the stone walls, making the ceiling and floor tremor.
It wasn’t a force that could simply be blocked because it was invisible.
The only difference in perception was that the ambushers viewed their flow as an unstoppable force, while the instructor believed otherwise.
– Do you know the great evil that had to face the full might of the largest nation, the monstrous forces from before?
– Do you know the seven legendary warriors who were utterly magnificent and the seven battle legends they left behind?
– If you don’t, I’ll enlighten you. Even the dimmest of beings cannot ignore a colossal current.
Blue Orleans
The Deepest Navy Blade
The blade he unsheathed was heavy.
Formed from the overwhelming pressure of the abyss, it mirrored that energy to create deep-sea pressure.
Vibrant and powerful spells were distorted and crushed by this deep-sea pressure, losing their force before even reaching him or disappearing with feeble traces of mana.
Navy Charge
Great Dispersal
The domain of the most responsible warrior, Orleans, reflected his personality, demanding that the caster himself must bear the greatest pressure to maintain it.
He charged into enemy lines, demanding that the weight he bore be equally shouldered by others.
Soldiers were crushed and turned to puddles of blood as he approached.
The ranked knights couldn’t even stabilize their bodies before being decapitated.
Even nobles clad in body-enhancing armor rushed in and fell as the rapidly diminishing residual mana swept them away.
One could never fully imitate that immense legend.
Yet the man could read the flow.
If he could grasp merely a part of that enormous flow, then even as the most insufficient warrior, the one who awakened last, he could emulate it.
“Did the projectile disintegrate?!”
“Are you crazy? How is he even alive?!”
“He’s undead!”
“Even an undead shouldn’t be able to operate in that density of mana! The amount of mana is supposed to crush any living being!”
The 33rd level shooting function unanimously diminished.
Even seniors gaped in astonishment, leaving the juniors with no choice but to be equally horrified.
Yet, those masters from the Organization that Plays with Oknodie were shocked for a different reason.
“Isn’t that person’s mana density familiar?”
“Right. It’s similar.”
The magician Rosgini and Sandkooker recognized it at a glance.
The overly heavy mana density was not unfamiliar, not after spending a year observing it closely.
“It’s similar to Oknodie’s mana density.”
The level they thought was just a distance ahead now became clearer in their minds.
That was it.
It was no different from that.
The monstrous skull instructor withstanding the ambush of so many students possessed the same mana.
Navy’s End
Collapse Point Opening
Such mana inflated beyond a threshold where it could no longer maintain its own form, causing its structure to swiftly collapse.
The energy spilling out from the collapsed mana erupted as a navy light against the pitch-black surroundings.
That light sliced through the darkness, pushing away even Titosso’s Solar Beam and scattering the 13th level interference function and students in all directions.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
Among the rebounded students stood the formidable 4th year or alumni Seoguyeon’s historical masters.
Still maintaining the clack-clack sounds and her nonchalant demeanor, Mandela Agassi felt her expression twist, believing it to be a question directed at her.
“Don’t tell me. My turn is just starting now.”
The distance remaining for Velvet to arrive: twenty steps.
Oknodie raised his hand, representing the Transfer Student from the War Generation, Astarot.
“I’ve seen your skills, instructor. An exceptional earth sorcerer can read the memories embedded in the earth, and a wonderful earth sorcerer can even read memories from just the traces in mana.”
“You mean to say you’ve witnessed the fragments of memory embedded in my strike?”
“The navy Orleans. To protect her from the large-scale offensive of the imperial collective troops, they unleashed an unprecedented mana explosion, blending three legions into one using the weakest possible force under the condition of non-existence of their being.”
“You truly did witness it.”
“I express my awe for such effort and devotion as a magician. Thus, as a magician, I must now show you my respect in a manner befitting a magician.”
Instead of weakening the output, he deployed a technique that bore greater damage himself, aiming at the weakened skull instructor.
The moment Astarot’s battle staff triggered, once again, a magical reaction that devoured even light occurred.
Astrot’s Realm of Visionary Earth Magic
Earth’s Memory – Navy’s End
The astonished skull instructor desperately drew up mana just as the second explosion devoured him.
The students, who had showcased various martial arts and magic like a dance in the ballroom, felt a thrill at the appearance of the special one that consumed all those talents.
Regardless of age or strength, they felt deeply in their hearts.
That no matter how many years they tried.
No matter how much effort they put in their entire lives.
They could never replicate ‘that’.
It was something seated at the end of an unparalleled talent realm, much like that of Oknodie.
After the intense dance concluded, Astarot unveiled his hand to sweep away the dust and darkness lingering in the ballroom.
The laid-back skeleton instructor leaning against the gaping door, lowering his broken sword, flickering his blue eyes weakly, spoke.
“How many years are you?”
“I’m the representative transfer student of the second year, Astarot.”
In the fourth year was Velvet.
In the third year was Oknodie.
In the second year was Astarot.
Thinking of the emerging powerhouse with each grade, the skeleton instructor shuddered.
“I ended up worrying for nothing and came out worse for it. Go on. I won’t stop you anymore.”
“Hmm? One might interpret that as implying you put forth effort to send us back simply because you were worried about us?”
Surprise flickered on the students’ faces.
Simultaneously, some realized the implication and paled, trembling in fear.
There were beings beyond the skull instructor.
They might not show any mercy to them.
Moreover, at the very end stood Professor Sadako.
A being who had subjugated such powerhouses as both an ‘instructor’ and ‘subordinate’.
Only then did the students begin to grasp the kind of monster they had come to face.
