Chapter 122: Episode 122

Aaron continued to explain the detailed rules of the practical evaluation.

It was currently just past noon, and the evaluation would last until midnight at the latest. When the time was up, Kizen would activate a mass teleportation spell, returning everyone regardless of their location in Deathland.

Aaron and the TAs would set up a base camp at their arrival point and wait. Students were to bring their completed zombies back to the camp in their Subspace for evaluation. Once a team’s zombie was graded, they could return to Kizen. Each team would only be evaluated once.

If any problems arose during their search, team leaders could send a distress signal using the provided Tonguepads. Aaron or a TA would respond immediately, but it would be considered a forfeit of the evaluation. “Deathland is teeming with all sorts of undead, especially natural-type zombies,” Aaron began.

“Zombies are fundamentally 2nd-class monsters, but there are stronger individuals that exceed 4th-class. As you have learned, engaging them is not recommended.”

Simon nodded in agreement. Zombies were highly sensitive to sound. Fighting one would only attract others that heard the commotion. If they wanted to avoid being swarmed, their best bet was to stay hidden.

“As this is a dangerous place, any combat between Kizen students is strictly forbidden. Also, you may encounter corpse scavengers or other necromancers gathering materials in Deathland. Avoid them if at all possible. In a very real sense, they are crazier than the zombies.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Then, scatter.” Aaron glanced at his watch. “The Class A Summoning practical evaluation begins now.”

—

Deathland was less a forest and more a giant, decaying city. As their eyes adjusted to the perpetual gloom, the outlines of buildings began to emerge. It was a sprawling metropolis, easily comparable in size to Langestin, but it was dark, desolate, and utterly devoid of human presence—a true ghost town.

“Hmph… This is insane,” Dick muttered, his eyes darting nervously around. Kamibarez clung to the hem of Simon’s uniform, scurrying to keep up with him. She was clearly frightened, but whenever their eyes met, she offered a small, brave giggle.

“Are you okay, Kami?”

“Yes!” she answered, trying to sound courageous. “It is a scary place, but all four of us are together, right? That alone makes me feel safe!”

“Yeah. We will stick together.”

Meanwhile, Meirin was more enthusiastic about exploring than anyone. She strode boldly into an alley and ran her palm over the wall of a wooden building.

“It is amazing that the buildings are still in such good shape. If you ignore the darkness and the zombies, it looks just like a normal city.”

“Whoa, do not just go off on your own!” Dick exclaimed, startled. “Does she have no fear? There are zombies lurking everywhere!”

Meirin turned back to him and grinned.

“Coward.”

At that, Dick went rigid. “Whoa, whoa! What do you mean, chicken? I’m a necromancer from Kizen! Dealing with zombies is my job, so there’s no way I’d be scared of a zom—”

Meirin kicked a nearby stone. Already on edge, Dick and Kamibarez let out terrified yelps and scrambled to hide behind Simon.

“If you really can’t handle it, you can stay at the camp,” Simon offered with a wry smile. “Meirin and I will find a good zombie and come back.”

In truth, some students were so petrified they refused to set foot in Deathland, no matter the consequences. They were currently under Aaron’s protection back at the camp.

“N-No, you can’t!” Kamibarez squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her forehead firmly against Simon’s back. “Please don’t leave me behind! I’ll do my best!”

“Huh? N-No! I didn’t mean that I was leaving you…”

“We have to see this through to the end.” Dick forced a smile, though his lips trembled. “If I back out now, Meirin will hound me for the rest of the semester about teamwork.”

“You know me so well,” Meirin chirped.

She stood on her tiptoes and peered through the window. “There’s no one inside.”

“W-Well, of course there’s no one! There are no people here. Only undead!” Dick insisted.

“But, Dick,” Simon began, his gaze sweeping over the gloomy, shadow-drenched city, “did people used to live here?”

“…Huh? Oh. Of course.” Dick nodded, lowering his voice. “Professor Aaron uses this place for the performance evaluation every year, but apparently, there’s a lot of opposition to it within Kizen.”

“Because it’s dangerous?”

“That’s part of it, but this place is also a stain on Kizen’s history.”

Dick continued, his face grim. “This was once a city of the old Talhern Empire.”

Simon knew of Talhern. It was the empire that had rebelled against Kizen, only to suffer the ’Rose Troop’s Return’ at the hands of ten necromancers and be utterly destroyed. In the age of Talhern, this city, now called Deathland, had been the second most prosperous in the empire, surpassed only by the capital.

“According to the history books, the emperor was captured in the capital right after the ’Rose Troop’s Return’—when Kizen turned the fifty-thousand-strong army that marched on them into undead and sent them back. But that’s not the whole truth.” By now, Meirin and Kamibarez were listening intently. “The emperor managed to escape the capital amidst the chaos and tried to find a new base from which to resist Kizen. The place he chose was here. At the time, Deathland was ruled by one of the empire’s most powerful Swordmasters, who commanded a large garrison. The emperor planned to use this city as a base to launch a massive counterattack.”

With its towering fortress and large population, Deathland had been an impenetrable city. It even boasted a Swordmaster capable of facing high-ranking necromancers, making it the perfect place to prepare for a long war.

“Kizen feared the empire would regroup and rise against them again, so they decided that a show of overwhelming terror was necessary. They dropped a terrifying, strategic-grade black magic spell on this territory.” Dick shrugged, spreading his arms wide. “And it ended up like this.”

Kamibarez covered her mouth, her expression hardening.

“Once the empire’s second city was wiped out by a single spell, the emperor completely lost his will to fight and surrendered to Kizen. And that was that.”

A sudden silence fell over them. Meirin placed her hands on her hips.

“But they had no choice, right? If the emperor had made it here safely, his pride would have dragged every citizen of the empire into the flames of war! An all-out conflict between Kizen and the Empire would have been a catastrophe. Tens of millions would have died! I can accept the headquarters’ decision to neutralize the threat before the situation spiraled out of control.”

“But…” Kamibarez’s voice was a quiet counterpoint. “I feel sorry for the people of this city.”

“We-ell, that’s true,” Meirin sighed, conceding the point. She had only argued that the decision was strategically sound, not that the method was right.

“Alright! That’s enough history for now.” Dick clapped his hands together, breaking the somber mood. “Let’s get back to it. To use zombie summoning magic, we first need to find a corpse. Not every living thing in Deathland became a zombie. Some remain as uncorrupted bodies, and finding them is our top priority!”

Meirin pointed. “Then let’s search the houses around here first. We might find something.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“How about this?” To speed things up, Simon suggested they split into two teams. However…

“Hey! Are you trying to send me off with that klutz? She’s useless!” Dick protested.

“We still have plenty of time, so why don’t the four of us stick together? It’s a dangerous place, after all,” Kamibarez suggested, her voice laced with worry.

He had to agree with Kamibarez; there was no need to rush. Safety was more important than grades. Group 7 decided to search the houses as a full team of four.

With an absurdly serious expression, Dick knocked on the door.

“Nobody home? Coming in. Excuse me.”

“Stop being so dramatic and hurry up, you idiot!” Meirin shoved him aside and strode inside.

Simon followed, his eyes sweeping across the interior. It looked like an ordinary family home, preserved exactly as it was before the curse fell.

“Nothing on the second floor either!” Meirin called out, clattering down the stairs she had apparently already scaled. “Let’s go to the next house!”

“Okay.”

The four of them searched diligently, house after house.

“Nothing here either!” Kamibarez called out.

“Next!” Meirin urged.

They combed through the neighborhood for nearly two hours, but their search yielded nothing.

“Wow, this is tougher than I thought,” Dick grumbled.

“Let’s rest here for a bit.” Their stamina was starting to wane, so they ducked into a house and locked the door. They had just settled into comfortable positions and pulled water bottles from their Subspaces when a strange sound echoed from outside.

’Uuuhhh.’

“Oh, shit! You scared me.” The moan sent Dick rolling across the floor in alarm.

“Be quiet, you moron!” Meirin hissed, pressing a finger to her lips.

As the four of them fell silent and exchanged glances, the sound of dragging feet scraped against the ground outside.

It was close. The footsteps were right beside the window.

’Damn it.’

Simon glanced at the window and gestured sharply. The four of them immediately dropped flat to the floor. As Simon cautiously raised his eyes, he saw a silhouette pass by the window—a corpse with a horribly disfigured face.

Kamibarez clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp. Dick kept his eyes glued to the floorboards, while Meirin prepared to conjure black magic at a moment’s notice.

His heart hammered against his ribs. The zombie turned its drooping head, its vacant eyes staring through the window. The flesh of its neck was torn away, exposing the bone beneath.

A breathless, suffocating silence hung in the air.

Soon, with its characteristic dragging gait, the zombie moved away from the window.

“Haaaaaah.”

Sighs of relief erupted all around. Dick patted his shoulders. “We’re alive. That really took a few years off my life, jeez!”

Meirin got to her feet. “Let’s move. Zombies are starting to roam around, and it seems pointless to search this area any further. I think…”

Simon, who had been listening quietly, suddenly widened his eyes. Behind Meirin, something shot out from the frame of the storeroom door, which had been empty just a moment ago.

“Watch out!”

A pale, gray, corpse-like hand clamped over Meirin’s mouth and dragged her toward the storeroom.

“Mmph! Mmph!” she cried, struggling desperately. The zombie’s other arm reached through the bars of the door.

Simon reacted first. He shot forward like a bolt of lightning and slammed his elbow down on the arm holding Meirin.

As Meirin broke free, Dick threw his whole body against the door to block it.

The zombie thrust both arms through the bars, flailing wildly.

Although the door was locked from the inside, one of its feet was wedged in the opening. The door rattled violently, threatening to burst open at any second.

“I’ll do it!”

’Blood Silk’ Having calmly completed her spell, Kamibarez sent a carpet of woven blood through the bars. She cleverly wrapped it around the zombie’s neck and pulled taut. In that instant, Dick slammed the door shut and pressed his palm against the handle.

’Enchant!’ He reinforced the worn hinges with Jet-Black. “Got it, Kami!”

At his shout, Kamibarez nodded and released the Blood Silk. The zombie shrieked and threw itself at the door again.

But the enchanted hinges held firm. The four of them let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.

“Are you okay, Meirin?” Simon asked, turning to her.

“Ah, yeah. Thanks.” She took his offered hand and stood up.

Dick scratched his head vigorously. “Wow, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.”

“I’m sorry! I should have been more careful,” Kamibarez lamented.

“No, no.”

They were all terrified, but the fact that they reacted so quickly in a crisis was a testament to their Kizen training. Simon looked at his companions with a proud expression, then turned his gaze back to the window. More monstrous cries echoed from the darkness.

“I think the zombies heard the noise,” he said grimly. “Let’s get out of here, now.”

A single zombie was no match for them, but a horde drawn by the commotion was another story. Everyone nodded and prepared to escape. Simon took a long breath and gripped the doorknob.

“Alright, we’re going.”

All eyes were fixed on the door. The moment Simon opened it and stepped outside…

’…Oh!’

He locked eyes with the zombies shuffling just beyond the threshold.

Just then, Dick heaved the table he was holding at the zombies and bellowed, “Run!”

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