Chapter 81: Elixir of Death

Inside the paper envelope were a bracer and a bracelet.

No wrapping or restraints, just there.

Thinking it’s just like that guy, I headed to the girls’ dormitory.

“Senior!”

As soon as she saw me, Yuria waved and ran over.

I took out the bracer from the bracer and bracelet and handed it to her.

“Is this really my artifact?”

“Yeah. It’s yours. Bracer of the Red Dragon. Red Dragon’s main product.”

Yuria’s eyes sparkled like stars.

“Red Dragon. I’ve heard the kids talk about it.”

Red Dragon Workshop.

It’s strange if an Academy cadet doesn’t know about it.

If shoes have Naik, bags have Ermes, artifacts have Red Dragon.

Outstanding craftsmanship and technology befitting a long tradition.

A handmade workshop where renowned artisans and skilled researchers from the continent gather to craft each piece by hand.

And with the Zain family’s capital added, that’s the Red Dragon Workshop.

“Amazing. They say you can’t get Red Dragon’s artifacts no matter how much money you have.”

“Yeah. The purchase conditions are strict. It’s the only place where the workshop evaluates the customer. So the value is high too.”

“Wow.”

An artifact is like any mass-produced one, but differentiated among them is Red Dragon’s artifact.

In some ways, it is harder to get than a unique grade.

Unique grade can be obtained with money, but not Red Dragon’s artifact.

Some even mark it as Red Dragon grade separately.

“Try it on.”

Yuria rolled up her sleeve and wore the bracer inside.

Twisting her arm around, Yuria looked at me and smiled.

“Amazing. I thought it would wrap around my arm and be uncomfortable, but it’s not at all.”

“Why else would it be high-end? Their skill is the best on the continent.”

The special ability of ‘Bracer of the Red Dragon’ is [Glide], which grants the wearer flight ability.

Yuria could learn the 4th circle magic [Flight] later, but [Flight] has the drawback of restricting other actions during casting.

That’s why I chose this.

“Like it?”

“Of course. Thank you.”

“Thank the Dean. Without him, we couldn’t have gotten it.”

“You chose it, Senior. But I’ll tell the Dean too.”

Watching Yuria, smiling brightly for once, obsessively examining the bracer for a while, I also checked my reward.

This item made of thin silver threads is called a Bracelet of Protection.

Not a unique grade, nor from a famous workshop like Red Dragon, but a decent artifact nonetheless.

……Actually, I wanted something better, but couldn’t due to the professors’ eyes, especially Allen Desico.

When I called for the Bracer of the Red Dragon for Yuria’s artifact, he glared like he would kill me from the side.

Even Baron Tesda, on my side, had a ‘look at this guy?’ expression, so actually, I had to concede a step.

‘Social life is all about reading the room.’

Well, that doesn’t mean this is bad.

The [Mana Shield] deployed by the Bracelet of Protection is good for crisis moments.

[Mana Shield] strengthens the barrier’s size and strength proportional to the injected mana amount.

With high mental power and fast mana regeneration from [Thief’s Breath], it has good synergy with me.

“Is that yours, Senior?”

Yuria, who had come closer at some point, asked while looking at my bracelet.

“Yeah.”

“Pretty.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Want to switch?”

“No.”

Yuria was still resolute.

* * *

That night.

I slipped out of the Academy and headed to the Sewer District.

Beltus Cult.

I had something to question them about.

They had caused incidents without any orders or hints to us.

The hostage situation and bomb terror.

It’s fine not to give missions, but as contract partners, they should have stated their position beforehand.

Same now.

I knew there was a wind of upheaval in the cult due to Narsi’s death and the disappearance of Bandarok Guild.

At the center was the power struggle between the Death Council and Darkness Council to take control of ‘Raiding the Academy’.

But strangely, the cult said nothing about this.

As if ‘You just do what you’re told’.

Naturally, the cult has no reason to report and explain their circumstances to us, but they shouldn’t drag those circumstances out.

‘This is ignoring me and Shadow.’

Even though contract partners, at least as allies plotting the great cause of ‘Raiding the Academy’, they should have hinted to us before those two incidents.

“Hmm? What brings the Master here without notice……”

Guartes tilted his head as soon as he saw me.

I grabbed his collar and pushed him against the wall.

“Ugh! M-Master?”

Guartes, slammed against the wall helplessly, struggled in my grip.

“Calm down for a moment! I-I was going to tell you anyway!”

“Ah. You know why I’m doing this?”

Knowing but delaying means no intention to tell.

‘A mere cleric underling looking down on me. This pisses me off a bit.’

I drew my dagger.

Not to do anything, just to clearly show our positions now.

But.

Grab.

Someone grabbed my arm.

“Zombies?”

It’s a zombie.

I looked at it closely with doubt.

The rotting, half-melted appearance is definitely a zombie.

The problem is, I didn’t sense this guy approaching.

“What the.”

“Zad! Get away!”

Guartes shouted at the zombie.

‘Oh? Even gave a name to a zombie?’

Zombies are one rank above skeletons but treated similarly as low-level undead.

Experience points for cadets.

But this one had a name.

Meaning it’s not an ordinary zombie, I suppose.

‘Doesn’t even listen to its master’s words.’

High loyalty or something.

The zombie ignored Guartes’s order to get away and still held my arm.

No.

It went a step further and swung a fist.

Whoosh!

And what blocked it wasn’t me.

Suddenly, the space beside me split and an arm popped out.

Smack!

It was Clatter.

Clatter!

Clatter, who opened subspace himself to block the zombie’s fist, strode out of subspace.

And stood in front of me, confronting the zombie.

‘What’s this situation?’

Seeing two corpses suddenly standing still having a staring contest, an absurd laugh burst out.

So I released Guartes too.

Just, the mood was ruined.

“Cough! Cough! Zad!”

Guartes, freed from my arm, called the zombie.

The zombie withdrew its gaze from Clatter and passed us to stand behind Guartes.

Guartes stroked Zad once and bowed deeply to me.

“Late, but I apologize for the rudeness of not telling you in advance. How it happened is……”

We had moved places by then.

Guartes laid out in detail why he couldn’t tell Shadow in advance, the reasons and circumstances.

Simply summarized, it was like this.

“So all were independent actions by the Darkness Council?”

“Yes. No consultation with us at all. I only learned after the incidents, so no timing to tell the Master.”

Guartes scratched his head.

I couldn’t understand.

I knew from the original that the sect rivalries in the cult were a mess.

But still, to cause such sudden events with the great cause of Frey Hero Academy at stake.

It only looked like going wild.

“Mad as hell.”

“We see it that way too. Barbarians who only know how to kill people.”

Killing people or handling corpses, they all looked like barbarians to me.

“But what’s that guy?”

“Ah. Zad?”

Affection dripped from Guartes’s eyes looking at the zombie.

“Do you remember the Elixir of Death I mentioned last time?”

I nodded.

“Don’t tell me that’s made with it?”

“Hehe. Yes. This is it.”

Elixir of Death.

It was said to forcibly draw out undead growth.

A fearsome power, one that must not be completed and delivered to the Death Council.

I tried to destroy it before that.

‘Said it was still in experiment, don’t tell me it was completed in these few days?’

It seemed so.

Otherwise, this Zad zombie wouldn’t have been born.

‘Damn. This complicates things.’

The Death Council was already a powerful force on its own.

Fewest apostles but not for nothing the core of Beltus Cult.

No need to think long.

Days passed since Bandarok disappeared.

Yet the Darkness Council still hasn’t taken control of raiding the Academy, just doing sudden actions.

To such Death Council, ‘Elixir of Death’ is power that can multiply strength several times.

‘Annoying.’

Anyway, due to me, the butterfly effect made this bitter.

‘Any way to stop it now?’

If the recipe hasn’t spread yet, there might be a way.

To get information at least, I asked looking at Guartes.

“Bishop Cristiano will be pleased.”

“Haha. Thank you.”

Guartes made an uncharacteristic shy expression.

“But, it’s a bit ambiguous.”

I tilted my head.

“Ambiguous? What?”

“To call it complete, the result is only this guy.”

What does this mean?

“Failed dozens of times so far, and the only success is this one. The only success.”

“Then the elixir?”

Guartes shook his head.

“Not making anymore. Over 40 bottles went into making this one. Including failures, countless. About 5 gold per bottle……”

Goosebumps at the astronomical amount beyond calculation.

‘The real money eater wasn’t Lunatic but here.’

Amazingly, his head is still attached.

With Bishop Cristiano’s personality, he’d kill and make undead immediately.

‘Guartes was more recognized in the cult than I thought.’

Perhaps because of me?

Not entirely unrelated, I thought.

Anyway.

This lessens the worry.

If I eliminate this Zad guy, traces of Elixir of Death completely disappear.

“More than that, I didn’t know the Master knew necromancy.”

Guartes said looking at Clatter standing beside me.

“Looks like a regular skeleton on the outside, but blocking Zad’s attack, and the death energy felt. Not an ordinary summon. Can you tell how you got it?”

Not a secret, so I roughly told.

“Originally just a skeleton. Strengthened by Thought Devouring.”

“Oh. Is that so? Indeed, if zombies have corpse poison, skeletons have Thought Devouring. How many skeletons did you feed?”

“Didn’t feed much? Two skeleton warriors and a ghost knight. Three.”

Guartes jumped up.

“That’s impossible! Though Devouring has clear limits!”

“……My ears are fine.”

“Ah! Sorry, Master. I got carried away.”

Guartes quickly admitted fault and apologized.

“Fine. But limits to Thought Devouring?”

“Just as said. Skeleton’s Thought Devouring is not infinite. Varies per individual, but usually not over five zombies or skeletons, and for skeleton warrior’s thought, can’t even handle one.”

“Hmm. I see.”

“Not just ‘hmm, I see.’ This is a great discovery!”

Guartes’s eyes looking at Clatter gleamed like a predator eyeing prey.

What a great discovery.

The world sometimes has things beyond common sense.

I’ve experienced several already.

I knew Clatter was special from the start.

‘Still, feels good.’

Praise always feels good.

Even if not my praise, Clatter’s is soon mine.

Looking at Clatter with proud eyes, somehow Clatter had no interest in that.

Praise or not.

Clatter’s black pupils were fixed on one place since earlier, not budging.

Follow the gaze.

At the end was Zad, the zombie born from Elixir of Death.

‘Been like that since clashing once. What caught its eye?’

Funny thing, the zombie didn’t care about such Clatter.

The zombie stood still.

Just staring holes into its master Guartes’s back of head.

‘Do summons normally look at their master like that?’

Definitely an oddly creepy and unpleasant guy.

Like a science lab human model, uncanny valley feeling.

‘Need to clean up soon when I have the chance.’

Undead themselves defy providence, but this one born from elixir is especially alien and twisted.

While planning that.

‘Wait.’

Clatter came into view then.

Still burning fighting spirit at the guy.

Suddenly curious.

How much thought does that zombie have?

‘Poured 40 bottles of elixir…… Whoa?’

Position changed.

Now my eyes looking at the zombie turned like those eyeing prey.

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