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“Riamon is the most suitable to take the lead. If Ricks can conjure a greatsword for him, that should suffice,” suggested Erucel, who was the most vocal about his opinion.

“Think about it. If he swings a greatsword in the middle of the hallway, the enemies won’t even be able to approach us. We’ll be safe,” Erucel continued.

Riamon stared at Erucel as if he were an idiot. “You really expect me to keep swinging a greatsword? Do you really think I have the stamina for that?”

Erucel is, in fact, stupid. He’s just wasting our precious time with his nonsense.

Unable to watch any longer, Bellman spoke up. “The barrier will only last about 10 more minutes. In that short time, you all need to grab equipment from the armory at the end of the right hallway and return. Some of you also need to block the right staircase.” Even while speaking, Bellman kept glancing at the barrier and the magic circle, clearly struggling to maintain his focus.

Trying to maintain magic without even a staff while strategizing is clearly overwhelming him.

“Uh, where was I? Oh right, gather as many weapons as you can. The people in the main hall don’t have any means to defend themselves. They’re holding on with temporary measures, but it’s only a matter of time before that fails.”

In summary, before Bellman’s magic runs out, we need to sweep through the hallway, gather weapons, and return. If we fail, Bellman dies. Missing even a single undead will result in the same.

If Bellman’s concentration slips, the barrier will disappear.

And yet…

“Aren’t we forming ranks for a reason? Division of roles is crucial,” Erucel complained irritably.

“Oh, look at Bellman! It’s the first time I’ve seen him speak so foolishly,” Silla mocked.

“I have a good idea. We can use Erucel as bait. Judging from the way the undead have been targeting him, I think it’s his face that’s provoking them,” Riamon suggested, making a statement that was surprisingly close to the truth, though still diverting from the main issue.

It was fascinating, watching them. There never used to be conversations like this, but ever since Erucel joined, this ridiculous trio had somehow formed.

Tick-tock—

The sound of the pocket watch’s second hand echoed loudly. Time was still ticking away. If we don’t decide soon, I might die as well.

I felt a need to intervene.

“Here’s a piece of advice: if you let even one of the undead in the right hallway slip through, Bellman will die. That’s why, Limberton, it’s best if you stay here and protect Bellman.”

As soon as I said that, Limberton’s face lit up. “I can also provide ranged support, right?”

“Exactly.”

With his keen eyesight, it would be easy for him to identify approaching enemies, even in this chaotic environment.

“As for the rest of the formation…”

I glanced around, offering advice without forcing it. “It would be best if Silla took the lead.”

Silla gave me a slightly sour look. “Now you’re giving orders? Weren’t you the one who told us to think and decide for ourselves?”

“I’m just making a suggestion. It’s not too late to listen and then decide.”

Silla frowned deeply and kept her mouth shut. With time running out, I quickly continued.

“Right behind her should be Leana and Aslay. You two can handle the enemies that slip through the sides.”

Erucel gave me a suspicious look. “In that case, wouldn’t I be more suitable? It would be better to pair with someone from the same Adele Hall, rather than with that… barbarian… Ahem, foreigner. After all, I’ve seen what they can do.”

Erucel’s suggestion seemed reasonable enough, and the others from the Adele Hall nodded in agreement.

Even if I ranked first in the midterms, I’m from the Schlaphe Hall. Considering everyone’s different fighting styles, it’s understandable they’d be cautious about my choices.

I felt the need to explain.

“In your case, your attacks involve wide, sweeping strikes. If you take the lead, Silla might get hurt.”

Though he remained skeptical, it’s true that Erucel had learned swordsmanship from Sir Coulro.

“On the other hand, piercing attacks and grappling moves are perfect for supporting allies because they have a smaller area of effect. For the same reason, Riamon is also suited for this. Just because he’s wielding a longsword now doesn’t mean his swordsmanship has changed from when he used a greatsword.”

Erucel swallowed nervously. He seemed to start accepting the explanation, but I knew he’d find something else to nitpick if I didn’t provide more details. To save as much time as possible, I laid out everything I had organized in my head in one go.

“It’s okay to let a few slip through. Some of them might charge past the three of you. Those ones will be Riamon and Erucel’s responsibility. If you maintain some distance from Leana and Aslay, you’ll be able to fight using your usual swordsmanship without frustration. Make the most of that advantage.”

For this to work, Ricks had to push himself harder.

“So, Ricks, squeeze out whatever remaining mana you have and create swords for these two. The armory is just ahead, so it won’t take long. Once everyone grabs their equipment, you can rest. Focus on recovering your mana on the way back.”

The right hallway on the first floor marked the final push of the weapon supply quest. Squeezing out the last of Ricks’s mana here was key to maximizing efficiency.

Next up was Edina.

I already knew her abilities, but since I hadn’t had much interaction with her, I pretended ignorance and asked, “And you, Edina, right? What’s your specialty in magic?”

“It’s a bit unusual, but I specialize in transformation magic.”

Edina’s magic was particularly unique among elemental types. It didn’t involve transforming herself but rather changing the shape or texture of objects. Compared to Bellman and Ricks, she had a smaller natural mana reserve, so she had been saving this ability.

“Then you’ll block the right staircase to prevent the undead from advancing. That should be enough while the others gather equipment from the armory, right? You can handle that?”

“It doesn’t seem too difficult.”

My role was to ensure that Ricks and Edina made it safely to the staircase at the end of the right hallway. Once we blocked that path, a quick return would be possible.

“When you get there, Ricks, hand Edina your staff. Transformation magic consumes a lot of mana, and without the staff, it’s more likely to be unstable.”

Ricks nodded.

I scanned everyone’s faces to see if they had understood. Bellman, Aslay, Limberton, and Ricks were all busy concentrating on the barrier, but the rest of the group had strange expressions. Their eyes were filled with confusion—could it be…

“…I don’t need to repeat everything from the start, do I?”

The members of the Adele Hall shook their heads. Then, Erucel, still in a daze, asked Ricks, “Is that guy… really my brother?”

“Wasn’t he like this back at the mansion?”

“Definitely not. He must have been swapped out. The real one must’ve been replaced on the day of enrollment. Who cares, though, even if he’s dead.”

The others seemed to be thinking the same thing. Riamon was nodding as he listened to Edina explain things, and Leana and Silla were whispering to each other.

It seemed that their expectations were so low that they were surprised by my coherent speech.

“Could this be one of those conditions where someone’s intelligence temporarily increases due to illness?”

“That actually sounds pretty plausible.”

Well, yes, to you guys, I’m just a monkey with some tricks, aren’t I? Ha.

“If you all understood, what are you still talking about? Get into position already.”

I said coldly, squinting my eyes and letting the “Noble Blood Ember” burn within me.

Their shoulders jerked as they hurried into action.

“H-Huh!”

“R-Right, got it.”

Once the preparations were finished, I looked over at Bellman. Since he was the core of our strategy, I spoke with a softer tone.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked, looking worried.

“No, not at all. I was just about to tell you it’s okay to lift the barrier on the right hallway now.”

The barrier vanished, and the undead, as if waiting for the moment, charged forward.

Crurrurrurrur—

Those positioned in their new formations greeted the undead flooding the hallway with a violent counterattack.

Crash!

I heard the sound of blades cutting through flesh and Aslay smashing undead as I followed closely behind Erucel and Riamon, who were walking ahead of me.

As we advanced, the undead began splitting and attacking from both sides.

Crurrurrur!

After breaking through Silla’s initial squad, the second wave, led by Erucel and Riamon, swung their swords in wide arcs, separating the upper bodies of the undead from their lower halves.

Slash!

As expected, a few undead managed to break through, likely due to unfamiliarity with their weapons. I quickly dispatched them using swift sword strikes, decapitating them as I advanced.

In the meantime, Edina glanced at Ricks and exclaimed, “Wow, Ricks! How are you still managing to push forward at this pace while using magic?”

“After fighting that bastard Makdal over and over again, I’ve gotten used to it.”

Though, by now, he was starting to run out of mana, as evidenced by his heavy breathing.

“Huff

Seeing him struggle like that actually brightened my mood. I was watching with a grin when, by accident, I let one slip through.

Thud!

Limberton took care of it. I turned away from the undead with an arrow stuck in its heart and quickened my pace.

“We’re almost there. Faster.”

Black blood splashed with every step we took. The main fighters gritted their teeth and held on as the large entrance door at the end of the right hallway began to come into view. Near the door was the entrance to the staircase, which would be left to Aslay and Edina.

I spoke to Aslay, who was panting heavily, “Aslay, hang in there a little longer. And Edina, make the stairs sticky. Aslay, make sure none of the enemies can get to her while she works. Oh, and feel free to throw away your shoes. I’ll get you new ones—expensive ones.”

Aslay blocked the undead coming up the stairs from the first floor. Meanwhile, Ricks handed Edina his staff. Edina began casting a spell, making the stairs sticky like a flytrap. Aslay’s shoes stuck to the ground too, but removing them was enough to free him.

Thud!

Aslay leaped up and landed back on the hallway floor. Even if some undead tried to climb over each other to reach us, Aslay would be there to stop them.

Once I confirmed they had succeeded, I turned to the armory entrance. The others ahead of me had already begun gathering weapons inside. As expected from an armory, there was a wide variety of weapons, and in large quantities.

“As I thought, there’s a greatsword here.”

“Wait, Riamon, are you really only going to take that one?” Erucel asked.

I interrupted Erucel, “Let him be. There’s no guarantee our way back will be smooth. We need at least two people focused on defense.”

Normally, we would have to fight off monsters crawling up the walls and through the windows. We hadn’t encountered any yet because we had advanced too quickly, but now that we had weapons, they were sure to appear soon.

I picked up a shield that was as tall as I was and quickly approached the stairs, handing it to Aslay.

“Aslay, like before. You know what to do, right?”

“I got it.”

With his immense strength, Aslay slammed the heavy shield into the ground at the entrance of the stairs.

Crash!

The undead began trying to wedge their hands through the small gaps between the shield and the wall. Though it looked precarious, it would take them some time to break through.

Edina had exhausted her mana transforming the staircase and let her hand holding the staff drop. With a bit of breathing room, we packed the necessary supplies into the bags we found in the armory. Silla, being small, grabbed a light and short staff, while the heavy weapons were left for Aslay to carry. The rest of us distributed the load evenly, while Riamon and Leana, focusing on mobility, took only the essentials to keep up with their guard duties.

With that, the first stage was clear.

“Now we’ll take Bellman and Limberton, head to the main hall, and distribute the weapons.”

The total time taken so far: 28 minutes. Considering the task usually takes at least 40 minutes, we had shaved almost half the time, giving us some extra breathing room.

“Once we arrive, we’ll rest for a bit.”

The word “rest” brightened everyone’s faces.

***

As he stepped into the hallway, the undead cleared a path for us. Even so, there were still groups of them writhing as they faced away from them.

Just then, a white bolt of lightning shot through the gap between the undead.

Crackle!

The clustered undead emitted smoke as they turned into a pile of ashes. Luon quietly hid among the undead pressed against the wall. He pointed his finger in the direction of the advancing undead.

Rumble!

Beyond the throng of enemies, he heard a voice.

“…Damn it, there are so many.”

A familiar voice. It had to be one of the professors who had kept an eye on him whenever he left the academy.

Luon blended into the crowd of undead, lightly holding onto a sparrow statue.

Sizzle!

Each time the professor swung his electric whip, the limbs of the undead flew through the air. As Luon got closer, he thrust his sword into the back of one of the undead.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Judging from the professor’s groan, it seemed the sword had pierced through the undead and into his stomach. The undead dissolved into dust, and the professor’s eyes met Luon’s.

“Luon Al Vanas… I always knew you’d cause trouble one day.”

Luon smirked. “If you knew, you should have stopped me sooner.”

The professor quickly swung his staff.

Whoosh!

Flames erupted from the professor’s body, large enough to burn the entire area. Luon blocked the fire with the sparrow statue, using it to create a barrier. But the professor didn’t give up; he gritted his teeth and continued drawing his spell.

“Hmph!”

Luon swiftly dispelled the barrier and swung his sword, decapitating the professor.

Slash!

The professor’s head hit the ground. That was the last of the wandering professors.

As Luon shook the blood off his sword, a cracking sound echoed.

Luon examined the sparrow statue in his hand.

“Hm.”

Perhaps from overuse, the statue had started to crack.

“I won’t be able to use this much longer.”

Luon pocketed the statue and made his way toward the entrance of the stairs, where he ran into Kurel.

“Did you take care of all the professors?”

“There were four of them according to the duty roster. Assuming no surprises, yes, that should be all of them.”

Luon averted his gaze from the line of professors’ corpses scattered down the hallway and asked Kurel, “But, Kurel, what are you doing here instead of taking it easy?”

He had told the three men to enjoy themselves until the others arrived. After all, the people trapped inside the citadel were limited to a few areas: the dormitories, the professors’ quarters, and a few other floors. Some stragglers might still be roaming the campus, but to them, they were nothing more than amusing playthings.

Kurel hesitated before answering. “Well, it’s about the escape route…”

Luon stared at Kurel and, in a low voice, asked, “Have I ever lied to you before?”

When the time comes, everyone here will die. Those people knew they had no intention of dying here, so they had prepared their own way out. But from Kurel’s reaction, it didn’t seem like he was doubting that.

“No, it’s just that…”

Kurel trailed off before shaking his head.

“No, never mind. I’ll see you on time.”

Kurel gave an awkward smile before descending the stairs. Luon walked over to the window and gazed down at the ground below. The first thing he noticed was the fountain at the base of the stairs. The undead were avoiding that area, making it stand out.

Then his gaze shifted to the training grounds. The undead were lined up on either side as if welcoming the arrival of an emperor, forming a straight path. Walking at the center of it was none other than Felia.

Luon observed her carefully, without blinking, paying close attention to what Felia was about to do.

“This kind of opportunity doesn’t come often.”

Long ago, a great dragon made Frost Heart its home. Felia was planning to resurrect it as an undead creature. Though this would undoubtedly break the balance of the game, there was no other choice. If Hersel was going to bring in a being that would change the course of the world, they had to prepare something equally formidable.

“As I thought, the terrace is the best place to watch this.”

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