“Ah, h-hello, everyone… T-thank you all for coming such a long way to attend my lecture today….”

The professor of the necromancy exploration class, Mamari, had messy purple hair cascading down her back. Her unbalanced figure—a small stature but large chest—stood out, and her voice was as eerie as a ghost’s. She began explaining the structure of the necromancy exploration class to the students gathered in front of her.

“From t-today, you will all be joining me for five days in this area to learn about undead monsters….”

“……”

“There are many places around here where various types of undead monsters live, making it a perfect spot to c-collect—uh, I mean, exorcise them. Hehehe, heh… heh…”

…Did she just say ‘collect’?

I had a bad feeling creeping up my spine, and I was pretty sure I hadn’t misheard her. But to properly participate in this class, I had to focus, so I turned my attention back to Professor Mamari.

“There are three main types of undead monsters: ghost-types, skeleton-types, and zombie-types. The closer a monster is to the ghost category, the more effective magic or spiritual attacks are, while physical attacks work better on zombie-types. However, keep in mind that zombie-type monsters sometimes exhibit unimaginable strength, as they’re no longer bound by physical limitations….”

Up until now, I usually skipped out on listening to detailed explanations in these exploration classes. But this time, I had no choice but to listen closely to Professor Mamari’s lecture.

It wasn’t because I suddenly realized the importance of paying attention in class. It was just that I’d never really played this part of the game much before, so I didn’t know anything. I had only once played this class in the past, and that was just to gather some information for the Lilith maiden conquest. In other words, this was essentially my first real necromancy exploration class.

Like I said earlier in the carriage ride with Ethan, I was going to have to rely heavily on him during this lesson.

“So, after weakening the undead monster’s health based on the explanation I just gave, you will use this ‘Undead Sealing Magic Stone’ to c-collect the monsters and submit them….”

‘…What?’

“You need to collect one ghost-type, one skeleton-type, and one zombie-type monster. Your grade will be based on the danger and preservation status of each type of monster….”

‘Oh, no, please.’

Not only did we have to defeat the monsters, but we had to capture them alive by sealing them? The moment the professor’s final words sank in, I felt my head spinning at the increasingly difficult assignment.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The assistant for the necromancy exploration class handed each of us three Undead Sealing Magic Stones.

Each stone was meant for capturing one ghost-type, one skeleton-type, and one zombie-type monster.

‘Sigh, at this point, I’d rather just become an undead myself.’

It’s hard enough to defeat them with my eyes closed, but now I had to whittle down their health slowly and then trap them in a magic stone? That’s just ridiculous.

As much as I wanted to give up on this class, I couldn’t. This wasn’t just my class—I was taking it with Ethan. Since Ethan personally signed up for this class, I couldn’t afford to slack off. If I didn’t do my best, he’d surely feel disappointed or let down.

“Are you going to be okay, Lilith?”

“…I’ll be fine. I signed up for this class to overcome my weaknesses, so this is the perfect opportunity to build my tolerance.”

“If it gets too difficult, I can handle your assignment for you.”

“Submitting an assignment like that would be meaningless, Young Master Ethan. I enrolled in Luminor Academy to learn and grow, not to get good grades by cheating.”

“…I’m sorry, Lilith. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Thank you for your kind offer nonetheless, Young Master Ethan.”

Yeah. Now that the exploration class had started, there was no avoiding it.

Since I couldn’t dodge this class, my best option was to attend it properly and farm as much experience as I could while I was at it.

“First, we should plan the route for capturing the undead monsters. The nearby areas where undead monsters can be found include an abandoned church, the Grave of the Departed, and the old battlefield.”

“That’s right.”

“According to Professor Mamari, even visiting one place per day would be tight, so we’ll need to decide where to go tonight. What do you think, Young Master Ethan?”

“Well, I’d like to leave the decision up to you. Where do you think we should start?”

“…Give me a moment to think.”

The abandoned church housed ghost-type monsters, the Grave of the Departed had zombie-types, and the old battlefield was home to skeleton-type monsters.

I hated all three, but among them, I could at least rank them in terms of my least to most hated. So, making a choice wasn’t that hard.

‘It’s probably best to start with the least horrible of the three.’

If I started by facing skeleton-type monsters, I might be able to raise my tolerance for undead creatures a bit.

And if I recalled correctly from the one time I played through this necromancy exploration, the named boss wouldn’t appear until the very last area we visited.

Since we would eventually have to fight a boss monster, and the most troublesome named one was the ‘Giant Skeleton,’ it made sense to start with the skeletons first.

“How about we visit the old battlefield, where the skeleton-type monsters reside, Young Master Ethan?”

“Sure, let’s go there first.”

“Skeleton-type monsters use magic to enhance their physical attacks, so while you face the monsters head-on, I’ll provide magical support from the back.”

“Got it, Lilith. I’ll handle the front lines, so I’ll count on you for backup.”

Let’s try to finish this quickly. We’ll capture two moderately strong monsters from the old battlefield and call it a day. I didn’t want to deal with a long, exhausting battle after a full day of driving the carriage.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

About five minutes had passed since Ethan and I entered the old battlefield.

As we carefully walked over the crimson ground, following behind Ethan, the first monster attack came completely unexpectedly.

-Crack!

“…Huh?”

-Grab!

“Gyaaahhhh!!”

Suddenly, something grabbed my ankle from below. A cold, bony hand dragged me down toward the ground.

I panicked instantly and yanked my foot away, jumping back, completely ignoring Ethan’s attempt to help me.

-Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

“Hyaaahhh…!!! Let go! Let go, you damn skeleton…!!!”

I furiously shook the skeleton swordsman off my leg, sending it flying. Thanks to its weak grip, it let go of my ankle and flew off into the distance. But even after it flew away, the sight that followed was beyond disgusting, and I couldn’t help but scream again.

-Clatter, clatter….

“Eeeek!! A skeleton! A skeleton!!!”

The monster, which had seemed to break apart after hitting the ground, quickly began reassembling itself, its bones snapping back into place until it fully regained its form.

I was so shocked by the grotesque sight that I nearly collapsed, but Ethan’s voice calling to me snapped me out of it just in time.

“Lilith, over here!”

“Y-yes…!!”

Ethan drew his sword, ready to face the skeleton swordsman as it slowly approached me again.

Hiding behind Ethan, I buried my face in my hands, but I could still hear the satisfying sound of his sword slicing through the air.

-Swish.

-Clatter….

The monster collapsed immediately, defeated with a single strike from Ethan’s sword.

Compared to the scene I had just made, the skeleton went down so easily that I felt a bit embarrassed.

“Oh no, I misjudged my strength.”

“…What?”

“The professor said we need to collect the monsters with the magic stones, but I think I killed it for real.”

“…Oh, is that what you meant.”

Professor Mamari had made it clear that we needed to bring back one of each type of undead monster to pass the class.

Even though the skeleton had gone down easily with one strike, it was still an undead monster, so I understood why Ethan seemed a bit worried.

Since I’d been trembling like a leaf as soon as we entered the skeleton’s lair, it was only natural that Ethan would want to end this quickly for my sake. He probably wanted to get me out of here as soon as possible.

While I appreciated Ethan’s concern, I had my own reasons for not wanting to take the easy way out in this class.

“I understand what you’re saying, Young Master Ethan, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to catch weak monsters just to get out of here quickly.”

“…Lilith?”

“Objectively speaking, the skeleton swordsman is an incredibly weak monster. If I’d been in the right mindset, I could’ve easily handled it with just this dagger.

Professor Mamari said our grades would be based on the quality of the monsters we collect, so we need to bring back the strongest monsters we can capture.”

“You’re awfully bold now that the undead is gone, Lilith. Just a moment ago, you were running behind me to hide.”

“…I apologize for my embarrassing behavior earlier, but I still stand by what I said. I enrolled in this class to overcome my fear of undead monsters, so I refuse to use tricks or shortcuts in battle.”

“Alright, I understand. If that’s how you feel, we’ll press on.”

Ethan agreed to continue deeper into the lair, following my lead as we cautiously made our way to the center of the battlefield.

In truth, the thing I hated most about undead monsters wasn’t their grotesque appearance.

Of course, the unsettling humanoid features of these creatures were part of it, but the real reason I despised them was…

-Crack!!

“Gyaaahhh…!!”

…This. Yes, this.

Please, for the love of everything, get rid of the jump scares. I beg you.