Despite the Death Knights’ assurances, Lee I-han remained skeptical.

‘It could be a trick.’

The Death Knights might be lying, or perhaps this creature was a minion they didn’t know about.

Sensing Lee I-han’s mistrust, the Death Knights looked utterly exasperated.

“Please, Wodanaz. Our master might keep uncontrollable creatures... but not something like this!”

“Yes, he may have dangerous creatures, but I assure you, I’ve never seen this one before!”

“...”

“...”

Not only Lee I-han but even the other disciples began casting suspicious glances at the Death Knights.

The Death Knights suppressed their frustration and surrounded the bloodthirsty monster.

“Handle it. It’s obvious this thing is trouble.”

“Where did you crawl out from? If you can talk, start explaining.”

Spears imbued with a ghostly blue energy were pointed at the creature. Sensing the threat, the monster moved with explosive speed.

*Swish!*

It moved so fast it was reduced to a blur. However, the Death Knights weren’t inclined to match its speed.

*Crash!*

One of the Death Knights was struck by the creature and sent flying.

“■■■■■■■!”

The monster let out a triumphant roar, but it was premature. A Death Knight’s sword had lodged deeply into its left leg.

*Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack!*

In an instant, the monster’s left leg froze solid down to the ground. The flung Death Knight repaired its shattered armor and crushed helmet as it stood back up.

“Keep bragging about your speed in this realm.”

The Death Knights sneered at the monster. Lee I-han was once again struck by the strength of these summoned beings.

Despite Einroguard’s power augmenting them, the summoning creatures possessed incredible judgment and combat prowess.

“Amazing!”

“Huh? Suddenly?”

“What?”

The Death Knights standing by were taken aback by Lee I-han’s praise.

“My summoned creatures don’t show such prowess.”

“Oh, that’s expected. Commanding Death Knights like us isn’t an easy feat.”

“It’s difficult to even find the right materials. You need knights who died with oaths and lingering regrets…”

‘White Tiger Tower students?’

Thinking of knights with many grievances, he immediately pictured the students of the White Tiger Tower.

Even as they spoke, the Death Knights in the front line continued their relentless assault on the bloodthirsty monster.

With its leg immobilized, the monster couldn’t avoid the Death Knights’ attacks and was mercilessly struck down.

“Like before! Do it like before!”

“You insolent beast! Yes? Try it!”

Every strike of their spectral weapons imbued with dark energy drove deep into the creature’s being.

Despite its ferocious clawing and the sharp spikes of blood it shot out, the Death Knights maintained their strategy of “you attack, we retaliate,” with unrelenting assaults.

Most of the attacks couldn’t even pierce their armor, and those that did were swiftly healed by the darkness roiling within.

Lee I-han understood why Death Knights were often depicted as the quintessential summons of evil sorcerers in stories.

Their immense power, impenetrable defense, and intelligence sharpened by their lifetime of combat experience made them formidable. They even fought dirty without hesitation, detached from any living notions of honor.

The last part bordered on being an insult, but Lee I-han considered it a compliment.

‘Unless you have a wizard continuously healing them, there’s no solution.’

There were two main ways to deal with the undead: inflict an irreparable blow that would dispel the summoning, or defeat the summoner.

But with Death Knights, the former was nearly impossible. Their defense and vitality were beyond imagination.

“■!”

The bloodthirsty monster collapsed, spewing blood. The vicious creature, once boasting an intimidating presence, now lay motionless like a corpse, beaten, stabbed, and slashed.

The Death Knights planted their weapons into its body and clicked their tongues.

“What lunatic sent this thing out…”

“Doesn’t seem like something the students summoned.”

“It’s not?!”

Lee I-han was shocked.

If it wasn’t a minion of the Skull Principal, he had assumed it must have been a creation by one of the upperclassmen.

‘I thought it was a failed chimera experiment.’

“Einroguard students don’t create things like this.”

“True. Not like this.”

“Last time, an upperclassman did release some failed golems into the forest.”

“...”

“...”

The Death Knights averted their gaze, momentarily speechless.

“Wodanaz, there’s something you learn from serving under our master for a long time: when students mess up, you can tell.”

A Death Knight from the era of the Three Kingdoms spoke up.

Even if the creature was a bloodthirsty monster, when students caused an incident, there were always telltale signs.

This creature showed no such signs. It was a naturally occurring monster.

“Why would such a creature be here? Isn’t it dangerous?”

Lee I-han asked with concern, but the Death Knights didn’t seem too worried.

“Haha. It’s not that serious.”

“Indeed. These things happen sometimes. It might’ve come from the mountain range... or more likely, it emerged from the underground. Probably awakened from hibernation.”

“Your assessment seems accurate. Being a type of undead that dislikes light, it’s more likely it came from underground than from the mountains.”

“...”

“...”

The first-years watched the Death Knights’ conversation with pale faces.

A monstrous creature had just appeared, and they were chatting nonchalantly as if it was a routine occurrence.

“■■■■...”

A low growl echoed again.

The Death Knights turned in shock.

A piece of the creature’s flesh, which had been flung far onto a tree branch during the battle, began to regenerate rapidly. In moments, the bloodthirsty monster reformed around that piece, while the body lying on the ground disintegrated into ash.

The Death Knights were stunned by the creature’s unprecedented regeneration.

Not from the heart or head, but from a mere chunk of flesh?

And this wasn’t a normal situation. The weapons used by the Death Knights were imbued with potent dark energy meant to suppress regeneration. Yet this monster had overcome that and regenerated.

Its regenerative ability was among the top they had ever seen in any monster.

“Hmph.”

“We’ll have to burn it completely. We were trying to investigate its origins…”

The Death Knights summoned ghostly flames, muttering to themselves.

Though its regeneration was alarming, they had now witnessed it and could adapt their tactics.

“■■■!”

However, the bloodthirsty monster, instead of charging at the Death Knights again, turned and fled at full speed in the opposite direction.

It leapt off a few trees and disappeared deep into the forest, its shadow vanishing entirely. The Death Knights stood frozen momentarily.

“...”

“Did it just run away?”

“I wouldn’t say ran away…”

“It could come back later…”

“It’s more an exception in battle rather than our fault.”

‘That’s just an excuse.’

Lee I-han looked at the Death Knights with disapproval.

The respect he had felt moments earlier evaporated completely.

* * *

“A monster that emerged from the underground?”

“Wasn’t it something the Principal released?”

“A regeneration that strong? Should we carry tools to counteract that?”

“Wasn’t it something the Principal released?”

“But if the Death Knights attacked it heavily, it probably won’t come near the school, right? I heard it ran off toward the mountains.”

“Wasn’t it something the Principal released?”

The incident quickly became a hot topic among the students.

With final exams looming, the idea of a deranged monster running amok added fuel to their anxiety.

“We need to form patrol teams and move in groups.”

“Isn’t that overreacting? It ran away in the end. We barely have time to study as it is.”

The students split into two camps: those who believed in preparing for the worst and those who thought it was an unnecessary distraction.

There were also outliers like Gainando, who insisted, “It’s a plot by the Principal,” but they didn’t hold much sway.

While the others debated, Lee I-han quietly kept moving his quill.

He had to finish Professor Voladi’s assignments to an acceptable level before the semester ended.

“Wodanaz, what do you think?”

“About what?”

“The bloodthirsty monster.”

“It’s too harsh to call Professor Bagrek that... Oh, you didn’t mean him.”

“...??”

“There’s not much we can do. We can’t go hunting for it now. Staying in groups is the best strategy.”

“Is that really enough?”

“We don’t have many options. How’s your armor?”

“It’s fine.”

“It might not be enough, so bring that crossbow we made at the library. I learned poison in dark magic class—I’ll prepare some and coat the bolts. Also, Professor Verdus should have leftover signal flares in his workshop. We’ll need those.”

‘You said there weren’t many options...’

If this was “not many,” then what would “many” even look like?

Reassuring his friends, Lee I-han walked off.

Even he was sometimes surprised by himself.

No matter how much Einroguard desensitized its students to the bizarre, staying so calm after witnessing a monster like that was something else.

He barely flinched now, unlike his worried peers.

“Hello, Professor.”

Lee I-han opened the door to the lecture hall.

Thinking back, Professor Voladi had a significant part in why Lee

 I-han had become fearless.

‘A living embodiment of terror.’

What was there to fear from a creature lurking in the shadows when true fear walked openly in broad daylight?

Professor Voladi acknowledged him with a slight nod.

“You’re here.”

“What’s... all this?”

Lee I-han stared at the lecture hall, puzzled by its unusual state.

Typically, it was a stark room with only the necessary furniture and supplies. But today, there were items he hadn’t seen before.

A large metal basin with chunks of green, writhing meat, a makeshift racing track, rings fit for circus acts...

And even Professor Voladi himself was holding a bizarre toy, something one might use to entertain a pet.

Voladi with a sword was terrifying, but Voladi holding a toy was unsettling in its own right. Lee I-han glanced behind him, checking for an escape route.

“The basilisk’s growth is slow.”

“Oh.”

Lee I-han exhaled in relief.

He thought it might be some insane training to boost his combat skills before the finals, but luckily, it wasn’t.

From his sleeve, the baby basilisk let out a sibilant hiss.

It clearly hated this.

“Sorry. I’m powerless to help.”

-?!

Lee I-han apologized to the baby basilisk.

In any other situation, he might have fought for its sake, but not in front of Professor Voladi.

Both of them could die if they tried.

‘Survival comes first.’

“I had Professor Thunderfoot prepare this meal. Try it.”

The baby basilisk shook its head vehemently in refusal.

Voladi, unfazed, grabbed the basilisk’s neck and cast a telekinetic spell with a mere glance, forcing its mouth open.

“■■■■■!”

Whatever the basilisk said, the green chunks didn’t look appetizing. Lee I-han silently apologized again.

As Voladi fed the baby basilisk, he turned to Lee I-han and asked,

“I heard you succeeded in altering the form of the lightning element?”

“■■■■■!”

Lee I-han mimicked the basilisk’s choked, strained cry.