Chapter 375

After 30 minutes of walking and defeating skeleton swordsmen, skeleton archers, skeleton fighters, and various other lesser skeleton-type monsters, Ethan and I continued toward our target location.

“Huff, huff, huff….”

“Are you alright, Lilith? I think it might be time to turn back if you’re getting tired.”

“N-no… I can keep going, Young Master Ethan….”

“…Alright. But don’t push yourself too hard.”

We had encountered over a dozen skeletons on the way here, and while my mind was definitely feeling fatigued, physically, I wasn’t that exhausted. My strength was still holding up as long as I could focus.

‘At least I’ve gotten somewhat used to the sight of skeletons by now.’

As with anything, the more you see something unsettling, the less it bothers you over time. Like how a sewage worker gets used to the smell or an exterminator grows accustomed to bugs, I, too, had seen so many corpses during battles with bandits and demons that I was numb to them. Now, even seeing skeletons didn’t faze me as much, which aligned with my original goal of overcoming my fear.

‘If I remember correctly from my past life, we should be getting close now….’

Even though I had only taken this class once before, I remembered the geography and characteristics of the hunting ground quite well.

I wasn’t good at handling surprise encounters in games, so I had researched guides and walkthroughs from overseas to minimize unnecessary detours and complete the mission efficiently. I had bad experiences with random undead encounters, often retreating after being startled, which had ruined my course evaluation in the past.

-Crack!

“Hnngh…!”

-Slice!

Holding back my startled reflexes and slashing forward, I noticed a clean, white tombstone ahead.

Seeing the tombstone meant that Ethan and I had reached our target point at the center of the old battlefield. I sighed in relief and began explaining the next step to Ethan.

“I think we’ve reached the center of the old battlefield, Young Master Ethan.”

“Yeah, it does seem like it. There’s a strange, eerie atmosphere around here.”

“I believe it would be best to capture the strongest skeleton-type monster we encounter around this area. What do you think?”

“I agree with you, Lilith. Let’s collect the strongest skeleton-type monster that appears here.”

“Understood.”

With Ethan’s agreement, it was time to start searching for monsters.

As with the previous monsters we encountered, the named monsters in this necromancy exploration class appeared randomly, so we had to search the area around the white tombstone. While walking cautiously, I felt a sudden movement from below.

-Crack!

‘Here it comes!’

It could be a Skeleton General or perhaps a Skeleton Knight. Either way, either would make for a decent class assignment.

Just as I was preparing for battle, Ethan and I were caught off guard by an unexpected event.

-Crack!

“…Huh?”

-Crack! Crack! Crack-crack!!

“L-Lilith! Watch out!”

Suddenly, dozens of white bones erupted from the ground around the skeleton hand that had first appeared.

As dozens of skeletons began to emerge in grotesque numbers, I froze in confusion, unable to comprehend the scene before me. Ethan’s urgent voice snapped me back to reality, and I quickly moved toward him as more skeletons rose from the wasteland, revealing themselves all at once.

“……!!!!!”

Oh no.

Oh no, what is this?

I could only stare blankly at the grotesque sight, unable to process what was happening as the skeletons continued to rise. Was I witnessing a hidden stage of Luminor Academy? I wondered as I watched the skeletons begin to pile on top of each other, forming a tower.

-Clatter.

-Clatter, clatter, clatter.@@novelbin@@

‘Wait… this can’t be….’

I hoped this wasn’t what I was thinking as I gripped my daggers and prepared for battle. But there was no stopping the summoned monster now.

As dozens—no, hundreds—of skeletal fragments came together to form a towering golem-like figure, Ethan and I could only watch in awe.

“Lilith, could that be…?”

“…It seems we’ve awakened the most dangerous monster in this area, Young Master Ethan.”

The skeleton-type boss monster from the necromancy exploration class, the ‘Giant Skeleton.’

The one monster I absolutely didn’t want to face had just been summoned before our eyes, leaving me feeling utterly overwhelmed.

‘…Why did it have to show up now?’

This was the monster that was supposed to appear on the third night of the necromancy exploration class, not on the first day, after a long day of driving the carriage.

-Whoosh!

“Lilith, watch out!”

“Gyahhhh!!”

-Crack-crack-crack!!

With a boost from Ethan, I jumped just in time to avoid the Giant Skeleton’s attack, watching as hundreds of bone fragments scattered across the ground.

If the monster was vulnerable enough to be damaged this way, we might have a chance, but its next move left me even more frustrated.

-Crunch, crunch, crunch.

The bone fragments quickly reassembled, forming the Giant Skeleton again as if nothing had happened.

Seeing its horrifying regeneration ability, my brain blocked out all fear and disgust, forcing me to focus on the task ahead.

‘This isn’t going to be an easy fight.’

We had no choice but to give it our all, defeat the Giant Skeleton, and capture it with the Undead Sealing Magic Stone to complete our assignment.

Ethan seemed to be thinking the same as we locked eyes and nodded silently.

-Whoosh!

“Young Master Ethan! It’s coming from below!”

“Got it!”

The massive creature, standing around 10 meters tall, swung a 5-meter bone sword at us as Ethan leaped into the air, dodging its attack. At the same time, I quickly cast a spell to strike back.

“Explode! Arcane Bomb! Pierce! Arcane Arrows!”

-Crunch, crunch.

“……”

I cast Energy Bolts and Arcane Arrows simultaneously, but the monster regenerated the hit areas immediately, as if the attacks had done nothing.

This is why I really didn’t want to fight this thing.

The only spell in my arsenal that could deal significant damage to this monster was my Mana Blast, the one I had relied on time and time again.

‘But even using that isn’t an option right now.’

Mana Blast had a long casting time and drained all my magic power, which wasn’t ideal in a fight like this. Especially since we’d still need energy to fend off skeleton-type monsters on our way back from the battlefield.

If Ethan had enough stamina to spare, I might have been able to use it without worry, but with the battle already underway, that option was out of the question.

‘If only I’d known it was coming, I could’ve prepared.’

I had planned to avoid fighting the Giant Skeleton if possible, but if I had no choice, I knew the strategy to defeat it.

One option was to set up multiple Shockwave spells targeting one specific bone, or perhaps prepare Mana Blast in advance to finish the fight as soon as the monster appeared.

Of course, neither of those were feasible right now, and attempting either could put Ethan in danger, so they weren’t options.

‘Is this the same “unsolvable boss event” I experienced before?’

Given the circumstances, that seemed like the most likely explanation, though it only raised more questions.

The player, Geomwo, should be off in another exploration class. Why was this event happening to Ethan and me?

The more time I spent in this game world, the more questions I had, but I didn’t have time to dwell on them now.

“Young Master Ethan! We’ll go with Plan B—no, Plan C!”

“Understood, Lilith!”

For now, the only thing that mattered was figuring out how to defeat the enormous bone golem in front of us.