After the midterm exam of the Necromancer School, a golden weekend morning arrived.
The main gate of Kizen was bustling with students eager to head down to Rochester.
On one side of the gate, carriages that had taken reservations were lined up, waiting patiently.
Students were haggling with the drivers, planning picnics in the valleys or at the beach.
While some students were excitedly looking forward to the happy holiday, others were in a state of despair.
"Ah—what is this!" From the very morning of the weekend, there were students clinging to a wild hippopotamus.
Mei Lin had a face full of tears.
"I must be crazy! What do I know about monster cooking secrets...!" To be in such a situation on a golden weekend was unbearable.
Mei Lin felt like hitting her head against the wall, wishing she could turn back time.
The story began like this.
Mei Lin and Kamibarez had insisted on learning Hong Peng's monster cooking recipes from Simon, who then sent a letter to Hong Peng.
Hong Peng responded positively, providing the time and meeting place.
When Simon and his group arrived at the meeting place, they found four hippos grazing around...
That was all there was to it.
"Hey, Mei Lin! Aren't you in a rather dangerous position right now?" Dick, hanging on the hippo behind her, teased her as usual, but Mei Lin retorted with a look of disdain.
"I'm wearing shorts today, you idiot!" "Ah, I see you're not wearing anything underneath."
"Get down and see for yourself!" Growling, she tried to push Dick down, then turned her head slightly.
Kamibarez was now hanging there with a resigned expression, while Simon thought, '...
Annoyingly, he rides well.'
Simon wrapped his legs around the hippo's body, maintaining his balance upright.
The stability was on a different level compared to how the instructors rode.
After enduring that tough time, the four finally reached their destination.
"Haah! Phew! Wow, that was really exhausting! We just arrived, and I'm already worn out."
Dick placed his hands on his knees, panting.
Mei Lin and Kamibarez were already lying on the grass.
Only Simon stood upright, checking Hong Peng's letter.
"Let's take a short break and head out right away."
Hong Peng said that while sharing monster recipes was not difficult, they needed to hunt for prey.
The suggestion was to hunt a monster called 'Nuslak.' It was a kind of mission.
According to Hong Peng, Nuslak was an ecological destroyer, disturbing the forests of Rock Island.
Originally a monster that lived inland, it somehow entered Rock Island and was now exploding in numbers due to its enormous appetite and reproductive ability.
Hong Peng's mission was to catch the leader among the Nuslaks.
After the hunt, they would dismantle and eat this monster, so it was important to catch the boss monster without inflicting too much damage.
"Ugh, no matter how I think about it, I feel like I've been tricked."
Mei Lin murmured as she sat up.
Simon spoke softly to comfort her.
"Professor Hong Peng must have his reasons. It's good for us to practice monster hunting too." "... That's true."
"Simon!" Kamibarez rushed over to Simon.
"What's wrong, Kami?" She hid behind Simon, her expression tense as she reached out her hand.
"Over there!" Simon turned his head.
Perhaps having caught the scent of humans, three Nuslaks were approaching lazily.
They had short, stout bodies covered in teal fur, and their faces looked like a mix between a gorilla and a pig.
"This is insane. We have to eat those things today?" Mei Lin grimaced, and Dick chuckled.
"I think it might be better than expected. Monkey meat should taste good."
"I've never eaten it!"
- Grrr! The Nuslaks began to charge. 'Ah, speaking of which.' Simon turned to look at his teammates.
The members, busily preparing black magic, looked at Simon with wide eyes, as if asking what was happening. 'This is the first time we're fighting together like this.' During the Cyclops assessment, there were restrictions on set positions, but today was different.
It was a stage where everyone could fully combine their strengths.
Simon felt a strange excitement at this fact and turned his head back to face the front.
"I'm starting."
Simon pulled an imaginary lever.
From the void, he summoned skeletons armed with spears and shields, one by one.
The shield-bearing skeleton charged forward and collided with the Nuslak.
Crash! The Nuslak's main weapons were its sharp claws and teeth.
While the shield soldier blocked the attack, the spear-wielding skeleton circled around and thrust its spear forcefully.
With a thud, the spear tip pierced the Nuslak's body.
However, perhaps due to its tough muscles, it did not penetrate completely.
"Excuse me."
At that moment, Dick approached with smooth movements and lightly touched the skeleton's spear. 'Enchant.' The spear turned pitch black and pierced through the Nuslak's body, emerging from the other side.
The monster's eyes rolled back, and it slumped down.
"Be careful~ more are coming from the left and right."
"We know!" With a whoosh! Mei Lin, standing on the right, swung her arm, and black flames ignited on the Nuslak's body.
The creatures writhed in agony, thrashing about.
"Haah!" To Simon's left, Kamibarez was seen firing blood grenades in a kneeling position.
The moment the blood grenade hit the Nuslak's body, it exploded with a loud bang! The destructive power shattered the monster's upper body in one blow.
Simon also moved.
He summoned three skeleton archers from the void and pulled out a one-gold bow he received for free from the weapon shop. 'Load.' Swoosh.
Simon and the skeletons simultaneously nocked arrows and pulled their bows taut. 'Fire!' As Simon commanded and relaxed the strength in his right hand, four arrows flew simultaneously instead of one.
Thud! The arrows struck the charging Nuslak's body.
Two arrows hit its head, and two struck its chest.
The creature collapsed, lifeless. 'Reload.' Click.
The skeleton archers and Simon swiftly reloaded their arrows. 'Fire!' This time, the arrows flew in different directions.
The Nuslaks approaching through the bushes fell one by one, each hit by an arrow.
"Front! They're still coming!" Dick shouted.
More than six Nuslaks charged from the bushes.
Seeing this, Mei Lin said, "Simon! Kamibarez and I have enough firepower, so focus more on tanking!" "Okay."
One of the advantages of a summoner was the ability to move flexibly according to the situation.
Simon put the archers back into the void and summoned regular skeletons again.
He then arranged six shield-bearing skeletons in a line for cross-operation.
"I'm going to enchant!" Dick pulled out a shield from his void, enchanted it, and handed it to the skeleton without a shield.
In the blink of an eye, the defensive line was complete.
Boom! Boom! The Nuslaks that rushed in collided with the shield wall.
Simon gritted his teeth and maintained the formation. 'Hold on!' He connected with the thoughts of skeletons one, three, and five, then contacted two, four, and six in turn, repeating the process.
The formation of the skeletons weakened in just a few seconds due to the broken thoughts, so they had to endure with cross-operation.
"... Ugh! I can't hold on for long!" "Now, send in the skeletons, Simon!" Simon raised his head.
Mei Lin had already risen high into the sky, clutching a glowing black flame in her palm.
She spun around and swung her arm down.
<Dark Flare>
Fwoosh! The black flame fell from above the Nuslaks, causing a massive explosion.
The skeletons managed to retreat safely without getting caught in it.
It was nearly perfect control.
The charred ashes crumbled in front of the shield.
"Nice, Mei Lin!" "It's basic."
She landed lightly, flipping her hair behind her ear with a smile.
- Grrr! At that moment, a Nuslak charged from behind her.
She turned around, her sky-blue hair flowing.
Boom! Immediately, a red explosion erupted from the monster's body, causing it to kneel down.
Kamibarez was seen lowering her hand from a distance.
"Thank you, Kami!" "Yes!" Having passed that hurdle, Simon's group began to advance.
They took down the Nuslaks that popped out one by one, delving deeper into the forest.
Perhaps thanks to the results of the Cyclops assessment, the four of them moved in perfect harmony.
"Wow, this is no joke."
Dick said, looking back after slicing through a Nuslak's body.
One side of the forest was stained black by Mei Lin's firepower.
"But Mei Lin, is it okay to use such fire-based black magic in such a dense area? What if there's a forest fire?" "You fool."
Mei Lin frowned as she drew a magic circle.
"The flames of the pitch-black elemental fire are artificially created, so they will extinguish on their own after a while."
"Ah— I see."
"So you should cool it too."
"Oh, nice rhyme!" "Ugh."
Meanwhile, Kamibarez was panting heavily, perhaps having lost too much blood.
She began to feel dizzy, showing signs of slight anemia.
"Kami, are you okay?" Simon quickly approached to check on her condition.
In that moment, her gaze fell on Simon's smooth neck beneath his face.
Suddenly, her heart raced wildly, and she felt an intense thirst.
Her nose tingled, and her mouth opened involuntarily.
Just once.
If only she could sink her fangs into that neck and indulge...
"Kami?" "...... Huh!" Startled, she retreated in her seated position, covering her mouth.
Simon tilted his head.
"What's wrong?" "N-nothing! I'm just a bit dizzy."
"Then let's take a break."
Simon waved his hand to Dick and Mei Lin, signaling for a rest.
Both nodded, feeling the need to take a break.
'Ugh... why am I like this?' Kamibarez buried her face in her palms.
It had been nearly five years since she felt the instincts of a vampire.
She thought she had suppressed it for sure by now.
Simon continued to shake her thoughts.
"Kami! Are you okay?" Mei Lin rushed over.
Kamibarez forced a smile and replied that she was fine.
"Hmm."
Meanwhile, Dick was examining the traces on the ground.
"There's a high possibility that the leader Nuslak is nearby. There are many footprints much larger than a regular Nuslak. It seems like it was here until very recently."
"Really?" Simon pulled something large from the void and dropped it to the ground.
It was none other than a golem's core.
"Then while we rest, I'll prepare the golem. Let's break through the forest in one go."
"Oh, good idea!" Simon dug a little into the ground with his hand and placed the golem's core on top.
He then connected the core with his thoughts and began to raise the black earth.
Crack.
Crack.
The soil began to cling to the golem's core like a magnet.
Everyone watched in amazement as the golem was being formed for the first time.
Boom! Boom! Just as one-third of the golem was being completed, an unusually loud footstep was heard.
Dick drew his sword and shouted, "Everyone, be careful! Something is coming this way!"