Simon rode in the carriage with Shun, leaving the mansion behind.
"I sincerely apologize for my rudeness earlier, Count," he said, sweating profusely as he sat across from Shun.
Shun waved his hand cheerfully.
"It's fine, it's fine! Just speak comfortably in private like before!"
"Uh? I can't do that..."
"I'm saying it because I feel comfortable with you too! Got it?"
"Ah, understood."
Shun was a lively and cheerful boy.
Although he was a count, he felt more playful and down-to-earth than typical noble children.
There was no need to ask why he had inherited the title and vast wealth at such a young age; it was obvious. 'His parents must have passed away early.' A boy who inherited the title of count and governed Blue Harbor at such a young age.
Simon felt his curiosity about Shun growing more and more.
"Over there is Sara Beach, the most popular tourist spot! And in that alley, there's a large shopping complex...!" Shun pointed out the attractions visible from the carriage with his small hands, explaining each one.
His excited voice was filled with affection for his territory.
Simon responded to his words, sharing various stories.
"Count, we have arrived at the exhibition hall."
The voice of the coachman was heard.
While listening to Shun's guide with interest, they had already reached their destination.
As soon as Simon opened the carriage door, Shun jumped out like a cannonball.
"Wait, Shun! You'll fall!" Simon exclaimed, following him in a panic.
As Shun rushed up the stairs, he lost his balance and stumbled backward.
Simon, who had been running behind, quickly slipped his arms under Shun's armpits and lifted him safely onto the stairs.
"Wow!" Shun smiled brightly.
"You're good at this, Simon! Just like that!"
"..."
Simon let out a sigh of relief and forced a smile.
He had a feeling this would be a tough assignment.
"Count Shun, please come this way."
The guards at the exhibition hall stepped aside to let them through.
Shun turned his small body around and grinned proudly.
"The exhibition is officially opening the day after tomorrow, but I'm showing it early just for my bodyguards!"
"Ah, thank you for that."
Creeeak.
The large gate opened, revealing the exhibition hall.
Simon's eyes widened in astonishment. 'This is...!' The next-generation undead exhibition held in Blue Harbor.
Blue Harbor had been isolated from the continent for a long time, maintaining its own unique ecosystem.
Therefore, many 'unique species' that could not be found elsewhere lived there.
This exhibition focused on undead created using monsters from Blue Harbor, showcasing the newly researched next-generation undead.
Simon felt his eyes widen involuntarily. 'I don't even know where to start!' The largest exhibit on the first floor was a 'dinosaur-type' skeleton, which was truly overwhelming in presence.
If such a skeleton were to attack, one might lose all will to fight.
However, 'It seems they haven't solved the balance issue of the lower body to withstand the weight.' The black fabric connected throughout the exhibition was supporting the dinosaur skeleton to prevent it from collapsing.
It was great that they had developed a large skeleton, but unless the lower body issue was resolved, it would be hard to use it in actual combat.
While Simon was lost in thought about the report he would submit to Kizen, he suddenly realized Shun was no longer beside him.
"Shun!" Simon exclaimed, looking around in panic.
"Kyah! Hahaha!" Before he knew it, Shun had climbed onto the animal-type skeleton inside the exhibition hall.
"Yah! Let's go! Start!" As Shun slapped the skeleton's back with his palm, the skeleton turned its long neck to look at him. 'W-What a danger!' It seemed that it wasn't just a simple exhibit; summoning magic had been applied to it.
Simon felt a chill run down his spine and rushed over.
Grabbing the safety fence with one hand, he leaped over and concentrated the black energy into his legs. 'Black Step!' As Simon's body soared, the skeleton opened its mouth wide and moved toward Shun. 'I’m faster...!'
Boom! Simon's arms, which were reaching out to embrace Shun, sliced through the air.
Before he knew it, a green liquid had wrapped around Shun's waist, pulling him away, and Simon collided face-first with the skeleton.
"Ouch!" Simon cried out, clutching his face as he fell to the ground.
"How can a bodyguard let himself get distracted like that?" A man approached from under the dim lights.
He had long, slanted eyes, prominent eyelashes, a small nose, and a long mouth.
One hand was in his pants pocket, while the other transformed into a liquid-like substance, grabbing Shun.
As the man set Shun down, Shun beamed and shouted, "Uncle Pinch!"
The man, called Pinch, returned his hand to normal and patted Shun's head.
"You need to be careful, alright? There are moving undead here, and it’s dangerous."
"I'm fine, I told you! Oh, let me introduce you!" Shun pointed at Simon.
"This is Simon Polentia, the strongest bodyguard from Kizen! He’s the special admission student number one!"
"Hmm."
Pinch stroked his chin, looking Simon up and down.
Then he smiled and extended his right hand.
"I’m Pinch Nikiman. I’m a necromancer too."
"Simon Polentia."
The moment Simon took Pinch's hand for a handshake, it melted away like a puddle.
Simon was taken aback but kept his composure.
"Hahaha! Just kidding, just kidding!" Pinch returned his hand to normal, lightly shook Simon's hand, and then put it back in his pocket.
"You’re a first-year here to earn some pocket money, right? I don’t know what kind of soft-hearted mindset brought you to this resort island, but you still need to do your job properly. Don’t you think?"
That was a reprimand to protect Shun properly.
Simon placed a fist over his left chest and bowed deeply.
"Please forgive my negligence, Count."
Of course, the one he bowed to was not Pinch but Shun.
"..."
Pinch's eyebrows twitched.
"Ah, Simon! Why are you like this?" Shun tugged at Simon's pant leg.
"And Uncle, stop scolding my bodyguard! I was the one who did something wrong!"
"Haha, scolding? I was just giving advice to a junior."
Pinch, sweating profusely, tried to cover up and glanced at Simon. 'Look at this...?' He had thought Simon was a delicate and naive young master, but it seemed he had some spirit after all.
When Simon raised his head, Pinch cleared his throat and spoke.
"So, you’re the special admission student number one from Kizen?"
"Yes."
"The expectations around you must be high. As a senior, let me give you one piece of advice: don’t think that all the knowledge you learn at Kizen is the truth. To be honest, Kizen has been going off track a lot lately. It used to be legendary, but the recent teaching methods feel too outdated and rigid..."
"Excuse me, Senior Pinch," Simon interrupted.
"Are you a graduate of Kizen?"
"..."
Pinch's smiling mouth twitched.
"Cough. No, I started at the public necromancer school, Aland."
"Oh, I see."
"You’ll meet them soon, but the top students from Aland, Sierra, and Moiran often transfer to Kizen. They are more competent in every aspect than the existing Kizen students!"
Simon smiled brightly.
"Wow, that’s impressive! If they’re more competent than Kizen, then there’s no need to transfer there, right?"
'...
This guy is really!' He was pretending to be nice while subtly getting under people's skin.
However, Simon couldn't directly criticize Kizen, so Pinch had no choice but to swallow his anger.
"Cough. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, right? Isn’t that so?"
"Yes, that’s correct."
"Uncle Pinch! Hurry up! You said you’d introduce the undead to me and Simon!"
"Oh, right."
Pinch quickly composed himself.
"Let’s skip the student-level talk. The real career as a necromancer begins after graduation, doesn’t it? From now on, I’ll show you the realm of professionals."
"I look forward to it."
Simon said this while lightly placing his hand on Shun's shoulder.
When Shun looked up as if to ask what was going on, Simon just smiled without saying anything.
He only sent a look that said, 'If you run away again, you’ll be in trouble.' Shun felt a chill and shivered.
"Now, dear customers, I will explain this piece first."
Pinch, being a necromancer affiliated with Blue Harbor, was a pioneer in next-generation undead research.
There were a total of 100 pieces in the exhibition, of which 20 were Pinch's works.
Listening to Pinch's explanation, Simon honestly admired him.
Setting aside personality and character, he was a person without flaws in skill.
He had built undead with unique functions using monsters from Blue Harbor at a high quality.
'But since this is an exhibition of completely new undead, the practical aspects are a bit disappointing.' Some undead were so impractical that it was hard to see how they could be used.
So, Simon pointed out the shortcomings, even with his shallow knowledge.
"Wouldn’t it be better to cover the tail of this Rocker Worm Skeleton with protein or chitin rather than forcing it to connect with bones? As it is now, it seems like the joints would be overloaded after just a few swings, making it unusable."
At Simon's critique, Pinch's face turned red, and he reacted sensitively.
"Oh, what does a first-year know! Every work has its reason. Just throwing out ideas without thinking will not solve the practical issues!"
"Ah, yes. I apologize for butting in."
Pinch took out a notebook from his pocket.
"So, where do you think it would be better to cover with chitin?"
"?"
As they chatted and walked around the exhibition, Shun seemed to have lost focus and yawned repeatedly.
Seeing this, Simon pressed the avatar of Pier that he had attached to his uniform. 'Pier, are you there? Please help me for a moment.'
[What is it?]
While Pinch was explaining excitedly and Shun was yawning, Simon released Pier's avatar and handed it to Shun.
"Shun, look at this."
"What is it?"
"It moves when you poke it?"
Shun poked Pier's avatar with his fingertip.
Suddenly, Pier exclaimed in shock, [What are you doing! I am not a toy!]
"Wow! It tickles, and the skeleton keeps opening its mouth!"
"Isn’t it amazing?"
[Boy! Put that thing down immediately!]
"What happens if I pinch it like this?" For a moment, Pier played along, and Shun quickly regained his focus and joy.
They climbed all the way to the fifth floor of the exhibition hall.
"Now, I will reveal the highlight of this exhibition."
As Pinch pulled down the white cloth covering it, a large aquarium appeared.
Inside was a skeleton of a form Simon had never seen before.
Its body resembled an alien creature, a mix of a jellyfish and an octopus, made of bones, with a soft, liquid substance swirling around it to maintain its shape.
Most notably, the long legs of this jellyfish monster were made entirely of pure bone.
They looked like mechanical legs that fit together perfectly, but they were undoubtedly bones.
"Soft-bodied Undead Overlord."
Pinch said seriously, wiping the smile off his face.
"The material is a deep-sea monster called Kraken. It has a similar appearance to soft-bodied animals living in the deep sea, but uniquely, the core parts of its body are made of bone, fulfilling the conditions of a skeleton. Moreover, this size is still not fully grown. No one has ever captured an adult Kraken."
Pinch placed his palm on the magic circle.
With a loud hum, the Overlord began to move. 'This is insane...!' Simon was so shocked that he couldn't manage his expression.
The six long legs made of bone moved freely like the tentacles of a flexible soft-bodied creature.
He had never known that bones could be so supple.
"It has both speed and cutting power."
Pinch took out a sheet of iron from the void and held it above his head.
The Overlord moved its legs upon seeing it.
Swish.
As the long leg that came out of the aquarium sliced through the air, the iron sheet was cleanly cut in half.
The second leg pierced through the center of the fallen iron sheet. 'Wow, this is real.' As a summoning student, this was torture.
To have such an amazing undead right in front of him and not be able to use it.
As Pinch signaled, the staff waiting nearby covered the aquarium with a cloth again.
"Senior Pinch."
"Yes, do you have a question?"
"If someone wanted to buy this undead, how much would it cost?"
Pinch chuckled and placed his hands on his hips.
"Is that a question from Kizen? Or is it..."
"No, no. Just a personal question."
"Well, this is a research item with astronomical value, not something for sale, and it’s not even mine. But if I had to say..."
After a moment of contemplation, Pinch said, "At least 10,000 gold."