Chapter 27
“It works?”
“What kind of potion is it?”
Dick and Kamibarez approached with interest. On the page Simon had opened, there was a description of a potion that temporarily paralyzes tendon functions and contracts muscles.
“It’s called Nervier, I think.”
Maelyn circled the potion name roughly.
“Judging by the symptoms, it’s a neurotoxic paralytic that weakens physical strength. It says it works on both small and medium-sized monsters of rank 3 and above. It might not have a dramatic effect, but it should slow down a cyclops’ movements.”
“What’s the method of application?”
“Either make them drink it or apply it to a wound. If we wound it first and throw a glass bottle containing the potion, something might happen, right?”
Everyone nodded seriously. If it could help in taking down the cyclops, it was best to be prepared.
“You can reserve the magic cauldron in the lab. The issue is the ingredients...”
While scanning the ingredient list in the textbook, Maelyn gently bit her thumb.
“The basic ingredients are easy to get in Keyzen. The tricky ones are Lehark mushrooms, blood slime, and silk creepers.”
“Let’s see.”
Dick scanned the ingredients with his eyes.
“If I go down to Rochest and search around, I think I can get them somehow.”
“Oh, really?”
Everyone’s eyes widened. Dick confidently nodded.
“Let’s just go all in. Once class ends, I’ll head straight down to Rochest.”
As Simon looked over the list, he pointed at one of the items with his finger.
“This one—Lehark mushrooms—I’ve seen them in Keyzen before.”
“Huh? Where?”
“The Forbidden Forest.”
He had seen the mushrooms when he went into the forest looking for Feer. They had been growing in abundance under a large oak tree near the entrance of the Forbidden Forest.
Maelyn and Kamibarez’s expressions stiffened slightly.
“How do you know that—wait, no, that’s not the issue! Are you really planning to go into the Forbidden Forest?”
“It won’t take long. Dick is risking punishment to go to Rochest, so I should at least do this much. I’ll go quickly and harvest them before it gets dark.”
“Hmmmm.”
Maelyn furrowed her brow.
“Aren’t there monsters in there? Rochest is one thing, but the Forbidden Forest is too dangerous.”
“Then I’ll go with you!”
Kamibarez raised her hand high. Simon looked at her with a flustered expression.
“It’s too dangerous. It also breaks school rules.”
“That’s exactly why you can’t go alone! I can’t just let Simon go into the forest by himself!”
Kamibarez was quite firm in her stance.
Simon swallowed and hesitated, but he couldn’t find a proper excuse in the face of her reasoning that it was a group project and she was his teammate.
“...If it looks dangerous, we’ll back out right away.”
“Yes!”
“Okay, so then in Rochest, we just need to get the blood slime and silk creepers, right? The Lehark mushrooms were the most difficult anyway. This saves me some time.”
“I’ll gather the basic ingredients and wait in the lab.”
At that moment, the bell signaling the end of class rang. The Toxicology TA, Francesca, announced:
“Okay, today’s class ends here.”
“Thank you!”
The students poured out of the lecture hall.
Group 7, now with tasks to do, moved quickly. Dick headed to Rochest, Maelyn to the lab, and Simon and Kamibarez to the Forbidden Forest.
And just as everyone was leaving the lecture hall, one student, who had been lying quietly on their desk without a trace of presence, slowly stood up.
Then they walked toward someone.
“Hey, Hector.”
Hector, who had been quietly packing his things, looked up.
“I’ve got some good information. Want to hear it?”
* * *
“If you go through the main gate, it’s dangerous. Follow me.”
Dick led Simon and Kamibarez to a stable on the outskirts of Keyzen.
“Kevin! Are you there?”
Dick knocked on the stable door. A moment later, the door opened and a middle-aged man, his face tanned by the sun, peeked out.
“Oh, Dick! Heading out again today?”
“Yeah, it turned out that way. These friends are coming with me today.”
Dick snapped his fingers and flicked a coin. Kevin caught it with a familiar motion and smiled broadly.
“Right this way, dear customers!”
They were puzzled as to why there was a stable in Keyzen, but it wasn’t just horses, they were raising massive skeletal horses too.
When one of the snorting skeletal horses fixed its gaze on them, Kamibarez jumped and hid behind Simon.
“Right here. Have a good time!”
Kevin led them to a corner of the stable. It looked like an ordinary space covered with straw, but there were no horses in this spot.
“I’ll go first!”
Dick walked toward the wall. Suddenly, the straw-covered floor sank, and Dick disappeared from sight.
“Huh, what? Dick?”
A voice called up from beneath the floor, “Down here!”
Simon and Kamibarez exchanged glances, then walked over to the spot where Dick had gone.
Soon, the ground gave way and the two of them fell into a tunnel below.
With his arms wide open, Dick smiled.
“Welcome to the secret route out of school!”
Simon looked around.
“I didn’t know a place like this existed.”
“Huhu, only those in the know, know.”
They saw Kevin covering the hole in the ceiling with straw again.
“Alright, let’s hurry before it gets even later.”
“Yes!”
“Mhm.”
In order—Dick, Kamibarez, Simon—they walked down the tunnel. Leading the way, Dick pulled a lantern from subspace and lit up the darkness as he guided them with practiced ease.
“Watch your head!”
At first, they could walk with just a slight hunch, but the tunnel gradually narrowed. Eventually, they had to crawl on their knees.
“...Kami.”
“Yes?”
“Want to switch spots?”
“Why?”
She turned her head with wide eyes from up ahead.
As their eyes met, Simon quickly turned his head and replied in a tiny voice.
“It’s nothing.”
“??”
Facing forward led to an awkward situation, so Simon silently bowed his head and crawled.
Dick, realizing what was going on, snickered, but Kamibarez never caught on and just tilted her head in confusion.
Before long, they reached their destination.
Dick stood up and tapped on the ceiling. The earth above them shook like a lid and opened.
Skillfully climbing out, he helped Kamibarez and Simon up.
“Wow, we’re really outside.”
In the distance, they could see the walls of Keyzen. Dick closed the lid and camouflaged it with nearby dirt so it wouldn’t be noticeable.
“Well then, let’s split up here. I’m heading to Rochest now.”
“Got it.”
“Be careful, Dick!”
Dick went off toward Rochest, and Simon and Kamibarez started walking toward the Forbidden Forest.
Night quickly fell over the forest.
Under the full moon hanging large in the sky, darkness settled between the trees as the sounds of insects and owls echoed around. The eerie atmosphere had Simon worried that Kamibarez might get scared.
‘…Why does she look like she’s enjoying this?’
She was looking around freely, her eyes sparkling.
She crouched down to shake a flower growing in the field, sniffed the dirt with a curious “sniff sniff”. Her mood was brighter and more lively than when she was in Keyzen.
“Night walks are so much fun!”
Simon belatedly remembered the fact that she was a vampire.
“You must like the night?”
“Yes!”
She turned around with her hands behind her back and smiled brightly.
“The night feels cozy.”
‘…Does it?’
He didn’t quite relate, but since it could be a racial trait, he decided to respect it.
Kamibarez, now in a good mood, started chatting away.
“This is a little late, but thank you for helping me during Magical Combat class the other day.”
“Oh, when you were trying to climb on the hippo’s back?”
“Yes! I just couldn’t get on by myself. I was flustered, looking around… and everyone just turned their heads away, pretending not to see. I know it was a competitive class, but still, only you, Simon, reached out to help me.”
“I just did what anyone would do.”
She looked at Simon with intent in her eyes.
“Doing what ‘anyone would do’, that’s the amazing part!”
“…Is… is that so?”
While they were talking, they had already gotten close to their destination.
For Simon, who used to run across the rugged Leshill mountain range several times a day, this forest path was nothing. Once he walked a route, he remembered it for a long time.
“There it is.”
Simon pointed. Mushrooms were growing abundantly under the oak tree.
“Ah, they really are Lehark mushrooms! There are so many!”
“We don’t know how much we’ll need, so let’s just gather them all.”
“Okay!”
Simon took out an empty box, and the two of them picked mushrooms and carefully placed them inside.
It only took a few minutes to fill the box. Simon closed the lid and safely stored it in subspace.
“That ended faster than I expected.”
“Yeah.”
They had way too much time left before Dick would return. The two decided to head back to Keyzen first and regroup with Maelyn.
“Oh! Come to think of it, Simon, what made you come to Keyzen in the first place?”
“Hmm.”
After thinking for a moment, Simon answered.
“Well, the initial reason was because my parents sent me.”
“Ah, that’s how it usually is.”
“But as I kept attending school, I started to form my own thoughts and goals.”
He had been exposed to Summonology at school, and for the first time, wanted to become a necromancer.
Then, he discovered his father’s secret, and entered a contract with his father’s undead, the Legion. He even made close friends.
“Then what about you, Kami—”
That’s when Simon’s sentence was cut off. He extended his arm and stopped Kamibarez, who had been walking beside him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hide!”
Simon grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind a tree.
In the distance, the light of lanterns lit up the darkness of the forest. At the same time, the hurried footsteps of multiple people could be heard.
“Ah…!”
Kamibarez’s face went pale.
“They’re Keyzen’s wardens…!”
“Wardens?”
“Yes, they’re the ones in charge of patrol and security around Keyzen! They manage the forest and hunt monsters to control the population. If we get caught by them…!”
She gulped.
“Even if it’s the student protection period… we won’t get away unscathed.”
Woof! Woof!
Even hunting dogs could be seen. They sniffed the ground with their noses pressed to the earth. As the light drew closer, people with bows slung over their backs came into view.
Simon furrowed his brow.
‘That’s odd.’
The timing was too perfect. Just shortly after they entered the Forbidden Forest, a large-scale search by the wardens had begun.
And Dick was supposed to know the guards’ schedule down to the detail, using only the time gaps.
In other words, this wasn’t a routine patrol, it was a sudden deployment.
‘Well, I’ll think about that later.’
Right now, escaping from here was the priority.
When Simon turned his head, he saw Kamibarez, her face ghost-white, trembling. She was muttering “what do we do” repeatedly in a panicked voice.
“Kami. Look at me.”
Simon grabbed both her shoulders firmly and turned her toward him. Her eyes, wide with fear, met his.
“We can get out of here. Just trust me and follow. Keep your eyes on my back, and just run. You can do that, right?”
Biting her lip, she gave a small nod. Simon let go of her, then tapped the skull-shaped badge on his uniform.
‘Feer. Please respond.’
Moments later, a blue flame lit up in the eye socket of the skull.
[Hmm? Did you call me, boy!]
‘Things have gotten a little messy.’
Simon, his expression resolute as he stared at the approaching sea of lantern light, said to Feer,
‘It looks like it’s time for the Legion to move out.’
Superb.