Chapter 530
Kiiiiiiing!
Simon was riding the golem board, kicking up a trail of dust behind him.
The Ramacan Cliff Zone.
Commonly called the “Sand Road”, it was a vital passage for the vast trading hub. But because the population of native monsters, the Ratchets, had exploded, massive casualties occurred here every year.
The local lord had long since given up on exterminating the Ratchets, and merchants now detoured elsewhere at great cost in both money and time.
Recently, the starving Ratchets had even started ambushing large merchant caravans, making the region’s toll of damage unceasing.
—Securing ghouls while eliminating monsters, that’s killing two birds with one stone! Helping people against monsters is the duty of an elite necromancer!
Professor Grerion’s voice echoed in Simon’s mind.
—Thanks to the efforts and spilled blood of your predecessors, the image of necromancers has improved across the entire Dark Alliance in modern times. Our profession is now deeply integrated into daily life, allowing this infrastructure to exist! Continue with gratitude, and follow in their footsteps!
Clack.
Simon drew his bow. A Ratchet was running in the distance.
Its whole body was covered in shaggy brown fur, ears sharp and pointed. On four legs, it resembled a goblin.
‘Avoid damaging the muscles as much as possible.’
Simon nocked an arrow.
‘Aim for the neck. End it in one shot.’
Fwoosh!
The arrow whistled through the air but struck the Ratchet’s thigh instead. The monster screeched in pain, spotted Simon, and charged.
“Ah, damn it.”
Seeing the limping leg, Simon muttered regretfully while pulling another arrow.
This one struck true, piercing the neck. The beast collapsed shortly after.
Shhhh—
The Golem Board slid up to the fallen Ratchet. Simon leapt down to inspect the corpse.
“This won’t pass.”
Unfortunately, the critical thigh muscle had been pierced. The muscle was stiffening fast. If he tried turning it into a ghoul, its mobility would drop—at worst, it’d end up a limping ghoul.
Far below Grerion’s standards.
Simon abandoned it without hesitation and hopped back on the Golem Board.
“Catching nine of these things like this… tough.”
He hadn’t secured even one usable Ratchet yet.
The rule was Pass or Fail.
Failure here meant not only the practical ghoul-making exam, but also being barred from attending the next Summon Funerology class.
‘At least…’
The fact that Ratchets were near suggested a nest was close.
Simon scanned carefully from his Golem Board until finally—
There it was.
A small breathing hole in the sandy floor. It looked narrow, but Ratchets’ flexible, springlike bodies could move freely through it.
‘So this is a Ratchet den.’
Simon jumped off and swept his hand through the air.
<Summon Golem>
Shhhhhh—
The dirt and sand around the Golem Board gathered, reshaping into a hulking body. A towering Golem rose up.
“Widen the entrance!”
At his command, the Golem raised its heavy fists and slammed them down.
Thoom!
Thoom!
The ground trembled as though it would collapse. Simon retreated to a safe distance as the Golem clasped both fists together and struck the hole with full force.
Boom!!
The earth caved in, enlarging the entrance. From within came startled shrieks: Kigigig! Kiiik!
Simon recalled the Golem’s Core, then dropped into the hole without hesitation.
Tap.
Landing on the floor, he straightened up. Pairs of glowing eyes gleamed in the darkness. Ratchets lowered their bodies, baring their fangs with snarls.
‘Found it.’
Bones of humans littered the den, along with shredded cloth and tattered bags.
—Kyaaaaa!
One Ratchet leapt. Simon reflexively clenched his fist, gathering Darkness—then caught himself with a guilty look.
‘Almost forgot and killed it outright!’
Whoosh!
The Ratchet vaulted past him and landed on the wall. Simon steadied himself and opened subspace.
“Come out!”
Eight skeletons leapt forth. At his gesture, they scattered, then disassembled into bones.
<Bone Prison>
Simon thrust out his arm, sending bones flying like arrows. They impaled nearby Ratchets, pinning them to the walls.
—Keeeek!
The walls shook as the Ratchets struggled.
‘As expected from a Danger Level 3 monster. Stronger than I thought.’
Simon flicked his finger like a conductor. The arms of the skeletons linked together through the Bone Prison, until finally, even the bone-hand wielding a sword was attached.
With one clean stroke, the Ratchet’s neck was severed.
—Keeek!
From the other side, more rushed in. Simon spun, bones shooting out to slam them against the wall.
Then he clasped his arms together.
Clatter. Shhk.
Fallen hand bones picked up weapons and floated. Simon spread his arms like wings—a signal.
They charged.
Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!
The pinned Ratchets were skewered clean through the necks.
‘That makes four secured… ah!’
Suddenly, heavy footsteps thundered. Nearly ten more Ratchets burst into the den.
In such a confined space, that many Rank 3 monsters was perilous.
“Can’t catch them all uninjured. Four will do for now.”
For safety, Simon equipped Bone Armor. As the swarm closed in, he commanded:
“Open Gate.”
Shhhhhhh!
Shhhhh!
Serpent-like blades lashed out, whirling around Simon, cutting down Ratchets. Blood geysered in every direction.
Meanwhile.
* * *
All students of the Summonology Department were scattered across the cliffs, each capturing Ratchets in their own unique way.
Rank 5 student Aseraz stood with arms folded, staring down a breathing hole.
“Perfect.”
She pulled out gas potions she had mixed during Toxicology, tossing several into the hole. Acrid fumes rose, followed by Ratchets’ agonized shrieks.
“In the end, all that matters is preserving the muscles, right?”
She sealed the hole shut with black magic, burying it in sand.
Not far away lay another breathing hole. There, her Skeleton Knights clad in dazzling silver armor waited in formation.
—Keeee!
—Krrrk!
Finally, Ratchets, unable to withstand the fumes, scrambled out of the hole in panic.
“Don’t let a single one escape. Catch them all.”
She spoke.
The Ratchets that leapt out were immediately seized by the Skeleton Knights and slammed onto the ground. Some knights cast nets, while others cleanly beheaded the monsters—roles divided with masterful precision.
Aseraz cleared her mission with ease.
Fwooooshhh!
Meanwhile, while most students were still searching for breathing holes, high up on the cliffs—
A black dragon soared through the skies, unleashing torrents of fire breath.
It’s common sense that cliff-dwellers have more developed shoulders than those that burrow underground.
Rank 3 student Hector had transformed into a dragon. His fire breath incinerated most of the Ratchets below.
—Kyaaaak!
[I have no use for weaklings! Only the ones who survive will I take as ghouls!]
Having discovered a massive Ratchet settlement on a hillside, Hector was also close to clearing the test.
As the black dragon raged through the skies, burning away the cliffs, a female student sat on the ground below, lazily watching with a yawn.
“So full of energy in this heat, department rep~”
She not only set up a chair but also opened a parasol to shield herself from the sun. Behind her, a male student fanned her diligently with a broad leaf.
“Really, thank you sooo much, everyone~ You didn’t have to do this for me.”
She giggled with a coy, playful voice. In front of her, other students—feathers stuck in their uniforms—dragged over the Ratchets they’d caught and presented them with goofy, lovestruck smiles.
“Before she shows up, I’ll take just one per person, alright?”
Serne Eindark was quietly taking Ratchets from the others, steadily advancing toward her own clear.
And then—another student.
“Haa… haa…”
Inside a Ratchet den.
Loraine stood with two Skeleton Knights, a dagger gripped in her hand.
Countless Ratchet corpses lay scattered around her, and in front of her stood a massive boss-class Ratchet, eyes gleaming with feral intensity.
‘I never imagined this…’
She wiped the sweat dripping down her forehead and fixed her gaze ahead.
‘That I’d one day be cornered by Ratchets.’
The lesson cut deep.
How weak she was, with her abilities sealed.
How arrogant she had been.
What business did she have talking about school administration, or about becoming the next Keyzen Chancellor?
Everything she had done while pandering to the adults’ expectations now seemed shameful.
‘Let’s start again, step by step.’
Whip—!
Adjusting her dagger with practiced ease, she lowered her stance and glared at the massive Ratchet growling before her.
‘Like that creature. Doing what I can right here, right now!’
* * *
“Ugh, exhausting.”
Simon emerged safely from a Ratchet burrow.
During the fight, the weakened ground had collapsed, nearly burying him alive. Spitting out sand, he staggered to his feet.
He opened subspace to check his harvest: the 4 Ratchets secured earlier, plus 2 more just now. Six total.
But Grerion’s condition was at least nine.
‘I’ll need to find one more den.’
About one hour remained.
Simon pulled out one Ratchet corpse from subspace and retrieved a corpse-cutting kit he’d bought in Rochest.
Then, just like Grerion had demonstrated earlier, he began processing quickly.
‘One of the most important features of a Ratchet ghoul…’
Its keen sense of smell.
A Ratchet ghoul could detect objects buried under sand or soil with uncanny accuracy. Searching this vast area by hand was a gamble. Simon decided to create one ghoul on the spot.
He removed the entrails, sprinkled reagents to relieve stiffness, adjusted the muscles and bones.
All things he had just learned today, and though his gestures were clumsy, the memory was vivid. He managed to follow through.
‘This should be enough.’
At last, he carved a summoning magic circle into the skull. Linking skull and body, Simon stepped back, breathing deeply, and invoked black magic.
<Summon Ghoul>
Clank!
The dead monster’s head snapped up.
Darkness spread from the circle through its body, animating it with jerky, grotesque movements.
It thrashed like a fish out of water, then straightened its back, balancing shakily on all fours.
“Yes!”
Simon had succeeded in summoning his first ghoul.
But its eyes glared at him unnaturally. Suddenly, it bared its teeth and charged.
All undead, at the moment of creation, still carry the instincts of a wild beast, rebellion before total submission to their necromancer.
Some attack their master, others lash out at nearby life. With ghouls, it was usually the latter.
This one lunged at Simon with jaws wide—
Thud!
—but Simon was faster, bolstered by Darkness. He grabbed the ghoul’s head mid-leap and slammed it into the ground.
Boom!
The ghoul writhed violently in his grip, snarling and straining to break free. Simon’s eyes flashed.
[Stop.]
The Absolute Order took hold. The ghoul went limp like a puppet with cut strings.
Even in life, Ratchets lived in groups and submitted to stronger leaders. That instinct remained.
Only after it was fully subdued did Simon release it.
“Stand.”
At his command, the ghoul rose. Panting on all fours, it looked almost like a dog.
“Good.”
When Simon held out his hand, it whined softly and rubbed its head against him like a puppy.
“Sorry to work you right after summoning, but I need you to find something.”
The ghoul howled at the sky like a wolf, then darted forward, signaling for him to follow.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters