Chapter 36
“…”
Nigel was speechless as he stared blankly at the scene before him.
The Death Knight.
And not just any Death Knight—one with its own mount.
According to legends passed down in the dark magic community, a mounted Death Knight served as a commander among ordinary Death Knights.
Nigel was certain that the Death Knight wreathed in green flames was even more extraordinary.
Its appearance alone was different.
It wasn’t just a regular horse but one engulfed in vivid green flames.
And the knight riding it was significantly larger than a typical Death Knight.
As Nigel watched with anticipation, his excitement grew when the horse began to walk through the air.
He hadn’t expected it to be capable of flight.
The Death Knight, emanating an overwhelming presence as it scattered green flames midair, was a sight to behold.
Nigel lamented that he couldn’t witness such a magnificent display in person.
And when the Death Knight wrapped its lance in the green flames of its mount, Nigel couldn’t help but laugh to himself.
This was far beyond his imagination.
Watching the Death Knight wield a weapon wreathed in green flames in the sky, Nigel thought that all the sacrifices made to summon it were completely worth it.
He thought everything was perfect—until it wasn’t.
“What is that guy…”
Nigel’s voice oozed with emptiness.
The moment the horse began walking in the air, Nigel had completely disregarded the existence of Ryu Yeong.
His sole focus was on the power of the Death Knight he had summoned.
But that didn’t last long.
Ryu Yeong, the commoner with black hair, doused Nigel’s euphoria with cold water.
No—he didn’t just douse it. He drenched it.
Crack! Smash! Thud!
Nigel couldn’t utter a word as he watched the Death Knight tumble to the ground, dismounted and rolling across the floor.
Nearby, the horse, now masterless, was wildly thrashing about. But Ryu paid it no mind and continued to stomp on the Death Knight.
It felt like déjà vu.
Nigel was certain he had seen this before.
Not long ago—just a few hours earlier.
“That lunatic…”
The Death Knight’s armor was shattered, and one of its arms was completely destroyed.
Although the core hadn’t been destroyed and it would eventually regenerate, the damage was severe regardless.
Crack! Smash!
Even so, Ryu continued to stomp relentlessly on the Death Knight.
And soon, the Death Knight stopped moving entirely.
The core hidden somewhere within its body had been destroyed.
“…Ha.”
Nigel let out a hollow sigh, tinged with faint anger.
And that faint anger rapidly grew into seething rage.
The moment Ryu confirmed the Death Knight was no longer moving and, shockingly, climbed onto the horse, Nigel’s rage boiled over.
“…Hahaha.”
It was a laugh drenched in fury.
Ryu’s actions were a spectacle.
He had jumped onto the fiercely thrashing, flame-wreathed skeletal horse as if it were his rightful seat.
Naturally, the horse didn’t stay still.
As soon as Ryu mounted it, the skeletal horse began to buck wildly, galloping in every direction.
It was so fast that only the green afterimages of flames were visible on the screen.
“You… you… YOUUU!!!”
Nigel was so enraged that he couldn’t even form coherent words.
He wanted nothing more than to teleport there immediately, tear Ryu apart limb by limb, and rip out his heart.
But he couldn’t.
The mana disruption barrier was effective against everyone, not just the Academy professors.
The only reason he could even summon the Undead was because of a pre-prepared magic circle.
And now Nigel had no Undead left capable of stopping Ryu.
Ryu, meanwhile, clung firmly to the reins as if attempting to tame the horse, holding on despite its violent thrashing.
For some reason, Ryu looked like he was having fun, which only fueled Nigel’s anger further.
“AAAAARGH!!!”
Crash!
Reaching his breaking point, Nigel finally let out a scream.
With his furious roar, several flasks behind him shattered.
Ryu, oblivious to Nigel’s situation, was still holding tightly to the reins.
How much time had passed?
The skeletal horse, which had been rampaging both in the air and on the ground, eventually slowed down, as if exhausted.
And then it became clear.
Ryu sat atop the skeletal horse, gripping the reins with a triumphant expression.
When Ryu tugged on the reins, the horse obediently plodded forward.
Could he have actually tamed it?
“That Undead horse…”
“What, what’s going on? Where did it go?”
Nigel glared at Ryu Yeong with furious eyes as he watched him lead the horse into a cave-like structure. But then he muttered to himself.
Ryu had clearly gone into the cave riding the horse, yet he emerged on foot.
The skeletal horse, which had radiated an overwhelming green aura, was nowhere to be seen.
It didn’t follow behind him either—it had simply vanished.
“…Ugh.”
Nigel suddenly clutched his forehead as a headache surged through him.
It seemed that the sequence of unbelievable events had overwhelmed his brain’s ability to process.
“Ahhh.”
Crack!
The orb clutched tightly in Nigel’s hand began to crack.
Having completely lost the last shreds of reason that had been keeping his anger in check, Nigel failed to control his strength.
Clink!
The orb shattered entirely, and the image projection cut off.
Even as shards of glass cut into his hand, Nigel didn’t react.
His eyes blazed with unbridled fury.
***
“Hehehehe.”
A satisfied laugh escaped my lips.
I had purposely entered a dark, shadowy cave and secretly tucked our Greenie into a subspace.
I was a bit worried that the action might have been caught on video, but it couldn’t be helped.
Greenie was worth the risk.
Not just for its appearance, but also for its practicality—being able to move through the air.
Even better, its green flames weren’t hot at all.
If anything, they were cool to the touch.
When I first climbed onto Greenie’s back, I braced myself for searing heat, but the unexpectedly cool sensation had caught me off guard.
“Whew, it’s been a while since something was this exhausting.”
I’d expended more energy taming Greenie than fighting the Death Knight.
It reinforced the fact that the essence of a mounted knight lies in the horse itself.
Although Greenie wasn’t completely tamed yet and would need further training, it was already a major gain.
“It’s a skeleton horse, so I can’t exactly bring it out just anywhere.”
I’d have to come up with ways to use it in future operations.
“Whew. It’s cold.”
Maybe it was because I’d spent so long on Greenie’s back, or perhaps because my clothes were torn to shreds from the horse’s wild thrashing and constant collisions with the cave walls.
For the first time, I noticed a chill creeping in.
I’d thought the tournament would finally end after the last test, but the warp magic circle was still unresponsive.
“Looks like I have to go back for the others.”
What a tiresome system in so many ways.
Thankfully, I’d seen the direction Elaine had led the others earlier.
I’d go fetch them now.
“With this, we’re guaranteed first place, right?”
On top of completing the quest objective, I’d secured the unexpected reward of Greenie.
It was a clean, satisfying conclusion overall.
Though, of course, it wasn’t completely over just yet.
“Elaine~”
Even though she wouldn’t hear me, I called her name as I slowly walked toward the cave.
“Ryu, Mr. Ryu!”
“Huh? Did… did she actually hear me?”
I hadn’t expected anyone to be nearby when I called her name, but Elaine suddenly appeared.
She was with Cynthia, Emily, and a blond man I didn’t recognize.
“…Where’s the Death Knight?”
“Oh, uh, somewhere around here.”
“That’s… Professor.”
“Professor? Oh! Does that mean it’s finally over? We’re first place, right?”
“Didn’t you say another Death Knight appeared?”
“Yes, that’s right. A mounted Death Knight appeared, and we fled from it…”
“Oh, that’s over there. The horse ran off.”
“…What?”
The blond professor raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze toward the Death Knight’s corpse I’d pointed out behind me.
It had taken longer than the previous Death Knight, but I’d stomped it to death all the same.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that stomping it wasn’t a required condition, but somehow, it had worked.
“Those things are way too strong, though. How do you professors even calculate the students’ levels? Seriously.”
“…”
“The kids almost got hurt, you know? I’m sure you had safety measures in place, but look at that thing. Wow, look at how sharp that lance is.”
The blond-haired professor ignored my words and walked past me toward the Death Knight’s corpse.
His expression seemed grave, as if he finally recognized the seriousness of the situation.
Well, at least that was a relief.
With this much effort, first place was practically guaranteed.
“Are… are you all right? What about that Undead from earlier?”
“Oh, it was nothing special. It fell off its horse on its own and gave me an opening.”
I answered Elaine Sinclair’s question casually.
Once the skeletal knight fell off its horse, it really wasn’t much of a threat.
Following the same pattern from earlier, the skeletal knight couldn’t withstand my attacks.
The fight had only taken longer because I had to hold back my strength.
Hiding my full power was no easy task.
“You defeated this… on your own?”
“Yes, yes. The horse you made ran away! I’m sure you worked hard on it, but unfortunately…”
“The horse…?”
“Yes. That guy was riding a horse. Come on, no need to play dumb now. The test is over.”
“…The Academy never prepared a monster like this.”
“…Huh?”
“The same goes for the ghouls from earlier.”
The blond professor crouched down to examine the Death Knight’s corpse from various angles, then stood back up.
I still couldn’t fully understand what he meant.
If this was an event hosted by the Academy, but the Academy hadn’t prepared these monsters, then who had?
“Then…?”
“There was external interference. That’s the reason I came all the way here myself.”
“That’s what it was…?”
Now it made sense why the test seemed ridiculously difficult for students.
“When the ghouls first appeared, the tournament was effectively suspended. Honestly, entering the Dungeon after encountering those creatures was reckless.”
“…”
“I heard you led the group, Ryu.”
“Well… that’s true, but…”
The professor’s tone felt accusatory, but something else was more concerning.
“You’re saying the tournament was suspended?”
If the match had been stopped midway, that meant there wouldn’t be a winner or loser.
“Of course. This isn’t a normal situation.”
“…”
I was at a loss for words.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment