The Undead Tutorial
Even if he was the protagonist, there was no way Theo could defeat that undead at the entrance ceremony, right when the game had just begun. This situation was basically a tutorial. If you commanded the gathered characters and held out for a few turns as instructed, an academy professor would show up and take care of the undead. It was only natural. There was no way a professor wouldn't be attending the entrance ceremony.
Now that it had become reality, I had no idea where they were or what they were doing that they still hadn't shown up, but it was certain that if we held out just a little longer, help would arrive. Knowing that fact was why I could stay so calm... or at least, that's what I told myself.
"What the hell? Are we doing this twice this year?"
"This one looks way more real than the last one!"
What was wrong with these guys? Their reactions were a textbook example of safety complacency. Everyone was just standing around in confusion, watching the scene unfold. Not a single one of them made any move to prepare for the undead's attack.
"Ha! I don't know what's going on, but one wasn't enough—perfect timing! This body's sword shall..."
Boom!
A male student who had confidently stepped forward was struck by a foreleg and slammed into the wall. The power was completely different from the earlier shockwaves that had just sent people rolling. This time, it was a real undead.
Feeling the air tremble with that overwhelming force, the freshmen finally began to react. After all, no matter what, they all had the skills to pass the academy entrance exam.
"Wait. Doesn't that feel off?"
"Can illusion magic even do something like this?"
"I think I can smell something..."
The atmosphere shifted rapidly. A few quick-witted students were already standing up and backing away. But most were still uncertain.
The undead beast was nothing like the fake one. It didn't wait for the freshmen to get ready—it charged straight at them.
"Watch out!"
I shoved a female student who was in its path out of the way. The razor-sharp claws, split halfway down, grazed her back and sliced through the empty air. I'd pushed her with my foot in a hurry, but since I'd saved her, I hoped she'd forgive that much.
......
Maybe it didn't like that I'd saved the girl. The undead beast's gaze turned toward me. My body trembled like a rabbit standing before a wolf. The pressure was on a completely different level from the goblins and orcs I'd used as practice partners for the past two weeks since possessing this body.
Just hold out a little longer. Just hold out a little longer...
I repeated it like a mantra in my head and steadied my shaking stance. Right foot. Duck my head to dodge. Left foot. Roll across the floor to evade. A snapping bite. I didn't stop the momentum of my roll and leaped clear with a jump. A precarious tightrope walk continued.
It was around the time I was starting to feel overwhelmed.
"We can't leave everything to one person! Anyone with the guts to fight, attack!"
Finally, supporting attacks started coming in. Swords, arrows, flames, ice. A variety of attacks poured onto the undead beast's body. It was enough force to make even a pain-immune undead stagger.
Among them, the most effective was the faintly glowing orb of light. It was Holy Missile, the basic offensive spell of divine magic. The fact that holy power was especially effective against the undead hadn't changed in this game either.
The undead beast had only staggered at the other attacks, but it reacted to the Holy Missile as if it were in genuine agony.
"Luna! Are you okay?"
While the undead beast's aggro had shifted elsewhere, Theo approached and handed me a potion. It wasn't a particularly high-quality one, but as I drank it, I could feel my stamina—which had been on the verge of bottoming out—slowly recovering.
"Weren't you the one who ran away?"
"I was going to run! If you hadn't stayed behind!"
Oh... this guy. He actually has a sense of loyalty? No matter how pathetic our first meeting was, the protagonist is still the protagonist, I guess. It felt like he at least had the basics of being a decent person.
"Ugh. I've recovered a bit, so time to go rolling again."
Right now, other freshmen were facing the undead beast in my place. But none of them were dodging its attacks as cleanly as I had. They'd dodge once or twice before getting hit and sent flying, or try to block clumsily and get slammed into the wall along with their weapons.
Luckily, the injuries were still only at the level of fractures, but if things continued like this a little longer, there might be casualties.
"It's fine."
Just before I could dash back in front of the undead beast, Theo grabbed me.
"What's fine? The kids can't even dodge that properly!"
"I said it's fine."
While Theo and I were arguing, one of the freshmen fell into danger. He somehow raised his sword to block the claws, but we'd already seen from the fight so far that something like that couldn't stop the attack. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the pain to come.
But before the undead beast's swinging claws could reach his body—
Kwaaaang!
A figure that smashed through the ceiling and fell from above crushed the undead beast. Crunch. The undead beast, which had taken all the freshmen’s attacks without any real damage, was destroyed in a single blow. Its spine shattered on impact, and the mace that followed crushed its head completely.
Only after all the action was over could I belatedly recall the scene I'd witnessed. The unbelievable sight made the earlier chaos feel like a lie, and silence fell over the ruined entrance ceremony hall.
"Huu..."
The figure who had broken through the ceiling of the entrance hall let out a small sigh and brushed the undead beast's remains off her mace. Her uniform, which must have originally been neat, was already dirty with similar residue from what looked like several prior battles. Yet no one thought her appearance was filthy. Instead, it felt like proof of a true powerhouse.
"...Sorry I'm late. Is anyone hurt?"
Thud.
Only then did one freshman, finally realizing the situation was truly over, collapse onto his rear. The sudden release of tension had drained the strength from his legs. I also leaned my exhausted body against a chair. It was a relief that some chairs had remained intact despite all the chaos.
"See? I told you it was fine. I saw the professor coming."
"...You should've said that first."
I lightly jabbed Theo in the side with my elbow. There was no strength behind it because I was so exhausted. Still, Theo took the hint and pretended to be hurt, twisting his body. He sure is quick on the uptake in situations like this.
Now that it was over, the fatigue I'd forgotten came rushing in all at once. In the game, it had been enough to just follow instructions, attack, use skills, and pop items. But in reality, just dodging the undead beast's attacks was a struggle, let alone attacking myself.
The web novel protagonists could handle real-time combat in reality just fine with nothing but memories of playing 2D games. Why couldn't I do that?
Well. There's no point in wishing for what I don't have. I'll just do my best in my own way.
I cleanly let go of my lingering regrets and closed my eyes.
"I'm wiped out. I'm gonna take a quick nap, so wake me up once things are sorted."
"...Luna? Why are you suddenly saying such ominous things? Luna. Luna?"
Theo’s voice, speaking right beside me, grew distant in an instant. How rude. Who’s being ominous? I’m the lucky white rabbit, you know. Just a quick nap and then…
.........
That day, the academy leadership was thrown into complete chaos. The originally planned entrance ceremony was canceled. They rushed through a simplified version and sent everyone home quickly. An emergency meeting was convened immediately.
"How dare they do this here! We must wipe out those black mages at once!"
"Do you even know where those bastards are hiding? More importantly, we need to make sure this never happens again. Increase security and introduce new protective magic..."
"Various families have expressed dissatisfaction toward the academy. Several high-ranking houses are involved, so we need to respond quickly."
It wasn't the first time in the academy's long history that it had been attacked. But those incidents had happened at least two or three generations ago. The professors who had only read about such events in history books were greatly shaken.
"The headmistress is here!"
When the discussion was dragging on without any conclusions, the academy's headmistress finally arrived. The conference room fell silent in an instant. All eyes focused on the opening door.
The person who entered under the professors' gazes was a small-bodied girl. Her youthful face looked like she'd only just become an adult. Yet no one who knew her identity would dare judge her by appearance alone. She was a half-dragon, after all. Her strength was such that even if all the professors gathered here attacked her at once, they wouldn't be able to defeat her.
"Hey. Sorry I'm late. I got a call from the imperial palace. Seriously, it's not like this is the first time the academy's been attacked. Why are you all barking like startled chicks?"
"This is the first time for most of us..."
"What?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
And, fitting for a long-lived half-dragon, she had held the position of headmistress for over a hundred years—which made her the only person in the room who had experienced a previous attack.
Thud. Once seated, she immediately began organizing the situation.
"Alright, let's summarize. Undead appeared across the entire academy during the entrance ceremony. The professors who were waiting for the ceremony scattered to deal with the undead, and one of them slipped through the gap to invade the ceremony hall. Correct?"
"Yes, Headmistress. That's correct."
"...Haa. What a pain. I thought those guys had gone quiet for a while."
The headmistress scratched the side of her horn with a fingernail, swallowing her rising anger. Her attitude was casual, but that was only to show composure as the one at the top. In reality, she was the angriest of all. Dragons were creatures with strong territorial instincts, after all.
"We'll divide the roles. Is the head of the administrative department here?"
"Yes. Right here."
"Good. You will first..."
The headmistress skillfully distributed the tasks. The mountain of piled-up work was divided up and lightened in an instant. After assigning everyone their duties and literally kicking them out to solve them quickly, she finally calmly examined the reports stacked on her desk.
Her eyes, which had been scanning the hastily written reports, stopped at one point.
"Oh? A freshman held off that undead?"
From another report, she read the analysis of the undead that had appeared this time. It was merely an annoyance to the professors, but it was a dangerous opponent for freshmen who had just enrolled.
"This year's freshmen might be worth looking forward to."
Amid a day full of irritating matters, this welcome piece of information she'd heard in a while eased some of her annoyance. However, there were still plenty of reports left to read.
That day, not a single professor was able to leave work.