The Graduation Ceremony Was Brutal

Fifth floor of the university administration building.

Inside the grand auditorium, hundreds of students and faculty sat listening to the dean's commencement address.

It might have passed for an ordinary day at any university — except that every last one of them was undead, which rather spoiled the wholesome campus atmosphere.

"Even after you graduate, always remember this. Any living creature that still has flesh attached must have its bones and meat separated. Guiding them away from the sin known as skin — that is the exemplary code of conduct we intelligent undead must uphold."

The content of the dean's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠speech, needless to say, was several million light-years removed from anything resembling a normal commencement address.

"Carve a single phrase into your hearts. Leave every living creature nothing but bone!"

"Leave every living creature... nothing but bone!"

"Leave every living creature nothing but bone! Hell yeah!"

A portion of the undead student body echoed the dean's words, steeling their resolve.

But every argument has its opposition.

BOOM!

The auditorium doors slammed open with brutal force — as if someone had kicked them in.

In an instant, every gaze in the vast hall snapped toward the sound.

Four figures stood in the doorway. Four living human women, flesh still clinging to their bones — utterly out of place in this nest of the undead.

"S-shut the hell up!"

Among them, the woman gripping a drawn bow shouted at the top of her lungs. Her voice ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trembled considerably. Short brown hair whipped around her face as she took in the grand hall and the podium with eyes where fear and resolve warred for dominance.

Her name was Han Sora — a survivor of the Archer class.

My women— ah, no! The four women charged boldly into an auditorium packed with nearly a hundred undead skeletons, even showing off the cool factor of kicking the front doors wide open.

"W-we've come to... to pass judgment on you who t-take lives and torment others! I-I am... n-no... we are...!"

"Just skip the nonsense and start shooting already, unnie. Nobody cares that you watched old dramas."

"Sh-shut up! Haaah!"

Having failed spectacularly at delivering a cool one-liner, Han Sora loosed an arrow with a mortified look on her face.

Multishot. And not the basic version — she'd leveled the skill so it fired twice in rapid succession, and she activated it without hesitation.

Several skeletons who'd been staring blankly at the intruders took damage on the spot.

"Gyaaah!"

"Kyaaaaah!"

"H-help!"

"That thing just shot an arrow at a person!"

Person, my ass. All four women shared the same thought and moved as one.

"Die again, you bastards!"

Park Seeun surged forward from the front line, charging bravely into the skeletons. Right in their faces, she slammed her foot into the floor with tremendous force.

BOOM!

Ground Slam. Multiple skeletons — whether sitting or standing — caught the full effect of the skill. Those in their seats toppled forward in a heap; those on their feet dropped straight onto their bony asses.

"Uwaaagh!"

"A-an earthquake!"

"Idiot, that bare-skinned woman did it!"

"H-how dare she...!"

The unaffected skeletons began catching on and tried to close in on the party.

This time, a mature woman in glasses stepped forward, resolve hardening in her eyes as she prepared to unleash the power she'd been holding in reserve.

"Deploying Sacred Ground!"

"Yes, unnie!"

VWOOOOM!

Centered on Kim Seyeon, the Cleric's holy magic — Sacred Ground — bloomed to life.

In the open field, the spell degraded zombies' and skeletons' perception and turned a designated area into a miniature purified zone. The base radius was about ten meters, though both range and density could be adjusted.

And inside a dungeon, this skill—

"U-ugh! I don't want to go near that! If I get any closer I'll get purified!"

"What are you talking about? It's nothing! Your body just gets a little heavier, that's all!"

"Then you go first!"

"I-I'll go after you go!"

—made the skeletons hesitate hard about approaching the party at all.

Originally a perception-debuff skill, it clearly inflicted stat reductions and other side effects on the undead as well.

One more crucial feature of Sacred Ground: anyone inside the zone could still attack outward freely.

"Well then — are you ready to burn until nothing remains but ash, dear undead ladies and gentlemen?"

Yun Mina exploited that terrain advantage to perfection.

Baptism of Flame. Tongues of fire split off in multiple directions and slammed into the undead ranks.

In seconds, the blaze was spreading.

"Uwaaagh!"

"F-fire!"

"Ow, hot!"

Those hit by the destructive flames took serious damage; others cried out in agony as the fire leapt from bone to bone.

By sheer numbers — hundreds of skeletons — the undead should have held every advantage. But two ranged DPS dealers, a melee fighter who threw herself into the fray without fear of death, and a Cleric's devastating anti-undead holy magic made closing the distance all but impossible.

"Order! Order! Ordeeeeer!"

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Someone had been watching the chaos unfold without intervening — until now.

In the middle of the pandemonium, countless skeleton eyes and four human gazes snapped toward the source. Before the podium, a figure was slamming a staff against the floor.

A skeleton in archaic formal robes, something like regret etched into the hollows of its skull.

The dean of this university. The final boss of the dungeon known as the Old Sanctuary of Education.

Eyes burning with fury, the dean poured his voice into the podium microphone.

"You flesh-bearing life-forms over there. Do not leave any further disgrace upon this moment! If you surrender now and offer your bodies to our freshmen and students, I shall specially strip the meat from your bones without pain and make you into pure skeletal bei—"

FWOOSH!

Ting!

No living human was going to sit still for a proposal that insane. Han Sora, in particular, had approximately zero interest in entertaining it.

She loosed an arrow straight at the dean's skull without a second thought. Of course, the dean swept his staff with impossible speed and swatted it aside.

"Y-you blasphemous flesh-laden creatures... Fine. My patience ends here. I have watched you mercilessly slaughter the teaching assistants, the vocal music professor — even the military training officer!"

What? He was watching all of that?

I— no, no! The four human women swallowed hard at those words. Just how sharp were his senses... no, how powerful did you have to be to observe all of that? So this was what a final boss looked like?

"Any who further desecrate the Sanctuary of Education... especially living creatures... shall receive none of my mercy! I will not let this stand! Department chairs, assemble!"

The moment the alert appeared, the four women instinctively closed ranks.

At last... the moment had arrived.

The moment for me to drop Stealth and put a knife in his back.

Right before entering the auditorium, I'd activated Stealth, cracked the door open just a sliver, and slipped inside first.

Stealth at S+ rank was absurdly powerful. Not a single one of the hundreds of skeletons detected me...

"Hm? Did something just pass by?"

"What are you talking about... wait. There's a weird smell. Is that... human scent...?"

The second I heard that muttering, I shot a quick signal behind me. One of Stealth's features: your own party members can still see a stealthed ally.

BANG! Crash!

"S-shut the hell up!"

Han Sora kicked the doors open on my signal, and my women stormed into the auditorium to draw every scrap of aggro.

In a heartbeat, hundreds of skeleton eyes — and the dean's — locked onto the four of them. I weaved carefully yet swiftly between the undead, climbed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠onto the stage, and took my position.

The perfect spot for a backstab. Nowhere else — directly behind the dean.

Every contingency is covered.

In case the bastard shouted something like "Not so fast!" and counterattacked, I'd already cast Kim Seyeon's Sacred Armor on myself along with my own spell, Mage Armor.

So even if the backstab failed, my plan was to bull-rush him head-on and dump every last spell I had on top of Gale Strike.

And that plan... was one breath away from becoming reality.

"L-look at that!"

"Th-those people... no, those undead — what are they?"

A dozen or so skeletons gathered around the dean. Their attire — suits and finer robes — marked them as faculty rather than students. Professors, specifically.

"Chair of Geology, attack!"

"Yes, Dean! You blasphemous life-forms. You dare shake the earth to torment my students? I'll show you what it truly means to make the ground tremble!"

The one addressed as Chair of Geology leapt down from the stage. Then he slammed both arms hard into the floor. Crack.

RRRRRUMBLE...!

And then the earthquake hit. This was on a completely different level from the Ground Slam Park Seeun had used moments earlier — the entire building was shaking.

"K-kyaaaaah!"

"Th-this is an insane quake!"

"E-everyone! Get together! Hold on tight! Don't leave the Sacred Ground!"

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!

Fissures split the floor as the quake hammered the entire grand auditorium. The entire auditorium — not just our party.

"U-uwaaagh!"

"Professor! Would it kill you to narrow the area of effect?!"

"We're all gonna die at this rate!"

The earthquake made no distinction between friend and foe. The skeletons clustered around the seating sections were screaming complaints — that said everything. Even the stage itself was rocking hard enough to make everyone stagger. Tremendous power, but zero ally discrimination. Perfect. This worked in our favor!

"Ahem. That will be quite enough, Chair of Geology! Chair of Nursing, tend to the studen—"

The instant the dean started calling for another department chair, I moved.

This was the opening.

The geology chair — or whatever he was — had shaken the ground, leaving everyone stumbling and reeling. Total chaos. The absolute optimal window for an assassination.

Besides... we'd already confirmed this was a boss fight. I'd just witnessed the power of Dean Lim Daehyeok's skill, Faculty Meeting Summons, firsthand.

So—

SHUNK!

"I'll heal y— Guhhk!"

"Ah?!"

"Deeeean?!"

Backstab could land. And it did.

My Rogue class level was 12. Backstab's damage multiplier was a full four times.

In a single strike, I'd carved out six bars of his HP.

But here's the thing... I was currently wearing the Officer's Boots I'd looted off that military training officer bastard.

Meaning I could chain a follow-up attack immediately!

I ripped the iron sword free from the Backstab (uncomfortable as hell — this is why daggers are better!), and swung it in one fluid motion. Under the skill's effect, a single swing carried the force of two impossible strikes.

Slash. Slash!

"GRAAAAAAAGH!"

Both hits landed clean on his completely exposed back.

No no no no!?

Shit! That's all it dropped?! So this is what a final boss is made of? How the hell is that flimsy-looking robe so damn tough?!

"Y-you blasphemous ones... Fine. Department chairs — stand clear!"

Huh? He's telling his own subordinates to back off? What's he about to—

"E-eeeeek!"

"Th-that's it!"

"Everyone run!"

They actually all ran?

He's casting what...? A mountain? Climbing? Is he going hiking? This is flat ground, what mountain is he supposed to—

KUUUUGOOOONG!

He meant he'd make a mountain and climb it!?

Between the stage and the vast seating area where the students sat, the ground suddenly surged upward. Naturally, the dean stood at the peak. With tremendous tremors, the mountain kept rising, and rising, and rising.

Okay, stop rising. You're going to punch through the ceiling!

Fortunately — or unfortunately — it stopped just short of the roof. Not that tall, actually. But what kind of ridiculous skill was this?

"Come on up, then... if you can!"

Ah. I get it. We climb up there, and while we're climbing, the final boss rains down magic or rolling boulders or whatever else to stop us. Classic. You could see it coming a mile away.

And he'd actually made a proper mountain — rocks, trees, the whole deal. Was this some kind of nod to hiking being a hobby for distinguished gentlemen, or what?

But then again...

"O lightning—"

Did I really need to bother climbing? The department chairs had all scattered, so there was no one left to interrupt my casting.

"—strike down upon my enemy's head!"

KRRAAAAKOOOM!

The moment to use the lightning spell I'd been saving had finally arrived!

"Huh? Why is there a storm cloud behind m—"

CRACKLE-ZZZAP!

"GIIIYAAAAAAAAAGH!!!"

Hahaha! High ground makes you way more vulnerable to lightning. Thanks for playing human lightning rod — wait, skeleton lightning rod!

No, no — I couldn't let up the assault here.

I climbed a short ways up the mountain, then quickly began casting.

"O arrow laden with flame..."

I had to hit him with more damage using the next spell. No — I had to finish him with this one shot!

"N-not a chance!"

Damn it, I was still mid-cast! The dean raised his staff and aimed it at me. Ugh — rocks... no, actual boulders were rolling straight at me!

RRRRRUMBLE!

"Not a chance!"

Someone's voice — Yun Mina's, specifically — rang out.

And from the side, something streaked toward the oncoming boulder. One of Yun Mina's spells: Ice Fang.

CRACK!

KUUUGOOOONG!

It didn't shatter the boulder, but it succeeded in changing its course. The massive rock rolled past right beside me and smashed into the wall with a thunderous crash.

Yun Mina — she had her own skin to worry about! I owed her big for that!

"—fly forth to my enemy and burn their body to ash!"

The cast completed. The flame arrow that materialized before my eyes shot straight at Dean Lim Daehyeok's skull.

"Th-this can't b— Guhhk!?"

Still reeling from his failed counterattack, the dean took the flame arrow dead-on with zero defense.

Yes. With this, it's ov—

It's not?! Still not dead!?

Fuck! This final boss bullshit is next-level brain-dead! How is he this tenacious?! Just die already and drop the loot!

Goddammit, I'm completely out of offensive magic... this is a real gamble now!

I aimed my hand at the dean and prepared a spell I really hadn't wanted to use.

"Guh... I, the great dean of the Undead University... forced to my knees by these insignificant pests... I will never forgive you!"

Oh, shit — the space behind that dean bastard was warping massively! He was definitely preparing some enormous spell.

This had to work. It absolutely had to work!

"O despair, scatter through that one's mind and drain the strength from their body!"

A mind-type spell. Shattered Psyche.

Mind magic excelled as crowd control against living monsters, but it had a fatal flaw. In any game, using it on a boss monster either nullified the effect entirely or drastically reduced it. Undead were no exception.

But... this dungeon was honestly pretty slapdash, wasn't it? And it still resembled reality, right? Sure, the fantasy elements had mostly taken over by now... but it was still reality!

It worked on those filthy troll bastards, so... please... pleeease...!

"Here and now, I shall painfully peel the flesh from your— Urgh!? Wh-what is this sudden...!"

H-huh?

"C-casting... what is this interference...!"

The distortion behind the dean flickered, growing fainter. No — more precisely, it flickered between faint and sharp, over and over.

It hadn't fully landed... but this was my chance!

My body moved before my mind caught up.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

I ran like my feet were on fire.

Iron sword gripped in one hand, I began a furious ascent straight toward the dean.

"U-ugh...! What cheap trick has this wretch pulled?!"

Even through the pain, the dean aimed his staff in my direction.

Something was flying at me. Something sharp!

"Hup!"

I jerked my head sideways a split second before it would have punched through my skull.

Aagh, my cheek burns like hell!

But—

"This ends now...!"

The near-suicidal charge brought me right up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the dean's face.

SLASH!

With Agility 18 and the Officer's Boots boosting me even further, my body produced a sword swing of pure, unhesitating speed.

Thud. Roll, roll, roll...

Something tumbled down the mountain slope.

The skeletal head of the one who had once been called dean.

Dungeon — cleared.