Sparring with the Undead Knights
Morning meals at this hour were shared only between Sirius and Joyeon, the two who happened to be awake.
"Honestly, I'm jealous of your undead. A maid with infinite stamina? That's just unfair."
"You eat with the boss too, you know."
Breakfast used to be nothing more than stale bread or dried jerky, but ever since May gained the freedom to act on her own, proper meals had become the norm from morning until night. As Joyeon sipped his warm soup, Sirius slid a thin book across the table.
"Here. The Tower finally finished verifying one volume. They said reading it won't kill you."
"Oh, thanks."
Thanks to the contract they'd signed three weeks ago, Sirius was obligated to supply Joyeon with forbidden texts. He'd gone through his connections at the Magic Tower to check which of the recovered tomes contained instantly lethal magic before handing them over.
"What's this one about?"
"How would I know? I don't particularly want to die or go insane."
"Didn't the Tower explain anything?"
"Do you think the Tower is omnipotent? The moment you understand the contents, you might die. They only confirmed whether it had any chance of instant magical death. Honestly, they only agreed because we've done business for so long. Thanks to that, I'll have to give them something extra on the next deal."
"I see. Well, thanks anyway."
"I'll say it again—don't read it if the contents seem off. I can get you something else."
"Sure thing~"
After breakfast came free time. There was no longer any need to force himself to read trashy grimoires he had no interest in. Instead—
"Master, it's time for your post-meal exercise."
"It's not post-meal exercise, it's just plain stamina training."
"This time is essential for your future, Master."
Under Tiasia's insistence, a dedicated period for training both stamina and mana had been added to his schedule.
"Today is the day you spar with me."
At Tiasia's remark, Joyeon flinched and shouted.
"No way! You never hold back at all. I'd rather spar with Ron or Karl."
"Understood. If you wish to face both at once, I can arrange that."
"Ugh… still better than you."
At Joyeon's reluctant consent, Tiasia clapped her hands.
Clap, clap!
"Karl, Ron. Come out. Master has named you."
Crack, crack, crack.
The ground rose and two skeletons emerged. They were the Lara family knights resurrected alongside Tiasia through Joyeon's black magic—the remaining two of the five undead he currently commanded.
The two skeletons summoned by Tiasia bowed to Joyeon before taking up steel shields and wooden practice swords, settling into combat stances.
"Hoo… I'll be counting on you."
Joyeon also assumed a stance that had become somewhat familiar.
Using the grappling technique hastily taught by Tiasia, he settled into position and swung the heavy iron ball shackled to his legs with a bit more familiarity, channeling the mana manipulation method he'd learned from the boss.
"You're giving me the first move again?"
"Since you'll be facing both Karl and Ron simultaneously, I'll yield the initiative."
"Fine. Then… [Field of Grudge]."
Taking advantage of Tiasia's concession, Joyeon activated his magic.
Flash!
His inventory opened in midair and the Book of the Dead flew out, flipping open by itself.
"[Where should the wails of the dead lambs go?]"
Joyeon began chanting [Field of Grudge], the debuff magic recorded in the Book of the Dead.
"[They belong inside the souls of those who were slain.]"
Kieee—
A violet energy shaped like a crying child began crawling out of the Book of the Dead.
"[The lambs' resentment will lead them as companions.]"
Joyeon pointed at Karl and Ron as if guiding the children.
"[Cling to them. Drag them to the bottom of hell.]"
The emerging energy rushed toward Karl and Ron at tremendous speed.
"[Resentment of the Dead]"
Thud!
The energy burrowed straight into the motionless skeletons' bodies.
All physical abilities are reduced.
A ridiculous effect that lowered every physical ability.
['Resentment of the Dead' has been partially resisted.]
All physical abilities are slightly reduced.
The problem was that Joyeon's own skill with the magic wasn't particularly high. Still, aware of his own limitations, he was satisfied that it hadn't been completely nullified and immediately charged at the two skeletons.
"First move complete. Karl, Ron."
Clack-clack-clack-clack!
At Tiasia's words, Karl and Ron's jawbones rattled madly as if they were enjoying the situation.
"Hah!"
Joyeon swung his right leg toward Karl, who was grinning at him.
Whoosh!
BOOM!
The heavy iron ball attached to his leg slammed straight into Karl's shield.
Clack-clack-clack-clack!
Karl burst into laughter as if Joyeon's attack was utterly laughable.
"Ghh! Stop laughing!"
Joyeon pointed a finger at Karl. Responding to the gesture, the Book of the Dead floating in the air began to glow blood-red.
[Field of Pain — Bone Spear]
A long, pure-white spear emerged from the Book of the Dead. Among the offensive and defensive magics recorded in the tome, [Field of Pain] was the only one capable of being cast without incantation.
Shhhk!
The most basic attack spell within it, Bone Spear, shot straight toward Karl's eye socket.
Clang!
"...I don't know if I should be happy or upset about this."
The Bone Spear had embedded itself in Karl's eye socket—or rather, it had merely struck the back of his skull without dealing any real damage.
Clack-clack-clack!
Karl continued laughing heartily with the spear still stuck in his eye socket.
"Stop laughing…"
—Master! Look out!
Jack's shout from the grave made Joyeon whip his head around. While he'd been distracted by Karl, Ron had closed in and was swinging his wooden sword straight at him.
Reflexively squeezing his eyes shut at the sight of the practice sword flying toward his head—
Flash!
Blood-red light erupted from the Book of the Dead.
[Field of Pain — Bone Armor]
Clang!
Before the attack could land, Bone Armor wrapped around Joyeon's body and blocked Ron's wooden sword.
"Huuuh~ I-I almost died…!"
Clack-clack!
Ron gave a short laugh. Feeling a chill run down his spine, Joyeon rolled across the ground.
Shhhk!
Ron's follow-up strike grazed past Joyeon's head.
"Hah! Dodged…"
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
Before he could even finish speaking, Ron's wooden sword came swinging again, relentlessly hammering against the Bone Armor.
"Aack! Wait! Time—time out…!"
While the Bone Armor continued to withstand Ron's attacks without breaking, it began rapidly draining Joyeon's mana. Eventually—
Dizzy…
"Ugh…"
Having done nothing but take hits without finding any way out, Joyeon collapsed the moment his mana was completely exhausted.
"As expected, suddenly facing two opponents was too much. Master, I trust you've fully realized through today's sparring that there is still much for you to learn. Good work."
Joyeon passed out while listening to Tiasia's grating words from beside him.
*****
"Accurately recognizing your total mana capacity will allow for more flexible magic usage. Since you've only just awakened to magic, you must not stop increasing your reserves little by little through mana manipulation methods and other spells. And after experiencing your first spar against multiple opponents today, you should understand this well: numbers are far more powerful than you think. While you have us, experiencing the receiving end yourself will also help you learn how to utilize your forces more efficiently."
What awaited the now-conscious Ju Joyeon was Tiasia's feedback, which sounded more like nagging.
"Yeah, yeah~ I did think it through a bit before doing it. Since I had to face two, I figured I'd take one down quickly and then deal with the other…"
"That sort of approach only works when your enemy is weak and you possess overwhelming offensive power. You currently lack strong offensive capabilities—in fact, you're the weaker one. That's why a single misjudgment ends everything, just like today. Please be more careful."
"Ugh… Still, I think I did pretty well considering…"
"Pretty well? In what way? You gave them the first move, yet your debuff magic was resisted. After that, you swung your iron ball at a shield with all your might, used a Bone Spear so weak that defense wasn't even necessary, failed to react properly to a wooden sword strike, and had all your mana drained. And that was by the very skeletons you summoned."
"Nnngh~"
There was no room for argument—every word was correct.
Click.
'Tiasia, aren't you being too hard on Master? I feel sorry for him.'
"May, steel your resolve as well. It is only natural to devote both body and soul for Master's sake, but there will inevitably come a time when even sacrificing your life won't be enough to save him. In those moments, Master must survive through his own strength."
Click…
'You're right, but…'
"Alright, I get it. I understand, so just leave me alone now. It's time for me to read."
"Understood. Excuse me. I will be on standby in the grave, so please call if you need anything."
Click.
'Please call anytime, Master.'
Once Tiasia and the others returned to the grave after greeting him, Joyeon's room grew a little quieter.
"Of course I know they don't want me to die, but—how the hell am I supposed to beat former knights~"
'Lara really is a perfectionist…'
Joyeon opened the thin forbidden tome Sirius had given him earlier that day.
"Karl and Ron make sense since they were knights, but why can't I even beat Lara?"
After grumbling for a while, Joyeon soon became absorbed in the forbidden book. He used to dislike reading, but now it had become somewhat familiar—and with Tiasia strictly managing his schedule, these moments had become one of his few precious healing times.
And so, the day quietly came to an end.