Dark Fantasy Guide for the Summoner - Chapter 53

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 53.
Abandoned Cemetery Ⅲ
To put it plainly, I decided not to rush straight into the Burial Grounds.
Given how the field’s difficulty scaled in stages, it was only natural that the Burial Grounds posed a greater threat than the Outer Perimeter.
Charging in recklessly could tangle our limbs and invite unforeseen disaster.
“Ghouls ahead! Kria!”
[Wa, il, deu… Pai, eo…!]
In the Outer Perimeter, Kria’s facet as a Necromancer truly came alive.
Especially the flame mage we’d acquired from the previous zone performed brilliantly.
“Formidable firepower indeed….”
Kazen marveled as waves of flame swept through the enemy ranks.
Naturally.
Karen Hogval, the flame mage, was a core asset for leveling Necromancers in the early game.
Fire affinity had excellent matchups against most early-zone mobs.
“I’ll finish the rest!”
“Hey! Don’t wander off like that!”
“I got it!”
As predicted, Seigerna was the one who thrashed about most during combat.
I kept close watch on her since I couldn’t predict when her Battle Maniac Trait might activate.
“Seigerna! Fall back now!”
“But that bastard keeps running away! Damn it, why do undead even flee?”
Beats me.
Like a matador mesmerized by crimson cloth, Seigerna was thrilled by the chase. I dragged her back bodily and forced her into retreat.
Of course, there was plenty else demanding attention.
“Kria. Dismiss the flame mage. Sustaining her burns too much mana. For now, stick to Wild Fire and summon-and-dismiss tactics.”
“Understood.”
“And Kazen. Cut back on the thinking during combat.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have an obsession with acting in every situation, don’t you?”
Kazen flinched at my blunt assessment.
“Well, somewhat… but isn’t that how it should be? Everyone else is fighting hard, so staying still makes me uncomfortable.”
“That’s not staying still—it’s maintaining reserve strength. In forest combat, you need to preserve your resources.”
“I see….”
He didn’t look convinced, so I offered an example.
“What if a second enemy emerges mid-fight? Then we’re surrounded. What then?”
“Ah….”
“That’s when you hold the line. In a sense, it’s the heaviest responsibility. So conserve your strength and keep your mind at ease. Don’t overextend.”
“Understood…!”
Kazen and Kria were sharp-minded, but lacked combat experience.
Because of that, I had to bark quick orders and feed them tactical guidelines even during fights.
‘This much is nothing.’
By my standards, it doesn’t even count as multitasking.
When I was data-farming, I’d run five PCs simultaneously and play them all at once.
‘Finally….’
I turned my attention to Laurent, the white knight.
This one was exactly as expected.
‘Nothing to work on.’
In combat.
Laurent seemed to read my thoughts—he always secured optimal positioning first and never wavered even when the unexpected occurred.
And he fulfilled his role with frightening precision.
‘The reliability of a tank, zero reckless actions, and an improvisation ability that adapts fluidly to shifting battlefield conditions.’
Flawless. The reason combat in the Abandoned Cemetery ran so smoothly was more than half his doing.
Part of me wanted to appoint him as a sub-leader, but….
‘That’ll be difficult.’
Seigerna and Kria still kept their distance from Laurent.
Even easygoing Kazen managed the occasional comment, but since Laurent seemed to keep them at arm’s length, the gap showed no sign of closing.
‘That’s probably for the best.’
Letting tension slip entirely wouldn’t be wise either.
For now, I’d maintain this distance and continue hunting.
* * *
Four days had passed.
In that time, our combat capabilities had climbed to a respectable level.
For one, the frequency of stupid mistakes had all but vanished—a considerable achievement in itself.
‘Still, our ability to respond to unforeseen crises leaves much to be desired.’
That sort of skill can’t be built in a matter of days anyway.
Only experience and time will mend that.
Even so, four days of grinding had brought steady gains—my Level had climbed from 27 to 29, and I’d accumulated a decent stockpile of Seeds. I’d hoped to hit exactly 30.
‘The reason’s simple enough.’
You unlock new skills at Level 30.
Popop grants new Skills at every ten-level threshold, as a rule.
That said, you can also learn from Skill Books or study under a weapons master.
‘Even accounting for our remaining provisions, today’s the hard deadline.’
Food was one of the items I’d prepared most carefully for this expedition.
The Abandoned Cemetery is a dead land to begin with—a wasteland where you’d struggle to find a single blade of grass—and the only monsters that spawn are Undead.
In other words, self-sufficiency is impossible.
The problem was……
‘How was I supposed to stock provisions for five party members for thirty days?’
I’d bought an Expansion Bag for this very reason, but I couldn’t fill the entire space with food.
Preserved rations alone would last roughly two weeks.
Which meant if we didn’t clear the Abandoned Cemetery within that window, we’d have no choice but to abandon the map.
‘I never planned to spend four days in the Outer Perimeter to begin with.’
But we’d scavenged some edible berries and water sources along the way, which gave us a bit of breathing room.
“Time to push into the Burial Grounds.”
“Finally……!”
Seigerna brightened visibly, and Kazen and Kria both looked pleased.
Camping in one spot and grinding the same mobs over and over had clearly worn on them.
‘Complaining after just four days.’
At their eagerness, I couldn’t help but smile.
Kazen caught my expression and asked.
“Why are you smiling like that? It’s unsettling.”
“Enjoy it while it lasts. Once we reach the Burial Grounds, you’ll remember this place as heaven.”
“…….”
I watched their faces pale and unfolded the map.
“Stay close. The fog’s going to get thicker from here on.”
Holding formation, we pressed deeper into the cemetery, and before long a wall came into view.
The wall stretched on into the mist, its end invisible, and when Seigerna saw it, she let out a groan.
“Ugh……”
Corpses were impaled on the wall’s spikes.
Though they were ancient—already reduced to bare bone.
“You’ve been smashing animated skeletons, yet this bothers you?”
“It’s more……real, somehow.”
Fair point.
Kazen, studying the wall’s height, spoke up.
“Unsettling as it is……couldn’t we simply vault over it? I don’t think we actually needed a key.”
Kria gave her brother a reproving look.
“We should still show respect to the dead. Climbing a cemetery wall feels wrong.”
“But destroying their bodies is fine?”
“Depending on how you look at it, we’re granting them peace.”
“……I, I suppose that’s one way to see it?”
Kazen accepted his sister’s sophistry without further protest.
To be honest, I’m not sure whether scaling a wall truly offends the dead, but that method is irrelevant regardless.
‘Forcing an entry that way brings High-Tier Undead down on us.’
The Gravekeeper—among the most tedious High-Tier Undead in the Abandoned Cemetery—and not just one, but several converging at once. At our current level, the odds of a total wipe are disturbingly high.
Creak———
We entered the Burial Grounds through the front gate.
Maintaining an alert stance as we advanced, countless burial mounds came into view.
Along with the headstones of various designs standing before them.
“From here on, stay sharp and watch our surroundings. Keep unnecessary chatter to a minimum. And don’t expect any breaks until I say so.”
“You mean we move continuously?”
“There are safe zones scattered throughout. When we reach one, I’ll explain.”
“Yes. Ah, I wonder if the undead here will feel similar to the ones we encountered before?”
“Classification-wise, yes. But the tier is much higher. Even their equipment level will be noticeably different, so you’ll spot it immediately once you lay eyes on them…….”
Clatter—
So much for that prediction.
The moment Laurent, positioned at our vanguard, came to a halt, our conversation cut short as well.
And then, from within the mist, a skeletal throng emerged.
[Lv.40 ‘Elite Skeleton Knight’]
[Lv.40 ‘Elite Skeleton Mage’]
[Lv.40 ‘Elite Skeleton Archer’]
A pack of undead.
Still bleached bones shuffling about, true enough—but their outfitting was leagues ahead of what we’d seen before.
The skeleton knight carried a shield, the skeleton mage wore robes, and the archer—well, poison-tipped arrows, though you couldn’t tell at a glance.
‘The numbers are roughly equal to the skeleton pack we ran into at the Outer Perimeter, but…….’
There’s one that stands out.
I clicked my tongue and gave a warning.
“The one at the very back. Watch it.”
“At the very……? Oh.”
Kazen’s gaze swung toward it as well.
The skeletal figure standing even further back than the mage and archer.
An archer among the undead, dressed in a cape and hood as if that were somehow possible.
[Lv.40 ‘The Lone Archer, Ailon’]
A Named Monster.
For reference, Named Monsters don’t technically qualify as High-Tier Undead. You can tell just by the fact they move in packs rather than alone.
And yet…….
‘Is this real?’
A pack that includes a Named Monster right from our first encounter.
Worse still, among the three Named Monsters that appear in skeleton packs—knight, mage, archer—we draw the archer, the most troublesome of them all.
In that instant, Ailon, positioned a good distance away, drew his bowstring taut.
Whistle—!
“Block it!”
Before the words even left my mouth, Laurent had already stepped forward with his shield raised.
Clang—!
The moment that arrow struck his pristine shield, Laurent’s body slid backward with the impact.
‘Damn.’
How in the hell is that an arrow? That’s ballista fire.
But that wasn’t even the worst of it.
“Kaindel……! Behind, behind us……!”
Creak.
A grinding of joints echoed through the air, and another skeleton pack materialized from the fog.
‘Shit.’
A bitter laugh escaped me. We’d barely set foot in the Burial Grounds before we walked straight into a pack with a Named Monster attached, and now we’re caught in a pincer? Sure, the odds weren’t zero, but…….
‘……something reeks here.’
I know exactly what kind of situation tends to produce this particular stench.
‘Shepherding.’
A figurative term, of course. When Marauders drive monsters toward other parties like shepherds herding sheep, triggering conflict between groups.
Then, once the monsters obliterate one party, these hyenas slink out from hiding and strip the corpses bare.
“Everyone stay sharp.”
“Yes……?”
“There might be Marauders lurking nearby.”
We might already be caught in a trap.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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