A few hours before Wim and Lucius came to rescue Luna and the others,
(Luna's POV)
Luna followed her seniors who would help them hunt in the Ullanor Cemetery.
Mella: "Okay, everyone, listen to me. This time we will..."
Her name is Mella, and she is one of the Student Council members at Unio Academy. She is a senior with extensive experience hunting in dangerous places like this cemetery.
It's no surprise that Mella herself volunteered to be their and Luna's supervisor, thus minimizing casualties among the first-year students.
The members accompanying Luna include Ken, the beastman, who is actually the son of one of the leading clans in the beastman region.
Then there's Maria, an S-class student who always accompanies Luna. Although Maria comes from the same region as Luna, the StarBlue Alliance, Maria apparently never discusses the stigma of Luna's Selene Family.
Even Luna herself feels comfortable with her presence, as if she doesn't really care about her family's status, which has been expelled from the StarBlue Alliance Council.
Then there's Edward, a nobleman from a renowned company in two kingdoms.
They are currently in the Ullanor Cemetery, earning points and searching for a relatively rare monster.
On their way, they encounter eight Fangires flying towards them.
Voooom!
They began attacking Luna's group with their sound magic, using sound waves. Luckily, Maria, using her water magic, created a dome-shaped water barrier, rendering the Fangires' sound wave attacks useless.
Ken: "It's time..." she said with a smile.
Ken began running quickly, heading towards one of the Fangires using his animal magic.
He jumped, then began unleashing his magical claws to slash at the Fangir.
Slash!
The Fangires' bodies began to split apart as Ken defeated one.
Then several other Fangires began to focus their attention on Ken, seeing him as a dangerous threat.
Voooom!
Their sound wave attacks began to hit Ken.
But at the same time, Edward arrived just in time, activating his magic shield. Absorbing the Fangires' attacks
Edward: "You idiot! Don't charge ahead without the others' support. Do you want to die young!?"
Ken: "Eh? Huh? Okay, sorry," he replied casually, slightly frustrating Edward with his behavior.
Meanwhile, Luna, Maria, and Mella began casting their own attack magic.
Luna with her ice spear, Maria with her high-pressure water blast, and Mella with her earth spikes.
The attack successfully defeated the seven remaining Fangires.
Mella glared at Ken and Edward, then muttered sarcastically.
Mella: "You men, always so preoccupied with their egos. If this keeps up, I'll be the one picking up your corpses later."
She smoothed her long hair and opened a magical map of Ullanor's cemetery, which floated in the air. Glowing symbols represented the monster routes currently visited by other hunters.
Mella: "Okay, now which route do we want to take?" she asked, glancing at them all.
On the map From the map, it appears that most of the routes there are filled with Fangires, which are Common tier monsters. The others are Rare monsters, potentially earning more points.
However, their Rare tier makes them very difficult for Luna and her friends to hunt. Furthermore, they are Arcane, equivalent to Third Rank, a lower-middle tier.
They must make the right choice, because if they choose incorrectly, their lives will be at stake.
However, Ken, as usual, ignored the instructions. With his keen beastman nose, he smelled something and ran ahead of the group.
Ken: "I found something there, let's not waste time!"
Edward: "Ken! You stubborn bastard!" he said as he tried to stop him, but was eventually forced to follow. The others followed.
Shortly after, they found the target Ken had spotted through the bushes.
In front of one of the tombstones, stood a strange, human-shaped creature. However, it was thinner, had paler skin, and was taller than a typical adult human. At least the height of two adults.
It wears a scythe and a cloak covering itself, along with a skull floating in the air, which serves as the monster's eye.
Mella: "Leuk..." That's what Mella calls it.
It's said that this monster is extremely difficult to find because it's a level 4 monster, higher than Luna and the others.
Edward, seeing Ken trembling at the sight of the Leuk, tried to restrain him by grabbing his arm.
Ken's trembling wasn't fear, but rather his fighting instinct.
Edward: "Don't. This isn't an enemy you can face alone."
Ken: "I can handle it!"
Ken then managed to escape Edward's grasp and began advancing...
Ken: "Eh...?"
Suddenly, a giant fireball appeared and began hurtling towards the Leuk.
Luna: "Watch out, everyone! Maria!"
Maria: "Eh? Uhmm... Okay!"
Luna and Maria both began creating their water and ice magic barriers to protect their group.
BOOOM!
A massive explosion occurred near the Leuk, burning it and killing it instantly with the magic attack. However, the floating skull managed to avoid it.
ZRAAAK!
After the fireball, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky, striking Leuk's skull hard, sending him flying. Thick smoke billowed, forcing them to cover their faces.
After everything subsided, Luna and Maria released their barrier magic.
Luna: "Is everything okay?"
Mella: "Everything's fine here."
Edward: "Me too, thank goodness. Thanks to your magic, we're still intact. Thank you."
Luna: "No need to be so formal."
Maria: "Uhmm... You're welcome."
Ken: "But more importantly, where did that magic come from?"
They looked back at the burned-out area, smoke everywhere.
Then, as the smoke began to clear, two figures stood tall. It turned out to be Louisa and Morian, along with several students from Louisa's club, Dralan, and a friendly-looking senior named Benny, Mella's colleague on the Student Council.
Luna: 'Louisa, why is she here? ' she muttered to herself.
Mella frowned as she walked toward Benny, then asked sharply.
Mella: "Benny, why are you guys here? Isn't your path on the west side?"
Benny scratched his head, looking tired and a little frustrated.
Benny: "Ah... Tsk, Sh. I told them to hunt there, but these Juniors. They won't listen?"
Mella: "I think you're the one who wasn't firm enough."
Benny: "Hey! I was firm! They're the ones who are stubborn!" He said in defense.
Meanwhile, Ken glared at Louisa and her team.
Ken: "Hey, girl! That's our prey! You've stolen our prey!"
Edward: 'Our prey, what are you thinking? It's clear you wanted to hunt it yourself without our help, and now you're saying it's our prey? ' he thought.
Louisa just smiled faintly, her eyes narrowed confidently.
Louisa:" Prey? Don't be ridiculous, Ken. First come first served. Don't blame us if you're too slow."
Those words made Ken's blood boil. He stepped forward, his face red with anger.
Ken: "What did you say?! You girl has no self-respect!"
But Louisa replied calmly.
Louisa: "I think you're the one who should learn some self-respect."
The argument was getting heated. Benny tried to calm them down with a gentle voice.
Benny: "Hey, enough! You're all in the same academy, don't-"
Louisa and Ken: "Don't interfere, senior!" they both snapped.
Benny raised his hands in frustration, his face red with annoyance.
Benny: "Why don't any of you respect your seniors?!"
The atmosphere was getting heated. Meanwhile, Luna was watching Louisa argue with Ken and Senior Benny.
She remembered one of the documents about the Vulpix Flower incident there. Louisa's older sister, Theresa, also participated in assisting her father, Morpho, in the incident. However, Theresa unfortunately disappeared along with her father.
Unlike Luna, whose family was ultimately expelled from the StarBlue Alliance due to accusations of her father betraying the Alliance. Louisa was safe, even the status of Theresa, her sister, remained shrouded in mystery.
Luna hoped she could obtain important information about the incident from the Helible Royal Family there.
But Mella suddenly called out, her voice firm and piercing.
Mella: "Silence! Everyone be quiet!"
Everyone turned to look at her. Mella gripped her wand tightly, her face serious, as if observing something.
Mella: "There's something strange here..."
GROOAAAR!
From the mossy ground around them, dozens of rotting hands emerged, reaching towards the surface. The ground shook, tombstones collapsed, and from within rose dozens of undead, their bodies rotting, their eyes glowing green.
Benny: "Undead!"
Maria: "Eeeek...!"
Now, Luna, Maria, Ken, Edward, Mella, Louisa, Morian, Benny, and the Dralan club students had to face a wave of undead far greater than they had anticipated.
And from behind the mist… a cold gaze was watching them. A gaze that didn't come from an ordinary monster, but from someone far more dangerous. A Necromancer from The Hive… who had finally shown interest in them