Chapter 231: Glasses Boy’s Thoughts on the Zombies

The necromancer Sanongor appears to be an undead magician, but it is undoubtedly a monster.

It is not the result of a magician who has transformed from a human.

It is merely a ghostly monster that resembles a human.

The necromancer Sanongor itself does not possess combat abilities. It only continuously summons zombies.

The act of summoning seems to be intelligent, but there doesn’t seem to be any purposeful intent in the summoning or the actions following the summoning.

However, the fact that it indiscriminately targets and attacks living beings or creatures is the same as commonly known monsters.

Because the necromancer Sanongor is such a creature, the zombies it commands are also not human corpses.

They are monsters that closely resemble decayed human bodies.

As evidence, although they are quite small, the zombies summoned by it have magic cores. This is a feature that would be impossible if they were originally human.

Now, about zombies.

Existences called ghosts or undead in this world… they fall into the broad category of ghostly beings.

Zombies are positioned at the very bottom of these ghostly beings.

Strictly speaking, they are not monsters.

They are merely moving corpses.

However, the zombies summoned by the necromancer Sanongor are monsters, so they are entirely different.

—This is the result of the investigation conducted by the four of us—Geo, Cherry, Caron, and myself—in the library.

“It seems the problem is still their numbers.”

If our research is correct, then Geo is right.

The number of zombies controlled by the necromancer Sanongor ranges from a hundred to a thousand.

That’s a wide range. The difference could be as much as ten times.

“Yes… If they can summon at least a hundred zombies, each of us would have to deal with more than ten zombies individually.”

Cherry said this, but with her being a magician, she might be able to take them down from afar with magic. Oh, the same goes for Geo too. The sandstorm in the competition was impressive.

“What do you think, Eil?”

Huh? Me?

“It’s terrifying that the scale isn’t clear, but I think the real issue is that the necromancer Sanongor keeps summoning zombies. Doesn’t that mean the number just keeps increasing?

Ultimately, it’s not about the zombies themselves; if we don’t prioritize taking down the necromancer Sanongor, we won’t solve the problem.”

To put it simply, no matter how many hundreds or thousands of zombies there are, we just need to take down the necromancer Sanongor.

According to the book, even if the necromancer Sanongor is defeated, the zombies won’t disappear. But since zombies are weak, we should be able to handle them somehow.

“…Ah, and…”

Even though she was slouching, the tall Caron, who is taller than us, spoke in a frail voice.

“I think the problem is also where the necromancer Sanongor is located…”

—I see. That’s a good point.

Geo, who realized it after being told, flipped through the book, but I don’t think that information was in there.

“Is the necromancer Sanongor among the zombies?”

I naturally assumed that the necromancer Sanongor would be in the center of the zombie army, being protected, but there’s a possibility that’s not the case.

In fact, the possibility that it isn’t might be higher.

The necromancer Sanongor itself is said to have no combat abilities, so if it has any intelligence, there’s a possibility it might not be with the zombies at all.

It might take a troublesome approach by securing a safe location and continuously summoning zombies to fight.

This is just a possibility.

However, it’s a possibility we cannot ignore.

We make a bold assault.

But we don’t find the necromancer Sanongor.

This would be a pretty dire outcome.

It would just result in wasted effort and danger.

—But, well, that’s as far as we go.

“It’s best not to discuss this further.”

Although we investigated together, Cherry and Caron are in different teams from us.

Further discussions would lead to strategy planning.

We shouldn’t discuss strategies unless the other party asks for advice or opinions. This kind of discussion is for our own team members.

“Yes, as usual, let’s proceed from here on our own.”

Returning the book to the shelf, we left the library.

“Have you ever seen a zombie?”

We descended to the first floor.

Now, we were going to have an early lunch.

Since the task was given, there were no lectures today.

Normally, we would be listening to the instructor in the classroom at this time, but today we did research in the library. We have a lot to think about, but we’re still hungry and want to get some self-training in.

As we sat at the same table to discuss the strategy while eating, Geo asked such a question.

“No, I haven’t. I haven’t encountered many ghostly beings in general.”

The only recent memory I have is of that thing that came out of Florentine’s body when we were checking the Tower of Bryne.

Anything beyond that, I can’t recall.

“I haven’t seen one either. But, you know, a rotten human corpse… right? It’s a bit scary.”

Ah, well, I understand how you feel.

Zombies are not monsters.

Although monsters can become zombies, zombies themselves are not monsters.

While they might have been humans, animals, or monsters in life, zombies are said to result from a curse-induced disease.

When the curse enters the body through bites or scratches, living beings with weak resistance become zombies.

This is how the curse spreads… but there is a cure, so it’s not a major issue.

Zombies are corpses.

When humans or animals die, their blood coagulates and their bodies stiffen. There’s no way such a body could move quickly.

In other words, they move slowly, and since their brains don’t function, they just come straight at you, making them easily manageable.

That’s why they are considered weak.

Although, in many ways, they are difficult opponents to fight.

Like Geo, many people might find the idea of facing the dead unpleasant. Especially when they are rotten corpses. You’d rather not see them if you can avoid it.

“If you really hate it, you could think of a strategy that minimizes close contact.”

After all, there are at least a hundred zombies.

Lisse, Chace, Harriatan, Berge, and Trawllul are skilled in close combat, but we can’t exactly pit them head-on against a hundred zombies. Oh, I guess we could include Florentine too.

Even though we lack detailed information, Geo is right.

Although minor wounds and the curse of zombification can be cured, there’s nothing we can do if we get swarmed and bitten to death.

No matter how weak each zombie is individually, the sheer numbers cannot be ignored.

A strategy should aim to avoid risks while achieving the greatest effect.

Considering this, we need to think of something.