Episode 100
Episode 100
Anti-magic weapons.
Weapons designed to absorb or disperse mana.
These were typically wielded either by swordsmen who frequently battled mages, or by Imperial Anti-Magic Zealots.
They certainly weren't weapons meant for a magic school freshman.
'But the one who gave this to me was the Headmaster of this school.'
Lee Han swiftly completed his self-justification. Then he swung his sword again.
Grrk! Why did Master accept such a freshman into the school...! This arrogant brat should be expelled immediately...!
Lee Han almost reflexively retorted in anger.
He nearly snapped back, 'Your master is the one who taught me this way.'
'That was close. This bastard. He's quite skilled at manipulating people.'
No wonder he was the Headmaster's summon - he excelled at controlling his opponent's emotions.
Crrack!
The undead summon that had been slashed twice by Morning Star had lost a considerable amount of mana.
Even powerful undead summons weren't immortal beings. If they exhausted all their mana, they would inevitably be unsummoned.
Realizing his opponent fought like a madman for a freshman, the undead summon changed tactics.
It began summoning sand to envelop its body.
A kind of armor.
I shall no longer regard you as a mere freshman. By the honorable name bestowed upon me by Master - Zorban II - I shall defeat you!
'It even received a name?'
Typically, receiving a name meant the summon was specially nurtured.
Lee Han briefly regretted not going a bit easier on it.
Reveal yourself, mage! If you don't show yourself immediately, I have my own ideas.
Lee Han naturally ignored this and created distance.
Zorban II slammed its front leg against the ground. Sand cones began forming in the air.
I warned you!
"!"
Zorban II's strategy was simple.
Create a barrage around itself to prevent Lee Han from approaching.
Each hit carried enough force to break bones, but Zorban II no longer considered its opponent a freshman. It had no intention of holding back.
As the sand cones flew, smashing nearby bushes and branches, Lee Han had no choice but to retreat further.
'I need to deal more damage before it recovers.'
Dragging this out would only benefit his opponent. Lee Han reconsidered his strategy.
Iron or water orbs lacked destructive power, while his powerful lightning magic would be ineffective against the sand armor.
'Adding rotation like last time... would be impossible. This guy won't wait around.'
A method to fluster his fortified opponent, cancel the magic, and create an opening.
Did Lee Han have such a method right now?
"......"
Come to think of it, he did.
Both professors and spirits had warned him it was too dangerous to use...
But even they probably hadn't anticipated this situation.
"Burn!"
What kind of joke is this...
When Lee Han cast a 1st Circle Ignition spell from behind, Zorban II turned its head in disbelief.
What did he plan to do with that candle flame?
......
But when Zorban II turned its head, the flames rushing toward it were... considerably larger than candle flames.
"Cough! Cough!"
Angrago and Duke-ma crawled across the sandy beach while coughing up sand.
They'd just been dragged into some unknown dungeon, buried up to their necks, then suddenly returned to the sandy beach.
Having swallowed some sand in the process, their mouths felt gritty.
"What happened... Wardanaz?"
In the distance, Lee Han staggered toward them.
He looked utterly disheveled - a sight never seen from Wardanaz before.
His hair was tangled, and one arm was in a splint as if injured in a fight.
This made his usually shadowed face appear even more expressionless and cold.
Angrago was more shocked than when the Skeleton Principal had appeared in the mountains at midnight.
"Who the hell did this to the Wardanaz?!"
'What method could have possibly inflicted that much damage on him!?'
"Wo, Wardanaz! Are you okay?!"
"Don't come any closer."
Lee Han scowled as he spoke.
When weakened, it was never wise to let those with grudges against you get too close.
But the White Tiger Tower students seemed to have interpreted his words differently.
"We mean no harm."
"We won't sink like before! We're coming to help now!"
"......"
Watching them scramble across the sandbank toward him, Lee Han briefly considered striking first.
'No. Who knows what's left on this island? I might need every last one of them.'
"Just what the hell happened..."
Lee Han gave them a brief explanation.
About Zorban II, the undead summon the Skeleton Principal had left lying in wait beneath the sinking sandbank.
Even as he spoke, he remained vigilant. The moment any White Tiger Tower student reached for their weapon, he was prepared to strike first.
But foolishly, Angrago and Duke-ma didn't even consider taking revenge during this perfect opportunity.
Truly foolish bastards.
"Wardanaz. Let me see your arm. I'm something of an expert in these matters."
Duke-ma spoke with complete seriousness.
Students from knightly families were generally trained in first aid and bone-setting.
Among them, Duke-ma was particularly skilled. He'd even enrolled in the magic school specifically to study healing magic—needless to say, his skills were exceptional.
"I've already handled it. It's fine."
"Wardanaz. Among White Tiger Tower students, there's no one better than me at—... Wait. You actually did a decent job."
Duke-ma, who'd been about to persuade Lee Han, found himself reluctantly impressed instead.
The emergency treatment had been executed flawlessly.
...Wait, this bastard's from the Wardanaz family. How the hell did he manage this so well?
He's not even from a knightly lineage...
"Still, there might be areas that need adjustment. Let me just—"
"What's wrong with you, Duke-ma? The splint's perfectly set. Taking it off now would just make things worse."
Angrago held Duke-ma back. Duke-ma fidgeted, desperate to do something, but eventually gave up and stepped away.
"Tch...!"
Lee Han pulled his arm back, eyeing Duke-ma with a frosty glare.
As expected, you could never let your guard down around White Tiger Tower bastards.
"Wardanaz. That undead summon... Don't tell me you took it down yourself?"
"Yeah."
"!"
They'd suspected as much, but to think Lee Han had actually defeated the summon...
The fact that a freshman had single-handedly taken down a summon placed by the Skeleton Principal himself left Angrago and Duke-ma utterly stunned.
'No wonder his arm's broken...'
'It must have been one hell of a fight.'
The two silently imagined the battle.
On one side, Lee Han of the Wardanaz family—a mere first-year who had already grasped the deepest secrets of black magic.
On the other, Zorban II, the malevolent bone turtle and master of the sandbank, who served the Skeleton Principal.
The clash of unimaginable dark spells must have been brutal.
Looking around, the evidence of their fierce battle was everywhere—from the shattered trees to the torn-up undergrowth.
Honestly, it was incredible!
Angrago stared intently at the scorch marks nearby.
The traces stretched from the ground to the fallen trees, indicating the sheer scale of destruction.
"Don't tell me you did this too...?"
Lee Han nodded.
Angrago had to force himself not to show his shock.
What kind of fire magic could possibly incinerate the surroundings like this? He couldn't even begin to guess.
That broken arm was probably from fighting the undead summon despite unleashing such devastating flames.
Even among knightly families, few could stand their ground in a situation like that.
Many in White Tiger Tower only focused on the Wardanaz's wicked, genius-level magic skills, but...
Angrago had to admit it.
The courage of Wardanaz was rare even within the White Tiger Tower.
'Incredible...!'
However, the actual fight that had taken place was slightly different from Angrago's imagination.
What kind of reckless fool is this?!
When Lee Han summoned flames so massive they engulfed the surroundings, Zorban II was startled.
In truth, had he reacted calmly and rationally, he could have blocked Lee Han's attack.
Though the flames were enormous, they lacked precise control.
Moreover, with the amount of sand Zorban II could command, he could have easily defended himself. He simply needed to harden his armor and endure.
But the flustered Zorban II made a mistake. In his panic, he loosened the sand armor encasing his body and attempted to prematurely extinguish the flames.
Lee Han didn't miss that opening.
The swordsmanship he had learned from Alarong—the Azure Rock Sword—unleashed from the tip of his blade, striking Zorban II like a massive boulder.
This wasn't like the earlier blow that had only shattered his leg. This strike slammed into Zorban II's entire body, absorbing all remaining mana and triggering a forced recall.
Zorban II growled in frustration.
Just you wait, freshman. I'll remember your name. What is it?
"...I am Giselle of the Moradi family."
Just you wait, Moradi! Next time we meet, I won't go easy on you just because you're a freshman!
"......"
Lee Han kept his guard up, watching Zorban II dissipate without letting his vigilance waver.
Because of that, his reaction was delayed when a tree behind him snapped and collapsed.
Having already been struck by the earlier sand cone and then set ablaze, the tree couldn't hold on any longer and toppled.
"...!"
Lee Han reacted belatedly, but he had no choice but to brace himself with one arm.
Wincing from the throbbing pain, Lee Han cursed Zorban II internally.
'Damn it. That undead summon... Couldn't it just die quietly?'
"Wardanaz. You could've just given up... Why did you fight like that?"
Angrago found himself asking without realizing it.
Why go to such lengths when he could've just let himself be dragged under the sandbank? It didn't make sense to him.
"Well..."
Lee Han almost said, 'Because I didn't want to take the trial with you lot,' but he hesitated.
Provoking two knights while one of his arms was out of commission wasn't the wisest move.
"...Giving up like that would be dishonorable."
Lately, Lee Han had been realizing just how useful the word "honor" was.
-Wardanaz, no matter how much I search, I can't find that passage in the book. Can't I just give up?
-That would be dishonorable.
-Wardanaz, I feel bad always relying on you, but I'll figure something out.
-That would be dishonorable.
-Lee Han, I can't solve this at all. Can't I just copy it?
-Unless you want to get hit, shut up and solve it.
-Why only me...!
Whenever he needed a vague answer, slapping "honor" onto it made the other person interpret it favorably.
The White Tiger Tower students were no exception.
"...I see...!"
"The honor of the Wardanaz family..."
Angrago and Dukma nodded heavily with understanding.
The Wardanaz family was ruthless and cold, but their sense of honor carried equal weight.
For a Wardanaz bearing that family's honor, such actions were only natural.
'Even as an enemy of the White Tiger Tower, I have to acknowledge that.'
'Even as an enemy of knights, I have to admit it.'
"Wardanaz. While your arm heals, we'll be your arms!"
"Here, hand over your bag! We'll carry it!"
"The moment you touch my bag, expect broken bones."
"......"
"......"
"That was a joke."
Until Lee Han clarified it was a joke, the two White Tiger Tower students had frozen in place, barely daring to breathe.
What kind of joke was that terrifying?
"R-right? It was a joke?"
"Making a joke with that face... Haha. Hahaha."
"What face are you talking about?"
"Nothing at all. Let's go, Wardanaz!"
Dukma hastily took the lead and started walking.
Watching him, Lee Han turned to Angrago.
"Does he know the way?"
"...Dukma! Where are you going? Come back!"