Episode 101
Episode 101
The three gathered again on the sandy shore.
Having been shipwrecked on this hellish island—no, the Skeleton Principal's island—they needed to discuss their next steps.
Lee Han spoke first.
"Can we build another boat?"
"......"
Angrago shook his head.
Even constructing a small raft required more materials and effort than one might think.
Originally, he'd only managed it with help from other White Tiger Tower students. Doing it alone would be impossible.
"Self-rescue seems unlikely then..."
"S-sorry about that."
"Never mind. But we have another problem now."
Seeing Lee Han's grave expression, Angrago and Duke-ma tensed.
This was the Wardanaz who'd defeated the undead ruling this beach.
What could possibly make him look so serious?
"Wh-what is it?"
"At this rate, we're going to miss tomorrow's classes."
"......"
"......"
At first, they thought he was joking. But Lee Han was dead serious.
"Y-you're not joking?"
"Do I look like I'm joking right now?"
"N-no. Sorry."
"B-but in this situation, wouldn't skipping class be allowed?"
Duke-ma asked incredulously. Lee Han answered in a blood-chilling voice:
"No situation justifies missing class. Understood?"
Grades were more important than life itself.
Though they didn't fully comprehend it intellectually, the two students felt the weight of Lee Han's conviction in their bones.
This must truly be important!
(They didn't understand why, but...!)
"U-understood."
"I apologize too. But Wardanaz... there's no way to attend class tomorrow, is there...?"
The sun was already dipping low. Weekend evening was approaching.
Tomorrow morning would bring a new week—and with it, classes.
Could they escape by then?
"Will anyone notice you're missing and come rescue us?"
Lee Han looked between them.
Rather than building a boat, waiting for outside help seemed more realistic.
But both shook their heads.
"Even if they notice, they can't come immediately."
"There wouldn't be boats available either..."
"For a dorm full of knights, why is White Tiger Tower so disorganized?"
Lee Han scolded.
The two looked deeply wronged.
This had nothing to do with organization...!
"Fortunately, Monday morning's lecture is <Basic Magic Character Education>..."
Lee Han fell into thought.
In a way, having the Skeleton Principal's class tomorrow might be fortunate.
If during lecture the Headmaster said, "Are there students who went to the island to retrieve exit permits? None? Unacceptable. I'll give you this period to go fetch them from the island," then Lee Han's group could be rescued without lifting a finger.
But...
'Would the Headmaster really do that?'
Given his personality, would he say "I suppose I should help a little" when students failed assignments?
More likely, he'd scoff, "Can't even do that? Try harder next time."
As Lee Han pondered, Angrago slapped his knee.
"That's it! If we're still missing when class starts, everyone will definitely notice our absence! Then even the Headmaster would come rescue us! We just need to hold out until—"
"No. We need to search the island immediately. We must escape on our own."
"......"
"......"
Lee Han's response left them aghast.
"But they might come rescue us... right?"
"Impossible."
"But if students are missing by class time, surely they'd worry enough to—"
"Impossible."
Lee Han drove the final nail in the coffin.
The two slumped dejectedly.
'It's unfortunate, but this is reality.'
Having entered the Magic School, it was time for Angrago and Duke-ma to face facts.
With no hope of outside rescue, they had to find their own solution.
Lee Han decided to search for other items the Skeleton Principal might have prepared.
'He must have prepared exit permits and trials to reach them, so there must be other things hidden away as well.'
Or at the very least, the ferry he took must be stashed somewhere—they needed to find it.
Grrrroowl—
"......"
Lee Han turned his gaze. Angoroth lowered his head, his face flushing with embarrassment.
"You must be hungry. After all that moving around. We should eat something first. Do you have any food?"
At Lee Han's question, the two nodded with confident expressions.
"Then let's eat before we move."
As he spoke, Lee Han pulled out bread and canned food from his backpack.
Angoroth took out a piece of tree bark.
For a moment, Lee Han thought he was taking it out as a makeshift bowl.
But instead, Angoroth gripped the white bark and said to Dukma:
"Dukma, let's boil water. We'll cook and eat this."
"Wait. Hold on."
"?"
Angoroth and Dukma looked at Lee Han as if wondering what was wrong.
Lee Han stared at the bark and asked,
"...You eat that?"
Angoroth grinned. It was a smile tinged with pride—he seemed genuinely pleased to know something Lee Han didn't.
"Wardanaz. The inner bark of this tree is edible. If you boil it thoroughly, it becomes quite soft and has a sweet taste."
"......"
That wasn't why I asked!
Lee Han sighed. No matter how desperate they were for food, peeling tree bark to boil and eat it was just...
"I heard the White Tiger Tower students hunt for meat. Was I mistaken?"
"We do hunt, but the quantity is never enough."
"Wardanaz, you don't seem to understand. Just because we hunt doesn't mean we always catch something. And preserving meat is quite difficult too. Most of it has to be eaten immediately, so it's not suitable for emergency rations."
The two White Tiger Tower students puffed up with pride as they explained something only they knew, and Lee Han nearly smacked them before stopping himself.
He was human, after all—he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for them.
"...I have some food with me. Let's eat together."
"!"
"R-really?"
"That tomato vegetable stew?"
The tomato vegetable stew made by a Wardanaz had already become legendary. Even the White Tiger Tower students had heard of it.
"No... I didn't bring tomato cans when heading to the lakeside. I didn't bring vegetables either. I only packed simple rations for myself, so there's not enough. We'll have to look around for more."
At Lee Han's words, the two looked slightly disappointed.
Well, thinking about it, even Wardanaz couldn't have anticipated this situation.
Who would've thought they'd go out to scout the lakeside only to end up stranded on an island?
Lee Han pulled out a pot, a glass bottle of olive oil, butter, salt, pepper, eggs, slightly hardened white bread, and cured bacon from his leather backpack.
The two stared in disbelief.
'He said he only brought simple rations for himself...!'
'Just how well do those Blue Dragon Tower bastards eat?!'
They had never felt ashamed or regretful about being assigned to the White Tiger Tower, but for the first time, they felt a twinge of envy.
How the hell did he manage to secure all that?
"Still not enough, though."
"Are you serious? That's more than sufficient—"
"Earlier, I saw some edible mushrooms. We should gather some."
As Lee Han stood up, the two followed suit.
"Why are you standing?"
"Didn't we say we'd be your arms?"
"We can't just let you go alone."
They spoke with solemn determination, but Lee Han asked bluntly,
"Do you know how to identify mushrooms?"
"...I got it right... about one out of three times. Last time."
"Then two of us will die. Fine. Just follow my instructions."
The key to mushroom foraging was only picking what you knew.
Even if something looked slightly off or vaguely familiar, the most important rule was to leave it alone if you weren't absolutely sure.
Knowing this, Lee Han told them to only pick the safest, most unmistakable mushrooms—the ones whose identities were beyond doubt.
"Pick that brown mushroom."
"Don't pick that one."
"Throw that away. It looks suspicious."
The two White Tiger Tower students, diligently gathering mushrooms in place of the injured Lee Han, gradually grew more confident as they worked.
At this point, shouldn't we be able to tell mushrooms apart too?
"The color's murky and rough—isn't that a safe mushroom?"
"Throw it away before I shove it in your mouth."
"......"
Angrão obediently tossed the mushroom aside.
But Duke Mar seemed reluctant. He kept attempting his own creative interpretations.
"Maybe this mushroom..."
"This one looks edible. It resembles something I saw on the dining table when I was young."
"It looks similar to the one we picked earlier—isn't this one safe too?"
Watching Duke Mar stumbling through his first steps toward becoming a mushroom-picking expert, Lee Han decided to encourage him.
"Sure. That mushroom is edible. But only once."
"Oh... Wait, why only once?"
"Because you'll die after eating it."
"......"
Duke Mar also obediently tossed the mushroom aside.
From then on, they quietly picked only the mushrooms Lee Han instructed them to.
Once preparations were complete, the three built a campfire.
When Lee Han used flint instead of magic to start the fire, Angrão looked puzzled.
"Why flint?"
"The Wardanaz care about the taste of food. My grandmother told me that hand-made fire is better for cooking than magic fire."
'Did she really?'
The real reason Lee Han used flint was simple.
If he messed up the fire magic, he might end up burning these two students alive.
Instead of explaining, Lee Han melted butter and oil in a pan, heating it thoroughly.
The secret to delicious mushrooms was patience and high heat. If you carelessly tossed them in too soon...
'...But honestly, my cooking skills have improved way too much since enrolling.'
It wasn't a joke—he felt his cooking had surpassed his magic skills.
Struggling daily to create varied, tasty dishes with limited ingredients had inevitably honed his abilities.
With the right funding and support, becoming a chef might have been a better choice than a mage...
Sizzle!
The mushrooms on the pan soaked up the butter and oil.
Lee Han skillfully rolled them aside and placed small pieces of stale bread into the remaining oil.
By the time he cracked an egg over everything, the two White Tiger Tower students couldn't help but marvel.
'These guys look more impressed now than when they heard we took down an undead summon.'
"Let's eat."
Lee Han sprinkled salt over the mushrooms, bread, and fried egg to season.
Without a word, the three shoveled food into their mouths. The roasted mushrooms were crisp, and the hardened bread had turned moist from the oil.
Angrão suddenly felt his eyes grow hot.
"I... never thought I'd have a meal like this again."
"...Same here, Angrão. I thought I'd never taste this again in my life..."
'You guys have only been here for a month.'
Lee Han silently swallowed his food, watching the two White Tiger Tower students grow overly sentimental.
Tears or not, they must have been starving—the White Tiger Tower students ate voraciously.
Then, rustling came from behind.
Lee Han immediately flung his bowl aside and grabbed his wand. Angrão instinctively lunged to catch the thrown bowl without realizing it.
"Who's there?"
Pushing through the bushes emerged a water spirit.
The spirit seemed furious that the freshmen were building campfires instead of completing their trials. Its body swelled irregularly as it approached.
A clear sign it was about to attack.
Lee Han also rose, wand in hand.
An equally clear sign he was ready to strike back.
And Lee Han was a step faster.
"Strike them—"
Before Lee Han could even finish the incantation, the water spirit flinched and fled in panic.