Episode 103
Episode 103
"Angrago, what are you doing?!"
"Duke Mar. I will make the sacrifice."
Angrago spoke with solemn determination.
"Of course, the wicked deeds committed by that Wardanaz bastard are absolutely unforgivable, but..."
'These guys are way too persistent.'
Lee Han thought to himself.
Wasn't it about time they let go of past grudges already?!
"...If Wardanaz hadn't helped us this time, we would still be trapped in the dungeon. We can't deny that. I'll yield this Outing Pass to Wardanaz, and next time, I'll earn one with my own strength."
"Angrago. The nobility you've shown has earned my respect. I'll stand with you!"
Even Duke Mar, who had tried to dissuade him, was convinced by Angrago's words.
If only one of the three could take the Outing Pass, it should be the Wardanaz of the Blue Dragon Tower—no, the noble Wardanaz of the tower.
For the first time, Lee Han was genuinely moved to see the White Tiger Tower guys display a shred of conscience.
'So these guys do have a conscience after all.'
He thought they had none!
Lee Han was about to cheerfully shout, "Then hurry up and go in!" But the water spirit frantically grabbed his sleeve.
"?"
The water spirit flailed its limbs in a panic, as if trying to stop him.
Lee Han didn't understand, but he could clearly sense its urgency.
"...Got it. Spring forth!"
A Water Orb shot out and knocked over the White Tiger Tower students who had been rushing forward.
The two who fell face-first rolled on the dirt. The bewildered students glared at Lee Han and shouted.
"What the hell, Wardanaz?!"
"What kind of stunt is this?!"
He had knocked them over first and then looked, but seeing their state afterward, it seemed he might have overdone it.
'If I say the spirit told me to stop them, they'll probably lose their minds...'
Lee Han quickly thought of another excuse to calm them down.
Honor was always a good card to play.
"Do you think I, who bears the name of a noble family, would accept an Outing Pass earned through someone else's sacrifice?"
"...!!!"
While the two were too shocked to respond, Lee Han whispered quietly to the water spirit.
"If you stopped me for no good reason, I'm locking you back in there."
The water spirit trembled at his words and hurriedly explained.
It pointed at the pillar, then at the students, and finally formed an X with its hands.
A flash of intuition struck Lee Han like lightning.
"...Don't tell me—even if we put a student in, it won't open?"
The water spirit nodded.
Lee Han was stunned.
He had thought he was starting to understand the Skeleton Principal's mind, but the man was truly beyond comprehension.
What kind of bastard thinks like this?!
It won't open even if you put a person in?!
'How has he not been assassinated yet?'
Lee Han slowly walked toward the altar.
Now he was certain there were no more traps around.
After fighting each other and locking one person in, realizing the altar still wouldn't open—it was better if there were no traps left nearby.
"Let's find another way. There must be a way to open it."
"Wardanaz..."
Angrago nodded shakily at Lee Han's words, still moved by his earlier display of nobility.
Lee Han channeled a surge of mana into the altar, just as he had done back at the White Tiger Tower.
BOOM!
A silent but powerful shockwave of mana rippled out. The water spirit yelped and flattened itself on the ground.
"Wh-what was that?! What just...?!"
"I tried to break the magic seal with mana, but it failed."
Duke Mar sighed in disappointment.
Then he froze.
'...Wait, didn't this Wardanaz bastard use this exact method to break in last time??'
The White Tiger Tower students still hadn't figured out how Wardanaz had breached their lounge with his friends.
Just how had he broken through the entrance's magic barrier?
But now that he looked at it... could it be...?
Lee Han tried various methods—tapping the altar, channeling mana to examine its structure, firing mana to shake it—but the altar didn't budge an inch.
By this point, suspicion crept into his mind.
'Is there no defensive magic cast on it at all?'
If there had been protective magic like he'd experienced before, it wouldn't have remained completely unresponsive like this.
No matter how skillfully or intricately it was cast, this level of silence was...
Too unnatural.
At first, he thought it might be because the Skeleton Principal's magic was simply too exceptional, making his own skills seem lacking in comparison. But Lee Han decided there was no harm in testing his theory.
"Everyone, step back."
"?"
Not only did Lee Han summon a water mass several times larger than usual, but he also began slowly rotating it in a spiral. The two White Tiger Tower students froze in bewilderment.
"It'd be better if you moved further away."
"???"
Though they didn't fully understand, the two sensed something ominous and cautiously began backing away.
The water spirit had already put a much greater distance between itself and Lee Han before he even spoke.
BOOM!
Professor Voladi had warned him not to be greedy with the Rotation Attribute yet, but if a professor's duty was to torment students, then a student's duty was to rebel and ignore their advice.
Faithfully adhering to this principle, Lee Han disregarded Professor Voladi's words and completed another Water Prison Bomb.
It took over ten minutes, but it was worth it.
The spiraling, explosive mass of water collided directly with the altar, smashing it to pieces.
Angrago and Duke-Ma flinched at the deafening blast, instinctively crouching low. Even from a distance, they hadn't expected such destructive force.
Not only was the altar obliterated—the surrounding area was completely wrecked.
'What kind of magic was that??'
A chill ran down their spines.
They had seen Lee Han use water elemental magic before, but never anything of this magnitude.
They had definitely learned magic under Professor Garcia together—so where had this spell come from?
'Did he find forbidden magic in the library?'
'It must be a secret technique passed down in the Wardanaz family!'
Lee Han staggered, exhaustion written all over his face.
Even with his overflowing mana, focusing on a single spell for over ten minutes had strained his nerves to the limit.
There was no way he wouldn't be tired.
Sluuuurp!
At that moment, the black book gifted by the Skeleton Principal—as if alive—slid out from Lee Han's embrace.
It flipped open on its own, just like before, and began pouring words onto its pages.
The shock of knowledge being hammered directly into his brain.
When the impact faded, the new magical knowledge left in Lee Han's mind was—
<Gonadaltes' Sharp Hand>
A 2nd-circle physical Enhancement Magic that grants a mage's hands a terrifying sharpness!
...Why give this to him now?
'What's the point of this?'
Lee Han stared at the black book in disbelief, but it ignored him, having done its job, and slipped back into his robes.
'What? Is it mocking me for brute-forcing my way through?'
The scary part was—this wasn't a joke. It might actually be the case.
Lee Han couldn't be 100% sure this black book wasn't some evil Magic Tome.
"Wardanaz. Are you... okay?"
"I'm fine. Go look for the Outing Pass."
Though Lee Han had been speaking to Angrago, the water spirit darted forward in a flash.
The leopard Bone Summon smacked the ground in irritation, watching the water spirit move.
"......"
Lee Han wanted to explain the misunderstanding to the water spirit, but he was too exhausted to muster the energy.
Flap-flap!
The water spirit respectfully retrieved the Outing Pass and presented it.
Though slightly dusty from the altar's destruction, the permit was intact.
"You did it, Wardanaz! You actually did it!"
"You overcame all those traps and pulled it off!"
The two cheered as if it were their own achievement. Even the water spirit, sensing the mood, clapped hesitantly.
Lee Han carefully examined the exit permit. It was identical in format to the one he'd received last time.
A rectangular piece of paper containing the phrase "This permits the student in possession to leave for one day" along with the Headmaster's signature.
"Bring me that flat rock over there."
"Why, Wardanaz? I don't know what you're planning, but you could rest first!"
"No. I'm doing it now."
Lee Han pulled out a quill and several ink bottles from his backpack.
When he'd first used the exit permit, what Lee Han had regretted most wasn't being unable to use a carriage or summon creatures.
What Lee Han had regretted most was not being able to forge the exit permit.
You couldn't just make a fake exit permit either. You needed paper of matching quality and multiple colors of ink.
Lee Han had meticulously gathered all necessary materials when purchasing supplies outside, and for what he couldn't obtain, he'd even scavenged from Professor Thunderstep's laboratory.
All for the moment he could get his hands on an exit permit to make a forgery.
"...No... No way?"
"Right now? No way?!"
Angrago and Dukma were shocked.
At first they denied it, but no matter how they looked at it, that was exactly what it was.
'He's forging it, Wardanaz!!'
'How in the...?!!'
Lee Han's face took on the solemn expression of a master craftsman as he arranged his tools on the rock.
The atmosphere was so intense that the two couldn't even speak.
"Move."
At Lee Han's command, the quill floated slightly. The magic originally meant for moving quills had finally found its true purpose.
Normally, using <Lesser Manipulation> with more precision than an actual human hand required immense skill, but for Lee Han, that was already a done deal.
Professor Voladi's Magical Combat Theory was now blossoming through his student's fingertips in the form of exit permit forgery.
As they watched a fake exit permit being completed right before their eyes, their jaws dropped.
"By this preposterous beard of mine!"
"Is... is this even possible?!"
While Lee Han and the White Tiger Tower students were stranded on the lake island, students from other towers were each going about their business.
Among them, the Blue Dragon Tower students remained in the lounge, flipping through books as they tried to figure out the remaining potions.
"Ah... if someone would just give me that potion again, I might be able to figure it out. Can't someone give it to me again?"
"Someone tie up Gainando too."
"Where's Wardanaz?"
"He went to check the lake. Said we should prepare lunch ourselves."
Lee Han had even selected ingredients before leaving them by the lounge fireplace.
Seeing the ingredients made the students' expressions brighten with excitement.
Having only ever eaten meals prepared by servants their whole lives, the sudden opportunity to cook for themselves made their nonexistent creativity begin to bubble up.
"Would it be alright if I tried making a pie?"
"Sure. What kind?"
"I read about it in a book once—there's a pie made with fish. It looked delicious."
"You're out."
"Why?!"
Though there was some friction, the Blue Dragon Tower students were happily cooking and waiting.
...But Lee Han didn't return.
"Why isn't Wardanaz back?"
"Damn you, Gainando. Did you upset Wardanaz?"
"N-no! I finished all the assignments on my own in the end!"
"Was it because you were talking too much during dinner last night? You should eat quietly and gratefully, but you acted rudely..."
"Ghk..."
Like children waiting anxiously for parents who were late returning from work, the students grew uneasy.
"This won't do. I'm going to check the lakeshore."
"Me too. Let's go together."
The Blue Dragon Tower students gathered and rushed toward the lakeshore en masse.
But there was no way Lee Han would still be there after having already left.
The Blue Dragon Tower students, who had hoped against hope that Lee Han might still be there, began to grow increasingly frightened.
"Search the area!"
"Ask around—he might have gone somewhere else!"
The Blue Dragon Tower students scattered to begin their inquiries.
In the process, some of them heard shocking news.
"The White Tiger Tower students disappeared?"
"Those empty-headed tin-can bastards?!"
"What's wrong?"
"They say the White Tiger Tower bastards kidnapped Wardanaz!"
"The White Tiger Tower guys? ...Huh? Is that even possible?"