Episode 110
Episode 110
Though Yoner and Lee Han were walking together without riding horses, they belatedly realized it wasn't as slow as they'd thought.
The students who'd ridden ahead were floundering much sooner than expected.
"Waaah! Waaahaaah!"
Starting with the White Tiger Tower student performing acrobatics atop his bucking horse...
Clop-clop! Clop-clop!
"Why are you guys coming back this way?"
"I don't know! I'm not controlling it! Help!!"
...to horses galloping in the opposite direction.
Lee Han was surprised to find that walking while holding the reins was unexpectedly the better option.
Pfft.
The white horse snorted regretfully at the other horses' antics.
It would have loved to buck wildly with Lee Han on its back, but all strength had drained from its body, leaving it no choice.
Lee Han rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a sugar cube. He placed it on his palm and offered it to the white horse.
Pfft!
Though normally prone to all sorts of mischief, the white horse would temporarily stop disliking Lee Han whenever treats were involved.
Lee Han cursed the horse inwardly.
'What a calculating beast.'
Looking at Yoner beside him, the two seemed genuinely close.
The chestnut horse followed Yoner kindly and gently even without treats. If anything, it seemed worried Yoner might get tired.
"Wardanaz!"
A gruff voice called from behind.
It was Salko of the Tutanta Family and his friends.
"What's the matter? Wait. Don't come any closer."
"?"
Lee Han immediately stopped Salko and his friends from approaching.
"Because you might ruin my pop quiz."
"...We wouldn't!! Wardanaz, what do you take us for?!"
Salko's subordinates were outraged.
Unlike Lee Han, they weren't obsessed with grades.
They were working hard on this pop quiz not for the score, but to prove their efforts.
"Everyone says that. So don't come closer."
"Everyone, calm down."
Salko mediated for his friends.
"By law, one shouldn't rummage through backpacks near gold mines. Wardanaz is exceptional, so naturally many envy him. Even within the Blue Dragon Tower, he must have many competitors. His reaction is understandable."
"?"
Yoner looked puzzled.
That wasn't it?
"We won't come any closer. Wardanaz."
"Fine. Tutanta. What's the matter?"
Before Salko could speak, one of his subordinates burst out angrily.
"Think about what you've done, Wardanaz!"
Lee Han hesitated.
There were too many possibilities—he couldn't guess which one they meant.
Lee Han asked seriously,
"I'm not sure. What are you talking about?"
"What did you just feed that horse?"
"A sugar cube."
"Exactly! How could you feed that to a horse?! You should've brought it to the Black Market to sell!"
"......"
Pfft!
For once, Lee Han and the white horse were united in bewilderment.
For the first time, Salko looked embarrassed as he cleared his throat.
"That's not it. Wardanaz."
"It wasn't?"
"Right. That couldn't be the reason."
Salko accepted a brown paper package from a friend and handed it to Lee Han. The contents peeked through briefly.
Carrots.
"He'll like these just as much. Sugar is hard to come by—a rare commodity. Use carrots instead of sugar."
Having said this, Salko turned to leave. Lee Han called out to his sturdy-backed dwarf—no, elf—friend.
"Tutanta. Thanks."
"It's nothing. Come by the Black Market sometime."
"Sure. No problem."
"And let's play a game of chess."
"......"
Lee Han eyed Salko suspiciously, but he had already turned his back and left.
"Well... It's not bad to save sugar."
Though supplies were still ample, sugar was indeed a precious commodity.
If carrots could substitute, that wasn't bad. Lee Han held up a carrot and offered it to the white horse.
-Pfft!
The white horse sharply turned its head away as if refusing.
Lee Han seriously considered whether he should try to find another white horse.
'There must be at least one white horse at the Magic School...'
If he fed it well and bulked it up, wouldn't it look roughly similar?
"!"
In the distance, Lee Han and Yoner began to see the riverbank. Some students had already led their horses into the shallows.
Rowena of the White Tiger Tower, one of the Princess's followers, spotted Lee Han and said:
"Lord Wardanaz. Be careful."
"What's the matter?"
Instead of answering, Rowena pointed at the river with her wooden sword.
Just then, as another student tried to lead their horse near the bank to drink, something astonishing happened.
The water level of the river abruptly dropped.
"......"
"......"
Lee Han and Yoner's faces twisted in dismay.
This is downright unfair!
"Found a solution yet?"
"We tried going deeper, but the current seems a bit too strong..."
Rowena wore a hesitant expression.
One should never underestimate a river.
Even waist-deep water could drown you if you lost balance, and the danger multiplied with faster currents.
And this river looked deep enough to easily submerge someone up to their chest.
Without knowing how far they needed to go, caution was the only option.
When Lee Han arrived, the Princess came scurrying over. Rowena spoke for her:
"Her Highness is delighted to see you, Lord Wardanaz."
"She just... walked over, didn't she?"
The Princess stared intently at the brown bundle in Lee Han's hands.
'Does she want to feed carrots to the horses?'
Lee Han pulled out a carrot and offered it.
The Princess immediately took a bite—then scrunched her face and glared at Lee Han with betrayed eyes.
Lee Han and Yoner were baffled.
'I gave that for the horse...'
'Shh.'
Rowena, looking puzzled, asked instead:
"Where did you get this?"
"...A friend from the Black Turtle Tower gave it to me earlier, saying it was fresh and tasty."
"Forgive me, but judging by Her Highness's expression, it seems underripe..."
"Yeah, I figured. They must be bad at farming. But let's not complain too much—it's the thought that counts."
"Of course. It would be shameless to criticize a gift so bluntly."
Lee Han shamelessly played innocent and swiftly changed the subject.
"Let's try drawing water from the river with magic."
He swung his staff, and a massive sphere of water surged from the river. Rowena couldn't help but gasp.
So fast—and so effortlessly!
The water sphere floated toward the horse's mouth.
Then, just as its tongue was about to touch it, the water evaporated.
"......"
Lee Han was speechless.
'This is beyond ridiculous.'
Do they really have to be this serious about the test?
Whatever spell Professor Lightning-Step cast on the river, it seemed the only way to water the horses was to lead them in.
In that case...
Lee Han pulled a long, sturdy rope from his backpack.
The other students, who had been staring blankly, jumped in surprise.
'Why does he have that??'
Where he got it was one thing, but the fact that a Wardanaz carried this around daily was beyond comprehension.
Just... how?
"Let's tie ourselves together with this."
"!"
If they bound themselves and the horses together, they could withstand the raging currents more easily.
The students at the riverbank nodded. This was worth trying.
"Good thinking, Wardanaz."
"Let's do it."
They tied themselves with the rope and waded in with the horses.
"Careful... Got it!"
"Done! We did it!"
Cheers erupted from the students who had made it deep into the river.
Though the water level dropped when the horses tried to drink, it didn't recede enough to stop them.
Finally, the lead horse began gulping down the water with loud slurps.
'What a relief.'
Lee Han let out a sigh of relief in his heart. At this rate, it seemed they had solved the problem quite easily.
If only it could just end like this!
-Pfft.
The white horse snorted as if complaining it didn't want to go.
"If you go drink the water, I'll give you one more sugar cube."
-Prrrt...
At Lee Han's words, the white horse stopped grumbling and lowered its head.
The students were taking turns standing at the front one by one. Now it was Lee Han's turn.
While the white horse drank, Lee Han suddenly felt his hair stand on end.
It was the same chilling sensation he'd felt during Professor Voladi's torment—no, lecture—when he'd closed his eyes to detect the movement of elements.
That spine-tingling feeling!
Lee Han hastily turned his head. A terrifying surge of water was rushing down from upstream.
"Lightning Steps!"
His friends didn't understand why Lee Han suddenly shouted the professor's name.
Nor did they realize it was actually a curse.
"Everyone, get out of the way! Shield, unfold!"
After shouting for the students behind him to flee, Lee Han swung his staff to create a massive water shield.
The largest and thickest water shield he could possibly muster.
A water shield that could utilize every drop of nearby river water!
Instantly, the water level around them dropped. Thanks to this, the students behind him could quickly escape.
But Lee Han, who had gone the farthest in, was too late to get out.
The rushing current from upstream collided head-on with the water shield, bursting sideways. Water sprayed everywhere, and the river level rose again in an instant.
But that was enough.
'It's manageable!'
From the very moment he summoned the water shield, Lee Han hadn't entertained the absurd idea of completely blocking the river.
Buying just a little time was sufficient.
As long as the water didn't rise around him, he could escape.
But then...
-Pfft!
The white horse stumbled.
Unlike Lee Han, who had noticed and prepared in advance, the white horse, realizing the current too late, was swept off its feet by the sudden surge and floundered.
Several students screamed. Yoner, who had already escaped, tried frantically to go back in, but the others held him back.
"Pull the rope!"
No sooner had Rowena spoken than the rope snapped. The violently surging waters around Lee Han had torn it apart.
Now there was no way left. Rowena shouted desperately,
"Wardanaz! Even if you have to come out alone—"
"......"
The white horse suddenly floated into the air.
It wasn't because Lee Han had suddenly realized a new spell and levitated it.
...Lee Han had hoisted the white horse onto his back and stood up.
The water shield precariously enveloped and protected him.
Everyone was speechless. Even the white horse seemed bewildered by Lee Han's absurd actions.
The horse whinnied indignantly, as if demanding what the hell he was doing.
"...If you act up now, I'll plant you upside down in the riverbed."
Lee Han warned in a low, menacing voice.
Outwardly, he looked solemn and majestic, but inwardly, his entire body was screaming.
One part of his mind maintained the water shield, while another part was madly expelling mana from his entire body.
Professor Ingoldel had warned him not to do this, but what choice did he have? There was no other way.
With each step he took, the mana being recklessly expended was so intense that even the white horse grew frightened.
No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like this human would collapse from exhaustion first.
But Lee Han neither collapsed nor was swept away. He barely managed to carry the white horse to the shallows before setting it down.
Then, with a cry filled with resentment and frustration, he shouted:
"Lightning Steps!!"
"???"
The students were baffled once again. They couldn't understand why Lee Han kept shouting the professor's name.
-Pffft...
The white horse scrambled to its feet and rushed to Lee Han, worried about his condition.
But Lee Han wasn't fooled.
"No matter how nicely you act, I'm not taking off the bracelet or the belt."
-......