Episode 1101
Episode 1101
"If a baby barghest tries to bite you, just let it. Its fangs are poisonous, but you can detoxify it later..."
Professor Bendozol, who had been imparting his extreme teaching methods to the students, suddenly paused.
His most envied student at Einrogard was holding something in his arms.
What the—?
"......You! What are you holding?!"
The baby barghest, startled by the shout, leaped down in fright. Lee Han gave Professor Bendozol a look of utter disbelief.
"Why are you shouting? You scared the barghest."
"How did you already tame it?! You haven't even fed it a potion yet!"
"......!"
Only then did Lee Han belatedly realize.
Come to think of it, when Giselle had spoken to him earlier, had she not been trying to pick a fight but rather pointing out that he was already cuddling the baby barghest?
"Why can't you speak properly and make people misunderstand?"
Lee Han immediately scolded Giselle.
People should speak clearly and precisely, not use vague body language like that.
"......"
Giselle, who had been standing quietly only to get scolded for no reason, stared at her friend as if he were insane.
'Is this bastard serious?'
She wanted to explode in anger, but Professor Bendozol moved first.
As he approached to check on the baby barghest that had just leaped away, the monster let out a low growl—an outright threat.
"Damn it, it's scared now!"
"That's because of you, Professor."
"I know! Fine, then. Here."
Professor Bendozol pulled out a thick whip and handed it to his student.
Lee Han looked at the professor with an expression that said, 'What am I supposed to do with this?'
"Why are you giving this to me?"
"Take it and hit me!"
"......Huh?!"
Startled by the sudden demand, Lee Han wondered if his inner thoughts had been exposed.
Was this some kind of interrogation tactic?
But Professor Bendozol was dead serious. When the student hesitated, the professor shouted again, his voice thick with irritation.
"That thing likes you! If it sees you overpowering me, it'll feel safe enough to come back out!"
"Ah."
Finally understanding, Lee Han took the whip. Then, with a light swing—
"Eat this."
"......Do you think barghests are as dumb as you idiots? You think it'll fall for that? Hit me properly!"
"But Professor, you might get hurt—"
"Hit me properly! I'm reinforcing myself with magic anyway!"
"Eat this. Understood."
Professor Bendozol had forgotten that his student was a monster—one who could overpower even the White Tiger Tower students in swordsmanship and wouldn't lose physically even if thrown into a knight order.
Even without swinging the whip, the moment Lee Han channeled his mana into it, the whip trembled violently.
WHACK!
"Ghk!"
Though Professor Bendozol had toughened his skin and reinforced his muscles with elasticity to withstand the impact, the strike penetrated straight to his bones, forcing an involuntary scream out of him.
Lee Han didn't stop. He swung the whip again—this time, the sound was less like a whip crack and more like a blunt weapon colliding with flesh.
"Ugh—hk—ack—ghk!"
'Professor's acting skills are extraordinary.'
Lee Han marveled at the sight of Professor Bendozol rolling around dramatically.
Was it his deep affection for monsters that breathed life into his performance?
The baby barghest, which had been hiding in fear, cautiously crept out and crawled back into Lee Han's arms.
"Professor! Look! It came back out, feeling safe!"
"G-Good. That's good."
Professor Bendozol staggered to his feet, his entire body creaking in protest.
He wanted to scream at his student, 'You insane bastard, your strength is absurd!'—but beside him stood a watching dragon.
When the professor locked eyes with Uman, he forced a smile, trying to convey that the lecture was proceeding perfectly.
'Hmm. Professor Bendozol is an outstanding mage, but he's also quite the eccentric. I should keep my distance when dealing with him.'
Uman thought to himself.
He knew Einrogard didn't have ordinary teaching methods, but this was just too bizarre!
As the dragon imagined the professor breaking down in tears if he heard that, Lee Han spoke up again.
"Is this one special?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than another baby barghest escaped its enclosure and clung to Lee Han.
Professor Bendozol's lips twitched with what seemed like burning jealousy.
"Professor Bendozol. May Uman say something?"
Uman cautiously asked for permission.
It wouldn't be good for an outsider to speak too much while the professor was teaching. No matter how eccentric he was, basic courtesy had to be maintained.
"Of course! What would you like to say?"
"In Uman's opinion, perhaps this baby barghest was overwhelmed by pure mana and approached him like this."
Being a dragon, Uman was well acquainted with the phenomenon where certain monsters would submit or show obedience.
Pure mana often inspired awe.
"That's... certainly a strong possibility."
-Why... why are you looking at me?
The baby basilisk, sensing Lee Han staring at it from within his sleeve, questioned him back.
Their relationship was that of parent and child, sticky and inseparable regardless of mana, wasn't it?
"If Professor Bendozol brought the baby barghest to teach that very lesson, that's quite meticulous. A fully grown barghest would have tried to resist rather than submit."
"Th-thank you!"
Professor Bendozol nearly burst into tears on the spot.
The lecture he'd thought was doomed had somehow been revived.
"Then, Professor Bendozol. Will you now show the students how to tame the baby barghest using potions and magic?"
"...Yes! Yes!"
The professor looked around at the assembled students. Now that things had turned around, he was determined to make this a success.
"Now, you little..."
Professor Bendozol, who had been about to threaten them all with a beating if they failed, suddenly stopped.
It occurred to him that the dragon might dislike him if he heard such words.
"You... excellent... students... ugh. Wardanaz!"
In the end, Professor Bendozol called on Lee Han.
Because not a single appropriate word of encouragement for the students came to mind.
* * *
Fortunately, the lecture concluded successfully.
Thanks to Professor Bendozol's secret techniques and the hard work of one student who had been running around tirelessly throughout the lesson.
Uman deducted points in some areas (like the professor's eccentric personality or overworking a single student), but outwardly, he praised the professor greatly before leaving.
"...Come here."
After the dragon left, Professor Bendozol called Lee Han over.
Lee Han, who had been playing with his friends while cuddling the baby barghest, made no effort to hide his displeasure.
"Pretend you didn't hear him, Wardanaz."
"Act like you're talking to us. That guy's definitely planning revenge for the inspection."
"Hey, Wardanaz. Didn't you hit him a bit too hard earlier? I swear I heard bones cracking."
Some White Tiger Tower students expressed confusion over Lee Han's earlier strike.
No matter how they looked at it, it had been excessively destructive for a practice bout.
"That's what the professor told me to do, though?"
"But still, the sound was..."
"Don't talk about things you don't understand. The professor was defending with magic the whole time. There wouldn't have been any actual damage."
"Really?"
His friends tilted their heads but ultimately accepted it.
After all, when it came to magic, Wardanaz had far more accurate insight.
'Well, the person who did the hitting would know best.'
"Hey! Get over here!"
Professor Bendozol huffed and finally walked over himself. Lee Han pretended to be startled and replied.
"Professor! My apologies. I didn't hear you at all."
"Do you take me for some fool like Professor Verdus? Here, take this."
The professor forcibly placed a rolled-up piece of paper into Lee Han's hand.
Lee Han didn't open it immediately, instead giving the professor a wary look.
"What is it? Just so you know, if it's a curse scroll, it won't work on me even if I open it."
"......"
Professor Bendozol resisted the urge to whip him with a tongue-lashing and snatched the paper back.
Then, he opened it himself and handed it over. Surprisingly, it contained a request.
"It's a request sent to me from Clover Ranch."
Einrogard students considered Professor Bendozol half-mad hermit, but...
Though the students of Einrogard considered Professor Bendozol half-mad (which wasn't entirely wrong), outside the academy, he was highly regarded as an expert on all manner of animals and monsters.
Of course, he couldn't care less about such reputation and ignored most requests that came his way.
If it were a request to rescue an injured or sick wild monster, he'd rush to help without taking a single coin—but how often did such requests come?
Most were from the Empire's breeders asking things like, "I'd like advice on raising such-and-such creature." And given Professor Bendozol's temperament, he had no patience for others rearing animals.
"This request... is one even your seniors coveted. Go and fulfill it in my stead."
The Jaju Clover Ranch was so renowned in the Empire that even Ka Mo, a student of the White Tiger Tower, had eyed this request.
Even if it wasn't directly related to mounts, visiting the ranch and interacting with the animals there would offer invaluable experience.
Tch. Now that I'm handing it over, I feel oddly reluctant.
Professor Bendozol felt a twinge of regret.
Of course, he hadn't planned to go himself, but entrusting it to a student was another matter entirely.
No matter how exceptional the student, how could he just hand over the chance to encounter the Empire's rarest creatures?
It was unthinkable—enough to make his stomach churn.
This was far from his usual attitude, yet here he was, changing his mind.
And for a student he envied most of all...
"Wow. Thank you, Professor."
"...Is that all?"
Professor Bendozol was taken aback by the lukewarm response.
He hadn't expected tears of gratitude or some dramatic show of emotion like a devoted disciple, but he'd at least anticipated more surprise.
"Actually, I do have something to say."
"What is it?"
"I've received quite a few requests lately, so I can't guarantee I'll complete this one..."
"...GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!!!"
Was that really worth getting so angry over?
Lee Han shook his head disapprovingly at Professor Bendozol's rude outburst, recalling what he'd just witnessed in class, and walked away.
It wasn't his fault he had so many requests piling up.
No wonder dragons don't like him.
With a cruel thought sharp as a dagger, Lee Han arrived at the classroom.
It was the basement-level lecture hall of Professor Voladi—a place he could now find with his eyes closed.
"?"
Stepping inside, Lee Han was puzzled.
Normally, the classroom would be transformed in some way to torment—no, train—him.
But today, the room looked... normal?
Just ordinary desks and chairs arranged like any other lecture hall.
Lee Han tensed, suspecting an ambush, a trap, or perhaps that Professor Voladi had raised a mimic disguised as a desk.
"Sit."
Professor Voladi gestured. Lee Han sat down slowly, his gaze still wary, suspicious, and uneasy.
Is this a trap that activates when I sit?
"I've heard you've taken on many requests this semester. Managing your time will be difficult."
"Ah, yes."
Not all requests were quick and simple to complete. Especially for someone like Lee Han, who had received numerous invitations.
A student with a more flexible schedule could juggle them, but Lee Han's timetable had fewer gaps than the blank spaces on his usual answer sheets.
"I was planning to catch up on missed lectures later, like last semester."
Professor Voladi nodded, then said,
"Understanding and Application of Intermediate Combat Magic won't have fixed lecture times. We'll cover it in bits and pieces when we can."
"...Professor!"
Lee Han was stunned.
He'd never imagined Professor Voladi would make such considerate arrangements.
"Wait. Did someone order you to do this?"
"Professor Garcia asked me to."
"Ah."
Understanding dawned on Lee Han, and though his excitement dimmed slightly, he was still deeply moved.
That Professor Voladi would adjust his lectures to free up time...
Wait. Does that mean I'll have to attend lectures while out on requests?