Episode 114
Episode 114
The group skillfully opened the door behind the central lobby on the first floor of the main building and stepped inside.
A space normally off-limits to students began revealing itself along the corridor.
At the sight of the empty banquet hall and grand hall, the students from the Black Turtle Tower found themselves unconsciously mesmerized, staring blankly.
They were probably wondering why such places existed while students had to eat stale bread in the lounge.
Lee Han and Ratford exchanged glances.
-Never let your guard down.
-Of course.
Ratford recalled a thief's creed.
'When returning to a place you've already hit, you must be several times more cautious.'
Lee Han thought of the Skeleton Principal.
'Since the underground passage was breached last time, he must have changed and reinforced the defense system.'
They couldn't expect the same luck as before—slipping into the underground unnoticed.
Clank.
Just as expected.
From the far end of the corridor, a figure in plate armor could be seen walking toward them.
-Even so, how does mistaking me for a freshman make any sense?
-......
When Lee Han and Ratford were caught successfully escaping through the underground storage passage, the warehouse keeper was summoned and reprimanded by the Headmaster.
But the warehouse keeper remained unfazed.
-Even if you say that, distinguishing by mana levels isn't possible.
-You fool... Fine. I get it. Clearly, just saying this won't change anything immediately.
The Skeleton Principal said nothing more about the warehouse keeper's attitude.
Scolding the warehouse keeper for letting the Wardanaz slip away this time would be unfair—he was an extremely capable entity.
Not only did he manage the underground storage supplies, but he was also responsible for facility maintenance, repairs, upkeep, and various other tasks.
On top of that, he occasionally patrolled and caught unlucky students wandering around late at night. One mistake wasn't enough to warrant further reprimand.
And honestly, even the Skeleton Principal saw this mistake as unavoidable.
Who could have predicted that a freak like the Wardanaz boy would appear before the warehouse keeper, who distinguished intruders by mana?
-I'll lend you my summons. Don't rely solely on mana—find other ways to identify intruders.
-Understood. I'll do my best.
-If you spot the Wardanaz boy, don't let him escape. Make sure he's sent to the Punishment Room.
-Why must I do that?
-Can't you just do as you're told without questioning?
After this conversation with the Skeleton Principal, the warehouse keeper significantly tightened security between the rear of the main building and the underground.
Students were like mice or ants.
Once they found a way in, they kept swarming back.
That was all the more reason to teach them a harsh lesson.
Don't even dream of coming this way!
The summons lent by the Skeleton Principal would surely catch any students reckless enough to trespass.
The warehouse keeper began his routine patrol and inspection as usual.
"It's a walking suit of armor!"
The Black Turtle Tower students whispered in terror.
"Do you know it?"
"We've met before."
Their faces twisted with dread.
How many students had been captured because of that walking armor?
Since there was no person inside, even if they attacked fiercely, the armor would clumsily reassemble itself. Even if they managed to bind its legs, it would immediately call for backup.
Lee Han fell into thought.
'Is there a way to catch it?'
From what he'd heard, it was a summon reminiscent of Zorban II, the master of the sandbank trial.
An undead, inanimate-type summon.
But just because it wasn't alive didn't mean it was invincible.
If it took enough damage, the summon could no longer endure and would be forcibly recalled.
The problem was...
'Lightning-element magic is the most effective, but using it now would be...'
It wasn't about winning or losing the fight—engaging in combat would only bring guaranteed losses for the students.
Moreover, using flashy and noisy lightning elemental magic would be tantamount to shouting, "We're over here!"
'It's better to avoid it.'
"They haven't spotted us yet. It's better to avoid them. Did they follow us well?"
"I'm not sure. It depends..."
Lee Han turned around to retreat with his group.
Clank.
But before they knew it, another suit of plate armor had appeared far behind them.
The faces of the Black Turtle Tower students turned deathly pale.
"I'll lure them away—"
"To the side!"
Without hesitation, Lee Han opened the door—one he had kept an eye on since entering the hallway, just in case.
Inside was a worn-out space that seemed to have once been a classroom. Behind the chairs and desks, all sorts of junk was piled up.
The Black Turtle Tower students instinctively scanned the clutter for anything useful. It was a kind of occupational habit.
"If the armor comes in here..."
"I know, Wardanaz. You're saying we should scatter and run, right? Even if someone gets caught?"
When faced with an insurmountable crisis, the principle was to minimize losses by scattering and fleeing.
The Black Turtle Tower students were already well-versed in this rule.
"No. I'll knock them down with magic, so don't panic and just run. It'll probably be incredibly loud."
"......"
At Lee Han's confident declaration that he would take down the plate armor, the Black Turtle Tower students thought:
'We made the right choice bringing him along!'
How many people would boldly claim they could take down plate armor like that?
They truly believed they had done well by bringing him.
Clatter!
"?"
A clattering sound came from the junk behind them. The already tense students turned their heads in alarm.
"Did you touch something?"
"No... Did you?"
Then, paper and a quill floated up and began inscribing words.
—Can't you keep quiet, freshmen?
"A... a ghost!"
—Not a ghost, you idiots. Your senior.
At the words inscribed on the paper, the students stopped trembling—but they weren't entirely reassured.
"If you're a senior... why are you like this?"
"Right. Show us your face."
—Don't be ridiculous. I don't want to end up in the Punishment Room. Even this is insanely risky!
"...?"
For a moment, Lee Han was confused.
'Ah. Does the Headmaster send students to the Punishment Room if they contact first-years?'
That sounded exactly like something the Skeleton Principal would do.
Otherwise, there would have been at least a few students who had interacted with seniors by now.
—Anyway, keep your voices down and communicate through written notes if you don't want that armor to hear you. And stop spouting nonsense about a freshman taking it down with magic!
At the unnamed senior's words, Lee Han felt slightly chastened.
Had he been overestimating himself?
"I thought lightning elemental magic would work... My apologies."
—...You know how to use lightning elemental magic?
The senior seemed slightly taken aback. The handwriting trembled.
—Still, don't do it. It'll make too much noise, and I'll get caught too.
Lee Han and the Black Turtle Tower students realized that meeting a senior like this was an incredibly rare opportunity.
When else would they get a chance to talk to someone who had entered the school before them?
"Senior, how can we shake off that armor?"
"Senior, which path is best to get to the kitchen from here—?"
"Senior, what's on the <Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic> exam?"
Bombarded with questions, the senior seemed flustered.
—Do I look like your personal answer sheet?! Can't you stay still for a second? You don't even know what kind of armor that is...
Lee Han held his friends back.
It would be a waste to provoke the senior and miss out on valuable information.
"Everyone, calm down and listen to what the senior has to say. Senior, what kind of creature is that?"
The walking armor was a summon frequently used by the Skeleton Principal.
Being an unliving entity, it could patrol the school all day long, and with its heat-detecting abilities, it was notorious for catching unfortunate students one after another!
But the harsher the school became, the more the students adapted in response.
The students had developed a few tricks of their own.
—Using fire magic to disrupt it, deceiving it with heat-emitting illusions, or covering themselves thickly to prevent heat from leaking out... I've already cast an illusion over this classroom. Even if you open the door and look, the armors won't notice. But if you make loud noises, none of that will matter, so please, everyone, keep your mouths shut!
'Ah, so that's why I felt something off.'
Lee Han nodded to himself in understanding.
When he had entered the classroom earlier, he had sensed a subtle strangeness.
At first, he thought it might just be his imagination since nothing seemed visibly different, but now he realized it was an illusion designed to emit just the right amount of heat.
'So it can be used like this too.'
Lee Han memorized this useful trick, thinking it would come in handy. He'd likely have to roam the school often in the future, and this would be helpful.
"I didn't notice at all."
"Me neither."
—If you could notice it, would it even be illusion magic?
The quill pen moved swiftly, leaving behind writing that somehow seemed to carry a hint of pride.
"So, senior, what were you doing here?"
—......
"???"
—...I was heading to the kitchen.
"Perfect! We were heading there too."
"But why were you going to the kitchen, senior?"
The senior fell silent again. Lee Han asked,
"Were you hungry?"
"Come on, Wardanaz. As if."
"Right. You're not a freshman anymore, senior..."
—...That's right. There's a hidden reagent in the kitchen. I needed it, so that's why.
The senior hastily made an excuse. The other students gasped in admiration, saying, "As expected," but Lee Han gave him a skeptical look.
'That doesn't seem right.'
—The armors have all passed. Let's move now.
"By any chance, could you teach us that illusion magic you used to deceive the armors?"
Lee Han asked.
Of course, he might eventually learn such magic in an illusion class if he waited, but Lee Han needed it right now.
When encountering walking armor, he couldn't exactly say, "Please wait until I learn how to deal with you."
The senior scoffed and wrote:
—Even if I taught you, it's not magic a freshman can handle right now.
"But still, if there's a way..."
As Lee Han persistently pleaded, the senior reluctantly wrote out an explanation, as if annoyed.
Pahait's Lesser Illusion.
This was the magic used to deceive the walking armors.
As the incantation—"O heat, distort the air"—suggested, it summoned an illusion infused with heat.
Instead of altering the entire classroom's appearance, the senior had simply spread an appropriate amount of heat like a curtain.
This alone was enough to evade the walking armor's detection, and summoning a full-fledged illusion on top of that would consume a significant amount of mana.
There was no reason to waste mana unnecessarily.
'A freshman couldn't do it anyway.'
The senior had only explained it so readily because he was certain a freshman would never manage it.
From mana control to the sheer amount required, freshmen lacked everything needed to cast this spell.
It was quicker to just explain and let them give up than to refuse outright.
—Freshmen, hurry to the kitchen...
"O heat, distort the air!"
With the incantation, an illusion enveloped Lee Han and his group.
From the senior's perspective outside, it looked as if they had vanished.
Since it was his first attempt, Lee Han wasn't entirely sure if it had worked properly.
"Did it work?"
—...The illusion's finesse is a bit lacking... The colors are a little weak, perhaps...
Unconsciously nitpicking, the senior suddenly realized what he was doing and flushed with embarrassment.
What kind of petty behavior was this!