Episode 116
Episode 116
-But for that method, I'll need your full cooperation.
"......"
"......"
Lee Han managed to keep his expression neutral, but the Black Turtle Tower students looked suspicious.
This was, after all, a school where even the professors couldn't be trusted.
There was no reason to trust an upperclassman either.
'He's saying all this, but surely he wouldn't betray us, right?'
'Somehow, that upperclassman seems like he'd belong to either the Blue Dragon Tower or White Tiger Tower...'
-...Freshmen. Doubting me now... Damn it! This fucking school. Fine! I'd be suspicious too. I would be in your position. But are we really going to distrust each other after coming this far together!? And if you don't trust me, how exactly do you plan to get out of here!?
"He's right."
Lee Han calmed the Black Turtle Tower students down.
Though this unfamiliar upperclassman was indeed suspicious, their current situation—trapped in the kettle kitchen by the janitor's magic—left them with no real alternatives.
They could either stay trapped and get caught, or hear out the upperclassman's plan.
"Let's hear him out first."
-First, I'll need a few of those Beer Candies you made.
"......"
The students' eyes turned wary, as if looking at a suspicious con artist, but Salko still reached into his pocket and pulled out the Beer Candies.
It wasn't that he trusted the upperclassman—he trusted Lee Han's judgment.
-I'm not trying to steal from you freshmen.
'His words are getting more and more suspicious...'
-As you know, I've used too much magic getting here today. I'm almost out of mana. I need to recover.
'Ah. That makes sense.'
Lee Han found the explanation reasonable.
Unlike Lee Han, who had never experienced mana depletion in his life, other mages often ran low after casting spells.
This unfamiliar upperclassman had used magic repeatedly from the classroom all the way to the kitchen.
It wouldn't be strange if his mana was running dry by now.
Crunch, crunch—
The Beer Candies disappeared bit by bit into thin air.
Suddenly, Lee Han grew curious.
"But if you're low on mana, how are you maintaining your Invisibility Magic?"
-That wasn't my doing.
'...The Skeleton Principal?!'
Though the words appeared in a calm font, Lee Han could somehow sense the upperclassman's fear.
Don't tell me...
'Did the Skeleton Principal cast a spell to prevent upperclassmen from contacting us?'
Lee Han wanted to scream, "Why would he go that far?" but he held back.
He was starting to accept the reality of this magic school.
'Hmm. That's just the kind of person he is. If I act surprised, I'm the only one who loses.'
-Done. Watch closely.
Having recovered some mana, the upperclassman stepped forward.
The magic the janitor had used on the kitchen door was Spatial Distortion Magic.
Though the name sounded simple, breaking through it was anything but.
At least three spells were required.
First, <Sensory Enhancement>.
A 2nd-Circle spell, <Sensory Enhancement> was one of the most popular Enchantment Magic spells among warriors.
Once cast, even the dullest and slowest warrior could display reflexes as swift as a water strider.
Not only that, but enhanced senses—vision, hearing, and more—allowed them to gather far more information in the chaos of battle.
Since Space Magic fundamentally distorted the five senses, this level of enhancement was the bare minimum to counter it.
Next was <Spatial Perception>.
Though a 1st-Circle spell, <Spatial Perception> was actually more difficult than the 2nd-Circle <Sensory Enhancement> due to the inherent complexity of Space Magic.
This spell allowed the caster to accurately map the space around them in their mind.
It was on a completely different level from simply eyeballing distances and making rough estimates.
It precisely identified the positions of nearby objects and the exact distances between them.
While Combat Mages, who often faced agile opponents, primarily used it as a supplementary spell, it was also indispensable when dealing with Space Magic.
After all, without proper perception, there could be no solution.
Finally, they needed a spell with sufficient destructive power.
Any magic would do as long as it had destructive power. Once they found the weak point in the distorted space, they needed to pierce through it to escape.
'My mana has recovered.'
The senior took a deep breath.
As a third-year bearing the symbol of Sunun, he had to show a proper example in front of the freshmen.
...And above all, it was downright infuriating that those brats over there were doubting him.
"Enhance my senses. Perceive the space. Flame, take the form of an arrow and fly!"
The incantation was quickly recited, and the magic was cast.
His senses sharpened, and the surrounding space transformed into information that flowed into his mind.
Then, a flaming arrow flashed through the air, piercing a single point in the void.
"!"
"Whoa...!"
Even the skeptical Black Turtle Tower students couldn't help but marvel at the flaming arrow.
As expected of a senior!
The flames, burning fiercely enough to scorch the surroundings, maintained the form of a sharp arrow as they shot forward.
As freshmen, they could tell just how difficult that magic was.
Maintaining the fire element in the form of an arrow while simultaneously launching it—that was no easy feat.
'The form maintenance is a bit unstable, and the control seems to flicker during launch.'
...Except for Lee Han.
Lee Han thought to himself before flinching.
'Wait. Why am I thinking like Professor Voladi?'
What did it matter if the form was slightly unstable or if control flickered momentarily?
There was no real issue with casting the spell.
Only perfectionists like Professor Voladi would nitpick over such details...
Lee Han reflected on the fact that he was starting to think like Professor Voladi.
'No need to obsess over perfection. If I keep this up, I might end up like him.'
Crack!
The flaming arrow collided, burned, and vanished.
The Black Turtle Tower students waited in awe.
'When do we get out?'
'Is it now?'
-Help...
"??"
-...me...
"......"
"......"
The crooked letters scrawled on the paper made the students realize the senior had failed.
Even if the senior begged for help, there was nothing the invisible freshmen could do.
After a brief moment, the senior seemed to regain his composure, and new writing appeared.
-...Sorry. You had to see me like that.
"What happened?"
-I failed.
"Mac..."
"?"
When one of the Black Turtle Tower students beside him opened his mouth, Lee Han tilted his head in confusion.
What was he about to say?
"Beer Candy thief...!"
"......"
-No way! Do you really think I'd fail on purpose?!
The senior desperately defended himself, clearly not wanting to be remembered as the guy who failed after stealing Beer Candy.
There were two reasons for his failure.
First, the range and strength of the spatial distortion magic were greater than expected, draining too much mana from <Spatial Perception>.
Second, the spatial distortion magic was woven more sturdily than anticipated. It seemed the warehouse keeper had poured in more mana than usual, making it harder to break through.
Because of that, even after firing the flaming arrow, it bounced off instead of piercing through.
"So... you just took our Beer Candy and failed to escape..."
Salko said in a grave tone. If not for the principal's magic, the senior would have grabbed the freshmen by the collar and started a brawl right then.
-You... brats... You don't even know how difficult that magic is...
"Senior. Just teach me <Spatial Perception>."
Lee Han, who had been listening, spoke up.
After hearing the detailed explanation, it didn't seem entirely impossible.
For the sensory enhancement, he had <Gonadaltes' Agile Footsteps>.
For the piercing magic, he had <Gonadaltes' Sharp Hand>.
If he could just learn <Spatial Perception>, Lee Han felt he could give it a try.
Since it was a 1st-circle spell, with some luck, he might even learn it on the spot.
-Freshman. You really...
The senior was about to scold him, saying, 'Do you really think a first-year can learn spatial magic on the spot?' but then hesitated.
First of all, as someone who had just failed miserably, he wasn't in a position to criticize...
-I kind of wanted to hear that freshman say, "This seems impossible."
-Fine. I'll write it out in as much detail as I can.
As he wrote, the senior suddenly grew worried.
...What if this freshman masters this spell in one try as well?
An hour later.
Lee Han's group had escaped the underground kitchen and gathered in the moonlit courtyard in front of the main building.
Lee Han spoke earnestly to the floating piece of paper in the air.
"Senior. Thank you. I think you teach even better than the professors."
"Oh..."
"Upperclassmen really are different, huh."
At Lee Han's words, the other Black Turtle Tower students nodded in agreement.
Seeing a Wardanaz act like this, it was clear that senior's teaching skills were anything but ordinary.
Perhaps that senior was more of a theorist, excelling at teaching magic rather than casting it.
'......'
Thankfully, the freshmen couldn't see his face.
The senior covered his face with both hands, sat on a nearby rock, and let out deep sigh after sigh.
'I've wasted my magic education...'
He had prided himself on being quite exceptional even among his peers...
But today, that pride had been completely shattered.
And by a freshman he'd just met!
If he told his tower friends exactly what he'd witnessed today, no one would believe him.
If he said it, they'd probably respond with things like:
"So today I was hungry and went to the kitchen to steal some food, and this freshman learned <Pahait's Lesser Illusion> in one try after I taught it. It was so amazing that I taught him <Spatial Perception> too? Then he mastered that in one go, instantly recognized the space distortion magic the pantry keeper had cast, and broke through it."
"Did you go to the kitchen and drink?"
"Did the Headmaster catch you and hit you with a spell?"
"And how could <Spatial Perception> alone break through space distortion magic? You'd need other things too, right?"
"Ah. Well... that, the freshman... um... I might have seen wrong, but I think he even used a spell the Headmaster once cast...?"
"...You definitely saw wrong. How could a freshman use the Headmaster's magic?"
"From what I saw, that freshman might be the Headmaster in disguise. Hey. Be careful. The Headmaster might come for you this week and drag you to the Punishment Room. You didn't say anything weird, right?"
"I told you not to interact with freshmen in the first place!"
...That's the kind of conversation they'd have.
"Senior? Are you still here?"
"Did he already leave?"
"He probably left since he said all he needed to. How cool."
-I haven't left yet...
The senior pulled himself together and stood up.
It had been shocking, but students who entered this Magic School were all accustomed to accepting shocking realities.
Though it was hard to accept that a freshman was more talented at magic than him or his friends...
Neither the Magic School nor the Skeleton Principal were easy facts to accept either.
Just accept it!
-I'm grateful for today.
"Not at all. It's thanks to your excellent teaching."
'Who are you mocking?'
Even Lee Han's sincere gratitude sounded like mockery to the senior right now.
-Freshman. Normally at this school, people who meet at night don't ask for names or families. If you get caught by the Punishment Room, you might get dragged in together.
"......"
The reason was so practical that Lee Han was at a loss for words.
-But I really want to know your name. Even if I get dragged to the Punishment Room, I swear on my honor to keep it secret.
The senior wrote with complete seriousness.
He was just too curious.
What kind of frea... no, freshman was this?
Lee Han thought to himself.
'This senior must be hard of hearing or just uninterested in others.'
The Black Turtle Tower guys kept saying "Wardanaz, Wardanaz" earlier, and he didn't even notice?
The Black Turtle Tower students also looked incredulous.
But the senior had his reasons.
Unlike the freshmen, the senior had been constantly keeping watch outside the hallway, preoccupied with that.
Plus, his mind was half-gone from that monstrous freshman!
After some deliberation, Lee Han made a decision.
Seeing how the senior was acting, it didn't seem like he'd report them to the Skeleton Principal.
'It should be fine to tell him.'
-I should introduce myself first. I'm Balpatan of the Moradi family.
"......"
"...My name is Gainando."
"...!!!"