Episode 1162
Episode 1162
Lee Han remained cautious but also made sure not to do anything that might provoke misunderstanding.
This wasn't the area near the ruins' entrance but rather a section where one had to find a hidden passage to descend.
In other words, the adventurer party visible ahead wasn't just some random ragtag group—they must have had some knowledge and confidence to make it this far.
Indeed, looking around, traces of intense magical combat lingered in the air.
'There's no reason to approach already tense people and risk misunderstanding.'
Besides, Lee Han had Saratan. There was no need to stealthily tail other adventurers.
Yet, surprisingly, the other party called out to them first.
"W-wait! Please wait a moment!"
"?"
"Are you mages as well? If so, could you perhaps identify yourselves? I am Garko of the Arjo family."
The Arjo family was a mage family Lee Han had heard of a few times before.
Even Giselle nodded slightly, having heard of them as well.
'An elf lineage. And if he's a transmutation mage, then he's definitely from the Arjo family.'
Any perceptive Einrogard mage could easily identify someone from the transmutation magic school.
If their clothes were adorned with fur from various animals, they were likely from the transmutation magic school.
"Indeed... Should I use Stedal Nago's name?"
"...Weren't you just agreeing that he's from the Arjo family?"
"He probably is from the Arjo family. But he could also be an Evil God Worshipper from the Arjo family."
"......"
Giselle was shocked to realize that this scion of a great noble family had become several times more suspicious than usual.
Given that he was already a naturally distrustful person, this was genuinely terrifying.
"Are you perhaps mages from Einrogard?"
"!"
Lee Han was visibly startled.
With a grave expression, he whispered to his companions:
"There might be a spy among us."
"I-I'm not one! Wardanaz! Just because I scolded you earlier for not practicing magic hard enough, you can't seriously suspect me—"
"Don't worry. The one I suspect is Ibinta."
Ibinta, who had been waiting outside in solitude, suddenly found himself under suspicion of being a spy.
It was fortunate that he remained unaware of this fact.
Unable to stand it any longer, Giselle stepped in and asked:
"Why do you think we're from Einrogard?"
"Aren't you Lee Han of the Wardanaz family? Alsicle of the Pengerin family praised you several times at the academic conference, so I remembered."
"......"
"......"
"...So Senior Pengerin was the spy."
"N-no! He probably didn't mean to!"
The White Tiger Tower students quickly tried to console their friend.
Though Alsicle had bragged unnecessarily, his feelings weren't hard to understand.
When they returned to their own families and the topic of Wardanaz came up, they too shamelessly boasted, "Actually, I'm quite close with Wardanaz."
Besides, academic conferences among mages were basically gatherings for mutual boasting (a prejudice held by the White Tiger Tower students)—and what better junior to boast about than Wardanaz?
"Even so, you must have only heard about me through stories. I don't understand how you recognized me immediately."
"Alsicle of the Pengerin family praised you while even sketching your appearance."
"......"
Though no other mage had doubted it, Alsicle—perhaps desperate to prove their closeness—had gone so far as to magically paint a flattering portrait of Lee Han without being asked.
Lee Han cursed Alsicle inwardly.
What kind of embarrassing senior mage does something like that?
"...What is it you want to discuss? We're quite busy with our own ruin exploration."
"Would you be willing to exchange information?"
-You can ignore that nonsense.
Saratan scoffed.
When it came to Bakwantalana's ruins, no expert knew them as well as he, a spirit, did.
What reason was there to exchange information with some random mage?
They'd only risk having useful artifacts snatched away.
-Look at that mage's attire. He must have barely managed to find the passage but clearly doesn't know how to avoid fights. That's why he's been in such intense combat.
Saratan's observation was spot-on. Lee Han gave a small nod.
Garko's rigid and flawless posture made it less obvious, but the adventurers behind him were blatantly exhausted.
Fatigue, fear, frustration, and even lips trembling as they begged, 'Please help us...'
'Isn't the last part a bit too much?'
Lee Han was slightly taken aback.
If these were adventurers reputable enough to be hired by a mage from the Arjo family, they should have some credibility and experience—yet they looked utterly pathetic.
"We can also tell you about the Ruins Guardian our party just fought!"
-How persistent. Since it's bothersome, relay it clearly for me.
Saratan spoke with an air of arrogance.
Now that he finally had a chance to shine after so long, the spirit couldn't see past his own pride.
He would crush whatever worthless information the other side had with his superior knowledge!
-That Watcher definitely had six legs.
"Did the Watcher have six legs?"
"!"
For the first time today, Garko's expression wavered. Though he maintained his gentlemanly composure, he was deeply shaken inside.
Trades between mages were only possible when both sides were on equal footing. If his information was useless, he couldn't demand anything in return.
"...Yes, it did."
"Does it use its tail as a weapon?"
"That is also correct."
"Does it keep screeching loudly until the intruders retreat?"
"You must mean the ultrasonic waves. Yes."
"No. Not ultrasonic waves—just plain screeching."
"...?"
Garko tilted his head in confusion. Even the adventurers reacted as if that sounded strange.
"But it was emitting ultrasonic waves?"
-...That's a lie! How dare they lie! This is why petty, greedy mortals are so despicable!
Saratan flared up in anger.
But Lee Han was already giving him a suspicious look.
"Are you sure you're not wrong?"
-...H-how could you say that! Have I ever been wrong since we came here?!
Saratan was genuinely indignant.
Who was it that told them the location of the passage leading downward after they entered the ruins?
It was Saratan.
Who was it that, swallowing his pride, warned them, 'That room is meant to trap escaping spirits, so there's no need to force your way in'?
It was Saratan.
Who was it that revealed the password Bakwantalana had prepared in case they encountered the Watcher?
It was Saratan.
And yet, after all that, to be treated like this...
'Mortals truly can't be trusted. To think I considered this guy a friend!'
"Sorry... I do trust you."
Perhaps sensing Saratan's genuine distress from within the staff, Lee Han—uncharacteristically—apologized.
Then he muttered,
"I thought that over time, mechanical devices might remain intact, but creatures like chimeras could become corrupted or mutate. But of course, you must have considered that too, Saratan. I shouldn't have doubted you. I'll apologize properly."
-......
"Saratan? Did I hurt you so much you don't even want to answer? Fine. Talk when you feel like it."
-Well... it's just...
Saratan hesitated before speaking.
-Actually... I didn't think about corruption or mutation... Now that I think about it, the Watcher might have changed like that...
"......"
-AAAAAAARGH!
A surge of powerful mana filled the staff, and Saratan let out a scream of agony.
Of all places, to suffer like this again in Bakwantalana's ruins!
What an extremely unpleasant coincidence.
"Indeed. Thank you for the information."
Lee Han looked at Garko with renewed interest.
Despite his appearance resembling a dandy gentleman commonly seen in Empire clubs, his magical prowess was truly exceptional.
A chimera altered by corruption like that would be several times more troublesome to deal with.
Even an ordinary Watcher created by a mage was already a formidable opponent, but one with unpredictable mutations on top of that would be pure hell for intruders.
Yet Garko had managed to handle it with pure magical skill, without any prior information.
Lee Han at least had Saratan's advice—this mage was genuinely impressive.
'Well, just because someone is sociable doesn't mean they're bad at magic. That's also a prejudice.'
Lee Han reflected.
After all... no, just because some students from a certain Magic Academy are sociable doesn't mean all sociable mages are incompetent. That's just bias.
"Um, excuse me. Mages from Einrogard. If this ruin has been contaminated by the blasphemous rituals of Evil God Worshippers... shouldn't we seal it off first and approach only after purification procedures?"
The adventurers had proposed a perfectly standard approach.
In ruin exploration, the only ones who tried to accomplish everything in one go were slightly unhinged mages.
The normal procedure was to first approach and assess, continue if it's less dangerous than expected, and retreat to make plans if it's more dangerous.
They couldn't bring themselves to pressure Garko, so they hoped these Einrogard mages would support their suggestion.
But these adventurers were terribly unlucky.
Of all people, the one leading these Einrogard mages happened to be Lee Han, burning with vengeance.
"If the ruin has been eroded by the aura of Evil God Worshippers, then we must enter even faster to assess the situation. If there's even the slightest chance this was part of their deliberate scheme, we must eliminate them."
'...All mages are insane!'
The adventurers screamed internally.
Did these mages have no concept of fear?
To boldly declare they would charge in when there could be mutations or contamination inside?
Perhaps such audacity was precisely what qualified someone to walk the path of magic.
"I expected nothing less from Lee Han of the Wardanaz family."
Garko nodded slightly, as if completely unsurprised.
If what Alsicle had said was true, today's level of danger wouldn't be enough to stop this bold genius mage.
If anything, it might just serve as an amusing diversion to pique the interest of a genius mage.
"...?"
Lee Han sensed some misunderstanding in the other's reaction, but his mind was too preoccupied with thoughts of Evil God Worshippers to bother asking.
"In exchange for the information, I'll share something I know as well. Please don't hold it against me if I'm wrong."
"Of course."
"The way to descend further here is to find Bakwantalana's sigil. The condition is to recite the passphrase 'Great Devotion to Magic' before it."
"!"
"!!"
"!!!"
Not just Garko, but even Giselle and Catten were visibly shocked.
To think this was Bakwantalana's ruin—they hadn't dared to imagine it!
The White Tiger Tower students stood around blankly, showing no interest, until Lee Han and Giselle glared at them fiercely. Only then did they shout in exaggerated excitement.
"Ba-Bakwantalana! This is Bakwantalana's ruin?!"
"I never would've guessed! We're so lucky!"
"...At least get the name right."
"Sniff..."
Scolded from both sides, the White Tiger Tower students wandered around with pitiful expressions, searching for Bakwantalana's—no, Bakwantalana's—sigil.
Lee Han spoke in a disdainful tone.
"If you'd spent the time you wasted on Empire politics on magic instead, you'd have gotten half the insults Moradi threw at you."
"Though it would've been half as fun... Ah—I mean, no! That's good advice, Wardanaz."
The White Tiger Tower students quickly corrected themselves.
'No more Watchers in sight.'
-Of course. Bakwantalana hated inefficiency, so he precisely placed only the designated number in each sector. The contaminated Watchers must have ignored those rules and wandered freely, so the others were likely destroyed.
'That's a relief, at least.'
Honestly, Lee Han had no desire to fight the Watchers Garko had mentioned.
Even with Catten here, they were tougher opponents than expected.
Once they found the way down, he wanted to confirm the contamination and focus solely on the objective.
"Ah. Mage Arjo."
"Just call me Garko, Lee Han."
"Thank you, Mage Garko."
Lee Han had taken quite a liking to this transmutation mage.
His magical skill was outstanding, his work ethic solid, and above all, he was sociable.
Mages like him always pulled more than their weight.
"How much do you know about Bakwantalana?"
"I've heard his name mentioned a few times while studying Enchantment Magic."
Lee Han answered modestly.
No need to mention that he had once assisted in casting Bakwantalana's magic.
Garko's expression turned serious.
"Truthfully, Bakwantalana was a transmutation mage."
"Excuse me?"
"Later Enchantment Magic scholars manipulated the records to favor their own school."
'Ah. Right. This guy was friends with Mage Alsicle.'