Episode 1167
Episode 1167
Just in case, Lee Han checked the surrounding mana, but there was no change.
If someone like Saratan had been dwelling in the stone tablet or if there had been any traces of magic left behind, he definitely would have sensed an echo of mana...?
"Senior."
Lee Han called out to Catten.
Though Lee Han had confidence in his senses, he never overestimated them.
If it were a swordsman like Catten who had reached such a high level, he might have noticed something Lee Han had missed.
"Did you happen to sense anything strange?"
"You mean my pitiful interpretation skills?"
Catten replied with a sullen face.
"No, I meant changes in mana. Around here."
"Didn't sense anything like that, junior."
'Hmm.'
Lee Han wondered if it was just his imagination.
Then again, given how much had happened lately, he might have been tired enough to hear things.
Maybe he'd even misheard that voice earlier, distorting the Skeleton Principal's voice?
"Saratan, you didn't sense any changes in mana or dimensional distortions, did you?"
-There was nothing like that? Why?
Saratan wondered what nonsense this mage was spouting.
If there had been anything like that, a spirit like him would have definitely sensed it.
"I see. Must have been my imagination after all."
It's not your imagination, so stop fidgeting like a brat and listen quietly! If you keep squirming, I'll shove a Venom Curse into your skull.
"......"
Lee Han realized his mistake.
He should have sensed the dissonance the moment Saratan made that bold claim...!
"Are you perhaps Bakwantalana?"
Bakwantalana? Who's that... Ah, you must be mistaking me for the mage who received the stone tablet?
As the voice spoke, it pulled a transparent venomous insect from the dimensional rift and tried to push it into Lee Han's forehead.
Mortals who don't listen when told to stay still deserve a light lesson.
However, the insect struggled and strained but couldn't penetrate Lee Han's mana and fled back into the dimensional rift.
The voice was so dumbfounded it was momentarily speechless.
"Who's there?!"
Catten sprang to his feet as if electrified, every hair on his body standing on end.
It was the strangest phenomenon he'd ever experienced in his life.
He hadn't detected any kind of mana, yet this eerie, skin-crawling sensation—what in the world was it?
"Junior. Were you attacked by someone just now?"
"Huh? No."
"Hmm... Must have been studying magic too hard."
Catten sat back down and opened his book, <Basic Summoning Magic Theory Even First-Years Can Understand>.
But his ears remained sharply alert, brimming with wariness.
......
The voice felt even more bewildered.
That mortal looked like a warrior with no connection to magic whatsoever, yet he sensed the presence of the Venom Curse?
...Bakwantalana merely received magic from this old woman. The stone tablet is proof of that.
"Wait, are you saying Bakwantalana shamelessly claimed the magic he received from someone else as his own creation?!"
Lee Han exclaimed in shock.
To brazenly announce magic learned from another dimension as his own creation—though come to think of it, he hadn't actually announced it, but it was still disappointing.
Hadn't Bakwantalana claimed it was the culmination of his own late-life research?
A transparent staff materialized out of thin air and smacked Lee Han across the head. Caught off guard by the attack without any warning, Lee Han was stunned.
And the voice was equally baffled.
Normally, the victim's entire mana should be thrown into chaos, causing all sorts of hallucinations and auditory illusions—yet this one didn't budge, like a massive boulder.
'What kind of...'
"No matter how I think about it, this is—!"
Finally, Catten jumped up again as well.
Honestly... let's just move that annoying little warrior aside and talk.
The voice, seemingly tired of conversing unheard, cast a thin veil of confusion. Even Lee Han could sense this barrier.
Outside the barrier, Catten watched Lee Han engrossed in studying the stone tablet with admiration. Strangely enough, the fact that he wasn't even blinking or breathing somehow suited the junior perfectly.
'I did say it was magic, but I never said it was that kind of magic. Surely this old woman must have warned you not to meddle?'
"Sorry about that."
'Ah, now you're behaving politely. Well then. Will you return the stone tablet? That tablet originally belongs to this old woman.'
'As expected.'
Even if a layman wouldn't understand, as a mage of Einrogard—and among those mages, the one who had interacted most with extra-dimensional beings—Lee Han grasped the situation immediately.
This stone tablet was undoubtedly a gift from some powerful entity of another dimension to Bakwantalana, the very one he was now conversing with.
Lee Han had something similar too. The blue stone given by the King of Frost Giants was exactly like that.
Thanks to it, whenever the frost giants saw the stone, they'd go, 'Ah! That challenger!' and pick fights...
'...Should I get rid of this stone right now?'
Lee Han briefly considered it but soon gave up.
Even without that stone, from the spirit crests to his overall distinctive appearance, he was already too recognizable for it to make much difference.
"Would it be alright if I transcribed the contents and then returned it?"
'Go ahead... Do you really mean to do that?'
The voice asked skeptically.
Items from other dimensions weren't things one would easily part with. Especially not when they were tokens gifted by powerful extra-dimensional beings.
Moreover, wasn't his opponent a mage? To a mage, such an item was a potent magical artifact that could be utilized in countless ways.
"Yes? Yes."
'If you're thinking of swapping the tablet with a fake, I'd advise against it.'
"What? There was someone who did that?!"
Lee Han, who had been transcribing, was startled.
'Reckless but creative. Quite instructive too.'
It was true—there were things to learn from senior mages.
"How did they swap it? How were they caught?"
......
"Ah. I will return this tablet. But I might need to deceive other mages in the future, so I was just trying to learn..."
'Why aren't you greedy? Don't lie and say you feel no greed. This old woman can spot those lies from a mile away.'
Instead of answering, Lee Han waved his staff. The stone given by the King of Frost Giants glowed blue.
'That ice-brained fool?'
Not stopping there, Lee Han then displayed his spirit crests. The voice cried out in shock.
'That noisy thunder-stripped oaf too?'
'This is kind of fun.'
Lee Han felt a slight amusement.
Each time he revealed something, the voice creatively insulted the associated beings on his behalf.
'By the way, could you introduce me to the Skeleton Principal?'
"The Evil King of the Yakshas is also among them."
'Ah, that clever young man.'
"......"
Lee Han immediately felt a pang of disappointment.
Among the figures just mentioned, wasn't the Yaksha King the most wicked and vile of them all?
'Hmm. Maybe this voice belongs to someone just as eccentric and vile as the Yaksha King.'
Unconsciously, Lee Han failed to realize he was getting closer to the truth.
"To be honest, I'm already burdened with more than I can handle right now. I don't have the confidence to shoulder this tablet as well."
'That makes sense. You smell of stars—have you formed a contract with one? What kind of stellar oath have you taken?'
"...Guest Star..."
'I can't hear you! Do you want another smack from this old woman, brat?'
"...Guest Star Arna... You wouldn't know it, would you?"
Suddenly, the other side fell silent. Lee Han grew inexplicably anxious.
'...This old woman hit you for nothing! You poor little thing, you'd have burned up on your own anyway!'
"......"
Lee Han stared intently at the stone tablet.
'Should I just destroy it instead of giving it back?'
As if sensing his blasphemous thoughts, the voice kindly reassured him.
'A contract with a Guest Star isn't all bad. Even if you suffer misfortune, your name will live on in history. Hehehe.'
"I haven't given it to you yet."
'Even the temper? No wonder the Guest Star likes you.'
'Patience. I already have enough enemies as it is.'
Starting from other-dimensional powerhouses he'd gotten entangled with, all the way to evil gods who might as well be sworn foes.
It didn't seem wise to add more enemies at this point. Moreover, the other party's temperament seemed just as eccentric as the Yaksha King's.
Good! Since you've amused this old crone, I'll repay you with some advice.
Any Black Mages currently elsewhere in the fortress would have fainted upon hearing this.
The very question they so desperately sought permission to ask had been granted to this greenhorn with absurd ease.
Of course, from Lee Han's perspective, the retort 'If you're jealous, why don't you make a contract with the Guest Star instead?' would come naturally...
"About that advice... is it possible to cancel the contract with the Guest Star?"
Enough with the jokes. Keep your greed in check.
'Hmm. I asked seriously, but it seems impossible.'
Lee Han quietly abandoned the idea. It clearly wasn't going to happen.
"By any chance, are you well-informed about powerful beings from other dimensions?"
If you hadn't made this old crone laugh, and if you hadn't flicked away that insect earlier, I would've scolded you soundly right away.
"Insect?"
No need to know. Anyway, I'm quite knowledgeable. Inviting others for tea happens to be this old crone's hobby.
'Please tell me she hasn't invited Brother Arsil too...'
Feeling it might unnecessarily dampen the mood, Lee Han changed the subject.
"I've been troubled by something lately. Might you offer me some wise counsel?"
There's nothing this old crone excels at more than that. Go ahead and tell me.
"Actually, one of my masters has gone rogue."
...It was about magic after all. Very well, continue.
The voice sounded slightly flustered.
Naturally, it had expected questions about Black Magic or at least other schools of magic—not sudden life advice.
Indeed. Between the extortionist and the tentacle freak... when dealing with just one would be overwhelming enough, you've managed to make enemies of both?
The voice quickly understood Lee Han's lament—how he wanted to wipe out the Sanguiros Cult but found it difficult with all the disasters and the Prahgal Cult interfering.
At first, it wondered if he'd stolen something from his master (in which case, shouldn't it be the student going rogue, not the master?), but this turned out to be an amusing question after all.
Now it made sense why this mortal had been able to contract with the Guest Star.
Most ordinary mages would quietly bide their time and accumulate strength in such situations, yet this brat of a disciple was taking the initiative to help his master.
Two shouldn't be too difficult to handle!
'Better not bring up Ksaxarigol.'
Lee Han resolved inwardly.
Mentioning the Ksaxarigol Cult might make the other party view him as too much of a weirdo.
Good! I've thought of an excellent solution.
"What is it?"
First, you don't need to worry too much about the disasters. They're caused by mana and dimensional distortions, so they'll settle down soon.
The disasters in the West will naturally subside with time, and those in the North will dissipate once this Stone Tablet is retrieved, so it wasn't a lie.
"Soon... meaning around when...?"
The real issue is that the extortionist and the tentacle freak are the annoying ones, aren't they?
"That's true."
This old crone used to put a lot of thought into raising plump, sturdy insects. One method was making them fight each other.
"Ah. I've learned that in Black Magic. If you gather insects and make them kill each other—"
A transparent staff materialized midair, poised to whack Lee Han's head before abruptly stopping.
After all, hitting him wouldn't achieve much anyway.
If you interrupt this old crone one more time, I'll introduce you to a new evil god instead of giving advice. Surely you don't want to get involved with another insane, blind lunatic of an evil god, do you?
"My apologies."
Lee Han once again felt relieved he hadn't mentioned the Ksaxarigol Cult.
Right, this old crone's advice is simple—join hands with one side and strike the other.
"...I may have met the King of Frost Giants and contracted with the Guest Star, but I am by no means an evil mage. I think there's been a misunderstanding—"
Unable to hold back, the voice whacked his head again with the transparent staff.