Episode 118
Episode 118
While Lee Han was having the most impolite thoughts in the world, Professor Ingoldel was feeling quite pleased with himself.
'Truly, I made an excellent choice bringing them here.'
The knight order Professor Ingoldel had brought—the White Poplar Knights—were one of the most renowned knightly orders in the empire.
Unlike knightly orders that established headquarters in one region and remained to protect it, these knights roamed across the entire empire, actively seeking out danger.
That was the White Poplar Knights.
While it was common knowledge that knights typically traveled in grand fashion with servants and slaves in tow, the White Poplar Knights didn't follow that convention.
The knights of the White Poplar Order traveled alone across the empire's vast and treacherous lands with nothing but a single horse and a suit of armor.
To do that, simply excelling in swordsmanship wasn't enough.
They needed the ability to handle all sorts of situations and think on their feet—a wide range of skills were required.
Given that, these knights would surely have much to teach the young students!
'A far better choice than bringing knights their own age...'
While Professor Ingoldel was basking in satisfaction, Bikelintz of the White Poplar Knights stroked his beard with a frown.
'I came because Ingoldel asked, but I think I might have made a mistake in accepting.'
Bikelintz didn't enjoy dealing with students or young squires.
He had absolutely no idea how to handle them.
The swordsmanship Bikelintz had learned and mastered was purely for actual combat—not for teaching or imparting lessons to others.
He had owed Ingoldel a favor, so he couldn't refuse the request and ended up bringing his knights here like this...
But that didn't make the situation any less daunting.
And these weren't even knights who had staked their lives on the path of the sword. They were knights who were also pursuing magic.
'Knights who enrolled in a magic school...'
It wasn't that Bikelintz disliked or looked down on mages.
Every knight had been indebted to a mage at least once—there was no reason to dismiss them.
But at that age, even if these students devoted their lives solely to swordsmanship, they would still fall short against Bikelintz. The idea of students trying to face him while also studying magic didn't sit well with him.
It wasn't as if they absolutely had to learn from Bikelintz or the White Poplar Knights, was it?
They could have called knights from other, more amiable orders, or even fellow squires their own age...
"So. What exactly are we supposed to do, Professor Ingoldel?"
"Just engage with them casually, as I mentioned before we came. Just leave them alive."
"Understood."
Bikelintz sighed and walked forward with his knights.
The knights each took their positions, scattering one by one, then stood ready with wooden swords in hand. They seemed to be waiting for the students to approach.
Lee Han, desperate to somehow persuade Professor Ingoldel, finally spoke up. If the White Tiger Tower kids weren't going to step forward, then he had to.
"Professor. Fighting those knights one-on-one is a bit..."
"No need to worry, Wardanaz."
Professor Ingoldel smiled. For a moment, Lee Han almost felt reassured—until he snapped back to his senses.
'No. This isn't the time to relax.'
"Of course, you'll be facing one knight as a group of three. Gather in the same teams as last time."
"......"
As expected, it wasn't the time to relax after all.
Lee Han cursed Professor Ingoldel inwardly as he moved into position.
Giselle was approaching with an equally—no, even more—displeased expression on her face.
Choi cleared his throat awkwardly and spoke.
"If you think about it, the three of us being together like this again could be considered good fortune—"
"Cut the insincere crap, Choi."
"Good fortune? About as fortunate as running into the Skeleton Principal, I suppose."
Simultaneously rebuked by both Giselle and Lee Han, Choi sulked. Feeling guilty, Lee Han apologized.
"Sorry, Choi. It's not your fault."
"It's fine, Lee Han."
Lee Han glanced at Giselle.
'Hmm.'
Come to think of it, in just a matter of days, he had managed to earn the Moradi family's enmity not once, but twice.
First against the Skeleton Principal's summon.
Then against a senior from the Moradi family.
The realization made him feel slightly guilty all of a sudden.
Lee Han decided to make a very slight concession this time.
"For this test, I'll yield. Moradi. I'll follow your lead."
"......"
It was a surprising situation where Lee Han had bowed his head first, but Giselle wasn't the least bit pleased.
On the contrary, she was openly suspicious.
'What's his angle?'
There were people who could be subdued and made to swear loyalty, and those who could never be bowed.
And the Wardanaz were the latter.
Giselle knew that too, so she hadn't even been expecting to make Wardanaz kneel.
Yet suddenly he was being this compliant.
No matter how she thought about it, it was suspicious.
"...What's your game?"
"What do you mean, game... Giselle. If we don't compromise with each other, we won't be able to earn points in this exam. That's why I'm yielding."
When it came to exam matters, Lee Han was always sincere. That sincerity made Giselle waver slightly.
Was he serious?
"But Wardanaz, you're the type who says you'll follow my orders and then immediately ignores them..."
"That's when your orders are dogshi— no. It's when they don't make sense."
Durgyu listened to their conversation, wondering when he should intervene.
Maybe it'd be better if they just didn't talk at all...
"...Anyway, fine. You say you'll follow orders. I won't trust you, but I'll watch."
"Looking forward to it. So Professor Ingoldel, who's our opponent?"
Lee Han asked Professor Ingoldel while looking around.
Where was the lottery draw?
Professor Ingoldel kindly answered.
"That would be Sir Bikelintz over there."
"...Wasn't this supposed to be random?"
To Lee Han's eyes, the knight called Bikelintz looked like the leader.
Which meant he was most likely the most skilled.
"Since you three are the most outstanding, we matched you with a worthy opponent."
"Ah... I see..."
Lee Han struggled to maintain his composure. Unaware of his inner turmoil, Professor Ingoldel encouraged him.
"The three of you should be able to put up a good fight."
"Yes. We'll tr— Professor Ingoldel."
When the three young students approached, Bikelintz spoke in a serious voice.
"You may attack using any means at your disposal."
Durgyu asked with wide eyes.
"Is that... allowed?"
"Not using what you can is actually more unnatural. If you can use magic, use magic. I won't be holding back either."
'You could hold back a little.'
Lee Han thought this as he picked up a wooden sword.
Just from this brief exchange, he could guess what kind of person he was facing.
Bikelintz was a strict knight like Lee Han's teacher, Alarong.
The problem was that while Alarong went easy on Lee Han, Bikelintz wouldn't.
People who told students to "attack using any means" usually defended using any means themselves.
Giselle seemed to sense this ominous implication too, as a subtle unease flickered across her face.
"Choi family?"
"Yes. Correct."
Bikelintz guessed Durgyu's family just from his stance.
"Twin swords... Moradi family."
Giselle nodded.
"And..."
Bikelintz looked at Lee Han and was baffled.
From his stance, it was clearly the Azure Rock Sword...
But was there a family that used the Azure Rock Sword?
Aside from Imperial Knight Alarong, he didn't know any, which was quite perplexing.
"Which family do you belong to?"
"The Wardanaz family."
"Wardanaz... Hmm... What?"
As Bikelintz's iron-like facial muscles twitched in confusion, Durgyu and Giselle found themselves empathizing without realizing.
'We understand that feeling.'
"Well... I suppose family lineage isn't that important when learning swordsmanship."
Perhaps embarrassed at showing confusion before students, Bikelintz deflected and ended the conversation.
But his bewilderment remained unchanged.
...Why on earth was there a student from the Wardanaz family here?
And judging by his stance, he hadn't just picked up swordsmanship yesterday...
"Lee Han. I can't see any openings at all..."
Durgyu gulped and muttered.
That's how intense the pressure emanating from Bikelintz was.
Even though he was just standing still, gently holding his wooden sword downward, the pressure was overwhelming.
It was impossible to even guess just how strong he was.
"You told us to use every method available, so we'll do just that."
Lee Han took out his staff.
Truth be told, Lee Han didn't think he could win against Bikelintz either.
Against a battle-hardened knight who had survived decades of swinging his sword on the battlefield, any method would inevitably be less effective.
But staying still wouldn't earn him any points.
To hear even the words 'You lost, but you fought well' from Professor Ingoldel, he had to give it his all.
"Feet, wrinkle the earth."
Lee Han cast <Gonadaltes' Agile Footsteps>.
This time, not just on himself but on the other two as well.
<Gonadaltes' Agile Footsteps> was a spell similar in nature to <Sensory Enhancement>, but more efficient and practical...
'There are side effects, but that's not my problem.'
The muscle pain his friends would suffer after the magic was none of Lee Han's concern. They had to win first, after all.
"Thanks, Lee Han."
Durgyu nodded at the magic enveloping his entire body. Even without asking, he could feel Lee Han strengthening them with magic.
"Space, be recognized."
"?"
But Lee Han's incantations didn't stop.
Even after casting spells on all three of them, Lee Han continued without pause, leaving Durgyu bewildered.
"Hand, cleave the enemy. Heat, distort the air..."
Sharp mana swirled around Lee Han's hand, and at the same time, mirage-like illusions began to rise.
If he didn't know which magic would be effective, the answer was simple.
Just use them all.
By this point, not only Durgyu and Giselle but even Bikelintz began to feel flustered.
Even if he used magic, they had expected him to cast at most one or two spells, but he was using far more than anticipated.
'Shouldn't someone stop him?'
Bikelintz glanced at Professor Ingoldel.
If he kept this up and suffered mana depletion, the young mage could sustain fatal injuries.
As the professor, shouldn't he intervene?
But Professor Ingoldel sat quietly with an unfazed expression. Bikelintz grew even more bewildered.
'He's not the type to let this slide.'
"Flash!"
Lee Han didn't miss the moment Bikelintz averted his gaze.
He immediately cast a 1st-circle lightning spell, aiming at Bikelintz. A bolt of lightning shot toward the knight.
Bikelintz dodged it effortlessly without even looking.
"Attack!"
Giselle shouted at Durgyu as she charged forward.
Even without exchanging signals, they knew this was their chance now that the magic was in effect.
'What kind of magic is this...'
Her legs moved far more lightly than usual. Even Giselle, who disliked the Wardanaz, had to admit the spell's effectiveness.
But Bikelintz showed no reaction to the students' slightly increased speed. With an impassive face, he stomped his foot and moved at a speed far surpassing theirs.
"Ugh!"
A pained groan escaped Durgyu's lips.
Though Durgyu prided himself on being the fastest swordsman among the White Tiger Tower students, Bikelintz was on a completely different level.
The moment he thrust his sword at Bikelintz, the knight vanished, and an unstoppable counterattack came flying.
All Durgyu could do was get sent flying backward, tumbling head over heels.
Whoosh!
Bikelintz, about to completely subdue Durgyu, suddenly stopped. A Water Orb was flying toward him.
The White Poplar Knights' knight tilted his head to dodge it. He expected it to be like any other water magic he'd seen—dodge once, and it's over.
But the Water Orb spun sharply beside his face and immediately targeted Bikelintz again.
Startled, Bikelintz swatted it away with the back of his hand. The orb carried considerable mana, as a heavy sensation traveled through his magically reinforced hand.
"Impressive."
Bikelintz praised sincerely.
Even far more skilled mages than these freshmen often failed to display such clever tactics.
To modify a simple low-level spell like this and exploit his blind spot...
But Lee Han's feelings upon hearing this were slightly complicated.
'Everyone except the professor is praising me for doing well.'
Happy, yet a little sad...
Now wasn't the time for such pointless thoughts.
Lee Han gripped his staff and prepared his next spell.