Episode 123
Episode 123
"That's not it!!"
"Huh?"
"I said you could use all the ingredients in this room, but even you must realize stealing a potion and submitting it as-is makes no sense!"
At Professor Thunderstep's protest, Lee Han paused and stared at him as if he were looking at a strange person.
Professor Thunderstep grew embarrassed and asked again.
"...That wasn't your intention?"
"No. I mean, who would steal a potion and submit it like that? Professor, really..."
At Lee Han's words, Professor Thunderstep flushed with embarrassment before suddenly growing indignant.
'This brat stole it by force and now has the audacity to talk to me like this?'
It was absurd how the student, who had brazenly snatched the potion from the professor's grasp, was now treating him like some oddity.
If there weren't a chance this student might become the Imperial First Sword someday, he would have smacked him.
"Then why did you steal it?"
"To analyze the potion more precisely. I figured even if I asked, you probably wouldn't give it to me."
"Hmm..."
He wasn't wrong.
The professor had no intention of handing it over even if students begged.
But just because it was true didn't make it any less irritating. Today, this particular student's blunt honesty grated on him more than usual.
"Hmph. Well, good luck with that."
Professor Thunderstep crossed his arms and glared at Lee Han.
Though the potion theft had been unexpected, replicating it would still be no easy feat.
Even with the potion in hand, analyzing and understanding its properties was an entirely different matter.
'Surely he won't just stupidly drink it...'
The professor grew anxious.
Of course, the clever Wardanaz boy wouldn't do something so reckless—but it was also true that this boy occasionally pulled insane stunts without batting an eye.
It wouldn't even be surprising if he just chugged it!
Contrary to the professor's worries, however, Lee Han approached the task with textbook precision.
'That method?'
Lee Han drew a few drops from the glass vial and let them spill onto the floor.
Then he swung his wand and chanted.
"Components, be separated."
'He learned that spell?!'
Professor Thunderstep was startled.
<Component Separation> magic.
A spell that forcibly separated the ingredients within substances like potions.
Though any competent alchemist used this convenient spell, the professor had deliberately withheld teaching it.
To become an outstanding alchemist, one needed the passion to seek out and learn things independently.
Students spoon-fed by professors would never achieve greatness.
True to Professor Thunderstep's educational philosophy, Lee Han had scoured the library's books and taught himself the spell.
Watching this, the professor gave a grudging nod.
'What an infuriating brat!'
Professor Thunderstep secretly hoped Lee Han would fail, choke on acrid smoke, and start coughing.
Fortunately, <Component Separation> was far from an easy spell.
If one clearly knew the components inside, separation was simple—but without that knowledge, it became incredibly difficult.
Magic wasn't some universal key that solved everything just by reciting incantations.
Even the same spell varied drastically depending on the caster's knowledge and skill.
Unless one brute-forced it by recklessly pouring in mana, merely chanting the words wouldn't be enough to...
"Ah."
Professor Thunderstep realized belatedly and froze.
The potion droplets spilled on the floor slowly began separating.
'This is working better than expected.'
At the moment, Lee Han and Yoner were the most serious alchemy students in the tower.
They had no choice—they needed to analyze the potions Ratford had stolen and taken away.
<Component Separation> was one of the spells they'd learned during the process.
While flipping through alchemy books last time, Lee Han had stumbled upon its name and painstakingly tracked down the incantation in other texts.
He'd been worried it might not work, but fortunately, the spell took effect more smoothly than expected.
The droplets of potion separated into even smaller droplets of various colors.
Lee Han raised his head and looked at Professor Thunderstep.
'Hmm. It seems to have worked well.'
Seeing Professor Thunderstep's extremely displeased expression, it was clear that it had indeed worked well.
"I'll commend you for separating the potion to that extent."
"Thank you."
"But that alone isn't enough. There's no way to identify the separated components!"
"Uh. Isn't this the Potion of Confidence?"
"????"
Professor Thunderstep was startled.
How did he know?!
Nilia, who had finished her exam before Lee Han, was sitting and talking with Ratford.
"You succeeded in matching the colors similarly? That's impressive."
"I was lucky."
"I couldn't make anything remotely similar..."
"There's no need to worry. This was an exam where no one could produce a perfect result. The professor must have been observing the process."
At Ratford's reassurance, Nilia seemed to regain some energy and nodded.
"But why did you leave me out when you went exploring the Night School last time?"
"......"
Ratford began sweating profusely.
"Well... as I mentioned before. This... Salko of the Tutanta Family only goes with subordinates and friends he truly trusts. I was only called as a guide. Wardanaz didn't know you were coming either. If it had just been us, of course we would have invited you."
"Ah. Right. That's true."
Nilia nodded again, seeming convinced.
After about ten minutes of talking about the alchemy class, Nilia asked again.
"But still, couldn't you have called me before setting out?"
"......"
Ratford unconsciously glanced at the door.
'When will Wardanaz come out?'
This wasn't something Ratford could explain. Lee Han needed to be the one.
"What do you think? Huh? What do you think?"
"Well... Salko has a bit of a nasty temper..."
Ratford didn't originally hold any major grudge against Salko, but in this situation, he had no choice.
He had no option but to paint Salko as the bad guy.
"He didn't give me any chance to..."
"Same with last time on the island. We prepared everything, and then he just went with the White Tiger Tower guys? What do you think about that?"
"Well... those White Tiger Tower guys are naturally violent and underhanded, you know."
Ratford didn't have any major grudges against the White Tiger Tower guys either, but once again, he had no choice.
He had to paint them as the bad guys again.
"From Wardanaz's perspective, it must have been unavoidable."
"I suppose that was an unavoidable situation too, wasn't it?"
"Yes. So let's just drop this topic now..."
"Right. ...Was I complaining too much?"
Nilia, realizing she had been grumbling, asked. Ratford quickly shook his head.
"No?"
"Really? Then that's a relief."
Nilia spent another fifteen minutes talking about alchemy—how the exam went, how the assignments were, what the midterms might be like...
Other Black Turtle Tower students who had finished their exams joined the conversation and shared their opinions.
It seemed the topic had completely shifted, and Ratford felt relieved.
"But this isn't about me, it's about a friend of mine. She said the guys from other towers keep forgetting about her when they go out."
"......"
Ratford hung his head low.
The Black Turtle Tower students, unaware of the exact circumstances, seriously joined in the discussion.
"Isn't it because they're from other towers? Those guys from other towers are basically rude, arrogant, or downright haughty."
"The Phoenix Tower guys are slightly better."
"The White Tiger Tower guys are truly insufferable."
Just as Ratford was wondering how to steer the conversation elsewhere, Lee Han opened the door and came out.
Ratford was as delighted as if he'd gotten his hands on a hot bowl of soup after days of starvation.
"Wardanaz...!"
'Was the exam that hard?'
Lee Han was slightly taken aback by the desperation in Ratford's voice.
"What's the matter?"
"Please explain to Nilia about what happened last time."
"What's wrong, Ratford? I already understood everything."
Nilia didn't change her expression at all, scolding Ratford as if asking what nonsense he was talking about.
Ratford opened his mouth in indignation and stared at Nilia.
'Is that how someone who understood everything behaves...!?'
Lee Han quickly assessed the situation by looking at Nilia and Ratford.
He had been prepared for this scenario ever since their encounter with the Tutanta family's Salko and the Night School.
"Nilia, Salko was being too unreasonable. I asked if we could call you, but he stubbornly blocked me every time."
"!"
"?"
Ratford tilted his head in confusion.
Had that conversation really happened?
"I heard that if someone as outstanding as you, a former hunter, joined, the other friends might lose confidence."
"Really?"
Nilia's long ears perked up slightly as they rose.
Lee Han nodded with an extremely serious expression.
So much so that even Ratford, who had been present, thought, 'Come to think of it, maybe that conversation did happen.'
"They even stopped me from calling Yoner. Salko was being way too much, right? But don't say anything too harsh—he did it for his friends."
"...Right. That makes sense!"
Nilia replied with a noticeably brighter face than before. The angle of her ears had risen even higher.
Ratford whispered quietly.
"Did you really have that conversation?"
"Shh. Keep it down."
"......"
The Black Turtle Tower students called out to Lee Han.
"Wardanaz, how was the exam? Did you perfectly brew the potion?"
"Impossible. It was an inherently unpassable exam. I failed."
At Lee Han's words, the other students sighed in relief.
Seeing even the top student speak like that made them feel somewhat reassured.
Maybe they hadn't failed as badly as they'd thought!
"What traits did you all notice? I added Finthensis because of the nose-piercing smell."
"Really? I just tried matching colors first..."
While the students chatted, Lee Han listened silently.
Meanwhile, Yoner, the last to finish the exam, walked out through the door.
"Good work, everyone. Of course, the potions you made would get you stabbed if you tried selling them anywhere, but you did put in effort."
At Professor Thunderstep's words, the students glared. The dwarf professor burst into laughter as if amused.
"Honestly, the exam was too difficult, Professor!"
"Shouldn't it at least be within the scope of what we've learned?"
"Even Wardanaz here failed—who could possibly pass this!?"
The students desperately protested, terrified that the midterms might have similar exams.
Professor Thunderstep, who had been listening with a smile, asked as if confused.
"What are you talking about? Wardanaz nearly succeeded."
"Excuse me?"
"He nearly succeeded. There were minor differences, but that counts as a pass. Top score."
The Black Turtle Tower students, who had just been chatting with him, whipped their heads around to look for Lee Han.
But Lee Han had already slipped away and was nowhere to be seen.
Professor Thunderstep clicked his tongue and said,
"Trusting the words of someone who studies better than you all... How naive."
"...Grr...!"
"Wardanaz...! We trusted you...!"
Lee Han fell deep into thought as he read the notes he had written down.
Currently, the freshmen of the Magic School were spreading out like ink droplets in water, scattered everywhere.
And Lee Han was the most active among them in exploring the school.
Main Building West 2F - Haunted Hallway (Unsolved): Rumors say there's a fabric storage piled up by the school.
Main Building Basement 1F - Locked Prison (Solved): Connected to professors' offices. Absolutely do not approach.
Main Building...
'It's all interesting, but I still want to check the path to the stables in the spire first.'
As Lee Han sketched a rough map and scribbled notes, Gainando asked,
"Hey, are you okay with Professor Garcia's exam?"
"A little nervous, but I've mostly prepared everything."
"......"
Gainando stared at Lee Han as if he were a monster.
Then he muttered,
"The Wardanaz family... is truly terrifying!"
"It's not really related to the Wardanaz family, is it?"