Episode 1277
Episode 1277
Lee Han was at a loss for words.
'Looks like I still have a long way to go. To think I considered Professor Verdus a normal person...'
The seniors had immediately realized—'Ah, so this guy did something at night again'—the moment they heard Professor Verdus had been attacked at night. Lee Han had been a step behind.
Unwittingly, his admiration for the seniors welled up inside him.
"Seniors... You're truly amazing."
"Huh? Why?"
"You immediately figured out Professor Verdus's actions."
"...Hey. Wardanaz. I mean, it feels good to get praised by a genius like you, but don't compliment me for something like this."
Sigunting responded with palpable awkwardness.
Being praised by a future archmage—even if it was from a junior—was certainly a joyous occasion, but...
...he didn't want to be complimented for something like 'Professor Verdus behavioral studies.'
"At least we didn't figure out the magic either, so there's no reason to be this angry!"
Professor Verdus grumbled, still sounding aggrieved.
It seemed he was more upset about being unable to steal the magic due to the attack than about being attacked in the first place.
-Is that bastard really coming? Even the lab mice wouldn't stick their heads out in a situation like this...
-Not just anyone can walk around with multiple castles hanging over their heads. It's entirely possible—Oh, he's actually here, that crazy bastard!
The old black mages, lying in ambush within the shadow dimension, erupted in fury.
They had expected it, but seeing him actually climb the magic tower's walls, tear a hole in the barrier, and slip inside made their blood boil in reverse.
How could such a bastard exist in the bright and righteous Empire?!
-Die!
-Ack! I just came to see the magic!
-...Even if it means settling things with Einrogard today, I'll make sure to end you! After him! Release the Sulfur Wolves!
-Stop chasing me! I already went outside!
-You, shut your damn mouth!
Ambush, surprise attack, clash, confrontation...
The mages, who had exchanged dozens of spells in mere moments inside the tower, soon shifted their battlefield outside.
The Descendants of Ahrag finally understood how Professor Verdus had managed to stay alive all this time.
It wasn't just because the Lord of Einrogard protected him. Professor Verdus himself was a mage thoroughly honed in defense and evasion.
Despite being ambushed, Professor Verdus inverted the Yin-attribute mana of black magic to weaken its power, severed the connection to the undead dimension to cancel the summoning, and simultaneously activated multiple artifacts he carried to counter the black mages' artifacts.
Even though the Descendants of Ahrag were black mages with over a century of experience, the fact that he could display such prowess against them was a testament to Professor Verdus's hidden strength befitting an Einrogard professor.
-Stop chasing me! Why are you still following?!
-You truly have no conscience, do you?!
...Of course, what followed afterward was rather unsightly.
In the pitch-black dead of night, illuminated only by moonlight...
Professor Verdus and the Descendants of Ahrag chased each other, flying over remote mountain paths.
With every word the professor uttered, the black mages felt their rage and blood pressure skyrocket.
-From the lowest depths to the coldest abyss, O hands of hatred and wrath, arise!
-Aaah! Activate <Anti-Gonadaltes Amulet No. 15>!
Despite being pelted by attacks from behind, Professor Verdus endured to the end.
It was all thanks to the black magic antidote artifacts and defensive artifacts he always carried.
Even as they relentlessly pummeled him, the Descendants of Ahrag couldn't help but click their tongues at his tenacity and sheer volume of artifacts.
"Ha. Should've just died on the way here."
"......"
Someone muttered. Lee Han pretended not to hear and averted his gaze.
Professor Verdus rubbed his bruised cheek and said,
"Those black mages were way too persistent."
"Normally, when you break into someone else's magic tower and shatter their barrier, that's the kind of reaction you'd expect. But Professor, there's one thing I still don't understand, even though I mostly get the situation now."
"What is it?"
"The Descendants of Ahrag are furious down to the tips of their hair right now. What difference does it make if they take me with them?"
Even familiar faces had their limits.
Before sneaking into their tower, maybe—but after getting caught and staging a midnight escape? Was that really going to work?
"It might, don't you think?"
"Professor. That's just your delusion. Generally speaking, people don't just forgive a thief who tried to ransack their home..."
Lee Han was about to lecture the professor, who seemed utterly clueless about how the world worked.
But this time, the seniors took the professor's side.
"It might work, actually."
"I think so too."
"Seems highly possible, all things considered."
"?!!"
Lee Han was startled by this sudden betrayal.
"Why would it?!"
"From what I heard, those black mages seem to really like you... At that level, they'd probably overlook minor grudges."
Anpagon explained as if it were obvious.
In the world of mages, letting major opportunities slip over trivial emotions was foolishness. Seasoned mages like the Descendants of Ahrag wouldn't be ignorant of that.
If it meant gaining favor with a promising young black mage, they'd likely overlook a minor grudge with Professor Verdus.
"From what I can see, Wardanaz, someone like you... might just barely be forgiven even if you set their tower on fire."
"No, I already told you I'm not joining their tower."
"I'm saying this under the assumption that you won't. But if you did join, they'd probably forgive you even if you killed about two and a half of their black mages."
'Are these people serious?'
Lee Han immediately eyed the seniors with suspicion.
No matter how you looked at it, forgiving someone just based on their face when they weren't even joining the tower?
Come to think of it, the Einrogard Enchantment Magic faction was just as socially inept as the Transmutation Magic faction.
"Now you get it, right? Help me out!"
Professor Verdus seemed ready to sell out his student right then and there to placate their enemies. There wasn't a shred of dignity or conscience to be seen from him as a professor.
'Even if the black mages outside are appeased, what about Professor Garcia? What's she going to do about this?'
Given Professor Garcia's temperament, if she heard Verdus was pulling this stunt, she'd probably fold him in half...
"Professor, I'm currently assigned to the Punishment Room, so I can't just go outside as I please. I only got out now because of special circumstances. Like, say, a certain insane professor ditching his responsibilities and running off."
"It's fine. The black mages are right outside the main gate."
"...They chased you all the way to the main gate!?"
Lee Han was horrified.
They didn't shake them off—they led them straight here?!
The seniors, unfazed, calmly explained.
"They probably set up an ambush nearby for months. Bounty hunters who almost caught the professor but lost him tend to act like that."
Everyone who had ever come close to capturing Professor Verdus reacted similarly.
They just couldn't give up, loitering around Einrogard, desperately waiting, thinking, 'What if he comes out again?'
That was just how magnetically alluring Professor Verdus was.
"...Alright. If that's the case, I can climb up the ramparts and try to talk them down. But Professor, I have to say, I'm surprised. Since you're back inside Einrogard, I thought you wouldn't care about what happened outside anymore. I didn't expect you'd still try to apologize..."
"Wardanaz. Do you really think I'm dragging you out there just to apologize?"
Anpagon stared at his junior with a baffled expression. That look sent a sudden, chilling realization through Lee Han.
'No way?!'
"Wait. ...Professor, don't tell me you're planning to ask them to teach you magic again?!"
"Huh? Yeah."
Professor Verdus said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Why else would he bother trying to placate the mages outside if not for that?
Lee Han couldn't hold back any longer and was about to lash out at Professor Verdus. But before he could, all the windows of the magic tower shattered simultaneously.
'Did the black mages breach the walls?!'
It was similar, but no. What came crashing through the windows were the Death Knights.
The knights glared at Professor Verdus with their icy blue eyes burning.
-Professor Verdus. Because of you, we've traveled from the Frozen North to the storm-whipped southern outer seas.
Whenever the professor escaped, the knights had a hard time.
Having to search and block all his usual haunts was no ordinary nuisance.
Professor Verdus replied with childlike innocence.
"I went to meet the Descendants of Ahrag."
-We know. They're currently protesting in front of the main gate!
The knights flanked Professor Verdus and clamped iron chains on him. Lee Han panicked and shouted.
"You can't take the professor to the Punishment Room! We need him to do his job!"
Touched by the junior's heartwarming concern, the knights smiled.
-Don't worry. We're not dragging him away—just keeping watch from beside him.
"Ah. Then you can add more chains if you'd like."
The knights meticulously fastened mana-infused chains. As the chains tightly wrapped around his wrists, ankles, waist, and neck, Professor Verdus complained.
"These dull my senses when I wear them."
-That's fortunate. It'll hurt less when we beat you. Now, get to work! Stop tormenting the students!
"Can't you persuade the black mages outside? Just one spell... Ow! Why'd you hit me?!"
The Enchantment Magic students savored the joy of ten years' worth of grievances being settled. Even Yukveltire's lips curled slightly.
Whether loved or hated, these knights were truly the bulwark protecting Einrogard.
"You've all worked hard."
"Not at all. It's you seniors who've endured the most."
The Enchantment Magic students exchanged glances. Though it hadn't been long, they felt much closer now.
However, Yukveltire had been deep in thought for a while. Anpagon, concerned, asked.
"Senior. Is something troubling you?"
"I heard from a... reliable friend..."
"You mean Senior Diret?"
"...I said reliable."
"It's Senior Diret, isn't it?"
"It's Senior Diret."
Ignoring the juniors' impolite assumptions, Yukveltire continued.
"...I heard that a junior from the Wardanaz Family definitely received secret teachings from the outside black mages. Among them were surely <Ahrag's Eye> and <Living Wall>, weren't they?"
"You must have misheard."
Sigunting scoffed.
No matter how much those black mages coveted their junior, there was no way they'd casually pass down secret spells.
But Lee Han readily admitted it.
"It's true. They taught me. But since they're secret spells, I couldn't disclose them freely, so I kept quiet."
"......"
"......"
The seniors froze.
He had known the secrets of the very magic Professor Verdus coveted so much, yet he hadn't changed his expression, only asking things like, "Oh, really?"
If they had been in his place, they would never have endured it and would have blurted it out in front of Professor Verdus.
-Professor. Actually, I know that spell. If you want to hear it, just transform into a beaver from now on. Don't even speak human words. It makes me angry.
-Okay, I'll...
-Hey! No beaver sounds!
...Something like that!
But he hadn't shown the slightest hint and endured it all the way to the end.
"You... are truly amazing!"
"Huh? Oh, well, the black mages were very kind in teaching me... And I'm still far from mastering them. It's embarrassing to say I've learned them in front of others."
"That's not the point! You're amazing either way!"
Sigunting patted his junior's back.
If Professor Verdus ever fell to an assassin's blade, he would definitely make sure to tell him this fact!