Episode 1292
Episode 1292
'He's my friend, but he's really shameless.'
Though not quite on Professor Verdus's level, Lee Han had also reached a state of mastery when it came to shamelessness.
Seeing these two fiercely go at each other gave Gainando a sudden sense of novel emotion.
This magnificent spectacle shouldn't be witnessed by him alone—his other friends should have seen it too...
"Really? Wait a moment."
Professor Verdus sent out a Paper Bird to double-check.
"It says here you're supposed to properly attempt Small World Magic, right? Look. Professor Garcia wrote it down."
"......"
Seeing his friend's face stiffen with clear dissatisfaction, Gainando inwardly sighed.
It seemed his friend still wasn't quite at the level to outmaneuver the professor.
"So what is it? What are you going to make me do?"
"I'm not making you do anything—I'm going to show you Small World Magic."
"Ah. I see. So what is it? What are you going to make me do?"
"I told you, I'm not making you do anything—I'm going to show you Small World Magic!"
'Am I in hell?'
Gainando covered both ears as he followed the two.
Even the most formidable Black Magic curses probably wouldn't dare show their faces in the face of this conversation.
Just listening to it was enough to make one's mind sick!
Upon arriving at the Sacred Pavilion Hall, Professor Verdus wobbled his way up the stairs. Watching his retreating back, Lee Han whispered to Gainando in a grave tone.
"Gainando."
"Yeah?"
"When I give the signal, wait downstairs and set a fire. That should give us an excuse to escape."
"......"
When Gainando froze in sheer disbelief, Lee Han seemed to take it as agreement.
"Got it? I'm counting on you."
"W-wait. Lee Han...! That doesn't seem right! That really doesn't seem right!!"
But his friend had already gone upstairs. Sniffling, Gainando hurriedly chased after him.
Unaware of the conversation happening behind him, Professor Verdus took out the glass cube necklace he usually carried and placed it on the workshop's display stand.
"See this?"
"Repair? Improvement? Inspection? Or making replicas or parts?"
"I said look at it!"
As his student kept diverting the topic, Professor Verdus showed rare irritation.
He could understand if it were some other dim-witted mage, but for someone as sharp as Wardanaz, this incomprehension was baffling.
Perhaps his student had finally reached his limits.
Though Professor Verdus didn't fully grasp it, ordinary mages often broke down when practicing magic for what felt like 25 hours a day.
"Yes. I see it."
"Do you see the magic too?"
"Isn't this... the Magnum Opus you used, Professor?"
Lee Han nearly added, 'And then the Headmaster's avatar beat you to a pulp,' but stopped himself.
No matter how infuriating Professor Verdus was, completely trampling his dignity was going too far.
Of course, among students, conversations like 'Hey, wasn't it amazing when the Headmaster's avatar beat Professor Verdus to a pulp?' were common...
"Ah! So this is the thing you used before getting utterly wrecked!"
"......"
"......"
The miscalculation here was that Gainando was standing right behind them. Just recalling that incident brought a blissful expression to his face.
"I was so disappointed I didn't get to see it in person! So disappointed that my friends and I even made a book recreating the events of that day using Illusion Magic!"
"...You wasted time on that?"
Lee Han was at a loss for words at such an outrageous waste of time.
He made a mental note to remember the names of every idiot who had wasted their time on that project, Gainando included.
"N-no, it didn't take that long. Gathering testimonies, drawing illustrations, preparing Illusion Magic reagents..."
"......"
The more Gainando spoke, the stronger his conviction grew that he was digging his own grave.
Wouldn't it be better to just go downstairs right now and set that fire?
Fortunately, Professor Verdus came to Gainando's rescue.
"You weren't completely crushed!"
"Huh? What do you mean? That was absolutely a complete crushing."
Lee Han stared at Professor Verdus, who was shouting nonsense, as if to ask what kind of bullshit he was spouting.
However, Professor Verdus stood firm and unshaken as he expressed his opinion.
"That magical duel back then was evenly matched! It was just a tiny difference."
"If that counts as evenly matched, then my duel with the Headmaster would be evenly matched too... Are you seriously saying that? A single incantation canceled the Small World. Are you for real?"
Lee Han, who had witnessed the event firsthand (to be precise, he had brought the Crazy Doppelganger to the classroom), remained coldly logical.
Even as Professor Verdus tried to distort history, Lee Han immediately pointed out the flaws.
"If I had anticipated that Gonadaltes's doppelganger would use Reverse Magic with an incantation, I would have deployed the Small World differently. It really was just a tiny difference."
"You couldn't even use Liberum Veto and had it stolen from you. If you keep making excuses like this, I'll call the Headmaster and have you duel him again."
"L-Lee Han, are you angry?"
Gainando asked cautiously.
Well, it was a natural question. Anyone would get angry talking to Professor Verdus.
But his friend's answer was unexpected.
"I'm not angry? I'm just pointing out the inaccuracies."
"L-Let's just agree that the professor is somewhat right and move on."
Gainando felt as though their roles had reversed.
Normally, it was Lee Han who had to be restrained while he was the one making such remarks—so why was it the opposite now?
But Gainando still hadn't realized it yet.
Lee Han was particularly strict when it came to the Crazy Doppelganger's achievements.
He absolutely could not tolerate someone like Professor Verdus undermining or falsifying them.
"No. That's nonsense. I'll call the Headmaster, so why don't you try saying that again?"
"N-No! No... I... I was wrong."
"!!!!!"
Gainando was so shocked he nearly fainted.
This might have been the first time since entering Einrogard that he had ever heard Professor Verdus admit, "I was wrong."
Maybe even the seniors had never heard it in their entire lives.
'Wh-What did I just hear? What did I just hear? Shouldn't this be recorded??'
Panicking, Gainando wondered if he could really let such a historic moment in Einrogard's history slip by.
But his ruthless friend didn't even flinch at such a monumental event.
"Louder. And more precisely. Or I'll call the Headmaster."
"Ugh... Sniff. I... was wrong... The difference between me... and Gonadaltes's doppelganger was... quite..."
"Quite?"
"...Pretty... significantly... large..."
"Which field of magic, exactly?"
"Enchantment Magic... Enchantment Magic..."
"Hmph. I'll let it slide this time. Watch your words from now on."
Professor Verdus sniffled and nodded.
No amount of verbal abuse had ever fazed Professor Verdus before, but the threat of summoning the Skeleton Principal had broken him, forcing him to admit his inferiority in Enchantment Magic—and it clearly pained him greatly.
The professor had finally realized it too.
No matter how stubbornly he argued, the fact remained that he had been defeated by the Headmaster's Crazy Doppelganger in the field of Enchantment Magic.
'I want to run away.'
Gainando broke out in a cold sweat between the sniffling Professor Verdus and his satisfied, nodding friend.
Was this all just a nightmare?
"So why did you tell me to look at this Magnum Opus?"
"I heard... Sniff... that you used the form of Hidor to deploy another Small World... and thought I'd show you that Magnum Opus uses a similar method..."
Professor Verdus blew his nose loudly once.
Gainando was genuinely surprised by the unexpectedly reasonable explanation.
"Lee Han! It seems he really called you here to help!"
"Gainando. Stop acting like you're not from the Enchantment Magic school. That's just a disguise."
"...But, but look at the tears welling up in his eyes!"
"Tears naturally pool just from yawning. Don't fall for the disguise. Keep doing that and you'll never become an outstanding mage."
Lee Han sternly admonished his friend.
Regardless, Professor Verdus pointed to the Small World magic trapped inside the glass cube.
"As you can see from this, I've confined a Small World within this cask. Unlike other Small World magics, you can cast it just by opening it."
At the professor's words, Lee Han carefully examined the glass.
When he'd been caught by the Crazy Doppelganger, he'd been too entertained to observe properly, but this glass cask was truly a fascinating object.
To trap an already-cast Small World in its exact state inside it—that wasn't something easily done with ordinary magic.
Having cast another Small World magic using Hidor's form himself, Lee Han could better appreciate just how difficult this was.
'I shaped mine into water droplets after casting it on the spot, but Professor Verdus trapped an already-cast Small World inside? How is this even possible?'
"Indeed. This is astonishing."
"Of course it should be."
"But what's even more astonishing is how the Headmaster's doppelganger nullified all this with just one Word Magic..."
"This magic! This magic is possible because each pane of glass in the cask is a separate magical Artifact!"
Professor Verdus cut in with a sniffle, showing an urgency never seen in him before.
"Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas, Viriditas, Rubedo, Cauda Pavonis. A total of six high-level magics interconnected and combined to store the Small World inside in a fixed state!"
"!"
Lee Han, who had been about to praise the Crazy Doppelganger, was so shocked he forgot what he was going to say.
No wonder the glass seemed extraordinary—it was actually made of different magical materials?
"Professor. This is..."
"Impressive, isn't it? More than Gonadaltes's doppelganger?"
"No. I was going to say it seems like a waste. And even if it's impressive, it's not that impressive, so please stop exaggerating. If you do it one more time, I'll call the Headmaster and challenge you to a duel."
Professor Verdus looked crestfallen.
Lee Han fell into thought beside him.
'In theory, if this Artifact is completed, it could store other Small Worlds besides Magnum Opus. It's expensive and wasteful, but... it's a remarkable idea.'
The astonishing part was that despite all this preparation, the Crazy Doppelganger had instantly countered it with Reverse Magic using just Word Magic.
No matter how quickly you cast a Small World, it's meaningless if your opponent can see right through it.
"Professor, did you call me here to teach me this magic?"
"Yes."
"As I thought."
Suddenly curious, Lee Han asked,
"Did Senior Yukveltire learn this too?"
"No. She said it didn't suit her tastes and refused."
'That's so like the Senior.'
Well, hastily deploying a Small World was something only battle mages like Lee Han or imperial fugitives like Professor Verdus needed.
For someone like Yukveltire, who had firmly chosen her path as an Enchantment mage, such methods weren't particularly necessary.
'Even if I can't master all these magics, they're still valuable. Mastering even one could be greatly useful for other magics...'
Having organized his thoughts, Lee Han spoke up.
"Professor. Thank you. For once, I admit I misjudged y—"
BANG!
The door to the Sacred Pavilion Hall burst open, and black mages ascended from below.
They were the Descendants of Ahrag, carrying on the tradition of the great black mage Ahrag.
Lee Han roared in fury.
"—I take it back! I knew this would happen!"
"Huh? Wha—? I didn't call them!"
"To think a so-called teacher would sell out his own student! Gainando! Now!"