Episode 147
Episode 147
Lee Han's face hardened instantly.
He had immediately guessed the intruder's identity.
'Anti-Magic Zealots!'
Just like the ones who had ambushed Professor Garcia before, they had clearly taken advantage of the Spring Festival to infiltrate the school.
"Be careful, Yoner! It's an Anti-Magic Zealot!"
"Huh... Wh-what?"
Yoner had been tense as well, but he faltered upon hearing Lee Han's words.
It was a little strange to hear that the thief in front of them was an Anti-Magic Zealot.
Normally, Anti-Magic Zealots were the type to cause loud, flashy disturbances.
They had their own convictions and pride, so they wouldn't sneak in at night dressed like common thieves.
'A hired thief, then?'
"Move, brats! Unless you want to get hurt!"
The thief in front of them, perhaps realizing that Lee Han and Yoner were freshmen, drew a shortsword and tried to intimidate them fiercely.
But before the thief could even fully unsheathe his blade, Lee Han's spell was already complete.
"Flash!"
With a fierce shout, lightning crackled through the air.
It was far faster than the thief had anticipated.
"Guh... Agh!!"
In truth, not all intruders who entered the Magic School were Anti-Magic Zealots.
In fact, Anti-Magic Zealots were among the least likely to infiltrate the Magic School successfully.
Since they were the type to cause major incidents if they got in, the Magic School kept them under the strictest surveillance.
Surprisingly, the most common intruders were mercenaries or adventurers.
The Empire's Magic School wasn't just a place of education—it was also where the Empire's most exceptional mages gathered to conduct magical research.
Even the most trivial or failed experiments conducted within its walls could multiply in value tenfold, even a hundredfold, if taken outside.
Among external mages, many were willing to pay a fortune just for the chance to acquire something researched within the Magic School.
The thief who had entered today was exactly that kind of person.
-Thanks to the Spring Festival, Einrogard is allowing outsiders in.
-No way...
-Yeah. Let's go in, grab anything valuable, and get out.
-But... getting involved with high-ranking mages is terrifying...
-Of course, I know there are some monstrous mages among them. But there aren't many like that. Do you really think those kinds of people would bother with us if we just sneak in and steal one little thing? They wouldn't even notice. There are so many people here. We just can't get caught.
-Hmm... That's true...
-No one can match you when it comes to breaking into magically warded buildings. Remember that mercenary mage last time? You even bypassed the spells he set up.
-That's fair.
They had some experience dealing with mages—and greed got the better of them.
And so, the thief forged his identity and slipped into Einrogard.
Thanks to the Spring Festival, getting into the Magic School wasn't too difficult. With a plausible excuse, they could pass through.
But...
-This isn't the main building...?
-There should be a main building here...
They had underestimated the Magic School far too much.
The difference between the 1st or 2nd Circle mercenary mages they usually encountered outside and the mages of the Magic School was like night and day.
Unprepared, the thieves fell victim to the school's defensive and illusion magic, unable to even find their way properly.
After wandering around endlessly, they finally stumbled upon a building.
-Found... found it!
-This is a stable...?
-It's the Magic School's stable! There must be rare creatures inside!
-O-oh, right!
Discovering the stable tucked away in a secluded area, the thieves hastily opened the door and rushed inside.
But all they saw inside were ordinary horses.
-Damn it! There's nothing but horses here!
-Should we take a horse, at least?
-What kind of nonsense is that? Do you think we came here to steal horses? And how would we even carry one out? Unless it's a small one, it'd be too hard to take!
There was, in fact, a griffin present, but unfortunately, the thieves failed to notice it.
Sadly, the thieves' misfortune didn't end there.
As they opened the stable door to leave, they came face to face with a freshman.
"......"
"...It's not Ratford! Yoner! Thieves!"
The thief was utterly flustered upon seeing the shouting student but quickly regained his composure.
There was no one around, and the opponent looked like a freshman. That should be enough to overpower them and escape.
"Be careful, Yoner! They're Anti-Magic Zealots!"
"!?"
The thief was baffled by the absurd misunderstanding.
Anti-Magic Zealots?
That was a ridiculous assumption.
They had just come to take a few valuable things...
'Damn, this isn't the time!'
The thief realized he couldn't afford to waste time. If someone heard the commotion and came, it would be trouble.
"Move aside, brats! Unless you want to get hurt!"
The thief sharply drew his shortsword.
Of course, he had no intention of actually harming the students.
Stealing a couple of items from the Magic School was one thing, but hurting students was on a whole other level.
He wasn't about to get hunted down for life by the Magic School's monsters just for trying to make some quick money.
...But the thief didn't know.
That the freshman standing before him was also one of those not-so-ordinary monsters of the Magic School.
"Flash!"
With a crackling burst of lightning, searing pain burned through the thief's muscles and scorched his mind.
'Ghk...?!'
Beyond the pain, the thief couldn't comprehend what was happening.
Having faced mages outside a few times before, he knew that casting spells required time—chanting incantations and waving a wand while maintaining unwavering focus.
In truth, magic was surprisingly tricky to use in combat.
Not many could maintain that level of concentration amidst the chaos of battle, where screams and weapons flew everywhere.
And yet, this was just a freshman.
Even mercenary mages took considerable time to chant spells flawlessly. A freshman who had barely started learning magic should have taken even longer... right?
"GAAAHHH!"
"Flash! Flash! Flash!"
'Stop it!!'
Convulsing on the ground, the thief could only scream inwardly.
His throat refused to obey due to the electrocution. If not for his lack of magic-resistant armor, he would have blacked out long ago.
Amidst the agony, the thief realized he had severely underestimated the Magic School.
'This is no joke...!'
He had no idea what kind of training they underwent, but the freshmen here were on another level.
If he made it out alive, he swore he'd flee at the mere sight of a Magic School graduate from now on.
'H-Help me, you bastard...'
The thief thought desperately of his accomplice still inside the stable.
His partner, frozen in fear at the one-sided violence unfolding outside, didn't dare step out.
While he understood the hesitation, being fried by lightning made him curse inwardly.
'Help... me...! If I go down... you're next...!'
Meanwhile, Lee Han continued launching lightning while summoning a Water Orb.
Despite the advantage, he remained vigilant.
If these were Anti-Magic Zealots, this could all still be a trick.
"Yoner. Fall back."
"Uh... huh? He looks subdued though?"
Yoner wasn't a combat expert, but even he could tell the guy was foaming at the mouth.
"No. It might be one of the Anti-Magic Zealots' tricks."
"R... Really?"
Yoner obediently stepped back as Lee Han instructed.
Even if the guy seemed down, Lee Han wasn't the type to be wrong about these things...
Whoosh!
The Water Orb shot forward and struck the fallen thief. It was almost a mercy that he lost consciousness.
"...Looks like he's down."
'Honestly, he was down a while ago.'
Even with the thief collapsed, Lee Han didn't let his guard down.
He layered on more spells and summoned additional Water Orbs.
Anti-Magic Zealots never travel alone. It wouldn't be strange if this guy's comrades were nearby.
"Light!"
Lee Han launched a massive sphere of light into the sky.
A light sphere this bright would surely bring the professors running.
"The professors will be here soon. We just need to hold out until then."
"Yeah..."
Yoner glanced at the fallen thief.
Judging by the thief's level, she felt slightly doubtful about who exactly needed to hold out until the professors arrived...
Creak—
"!"
Lee Han turned his head. From inside the stable, the door slowly opened with a groaning sound.
He pointed his staff.
The moment an enemy appeared, he was ready to unleash all his prepared spells.
"P-please spare me!"
But what emerged was a thief drenched in tears and snot.
Having witnessed his comrade being magically beaten inside the stable, the thief was utterly terrified. Raising both arms, he desperately pleaded:
"I'm not an Anti-Magic Zealot! I'm not an Anti-Magic Zealot!! Please just spare my li—"
"Flash!"
"Gahk!"
Lee Han mercilessly swung his staff. The thief struck by lightning collapsed forward.
Watching this, Lee Han muttered softly:
"Hmm... Maybe he really isn't an Anti-Magic Zealot."
"......"
'I'm really glad we're Tower mates.'
The first to arrive was the Skeleton Principal.
One of the advantages of being a Lich was not needing sleep. Upon hearing reports of the disturbance, the Skeleton Principal had rushed over excitedly, thinking someone might be attempting an escape.
What's this... Just some thieves.
The moment he arrived, the Skeleton Principal spoke with disappointment in his voice.
Lee Han asked in surprise:
"They're not Anti-Magic Zealots?"
You thought they were? Those guys wouldn't get in so easily. And they wouldn't be this weak either.
As he spoke, the Skeleton Principal scanned the thieves.
Though he called them weak, their equipment was quite high-end. There were signs they'd prepared specifically to counter mages.
They'd clearly had experience breaking into other mages' workshops or strongholds.
That experience and arrogance had brought about their current misfortune, but...
Even the Skeleton Principal could see Lee Han had thoroughly subdued them. He'd probably kept attacking, thinking they were disguised Anti-Magic Zealots.
'They got beaten extra because of those Anti-Magic Zealots.'
"So they just came here to steal?"
Actually, we get more of those. With how many valuables this school has, it'd be strange not to have thieves.
"But is it alright to hold festivals like this?"
At Lee Han's question, the Skeleton Principal scoffed.
Being too afraid of thieves to hold festivals would wound a mage's pride.
"I see..."
That made sense.
If the Empire's greatest magic school had to cautiously restrain itself out of fear of mere thieves, that would be ridiculous in its own way.
And occasionally, using thieves as an excuse could help secure more budget...
"......"
"......"
Lee Han and Yoner pretended not to hear.
Who knew they'd hear about the magic school's financial operations like this...
Anyway, good job. Catching thieves like this. I'll handle these scum.
"By the way, can we get Exit Permits as a reward?"
For catching worthless trash who aren't even Anti-Magic Zealots? Have you no conscience, boy, not even being a Lich yet?
"......"
If you catch someone more valuable, we'll consider it.
"Even so, catching thieves like this and getting no reward at all is unreasonable."
Yoner argued as if this made no sense.
Unlike Lee Han, she still retained a tiny shred of faith and expectation toward the Skeleton Principal.
That's fair too. Fine! I'll think of something appropriate.
As the Skeleton Principal readily agreed, Lee Han felt inexplicably uneasy.
Why did receiving a rightful reward feel so unsettling?
Ah. These thieves wouldn't have come alone—I should have students stand guard too.
The Skeleton Principal spoke as if struck by a good idea.
Lee Han didn't understand.
"Don't you have your Summons, Headmaster?"
Tsk. But even undead need rest, you know.