Episode 153
Episode 153
The magic combat training didn't end with just one session.
In Yumidihus's eyes, other third-year students had been discovered.
"Those students are also hiding stolen goods."
'Is this place full of nothing but thieves?'
It was unclear whether many thieves had entered the school or if the school itself was turning people into thieves.
Yumidihus pointed at the students trying to hide reagents and materials.
"Bring those too."
"Yes."
Robbery became even easier the second time around.
Lee Han approached again. However, this time wasn't as smooth as before.
Caw! Caw!
As he got closer, the irritating cries of birds echoed across the mountain.
Startled by the alarm magic, the two third-year students shouted in panic.
"We're being pursued!"
"Reveal yourself, hidden presence!"
"!"
Indeed, third-years weren't to be underestimated.
When the pre-set alarm magic warned of an intruder, they immediately realized someone was hiding nearby and cast a spell to dispel invisibility.
Thanks to this, Lee Han learned something new.
'Next time, I should disrupt their alarm magic first.'
The two seniors were taken aback by the sight of Lee Han wearing a mask.
This wasn't the pursuer they had expected.
What the—?
"Did the Headmaster send you?"
"Of course the Headmaster sent you! Don't be fooled by appearances! They're trying to confuse you!"
Lee Han didn't bother correcting their misunderstanding.
"...That's right! How dare you attempt to steal from Gonadaltes!"
"Guh...!"
"You're the one who forced this! Take th—"
The third-year seniors tried to resist indignantly, but Lee Han was a step faster.
A Water Orb, curving through the air from a blind spot, sent their wands flying before they could react.
Whack!
Surprisingly, the seniors were quite sloppy in magical combat. While their magical skills were impressive, they had too many openings.
If it had been Professor Voladi, she would've immediately guarded her blind spots.
To a student like Lee Han, who had undergone brutal magical combat training, these third-year seniors were like greenhouse flowers.
"Gah!" "Ugh!"
"......"
Seeing the unconscious seniors, Lee Han suddenly came to his senses.
'...Will I be able to handle the aftermath of this later?'
Surely the seniors won't be able to identify the culprit...?
Satisfied, Yumidihus descended the mountain with Lee Han.
On their way down, Yumidihus spotted freshmen from White Tiger Tower.
Having found one of the Skeleton Principal's hidden boxes, they were chattering excitedly about where to open it while clutching it protectively.
'Freshmen... They're not worth it.'
While the boy from the Wardanaz family needed as much magical combat experience as possible, there were still limits.
In Yumidihus's eyes, fighting students of the same year wouldn't provide Lee Han with any meaningful experience.
A clear overestimation.
Yet Lee Han spoke firmly.
"Let me face them."
"But there won't be much to learn from this...?"
"No matter who the opponent is, there's always something to learn."
Lee Han said this while eyeing the Skeleton Principal's box held by his White Tiger Tower friends.
Though he hadn't opened the one he'd obtained yet—having left it at Professor Thunderstep's cabin—
...the more boxes, the better.
"Very well, go ahead!"
"Yes!"
Lee Han moved with more enthusiasm than he'd shown all day during his lessons.
Whack! Thud-thud-whack!
The White Tiger Tower students, ambushed by unseen attacks, dropped one after another.
However, the first-years were different from the seniors.
"You... you bastard... Wardanaz...?! Ugh..."
'What?! How did they know?!'
Lee Han was shocked that his friends had guessed his identity without even seeing him.
He wanted to ask how they knew, but they were already unconscious.
Wednesday.
Yawning, Ashan watched Lee Han finish drawing the remaining part of the magic circle and asked—
"By the way, Wardanaz. Did you enjoy the festival yesterday?"
"Yeah."
"What did you do?"
"Helped Professor Voladi with his tent... Got summoned by the Headmaster to make fireworks."
Ashan nodded.
His friend seemed to have been quite busy working yesterday.
Well, Lee Han was one of the top students in their year, so it made sense he'd be that busy.
"Received some teachings from Lord Yumidihus, went to the Afha Order for fire magic training..."
"...?"
Ashan, who'd been listening, felt something was off.
Huh?
'If he was just working the whole time, when did he actually enjoy the festival?'
"That's about it?"
"...Wardanaz. Sorry to say, but that doesn't sound like enjoying the festival."
"What do you mean? The festival..."
Lee Han, who'd been answering incredulously, suddenly paused.
Surprisingly, even he hadn't realized until now!
"...I didn't enjoy it."
"...I'm sorry."
"No. I did all this because I wanted to help..."
Lee Han said this and continued drawing the magic circle. But his back looked slightly dejected.
Seeing this, Ashan felt terribly guilty.
'Because of me...!'
His friend had dark circles from staying up since morning to work on Professor Nayton's magic circle, and Ashan couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
But in truth, Lee Han's dark circles were caused by a slightly different reason.
'If it's small enough to fit in a box, why not just give it plainly instead of twisting it into a cipher?!'
Lee Han had obtained two boxes from the Skeleton Principal.
The one taken from the White Tiger Tower students turned out to be—surprisingly—a dud.
Not all that glitters is gold.
-Os Gonadaltes
He'd expected there would be duds, but seeing it firsthand honestly made his blood boil.
And what made it even more unfair...
'Those White Tiger Tower bastards wouldn't believe me even if I told them it was a dud!'
At least the other box contained a three-page magic spell.
...Written in complex ancient script and a jumbled cipher.
While many magic books were like that, the Skeleton Principal clearly had the ability to write it plainly but deliberately chose not to.
Because of this, Lee Han had to cut back on sleep to decipher the spell.
With half still left, he'd likely have to pull another all-nighter.
"So right now..."
"Priest. Leave it to me. I'll use it for the Empire."
"No, I—"
Following Lee Han and Ashan, who'd arrived early in the morning, new students chattered as they entered the classroom.
Judging by their serious expressions and hushed whispers, something was clearly going on.
Lee Han was puzzled.
'What's this? Did the Skeleton Principal unleash some undead?'
"What's happening?"
"Priestess Dijiling found an Outing Pass in his box."
"......"
"......"
Lee Han and Ashan's expressions hardened like stone.
No way...?!
'Magic and effort aside, is luck truly the best?'
Lee Han looked at the incoming students with a bitter feeling.
Surrounded by classmates, Priestess Dijiling was being bombarded with offers.
"Priestess Dijiling! If you don't plan to use the Outing Pass, please sell it to me! I'll give you 50 of the bread from meals!"
"Are you insane?! Priestess Dijiling, I'll give you 500 loaves! Plus cheese and sausages!"
'I should step in.'
Lee Han sighed inwardly and moved forward.
Whenever treasure was found, people always stretched out their greedy hands.
He was the only one who could stop this.
...But before Lee Han could even open his mouth, Priestess Dijiling spoke first.
"Please take this."
"!!!"
Lee Han's pupils shook.
It felt like the temptation of a devil.
Not because Priestess Dijiling was a demon-half...
'I want to close my eyes and take it.'
No matter how much Lee Han had been scheming to secure an Outing Pass, taking it from an oblivious priest felt wrong.
Moreover, they were both members of the Prisinga Order. If Lee Han snatched the Outing Pass from Priestess Dijiling's hands, he wouldn't be able to face the other priests later.
"...No. It's fine."
When Lee Han refused, his friends were even more disappointed.
"Wardanaz! Why!"
"Priest. Then I'll take it—"
"All of you, shut up. You shameless bastards."
At Lee Han's words, his friends flushed red.
Their minds, which had been clouded by the sight of the Outing Pass, finally returned to them.
'What was I about to do...!'
'How shameful!'
While his friends wallowed in shame, Lee Han bit his lip again.
'I must endure. I must endure.'
"But I have no intention of going outside."
"...It's fine."
"Besides, you've already shown me too much hospitality."
"Really, it's fine."
"Even so..."
As Priestess Dijiling refused to give up easily, Lee Han's firm resolve began to waver.
However, Ashan came to his aid.
"No, Priest. Wardanaz is absolutely not the kind of person who would accept such a thing."
Ashan placed a hand on Lee Han's shoulder and continued firmly.
"Look at Wardanaz. Does he seem like the kind of friend who would act against his own honor?"
"...If that's the case..."
Seeing even Ashan speak so adamantly, Priestess Dijiling hesitated helplessly before finally putting the Outing Pass away.
Lee Han stared straight at Ashan and said,
"Thank you."
"What for? Everyone in our Tower knows this much."
"Thank you very much."
"No need to say it twice."
Lee Han sighed.
Truthfully, Ashan had helped him. If he hadn't stepped in, Lee Han would have already pocketed the Outing Pass by now.
"Priestess Dijiling. Never give the Outing Pass to anyone else, understand? You should use it for yourself."
Lee Han spoke firmly, his heart filled with malice.
If he couldn't have it, then no one else would either.
"Ye... yes. Understood."
Even the hesitant Dijiling nodded obediently when Lee Han spoke so forcefully.
Having concluded the conversation, Lee Han turned to the snake beastkin student.
"Priest Siana, who has been entrusted with the weighty responsibility of assisting Professor Thunderstep with this year's festival preparations."
"Greetings. Lee Han of the Wardanaz family, whose reputation among visiting mages already precedes you."
The two freshmen exchanged refined compliments. Even Ashan was slightly impressed.
'Now that's how you greet someone.'
Among nobles, sophisticated praise was an important charm. Those who could elegantly compliment others were always well-received.
"Actually, Priest Siana, there was something I wanted to ask you. Do you mind?"
"Ask away."
Lee Han glanced around before leading Priest Siana to a secluded corner.
It was a conversation that shouldn't be overheard by others.
"I found this while walking around..."
Lee Han pulled out the materials and reagents he had taken from the third-year seniors.
Though they had been ambushed in different locations, all the third-years had been carrying the same types of materials and reagents.
By this point, Lee Han couldn't help but grow curious.
'It seems like an assignment—what are these ingredients for?'
"Do you happen to know what these materials are for?"
Priest Siana carefully examined the reagents and materials Lee Han had produced.
After pondering for a moment, she clapped her hands as if struck by realization.
"I think I know what it is!"
"As expected of Priest Siana! Truly the foremost genius of the Flemeng Order!"
"It's a Potion of Enemy Detection."
"Potion of Enemy Detection...?"
A Potion of Enemy Detection.
It was a potion that could pinpoint the exact location of a specific target when they were nearby.
"But you found this just lying around?"
"Yeah."
"This isn't the kind of potion freshmen would make, though?"
Priest Siana spoke as if she couldn't comprehend it.
No matter how simple it was, the Potion of Enemy Detection wasn't something freshmen would attempt to brew.
Yet to find it just lying around...
No matter how she thought about it, it was strange.
"Maybe the seniors dropped it."
"That's bizarre..."
"Right? Some truly bizarre things happen."