Episode 157
Episode 157
Thud!
Despite the warning, Gye-nan-do collapsed with a thud. It seemed he had been attacked by a monster and knocked unconscious.
'He didn't notice it at all.'
No matter how dark the surroundings were, he should have sensed something approaching this close.
It was clear the opponent had the ability to conceal their presence.
"Light!"
Lee Han summoned orbs of light around him while simultaneously turning himself invisible.
"Heat, distort the air!"
But he didn't stop there.
An illusion took his place where he had just vanished.
"Sharkan. Attack if the enemy approaches!"
With a low growl, Sharkan burst forth, barking ferociously into the darkness.
'Over there!'
Lee Han immediately summoned another orb of light. The pitch-black darkness was swiftly pushed back.
Then, the vague outline of the opponent emerged. It was a monster that looked as if it had been molded from shadows like clay.
Startled by the advancing light, the Shadow Monster quickly distanced itself. As it melted into the darkness, its silhouette vanished in an instant, its form completely hidden.
'This doesn't seem like an ordinary monster.'
Lee Han stared in the direction where the Shadow Monster had disappeared, lost in thought.
Unlike typical living monsters, this Shadow Monster gave off no sense of vitality at all. It was as if someone had artificially summoned it.
And this was the Magic School.
The problem was, there were far too many people here capable of summoning something like that.
'First, I need to subdue it!'
"Burn!"
Flames ignited through the darkness. Having discerned the opponent's attributes, Lee Han decided to take a more aggressive approach.
If it feared light, it would likely fear fire as well.
Whoosh!
As flames bloomed in the air, the Shadow Monster effortlessly widened the distance, almost as if mocking him.
The initial panic from suddenly facing light had vanished—it had already regained its composure.
No matter how much light or fire he summoned, it was still the dead of night.
There was more than enough darkness around to hide in.
But the Shadow Monster had severely underestimated Lee Han.
"Burn."
-?
"Burn. Burn. Burn. Burn..."
-!
The Shadow Monster should have fled immediately instead of provocatively circling around after creating distance.
In an instant, Lee Han had summoned dozens of flames all around.
Whoooooosh!
A blazing net of fire swiftly formed.
Before the Shadow Monster could escape elsewhere, it found itself surrounded by flames burning in every direction.
An overwhelming flood of mana, leaving no room for the monster to use evasion or stealth abilities!
Trapped in the last remnants of darkness, unable to move an inch, the Shadow Monster held its breath, watching warily.
Sharkan growled as if urging it to come out.
"Got you."
The Shadow Monster didn't dare emerge from the darkness.
Instead, it waited for the surrounding flames to die down.
Assuming that, given Lee Han's young age, the excessive flames he had summoned would eventually backfire over time.
-...???
But no matter how much time passed, the flames didn't flicker in the slightest.
Lee Han, who had been waiting coldly, spoke.
"If you don't come out, I'll burn you along with the darkness. Three. Two. One..."
He wasn't doing this out of fear of the Shadow Monster—he had simply lit fires everywhere and waited because he wasn't confident in his ability to control fire magic precisely.
Sensing the warning in Lee Han's voice, the Shadow Monster, thoroughly cowed, crawled out.
Tap tap tap tap tap—
"?"
Footsteps echoed from afar.
Lee Han turned his head, casting his gaze toward the sound. A familiar face—one he had seen a few times before—was rushing toward him through the night's darkness.
It was the Magic School's warehouse keeper.
-"These are the monsters I've prepared for this festival. What do you think?"
-"There are quite a number of them."
-"...How dull. Anyway, you must manage these monsters well."
The Skeleton Principal spoke to the warehouse keeper in a solemn voice.
The monsters summoned for this festival weren't mere disposable creatures to be used once or twice.
They were beautiful chess pieces meant to brilliantly execute the Skeleton Principal's perfect plan.
-"I'll do my best."
However, the truth was that the number of monsters summoned by the Skeleton Principal was far too many for the warehouse keeper to manage alone.
Moreover, the monsters weren't exactly docile either.
-"Stay still. Don't move."
Thud! Thud!
The monsters, who had received orders from the Skeleton Principal to track down and ambush students possessing exit permits, were already struggling violently as if they'd burst out of their cages any moment.
The warehouse keeper did his utmost to manage them, but an accident inevitably occurred.
Several cages broke, and the monsters inside escaped.
Though it was a sudden situation, the warehouse keeper didn't panic.
Calmly, he captured the remaining monsters and locked them back up, then set out to track the escaped ones.
"!"
The warehouse keeper froze upon sensing an enormous surge of mana from afar.
Though he had lost his sight in exchange for gaining powerful mana detection abilities, even with such skills, this was an overwhelmingly massive mana presence that he couldn't fully comprehend.
Normally, he would've asked, 'Is that you, Headmaster?' but the warehouse keeper had just been sternly reprimanded by the Skeleton Principal.
"Is that you, Headmaster... or a student?"
Lee Han quickly pondered.
If he said it was the Skeleton Principal here...
'It's not like I snuck out, so there's no need for that.'
"I'm a student."
"I see."
Fortunately, the warehouse keeper didn't attack Lee Han with accusations like 'You tricked me last time!'
Instead, he turned his gaze toward the shadow monster surrounded by flames.
Though his pupils weren't visible, Lee Han could sense the warehouse keeper's interest.
"Did you light fires around to capture it?"
"Yes."
"Did it try to escape?"
"I didn't give it any chance to flee—I lit fires in all directions."
Sharkan growled proudly as if boasting.
The warehouse keeper was astonished by Lee Han's words.
If that were true, it meant he'd lit all those flames so quickly that the shadow monster couldn't even find an opening to escape.
All that fire... just like that?
Even if one had a specialized talent for fire elemental magic, this was a feat difficult for a freshman to demonstrate.
"You'll become a fine mage."
"Thank you."
"May I take the monster now?"
"...Is this one of the monsters that escaped the Headmaster's notice?"
Lee Han was far more perceptive than the warehouse keeper had anticipated.
From the mention of the monster, the warehouse keeper, and the intent to retrieve it, he immediately deduced the Skeleton Principal's involvement.
Though the warehouse keeper didn't show it, he was slightly taken aback.
For a freshman to be this sharp...
Could it be?
"Did the Headmaster tell you?"
"In a way, you could say that."
Lee Han answered evasively.
Of course, the Skeleton Principal hadn't explicitly told him, but since he'd deduced it from the Headmaster's actions, in a way, the Headmaster had indeed 'told' him.
The innocent warehouse keeper never imagined that a freshman could already wield such cunning words.
"That's correct. It's one of the escaped ones."
"Are there still many left uncaught?"
"Yes."
"......"
Lee Han cursed inwardly.
'This damn school should ban summoning things if they can't even manage them properly.'
"Shall I help you?"
The warehouse keeper was surprised by Lee Han's offer.
He hadn't expected a freshman to say something so commendable.
He might have refused help from any other freshman, but given how this boy had just subdued a shadow monster, his ability to assist was undeniable.
"Moreover, aren't you practically the Headmaster's disciple? Even if we work together, there shouldn't be any major issues."
"Would you really do that for me?"
"Yes. Assisting someone who dedicates themselves to this Magic School is an honor for me."
"You'll truly become a great mage."
"Haha. Thank you."
'Too easy.'
After dealing with someone like the Skeleton Principal, handling the warehouse keeper felt ridiculously simple.
The Skeleton Principal's endless schemes and tricks had trained Lee Han to this extent.
'There's definitely a plan behind this from the Skeleton Principal.'
He would dig it out while helping.
Lee Han knew well by now.
If you don't seize opportunities when they arise, you can't survive in this Magic School.
"Wait. Let me wake up Gainando first."
"Very well."
Lee Han summoned a mass of water and splashed it onto Gainando's face.
"Ghk—Cough! Cough!"
"Gainando! Are you okay?"
"I'm... cough... fine. M-my Outing Pass! Where's my Outing Pass?"
"It's fine. Don't come out of the tower today."
Gainando had the advantage of not asking unnecessary questions.
When Lee Han spoke seriously, Gainando nodded just as gravely.
"Got it."
"Good. Be careful going back."
"But... wanna play a round of cards when you return?"
"......"
While moving together with the warehouse keeper, Lee Han captured three more shadow creatures.
The shadow creatures, summoned from a dark realm composed of Yin and shadow mana, were favored summons of cunning and underhanded Black Mages.
They specialized in abilities like stealth, tracking, and ambushes.
'So very like the Skeleton Principal.'
Lee Han continued extracting information from the warehouse keeper while confirming the shadow creatures' weaknesses.
As he'd already experienced, they were severely afraid of light and heat.
'We might keep running into these, so I should remember this clearly.'
"So... these things were ordered to track students with Exit Permits when summoned?"
"That is correct."
"......"
'Even hearing it again, it's absurd.'
Lee Han reconfirmed the information he'd extracted and felt disbelief all over again.
What kind of...
He'd thought the Skeleton Principal was being too generous with the Exit Permits—of course there was a trap hidden.
Once the festival ended and excited students rushed toward the main gate on Saturday morning to head out...
That's when the ambush would strike!
'Thank goodness I found out in advance.'
Lee Han internally sighed in relief.
If he hadn't known, how would he have been caught off guard...?
'Wait.'
Just as he was relaxing, a foreboding sensation flashed through Lee Han's mind.
'Think from the Skeleton Principal's perspective.'
Would he really summon and prepare all these monsters just to ambush students trying to leave on the weekend and steal their Exit Permits?
...Wouldn't he also use them to ambush students returning?
Lee Han spoke to the warehouse keeper as casually as possible, careful not to arouse suspicion.
"By the way... where do the monsters lie in wait when students are returning?"
Because Lee Han spoke so naturally, as if he already knew, the warehouse keeper didn't suspect a thing.
"They'll likely be stationed near the hill in front of the main gate."
"If students are delayed fighting the monsters... they can be sent to the Punishment Room, you see."
"Indeed."
"...Come to think of it, isn't the Midterm Exam next week?"
"That is correct."
"If students return on the weekend and get confined, they won't be able to study properly for the Midterm Exam... making it even better."
"As expected of the Headmaster's disciple. You'll become a great mage."
"......"
For a moment, Lee Han nearly tore off his mask and punched the warehouse keeper.
"Why the long face?"
Professor Thunderstep looked puzzled at Lee Han, who had been sighing deeply since morning in front of the Alchemy tent.
But Lee Han only sighed again instead of answering.
"See, you should've listened to me. Here—a potion to lift your spirits."
Professor Thunderstep poured a glass full of golden, frothy Barley Potion and handed it over.
People around them were already happily drunk on Barley Potion.
"Professor."
"What?"
"If you had to break through an ambush, how would you do it?"
"...What kind of scheme are you plotting now?"
Professor Thunderstep was aghast.