Episode 170
Episode 170
Lee Han pondered how to convey that this week was midterm exam period and he wasn't just attending this professor's lectures.
"This week is midterm exam period—would it be alright to go to the dungeon?"
"Fine."
"......"
Lee Han gave up.
'Well, of course that wouldn't work.'
Even if the magic school were to collapse tomorrow, Professor Voladi would undoubtedly still hold his class.
Would someone like that offer any leniency just because it was midterm exam week?
"Understood. Let's go!"
"Do not rejoice excessively. It may invite mistakes."
"......"
Should I kill him?
Last time, Professor Voladi had failed to properly control the dungeon, allowing a Rakshasa Hungry Ghost to appear in an area meant for regular Hungry Ghosts.
And Lee Han had defeated it again.
At this point, even the imperial courts would struggle to determine whether the fault lay with the teacher or the student.
Of course, Lee Han held a firm opinion.
'Professor Voladi is insane.'
"Aren't we going to the Rakshasa Hungry Ghost area?"
When Professor Voladi halted his steps, Lee Han was puzzled.
To reach the area where Rakshasa Hungry Ghosts appeared, they'd need to descend further...
At Lee Han's question, Professor Voladi smiled faintly.
Lee Han felt a chill.
"As I said, do not rejoice excessively. Emotional turbulence invites mistakes in magic."
"......"
Faced with Professor Voladi interpreting a single question as Lee Han being excited to see a Rakshasa Hungry Ghost, Lee Han sighed.
"I understand. You must be eager to get there quickly and practice."
"That's not it."
"No need for modesty."
"......"
"The reason we stopped here is because of illusion magic."
"Illusion magic?"
Lee Han was confused.
Of course, Professor Voladi wasn't the type to strictly specialize in any particular branch of magic—if it was useful for magical combat, he'd use it.
But still, with Professor Kirmin Ku around, was this really necessary?
"I originally planned to teach you how to counter illusion magic later."
Professor Voladi had assumed that a freshman like Lee Han would rarely encounter illusion magic.
In magical combat, other practical training would take priority, and teaching countermeasures later would suffice.
That had been his reasoning.
'Isn't that correct?'
Lee Han agreed with that.
"It doesn't seem wrong, though."
"It is wrong."
"Huh?"
"You faced Ogonin, didn't you?"
"Well..."
"Considering the future, you'll need to know how to counter illusion magic."
'You should probably study logic and statistics instead.'
Lee Han thought to himself.
Facing Ogonin had been more of an accident—it wasn't like Lee Han had some grand ambition like "I'll hunt down and defeat all the empire's illusion mages!"
Regardless, Professor Voladi raised his staff. Lee Han tensed.
Fortunately, Professor Voladi didn't attack him. Swinging his staff, he summoned an illusion.
Clones identical to Professor Voladi appeared.
'Several times more horrifying.'
"Illusion magic can be broadly categorized into two types: magic cast directly on the opponent and magic cast on the external environment."
Illusion magic cast directly on the opponent was so difficult that it was often classified separately as mental magic.
A properly executed mental magic could control the opponent like a puppet...
In comparison, illusion magic cast on the environment was relatively easier.
Since it didn't require directly manipulating the opponent's mind, simply summoning the illusion was enough.
That didn't mean it was useless, though. Depending on the situation and location, the latter could be far more effective.
'Is that why that mage Ogonin failed?'
Lee Han imagined Ogonin clutching the back of his neck and collapsing if he ever heard this.
The fact that he'd tried repeatedly with no effect had left a strong impression.
"Your constitution grants you high resistance to the former."
A mage's mana inherently provided resistance to external magic.
Of course, that resistance wasn't particularly extraordinary. If simply possessing mana made one resistant to magic, half the imperial mages would be out of jobs.
But if the amount of mana exceeded imagination, the story changed.
At that point, the resulting resistance could no longer be ignored.
'Not bad.'
Considering how much he suffered from having too much mana, this advantage made him even happier.
"To what extent can it defend?"
"That's impossible to know. Resistance due to mana quantity is extremely rare, and many other variables come into play. You'll have to figure it out yourself."
"Understood."
'I hope that mage Ogonin was at least somewhat skilled.'
Lee Han thought to himself.
If Ogonin had been reasonably competent, it would mean he could defend against a considerable number of mental magic spells.
Though the likelihood of that seemed slim...
"However, illusions cast externally are different from the former."
Professor Voladi's clones spoke in unison, their voices resonating.
"Since your resistance has less effect here, you must learn to distinguish them. How will you tell them apart?"
Lee Han immediately created a Water Orb and hurled it at one of the clones. Professor Voladi's clone tilted its head to dodge.
'What a shame.'
He had wanted to land at least one hit, even if it was just an illusion...
"Not bad. Illusions are vulnerable to external attacks. But in combat, you can't verify them one by one like that. You must learn to discern them through your senses."
"Through senses, you say?"
"Correct. No matter how meticulously crafted, illusions will always differ from reality in some way."
Exceptional observational skills—
An essential requirement when dealing with illusion magic.
'Like a game of spot-the-difference.'
"Find them."
Professor Voladi's clones lined up on either side. Suppressing the urge to throw another Water Orb, Lee Han focused.
"The clone on the far left is fake."
"Correct."
One clone vanished.
"The shoe color was different. Good eye."
"...Yes."
Truthfully, he had guessed it was fake because that clone's expression looked softer than Professor Voladi's usual demeanor, but...
"The clone on the far right is also fake."
"Did you notice the staff's color?"
"Yes. Of course."
"Well done."
In reality, he had called it fake because the gaze seemed sharper than Professor Voladi's, but either way, he was right again.
'So this is what he meant by sensing it.'
Well, senses were senses, after all.
"Now, we'll face the Rakshasa Hungry Ghost. Be wary of illusions."
Professor Voladi began summoning illusions of the Rakshasa Hungry Ghost.
Just fighting a regular Rakshasa Hungry Ghost was hard enough, but he had to ramp up the difficulty by adding illusions?
Lee Han was impressed.
'So this was why he taught me how to counter illusion magic.'
He really wanted to land just one hit.
When Lee Han returned to the lounge after spending the morning battling the Rakshasa Hungry Ghost in the dungeon, scattered students from the Blue Dragon Tower greeted him.
"I told you to drink in moderation."
Lee Han remarked dryly.
Even if the school never provided decent food, drinking everything offered the night before an exam?
It was no surprise they were all collapsed from hangovers.
Nearly every student from the Blue Dragon Tower had indulged.
From Gainando, groaning with his head in his hands, to Yoner, sitting pale-faced and sipping water—even the Princess couldn't lift her head properly, clearly having drunk as well.
"Ughh..."
"Are you alright?"
"I had a bad feeling about it..."
Yoner stood up, his face ghostly pale.
A skilled alchemist was bound to enjoy liquor.
The temptation had been too strong to resist the overflowing drinks at the banquet.
"Hold on, everyone. I'll make something to help."
"Thanks, Wardanaz..."
"You're our only hope..."
'Who knew hangover soup could earn this much gratitude?'
Lee Han thought this as he lit the fire under the pot.
He peeled the potatoes he had dug up from the garden and boiled them.
Then, after mashing them and mixing them with milk and cheese, he placed them in the pot, where they began to simmer gently.
Although they had just restocked supplies over the weekend, there was no point in wasting them. Potato soup would suffice.
'I can probably add some mushrooms, though.'
Lee Han stirred the soup with a ladle before scooping generous portions into bowls and handing one to each of his friends.
"We have Alchemy class in an hour. Will you all be okay?"
"Of... of course. There's a 90% chance I can make it. Wardanaz."
"Me too... obviously..."
'These guys are pushing themselves too hard.'
Judging by their state, he was worried they wouldn't be able to attend other classes properly either.
Just how much had the Skeleton Principal made them drink...?
"Don't worry too much—the Alchemy midterm submission deadline is Friday. I'll listen to the lecture and fill you in later."
"No, Wardanaz. Let's go together... ugh."
"The world... is spinning..."
"...It's better if you all just stay put."
"??"
When Lee Han arrived at the Alchemy lecture, he instinctively glanced around.
The number of students...
Wasn't it way too few?
"Not exactly surprising."
Professor Thunderstep spoke nonchalantly.
Even though only a handful of the usual crowd had shown up, he didn't seem the least bit fazed.
"Is this an annual occurrence?"
"Good guess."
"......"
Lee Han was speechless.
Well, given the Skeleton Principal's personality, it wasn't surprising that he'd pull something like this right before midterms...
But the fact that freshmen fell for it every year was downright ridiculous.
"Alright. Those of you who made it today, feel free to inform those who didn't. Or don't—it's up to you."
Professor Thunderstep rapped his knuckles against the blackboard, where the midterm assignment was written in detail.
<Vitality Bone Regeneration Potion>
Required materials—birch branch, dendrobium leaves, thistle flower, Bone-Reviving Flower...
Method—First, stir the water with the birch branch clockwise...
'Huh? He's giving us everything?'
Lee Han was surprised.
Given how much time they had, he'd expected the professor to make things deliberately difficult.
Like telling them to figure out the method themselves or identify the required ingredients on their own.
But here he was, spelling everything out in detail.
'The birch is over there, I know where the dendrobium is, the thistle too... Hm?'
As Lee Han jotted down the ingredients, he suddenly paused, sensing something off.
Nilia, sitting beside him, must have felt the same, as she raised her hand.
"Professor?"
"What is it?"
"From what I've heard, Bone-Mending Flowers grow deep underground in dungeons."
"And?"
"Uh... yes? So wouldn't it be hard to find them within the school?"
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
Professor Thunderstep let out a satisfied chuckle.
"There are plenty of dungeons in this school. Just find one and go down."
"Ah..."
Lee Han could feel the emotion packed into Nilia's sigh.
It probably meant something like, 'Are you serious?'
"So we just go down into a dungeon and bring it back?"
"You don't necessarily have to go into a dungeon. If you can find another way to get it, that's fine too."
'Is this why seniors raid the professors' workshops?'
Lee Han finally understood why upperclassmen he'd never even met resorted to theft.
With lectures like this, how could they not?
Nilia muttered under her breath, as if she couldn't believe it.
"How and when are we supposed to enter a dungeon? Even if the deadline is Friday, we still have other exams too."
"Exactly."
Lee Han wholeheartedly agreed.
They had midterms in other classes too—what kind of nonsense was this dungeon business?
"Finding the dungeon is a problem in itself. Do dungeons just appear when you look for them? We don't even know where the underground ones are. Wardanaz, do you know of any dungeons?"
Nilia asked, though she didn't actually expect Lee Han to know.
He was a freshman too—how would he know about dungeons located underground?
She was just venting.
"I do, actually."
"...?!?!"
Nilia stared at Lee Han in disbelief.
How the hell—?