Episode 172
Episode 172
'Unnecessary misunderstanding.'
Contrary to his friends' misconceptions, Lee Han wasn't someone obsessed with studying to that extent.
Only what was necessary.
He was merely someone who studied only what was necessary.
"Nilia. You're not misunderstanding too, are you?"
"What misunderstanding?"
"I can guess what you're thinking right now... Wait."
Lee Han, who had been speaking, suddenly paused.
'Is this it?'
The paper inside the treasure chest the Skeleton Principal had scattered during the festival.
Though magic was written on it, naturally it wasn't something one could simply obtain.
Even if written kindly and in detail, trial and error was required—but when written in codes and metaphors only mages would know, the time needed multiplied several times over.
Thanks to that, Lee Han had been spending quite a bit of time on it when...
Suddenly, enlightenment struck.
Lee Han set the paper down and began frantically scribbling with his quill.
The various coded notes he'd made organically interlocked, and at last, the overall context of the magic became visible.
"......"
"......"
Of course, to his friends, Lee Han just looked like someone suddenly glaring at paper and scribbling madly with a quill.
Gainando muttered,
"Learning magic is important too, but Lee Han seems to be going overboard."
In the pitch-black night where only moonlight remained.
Lee Han sat in the lounge with a despondent expression.
'No...'
It wasn't that the other students were worse at memorization than expected.
Well, the other students were indeed worse at memorization than expected, but that wasn't Lee Han's problem.
'...It was invisibility magic.'
A 2nd-circle spell, <Gonadaltes' Invisibility Cloak>.
To be fair, this wasn't the Skeleton Principal's fault.
How could he have known that the student taking that spell would already have an invisibility-enchanted belt?
But from Lee Han's perspective, disappointment was inevitable.
'Well. It's not bad.'
There might come a time when he couldn't use the belt, and then that spell would become useful.
...Though if such a situation arose, invisibility magic would be the least of his problems.
Fliiip!
"?"
With the faint sound of a page turning, an unfamiliar landscape unfolded before his eyes.
Lee Han immediately grasped the situation.
"You again?"
The book given by the Skeleton Principal floated in the air, its pages exposed.
'What's the criterion?'
He understood it was summoning him to learn magic, but he couldn't discern the black book's criteria for summoning.
When exactly does it summon?
"Can you tell me when you summon?"
Instead of answering, the black book merely exposed its pages.
It practically radiated the sentiment: Stop asking useless questions and just learn the magic.
'Well, it's not like a book from the Skeleton Principal would be considerate.'
Lee Han muttered,
"You're not deliberately summoning when people are busy or exhausted, are you?"
Flip!
"...?"
Lee Han raised his head. The black book seemed to have moved slightly just now.
Surely not?
Ignoring Lee Han's gaze, the black book shook the page inscribed with magic.
Fortunately, the magic in the black book wasn't as convoluted as the spell he'd obtained during the festival.
A 2nd-circle spell, <Gonadaltes' Dark Vision>.
A spell that allowed one to maintain vision even in pitch darkness.
'Not bad at all.'
Lee Han brightened.
For someone like Lee Han, who often had to move around at night, such enhancement magic was useful.
He could summon light too, but that wasn't always possible...
'But... the Skeleton Principal's spells are all a bit...?'
Recalling the spells he'd learned from the black book, Lee Han felt a sense of dissonance.
<Gonadaltes' Agile Footsteps>, <Gonadaltes' Sharp Hand>, <Gonadaltes' Invisibility Cloak> (though not learned from the black book), and now <Gonadaltes' Dark Vision>.
Spells bearing a mage's name were usually ones they'd personally developed out of necessity.
'What was he doing in his youth to create spells like these?'
Fliiip!
"Alright. I'll focus."
Lee Han spoke to the black book and closed his eyes.
Since things had come to this anyway, it would be difficult to leave before mastering the spells.
And since there was no harm in learning them, he might as well give it his all.
However, Lee Han failed to realize one thing.
If he cleverly stalled without mastering the spells the Black Book gave him, he could buy as much time as he needed until the next spell appeared.
There was no need to focus so hard on mastering everything all at once...
By Monday, thankfully, most students had recovered from their hangovers.
Lee Han had piled up a mountain of egg sandwiches on the lounge table as a makeshift breakfast.
The eggs from the garden alone weren't enough, so he had borrowed some from Professor Thunderstep's hut—though he was sure the professor would understand.
'Not bad.'
Though it was just a simple sandwich with mashed eggs between soft white bread, the taste was good.
'I can save on ingredients again.'
He was getting better at satisfying his friends while using fewer and fewer ingredients. Lee Han felt a small sense of pride.
"Wardanaz. You're a genius."
"To think you made this despite being busy with exams..."
Unaware of Lee Han's sinister ulterior motives, his friends gratefully picked up the egg sandwiches one by one.
"By the way, Wardanaz. Did you deliver one to Her Highness?"
"...Ah."
Lee Han froze.
Between being tormented by the Black Book while sleeping and waking up early to boil and mash eggs, he had completely forgotten.
"Why don't you guys take it to her?"
Lee Han glanced at the students from the Blue Dragon Tower who followed the Princess.
"W-we can't really..."
"??"
"Given her lineage... it's a bit intimidating to approach her and speak carelessly..."
"????"
Gainando, who had been munching on an egg sandwich nearby, stared at them with a shocked expression.
Annoyed, Lee Han encouraged the followers.
"You're fellow tower students, and one of Einrogard's rules is equality, right?"
A place where everyone suffered equally.
That was Einrogard.
"But you can't keep maintaining distance and being cautious like this."
"Ugh... That's true, but..."
Despite Lee Han's words, the followers couldn't easily change their minds.
Approaching the Princess first still felt awkward to them.
'Can't they just pretend she's Gainando wearing a wig?'
As Lee Han entertained that absurd thought, one of the followers spoke up.
"We'll pay extra silver. Can't you deliver it to her just this once, Wardanaz?"
"Why not?"
"?!"
Lee Han was immediately convinced.
Well, it might be a little awkward!
<Basic Mount Training> class.
The time had come to see just how diligently they had cared for their mounts.
"......"
Lee Han stared at Ponlig with a complicated expression. Ponlig whinnied as if asking what was wrong.
'Well, you're a griffin, so...'
While other students led horses around, the thought that he had a horse-eating monster in front of him made his feelings unavoidably complicated.
Professor Thunderstep cracked his riding whip and spoke.
"Now! I've said this many times before, but bonding with animals requires consistent effort and sincerity. Other classes might let you cram before exams, but if you're thinking that way in my class, you might as well give up now."
Gainando gave his horse a regretful look. The horse spat on his face.
"Today's test is riding your mount as far as possible within the time limit and returning. Any questions?"
Lee Han raised his hand.
"What is it?"
"Is there dangerous river water like last time?"
Professor Thunderstep glared at him, thinking Lee Han was a petty one.
Especially since that hadn't even been his doing!
"Of course there is. Einrogard's lands are vast and full of obstacles. Stay alert and keep moving. Now then... begin!"
Professor Thunderstep gave the students no time to mentally prepare.
The horn blew sharply, signaling the start.
'Shouldn't we collude?'
As Lee Han mounted Ponlig, another thought crossed his mind in that brief moment.
If everyone agreed not to go beyond a certain distance, the exam would be easier for everyone...
'Hmm. That's absolutely impossible.'
Seeing students from other towers already hurling insults at each other, collusion was clearly out of the question.
"Get out of my way, you black turtle bastards!"
"If you want to pass, try it with your skills! Calling yourselves knights with that level of ability?"
Lee Han shook his head and clicked his tongue before muttering,
"I don't get why they're so desperate to tear each other apart."
"......"
Yoner gave Lee Han a look of disbelief.
Probably about a third of those students would want to keep Lee Han in check...
Given his outstanding performance in other classes, envy naturally followed.
It was obvious that quite a few students were thinking, 'At least in this class, I'll beat that Wardanaz bastard.'
And beyond that, Lee Han had simply accumulated resentment. Among the White Tiger Tower students, there were fewer who hadn't clashed with him than those who had.
Professor Lightning Step warned sharply,
"Attacking each other is prohibited. No using magic or weapons to strike."
"What?!"
Lee Han was startled.
He had planned to deal with anyone who attacked him with a Water Orb as soon as the exam started, so this came as an even bigger surprise.
Yoner looked at him, dumbfounded.
Though he pretended otherwise, Lee Han had been preparing for a fight more thoroughly than anyone.
"This is a riding exercise, not a magic combat drill! I'll allow collisions between mounts, but anything beyond that is forbidden. Understood?"
"Yes!"
The students responded to Professor Lightning Step's words.
But the professor didn't realize one thing.
'I see. So we can just have the mounts collide with each other.'
Students like Lee Han would exploit any loophole if the rules weren't strictly defined!
Clip-clop! Clip-clop!
The thunderous sound of hooves striking the ground echoed along the given path.
Not all students had been lazy during the semester. Those who had consistently cared for their mounts had grown close enough to ride at increasing speeds.
Naturally, Lee Han was among them.
"Lee Han! Can we keep increasing our speed like this?"
Yoner urged his horse forward as he asked.
This exam wasn't just about going fast and far.
They had to go out and return within the time limit.
Going too far and failing to return in time would be a problem in itself.
But slowing down now, while the leading group was charging ahead, required considerable courage.
"Everyone has their own plan. Don't worry."
As Lee Han said, the students in the leading group began exchanging glances and slowing their pace.
They knew that maintaining a full sprint would exhaust their mounts.
And that wasn't all.
Students started grouping together with their friends, forming clusters.
'This isn't good.'
Even in a race, running in a group was far more advantageous than running alone.
It made handling obstacles easier, not to mention dealing with collisions.
The problem was...
The students kept glancing at Lee Han.
'Wardanaz is the biggest threat.'
'We need to get back at Wardanaz...'
'We have to stop Wardanaz from getting ahead.'
Lee Han put on his most harmless expression to ease their wariness, but it had little effect.
Then again, if he were in their shoes, he'd be wary of someone like himself too.
The overwhelming top contender!
-Whinny.
Ponlig turned his head to look at Lee Han.
"What's wrong?" -Neigh. Neigh-neigh.
"There, there. Good boy. Don't act up now."
Ponlig let out a frustrated whinny and glared fiercely ahead.
BANG!
Before Lee Han could stop him, Ponlig began accelerating like mad.
The others stared in shock at the sight.
'Wardanaz...!?'
'What's he thinking?! If he keeps running like that, he'll collapse in no time!'
'Does he have some kind of plan prepared for this too?!'