Episode 180
Episode 180
Of course, Lee Han wasn't exactly thrilled about this.
The professor was saying that since they obviously already knew everything from the lectures, the test would cover other material instead.
What kind of bullshit was that?
'But getting worked up over it would only put me at a disadvantage.'
Steeling himself, Lee Han spoke up.
"Please enlighten us, Professor. What exactly should we do?"
Cough. "It's not much different from the magic you've learned so far. Poison also falls under one of the disciplines of Black Magic."
Gainando tilted his head in confusion. Seeing this, Professor Mortum continued.
Cough. "You might be thinking this right about now—why study poison as magic when hunters and assassins outside already use it?"
"Gasp!"
Gainando jumped in surprise.
Cough. "Black Magic poison is different from ordinary poison."
The Empire had various types of poisons.
From toxins derived from animals and plants to bacteria, molds, insects, metals—countless poisons found in nature.
Even commoners knew how to use these poisons fairly well.
But Black Magic poison wasn't any of those real-world toxins.
Magic was fundamentally the study of altering reality through a mage's will.
Naturally, poison here referred to imaginary toxins that didn't exist in reality.
"Of course! It makes sense—why would the Empire's greatest mages bother studying something every dog and cow can use!"
Gainando exclaimed excitedly.
Cough. "Of course... that doesn't mean you can neglect studying real-world poisons either."
"......"
Gainando's face fell.
'Well, other branches of magic were the same way.'
Even basic Elemental Magic heavily relied on a mage's mental imagery of the elements.
If that imagery wasn't solid and concrete, forget about spells or magical structures—you'd have nothing.
The deeper your understanding of poison, the more varied and potent the imaginary toxins you could create.
...But right now, the students had never even studied poison before.
'This is downright cruel.'
As if reading Lee Han's thoughts, Professor Mortum began explaining.
Cough. "Naturally, all of you lack much experience with poison. You've probably never even handled it before."
Unless they had unusual backgrounds, there was little reason for them to have dealt with poisons.
"That's correct, Professor."
Cough. "It would be too harsh to expect you to learn it blindly."
"Yes!"
Gainando nodded eagerly, his expression brimming with anticipation.
But Lee Han had a bad feeling about this.
Kindness from someone who rarely showed it was rarely genuine.
When a professor like Mortum suddenly acted considerate, the chances of it being real consideration were surprisingly low.
"Diret."
A crow beastman student nodded and stepped forward.
Then he swung his staff at Gainando. A faint mist of poison flowed from the tip of the staff, entering Gainando's body through his nose and mouth.
"Gahk?!"
Lee Han immediately drew his staff and held his breath, preparing to defend himself.
Diret gave him a look that said, 'What's this junior doing?'
Cough. "Don't defend. Let it hit you."
"Excuse me?"
"You need to experience the poison to understand it. It's not dangerous, so you'll be fine."
There was no better way to build mental imagery of an element than to experience it firsthand.
The minor side effect of being poisoned was just a small drawback.
"......"
Lee Han lowered his staff.
And sighed.
'Fine. This is what I signed up for when I chose to study Black Magic.'
The poison mist drifted toward Lee Han, who had resigned himself to his fate.
"By the way, what kind of poison is this?" Lee Han asked the professor once Gainando, who had been coughing, regained his senses.
Cough. "What poison was it again..."
"......"
Even if the students were willing, wasn't this going too far?
"What poison was it?"
"Professor, if I say it, the Punishment Room—"
Cough. "It'll be fine. As long as we don't tell the freshmen. ...Probably."
"It's mana depletion poison."
"Right. Mana depletion poison. Can you feel your mana dispersing?"
At Professor Mortum's question, Gainando and Lee Han answered simultaneously.
"Yes."
"No."
"...?"
Professor Mortum paused. Then he looked at Lee Han and asked.
"Cough. Don't you feel your mana dispersing a bit?"
"I don't feel anything."
Professor Mortum turned his head to stare at Diret, who hastily replied:
"There's nothing wrong with the poison."
"Cough. Check it again."
"...There really is no issue..."
Diret approached Lee Han and scattered the mana-dispersing poison once more.
Once. Twice. Thrice...
With each attempt, the senior's expression shifted from impatience to bewilderment to distress.
Unable to watch any longer, Lee Han spoke up.
"I think my mana is dispersing."
"...Don't lie, junior."
Diret blurted out, forgetting even the Skeleton Principal's warning.
"I definitely perfected this poison, and it should be working properly... Why isn't it?"
"Cough. Could it be because he has too much mana?"
"Too much mana?"
"Mr. Wardanaz here is naturally gifted with abundant mana, so the poison might not have any meaningful effect even if it works."
"...Why didn't you mention that earlie— No, never mind. I'll make a new batch now."
Diret sighed and swung his staff, conjuring a fresh batch of poison.
Even Lee Han, who lacked knowledge about poisons, could tell this one was several times more potent than before.
Just the mana emanating from it was...
"Here."
"?"
Instead of spraying it as mist, Diret poured the poison into a glass vial shaped like a rod and handed it over, leaving Lee Han stunned.
"Drink it, junior."
"......"
Lee Han drank it without protest. The poor guy had suffered enough already.
"Cough. Does it seem effective?"
"Professor, I'll just attempt the spell directly."
"...Very well. Proceed."
Diret watched in silent shock as Lee Han walked away with Gainando.
Just what kind of freshman was this...?!
"Hehe. Lee Han."
Gainando grinned at him with unmistakable confidence.
Lee Han instinctively raised a hand to smack the back of his head but stopped—too many eyes were watching.
"What?"
"This time, I'll help you."
Gainando had good reason to be excited.
First, their Black Magic talents were roughly equal (at least in Gainando's opinion).
But this time, Lee Han couldn't sense the poison due to his constitution, while Gainando had physically felt it.
So what did that mean?
When it came to poison magic, Gainando had to be ahead.
It was perfectly logical.
"Uh... sure. Thanks."
Lee Han was slightly overwhelmed by Gainando's enthusiasm—how could he be this excited right after drinking poison?
Such positivity was almost a talent in itself...
'...Maybe?'
"Condense, O poison of dispersing mana!"
Gainando extended his staff, focusing intently.
The test objective was to produce the most basic mana-dispersing poison.
Professor Mortum, still retaining a shred of conscience, didn't demand anything too difficult or advanced from the students.
A simple droplet of mana-dispersing poison would suffice.
Sizzle—
"!"
Gainando flinched as an opaque green liquid dripped from his staff onto his boot.
A hole burned straight through.
"AAAHHHHH?!!"
"Impressive skill."
Lee Han was genuinely surprised.
He'd heard from Professor Mortum that Gainando had talent in Black Magic, but he hadn't expected this.
Even if the spell had technically failed, succeeding in creating something poison-like on the first attempt was impressive.
Though Gainando, now with a hole in his boot, probably didn't see it as a success.
"Ugh... I hate Black Magic..."
"Shh. The professor will hear you."
Lee Han gripped his staff and focused.
Since he hadn't physically experienced the poison like Gainando, he needed to concentrate even harder.
'Just imagine it, like all the techniques I've learned so far.'
As he had done with countless spells before, he controlled his mana while simultaneously visualizing a vivid, systematic mental image.
Lee Han imagined his mana compressing into a single droplet. At the same time, he struggled to alter its nature—
A property that would dissolve another's mana upon contact.
He recalled everything he had read and seen in his past life.
And from those memories, he summoned images of things resembling mana-dispersing poison.
This knowledge and imagination were Lee Han's unique strengths that other mages couldn't match.
As mana concentrated at the tip of his staff, combining with Lee Han's will, incantation, and movements, a new poison that had never existed in reality began to take form.
"Manifest, Poison of Dispersed Power!"
"!"
Diret, who was watching, was startled.
That freshman had succeeded in creating a poison spell on his very first attempt.
'He's not ordinary!'
Moreover, he'd intuitively compressed what should have been a long and detailed incantation.
That required not just poison resistance but innate talent in black magic—extraordinary mana sensitivity, mana control, and mental visualization ability.
Given that his blond friend was also exceptional in black magic...
'This year's freshmen are truly remarkable. I need to work harder too.'
But why does his voice sound so strangely familiar?
"Phew, huff... I'm done."
Gainando pointed forward while dripping with sweat. A few droplets of poison had formed on the glass like dew.
Lee Han, who had finished first, looked up after waiting seated.
"Done already?"
"Yeah! There wasn't much difference in time, right? Right?!"
Cough "There was a big difference... Anyway, well done. Succeeding alone is impressive."
As he spoke, Professor Mortum swallowed Gainando's poison.
"!"
"Professor!!! No matter how hungry you are, you shouldn't eat that!"
"......"
"......"
Lee Han, Diret, and Professor Mortum all stared at Gainando as if he were insane.
"...Oh, was that wrong?"
"I was testing the poison..."
Professor Mortum wiped his mouth while looking exasperated.
Naturally, exceptional black mages develop strong resistance to black magic.
At Professor Mortum's level, he was practically immune to common poisons.
Cough "It's fine. Well made."
"Thank you!"
"Now then..."
Without hesitation, the professor swallowed the poison Lee Han had created.
"Hmm."
"Is everything alright?"
"Hrrrm."
"?"
Lee Han was bewildered.
The reaction was slightly different from Gainando's.
'Did I fail?'
"L-Lee Han."
"?"
"Take mine!"
Thinking Lee Han had failed, Gainando pointed to his own poison and whispered.
Diret beside them eyed Gainando suspiciously.
'Is he a bit of an idiot?'
She couldn't tell if he was being stupid or joking, having such a conversation right in front of a senior.
Diret averted her gaze. Even to her, the professor seemed a bit odd.
"Professor, what's wrong—"
Cough "Kkh... Kkhhuk. Hrrrk."
Thud!
Professor Mortum collapsed to his knees, unable to hold out. His face had turned pale, and his fingertips trembled faintly.
Diret immediately recognized it.
'Mana deficiency symptoms!'
Who would believe that a mage of Professor Mortum's caliber would collapse to his knees from mana depletion?
'Right now... because of a freshman's poison?!'
Though Diret had been sufficiently shocked today, this was the biggest surprise yet.
A freshman had brought Professor Mortum down with poison!
"He's... he's dead! Lee Han! We need to destroy the evidence and witnesses!!"
"Stop talking nonsense! He's not dead yet!"
Without realizing it, Lee Han grew stern and angry. Honestly, he was anxious too.
Diret quickly retrieved a Mana Recovery Potion and an antidote, pouring them into Professor Mortum's mouth.
The professor barely recovered and stood up.
"...Cough Excellent. Full marks."
"I'm sorry, Professor."
Lee Han apologized.
It wasn't really his fault, but in such situations, an apology came first.
"Cough It's fine. It's fine. These things happen during tests. I'm actually happier to have discovered such remarkable talent."
"Ah, is that so?"
Lee Han felt slightly relieved at the professor's words.
Is poison magic always like this?
"......"
Diret, watching, had much to say but held back.
"Cough... Now, let's proceed to the next test."
Professor Mortum seemed eager to send the freshmen away quickly.
His body was still weak from incomplete mana recovery.
"Yes. We'll see you next time, then."
Lee Han and Gainando bowed politely and turned to leave.
"?"
As he turned, Lee Han clearly saw it—
The crow beastkin senior subtly giving him a thumbs up!