Episode 197
Episode 197
Lee Han brushed off his hands and looked around.
He was checking to see if the Skeleton Principal or any of his Summons were nearby.
'Not here?'
At first, he had thought it was the Skeleton Principal's doing, but upon reflection, it didn't seem like the Headmaster would go through such convoluted trouble just to torment him.
'Then who?'
Someone who knew Lee Han had gone to the twisted dimensional corridor with Professor Mortum and wanted to send him back there to mess with him.
...Was there anyone besides the Skeleton Principal who would do that?
'No point in agonizing over something I can't figure out right now.'
Lee Han shook his head to clear his thoughts and started walking again.
From the perspective of the watching fourth-year seniors, this was utterly baffling.
"Why is he ignoring it? Did we misspell something?!"
"Would we make a spelling mistake? It's not like this is our first time sending a letter. We followed all the formalities properly."
"Th-this is weird?"
Coholti and his friends couldn't understand it.
When they were freshmen, they had been constantly hungry, exhausted, and miserable.
...Not that things had changed much now, but back then, they had been desperate enough to try anything for food.
Testing the toxicity of suspicious mushrooms on themselves, entering rooms in corridors that clearly looked dangerous, venturing into the ominous forest outside the school where rumors of strange things circulated...
Back then, they knew nothing about the school and were driven by sheer desperation. Even if they received a letter saying, "Dangerous journey, countless perils, no guarantee of safe return," they would still think, "Well, there must be something there," and go anyway.
But this freshman—why?
'We even wrote the rewards properly. Why is he ignoring it?'
'Is it because of the Headmaster? Did the Headmaster threaten him?'
While they were still puzzling over it, the freshman had already walked far away.
Coholti and his friends could only stare after him with bewildered expressions.
"Do you have some kind of grudge against me?"
"How could that be?"
Morning.
The Skeleton Principal, floating into the classroom, sensed something suspicious in Lee Han's gaze.
'No matter how I think about it, it has to be him.'
Lee Han thought to himself.
The sender of last night's letter seemed unmistakably like the Skeleton Principal.
If not the Headmaster, who else would send something like that?
Sure, it was an unnecessarily complicated method for the Headmaster to use, but nothing was ever absolute.
'What's wrong with this kid?'
The Skeleton Principal felt uneasy.
Among the countless dullards, the boy from the Wardanaz family possessed remarkably exceptional talent.
It was frustrating that such talent was wasted on trivial things like "helping friends" or "ruining the Headmaster's brilliant plans," but...
Still, a freshman this capable had to be watched carefully. Who knew when he might stab the Headmaster in the back?
"P-Professor Headmaster!"
What?
"C-can we close the windows?!"
One of the students, teeth chattering from the cold, spoke up. His lips had already turned blue.
Normally, even without heating, the main lecture hall was less cold than outside.
Just closing the windows and blocking the chilly wind would make a huge difference.
Whoooooosh!
But today, every window in the Basic Magic Character Education classroom was wide open. The frigid morning air rushed in violently, slapping the students' cheeks.
Do as you wish.
"Th-thank you!"
The student, who hadn't expected the Headmaster to allow it, happily rushed toward the windows.
But Lee Han sensed something ominous.
'Don't tell me—'
"Huh? Wh-what?!"
The student gasped in shock.
The windows had completely vanished!
Why aren't you closing them?
"...There... are no windows..."
Tsk tsk.
At the Skeleton Principal's mocking words, the students, bundled in thick coats and leather, glared at him.
Even the dumbest student in the classroom could guess who had made the windows disappear.
"Today's lecture topic shall be the wisdom of a mage in wisely handling such unexpected situations."
"......"
Now. Stop trembling and think. Mages with twisted personalities tend to act foolishly when faced with such crises. They try to endure by pooling their strength together.
"Isn't that a good thing?"
The Skeleton Principal blinked. Gainando's voice was immediately sealed.
Mages with good character wisely solve problems by identifying the root cause without falling for such futile endeavors. When you face crises or unexpected situations, don't foolishly try to endure by pooling your strength without using your heads. That's practically giving up.
Several students besides Gainando expressed doubts at the Skeleton Principal's novel theory.
"Wouldn't it be better to both pool our strength and use our heads?"
"It seems like it would be even better if we combined our wisdom together."
Don't spout nonsense. Do you think gold will come out if you gather a bunch of iron-headed fools and have them bash against each other all day? Wisdom, by nature, arises from desperation. No matter how much you gather and chatter together, it only makes you complacent. Later, you'll realize you were just scratching, stabbing, and biting each other. You might as well have agonized over it alone from the start.
"......"
The students were stunned by the Skeleton Principal's blatant curses.
Isn't this going too far?
Meanwhile, Gainando gestured frantically for the Skeleton Principal to seal the voices of the students who had just spoken. Lee Han thought to himself:
'He's really taken the lesson to heart.'
Now then. So, you iron-headed fools who love cooperating. Try working together to block that window.
"...!"
The White Tiger Tower student who had been singled out by the Skeleton Principal after just a few words panicked.
"Uh... uh..."
"Don't worry, Gatono. We'll help you."
The White Tiger Tower students resolutely stood up to help their friend.
They intended to rescue their comrade from the clutches of the wicked Skeleton Principal, who knew nothing of knightly honor or friendship.
Whoosh!
The White Tiger Tower students began hanging the leather they had brought over the empty window frames.
Though imperfect, the thick leathers enchanted with cold resistance could block the wind if layered several times.
Students from other towers watched the work with slight admiration.
If they draped the leather like that...
Snap!
Suddenly, a giant undead bird of prey flew in from outside the window, snatched the leather in its beak, and flew away.
"......"
"......"
The Skeleton Principal spoke with an expressionless face.
Oh dear. An unexpected accident occurred. You should have blocked it with magic instead of such a foolish method.
'Isn't this turning into a bloodbath?'
Looking at the White Tiger Tower students, their glares alone seemed capable of killing.
As the cold gradually seeped in and the faces of his fellow students grew pale, Lee Han raised his hand and stepped forward.
'I've practiced cold magic—I can just freeze it to block the wind.'
"I can—"
You go run an errand instead.
"Isn't this too much?!"
"You have to permit Wardanaz!"
Before Lee Han could even respond, students from other towers erupted in anger.
'Am I some kind of item?'
I don't understand what you're saying. Wardanaz. Get going.
Go to the Spire Keeper and retrieve the 'Cold Winter Gloves.'
(The map is on the back.)
'Not bad.'
It wasn't that he was happy to escape the Skeleton Principal's tedious lecture.
Just figuring out a new hidden path in the magic school he didn't know about was profit enough.
Rumble!
As the letter written by the Skeleton Principal made the school walls shift and summoned a hidden staircase, Lee Han stared at the letter with greedy eyes.
'If I duplicate it and swap it with a fake... No. Too dangerous.'
After quickly estimating the risks, Lee Han reluctantly gave up.
Forging this was simply too high a risk.
'By the way, who is the Spire Keeper? Don't tell me...'
Among the Skeleton Principal's many underlings Lee Han had met, there had been a Storekeeper.
Though his eyes were covered in bandages, he was a subordinate with senses sharper than anyone else's.
...Of course, he had mistaken Lee Han for the Skeleton Principal, but that was the kind of mistake anyone could make. In any case, he was undoubtedly a capable person overall.
If the Spire Keeper was that kind of subordinate, then he was by no means an opponent to be taken lightly.
Under normal circumstances, Lee Han wouldn't have had to clash with him—just running the errand would have been enough. But...
'The problem is, I'm in the middle of carving out a path to the spire.'
From Lee Han's perspective, aiming for the Spire Stables, the Spire Keeper's name alone carried an unsettling weight.
Lee Han steeled himself.
'No. This is an opportunity.'
In fact, it was fortunate that he had learned of the Spire Keeper's existence now.
Knowing in advance meant he could prepare countermeasures.
He would figure it out by confronting him directly!
Thud—
After spiraling down three staircases, riding two elevators, and passing through four hidden doors, he arrived at an unfamiliar location.
The view outside the corridor window made it clear that they were quite high up.
Thump!
The Spire Keeper stood before him.
Holding an oddly shaped staff and with his mouth tightly wrapped in bandages, the Spire Keeper blinked and stared at Lee Han.
Even though he hadn't done anything, the air felt tense. Lee Han hurriedly pulled out the letter.
"Here it is."
"......"
The Spire Keeper glanced at the letter and nodded. Then, he gestured for Lee Han to follow.
"My name is Lee Han."
"......"
Even to Lee Han's greeting, the Spire Keeper gave no reply.
Though Lee Han had grown accustomed to the Princess, who was also a person of few words, the Spire Keeper took silence to another level—maintaining absolute muteness.
For Lee Han, who was trying to extract as much information as possible, this was a troublesome situation.
'The warehouse keeper was better than this.'
A one-sided conversation and silence.
Without giving Lee Han any chance to act, the Spire Keeper walked down the corridor and opened a door.
Inside, all sorts of bizarre items were scattered chaotically.
Instinctively, Lee Han realized where this place was.
'One of the Headmaster's warehouses!'
Like squirrels hiding acorns all over the forest, the Skeleton Principal had scattered his warehouses throughout the school buildings.
These warehouses sometimes became targets of student raids, and occasionally disappeared due to accidents or alterations, but most remained intact, ready for the Headmaster's use when needed.
Huuuum—
'What's that?'
Hearing an ominous vibration, Lee Han froze.
But the Spire Keeper stepped forward nonchalantly, wading through the clutter as if nothing was wrong.
'Is it nothing serious?'
Huuuuuum—
However, the vibrations grew louder. Lee Han began to feel uneasy—was this really okay?
"Does it always do this when an outsider enters?"
Thump!
The Spire Keeper immediately swung his staff, casting a barrier around Lee Han.
At the same time, a sword exuding a bizarre killing intent flew out from among the clutter.
BANG!!!
"!"
The shockwave rattled the barrier, startling Lee Han.
'What the hell? Is the Headmaster insane??'
Sending him on an errand was one thing, but leaving such a deranged artifact lying in wait?
No matter how many times Lee Han had thwarted the Skeleton Principal's plans, this was crossing a line.
"......"
The Spire Keeper's expression darkened.
The awakened sword was an artifact that would never move unless a powerful enemy entered and provoked it.
Yet, it had suddenly awakened now.
It made no sense.
The Spire Keeper swung his staff, distorting space and reinforcing the barrier.
Even if he didn't understand, he had to deal with the situation first.
But the sword was no pushover.
It shot forward before the space could fully distort, piercing the barrier and striking the Spire Keeper.
Grimacing, the Spire Keeper swung his staff again.
At this point, he seemed intent on escaping outside.
"!"
Lee Han was horrified as he watched the Spire Keeper get struck by a flying iron chain from behind and collapse.
If things continued like this...
"Sharkan, come out!"
Lee Han channeled his mana.
He had no idea what this insane artifact was thinking, but he had no intention of going down without a fight.
Even if it meant reducing the warehouse to ruins, he would survive by any means necessary!