Episode 198
Episode 198
How much time had passed?
The Spire Keeper, who had collapsed from the attack that came from behind, regained consciousness and hurriedly stood up.
The intruder-attacking artifact had awakened, yet he had fallen unconscious while leaving a freshman alone.
Even if he had ten mouths, he wouldn't be able to excuse this mistake.
Clutching his staff, the Spire Keeper rose to his feet, praying desperately that he wasn't too late.
"...?!"
But the sight before him was far from what he had expected.
For one, the storage room was half-destroyed.
The scattered junk that had been strewn about was now completely shattered, rolling across the floor—evidence of how fiercely the battle had been fought.
The Spire Keeper didn't despair or panic over the destruction of the Headmaster's artifacts.
Truthfully, these items were only precious to the Headmaster; the Spire Keeper himself had no particular attachment to them. After all, they weren't his belongings.
What truly shocked him was that the freshman had fought the intruder-attacking artifact to such a standstill.
Judging by how aggressively the artifact had attacked, it was absolutely not something a lowerclassman should have been able to handle.
"Ugh..."
Lee Han groaned as he pushed himself up.
Before him lay the scorched and frozen remains of the artifacts.
By relentlessly pouring out freezing energy, he had barely managed to seal them away—but his entire body ached.
'Professor Voladi's teachings were right after all.'
Lee Han hated admitting that fact more than he hated the exhaustion in his body.
A mage must never let their guard down, no matter the moment!
Had he been even a fraction slower, the artifact would have pierced him, leaving a few extra holes in his body.
"Well done, Sharkan."
Sharkan rumbled happily, clearly pleased.
Without this powerful undead summon, Lee Han wouldn't have been able to restrain the artifact.
While Lee Han had bombarded the artifact with all kinds of spells and brute force, Sharkan had thrown his entire body into suppressing its movements.
Had it not been for Sharkan, Lee Han would have been stabbed in several places by now.
'By the way... are all artifacts this tough?'
He hadn't expected inanimate enemies to be so threatening.
No matter how much lightning he struck, flames he unleashed, mana he detonated, or curses he poured out, the artifact remained unfazed—its eerie resilience was terrifying.
An artifact that relentlessly aimed for vital points was pure horror.
Only by flooding the entire room with freezing energy—over and over—had he barely managed to immobilize it.
'If I ever face an artifact-type enemy again, I'm running away immediately.'
The Spire Keeper, having finally regained his senses, approached Lee Han. Only then did Lee Han take in the state of their surroundings.
"...This was unavoidable."
Looking at the wrecked storage room, a different kind of fear suddenly washed over him.
How would the Skeleton Principal react upon seeing this sight?
'Surely he won't blame all of this on me.'
Lee Han prayed fervently that the Spire Keeper wouldn't shift the blame.
If the man had any conscience, he wouldn't shirk responsibility—after all, it was his own collapse that had led to this mess.
But then again, most people in this magic school left their consciences at the front gate.
Swish—
However, the Spire Keeper did something completely unexpected.
He bowed his head in gratitude.
"...!"
'Why isn't he coming?'
The Skeleton Principal, who had been waiting cheerfully for the 'Cold Winter Gloves,' began to feel uneasy.
Had he been found out?
'No. That's impossible. No genius, no matter how brilliant, could have foreseen the magic hidden within them.'
He tried to soothe his restless mind.
The <Cold Winter Gloves> were meant to be a surprise gift for the students in the lecture hall.
The moment Lee Han brought them in, the weather trapped inside the gloves would unleash a blizzard in the classroom, forcing the students to "joyfully" endure the sudden snowstorm...
But why wasn't he coming?
Swoosh!
An undead bird of prey flew in through the window, a letter from the Spire Keeper tied to its leg.
At the sight, the Skeleton Principal instinctively sensed something ominous.
[You must come immediately.]
'What in the world?'
The Skeleton Principal couldn't comprehend the situation.
Did that Wardanaz brat notice something and run away?
Or did he try to defeat the Spire Guardian and loot the warehouse?
Plausible hypotheses surfaced in his mind, but there was no way to know the answer.
Tsk. I'll step out briefly—keep studying while I'm gone.
"!"
The students' faces brightened.
While I'm absent, you will write "I shall not recklessly use unverified dangerous magic" ten thousand times.
The students' faces darkened.
Regardless, the Skeleton Principal let out an eerie sound as he headed toward the spire.
What on earth is going on?
......
The Skeleton Principal felt tears streaming from his empty eye sockets.
Of course, they weren't real tears—Liches don't have tear glands.
But he could distinctly sense hot tears rolling down his skeletal face.
This... this is too cruel.
As the Skeleton Principal's voice trembled with sorrow, Lee Han's fear multiplied tenfold.
He would've preferred anger over this pitiful display.
Tap tap—
The Spire Guardian nudged the distraught Headmaster and handed him a note.
Since the freshman subdued the artifact, you should reward him.
......
The Skeleton Principal cursed himself for employing such a tactless subordinate.
How could someone be more oblivious than the freshman standing right beside them?!
Is this really the time for that?! Huh?!
But in principle...
Principles be damned—my heart is being torn apart! Wait. Which artifact caused this mess?
Only after his outburst did the Headmaster realize something was amiss.
Clearly, some artifact in the warehouse had awakened improperly and wreaked havoc.
...Except the Skeleton Principal had never stored such a thing here.
Had he known, he wouldn't have sent a freshman or even allowed the Spire Guardian inside.
What is this?
The <Magic Sword of Enemy Killing> and <Chain of Giant Binding> you commissioned are complete. Left them here.
-Professor Vible Verdus
The Headmaster's jaw dropped as he found the note amid the wreckage.
Those were the artifacts he'd painstakingly funded by splitting his fortune, commissioned to Professor Verdus.
...And the professor who completed them had simply left them in the warehouse.
As a surprise gift!
'...No. That can't be.'
Professor Verdus wasn't the type for surprise gifts.
He'd definitely just dumped them in the nearest warehouse out of laziness.
I'll kill him! Vible!
The Skeleton Principal roared in fury.
The sheer pressure of his unleashed mana made the Spire Guardian's body tremble violently.
"Headmaster, sir... The Spire Guardian seems to be struggling—"
Though terrified, Lee Han spoke up for the guardian.
The Headmaster, perhaps regaining his senses, stopped the mana discharge.
...Am I really being pitied by a freshman right now?!
The Spire Guardian hung its head as if ashamed.
Having fully processed the situation, the Headmaster clicked his tongue and stared vacantly at the ceiling.
This was less anyone's fault and more a tragedy of misfortune and bad luck.
'No. It's Vible's fault.'
The Headmaster snapped back to reality.
The emotional damage had been so severe he'd nearly let it slide.
'I'll kill him—'
Tap tap—
?
When the Spire Guardian nudged him again, the Headmaster turned his head in confusion.
Since the freshman subdued the artifact, you should reward him.
...Later. We'll handle that later.
The Headmaster replied in a drained voice.
Technically, the Spire Guardian wasn't wrong.
The sword and chain the Headmaster had commissioned from Professor Verdus were no ordinary items.
For a freshman to subdue them was astonishing even by the Headmaster's standards.
...Under normal circumstances!
Right now, the Skeleton Principal was too heartbroken and hollow to muster any surprise or praise.
"I'll do it later. Understood?"
"Yes. Whatever."
Lee Han had no complaints whatsoever.
He just wanted to get out of this place as quickly as possible.
Pop!
The Skeleton Principal vanished.
Lee Han silently mourned for Professor Vible.
Though he didn't know the exact situation, it definitely wasn't for praise.
Tap tap—
"?"
The Tower Keeper placed a neatly wrapped package into Lee Han's hand and bowed once more in gratitude.
Regarding the reward, I will speak to Lord Gonadaltes again next time.
Lee Han was touched.
'What a kind person!'
To think someone like this ended up working under the Skeleton Principal...
In the afternoon.
Lee Han headed toward the Sacred Pavilion Hall—Professor Vible Verdus's workshop—to attend his additional Enchantment Magic lecture.
'How surprising.'
Surprisingly, quite a number of students had gathered in front of the tower.
Considering Professor Verdus was the worst educator imaginable, it was proof of just how appealing Enchantment Magic was.
'Now I feel bad for Professor Mortum for no reason.'
Sympathizing with professors was a taboo among taboos, but sometimes, human emotions couldn't be helped.
"...Wait. Why is everyone standing outside instead of going in?"
"The door isn't opening."
Lee Han pushed through the crowd and knocked on the workshop door.
Knock knock knock—
"Professor? Are you there?"
From inside came the sound of clattering, followed by hushed whispers as if they were discussing something.
—What do we do? Are we really allowed to do this? Won't we get sent to the Punishment Room later?
—But we got permission to substitute for the professor's lecture.
—Still... how can we trust that?
It took quite a while before the door finally opened.
"!"
"!!!!"
The first-year students were startled.
Behind the door weren't Professor Verdus but unfamiliar upperclassmen they'd never seen before.
And the upperclassmen were startled too.
To be precise, only one of the upperclassmen was startled.
'Isn't that the freshman!?'
Kumandas, a fourth-year student majoring in Ancient Magic and Enchantment Magic—and Coholti's friend—recognized Lee Han's face and was shocked.
Who would've thought they'd meet like this here!
'Huh? Wait. Isn't this kid majoring in Black Magic?'
For a moment, Kumandas was confused.
Of course, it wasn't unheard of for students to double or even triple major, but it was extremely rare.
Even if someone did double major, they usually chose related fields that were easier to study, just like Kumandas had.
Otherwise, the student would collapse from the workload.
In fact, Kumandas had first specialized in Enchantment Magic before later adding the Artifact field of Ancient Magic as a secondary focus.
It was essentially a double major that complemented Enchantment Magic.
But this student in front of him was majoring in Black Magic + Enchantment Magic... as a first-year?
'If he's studying both from the first year, that must be incredibly difficult and exhausting.'
At first, Kumandas found it strange, but upon reflection, it made sense.
Wasn't this the first-year from the Wardanaz family who had already demonstrated shocking talent?
The same first-year who had his peers whispering, "Did the Wardanaz family cast a grand spell or something?"
For someone like that, having such grand ambitions was only natural.
'I wonder what goes on in the mind of a genius like that.'
Kumandas grew curious.
Of course, Kumandas himself was considered a genius by the Empire's standards, but this magic school gathered only the geniuses among geniuses.
And the true prodigies who stood out here were on a completely different level.
Just like the Wardanaz boy right in front of him!
'Compared to someone like that, I'm just average...'
Lee Han, lost in thought with his statue-like expressionless face, exuded an even more mysterious aura.
He seemed like a mage who was always immersed in the world of magic—except when sleeping.
"Senior."
"What is it?"
The statue—no, the genius—spoke.
"Can I eat the snacks on the table?"
"...Huh? Oh. Yeah, go ahead..."
"He said we can."
"Wardanaz, thank you!"
The other first-years sincerely expressed their gratitude to Lee Han.
As the freshmen swarmed inside, Kumandas wore a bewildered expression.
Huh?
Huh...?
'This... isn't quite what I imagined...?'