Episode 218
Episode 218
Gulp, gulp—
With their water supply secured, the students of the Blue Dragon Tower looked around with slightly relieved expressions.
Human nature is fickle—now that their immediate thirst was quenched, their moods had shifted.
Just moments ago, they'd been thinking, 'What sin did I commit to end up in this school?' But now, thoughts like 'Maybe experiencing something like this with friends isn't so bad' crossed their minds.
Some students sat on the dry rocky hill and gazed at the horizon.
"It's not as terrible as I thought, actually. Right?"
"True."
'Even though you were whining about dying from exhaustion just a minute ago...'
Yoner thought to herself but didn't bother scolding her already exhausted friends.
"I hope the White Tiger Tower bastards suffer even more."
"Same."
"......"
Yoner stared at them with a look of disbelief.
'Aren't you guys asking for karma with talk like that?'
"Kyaaah!"
"!!!"
No sooner had they spoken than a scream erupted from the opposite side.
Lee Han grabbed his staff and ran over.
"What happened?!"
"Th-there...!"
Lee Han's face stiffened as he looked in the direction his friends were pointing.
Far in the distance, near the horizon, a massive mid-tier monster was approaching.
'A Rock Drake!'
Not only Lee Han, but several other students also recognized it—it was a well-known monster in the empire.
A drake, a lesser dragon-type monster, rumored to have traces of dragon blood in its ancestry, known for its enormous size and strength.
Among them, the Rock Drake, with its rock-hard scales, was infamous for its absurdly high defensive capabilities.
—Be careful where Rock Drakes appear. Even veteran adventurers can get shredded in the blink of an eye if they're not careful.
—I went to a place where a Rock Drake showed up once. You know what people there call it? 'A Mage's Nightmare.' It just deflects magic outright.
This was absolutely not a monster first-years should be facing.
Even for Lee Han, who had fought a Rakshasa Hungry Ghost before!
In terms of threat level, this was several tiers higher. Not just any monster gets rumors about having dragon blood mixed in its lineage.
"Everyone, stay low. Don't provoke it."
"I-It seems to be coming this way?"
Though the Rock Drake's heavy footsteps weren't fast, its approach carried a menacing pressure.
Lee Han gathered the students.
Since the Rock Drake was moving in their direction, they needed to come up with a plan quickly.
"We need to run now! Let's move to a different area."
"That's nonsense. Rock Drakes aren't particularly aggressive monsters, but they attack anything that enters their territory without fail. If we move carelessly and provoke it, that's the end!"
"So we just stand here while it comes at us?"
"It's heading this way, but we don't know if it'll come up this hill. It's more likely to go somewhere else."
"If we wait any longer, we'll lose our chance to escape completely!"
The group's opinions were sharply divided.
'This isn't easy.'
From Lee Han's perspective, both sides had valid points, which made the situation even trickier.
Rock Drakes weren't particularly sensitive monsters, but if a group of students suddenly rushed away, there was a chance it would notice, no matter how far away it was.
On the other hand, staying put and hiding meant leaving everything to chance, with no real alternative...
"Should we try tossing a silver coin or something?"
"...Not a bad idea."
"Wait, what? Lee Han, are you serious?"
Gainando was taken aback when Lee Han actually agreed with his suggestion.
He had expected Lee Han to dismiss it outright...
"I'll just use it as a reference. Stones, guide me to the future."
Lee Han scattered colored stones on the ground and focused his mind intensely.
Originally, Lee Han had tried to avoid using Divination Magic as much as possible, but given the current situation, there was no other choice.
The only saving grace was that it wasn't about the distant future but the near future.
'This much should be manageable.'
Of course, if Professor Paselet or Professor Garcia were here, they would've said, "Whether it's easy or difficult, this is absolutely not a level a first-year can handle right now." Unfortunately, neither professor was present.
The answer he sought was simple: would the Rock Drake come this way or not?
Several blurry images flashed through his mind in an instant. Lee Han barely managed to focus on one of them.
"...Looks like it's coming."
"Dammit!"
At the sight of the Rock Drake rampaging and destroying the hilltop warehouse, Lee Han decided to escape with his friends.
"There's not no way to get out. There is Invisibility Magic, but..."
"Ah!"
"The problem is, I can only cast it on myself right now."
"Ah..."
Even with the same magic, casting it on others was far more difficult than casting it on oneself.
"Still, luckily, there's an Artifact. Gainando, try this on."
Gainando obediently fastened the belt Lee Han handed him.
Then he immediately collapsed to his knees with a thud.
"My... my mana..."
"Oops. The mana consumption is worse than I thought."
"Lee Han... are you trying to assassinate me...?"
"Yoner, can you pass me a potion?"
Lee Han uncorked a bottle and poured the potion down Gainando's throat.
Fortunately, Gainando regained his energy shortly after.
"Looks like lending out Artifacts will be tough."
At Lee Han's words, all his friends nodded fervently.
No matter how much they needed Invisibility Magic, none of them wanted to wear those Artifacts.
'How on earth does he wear those Artifacts so easily?!'
"Lee Han. I have a good idea."
Gainando spoke up.
"What is it?"
"You just need to learn how to cast Invisibility Magic on others right now."
"......"
"......"
"Can't we just use that guy as bait for the Rock Drake?"
As the mood among his friends grew dangerously hostile, Lee Han stretched out his hands to calm them down.
'Technically, he's not wrong.'
The principles behind casting Invisibility Magic on oneself versus others weren't drastically different.
It's just that the latter required far more meticulous and delicate control.
'Let me try a few times.'
Lee Han decided to make the most of the time before the Rock Drake got too close.
Having abundant mana meant he could afford to waste some.
If he figured it out, great. If not, he was prepared to give up cleanly.
"Gainando."
"...I've been feeling like a test subject since earlier. Is it just me...?"
Grumbling, Gainando stepped forward. Lee Han pointed his staff at him.
"Cloak. Swallow my friend."
'Guess it's not working.'
He focused properly and executed the motions correctly, but the magic didn't activate.
The mana in the air moved, attempting to weave the spell's structure, but collisions and blockages occurred mid-process, causing it to fail.
It was because he still wasn't entirely familiar with the concept of the magic.
"Cloak. Swallow me."
For reference, Lee Han cast the spell on himself.
Naturally, it succeeded, and at that moment...
Gainando's arm nearby disappeared.
"AHHH! MY ARM!!"
"It's fine, isn't it?"
"Oh. You're right?"
Gainando, who had panicked when his arm turned invisible, sighed in relief as it returned to normal.
But when he stretched his arm out again, it vanished once more.
"Everyone, look at this!"
An Invisibility effect was spreading within a 2-3 meter radius around Lee Han.
'Amplification!'
In that instant, Lee Han realized what was happening.
He had activated the Invisibility Necklace given by the Tower Keeper while casting another spell.
Two spells of the same type had influenced each other, amplifying the effect.
'This... I didn't expect this. Was this what the Headmaster meant?'
Lee Han's surprise was only natural.
Normally, such amplification wasn't a common outcome.
-What happens when you cast the same spell twice?
It was an inevitable question any mage would have.
Casting Strength Enhancement Magic again, or Agility Enhancement Magic again, or Invisibility Magic again...
What would happen in such cases?
The answer was 'impossible to know.'
With countless variables like circumstances, location, and the magic itself affecting the outcome, making accurate predictions was unfeasible.
Yet here, the result was amplification.
Though bewildering, it was a stroke of luck in their current situation.
'Wait. Then why didn't the belt get amplified too?'
The belt received from the Prisinga Order.
This belt also had Invisibility Magic cast upon it.
Yet it didn't amplify...
'The methods are different!'
A quiet realization struck Lee Han's mind like a lightning bolt.
Even if they appeared identical as Invisibility Magic on the surface, the implementation methods differed.
If the Prisinga Order's belt used camouflage magic that bent light around the caster to distort vision...
Then the Spire Guardian's necklace and the Headmaster's magic were closer to spells that induced confusion in the observer's perception to prevent recognition.
The latter shared the same method, hence their mutual amplification.
'So that's why he told me to think more deeply. He wanted me to figure this out.'
Lee Han felt his mind clearing.
Though he didn't realize it himself, this was precisely the kind of epiphany mages experienced.
Gaining even a minor insight into a blocked aspect of magic and making progress.
In a way, it was natural Lee Han hadn't noticed before.
He'd rarely encountered obstacles while learning magic until now.
Talent was both a mage's steadfast guide and something that could intoxicate them.
Had the Skeleton Principal been present, he might've said: 'Yes, exactly that. When you gain enlightenment, receive it with gratitude—'
"Lee Han! We need to move!"
"Sorry. Got distracted for a moment. Let's go."
Rather than appreciating how precious his recent experience had been, Lee Han immediately shifted to action.
Enlightenment or not, only one thing mattered now.
'I can expand the invisibility magic's range.'
Lee Han cast <Gonadaltes' Invisibility Cloak> again, further amplifying its area.
How far did they need to walk to establish a proper range?
At first, there was no control whatsoever, but after several attempts, he suddenly grasped it.
"Cloak, swallow me whole... There. This should do it. Let's go!"
The orthodox view was that upon gaining enlightenment, one should immerse themselves in it with gratitude.
After all, hard-won insights might otherwise vanish somewhere.
But occasionally, exceptions existed.
A genius who could act immediately after enlightenment—without any obstruction whatsoever!
Lee Han expanded the invisibility field to include his friends and ran.
Had the Skeleton Principal been present, he might've lost his temper and personally added another trial.
Even after shaking off the Rock Drake, the Blue Dragon Tower students couldn't rest easily.
They found a new archive, rummaged through books, then used the shelves to conceal themselves.
"Shouldn't we be safe now?"
"What if it chases us again? We need to wait longer."
"I wish we could light a fire..."
Proper rest required starting with a fire and unloading their gear.
But the friends who'd barely escaped still hadn't shaken off the nightmare of the Rock Drake.
"L-look over there!"
"?!"
At someone's hissed warning, everyone whipped their heads around.
Fortunately, it wasn't the Rock Drake.
"It's not that!!"
"Nobody said it was the Rock Drake...! Look at that!"
The newcomers were White Tiger Tower students. A group of four, they walked while glancing warily around.
Clearly, they hadn't yet noticed the Blue Dragon Tower students hidden nearby.
"What do we do, Wardanaz? Should we call out to them?"
"Is Durgyu with them?"
"Durgyu? No, why?"
"Then we have no choice. We subdue them."
"......"
What do you mean 'no choice'?