Episode 224
Episode 224
Anyway, next time I should go in alone... Wait until I've heard everything before leaving!
As Lee Han walked away with a nonchalant stride, the Skeleton Principal grumbled and shouted after him.
"Please understand, Headmaster. He says he defeated all those Shadow Wraiths. Of course he must be exhausted."
When Professor Garcia, who had arrived late, took Lee Han's side, the Skeleton Principal bristled.
He doesn't even know the full story!
He's only saying that because he didn't see it himself...! Professor Garcia, do you have any idea how easily that boy handled it?
"Whether defeating monsters is easy or difficult—it's all equally exhausting."
......
Sometimes, irrefutable logic was even more irritating. The Skeleton Principal was left speechless.
But he really did defeat them with ease...
"Alright. Everyone, go inside and rest. You've worked hard. Classes will resume tomorrow, so until then..."
Despite their exhaustion, the students wore slightly moved expressions at Professor Garcia's warm words.
"...you can relax by reading the books you've brought."
"......"
"......"
The students' jaws dropped.
How is that supposed to be resting...?
"??"
Professor Garcia didn't understand their reaction.
The Skeleton Principal nodded with a satisfied expression.
Professor Garcia was right. Everyone should go back and rest by reading their books.
"Did I... say something strange?"
Not at all. Professor Garcia did perfectly well.
Though they felt wronged, the truth was there wasn't much else the students could do.
After leaving the library, they returned to their towers and took turns reading the books they'd brought back.
"Whoa. Lee Han, did you know this? There are ores called 'fool's gold.' Alchemists in the past used to make and sell them as real gold."
Gainando, who was reading <Introduction to Elementary Mineralogy>, asked in surprise.
Lee Han and Yoner answered simultaneously.
"You can't do that anymore."
"There are too many ways to verify it now."
"Ah, I see. Wait—how do you two know so much about this?"
At Gainando's puzzled look, the two averted their eyes slightly.
'Come to think of it, the amount of studying keeps piling up.'
Looking at the new books they'd brought from the library, Lee Han realized just how much more he had to learn.
Each student was copying books relevant to their desired path, but Lee Han...
"Wardanaz. Drink this."
"Wardanaz. Eat this."
"...Why are you giving me these?"
"Uh, just because?"
"You helped us so much in the library! That's why!"
Every time his friends saw the towering stack of books in front of Lee Han, they handed him snacks and drinks before moving on.
Even for a Wardanaz, the sheer volume was enough to make anyone worry.
'It's depressing to realize that, among all the books I have, the ones written by the Skeleton Principal and Professor Voladi are the most considerate.'
Lee Han flipped through the books, lost in thought.
It wasn't a joke—it was the truth.
Magic tomes weren't designed to be beginner-friendly with neatly summarized key points.
Filled with metaphors, jargon, and codes only the original mages understood, deciphering, comparing, and figuring them out was a task in itself.
In that regard, the Skeleton Principal's black book (though forcibly taught) and Professor Voladi's lightning magic/blood magic books—which clearly outlined key points—were undeniably good resources.
'Considering Professor Voladi's personality, I should progress through these books as quickly as possible.'
Given the professor's temperament, it wouldn't be surprising if he suddenly attacked with unreasonable demands like, "You've mastered Spell A by now, right? No? Then learn it now."
If he didn't want to get beaten for no reason, it was better to prepare in advance.
'Next up is a spell combining lightning elements and enchantment magic... and the blood magic is shockwave-based? Surprisingly normal.'
Lee Han, who had only meant to skim briefly, suddenly snapped back to attention.
Time was slipping away in an instant.
'I should at least read ahead for the next lecture.'
Knock knock knock—
"Huh?"
The sound of someone knocking on the lounge door echoed through the room.
The students of the Blue Dragon Tower had already learned—through painful experience—that someone knocking on the lounge door in the dead of night was never a good omen.
"...Who is it?"
Knock knock knock—
"......"
"...Let's decide who opens it with rock-paper-scissors."
The nearby students gritted their teeth and played rock-paper-scissors.
And with a sorrowful expression, Gainando opened the door.
"Still, there's no way the Headmaster would pull another undead attack stunt—"
"AAAAH! UNDEAD!!"
"I knew it! I freaking knew it!"
The students shot up from their seats, hurling books and overturning tables to form a barricade.
—I have come under the Headmaster's orders to deliver snacks.
"......"
"...D-don't fall for it. There might be a trap inside the snack basket."
But there truly was no trap inside the basket.
The undead sent by the Skeleton Principal set down a basket filled with freshly baked, fluffy bread and white rice cakes stuffed with red bean paste, then turned to leave without hesitation.
—Then study hard.
"U-um, have a safe trip back?"
"Wait."
Lee Han blocked the undead before it could leave.
"How can we trust that these snacks aren't a trap?"
"Wardanaz. Surely that can't be the case... right?"
"Even the Headmaster wouldn't go so far as to booby-trap snacks, would he?"
To be honest, Lee Han wasn't actually suspicious of the snacks themselves.
He had a different motive.
'Stall for time and get it talking somehow.'
What he'd learned from dealing with the Storage Keeper and the Spire Keeper before was that the Skeleton Principal's minions knew far more than expected.
If he could get even a hint of the Headmaster's evil schemes, it would be a huge help.
But to do that, he had to find some excuse to make the undead talk.
"Answer me. How can we trust that these snacks aren't a trap?"
—As expected, you're sharp!
The undead exclaimed in admiration, then began chanting a spell. In an instant, thick smoke filled the lounge, reducing visibility to zero.
The students coughed and gasped in shock.
"Seriously...?!"
"Wardanaz, how did you know?!"
—Did you really think a bunch of first-year Ironheads could stop me?
The undead deftly swept through the chaos and immediately tried to bolt for the entrance.
"Flash!"
But Lee Han's spell was cast first. A sharp bolt of lightning struck toward the entrance, startling the undead.
'How?!'
The smokescreen the undead had conjured was a magical smoke cloud—impossible to see through.
Especially for a first-year student.
Even if this opponent was a prodigy praised by the Headmaster, they were still just an unpolished gemstone.
So how?
"Flash! Flash! Flash!"
Lee Han didn't hesitate, firing off bolts of lightning one after another. The barrage of spells reduced the area around the main entrance to rubble.
Only then did the undead realize.
'This brat?!'
Lee Han wasn't casting spells by tracking the undead's current position.
He had memorized where the undead was before it cast the spell and was now ruthlessly bombarding that general area.
Memorizing the position in that brief moment was impressive enough, but the sheer boldness of unleashing spells based on that memory was even more astounding.
The undead understood now—this boy hadn't earned the Headmaster's praise for nothing.
'But now that I'm exposed, it's over.'
In a situation like this, once your scheme was uncovered, defeat was inevitable.
Weaving through the coughing students of the Blue Dragon Tower within the smoke cloud, the undead closed in on Lee Han.
"Wardanaz! What do we—"
"Everyone, stay still and don't move!"
With visibility gone, screams and shouts filled the air from all directions.
Pure chaos.
For the undead, it was the perfect situation.
"Wardanaz!"
The undead cast a spell to alter its voice.
A voice similar to the Blue Dragon Tower students flowed out. There was no way not to be fooled by this.
"Wardanaz, I'm coming to help!"
"I told you to stay still!"
"Wardanaz!"
Despite Lee Han's warning, the undead shouted in a student's voice and approached.
Its plan was simple—get close, subdue Lee Han, and leave leisurely.
There was no way a mere first-year would realize an undead was approaching.
But the undead was mistaken about one thing.
Even if it were a friend, Lee Han would show no mercy to anyone approaching in this situation...
"Wodan—cough!"
Thwack!
...because he would throw a punch.
Shockingly, the fist flew out instantly. The undead, struck by the mana-infused punch, had its spellcasting disrupted by the impact.
—Ghk...
'What the—?'
Lee Han had thrown a punch the moment someone got too close.
But the sensation at his fingertips felt odd.
A hard, bone-like texture.
In that instant, Lee Han realized exactly who his opponent was.
His combat experience and instincts, forged through countless situations, provided the correct answer even now.
'An undead!'
It was clear the undead had sneaked up on him.
"Surrender!"
Lee Han shouted as he swung his fist again. He braced for mana waste and unleashed his energy wildly, like a berserker.
At the same time, he kicked the unseen opponent's legs. The newly learned principle of absorption embedded in his mana disrupted the undead's balance.
"I said surrender!"
Thud! Thud-thud-thud!
"Surrender already!"
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
"If you don't surrender—"
As he kept punching, the smoke cloud cleared.
The undead lay sprawled on the ground, completely battered.
—You... have to... give me... a chance... to surrender...
This first-year brat was far stronger in close combat than expected.
"So, what happens if you eat that?"
Surrounded by Blue Dragon Tower students with fierce expressions, the undead answered in a defeated voice.
—That is...
"A transformation curse? Mana restriction? Teleportation? The Punishment Room?"
Lee Han's sharp deductions left his friends in awe.
First, he had noticed the undead's trap, and now this—Wardanaz's observational skills were downright superhuman.
"How the hell did you figure it out?"
'Good question.'
The undead was curious too.
How had he realized the snack was a trap? How had he detected the undead's approach?
Just how?
"Since you can't answer, I'm guessing it's some kind of vicious poison."
—No... You just fall asleep.
"...Huh? That's it?"
—There are lectures with pop quizzes tomorrow...
"......"
"......"
The students' faces stiffened.
The fact that there were pop quizzes tomorrow was shocking enough, but the sheer malice of the Skeleton Principal—personally lacing snacks with sleeping pills—was even more appalling.
'From now on, I'm never eating any snacks the Headmaster gives us.'
"Tch. Well, it's not as bad as I thought."
Gainando spoke as if deflated.
He'd expected some vicious curse or deadly poison, but all it did was make you sleep?
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting, Gainando? Pop quizzes are a serious matter."
"Exactly. That's the worst trap possible."
"R-Really?"
As the academically inclined students glared, Gainando grumbled internally.
Since when were exams that important?!
The undead, having finished speaking, realigned its broken bones. Feeling slightly guilty, Lee Han apologized.
"Sorry about that."
—It's nothing. Doesn't even hurt.
Still soft-hearted for a first-year, the undead waved dismissively and tried to stand.
Tap—
But Lee Han blocked its way.
—...I have a lot of places to be. Mind letting me go now?
"Which lectures exactly have pop quizzes tomorrow?"
—That's... going too far...
Lee Han raised his staff.
The unspoken threat was clear—he'd strike before the undead could even finish casting a spell.
The undead rescinded its earlier thought about him being soft-hearted.
'What kind of ruthless brat...!'
Are you sure you're a first-year?!