Episode 237
Episode 237
However, the lenient Professor Voladi did not blame his student for cutting corners.
A truly excellent educator is always generous by nature.
Even when a student tries to take shortcuts, guiding them onto the right path is the mark of a real teacher.
"No way..."
Lee Han was horrified to see Professor Voladi drawing his sword and charging at him.
Isn't this going too far?
"Not bad at all."
Lee Han lay sprawled on the classroom floor, unable to respond. His entire body ached from the beating.
An outstanding swordsman is skilled not only with the blade but also with fists and kicks.
Professor Voladi had relentlessly struck Lee Han until he finally managed to transform his cloak into steel.
Eventually, Lee Han succeeded in converting not just his cloak but all his other garments into steel as well.
'Was I just unaware? Could violence actually be effective in education?'
Lee Han shook his head to dispel such absurd thoughts.
"But you're still too slow. You should carry steel objects with you regularly."
Practitioners of Transformation Magic needed to be familiar not only with the items they carried but also with the materials they intended to transform.
For a mage like Lee Han who wanted to become accustomed to steel, it was best to familiarize himself with every aspect—its color, texture, weight, scent, and all other properties.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Don't neglect your training with the Floating Frost Shield either."
"Yes."
"And the Advanced Water Element Attribute Conversion too."
"Yes."
'He wasn't usually this talkative.'
It seemed the professor only became verbose when assigning student tasks.
Lee Han inwardly cursed while preparing his excuse.
Foolish students scramble to make excuses on the day the assignment is due, but wise ones start building their excuses brick by brick from the very first day they receive the task.
"But Professor, I'm currently taking so many lectures that it might take me some time. As you've mentioned, my goal is to organically connect various schools of magic to respond perfectly to any possible situation."
It wasn't exactly something Lee Han had chosen to do, but nothing could serve as a better excuse.
Even the most merciless professor would have no choice but to say, "Alright, take your time," after seeing the list of lectures Lee Han was attending.
Professor Voladi nodded.
Lee Han sighed in relief internally.
'It worked somehow.'
"There's a way."
"...Yes?"
A sense of foreboding crept in.
Surely he wasn't going to say something like 'Don't sleep,' was he?
"I asked Professor Verdus, and he's considering a Makeshift Artifact as the pre-final exam assignment."
"Aha."
It wasn't that the professors at Einrogard never assigned homework.
In fact, assigning weekly tasks was practically their hobby.
But there were times when they gave out assignments more seriously than usual.
Tasks with higher difficulty and greater volume.
Those were the pre-final exam assignments.
For students, they were like ominous hints that 'the finals are approaching.'
'It's starting already.'
Lee Han fell into thought.
If Professor Vible's pre-final assignment was creating a Makeshift Artifact...
'Fireworks would be good.'
Magic fireworks.
Given that he had (been forced to) make them during the last festival, Lee Han was confident he could craft fireworks well.
No matter what level the professor expected, considering the proficiency he'd (been forced to) achieve in Illusion-based Enchantment Magic last time, he should be able to pass.
"Submit the Floating Shield for that assignment."
"...Yes?"
Lee Han, who had been planning to take the easy way out, froze at Professor Voladi's words.
What?
With a hint of bewilderment, as if wondering why such an obvious thing needed explaining, Professor Voladi said,
"Where exactly are you stuck in the <Floating Frost Shield> spell?"
"The part where the shield autonomously protects the caster."
The <Floating Frost Shield> spell was difficult.
Naturally.
...Because it was a 4th-Circle spell!
Even for a 4th-Circle spell, it was considered particularly challenging.
"Handling the ice element, which is naturally difficult to maintain, is the first barrier."
"Enduring the immense mana consumption required to sustain that element in the form of a shield is the second barrier."
"And granting autonomy to this shield is the third and final barrier."
"Honestly, it's already strange that Lee Han has broken through the first and second barriers, leaving only the third."
"Right. If you create a Floating Shield Artifact, you should be able to overcome the stagnant part."
"...Ah-ha!"
"Are you tired or something? How could you miss something so obvious?"
Of course, Lee Han hadn't let out that "Ah-ha" out of genuine understanding.
He'd said it out of sheer disbelief.
So now...
Was this professor telling him to deliberately test his limits on an assignment that could be easily completed otherwise?
'No. Does it not even cross your mind that I might fail?'
Whether Lee Han cursed inwardly or not, Professor Voladi continued with what he had to say.
"And."
"...Yes?"
Lee Han grew even more uneasy.
Did this mean it wasn't over yet?
"Professor Millay is considering contracts with beings from the Otherworld as a pre-final exam assignment."
"Ah, right. I've already contracted with an undead."
Though the weekend's intruder incident had disrupted things, given that Professor Millay had prepared a magic circle with various safety measures, it wasn't surprising that contracts were being considered as a pre-final assignment.
Lee Han felt relieved.
At least one of the assignments was already done.
'Good thing I contracted that Skeleton Warrior.'
"I see. Then find a water spirit in the Spirit World."
"......"
Professor Voladi paid no mind to the fact that Lee Han had contracted with an undead—or even with the Skeleton Principal.
"It will help you master Advanced Water Element Attribute Conversion."
"Professor, spirits tend to avoid me. Even if I try to contract with them, they'll refuse."
"Subdue them first, then negotiate terms for their teachings without a formal contract."
"Ah-ha..."
Even students who hadn't been too frightened by the news of the intruder were now gripped with terror as the pre-final assignments began rolling in one by one.
"S-so, we really have to make a Makeshift Artifact and bring it in?"
"That's what I said. Isn't it fun?"
"B-but we already have so many assignments as it is!"
"Huh? And what about it?"
"I mean, Professor... with all these assignments, if more keep getting added..."
"You'll still sleep and eat, won't you? And take breaks in your free time? Just do it then—make it fun!"
"......"
"Y-you're joking, right?"
Durgyu, standing nearby, whispered in a horrified voice.
Lee Han shook his head with a bitter expression.
Giselle, on the other hand, stood there slightly agape, clearly shocked.
Even for someone as mentally resilient as Giselle, the pre-final assignments seemed to be quite the blow.
"Ugh... ughhh."
"Grrrrrrrrr."
Many of the students taking Enchantment Magic were from the White Tiger Tower.
And White Tiger Tower students, by nature, weren't fond of sitting at desks for long periods.
Occasionally, there were mages who boasted in imperial newspapers about "using magic through intuition and inspiration rather than theory," but that was closer to bravado.
Just because the top student in the year claimed, "I didn't study separately—I just focused on lectures," didn't make it true. Magic wasn't so easy that one could get by on intuition and inspiration alone, without theory.
But the White Tiger Tower students still clung stubbornly to intuition and inspiration.
"Grrrrrrrr... grrrrrrrrr..."
"Why... why do we have to do this, Giselle? Why are they doing this to us? What did I do wrong?"
"I came here to learn Enhancement Magic, not to do these tedious blacksmithing tasks!"
"......"
Giselle stared at her friends, debating whether she should kill them or not.
Anyone watching would think she'd been told to storm the Blue Dragon Tower and drag a Wardanaz back.
Giselle had only asked for something very simple.
—Since everyone has to make a Makeshift Artifact, at least sketch a rough design on paper.
Then the students from White Tiger Tower began writhing in discomfort, banging their foreheads against their desks in agony.
Lee Han watched the sight with gratitude.
'Thanks to those idiots, my ranking is climbing.'
"Lee Han?"
"Ah. My bad. Durgyu. Where were we?"
"Hmm. I want to enchant my shield with a light-emitting spell—what do you think of this design?"
"Overall it's fine, but there are a few inefficient spots. And here at the edge, the circuit's tangled. The mana might not flow properly or could break."
"I... I see."
Durgyu looked at Lee Han with eyes full of admiration.
Of course, Lee Han had always been a reliable friend, but as exams approached, his reliability multiplied tenfold.
Where else could you find such a steadfast friend in the face of this assignment storm?
"So... if I fix this part..."
As Durgyu diligently revised the design based on Lee Han's advice, a sudden curiosity made him ask:
"By the way, Lee Han. What are you planning to submit?"
"...A floating steel shield."
"A f-floating steel shield?! You mean one that autonomously protects the mage?!"
"...Yeah."
"Th-that's incredible!!!"
Durgyu gasped in awe.
Then he tilted his head in confusion.
'Huh?'
His top-ranked friend's expression had suddenly soured as if he'd bitten into something rotten.
"Is something wrong, Lee Han?"
"No... it's nothing."
Nearby, a few White Tiger Tower students overheard and shot stunned glances.
"Did you hear? What kind of artifact is that Wardanaz making?"
"What is it? A Bone Dragon?"
"Does that even make sense? He said a floating shield!"
"A f-floating shield?!"
'Wouldn't a Bone Dragon be even more absurd?'
The White Tiger Tower students might have been slightly lacking in magical skill, but they weren't completely blind to magic.
Being from knightly families—no, precisely because they were from knightly families—they were familiar with certain types of magic.
Enchantment Magic and Healing Magic were naturally more familiar to those from knightly lineages.
"You mean it blocks attacks on its own, right?"
A shield with its own will, protecting its master.
It was the kind of artifact any knight would dream of.
Naturally, the White Tiger Tower students knew just how rare and expensive such an artifact would be.
"If... if he makes one, could we get our hands on it?"
"......"
"Hey, Wardanaz. Need anything?"
The White Tiger Tower students began sidling up to Lee Han.
They were that tempted.
A floating shield artifact, of all things.
Lee Han clicked his tongue and said,
"Where did you hear such nonsense? You must've misheard."
"Ah. R-really?"
The White Tiger Tower students looked sheepish.
Now that they thought about it, it did seem a bit far-fetched.
Giving a shield autonomy was an astronomically difficult feat of magic.
Even for a Wardanaz, wasn't he still just a first-year?
There was no way he could pull that off.
"Where the hell did you hear such ridiculous rumors and spread them around?"
"Yeah, you idiot."
"I-I really heard it, though..."
While the White Tiger Tower students ganged up on the one who'd misheard, Lee Han kindly explained.
"Alright. Listen. What's an artifact?"
"......"
"...Wardanaz, aren't you underestimating us too much... It's an item with Enchantment Magic applied..."
"To be precise, an item with semi-permanently applied magic."
If the enchantment faded after a few days, it wasn't an artifact.
No matter how good the magic, it had to last semi-permanently to be called an artifact.
That's why Enchantment Magic specialists poured their hearts into ensuring this semi-permanent stability.
Naturally, this alone made artifact crafting an immensely difficult field—one no freshman should even dream of touching.
"Got it?"
"Y-yeah. But why are you suddenly explaining...?"
"What I'm doing is temporarily granting autonomy to a shield, not making it permanent. Understand? So stop spreading weird rumors about me making a floating shield artifact."
"......"
"......"
The White Tiger Tower students, who had been tilting their heads in confusion, froze mid-thought.
...Wait, so in the end, he is making a floating shield, right???!