Episode 241
Episode 241
"That shield!"
"Ah. This shield."
Lee Han suppressed a yawn as he nodded.
True to being a diligent student, Durgyu certainly had a keen eye.
"Isn't it surprising?"
"Of course it's surprising...!"
"Right. Even though I didn't separately amplify the spell duration, it's still holding up. I didn't expect that either."
The shield had now been spinning for over six hours.
Normally, he should have dispelled it and moved on, but Lee Han had left it active to see how long it would last.
'I need to check how long it lasts before deciding whether to use it or not.'
Honestly, it was astonishing that the enchantment magic remained active even without the spell duration amplification process.
No matter how much mana one had, he hadn't expected it to work to this extent.
Even Lee Han hadn't anticipated this.
But even if luck was on his side, he couldn't afford to get complacent. He needed to test exactly how far this could go.
...And if the duration lasted even just a day, Lee Han planned to submit it immediately.
'Please, let this be the finishing touch.'
"But you're impressive, Durgyu. I didn't think you'd recognize it so quickly. To notice right away that I didn't separately amplify the spell duration on this shield..."
"...I, I just studied Enchantment Magic hard, so I guess I got lucky."
Durgyu, who obviously hadn't recognized it, stammered.
He had just been surprised that Lee Han had already brought a completed work...
"More importantly, Lee Han. I was planning to ask while working together, but..."
"You can just ask separately. Durgyu."
"Thank you so much. Wait. Would it be okay if I asked Moradi too?"
"It's fine, but you won't use what you learn from me to interfere with me during the finals, right? If you have any conscience."
"Of course Moradi wouldn't do that."
"But Moradi has no conscience."
"Lee Han..."
"It's fine. She probably didn't hear."
'She definitely heard.'
Given the hearing of a student raised in a knightly family, this distance was more than enough.
"Then you can just hear it directly from Moradi. Lee Han."
"Good idea. Moradi. Would you swear on your family and honor not to interfere with me during the finals?"
"...Fine. I swear."
"And if even one student from the White Tiger Tower picks a fight with me, you'll take responsibility, right?"
"Why would that be my responsibility?!"
Giselle, who had almost nodded absentmindedly, was horrified.
To try and pull a fast one the moment she let her guard down...
"Aren't you the leader of the White Tiger Tower students or something?"
"Do you know how many of them don't listen to me...? You think our tower is as obedient as yours?"
"People might misunderstand if they hear that. Our tower is the one that listens the least, Moradi."
'It's really a good thing the others aren't seeing this argument.'
Durgyu thought to himself.
If the Blue Dragon Tower students, who trust and follow Lee Han, and the White Tiger Tower students, who trust and follow Giselle, heard this conversation, they'd probably tear up, thinking, 'What did we do wrong?'
"Alright. Let's agree to this."
Since both had something to gain, Lee Han and Giselle each took a step back.
"Don't forget to lend me the White Tiger Tower guys when I need them later."
Lee Han secured the right to mobilize White Tiger Tower students when necessary.
In return, Giselle negotiated for Lee Han to teach the White Tiger Tower students.
Given their abysmal midterm results, if left unchecked, only a handful—including Giselle—would be able to enjoy the vacation.
"Don't forget about the teaching part."
"What's so hard about teaching?"
"......"
"......"
Durgyu and Giselle fell silent at Lee Han's words.
Seeing their reaction, Lee Han felt slightly uneasy.
"...But if they got into Einrogard, they must have some basic talent, right?"
"Y-yeah."
"In... theory."
"It's not that they're dumb, just that they have no interest in studying."
'This is getting even more ominous.'
In his experience, those who made such excuses were never good students to teach.
"Teaching can wait. Let's focus on the task at hand for now."
Lee Han suppressed a yawn as he spoke.
Giselle found this behavior somewhat puzzling.
It was quite different from the Wardanaz brat's usual demeanor.
'Did he pull an all-nighter? No way. That can't be it.'
Given the thorough nature of the Wardanaz family, it was impossible that he'd stayed up all night when they had to traverse the mountain range starting at noon.
"Lee Han looks exhausted. Did he stay up all night or something?"
"Don't talk nonsense. A Wardanaz would never do that."
Giselle snapped at Durgyu irritably.
"But what about the Enchantment Magic assignment..."
"He must have finished it yesterday."
"R-really?"
To Durgyu, the timeframe seemed impossibly short, but...
'Well, if even Moradi says so, it must be true.'
"Alright then, let's each share what we know about the monsters in this mountain range."
Even Einrogard graduates probably didn't have complete knowledge of these mountains.
That's how vast and deep this mountain range was.
Last time, they'd spent hours wandering just to get lost near the foothills.
But magic school students had accumulated knowledge and rumors to rely on.
"Bears, wolves, wild boars, and crocodiles."
"Crocodiles?!"
Durgyu looked shocked. Giselle clicked her tongue slightly before responding.
"There are swamps."
"There are swamps?!"
"Durgyu. If you're this surprised already, how are you going to handle the rest? Anything could appear here. Even volcanic terrain wouldn't be surprising."
'That would be surprising though.'
'Shouldn't we be surprised at that...'
"Slimes and various chimeras."
Lee Han clicked his tongue at the mention of chimeras.
Why would artificially fused magical creatures appear in these pristine mountains with clean air and water?
They must have escaped from some mage's experiment.
And those mages undoubtedly came from Einrogard...
'I resent those seniors who conducted experiments without following safety protocols.'
"That's about it."
"I see. Durgyu?"
As Giselle finished listing the monsters she knew, Durgyu spoke up.
"Actually, I heard from some friends... they're currently targeting a giant."
"...What?"
Giselle reacted faster than Lee Han. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she demanded:
"What idiots are trying to take down a giant? Tell me."
"Th-that's confidential... and it's not just one group."
Giants.
A species with massive frames and formidable defenses, capable of terrifying nearby monsters just by walking around.
So violent and barbaric that communication was impossible—they might as well be considered pure monsters. You had to expect an attack the moment you encountered one.
No matter how you looked at it, they weren't suitable targets for first-years...
Yet several White Tiger Tower students were seriously planning to hunt one.
It all started when someone found a book about giants in the library.
-Keep this between us. See this map? There's a giant living beyond the mountain ridge.
-Whoa...! Hey, this is just for you. I heard there's a giant living around this part of the mountains.
-Wow... come here. Don't tell anyone I told you. This is really valuable info—there's a giant around this part of the mountains...
"...Are they trying to get themselves killed?"
Giselle muttered with a grimace.
The fact that they'd been secretly sharing this information among themselves was absurd.
They probably thought someone would steal their discovery if they spoke openly, but who would even want to steal that?
No matter how badly they wanted to win the competition, targeting a giant was madness.
"Even Wardanaz wouldn't do something that reckless."
"Right... Wait. What do you mean by that?"
Lee Han sensed something off in her words and was about to confront Giselle.
However, Durgyu was the first to speak up.
"Still, there seems to be... some way to deal with the giants."
"Since the book mentioned the giants' locations, it wouldn't be surprising if it also included methods to counter them."
The problem was that giants weren't such pushovers that simply reading a book about how to fight them would make you capable of doing so.
"If reading a book once was enough to master something, why would wizards bother struggling?"
"Right. That...?"
Durgyu, who had been about to nod in agreement, suddenly glanced at Lee Han.
For a moment, he thought, 'Should Lee Han really be saying something like that?'
"You guys seem to be right. I should seriously try to talk them out of it."
"No. Wait."
"Hold on."
"?"
When Lee Han and Giselle both spoke up to stop him at the same time, Durgyu was taken aback.
"Is heartfelt advice really the most effective approach in this situation?"
"I don't want to agree with Wardanaz, but he's definitely right. These guys are preparing in secret—do you think they'll listen if you try to talk them out of it? They'll just do it behind your back."
"O-oh. I see. Do you have a better idea, then?"
"First, let's confirm their location. Stalking them would be best."
"After confirming their position, we need to make sure they can't approach the giants at all."
"We should even take their book away. If they keep it, they'll just spend the next few weeks pointlessly scheming."
"Right. Let's steal the book too."
"......"
Weren't they originally supposed to spend the weekend scouting the mountain range to confirm where the monsters were...?
As the conversation suddenly shifted to masked robbery, Durgyu couldn't help but feel bewildered.
"Isn't stealing a bit too... much?"
"Durgyu. Don't misunderstand. This is for our friends' sake. You don't actually think I'd do this just because I'm worried about other guys succeeding in hunting giants and getting better grades, do you?"
"Choi. Think carefully. How would you feel later if you saw your friends get hurt? Wouldn't you regret it, thinking, 'I should've stopped them back then'?"
"...Well... maybe..."
Lee Han and Giselle nodded in unison before each placing a hand on one of Durgyu's shoulders.
"Then we're in this together, Durgyu."
"So, who has the book? Tell us."
"......"
Gatono of the Dulak family was glancing around nervously in front of the cave.
He was checking to see if anyone had followed him.
'Well, who would even follow me all the way here?'
"Who's there?"
"Gatono of Dulak."
"Come in quietly."
Inside the cave, his teammates hurriedly gestured at him.
"Everything going smoothly?"
"Of course. Who do you think Batrek is? He's from the Bakh family, after all."
Batrek was renowned in the White Tiger Tower for his exceptional alchemy.
...Of course, compared to the geniuses from other towers, he was slightly behind, but even so, his skills were undoubtedly solid.
"Is this... that thing?"
"Yeah. A potion that can put giants to sleep."
A massive cauldron hung over the campfire deep inside the cave, and inside it, a foul-smelling decoction bubbled violently.
Contrary to what Lee Han or Giselle might have worried, the White Tiger Tower students weren't complete fools.
Dealing with giants naturally required thorough preparation.
Here, the secret potion to subdue giants is recorded, so juniors should avoid recklessly provoking enraged giants...
There was no need to outright kill the giants to subdue them.
Putting them to sleep and taking their hair or treasures would be enough.
At night, they could sneak close to the giants' resting place, spread the potion around while the giants slept, and then...
BOOM!
"?!?"
"What was that noise?!"
"Intruders! Someone triggered the trap!"
"Who... is it Wardanaz?!"
"Why would Wardanaz be here?! Stop talking nonsense!"
"Is this the right place?"
"Seems like it."
"...Wait. I hear fighting inside."
The three of them, who had stopped to observe from the bushes near the cave, froze.
There was definitely the sound of a fight coming from inside.
-"Hand over the book!"
-"You cowardly bastards! How can you call yourselves knights?!"
-"Hmph. A true knight wins through strength. If you can't protect your treasure, you don't deserve to have it!"
"......"
"......"
Giselle and Durgyu both hung their heads in shame at the same time.
What an absolute disgrace to the tower!