Episode 243
Episode 243
"I must be seeing things... No."
Giselle's voice trembled.
To their astonishment, the Curare Lizards were heading straight toward them.
'Why?'
Curare Lizards were intelligent monsters.
They usually targeted paralyzed prey or slow-moving creatures—there was no reason for them to chase after threatening mages.
So why...
-■■■! ■■■■!
-■■■■■!
The lizards let out even sharper cries than before as they sprayed paralyzing venom.
Thud! Flop!
Anyone could see they were thoroughly enraged, their venom glands visibly swelling.
"Persistent bastards... Bones, rain down! Rain down! Rain down!"
A downpour of bone fragments tore through the ground and shredded the underbrush.
The lizards scrambled to dodge.
And then they shrieked even louder.
-■■■■■!!
"Ah."
Lee Han realized why the Curare Lizards had abandoned weaker prey to chase the two of them.
Giselle realized it too.
"...They're chasing us just because we hit them a little?"
"My thoughts exactly."
Lee Han immediately agreed.
Giselle nearly cursed but held back. Fighting with an ally wouldn't do her any good.
"Wardanaz... Moradi...!"
"For our sake...!"
The White Tiger Tower students retreating down another path shouted with choked voices.
They clearly misunderstood, thinking Lee Han and Giselle were sacrificing themselves for them.
"Those brainless mutts, I swear..."
"What was that?"
"Never mind, just keep retreating!"
Lee Han also wanted to smack them but restrained himself.
Since things had come to this, he might as well milk it for credit later.
Thud!
One lizard, unable to contain its fury, charged. It collided with a swiftly flying shield and howled.
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
Lee Han showed no mercy, delivering judgment. The lizard, battered by the bone fragments, staggered away in a daze.
'This isn't good.'
Though this charge was blocked, the fact that the monsters' patience had run thin wasn't a good sign.
If the ever-growing number of lizards attacked simultaneously, even Lee Han would struggle to hold them off.
Even if just one broke through, it would be a loss for them...
Giselle, seemingly thinking the same, drew her twin swords and barked sharply.
"Wardanaz. I'll buy time! When will your mana recover?!"
Apparently, Giselle mistakenly believed Lee Han was temporarily drained of mana.
Otherwise, there'd be no reason for Lee Han—who had been effortlessly beating White Tiger Tower students—to rely solely on Black Magic.
"It's not a mana issue!"
"What?"
"I said it's not a mana problem. I pulled an all-nighter, so precise control is difficult."
"...You insane— Ugh!"
Giselle stabbed the charging lizard's maw hard and stepped back.
"And you're saying that like it's normal?! Why the hell did you pull an all-nighter?!"
Climbing the mountain was already a massive stamina drain.
She couldn't fathom why he'd stay up all night right before that.
It wasn't like Wardanaz was a White Tiger Tower student...
"Too much homework."
"......"
Giselle was momentarily speechless.
It was an answer so unimaginable, so utterly beyond refutation.
-Come to the river.
"?!"
The sudden, weighty voice startled them both.
-Come to the river. Those lizards dislike this stream—they won't follow.
They couldn't tell who was speaking, but Lee Han and Giselle immediately turned toward the riverbank.
In their current situation, they had nothing left to lose.
-■■■... ■■■...
With a splash, they waded into the river up to their waists. Astonishingly, the pursuing lizards stopped, glaring resentfully but making no move to follow.
Giselle muttered, as if she couldn't believe it.
"Can you see that? Why the hell are those lizards acting like that? Wardanaz? ...Wardanaz!"
Giselle's eyes widened as she saw Lee Han collapse forward.
'Paralysis poison?!'
But the lizards hadn't even landed a single hit—how could this be?
-He just collapsed from exhaustion.
"...What?"
-I said he collapsed from exhaustion. Are you a freshman? Normally freshmen don't study until they pass out. Interesting.
"......"
When Lee Han opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a shield floating in midair.
'Where am I?'
The plush animal hide beneath him made it clear he wasn't on the roadside but inside some kind of hut.
Turning his gaze, he saw Giselle sitting on a chair. Lee Han immediately checked his coat pockets.
'Hmm. Nothing's missing.'
-Worried you lost something? You didn't.
"!"
Startled by the deep voice from above, Lee Han jerked his head up.
A giant he'd never seen before was seated at the cave entrance, facing Giselle.
Giselle had her fingers pressed to her temples, glaring holes into the table. She was so absorbed she didn't even notice Lee Han had woken up.
'What's going on here?'
Since the giant didn't seem hostile, Lee Han stood and approached.
Surprisingly, a chessboard lay between them.
'Endgame.'
Lee Han recognized from the pieces and their positions that the game was in its final stages.
And Giselle was losing.
-Not going to make a move? Overthinking won't change anything. You can recover from mistakes in the opening during the middlegame. You can recover from middlegame mistakes in the endgame. But there's nothing after the endgame.
'Hmm. If nothing else, you've got a real talent for pissing off your chess opponents.'
It must have hit home—Giselle bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.
After agonizing a while longer, she toppled her white king. Resignation.
"...I lose."
-Don't take it too hard. Not all giants are dumb brutes.
The giant spoke kindly.
Not that Giselle found it comforting. Lee Han understood how she felt.
Losing at chess to a giant—a species notorious for stupidity.
He imagined this was how it'd feel losing to Gainando in chess.
"Ahem... If it's not too rude, may I ask your name?"
-No trouble at all.
The giant explained how long he'd lived in these parts, occasionally chatting or making small wagers with passing magic school students and professors.
"But, um..."
-Curious about the source of my un-giantlike intellect?
"I apologize if the question was impolite."
-Not at all. It's natural to wonder. Though I can't give you a satisfying explanation. Think of it this way—aren't there exceptionally dull humans too?
The giant was undeniably logical. Lee Han had no rebuttal.
"I understand."
-Good. I appreciate that.
"...But why chess?"
The giant shrugged at the question.
-I said I like wagers, didn't I?
"A wager at a time like this?"
Lee Han was aghast at Giselle's greed.
Just how avaricious was she...
"You collapsed, you little shit! That's why we had to play!" Giselle snapped.
According to the giant, he never forced wagers on passersby—though he did strike up conversations.
But debts and favors changed the equation.
Since he'd brought the unconscious Lee Han to the Giant's Cave and tended to him, it was only fair the mages reciprocated appropriately.
"What kind of reciprocation are we talking about?"
-There are a few options.
The giant tapped the wall. There was a list written in crooked handwriting:
-Tasks for defeated mages:
1. Deep clean the cave basement (Must dispose of all expired potions and relabel everything)
2. Organize the library (Something seems to be hiding among the books)
3....
-If you pick one of these and complete it, we'll be even.
Lee Han scanned the list again.
At first glance, none seemed too time-consuming, but he knew all too well how insidious traps could lurk within the professors' seemingly simple "to-do lists."
'The basement could easily be larger than the cave itself. Same goes for the library.'
-If you don't like these, we can settle it with another wager.
"A wager... Would something like a mana capacity contest be possible?"
Lee Han casually asked.
The giant laughed and shook his head.
-A wager should be fair. What's the fun in a one-sided advantage? Same goes for contests of raw strength—I won't accept those either.
"No... That's fine..."
-If you have a fair wager in mind, suggest it. I'll accept if it's balanced.
'A mana contest would've been perfect.'
Lee Han clicked his tongue.
The giant's unnecessary consideration had just made things more troublesome.
'Now I see why Giselle chose chess.'
The giant wasn't as easy to handle as he'd thought.
Having lived far longer than the students, he likely had more experience and knowledge, and given the glimpses of wisdom he'd shown, he was probably sharper too.
Lee Han glanced at the chessboard again.
At least in this situation, chess was the only way to gauge the giant's skill.
The problem was his own lack of confidence in chess.
Lee Han had never once considered himself skilled at it.
Sure, he'd beaten a few opponents since entering the Magic School, but that was only because they were terrible players.
His past record against professors had been abysmal too...
"May I confer for a moment?"
-Go ahead.
"Giselle. Giselle."
"What."
"Why did you move the rook here? If you'd just kept it fixed on the third rank and only moved the king to avoid check, you could've forced a draw."
"......"
Sometimes, a correct criticism was more irritating than a wrong one.
That was exactly how Lee Han felt right now.
"Why did you move it?"
"Shut up. Just—shut up."
"Was it a mistake? I see. By the way, what opening did the giant use?"
-Thinking of challenging me to chess again? Not bad. But think carefully—you might regret it.
"To keep things fair, would you consider removing a piece or two?"
-Since we don't know each other's skill, that wouldn't work. But I'll allow you to consult your friend.
The giant leaned back, waiting with an ease only a true master could display.
The sheer confidence made Lee Han tense up.
'Damn. From what I heard, he's got a really aggressive style. Can I force a draw?'
Lee Han's baseline goal was a draw.
Winning would be great if luck was on his side, but if not, he'd aim for a draw to push for another wager.
'From what I've heard of Giselle's skill, that should be doable.'
The real problem was if the opponent was hiding their strength.
Lee Han desperately hoped the giant's skill fell within expectations.
Thirty minutes later.
Lee Han was stunned.
"...No way..."
-Uuuugh...
"...It seems to be over."
-Wait. Just five more minutes.
"No. It's over. If you move here, the knight blocks you, and if you move there, the pawn does."
-...Just wait. Five minutes.
"......"
The giant's chess skills were...
...far weaker than expected.
Once Lee Han solidified his defenses, the giant forced attacks and crumbled pathetically.
Lee Han looked at Giselle.
'Turns out Giselle was just bad at chess.'
'Why do I feel so annoyed...?'
-I lost. I admit it.
The giant toppled his king in surrender.
Lee Han sighed in relief and asked,
"Then may we go now?"
-No.
"?"
-That just repaid your friend's debt. The debt for saving you still stands.
"...Have you ever worked as a professor at the Magic School?"
Faced with such shamelessness, the question slipped out before Lee Han could stop himself.