Episode 249
Episode 249
'Huh?'
As Diret had said, the high-ranking demons classified as powerful didn't submit just from being hit a few times.
If they surrendered after a few strikes, could they even be called powerful demons?
They'd just be wild beasts.
However, Coholti was certain he had seen the demon avert its gaze.
"Diret. Diret."
"Can't you see I'm busy finding an alternate route? Want to do it for me instead?"
Diret snapped back irritably.
Because the path the junior was trying to take was blocked, he was currently searching for a detour.
To make matters worse, it was the rearrangement period, so some paths had disappeared, making it even more of a headache—and now Coholti was bothering him.
"Can I try hitting that demon a few more times?"
"Do whatever you want. Just know I'll hit you later."
"...Hah, haha. You're joking, right...?"
Coholti said that, but it didn't sound like a joke.
"Topple!"
With the incantation, magic was cast upon the demon trapped inside the crystal cage.
The demon, struck by the shockwave Coholti fired, let out another pained scream and averted its gaze—
—except it didn't.
Instead, it just stared blankly at him with an expression that seemed to say, 'What the hell is this mage doing?'
Flustered, Coholti asked the demon,
"Did I cast it too weakly?"
Of course, the demon didn't answer. Coholti cast the spell again.
This time, he focused a little more and put more power into it.
Thwack!
The shockwave struck, and the demon writhed.
And that was it.
The difference from before was night and day.
'...Did I imagine it earlier??'
After some hesitation, Coholti cautiously spoke up.
"Hey, junior, could you cast the spell one more time—?"
"Do whatever you want."
"Really!?"
"Yeah! Why don't you ask your junior to do your assignments for you too? Or take your exams for you? Oh, what about graduating in your place?"
"...J-Just this once... Just one time..."
Diret stepped back with a look in his eyes that screamed, 'How should I kill this bastard?'
Coholti, sensing the mood, barely managed to get Lee Han's permission.
"Just cast it normally, right?"
-Yeah. Do it comfortably. Comfortably!
'What's going on?'
Lee Han tilted his head in confusion.
Though he couldn't pinpoint the exact reason, he got the feeling his seniors were under a lot of stress.
While it was true that powerful demons didn't submit to brute force, that didn't change the fact that mages also needed to vent their frustration.
If words didn't work, it was only natural for magic to come out.
His seniors probably had to conserve their mana, so they were asking him—who still had plenty to spare.
'That makes sense.'
Any student conducting difficult experiments had to wrestle with the urge to smash their equipment to pieces.
'It'll be easier if I get closer.'
Lee Han stepped closer to the crystal cage.
He could aim just fine from where he was, but casting up close was more fun.
Whoosh—
"?"
The moment Lee Han approached, the demon, which had been boldly glaring outside the cage just moments ago, lowered its gaze.
'Did I see that wrong?'
Lee Han tilted his head curiously, leaning slightly toward the demon.
Then, the demon slowly, cautiously retreated before outright avoiding eye contact.
"Flash!"
-■■■■■! ■■■■■!
The demon let out a tortured scream, dropped to its knees, and pressed its forehead to the ground.
It was undeniably, 100% a posture of submission.
"......"
"......"
Coholti and Diret were so stunned they dropped their staffs.
Powerful beings from other dimensions carried their own rules with them, defying the world's order just by existing.
Having their own rules meant they had strong resistance to magic—the very force that altered the world's laws.
The magical resistance these beings possessed was nothing to scoff at.
That was why the demon had given Coholti that 'What the hell is this mage doing?' look earlier.
Of course, magical resistance didn't make them invincible. There were multiple ways to overcome it.
"Either cast a highly specialized spell focused on penetration, or pour an enormous amount of mana into the same spell to brute-force your way through..."
However, the latter method was actually considered unrealistic.
Simply dumping more mana into the same spell wasn't a guaranteed solution.
Sure, increasing the mana would somewhat amplify the spell's effect.
But if that were the case, it'd be better to just learn and cast a higher-tier spell. There was no reason to mindlessly cram excessive mana into a lower-tier one.
Not only were there inherent limits to how much a spell's effect could be enhanced, but increasing the mana also raised the casting difficulty. And above all, a mage's mana wasn't infinite.
Acting recklessly like that was a surefire way to end up with mana exhaustion.
-You get it, right, junior?
Diret and Coholti warned him in excruciating detail, fearing this reckless junior might collapse from mana exhaustion in some corner of the Magic School's hallway.
They knew this outstanding junior was naturally gifted with abundant mana.
And that his exceptional magical talent allowed him to master spells faster than other students.
But that didn't mean they could just stand by and watch.
As seniors, they had to warn him against dangerous behavior.
-Mana exhaustion is far more terrifying than you think!
-How are you feeling right now? No dizziness or cold sweats?
"Yes... I'm fine."
'They're overreacting.'
If he were going to collapse from this, Lee Han would've already done so by now.
In truth, Lee Han was already aware that he instinctively overcharged his spells with mana.
The extended duration of his Light Emission spell and his Enchantment Magic were proof enough.
The effect of piercing through magic resistance like that had been unexpected, but at the very least, Lee Han hadn't overexerted himself casting the lightning spell.
If this counted as overexertion, he would've collapsed long ago!
"I'm really fine, so you don't need to worry. So... did that demon surrender because the damage actually got through?"
-No.
-That's not it.
True to their status as fourth-year Black Magic majors, Diret and Coholti answered firmly.
Of course, they were still stunned by the sheer power of Lee Han's spell.
But that wasn't why the demon had surrendered. A high-ranking demon wasn't that fragile.
"Then why?"
"......"
A brief silence fell.
"??"
Lee Han grew flustered when his seniors didn't immediately write an answer.
What was this?
-Well... you see...
-It's... kind of... not exactly...
Instead of giving a straightforward answer, the two seniors began to dance around the subject.
Because, in their minds, what they were about to say was utterly ridiculous.
"Did it... get scared?"
"Does... that even make sense?"
"It doesn't, but... what other explanation is there?"
"......"
If two seniors told a first-year junior, "The demon took a few hits, got emotionally vulnerable, and then, since you've got a lot of mana and a cold demeanor, it probably got scared," what would happen?
That first-year would probably return to the tower and say:
-Hey, apparently at Einrogard, you get promoted just by breathing. Today I met some insane seniors—if you don't know, just say you don't know instead of spouting nonsense...
But what else could they say when no other explanation came to mind?!
"Seniors?"
-...This is a highly complex and difficult-to-explain anomalous phenomenon.
-Right... Ah, how should I put this? It's not that we don't know, it's just...
The two fourth-years did their best to tiptoe around the explanation.
The demon took a few hits from you, got scared, and surrendered—it sounds like nonsense, but please don't dismiss it as complete nonsense, there's some academic basis for it...
From "Judging by today's cloud formations, demons might be emotionally vulnerable right now" to "Maybe that demon was weak to lightning," they rambled on with baseless theories.
"Uh... Right. Got it."
And honestly, Lee Han wasn't particularly interested.
"Senior?"
-...This is an extremely complex and difficult-to-explain anomalous phenomenon.
-Right... Ah. I don't even know how to explain this. It's absolutely not because we're ignorant or anything.
The two fourth-year students tiptoed around the explanation as much as possible.
From "the demon got scared after taking a few hits from you and submitted, which might sound like nonsense, but please don't dismiss it outright" to "there's actually some academic evidence..."
They rambled on, starting with baseless claims like "judging by today's cloud formations, it might be a time when demons are unusually weak-willed" to "that demon might be weak against lightning."
"Uh... Right. I see."
And honestly, Lee Han wasn't particularly interested.
What did it matter whether some high-ranking demon blocking the hallway got scared upon seeing Lee Han or not? The important thing was the Spire Stables.
-Oh right! Now you can pass through! That's great!
-Exactly! You can go to the Spire Stables now! Congrats!
Somehow, it felt like the two seniors were in a hurry to send Lee Han away, but he ignored it and asked,
"But, seniors. You mentioned you were working on an assignment—did I interfere with it...?"
They had been preparing a magic circle to subdue a demon, but since the test subject demon had already surrendered, things had gotten tangled.
Lee Han felt unnecessarily guilty.
-Not at all? Actually, it's even better.
"Huh?"
-Since the demon surrendered, we can just take this subdued demon and claim the magic circle worked too. The professor's too lazy to come check in person anyway.
Coholti, excitedly passing down tips to his first-year junior, got his head smacked sharply by Diret.
Thwack!
"Teaching good things, huh? Teaching good things!"
'This is it!'
Following Diret's directions, Lee Han's heart raced at the distant clamor of voices.
Not human voices—but the low growls and cries of various beasts.
The kind of sounds you'd hear in a stable.
'This weekend...!'
As luck would have it, this was the week Amur was coming.
If he could just bring Ponlig out, they could boldly fly away.
Lee Han scanned his surroundings, preparing for any unforeseen circumstances.
'No immediate dangers... but those Death Knights are a problem.'
Due to security measures, Death Knights were stationed near the stables.
They were chatting among themselves, paying no mind to passersby, but Lee Han couldn't let his guard down.
'Those Death Knights. More troublesome than I thought.'
If one suddenly struck up a friendly conversation as he passed, Lee Han's heart would drop to his stomach.
Swoosh—
The wall in front of Lee Han melted away, revealing a familiar figure stepping out from the corridor beyond.
It happened so abruptly that Lee Han didn't even have time to cast an invisibility spell.
"...!"
A bizarre sight—someone with their mouth tightly wrapped in bandages.
It was the Spire Keeper, the headmaster's subordinate and the magic school's caretaker, whom Lee Han had met before.
The Spire Keeper didn't seem startled upon seeing Lee Han, nor did they call the Death Knights. Instead, they gave a light greeting.
'Ah. It's broad daylight.'
Lee Han sighed in relief internally.
Unlike the dead of night, when anyone wandering around would be indiscriminately dragged to the Punishment Hall, the sun was still high in the sky.
Students moving about here and there was perfectly normal, so the Spire Keeper didn't find it particularly odd.
Lee Han prayed the Spire Keeper wouldn't recall that the student before them was a first-year. Even so, a first-year being here would still be a little strange.
What brings you here?
When the Spire Keeper wrote the question on paper and showed it, Lee Han answered immediately.
"I was preparing for my pre-finals assignment and got lost."
Unfortunate. Would you like me to guide you?
"Thank you. Ah, is that the stables over there?"
The Spire Keeper nodded. Lee Han asked with an innocent look in his eyes.
"Would it be possible to take a look inside? Professor Lightning Step's lectures are so difficult—I've been struggling to keep up. I thought seeing the stables might help me understand a little better."
The Spire Keeper frowned.
They couldn't just let a student wander into a restricted facility on a whim.
Lee Han continued with a forlorn expression.
"Never mind. I must've asked too much. Truthfully, unlike my peers who grew up riding horses and are naturally skilled with physical tasks, I've always been clumsy... I suppose I was stubborn out of embarrassment. Please understand."
He delivered the lie so smoothly that if any White Tiger Tower students had heard, they would've thrown their swords at him.
The Spire Keeper hesitated, glancing around before finally nodding with resolve.
Very well. Follow me.
Having been helped by Lee Han in the storage incident before, they couldn't just turn away a student trying so hard to overcome their weaknesses.
Their master would've done the same!