Episode 25
Episode 25
'No way. It can't be.'
Lee Han tightly shut his eyes.
But reality was merciless.
Caught! In the very first week! Haha! Hahaha!
"...Wh-what on earth?!"
Nilia, who hadn't fully grasped the situation yet, asked in a trembling voice.
Lee Han calmly replied.
"Seems like we've fallen into the Headmaster's trap."
No matter what method Giselle had used to find an escape route, it was clear they'd been dancing on the Headmaster's palm all along.
The problem wasn't just that Giselle had been caught—it was that Lee Han's group had followed right after her!
Coming up here in the first week means you definitely saw the fake map I made and scattered! Today, you'll learn a valuable lesson! Never trust maps of dubious origin! You never know if that treasure map is real or just a trap set by a wicked Lich!
"......"
"......"
What kind of bastard even does that?
Lee Han was utterly dumbfounded.
So the Skeleton Principal himself had made fake escape maps and scattered them everywhere?
Without even knowing when—or if—new students would pick them up, he'd gone and done something like that...
'No matter how you look at it, he's just enjoying himself.'
Though he claimed it was all for the students' education, Lee Han knew professors like him all too well.
This was pure amusement for him.
Students of White Tiger Tower! Listen well! The escape is over. Now begins the return phase. The rules are simple. I won't intervene directly—I'll send pursuers instead. Evade them and return to the tower! If caught, you're guilty. If you escape, you're innocent! Any method is allowed. You can even defeat my pursuers if you wish!
As his words echoed, a massive skeleton materialized in the dark night sky, glowing with eerie green light.
And from its gaping maw, the skeleton began spewing forth undead summons.
Bone hounds and trackers started raining down onto the mountain one after another.
Thud!
Lights flickered to life across the area—the skeletal creatures igniting torches.
The hunt had begun.
"Let's run!!!"
Nilia whispered urgently.
Her pupils were trembling, dyed with terror.
"Nilia. Calm down."
"How can I calm down?! If we're caught, we might die!"
"No. We won't die."
Unlike Lee Han, who was accustomed to insane professors and had even had private conversations with the Headmaster a few times, the Skeleton Principal was an overwhelmingly terrifying figure to Nilia.
From Lee Han's perspective, the Headmaster was just having fun, but to Nilia, he seemed enraged by the freshmen's audacious and horrific crime.
"R-really?"
"At worst, we'll just end up in the Punishment Room or something."
"Th-the Punishment Room!? With torture devices inside... where you're trapped forever...?"
"Doubt it's that bad."
Nilia had a vivid imagination—just not in a good way. Lee Han covered her mouth with his hand and quickly assessed their surroundings.
'Skeletons?'
Rustling sounds came from the bushes as something pushed through—bone trackers moving through the undergrowth.
Growl! Growl!
The snarls of bone hounds echoed nearby.
"Run!! If they chase us, we'll take them down!"
"For honor! For chivalry!"
The White Tiger Tower students roared, drawing wooden swords.
Clearly, they'd decided to stand and fight now that things had come to this.
'Though I don't see how honor or chivalry has anything to do with this situation.'
Lee Han was mildly curious how sneaking out of school and getting caught related to honor or chivalry, but...
"Seems like there's only one thing to do now, right?"
Durgyu asked in a low voice.
In this situation, which tower they belonged to no longer mattered.
They had to join forces and repel the enemy!
"Well said, Durgyu."
"Alright. I'll step forward—"
"While those guys draw their attention, let's make our escape."
"......"
Durgyu stared at Lee Han with a look of utter disbelief.
But Nilia, Yoner, and Gainando immediately agreed.
""Good idea!""
"......"
Durgyu bit back whatever he was about to say. After all, the leader of their group right now wasn't Durgyu—it was Lee Han.
'We need to break through where the encirclement is thinnest.'
Observation.
Lee Han suppressed the urge to charge out immediately. No matter the situation, patience and waiting were often better than panicking and rushing.
He waited to identify the weakest point in the encirclement.
Fortunately, the White Tiger Tower students were buying time by shouting and charging ahead.
They couldn't afford to waste this opportunity.
'No, wait—this is way too much, isn't it?!'
Lee Han, crouched in the bushes, holding his breath as he observed, was stunned.
The undead summons pouring endlessly from the skull floating in the dark night sky showed no sign of stopping.
The sheer numbers were overwhelming, as if they intended to crush any chance of escape through sheer force.
'...I underestimated the Headmaster's madness!'
Lee Han inwardly lamented.
The Headmaster was even crazier than he'd thought.
He had assumed the Headmaster would give them some leeway, considering his declaration that "capture means guilt, escape means innocence."
But to block them off this thoroughly...
Then again, maybe the Headmaster genuinely believed this was giving them a chance.
'Professors' thought processes are twisted in some way.'
The Skeleton Principal might honestly be thinking, This much is necessary for the students to grow by breaking through this encirclement.
The problem was that Lee Han was the one who had to break through.
'This is... Even if the White Tiger Tower kids distract them, it won't matter. Should we just surrender?'
Every possible path downward was now guarded by Bone Trackers, who had begun lighting torches.
Behind them, more Bone Trackers.
And behind them, even more Bone Trackers...
The sheer numbers made the lower slopes of the mountain feel as bright as midday.
'Wait.'
As he agonized, Lee Han noticed something odd.
The Bone Trackers leading the Bone Hounds were completely ignoring his group.
'That's strange...'
Sure, Lee Han's group was hidden in the bushes, and the White Tiger Tower students were frantically running downhill, drawing all the attention.
But if the Headmaster knew they were hiding here, shouldn't the Bone Hounds be sniffing around or closing in?
Instead, the Bone Hounds and Bone Trackers were chasing only the White Tiger Tower students, rushing downward.
'Don't tell me... the Headmaster doesn't know we're here?'
Lee Han had naturally assumed the Headmaster knew where they were hiding.
After all, the Headmaster was a mage on an entirely different level.
But what if the Headmaster wasn't actually here?
"I won't intervene directly—I'll send trackers instead. Evade them and return to the tower!"
Now that he thought about it, there was no way to confirm whether the giant skull floating in the sky was the real Headmaster or not.
It wouldn't be strange if he'd sent a remote projection or an illusion.
'In that case, all we need to do is avoid the trackers' eyes!'
Sneaking out unnoticed was far better than being caught and forced to flee.
"...Let's go up."
"What?!"
"Down is impossible right now. Look at the numbers. The moment we clash, all the trackers will swarm us."
At Lee Han's words, Nilia's eyelashes fluttered.
"But there are no trackers above. Let's climb higher and either circle around or hold out. That's much more feasible."
"Got it!"
"?"
Even Lee Han was taken aback by how easily Nilia agreed.
"I was the one who suggested it, but... Shouldn't you at least think about it? We don't know what's up there."
"Being caught and locked in the torture devices of the Punishment Room would be far worse!"
"...As I said before, I think you're misunderstanding something."
After carefully climbing upwards for about 30 minutes.
Nilia spoke in a low voice.
"It's a cave. Let's go inside."
"What about monsters?"
"There aren't any. It's a small cave, and there's no sign of life at all. I threw a stone in to check."
Nilia tapped her long ears as she spoke.
"We've moved around too much now. I'm fine, but the others probably need to rest."
"That seems like a good idea."
While Nilia, Lee Han, and Durgyu were fine, Yoner looked exhausted, and Gainando was on the verge of death.
Having walked continuously in the dark and then fleeing while tense to evade pursuit, it wouldn't be strange if they collapsed right now.
"Light, arise!"
As they entered the cave, Lee Han cast a spell. A blazing light, bright as the sun, filled the cavern.
Yoner hung his coat over the cave entrance to prevent the light from leaking outside.
"Surely... they wouldn't chase us this far, right?"
"Don't worry. We didn't hear any sounds of pursuit on the way up. They must all be gathered at the lower part of the mountain."
Nilia reassured Yoner.
Fortunately, what Lee Han had said was true.
The Summons called forth by the Headmaster hadn't noticed Lee Han's group, nor had they ascended further up the mountain.
"The real question is how long those Summons will stay there."
"Maybe I should have just forced my way through."
When Durgyu spoke with a hint of regret, Lee Han shook his head.
"No. Breaking through by force would have been impossible."
"Why's that?"
"Given the Headmaster's personality, he definitely wouldn't leave such an obvious gap exposed."
"......"
"......"
The other students thought, 'How do you know that?' but out of respect for Lee Han's opinion, they kept their mouths shut.
"Whether we wait for them to disappear or find a way around, right now, we need to rest. Let's eat something first."
"Agreed!"
Lee Han distributed the sausages, bread, and cheese he had brought to everyone.
Gainando tossed a dwarf-style honey candy into his mouth, closed his eyes, and savored it. It seemed like he had been craving sweets for days, the longing bone-deep.
"Oh no. We're out of water..."
Nilia pulled out her leather water pouch with a troubled expression. The water had run out after all the walking.
"Don't worry. We have magic."
"!"
"Spring forth!"
As Lee Han swung his staff and shouted, a mass of water formed out of thin air.
Nilia hurriedly pressed her leather pouch against it.
"That's truly amazing, Lee Han!"
Durgyu exclaimed in admiration.
Coming from a knightly family, Durgyu was slower at learning magic compared to other Tower students, so Lee Han's magic seemed like a miraculous feat to him.
Gainando and Yoner also clapped their hands and cheered like children.
"My throat was just getting dry!"
"Thanks, I'll drink well."
Nilia filled her leather pouch tightly and carefully sealed it. Then she said enviously,
"I wish I could learn water magic too..."
"You'll pick it up quickly once you get the hang of it."
Lee Han spoke sincerely.
In truth, it wasn't that difficult a spell—once you grasped the sensation, it was easy to use.
"I hope so."
Nilia said this, then picked up her staff and chanted an incantation.
"Flame, arise!"
Whoosh!
A small spark ignited in the air, then settled onto the kindling Nilia had gathered.
With a crackling sound, a cozy campfire was born.
Exclamations of relief rose from all around, as everyone's hands and feet had been frozen stiff from the cold night journey.
"Whew. I'm glad it worked on the first try. I succeeded last time, but I was still nervous."
Nilia, who seemed to have an affinity for fire, had successfully cast the Flame Creation spell in one go.
Then she looked at Lee Han and said,
"I'm jealous. I'd rather have water magic than fire."
"......"
"...W-what? Why?!"
Nilia stammered in confusion as Lee Han stared at her.
Did I say something wrong?!