Episode 253
Episode 253
"You haven't had the chance to talk with the Phoenix Tower students yet, have you...?"
"We'll talk with them later. So which field of Healing Magic interests you?"
The two seniors kept bombarding Lee Han with questions without giving him a moment to breathe, trying to distract his mind.
"Ah! You might not have realized yet which field interests you."
"But that's okay! That's exactly why we're here to help. So. What other lectures are you taking? If you tell us what you're studying, we can help you discover your interests."
"Alchemy. Are you taking Alchemy?"
Lee Han, who had been listening to the seniors excitedly talking among themselves, nodded.
"Just as I thought! You're taking Alchemy. Coincidentally, there's a field in Healing Magic deeply connected to Alchemy. Analyzing diseases and creating potions to cure them. That might be an even greater achievement than individual mages treating patients."
"What about Enchantment Magic? Enchantment Magic?"
One senior's question made the other click their tongue as if to say 'what nonsense are you spouting?'
"He said he's taking Alchemy."
"Ah... but he could be taking two subjects."
"You really think so?"
"Didn't the professor say he's so studious that he's taking other lectures too?"
The two seniors, who had been whispering, turned to look at Lee Han. He nodded and answered.
"I'm taking Enchantment Magic too."
"I knew it...!"
"Wait, are you taking Transformation Magic too by any chance?"
"What? You're not going to say you're taking Summoning Magic too, are you?"
"I'm taking both, actually?"
"......"
"......"
At first, the seniors thought it was a joke and were about to laugh, but when Lee Han's expression didn't change, they froze.
...Was he not joking?
"All... huh? Seriously?"
"Is something wrong?"
Lee Han's voice grew slightly rougher.
Even Lee Han was human—seeing his current lecture schedule, no matter how much he controlled his emotions, a flicker of anger inevitably bubbled up.
"Nothing's wrong, but..."
"So that's why Professor Garcia mentioned you..."
When Professor Alkasis had said he was 'taking all the other lectures,' they had assumed he meant one or two extra electives at most. They never imagined it would be to this extent.
The seniors looked at Lee Han with slightly horrified expressions and asked,
"Are there... any lectures left you're not taking?"
"Yes. A few."
With each additional lecture that came out of the underclassman's mouth, the seniors' expressions shifted from shock to outright terror.
This...
This is really...
'...Even if we're short on members, is it really okay to make someone like this take Healing Magic too? Isn't this going too far??'
The two seniors began to genuinely feel pangs of conscience.
Phil and Chil.
Those were the names of the two seniors temporarily in charge of the Healing Magic lecture.
"Are those nicknames?"
"Yeah."
"Why nicknames?"
"You'll understand later, but when Healing Mages go outside, revealing their family or real names never does them any good."
A Healing Mage's identity was better left vague.
If you were skilled, you'd get endless requests for help whenever something happened. If you weren't, you'd get blamed for everything.
If you didn't want to get dragged out on your days off, it was better to use a common, forgettable nickname.
"......"
"......"
The Phoenix Tower students didn't take the seniors' blood-earned advice well.
Instead, they stared at them as if they were insane.
"Avoiding people who ask for help as priests is a bit..."
"Shut up! You're from Phoenix Tower, right? I have a friend from Phoenix Tower, and even they acted like you in their first year. But this is reality!"
If Professor Alkasis had been there, he would've snapped, 'You lunatics, I told you to recruit them, not scare them off!' But unfortunately, the professor wasn't present.
Perhaps still riled up from the Phoenix Tower student's remark, the two seniors exploded with pent-up frustration.
"You need rest to cast magic properly! If they drag you out on your days off just because they need help, is that even magic?!"
"Who said we don't dedicate ourselves to serving the Empire?! We just need our sleep, that's all! I was just like you guys in my first year too—"
The seniors who had been explosively ranting suddenly paused as if coming to their senses.
"...Did I get a little too excited? Of course, there are some minor drawbacks. But Healing Magic has far more advantages."
"Saving lives and receiving heartfelt gratitude."
"Being respected wherever you go in the Empire."
"Not to mention, you rarely get sent to the Punishment Room."
Lee Han thought to himself:
'That's not an advantage...'
Other students might buy it, but Lee Han wasn't fooled.
What could possibly be the reason the Skeleton Principal rarely sent Healing Magic students to the Punishment Room?
It was obvious—they were that short-handed.
"...See? Now you understand how great Healing Magic is, right?"
Having squeezed out every possible advantage, the seniors looked at their juniors with pleading eyes.
Please don't run away!
Our branch will collapse without you!
Fortunately, the freshmen were either kind or naive. Even after hearing such ominous words, they didn't flee.
"Yes!"
"We'll work hard."
"...Thank you, everyone!"
"Just working hard won't be enough, but...!"
'Doll play? That's novel.'
The students were each given a stuffed doll and began fidgeting with them.
Of course, they weren't meant to play with them.
"Heal."
<Minor Puncture Wound Healing>.
It was a healing spell for stab or slash wounds.
While healing spells for internal organs or bones required perfect understanding of their complex structures, wounds on the skin and outer muscles were relatively easier to approach.
That didn't mean the difficulty itself was low.
Just as Enchantment Magic directly applied to people was classified separately as Enhancement Magic, and Illusion Magic directly applied to people was classified separately as Mental Magic, casting spells on living beings was inherently extremely difficult.
Just as first-years initially practiced with specially made strings, these stuffed dolls were similarly crafted training items.
"The difficulty has definitely increased."
Priestess Dijiling wiped the sweat from her brow with her sleeve as he spoke.
His body felt slightly fatigued from mana depletion.
Though reconnecting strings and stitching wounds on stuffed dolls might seem similar at a glance, they were on entirely different levels.
The former involved simple strings, while the latter were dolls modeled after humans.
"It's definitely gotten harder."
Lee Han nodded and set down his stuffed doll.
Not only had he healed puncture wounds effortlessly, but he'd also mended the doll's broken arm—a fracture—without breaking a sweat.
"......"
Priestess Dijiling stared intently at Lee Han.
"I do believe in your good intentions, Lord Lee Han... but don't you think others might get upset if you say things like that?"
"Huh? Why?"
Of course, even fractures were technically part of today's objectives.
But none of the seniors who'd set those goals had expected anyone to heal fractures.
Healing puncture wounds alone was already considered doing well.
Yet Lee Han, leveraging his massive mana reserves, control honed from other magic disciplines, and even his understanding of bones from Black Magic, had secretly progressed to healing fractures while the seniors weren't looking.
"That's... not what I meant."
"?"
Priestess Dijiling changed the subject.
"By the way, there's going to be an event at the Order during the break. Would you be interested?"
"Of course."
Lee Han was very interested in making a good impression on the Order's priests.
So much so that he didn't limit himself to just one Order but believed in multiple.
"...Wait. But can I ask what kind of event it is?"
Come to think of it, the Prisinga Order specialized in curses.
To be more specific, it was an Order particularly interested in wearing cursed Artifacts.
"If it's a curse related to mana, I'd be willing to wear it anytime, but other types of curses are a bit..."
"It's a regular event. We invite devotees, serve meals, hold prayers..."
'Thankfully ordinary.'
"...and have them wear cursed artifacts they've brought. Those that can't be worn are destroyed..."
"......"
Lee Han paused, dumbfounded.
'Wait. If they're being destroyed, can I take them?'
Of course, lifting curses wouldn't be easy, but if he could manage to remove them, it might turn out better than expected.
"By any chance, would it be alright to take the artifacts meant for destruction?"
"It doesn't matter, but... are you planning to wear even more?"
Priestess Dijiling looked at him with eyes that said, 'No matter how deep your faith is, overloading yourself with cursed items won't do you any good.'
Naturally, Lee Han had no such intention, but...
"I've been caught. My devoutness."
"You two. Stop chatting and focus on your magic."
The seniors who had returned from assisting other students admonished Lee Han and Dijiling.
Lee Han nodded.
"My apologies."
"There's nothing to apologize for. You're not upset that I gave you advice, right? If you are, I'll apologize. Please don't take it the wrong way."
"...Ah. Yes."
Overwhelmed by the senior's desperate tone, Lee Han nodded. Of course, he wasn't upset.
"Phew. Seems fine, doesn't it?"
"Yeah. He still seems interested in healing magic."
Relieved, the two seniors walked off, chatting among themselves.
Because of that, they failed to notice one crucial fact—
That Lee Han had secretly healed every single stitching and laceration on the doll when no one was looking!
Lee Han yawned as he walked toward the tower. Having been absorbed in lectures all day, the sky had already darkened.
'I still have those eggs I brought from the cabin last time—should I make an omelet or scrambled eggs... How many loaves of bread were left? Maybe I'll slice and fry them with butter tonight. After dinner, I'll study summoning magic too.'
"Strike it!"
"Push through!"
"...Don't you guys have assignments?"
Lee Han was at a loss for words watching the White Tiger Tower students bump shoulders while playing polo.
Originally, it was a game where players rode horses and struck a ball with long sticks, but without horses, they could just run with sticks and hit the ball.
The White Tiger Tower students were currently doing the latter.
"Why... why such harsh words? What did we ever do to you?"
"...I just asked if you'd done your assignments. Did I say anything else?"
For a moment, Lee Han wondered if he'd insulted the White Tiger Tower students' families or something.
"Wardanaz. The body and mind are connected—you need to exercise the body for the mind to work."
"Hey... but Wardanaz is ranked first."
A White Tiger Tower student poked his friend's side upon realizing the flaw in his logic.
"...Wanna join a round?"
"I'll pass."
Lee Han declined.
There was no need to test his physical limits through polo.
He was already pushing his own physical limits as it was.
Thwack!
"Agh!"
No sooner had he spoken than one of the White Tiger Tower students was sent flying. Lee Han clicked his tongue and approached.
"Do you guys get itchy if you don't cause accidents?"
"My... my ankle..."
"Stay still."
Lee Han checked the fallen student's ankle. It was clearly in bad shape.
'First aid first, then take him to the infirmary.'
"Hold on."
"Call Professor Garcia! Get Professor Garcia!"
"...Huh."
Lee Han froze.
As if this happened often, the White Tiger Tower students immediately tried to summon Professor Garcia.
...Did I cast magic for nothing?
'If I knew they'd call the professor, I wouldn't have bothered with first aid.'
The student with the broken ankle, groaning in pain, soon realized he'd been healed and gave Lee Han an awkward look.
-Shouldn't you have stopped them?
That was exactly the expression he wore.
Lee Han pretended not to see and ignored it.
They're your friends—you stop them!