Episode 266
Episode 266
"Still, it wasn't anything particularly impressive."
"Observation skills are important."
Professor Voladi didn't dismiss emotion perception magic as trivial.
A duel between mages was a clash of two different worlds.
To gain the upper hand in such a clash, one needed the insight to first decipher the opponent's world.
"And I assume you've also learned emotion control magic."
"......"
Though he'd been prepared for it, knowing it was already exposed left a rather bitter taste.
"It may not work well on mages, but it's useful magic against those who don't know how to handle mana."
"?"
Lee Han paused.
'But it worked on all the Blue Dragon Tower students?'
Lee Han clicked his tongue at his friends.
Just how carelessly and complacently must they have been living for mages to fall for such magic?
"Continue practicing. Your Transformation Magic is still steel, I presume."
"Yes."
Professor Voladi seemed more familiar with the Transformation Magic curriculum than the students learning it.
The current Transformation Magic lectures focused on the most basic application—changing the clothes a mage normally wore into steel.
Items worn on the body were easier to transform due to familiarity, and steel was one of the most accessible and common materials for mages.
Swish!
With a sharp sound, Professor Voladi flicked a handkerchief from an unseen angle. The handkerchief transformed into steel and flew at him like a whip.
Lee Han, who had been maintaining constant vigilance the moment he saw Professor Voladi, reacted immediately. Throwing his cloak, he shouted:
"To steel, my mantle!"
Fortunately, he made it in time. The handkerchief struck the cloak and fell.
Professor Voladi, who had nearly struck his student's chin, spoke calmly.
"Increase your speed."
"Yes..."
Lee Han almost said, 'Could you stop with the ambushes?' but held back.
It would've been no different from talking to the Blue Dragon Tower's walls.
"Don't be too greedy with Divination Magic and Healing Magic."
"Yes... Huh?"
Lee Han, who had been listening quietly, suddenly stopped.
Not 'Divine the future a thousand years from now' or 'Prepare to recover even if you get a few holes blown through your body,' but 'Don't be too greedy'?
'If anyone heard this, they'd think I was being greedy...'
"What do you mean by 'don't be greedy'?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. Divination Magic is unstable and capricious. If you force a casting, you could pay a hefty price."
"......"
Lee Han, who had already used Divination Magic several times, couldn't help but feel uneasy.
'So Divination Magic really is dangerous.'
Of course, everyone he met said Divination Magic was dangerous, but when Professor Voladi called it dangerous, the weight behind it was different.
It really was an insanely dangerous magic!
"Huh? Then is Healing Magic also unstable and capricious?"
Lee Han, who had been nodding along, asked with a puzzled expression.
"It's different."
The reason for not being too greedy with Healing Magic was similar yet distinct from Divination Magic.
Healing Magic was fundamentally a spell that, until one had accumulated enough experience to be truly competent, would only backfire if used recklessly.
Trying to heal injuries without proper skill would only make them worse.
"I see."
Lee Han felt grateful to Professor Garcia for keeping his secret.
It seemed he'd have to hide the fact that he'd already successfully used Healing Magic on a person until the day he died.
Professor Voladi didn't assign any specific homework but offered various pieces of advice regarding other magics.
-Learn to animate skeletons and enhance them by combining poison and curses.
-Master Ogonin's Illusion Magic—it will be helpful. Aim to reach 4th Circle proficiency as quickly as possible.
-I heard you've completed the steel shield. Now try casting it without the aid of a magic circle.
'Just give me homework instead.'
Of course, Lee Han only thought this to himself. If he said it out loud, Professor Voladi would absolutely assign him real homework.
"Be careful with your Fire Magic."
"Excuse me?"
Lee Han raised his head.
The advice had come out of nowhere.
While Fire Magic was one of the most widely known forms of Elemental Magic, Lee Han's situation was slightly different.
Due to the nature of fire elements, a mage with an abnormally large mana capacity like Lee Han could easily become an arsonist with the slightest mistake.
Because of this, whenever Lee Han used Fire Magic, he always took maximum precautions—wearing multiple cursed, no, flame-reducing artifacts in layers and deliberately keeping the scale of his spells small to ensure safety.
Professor Voladi should know that, so why...?
"I'm always careful, though?"
"You should be even more cautious."
According to Professor Voladi, traces of flame energy were gradually being detected in the school's mana flow.
Natural mana was always strongly influenced by environmental factors.
In scorching summers, flame energy would rise.
In freezing winters, icy energy would dominate.
Einrogard, renowned throughout the empire for its dense mana, was inevitably more susceptible to seasonal influences.
"But summer hasn't even arrived yet. Is it really that dangerous?"
"It must be because of the festival."
"Excuse me?"
"The Phoenix Festival. The students must be celebrating it already."
Mages were those who could change the world with their will.
Naturally, any ritual conducted by mages—whether intentional or subconscious—would affect their surroundings.
A festival commemorating the phoenix to welcome early summer would inevitably amplify the power of flames.
"......"
Lee Han was speechless.
The festival was already making the atmosphere chaotic and disorderly, and now he had to suffer additional consequences like this?
He was already starting to hate the festival.
Swordsmanship class.
...One hour before it began.
Lee Han mercilessly struck the backs of the White Tiger Tower students with the branch he was holding.
"You call that calculation? Again! If you mix the potion like that, the cauldron will melt and develop holes!"
Having promised to help the White Tiger Tower students with their studies, Lee Han was assisting his friends before swordsmanship class began.
Of course, the White Tiger Tower students were utterly miserable.
"Short break. Rest for five minutes, then we continue. Don't leave your seats!"
"What's wrong with that Wardanaz bastard? He's several times more ruthless than usual!"
"Who pissed off Wardanaz?"
"Did someone get caught badmouthing him?"
"Damn it, I told you not to insult him!"
The White Tiger Tower students whispered in shock and horror.
Being tormented with comments like, 'Your potion is so diluted you'd get arrested if you tried selling it!' was driving them insane.
At this point, they'd almost prefer it if Lee Han just resorted to violence.
Fundamentally, White Tiger Tower students weren't accustomed to sitting still and studying for long periods.
"Wardanaz. You might not get it, but we're from knightly families. Academics just don't suit our constit—"
"Shut up and sit down, or get hit and sit down?"
"......"
Giselle, who usually found everything Lee Han did irritating, felt differently this time.
'Keep insulting them, Wardanaz. Insult them more.'
Giselle didn't regret joining the White Tiger Tower, but there were moments when she felt disappointed.
One of those was not being able to hit her fellow tower students as hard as she wanted.
Seeing these slackers, who usually avoided studying like the plague, suddenly scrambling to focus just because Wardanaz was here...
"What are you all doing?"
The elf professor, Ingoldel, asked in bewilderment.
In the sacred swordsmanship training area, students had set up tables and were groaning in distress.
"Professor!!"
The students were so overjoyed to see the professor arrive thirty minutes early that they nearly shed tears.
"Wardanaz... is forcing me to study..."
"Ah."
Professor Ingoldel looked at Lee Han and said,
"You're doing a good thing for your friends. Even though they're not from your tower. I'm touched."
"Not at all, Professor. We're comrades training in swordsmanship together."
At Lee Han's hypocritical words, Professor Ingoldel was deeply moved. The White Tiger Tower student beside them, perhaps sensing something ominous, hastily spoke up.
"Since you're here early, why don't we start the lecture now!"
"No, there's still time left. Study a bit more. I'll wait here with you."
"......"
"......"
The White Tiger Tower students were drowning in sorrow and misery. Professor Ingoldel spoke calmly.
"Since ancient times, those who learn swordsmanship have often neglected their studies. You must not follow that path."
"Yes..."
After somehow enduring the full additional 30 minutes of study, the White Tiger Tower students stretched and rose from their seats.
Their bodies felt as if they'd turned to stone from sitting so long.
Professor Ingoldel waited for them with sword in hand, smiling.
"You've all worked hard studying. I was wondering how well you're preparing for your final exams?"
"No need to worry about us!"
"That's right. The mountain range feels like a garden to us now."
'These shameless bastards.'
'What ridiculous bravado.'
Lee Han and Giselle were appalled by their White Tiger Tower friends' declarations.
These were the same guys who'd had one foot in the grave when the Curare Lizard appeared last time—their audacity was at the level of having iron plates for faces.
"That's a relief to hear. But just in case you might need some help... I've invited some special guests today."
"!"
"Could it be the White Poplar Knights?"
The students wondered if the White Poplar Knights from last time had returned.
"How would they help? They probably know nothing about the mountains."
"Let's drag them to where the Curare Lizard appeared last time."
'Are these guys really knights?'
Lee Han was speechless at the sight of his White Tiger Tower friends plotting revenge after their defeat.
"Not the White Poplar Knights. These guests."
At Professor Ingoldel's call, two unfamiliar outsiders stepped forward.
Though they'd seen many adventurers in the village yesterday, these visitors' equipment was incomparably superior.
While their gear appeared rough and worn, complex mana emanated from within. They were undoubtedly Artifacts.
The potion bottles and tools at their belts, their steady gait and posture...
'Are they famous adventurers?'
"This gentleman is Baishada from the Shadow Patrol. And this lady is Ghetse from the Wasteland Star-Catchers."
"!"
Lee Han was stunned.
He'd heard about the Shadow Patrol so often from Nilia that it was practically drilled into his ears—he knew very well they were the patrolmen of the northern mountain ranges.
The Wasteland Star-Catchers patrolled the western wastelands of the empire.
Both were outstanding groups, but their recognition differed drastically.
With its cool name, the relatively attention-grabbing western region as their base, and a history of producing empire-wide celebrities, the Wasteland Star-Catchers frequently appeared in fairy tales and imperial newspapers—their fame was incomparable to the Shadow Patrol.
-Those damn Wasteland Star-Catchers are seriously unfair! Seriously, seriously unfair bastards! They must've bribed the imperial newspapers! We dedicate ourselves to the mountain villagers without ever descending, while those bastards just wander the wastelands and lounge in villages! Yet they put on the grandest act in the empire!
'Hmm. Better not mention this to Nilia.'
She was already stressed about finals—hearing the Wasteland Star-Catchers were here might make her collapse.
"These two will advise you on how to spot monsters and strategies for dealing with them."
Before Professor Ingoldel even finished speaking, the White Tiger Tower students had already begun subtly shifting positions.
Naturally, they gravitated toward Ghetse of the Wasteland Star-Catchers.
In contrast, Baishada of the Shadow Patrol stood quietly, as if expecting no attention.
"...!"
Baishada was startled.
Three students had gathered before him.
"Moradi. We decided by majority vote, so no complaints."
"How is this a majority vote when Durgyu is on your side...!"
"If you're unhappy, go bribe Durgyu too."
"I-I wasn't bribed. I just thought it'd be better to learn from someone in the Shadow Patrol."