Episode 273
Episode 273
'Maybe the professor was right after all.'
As Lee Han finished his work in the garden and headed back, that thought crossed his mind.
Right now, the Phoenix was wreaking havoc and destroying everyone's focus on their studies, but obsessing over it might have been a mistake.
Trying to stop something that couldn't be stopped would only bring frustration.
Perhaps it was better to accept the Phoenix as an unavoidable force, like the Skeleton Principal, and just focus on what needed to be done.
"Wardanaz!! Wardanaz!!!"
Students from the White Tiger Tower came running toward Lee Han as he approached the cabin.
Since there was rarely any movement around here, Lee Han gave a warning first.
"Hold on. Stop right there. Don't come any closer."
"This isn't the time for that!! Come with us!!"
"That just makes you more suspicious."
"...Ah! I swear it's not a trick!! Just trust me, pleaaase!!!"
The White Tiger Tower student gritted his teeth and rolled around on the ground in desperation.
His pitiful display even shocked the friend standing next to him.
"...Alright, fine. Lead the way."
If this was an act, it was so convincing that Lee Han felt compelled to follow, even if it turned out to be a trap.
"......"
"......"
Lee Han was too stunned to speak.
The students from the various towers who had gathered earlier wore similar expressions.
Whoosh—!
The storage room containing the final exam assignments for Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic was engulfed in flames.
"...Wasn't the storage room supposed to be fireproof? How is it burning?"
"They say the Phoenix broke in and started rolling around inside."
"......"
Even if the outer walls were enchanted against fire, there was no way to withstand the flames once the door was opened and the creature started rampaging inside.
Lee Han glanced around.
Some students had lost their minds and were laughing hysterically, while others were sobbing and pounding the ground with their fists.
Given that the Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic final exam had just gone up in flames, their reactions were understandable.
"Let's put out the fire first."
"Huh? Uh... Uhh."
"Isn't that impossible right now?"
Though the students murmured in doubt, Lee Han answered with action.
He summoned water from the air and hurled it at the flames.
It was a simple spell, but continuously conjuring massive volumes of water against the Phoenix's flames was something only Lee Han could do.
After repeating the process dozens of times, the fire finally subsided. Lee Han stared at the charred remains of the storage room with a bitter expression.
'All that hard work...'
"This won't do."
"???"
"Let's catch the Phoenix first, then study."
"Wardanaz...!"
The students' eyes widened at Lee Han's words.
Did he seriously intend to hunt the Phoenix?
"I'll join you!"
"I offer you my sword, Wardanaz!"
"At this point, who cares about the final exam?!"
"That's going too far."
"Uhh, yeah."
Of course, no matter how furious he was, Lee Han wasn't foolish enough to go after the Phoenix with just his friends.
"Professor. Would you mind helping us hunt the Phoenix?"
"...Excuse me?"
Professor Garcia was baffled, but he didn't outright refuse or try to dissuade them.
"While I do believe such experiences help mages grow... isn't hunting a Phoenix a bit too extreme?"
"We plan to ask the other professors for help as well."
At Lee Han's words, Professor Garcia hesitated.
'This probably won't work.'
Generally, professors at the magic school weren't fond of helping students.
There was an old doctrine that mages must seek knowledge on their own to grow, but Professor Garcia privately suspected it was more because they found it bothersome to assist students with every little thing.
"Um, Lee Han. The truth is, the professors are busier than you'd think..."
Professor Garcia tried to persuade him gently, not wanting to hurt his feelings.
But Lee Han already knew.
"I'm aware."
Professors were meant to assign tasks to students, not help them with their problems.
But sometimes there are exceptions.
BANG!
"Professor Verdus! Please help us freshmen!"
"What? No way!"
As they entered the Sacred Pavilion Hall, Professor Verdus—who was in the middle of working with a hammer and chisel—flatly refused without hesitation.
Unfazed, Lee Han pressed on.
"If you help us, I'll assist you with your work too!"
"Well then, I'm in!"
Professor Verdus leaped up from his chair in excitement.
Watching this, Professor Garcia grew concerned and asked,
"Um, Lee Han? Professor Verdus is one of the busiest among the faculty..."
No matter how much they needed Verdus's help, making such a reckless promise was dangerous.
"No need to worry."
"??"
"We haven't specified what kind of work yet. I'll just handle something simple and then make an excuse."
"......"
Professor Garcia blinked rapidly.
"...So, you're saying you're going to deceive him?"
"Not at all, Professor. It's not deception—it's clever rhetoric. I'm sure the Headmaster would agree."
"......"
Professor Garcia couldn't help but question whether their character education was truly effective.
BANG!
"Professor Bagrak! We're planning to hunt a phoenix—could you lend us a hand?"
Professor Voladi, who had been sitting quietly, raised an eyebrow slightly before nodding and standing up.
Then, noticing the gathered students, he gave them a mildly puzzled look.
"I thought this was supposed to be a one-on-one match?"
"...I'm not quite at that level yet."
At first, Professor Garcia had thought it might be fine, but with both Professor Verdus and Professor Bagrak joining in, his perspective changed.
Of course, Einrogard's professors were only supposed to help students within "appropriate" limits.
If students asked them to defeat a phoenix, they couldn't just do it for them.
But if multiple professors provided "appropriate" levels of assistance, the situation would be different.
And really, who would complain if they helped just a little more when no one was watching...
Alright! I'll join in too!
"......"
"......"
The previously warm and lively atmosphere among the first-year students froze over in an instant.
The Skeleton Principal, noticing the sudden shift, asked as if puzzled.
Why is everyone acting like this?
"I believe they're overwhelmed with gratitude that you've offered to help, Headmaster."
You little... Fine. I understand completely.
The Skeleton Principal spoke magnanimously. Meanwhile, Lee Han inwardly cursed.
'Damn it. I should've found a way to block the Death Knights' sight.'
There was no way the Headmaster had come just to help.
He must have heard from the Death Knights about the professors assisting them and came to interfere.
How petty!
Well then... How exactly do you plan to catch a phoenix? Go on, tell me. Surely an Einrogard student wouldn't rely on professors without any plan of their own?
"That's not it."
Shh!
Before Professor Garcia could speak, the Skeleton Principal swiftly covered his mouth.
Quiet! I won't allow any secret coded conversations between you!
"There's nothing like that..."
Whether Professor Garcia was baffled or not, the Skeleton Principal remained thorough.
Among the professors here, Garcia was the only one who would help Lee Han.
'Are the other professors not stopping him? ...Hmm. No need, I suppose.'
Lee Han glanced at Professors Verdus and Voladi and nodded in understanding.
Seeing them, he realized why the Headmaster wasn't interfering.
"Of course I've already thought of a plan."
At first glance, capturing a phoenix—a creature with near-invincible regenerative abilities that doesn't even register most attacks—seemed impossible.
But every living being has a weakness, and phoenixes are no exception.
First, weaken its regeneration, then strike and subdue it.
'A good method, but beyond my current capabilities.'
He couldn't even begin to guess what high-level magic would be needed to diminish a phoenix's regenerative power.
Another method was to exhaust the phoenix's stamina.
To be precise, it was the phoenix's mana. As a phantasmal beast, the phoenix moved by drawing upon its own vast reserves of mana.
If this mana could be depleted to the greatest extent possible, the phoenix would have no choice but to be forcibly recalled to another dimension.
"...This is how we deplete its mana."
So he had given it some thought after all. Reckless, but still.
The Skeleton Principal didn't outright dismiss it as nonsense, but neither did he call it a good plan.
It was far too crude to be considered a good method.
The idea of exhausting a phantasmal beast's immense mana reserves until its power ran dry—
It sounded fine in theory, but the likelihood of the person attempting it collapsing first was far higher.
Of course, among the methods available to first-year students right now, this was still the only viable one...
"Then we'll proceed. Professor Verdus, please cast Flame Resistance spells on the students."
"Huh? All of them?"
Professor Verdus, who had been standing quietly, startled and asked again in surprise.
"No way. What a waste of mana."
A mage's mana was a precious resource. Especially for someone like Professor Verdus, who spent every waking moment obsessively crafting artifacts without a second to spare.
A mage who wasted mana like water was the odd one—being this meticulous about conservation was the norm.
"Don't worry. Professor Garcia!"
"I'm listening, Lee Han."
"Please absorb my mana."
"Underst—wait, what?"
The students buzzed in shock. Even the Skeleton Principal gave him a stunned look before asking—
...Had he ever had his mana absorbed before?
"No?!"
Professor Garcia recoiled in horror.
For a mage, mana was akin to life itself. Absorbing someone else's mana without permission could easily be misconstrued.
And when the other party was a student, one had to be even more cautious.
"There's no way I'd do something like that!"
True. You're not Vible, and you're not the type to pull such a stunt. My apologies.
"I never did that!"
Professor Verdus grumbled. Watching this, Lee Han suddenly recalled something.
'Wait. Didn't Professor Voladi try to absorb my mana once?'
Hadn't she attempted a Mana Drain because she couldn't control the iron pellets due to his excessive mana?
Lee Han shot Professor Voladi a bewildered look. Sensing his gaze, she tilted her head in confusion.
"So you want a one-on-one duel after all?"
"...No."
"I see."
Lee Han turned his attention back to Professor Garcia.
"You can absorb my mana and then transfer it to Professor Verdus."
"Is that really necessary?"
Professor Garcia looked extremely reluctant.
Was it really?
Even the Skeleton Principal wondered if this was truly needed. It wasn't as if Professor Verdus was on the verge of collapse from mana deficiency—was it really worth going this far?
Professor Verdus, however, paid no heed and thrust out his arm.
"Hurry up and give me the mana."
For once, just shut up and take it.
Just as blood transfusions were no simple matter, transferring mana to another person was equally challenging.
A mage's inner world was its own universe.
Handing over the very elements that maintained the order of that world inevitably led to conflict.
Naturally, a mage of Professor Garcia's caliber could mitigate that clash.
Whoooosh—
A sphere of condensed mana formed in the air, roughly the size of a human head.
But the amount of mana contained within was anything but ordinary. It was a compressed orb of pure mana, filtered and refined of all attributes and lingering thoughts.
"Lee Han, tell me if it's too much."
"I'm fine, Professor. It's nothing."
"...Next time, just pretend it's difficult."
"?!"
Lee Han belatedly realized his mistake.
"Then, I'll begin the transfer."
A thread extended from the mana sphere, connecting to Professor Verdus.
"Power... power...!"
Could you receive it a little more quietly?
The Skeleton Principal chided him.
"I think this should be enough?"
Already?
"Yep! Plenty."
Professor Verdus was greedy by nature, but he wasn't the type to cut corners just to finish quickly for a student's sake.
The Skeleton Principal and Professor Garcia, who knew this all too well, exchanged glances.
'The purity of his mana...'
'...Just how high is it?'