Episode 282
Episode 282
"...Excellent. I'll give you full marks."
"Thank you."
To the left.
To the right.
Three spins in place, followed by a somersault.
And finally, an elegant ballet pose.
Fortunately, Gonadaltes kindly obeyed Lee Han's commands, which might have been considered excessive by some.
"Thanks, Gonadaltes."
The Skeleton Warrior nodded hastily, almost as if it were nervously gauging the situation.
"You may return no—"
Poof!
As the skeleton vanished, Lee Han tilted his head in confusion.
"Something feels off."
"The skeleton doing ballet?"
Gainando gave Lee Han a look that said, You're only realizing this now?
"No. The professor's expression."
Lee Han could read the professor's emotions as easily as he could a spirit's—if not more so.
In fact, the professor was even easier to read than a spirit.
Because the professor was far more blatant.
"Well, obviously."
"?"
"You named the Skeleton Warrior that."
The others nodded in agreement. Lee Han was puzzled.
"It's not like this is the first time you've heard it?"
"Some things never get easier to hear, no matter how many times you do."
While they were chatting, Gainando's turn arrived.
"Gainando. Be careful."
"Yeah."
Gainando, who had been about to step forward with a tense expression, looked touched by his friends' encouragement.
"Don't push yourself and cause an accident. Just give up when it's too much and come back."
"Don't even think about trying to show off alone. You're not a Wardanaz."
"......"
Watching his friends—who had already failed their first attempts—trying to drag him down, Gainando snorted dismissively.
"Hmph! You losers!"
"Gainando... You'll end up back here too..."
"Gainando. When you swing your staff, do you swing it clockwise or counterclockwise? Try to remember."
Lee Han was impressed.
These guys might have been terrible at magic, but they were first-rate when it came to sabotage.
"But I've already figured out the method."
Gainando was confident in his own way. Thanks to his friends' earlier attempts, he had a hint.
Nilia had succeeded by approaching the spirit warmly, building familiarity.
Lee Han had succeeded by being strict and decisive.
Since Gainando was also dealing with an undead, the latter approach was the right one.
"Listen! If you don't obey my command, I'll—"
The Skeleton Warrior immediately lunged forward and slapped Gainando across the face.
Enraged, Gainando swung his staff and grabbed the Skeleton Warrior by the collar, starting a brawl.
"That's why we told you to give up and come back."
"Gainando! Break its legs! Break its damn legs!"
Swordsmanship class.
Unlike with other final exams, the students weren't waiting nervously.
Because the swordsmanship exam wasn't conducted on the spot like other tests.
"What did you bring?"
"Why are you asking? What about you?"
"Like I'd tell you that easily."
The students eyed each other warily, trying to gauge their competition.
The exam involved hunting down the strongest possible prey in the mountain range and bringing back proof.
Beyond grades, the thought of other students hunting stronger prey than themselves was a matter of pride.
"That's why they're all interrogating each other, Lee Han."
"I see, Durgyu. But personally, I think we shouldn't ignore the grades."
Lee Han spoke bluntly.
This was a final exam. How could they prioritize pride over grades?
Grades were obviously more important!
"W-well, that's true, but... in White Tiger Tower, it's a pretty big deal."
"Durgyu. Stop talking nonsense. By the way, did anyone find out what we brought?"
Since Durgyu and Moradi belonged to White Tiger Tower, they often clashed with other students.
Moradi, being the type to secure his own share without fail, would never have been caught—but Durgyu had a careless, gullible side.
If his friends begged him hard enough, he might accidentally spill information!
"Don't worry, Lee Han. No one will know what we brought."
"Good. That's a relief."
In this kind of competitive exam, keeping one's cards hidden was extremely important.
The moment it got out, the competition would just needlessly intensify and everyone would end up exhausted.
Lee Han had no interest in that kind of fight where everyone just ended up hurting each other.
"You understand, Durgyu? We're doing this for our friends' sake."
"Right. Choi, keep that in mind."
"......"
Durgyu stared at Lee Han and Giselle with a complicated expression.
There was something suspicious about how the two were solely focused on persuading him.
Jay's family's Duke-Ma kept glancing around nervously, prompting Gatono from the Dullak family to scold him.
"You'll draw attention. Stay still."
"S-sorry."
Gulp—
The two did their best to remain composed as they stared straight ahead. Another student from their party asked,
"But shouldn't we talk about it now that we're here?"
"No! We submit this as quietly as possible. There's no point provoking the others."
"Even so, do you really think a comeback is possible at this point?"
The White Tiger Tower student asked skeptically.
With barely an hour or two left, how could anyone possibly find and take down new prey in that time?
"The Wardanaz lunatic might pull it off."
"Right. Don't provoke that Wardanaz bastard!"
"......"
The White Tiger Tower student who had asked the question found himself nodding unconsciously.
Of course, it sounded absurd, but there was a raw, earnest intensity in his two friends' words.
Gatono reached into his backpack. His fingers brushed against something tightly wrapped in cloth, firm to the touch.
Unbelievably, this was...
A giant's shoe.
'No one else could have brought back prey as incredible as ours!'
Gatono was certain.
No matter how skilled Wardanaz, Durgyu, or Moradi were with the sword, this was beyond them.
The same went for the other students.
Who would dare hunt a giant again after the humiliation and suffering they'd endured trying to take one down?
But Gatono and his friends were different. They hadn't given up.
-"Lord Gethse. We want to face a giant."
-"Please help us!"
Gethse, a hunter from the Wasteland Star-Catchers, was moved by the White Tiger Tower students' relentless passion.
Having come to teach and assist the students in the first place, he couldn't help but find their dedication admirable.
-"That spirit is commendable. Very well, I shall help you this once."
-"Really!?"
-"However, whether you succeed or fail depends entirely on your own abilities. I cannot assist you beyond this point."
-"Don't worry! We'll do whatever it takes!"
Gatono and his friends shouted enthusiastically.
In their current state, they felt capable of anything.
-"Now then, all you need to do is crawl into that beast pen and retrieve the shoes the giant left behind."
-"Uh... We're not fighting the giant directly?"
-"Of course not. Did you really think I'd allow first-year students to face a giant head-on?"
-"......"
-"......"
-"What's the matter?"
-"It's nothing..."
-"To return to the point, there's no need to fight the giant. The shoes it wore will serve as sufficient proof."
-"But the exam requires defeating prey and bringing back evidence, doesn't it?"
-"If someone sneaks in and takes the shoes without being noticed, that in itself is tantamount to defeat. At least, that's how we of the Wasteland Star-Catchers see it."
-"I... Is that so?"
The White Tiger Tower students found themselves swayed by the hunter's logic.
Truthfully, they would have accepted even more ridiculous reasoning if it meant avoiding a direct fight with the giant.
-"Wait. Lord Gethse. That beast pen is completely covered in mud."
-"All the better. The mud will mask your scent, so the giant won't notice. And if things go wrong, you can always hide under the pigs."
-"...Is there really no other way besides crawling through this?"
"Unless you want to face the giant directly, no."
After much deliberation, the White Tiger Tower students finally stripped off their outer garments and crawled through the mud pit.
The stench was so foul it would linger in their noses for days no matter how much they washed, but it was worth the price.
The giant's worn shoes—who else would have thought to bring something like this?
Gatono was so intoxicated by his own success that he failed to notice another student approaching from behind.
Thud!
A student from another party swiftly smacked Gatono's hand.
The giant's shoe inside tumbled out.
"...!!"
"W-wait, isn't that the giant's shoe?! That looks exactly like the giant's footwear!"
"Guys! These bastards broke the agreement and went after the giant!"
The White Tiger Tower students, who had approached suspiciously, were stunned at the sight of the giant's shoe.
They had all agreed not to target the giant—yet here they were, pulling such a dirty trick?
"Cowards! And you call yourselves knights?!"
"I have nothing to be ashamed of! Not a speck of guilt when I look up at the sky! That agreement was about not recklessly facing the giant because it was dangerous. We were confident we could take it on—what's wrong with that?"
"Lies! You clearly hid it because you were afraid we'd go after the giant too!"
"If you're jealous, just admit it! Don't be so petty!"
"Are you done talking?!"
The argument didn't stop at words—soon, the White Tiger Tower students were grabbing each other by the collars and throwing punches.
From a short distance away, Lee Han, sitting with Moradi and Derqu, clicked his tongue at the sight.
"How foolish. Breaking their promise and secretly going after the giant behind their friends' backs."
"...Uh, Lee Han. But we also fought the giant."
"We didn't get caught."
"We didn't get caught."
"......"
Professor Ingoldel expressed his gratitude to the two hunters—Baishada from the Shadow Patrol and Gethse from the Wasteland Star-Catchers.
"Thanks to both of you for your assistance."
"O-oh, no, Professor."
"As a hunter, the mere act of instructing young mages is an honor in itself."
'He's really good with words.'
Baishada was impressed by Gethse's eloquence.
No wonder the Wasteland Star-Catchers were frequently featured in imperial newspapers. Their rhetoric was on a completely different level compared to the Shadow Patrol hunters.
"Thank you for your kind words. Now, shall we see what the students have hunted?"
The two hunters sat down with the professor.
One by one, the students from the swordsmanship class presented evidence of their prey, and each time, the two hunters reacted with fascinated expressions.
"This is a Bloodshadow Bat! They usually stay deep in caves this season—how resourceful..."
"To catch a Walking Flame Mushroom? Now that's a mage for you. Even hunters avoid those tricky things."
"Bringing back a Vine Hunter's fruit? That's impressive!"
Then came Gatono and his friends' turn.
When the giant's shoe was presented, even Professor Ingoldel gasped in admiration.
"The giant's worn shoe...! You actually brought it back!"
Gatono, sporting a black eye, cautiously replied.
"We didn't defeat the giant."
"That doesn't matter. Managing to retrieve it without defeating it is even more remarkable."
Professor Ingoldel said this while glancing at Gethse.
"Mr. Gethse. Once again, thank you."
"Professor. I knew you were wise, but this is truly surprising. How did you know?"
"If not for your advice, how could first-year students have even thought of facing a giant?"
Gethse coughed awkwardly in embarrassment.
Watching this, Baishada couldn't help but feel envious.
Fame, popularity, skill, and now even the ability to give such brilliant advice to mages—he had it all.
'Isn't that just unfair?'
Next were Lee Han and his friends.
When Lee Han presented the giant Ikurusha's hair, Professor Ingoldel and Gethse choked on their water and spat it out in shock.
Then, with horrified expressions, they turned to Baishada.
Baishada panicked and shouted.
"N-no, no, no... I had nothing to do with this!"
"We know, Mr. Baishada."
"You do?!"
"Those who teach often don't realize the weight of their words. But for those learning, even a single phrase can spark great enlightenment..."
"......"