Episode 285
Episode 285
Yesterday's incident of nearly getting caught while raiding the kitchen served as a lesson for Lee Han.
At Einrogard, you must doubt everything!
'I never expected water cannons to come flying.'
Thinking you only had to calmly jump over the installed obstacles was too naive.
It was far too easy.
Lee Han naturally assumed there would be additional traps.
Thanks to that, only the students who dared let their guard down and charged ahead at Einrogard were getting a harsh taste of reality.
"Wardanaz! That's too—"
"It wasn't Wardanaz who shot that!"
"Ah. Really?"
"......"
"Professor! I think the spirits were summoned incorrectly!"
"Since I set them up, try dodging them properly."
"Huh? What does that—"
"You'd better focus instead of chatting. Falling means penalty points."
The students who had started off vigorously were now scattering in confusion, slowing their pace.
They realized that blindly running fast wasn't everything.
Rushing ahead carelessly only increased the risk of getting ambushed and falling, which would be an even greater loss.
"Gather over here! Let's take this path!"
"Are you sure there are no traps?"
"This side was fine just now! If we group up and go together—"
Whoosh!
"Don't try to memorize it. I didn't arrange them that simply."
"No... Professor!!"
A student with singed hair stared at Professor Lightning Steps in disbelief.
Why on earth was he so serious about these obstacles?
Couldn't he just set up hurdles that could be jumped over normally?
"Everyone, this way."
Lee Han called his friends over.
As he had noticed before, the riding training class was fundamentally advantageous when tackled as a group.
A larger group could better withstand external attacks, and with more mages, the number of usable spells increased as well.
"Don't rush, let's just keep a brisk pace. Ashan, take the left. Yoner, I'll leave the right to you. Nilia, cover the rear."
"What about me in front?"
Gainando naturally asked.
"No. Just stay by my side and cast spells when I say."
"I see. So I'm like a trump card held in reserve for emergencies. Right?"
"......"
"...Uh, yeah."
His friends marveled at Gainando's positive attitude.
"Let's go. If we fall behind even once, it'll be hard to catch up."
Lee Han and his friends nodded once and set off.
Watching them, Professor Lightning Steps silently gave them high marks.
'They've organized themselves well in such a short time.'
Coordinating with others while riding was entirely different from doing so on foot on flat ground.
Managing unruly horses while synchronizing speeds required not just skilled riding but also mutual understanding.
And yet, despite not even being from the same tower, they had matched their rhythm in an instant.
"Right!"
As soon as Lee Han sensed the flow of mana and spoke, Yoner immediately pulled out a potion.
Casting spells on a shaking horse risked failure—pre-made potions were far safer.
Clink!
With the sound of a shattered vial, the incoming Magic Missiles scattered.
'<Potion of Lesser Magic Nullification>, huh.'
"Left!"
Ashan swung his staff as if he had been waiting. Thanks to his earlier preparations, the spell was cast without issue.
A strong gust of wind diverted the incoming clump of mud.
There was no need for Lee Han to call out the attack from behind. Nilia, who had noticed it first, shot an arrow to knock it down.
'Great start!'
'If we keep this up...!'
Even without exchanging glances, the friends could feel their synchronization.
The unity only possible with perfect coordination!
Whoosh!
But the real crisis had only just begun.
A green mist spread and surged toward them from behind.
This was an obstacle that couldn't be shot down with arrows or blocked with their current spells. Nilia's hand froze for a moment.
"Vanish!"
Seeing Nilia hesitate, Lee Han immediately swung his staff. The green mist dispersed midair.
Professor Lightning Steps was startled.
'Evaporation?!'
The advanced domain of water elemental magic—evaporation attribute.
Naturally, it wasn't something a first-year student should be capable of handling, given its difficulty and complexity.
Moreover, to disperse a distant mist in one go while maintaining balance on horseback...
It was astonishing every time he saw it, though it shouldn't have been surprising anymore.
Talent aside, that relentless academic fervor, never resting in the pursuit of magic, was truly...
Crackle crackle crackle!
"!!!"
This time, danger came from the acid side.
More than ten mana spheres flew in simultaneously, putting everyone on edge.
"O earth... cough, cough!"
Magic in combat was harder than expected, requiring intense concentration.
Even the most seasoned mages could make mistakes if they weren't specially trained in magical combat.
Though this wasn't a battle, it was enough to trip up a first-year student.
"Shield, unfold!"
Lee Han swiftly summoned water, shaping it into an elongated shield. The mana spheres crashed down upon it with dull thuds.
"I'm out of potions!"
Gainando shouted urgently. While they were blocking one side, attacks were also coming from Yoner's direction.
"Flash!"
Only after repelling the attacks with lightning could they finally catch their breath.
As they took a momentary respite, Lee Han spoke to his friends.
"Good work, everyone. We broke through thanks to all of us working together."
"......"
"......"
"......"
"Why is everyone so quiet?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
His friends waved their hands dismissively.
...Honestly, Wardanaz probably could've broken through alone...
As time passed, students who had successfully broken through began emerging one by one.
No matter how many obstacles there were, continuously pushing forward inevitably improved their blocking skills.
"Pick up the pace!"
Shyles of the Richmond Family swung his arm wide, signaling his group.
He himself was an exceptional rider, and his companions were among the best in the tower when it came to horsemanship.
They were so confident in their riding that they even played polo during breaks—standing out was only natural.
While Lee Han's group held a solid formation and chose a direct approach, Shyles' group opted for speed to break through.
A few unlucky ones might fall behind, but that was a risk they were willing to take.
'I'll get the top score in this lecture!'
With the rapid pounding of hooves against the ground, Shyles charged forward.
Picking up speed like this amidst scattered obstacles was impossible for anyone without extraordinary skill and guts. Shyles was undoubtedly a superb rider.
"The turnaround point!"
'Finally!'
Shyles' chest swelled with anticipation as he spotted the distant turnaround point, ready to make his return.
At that moment, a heavy tremor shook the ground as a massive monster emerged.
"...?!"
Before the dust could settle, a loud cry came from behind.
"It's a hydra!"
"What?! A hydra?!"
The students flinched in shock.
But as the dust cleared, what appeared wasn't a hydra.
It was just an ordinary sand octopus.
"Th-thank goodness. It's not a hydra."
"Goodness has nothing to do with it!"
A sand octopus of that size was no pushover.
Sure, compared to a hydra, it lacked deadly venom and was far less aggressive, but in this situation...
Wham!
The sand octopus' long tentacle lashed out like a whip. A sharp sound followed as sand burst upward, obscuring their vision.
"Don't attack it—that's my precious monster!"
Professor Lightning Steps said with satisfaction from behind.
All that expensive feed had paid off.
"Professor! Even so, this is—urk!"
One student, mid-protest, got wrapped in a tentacle and dragged away.
"Instead of arguing, focus on reaching the turnaround point and getting out of here."
"So it wasn't a hydra."
Lee Han, arriving late, muttered as he watched the chaos unfolding at the turnaround point.
Suddenly, a massive monster had burst out from below, making Lee Han think of the Hydra he'd heard about last time.
"Wardanaz! It's not a Hydra! How could you trick us like this?!"
At the protest coming from another direction, Lee Han was about to apologize for the mistake.
However, Ashan and Gainando answered first.
"The fool is the one who gets tricked!"
"Who in a competition would trust others?! It's that complacent mindset that makes you lose!"
"Grr...! You bastards!"
"......"
Lee Han stared intently at the backs of their heads before shifting his gaze.
Right now, marking the turnaround point and getting out was more important than clearing up misunderstandings.
'We need to do this as quickly as possible.'
The longer they took, the fewer students remained to divert attention, increasing the difficulty.
"Shimmering haze!"
One of the Black Turtle Tower students, seemingly talented in Illusion Magic, managed to conjure an illusion amidst the chaos.
It wasn't a particularly well-formed illusion—blurry and indistinct, clearly fake upon closer inspection.
But in this chaotic situation, it was easy to be fooled at a glance. Especially since the opponent was a monster.
Whoosh!
Yet the Sand Octopus didn't even glance at the illusion, simply extending a tentacle to snatch away another student.
"!"
Watching this, Lee Han realized.
'It doesn detect by sight!'
Having learned harsh lessons about Illusion Magic, Lee Han knew it came in various forms.
The illusion just now was visual-based—distorting the surrounding air with heat or freezing it with cold to create illusions.
But if the opponent didn't rely on sight, it was meaningless. The Sand Octopus was half-buried in the ground, after all.
'No wonder its vision seemed too good...'
It was clearly detecting approaching enemies through vibrations in the ground.
In that case, illusions of that type were useless.
'Pahait's Illusion Magic won't work. The method is...'
Lee Han prepared to use Gonadaltes' Invisibility Cloak and an invisibility necklace.
Unlike Pahait's heat-based illusions, Gonadaltes' Invisibility Cloak and the necklace directly manipulated perception.
"Cloak, swallow me whole!"
"Wardanaz! Coordinating on horseback is impossible!"
"I know. We'll break through one by one. The rest of you, draw its attention!"
Instead of charging all at once, Lee Han opted for a staggered approach.
It would take longer, but it was safer. The range of the invisibility magic wasn't wide enough to cover all of them on horseback.
"Let's go!"
Lee Han set off with Yoner. The others scattered to divert the Sand Octopus's attention, ensuring it wouldn't grow suspicious.
Whoooosh!
"!"
The Sand Octopus suddenly swelled its body. Caught off guard, Lee Han and Yoner tensed.
Hiiiiisssss!
Sensing something amiss, the Sand Octopus began exhaling a fierce gust of wind.
Sand-laden wind wrapped around the students like a storm. The sudden gale made it hard to even secure their vision.
'We're in trouble!'
Even if Lee Han could endure, Yoner's horse was panicking, floundering in the sudden sandstorm.
The moment they slipped out of invisibility, the Sand Octopus would notice their approach.
Just as Lee Han prepared to forcibly restrain Yoner's horse, help arrived from behind.
Gainando.
"Get itchy!!!"
Gainando, who had energetically cast a Curse, didn't stop there—he charged forward recklessly.
At the sight of Gainando barreling toward it like a madman, the Sand Octopus abandoned the other students and focused entirely on him.
The audacious Curse had clearly provoked it.
"Gainando...!"
Lee Han was genuinely surprised.
He knew Gainando had talent in Black Magic, but he never expected him to shine like this in such a situation.
"Lee Han!"
"Got it! While you're drawing its attention, I'll quickly pass through—"
"Save me!!! This damn horse won't listen!!!"
With those words, Gainando shot forward—or rather, was dragged away.
"......"
Yoner, who had barely calmed his horse and returned, asked Lee Han,
"What did Gainando shout?!"
"He said, 'I'll draw its attention, so break through quickly.'"
"!?"
Yoner was stunned.
That couldn't be right...?