Episode 288
Episode 288
'He really does try to learn magic from every school.'
Chil looked at Lee Han with eyes that held equal parts pity and admiration.
Truth be told, while Chil had said, "If you're interested, you can try practicing it in advance," he hadn't actually expected Lee Han to go through with it.
Lee Han was about to take his first-year final exams—he should be focusing on his own tests right now. Why would he practice for the second-year finals?
Even if he was interested, that was something he could do later when the opportunity arose.
But a genius's way of thinking was different from ordinary people's.
Against all expectations, this junior who wanted to learn magic from every school had actually decided to practice despite his own exams looming ahead.
At this point, there was nothing to be done.
All Chil could do was silently cheer him on.
"Still, don't push yourself too hard. You have your own exams coming up soon."
"Thank you."
Lee Han, who still didn't realize these were second-year finals, expressed his gratitude sincerely.
Had he known the truth, he might have grabbed Chil by the collar regardless of seniority.
'An opportunity kindly given by my senior. I can't let this slip away.'
A cow that had injured its leg lay on the ground, unable to stand, gazing pitifully at Lee Han.
"I'll give it a try."
"Go ahead."
Chil stood beside Lee Han.
If Lee Han accidentally worsened the cow's injury, Chil was prepared to step in immediately to handle the situation.
'Just don't cause the cow too much pain.'
Since he was giving a first-year junior a chance to practice, Chil didn't expect Lee Han to fully heal the cow.
It was absurd to begin with for a first-year student to treat a living creature.
It didn't matter whether it was a person or an animal. There was a reason this was a second-year exam.
All Chil hoped for was that this exceptional junior wouldn't aggravate the cow's injury.
It might sound strange at first glance, but by the standards of lower-year students learning Healing Magic, just achieving that much was already impressive.
Aggravating injuries was the norm.
Not worsening them was already remarkable.
If someone could heal even a little, they'd have to be dragged in shackles to the Tower of Healing Magic immediately.
That's how high the initial difficulty of Healing Magic was.
"It's swollen, and the heat I'm sensing suggests a fracture."
"Excellent. You've assessed it well."
Chil gave Lee Han high marks for trying to understand the patient's condition first rather than immediately casting Healing Magic.
A Healing Mage needed to possess all the virtues required of a mage—especially caution, which was non-negotiable.
"Rise up. Emotions. Judging by how it winces in pain when pressed, the fracture seems to be around here..."
When Lee Han even used magic to pinpoint the fracture, Chil's lips curled up.
Juniors might find it painful, but as a senior, seeing a junior with outstanding Healing Magic talent couldn't help but bring joy.
It was a bit cruel, but the juniors could always find other juniors to bring along, couldn't they?
"Yes. Yes. You're doing very well."
"I'll attempt it now."
Saying this, Lee Han focused his mind.
He had knowledge from books and information gained through magic, but that didn't mean he could let his guard down.
'Visualize the bones knitting together and concentrate. Stay calm. I've done this for those White Tiger Tower guys before...'
Lee Han thought healing these animals wouldn't be that difficult.
After all, if it were truly hard, it wouldn't be part of the first-year exams.
That meant it was something Lee Han could definitely handle.
"Fuse together!"
As his focus peaked, his staff swung, releasing a powerful surge of mana.
The cow, which had been whimpering pitifully just moments ago, blinked its eyes and then broke into a wide grin.
"...????!???!?"
Chil nearly fainted on the spot.
'What the—?!?!?'
No matter how many times he blinked, it was undeniable—his first-year junior had just healed the cow's fracture.
How in the world???
"Senior? Senior?"
"Huh? Wh-what?"
"I-I think you need to check. Did I do it right?"
"Per... perfect."
"Is that so?"
Lee Han's face brightened.
"If you were grading me, senior, would you give me full marks?"
"Well... of course... full marks... you'd get full marks even if you didn't heal it..."
Seeing Chil turn deathly pale from sheer astonishment, Lee Han also began to feel something was off.
'What's going on?'
A familiar sense of unease suddenly washed over him.
"What do you mean, full marks even if I didn't heal it?"
"Not making it worse is already good enough."
"...Ah."
Lee Han was taken aback.
Now that he thought about it, having such grading criteria wasn't unreasonable.
'Damn it. Should've asked about that first.'
Given how Healing Magic was notorious for side effects, it made perfect sense that simply not worsening the condition would earn high marks.
Still, Lee Han didn't panic too much.
"But even so, among first-years, there must have been students who healed it completely, right?"
"Nope."
"Excuse me?"
"Well... this is a second-year exam."
"......"
For the first time in a while, Lee Han was at a complete loss for words.
'Is this guy insane?'
What kind of grudge did this senior have against him to recommend attempting a second-year exam?
Lee Han debated whether to attack the guy but ultimately suppressed the urge and asked as calmly as possible.
"Why... did you suggest this to me...?"
"Huh? You looked interested."
"......"
Well, Lee Han had shown interest.
Because he thought it was a first-year exam!
If a first-year junior showed interest, wasn't it the senior's role to sternly say, "This is actually a second-year exam, junior. You should focus on the first-year test"?
'He must've misheard my age or is clearly messing with me.'
Gritting his teeth, Lee Han maintained his composure. To salvage the situation, he spoke up.
"I misunderstood, it seems."
"But you're really amazing at this—"
"Senior. Let's keep this between—"
Bam!
Before he could finish, Phil burst through the door. Spotting Lee Han and Chil standing by the cow, Phil asked,
"What are you two doing there?"
"Phil! Look at this cow."
"Why is the cow... its fracture's healed? Did you do it?"
"No. This junior here."
"?!?!?!?!?"
Phil reacted just as Chil had earlier.
He was so shocked that Lee Han didn't even get a chance to explain.
"Senior."
"!!!!!!!!!"
"Senior. Senior."
It took Phil about a minute to regain his composure.
"If you really did this, you're a natural-born—"
Bang!
The door swung open again, and in walked the most exhausted-looking dark elf professor in the world.
Professor Lagrinde spoke in a rough, hoarse voice, every word dripping with extreme fatigue.
"Why aren't you preparing and just standing around here?"
"P-professor!"
"We... we were observing the junior's magic."
Phil and Chil froze.
Professor Lagrinde wasn't cruel or violent, but she hated wasted time and inefficiency.
And she was someone who could slice open an enemy's body as swiftly and precisely as she could a patient's.
"Junior's?"
The irritable professor's expression softened momentarily, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
Seizing the opportunity, the two seniors hastily explained.
"Yes! He healed this cow."
"For a first-year, his skill is truly remarkable, so we were just discussing it briefly!"
"!"
Professor Lagrinde's eyes widened.
Though she disliked unnecessary questions, she couldn't help but ask,
"No one helped him?"
"No!"
"That's right!"
"......"
Professor Lagrinde stared at the cow, then at Lee Han, then back at the cow, and finally at Lee Han again, falling deep into thought.
Then she spoke.
"Starting next semester, you'll observe practical sessions."
"Professor!?"
"He did well, sure, but he's still a first-year..."
Professor Lagrinde fixed the two seniors with an icy glare.
The two seniors who had been trying to protect their junior froze on the spot.
"U-uh, now that I think about it, it might be fine after all."
"Y-yeah, if he could heal a cow, he should be able to heal patients too, right?"
"......"
Lee Han watched their retreating backs with mixed feelings.
'Cowards bowing before authority like this.'
He'd actually started trusting them, only to be betrayed immediately!
Professor Lagrinde was exhausted but steeled herself to explain.
Since this was an unusual situation, she needed to give her students a proper explanation.
"Having fully healed a cow, the next step would naturally be an actual person. There's no point in wasting time with unnecessary training drills that would just kill your motivation."
Lee Han wanted to argue that enduring pointless tasks was what he did best, but the atmosphere wasn't right for such remarks.
"I wouldn't assign this if he lacked the ability. But tying him down just because he's a first-year when he's clearly capable—that's the real inefficiency here. Understood?"
"Understood, Professor."
"We've wasted your time. Our apologies."
"Good. Begin preparing for the exam."
With that, Professor Lagrinde left.
Stunned by the sudden leap in second-term difficulty, Lee Han suddenly remembered Professor Garcia's words:
-So this is what she meant. Never, ever tell anyone you healed a White Tiger Tower student's ankle. Got it?
'My apologies, Professor Garcia.'
"Good luck, junior."
"Sorry if we came across as trying to hold you back. Don't misunderstand—we weren't trying to throw our weight around because you're a first-year. It's just... this is genuinely brutal. Haha. What am I even— Actually, we might be able to expect great things from you."
Phil and Chil turned Lee Han's stomach inside out with their words before walking away.
Lee Han barely stopped himself from attacking the two seniors.
After all, the real final exams still lay ahead.
"What's the first-year final exam like?"
"Written test. Covers types of injuries and human anatomy. Sounds boring, right?"
"......"
"Doesn't Wardanaz look absolutely miserable right now?"
"You noticed too? I was thinking the same thing."
"Gainando. What did you do?"
"Nothing!!"
Gainando flared up in anger.
"Maybe he messed up an exam?"
"He said he checked and got everything right when I asked?"
"......"
"......"
The faces of the two Blue Dragon Tower students who'd brought it up twisted in pain just like Lee Han's.
They'd guessed he'd done well, but a perfect score?!
'Shouldn't you be smiling even with broken bones if you got full marks?'
'I think so too.'
"Let's just go take our exams."
Lee Han gave up and moved on.
He decided to worry about the second term when it came and focus on his remaining exams for now.
"Isn't anyone else coming?"
"...Wardanaz. We're not taking Illusion Magic, remember?"
"I'm not either."
"...Oh, right. I'll go alone then."
For some reason, the Blue Dragon Tower students found Lee Han's retreating figure strangely lonely.
<Basic Illusion Magic>.
Fortunately, Professor Kirmin Ku's exam wasn't particularly difficult.
It tested observational skills—identifying illusions cast throughout the classroom and spotting flaws in any poorly constructed ones.
'Not too hard.'
Given that he'd been studying illusion magic separately and had even fallen victim to a few himself, this level of exam posed little challenge.
As he focused on the test, Lee Han noticed the anger from his Healing Magic exam fading away.
"Finished, Professor."
"Well done, Wardanaz. Shame your score dropped compared to the midterms, though."
"...?"
Lee Han froze. Then, startled, he asked:
"My score dropped?"
"Just joking. A joke! You got full marks last time, so I deducted one point this time to make that joke."
Professor Kirmin Ku naturally assumed Lee Han would laugh it off.
Even with a one-point deduction, he was still overwhelmingly in first place.
When you're dozens of points above the class average, what difference does one point make?
"You're saying I made a one-point mistake?!"
"...W-Wardanaz. Did I perhaps misstate the numbers?"