Episode 309
Episode 309
"Let's eat."
The soup in the pot over the campfire bubbled vigorously. It was a fairly decent meal—fresh vegetables and meat stir-fried before water was added, then seasoned with canned goods.
Of course, Lee Han had cooked it.
"??"
"????"
Goo Bon and Bizdek missed their chance to say, Why are you the one doing this?
They simply accepted the wooden bowls in silence.
The White Tiger Tower students ate with complete nonchalance.
"Wardanaz kid. Your skills are as good as ever."
"His cooking is just as impressive as his magic."
"But Mr. Goo Bon, do adventurers usually eat like this too?"
Durgyu, seemingly curious, asked the question. Goo Bon hesitated, unsure how to explain, then scratched his head and answered.
"Well, when we're handling nearby jobs or during the first or second day of a request, we do eat decently..."
For requests that were close by or likely to be short, adventurers did care about the quality of their meals to some extent.
But when it came to long-distance expeditions or large-scale ruins and dungeons, that luxury disappeared.
Efficiency and compression were absolute. No one was insane enough to prioritize taste when they didn't know when they'd next go hungry.
"I see. So for a request like today's, this is the right way to eat."
"I thought adventurers only ate tough, dried jerky."
"Guess that was an exaggeration."
"...No, even when we eat well, it's rarely this well..."
Goo Bon replied, bewildered.
"Eating well" just meant consuming fresh fruit, bread, or rice cakes before they spoiled—not preparing something this elaborate.
Starting with fetching water for cooking, using fire meant burning through fuel. Few adventurers expended that much energy on a single meal.
"You don't eat like this?"
"Right... Water and fire both take effort."
"I see."
Lee Han nodded and glanced at his friends. The White Tiger Tower students, out of habit from Einrogard, shielded their soup protectively with their hands.
"N-no takebacks."
"I wasn't going to steal it. You already cooked it, so what's done is done. Though, without magic, this would've been a lot of work."
Even Lee Han could tell that doing this without magic would've cost a significant amount of time and energy.
"Then from now on, we should just stick to simple adventurer rations—"
"Y-you don't have to decide so hastily, Wardanaz."
"He's right. Didn't Mr. Goo Bon say we should eat well when we can?"
Angrago and Lafadell desperately tried to persuade him.
Honestly, this meal was tastier than the food served at the knight order's quarters.
Meanwhile, Goo Bon's companion, Bizdek, tilted his head in puzzlement.
"This soup is strangely delicious."
"Isn't it just because the ingredients are good?"
"I helped with the cooking, and the ingredients weren't anything special... Maybe the water was?"
"Water? What about it?"
"It's water summoned by a mage, isn't it?"
"Hoh. I see. That could be it."
While the two adventurers murmured among themselves, Angrago scraped his bowl clean and even dug into the pot with a ladle before getting smacked by Lee Han.
"Stop hogging it. The two of you need to eat too."
"B-but... It'd be a waste if there's any left..."
When the time came, Lee Han quietly rose.
The two adventurers had insisted on taking watch shifts themselves, but Lee Han refused.
If he got lazy now, it'd only cause trouble later when there were no adventurers around.
Come to think of it, the guild really recommended some diligent people.
Their eagerness to take initiative in everything left a strong impression on Lee Han.
He'd heard that many adventurers had questionable personalities, but it seemed the guild had truly sent reliable ones this time.
"Eyes, pierce through the darkness."
There was no need to sit idly just because it was his watch shift.
Lee Han cast Darkvision and began reading his magic tome. It was a scene of such gruesome madness that any White Tiger Tower student who saw it would shudder in horror.
<Ancient Basic Necromancy - On True Undead Summoning>
A true Black Mage need not concern themselves with the whims of undead from the Otherworld—they must be able to move the dead through sheer will alone. Here lie the commands for skeletons...
While other Black Mages comfortably contracted and summoned undead from the Undead World, Lee Han was stuck using the archaic Black Magic method of manually assembling bones—all because the Skeleton Principal had insisted, "Learn proper ancient Black Magic." Still, it wasn't without its merits.
If there had truly been no advantages, Lee Han wouldn't have bothered no matter how much the Skeleton Principal had pressured him.
'I hope to perfect the Skeleton Warriors' attacks before this vacation ends.'
Currently, summoning Skeleton Warriors was possible, but their movements were severely limited and prone to failure.
If he could just reach the stage where the Skeleton Warriors autonomously attacked enemies... no, even if they just became slightly more reliable in combat—
Rustle—
"Hmm?"
Lee Han raised his head. It sounded like something was brushing through the bushes nearby.
'An animal?'
Pop!
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than a bright flash erupted from below, followed by an explosion. The intruder-detection spell he had set up just in case had activated.
It wasn't powerful enough to harm anyone, but it was more than enough to startle intruders and give him time to react.
Moving with the precision of a seasoned Einrogard student, Lee Han wasted no time.
Thud!
"Wake up! We're under attack!"
"Th-the Headmaster?!"
Kicking his friends' backs, the White Tiger Tower students scrambled to their feet in a panic.
"It's not the Headmaster!"
"Oh... thank goodness."
"This is no time for relief! Everyone, arm yourselves immediately!"
The experienced Gubon and Bizdek tensed up.
Though the students were skilled, surprise attacks and chaotic battles required composure just as much as ability—if not more.
Of all times, why did intruders have to appear now, when they were on a quest with the students?
'Please, let this be nothing serious!'
Gubon and Bizdek desperately hoped the intruders were just shepherds, travelers, or lost adventurers passing by.
"Raise your shields and keep your heads down."
"Protect Wardanaz!"
"!?"
But the students' movements far exceeded the two adventurers' expectations.
The moment the light flashed, they were already up, weapons and shields in hand, forming battle formations with uncanny precision.
'As expected of knightly family heirs!'
Though that wasn't the actual reason, the misunderstanding only deepened in the adventurers' minds.
"Damn it, what are you lot doing here?!"
A rough voice shouted from below. The intruders were clearly disoriented by the sudden light.
'If we're going to attack, now's the time...'
Gubon hesitated. If this had been a party of aggressive adventurers, they would have struck first and asked questions later.
But these were all students from knightly families. The chances of them resorting to such underhanded tactics were slim.
"We're adventurers from Granden City, here to complete the Burnt Hill quest. Identify yourselves, or we attack!"
"We got to Burnt Hill two days before you. Get lost!"
The White Tiger Tower students faltered at the response from below—they weren't yet familiar with adventuring customs.
"Should we retreat?"
"No! While it's customary for the latecomers to yield, it's not an absolute rule, and they have no proof anyway—"
"Understood. We'll withdraw!"
"!"
Lee Han's declaration startled both his friends and the adventurers, but no one objected.
They respected his authority.
"Tch... We didn't need to show those bastards any courtesy."
"Hold back. Brawling with scum like that would be even more disgraceful."
While Angrago and Raphael were still frustrated, Lee Han spoke again.
"We need confirmation that they won't attack while we retreat. Show yourselves!"
"Stop talking nonsense. How the hell would we know if you brats will attack?"
"We'll each send one person forward to verify. How about that?"
"...Fine."
Lee Han turned to Raphael.
"Take care of this."
"Yeah. Got it... Wait a second."
Raphael's eyes narrowed as he recalled the time he'd gone to the Undead World with Lee Han before.
"You're not planning to—"
"Stop overthinking and move quickly. Call out anything suspicious immediately."
"......"
The mercenary Buldahak stepped forward with a scowl.
His frown deepened further when he saw Raphael.
'What the...? Just a rookie...?'
Buldahak wasn't keen on unnecessary bloodshed either, but this changed things.
This brat was decked out in surprisingly good gear for a rookie.
Most rookie adventurers could barely afford proper weapons, let alone armor, and usually just flailed around—but this kid was the exact opposite.
He must have used family heirlooms or personal wealth to outfit himself.
'If a party has someone like this, they can't be anything special.'
Buldahak's fingers twitched unconsciously. The temptation to signal his men for an ambush grew strong.
"Flash."
A quiet incantation—followed by a sharp bolt of lightning—struck Buldahak square in the back.
Crackle-zzt!
"Guh— Huh?!"
Completely caught off guard, Buldahak's limbs locked up, and his weapon clattered to the ground.
Even Raphael was startled by how unexpected the attack was.
"Wo— Wardanaz!?"
"Flash. Flash. Flash."
More lightning bolts flew, and mercenaries hiding in the nearby bushes screamed as they were sent tumbling.
"It's a mage!!! There's a mage here!"
"Find the mage— Gahk!"
The remaining mercenaries finally grasped the situation and frantically scanned their surroundings—but saw nothing.
"Light the torches!"
"Target—"
"You idiots! Mages see through darkness! Light them now!"
'I should stop using lightning magic.'
Lee Han repositioned himself as he thought this.
From the start, his offer to retreat peacefully—and sending Raphael ahead—had been to buy time and assess their numbers.
The moment he finished scouting and had them flanked, he struck immediately.
Precise lightning spells took down the most threatening targets first.
Though he was under invisibility, continuing to cast lightning magic risked revealing his position and inviting counterattacks.
Not that it meant he couldn't use magic at all.
"Spring forth."
Water orbs rapidly split and shot off in different directions.
The attacks came from everywhere—utterly untraceable.
Thwack!
"He's already cast so much! Mages can't keep— Gahk!"
A shouting mercenary collapsed, and another took a water orb to the jaw. The remaining men panicked.
"We surrender!"
"We surrender, Mage! We surrender!"
Only then did Gubon snap out of it and bark orders.
"Drop your weapons and raise your hands! Anyone who moves gets attacked! Bizdek! Tie them up!"
"We'll help too."
The White Tiger Tower students and Bizdek swiftly bound the fallen and surrendering mercenaries.
"This guy... Buldahak! It's Buldahak!"
Bizdek shouted in shock.
"Who is he?"
"A wanted criminal with an imperial bounty!"
"Oh. How much is the reward?"
Lee Han dispelled his invisibility and stepped forward.
Gubon asked curiously, "How did you know this man was Buldahak?"
"I didn't."
"Huh?"
"If a fight breaks out, the first strike always has the advantage, right?"
The White Tiger Tower students nodded in agreement.
"Truly a Wardanaz."
"No wonder they say he never lets his guard down. We should learn from that."
"......"