Episode 321
Episode 321
Lee Han looked at Gainando with puzzlement.
"Why are you acting like that?"
"Ah... no. You're not angry because I ate too many snacks, are you?"
"No."
Lee Han sighed and walked toward the window.
Then he shouted.
"It's the professor."
"See! I told you it's a professor!"
Professor Verdus, who had his face planted in the ground, struggled and shouted.
The knights under Alarong looked bewildered and asked,
"But young master. Why would the professor sneak in like this?"
'That's what I'm curious about too.'
Though Lee Han thought that, he held it in and phrased it nicely.
"There must have been a misunderstanding."
"What kind of misunderstanding could possibly—?"
Lee Han pretended not to hear the knight's question and instead asked the servant,
"Did he do this because you told him I wasn't here?"
Given Professor Verdus's personality, that was highly plausible.
Even if he heard Lee Han wasn't at the mansion, he'd probably just barge in and wait.
But the servant's answer was unexpected.
"Ah, no. He just tried sneaking in without asking and got caught."
"......"
Lee Han briefly considered just handing Professor Verdus over to the Granden City guards.
Professor Verdus, having dusted himself off and sat down, gnawed on a piece of bark and said,
"So, are you ready to make the artifact?"
Even though the knights had pinned him down and shoved his face into the ground, Professor Verdus didn't seem bothered at all.
His mind was solely on artifact creation.
Lee Han feigned ignorance.
"Artifact creation? I don't know what you're talking about."
"Huh? Didn't we agree to do it together?"
"My memory isn't the best..."
If it had been the Skeleton Principal, he would've grabbed Lee Han by the collar and snapped, "What kind of nonsense is this?" But Professor Verdus was oddly naive in these matters.
"Ah, really? Last time, you said you wanted to participate in artifact creation. You were super enthusiastic about it. Well, better late than never."
"......"
Lee Han was at a loss for words as Professor Verdus blatantly lied the moment he mentioned his bad memory.
What kind of person...
'Ah.'
Only then did Lee Han remember the Helmet of Wisdom.
Come to think of it, when it came to artifacts, there was no greater expert than Professor Verdus.
"Professor, could you take a look at this artifact?"
"What is it?"
Professor Verdus took the Helmet of Wisdom, examined it from all angles, and immediately answered,
"It's a nasty artifact. It's cursed."
"I thought so. Is there any way to lift the curse?"
"Probably not easy."
There were two types of curses on artifacts.
One was when a perfectly good artifact was cursed with something evil.
In that case, lifting the curse would make the artifact usable again.
The other was when an artifact was created with inherently evil mechanisms.
In that case, lifting the curse was pointless—the moment it was removed, the artifact's power would vanish too.
The Helmet of Wisdom was a classic example of the latter.
"Most artifacts have restrictions to prevent them from harming their owners, but this one doesn't. If it wants something, it won't hesitate to put its owner in danger."
"I see. I thought someone like you would have a solution."
Lee Han muttered without much thought.
At that, Professor Verdus suddenly flared up and shouted,
"I didn't say there was no way!"
"Uh... why are you angry?"
"Just wait a second!"
Professor Verdus set down the bark he was gnawing on and glared at the helmet.
Lee Han was slightly taken aback by the unexpected reaction. Gainando whispered beside him,
"Isn't the professor way too easy to provoke?"
"Hmm."
If even Gainando was saying that, then yes, he was definitely too easy to provoke.
But Lee Han let Professor Verdus be.
'Maybe he'll actually modify it into something useful?'
If that were the case, Lee Han planned to sell it with a grandiose title like "The Masterpiece of Vible Verdus, Einrogard's Greatest Artificer, Crafted with All Her Heart and Soul."
"There is a way."
"What is it?"
"Remove the function that deliberately filters and selects information."
"?"
Lee Han wondered what Professor Verdus was talking about.
"But the ability to put its owner in danger still remains, doesn't it?"
"You can just avoid that on your own."
"......"
As long as the Helmet of Wisdom didn't conceal its words, the listener could make a rational judgment no matter what it said.
That was Professor Verdus's argument.
'That's... That's actually reasonable?'
Lee Han felt there was some logic to Professor Verdus's reasoning, yet for some reason, he didn't want to admit it.
But it was still better than leaving it unchanged.
"Hmm. Then let's modify it. What do we need to do to change it?"
"Apply a few spells to disable it and alter the incantations inside. If we start now, we should finish around sunrise."
"What can I do to help?"
"You? Nothing."
Professor Verdus answered bluntly.
These were spells Lee Han couldn't perform yet, and there was no need to utilize his high mana capacity either.
"I see. Then I'll take my leave and get some rest."
"Sure. Go sleep."
Professor Verdus, having forgotten her original goal, waved her hand dismissively. Lee Han bowed politely and left the reception room.
"I should go to bed. Good night, everyone."
"...Uh... Is this really okay?"
"It's fine. It's fine."
The servant was flustered, but Lee Han bid his friends goodnight and headed to his room.
Left alone in the reception room with Professor Verdus clutching the helmet, the servant looked on in bewilderment.
Is this really alright...?
Is this REALLY alright!?
Morning.
Professor Verdus smacked the Helmet of Wisdom and asked,
"Hey. Tell me your purpose."
My purpose is to increase the wisdom within me, even if it leads to my owner's ruin...
"Perfect."
It was truly a remarkable achievement.
To modify the functionality of an ego artifact in just one night.
A feat so great that even most skilled artificers wouldn't dare attempt it.
Despite this astonishing accomplishment, Professor Verdus showed no particular excitement. After yawning once, she asked,
"Where's Wardanaz? I need to make an artifact."
"Um... Lord Wardanaz left with his friends 30 minutes ago. He said he didn't want to disturb you since you seemed deeply focused."
"......"
Professor Verdus frowned.
She didn't know why, but she felt strangely cheated.
"Are you really sure this is okay?"
"I just happened to leave early, that's all."
That was Lee Han's response.
If he ever had to work with Professor Verdus against his will, it was best to postpone it as much as possible.
At least until then, he could endure using it, right?
Ratford glanced back with a worried expression, seemingly concerned about how Professor Verdus might react.
"Let's stay at Gainando's place today."
"Really?!"
Gainando's eyes sparkled.
Last time, other unfamiliar royals had come and disrupted things, but this time was different.
He could invite his friends and have a proper get-together.
Gainando wiggled his fingers and touched the deck of cards in his pocket.
Just as Lee Han, the top student of their year, could effortlessly recite the contents of a magic tome with his eyes closed, Gainando could just as easily list off fun activities to do with his eyes closed.
Wizard Card games, polo, pétanque, tuksu (a Korean card game), Ascension of Demons board game...
'We shouldn't play chess since Lee Han is too good at it.'
"Ratford. You brought yours, right?"
"Yes."
"Yoner. Did you say you have yours too?"
"I always carry it with me."
"!!"
Gainando grew even more excited at his friends' responses.
It was clear that his friends had brought their Wizard Cards with them.
"You brought them?!"
"Of course. We need something to do when we visit your place."
As he answered, Lee Han pulled a book from his bag.
<Fundamental Dark Element Magic and Its Applications>.
"......"
Gainando's face twisted with sorrow and bewilderment.
"What's wrong?"
"Uh... it's nothing..."
"You brought a book too, right, Gainando? Let's study black magic together."
"I also planned to catch up on some postponed studies today."
"It's nice studying together like this."
Watching Lee Han, Ratford, and Yoner chatting amiably with cheerful smiles, Gainando wept inwardly.
'Magic isn't everything in life...!'
'Now I understand why the Dark Element is so difficult.'
Having secured a private room, Lee Han closed his eyes and focused on the Dark Element.
The foundation of elemental magic was sensing the element and manifesting it clearly.
In that regard, the Dark Element wasn't particularly difficult. In fact, while this step was challenging for most mages, Lee Han had a distinct conceptualization in his mind that set him apart from others.
Just as this conceptualization had helped him wield the Lightning Element, the same applied to the Dark Element.
The real problem came afterward.
'It's similar to the Fire Element.'
Unlike the Water Element, which rarely harmed its wielder even when control was lost, or the Lightning Element, which dissipated before spreading, the Dark Element was different.
If control failed, it would injure its wielder—and it wouldn't vanish.
Elements like these, much like the Fire Element, could be disastrous with the slightest mistake...
Whoosh!
The private room, previously illuminated by bright light, suddenly darkened.
This wasn't natural darkness. It was an artificial gloom conjured by magic, within which negative energy writhed and an eerie chill lingered.
Lee Han tossed in a leaf he had prepared.
Instantly, the vitality drained from the leaf, turning it into a withered husk.
This was the unique property of the Dark Element—sapping life force.
'...A little slip, and I'll be the one collapsing.'
For black mages wielding the Dark Element, accidents where they exhaust their own vitality and collapse were as common as breathing. This was the first thing to be cautious about.
Of course, the power of a newly learned Dark Element was pitifully weak. Staying in such darkness for hours wouldn't even leave one short of breath. So, the first step was strengthening the Dark Element's power...
"?"
Lee Han stared at the leaf that had died just from briefly touching the Dark Element.
Then he glanced at the section on strengthening the Dark Element.
'I can probably skip this part.'
...Once the Dark Element's power was sufficiently amplified, the true foundation of elemental magic would be established. The core of wielding Dark Element magic lay in the mage's ability to control its life-draining property. Failure to do so would be like swinging a sword that could cut even its wielder...
'I wish the professor explained things this thoroughly normally.'
After reading the unnecessarily detailed book, Lee Han summoned the Dark Element again.
In short, a mage handling the Dark Element had to remain completely unaffected even while immersed in it.
'So, in the end, I must master controlling its nature...'
A spell's power scaled with mana.
And so did its difficulty to control.
For Lee Han, who still couldn't fully wield the Fire Element without relying on various artifacts, the Dark Element was even more challenging.
But he couldn't just discard the mana he had...
'For now, until I gain control, I'll have to handle it at the level of an ember, like the Fire Element? But unlike the Fire Element, that might be meaningless for the Dark Element.'
"Lee Han! Lee Han!"
Gainando knocked on the private room's door. Lee Han closed his book and answered.
"How many hours have you been studying?"
"...That's not important right now! A great job opportunity just came up! They say only a black mage can do it!"
'...Since when is that a good thing?'
Lee Han's first reaction was suspicion.