Episode 327
Episode 327
Of course, the compensation for the black mages working at the public cemetery was never bad.
Black mages were simply magic practitioners persecuted by baseless—no, unfounded—rumors and prejudices, but they were by no means pushovers.
If the pay wasn't good, what black mage would willingly take on such work?
However, Lee Han held the firm belief that even for the same job, increased compensation was always a good thing.
"No, no, Lord Dalkard. We merely served the city out of devotion, so there's no need for—"
"If those who serve aren't rewarded, who would ever serve? I'll strongly petition the city council for an additional budget."
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Lee Han coughed again.
"Cough. Cough..."
"Oh dear. Please stop talking and rest. You probably haven't even recovered the mana you expended during the last subjugation."
"Thank you..."
Lee Han swayed unsteadily before draping his arm over Gainando's shoulder. Gainando, momentarily bewildered, pretended to support him.
"Truly exemplary mages."
Feeling Dihal's gaze on him, Lee Han quickly made his exit from the public cemetery.
Diret, who had been silently watching his junior's performance without interrupting, finally spoke up.
"By the way, junior. What 'last subjugation' are you talking about?"
"Cough-cough-cough!"
"Cut it out."
"Y-yes."
"...And so, those lunatic apprentice knights, completely oblivious to the situation, are insisting on going after that thing again. Aren't they completely insane? I don't understand why the knightly orders don't enforce character education like Einrogard does."
Though Lee Han ranted furiously about the apprentice knights, Diret wasn't listening.
The earlier story had been far too shocking.
"No, you should've just run away—why would you—"
"And it's all because of those White Tiger Tower bastards, right??"
"Uh, yeah. Right."
Seeing how aggrieved his junior looked, Diret couldn't bring himself to say anything more.
'If Professor Mortum finds out, it's going to be a huge hassle...'
To think they had encountered an ancient, malevolent entity not even recorded in the archives.
If Mortum found out, she'd undoubtedly be thrilled and launch all sorts of investigations.
And who would prepare for those investigations? The disciple, of course.
And who would be the primary subject of those investigations? The person who had experienced it firsthand.
This junior of his fit both categories.
"Senior, thank you for your help today. Let's at least have a meal together before you go."
"Hmm."
Diret hesitated slightly.
Normally, he disliked visiting noble family mansions—it was uncomfortable—but if it was his junior's request, that was different.
"Alright. If my junior insists, I can't refuse. But hey, junior."
"Yes?"
"That person over there... isn't that Professor Verdus?"
At the sight of Professor Verdus sitting motionless in front of the mansion gate, waiting blankly, Lee Han felt a tiny pang of guilt.
"W-won't Wardanaz be joining us for dinner?"
"Lee Han has always liked studying more than eating."
Gainando answered Imirg's question knowingly.
Of course, if Lee Han had been present, he'd have smacked the back of Gainando's head for that.
"...Juniors. Why in the world is Professor Biblie here?"
"Ah. He just... dropped by?"
"He just dropped by?"
"Yeah."
"Someone who acts that freely... actually, yeah, that checks out."
Diret didn't even have time to question it before immediately accepting it.
If it was Professor Verdus, that was entirely plausible.
"But even so, shouldn't he at least give the kid some time to rest?"
Diret set down his strawberry madeleine and spoke up.
The kid had just gone through the ordeal of hunting an Undead Chimera—wasn't it too much to drag him away without even letting him catch his breath?
"Right? No matter how long he's waited, it's only been a few hours at most."
"Uh, no?"
"No?"
"He's been waiting since last night."
Given that it was now evening, that meant he'd waited nearly an entire day.
"Since last night... Wait. Hold on."
It was strange that he'd visited last night, but that could be chalked up to the professor and student being close.
"You came last night... but why did you all go to the public cemetery?"
"Because Lee Han suggested we run away this morning..."
"......"
Diret was at a loss for words and set down his coffee cup.
...Was this just reaping what he'd sown?
"Have you been waiting long? My apologies."
Lee Han offered an insincere apology with a feigned expression.
After all, the other party was a professor.
But as expected, Professor Verdus didn't seem to care at all.
"Huh? Nah. Let's just get to work. Oh right—I swapped out the helmet."
"Ah! Thank you!"
Lee Han genuinely brightened at Professor Verdus' words.
'I can sell it!'
"How much do you think this could fetch?"
"Price?"
"Yes."
"Who'd buy something like that? It's a dangerous artifact."
"...Uh... but now that it's fixed, wouldn't it be safe if the user is careful?"
"Well, sure. But if they're not careful, it's dangerous. No one buys stuff like that."
"......"
Lee Han glared at the helmet. The Helmet of Wisdom cautiously spoke up.
Given the situation, perhaps I should offer the wisdom within me—
"Shut up."
Lee Han lost all interest in the helmet. Now that he knew it wouldn't make money, there was no reason to care.
"Professor, I have a question."
"What is it?"
"Could I make and sell artifacts?"
"Unlikely."
Professor Verdus answered immediately.
Since artifacts were each expensive items, the reputation of their creator mattered greatly.
For a novice artifact crafter, they'd first need to steadily assist in other artifact productions to build experience and connections. Only after seizing an opportunity to showcase their own artifact could they make a name for themselves in the Empire.
'This sounds familiar.'
Every industry was harsh to newcomers. Hearing that it would easily take over ten years, Lee Han frowned.
"Wait. What if I did this? Make them cheap and sell them cheap."
Even in Einrogard, incomplete failed artifacts were lying around everywhere—discarded remnants from seniors' botched creations.
Of course, selling these at full price would land you an imperial bounty, but they weren't entirely useless.
Adventurers alone would be tempted if they could get artifacts at relatively low prices, even if they were flawed failures.
"What? That's just wasting mana."
Professor Verdus was skeptical of Lee Han's business plan.
A mage's mana was a finite resource.
Every ounce of mana should be conserved to create masterpieces—why waste it on something like that?
And purely in terms of profit, selling one masterpiece was better than selling dozens of cheaply made junk pieces.
"I see. So aside from wasting mana, there's no other issue, right?"
But Lee Han filtered the professor's words his own way.
So what if he wasted a little mana?
And so what if the cost-performance wasn't great?
'It's way better to start earning early than to slave away for ten years building experience. Besides, failures are inevitable when practicing anyway.'
Lee Han quickly sketched a blueprint in his mind.
To continuously sell artifacts with at least somewhat useful functions...
"Alright! Let's begin!"
Unaware of Lee Han's scheming, Professor Verdus began laying out tools.
Chisels, files, hammers, planes, saws, a small welding wand enchanted with extreme heat, glasses with lenses for various purposes, and more.
"Professor, there's something I want to try."
"Ooh, what? What?!"
Excited to see Lee Han's enthusiasm, Professor Verdus eagerly pressed.
"I want to try making a Water Creation artifact or a Darkvision artifact."
"What? Why make such trash? It's a waste of time, mana, and materials!"
Of course, being excited didn't mean he'd humor Lee Han's ideas. When it came to artifacts, Professor Verdus was brutally pragmatic.
Water Creation Artifacts and Darkvision Artifacts were neither particularly difficult nor interesting—they were the kind of boring artifacts any mage could make with enough time and effort.
There was no way Professor Verdus would approve of such a waste of materials.
"Professor. I've realized something while studying magic lately."
"??"
"Since I have so much mana to begin with, I feel like I need to waste a bit of it to get my hands moving smoothly."
"Oh??"
"Yes. If I try practicing with other magic, I struggle to adjust when I switch back to Enchantment Magic. It seems I need to practice with the same branch—Enchantment Magic—to keep my hands nimble."
"Why on earth are you so untalented?"
Cough. "You're telling me."
Lee Han feigned sorrow as he replied. Professor Verdus genuinely lamented his student's lack of talent.
"What are we going to do? Will you ever get good at Enchantment Magic like this?"
"Ah. Should I just give up, then?"
"Absolutely not."
Damn it.
Seeing that the professor wasn't fully convinced, Lee Han clicked his tongue inwardly.
"Fine. If that's the case... Even if it's boring, unrewarding, and a waste of time..."
Grumbling, Professor Verdus began pulling materials from his pouch.
Lee Han froze when he saw the professor take out a blue gemstone—an aquamarine—and place it atop a piece of Spirit Whale hide.
Though Lee Han hadn't yet mastered all materials, he knew full well just how absurdly expensive those two were.
"Wait. Wait, Professor."
"What?"
"You're using aquamarine and Spirit Whale hide?"
"Yep."
"Uh... Are those essential for a Water Creation Artifact?"
"Of course they are?"
Lee Han was reminded once again that he needed to phrase his questions differently when dealing with Professor Verdus.
"So, you're saying the Water Creation spell won't work at all without them?"
"Well, no. But the efficiency would be garbage. It's already a trash-tier artifact—if the efficiency is garbage too, what's even the point?"
"But using these materials just for practice is too much of a waste."
And I won't even break even.
There was no way Lee Han, who was trying to learn the optimized crafting method, could afford to make an artifact out of aquamarine and Spirit Whale hide.
"But if we skip them, the efficiency will be absolute trash."
"How bad are we talking?"
"Say, for a waterskin this size—it'd take a whole week to fill up."
"!"
The professor's words made undeniable sense.
A whole week... That's way too slow.
A waterskin that barely reached his waist would take an entire week to fill?
It struck Lee Han anew just how miraculous a mage's magic must seem to those who couldn't use it.
For non-mages to wield magic, they needed that much preparation.
"Is there no other way? Like, pouring in more mana?"
"Well, you could... but the artifact's lifespan would shorten."
Even with cheap materials, overloading it with mana would inevitably reduce its durability.
Not to mention, it'd be a waste of mana.
"That's fine! At least the efficiency improves, right?"
"Well, yes, but..."
Professor Verdus tilted his head, baffled by his student's enthusiasm.
Why on earth was he so happy about this?
Does he just enjoy making trash?
* * *
Deer hide, koyak thread, a copper ring.
These were the materials that went into the Water Creation Artifact—a portable waterskin.
Lee Han wasn't the type to be overly impressed by his own skills or take excessive pride in them, but he couldn't help feeling a swell of satisfaction when he finished the waterskin.
I did it!
He'd managed to create an artifact that produced water—using materials that weren't even that expensive.
Beside him, Professor Verdus, who had been dozing off with a bored expression, yawned and asked:
"Done?"
"Yes."
"Hands loosened up? Good. Now then—"
The professor unfurled the blueprint he'd been waiting to show, spreading it across the table.
It was so long and intricate that it covered the entire rectangular table.
"...What is this?"
"An aerial flying galleon."
Faced with the professor's audacity in presenting a project so difficult Lee Han would need a hundred years just to consider attempting it, he seriously contemplated faking an illness again.