Episode 328
Episode 328
'Wait. How many years has this project been going on?'
Noticing the dates scribbled here and there along with signs of age, Lee Han asked in puzzlement:
"How many years have you been working on this?"
"Uh... twenty..."
"!!"
Twenty years?
Lee Han was astonished.
He knew Professor Verdus was crazy, but to cling to a single project for twenty years...
"...Thirty... forty...? Probably not forty... can't remember."
"......"
The numbers kept climbing.
Lee Han was at a loss for words.
"Haven't you been holding onto this for too long?"
"Well, yes."
"Is it perhaps just taking a long time but making definite progress? If that's the case..."
If it was simply too complex or intricate, he could understand pouring time into it as long as completion was possible.
"No. There are too many roadblocks—it's impossible in its current state."
"I see."
It was absurd, but he also felt a twinge of respect.
To keep challenging a project with no progress and numerous obstacles without giving up...
The man might be insane, but even a mad scholar deserves some admiration.
"Even if it hasn't reached actual production, this must have cost quite a bit. You must have spent a lot of personal funds."
"Huh? Uh... was that so? Not sure. Probably did spend a fair amount of my own money."
"???"
Lee Han was baffled again by Professor Verdus's words.
Of course, given the professor's personality, it was obvious he had little interest in gold coins.
But it made no sense to have no budget management for such a project.
Where was he getting the money if not from somewhere? Otherwise, it wouldn't even be possible to proceed.
"If you don't know, Professor, where did the money come from?"
"Got investments from Gonadaltes, and uh... what's-his-name... some duke from over a decade ago, and uh... well, someone else too. Forgot."
"......"
Lee Han began to seriously worry for the professor's life.
'Wouldn't be surprised if assassins came after him.'
To receive investments like that and ghost them for over ten years... If Lee Han were an investor, he'd have seriously sought him out for a duel by now.
"Enough boring questions! I called you here to join this exciting project."
"Wow..."
"Exciting, right?"
"Ah. Yes."
Professor Verdus wasn't great at distinguishing between "Wow!" and "Wow..."
"But Professor. The parts I can follow here are... um... this, this, this, and maybe this."
Lee Han pointed at the foresail, mast, bow, and crow's nest.
Though filled with spells too complex to follow, he could roughly guess the principle involved gathering and amplifying wind.
For a first-year to grasp this much at a glance was impressive—even the Skeleton Principal would have acknowledged it.
But Professor Verdus was blunt.
"That's because you're stupid."
"Ah. Yes."
"You'll study and catch up later. What matters now is the hull. The bottom is the core. See?"
The massive keel supporting the center of the hull's bottom was engraved with countless magic circles.
So intricate and numerous that Lee Han felt dizzy just looking at them.
Not a single circle operated independently. Like interlocking gears, they all worked together organically, sending chills down his spine.
Tenacity.
Before him was the insane culmination of a genius pouring countless years into his craft.
Lee Han felt the same awe as when he'd seen the Skeleton Principal's Unique World.
'Is that... even possible with human wisdom?'
"I see it."
"This needs to lighten the ship's weight, reverse gravity, gather wind, generate lift, and reinforce the hull's durability."
"......"
Though Lee Han still had much to learn about Enchantment Magic, he could clearly tell that Professor Verdus was being unreasonably greedy.
'He really should consider giving up on some of those functions.'
"Um... wouldn't it be easier to just hire mages to board the ship?"
"Then why would I even do this? You idiot!"
Professor Verdus grumbled at Lee Han's common-sense suggestion.
"Ah. Right. So?"
"These outer magic circles here are supposed to gather, maintain, and amplify the mana needed for the spellwork, but they're clearly insufficient."
"I can see that."
To maintain all those functions, it seemed more like they'd need mages permanently stationed on board rather than relying on magic circles.
Even considering everything, there had to be some reasonable limits, didn't there?
"So here's what I'm thinking—you see these magic stones placed in the outer magic circles?"
"Yes."
Ideally, the magic circles would draw all the necessary mana from nature, but in reality, that alone often wasn't enough.
In such cases, they usually supplemented with gemstones infused with condensed mana, using them like auxiliary batteries.
Of course, you couldn't just place or use them as-is.
They had to be properly processed and enchanted to function like batteries, matching the requirements of the magic circles.
The outer magic circles Professor Verdus pointed at were densely packed with an uncountable number of magic stones.
Whoever had to make all those would probably be shedding tears of blood.
"We'll saturate all these magic stones with mana to the point of overloading and place them."
"Will that provide enough mana?"
"How should I know? We won't know how effective overloading them will be until we test it. It's too complex to calculate."
"I see..."
As he listened, Lee Han suddenly had a thought and asked:
"But Professor, who's going to overload all these magic stones with mana?"
"You are, of course?"
"...Anyone besides me?"
"Huh? No one else?"
Professor Verdus answered with an utterly innocent expression.
Where else would you find another mage like Lee Han, who possessed near-infinite mana and could overcharge enchantments with every casting?
"Ah-ha."
Lee Han nodded and glanced around.
'Shouldn't I just kill him right now?'
Fortunately, Professor Verdus wasn't planning to complete all the outer magic circles for the sailing ship right away.
...Though the fact that he might eventually do so was terrifying enough. For now, his primary goal was verification.
How much mana could they secure using this method?
"The carpet. I've engraved a simplified magic circle onto this carpet. All we need is to prepare the magic stones for it."
"Professor?"
"Hm?"
"Could you please be quiet? It's distracting."
"Okay."
Lee Han's voice carried a faint edge as he worked late into the night, having skipped dinner.
Right now, if he cast Poison Elemental Magic, it would probably produce a rather potent toxin.
The spell Professor Verdus had just taught Lee Han was <Vible's Mana Emission Enchantment>.
When cast on a magic stone, it granted the property of slowly releasing the mana stored within.
And this was a 3rd-Circle spell.
'Maybe I should've just stubbornly pretended I couldn't do it.'
Lee Han regretted his past self, who had absentmindedly waved his wand a few times, saying things like, "Like this?" "This way?" "Ah, I see," and called it done.
After embedding dozens of magic stones one by one into the magic circle and connecting them with spirit ink lines, even though his mana was fine, his mental energy felt completely drained.
Regardless, Professor Verdus hummed cheerfully beside him while adjusting the magic circle on the carpet.
"You know why so many wizards in old fairy tales fly around on carpets?"
"No."
"Usually, wizards who ride these things don't cast the magic themselves—they summon and contract with entities to ride instead. Otherwise, the mana cost is too high."
"Right."
"But back then, far fewer people understood magic, so riding around on a carpet like this must've looked impressive."
"Yes."
"Fun, isn't it?"
"Hoho."
While Lee Han was mechanically cycling through these three responses, someone knocked on the door.
Diret peeked in with a worried expression.
"Aren't you going to sleep, junior?"
"I'm fine. It's fine."
'What exactly is fine here?'
For a moment, Diret couldn't comprehend what Professor Verdus meant by "fine."
You asked the junior, so why are you answering...
'Oh no. Why am I talking to a madman?'
Diret came to his senses.
After spending years at Einrogard, here he was trying to confront a professor head-on.
"Junior!"
"??"
"Are you really okay?! Your injuries haven't worsened, have you?!"
"...!"
Diret conveyed his meaning through his eyes.
Lee Han was startled by this display.
And impressed.
'So that's the dignity of a senior...!'
"Cough, cough. Suddenly, my mana feels all twisted..."
"See, I told you not to overdo it earlier! After getting beaten up so badly by that Undead Chimera!"
"I-I'm sorry. Enchantment Magic was just too fascinating."
"Even so, this is too much. You got poisoned by the spikes from that Undead Chimera's attack earlier."
"Gag. Gag."
"Can't you hold out just a little longer?"
Though Professor Verdus asked regretfully, the two students pretended not to hear and ignored him.
"You need to rest. Junior. Go lie down immediately."
"Th-thank you, Professor. I'm sorry."
"What time should I wake you tomorrow?"
The two students pretended not to hear again as they hurried out of the room.
Early morning.
As soon as Lee Han woke up, he checked his surroundings.
Fortunately, Professor Verdus hadn't come all the way to his bedroom to wait for him.
"Young Master."
"Shh. Is Professor Verdus nearby by any chance?"
"Huh? No, but..."
"I see. Thanks."
"But we have a visitor."
"......"
Lee Han, who had been about to slip out through the window to escape the mansion, froze.
"Is it the Professor?"
"No... It's a friend. A priest from the Prisinga Order..."
"Ah."
Lee Han sighed in relief.
Thankfully, it seemed he'd avoided the worst-case scenario of another mad professor showing up.
'Is this about that order event they mentioned?'
Since he'd promised to attend the Prisinga Order's event, Lee Han intended to go.
It also gave him a perfect excuse to escape Professor Verdus...
'Wait.'
Lee Han fell into thought.
Come to think of it, there were few people as knowledgeable about artifacts as Professor Verdus.
What if he brought Professor Verdus to the Prisinga Order?
'Not only could I avoid his insane projects, but I might even get some useful artifacts to purify!'
"Professor! Professor!"
"Huh!? What!?"
Professor Verdus, who had been sleeping, startled awake and bolted upright.
"You can't cancel the promise?"
"No. It was a promise that involved my personal honor, my family's honor, and my pride as a mage."
"Tch..."
Though Professor Verdus grumbled, he couldn't argue further after hearing it put like that.
How could he stop someone who'd staked their personal, familial, and magical pride on it?
"If you help, Professor, things might wrap up faster. And if they do..."
"Then we can work on the magic stones!"
"...Yes."
Lee Han bit his lip hard as he answered. Professor Verdus nodded.
"Fine. I'll help."
"...????"
Priestess Dijiling listened to their conversation in bewilderment.
Was that...
Such a serious promise?
"Was it... really that kind of promise? I don't think it was..."
"Priestess Dijiling. Memories tend to shift over time. I believe I made that promise with that level of resolve."
"......"
Priestess Dijiling stared intently at Lee Han.
Lately, he'd been realizing that this boy from the Wardanaz family might not be as cold and composed as he appeared.
'He seems a bit more... flexible than I thought?'