Episode 348
Episode 348
Thirty minutes later.
Professor Garcia returned, panting heavily.
"S-sorry, everyone. You must have waited a long time."
"???"
Lee Han was starting to feel something was off.
Professor Garcia was gasping for breath as if he'd just been in a physical struggle.
'Did he beat up those troublemakers from earlier?'
But that didn't seem likely—Professor Garcia's personality was far too kind for that.
"P-professor, please have some of this."
As the students offered him a teacup, Professor Garcia gulped it down. His throat must have been parched.
"Whew. I'm really sorry. Did you order any snacks while waiting?"
"Just tea was enough."
"No, no. The snacks here are delicious too. The Fruit Slices are especially good..."
Professor Garcia suddenly trailed off.
The students had a bad feeling.
"...I'll be right back."
Whoosh!
As Professor Garcia dashed out again, Lee Han's face hardened.
"This isn't good. I'll go check on him."
It wasn't just once—he kept doing this. As his student, Lee Han couldn't help but worry.
"Wait. Isn't that dangerous? What if you get in the way by going there for no reason..."
Nilia wondered if she should follow.
She understood the desire to help.
But assistance from someone unqualified could end up being more of a nuisance.
Nilia knew this well from her experiences among hunters.
If the students went to help Professor Garcia now, it might just...
"No. Professor Garcia isn't skilled in combat. In case of an emergency, he'll need help."
"...????"
"???????"
His friends were too stunned by Lee Han's words to react.
In the meantime, Lee Han turned and quickly sprinted toward the door.
"Wai— Wardanaz! What the hell are you...?!"
Among Einrogard's professors, Alkasis Lagrinde, who taught Healing Magic, was relatively easy to find.
If you saw a group of people with equally pale and exhausted faces passing by, they were usually either undead or Professor Alkasis' students.
Professor Garcia panted as he spoke.
"Professor... Lagrinde."
"Professor Garcia."
Professor Alkasis bowed her head stiffly in greeting.
But Professor Garcia wasn't in the mood for exchanging pleasantries.
'Just how many professors are gathered here?'
He had just sent one away, and now another professor appeared.
It almost felt like there was some secret faculty gathering happening nearby that only Professor Garcia wasn't aware of.
"May I ask what brings you here?"
"I came looking for a student."
"Would that be Lee Han of the Wardanaz family?"
At Professor Garcia's words, Professor Alkasis' expressionless face twitched slightly in surprise.
"Yes. If you already know, then this will be quick."
"B-but Lee Han is a first-year, isn't he? And he's already studying so many majors—his skills aren't yet at the level to learn Healing Magic directly..."
"He single-handedly performed emergency treatment on the knights who were injured during the Red Lotus Forest expedition. Isn't that qualification enough?"
"......"
Professor Garcia inwardly screamed at Lee Han.
'Where the hell did you sell off the warnings I gave you during the semester?'
No matter how basic the Healing Magic was, the moment it became known that a first-year could use it, a path of endless hardship would open up! He had emphasized over and over to be careful!
Professor Garcia let out a sigh.
But he couldn't blame his student.
If someone was injured right in front of him, he couldn't just stand by for his own comfort.
Seeing Professor Garcia fidget restlessly, Professor Alkasis let out a rough sigh—one laden with deep exhaustion.
"Professor Garcia, I know Lee Han is a student you cherish. But look at my students."
Professor Garcia turned her head without thinking and immediately regretted it.
There stood the most pitiable souls among all mages in the world.
The students majoring in Healing Magic under Professor Alkasis were dozing off while standing, then shaking their heads to regain focus.
"My students have slept only one hour in three days. Mages from other disciplines can make plans. But my students can't do such things. You know this."
"Well... that's..."
Professor Garcia found herself speechless before such irrefutable logic.
Unlike other professors who harbored selfish motives, Professor Alkasis's reasoning was something even Professor Garcia couldn't easily refute.
When lives needed saving and help was required...
"Just lend them to me for five days. Five days should be enough to handle the most urgent patients."
"...But you'll come borrow them again whenever another emergency arises, won't you?"
"Yes. I apologize. But when accidents happen, there's no helping it. We need every pair of hands we can get."
Professor Alkasis spoke while the swords at her waist clattered. The dark elf professor's voice was heavy with unavoidable exhaustion.
"So where is the Wardanaz student?"
"...I don't know."
"Professor!"
Professor Alkasis glared at her pleadingly.
It was particularly shocking because Professor Garcia, unlike other professors, had always been someone she could reason with.
"What can I do if I truly don't know?"
"Is that so... Very well. Find him."
"Yes..."
The Healing Magic students stepped forward with conflicted expressions, torn between thoughts like 'Can we really drag a freshman into this?' and 'If he's truly talented, maybe we could get some rest?'
"......"
Professor Garcia prepared to send a message to the teahouse.
She planned to tell the students to lock the door and absolutely not come out.
'They'll never find...'
"Ah, found him!"
"...What in the world are you doing!!! Lee Han! Have you lost your mind?!"
Professor Garcia erupted in anger upon spotting Lee Han, who was currently making eye contact with a Healing Magic major right beside the alley.
"...My apologies."
Lee Han apologized.
But this was unavoidable. The situation had been too sudden.
He'd been listening to Professors Garcia and Alkasis's conversation when the search abruptly began...
'I should make it a habit to always have Invisibility Magic prepared from now on.'
Lee Han reflected deeply.
Einrogard wasn't the only battlefield.
The world outside Einrogard was a battlefield too.
A battlefield where a moment's carelessness could cost you your life!
"Finally found you."
Professor Alkasis spoke in a slightly hoarse, weary voice.
"Last time, Professor Verdus interrupted us before we could finish talking. Take my hand. I'll help your talent blossom."
"......"
Lee Han hesitated between trusting Professor Garcia to help him escape or obediently following Professor Alkasis.
The former risked getting struck by Professor Alkasis's sword if the escape failed, while the latter might mean being dragged away for Healing Magic training until the end of vacation if luck wasn't on his side.
'Only the latter option remains.'
Lee Han quickly made his decision.
The moment Professor Alkasis's focus wavers even slightly, he'll cast every spell he has and make a run for it!
"You..."
Professor Alkasis's eyes narrowed. Though she didn't speak, she could read Lee Han's thoughts perfectly.
While the Skeleton Principal was best at catching fleeing students in Einrogard, Professor Alkasis was no slouch either.
For a Healing Magic professor, the ability to catch runaway students was just as essential as healing magic itself.
Which was why she could tell just by his stance.
'Is he really a first-year?'
Professor Alkasis couldn't hide her astonishment at Lee Han's flawless posture.
How could a student who wasn't even from White Tiger Tower maintain such a perfectly solid stance without a single opening?
"I'd heard you showed exceptional talent in fields beyond just Healing Magic, but I never expected it to be to this extent."
Just by the aura he was radiating, one might not even be surprised if told he was an experienced Combat Mage.
'But...'
Professor Alkasis calmly prepared his magic.
No matter how much of a prodigious genius his opponent might be, he was still an immature beast.
In mage duels, experienced practitioners held an absolute advantage.
Professor Alkasis conserved his mana, ready to subdue Lee Han as swiftly as possible.
'Given his abundant mana, direct suppression spells likely won't work. I'll need to summon restraints from the outside.'
'First, spread mist and cast invisibility, then apply Enhancement Magic to escape.'
The two mages simply stared at each other in silence. The air grew taut with tension.
Lee Han instinctively sensed his disadvantage.
'Damn it. I can't tell what he's planning...'
He couldn't discern what kind of magic the professor was preparing. Moreover, Professor Alkasis was well aware of Lee Han's substantial mana reserves.
"...You idiot! What are you doing?! Run! Don't even look back—just sprint! Arms, wither away!"
"!?"
At that moment, two of Professor Alkasis's disciples, who had been watching from the sidelines, lunged forward and unleashed spells at their teacher.
They were seniors Lee Han recognized—Phil and Chil.
Professor Alkasis showed neither surprise nor anger at his disciples' sudden attack.
He merely flicked his staff with an air of annoyance and fatigue, deflecting their spells.
"Run! Vitality, be— Gahk!"
Phil was subdued in a single strike from the professor.
Professor Alkasis had over-regenerated the flesh in Phil's airway, temporarily blocking it.
Phil struggled to free himself, but the professor's handiwork was as unyielding as a master tailor's stitches—impossible to loosen easily.
"If you survive, study throat anatomy again. Foolish child."
"Eyes, be veiled!"
Chil, unfazed by his friend's collapse, immediately targeted the professor's eyes.
Healing Magic students were too valuable to be sent to the punishment hall, no matter how often they rebelled or attempted escape—a fact Professor Alkasis knew well.
Thud!
With an irritated gesture, the professor nullified Chil's spell.
Though the motion was simple, both Lee Han and Chil could discern the advanced technique hidden within it.
In that brief moment, the professor had analyzed the incoming spell's structure, then channeled mana into his fingertips to dismantle it.
Chil gritted his teeth and shouted.
"Aren't you ashamed?! You're just going to grind down a freshman like you did with us! How can you not feel disgrace?!"
"...Damn it, you're right, Chil!"
Other Healing Magic seniors, who had been hesitating nearby, threw off their cloaks and gripped their staffs.
Torn between self-interest and conscience, Chil's words made their faces burn with shame.
As Einrogard students, they couldn't let such a thing happen to a first-year.
Professor Alkasis's eyes darkened further, glinting dangerously.
"I don't care if you attack, but anyone wasting mana needlessly will die."
"Don't lie! You won't kill us—you'll just make us work instead!"
"Charge!"
"Which formation?!"
"Number 11 this time! Move in Formation 11!"
'How many times have these seniors rebelled before?!'
The Healing Magic students fell into formation almost instantly, as if they'd done this countless times, and rushed at Professor Alkasis.
'This is enough...!'
Chil felt relief.
Of course, the students would be brutally subdued, but at least they could buy time for their junior to escape.
Yet Lee Han didn't run.
"...??!?"
When Lee Han instead dashed to Chil's side, the senior was stunned.
"What are you doing?! Have you lost your mind?!"
"Senior. How could I run away and leave all of you behind?"
"...You...!"
Chil's eyes burned. Uncontrollable tears welled up before he even realized it.