Episode 354
Episode 354
Of course, saying "I decline" didn't work.
Professor Voladi interpreted his disciple's refusal as admirable humility—not wanting to inconvenience his teacher—and promptly drew his staff.
Lee Han, as if he had been waiting for this, immediately drew his own staff as well.
"???"
Alsicle, unable to grasp the situation, stared at the two in bewilderment.
They were glaring at each other so intensely it looked like they were about to duel.
"What are you doing right now? What's going on?"
Instead of explaining, Professor Voladi demonstrated with action.
Whoosh—!
The water droplets from the floating spheres in the air transformed into needle-like projectiles and began firing.
Professor Voladi was showing exactly how the 'projectile' attribute differed.
Even without complex trajectory adjustments, each droplet emitted a deadly sound as it shattered walls and pierced the floor.
"What the—!? What are you doing!?"
But Lee Han was no pushover either. The moment Professor Voladi raised his staff, Lee Han was already reciting an incantation.
"...Let the earth crumple!"
After casting every possible Enhancement Magic spell on himself, Lee Han sprinted through the Magic Tower. If he stopped even for a second, the water needles would pierce him.
Thankfully, he had already cast <Spatial Perception> beforehand. As he created distance, Lee Han targeted the spheres summoned by Professor Voladi.
"O ice, become arrows and strike forth!"
Professor Voladi's deadly pressure only sharpened Lee Han's instincts further.
The incantation was uttered swiftly, and as the chill gathered at the tip of his staff, it took the form of arrows before shooting forward.
Even amidst the chaos of Professor Voladi demolishing the surroundings, Alsicle's eyes widened in shock.
'Again, all at once?!?!'
He had assumed compressing those steps would take time, yet Lee Han had done it in one go again.
Not knowing how brutally Lee Han had trained during his first semester, Alsicle couldn't help but be astonished.
Crack!
'Too late!'
Though the spell succeeded, the sphere summoned by Professor Voladi leisurely shifted positions, evading the ice arrows.
Lee Han clicked his tongue in frustration at the failed interception.
'This isn't enough...'
While he had managed to condense multiple steps into one successful cast, it still took a bit too long in terms of timing.
Professor Voladi had moved the sphere the moment he saw Lee Han reciting the incantation.
'...Faster. I need to cast even faster to intercept it.'
To overcome this situation, he had to shoot arrows faster than before to knock down the spheres.
"...Stop it, you lunatics!"
Alsicle swung his staff and began scattering frost indiscriminately.
A magical core summoned above the ceiling exerted overwhelming control over the surrounding mana.
The spheres summoned by Professor Voladi lost their power and dispersed, and the ice arrows Lee Han had fired also dissipated.
"What the hell are you—"
"Why are you interfering?"
"...What are you talking about! You're fighting with your disciple in someone else's Magic Tower!"
"This isn't a fight."
Alsicle was dumbfounded by Professor Voladi's words.
If what just happened wasn't a fight, then what was it?
Was this supposed to be some kind of lesson?
"What is it, then?"
"Instruction."
For a moment, Alsicle wondered if Voladi Bagrak had finally lost his mind and glanced at Lee Han.
"It is instruction, technically."
"......"
'Should I send a petition to His Majesty the Emperor?'
Alsicle sat in a chair alongside Yumidihus, watching Voladi and Lee Han's du— no, instruction.
"...No matter how I think about it, this is a bit much, isn't it?"
"But it's effective. At least, that's what Voladi Bagrak insists."
'I knew he was crazy, but I didn't realize he was this crazy.'
Since they had both studied under Yumidihus, Alsicle had assumed he knew Voladi Bagrak to some extent.
Though not from a prestigious family like Alsicle, Voladi was a renowned combat mage and duelist in the Empire, so he had expected him to act within reason...
"Guhk!"
Lee Han was struck by a water droplet and tumbled to the ground. He had kept moving but was eventually cornered and hit.
Yet Professor Voladi gave him no respite, launching another attack at the fallen Lee Han.
Despite being knocked down, Lee Han showed no openings—he immediately bounced back, putting distance between them.
'...Is that really the right way to teach? Is it actually acceptable to teach like that?'
"Short break."
When Professor Voladi declared a break and returned, Alsicle found himself asking in an unconsciously cautious voice.
"Voladi Bagrak. Do you really have to teach like that?"
"Got something to say?"
"Well... I mean. It seems too dangerous, violent, and primitive."
Alsicle tried to phrase it as diplomatically as possible, but it didn't go particularly well. Yumidihus, listening nearby, clicked his tongue disapprovingly.
But since it was Professor Voladi listening, no offense was taken or anger shown.
"It's effective."
"There's no way that method could be effect—"
Alsicle's words caught in his throat.
Indeed, the achievements of that Wardanaz boy were nothing short of extraordinary.
To the point where one might doubt if such results were possible through talent alone, no matter how gifted.
'...Really? Is this for real?'
Alsicle began to fear that Voladi Bagrak's teaching methods might actually be effective.
"Compare yourself to him."
"There's no need to say that, Voladi Bagrak!"
Alsicle glared in anger.
For a guest visiting from another magic tower, wasn't that too harsh?
"...Do as you please. You're a professor too, so you must have your own thoughts."
'It seems Alsicle doesn't understand since he's not from Einrogard.'
Yumidihus clicked his tongue inwardly.
If he were from Einrogard, he'd never think something like, "The professor must have a reason for acting this way."
Ratatatatatat!
As the break ended, Professor Voladi summoned spheres again and began firing them madly at Lee Han.
The astonishing thing was that Lee Han's spellcasting speed was also gradually increasing.
Alsicle felt himself shaken by Voladi Bagrak's teaching method, something he'd never seen before, and was horrified.
'...No, no, no. That must be because of his talent...'
"??"
When he realized he was acknowledging the Wardanaz boy's talent, tears welled up in Alsicle's eyes.
To think there really was someone in the world with greater talent than himself.
Of course, from Yumidihus's perspective, Alsicle just seemed to be tearing up suddenly.
"Are you crying out of concern for Wardanaz? Don't worry. Voladi Bagrak wouldn't make mistakes in that regard."
"Sniff... It's just that realizing there's someone truly more talented than me makes me so sad that I—"
"......"
Yumidihus shot him a disdainful look and turned away.
Alsicle, still sniffling, noticed something odd.
Professor Voladi, who was unleashing attacks, occasionally drank mana recovery potions, but his student Lee Han wasn't drinking anything.
'What's going on?'
"Yumidihus. Why is only Voladi Bagrak drinking mana potions?"
"Wardanaz has enough mana. Doesn't need to drink."
"Even so, shouldn't he at least have one bottle?"
"I told you, he really doesn't need to."
"No matter how much he has, there's no way he wouldn't feel any strain after such an intense battle—"
Alsicle stopped mid-sentence.
Yumidihus was speaking with his eyes.
"Really?"
"Yes."
Alsicle quietly walked to the back.
And then, a sorrowful wail erupted from behind.
-Why didn't the world give me such talent...
Crashcrashcrash!
Lee Han, who had rolled to Yumidihus's feet after breaking through the floating ice shield, coughed and locked eyes with the non-mage.
"Ah. Yumidihus. Where did Pengerin go?"
"...He went to the restroom for a moment."
"I see. Frost, become mist!"
Lee Han cast the 2nd Circle spell <Lesser Frost Mist>.
One of the elemental spells he'd learned from Alsicle, the frost mist spread around, slowing and cooling the incoming water droplets.
Seeing him recklessly expend frost element—already mana-intensive—combined with the equally mana-intensive mist-type spells, Yumidihus couldn't help but marvel.
"Damn. It's not hitting at all. Yumidihus, I'm borrowing this!"
As Voladi's spheres kept dodging the ice arrows, Lee Han kicked apart the wooden chair Alsicle had been sitting on, then cast <Lesser Frost Imbuement> on the fragments.
"Cold, take hold!"
Lee Han used a telekinesis spell to hurl the wooden shards infused with cold energy.
While mere ice shards would shatter after piercing a few water droplets, the wooden fragments could endure a bit longer.
However, Professor Voladi remained unshaken, calmly focusing his attacks to shatter the wooden pieces midair as well.
"This isn't working either... Lady Yumidihus. I'm borrowing that too!"
As Lee Han moved to smash the table in Alshikel's absence, Yumidihus briefly debated whether to intervene.
He was clearly making rapid progress, but...
Once the sun set and training concluded for the day, Alshikel brought out the frozen sardines left in the corner.
"...I'll handle the cooking."
"Really? These are tasty as they are, though?"
Thanks to his Einrogard experience, Lee Han had developed the habit of preparing food before going anywhere—a habit that saved him now.
He prepared stir-fried mushrooms and vegetables for Professor Voladi and cream stew for Yumidihus.
Alshikel chewed on a frozen sardine, looking surprised.
"Why are you cooking?"
"It's a show of respect for one's teacher. You should learn it too."
"If I had a servant, I would've had them serve Lady Yumidihus properly..."
"......"
Yumidihus wasn't sure where to even begin correcting him.
Alshikel, having swallowed a whole sardine, turned to Yumidihus and asked,
"So, how much of today's spells have you mastered?"
Alshikel had taught not just ice arrows but several other spells as well.
The Lesser Cold Mist (which Professor Voladi immediately pushed back against the moment it was taught), the Lesser Cold Infusion (which the professor interrupted right after)...
It seemed he had covered all the low-circle cold magic spells teachable in one session.
Despite it not being his specialty, Alshikel's ability to teach a wide range of spells—summoning, illusions, infusions, transformations—proved he was truly a master of cold magic.
"I've mastered all of them."
"......"
"Ah, except summoning."
The spell to summon an Ice Spirit was actually the easiest among what he'd learned today.
Hearing this, Alshikel's shoulders slumped further.
"Was it... too easy, so you didn't even feel like doing it?"
"That's not it."
"It sure seems like it... Ugh."
"Just keep stuffing your face with sardines."
Too annoyed to explain, Yumidihus tossed a sardine into his mouth.
"You're still lacking in speed."
Professor Voladi finally spoke up.
It was only natural.
Compared to the simplest 1st Circle spells, the ones learned today were 2nd and 3rd Circle.
The additional complexity made it harder to match the casting speed.
But that wasn't good enough for Professor Voladi.
'Is that so?'
"That's plenty! Do you want to be known as a madman who murders his own students...?"
Though Alshikel, being from a noble family, usually maintained decorum, today had been so shocking that his true thoughts slipped out.
Of course, Professor Voladi ignored whatever Alshikel muttered, considering himself the superior instructor.
"The food's ready. What were you all talking about?"
"We were saying how hard you've worked today."
Yumidihus spoke kindly.
No matter how you looked at it, the boy from the Wardanaz family had done remarkably well against these two lunatics today.
What mage could learn the fundamentals of cold magic so thoroughly under Alshikel and Voladi?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Wardanaz!! Wardanaz!!"
"?!"
Someone was pounding violently on the Magic Tower's door, shouting Lee Han's name.
Recognizing Nilia's voice, Lee Han jumped up in surprise.
"Nilia? How did you— What's wrong?"
"Th— The Crown Prince! He's been stranded!"
"What?!!"
Alshikel also shot to his feet in shock.
"The Crown Prince stranded?! This is no ordinary matter! I'll go search for him myself. Tell the other followers to stay in the tower!"
"Other followers...?"
"There aren't any..."
Nilia and her friends averted their eyes awkwardly.
The penguin beastman mage seemed to be misunderstanding something.
It wasn't like the empire's elites would send thank-you notes just for saving Gainando...