Episode 398
Episode 398
"...That can't be."
"Didn't you hesitate just now?"
"Must be your imagination."
Yoner tilted her head in confusion.
She was certain Lee Han had hesitated.
"Priest Nigisor. By any chance—"
Lee Han, who had been about to silence Nigisor, sighed as he watched the priest passionately shouting at the students of the Blue Dragon Tower.
Once he started yelling like that, even if Lee Han shut him up now, the other priests would undoubtedly hear about it.
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND??!"
Faced with the blazing eyes of Priest Nigisor, the Blue Dragon Tower students froze in panic.
To be honest, they had been too busy eating bread to fully grasp the situation yet.
"I SAID, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
"Th-that was... an outstanding display of fire magic..."
The Princess hesitantly spoke up.
She didn't know the exact nature of the spell, but judging by the uniquely altered properties of the flames, she guessed it must be some kind of difficult arcane magic within the elemental school—something not typically learned by first-years.
But if it was a Wardanaz, mastering it wasn't all that surprising.
"That was NOT fire magic! It was DIVINE MAGIC!! DIVINE MAGIC, I tell you!!"
Priest Nigisor stomped his feet in frustration. The Princess, though she hadn't done anything wrong, shrank back slightly.
Ashan, confused, asked:
"But isn't divine magic something only priests can use?"
"Many think that way. But even if one isn't a priest, there are rare cases where individuals awaken to divine magic. It's only possible for the most devout of believers."
"Uh. But Wardanaz doesn't seem particularly devout..."
Ashan didn't recall Lee Han being especially pious.
When they lived together in the dorm, he never saw him praying fervently or displaying any signs of deep faith.
Sure, he regularly gave meals to the priests of the Phoenix Tower, but so did students from other towers...
"Wh-wh-what kind of nonsense—?!"
Nigisor literally frothed with rage, trembling violently. Ashan panicked and quickly backtracked.
"N-no, no! Priest, now that I think about it, Wardanaz must have been devout after all! He always gave meals to the priests!"
"??"
The Princess, listening nearby, tilted her head in confusion.
"How does giving meals prove...?"
"Everyone thinks so!"
"Y-yeah! Of course!"
Only after the Blue Dragon Tower students nodded in agreement did Priest Nigisor finally calm down. The Princess still wasn't convinced, but the topic had already moved on, leaving her no choice.
"So... has everyone thought about what they'll bring to the Paragranum Guild?"
"The Paragranum Guild?"
"...What did you think we gathered here for?"
"F-for snacks...?"
Lee Han ignored the Blue Dragon Tower student whose intelligence had clearly dropped due to hunger and continued.
The reason he had gathered his friends was to tackle the daunting challenge of gaining recognition from the Empire's alchemists.
Pooling their wisdom together would yield far better results than working alone.
"Regular potions probably won't satisfy them, right?"
"Probably not."
Ashan answered.
"The alchemists of the Paragranum Guild are always thirsty for new formulas."
"Oh. Ashan, have you met them before?"
"No, not personally. But when I was young, I remember them occupying a government building and threatening to burn it down unless they got research funding."
"...I see."
Lee Han had just learned something he didn't particularly want to know.
"First, let's list the potions we can already make, then the ones we haven't tried yet but could attempt. After that, we'll discuss."
At Lee Han's words, his friends nodded.
"Here's what I've made before—Minor Mental Fortification Potion, Minor Stamina Recovery Potion..."
"I've tried making the Awakening Potion of Vion. I think I can do it."
"You said it didn't work last time—did you finally succeed?"
"Yeah. The magic I used when adding the powder was incomplete before."
As the students took turns writing down their lists, they stared at Lee Han's notes in bewilderment.
"Wardanaz. I think you made a mistake. Is this really Dobruk's Soul-Returning Potion?"
"That's right. I learned it during this break."
"......"
The student beside Lee Han looked at him in horror.
Just which insane workshop would entrust a first-year student with brewing Dobruk's Soul-Returning Potion?
'Shouldn't we report this to His Majesty the Emperor?'
Once their lists were somewhat organized, Lee Han and his friends began reviewing them one by one.
"How about trying something new with recovery potions? I've gathered a few herbs we could experiment with..."
"I'm thinking of challenging myself with enhancement-type potions. I've been practicing a lot with those lately."
There were two main approaches to developing new potions.
The first was creating something from nothing—a method that involved combining unused ingredients and crafting entirely new magic in ways never before attempted.
Naturally, this was something only the greatest of masters could achieve after years of dedication, and a potion developed this way would become a textbook example and guideline for countless alchemists.
The second method was improving upon existing formulas.
Substituting Shadowfang Mushrooms for Whitebell Mushrooms.
Using a griffin's broken beak instead of Kaltakal slime.
It wasn't just about swapping ingredients—they could also tweak the magic cast during the process and experiment with every possible variable. This was what countless alchemists across the Empire were still doing today.
It was far easier than the first method, and with enough wisdom and luck, one could achieve quite impressive results.
Unsurprisingly, the first-year students were all focused on the second approach.
'It might be good to try improving Dobruk's potion...'
Dobruk's Soul-Returning Potion, which Lee Han had practiced to the point of exhaustion over the break.
Though its difficulty was incredibly high, its perfection was equally astounding—enough for Lee Han to recognize its brilliance.
If he could improve it even slightly, it would undoubtedly be an outstanding achievement.
The ingredients were a bit complicated, but he could probably borrow them from Professor Thunderstep...
"Lee Han. Lee Han."
"Hm?"
"How about trying to make the potion you got from your sister?"
"Eh? Is that allowed?"
Lee Han was surprised.
The potion recipe he'd received from Yoanen wasn't just any ordinary potion—it was one she had developed herself.
"From the moment she gave it to you, she shouldn't have any complaints about where you pass it on. And honestly, she's not the type to care. She's probably already forgotten about it."
"Really?"
"And even if she does, so what? It's fine if she takes a little loss."
Yoner spoke as if she wanted Yoanen to get a taste of her own medicine. Her voice carried the weight of accumulated grievances.
"Did Lady Yoanen... do something wrong?"
"Not to me. But she's wronged plenty of the friends I've brought to her."
"Ah... I guess I was lucky, then."
"......"
Yoner stared at Lee Han as if he were insane, then gave up on saying anything further.
"Whatever. Let's just make the potion."
White Flame.
Priest Nigisor referred to the sacred flame Lee Han had summoned with divine magic by that name.
"Please wait a moment. Among the divine magic recorded in our order, there was something similar... Forty-one years ago, a green flame with properties that absorbed and condensed poison—no, wait! Here it is. White Flame—Baekyeom. It burns away wicked corruption and repels negative energy. I believe this must be that flame."
'I'm also learning black magic... Is this really okay?'
While it wasn't bad to have a flame known as the "Flame of Evil-Dispelling," Lee Han couldn't help but feel slightly conflicted.
"You won't be able to use it when brewing black magic potions, but it should be quite useful in other situations."
"Are there potions for Black Magic too?"
Priest Nigisor's innocent, well-meaning question pained Lee Han's heart.
"There are..."
"Ohh."
As the priest expressed surprise, Lee Han shook his head bitterly.
"The priest who imparted wisdom to me in my youth could wield as many as three types of Divine Magic. If Lord Wardanaz continues his diligent efforts, he may receive even greater blessings."
"I doubt I can expand beyond this."
"It's entirely possible."
Priest Nigisor spoke with a gaze sparkling with firm conviction.
Had it been any other friend, Lee Han might have been moved, but he just felt awkward.
He couldn't help sensing an underlying, dubious expectation—'If you're someone who can produce flames with insane firepower like yours, surely you'll reach greater heights and create flames capable of burning the world.'
"Lo-Lord Lee Han of the Wardanaz family...!!!"
A shrill, almost screeching voice came from beside them.
"Priest Siana?"
"Th-This can't be...! Tell me it's a lie! Did you really use the Afha Order's Divine Magic...?!"
"It's true!"
'Ugh, this oblivious fool.'
Lee Han wanted to smack the back of Priest Nigisor's head as he proudly declared it.
Showing a little remorse wouldn't have hurt!
"Priest Siana. Just because I've awakened Divine Magic doesn't mean my faith in the Flemeng Order has vani—"
"Just once!"
"??"
"Please, just give me one more chance!"
Priest Siana's reaction was unexpected. She looked ready to drop to her knees and cling to his ankles.
"What chance?"
"Before you enter the dormitory, just one more prayer session...! You'll awaken Divine Magic! I swear!"
'Is this really okay for a priest's level of faith?'
To treat a near-miraculous Divine Magic like some Skeleton Principal's training—'Just a little more and you'll get it!'—was absurd.
Beside them, Priest Nigisor interjected calmly.
"Divine Magic isn't something you can rush like—"
"Shush! Just once! If the turn passes, we'll have to wait ages again!"
"Fine, calm down."
Lee Han decided to humor Priest Siana with one last prayer before heading in.
Priest Siana kept glancing around warily, as if afraid someone might interfere.
"O Thou who perceives the essence of all things and brings forth change, today, as I offer my faith, grant this believer the thread of transformation—"
Fizz!
"?!"
Lee Han jolted in surprise, lifting his head.
The Divine Power he had emitted moved again, just like before, transforming into warp and weft threads that began weaving together.
This...?!
"Ah, no!"
Priest Nigisor, who had been watching leisurely, suddenly shouted in alarm.
To anyone, this was the precursor to awakening Divine Magic.
If such a sign appeared, they should save it for awakening the Afha Order's Divine Magic, not hand it over to another order!
"What do you mean 'no'?! Be quiet!"
"Priest Siana?"
Lee Han, flustered by the tense exchange, tried to interject, but the response was even more intense.
"Focus!! Please, just focus!!!"
"Uh, alright."
Regardless of Priest Siana's anxiety, the Divine Power safely transformed into a miracle.
The potion inside the flask turned transparent, and Priest Siana clapped her hands, bouncing up and down excitedly.
"I knew it! I knew it would work! It was right at the moment of awakening, but the turn passed, so it happened like this!"
"I don't think Divine Magic works like that...?"
As far as Lee Han knew, Divine Magic wasn't some gambler's fallacy.
It wasn't a system where repeated failures increased the odds of success—it was about faith and willpower...
But Priest Siana wasn't listening. She was too exhilarated.
"I'll be right back—just need to run to the dormitory!"
"Wait! Priest Siana! Hold on!"
Lee Han urgently stopped her, knowing full well that if she went to the dorm, a dozen other priests would come rushing out, thinking, 'Aha! Now's our chance!'