Episode 422
Episode 422
While Lee Han was running, other sociable students in the White Tiger Tower received similar messages.
"Professor Ingoldel wants us to come?"
"Tell him my leg's broken."
Giselle spoke languidly, buried in her armchair.
Durgyu asked with a face full of concern.
"But Moradi. What if the professor really needs our help?"
"Then you go."
"......"
Durgyu hesitated.
To be honest, he was somewhat reluctant to face Deputy Leader Jean-Cliff.
Any White Tiger Tower student who'd met Sir Jean-Cliff at gatherings knew exactly how troublesome an opponent he could be.
Once he latched onto you, even cutting off your arm wouldn't let you escape—he might be more terrifying than an ogre.
"But Sir Jean-Cliff is such an accomplished knight. Wouldn't we learn a lot just by talking to him?"
"Then you go."
"You go, damn it. Don't send Moradi."
"......"
A student who'd never met him tried to chime in, only to be collectively scolded by his friends and shrink back.
Is... is he really that bad?
Giselle bit her lip with a grimace.
"Just thinking about it gives me a headache... We have to attend his gathering this week anyway. No need to meet him now and exhaust ourselves."
"Moradi. Can I ask you one thing?"
Durgyu cautiously opened his mouth.
"Go ahead."
"It might be a rude question..."
"Then don't ask it?"
When Giselle retorted sarcastically, Durgyu cleared his throat.
"Well... you know how Lee Han invited us."
Giselle nodded expressionlessly, then pulled out a dagger and stabbed it into the side table.
"??"
"I'm planning to stick one in every time you're rude. Memorizing them all would be too much work."
"......"
I only said his name!
Still, Durgyu pressed on.
"I was just wondering if there was some... friction between you and Lee Han."
"What do you mean by that?"
Batrek, who was nearby, looked puzzled.
As someone who'd also received the invitation, he didn't understand the implication behind the question.
"Friction?"
"Well... you know."
"That's exactly it."
Giselle twirled her hair around her finger as she spoke.
"That Wardanaz bastard sent the invitation, but he wouldn't do it without a reason. There must be some trap. And if there's a trap, why would it exist? Because there was friction. That's what he means."
"It's not necessarily... ahem. Ahem."
As Durgyu grew embarrassed, Batrek protested indignantly.
"There was no friction at all... um... well. Lee Han almost got caught because we escaped, but that was just an unavoidable act of nature!"
"......"
"......"
Every White Tiger Tower student—whether reading a magazine in the lounge, peeling sweet potatoes with a knife, wrestling, or studying polo strategy books—paused mid-action.
"Damn. We should probably avoid that Wardanaz guy for a while..."
"The grudge must've really settled in."
"Damn it. I was planning to trade some supplies."
"That bastard needs to release his stock soon to stabilize the market."
Giselle sighed as she watched her murmuring friends and shook her head.
"Who cares if that Wardanaz bastard is pissed? He's always pissed off anyway."
'That's because you keep trying to suppress him first...'
Durgyu thought that but quietly held his tongue out of consideration for Giselle's pride.
"The important thing is, since we've been invited to the knights' gathering, we can't refuse. Choi, could you refuse?"
"Well... no."
For mere squires like them, receiving an invitation to a knights' gathering was a tremendous honor.
Even if the Skeleton Principal had been there, Durgyu would've gone.
"Then... just remember this."
Instead of answering, Giselle prepared another dagger to stab into the table and signaled for him to speak.
"If you go, keep as much distance from Wardanaz as possible, avoid him until the gathering ends, and stick close to the other knights..."
"...Why don't you just tell us to wave a white flag while we're at it?"
Giselle looked incredulous, but Batrek honestly found the idea appealing.
"If there are other knights around, wouldn't that Wardanaz bastard restrain himself no matter how angry he is?"
Lee Han found himself thinking that if Professor Voladi had been a bit more talkative during their lessons, how much better it would have been.
If you could explain things with words, why resort to attacks and more attacks? That's no different from beasts.
But now that he'd actually met someone extremely talkative, his perspective had shifted slightly.
"I've heard so much about you. I've wanted to meet you in person to hear your stories directly—it's truly remarkable. When it comes to the Wardanaz family, aren't they the foremost magical lineage in the empire? I distinctly remember seeing the family head from afar when he visited on official business long ago. When the mana reflux caused a great drought in the western empire, the family head transported an entire sea, desalinated it, and created a reservoir—did you know that reservoir still exists? Its name is—"
'I'm going to lose my mind.'
Lee Han shot Professor Ingoldel a look brimming with betrayal.
He'd called him here in such a hurry, only for this?!
Were professors, by their very nature, destined to betray their students?
'My apologies.'
Professor Ingoldel also apologized with his eyes.
He simply hadn't been able to think of any other solution.
"Come to think of it, you're from the Alpha family, aren't you? What do you think? How do you feel about it?"
"Uh... uhh."
Angrago, who had been dragged along and now found himself sitting there listening to the conversation, jerked awake from his drowsy nodding.
What had they been talking about?
'Help me...!'
As Angrago stared at him with teary eyes, Lee Han sighed and stepped into the conversation instead.
"By the way, Sir Jean-Cliff."
"Oh? Is there something you'd like to ask?"
Jean-Cliff paused briefly, adjusting his attire.
As a parrot beastkin, Jean-Cliff possessed brilliantly colorful and extravagant plumage, and his attire was no less flamboyant and vibrant.
At a glance, one might mistake him for a dancer rather than a knight.
"You'll be attending the knightly gathering this week, correct? Since it's a gathering of knights, I imagine it wouldn't do to embarrass oneself in swordsmanship."
At Lee Han's words, Professor Ingoldel brightened and nodded eagerly.
After hours of incessant chatter, they were finally getting to swordsmanship.
"There's no need to worry. Why, you ask? Because you're from the Wardanaz family, aren't you? The Wardanaz are primarily a magical lineage, so the mere fact that you've demonstrated this level of swordsmanship already means the knights present will—"
"I'd still like to prepare!"
Lee Han cut in urgently.
If he let his guard down even slightly, Jean-Cliff would seize control of the conversation again.
Just as a skilled swordsman monopolizes the initiative and overwhelms with relentless attacks, Jean-Cliff was the same.
"In that case, I could explain each knight's swordsmanship one by—"
"How about demonstrating it directly, Sir Jean-Cliff!"
Professor Ingoldel, sensing this was their chance, desperately interjected.
Jean-Cliff hesitated briefly. While Professor Ingoldel didn't notice, Lee Han understood exactly what it meant.
'He's disappointed he can't keep talking!'
Occasionally, there were professors like that—ones who wanted to dominate the conversation even more and were disappointed when they couldn't.
"Very well. Let's do that."
Fortunately, Jean-Cliff stood up, lifting his longsword adorned with lavish gold ornaments.
As Lee Han watched his retreating figure, a sudden doubt crept in.
'Is he really that skilled of a swordsman?'
Moradi had said so, but Lee Han was the type to doubt anything Moradi said by default.
Moreover, among all the exceptional swordsmen Lee Han had met so far, every single one had looked somewhat unhinged when it came to swordsmanship.
A shabby coat, a single sword at the waist, and a sharp glint in the eyes—somehow, that always made them seem like true masters. But seeing Jean-Cliff's immaculate, extravagant attire and his decorated sword strangely eroded Lee Han's confidence...
"Ghk—!"
Lee Han was sent flying backward.
Just like when he'd faced Professor Ingoldel, Jean-Cliff shattered Lee Han's rock-solid swordsmanship and pressed forward.
To Lee Han's astonishment, Jean-Cliff was a powerhouse on par with Ingoldel and Alarong.
Jean-Cliff clapped his hands in surprise.
"Magnificent! I never expected you to be this strong!"
Lee Han coughed violently, his body sent flying backward. Even after explosively channeling mana into his sword at the last moment and reinforcing his body with mana to block, the impact was anything but ordinary.
'What kind of monstrous swordplay is this...!'
Contrary to his appearance, Jean-Cliff wielded an overwhelmingly powerful sword style.
It discarded all frivolous movements or feints, focusing solely on the most direct, shortest-path attacks possible.
Each strike carried terrifying force behind it.
Most swordsmen would be in grave danger if such relentless attacks were blocked, but Jean-Cliff didn't seem to care in the slightest.
"Even among knights, very few can take a hit and stand back up as quickly as you, Lord Wardanaz. The apprentice knights really ought to see this. Ah, do you know this? Mana isn't just for casting spells—it can also be used to fully control one's own body. Like how you just blocked that attack..."
Lee Han immediately kicked up dirt, sending dust flying. Jean-Cliff let out an impressed sound and glanced at Professor Ingoldel.
For a noble scion of the Wardanaz family to resort to such tricks—there could only be one reason.
"To think you even taught him this!"
"Ah, no, I didn't..."
Professor Ingoldel was flustered.
He hadn't taught him anything like that!
Jean-Cliff sent Lee Han flying again. Tumbling across the ground, Lee Han immediately prepared to counterattack.
"I'm quite familiar with Lord Alarong's Azure Rock Sword. I doubt there's another heavy sword style in the Empire that can match it. You must have learned the first five stances, Lord Wardanaz? Since you haven't fully mastered Aura yet."
Compared to other imperial sword styles, the Azure Rock Sword had relatively fewer and simpler stances.
In fact, Alarong hadn't even taught him the mid or late-stage stances—the reasoning being that they were too dangerous before mastering Aura.
"That's correct."
"The Azure Rock Sword shares quite a few similarities with my own sword style. Watching you, Lord Wardanaz, brings back many memories..."
Lee Han tensed.
Was he about to launch into some long-winded story about the past?
Fortunately, Jean-Cliff didn't.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to recommend one technique to you. Here—watch closely."
Jean-Cliff condensed his muscles, drew up mana, and then thrust forward as if firing himself like an arrow.
The attack erupted with a sound like tearing air. The technique itself was simple, but the flow of mana contained within was lethally sharp.
"You must be wondering why I'm showing you this stance now. You're right—since you're already learning the Azure Rock Sword so well, there's no real need to pick up techniques from other sword styles."
'Last time, I went out of my way to learn all those miscellaneous techniques though.'
"However, the reason I'm recommending this stance is because you already know how to draw out mana to a considerable degree."
Jean-Cliff had been surprised when he crossed blades with Lee Han and realized the boy could channel mana—not just gather and contain it, but manifest it visibly.
An unskilled swordsman recklessly expending mana like that would burn out and collapse in no time. Only those who had learned to circulate mana to some extent could manage it.
Just a little further, and he'd reach the level where materializing Aura became possible!
To be this capable at his age...
'Truly remarkable!'
...Of course, Lee Han hadn't achieved enlightenment just short of Aura—he was just brute-forcing mana with reckless wastefulness. Jean-Cliff simply hadn't noticed that part.
"This stance will help you not just in drawing out mana, but in grasping the sensation of shaping it into Aura."
"Th-that... Are you sure it's alright for me to receive something like this?"
Lee Han was slightly taken aback.
Nothing was more terrifying than unearned goodwill.
From what Jean-Cliff was saying, it sounded like he was offering to teach him one of his own sword techniques—far from a trivial favor.
"Of course. As a knight, shouldn't I devote myself wholeheartedly to nurturing the Empire's young knights? Become a splendid knight! I look forward to the day we meet again, when you've built a name for yourself!"
Caught up in the moment, Jean-Cliff delivered his words with solemn grandeur before turning away.
Having imparted his wisdom in a suitably impressive manner, it was time for an equally impressive exit.
Lee Han and Professor Ingoldel stood dumbfounded, watching Jean-Cliff's retreating back before finally snapping out of it.
"Wait..."
"This is... Einrogard, where we train mages...?"
No matter how diligently they taught swordsmanship here, it wasn't going to produce any knights.