Episode 423
Episode 423
Professor Ingoldel, who had been feeling awkward, shifted the topic.
"Still, Sir Jean-Cliff is an exceptional knight, so his teachings will be of great help. By the way, when did you become capable of drawing out mana at such a high level?"
"It's not a high level—I'm just recklessly expending mana without considering waste..."
"...Anyway, Sir Jean-Cliff is an outstanding knight, so the basic technique you just learned will surely be helpful!"
Lee Han gave Professor Ingoldel a slightly suspicious look.
It felt like the professor was brushing things off because he didn't know how to handle the situation.
"He really was strong, though."
"Many say the Beech Knights are too obsessed with pomp and ceremony, but Sir Jean-Cliff is an exception."
"?"
Huh?
'Didn't he just casually insult them?'
Professor Ingoldel didn't seem to realize he had just thrown shade. As a dutiful disciple, Lee Han decided to let it slide.
"Moreover, he's deeply knowledgeable about all sorts of imperial swordsmanship, so he'll definitely be of help..."
"But not more than you, Professor."
"Oh, no, that's not true."
To Lee Han's surprise, Professor Ingoldel firmly denied it.
Since the professor never gave empty compliments when it came to swordsmanship, Lee Han was taken aback.
"Is that so?"
"I'm not as sociable as Sir Jean-Cliff, you see."
"...Ah."
Lee Han immediately understood.
Well, of course someone who personally visited imperial swordsmen to study their techniques one by one would have broader insights than someone who just swung their sword on the battlefield.
'Though I might have overestimated my own level.'
Lee Han was uneasy about whether the basic technique Sir Jean-Cliff had taught him would actually be useful.
He already had enough trouble forcibly learning high-level magic beyond his current skill.
Was he really at a level where he could learn this?
"...That's why I'm worried."
Lee Han honestly confided in Professor Ingoldel.
Rather than recklessly pushing himself and getting hurt, it was better to ask an expert.
"Is that so? I understand. I've been there myself."
Professor Ingoldel readily accepted Lee Han's concerns.
"You've been through that too, Professor?"
"Yes. I struggled when my skills didn't improve as quickly as I'd hoped."
"?"
Lee Han was confused.
"No, Professor. My issue isn't that my skills aren't improving fast enough—it's whether I should even be forcing myself to learn techniques beyond my current level..."
"But skills don't improve faster just because you're impatient. I understand the urge to use new techniques as soon as possible, though."
Professor Ingoldel laughed heartily.
Lee Han regretted asking.
"In the end, there's only one real answer."
"Consistent training?"
"That's too obvious. I meant life-or-death battles..."
"......"
"You don't need to be so anxious. If you stay at Einrogard, you'll have plenty of opportunities to experience them."
"Hearing that just makes me more anxious."
After his pleasant conversation with Professor Ingoldel, Lee Han returned to the tower and realized the priests had already left for their lecture.
'Oh no. I'm a bit late.'
Most priests tended to arrive earlier than students from other towers before lectures began.
Lee Han quickly gathered his books and left the tower to catch up.
'Is today's Healing Magic lesson about the liver? Or was it the stomach?'
While all magic lectures had important academic components, Healing Magic was especially demanding.
Students had to memorize the anatomical structures of various races, study possible diseases, and learn the most efficient healing methods in advance.
The sheer volume of knowledge was so overwhelming that even White Tiger Tower students—who had firmly resolved to learn Healing Magic to support knight orders—often wavered, thinking, "Can't we just hire dedicated healers instead?"
For students like Lee Han, who were short on time, the only option was to squeeze in study sessions whenever possible.
Lee Han organized his thoughts as he walked.
But...
"?"
The lecture hall was empty.
'What the...?'
For a moment, Lee Han wondered if he'd come to the wrong place.
Advanced Basic Healing Magic - Main Building Southwest. Walk about fifteen minutes until you see two stone pillars. Turn right there and follow the path to reach the Hall of Medicine.
'This is the right place, isn't it?'
Lee Han tilted his head as he checked the note the Skeleton Principal had written.
He'd definitely followed the instructions given by the Headmaster when he first entered Einrogard.
'This is strange. The Headmaster may be a mad mage, but he wouldn't play tricks like this.'
"Take your seat."
"!"
Lee Han jumped in surprise as a rough, hoarse voice echoed from the depths of the lecture hall.
Professor Alkasis Lagrinde was standing at the front, using his sword as a walking stick.
"Uh... Have the other students not arrived yet?"
"They're all seated over there."
The dark elf professor, who seemed exhausted just from standing, sat back down and pointed forward with his scabbard.
"Though you can't see them."
"...???"
Lee Han felt chills run down his spine for the first time in a while.
What in the world...
'One-on-one lessons with a professor aren't usually a good thing.'
Based on personal experience, professors who taught one-on-one without other students around were highly likely to be slightly unhinged.
Lee Han wondered if Professor Alkasis had slipped into mild madness due to exhaustion.
"...You can't see the upperclassmen. Take your seat. Don't make me say it twice."
"......"
Only then did Lee Han understand what was being said.
So this was...
'This isn't a first-year lecture hall!?'
Surprisingly, it wasn't a first-year class but a lecture hall filled with second-year and above students.
Lee Han was so dumbfounded he could only stare at Professor Alkasis.
Even Professor Voladi wouldn't pull something like this.
'Wait. Maybe it's because he doesn't have any second-year students.'
"Professor. I'm actually a first-year..."
"Should I embroider 'First-Year' on your coat for you? Sit down."
Professor Alkasis's voice carried a heavy weight that clearly implied, If you keep exhausting me, I'll dissect you for practice.
Lee Han reluctantly took a seat.
Now that he looked again, the lecture hall was eerie in a different way.
On each desk sat a chunk of meat, twitching and writhing as it became the target of spells. Invisible mages were practicing their magic.
-Nice to meet you, junior.
As Lee Han sat down, words carved themselves into his desk. Half-resigned, he accepted it.
"...Nice to meet you too..."
Though he'd thought he'd grown somewhat accustomed to Einrogard, who could have predicted he'd end up learning in a ghost lecture hall?
"Sorry for stopping mid-lecture. Everyone, keep cutting while you listen."
Slice, slice—
Listening to the sound of blades cutting into meat, Lee Han let out a sigh.
"A first-year might find this strange... But you all know, right? You've heard? Good. I won't have to explain then..."
Professor Alkasis spoke with genuine relief.
But Lee Han couldn't help but be bewildered.
'How am I supposed to know any of this?'
He couldn't help but wonder what discussions had taken place among the second-year and above healing magic students without his knowledge.
"Then I only need to explain to you. As you know, there's no need for you to learn alongside first-years."
"No—"
"Quiet. Don't make me repeat myself."
"......"
Lee Han cursed the professor inwardly.
"Grouping you with first-years would be a waste. From now on, you'll practice with the upperclassmen."
"What about the material I haven't studied yet?"
"Study it on your own. You're the top of your year—that should be enough."
"......"
Lee Han was speechless.
He hadn't worked to become first in his year just for this!
-Sorry the professor's an asshole.
Words were carved into the desk beside him.
At first, the invisible and silent seniors had been somewhat eerie, but Lee Han adapted surprisingly quickly for someone who'd been complaining.
When he thought about it, this kind of lecture wasn't entirely bad.
'Just the fact that desks and chairs aren't flying at me is already a plus.'
Professor Alcasith wasn't a bad person, aside from his hatred for repeating himself.
He gave proper answers when asked and didn't berate students for mistakes.
Thud!
A scabbard flew past Lee Han and struck the desk with force before returning to the professor's grip.
Immediately afterward, the sound of knife work on the meat slab (a slime crafted for healing magic practice) became much faster and more precise.
'Not directly attacking students? How considerate.'
Lee Han decided to interpret the situation in the most positive light possible.
Today's practical lesson involved locating and excising a tumor hidden within the meat slab.
There were countless ways to find the tumor.
One could use detection magic, rely solely on fingertip sensitivity, or even cut through the slime bit by bit.
The crucial point was that the slime must not die.
'Did the scabbard fly earlier because the slime died?'
"I told you not to kill it—are you not paying attention?!"
Professor Alcasith roared as he hurled a sword.
'Hmm. So if you kill it, a sword comes flying.'
Lee Han's movements grew even faster and more precise.
The tense pressure—knowing that if he failed, he might die—made him utilize everything he'd learned.
"It feels like the little dignity we had left is about to vanish..."
"I was thinking the same thing."
The seniors whispered while keeping an eye on the professor.
There was an old saying about the carrot and the stick.
A classic method of alternating rewards and punishments to control behavior...
...but Professor Alcasith preferred the stick and the stick.
Just look at that first-year junior!
Sitting all alone in an empty lecture hall, dissecting a slime with no one in sight.
If they imagined themselves in that position, even nonexistent trauma would start forming.
"Didn't we need the headmaster's permission to lift the magic during lectures?"
"As if he'd allow it. Why don't you ask him to open the gates and let us go out too while you're at it?"
"You bastard—"
Thud!
A scabbard came flying. The seniors flinched and refocused.
-Shouldn't we at least give him some advice?
-Yeah, definitely.
True to their status as Einrogard students, the seniors communicated secretly via magical script, evading the professor's notice.
It was a convenient spell—dipping ink and writing on the desk made the letters squirm and fly to the recipient, perfect for covert communication during lectures.
-I'm closer, so I'll do it.
-Thanks, Phil.
Phil discreetly turned his gaze to help the junior.
Fortunately, Lee Han had gotten a decent slime, so there was still time.
'<Disease Detection> or <Vitality Assessment>... Too difficult? Something easier... A vitality amplification potion would help, but he wouldn't have that.'
As Phil pondered what method might be useful, he suddenly sensed something off and looked up.
Lee Han was already holding a knife and slicing into the slime.
"!??!?!"
Phil nearly let out a shout.
The junior was being far too reckless.
'No!'
That was a mistake many students had made before.
Trusting the slime's vitality, roughly gauging the tumor's location, then boldly cutting in to extract it.
But most failed and ended up getting viciously scolded by Professor Alcasith.
This wasn't something you could succeed at just by estimating the location. These slimes died far more easily than expected.
Squelch—
Yet Lee Han reached the tumor with perfect precision, completely unfazed. At the same time, he tossed colored stones with his other hand.
"Hmm."
Then, adjusting his angle slightly, he carefully began extracting the tumor.
"......"
Phil was stunned.
Using divination magic here?
It wasn't like he was swinging a dragon-slaying sword to catch a slime...!