Episode 429
Episode 429
Lee Han quickly grasped the situation from Priestess Dijiling's whisper.
'Ah.'
Well, it was only natural they'd be excited if they had little experience with night strolls like this.
If it had been Gainando, he would've given him a knuckle rap on the head, but he couldn't help being more lenient with the priests.
"Don't worry, everyone. I just made this makeshift boat in a hurry. As we keep going on night strolls, we'll often need to cross lakes like this—next time, let's make a proper boat."
At those words, the two priests' faces brightened.
Priestess Dijiling, listening nearby, thought to himself:
'Is there going to be a next time?'
They were all too casually making plans for the next night stroll.
Swoosh—
The ice ferry sliced through the tranquil underground lake. Once confirming there were no monsters, Lee Han grew bolder.
He floated a sphere of light above the ferry.
'If there are any monsters we haven't noticed yet, this might draw them out.'
If that happened, Lee Han was prepared to blast them with magic and take them out underwater.
But the lake remained silent. Not even the sound of monsters stirring could be heard.
"This is strange."
Lee Han felt an inexplicable unease.
He never imagined he'd reach a point where he'd expect monsters to jump out every time he set foot in some remote corner of the school...
The fact that none appeared now only made him more unsettled.
Why was that?
"It's weird."
Priest Siana spoke up.
"From what I can tell, a lake this size should have fish or something, right?"
"!"
Lee Han's eyes widened at Priest Siana's words.
That was actually a valid point.
He'd been so focused on monsters that he hadn't considered it, but in a lake this size, fish or something similar should naturally be visible.
Even if it was an underground lake...
"Priest Siana. So you mean..."
"Exactly."
Priest Siana nodded. Her expression was so reliable that Lee Han found himself staring at her, mesmerized without realizing it.
What kind of deduction would Priest Siana offer?
"Isn't it really fascinating?"
"Indeed. Who knew such a lake existed? It truly is remarkable. I knew Einrogard had all sorts of places, but..."
"......"
Lee Han regretted getting his hopes up for no reason.
The two priests were too excited to be of much help.
Feeling oddly apologetic, Priestess Dijiling stepped in with her own speculation.
"If it's a sealed artificial facility, there might not be any living creatures."
"But there's quite a bit of vegetation and soil visible, and the water flow isn't negligible either. It's clearly connected somewhere."
"What if there's a powerful entity at the bottom of the lake? What if everything was eaten or fled?"
"If there were such an aggressive presence, it would've emerged by now, given how we're drawing attention like this."
The two seriously proposed hypotheses and weighed the possibilities.
Meanwhile, Priest Siana and Priest Nigisor did what they could contribute.
"Wow! Look at that carving over there!"
"Check out these water ripples here!"
"......"
"......"
Lee Han and Priestess Dijiling stared blankly at them, but the two didn't even notice.
"Wait—an island!"
Lee Han, who had been watching them, suddenly looked up and shouted.
Thanks to his enhanced vision, he spotted it a step ahead of the others.
A small island, no larger than a reef, emerged on the horizon as they drew closer, previously hidden by the thick darkness.
The two priests grew even more excited and asked:
"Maybe there's a forgotten Magic Tome there!"
"Or perhaps a historical text! Something incredibly rare you can't find outside!"
Einrogard had as many rare and ancient books as its long history would suggest.
Of course, whether one could freely access those books was another matter entirely. Even professors struggled to track down books that had gone missing.
That made discovering precious books in such remote places all the more romantic and thrilling.
"What nonsense. Stay quiet, everyone—we might be able to board it."
"......"
"......"
Except for Lee Han.
For Lee Han, who was focused on securing necessary supplies by any means, romance was a luxury.
Books? What kind of nonsense was that!
'Please let it be a warehouse built by seniors, professors, or the headmaster. Any one of those would be great. Please.'
While the priests looked sullen, Lee Han secured the boat and disembarked.
Most of the small island's area was occupied by a massive rock.
Lee Han guessed that if there was anything hidden on this island, it would be inside the rock.
'Light of Truth...'
Realizing what Lee Han was about to do, Priest Nigisor and Priest Siana also raised their equipment.
Let's use fire and acid solutions to uncover hidden paths!
Is it perhaps Lord Gonadaltes?
"!!"
Suddenly, a booming voice echoed from within the rock.
Only then did Lee Han realize that what he had assumed was a giant rock was actually a monster.
Even if it was a small island, a monster matching its size was unimaginable!
Lee Han's mind raced. Given the situation and location, a direct confrontation was out of the question.
"I am the rightful heir..."
Ah, not Lord Gonadaltes. A student, then.
"......"
Huh? What was he about to say?
"I am the disciple who inherited the orthodox lineage of the Evil Empire's magic from Lord Gonadaltes."
Ah. So that's why the mana felt like that. I almost mistook it.
The massive rock continued speaking in a slow, gentle voice.
Though no eyes were visible, it clearly wasn't just sensing them through mana.
"Are you perhaps a rock spirit?"
"Probably not a spirit."
Lee Han answered absentmindedly.
The giant rock then responded with an approving rumble.
That's right. I'm not a spirit. Impressive. Students usually assume I'm a spirit. How did you know?
"...Experience and knowledge?"
Lee Han almost replied, 'Because spirits usually dislike me out of habit,' but chose to rephrase it.
I am a Bulgasari.
"!"
A Bulgasari.
A shapeless monster that feeds on iron.
With no fixed form, its appearance varies drastically depending on the metal it consumes and the environment it grows in.
Given its size and docile nature, this Bulgasari occupying the small island had clearly been well-fed and raised without conflict.
"Why is a Bulgasari... in Einrogard?"
Hmm, when was it... It was so long ago I barely remember. A student secretly brought me here right after I was born. Must've thought this was a good place to raise me.
The Bulgasari spoke leisurely.
To Lee Han, however, this was a shocking revelation.
'These irresponsible bastards!'
Even for Einrogard, bringing in a hazardous creature from outside was beyond reckless.
No wonder the school was in such a state.
Priest Siana cautiously asked,
"So, Lord Bulgasari, you don't have any intention of harming or troubling students, right?"
Nope. Why would I do that? The student who brought me here is even a professor now.
"......"
Lee Han's face stiffened.
And the culprit was a professor, no less.
"Was it perhaps a beaver beastkin?"
Hmm? No.
"A vampire?"
No... Wait. Stop asking.
The Bulgasari drew a firm, albeit slow, line.
It clearly didn't want to risk causing trouble for the professor who had brought it here.
If you're thinking I don't respect that professor just because they brought me here, you're mistaken. Everyone makes mistakes when they're young.
"Well, that's true."
Priest Nigisor nodded deeply in agreement.
He himself had played with fire quite a bit in the temple, trying to create stronger flames.
Just youthful mischief.
"I doubt I'd ever do something as reckless as secretly bringing in a monster that could grow as big as the school... gulp."
"Shh. Priest Siana, don't provoke it unnecessarily."
Lee Han quickly covered Priest Siana's mouth.
Though disappointed it wasn't a warehouse built by seniors, professors, or the headmaster, this was still an opportunity in its own way.
It wasn't often one encountered a being both friendly to students and deeply knowledgeable about the school.
Most beings would attack students on sight. Just look at that golem from last time...
'I need to extract as much information as possible.'
"That's absolutely right. Whatever the truth may be, our respect for the professors won't change in the slightest."
Lee Han wasn't lying.
Even if they'd brought in a newborn Immortal Salamander, their respect wouldn't have changed.
Because it was zero to begin with!
Oh? That's good.
The Immortal Salamander seemed satisfied as it leisurely replied.
Lee Han carefully observed its reaction before asking:
"So...you're staying here now?"
Mhm.
As soon as the question was asked, the salamander slowly began divulging information.
This lake where the Immortal Salamander currently resided—swimming and feeding—was apparently called <Spiderweb Lake>.
It had nothing to do with spiders; the name came from the lake's topography.
Located deep underground in the main building—so deep it was hard to count how many floors down—this lake had, over time, become firmly interconnected with several areas of Einrogard.
So firmly connected that even when Einrogard periodically twisted its spatial structure, the areas linked to Spiderweb Lake remained unaffected.
Professors who knew this well used Spiderweb Lake as a sort of shortcut.
"!!"
Suppressing his pounding heart, Lee Han cautiously asked:
"Then...are there any connected areas around here?"
I don't know about others, but there's one below me. Heard it's a place professors use.
"!!!"
At the mention of a "professors-only" area, Lee Han's eyes wavered.
Father Nigisor and Father Siana seemed equally excited, exchanging meaningful glances with Lee Han while nodding slightly.
'Could it be a storage room?'
'Or maybe the professors' library?'
Priestess Dijiling, who had been quietly listening, cautiously raised his hand and asked:
"May I ask one thing? You seem acquainted with the professors or even the headmaster... Is it really alright to share this information with us?"
Hm? Of course. If you've come this far, you must be upperclassmen. Even if I didn't tell you, you'd figure it out soon enough.
"......"
"We're first-years..."
Huh??
The Immortal Salamander was visibly shocked. The surrounding rocks trembled slightly from its startled movement.
How did first-years cross the lake?
"We froze the water to make a boat."
Wow. Impressive. Have freshmen's standards risen these days?
'No.'
'Not at all.'
'Negative.'
According to the salamander, crossing Spiderweb Lake required magic.
Attempting to cross without magic would immediately trigger the lake's water to push intruders back to shore.
'Those sneaky professors.'
Lee Han clicked his tongue.
Even if one tried to use this lake as a shortcut, without knowing the exact locations of entry and exit points, navigating this vast, complex lake as a shortcut was impossible.
And as if that wasn't enough, they'd added such restrictions.
"Was this also Lord Gonadaltes's doing?"
Hm? No. It's a natural phenomenon. The mana kept accumulating until it became like this.
"...I see."
Lee Han felt slightly chastened.
"Then is the lack of life in this lake also due to that mana?"
That's because the water spirits are about to play pranks. A great flood is coming soon, so everything fled in advance.
"......"
"...????!"
The group was horrified by how casually the salamander mentioned such a catastrophic event.
"Um...shouldn't we hurry back and warn everyone if there's going to be a massive flood...?"
Despite the shocking revelation, Lee Han continued moving through the passage beneath the salamander toward the professors' private area.
His unshaken determination left Priestess Dijiling bewildered.
Shouldn't they turn back immediately to prepare?
"Priestess Dijiling. In times like these, we need to gather more supplies. If this really leads to the professors' storage, there must be useful items for flood emergencies."
"He's absolutely right!"
"I concur."
The other two priests enthusiastically nodded while gripping the ladder.
"It won't make much difference if we return slightly later. Up there—"
Lee Han, who had been climbing at the top of the passage ladder, suddenly froze.
His face stiffened completely.
"What's wrong?"
"...Isn't this...the professors' lounge...?"