Episode 441
Episode 441
What a complete lunatic!
'That's high praise indeed.'
The Death Knight thought to himself.
For the Skeleton Principal to say something like that was exceptionally rare praise.
[You're making the school look utterly disgraceful!]
'Even going as far as extreme praise?'
Admittedly, such compliments were well-deserved.
In the current situation, the safest place would undoubtedly be the library where Einrogard's vast collection of books was stored.
Even during the great flood ten years ago, some clever students had holed up in the library to work on their assignments.
...Though of course, none had been bold enough to move in permanently with their luggage...
Lee Han mobilized all the rafts and boats he had prepared in advance to transport students from all four towers.
The sight resembled a fleet migrating in search of a new island.
"Wardanaz. I respect your judgment, but..."
Salko cautiously broached the subject.
Normally, Salko was the type who wouldn't bother reading Lee Han's mood, but today was different.
-Water! The water's rising!!
-Don't worry, I've drained it!
-There's a hole in the boat...!
-Don't worry, I've patched it!
-The boat capsized in the waves!!
-I'm launching an ice boat now! Transfer immediately!
After weathering a storm, sailors naturally come to respect their captain.
Even Salko couldn't deny the debt he owed Lee Han for this ordeal.
"...Is staying in the library really the best idea?"
"Even if it's not the optimal choice, let's at least avoid the worst-case scenario."
Truthfully, Lee Han was also anxious.
Choosing the library as the safest place against the water wasn't wrong.
But the library wasn't exactly a pushover either.
Given that its interior terrain periodically shifted, if luck wasn't on their side...
'We made it!'
Lee Han let out a sigh of relief.
Upon entering the library, a familiar sight greeted them—a cozy lounge filled with chairs, sofas, and tables, with a long corridor stretching beyond it.
It seemed they hadn't been dragged straight into a wasteland like last time.
"The rain stopped!"
"Wardanaz! We're saved! We're alive!"
The students, having found their new refuge, kissed the floor in gratitude and started lighting fires. Gainando yanked a book from the shelf to use as firewood, only to be attacked by the book itself and let out a shriek.
"Now's not the time for this."
"True. Though it's dry here without a hint of moisture, we can't just sleep on the floor. We should set up proper quarters..."
"No, Salko. That's urgent, but there's something even more pressing."
Lee Han gathered the students from all four towers. Grumbling, those who had been trying to start fires or cook something hurried over.
"Tables, desks, bookshelves... Be careful with the bookshelves. They're protected by anti-theft spells. Anyway, gather anything useful around here and start building barricades. We need to fortify this place."
"......"
"...Huh? Why?"
One slow-witted friend asked in confusion.
"Idiot. The Headmaster might attack us at any moment."
"Right. The lounge has a fixed entrance, but this place is wide open and hard to defend."
"Ah, so that's why..."
Lee Han cut them off with a look of disbelief.
"No. Not because of the Headmaster—because the library's always been full of monsters."
"Ah..."
"Wait, hold on. Wardanaz. Wasn't that just because we were wandering the wastelands and deeper sections last time? This is the lounge area, so shouldn't it be safe?"
Lee Han and Yoner shook their heads in unison.
"Monsters still show up in the lounge sometimes."
"Last time, they attacked me while I was studying."
"......"
"Alright. I know everyone's exhausted, but let's get this done. Otherwise, we might have to keep waking up all night."
"Wardanaz. I think we should dig deep trenches outside too. Can the Black Turtle Tower folks help with that?"
Lee Han readily agreed to Salko's suggestion.
The suddenly overworked Black Turtle Tower students glared at Salko—an extremely rare occurrence.
"But you guys alone might not be enough. We should ask the White Tiger Tower for help too."
The suddenly overworked White Tiger Tower students glared at Lee Han. Of course, since this was a common occurrence, Lee Han paid them no mind.
The Princess, who had been sitting among her followers, suddenly stood up.
This time, she was determined to show them something.
"Oh, right. I'll be back in a bit—I need to go get something."
"Be careful on your way."
"Are you sure you should go alone? Want me to come with you?"
"Gainando. For the love of the gods, stop spouting nonsense and stay put. Don't make things harder for Wardanaz."
"...S-so, is it really such a crime to offer help???"
An hour later.
Lee Han returned, carefully cradling a massive egg.
His working friends stared at it in bewilderment.
"What kind of egg is that?"
"A basilisk egg."
Everyone burst out laughing at Lee Han's joke.
Nothing was funnier than hearing the usually humorless friend crack a joke.
"Let's get back to work."
"A basilisk egg? Pfft—HAHAHA!"
"......"
Yoner hesitated, debating whether to say something, but ultimately decided to let it slide.
It didn't seem like a good idea for the others to find out the truth.
Shiver shiver shiver—
The basilisk egg trembled violently and clung to Lee Han. Looking troubled, he muttered,
"I have work to do..."
Shiver shiver shiver shiver shiver!
"Alright, alright."
Lee Han soothed the egg, wrapped it tightly in cloth, and slung it over his back.
Given the flood that had nearly swept through their hut, it made sense that the egg was terrified.
"Wardanaz! Over here! We need you now!"
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?! Digging is something you can handle if you just work a little harder! Wardanaz! The barricades here need to be built first! That's way more urgent!"
"You're all wrong! Wardanaz. You know your talents better than anyone. You know my family is a lineage of chefs, right? You should be helping with meal prep!"
"......"
Before Lee Han could even take a single step, his friends swarmed him, dragging him in different directions, leaving him speechless.
The basilisk egg strapped to his back rattled in disbelief, as if scoffing at the absurdity of these people.
Evening.
Having finished relocating, the friends had built a reasonably sturdy fortress in the library's lounge area.
Sure, the study desks were all gone, but in their place stood solid barricades and trenches to protect the students.
"Here, take this."
"Hmph. Not bad."
"Just eat, you brat."
Students from rival towers, who normally bickered whenever they met, were surprisingly considerate of one another today.
Faced with overwhelming danger, even those who usually snarled at each other naturally banded together.
The massive flood outside had instilled a sense of crisis in the first-years—they had to stick together now.
Lee Han scooped up the last of the tomato soup from his wooden bowl with a piece of bread (Salko, who made eye contact, gave him a thumbs-up) and surveyed the surroundings.
'Not bad for something thrown together in a hurry.'
Sure, they'd lost the entire weekend, but at least they'd managed to salvage things.
The food swept away by the water could be replaced with what they'd brought from outside...
'Important reagents and books were safely stored in private rooms, and the books I need to study now are here in the library. Should be fine.'
Lee Han unpacked his bundle once more to double-check the books he needed for studying.
Nearby, Gainando, who had been checking his Wizard Cards, shot him a disgusted look.
Whoosh—
"The red-haired swordsman cried out, 'Skeleton Principal, your end has come! Behold the blade that shall strike you down! Tempered by students' tears and honed by quill pens...'"
Elsewhere, students sprawled loosely on blankets around campfires, singing parodied songs (originally about a swordsman slaying an evil dragon) or sharing stories about the day's events.
"So when you went outside, the Anti-Magic Zealots ambushed you, and Wardanaz caught their leader?!"
"Hard to believe, but it's true!"
"What did I tell you? Wardanaz had already mastered all the wicked forbidden magic of the Wardanaz family before even enrolling..."
"Are you gonna keep spreading unverified rumors? Why don't you go ask that Wardanaz bastard yourself and see how many punches you'll take?"
"Ha! You'll find out soon enough when I'm the one doing the punching!"
Lee Han, who had been enjoying the peaceful atmosphere, suddenly felt strangely uneasy.
'Am I forgetting something?'
"The horn of Tanjuer (The Swallower of Ships)? We agreed to try it when the flood starts."
"I was planning to prepare and use it at first light tomorrow."
"Then it seems you're not forgetting anything?"
Despite Yoner's words, Lee Han remained deep in thought.
And then it finally hit him.
"...Yoner. Aren't the midterm exams next week?"
"...Ah!"
Morning of the new week.
Students walked toward the library entrance with gloomy faces.
No one harbored the delusion that 'Surely they'll postpone the exams by a week with this flood happening?'
Only fresh amateurs who'd just enrolled would entertain such thoughts.
"Those attending the advanced Imperial Literature lecture, this way!"
"Hey! That's the guy who capsized the boat yesterday! How can we trust him as a helmsman?!"
"Monday's advanced Geometry students! Over here! Wait—where did everyone go?!"
"I'll go for Wednesday's lecture. Moving together with Wardanaz seems safer!"
The area before the library had become a temporary dock.
Students boarded boats according to their lecture schedules, with some refusing to board vessels helmed by unreliable helmsmen.
"Lee Han. What are you doing?"
"Preparing a summon."
"What kind?"
"Tanjuer."
"What's that?"
"Gainando. I'm a bit busy right now—go stand over there for a while."
"!!!"
Gainando rushed to his friends from the Blue Dragon Tower in shock.
Then he blurted out urgently:
"Those priests...! Those priests!!"
"What are you talking about?"
Though they usually ignored Gainando's words, this time was different.
They had clearly seen Lee Han preparing the summon with the priests.
"Gainando's right. This is something we can help with too."
"See?! They pushed me aside—"
"Even if Gainando's no help, we can be."
"Right. Right."
"......"
Ignoring Gainando's glare, the Blue Dragon Tower students crept closer.
"Wardanaz. We can help too."
"No... it's fine."
Lee Han declined.
Having rehearsed this Tanjuer summoning ritual with the priests several times, he saw no need to involve his Blue Dragon Tower friends.
"G-give us a chance! A chance to prove ourselves!"
"???"
Lee Han was baffled by his friends' nonsense.
'Did breakfast go bad?'
Why were they talking nonsense after eating well?
"What's there to prove? We just need to prepare the reagents and channel mana as planned... Ah. Wait. Where did Priest Siana go?"
"Priest Siana is currently preparing drinking water—"
"Right. I forgot. We're short one person. Princess. Could you lend a hand?"
Lee Han spotted the Princess and called out to her.
Given her expertise in alchemy, he could trust her to fill in for Priest Siana.
"Understood."
Adenarte nodded calmly and hurried over.
Before the other Blue Dragon Tower students could react, she had already slipped into the summoning circle.
"......"
"......"
The Blue Dragon Tower students stared at the Princess with looks of utter betrayal.
She got to join alone...!
"To Thee Who Swallows Ships, we humbly petition to summon Thee with these offerings: Shadow-of-Sea Sand, Eightfold Waters..."
Lee Han began reciting the incantation in a clear voice.
Aside from the extreme difficulty of obtaining the reagents and the heavy mana consumption, the Tanjuer summoning ritual itself was relatively straightforward.
The priests scattered the prepared materials onto the magic circle as instructed. Mana surged violently, and suddenly the surrounding water currents accelerated.
"The horn of Tanjuer, a keel fragment from an eighty-eight-year sunken ship..."
"It's coming!!!!"
Students screamed.
The sea—no, the floodwaters covering the school—split in half as a massive presence rose.
With a gurgling sound, a whale-like entity of enormous size opened its mouth.
Every word it spoke made the ground quake and the waters churn.
Thank... you... for calling me... to the sea... again...
'This isn't the sea.'
'Should I correct it?'