Episode 452
Episode 452
"Uh, Lee Han. Shouldn't we listen to Giselle's explanation first?"
Durgyu, who had noticed Giselle's sharp glare, called out to Lee Han as he swam ahead.
"Ah. Right. I might have missed something. My bad, Giselle. I was in a hurry. Go ahead and explain."
"...If you go around the opposite direction toward the logging camp tower, there are a lot of debris floating in the water... Never mind. Screw it, you bastard."
"?!"
Lee Han was taken aback by the sudden insult.
"Why is she acting like this? Is it because I punched those White Tiger Tower guys yesterday for skipping study sessions?"
"That was the right thing to do, though..."
Durgyu muttered under his breath.
The White Tiger Tower students had grumbled, "Why the hell does that Wardanaz guy hate us so much?" but as far as Durgyu was concerned, this wasn't Lee Han's fault.
If they didn't want to get scolded, they shouldn't have done something worth scolding in the first place.
"More importantly, Giselle. There's something I'm curious about."
"Go ahead. I'm listening."
"Shouldn't you tell the others too?"
"?"
"?"
Lee Han and Giselle both stared at Durgyu as if he were spouting nonsense.
Then, the two exchanged a glance.
"Shall we go?"
"Let's go."
"Come on, Durgyu."
"W-Wait... What about the others...?"
Lee Han and Giselle began moving in the opposite direction, pulling and pushing Durgyu along.
"The students' stamina is impressive."
The knights of the White Poplar Knights aboard the ship marveled as they watched the students swimming toward them from the distant horizon.
People often imagined that students of Einrogard were sickly mages who locked themselves in their rooms obsessing over magic tomes, but these students, true to their knightly lineage, were tough as nails.
"It seems Einrogard doesn't neglect physical training either."
"Hmm."
Professor Ingoldel chose not to mention that Einrogard's harsh environment naturally tempered one's body, even without deliberate effort.
"Fire."
"B-But, sir! If we keep shooting and they end up drowning...!"
"Tsk. Since when do we pity the enemy? Is that how I taught you?"
"N-No, sir. My apologies."
Originally, the young squires of the White Poplar Knights didn't get along well with the White Tiger Tower students.
The divide between pure knights and magic school students was one thing, but they had also competed against each other several times this year, so rivalry was inevitable.
Yet, even those squires couldn't bring themselves to attack the White Tiger Tower students cold-heartedly now—they looked far too pitiful.
'This is too much...!'
'Do we really have to go this far?'
The White Tiger Tower students struggling through the stormy, wave-tossed sea looked as precarious as drifting leaves.
"But can the students really climb aboard the ship without using magic?"
One of the knights suddenly grew curious and asked.
Scattering and approaching over time was one thing, but climbing the slippery hull of the ship in this rain was no ordinary feat.
Knights who had broken through the wall of aura could scale the hull using superhuman physical abilities and mana, but for students at their level, it was still too much.
"Of course, it won't be easy. But this test wasn't prepared solely to assess physical ability."
Professor Ingoldel pointed around the ship.
Among the floating debris and wreckage, equipment was bobbing in the water.
"Aha! You scattered boarding equipment for them!"
"Indeed. I'm sure the students will find it."
"I thought you were just making them climb bare-handed! My mistake, haha!"
"...D-Did I really seem like that?"
Professor Ingoldel was slightly flustered.
Unlike other professors at Einrogard, he had always prided himself on teaching reasonably.
Thud!
"?"
In the middle of their conversation, a sound from behind made the professor and knights turn their heads.
Lee Han's group, thoroughly drenched, stood on the ship's deck, glaring at them.
"Wait. Is it even possible to climb without using magic?"
"...!"
While their friends were busy playing dodge-the-water-spears from another direction, Lee Han's group had managed to get close to the ship.
But the ship's outer wall was tougher than expected. Without using magic, there were barely any ledges to hook fingers onto or support their weight.
Durgyu cautiously whispered:
"No matter how I think about it, I doubt the professor expected us to just climb this normally. There must be something else, right? Maybe we missed something?"
"Durgyu. I respect you, but you're thinking like a first-semester student right now."
"Exactly. Choi. Get a grip. Does this look like a knight dormitory to you?"
Lee Han and Giselle sharply rebuked Durgyu in unison.
Durgyu felt wronged but figured they were probably right and kept his mouth shut.
"My guess is... the answer lies in mana manipulation to climb."
"Mana manipulation?"
"Yeah. Do you remember the sword techniques of the Enge Family?"
"Wardanaz. You might not know, but Choi and I come from knight families."
Giselle shot him a look dripping with disbelief.
The Enge Family.
Among knight families, they were renowned for their Absorbing Sword techniques.
Lee Han had even learned to utilize this absorption principle during duels, finding it quite practical.
"It's not perfected to the level of sword mastery, but it should be enough for climbing. I bet the professor planned for us to hijack the ship using this."
"But... mana manipulation isn't that easy, is it?"
Giselle's eyebrows arched skeptically.
Though called "mana manipulation," this was actually a transformation that altered the nature of mana in an unusual way.
Unlike mages' magic, which was studied through logic, reason, and laws, this was a knight's technique that relied on instinct and senses—making it far more difficult.
"Is that the goal of this test? Really?"
"Moradi. Think about it. This is Einrogard we're talking about."
"......"
As much as it frustrated her, Giselle had to concede.
Well, they'd swum all the way here—it wasn't like the professor would give them an impossible task.
"...Fine. Wardanaz. Explain it to us."
Lee Han did his best to describe the Absorption Technique to his friends.
Drawing mana from deep within the body's core, circulating it while recalling the properties of viscosity, transforming it, and simultaneously releasing mana...
"The principle is similar to Elemental Magic. You visualize changing the properties, but you have to maintain it while circulating. And at the same time, you need to release some too."
"......"
"......"
The absurd difficulty of the explanation made them both recoil. Durgyu hesitantly asked:
"Is there... any trick to it?"
"Uh... well. You could skip the circulation part and just focus on transformation and release."
"Really? Wait. Wouldn't that waste too much mana?"
"Yeah... it would."
"......"
"......"
An awkward silence lingered. Giselle finally gave up and said:
"Just climb. I'll figure out how to follow somehow."
Several attempts followed.
True to their reputation as top students, Giselle and Durgyu succeeded in transforming their mana to mimic absorption properties—but couldn't sustain it long enough to be usable.
At the very least, they needed to maintain it until they climbed aboard the ship.
"This isn't working. We'll get caught at this rate. Here, take this."
Lee Han took off his coat and fashioned it into a rope, then tossed it to Giselle.
Giselle eyed him with deep suspicion.
"What's your plan?"
"...The plan is to tie ourselves together for support."
"Oh."
Giselle felt foolish but didn't show it, wrapping the rope around herself. Durgyu beside her flushed slightly.
'Good thing I kept my mouth shut.'
Truthfully, Durgyu had thought Lee Han was planning to tie Giselle up and use her as bait.
"Let's try again. Three, two, one... go!"
Thunk!
Lee Han slammed his hand against the ship's wall like an axe strike.
Under normal circumstances, he should've slipped right off—but the mana released from his hand anchored him firmly in place.
'It's working!'
This was the most stable attempt so far.
Lee Han climbed slowly and carefully up the ship's outer wall.
Creeeak—
"......"
Startled when a plank fragment fell off—perhaps from releasing too much mana—Lee Han realized his mistake.
Though he didn't need to worry about mana depletion, he hadn't paid attention to circulation. Seeing this, he understood its necessity.
'I need to reduce the output.'
Taking a deep breath, Lee Han circulated mana within his body. As the flow stabilized, the amount released from his fingertips began to adjust.
He felt a sense of wonder.
'Have I improved?'
The flow was far more stable than during his swordsmanship lectures.
Then again, considering the countless real battles he'd experienced since then, it wasn't surprising he'd grown accustomed to this circulation.
Besides, at some point, Lee Han had abandoned proper circulation and relied solely on brute mana output...
"...!"
Giselle, climbing below him, was startled.
A faint glow of mana flickered across the Wardanaz boy's entire body—a phenomenon usually seen only when knights prepared their breathing and gathered mana before unleashing their Aura.
For a boy Giselle's age to display this...
Unless she was mistaken, Wardanaz was now nearing the threshold of Aura.
A single moment of enlightenment, and he could break through that wall!
Giselle felt endlessly conflicted.
Though jealousy prickled at her, as a fellow knight-in-training, she couldn't help but feel a spark of encouragement.
Entering such a state of immersion was incredibly rare. How long he remained in it could determine whether breaking through took years or mere moments...
Thud!
"Done! Climb up!"
The moment Lee Han reached the deck, he released his mana, threw himself down, and hauled up the rope.
They had to hurry—there was no telling when they'd be caught.
Of course, the mana glow he'd displayed earlier had long since vanished.
"Hey...!!! You crazy bastard...!!"
Giselle nearly fainted.
What kind of opportunity had this insane mage boy just thrown away?
"You just...! You...!"
"What's wrong? Have you lost it?"
"■□○●☆◆!!!"
"Quiet. We'll get caught! Durgyu, climb up."
Lee Han quickly pulled Durgyu up as well.
Then, crouching low, he advanced. Fortunately, the people on deck were still too far away to notice.
'Thank you, White Tiger Tower bastards.'
Grateful for their unwitting help, Lee Han tried to move closer—
"...scattered boarding equipment..."
"...students would definitely find..."
"?"
"???"
Lee Han, Giselle, and Durgyu froze simultaneously.
Durgyu shot his friends an accusatory look.
Thud!
Lee Han tossed off his coat. If they had to fight the apprentice knights on deck, mobility was key.
"Wait, why from that side—?"
"...wasn't circling around the standard— Ugh. Whatever. Moradi, take the left. Durgyu, right flank!"
Lee Han decided talking further would only demoralize them and immediately charged.
Giselle seemed to share the sentiment, moving at once.
'Wasn't flanking the right move?'
'I thought for sure they'd go around...'
Lee Han rushed forward bitterly.
The apprentice knights, who had been aiming ballistae at the lower decks, startled and braced themselves.
"How the hell did you circle back!? No—how did you even climb up!? You had no equipment!"
"......"
Lee Han opted for efficiency over unnecessary emotional expenditure.
"Cough... Cough. Hack, hack! Cough-cough!"
He coughed like a consumptive patient—or someone suffering hypothermia after too long in the sea.
"Wardanaz! Are you okay!? I told you this was dangerou—"
"Idiot! Turning your back on the enemy!?"
The apprentice knight spun around to call for help, only to jerk his head back at the shout.
The boy who'd been coughing like he was dying moments ago was now barreling toward him, ferocious.