Episode 467
Episode 467
The Skeleton Principal was genuinely perplexed.
None of the exams the professors had mentioned included sirens.
Who was responsible?
"It was in Professor Lightning Step's exam..."
Professor Lightning Step wasn't the type to give such an unreasonable exam to first-years.
'Then what about you, Headmaster...?'
The students stared incredulously at the Skeleton Principal, who was essentially admitting his own incompetence.
Ah!
The Skeleton Principal felt a sudden realization flash through his mind.
—If you haven't finalized the exam content yet, why not ramp up the difficulty severalfold? Let me repay the grudge against my Tanjuer!
Hadn't he impulsively urged them to increase the exam difficulty while passing by?
Moreover, since the exam venue had been flooded due to the Spirit Flood, it wouldn't be strange for Professor Lightning Step to adjust the exam's content while raising the difficulty.
But even so, he hadn't expected things to overlap this badly.
Then again, mages tended to think alike.
"?"
"That doesn't seem lik—"
It didn't matter. Sirens were notoriously difficult to counter even if you knew about them.
—Um, Master. The sirens are fleeing.
?!
At the Death Knight's words, the Skeleton Principal turned his head.
The sirens had been pointing at Lee Han's face and whispering among themselves before turning tail and fleeing at top speed.
......
"......"
Both master and student watched with twisted expressions as the sirens retreated.
"Hu-hurry up."
"W-wait a second. My hands are frozen stiff—I can't move."
With the sirens gone, the students took the chance to catch their breath and poured steaming coffee into tin cups.
Even though Lee Han had enthusiastically cast <Latent Heat Enchantment> on all of them, repeatedly diving in such cold weather was no easy feat.
Though less than an hour had passed, everyone's stamina was rapidly draining, and they were suffering from the cold.
The only saving graces were that they could light fires and that they had brought coffee grounds and tea leaves.
As the scalding coffee slid down his throat, Gainando felt warmth spread through his body, and his fingers, stiff from the cold, began to loosen.
Without realizing it, Gainando muttered:
"Maybe this is what a picnic feels like..."
"Are you insane?"
"Wanna spout nonsense after drinking expensive coffee?"
"N-no! I mean... finding the positive in any situation..."
While Gainando was being scolded, some students were still preparing to dive back in, refusing to give up.
These were the White Tiger Tower students with insane stamina, the Black Turtle Tower students, and Lee Han—who was just obsessed with grades.
"Hah, hahaha... Wardanaz, why don't you just quit? Even if swordsmanship isn't your thing, you'll never match our knightly training."
'Shouldn't you not just gloss over swordsmanship like that?'
A Black Turtle Tower student listening nearby thought to himself.
If you're from White Tiger Tower, shouldn't you settle things with swordsmanship? What's this "even if swordsmanship isn't your thing" nonsense...?
Lee Han replied with a bored expression.
"Say whatever you want. I'm going back in."
"F-fine! Let's settle this once and for all!"
Interpreting it as a battle of endurance, the White Tiger Tower students flared up with fighting spirit.
Of course, Lee Han had zero interest in their little competition.
'I'll keep searching until time runs out.'
After suffering this much, he was determined to claim first place, even if just out of sheer spite.
Splash!
The students dove back into the water. Lee Han checked that his <Underwater Breathing Magic> and <Darkvision> were still active before smoothly descending.
How long had it been since the school flooded? He'd already gotten this used to diving.
'Does adversity really make you grow stronger?'
As Lee Han entertained that pointless thought, someone approached him.
Tap tap—
"!?"
Startled, Lee Han raised his staff. The other party flinched too, waving frantically as if begging him not to cast a spell.
—♩♪! ♩♪♪!
—You deceitful...! Pretending to retreat only to ambush us?!
The siren glared furiously, pulling out a stone slab and scribbling on it rapidly.
"Damn bastard..."
-Ah. Wait. Could it be that you stayed behind to help me?
Upon closer inspection, it was the same siren who had taken on the role of the boat's oarsman when facing Mack. Moreover, she showed no intention of attacking. Lee Han couldn't help but feel skeptical.
Nod nod-
The siren nodded up and down. Though she had responded, her eyes were filled with resentment and disdain.
'After helping you with Mack last time, I stayed to return the favor, and you dare suspect me like that...'
-My apologies. Being in Einrogard makes it hard to trust people.
At Lee Han's words, the siren crossed her arms and pondered for a moment before nodding in reluctant agreement.
Even in the siren's eyes, the students of Einrogard had endured quite harsh conditions.
Click click-
The siren flicked her fingers, signaling him to follow. Having observed the Skeleton Principal's methods up close, she knew exactly where the most valuable treasures were hidden.
'That way.'
When the siren pointed her finger in a direction, Lee Han hesitated before asking,
-Why don't you go first? Not that I don't trust you, but...
-......
The siren firmly resolved that even if it was petty and underhanded, she would repay this favor quickly and never associate with this boy again.
Passing through the submerged pillars beneath the tower and avoiding the sudden gush of deep-sea hydrothermal vents, they arrived at the destination the siren had indicated.
Seeing the haphazardly scattered wooden fence fragments blocking their path, Lee Han was inwardly shocked.
'Did they really leave this here for us to find?'
It seemed more like the Skeleton Principal had placed it here just to later say, "I left it here, but you couldn't find it? Tsk, how boring."
No matter how he looked at it, this wasn't meant to be found.
Tap tap tap!
The siren, clearly in a bad mood, flicked her fins against the floor, signaling him to hurry up and take what he needed so they could part ways.
'She must be in a bad mood because of the Headmaster's unreasonable demands.'
Thinking this, Lee Han approached the floor. Then, he sensed a familiar surge of mana.
Whoooom-
Seeing the Skeleton Principal's mana intricately woven to protect the treasure, Lee Han was so dumbfounded he couldn't even speak.
If you're going to hide it here, was it really necessary to go so far as to cast a barrier spell?
'This guy is truly insane.'
Clicking his tongue, Lee Han focused his mana.
Insults aside, he still had to dismantle it...
Following Valdororn's teachings, he channeled his mana into the Wall-Breaker and struck the barrier with full force.
BAM!
The siren stared at Lee Han as if questioning what he was doing.
Though not a professional mage, the siren, being a descendant of spirits, possessed high intelligence and had spent enough time in Einrogard to understand magic.
And what Lee Han was doing now was not the conventional method for dismantling a barrier spell.
What kind of brutish...
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
But after watching him swing that crude hammer of mana repeatedly, the siren's expression changed.
It was an absurdly brute-force method, but if he could repeat it like that...
-Hmm. Still not working.
Lee Han gave up with a sigh.
It was clear the Skeleton Principal had meticulously designed the barrier to withstand external shocks.
-Why are you looking at me like that?
Lee Han tilted his head, noticing the siren staring at him blankly, as if entranced.
-♪♬♩! ♪♬!
'...She's not trying to subtly charm me, is she?'
Lee Han averted his gaze, knowing the siren would be furious if she knew what he was thinking.
Meanwhile, the siren snapped out of her daze and offered proper advice.
Don't just brute-force it—target the weaker links below...
'Ah, right. She's not a mage, so she doesn't realize how impressive that method was.'
Lee Han was reminded once again that the siren wasn't a mage.
To dismiss Valdororn's countermeasure as brutish...
'But the direction she suggested is correct.'
Lee Han carefully examined the direction the siren had pointed out and realized her observation was correct.
Though the difference was extremely subtle, the mana in the lower chain links was indeed weaker.
In most magic, such areas typically represented structural vulnerabilities.
-I can definitely feel the mana here is a bit weaker.
-?
The siren stared at Lee Han as if he were spouting nonsense.
While all magic theoretically had weaknesses, high-tier spells cast by archmages were designed to conceal even those flaws.
The siren herself had only identified the weak point because she'd witnessed the Skeleton Principal casting it firsthand—she couldn't actually sense any mana disparity.
-They reinforced the inside with wood element.
Lee Han noticed tree branches intricately woven throughout the barrier spell. It seemed they were arranged to disperse and absorb any force applied to the weak point.
The siren nodded in agreement with his analysis, then hastily sketched a diagram on the stone slab.
It detailed the sequence in which mana connections had to be severed, starting from the vulnerable chain.
But Lee Han immediately conjured flames and set the entire structure ablaze.
-!!!!!
The siren let out a soundless scream, hurled the slab aside, and summoned a wave to douse the fire.
Yet, true to flames born underwater, they stubbornly resisted extinguishing. She barely managed to suppress them before they spread, channeling the power of the spirits.
-♪↘♪♪↗♪!
Though he couldn't understand the meaning, Lee Han could tell she was furious. He apologized.
-Since it was reinforced with wood element, I thought setting the inside on fire would break it instantly.
THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS!!!
-But it did...
-......
The siren stared at the barrier, now reduced to ashes.
Under normal circumstances, the flood summoned by the spirits—combined with the barrier's inherent resistance—should've made it impossible to burn through so easily.
But the flames this mage had conjured were so intense they completely incinerated the barrier.
Had the siren not acted swiftly, even the treasure inside would've been reduced to cinders.
Thud thud thud!
She angrily scrawled a lengthy reprimand on the slab, detailing just how reckless Lee Han's actions had been.
Seeing her rage, he at least had the decency to look contrite.
'I probably could've controlled it if I'd let it burn a little longer.'
He kept that thought to himself, though.
Truthfully, compared to other magics, fire elemental spells were still his weakest area.
Sploosh—
When Lee Han finally emerged last, his friends rushed over with curious expressions.
"Find anything good?"
"Uh, hold on."
Between bickering with the siren, he hadn't even checked what the treasure was.
Lee Han opened the box and examined the slip inside.
Outing Pass.
"Nothing special."
"...!!!!"
"!!!!!!"
- !!!!!!
Even the nearby Death Knight looked shocked.
To be so indifferent about an Outing Pass...
Was this really a first-year student?!
'How is this possible??'
The Skeleton Principal, who'd been tormenting other students, turned his head at the commotion and floated over.
What's going on?
-Master. A student found an Outing Pass...
What? They actually found one?
The Skeleton Principal was startled.
He'd planned to mock them with "Couldn't even find what was right here?" if they failed—but someone actually succeeded?
And why did you have to find it?
"......"
"......"
The students fell silent as the Headmaster berated Lee Han without even asking who'd found it.
"I never said I found it."
So you didn't?
"I did, but..."
Figures.
Grumbling, the Headmaster snatched the box from Lee Han's hands.
-Aren't you curious how he found it?
No point asking—it'll just annoy me. Probably threatened the siren or something.
Unaware he'd accidentally guessed correctly, the Headmaster answered irritably.
-That seems a bit far-fet—
Can't take a joke? Can you?!
- S-sorry!
Anyway, since everything's been found, let's move to the next event.
"There's MORE?!"
"When does this end??"
The Headmaster silenced them with a glare.
Talent show. Each of you, demonstrate one magic suitable for a picnic.
"Hmm."
Wardanaz, you get full marks. Go sit over there.
"But..."
Even if this technically counted as a picnic, being excluded still stung a little.