Episode 469
Episode 469
"Woah, Wardanaz?"
"Yeah. You doing alright?"
Lee Han scanned the room.
At a glance, it didn't seem like a punishment chamber.
'Well, Professor Kraer isn't the Skeleton Principal. He probably didn't torment a student he recruited just for an exam.'
"Uh... well... you see..."
Shyles rolled his eyes nervously.
If he returned to his friends at the Black Turtle Tower like this, he knew exactly what they'd say:
-You got no loyalty, huh? Just looking out for yourself!
-We were worried sick about you! You could've at least left a clue!
"Don't worry. I'll tell the others you had it rough."
Lee Han read Shyles' mind and spoke first.
Shyles choked up with gratitude.
"Wardanaz...!"
"If you ever need to borrow a Richmond Family carriage during break, give me a discount or something."
"Stop joking. I could just lend it to you for free."
"I wasn't joking?"
"...Is this a joke too?"
Ponlig let out a low, threatening growl.
It was a question—whether he should drop this oblivious boy right here.
Being a beast of speech himself and having grown up in a transport guild family that handled many creatures, Shyles shivered at the ominous feeling.
"Wh-why's it acting like this?"
"Seems it likes you."
"I... don't think that's it."
Shyles knew exactly what kind of monster a griffin was.
Even compared to commonly mentioned creatures like hippogriffs and pegasi, griffins were notoriously difficult to tame due to their fierce temperament and cunning intelligence.
Seeing the griffin behave like this, Shyles couldn't tell whether Wardanaz had truly tamed it or if the griffin was deceiving him.
"Wardanaz... y-you know, it's not that I'm doubting you or anything... but you do know griffins are naturally vicious and deceptive, right?"
Ponlig growled again, low and displeased.
After finally pledging loyalty to his master, only to have that trust questioned so belatedly, this boy's attempt to sow discord was downright insulting.
"Hmm."
At Shyles' words, Lee Han looked down at Ponlig.
He'd been in such a hurry that he temporarily lifted the curse with a curse-breaking potion to bring Ponlig along. But now, hearing Shyles' warning, Ponlig suddenly seemed especially fierce.
Maybe it was because he usually saw Ponlig in horse form that he hadn't noticed before.
Ponlig clacked his beak loudly, his eyes filled with indignation.
Sure, he'd been a bit prickly at first, but ever since, he'd been nothing but loyal! And now this brat had the nerve to cast doubt over a single comment?!
"No. Ponlig's nice. ...Probably."
Ponlig nodded happily—then paused. Something felt off.
"Anyway, hurry up and get on. We've got another exam to prepare for."
Shyles hesitated, eyeing Ponlig before quickly climbing on.
Griffins were scary, but Wardanaz wasn't exactly harmless either. After being rescued, if he kept talking back, things might get even scarier than facing the griffin.
"But Wardanaz, how'd you even find out where I was?"
"Divination magic."
"...Huh? That works?"
Shyles tilted his head in confusion.
Divination was exponentially harder when there was little information or if the target was magically protected.
He'd assumed Wardanaz had used some clues to narrow down the location and then used divination only to confirm which floor of the tower he was trapped in.
"Didn't have time because of other exams, so I just spammed it until it worked. That's how I got here."
"......"
Shyles' face twisted in shock behind Lee Han's back.
This was an unimaginably brute-force method.
Divination magic had side effects and backlash every time it was used—and he'd just spammed it repeatedly until it worked?!
"Th-that's allowed??"
"Got other exams to take. No time to waste. No choice. Let's just go."
"No way... doing something like this just because you're short on time..."
To act so recklessly just because there wasn't enough time to study for exams...
The sheer thought of what he might have done if he'd been even slightly more desperate was terrifying.
"Wait. Then where did the griffin come from?"
"I temporarily transformed the horse Professor lent me."
"...Y-you're joking, right? This too?"
Click—
The door to the room where Shyles had been trapped opened, and Professor Paselet stepped inside.
The professor, who had likely opened the door to offer snacks, was utterly dumbfounded at the sight of the half-shattered window and asked,
"...Why—why did you break it?"
"......"
Lee Han was slightly taken aback by the question.
Huh?
'Wasn't breaking in and rescuing him part of the test?'
Come to think of it, the professor had only asked them to locate the position and report it—not to actually rescue anyone.
He had just instinctively smashed the window and barged in.
'Hmm. If I say it like that, I'll sound like a complete lunatic.'
Lee Han searched for a good excuse when his eyes met Ponlig's.
"Maybe..."
Ponlig let out a whimper, as if pleading not to be used as a scapegoat.
"Well... good job... you did well."
Lee Han bowed his head awkwardly, embarrassed that he had destroyed the examination hall despite being told to simply solve the test problem.
But Professor Paselet didn't seem too bothered.
'Thank goodness. The professor is kind.'
"Well, I should get going—"
"That's why I said we should teach him differently!!!"
"!?"
"!"
Lee Han and Shyles were startled as the professor suddenly shouted in a completely different voice.
Ponlig let out a low growl, his eyes filled with wariness.
"Professor?"
"Ah. Don't mind it. Just ignore—"
"How can I ignore this?!!"
"......"
'I want to go home.'
Shyles thought to himself.
Being caught in the middle of two professors (though technically the same person) arguing was more uncomfortable than he'd imagined.
"Just let him be for now since he's still a first-year..."
"Geniuses need to be taught differently! That's why he's protesting like this now!"
"B-but... Divination Magic is dangerous..."
Even the timid personality chimed in, joining the debate.
Lee Han froze as he watched the professor's three personalities bicker among themselves.
'Wait. This is dangerous.'
Not because the professor's split personalities fighting was dangerous—by Einrogard's standards, this barely even counted as risky.
What was dangerous was the content of their argument.
The professor's aggressive personality was advocating for even harsher teaching methods than before.
"Look! Do you think he'd protest like this if he wasn't bored out of his mind?!"
"...No, it's my fault for breaking it. I misunderstood the problem—"
"Don't worry too much. It's not because you broke it. This debate has been going on since before."
Professor Paselet's words weren't very comforting.
The professor's personalities had been discussing how to teach him—without him even being present.
From experience, students should be involved in decisions about their own education.
Why were they making plans without the person in question?
"W-well... maybe a compromise..."
'What kind of compromise are they even talking about?'
Lee Han silently rooted for the professor's neutral personality.
With the aggressive and timid personalities pushing for "teaching more harshly," the only one he could rely on was the neutral one.
"Forcing it might just backfire."
Lee Han nodded in agreement.
"That's for mediocre students! Do you think he's just average?"
Lee Han shook his head.
"W-well, he is a bit..."
'That personality isn't timid—it's just weak.'
Lee Han silently resented the timid personality for being swayed so easily by the aggressive one.
A personality should stand firm in its convictions—what's the point if it just gets overpowered by another?
The only saving grace was that the professor's neutral personality was holding strong...
"Think about it. All the other classes are racing ahead, teaching advanced material, while Divination Magic is stuck throwing pebbles. Do you think he'll find that fun? Or will he just quit? No matter how much you care for your student, exceptions must be made! Even stubborn professors like Professor Nayton are changing their ways after seeing others!"
"??????"
Lee Han doubted his own ears.
What did he just say?
"I get it. I get it."
"I'll admit it..."
"......"
Lee Han looked at the professor with a bitter expression.
So this was how it ended.
Even now, the difficulty of Divination Magic wasn't exactly low, but the thought of how much harder it would get after midterms sent a chill down his spine.
'Is it my fault? Was smashing the tower window really such a big mistake?'
"Wardanaz."
Shyles, who had been standing beside him, spoke up.
"Uh... hang in there."
"...Let's just get out of here."
The path back with Shyles was as dark and gloomy as Lee Han's mood.
The two placed Ponlig on the ferry (Ponlig had returned after his transformation wore off) and slowly glided across the water.
Suddenly, Shyles remembered something and asked,
"Wardanaz, don't you have an Illusion Magic exam too?"
Come to think of it, wasn't the place where Shyles had been trapped Professor Kirmin Ku's tower?
Shyles wasn't taking Illusion Magic, but Wardanaz was different.
"I came to rescue you after taking the exam."
"Huh?"
Shyles was baffled.
"Isn't the exam still going on?"
While Shyles had been trapped, first-year students had been taking their Illusion Magic exams below the tower.
Professor Kirmin had placed nightmares received from Mack all over the tower, pushing the students to overcome them.
For an illusionist, the ability to cast illusions wasn't the only important thing. The mental fortitude to avoid being consumed by illusions was equally crucial.
Given how critical it was to overcome those nightmares, students were still screaming and struggling to endure them...
And Wardanaz had come to rescue him after finishing the exam??
"I expected it to end quickly. Luckily, it did. Anyway, go inside, Shyles. I still have other magic exams to attend."
"Wardanaz. I don't mean to interfere, but you really should cut down on the number of lectures you're taking..."
"It's over! Hooray!!"
"Finally done!"
"Hey. Wardanaz is watching. Pick up those books, you idiot."
Back at the library, students who had finished all their midterm exams for the week were throwing books around and cheering.
Lee Han grabbed the White Tiger Tower student who had thrown a book and tossed him aside, clicking his tongue in disapproval.
'Honestly, the ones who didn't study are the worst.'
Now that he looked around, students from the Blue Dragon Tower and the Phoenix Tower were sulking, regretting how they could've done better, while the White Tiger Tower students were just ecstatic that it was over.
"Wardanaz... d-do you have any exams left this weekend?"
"Nope."
"Wah!!!! It's over!!!! Hooray!!!!"
Once Lee Han confirmed that their exams were done, his friends relaxed and started throwing books around.
Some even began banging on crude drums, playing songs of celebration.
'...Isn't Mack going to get mad?'
Watching his friends go wild, Lee Han suddenly felt bad for Mack.
With all this commotion, Mack might storm in angrily...
"Wait... I think there's still one exam left."
At Lee Han's words, his friends—who had been unpacking their stockpiled food and uncorking barrels of alcohol—froze.
Huh?
"W-what's left?"
"Black Magic?"
"Pretty sure we already finished Black Magic."
"Then Enchantment Magic?"
"Enchantment Magic was last time too."
"Summoning Magic?"
"Summoning Magic was also..."
Giving up on guessing, his friends just stared at Lee Han, silently urging him to just tell them.
"Didn't the advanced Basic Dance and Socializing exam get postponed?"
At Lee Han's question, his friends paused—then burst into laughter.
"That one doesn't have an exam!"
"Right. You just go tomorrow, dance happily, and that's it."
"......"
Lee Han frowned as he watched his excited friends.
"What's wrong? Lee Han?"
"Don't you think the Dance and Etiquette course should raise its difficulty level a bit..."
"......"
Yoner, who had just poured lemonade into a glass, looked at Lee Han in horror.
How could he say such a thing about one of the few relaxing courses!