Episode 475
Episode 475
Lee Han had no desire to escalate the situation.
This was the punishment room directly overseen by the Skeleton Principal, and staying here longer than necessary held no benefits.
He simply wanted to quietly, cautiously retrieve Professor Verdus and leave, but...
Perkuntra was throwing an absolute fit, declaring he would annihilate the spirit lurking somewhere in these underground chambers.
"Lord Perkuntra. You must calm down. By all appearances, this is enemy territory."
The water currents were overwhelmingly powerful—on an entirely different level—and the way they intensified their assault the moment Perkuntra blocked them made it clear this area was the stronghold of the spirits causing the Spirit Flood.
When spirits from another dimension linger too long, reality inevitably warps to accommodate them.
This environment was even more disadvantageous for Perkuntra, who was already restricted to fighting with only a fraction of his true power.
"Instead of fighting, let's just find the professor and leave."
Lend me your strength!
"No..."
Just this once! If you grant my request this time, I'll fulfill one of yours next!
"...Isn't this too extreme a reaction just because the opponent pretended not to hear you?"
Lee Han realized it was impossible to dissuade Perkuntra.
From his perspective, lending his overflowing mana in exchange for future assistance wasn't a bad deal, but...
'Why is he so furious?'
To Lee Han, who knew little about the honor, pride, and self-respect among spirits, Perkuntra simply seemed bipolar.
"Fine. But don't push yourself too hard..."
I shall open seventy-two golden coffers as reward! Let my attendants strive even harder!
"......"
I shall further unlock the Inner Treasury! Warriors, assemble!
"......"
Watching Perkuntra exhaust his wealth summoning spirit armies after his initial attendants proved insufficient, Lee Han felt the situation spiraling out of control.
Strike! Let thunderclaps be your warhorns—advance, my warriors! To those who repay my enemies' insults in kind, Thunder Gold shall be granted!
The spirit army formed ranks and charged forward with terrifying momentum.
The water currents that had been relentlessly pushing through the passageway evaporated and scattered, rapidly retreating.
"......"
With a deeply conflicted expression, Lee Han followed behind Perkuntra's avatar.
Now that he was here, he couldn't just stand still.
"Ee...eek!"
"It's the crazy mage...! The crazy mage!"
The empire's most dangerous criminals—collected and imprisoned here by the Skeleton Principal—took one look at Lee Han and recoiled in terror, burying their heads between their knees and trembling violently.
Outside, they had committed every imaginable atrocity without an ounce of fear, but ever since being confined to the punishment room, they'd long since realized how insect-like they were compared to the grandeur of magic.
And now, here was some lunatic mage leading a spirit army through the corridors, waging a battle fit for the continent's doomsday—how could they not be terrified?
'Is he a new mad mage sent to judge us?'
"Excuse me, I'd like to ask—"
The moment Lee Han spoke, one criminal strangled his own neck with all his might, foamed at the mouth, and collapsed.
"......"
The others followed suit with similar reactions.
Lee Han exhaled deeply and hurried after the spirit army.
Professor Verdus finished writing his letter with great effort, then placed it inside a glass bottle.
After casting a spell, he threw it through the prison bars.
Normally, there'd be no way to send messages outside, but the current circumstances were different.
The Spirit Flood at Einrogard.
The Skeleton Principal, who encouraged rather than prevented the flood from tormenting prisoners in the deep punishment cells.
These overlapping factors created a situation where simply tossing a bottle could carry his message outside via the water currents.
Professor Verdus diligently tore another sheet of paper to prepare his next letter.
"Ugh. Stop it, Professor. What a nuisance."
Kettle of the Doduk family, a graduate imprisoned in the cell across the hallway, grumbled in irritation.
"Professor, which of your students would come to rescue you?"
Any other proud professor might have flared up at a student's provocation, even from a graduate.
But Professor Verdus possessed an extraordinary mental fortitude.
Kettle's sarcasm didn't faze him in the slightest.
"Why wouldn't they come?"
"...Because you're— Ugh. Never mind. Just stop. They absolutely won't come. If they do, I'll live as a goat for a week."
"No, they'll come."
"Ah, seriously, how did I end up locked up in front of Professor Verdus... Wait. Did the Headmaster deliberately arrange this? That's just cruel. After how hard I worked in those lectures..."
Kettle thumped his chest indignantly.
He had worked so hard to atone for his sins by enthusiastically participating in ethics lectures.
And yet, despite his efforts, they locked him up right across from Professor Verdus.
"Professor, stop wasting your time and just make a repentance artifact already. If you've committed a crime, you should repay it through labor."
"I didn't commit any crime."
"Ah. Sure. Of course not."
Kettle scoffed.
He could believe anything else, but Professor Verdus saying, "I didn't commit any crime" was beyond belief.
"I also didn't steal livestock from the village to transform them! And I didn't blow up guild investments either! It's all a misunderstanding, but I just had the bad luck to get locked up!"
"Oh? Then go tell Gonadaltes."
"...Jailer! Jailer! Please, just switch my cell!!"
Kettle banged on the bars, but no one came.
Then again, even with the water from the Spirit Flood rising to their necks, no one had come—why would they now?
"Gurgle... glug. Mage! Mage! Please, help me!"
From the neighboring cell came the voice of a prisoner on the verge of drowning.
Kettle and Verdus, being mages, could block the rising water, but ordinary criminals had no such luxury.
Kettle muttered indifferently.
"You won't die anyway."
"I'm... glug... dying... you crazy mage bastards..."
"Yeah, yeah. Got any fresher insults?"
The sounds from the next cell cut off. It must have been completely submerged by now.
Kettle ignored it and called out to Professor Verdus again.
"Professor. Stop tormenting students who definitely won't come and let's think of another way. Isn't there any way to escape?"
Professor Verdus might have been a deranged beaver beastman mage, but no one could deny his skill as a professor.
As a graduate of Einrogard, Kettle remembered the Skeleton Principal's maxim: "Every magic has a flaw."
If anyone could find that flaw, it would be Professor Verdus.
"Impossible."
"You haven't even tried... What if we use Enchantment Magic to create cracks in the wall and force an opening?"
"Gonadaltes cast Bakwantalana's Sorrow on these walls."
Bakwantalana.
Any Enchantment mage knew the name of that great Enchantment mage from centuries past.
And Bakwantalana was most famous for one thing—mazes designed to imprison mages.
One of the spells that adorned those mazes was Bakwantalana's Sorrow.
A spell that formed an impenetrable iron wall, nullifying all magical attempts to breach it.
"Th-that extreme?! No, if they had the gold for that, they should've given it to our research funds!"
Kettle was furious.
How could they waste such an expensive spell on a prison cell?
Students at Einrogard were struggling just to secure funding for research like "What kind of socks best resist frost magic?"
"But you could still break through it, right?"
"Given enough time, I could crack it somehow. But the wall behind it is entirely made of Paldar Leji's Gold."
"...You've got to be kidding me!!"
Paldar Leji.
Just as all Enchantment mages knew Bakwantalana's name, all Transformation mages knew Paldar of the Leji family.
The mage who developed <Paldar Leji's Gold>, known for the declaration 'No material can achieve greater perfection than this'!
...And to waste it on a prison cell!
"I attended several imperial auctions and even requested sponsorship funds just to obtain a single fragment of that! And you just casually used it here!?"
"You could've stolen it."
"I'd need to know it existed first to steal it!"
Kettle fumed.
Even after graduation, Einrogard still had ways to infuriate its students.
"This <Paldar Leji's Gold> can be breached too, but what comes after..."
Professor Verdus began listing the spells deployed in this cell one by one, his expression unchanging.
Kettle was utterly overwhelmed by the sheer grandeur of the magical lineup.
'This is insane...'
Just as it's said that every spell has its flaws, the Skeleton Principal knew exactly how to compensate for them.
The more intricately spells are interlinked, the smaller the flaws become—like pinholes.
For the first time, Kettle truly grasped how great a mage the Skeleton Principal was.
...Though why he'd showcase that in a punishment room was beyond him...
BOOM!!!
"???"
A deafening roar echoed from outside.
Kettle strained his ears, curious about the commotion.
To ordinary imperial citizens, it would've been inaudible, but to Kettle, a seasoned mage, the silent screams of spirits mingled within the cacophony.
■■■■■■! ■■■■-■■■!
■■■■■■■!
'What? Are the spirits fighting?'
He knew an Spirit Flood was happening outside, but spirits fighting among themselves?
It made no sense.
In such massive flows, spirits rarely diverged in opinion.
"I see."
Professor Verdus nodded and spoke. Kettle instinctively turned his gaze.
After all, Verdus was still a professor.
Surely he knew something about this situat...
"What is it?"
"They're here to rescue me."
"...You're unbelievable..."
"Professor Verdus! Professor Verdus, are you there?!"
"?!?!?!?!!!!"
Kettle wondered if being locked in the punishment room had driven him mad.
From afar, a student's voice was genuinely calling for Professor Verdus!!
'Has Einrogard gone to ruin?!'
Kettle was someone who seriously believed Einrogard collapsing was more plausible than a student coming to rescue Professor Verdus.
"Professor Verdus!"
"I'm here! I'm right here!"
"Professor!"
"Yes! Hurry up and open it!"
And the student even seemed genuinely concerned about Verdus.
Kettle blinked rapidly, struggling to process the situation.
"Please wait a moment! I'll confirm your location first and open the door later!"
"Why?"
Lee Han didn't need to answer.
Before he could finish speaking, the prison corridor violently expanded sideways as spirits from both sides charged in, locked in a brutal clash.
The spirits under Perkuntra's command wielded thunder and lightning like weapons.
Opposing them, the flood-aligned spirits fired arrows of storm and rain, holding their ground.
The sturdy cell creaked under the ferocity of the battle.
BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!!!
"Ah, be careful!! I'm right next to you!"
Worry not! Do I look so careless as to harm my contractor?!
'Yes...'
Come forth, leader of those wretched thieves! I must see the face of the one who insulted and ignored my proposal!
Perkuntra once again siphoned Lee Han's mana.
Normally, drawing mana from a contractor required caution—unless one had made some insane pact with a demon. But like humans, spirits too grow bolder with repetition.
Lee Han stared at Perkuntra in disbelief.
'Even if I have mana to spare, can you just take it like this?'
He made a mental note to file a stern complaint after the battle.
"You... you... you...?!"
"Ah! Senior!"
Kettle wheezed like a prisoner in the next cell.
Unaware of his senior's state, Lee Han urgently shouted:
"I'll bring you food after the battle!"
"What... the hell... are you even...! Gasp... I can't... breathe...!"