Episode 514
Episode 514
'How?!'
Angrago, who had been sitting at the table, was so startled that he dropped his quill.
This stack of paper artifacts shared written messages between users, but it was impossible to tell who was writing at any given time.
Angrago glanced around.
"If we switch to buckthorn wood, it'll take less magic to enchant, but the power will definitely improve."
"This armor is so uncomfortable—isn't there any way to improve it?"
"Endure it. You need to be able to take a hit from magic."
"Well, come to think of it, considering that Wardanaz bastard, maybe we should make it even thicker."
The friends in the lounge were either sitting around arguing about whose sword was better or trying to craft new gear to boost their combat power.
Not a single person was studying—just another typical day in the White Tiger Tower lounge.
'There might be a spy.'
Angrago decided to test Wardanaz by leaving fake information on the paper.
- I'm not Angrago.
- Yeah, sure, "not Angrago." Tell anyone planning to join the Saint Iactus Festival that I'll break their legs. Oh, and by the way, I'll break yours too.
Angrago was shocked.
How in the—?
- I don't know what you're talking about, Wardanaz. I'm not Angrago, but I feel bad seeing an innocent Angrago get slandered.
- Alpha, it's obvious who you are, so cut the nonsense.
- Honestly, you might as well just start by writing "Alpha" at this point.
The two friends from the Black Turtle Tower, Salko and Shyles, mocked Angrago.
- More importantly, Wardanaz, why are you blocking the Saint Iactus Festival? I don't get it.
Lee Han was at a loss for words at Salko's question.
'What kind of lunatic—'
Why would he let them go?!
- Right. Wardanaz, I'm not Angrago, but stopping the Saint Iactus Festival makes no sense—that's tyrannical!
- Regardless of the respect you get in our tower, if you stop people from joining the festival, there's going to be serious backlash. Got a reason?
Lee Han held back the urge to curse.
- Because I'm the one treating the people who get hurt at the festival.
Suddenly, all the other friends fell silent.
"Junior, we should probably head out soon."
"Huh?"
Lee Han tucked the stack of papers into his robe and turned his head.
The seniors were packing potions from the chest and gathering their gear, preparing to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"Huh? The festival grounds. The excitement's starting to build, right? It's better to be on standby nearby."
Lee Han clenched his jaw to keep himself from saying something.
It wasn't the seniors' fault.
It was the fault of the other students who were acting like madmen, hurling rocks at each other.
'Wait, the festival excitement hasn't even peaked yet?'
He couldn't even imagine how things would escalate once it did.
* * *
"A stone giant!"
"Ram it into the fortress!"
Watching the seniors wage a siege battle on the plains, Lee Han felt dizzy.
In the short time it took him to leave the infirmary and descend the main building's stairs, the seniors had already built a fortress on the plains and created a giant to attack it.
BOOM!
The massive stone giant slammed its heavy body into the fortress.
The stone fortress shook as if it might collapse at any moment, but in an instant, it regained its balance.
Powerful magic held the rocks together, maintaining their cohesion.
"Fire! Stone Giant, fire the rocks!"
"Fortress, start firing back too!"
Before his eyes, the surreal spectacle of a massive giant and fortress hurling boulders at each other, obliterating everything around them, unfolded—but the healing magic seniors paid no mind, setting up their tents and raising their faction's banner.
A half-shattered rock fragment came flying toward the tent.
Given how violently they were fighting, it was possible a stray rock had just ricocheted their way.
"I'll—"
"Yeah."
The seniors didn't even flinch—they were used to it. One stepped forward, swung his staff, and vines burst from the ground, snatching the rock out of the air.
"Who's there?"
"That guy from the Blue Dragon Tower—the short-haired one with the hooked nose—"
"Got him."
The Healing Magic seniors immediately sought revenge.
The face of the student who had accidentally flung a stone their way turned deathly pale before he clutched his throat, coughing violently, and collapsed.
"What the hell just happened?!"
"Ah, you idiot! What were you thinking attacking Healing Mages?! Get him over here!"
The fallen student's companions quickly lifted their friend and rushed over.
Thud!
"Sorry about that!"
"Just don't kill him!"
After unceremoniously dumping their now-blue-faced friend on the ground, the students offered a hasty apology before sprinting back to rejoin the festival.
"Leave him be for a bit, then undo the airway obstruction."
"Got it."
As the junior from the Wardanaz family stood silently watching, the Healing Magic seniors suddenly realized their mistake.
In festival situations like this, demonstrating their dominance was practically mandatory—otherwise, idiots swept up in the excitement might even dare to attack Healing Mages.
But that was purely from the Healing Mages' perspective. To an uninformed junior, this scene could seem shockingly brutal and terrifying.
Why would mages, who had gathered for the noble purpose of healing, strike first?
"Uh, junior, I know this might look a little strange, but—"
"Seniors, I have a question."
"Huh? What is it?"
"That spell you just used—couldn't you cast it on all the other students? If you knock everyone out, the festival would—"
For a brief moment, the seniors wavered at the junior's suggestion.
"Ah, no, that'd be a waste of mana."
"What a shame..."
Lee Han felt deeply regretful.
To think they couldn't attack everyone here just because of mana constraints.
It was frustrating to lack the power to distribute mana freely.
"Hey, guys! Help me out!"
"Dammit, I'm stuck!"
"Get this rock off me!"
As injured students began flooding in, there was no more time for conversation.
And these weren't just ordinary injuries—they were on a whole other level of complexity.
Some had rocks fused to their bodies (likely due to someone casting Transformation Magic on the stones), others suffered from magical backfires (one senior's entire torso had turned to stone)—each patient vividly demonstrating the consequences of failed spells.
Lee Han, looking slightly queasy, assisted in treating them.
While complex magical treatments were beyond him, once the seniors stabilized the patients, Lee Han could take over—which was already a huge help.
"Why the hell did this idiot try merging with an earth spirit?!"
"Is this many injuries normal?"
"The higher your year, the more... creative the injuries get."
Phil shouted while pouring a petrification-curing potion down a student's throat.
Paradoxically, as a mage's skill grew, so did their chances of grievously harming themselves.
At lower levels, failed spells lacked the power to cause serious harm—but once you reached a certain threshold, even the slightest mistake could be fatal.
"To think we'd use magic like this! Can you believe it?"
"Absolutely. They're terrible people."
A groaning student lying nearby weakly protested, "For the festival... to win... no choice..."
"That senior doesn't seem to be in pain—should we stop giving him anesthetic?"
The Healing Mages looked at Lee Han with proud admiration.
Despite being just a first-year, he already understood how to handle patients.
Rumble—!
Lee Han was the first to turn his head at the surge of mana in the sky.
Soon, a few others followed, and before long, nearly everyone was staring upward.
Mana clashed violently, tearing fissures in the air as a radiant halo of white light burst forth.
Sensing the unmistakable foreboding in the air, Lee Han asked—
"Are they summoning that to throw rocks too?"
"Uh... no."
"That's... a problem caused by using too much magic," the healing magic seniors said with voices full of concern.
Magic was fundamentally an act that distorted the natural order, so having too many different spells cast chaotically in one space was never good.
This was exactly what happened when dimensional rifts formed due to magical collisions.
"Cease combat! Cease combat!"
"Stop the festival for a moment and take down whatever comes out first!"
"Stop throwing them!"
"I was winning! You have to acknowledge this as my victory!"
"Enough nonsense and stand by! If we mess this up even by accident, we're all headed to the Punishment Room!"
The students stopped channeling mana into the stone giants and fortresses, gathering in small groups to stare at the dimensional rift.
If they accidentally summoned some otherworldly creature while enjoying the festival and let it escape, the aftermath was too terrifying to imagine.
Perhaps an unprecedented mass punishment session would be held...
"Is there a Wardanaz here?!"
When Coholti from the Black Magic department came running over, the healing magic seniors were startled.
"What's the matter, Senior Coholti?"
"Coholti, what's going on?"
"Ah, I heard one of our juniors was here..."
Coholti glanced around, and when his eyes met Lee Han's, he brightened up.
"You really are here!"
"How did you know?"
"One of our juniors said there was a first-year from the Wardanaz family in the healing magic tent and got roasted for lying. I just thought I'd check."
Lee Han felt slightly guilty that some unnamed senior had been insulted.
"Wardanaz, I need a favor. Can you come with me for a bit? I need your help."
"Wait, what do you mean by that?"
"Coholti, what do you take our junior for? Even if you're friends, this is too much."
The solidarity among students of the same department was strong by default.
Especially in departments like healing magic, where the work was grueling and manpower was always short.
So there was no way they'd just hand over a junior to another department without question.
But Coholti had his reasons too.
"He's also from the Black Magic department."
"Ah!"
When the healing magic students gasped in surprise, Coholti scowled.
"Hey, you guys—"
"Ah, no, we knew."
"We knew, Senior."
Remembering the usual treatment the Black Magic department received, the healing magic students quickly backtracked, feeling apologetic.
"If the junior's fine with it, so are we. But why do you need to take him?"
"Uh..."
Coholti hesitated, then muttered under his breath.
"I need to borrow some mana..."
"What?"
"I need to borrow some mana..."
Snap!
Every healing magic student present immediately drew their wands and pointed them at Coholti, their expressions hardening.
Coholti had to desperately beg and persuade them, nearly dropping to his knees.
Of course, even that couldn't stop them from glaring at him like he was trash.
'What a piece of trash, he's no senior.'
'No matter how much mana a junior has, how can you just call them over because you ran out?!'
'Exploiting a junior's kindness... It's not that black magic is evil. That guy's heart is evil.'
"...Let's go quickly."
Coholti winced under the scorching glares burning into his back.
If Lee Han hadn't stepped in, he might have been buried alive right there.
"Is it that urgent?"
"Looking at what's about to be summoned, we need to prepare in advance to seal it."
The reason Coholti had resorted to borrowing even a first-year junior's mana—no, his hand—was because the situation was that dire.
With something ominous about to emerge from the dimensional rift, they needed to prepare as strongly as possible.
"I have an ancient artifact I borrowed from a friend, and the undead here are pretty powerful. But the problem is, I haven't been charging it with mana regularly, so right now—"
"You want me to do it?"
Coholti couldn't meet Lee Han's eyes, as if feeling guilty. But Lee Han just shrugged it off.
"I'll go charge it. Don't worry."
"Junior...!!"
Coholti choked up, staring at Lee Han in awe.
How on earth did someone like this end up in the Black Magic department?
"Ah, right, um..."
"About today... can you keep it a secret from Diret?"
"If, if he finds out, I feel like I'll become an undead..."