Episode 531
Episode 531
"Wh-what? What's happening?"
"The artifact is activating? Wardanaz. Did you activate it?"
Lee Han frowned and answered.
"No. It activated on its own."
"What? That's ridiculous. An artifact activating by itself? What kind of idiot made something like that?"
Salko spoke as if he couldn't believe it.
The basic safety feature of artifacts was that they only activated when the caster willed it.
An artifact that activated on its own without the user's intent wasn't called an artifact—it was usually called a trap.
"The seniors did."
"......"
"......"
The students fell silent, dumbfounded.
They were really seniors?
"No... This is absurd."
"Yeah, Salko. I'm speechless too."
Lee Han sighed as he watched the Dimensional Gate Artifact flickering like a flame.
As hard as it was to believe, the seniors who made this hadn't cared the slightest bit about safety.
Normally, activating an artifact required clear incantations and gestures.
But the seniors had stripped all of that away to squeeze out even a little more efficiency.
They had completed it using a crude method—forcing the artifact to activate by forcibly absorbing mana the moment someone stepped into its vicinity.
At best, this was a crude method, but in reality, it was extremely dangerous.
The seniors, who had designed it and had plenty of experience, could back off if they sensed danger, but inexperienced juniors could collapse from mana exhaustion after a single mistake.
At the very least, shouldn't they have installed some safety measures before graduating out of concern for their juniors?
'Are all seniors just a bunch of bastards?'
"No, Wardanaz. When I said I was speechless, I meant at you."
"?"
Lee Han looked at Salko as if asking what he meant.
"How could you not notice while the artifact was absorbing this much mana?"
"...If you're reading a journal, it's possible not to notice, you jerk."
Lee Han grumbled at his friend's relentless criticism instead of letting his mistake slide.
Of course, the students studying Enchantment Magic didn't agree with Lee Han's excuse.
'This guy, who can sense even the faintest mana flow from meters away, is saying what now...'
VROOM. VROOM. VROOOOM—
The Dimensional Gate Artifact continued roaring as it flickered.
The light grew brighter, and sparks flew through the air, but the artifact showed no signs of stopping.
"Wardanaz. Are you sure this is fine? Why is it doing this? The artifact activated, but...?"
"It seems like it's only just getting started."
Despite absorbing an enormous amount of mana—enough to shake the surroundings—the Dimensional Gate Artifact had barely begun operating.
To form a proper gate, it needed to absorb dozens of times more mana than it already had.
Realizing the artifact's greedy structure, Lee Han waved his friends back.
"Don't come closer. If the mana absorption zone expands, you'll all collapse from exhaustion too."
"Wardanaz..."
"What? It's only natural to worry this much."
Lee Han spoke warmly to his seemingly touched friends.
Since he had worked them a bit too hard earlier, he needed to at least pretend to care now.
"No, we meant... aren't you coming out?"
"......"
The friends whispered among themselves while staring at Lee Han.
No matter how much mana he had, they were muttering about whether it was right to leave Wardanaz there.
By any measure, the amount of mana the artifact demanded was far too abnormal.
The massive amount it had already absorbed was barely enough to activate it.
So just how much mana would it need to form a proper gate?
"I'll be fine."
"Usually, when people say that, they're not fine."
Gainando muttered.
After all, whenever Gainando had said, "I'll be fine!" things had rarely gone well.
"That bastard is being ominous!"
"Stop talking nonsense!"
The students from the Blue Dragon Tower sharply smacked Gainando's back.
'What I'm worried about is something else.'
Lee Han wasn't actually concerned about the mana being absorbed like a waterfall.
If he had felt any pain from mana depletion, he would have pulled out immediately, but his body was perfectly fine. His friends' worry was almost embarrassing.
What Lee Han was worried about was the durability of this artifact.
It was already an artifact that had been stripped of all unnecessary functions and barely completed for the sake of efficiency and performance.
What if it exploded while charging mana?
'The Skeleton Principal would laugh his ass off.'
After going through all that trouble to defeat such a powerful enemy and find the treasure inside, getting wiped out because of some weird artifact made by their seniors?
The Skeleton Principal would cackle about it for a whole week.
"Everyone, set up the table over there!"
"Uh, uh."
"Got it."
At Lee Han's words, the students hastily set up the table.
Preparing cover in case the artifact exploded was a wise move.
"Hmm. Salko. Could you cast a spell to fill the gaps with earth?"
"Got it."
Salko cast earth elemental magic to reinforce the area behind the table.
Now, even if a shockwave hit, it wouldn't easily knock them away.
"Hmm. Princess. Could you summon spirits to make it even sturdier?"
Adenart quickly summoned spirits to reinforce the barricade.
The barricade, now mixed with sand, water, and gravel, had become so solid that not even a decent kick would budge it.
"Hmm. This still feels a bit iffy. Gainando, summon some bone elementals. Let's mix them in to reinforce it further."
"......"
"......"
The students' expressions gradually grew strange.
If they had to reinforce the barricade this much...
Shouldn't they just run away?
Noticing his friends' expressions, Lee Han quickly defended himself.
"It's just a precaution! It's still fine! The mana flow isn't showing any problems."
"Earlier, while the artifact was absorbing enough mana to kill several mages, you didn't even notice..."
"Salko. Do you really feel good constantly picking at your friend's mistakes like that? Huh?"
"Ah, no. That's not it."
When Lee Han appealed to emotions he normally didn't use, Salko was slightly flustered.
Still, saying that left him with no real comeback...
Crackle, crackle!
"!"
"L-Look at that! A crack!"
The students' eyes widened.
Amazingly, a crack had formed in midair!
As if some powerful being from another dimension was crossing over into this continent, a fissure split the space, revealing a scenery beyond it that was completely different from the underground warehouse.
"Wo... Wardanaz!!!"
"You're a hero!!! You're our hero!!!"
Just moments ago, the White Tiger Tower students had been grumbling, "If that bastard Wardanaz drinks one more bottle of foresight potion, we're all dead." But now, they were cheering.
They had been half-doubting, but now this spatial rift was proof that the Dimensional Gate Artifact was functioning properly.
"Check it! Check it! Where does it lead?"
"I-I'm looking! I'm looking, but... I can't see! Ugh! Wardanaz! Can't we get closer?!"
"Feel free to step closer if you want to die of dehydration."
"You... You didn't have to say it like that."
Lee Han strained to memorize the scenery visible beyond the crackling Dimensional Gate.
'Is that... a mansion?'
At a glance, the place connected by the Dimensional Gate was a rather old-fashioned mansion.
Lee Han wondered if this gate was linked to a noble family's mansion in a village or city not too far from Einrogard.
If any of the seniors had been from the Blue Dragon Tower, connecting it to their family mansion would've been the safest choice.
Creak, creak—
"!"
At the eerie noise coming from the artifact, Lee Han quickly turned his gaze.
The Dimensional Gate Artifact, which looked like it had been cobbled together from scrap materials.
Its framework, unable to withstand the mana overload, was twisting and groaning.
'I knew durability was a concern, but already like this...?'
Lee Han gritted his teeth and quickly stepped away from the artifact.
"It's—it's gonna blow!? Is it exploding!?"
Gainando asked in a near-scream when he saw Lee Han running toward him.
"No. We're stopping it for now!"
"Oh... I see."
Gainando nodded, then asked in a slightly smaller voice:
"Then it'll explode?"
"...It won't explode."
After giving Gainando—who seemed to think Lee Han would secretly tell him the truth while lying to the others—a flick on the forehead, Lee Han turned his gaze back to the artifact.
Fortunately, just as calculated, the artifact with its mana source depleted was slowly cooling down.
The dimensional gate vanished, the spatial rift closed, and everything fell silent as if nothing had happened.
"......"
"Th-thank goodness. It didn't break."
The students handled the dimensional gate artifact with the same tender care as a final exam paper.
"Wardanaz. When are we activating it again?"
"...Do you guys even know where that thing connects to?"
Lee Han was dumbfounded by the eager looks in his friends' eyes—already planning to charge in without even knowing the destination.
But his friends had their own logic.
"What does it matter? Anywhere's better than Einrogard."
"......"
Lee Han was momentarily speechless.
Well...
Wasn't that true?
"Hold on. Let me check the journal again."
Lee Han, who had been interrupted earlier by the forced mana charging, extended his wand to retrieve the journal.
'Where did they connect it to?'
As he flipped through the pages, his face suddenly stiffened as if he'd come face-to-face with a basilisk.
Yoner peeked at the journal curiously.
'Why's Lee Han acting like that?'
That crazy skeleton would never imagine where we're aiming for. Haha. Once it's complete, your city villa will be ours! We'll scrape every last treasure from the floor and then set it all on fire!
"......"
"......"
Lee Han let out a deep sigh.
Of all places, why there?
'Our seniors are no help in life.'
"Lee Han. You're still going, right?"
"Wardanaz. Think of it this way—if it's the Headmaster's private villa, it's probably empty!"
"Quiet. Everyone, close your eyes."
Lee Han tapped the floor with his wand to silence his friends.
Gainando, who was trying to squint, got smacked.
"Listen. As you know, this dimensional gate artifact might not have many activations left. We need to use it with the mindset of maximizing gains each time... I want honest opinions."
Though some students were practically vibrating with the desire to escape outside, Lee Han remained calm.
There was no telling what might happen if they carelessly barged into the Skeleton Principal's villa.
He could put on a brave front in front of his friends, but not everyone felt the same.
Lee Han didn't want to drag along anyone who wasn't willing.
"Even if the destination is the Headmaster's villa... who still wants to go through the dimensional gate and step outside?"
Slowly, every single student raised their hand.
"......"
Lee Han was speechless.
'You guys...'
Have you all been too conditioned by Einrogard?
"What a grueling day."
"Everyone worked hard."
Lee Han and his friends yawned as they walked out.
Having fought through the entire night, dawn was already breaking by the time they stepped outside the main building.
"Wardanaz. We're going together this weekend."
"Yeah."
"Wardanaz. We're definitely going together this weekend. Don't leave us behind."
"Yeah."
"Wardanaz. This weekend— Ow! Ow!"
Lee Han swung his wand to shoo away the White Tiger Tower students.
They had already agreed to regroup and try again over the weekend, but they kept pestering him needlessly.
"No morning lectures, right? Let's all go rest."
"Just thinking about going out this weekend is making me too excited to sleep."
"True. The Headmaster's villa won't be easy to handle."
Lee Han nodded and said,
"Well, I do have one idea..."
"Oh? What is it?"
His friends perked up, curious.
What kind of brilliant plan had he come up with?
"The precognition potion should be done soon. If we drink that..."
"No!"
"Don't you dare!"