Episode 55
Episode 55
Still, it was a relief that the friends who'd been clamoring, "We need to get outside," and "We should find a way out," finally stopped arguing and closed their mouths.
Lee Han's words carried that much weight.
Nilia found herself newly impressed by this friend from the Blue Dragon Tower.
To silence all these noisy students with just a single sentence—who would've thought?
Was this the charisma unique to the bloodline of the Wardanaz family, one of the empire's most prestigious magical lineages?
"Since everyone got soaked in the rain, we should eat something warm. Gather around. I'll make something for you all."
At Lee Han's words, everyone brightened and quickly huddled together.
Watching the scene, Nilia was momentarily reminded of someone familiar.
'Mo... Mom?'
Must be her imagination, right?
Lee Han's demeanor, radiating an atmosphere so incongruous with the charisma of an imperial magical lineage, left Nilia slightly flustered.
If Gainando had seen this, he would've said, "Why are you carrying so much stuff?" But for this mountain trip, Lee Han had packed his backpack to the brim.
It wasn't so much that Lee Han was cautious—it was that he didn't trust the school that much.
If they got stranded in the mountain range, they'd need to survive for at least a month!
Thanks to that, he had enough food supplies to serve everyone gathered here and still have leftovers.
"Spring forth."
Thanks to being tormented so much by Professor Voladi, his Water Creation spell now flowed smoothly without the slightest interruption.
He could even simplify the wand movements bit by bit without completing the full sequence.
'It's true—the more you master spells and gestures, the more freedom you gain with them.'
He'd heard bits and pieces about this while at his family's estate, but some things only made sense when experienced firsthand.
Spells and gestures were exactly that kind of thing.
Magic was the act of altering the world through a mage's will.
No matter how exceptional or talented a mage was, attempting to change the world with unfamiliar magic inevitably raised doubts.
Can I really perform this spell? Am I misunderstanding something? What if I make a mistake?
Precise spells and gestures erased these doubts and strengthened the mage.
Conversely, the more familiar one became with magic, the easier it was to simplify these spells and gestures.
'...Wait. But even so, learning it that way is just... There's no need to get beaten up to learn, right?'
Bubble-bubble—
The pot placed over the fire began to boil. Lee Han poured water into tin cups and brewed coffee.
The students, shivering from the cold spring rain, accepted the coffee cups with expressions of rapture.
Crack—
Nilia watched curiously as Lee Han cracked eggs into a small square frying pan.
"Where did you get all this stuff?"
"Bought it from the Black Turtle Tower students."
"?!"
Come to think of it, there had been talk earlier about hitting the jackpot at the black market...
That was Wardanaz?!
Lee Han chopped the scrambled eggs finely with a knife and distributed them among his friends.
The steady sound of falling rain.
Warm coffee and eggs.
Once their bodies had warmed up and relaxed a bit, the students suddenly turned romantic.
"This isn't so bad after all."
"Right. Since coming to school, this is the first time I've felt this good."
'Did they develop Stockholm Syndrome?'
Lee Han was astonished by his friends' sudden romantic turn.
It wasn't like the coffee or eggs had anything special in them—why was everyone suddenly spouting nonsense...?
Meanwhile, the elf from the White Tiger Tower, Rowena, approached.
"Her Highness the Princess expresses her gratitude."
"Oh. I see."
Nilia, listening nearby, muttered under her breath.
"As if she'd get cursed just for saying it herself..."
"Did you say something?"
"Nothing."
When Rowena tilted her head and asked, Nilia hastily backtracked.
She actually heard that?!
"But, Lord Wardanaz."
"Huh?"
"Might I ask when you plan to make that vegetable stew again?"
"...???"
"Wait. You're making that vegetable stew again?"
"The legendary vegetable stew?"
The Black Turtle Tower students sipping coffee abruptly shot to their feet.
Wait, that stew?
"No. I have no plans to make it."
"......"
The Black Turtle Tower students sat back down with sullen expressions.
So he's not making it!
Rowena wasn't as disappointed as the Black Turtle Tower students, but her expression still fell.
"Is that so? I was looking forward to it after hearing the stories."
Lee Han was dumbfounded.
Just how had the rumors spread so far already?
'Besides, I'm not even sure it'll taste the same if I make it again.'
Since it was a dish made by throwing in all available ingredients and simmering them thoroughly, there was no guarantee it would taste similar if remade.
Rowena returned to the Princess and whispered something. Though the Princess listened with an impassive face, Lee Han somehow felt that expression looked disappointed.
Yoner shook her head and remarked:
"That seems like excessive loyalty. Her Highness probably doesn't even want it. She's just forcing it because others are talking about it."
"Is... that so?"
Lee Han tilted his head in confusion.
Yoner seemed to view the Princess as some ascetic who lived on dew alone.
But from Lee Han's perspective, the Princess was rather...
'I thought she had a strong appetite like Gainando, but this is going too far.'
Lee Han reflected. Even so, comparing her to Gainando was a bit much.
Regardless, from the standpoint of someone who'd delivered food to the Princess, it was hard to accept that she lacked culinary desires.
She'd really enjoyed eating it...
"!"
The Princess rose from her seat. Lee Han flinched, thinking she'd overheard his comparison to Gainando.
Rowena spoke instead:
"Since we've received food and drink, Her Highness wishes to assist you in return."
"That would be greatly appreciated."
Lee Han brightened immediately.
The Princess was one of the most magically talented individuals.
Having her help would be tremendously beneficial.
"Ooooh..."
"How impressive."
The Princess raised her staff and chanted an incantation.
Suddenly, an earthen mass and a flickering red mass appeared midair, compacting the ground and intensifying the campfire.
'Spirits!'
Lee Han immediately recognized them as spirits.
Despite not having formally studied it yet, the Princess had succeeded in summoning spirits just from lectures and books from other classes.
Imagining the Princess communing with spirits from the Spirit World, building affinity before summoning them, Lee Han suddenly felt a twinge of regret for pointlessly taking Professor Voladi's class.
...Wouldn't it have been better to just take popular lectures?
Thud—
"!!"
While everyone marveled at the Princess's spirits, a massive figure emerged through the rain.
It was a golem.
People often held the prejudice that knightly families were "only good at swinging swords," but reality differed.
Thinking about it, this was obvious.
To combat monsters and bandits in the frontiers, diverse skills were necessary.
If they'd only known swordplay, these White Tiger Tower students wouldn't have come to study magic in the first place.
As such, many White Tiger Tower students surprisingly excelled in various skills.
Batrek of the Bark family, a dwarf from the Empire's east, possessed exceptional alchemy talent befitting his family's reputation.
Enough to personally prepare ointments for White Tiger Tower students groaning from muscle aches and bruises.
Given that Giselle, the White Tiger Tower's leader, praised him, his skill needed no further explanation.
"Here. Drink this tea."
Batrek gruffly poured tea from the kettle.
The White Tiger Tower students marveled at the Bark family's secret herbal tea. They could feel their bodies warming instantly.
"Thanks, Batrek. You're the best."
"Hey, you might even be better than Priestess Siana! Hahaha!"
"Hahahahaha!"
The White Tiger Tower students were currently gathered together with the Phoenix Tower students.
After Professor Ingoldel disappeared and the sudden downpour began, these students had also taken shelter to escape the rain.
In a way, they were lucky.
If the Blue Dragon Tower students and White Tiger Tower students had been placed together in one spot, they definitely would have fought.
But the White Tiger Tower students were too busy laughing and joking among themselves to notice Siana's contorted expression.
It had been an offhand joke they hadn't expected the Phoenix Tower students to hear in the first place.
"......"
"......"
The Phoenix Tower students instinctively glanced at Siana's reaction.
They hadn't actually poisoned the tea, right?
"The rain seems to be letting up—should we try clearing a path?"
"Does... it really seem to be letting up, though?"
"Doesn't it?"
"I think we can push through now."
The White Tiger Tower students were far more hot-blooded than those from the Blue Dragon Tower.
Of course, they knew it was dangerous to move around in this kind of rain, but the sheer number of students gathered together made them overconfident.
At this point, there was no reason to hesitate any longer.
"Finding a path is one thing, but shouldn't we regroup with the other tower students too?"
"The Blue Dragon Tower? With those arrogant bastards?"
The White Tiger Tower students recoiled in disgust. But the Phoenix Tower students didn't back down easily.
"Still, we can't just abandon the other tower students and go back, can we?"
"Ugh..."
Fierce and unruly as they were, even the White Tiger Tower students couldn't throw a tantrum in front of the priests.
"Tch. We've gotta find the Black Turtle Tower too. Annoying, but..."
"Let's look for the other tower students first. But where on earth did Professor Ingoldel go?"
THUD—
The same thing that had happened to Lee Han's group now unfolded before the White Tiger Tower students.
A golem had appeared in front of them.
"...!!!"
An intimidating presence, easily 3 meters tall.
The students froze at the sight of the mud golem. Rowena urgently spoke up.
"Everyone, don't move recklessly! Golems act according to rules. As long as we don't violate them first, it won't attack us!"
Golems were different from wild monsters. Fundamentally, they were artificial monsters created by mages.
The basic method of making a golem involved shaping materials like mud, stone, or metal as desired, inserting a magical core, and then activating it.
The problem was when these magical cores were discarded damaged or broken, only to accidentally merge with materials—resulting in rogue golems that no longer obeyed human commands.
'This magic school really has safety management issues.'
Lee Han cursed inwardly as he gripped his staff.
Rowena was right—golems did follow rules.
Whether intact or broken, that much was certain.
The issue was that the rules of a broken golem were nearly impossible to guess.
What if its rule was something like, "Destroy all first-years"...?
SWISH—
The mud golem approached threateningly before dragging its foot to draw a line.
A thick mark was etched in front of the students taking shelter from the rain at the cliff's base.
"??"
"Is it telling us not to cross the line? What happens if we do?"
"Let's test it out."
"No! Wardanaz! Gainen isn't even here!!"
Ashan screamed, trying to stop them. Of course, Lee Han had no intention of stepping out himself.
A Bone Summon clattered forward instead. The mud golem swung its fist without hesitation.
CRUNCH!
"......"
"......"
The students were horrified.
Fortunately, the shattered Bone Summon revived shortly after, returning to its original form.
But Rowena focused on something else entirely.
'Wait, can summons revive that quickly?'
A recalled summon usually required considerable time and mana to recover...?