Episode 550
Episode 550
"P-Professor."
Hearing Professor Thunderstep's voice, Lee Han gestured.
The professor turned his head to look at his student.
And was even more startled.
"Did an actual war break out?!"
The student looked as if he'd been rolling around on a battlefield for three days straight.
His cloak was half-torn, his hair disheveled, his face covered in mud and dust with dried blood clinging to it...
The professor couldn't comprehend how such a fierce battle could have happened in such a short time.
Lee Han coughed and spoke.
"I had no choice."
"What do you mean you had no choice?"
"The Contaminated Beings were trying to attack the spirits."
"Wha— Wait, wait."
Professor Thunderstep, who had been slightly moved by his student's warm-hearted concern for the spirits, quickly regained his composure.
There were several oddities in the situation.
"You were supposed to be inside the hut, right? The magic circles should have been protecting you?"
"That's right."
Yoner and Priestess Siana answered in exhausted voices.
Though not as disheveled as Lee Han, both were covered in dust, indicating they had also been through a tough fight.
"But we came outside to fight."
"...Why?"
"To protect the spirits."
"I see. ...WHY?!"
No matter how much he listened, Professor Thunderstep couldn't make sense of it and was utterly confused.
Why would they recklessly charge out to save the spirits when they could have stayed safely inside the magic circles?
Did they owe the spirits some kind of debt?
'I still have a long way to go.'
When the squirrel spirit showed affection, Lee Han had a profound realization.
The reason spirits had disliked him until now was simply because he hadn't put in enough effort.
With enough effort, there was no reason for spirits to avoid him.
'I had to put them in danger.'
Thinking about it, the existing spirits had no reason to feel favorably toward him.
But what if they were in danger?
And what if Lee Han saved them in that state?
"They might start liking me."
"Lee Han... Normally, I'd want to help you with whatever you're trying to do, but right now, I'm worried because it sounds like you're having some strange thoughts..."
Yoner looked at his friend with sincere concern in his eyes.
Listening to Lee Han's new spirit contract theory was deeply troubling.
Of course, spirits were sensitive to kindness, and saving them could indeed earn their favor.
But right now, his friend seemed to be declaring that he would forcibly put spirits in danger just to force them into owing him gratitude.
'Am I just imagining it?'
"Ah, it'll be fine. What we're doing now is a good thing. We're helping spirits in danger, right?"
Priestess Siana spoke as if there was nothing to worry about.
"Well, that's true, but..."
"And there's no way Lord Wardanaz would deliberately put spirits in danger, right?"
Lee Han, who had been walking ahead, froze at those words.
Seeing that, Yoner grew even more concerned.
"Contaminated Beings! Everyone, be careful!"
Lee Han moved with precision, proving he had been rigorously trained as a combat mage.
First, he placed his friends within the range of an invisibility spell, and as if that weren't enough, he also cast <Ogonin's Thin Mist> and <Pengerin's Frost Element Doppelganger>.
A wide area was covered in illusory mist, and with the clones moving inside it, focusing on anything outside became even more difficult.
Then came the enhancement magic.
"Lord Wardanaz, what about the Nimble Footsteps spell?"
"That one has too many side effects. Can't use it."
"?"
Priestess Siana was about to ask, 'Then what about the White Tiger Tower students?' but Lee Han immediately swung his staff without pause.
"Arise, warriors of bone!"
He pulled black bone fragments from his pocket and threw them while swinging his staff, causing Skeleton Warriors to appear on the opposite side of where the students stood.
These weren't ordinary Skeleton Warriors—they were influenced by bone fragments compressed with dark elemental energy.
The Contaminated Beings reacted sensitively, as if sensing an elemental energy similar to their own.
"Ready? Attack!"
With their allies fully protected by various spells and the enemies' vision blocked by Summons attacking from behind, it was time to launch a full-scale assault.
Lee Han and his friends unleashed razor-sharp spells, striking the Contaminated Beings.
"Strike them down, Perkuntra's lightning!"
A brilliant flash of lightning struck the Contaminated Beings.
These would have been low-level undead that should have burned to ashes in a single hit, but thanks to their fusion with the Dark Spirit, some managed to endure.
Some clung together to increase their size and thicken their armor, others burrowed into the ground to evade attacks, and some spewed Dark Element like mist to weaken the spells' power...
Yoner narrowed her eyes as he watched his friend's magical bombardment, then swung his staff the moment he saw an opening.
"Shatter, amplify!"
Alchemists like Yoner consumed far less Mana through spells, provided they had prepared well in advance.
A spinning vial of potion flew through the air before shattering midair, unleashing its explosive power.
Whoosh!
"The fire's potency has weakened!"
"Can't be helped!"
Yoner and Priest Siana clicked their tongues in frustration at the weakened effect of the ignition potion, but there was nothing they could do.
The season's influence was suppressing the flames.
"The fire's weakened, you say?"
"Huh?"
"Burn!"
Lee Han immediately incinerated a nearby Contaminated Being with fire.
Struck directly by the sudden blaze, the creature collapsed without even resisting.
Yoner stared in disbelief at his friend, who maintained his firepower even in this season.
What kind of...?!
"Hold on a little longer! The spirits are escaping!"
Priest Siana shouted in delight.
While the Contaminated Beings were being pummeled from both sides, the pursued spirits had found a path to slip away into the forest.
Enraged at being beaten one-sidedly, the Contaminated Beings fused together, swelling their bodies and lashing out with claws—but the initial ambush had already dealt a critical blow.
The mages in the rear couldn't even properly position themselves due to the mist, while the Dark Element-enhanced Skeleton Warriors at the front stubbornly held their ground.
"Wait. They're escaping?"
"Huh? Yeah."
"......"
Lee Han hesitated briefly.
Seeing this, Yoner called out to his friend, fearing the worst.
"Lee Han? Lee Han... Don't tell me—"
"We have to help the spirits!"
Lee Han dispelled his Invisibility Magic and burst out of the mist.
Then he sprinted toward where the spirits were making their escape.
■... ■■???
Naturally, the Contaminated Beings immediately reacted when a mage suddenly emerged from the fog.
Swish!
Like a whip, a long spike shot out from the forehead of a Contaminated Being, aiming straight for Lee Han.
This unpredictable attack, possible due to the creatures' lack of fixed physical forms, was a formidable advantage in close combat.
Unfortunately for the Contaminated Being, however, Lee Han was the top student of the Black Magic school.
"Darkness, gather here!"
Lee Han immediately chanted a Dark Element absorption spell while swinging his staff.
Originally, this spell was meant to condense ambient Dark Element at the tip of his staff, but in this situation, it was more like a battle for control over the Dark Element.
The sheer force was terrifying.
The Contaminated Being, whose body was mostly composed of Dark Element, flailed as if its very flesh were being torn away—a bizarre sensation it had never experienced before. Without waiting, Lee Han drew Morning Star with his other hand and swung.
Few weapons were as effective against such Mana constructs as an Artifact like Morning Star.
Sschwak!
The Contaminated Being, staggering from having its Dark Element drained, collapsed instantly.
Lee Han shouted loudly toward the spirits.
"Everyone, run! I'll hold them off!"
■!■■■! ■■!
The spirits, each with their own unique forms, turned at Lee Han's cry, spotted the mage, and let out sounds of recognition.
'It worked!'
Lee Han felt his heart swell with emotion as the spirits showered him with looks brimming with goodwill.
'It was worth releasing the Invisibility Magic and rushing here!'
KWA-DDDDDDDD!
In an instant, the dark Skeleton Warriors were sent flying sideways and forcibly unsummoned.■■■■■...
"......"
A massive Contaminated Being, whose size was on a completely different scale compared to the others, appeared before them.
Lee Han alternated his gaze between the Contaminated Beings and the spirits.
"...Run away! I'll hold them off!"
"Lee Han! Please stop and come back!"
"So?"
Professor Thunderstep threw a healing ointment at Lee Han and asked.
"How did you dodge them?"
"I caught them?"
"...Seriously?"
"Yes."
"How??"
"I just kept dodging, rolling, and casting spells until they collapsed..."
"......"
Professor Thunderstep was horrified by such a brutish method, unbecoming of a mage.
A mage engaging in a war of attrition against monsters?
Fundamentally, if you pitted a mage's mana against a monster's vitality, the latter would always have the advantage.
Yet, he ignored that and simply wore them down until he won.
No wonder the surroundings looked like a warzone...
"Who in their right mind would do something like this just to look good in front of spirits?! I swear on my beard!"
"It wasn't to look good in front of them, Professor. I just wanted to help the spirits..."
"Like hell you did!"
Professor Thunderstep clicked his tongue at his disciple, who boldly spouted such unconvincing lies.
Of course, there were mages who went to great lengths to form contracts with spirits.
But none of them courted the spirits as violently and aggressively as the boy before him now.
Risking his life just to impress the spirits with such a reckless fight...
"Ugh. Thank you."
Lee Han roughly wiped off the blood, applied the ointment to his wounds, and stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"The spirits fled deeper into the forest earlier. If I call them, they might come out, right?"
"...Wait. Hold on."
Professor Thunderstep grabbed his disciple.
"Given that Contaminated Beings are appearing, something must have gone terribly wrong somewhere in Einrogard's grounds. It'd be best to stay away from the forest for a while."
"Understood. I'll just meet the spirits and come right back."
The Basilisk and Squirrel spirits clung to Lee Han's wrists as if begging him not to go.
Yoner and Priest Siana also grabbed his shoulders from either side.
"Lee Han. Your condition is dangerous right now. From what I saw of the fight, you must have exhausted both your stamina and mana."
"My mana isn't exhausted—"
"Quiet. Anyway, your stamina must be drained."
Yoner's voice was slightly colder than usual.
Priest Siana was equally serious.
"Honestly, are spirits really that important? Is there a reason to risk your life going in there now?"
"Is that so... Wait. Priest Siana, how many spirits have you contracted with right now?"
"Three?"
Lee Han pushed Priest Siana's hand away with a stern expression.
Given her usual attitude, he thought she had no interest in spirits!
"Ah, no. It's not about the number but the affection that matters, Lord Wardanaz. Look at these spirits here."
"......"
As Lee Han softened slightly, Yoner quickly interjected.
"Lee Han. Think carefully. The spirits won't forget your kindness. Professor can hunt the remaining Contaminated Beings and go later, right?"
"Huh?"
Professor Thunderstep, who had been standing quietly, panicked when the arrow was suddenly directed at him.
Why should he, of all people, hunt the Contaminated Beings?
"...That might be true."
With everyone except himself dissuading him, Lee Han reconsidered.
"If the Contaminated Beings are all gone, then I can go in. The spirits won't forget my kindness."
"Yeah. But the spirits might return to their own dimension, right? They weren't formally summoned, so who knows how long they'll stay."
Professor Thunderstep pointed this out thoughtlessly, only to freeze when Yoner and Priest Siana both shot him urgent looks.
"Professor."
"Ah, no. They might stay for a while..."
"Let's go together."
Lee Han's eyes burned with determination, ready to argue until he got his way.
"No...! Why should I—?!"
"Let's go together."
Professor Thunderstep was completely overwhelmed by his disciple's blazing gaze.