Episode 570
Episode 570
"Ah. I see."
'What do you mean "I see"...' The Skeleton Principal gave his insane student a sidelong glance before continuing. Being able to hold more mana meant being able to inscribe more spells. Moreover, you currently have quite a few artifacts. At the Headmaster's words, Lee Han glanced down at himself. Bracelets, rings, belts, necklaces—he did look like a traveling jewelry merchant. "I suppose it is a bit much." Truthfully, it was just plain excessive. While he rarely dealt with high-level magic now, haphazardly wearing so many artifacts wasn't a good habit. Artifacts inherently contained magic, naturally creating their own mana flow and order around them. Naturally, for a mage who needed to control mana flow and establish new order, these artifacts couldn't help but have an effect. The more artifacts one had, the greater this influence became. Even if it didn't lead to accidents, it could immediately... affect spellcasting. "Fortunately, I've been lucky enough that it hasn't been a problem." Lee Han replied as if relieved. Perhaps because the artifacts' functions were simple and overlapped, they hadn't interfered with his spellcasting. Right. Haha. How fortunate. The Skeleton Principal nearly said, 'They probably did affect you—you just didn't notice and cast anyway,' but held back. If the boy wanted to carry around sandbags to train himself, there was no need to stop him. But considering next year, he should organize his artifacts. This was a good opportunity to transfer everything into the Behemoth's Bone. "Understood." Lee Han nodded at the Headmaster's advice. Though the man was spiteful, wicked, and underhanded, he'd never been wrong about magic. And experienced mages always precisely understood the dynamics between the artifacts they wore—how to use them for synergistic effects and how to avoid adverse ones. 'Huh?' Just as he was about to accept this, Lee Han suddenly felt puzzled and asked, "But Headmaster, next year I'll only be a second-year. Would I really encounter such dangerous high-level magic?" How right you are. Just like how first-years aren't supposed to meet the Ghoul King. "......" Unable to refute this, Lee Han sulked. The Skeleton Principal shaped the Behemoth's Bone into a crude necklace form—deliberately leaving it unfinished. So you can keep adding to it. The Behemoth's Bone's ample capacity made it easy to inscribe multiple spells within it. The Headmaster wanted Lee Han to experience completing an artifact himself by gradually adding spells to this bone necklace as needed. "Headmaster..." Lee Han was slightly moved. He hadn't expected such thoughtful consideration from the Skeleton Principal. Gaining this experience would let him assist Vible instead of just watching when making artifacts later. "Headmaster..." Lee Han's expression turned serious. To think he'd nurture his student's skills for his own selfish ends! Ugh...
- First, the iron bracelet temporarily made by Professor Garcia was extracted. The Skeleton Principal gathered the bracelet's magic circle engravings into a small spherical core before embedding it into the bone necklace. You're watching how it's done, right? From now on, you'll have to do it yourself. "Wait, just a bit slower—" I know you're exaggerating. Now, next is the belt. This one's too shoddy. Isn't it about time to graduate? The Headmaster clicked his tongue at the invisibility magic belt. A belt that allowed invisibility magic at the cost of bearing the Curse of Mana Absorption. The problem was how crude the invisibility magic was—it worked by refracting light to create visual disruption (camouflage), while the Headmaster preferred methods that confused a target's very perception of existence. I'll change it to another method. Similarly, he extracted the belt's engravings into a core before embedding it into the bone necklace. The newly installed core resonated with the previous one before stabilizing and quieting down. "Ah!!!" What? When Lee Han screamed, the Headmaster looked at him as if asking why. "You could've sold that belt! What do we do now that you've broken it?!" What lunatic would buy a cursed mana-absorbing item... The Headmaster was speechless. Some eccentric dark mages would demand "Give me back my bones!" if someone stepped on the bones outside their tower, but this student was worse than them. "But it could've been sold..." I didn't just break it—I improved it and put it in the bone necklace. "But we can't sell the bone necklace." So you're saying I should leave the belt as is and just copy the same magic anew into the bone necklace? "Oh. You'd do that for me?" When Lee Han looked at him hopefully, the Headmaster ignored him and moved to the next task. The invisibility magic necklace. This was the work of a Tower Keeper serving under the Headmaster. Though it contained the same magic as what was just added, there was meaning in adding identical spells to artifacts—sometimes the same spells could amplify each other. For invisibility magic, the area of effect expanded beyond the wearer (originally it only protected the individual), which Lee Han had taken advantage of when roaming with friends. As he added the core, the Headmaster remarked: You could cast invisibility magic on others too, right? "Huh? No." What? I gave you the book. Didn't it teach you? "..."
"Ah... Yes..."
'Hmph. Maybe I should've made it more cruel and brutal...'
"......"
Lee Han briefly considered digging a deep hole to bury the Skeleton Principal's book as soon as he got back.
Using artifacts wasn't inherently bad, but relying too much on them wouldn't do him any good.
"Ah. Yes."
'Wait, why do you carry so many flame-absorbing artifacts? Are you part of some Fire Watch brigade?'
"In case my fire magic goes out of control..."
"......"
The answer was unexpectedly pitiful, so instead of getting angry, the Skeleton Principal clicked his tongue in disapproval.
'Wait. That's not it.'
Come to think of it, wasn't he the one who made Lee Han carry multiple artifacts in the first place, artificially raising the difficulty and making him worry about fire magic going berserk?
What a ridiculous kid.
Abandoning his sympathy, the Skeleton Principal compressed the cores of the flame-absorbing artifacts and embedded them into the bone necklace.
'Underwater breathing... Well, not bad. I can always remove it later if space runs out.'
'Mana emission suppression? Why are you carrying a cursed artifact like this? Are you a curse collector?'
"It makes fine control easier, so I use it sometimes."
The Skeleton Principal smashed it without hesitation.
Lee Han let out a mournful scream.
"Nooo!"
'What do you mean, "No"? How is this flimsy restriction supposed to help? It's just your mental weakness. Overcome it with willpower.'
With ruthless efficiency, the Skeleton Principal finished consolidating the remaining artifacts into the bone necklace.
The only things left were non-wearable artifacts like the Bracelet of Ten Thousand Demons, the Skeleton Principal's signaling ring, and the silver spoon that detected poison.
'You don't need these antidote artifacts, so why not just break them?'
"Absolutely not. I'd rather sell them."
Lee Han said firmly.
The Skeleton Principal, who hadn't seriously intended to destroy them anyway, casually swept away the debris and flicked his fingers.
A crimson core, unseen before, materialized in the air.
It was clear that this was another compressed magical core, just like the ones from the artifacts.
Click!
The Skeleton Principal neatly slotted it in.
"What is this?"
"A secret. Figure it out yourself. Normally, I wouldn't give you such preferential treatment. Haha."
"Then you could've just left it out..."
The Skeleton Principal pretended not to hear.
It was irritating that the kid acted ungrateful even when given treasure, but talented students were always like that.
Part of a teacher's role was to tolerate such quirks with magnanimity.
'Next, think carefully and decide what magic to add yourself. Personally, I'd recommend defensive magic.'
Most of the spells currently stored in the bone necklace were auxiliary types.
And when it came to offensive means, this Wardanaz boy already had more than enough.
Defense was the most suitable choice.
If artifacts were to be categorized, defensive ones were the most in demand.
Attack and support spells could be handled by the mage themselves, but sneak attacks that bypassed a mage's vigilance were hard to block.
Defensive artifacts filled that gap effortlessly, which was why they were always in high demand.
"Something like the Water Shield?"
'Not bad. But making it auto-cast when attacked will be tricky. Ask Professor Verdus.'
"Hmm. I don't think I really need defensive magic..."
'I completely understand not wanting to talk to Professor Verdus, but no matter how much of a genius you are, making this alone won't be easy.'
"Understood. I'll ask..."
'Come to think of it, you've mostly focused on offensive magic.'
The Skeleton Principal gave his student a long look.
Most mages prioritized learning defensive spells first.
Unless they were battle mages who roamed battlefields, they rarely had to fight, so defense took precedence over offense.
'You'll have bodyguards later anyway—why bother attacking yourself?'
"You keep sending enemies at me, Headmaster."
'I don't know what you're talking about. And your seniors still mastered defensive magic in those situations. You aggressive brat.'
"Wasn't the Blood-sucking Monster sent by you too?"
'I have standards. If I had sent that thing, I swear on my true name to hand over my position to you.'
"No thanks..."
'Kid, no need to be modest. You'll get used to it eventually. Anyway, any other defensive spells you've learned?'
"Ah. I learned the Lightning Cloak."
"......"
The Skeleton Principal stared at Lee Han with a gaze eerily similar to Professor Voladi's.
'Are you deliberately picking only the hardest spells to learn?'
Greenbell Family lineage, master of dance.
Spotting Professor Krinval down the hallway, Lee Han's face brightened.
There weren't many professors whose presence put him at ease when he ran into them in the halls.
Professor Garcia, maybe?
The Skeleton Principal and Professor Voladi were extremely dangerous figures, and while Professor Verdus wasn't dangerous, he was exhausting to deal with.
In contrast, Professor Krinval hadn't proven himself to be dangerous or tiresome—yet.
With luck, he might settle into the same safe and kind category as Professor Garcia.
"Good day, Professor."
"......"
"??"
Lee Han was taken aback when Professor Krinval, usually the most cheerful and energetic when greeting students, wore a grave expression.
"Professor?"
"Ah! Wardanaz student! Sorry! I was lost in thought!"
"Is it because of the finals?"
"How did you know?!"
"...?"
Lee Han was even more confused.
'What does the professor have to worry about with the finals?'
Professor Krinval had long declared (by Lee Han's standards) that he'd breeze through the finals.
"Everyone dances, everyone has fun—that means everyone wins!"
"Long live the professor!!"
Suspecting that the Skeleton Principal might have raised objections to the educational policy, Lee Han cautiously asked,
"Is there some kind of problem?"
"Ah! Wardanaz student! As a professor, I really shouldn't be saying this! But I have no choice!"
Professor Krinval gestured with one leg, motioning for Lee Han to follow him into an empty classroom.
Lee Han stepped inside, keeping an eye on the exit just in case he needed to make a quick escape.
"Wardanaz student! I assume you know about the Mountain Giants! Since they're quite familiar with you!"
"I know a little. But why...?"
"Occasionally, I teach the giants how to dance, but they keep saying something strange! That they have to fight you during the final exams!"
"......"