Episode 584
Episode 584
Lee Han was momentarily flustered but quickly composed himself and spoke.
"I practiced a lot."
Cough. "So..."
"It's a dark element skeleton warrior."
Cough, cough. "That..."
"Summoned through ancient necromancy, and it can even dance..."
"What? That's quite interesting."
Professor Mortum, who had been coughing, forgot all about it upon hearing the mention of a dancing skeleton and showed keen interest.
A dancing skeleton implemented through ancient necromancy, which required a black mage to issue detailed commands directly—just how much talent and effort must have gone into that?
"Ah, wait. Let me check your mind. Hmm, still not possible."
"Why not?"
Cough. "Because if Raphael sees your undead summon, he'll feel discouraged and disappointed."
"......"
The argument was so reasonable that Lee Han couldn't refute it.
Well, Raphael had finally mustered enthusiasm for Black Magic—it wouldn't do to crush that.
Considering the small number of students in the Black Magic department, someone like Raphael, who had persevered until the final year, deserved some consideration.
"Besides, you're getting full marks anyway. Cough. Now go and prepare for your next exam."
With a hollow feeling, Lee Han walked out of Black Rock Hall.
'Is this really how exams should be?'
* * *
Before Professor Milei's Summoning Magic exam began,
the lecture hall was thick with tension.
Unlike the Black Magic department, where few students attended, the atmosphere here was on a whole different level.
Everyone was on edge, wondering who would outperform whom.
Salko of the Tutanta Family wasn't one to back down from such competition.
"Tutanta. Seems like you've prepared a lot."
"Hmph. I didn't prepare much—I was busy studying Enchantment Magic."
"Then why is your book so tattered?"
"It was already old."
Salko kept his guard up, not letting his rivals see any weakness, pretending he hadn't studied.
The real competition always started before the exam.
The strong knew how to hide their claws.
'But I prepared a lot...'
Nilia was slightly taken aback by Salko's words.
Hearing that her friend hadn't prepared much left her a little confused.
Had she overstudied?
'What if I'm the only one who gets a low grade...?!'
"Pfft. I didn't study much either."
"Yeah, I just played polo last night and went to bed."
"Honestly, same."
Salko's deception spread like an epidemic.
Students taking Summoning Magic began competing—not in who studied more, but in who could take the exam with the most relaxed mindset.
"Look at this Summoning Magic tome. Doesn't it look brand new?"
"That's not even the tome for this semester's material."
"Oops. My reagent pouch fell. Must've been too heavy from not using any."
"Did you refill it? There's powder stuck at the pouch's opening."
A tense standoff.
Students exchanging glances froze in surprise when another student entered.
His Basic Summoning Magic tome was pristine, as if never opened.
Who could it be?
"Huh? Why's everyone staring?"
Gainando looked puzzled by his friends' gazes.
"......"
"It's nothing. Gainando. Haha. Guess you didn't study?"
"Prince. You should at least study a little."
"What? No way! I studied a lot!"
Gainando flusteredly defended himself, but his friends just smiled warmly and patted his shoulders.
What a reliable guy!
Lee Han, who arrived late, was baffled by the oddly cheerful atmosphere in the lecture hall.
"Why is everyone laughing and chatting before an exam?"
"Lee Han! These guys are slandering me, saying I didn't study—"
Lee Han glanced at Gainando's book, then at his reagent pouch, and said,
"You didn't, so that's why they're saying it."
"Wha—how...?! Magic?! Is this magic?!"
Thwack!
Gainando, realizing he'd been caught after getting smacked, made an excuse.
"I was preparing for Black Magic!"
Thwack!
"?!"
"What did you answer for the undead creature question earlier?"
"Huh? That one? Sand Octopus."
"......"
Lee Han was momentarily stunned.
He'd hit him assuming he'd obviously say 'Skeleton'...
"Why in the world would you say Sand Octopus?"
"Because it's a creature?"
"...Well, that's true. But there's never been a Sand Octopus discovered in the undead category."
"But just because it hasn't been discovered doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Couldn't it be discovered someday?"
"!"
Lee Han was surprised by Gainando's unexpectedly logical loophole.
"Well, I suppose you could think of it that way."
"Ah! So I was right to say that?"
"No. Not exactly."
Lee Han began explaining to his friend, 'What is inductive reasoning?'
Upon hearing this, Gainando screamed in realization that he'd been wrong.
"Take your seats."
Professor Milley swung his staff as he entered the classroom.
The windows closed, and the curtains moved. The scattered chairs returned to their places, and the students were forcibly seated.
"I'm curious how much you've all studied."
"Yes, Professor!"
"Usually, students who overestimate their study efforts often fall short in reality. Confidence is good, but overconfidence is dangerous."
Hearing this, Gainando put on an overly confident expression.
Lee Han smacked him again.
"Those who've studied this year should know that summoning magic fundamentally follows the experiences of our predecessors."
Professor Milley began calmly.
Summoning Magic primarily dealt with how to draw beings from other dimensions into our reality.
Naturally, this process could be dangerous at any point, so summoning mages devised various safety measures to prepare for such situations.
One such measure was having students pass through Professor Milley's magic circle when sending their souls into other dimensions.
Dozens of linked spells protected their souls from threatening entities in other dimensions.
Among these were direct protective spells like soul shielding, soul trace reduction, and affinity enhancement, as well as spells to fix dimensional coordinates and guide them along familiar paths.
Areas previously explored were relatively safer, allowing movement within them.
But paradoxically, sticking only to safe paths meant never discovering true wisdom.
The wisdom unknown to mages always lay beyond dangerous territories.
'This sounds ominous.'
Lee Han frowned while listening to Professor Milley.
Other summoning magic students were taking notes with impressed expressions, but Lee Han wasn't easily fooled by such talk.
Hadn't Professor Voladi also said things like, 'Let's explore beyond the limits of existing magical combat,' before beating him up?
Professors urging them to 'go beyond' rarely led to good outcomes.
"So today's exam will involve removing safety measures and exploring uncertain territories."
"!"
Students who grasped Professor Milley's meaning were startled.
Amid the murmuring, someone cautiously raised a hand.
"Professor. Isn't that too dangerous?"
"An excellent question. Of course, just because it's an uncertain territory doesn't mean we'll leave everything entirely to you. Some degree of control will be maintained."
As Professor Milley swung his staff again, chalk began sketching diagrams on the blackboard.
A new dimensional gate and... something piercing through it—
'A net?'
'A fishing rod?'
'A golem's multi-purpose arm?'
Students whispered at the bizarre artifact's shape.
It resembled a golem's arm, yet also looked like a fisherman's rod or net—utterly strange.
"I understand, Professor. We're not entering directly but sending in the artifact instead."
Salko spoke as if he'd figured it out.
Other students slapped their foreheads upon hearing this.
"I thought of that too!"
"That's right. It's much safer if we only send artifacts in."
Professor Millay glared at the students burning with unnecessary competition through her monocle.
The students awkwardly shut their mouths.
'Certainly, with that method...' Lee Han became lost in thought.
If previously, mages had to directly make contact and enter other dimensions themselves, this method involved just shoving artifacts into another dimension.
Of course, it would be far more inconvenient and finicky compared to the former, but in terms of safety, there was no comparison.
For someone like Lee Han, who faced all sorts of poor treatment whenever he went to other dimensions, this was an especially tempting proposition.
"Professor, can that be used in the Spirit World as well?"
"Lee Han. It would be best not to think about making contracts with spirits in this manner. They're delicate and sensitive beings—if you kidnap them like this and bring them back..."
"Ah, no! I was just asking. I wasn't planning to make contracts with this."
Lee Han flustered as his inner thoughts were exposed.
How did she know?
"Now then..."
Professor Millay glanced at the time.
"Before the exam ends, do your best to find and pull out mysterious beings from other dimensions..."
Before she could even finish speaking, the students stood up, grabbed their artifacts one by one, and returned to their seats.
On the table, the magic circle prepared by Professor Millay shimmered.
'This time, I'll definitely show them something.'
Lee Han's resolve was firmer than ever, fueled by his dissatisfaction with the exams due to professors constantly letting things slide.
He would show them something, even if it meant utilizing everything he had learned so far!
"Mmm. Yeah, yeah. Thanks."
Nilia nodded as she listened to the whispering of the spirits.
While ordinary students were busy shoving artifacts in and stirring up other dimensions, the clever ones were gathering information about the dimensions through every possible means.
Those with high affinity for spirits, like Nilia, received their assistance.
Even without direct information, they could roughly confirm things through the spirits' grapevine.
"O stone, choose for me between above and below."
Someone casting limited divination magic.
"Ugh. No visual confirmation. It breaks apart while passing through the dimension."
Someone trying to secure vision by applying additional enchantment magic.
"Go in. Yeah. Wait a moment, then—hmm. It broke. Next. Go in."
Someone lining up Skeleton Warriors in front of the magic circle and pushing them in one by one...
"?!"
"????"
The students nearby had already forgotten their own exams and were staring at Lee Han.
It was that shocking.
Even if they were summons, could they really be used so recklessly like disposable items?
"Hmm. Yeah. A bit more to the right might be better?"
The sparrow spirit and squirrel spirit perched on Lee Han's shoulders were advising him on where to send the skeletons.
Meanwhile, all the summoned Skeleton Warriors had disappeared.
Lee Han rummaged through his reagent pouch and pulled out new bone powder.
"Rise again..."
"W-Wardanaz. Won't the summons get angry if you treat them like that?"
"My skeletons are fine."
The Skeleton Warriors summoned through ancient necromancy weren't beings from another dimension but rather doll-like entities wholly composed of Lee Han's mana.
Unlike other summons, there was no issue even if he handled them carelessly.
Of course, to students who didn't know better, this was a horrifying answer.
"...?!!"
"No... Wardanaz skeletons are different."
Nilia quickly stepped in to defend her friend.
If this continued, the misunderstanding would only grow.
"Those aren't contracted—he summoned them directly!"
"Ah, really? Black Magic can do that too?"
"Almost misunderstood."
Convinced by Nilia's explanation, the students nodded in understanding.
They had almost misjudged Wardanaz.
Meanwhile, Lee Han summoned a real Skeleton Warrior—Gonadaltes.
"Gonadaltes. I think I've roughly found a safe zone. You need to go in and lead the other Skeleton Warriors. Can you do it?"
Seeing this, the students turned to Nilia with a laugh.
"He even gave a name to that assembled skeleton, huh?"
"If Nilia hadn't explained, we would've misunderstood seeing him talk to it like that. Haha!"
"...Y-yeah! That's just another assembled skeleton!"