Episode 588
Episode 588
And the Transformation Magic final exam wasn't particularly difficult.
"Professor. I have a question. I was clearly trying to transform into Sharkan's front leg, but I kept ending up with dragon-type transformations."
"That's because you have too much mana. There aren't many forms that can withstand it. You'll improve with practice."
Experience was extremely important in transformation magic.
From maintaining forms to finding shapes compatible with one's constitution—everything became much easier as experience accumulated.
For a student like Lee Han, who possessed abnormally large amounts of mana, even more experience was necessary.
"There's no need to rush."
Professor Yonlamo was well aware that Lee Han was also studying magic from other schools.
Under such circumstances, mastering transformation magic well enough to score full marks on the final exam was already an incredible achievement.
In fact, it wasn't just incredible—it was downright insane...
In any case, there was absolutely no reason for him to rush.
"Yes. Understood."
Lee Han nodded in agreement at the professor's words.
'Guess it'll improve with practice.'
Yet, to Professor Yonlamo, Lee Han seemed somewhat disappointed.
The stories he'd heard from other professors about Lee Han had subconsciously planted preconceptions in his mind.
When faced with that statue-like face remaining expressionless, observers had no choice but to interpret it through their own lens.
'Hmm.'
Professor Yonlamo pondered what advice he could give to ensure this first-year student wouldn't do anything reckless before the next semester.
"Do you still have the grimoire you received last time, From Caterpillar to Dragon?"
"Ah. Yes."
Lee Han had been enthusiastically welcomed at the last gathering of transformation mages.
He was so well-liked that he even received a grimoire from one of the families.
"Studying it during the break might be a good idea. It's quite an excellent grimoire, that one."
Lee Han's pupils flickered briefly.
The final exams were over, yet the professor had just assigned him additional work.
Why?
'Did I do something wrong? I got full marks!'
Meanwhile, the other students taking Transformation Magic were chirping like larks as they left the classroom, laughing cheerfully.
Lee Han couldn't understand why he was the only one being given extra work.
"How much should I study?"
"How much?"
Professor Yonlamo hesitated.
Lee Han was bound to be busy during winter break too, so he didn't want to burden him too much.
"Just... as much as you can?"
"...!"
Lee Han was deeply shocked.
As much as you can?
Wasn't that basically telling him to do his absolute best and push his limits?!
'Is transforming into dragon-types really that much of a problem?!'
* * *
In front of the Phoenix Tower, the students of the Blue Dragon Tower had pitched a tent, lit a fire, and huddled together to study—only to sigh in frustration.
Perhaps because it had started snowing again, they felt even less inclined to study.
"Should we move to the library?"
"We just moved there half an hour ago."
"Maybe moving again will help us focus."
Gainando, who had been doodling absentmindedly, asked in confusion.
"Lee Han. Is it possible for the sum of a triangle's interior angles to be 190°?"
"...What kind of calculation did you even do?"
Geometry and Arithmetic was an unavoidable mandatory course for everyone, and its difficulty was so brutal that it twisted students into knots—except for a select few special cases.
Lee Han set down the Water Prison Bomb Grimoire he had been diligently working on and checked Gainando's calculations.
Realizing his mistake too late, Gainando cried out in betrayal.
"L-Lee Han is studying for another class!!"
"What?!"
"How could this happen?!"
The Blue Dragon Tower students were utterly shocked.
Of course, they knew Wardanaz was at the top of this class too, but to be confident enough to prepare for another exam even right before this one?
Even Ashan and Adenart were stunned.
The two had been doing last-minute reviews just in case.
"Lee Han, you don't understand my heart! How could someone so confident they don't even need to prepare separately before an exam possibly understand how I feel?!"
Gainando, who had been looking for any excuse to avoid studying, latched onto this opportunity.
The other students, equally reluctant to study, joined in the outcry.
"That's right! Wardanaz, you don't understand our feelings at all!"
"Do I even need to know such things?"
Yoner asked in puzzlement, but his voice was drowned out by his friends' shouts.
"Guarantee us more snacks and break time...!"
"No. I've already taken the final exam, so I'm studying something else now."
Lee Han sealed Gainando's mouth shut as he spoke.
At that, all his friends burst into laughter.
It was the kind of joke that even made Adenart crack a smile.
Ashan laughed for a while before wiping tears from his eyes and saying,
"Even so, Wardanaz, saying you've already taken the final exam is just— Wait, that doesn't sound like a joke."
Ashan was taken aback when he saw Lee Han's completely serious expression.
Huh?
It wasn't a joke??
"I was told to assist with the design of the <Pocket Knife Fortress> for the final exam, so I submitted the report for that first."
Lee Han showed his friends the preliminary blueprint of the <Pocket Knife Fortress>.
The moment they saw the intricately tangled fortress layout and artifact placements, their faces turned as pale as if they had just seen the Skeleton Principal. Adenart quickly smoothed her expression, pretending she hadn't been laughing at all.
"Anyone want to do this with me instead?"
"......"
"......"
"Guys?"
All his friends immediately bowed their heads and began frantically counting numbers.
Satisfied by their silence, Lee Han went back to writing his Magic Tome.
'Guess I won't have to hand out extra snacks after all.'
Kilbedek had once been an adventurer, and occasionally a scammer, but now he lived as a somewhat honest general store merchant, leaving all that in the past.
It was all thanks to the villagers.
These people had warmly welcomed Kilbedek, an outsider, into their midst.
So Kilbedek, in return, tried his best to run his business honestly.
Of course, he still scammed people from outside the village, but he was definitely honest with the villagers.
The same went for the two adventurer brothers, Doig and Geido.
These two had also been warmly welcomed by the villagers, and in gratitude, they refrained from stealing the villagers' livestock while herding sheep—only pilfering from outsiders.
The idyllic life they had forgotten restored their souls. Every morning when they met at the village entrance, the three former adventurers exchanged serene smiles.
-May the glory of Vildotskal be with you.
-May Vildotskal no longer need to watch over you.
Their souls had healed so much that they could even occasionally talk about the horrors they'd endured at that insane magic school during drinking sessions.
In fact, after downing about three bottles of strong wine, Geido would even go so far as to say things like, "Maybe that was actually good luck."
Of course, once sober, saying such things wasn't so easy.
Partly because of the hangover, but mostly because the memories were truly horrific.
Being kidnapped by some monstrous mage, dragged to the magic school, and then forced to fight a terrifyingly young mage under brutal coercion.
And then getting beaten up by that young mage even worse than the threats they'd endured.
The fact that they had quit adventuring and settled in the village spoke volumes about how awful it had been.
-Still, at least we don't have to deal with mages anymore, so it's peacefu—
-"Do you know a man named Kilbedek? He runs a general store. Recently sold a non-magical copper mirror while claiming it was enchanted."
-"I-I don't know who that is."
Kilbedek was startled by the sudden intrusion of a stranger, their entire body shrouded in a robe, shattering the village's peace.
He didn't know who they were, but his long experience screamed at him—this person was dangerous.
Not just because their imposing stature was as unshakable as a trained knight's.
Not just because they seemed to know about the copper mirror scam he'd pulled on an outsider.
No, it was something far more instinctive—a primal sense shrieking at him that this stranger was dangerous!
"Haha. Actually, I knew you were Kilbedek when I asked. After being dead for so long, these childish pranks become quite enjoyable."
"...!!"
The moment Kilbedek turned to flee, the stranger's arm suddenly stretched out.
As the arm of darkness coiled tightly around Kilbedek, he collapsed instantly.
"Before paying your debt under imperial law, why don't you do some community service first?"
"...!!"
"W-what the hell... Save me—"
"Shh. You're not in any position to boldly ask to be saved either."
The stranger spoke while releasing a chilling aura from within his robes.
"Are Doig and Geido really brothers? The two who recently stole two horses and a cow?"
"Eek!"
As Geido tried to pull out his club, the stranger snatched it away and bashed Geido's head in.
Doig, terrified by the combat prowess, raised both hands.
"I surrender!"
Yet the stranger smashed Doig's head in too. Then he tightly bound all three and loaded them onto a horse.
"Move out!"
When the three former adventurers regained consciousness, they were already inside a moving carriage.
Inside, people dressed in all sorts of outfits were murmuring and chattering.
"Hey, where are you from?"
"Wh-what?"
"Are you deaf? I asked where you're from and what you did."
"I... I ran a general store."
"A general store? Did you scam people while running it?"
At Kilbedek's words, some in the carriage sneered.
When criminals gather, hierarchy is determined by how heinous their crimes are.
A general store scammer was the lowest of the low.
"I used to be an adventurer. Retired after that."
"Who here wasn't an adventurer or mercenary? Grab a club and crawl out the village gates, and you're an adventurer or mercenary."
"Hey. Quiet."
A voice came from outside the carriage.
The rowdy criminals flinched instantly.
Kilbedek guessed they'd already been punished several times before he woke up.
They were excessively afraid of the outside presence.
"Wh-where do you think they're taking us?"
"How should I know? Damn it. Maybe to be sold as test subjects for a black mage."
"Or as slaves."
"Where was short on laborers recently? Heard the northern storms scared off dockworkers."
"Damn it. Anything but becoming a black mage's test subject."
The criminals exchanged information, trying to soothe their fear.
That moment, Kilbedek looked out the carriage window and let out an ear-splitting scream.
"No!!! No!!!! NO!!!!!"
"???"
"What's wrong with him?"
"Stop him! Cover his mouth! We'll all get punished!"
Despite the uproar, Kilbedek ignored them and tried to force the carriage door open to escape.
"You stupid idiot! If the door opened that easily, we'd have escaped already! Stop! You wanna die together?"
"Move! I need out! We're heading to Einrogard right now... Ugh!!!"
The criminals subdued Kilbedek and gagged him.
Luckily, the stranger outside didn't intervene.
"E-Einrogard? Isn't that the mages' den?"
"I-I heard it's not that dangerous? They're not illegal mages, right?"
"Then why are they taking criminals like us there?"
"......"
A brief silence.
Kilbedek mustered freakish strength to shove the criminals aside and bolted for the door again.
"I'm getting out!!"
"Stop that lunatic!!"
The remaining criminals trembled in fear.
Just what kind of place was Einrogard to make him act like this?
"Greetings, Mr. Oripulas."
Lee Han politely greeted Oripulas, a demon who had served as an imperial law officer for 131 years.
Hello to you too!
Oripulas cheerfully returned the greeting.
"May I ask about today's final exam content?"
Not difficult at all. It's a test to distinguish the empire's good people from the wicked ones.
Lee Han and the students listened to the detailed explanation with fascination.
"Did you bring many guests from outside?"
"How did you gather the wicked ones?"
"Perhaps among those brought here, some were assigned to play the role of villains?"