Episode 596
Episode 596
'How on earth did he summon the giants?' Lee Han was astonished.
Summoning giants instead of Death Knights wasn't an easy feat either.
After all, Ashan hadn't even known that giants were residing in the deepest storage vault beneath the main building.
How in the world—?
"Wardanaz! Save me!!"
"......"
The answer came immediately.
Unlike his usual composed self, Ashan was in a state of panic.
Anyone would react the same way if they went out to call for help only to be ambushed by a horde of giants.
'So he didn't summon them after all...'
He had simply gone to call the Death Knights and ended up running into the giants instead.
-We'll save you!
-We came to help, mage!
The giants behind Ashan shouted in response, but their words didn't reassure him.
To Ashan, no matter what the giants said, it all sounded like, "We're going to eat you alive."
"...Thank you!"
"W-Wardanaz! Are you trying to feed me to them?!"
Ashan cried out with a tearful face, but Lee Han had no time to clear up the misunderstanding.
The Blood-sucking Monster, sensing that the situation was taking an odd turn, had begun targeting other students who were easier prey.
In such a dire situation, even the giants' help was better than nothing.
"Please hold the front line!"
-Understood!
The giants surged forward in a wave, forming a protective barrier in front of the mages.
Wasn't one of a warrior's duties to shield the fragile mages?
Since that was their original purpose, the giants moved without hesitation.
Ashan, who had been terrified of being devoured, was dumbfounded as he watched the giants suddenly rush forward.
"Huh?!"
"Ashan! Get into formation! It's dangerous to stay out alone!"
"Uh, uh. But isn't it more dangerous over—"
Honestly, at first glance, the giants were even more terrifying than the Blood-sucking Monster.
With a dazed expression, Ashan scrambled into the midst of his friends. Fortunately, they all looked just as bewildered.
"Th-the giants are doing this... Is this okay?"
Wondering if he was the odd one out, Ashan felt somewhat relieved by his friends' reactions.
Still, because he had been startled first, he was able to regain his composure quickly.
"Everyone, stay calm. The important thing right now is to take down that Blood-sucking Monster."
"But there are giants in front of us?!"
"If you're a student of Einrogard, you should be able to adapt to something like giants."
"I-is that... really how it is? It doesn't seem like it..."
BAM!
The Blood-sucking Monster lunged at a giant.
Unlike when it had obediently retreated in the underground vault, it had no reason to back down now—not in this wide-open space with plenty of terrain to exploit. The monster displayed dazzling aerial maneuvers as it struck at the giant.
-Urgh!
The giant staggered after taking a solid hit. The Blood-sucking Monster accelerated further, attempting to shred the giant's flesh with its blade-like, razor-sharp tail.
-Agh!
The giant screamed as it looked at its forearm, now marked with a deep red wound. The other giants jeered.
-Stop screaming like a lamb! Have some shame!
-It hurts! It really hurts!
Of course, the one most enraged was the Blood-sucking Monster itself.
How dare its attack fail to even tear through a single layer of skin?
The monster's form twisted even more grotesquely, growing sharper and more aggressive.
WHAM!
Its movements became so fast that only blurred afterimages remained. Under the relentless assault, the giant crouched, protecting its vitals. Encouraged by its opponent's defensive posture, the Blood-sucking Monster intensified its attacks—
CRASH!
The monster was smashed aside and sent flying. The crouching giant had cleverly swung its club, launching the creature away.
-Hahaha!
-Tricked you, you idiot! Tricked you!
-Surround it! Don't let it escape!
'Impressive!' Lee Han couldn't help but admire them honestly.
If the giants had tried to win through sheer speed alone, they would never have been able to keep up with the Blood-sucking Monster.
So they pretended to be frightened to make the Blood-sucking Monster let its guard down, simplifying its movements.
-"Here we go! That's 3 points!"
-"My turn now! This one's 5 points!"
-"There's no such thing as 5 points!"
-"It counts if I say it does!!"
The giants batted the Blood-sucking Monster back and forth between them like a ball with their clubs.
The Blood-sucking Monster couldn't counterattack, too busy regenerating from the massive blows.
Meanwhile, Lee Han, who had caught his breath, recast the necessary spells and summoned his Dark Skeleton Warriors.
"Sharkan. Bring Gainando here!"
This was the perfect chance while the Blood-sucking Monster was disoriented. The Emerald Spotted Leopard sprinted swiftly, scaling up the tree.
Then it began dragging Gainando's coat in its mouth, entranced and sluggish.
"...Sharkan!!"
Lee Han felt deeply betrayed by his Summon.
It hurt even more because the creature had never acted like this before.
Hearing its master's shout, Sharkan snapped out of it belatedly. It hastily grabbed Gainando and rushed back.
"I saw everything."
-Grrrr...
Sharkan avoided its master's gaze with a guilty look.
'Just what is it about this coat?'
Lee Han swore to himself that once this fight was over, he'd take the coat to Professor Mortum for thorough appraisal.
At this point, he was genuinely curious.
-■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■!!
At that moment, the Blood-sucking Monster, realizing its coat had been stolen, let out the most wretched and bloodcurdling scream it had produced all day.
Enraged and berserk, the Blood-sucking Monster's regeneration speed multiplied. Even mid-air after being batted away by a club, it finished regenerating and sprouted wings to escape into the sky.
-"Wha—?!"
-"That sheep-like cunning bastard tricked us!"
-"Get back here!"
"Block its path! It's going to go after the coat again!"
-"The coat?"
"It's after this coat!"
The giants stared at Gainando's coat in Lee Han's hands.
Then they recoiled in disgust.
-"Ugh!"
-"That's revolting!"
-"Don't hold onto that thing, mage! It's cursed!"
The giants snatched the coat from Lee Han's hands. Then they tore it to shreds.
Lee Han had thought the Blood-sucking Monster's earlier scream was the most wretched and bloodcurdling one possible.
But he was wrong.
Upon seeing its coat destroyed, the Blood-sucking Monster unleashed a scream so loud it could've reached the farthest corners of Einrogard.
-"Agh, my ears!"
-"That thing's lost its mind!"
The Blood-sucking Monster had never been sane to begin with, but even by the giants' standards, this was beyond madness.
Its current state couldn't even be called anything less than utterly deranged.
Squelch, squish, splat!!!
It abandoned even its monstrous form, swelling into a massive, amorphous slime-like mass.
'Is it burning through its accumulated blood in a frenzy?'
Blood was already a potent reagent in magic. Its inherent mystical significance, combined with its connection to the owner's soul, made it inherently powerful.
Naturally, vampiric monsters used this blood as their energy source. The Blood-sucking Monster's abnormal regeneration was only possible because of its stored blood.
But conversely, for vampiric creatures, blood was essentially their life force.
Using it so recklessly just to inflate its size like this was anything but normal.
Complete berserk rage!
'Does losing a coat really drive it to this level of madness?'
Lee Han felt more baffled than afraid.
After enduring relentless assaults from Death Knights and being batted around like a ball by giants, was it really losing its mind over a torn coat?
Lee Han climbed onto a giant's shoulder. The creature's movements were anything but ordinary.
-"Here it comes!"
The Blood-sucking Monster swung its enormous, towering body, leaping over the giants.
Lee Han, who had successfully predicted the attack, urgently shouted:
"Two steps back!"
-The giant refuses to retreat!
"...Are you seriously saying that now?!"
The giant bravely raised his club, attempting to block the incoming attack.
BOOM!
In that instant, unable to withstand the impact, the giant was sent flying backward and crashed into a nearby building.
And Lee Han, who had been standing on the giant's shoulder, was suddenly sent flying along with him.
For senior students of the Healing Magic department, exams were always close to real combat situations.
-Today's midterm... wait a moment... Hmm. There's an epidemic in Dry Waterfall Village. We're heading to Dry Waterfall Village.
-Today's final exam will be held in the Red Lake Desert. A knight company has been half-destroyed there.
-Wait. There's been an addition to today's midterm. The epidemic has spread to the neighboring village. We'll finish quickly and move there...
Since there were far more suitable exam materials outside the academy than inside, Healing Magic exams inevitably resembled real-life scenarios.
Yet even among these students, a thin thread of hope persistently lingered.
Perhaps...
Perhaps someday, if nothing major happens around them...
Could the Healing Magic exam be skipped?
"...Everyone, stay calm."
"I-I am calm."
"The professor isn't saying anything right now, right?"
"That seems to be the case... Shh! Don't acknowledge it. Bad luck might come."
Professor Alkasis glanced at his pocket watch once and checked his parchment Artifact.
From his demeanor, the students could tell no messages had arrived yet.
Please!
Please! Please!
As if their desperate wishes had been heard, Professor Alkasis closed the lid of his pocket watch.
Then, in a voice half-hoarse from exhaustion, he addressed the students:
"Today's exam will simply be an oral—"
"WAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The students unconsciously stomped their feet and burst into applause.
"Stop shouting. It's making my head ring."
"Sorry."
"Don't waste your energy pointlessly. Remember the saying—a noisy healer meets a terrible fate."
"Yes..."
The slightly cowed Healing Magic student replied.
But inwardly, a small grudge remained.
Was it really so wrong to be happy about learning Healing Magic?
How often does something like this even hap—
BOOM!
Suddenly, the classroom wall collapsed, and the upper half of a giant came sliding in.
The students recoiled in shock.
-Ugh. The world is spinning!
"G-Giant attack!?"
Meanwhile, the student who had been on the giant's shoulder leaped down and landed.
Spotting Professor Alkasis, he shouted:
"Professor! Sorry! Some crazy monster is attacking us right now!"
"This seems a bit extreme for a final exam."
"It's not the final exam!"
Lee Han slapped the giant's cheek and yelled:
"Get up! You need to get up!"
-Too dizzy... can't move...
Professor Alkasis looked at the giant, then at Lee Han, and finally at Lee Han's seniors.
The Healing Magic students suddenly felt uneasy under his gaze.
"Has anyone here healed a giant before?"
"......"
"......"
"Guess not. Good opportunity. Everyone, grab your wands and come here."
The students approached the giant with sorrowful expressions.
Of course, Lee Han couldn't see his seniors' faces.
"These symptoms usually stem from issues with the brain and balance organs. Normally, we'd cast spells to diagnose, but giants have strong magic resistance. So what should we do?"
Lee Han didn't realize Professor Alkasis was addressing him.
He simply assumed his seniors were nearby and stood quietly.
"...Do I have to ask twice?"
"Ah. Were you talking to me?"
"Yes. There's no one else around."
"Hmm. If it were me, I'd cast the spell more forcefully."
"......"
"......"
The seniors stared at Lee Han in disbelief.
Professor Alkasis wasn't known for enjoying jokes. A careless answer like that could send someone flying out the window in an instant.
But the dark elf professor merely sighed.
"Picked the wrong person to ask, I see."