Episode 598
Episode 598
Jidorf blinked at the faint sound he heard.
Suddenly, an old, pointless conversation he'd once had with a knight under the Duke's command surfaced in his mind.
-"But what happens if someone hit by a petrification curse like that is left unattended for a long time?"
-"What nonsense are you spouting? As if that would ever happen."
-"Still, you never know how the world works, Sir Jidorf."
-"If someone hit by such a curse were left unattended for long, they'd be discovered and killed before that. Hence why it's nonsense."
-"Personally, I think they wouldn't starve since their entire body transforms. But I suspect their body might stiffen instead. Like how long-term prisoners in cramped dungeons get contorted."
Jidorf now felt he could answer what happens when someone remains cursed for too long.
Even though it was his own body, it felt so awkward he couldn't muster any strength. A slight breeze might have knocked him over.
"Ugh... Ugh... Uh..."
When he tried to speak, his stiffened tongue and lips couldn't form sounds.
The Death Knights who saw this rushed over in alarm.
-"Good heavens!! What lunatic did this?!"
-"It wasn't me!"
-"Nor I!"
Assuming one of their own had accidentally turned a guest into a statue and dumped it there, the Death Knights did their utmost to tend to Jidorf.
-"Sir! Please don't move!"
-"If you've been a statue too long, your body won't respond. First soak in hot water to recover!"
-"Fetch that liquor. We need to restore sensation."
The Death Knights suspiciously knew too much about petrification curse remedies.
They immediately laid Jidorf down and poured a few sips of amber distilled liquor between his lips.
"Ughh. Ughh."
Jidorf's complexion looked less pale than before. The Death Knights nodded in satisfaction.
-"Nothing beats 'Lava of Einrogard' for effectiveness."
-"Let's keep him lying down. Massage his limbs and call Professor Lagrinde."
As Jidorf regained consciousness in the gray world, his mind slowly began working again.
At some point, he'd felt like he'd lost all awareness and become a statue forever, yet somehow he'd been freed.
'...Did they not notice?'
Blinking stiff eyelid muscles to survey his surroundings, it seemed he hadn't been discovered.
Piles of murky red slime corpses were heaped up like mountains, wizard students were treating giants in the background...
'?!?!'
Jidorf nearly screamed at the surreal sight. Fortunately, his throat was still too stiff to make sound.
'Get a grip. Need to assess the situation.'
At least the Death Knights—the Archmage's minions—showed no particular hostility.
They clearly hadn't realized his true identity.
-"Professor Lagrinde. We have a guest who's been petrified too long..."
-"Enough already, you insane brutes. Did you turn another guest into a statue because they displeased you?!"
-"W-what! When have we ever—!"
-"The Wardanaz boy will get the wrong idea!"
At Professor Alkasis's scolding, the Death Knights flusteredly denied it.
Some shouted at Lee Han not to "fall for the professor's slander," to little effect.
'They must turn people into statues often.'
Still, the professor clicked her tongue once, tossed him a stamina potion, and left.
A Death Knight poured the potion by Jidorf's lips.
"Ugh... Uh... Ah."
-"Seems you can speak now. Are you alright? What's your name?"
-"I... can't remember."
Jidorf craftily excused himself.
In this situation, pretending complete memory loss was safer than bungling a lie.
Since the Death Knights were misunderstanding anyway, playing along would let him escape easily.
-"By our master's skull, we're in deep trouble now."
-Shh. It's not over yet. Can't we just restore his memories?
The Death Knights bolstered each other's spirits and steeled their resolve.
-Young Wardanaz. Do you know any way to restore this amnesiac's memories?
"I'm a first-year."
-We're aware of that, but...?
"...That means I don't know."
-Damn it!
-Let's ask Professor Lagrinde again.
-But Professor Lagrinde will probably get angry...
"P-please just let me go outside. I won't tell anyone."
Jidorf acted the part of a frightened imperial commoner, pretending to tremble fearfully.
This only made the Death Knights feel even more guilty.
-No, no!
-We'll definitely restore your memories for you.
'Why does he look strangely familiar?' Lee Han tilted his head in confusion.
Jidorf's appearance felt oddly recognizable.
Had he seen a statue that looked like that somewhere before?
What are you all doing?
The Skeleton Principal floated in from behind, hovering ominously. Beside him was Professor Voladi.
-Ah, it's nothing, Master. We just happened to find a guest who had turned into a statue and were having a little chat.
Don't tell me you turned someone into a statue and buried them again? If you have complaints, just say it with your wo— Wait! That bastard's the intruder!! What the hell are you doing?!
The Skeleton Principal shouted in utter disbelief.
The moment he heard that, Jidorf mustered every last ounce of strength in his body to escape.
But the boy in front of him moved much faster. Lee Han immediately swung his staff and sent Jidorf's jaw flying.
Wham!—......
W-well, killing him might've been a bit much... But good job anyway.
During finals week, the Skeleton Principal always made sure to check in with certain high-risk professors.
-Are you preparing properly?
-I'm preparing properly.
-Really? Are you really preparing properly?
-I said I'm preparing properly! What's your problem?
-Haha. I wasn't actually asking. Open your storage right now. If it's not ready, we'll be boiling beaver stew in that cauldron today.
Among them, some professors were under special surveillance even before finals week, but fortunately, Professor Voladi wasn't quite at that level yet.
-...
This is how I plan to enlist the giants for the exam.
-...
Oh...
'Should I have started checking on him last week?'
After hearing about Professor Voladi's finals exam, the Skeleton Principal wondered if he should raise the professor's threat level even higher.
Perhaps the reason his madness hadn't been as apparent until now was simply because he'd never had students before.
Normally, when discussing exams with professors, the Skeleton Principal would say, "Make it harder." But this time, the exam Professor Voladi had devised was really... something else.
-Eh! I think this'll do just fine!
-Thank you.
Though slightly uneasy, the Skeleton Principal approved Professor Voladi's exam.
As the headmaster, he had his pride—he couldn't just interfere because the exam was too difficult.
Still, unable to shake his concerns, the Skeleton Principal found himself summoning Professor Voladi a little more often.
-Is everything going well?
-Yes.
-Really going well?
-Of course.
Professor Voladi smiled faintly.
He assumed the Skeleton Principal kept asking because he was impressed by his exam.
Seeing that smug smile, the Skeleton Principal was at a loss for words.
'I hired him, but does he really have no conscience?'
The Skeleton Principal also enjoyed putting students through trials, but he didn't take smug pride in it.
Yet this professor was genuinely pleased with himself—making him even more diabolical than the headmaster.
'No wonder he never had students.'
Nodding to himself, the Skeleton Principal entertained some very rude thoughts.
-Very well. I'll definitely want to watch when the exam begins.
Setting aside Professor Bagrak's lack of conscience, this exam was honestly worth observing.
When else would he get to see giants mobilized like this? Witnessing it once would provide storytelling material for over a decade.
Moreover, the true uniqueness of this exam wasn't just the involvement of giants.
The true specialness lay in how they had meticulously constructed obstacles like an elaborate, nonstop parade using the mobilized giants.
Only a battle mage like Professor Bagrak, with deep real-world combat experience, could design such an exam!
Just how far would that Wardanaz kid make it this time?
'Quite curious, indeed.'
—Master! A monster has appeared!
Yes. Handle it well on your own.
The Skeleton Principal waved his hand dismissively at the Death Knight's report.
When you thought about it, five or six monsters probably appeared across Einrogard every single day—why report each and every one?
—Master! The monster is rampaging near the main gate!
You fools! Why are you only telling me this now? If the area around the main gate gets destroyed, I won't forgive you!
—......
The Death Knight wouldn't have had anything to say even with ten mouths.
While monsters could roam freely in areas unseen by outsiders, the vicinity of the main gate—where visitors came and went—had to be kept immaculate.
If a monster suddenly appeared while guests were visiting, a third of that day's donations would be slashed immediately.
I should go check now, Professor Bagrak.
"I'll assist as well."
Wouldn't it be better to prepare for the exam?
"It's already perfect."
Professor Voladi smiled faintly again.
That smug smile was so irritating that the Skeleton Principal felt a surge of annoyance.
'It'd be great if the exam got ruined... Wait. What am I thinking?'
For a moment, he'd almost sided with Wardanaz out of sheer frustration with Professor Bagrak.
Very well. Then let's go!
The Skeleton Principal and Professor Voladi swiftly flew through the air and arrived near the main gate.
Already, the sounds of chaotic fighting could be heard—first-year students collapsed on the ground, and giants being treated by upperclassmen from the Healing Magic department...??
The Skeleton Principal was puzzled as to why the giants were here, but he ignored it for now and checked the main gate first.
The damage wasn't too severe.
The statue garden was wrecked, and parts of the road had been blown away, but the main gate itself was intact—and most importantly, no outsiders had been caught up in the mess.
'Thank goodness!'
As the Skeleton Principal sighed in relief, a group of Death Knights came into view.
He shot them a glare filled with fury.
What were these fools doing, failing to prevent things from escalating like this?
What are you all doing? Don't tell me you were transforming into statues again...
Lee Han, who had just knocked down Jidorf, was the one left bewildered as he asked:
"Is he really an intruder?"
Would I falsely accuse an innocent guest of being an intruder?
"......"
—......
An awkward silence lingered. Lee Han quickly replied:
"Of course not!"
That response was two beats too late... Anyway, so this was where the intruder had been hiding—among the statues near the main gate. I'd assumed he was lost somewhere deep inside the main building...
Realizing their mistake, the Death Knights hurriedly tried to flatter their way out of trouble.
—Indeed. He managed to come all the way here.
—But he couldn't deceive the Master's sharp gaze!
Weren't you lot just babysitting the intruder?
—A misunderstanding! We were just keeping him calm so he wouldn't get shocked—after all, we couldn't let him die either.
The Death Knights made pathetic excuses. The Skeleton Principal shook his head in disappointment.
To think such incompetents were my subordinates!
And what are you doing?
"...Ah! I was just cursing at how despicable this intruder is for making it all the way to the main gate!"
Lee Han blurted out quickly.
Now that he thought about it, the only reason the intruder had reached the main gate was because Lee Han had carelessly tossed him there while clearing out the warehouse.
Not exactly a fact worth advertising.
—Sorry, mage. We're exhausted from fighting.
—Took too many hits... Need to rest. Ugh. My head's pounding.
"......"
Behind them, the giants and Professor Voladi were conversing. The professor's face remained composed, but his fingertips trembled slightly from shock.
Realizing the situation, the Skeleton Principal clicked his tongue sympathetically.
Ah... What a shame. After Professor Bagrak worked so hard to prepare everything.
"I, too, find it deeply regrettable."
Weren't you just smiling?
"It must be your imagination."