Episode 616
Episode 616
"Then Isn't Being a Wizard More Suitable Than a Knight If You Hate Fighting?"
Without knowing Lee Han's true thoughts, Alsicle cheerfully tried to persuade him.
True to someone who had never attended Einrogard, he confidently spouted nonsense.
"Knights shed blood and sweat every day, swinging steel swords. In comparison, wizards can just stay in their workshops and research as much as they want."
"Hmm."
"??"
Instead of agreeing, Lee Han let out a thoughtful hum, making Alsicle look at him questioningly.
"Do you really think being a wizard is a suitable profession for someone who hates fighting?"
"!?"
Alsicle was taken aback by Lee Han's sudden, bewildering statement.
"Wh-what's wrong with you? Aren't we supposed to be convincing him?"
"Well, that's true, but I was just wondering if Einrogard is really the right place for someone who dislikes fighting."
"Even so, how often do you really fight?! Look here—you might run into monsters every weekend!"
"At Einrogard, you'd run into monsters every other day..."
"......"
Alsicle was speechless.
What...?
After a moment of contemplation, Lee Han turned to the prospective junior and asked,
"Do you have an interest in magic?"
"W-well, you see..."
"Be honest. I'm not planning to drag you there against your will."
"I... do have some interest."
Ulgan answered cautiously.
Even at a glance, these two seemed like extraordinary wizards—was it really okay for a mere lumberjack like him to say he was interested in magic?
But neither Lee Han nor Alsicle mocked or belittled him. Instead, they seemed pleased.
"Oh, really? That's great if you're interested. What kind of magic catches your fancy?"
"You know those wizards who enchant axes or limbs with magic?"
"Enchantment Magic... specializing in enhancement, I suppose?"
"Quite traditional. Isn't that usually the specialty of those from the White Tiger Tower?"
Lee Han and Alsicle chatted with growing interest.
Encouraged by their reaction, Ulgan spoke up further.
"There's more."
"Good. Tell us anything."
"Spirits..."
"You want to form a contract with spirits?"
"No. I also want to learn magic to exterminate spirits. They interfere with logging. And I'd like to brew potions that can kill trees in one go. Sometimes living trees get annoying and start moving around..."
"......"
"......"
'We must never let him meet Senior Ilendil.'
Lee Han inwardly vowed, sensing the junior's potential to devastate Einrogard's forests.
"Ulgan, as someone who attends Einrogard, I'll be honest with you. Einrogard isn't an environment where you can avoid fighting. The place is as vast as these mountain ranges, so monsters roam freely."
"Ah, I've heard about that."
Ulgan nodded.
He had heard rumors from the occasional hunters of the Shadow Patrol who visited.
"It's incredibly huge!"
"That's right."
"They say there's a top-ranking senior who used to be a Shadow Patrol hunter—popular, with professors all wanting to take him as their disciple!"
'Was there someone like that?'
Lee Han was puzzled.
"Sorry, I don't know all the seniors. Anyway, the point is, you can't completely avoid fights here. You might run into monsters while gathering alchemy ingredients in the mountains. Sometimes the headmaster even launches surprise attacks."
"Wait... what?"
Ulgan wondered if he had misheard.
Or maybe it was the senior's peculiar sense of humor.
"I understand. Thank you for telling me. Of course, I do hate fighting!"
Ulgan clenched his fists.
Unconsciously, Alsicle and Lee Han leaned back slightly.
"But I won't run from unavoidable battles. A lumberjack from the north is no coward!"
"Well said, well said!"
Alsicle flapped his wings in applause.
Seeing the young wizard's resolve, persuading him seemed much easier now.
"Then Einrogard will welcome you with open arms!"
"Exactly. Though I phrased it that way, there are actually ways to avoid fights at Einrogard. If you just focus on your own research, you rarely have to fight. Honestly, I'm not particularly fond of fighting either."
Eandurde, who had been dozing nearby, looked up in surprise, but Lee Han didn't notice.
"I see. So even you, senior, aren't fond of fighting."
"I'm a complete pacifist."
"Eh, weren't you Bagrak's... Never mind."
Alsicle started to say 'Weren't you Bagrak's disciple?' but stopped himself.
Bringing up such topics in front of others wasn't proper etiquette.
CRACK!
"!"
At the distant loud noise, Lee Han immediately drew his staff and began chanting.
"Feet, wrinkle the earth!"
Simultaneously, he flung his body sideways into a roll—just in case the opponent was attacking from a distance, to disrupt their aim.
"......"
Alsicle made a complicated expression seeing Lee Han react so intensely to the sound of a tree breaking.
"It's just a tree breaking."
"Is that so? I thought—"
Lee Han dusted himself off as he stood up.
His attitude suggested this level of reaction was as natural as breathing.
"No! It really is a monster!!"
Ulgan urgently shouted as he gripped his axe.
From behind the broken tree emerged a Ghost Tree.
Ghost Trees—monsters formed when malevolent spirits merge with actual trees—were a constant threat to lumberjacks.
The very act of felling trees disturbed the forest's balance and order, inevitably giving rise to such monsters.
"I'll take the front. Everyone, support me from behind!"
At Ulgan's words, Lee Han shook his head.
"No. I'll take the front, so Alsicle can support from behind."
At Lee Han's words, Eandurde shook his head.
"Me! I'll take the front!"
"???"
Ulgan was baffled by the mages' unusually strong preference for frontline combat.
Wasn't it standard for mages to provide magical support from the rear?
"Stay back, junior."
"Hmph."
"What's with the 'hmph'? You'll encounter Ghost Trees again when you get to Einrogard—fight then. For now, leave this to me."
As the senior, Lee Han couldn't let his juniors take the lead. He cast <Bagrak's Instant Foresight>, <Gonadaltes' Boiling Power>, and even <Spatial Perception>.
"Space, be perceived..."
"...Do you normally cast all those spells in a fight?"
"Don't you?"
Lee Han didn't understand why Alsicle was asking.
Why would a lion go all out to catch a single rabbit?
The answer was: 'Because if it's an Einrogard rabbit, you never know what it might do.'
If the rabbit could teleport, spew deadly poison, or cast malevolent curses, it was only right to prepare as much as possible.
'Those with abundant mana are on another level!' Alsicle clicked his tongue inwardly.
Seeing Lee Han casually waste mana in a way that would horrify other mages was astonishing.
With abilities like these, he'd surely be praised if he joined the battlefield as a combat mage.
■■■...
As the Ghost Tree approached, Lee Han lightly tossed a Water Prison Bomb.
With a dull thud, the Ghost Tree staggered. The spinning water orb delivered a vicious impact deep within it.
At the same time, Lee Han charged forward, Morning Star in hand. As the Black Magnetite sword sliced through, the spirit within the tree let out a pained shriek.
'Mana absorption!' Alsicle was stunned to see Morning Star's blade siphon mana from the monster.
And he was stunned again upon realizing Lee Han was wielding Morning Star.
'Why would a mage use such an artifact...'
For mages, mana-absorbing equipment was nearly taboo.
Many mages avoided items that even slightly affected mana flow, let alone ones that outright absorbed mana.
The Ghost Tree attempted to counterattack with a spine-chilling shriek. Its long branches lashed out like whips, threatening Lee Han.
But by the time the counterattack came, Lee Han had already put distance between them.
With Divination Magic and Spatial Perception Magic, the opponent's simple movements were as predictable as reading the palm of his hand.
Thud!
Lee Han swiftly finished off the Ghost Tree without even giving Alshikyl a chance to assist.
He took advantage of its unbalanced state after the counterattack, hurled a Water Prison Bomb, then delivered the final blow as it collapsed.
Sheathing Morning Star, Lee Han turned back and noticed Ulgan staring at him wide-eyed. With a pleased tone, he said:
"You said you were interested in Enhancement Magic, right? I bet you liked the spells you just saw."
But the junior responded in a timid voice:
"After watching you fight, I'm worried whether I'll be able to adjust well at Einrogard..."
"?!"
If even a pacifist senior who didn't particularly enjoy fighting was this strong, Ulgan suddenly worried whether someone like him could endure.
* * *
"And that's how I successfully secured funding for Research on Races Preferred as Troll Prey."
"Th-that's incredible."
'He's exaggerating so much.'
The Skeleton Principal stood in front of the log cabin, sharing his recent exploits with the knights.
Though the knights pretended to be impressed, inwardly, they were skeptical.
No matter how they thought about it, it was too far-fetched.
Securing funding for Research on Races Preferred as Troll Prey...
It was far more likely that he had inflated some other grant.
"It's not just because he's my student, but he truly deserves the title of 'Bureaucrat Crusher.' You all should nurture talents like him—it'd make securing funding much easier."
"...W-we'll rely on our own skills."
The knights were envious but didn't show it. Revealing that here would wound their pride.
"Talking about skills, huh? Do you know how much Einrogard has sacrificed for the Empire? Yet those bureaucrats only think about squeezing gold from us."
'Doesn't he consider the damage Einrogard has caused the Empire?'
'If he really secured funding for Research on Races Preferred as Troll Prey, he shouldn't be saying things like this!'
"You're right! Damn bureaucrats!"
Though they had other thoughts, the knights outwardly agreed.
They, too, had plenty of bad memories with the Empire's bureaucrats.
Especially for knights fighting monsters in harsh environments like the north, the bureaucrats' stinginess was always a source of resentment.
"Last time, at the fortress, we held out for nearly half a year, and those bastards didn't send a single supply shipment! Said we could manage with stockpiled resources!"
"Exactly."
"When we requested more mages, they said they had to prioritize recapturing escaped magic criminals!"
"Hmm. The bureaucrats must have had their reasons."
"!?"
The knights were taken aback by the sudden shift in the Skeleton Principal's attitude.
"Your Excellency."
Seizing the momentary lull in the conversation, the veteran knight interjected.
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't understand the Skeleton Principal's intentions.
"Might I ask why you've been sharing such wisdom with us?"
'Wisdom?'
The other knights wondered what kind of wisdom this was supposed to be, but they didn't dare voice it.
With Duke Gonadaltes' power, even nonsense could pass as wisdom.
"We're too dull to grasp Your Excellency's intentions, so we're curious why you've been so generous with your guidance."
"Hmm. Perhaps it's about time I tell you."
As the Skeleton Principal nodded, the veteran knight listened intently.
Just what was the meaning behind this conversation?
Then, from below, Lee Han's group arrived with Ulgan in tow.
"Headmaster. The junior has decided to enroll in Einrogard."
"Well done, Bureaucrat Crusher."
"Please don't call me by that nickname."
"Now that everything's settled, we'll take our leave. It's been a pleasant chat."
The Skeleton Principal stood up lightly, gave the knights an encouraging nod, then cheerfully departed with Lee Han's group.
The knights could only glare at his retreating back in stunned silence.
'We've been had!'