Episode 62
Episode 62
Lee Han hastily stuffed the potions into his pockets.
"Receiving such excellent potions makes me so happy I could cry..."
"What brings you here? If there's anything I can help with, I'll gladly assist."
Lee Han confessed to Priestess Siana about the vicious hidden trap in the alchemy assignment.
Priestess Siana listened with a serious expression before suddenly exclaiming 'Ah!' as if remembering something.
"I did notice some materials that seemed a bit odd... I was planning to cross-reference them with books later..."
"We're gathering all the materials now to test what the issue might be. Would you like to join us? We desperately need the unrivaled expertise of Priestess Siana in alchemy."
Without a moment's hesitation, Priestess Siana nodded at Lee Han's words.
"Of course I'll help! I'll bring the Phoenix Tower students with me!"
Watching the excited priestess dash off, Lee Han thought to himself:
'If only White Tiger Tower were that easy...'
Black Turtle Tower proved even simpler.
Nilia and Ratford had already gathered their friends.
In truth, persuading students to come out was far easier than dealing with the swarm of Black Turtle Tower students who rushed over upon seeing them at the black market.
Thinking Lee Han had brought something new, they immediately formed lines, competing to trade first.
-"Wardanaz! How about this wand-blade?! Even White Tiger Tower students would want this!"
-"Move aside! Wardanaz. What about these golem evasion talismans?!"
In stark contrast, the White Tiger Tower students...
-"It's Wardanaz!"
-"Don't try facing him alone!"
-"......"
Even when Durgyu stepped in to help gather their friends, the White Tiger Tower students refused to budge easily.
Lee Han eventually gave up and returned.
'Well... we probably have enough people without them.'
With students from three towers gathered, they had more than enough surplus materials.
With Priestess Siana's assistance, Lee Han and Yoner carefully measured out the remaining ingredients—test materials for identifying the correct formula.
"Everything's ready now. We should be able to run the tests as planned."
"Good work, everyone."
The assembled students collectively sighed.
Who would've thought they'd have to go through this ordeal again because of Professor Thunderstep's dogsh... no, his trap?
"Wardanaz. Come to think of it, I heard you're using an exit permit to go out tomorrow?"
"!"
While Blue Dragon Tower students knew Lee Han had obtained the permit, those from other towers were unaware.
Black Turtle Tower students—and even Phoenix Tower students—all stared at Lee Han with wide, astonished eyes.
"Y-you got an exit permit?!"
"As expected of Lord Wardanaz."
"Wait, how do you even get one? Do you have to defeat a golem?"
"That's not the important part! Wardanaz. Are you bringing anything back??"
They quickly surrounded Lee Han in a circle.
Though envious of his Sunday outing, what mattered more was what he might bring back from outside.
"Outside... If I can go out, what should I bring back? There's too much to choose from!"
"Calm down—let's organize this one by one."
While Lee Han remained still, his friends grew increasingly frantic.
'If I can go outside, what should I buy and bring back?'
"Food, obviously. Something sweet and compact—as much as possible."
"Rent a carriage to haul it all back, Wardanaz!"
"Don't you remember from orientation? Carriages aren't approved."
"Food's good, but how about clothes? Honestly, what we're wearing now are more like rags than actual garments."
'Aren't they comfortable...?'
Nilia tilted her head in confusion.
These seemed perfectly comfortable to her...
"I do want sturdier, more comfortable clothes."
"Shoes too! And hats with cloaks! And also..."
Ashan, who'd been listening nearby, suddenly cut in.
"I need books and stationery like quills."
"Dalkard... are you out of your mind? Can you eat books? Drink ink?"
"No. I do want food too. But seriously, I need books."
Ashan was being earnest in his own way.
As they prepared for their assignments, students were gradually stepping into the magic school's library one by one.
But of course, this library was not some warm, cozy place where books could be easily found under a proper classification system.
'Who the hell organized this?'
A chaotic, disorderly space that made you groan out loud—that was this school's library.
Because of that, even when they needed to reference books for assignments, finding the books themselves was a task in itself.
Students couldn't help but long for bookstores outside the school.
The warm convenience of kindly bookstore owners wrapping books in paper bundles when you simply asked, 'Please give me this book.'
"If we keep going like this, there's a 95% chance we'll collapse before even starting our assignments. We should at least find the basic textbooks for our subjects."
"Hmm... That does make sense."
Even the students who had just been passionately listing snacks like butter cookies, chocolate cookies, caramel waffles, milk roll wafers, and maple syrup candies nodded seriously.
"And it's not just books—we need calculation artifacts too. Calculating by hand is killing me."
"That definitely makes sense too."
"I'm bored without anything to read. We need some magazines or novels. And maybe new cards or a chessboard."
"...?"
Their friends nodded along before suddenly stopping.
Something felt off.
"Gainando, you bastard! Is that really urgent right now?!"
"It's urgent because I said so! Why can't I say what I need when you all are?!"
"Guys. Wardanaz went to sleep."
"?!"
Since they had to leave early Sunday morning, Lee Han went straight to his private room after finishing his alchemy assignment.
'I can't sleep.'
Lee Han was dumbfounded.
It wasn't like he was some little kid losing sleep the night before a picnic...
But this was far from the innocent excitement of looking forward to an outing.
It was closer to the tension before a difficult exam.
'Will I really be able to do well?'
Anyone watching might think he was taking some kind of graduation exam, but Lee Han was serious.
Even though it was a legitimate outing using an exit permit, he wasn't letting his guard down.
This school definitely had traps lying in wait.
'Let's think. What problems could there be?'
First, Lee Han figured using carriages or horses would definitely be prohibited.
Just like during enrollment, there was no way they'd allow something like that.
'Surely they'd at least let me carry things back, right? I need to bring as much as possible... How far is the nearest village?'
Distance was another problem to consider.
During his first escape, he'd had a carriage, but now he didn't.
This was the kind of school that might place a village farther than a day's round trip and still say, 'Go and come back in a day!'
'Damn it. I should've learned a speed-enhancing spell!'
Lee Han lamented.
If he'd learned a body-enhancement spell, he wouldn't be worrying like this.
...Of course, that wasn't the kind of thing a freshman should be worrying about.
Fwip!
"...?!?"
Suddenly, a book from the shelf popped out and opened on its own.
It was the black, coverless book the Skeleton Principal had given him.
Tendrils of text burst from the black book and coiled around Lee Han.
"Wha—?"
Before he could finish, Lee Han found himself somewhere else.
A desolate wasteland, empty of anything—no sky, no distant horizon.
Instinctively, he knew.
This was an illusion created by the black book.
Boom!
The black book appeared before Lee Han. It fluttered in midair, its pages spread open.
The magic written on those pages was <Gonadaltes' Agile Footsteps>, a spell Lee Han had received last time but failed to master.
"Right now... you want me to learn this?"
The black book shook itself up and down. It seemed to be nodding in agreement.
"Don't tell me you actually considered my concerns and recommended this?"
The black book shook itself up and down again.
Seeing this cute gesture, Lee Han's mood improved slightly.
It was more considerate than he'd expected.
"Wait. There's no time to learn this now. I have to leave tomorrow. Send me back."
The black book abruptly stopped midair, then very slowly shook itself side to side.
It looked almost stern.
"......"
Lee Han regretted his earlier thought that the book was considerate.
Of course a book given by the Headmaster wouldn't be that reasonable.
"...Burn!"
Lee Han attempted to cast a flame spell.
But the magic didn't activate. The black book shrugged its covers before flipping its pages open again.
As if to say that <Gonadaltes' Agile Footsteps> was the only option available.
"......"
Lee Han sighed and adjusted his grip on his staff.
Prisoner Number 24601!
"Um. Master. I'm not actually a prisoner."
Ah, right. My apologies. At my age, I sometimes get confused.
"......"
Listening to the conversation between the Skeleton Principal and his summon, Lee Han yawned.
By now, this level of dialogue didn't even faze him anymore.
Though the black book had forcibly dragged him into an illusionary training session, thankfully it hadn't stolen his sleep.
It had all happened within a dream, after all.
Though the mental exhaustion was unavoidable...
'I hate that I'm actually feeling grateful for this much.'
Congratulations on your outing, Wardanaz! This is a fitting reward for your achievements, so you may take pride in it!
"Thank you."
The rules are simple! Leave at sunrise today and return through the main gates before sunrise tomorrow. Fail to return, and a pursuit squad will be dispatched.
"......"
He'd expected as much, but hearing it aloud still left him speechless.
You may only carry what you can bear on your back. No borrowing carriages, horses, or any other vehicles!
"Understood."
Then do your best!
"...?"
Lee Han was puzzled.
'These rules are more lenient than I thought?'
He'd braced himself for restrictions on spending limits, weight limits, or volume limits for his belongings.
But there were none.
What's going on?
Lee Han ran hard.
Thanks to that, he reached his destination by the time the sun was directly overhead.
Philone Village.
The closest village to the magic school.
"...So you're saying there are no noble family mansions in this village now?"
"Tsk tsk. Must be a student who slipped out of the magic school, eh? That's how it always is. When the term starts, the school makes people move their mansions far away."
"......"
The Empire's great families didn't simply leave when the term began.
They bought mansions in nearby villages in preparation for vacations, stationing servants and slaves there in advance.
It was an extravagance befitting great families, and Lee Han had been counting on it.
He'd planned to visit with a silver ledger containing student signatures to secure some pocket money...
Lee Han was at a loss for words.
'This damn school...'
"Then where did those mansions go?"
"Waaay over there, to Granden City."
"How long does it take to reach Granden City...?"
"You'd need to ride for several days at least..."
"......"
Lee Han realized why there had been no spending limits, weight limits, or volume limits.
The school had already blocked every possible means for students to obtain money.
So that any escaping student who reached the nearest village of Philone would realize their mistake and despair!
"...Do they really have to go this far??"
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
Lee Han raised his head.
Now that things had come to this, he absolutely wouldn't back down.
"Where's the nearest merchant guild building here?"
"Merchant guild? That'd be down that street... Why?"
"I'm going to borrow money."
"......"
The villager was shocked.
This boy clearly looked like he came from a prestigious noble family...
'Is this really okay?'