Episode 641
Episode 641
"Does persuasion even work on monsters like that normally?"
"I wouldn't know. I'm not exactly friends with spirits."
"...S-sorry."
"I didn't say that to make you apologize? Anyway, we got permission, so let's hurry up and loot the place."
"Lee Han. Honestly, no matter how good the treasure is, it's not easy to search in this kind of atmosphere, you know?"
Gainando grumbled.
With the rock Hecatoncheires glaring menacingly beside them and the constant threat of undead monsters popping up anywhere in the tomb, searching for treasure wasn't exactly a walk in the park.
"Yoner and Nilia are already gathering stuff, though."
"?!"
Gainando turned around.
Yoner and Nilia were already picking out valuable items from among the silver burial goods.
"Th-they... They've gone weird from attending Einrogard!"
'You attended Einrogard too, you know...'
THUD
—From inside, the Hecatoncheires called for Arsil.
As the two engaged in a rather lengthy conversation, Lee Han tilted his head in confusion and asked,
"What were you talking about for so long?"
"Yes. They are Einrogard students, but...Wait, why are you telling us that?!"
As Lee Han floundered, Gainando grew uneasy and asked,
"What's going on, Lee Han? It's nothing serious, right? Did it suddenly change its mind and decide it wants to eat us?"
The Hecatoncheires spoke to Arsil. Arsil relayed it to Lee Han, and Lee Han passed it on to Gainando.
"It says, 'Don't yap like that annoying human. Why would I eat something like you?'"
"...S-sorry."
Lee Han called his friends over and relayed what the Hecatoncheires had just said.
"This Hecatoncheires here has an old grudge against the Headmaster for a past humiliation."
The Hecatoncheires spoke to Arsil. Arsil relayed it to Lee Han, and Lee Han passed it on to his friends.
"...It says it wasn't exactly humiliation, more like a debt."
The Hecatoncheires...
"Ugh. Debt, grudge, whatever! Does it even matter?! Just say what you want to say!"
Lee Han snapped in frustration.
Having to relay messages through multiple people was making the conversation twice as slow.
"Anyway, it has an old grudge and wants to take it out on us."
Hecatonche...
"Not take it out on us, but test us based on proper qualifications and rights. Honestly, is there even a difference?"
As Lee Han muttered under his breath, the Hecatoncheires flared up in anger.
But this time, Arsil stayed silent.
The Hecatoncheires protested, demanding to know why Arsil wasn't moving.
When Arsil firmly replied that she wouldn't relay words that would dirty her younger sibling's ears, the Hecatoncheires flew into a rage and unleashed a torrent of curses.
—■■■■ ■!
"Why is it acting like this now?"
Arsil smiled and replied, 'It's just excited.' Lee Han found it fascinating.
'Are all high-intelligence monsters this eccentric?'
Then again, if you really thought about it, the Headmaster was kind of...
"Wait, why are you taking out your old grudge against the Headmaster on us?!"
Gainando reacted belatedly.
That monster had multiple heads, but its level of thinking was lower than Gainando's own single head.
Hecatonche...
"It says, 'A master's honor is passed down to their disciples, a master's knowledge is passed down to their disciples—so a master's debt is passed down to their disciples too.' Seriously? That's such a stretch!"
Despite Lee Han's protest, the Hecatoncheires paid no heed.
At its response, Gainando fell into deep thought.
Since he wasn't usually the type to ponder deeply, Yoner found it curious and asked,
"What are you thinking about?"
"But isn't Lee Han the only real disciple of the Headmaster here?"
"......"
"Wow, what a trash move."
At Nilia's muttering, Gainando frantically waved his hands in denial.
"N-no! I'm not saying I won't participate... I was just thinking out loud!"
"Wardanaz. Gainando says he's not participating."
"No! No! I am! Let me participate!"
Hecatoncheires also looked at Gainando with the same gaze one would give to trash.
It was hard to believe that a disciple of Gonadaltes would try to abandon his comrades like that.
Hecatoncheires rose from his seat. As he did, the entrance to a massive passageway was revealed where he had been sitting.
The monster hadn't simply been guarding this chamber. He had been guarding the passageway connected to it.
Arsil cheerfully asked if they could just pass through, but Hecatoncheires coldly refused. When the spirits all jeered in unison, Hecatoncheires let out a sharp roar.
RUMBLE!
Hecatoncheires rolled a gigantic boulder to block the newly revealed passageway entrance. Then he shouted at the four of them.
"Is passing through this your test?"
Arsil, who had been interpreting, nodded.
Not only was the boulder enormous, but the traces of complex mana emanating from it made it clear this was no ordinary rock.
Lee Han thought to himself,
'We already got the loot—can't we just give up?'
Unaware of his younger brother's inner thoughts, Arsil began arguing with Hecatoncheires. It seemed some lingering resentment remained from their earlier conversation.
"...No, Brother. I can handle that much... No, really, don't do this!"
As Lee Han flusteredly tried to stop Arsil, Yoner asked in surprise,
"What's going on? What happened?"
"Brother keeps taunting Hecatoncheires, saying he could solve this in the blink of an eye."
"......"
Seeing Lee Han struggling because of Arsil, Yoner felt a mix of pity and just the slightest bit of glee.
Just as she had been humiliated in front of Lee Han because of her crazy older sister, she wanted Lee Han to suffer the same humiliation from his crazy older brother!
"...That must be really tough for you!"
"Yoner. You look weirdly happy right now."
"Ah, no. Oh no. Maybe it's because we already got the loot?"
Lee Han and his friends put their heads together.
Having faced similar obstacles more than once or twice at Einrogard, they were used to this kind of challenge.
Gainando spoke with a serious expression,
"If we combine the strength of all four of us, we can produce magic on par with a fourth-year at Einrogard. Let's just pass this damn... I mean, this esteemed one's test."
"Gainando. You're not seriously saying that four first-years combined equal a fourth-year, are you?"
Yoner asked in shock, recalling the miraculous arithmetic skills her relative had displayed.
"Huh? I said 'on par with a fourth-year' because Lee Han can use fourth-year magic."
"......"
"......"
It wasn't that they had literally combined their strength to become a fourth-year, but the friends had no choice but to acknowledge it—because they had seen Lee Han cast fourth-circle magic.
"Guys, just because I can cast fourth-circle magic doesn't mean I'm at a fourth-year level."
"We know that, but the fourth-circle magic you use is even more impressive than the seniors'—"
Lee Han cut off Gainando's incessant nonsense and began explaining,
"He says that because he hasn't seen the seniors' magic. Even the same spell can be completely different."
'Honestly, I feel like Lee Han wouldn't lose even against the seniors.'
'I think so too.'
Yoner and Nilia exchanged a silent conversation through their eyes. Unaware of this, Lee Han focused on how to move the boulder.
"What about control-type spells? I've only learned Lesser Manipulation, but I could try Intermediate Control this time."
"Even Intermediate would be pushing it. It'd be a stretch for something weighing several kilograms."
The control magic series, a branch of non-elemental telekinesis, was a highly versatile type of magic learned by many mages.
Its simplicity—lifting and moving objects at will—made it widely applicable.
From assistants who had to handle many chores to mages who wanted to be lazy (or show off their skills), this magic was used for all sorts of tasks like cleaning or handling letters.
"There's no better self-introduction for a mage than showing off a spotless room cleaned with a single spell at gatherings."
Occasionally, among battle-mad combat mages, there were those who took notice of the quick casting and versatility of this 'Control' magic and modified it for combat purposes.
No sane person would study under such mages, but occasionally, apprentices just as eccentric as their masters would emerge and learn from them.
In any case, this Control magic series possessed such convenience and versatility, but it came with equally strong limitations.
For low mana consumption, quick casting, and precise control, the weight restrictions were quite stringent.
Even Intermediate Control could barely handle a few dozen kilograms...
"Even if we all learn Intermediate Control and work together... Hmm. It's impossible."
"W-wait, Wardanaz! I don't have the confidence to learn Intermediate Manipulation Magic right now! None at all!"
Nilia, startled by Wardanaz overestimating her, vehemently denied it.
How dare he naturally assume she was at that level and proceed!
But Lee Han seemed to think Nilia was just being modest again and brushed it off with a laugh.
"What are you talking about? You can do it."
"I can't...!"
"Alright, alright. Let's assume you can't. Control magic is too much for now anyway."
'Even though he's my friend, I want to hit him!'
For a moment, Nilia understood why White Tiger Tower students muttered things like, "Thanks to that Wardanaz bastard, I passed, but I still want to smack the back of his head just once."
This friend from the Wardanaz family had an exceptional talent for provoking people.
"Other magics... Transformation Magic, Earth Elemental Magic."
"There's also Alchemy. Melting that kind of rock isn't even that difficult with the right potion."
Since alchemists often needed to melt hard materials, they frequently worked with acidic or corrosive potions.
The only problem was the time it would take, but even that rock could definitely be hollowed out.
"I did learn <Rock-to-Sand Transmutation>."
"Huh? Was that among the Transformation Magic we learned this year?"
"I learned it while repairing Einrogard with the Headmaster at night."
"...?!"
"More than that, what worries me is... Never mind. Let's just try it."
Lee Han raised his staff and approached the rock.
"O rock, become sand—"
Clang!
With a sound only mages could hear, the spell rebounded.
Lee Han realized there was an incredibly powerful magical construct embedded within the rock.
'As expected. It wasn't going to be easy.'
Hecatoncheires, who had been humiliated by the Skeleton Principal, wouldn't have set such a simple challenge.
It was clear this rock was designed to repel magic.
'Who made this? The structure is so complex—repelling external mana, dispersing impact...'
Watching Gonadaltes' students struggle, Hecatoncheires clapped with multiple hands.
The rock they were struggling with was the very same one Hecatoncheires himself had once faced.
-Hecatoncheires! I've heard your trio is the strongest on this continent. But can you truly shatter this rock? I doubt it!
-N-nonsense, mage! We could break this rock blindfolded!
-Oh? If you do, this humble mage will serve you for a hundred years! But if you fail? Honestly, it seems too hard to break...
-If we fail, we'll do whatever you command, mage. But if we succeed, we'll smash your skull along with it!
-Haha! A fine bargain!
How bitterly Hecatoncheires had suffered after falling for that deceitful rock presented by the determined mage.
Now it was his students' turn to groan in frustration.
Half-giving up, the mages abandoned spells and began pounding the rock directly with their mana.
Watching this, Hecatoncheires' heads burst into laughter.
No matter how desperate, for mages to abandon magic and resort to such brute force...
Only a monster like Hecatoncheires—born with innate mana and physical strength—could attempt such a thing.
Even he had failed when he tried it.
Boom!
"Did it work?"
"Whoa. I can't believe this method actually—"
-?????