Episode 648
Episode 648
However, Alsicle wasn't fooled.
"Where do you think you're running off to?"
Swinging his staff to recall the helmet, Alsicle threatened the insolent artifact.
"How dare a mere helmet act so arrogantly toward a mage? I'll seal you in eternal frost."
H-help me, Master.
The helmet abandoned its usual haughty attitude and called out to Lee Han.
Unlike the students of Einrogard, you never knew what these outside mages might do.
To teach the impudent helmet a lesson, Alsicle summoned thick ice and encased it within.
Then he asked Lee Han:
"Still, an artifact like this must have some use."
"Well, you see..."
Lee Han explained what kind of artifact this <Helmet of Wisdom> was.
Setting aside whether the artifact was evil or not, if it had been truly useful Lee Han would have used it often—but this helmet knew little despite its pretensions and had an absurdly long cooldown for answers.
It wasn't for nothing that Lee Han had kept it stored away all semester except during the flood incident.
Yet despite this explanation, Alsicle showed interest in the helmet.
He found both its original purpose of gathering knowledge intriguing and was curious about what knowledge it might contain.
"I'm jealous. To acquire something like this..."
"Then why don't you buy it from me, Lord Pengerin?"
"Huh? Really?"
"!"
Lee Han froze when Alsicle actually responded to his joking remark.
"You're seriously considering buying it?"
"If you're selling, of course I'd buy."
"But even shops refused to purchase this helmet..."
"Regular shops would refuse—it's a malevolent artifact. But I'm a mage. Artifacts like this are perfect for research."
Lee Han's eyes sparkled.
Since selling it had failed before, if he didn't seize this chance to sell it to Alsicle, he might never get rid of the helmet.
"Then take it for just one silver coin!"
"What? No way! What nonsense are you spouting?"
Alsicle recoiled at Lee Han's absurd suggestion.
Even for someone from a great noble family with no concept of money, this was too much.
If word got out that he'd taken a junior mage's artifact for just one silver coin, from that day forth Alsicle would be known throughout the imperial magical and social circles as <The Artifact Thief> or <The Junior Exploiter>.
"How could I possibly take such an artifact for just one silver coin? Absolutely not."
"Tch."
Lee Han pretended to think deeply before speaking again.
"Then... whatever price Lord Pengerin deems appropriate..."
"Such things aren't properly paid for with money."
As a senior mage, buying Lee Han's artifact with money went against tradition.
While better than rumors of taking it for a silver coin, it could still earn him nicknames like <The Gold-Drowned Wretch> or <The Junior Oppressor>.
To prove there was no coercion or pressure involved, an exchange would be most appropriate.
Alsicle would gift Lee Han an artifact slightly more valuable than the one Lee Han had given him.
"...I'd really prefer gold coins. I won't tell anyone."
"Stop talking nonsense. Honor doesn't disappear just because no one's watching. Hmm. What would be a suitable artifact..."
Ignoring Lee Han's words, Alsicle scanned through his list of artifacts.
His inventory was somewhat depleted lately since he'd converted several expensive artifacts into imperial gold coins for magical research.
Moreover, weren't all of Wardanaz's artifacts notoriously powerful?
Though ominous and grotesque, their potency couldn't be denied.
"Hmm. A staff bearing the Mark of Count Adele... You already have the Frost Giant King's Gemstone so you wouldn't need this... How on earth did you even obtain the Frost Giant King's Gemstone anyway?"
Alsicle, frustrated in his deliberations, turned to interrogate Lee Han again.
"The school's Dimensional Gate... no, didn't I explain this when Archmage Yumidihus was present?"
"Did I?"
Alsicle tilted his head in confusion.
His memories of when Yumidihus, Wardanaz, and Bagrak had visited were still a bit hazy.
He remembered bawling his eyes out after being shocked by Wardanaz's overwhelming talent, but...
"That Lord Pengerin tried to lend me a staff embedded with the Egg of Frostagon, but Professor Bagrak stopped him, remember? He said the stone I got from defeating the Frost Giant King was better than that egg."
"Thanks for reminding me of a memory I'd rather forget."
"My apologies."
"It's not your fault. It's Professor Bagrak's."
Grumbling, Alsicle rummaged through his artifacts. Nothing suitable caught his eye.
"Lord Pengerin. Why don't you take it first and return it later?"
"No. Then I'd become <Alsicle, the One Who Cheats His Juniors>."
"Excuse me?"
"Ah, never mind."
But no matter how much he searched, he couldn't find an artifact suitable for Wardanaz right now.
'This won't do.'
Alsicle resolved to participate in a few auctions immediately.
As he swiftly pulled out a catalog and a letter, Lee Han watched in bewilderment and asked,
"What are you doing?"
"Joining an auction. If I want to participate in the Crescent Moon Auction, I have to send the letter by tomorrow."
While some imperial auctions required physical attendance, others catered to those who couldn't be present.
Given the vastness of the empire, gathering in one place was no small feat.
For such people, the Crescent Moon Auction worked by sending out catalogs of auctioned treasures, allowing bidders to submit their offers via letter by a set deadline.
"The Crescent Moon Auction!"
Lee Han and Yoner gasped in surprise.
"What? You two want to take a look too?"
"That auction where prices are ridiculously inflated...!"
"Isn't that too wasteful?"
"...That's not the point right now."
Unlike other auctions, where bidders could gauge each other's moves, the Crescent Moon Auction relied solely on letters, inevitably driving prices higher than usual.
Otherwise, it'd be a loss for the seller.
But desperate times called for desperate measures. Alsicle shoved the two bothersome students aside and unfolded the catalog.
As the vibrant, magically embellished outline of the Crescent Moon Auction's catalog came into view, Lee Han's eyes sparkled.
For someone like Lee Han, who dreamed of high returns on minimal investment, auctions were a necessary gateway.
Where else would he sell treasures found in ruins or commissions?
Sure, some mages preferred dismantling and analyzing everything themselves, but Lee Han had no intention of such waste.
'I wonder what's up for bid.'
"Mind if I take a look too?"
"Looking is fine, but no complaining about prices."
"But how is calling something expensive when it is expensive—"
Lee Han grumbled, but Alsicle was firm.
Having someone yammering about high prices while he was picking artifacts was distracting.
"Egg of Spadurs, estimated price: two hundred Imperial Gold Coins... No. Why is a Spadurs egg this expensive?"
Though he immediately broke his own rule, Alsicle huffed and explained.
"Spadurs have feathers that shimmer in thirteen colors."
"But magically, they're useless birds, aren't they? And they don't even have any special abilities."
"True. But they're pretty."
"......"
Lee Han sighed at Alsicle's words.
'An egg from a bird that's only pretty costs over two hundred coins?!'
To Lee Han, it was an unbelievable extravagance.
Staff of Henagon
A staff once wielded by Henagon, a renowned mage from the western empire, imbued with the magic he cast over many years.
Estimated price: Fifty Imperial Gold Coins.
Rose-Nata Blossom
A flower among flowers, where pink and red hues blend in perfect harmony—the most beautiful bloom in the empire.
To cultivate this flower, Peltel, the imperial gardener known as <The Flower Grower>, with no equal in skill, devoted nearly a year of meticulous care.
"The history of this flower......"
Estimated price: 32,000 Imperial Gold Coins.
"Guhk."
Lee Han had never experienced a mental attack before, but looking at the auction catalog gave him a similar sensation.
A flower that was utterly useless magically yet prettier than any fortress—how could it possibly be worth more than an actual stronghold?
"I don't understand why people don't buy artifacts instead. They'd be far more useful than some flower!"
Lee Han spoke indignantly.
For him, who was already considering excavating and selling artifacts later, this was practically a livelihood issue.
Why was the gap this extreme?!
"Well, artifacts... aren't something ordinary people would have any use for..."
Alsicle sympathized with Lee Han's frustration.
People were stingy when it came to investing gold coins in actual magical research, yet they splurged without hesitation on such frivolous things.
In Alsicle's opinion, that money should have been taken and given to the mages instead.
"Isn't that just robbery?"
"Well, I'd prefer a more elegant and refined expression than—"
"Banditry?"
"I take it back. Let's drop this."
Alsicle changed the subject and flipped the catalog page. This auction wasn't particularly rich in items useful for mages to begin with, but this one was especially lacking.
'Hmm. Looking at this, I feel like selling something myself.'
As Lee Han browsed the auction items, he couldn't help but fantasize about turning his life around in one go.
But the things he had...
'The Bracelet of Ten Thousand Demons and the Morning Star are out of the question. Same with the Behemoth Necklace. And my staff... Should I sell the poison-detecting silver spoon? Honestly, even if it can't detect poison, it'd be fine. No, this wouldn't fetch much. The design should've been better. Or it needed a story behind it.'
Lee Han seriously agonized over whether he could somehow swindle his way into selling his artifacts.
Just then, a cracked pocket watch rolled toward him with a clatter. Lee Han reached out and caught it.
"This is..."
At first, he didn't recognize it, but then the memory surfaced.
It was something he had bought when he visited the <Night-Glow Demon's Tangled Treasure Pile>, a secondhand artifact shop, with the great mage Valdororn.
This wasn't exactly an artifact. The shopkeeper had said so, and Valdororn had agreed.
But...
"Since you've made some silver coins from selling artifacts... how about buying this? A pocket watch in such good condition is quite hard to come by once you miss it."
"Indeed. If Lord Valdororn says so..."
"No, no! I didn't mean it that deeply!"
Looking back now, Lee Han wondered if there had been some hidden meaning in Valdororn's words.
The Skeleton Principal was like that, and so was Alsicle—people who had lived so long they got bored tended to speak in metaphors rather than straight to the point.
What if Valdororn's words had been a hint?
'There's a pretty good chance.'
Imagining how Valdororn himself might have reacted if he heard this, Lee Han began meticulously examining the cracked pocket watch.
Starting with detection magic, he searched in various ways for any hidden secrets within the watch.
But there was nothing unusual about it. Lee Han wondered if he was being overly sensitive.
'Should I try channeling some mana into it?'
Very carefully, he let a trickle of mana flow into the pocket watch.
This method of sending mana to examine internal structures was one of the specialties of enchantment mages.
If you wanted to master artifact creation and repair, you couldn't just pry them open every time.
Though Lee Han had started with the disadvantage of low innate mana capacity, he also possessed an equally sharp Mana Sensing ability.
And, of course, the meddlesome beaver beastman professor who constantly nagged him about mana control.
Thanks to that, Lee Han could precisely regulate the amount of mana he sent in. The increasingly complex structure of the pocket watch became clearer to his senses.
Click!
The moment his mana precisely touched the escapement inside the watch, the sound of the second hand stopping rang clearly in his ears.
And then, Lee Han felt the surrounding time slow down momentarily.
'...Time magic?!'