Episode 66
Episode 66
Carrying a mountain of luggage while continuously casting <Lesser Manipulation> spells to float additional boxes.
Any ordinary mage would have used higher-circle magic in that situation.
After all, <Lesser Manipulation> wasn't created to be used like that!
At best, it was designed to lift quills or erasers—maybe beads if you pushed it—but to use it to that extent...
It felt beyond impressive—downright bizarre.
Using a 1st-circle magic to such extremes?
"No, wait—that's enhancement magic? Who taught you that?"
Professor Garcia, who had been marveling at the floating boxes sustained by <Lesser Manipulation>, belatedly noticed the mana aura enveloping Lee Han's body.
The intricately arranged energy was wrapping around his form, assisting his movements.
There was only one type of magic with that kind of aura.
Enhancement-type magic.
While popular for its clear effectiveness, it came with side effects since it forcibly embedded and fixed mana into a human body.
Veteran adventurers or mercenaries might handle it, but most students who only lifted quills at their desks were too frail—it wasn't even worth teaching them yet...
Where did he learn it?
Hmm?
The Skeleton Principal maintained an utterly blank expression—a truly Lich-like mastery of composure.
"Did he find it in the library? I should have given a warning..."
Now, now, Professor Garcia. If you keep imposing restrictions like that, mages will grow weaker.
'This guy's the culprit, isn't he?'
Professor Garcia suddenly found the Skeleton Principal suspicious.
No concrete evidence—just a hunch!
<Gonadaltes' Agile Footsteps>, the magic Lee Han was forcibly made to learn, was quite peculiar.
Most enhancement magic had clearly defined areas of reinforcement.
Strength for strength.
Agility for agility.
The lower the circle, the stricter this was. Greedily cramming too much into low-circle magic risked creating something too bizarre for anyone to master.
Yet <Gonadaltes' Agile Footsteps> belonged precisely to that category of bizarre magic.
An absurd 1st-circle spell that enhanced four areas at once—strength, agility, stamina, and reflexes!
Naturally, training in it was equally difficult.
For a simple strength-enhancing spell, one might visualize a mighty warrior. For agility, a swiftly flying bird.
But finding an image that encompassed all four aspects wasn't easy.
-Now I see why Gonadaltes' name is in this damn spell.
Lee Han gnashed his teeth at the black book.
Some spells bore their creators' names.
It was both an honor for the mage and a signpost indicating the spell's nature.
And "Gonadaltes" was a very clear signpost.
This magic was made like absolute garbage!
'At least the name should match, shouldn't it? Normally, a spell like this would focus only on agility.'
Trial and error.
Trial and error.
Through countless attempts, Lee Han gradually found direction.
Unbeknownst to him, the breadth and flexibility of his thinking were rarer advantages than even his mana capacity.
The image he settled on? The Skeleton Principal in his youth.
Of course, Lee Han had no idea what the Headmaster looked like back then.
But he used his imagination to picture it.
Eyes that seemed sane yet burned with madness—undoubtedly foul-tempered, giving off a combative, sharp impression. Someone who loved fighting enough to create this spell would have a lean, trained physique...
Throw in some shadowy robes and a staff, and the image of a wicked mage who wouldn't seem out of place as a villain anywhere was complete.
'Even I have to admit—he looks terrifyingly strong.'
A mage who was strong, fast, enduring, and seemed to have excellent reflexes.
And surprisingly, this image worked.
The magic that had been failing hollowly until now began to take proper form.
-Feet, tread upon the earth!
-Feet, tread upon the earth!
-Feet, tread upon the earth!
The incantation repeated in succession.
After persistent attempts, the magic was finally completed.
Lee Han felt the magical mana carve itself into his body like an insignia, aiding him.
Strength, agility, even lung endurance and reflexes—everything was enhanced.
Fwip-flap!
The black book fluttered as if celebrating Lee Han's achievement.
Just as Lee Han was feeling satisfied with the hard-earned result, he suddenly froze.
A thought had struck him.
-Wait a minute. Don't enhancement spells have backlash? If this magic covers so many areas...
Before Lee Han could even finish his question, the black book ejected him from the illusory space.
Of course, even if he was uneasy, he couldn't not use it. This wasn't the time for Lee Han to be picky about his methods.
He was that desperate.
Lee Han activated Gonadaltes' Agile Footsteps while simultaneously circulating mana through his body in the manner Professor Ingoldel had taught him.
...Well, not exactly circulating—more like just releasing it. He still couldn't control it to that degree.
But even that was enough to strengthen and protect his body.
On top of that, he continuously cast Lesser Manipulation.
At this point, even Professor Ingoldel would've reacted with, "No, of course it's too much to try controlling mana while casting spells like that."
And the bigger problem was the enormous mana consumption.
Normally, he should've collapsed after just a few steps, but...
'Tch, no fun when mana overflows like this.'
The Skeleton Principal grumbled internally.
It seemed Lee Han had used Gonadaltes' Agile Footsteps, but he was too fine—which was boring.
Originally, that spell was designed so that after learning it, students would think, "It's just a 1st-Circle spell, so the mana consumption shouldn't be too bad, right?"—only to panic and collapse in shock. That was the proper courtesy to the spell's creator.
In fact, all of the Skeleton Principal's other disciples had collapsed exactly like that, much to his delight.
A 1st-Circle spell in name only—its difficulty, effect, and mana consumption were anything but! A true Trap Magic!
...And yet, Lee Han just breezed through it.
Welcome back, you brat...
The Skeleton Principal's displeased tone actually made Lee Han happy.
Because it meant he had passed all the traps.
"Thank you for the precious outing. I won't forget the Headmaster's kindness."
"Lee Han, there's no need to go that far..."
Professor Garcia was slightly taken aback.
Lee Han had been let out because of his outstanding achievements, not because the Headmaster was feeling generous.
Tsk. Professor Garcia. Such rare manners these days.
Professor Garcia ignored the Skeleton Principal's remark.
"Lee Han, once you go inside, drink as many stamina-recovery potions as you can and rest properly. A long sleep would be best."
"......"
Lee Han had been prepared, but hearing Professor Garcia say it so seriously honestly made him a little scared.
...Should I not have used magic? Was the magic itself the Headmaster's final trap?
"Understood."
Lee Han bowed his head and stepped through the open main gate.
As Professor Garcia watched his retreating back with satisfaction, the Skeleton Principal spoke up.
Wait. So how did he get the money?
"...!"
Lee Han made sure to do everything he could before collapsing.
Packing his things, explaining and making requests to his friends, drinking potions...
"?"
When he woke up after sleeping soundly until midday, Lee Han was stunned.
His body...
'It's... completely fine?'
It was too fine.
The human mind is funny—when you should be in pain but aren't, it makes you even more uneasy. With a sense of foreboding, Lee Han cautiously stepped out of his room.
"Wardanaz!"
Several students from the Blue Dragon Tower were waiting anxiously in the common room with uneasy expressions when Lee Han appeared.
"Wardanaz!! You're awake!"
"We were worried!"
Some even had tears welling up in their eyes. Lee Han grew even more bewildered.
'What's going on?'
Were they competing to see who could make the biggest fuss because they'd brought a lot of food from outside?
"I did push myself a bit, but you didn't need to worry this much..."
"Huh? Really? Gainando said you might die..."
"......"
Instead of responding, Lee Han plopped down onto a chair in front of the common room.
In one corner, the supplies he had brought were piled up. They were too bulky to fit into his personal room, so they'd been stacked there.
Now that he looked at them again...
'Damn, I really brought this much like a madman.'
It was a quantity that made him both proud and slightly question his own sanity.
How had he carried all this alone?
"We took care of the stable horse while you were sleeping."
"Thanks, Yornell. ...Wait. That horse has a damn temper, doesn't it? Was it okay?"
"Huh?"
Yornell tilted his head in confusion.
"It was fine? It stayed still when I fed and brushed it."
"......"
Lee Han was furious.
'This bastard...?'
That same horse that threw tantrums when he took care of it just stayed still for someone else?
Of course, it was possible that after suffering so much under Lee Han's care, it had grown grateful enough to behave when someone else tended to it, but...
'Just you wait.'
"Here. Cocoa."
Lee Han accepted a warm cup of cocoa. Even though his body felt fine, a bit of fatigue must have lingered—the sweet cocoa tasted unbelievably delicious.
He rummaged through his pockets. Yornell looked puzzled.
"What are you looking for?"
"Silver coins."
"...Just drink it, it's on me..."
Lee Han gave Yornell a deeply moved look. Yornell just rolled his eyes in exasperation.
As his mind cleared, Lee Han let out a sigh.
"A new week has begun..."
Everyone in the common room nodded with solemn expressions.
The arrogance and overconfidence they'd had at the start of the second week were nowhere to be found.
Just what kind of suffering and trials awaited them this week?
"Did everyone finish their assignments?"
"Yeah. ...If you can even call them assignments."
"I completed mine. ...It's a pile of garbage."
Seeing everyone avoid eye contact, Lee Han felt slightly guilty.
Had he asked a pointless question?
"I finished Professor Thunderstep's assignment too. The only thing left is the White Tiger Tower flag."
"......"
At the mention of the White Tiger Tower flag, the faces of the Blue Dragon Tower students stiffened.
The Skeleton Principal's Basic Magic Character Education assignment.
Honestly, it was still a bit unclear why this counted as a character education assignment, but an assignment was an assignment.
"Anyone tried anything?"
"Nothing worked."
"Damn it. I tried bribing one of those White Tiger Tower bastards with candy. Almost had him, but...!"
"......"
It wasn't like the others had just given up and left it all to Lee Han.
They'd each come up with their own schemes—sneaking in (they all got repelled), bribing (interfered with by other White Tiger Tower students), forging, and so on.
But none of their methods had been effective.
Gainando, who arrived late to the common room, spoke up.
"Why don't we just team up with the White Tiger Tower guys and exchange flags?"
"What kind of childish nonsense is that?!"
"Have you forgotten how brutally those White Tiger Tower bastards attacked Wardanaz?!"
"?"
Lee Han, who had been listening, paused.
It hadn't really been that bad...
"Everyone, calm down. I've already thought of a way."
"!"
The noisy room fell silent at Lee Han's words. Gainando nodded as if he'd figured it out.
"An exchange, right? That's the only way."
"No. We'll raid them at night and take it."
"...That's our Wardanaz!"
Cheers erupted from the Blue Dragon Tower common room at Lee Han's words.