Episode 660
Episode 660
However, Professor Voladi didn't seem particularly concerned.
He had already discerned Lee Han's intentions.
"Seems it doesn't suit your aptitude."
"?"
Lee Han was baffled by the professor's words.
'Does anyone actually have an aptitude for Professor Bagrak's lectures?'
No matter how vast the empire was, he doubted anyone could genuinely have an aptitude for Professor Voladi's lectures.
"What do you mean by aptitude?"
"Are you holding back because your junior is weak? Good thinking."
Professor Voladi praised Lee Han.
Lectures at Einrogard often had a harsh side to them, frequently weeding out unprepared or unqualified students.
In Professor Voladi's view, his own lectures fell into that category. After all, he hadn't had a disciple in quite a long time.
That being the case, it was a good thing Lee Han was carefully vetting his junior before bringing them to the lecture. He was already excelling in his role as a senior.
"I'll leave the new students who want to join the lecture to you. If they're unprepared, send them back."
"..."
"No..."
Lee Han was so stunned by the absurdity of the statement that he couldn't immediately respond.
'This doesn't seem like the time to be picky about students.'
Right now, wasn't Lee Han the only one actually learning under Professor Voladi's Combat Magic Theory school (if it could even be called a school)?
At this point, the professor should come to his senses, revise the curriculum for juniors, and maybe go a little easier on Lee Han while he was at it...
If he didn't, no one would enroll this year either.
The only positive aspect right now was that even if they recruited just one more student, they could technically claim a 100% increase in numbers.
"Now doesn't seem like the time to send anyone back..."
"Grrrr!"
"..."
"Why are you acting up again?"
Lee Han covered his face with his hand and sighed as his junior beside him bristled and growled.
One professor was already enough of a headache—now his junior was acting up too!
"I'm not weak!"
Eandurde shouted fiercely at Professor Voladi. It seemed the earlier comment about being frail had wounded his pride.
The spirited Gorgon hybrid junior glared at Lee Han, as if demanding he take his side.
But Lee Han remained coldly rational.
"Junior. You are weak."
"?!"
"Since you're weak, hurry up and apologize. Go on."
Lee Han was speaking sincerely for his junior's sake.
What good would it do if Eandurde proved he was actually strong and a master of arena combat?
At best, it would only increase the number of students in Professor Voladi's lecture by 100%.
The only outcome would be misery for everyone involved—except the professor.
But the immature junior, oblivious to Lee Han's concern, wore a deeply betrayed expression.
"I'm not weak!"
"Hey..."
"I'll prove it!"
"Hey!"
Lee Han was startled.
Eandurde had just charged at Professor Voladi!
'I failed as a mentor!'
When he told him not to pick fights with the Skeleton Principal, he should have also firmly warned him not to challenge Professor Voladi!
Eandurde kicked off the floor of the toy shop's corridor, lowering his stance.
Against a mage skilled in long-range attacks, reducing his profile and making himself harder to target was crucial.
At the same time, his cloak billowed into the air. A simple move, but in such a confined space, it effectively obstructed vision.
Professor Voladi lightly rolled his foot.
Instantly, the interior of the toy shop expanded.
The narrow corridor stretched sideways, transforming into a vast space where Eandurde now stood alone. The junior, who had planned to use the terrain to his advantage, was caught off guard.
Still, Eandurde didn't stop. He tried to exploit the blind spot created by his cloak to close in and attack the professor.
"I'm strong...!"
In an instant, Eandurde was sent flying sideways. An invisible telekinetic force, like a massive palm, had swatted him away.
The casting speed was on a completely different level from any mage Eandurde had faced before—so fast he didn't even realize what had hit him.
"Junior, the casting speed of seasoned combat mages is on a whole other level from what you know!"
Lee Han shouted from behind.
Fundamentally, mages learned magic for the pursuit of truth, not for victory in battle.
Just look at the Baldrogard students right now—there were plenty of cases where mages had slow casting speeds or low success rates.
After all, in safe situations, it wasn't a big problem since they could take their time and repeat the process as needed.
But combat mages, who had to cast spells faster than others while maintaining focus in tense battle situations, were different.
They had little interest in casting powerful, profound spells. Instead, they focused on casting even simple spells quickly and reliably.
And Professor Voladi was the perfect embodiment of that combat mage philosophy, so it was only natural that Eandurde couldn't even react before getting hit.
'So just admit you messed up and get back here!'
Lee Han thought as he stared at his junior.
But it seemed the junior had misunderstood his intentions.
Snort!
Eandurde let out a pleased sound and gestured at Lee Han. It was unmistakably a signal to launch a joint attack.
"...No, I meant fall ba—"
Before he could finish, a surge of foreboding shot through him. Lee Han rolled to the side.
Dignity was one of the first things a combat mage had to discard.
Sure enough, Professor Voladi's attack came flying in. The professor had clearly assumed Lee Han would join his junior in a pincer strike.
'What an utterly ridiculous false accusation!'
"Gyaaah!"
Because Lee Han dodged, Gainen took the hit instead, flipping upside down in midair. Even as his friend screamed in pain, Lee Han forced himself to focus.
In magical combat, losing concentration meant instant defeat. Even if his friend died, he had to stay focused.
"Lee Han! I'm hanging here! Lee Han!"
"Become swift as the wind!"
With no time to spare, preparing multiple spells was difficult. Lee Han cast an Enhancement Magic on his junior before charging forward.
Closing the distance might have seemed foolish, but it was the right call now. Trying to evade and keep his distance would only turn him into a punching bag.
'Precognitive Flash and Nimble Steps are already cast. Next...!'
Lee Han quickly racked his brain for any recently learned spells that could catch Professor Voladi off guard.
Music Magic was too slow, but...
'The pocket watch! I have the pocket watch!'
Before he could finish the thought, streaks of mana-formed spheres rained down like a torrent.
Professor Voladi had no intention of giving Lee Han, a high-capacity mage, the luxury of time.
Realizing he was half a beat too late, Lee Han braced himself to endure the attack physically instead of casting a spell.
Only his grueling swordsmanship training made this possible. Mana surged through his body as his cloak flared outward.
Whooosh!
The Cloak of Defense that Arsil had given him sensed hostility and deflected the attack. The spheres scattered in all directions.
Lee Han nearly teared up in gratitude toward his brother.
Professor Voladi didn't look surprised in the slightest.
To a combat mage, an opponent's artifacts were always an expected variable.
As one of the three engraved patterns on the Cloak of Defense dimmed and fell silent, the professor realized it was a limited-use artifact—three activations per day.
Then one more.
Another volley of mana spheres rained down. This time, Lee Han advanced.
'He's aiming for something.'
Professor Voladi sensed intent in Lee Han's approach.
Given that this wasn't a student who slacked off even during breaks, there was no telling what progress he might have made.
"Kyaak!"
The untamed Gorgon hybrid freshman lunged forward. Whether due to Lee Han's Enhancement Magic or not, his speed was almost too fast to track.
At the same time, the petrifying curse embedded in his gaze flared.
Though he'd been told not to use it normally, seeing Lee Han attacked by a mad mage had unleashed his ferocity.
Professor Voladi didn't neutralize the gaze or defend against the curse. He simply closed his eyes and moved.
Bam!
Eandurde was subdued in a single strike. Pinned to the ground, he snarled, unable to break free from the shackles formed by Transformation Magic.
At the same time, Lee Han closed in.
With a generous curiosity to see what Lee Han was planning, Professor Voladi exhausted the cloak's final defense.
"As a professor, isn't it also magnanimous to humor a student's preparations?"
Snap!
When Lee Han's movements suddenly became unnaturally fast, Professor Voladi's pupils trembled slightly.
Instinctively, he realized what magic his student was using.
Water Prison Bombs materialized in an instant, blocking Professor Voladi's retreat. Lee Han viciously thrust his staff, now transformed into a Lightning Spear.
While Professor Voladi might have perfectly anticipated all of Lee Han's usual spells, that very perfection in calculation made it harder to adapt when variables arose!
Yet Professor Voladi effortlessly slipped through Lee Han's encirclement with almost laughable ease.
"?!"
The trick was simple.
He had accelerated time as well.
'...'
Damn it!'
Lee Han cursed Alsicle.
No matter how he thought about it, he shouldn't have excluded Professor Bagrak from the list of suspects behind the pocket watch he possessed.
Just look at that time magic being used now!
As the five seconds ended fruitlessly, Lee Han realized he had lost.
It was just as the rebound from the <Limited Time Acceleration> spell surged in.
Thud!
"...I lost, Professor."
Due to the rebound, Lee Han shouted while kneeling on one knee. Since this was his second experience, it was more bearable than the first.
"Well done."
"Huh?"
Lee Han wondered why Professor Voladi was suddenly praising him.
Was he putting on an act because there were many eyes watching?
But Professor Voladi pointed to the collar of his coat.
There was a small cut and a scorch mark where Lee Han's Lightning Spear had grazed it.
His attack had landed!
"Pro... Professor!"
"?"
"I managed to land a hit on you!"
"I suppose you could say that."
"I brought down your coat, Professor!"
"Uh, Lee Han... I don't think that's quite..."
His friends spoke up in bewilderment.
That kind of talk was for the White Tiger Tower students who got beaten up by Lee Han to say—'At least we put a hole in that Wardanaz bastard's coat, so it was a close fight'—not something Lee Han himself should be saying.
But Lee Han paid no heed.
His friends didn't understand just how incredible it was to have landed a hit on Professor Voladi's coat.
"I brought down his coat!"
"Lee Han's lost it...!"
"Well done. I didn't expect you to use time magic."
Lee Han, who had been cheering excitedly, immediately snapped back to his senses.
Pulling out the artifact he had just used, he asked the professor,
"Professor, by any chance, have you ever made an artifact like this?"
"No."
Professor Voladi answered expressionlessly. But Lee Han, afflicted with suspicion, found everything about it dubious.
'He wouldn't lie just to save face, would he?'
"Junior, are you okay?"
"...I am weak..."
Eandurde rose to his feet, tears streaming down his face in shame.
To be taken down in one hit without even getting to do anything...
"Don't cry. It's not that you're weak—your opponent was just... insane. No, I mean strong. All the professors are like that."
"Sniff..."
Lee Han comforted his junior. Even if he scolded him later, now wasn't the time—not after Eandurde had been thoroughly beaten by Professor Voladi.
"I'll learn that technique... I'll learn it and get my revenge..."
"Stop talking nonsense. Let's discuss this later when you've calmed down."
Lee Han would rather break his junior's legs than let him attend this lecture.
"Is... is it over now?"
As the surroundings quieted, the shop owner, Tatabatz, peeked out from behind the counter and asked.
'Oh no.'
Headlines from sensational Empire newspapers flashed through Lee Han's mind:
<Einrogard Professor and Student Engage in Unauthorized Duel>, <Duke Gonadaltes: A Leadership Issue?>, <Anonymous Student A Reports: 'The Headmaster is Insane'...>
"Uh... well..."
"That was amazing!! Truly worthy of a professor!!"
Before Tatabatz could even finish speaking, the other customers began applauding.
Their faces were filled with satisfaction, as if they had just witnessed something extraordinary.
"Professor, by any chance, could you perform the magic you showed today here regularly? We'd pay handsomely!"
"How much?"
Lee Han couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, but Professor Voladi, seemingly uninterested, declined and walked toward the shop's exit.
Lee Han's group hurried after the professor and stepped outside. Waiting for them, Professor Voladi turned to Lee Han and said:
"Wardanaz."
"Yes?"
"I'll be expecting more advanced time magic from you."
"...Professor. I used an artifact for that."