Episode 708
Episode 708
"W-what are you doing right now? You said dual membership was allowed!"
Ashan asked in flustered confusion.
Of course, the seniors had confidently declared afterward, 'We have discerning eyes for clubs' and 'That won't happen anyway,' but regardless, it was the seniors who had clearly stated that multiple club memberships were permitted.
Yet now they were acting with such menacing hostility.
To an outsider, it might have looked like they were trying to forcibly destroy the Kitchen Club's application forms through sheer force.
"We did say dual membership is allowed."
Sebius, a senior from the Library Club, readily nodded at the junior's words.
"But wouldn't it be so much better if you focused on just one club instead of joining multiple?"
"Sebius is right. Let's scrap these first and talk. Priest Falkrius! Let's have a quick discussion! Come out here!"
However, the Kitchen Club students who had entered the storage room didn't open the door.
Instead, only mocking laughter echoed back.
-Pfft, why should I bother talking to you lot?
"Dammit. They're onto us. Attack!"
"I swear, those Kitchen Club bastards are so quick to catch on—it's infuriating!"
The seniors gnashed their teeth and swung their staffs.
The Kitchen Club was one of the most frequently targeted clubs by other students due to the food supplies they stored.
Naturally, they had no choice but to accumulate an unusual amount of experience in dealing with such raids.
"Spirit, infiltrate!"
One senior cast Astral Projection, attempting to breach the kitchen storage.
This was a commonly used spell before linking into illusion magic—once it pierced defenses and connected with the target's soul, it became far easier to cast powerful illusions.
"By the power of Yang, be shielded!"
Priest Falkrius chanted the incantation in a commanding voice.
Instantly, magic erupted wildly across the shabby-looking outer walls of the storage, forming a thick barrier.
Seeing this, the seniors cursed.
"Damn it, the defenses got even thicker?!"
"When did they set that up?!"
"...We did it at the end of last year."
When the Stonemason Club senior spoke awkwardly, reproach flew from all directions.
"You dimwitted bastard, do you just take gold and call it a day?! The Kitchen Club's already half a fortress—how are we supposed to steal anything if you keep helping them?!"
"If you designed it, at least tell us the weak points! Where are they?!"
"I forgot the weak points! Would you have left the commission so sloppy if it were you?!"
At the Stonemason Club senior's outburst, everyone clicked their tongues.
Well, if they had been the ones commissioning the work, they would've made sure the weak points were forgotten too.
Sebius spat and spoke up.
"Doesn't matter. We'll just smash through it by force. Let's see if they can stay hidden while their cauldron's boiling."
"He's right. Falkrius! You think the Stonemason Club can't destroy what the Stonemason Club built?! Get out here now! Let's negotiate properly!"
-Bwahaha, try it if you dare! We've got more than enough ingredients to toss into the cauldron! Doesn't matter—the application's already in my hands!
Having heard the entire exchange outside, Falkrius sneered and provoked them further.
The seniors seemed even more enraged by his taunting.
"We'll kill you!"
"You thieving bastards. We'll pay you back for all the grudges we've been saving up!"
BOOM! CRASH! CRASH! BOOM!
A makeshift siege unfolded between the storage, the tent, and the cauldron.
The weakest point—the storage door—wobbled before transforming into a vengeful spirit.
The Kitchen Club mages reacted immediately. A powerful petrification spell coiled around the spirit, turning it into a boulder.
But then the boulder transformed into a golem. Everyone whistled at Sebius's handiwork.
-RAAAAH!
With a battle cry, Priest Falkrius swung a ladle. The ladle morphed into a massive iron mace and crushed the golem.
"How much doping did they do?!"
"Block the potions first! Those bastards could last a week on potions alone!"
As the seniors joined forces to chant, changes became evident immediately.
The Kitchen Club mages inside the storage and those with potion bottles at their waists noticed the shift and gasped in horror.
The precious potions were rotting or corroding away.
"Turn them into lead for now! We can reverse it later!"
"Yes!"
"Pfft, if you want to show off your strength so badly, I'll oblige! Let's settle this with pure—"
"—strength—!"
The seniors, seeing Falkrius charging at them radiating a rainbow-colored aura from various potion effects, stood their ground without dodging.
"Fine, bring it on! Falkrius."
"The winner takes the application forms!"
When one of the seniors began melting halfway into the ground, transforming into a massive rock monster, Perse seemed to realize things were getting out of hand and shouted to the juniors.
"Let's disband for today! The other clubs not here will probably come separately within the week to explain things anyway!"
"Understood!"
"By the way... any chance you're thinking of joining the Polo Club first?"
"......"
As they retreated, Perse's sly question earned her scornful looks from the second-year students.
Seemingly embarrassed, Perse averted her gaze and explained.
"I was just asking in case anyone might be interested in polo."
* * *
-Warning: 7th floor access restricted due to ongoing Club War.
↳ Which clubs are involved?
↳ Heard it's the official clubs.
↳ What? Did their funding get cut or something?
"......"
"......"
Friends reading the notices on the bulletin board tried to console Lee Han.
"Don't take it too hard, Wardanaz."
"Right. Look on the bright side—the seniors might give up on you while fighting."
"!"
Though Lee Han hadn't expected much from his friends' attempts at comfort, this one actually piqued his interest.
"That... might actually happen."
"Does that even make sense?"
Gainando tilted his head in confusion.
Even if ten people fought over a single chocolate cake and exhausted themselves, they'd compromise and share it rather than abandon the cake entirely.
"Shut him up."
"Eugh...! Why? What did I say wrong?!"
The friends hastily clamped Gainando's mouth shut, worried Lee Han might hear.
"Well, see you later, Wardanaz. I need to head out now for my lecture."
"What lecture?"
"<Research on the Most Comfortable Posture for Relaxation>."
"...Wasn't that discontinued a decade ago?"
"It might have been revived this year!"
"Uh... sure."
Seeing his friend's hopeful expression, Lee Han couldn't bring himself to say more.
It wasn't unheard of for missing professors to return and resurrect old courses.'I should get moving too.'While the first week was traditionally for club introductions, that didn't mean lectures were canceled.
Especially from the second year onward, with a wider range of electives available, verifying whether a course actually existed fell to the students.'Lectures...'Lee Han checked the schedule.
Since it was based on the (arbitrary) timetables set by Yukveltire and the professors, there probably weren't many phantom courses.'What's this?'As Lee Han skimmed the list, he noticed a discrepancy and frowned.
There was a course present in Yukveltire's recommended schedule but absent from the professors' mandatory one.
<Understanding Profound and Esoteric Arcane Magic (Those lacking confidence need not attend)>
"...?"
While his friends might disagree, Lee Han did have some flexibility in his schedule.
Even the professors' tightly packed mandatory timetable had a few small gaps.
Yukveltire's schedule had helpfully filled those gaps with recommendations, but the fact remained—Lee Han could choose.
Yet to recommend such a course for those precious slots...'Hmm. Senior Diret did praise that artifact highly...'Lee Han recalled Diret's admiration for Yukveltire's Calendarium.
Other top students were willing to ambush and raid just to get their hands on that schedule-managing artifact.
If such an artifact recommended this course, there must be a reason.
In that case, blindly following its advice might be the right move...but...'...
The course name is just too weird.'It felt like the title itself was warning, "If you enroll after reading this, you get what you deserve."
Given that Lee Han had the experience of his life going awry last year when he recklessly took an easy class, he was all the more cautious now.
"...Let's go in carefully."
Still, he couldn't completely ignore the recommendation, so Lee Han moved forward.
He was fully prepared to backpedal immediately if Professor Voladi was waiting behind the door.
Creak—
When Lee Han opened the door to the tucked-away, hidden, deeply secluded third-floor classroom, he froze at the sight of a place that looked like no one had entered for over a decade.
'Not Professor Bagrak.'
Professor Voladi was the type to stand statue-like in the center of the room even before class began.
In contrast, this place showed not the slightest trace of human presence.
Feeling slightly relieved, Lee Han brushed off the dust and took a seat.
A moment later.
'...'
Is no one coming?'
Lee Han grew slightly flustered.
Even if no one from his year was here, he had expected at least one third- or fourth-year senior to show up.
Just how unpopular was this class for no one to choose it? And why?
Just as Lee Han was thinking he should wait a little longer before leaving, the door opened.
Squeak—
Professor Garcia peeked his head in through the doorway.
Then, seemingly assuming no one was inside, he started to withdraw—only to pause abruptly.
"Ah. Student Lee Han?"
"Good afternoon, Professor."
"Did you... come to the wrong classroom?"
"Uh..."
Lee Han double-checked at Professor Garcia's question, just in case.
"'On the Comprehension of Extremely Difficult and Abstruse Arcane Magic. Those Without Confidence Need Not Attend.' This is the one, right?"
"...Student Lee Han, did you come here because you were curious after hearing that lecture title?!"
Professor Garcia stared at Lee Han as if he couldn't believe it.
Though he hadn't believed the Skeleton Principal's insinuations, by this point, the hypothesis that 'Student Lee Han deliberately chooses difficult and challenging lectures' was gaining serious traction.
Just why would anyone willingly attend a class with that kind of title?
"A senior recommended it to me."
"What kind of son of a— Ah. The Calendarium?"
Professor Garcia belatedly recalled the artifact from the Blue Dragon Tower.
While students from other towers wasted several times the effort, this treasure of the Blue Dragon Tower helped them select lectures with far greater efficiency.
"That's correct. You knew about it?"
"Well, Yukveltire is famous... But wait, the Calendarium recommended this lecture?"
"Yes."
"......"
Professor Garcia wore an expression torn between speechlessness and deep anguish, as if he couldn't decide how to respond.
"Professor?"
"Hmm... Ah... Seriously... Why on earth would it recommend this?"
The professor sighed so heavily it seemed the ground might cave in, then fully opened the door and stepped inside.
He continued his explanation.
"First of all, I am the professor in charge of this lecture, Student Lee Han."
"!"
Lee Han was startled.
The fact that Professor Garcia was teaching this class was surprising enough, but even more so—
"Wait. You came up with that lecture title?!"
"There were circumstances!"
Professor Garcia's face flushed slightly with embarrassment as he replied.
"The content is quite difficult, you see. I didn't want students pointlessly attending, so I made it like this."
"Professor...!"
Lee Han understood Professor Garcia's words and was deeply moved.
It was obvious—the malicious Skeleton Principal must have forcibly ordered him: "Keh heh heh, Professor Garcia! To torment the students, you must open the following lecture!"
Though he had no choice but to open the class, Professor Garcia, not wanting to needlessly trouble the students, had chosen a title that would guarantee no one attended.
'Truly touching.'
It would have been a heartwarming story—if not for the fact that Lee Han himself had shown up to take the class.
"What kind of magic is it?"
"Time magic."
"Ah."
"Student Lee Han, do you have an interest in time magic?"
Noticing Lee Han's unexpected reaction, Professor Garcia shot him a curious look.
It almost seemed as if Lee Han had something in mind regarding time magic.
"During break, I had this pocket watch—"
"AAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Professor Garcia swiftly snatched the pocket watch from Lee Han's hand and hurled it at the wall.
BANG!
With a deafening crash, the pocket watch tore through the wall and flew out into the hallway.