Episode 723
Episode 723
Renjiid stared up at the Black Turtle Tower with a tense expression.
Though it was just an old, shabby seven-story building with nothing particularly special about it, to Renjiid, who had already made up his mind, it somehow felt dignified and steeped in tradition.
'That's right. I'm joining the Iactus Soup Club.'
He had seriously considered joining the Smuggling Club or the Excursion Club due to his fellow tower members' suggestions, but in the end, Renjiid chose the Kitchen Club.
The history and philosophy of the Kitchen Club had moved the heart of Renjiid, who came from a family of chefs.
'Last year, honestly, there weren't enough ingredients to even call it cooking. If I join the Kitchen Club, I'll be able to use ingredients freely. Rumor has it they're piled up like mountains...'
Completely unaware that countless seniors had fallen for the exact same deception, Renjiid swallowed hard and stepped forward.
—"Wahahaha! You've made your decision. Welcome, welcome!"
Senior Falkrius welcomed Renjiid with overwhelming enthusiasm.
Breaking free from the embrace, Renjiid staggered, letting out a pained groan.
"Ugh, my ribs..."
"Renjiid?"
"Woah, Wardanaz!"
Recognizing Lee Han, Renjiid's face lit up with joy.
Though they were from different towers, this friend from the Wardanaz family was someone he could trust.
"I knew it. You got here first. Take care of me. I've decided to join too."
"Hmm. I see."
Lee Han looked at Renjiid with a complicated expression.
The reality of the club was probably far from what Renjiid was expecting...
"So, Wardanaz? How's the club atmosphere? What are the seniors like?"
Before Renjiid could even finish his question, a shout came from behind.
"Wardanaz! Where's Wardanaz?!"
"Junior Wardanaz! Let's brainstorm tomorrow's menu together! If we combine our efforts, we can create profits that will go down in club history—"
"Well, I'll be going now."
Lee Han swiftly slipped away.
Renjiid stared blankly at Lee Han's retreating figure.
Just...
Just what the hell was going on here?!
The person in charge of the <Staff Materials and Magic Amplification> lecture was the most wicked and despicable individual in Einrogard.
"Good day, Professor."
Professor Verdus remained deeply engrossed in the wand he was working on, not even lifting his head in response to Lee Han's greeting.
Lee Han glanced at the wand. The one placed on Professor Verdus' workbench emitted a unique mana wavelength he had never seen before.
'Impressive.'
Magic was a discipline that, the more one studied and mastered it, always revealed new depths and inspired greater awe.
There were realms of understanding that only became visible once one had acquired the knowledge—things that had previously been overlooked simply because they were unknown.
Last year, he would have only sensed it vaguely and thought, 'There are high-density spells compressed onto that wand.' But after learning spell shortening and magic storage from Professor Voladi, he began to see more.
'That's a spell to enhance telekinesis control, followed by one that amplifies telekinesis output, and then another that expands its range...'
If a mage specializing in telekinetic magic were to wield that wand, meticulously layered with interconnected spells for synergistic effects—
The sheer firepower it could unleash was beyond imagination.
After marveling at it, Lee Han approached Professor Verdus. Then, drawing mana through his body, he leaned in close to the professor's ear and shouted.
"GOOD DAY, PROFESSOR!!!"
Professor Verdus jolted in surprise before lifting his head.
Then, spotting Lee Han, he yelled back.
"Speak quietly! You'll shake the wand!"
"I greeted you quietly the first time."
"A greeting quiet enough for me to hear would've been fine!"
Lee Han simply smiled quietly in response.
Unaware that Lee Han would later scream directly into his ear again, Professor Verdus gestured dismissively.
"Anyway, sit down. Good to see you."
"You need my mana, don't you?"
Any other professor might have at least pretended otherwise out of courtesy, but Professor Verdus nodded shamelessly.
"Exactly! Do you know how inconvenient it was when you left campus during break?"
"My, how unfortunate that leaving campus during break is the rule."
"You could've stayed if you had special circumstances? Just had to apply."
'Special circumstances? Like plotting to murder a professor?'
To Lee Han's eyes, in Einrogard's long history, there probably hadn't been a single student who remained during break.
"I'll consider it. So where should I channel my mana?"
"Here and here."
Professor Verdus pointed at the gemstones scattered haphazardly across the workbench.
One was an opaque gray gem with wind elements swirling inside, while the other was a white gem emitting a faint glow, containing condensed pure energy.
"Just these two then?"
"Huh? Everything in between too!"
"......"
Effectively, the instruction was to infuse mana into every material on the workbench.
Lee Han's smile deepened slightly.
"But Professor. Today's lecture is <Staff Materials and Magic Amplification>, isn't it?"
"Yep. Charge them with mana."
"I'd like to ask some questions about the lecture first. That's my legitimate right, no?"
"Can't you charge them first then?"
Lee Han pretended not to hear.
Once the mana charging was done, Professor Verdus would vanish into his own world.
"Why am I the only student here?"
"Why ask me? Ask the other students."
'Pointlessly logical. I want to hit him.'
Admittedly, the reason for the lack of students could only be answered by the students themselves.
Still, shouldn't the professor at least have some idea...?
"What exactly does this lecture cover?"
"A lecture on charging mana."
"What else do we do?"
Seeing his tricks weren't working, Professor Verdus grumbled and began explaining.
The ultimate goal of this lecture was actually for participating students to craft their own wands.
"...?"
Lee Han doubted his ears.
Of course, among exceptional enchantment mages, those specializing in artifact studies could craft wands.
But inversely, that meant one needed at least that level of experience to even attempt wand-making.
Wands served as the core and axis in the complex, unstable process where mages reshaped the world through willpower, while also fulfilling roles like amplification and guidance.
The roles wands played in magic were so diverse they couldn't even be listed one by one.
Given that, naturally, crafting a wand wasn't something just anyone could do... right?
"Can a second-year really make this?"
"Why ask me that?"
'I just want to hit him.'
When Professor Verdus repeated his earlier logic, Lee Han resurrected his previous excuse.
"Professor. My mana reserves suddenly feel depleted. Charging might be difficult. Unless I hear a proper answer, my mana might not recover."
"Well, it's not like we're making a complicated wand, so shouldn't it be possible?"
Professor Verdus answered amiably at once.
Of course, Lee Han didn't buy it at all.
'Professor Verdus's sense of difficulty is completely numb.'
If the professor said something was easy, you should assume it was hard. If he said hard, it was likely impossible.
"What makes you say it's not complicated?"
"See this here?"
"Yes."
"Can you tell what magic is linked to it?"
"Yes."
The two geniuses calmly continued a conversation that would have driven ordinary mages to tears of despair.
The wand Professor Verdus was working on was far too advanced to serve as teaching material for students.
It was an artifact commissioned by the <Green Jade Magic Tower>, a gathering of telekinesis specialists.
Naturally, being an external tower's request, the embedded spells were high-level, and security measures were thorough.
If outsiders could decipher the magic just by looking, the artifact's weaknesses would become too glaring—some degree of security was essential.
With such complex magic and additional secrecy spells layered on, even Professor Verdus's detailed explanations would barely suffice. Yet here he was, claiming they could just "look and move on"?
But neither Professor Verdus nor Lee Han paid it any mind. Both were sufficiently eccentric mages in their own right.
"You two don't need any of this complicated stuff. Just get the material ratios right."
"By materials, you mean..."
Rather than weaving complex spells into the wand, it simply meant achieving the perfect material composition ratio.
Of course, even that wasn't easy. The wand's components and even its structural balance could affect the magic. 'But it's still much better than the alternative.' "I might be able to manage it if I work at it for a year."
"You'd better. What would we do if you couldn't?"
"Professor. My mana suddenly—"
"Then don't do it!"
After teasing Professor Verdus just enough, Lee Han prepared to begin the work.
The carrot-and-stick approach only works when there's actually a carrot—otherwise, it's just a stick.
"How much mana should I channel?"
"Maximum capacity."
CRACK!
The gemstone in Lee Han's hand shattered.
"Was the shattered gem part of the requirements?"
"You're supposed to stop just before it breaks!"
"......"
Professor Verdus promptly forgot his own careless remark and scolded his student instead.
"You told me to channel maximum capacity."
"Did I? With your mana reserves, you can't just go full power."
"Yes..."
Lee Han extended his senses sharply after channeling mana, detecting fractures in the gemstone.
He had to stop immediately at the slightest sign of cracking or shattering.
As his student rapidly charged and channeled mana beside him, Professor Verdus worked with twice his usual enthusiasm.
"Next!"
"Here you go."
"Next!"
"Here."
"Faster! Next!"
"Professor. If I go any faster, my mana will suddenly—"
"Slow down!"
While the two worked, third-year students began trickling in one by one.
They stared at Lee Han and Professor Verdus with bewildered expressions...
Who is that?
"Was there... someone like that in our year?"
"Isn't he a fourth-year senior?"
"Among the fourth-years... was there someone like that?"
While Einrogard's lectures weren't strictly divided by year, in practice they might as well have been. There was no reason for a second-year to attend a class primarily taken by third-years.
Occasionally, an upperclassman might beg their way into a lower-year lecture due to extenuating circumstances, but it wasn't common.
Thus, Lee Han stood out starkly among the third-years attending <Staff Materials and Magic Amplification>.
They'd never seen him among their own year, and since he was assisting Professor Verdus, he seemed like a fourth-year—but had there ever been a senior like that?
"Uh. Professor. Other people are here."
"Do I look blind and deaf to you?"
"...Shouldn't you be lecturing? Wait. Uh, isn't this <Staff Materials and Magic Amplification>?"
Lee Han was flustered by the unfamiliar faces.
At least with his own yearmates, he vaguely remembered their faces from working together on various tasks last year.
"It is. By any chance... are you a senior?"
"Huh?"
"A fourth-year senior? Don't worry too much—it's fine to attend a third-year lecture."
"I'm a second-year..."
"......"
"......"
The classroom atmosphere chilled as the third-years began whispering among themselves.
"Is Professor Verdus combining two lectures in one classroom because he can't be bothered?"
"He couldn't possibly... could he?"
"But wasn't he assisting with work earlier?"
As the mood grew awkward, Lee Han quickly spoke up.
"Seniors. I'm also taking this lecture. It's not a different class."
"This lecture? Isn't it too difficult? You'd better switch even now."
"Wardanaz kids don't need to worry about that."
Professor Verdus waved his hand dismissively at the noisy students.
"Wardanaz? Is that him?!"
"That's definitely him."
"They really are on another level...!"
That settled it. The seniors quickly accepted this and took their seats to begin working.
"......"
Only Lee Han remained uncomprehending, staring blankly at the seniors.