Episode 726
Episode 726
"Hmm. This is truly peculiar."
The third-year student from the Elvari family, Varglios, who had been systematically asking the most probable questions listed in the book, tilted his head in confusion.
Normally, at least one answer should have matched by now, but only negative responses kept coming.
'What a relief.'
Despite failing to get a clear answer, Lee Han felt slightly reassured.
It was an absolute relief that the tree spirit wasn't angry...
Of course, there were still many possible reasons left, but the fact that none of the reasons mentioned so far had provoked its anger was fortunate enough.
'But this isn't my fault.'
Anyone who studied at Einrogard would eventually encounter the Ghoul King or the Frost Giant King.
To survive encounters with such beings, one had to learn to make minor contracts with malevolent entities and such...
"Alright. In cases like this, we should try asking some unusual questions too."
"Oh? Like what?"
"Could it be because you've attended all the previous schools?"
"......"
Naturally, the answer was negative.
Lee Han glared at his senior. The orc student adjusted his glasses with an awkward expression.
"It's an unusual question, isn't it? When you hit a dead end, you sometimes need to try things like this to get an answer."
"That's too unusual of a question."
Varglios continued to ask several more questions. Even for highly probable ones like 'Did you make the wand endure excessively powerful magic or mana?' or 'Did a dangerous monster tamper with the wand?', the spirit kept denying them.
"Wow. What in the world is going on?"
"Could it be that the spirit likes me so much it's refusing to answer?"
"That's nonsense. Since when does someone who's attended all the schools talk like a Baldrogard student?"
Varglios was uncompromising when it came to magic. Lee Han sulked and nodded.
"Could it be that you're dissatisfied because you couldn't fully utilize your abilities... Wait, this is it! Look here!"
When a positive answer finally came, Varglios was startled.
This question had been placed near the very end of the book precisely because it was considered highly unlikely.
To give an idea of how improbable it was, it ranked somewhere between 'Are you politically dissatisfied due to recent power shifts in the Spirit World?' and 'Did any of your wizard ancestors have a grudge-bearing friend who was a spirit?'
"Normally, there's no reason a spirit wouldn't be able to use its abilities. Did you leave this wand abandoned somewhere for a long time?"
"No. I carried it with me every day."
"Strange. Hmm. Hold on. Let's first check the spirit's abilities."
As a summoning magic specialist, the orc senior calmly proceeded with the inspection despite the perplexing situation.
After casting a few spells, the abilities possessed by this tree spirit were...
"Authority of Restoration, Authority of Life, Authority of Fortitude. Three in total. Impressive. For a spirit you haven't even contracted with to lend you this much power... It must have taken a liking to you."
"I was lucky. But that's odd."
"What is?"
"Professor Thunderstep only mentioned one ability to me. That it helps plants grow well."
Professor Thunderstep had indeed given Lee Han a brief explanation when he received this wand.
That it would be very useful for growing plants...
"Well, that would fall under the Authority of Life... Hmm. I'm not sure. Professors generally don't pay much attention to students, you know."
'Is that so?'
Though puzzled by his senior's words, Lee Han accepted them for now.
"First, the Authority of Restoration. You've probably experienced it a few times already. It's an extremely useful spirit ability for wizards. It restores mana."
"?"
Lee Han had no recollection of the wand ever restoring his mana.
Just in case, he tried to recall, but nothing came to mind.
"Probably not this one, then. Here. Have you been unable to use the Authority of Restoration? See, the Authority of Restoration was used, right... Huh?"
The tree spirit coldly replied that it had never used the Authority of Restoration.
Varglios looked flustered at this response.
"Did my glasses' magic effect wear off?"
"No. It seems you saw correctly."
Lee Han spoke in a slightly darkened voice.
Come to think of it, even if the wooden staff had the power of mana recovery, Lee Han likely never had the chance to use it.
You'd only use such a power when mana is depleted—what's the point of recovery when it's constantly maintained anyway?
"You must have used the other two powers, at least."
"The power of life was what you just mentioned..."
"Right. The one alchemists love. It helps when growing plants."
"Yes. I think I used that one."
"What a relief. Did you fail to manifest the power of life?"
The wooden spirit immediately answered that it had indeed failed to manifest the power of life.
"......"
"...Are you sure you actually used it?"
The orc senior, who had maintained an intellectual demeanor until now, glared at Lee Han over his glasses with a menacing look.
At this point, it seemed like the staff had only been used to dust off cobwebs once a year.
"I grew so many plants! This is a false accusation! The spirit must be mistaken!"
"Hmm. Did the mage perhaps substitute the power of life with another method?"
The wooden spirit immediately confirmed this.
Lee Han asked, half in disbelief.
"Did you... substitute it with mana?"
An affirmative answer.
Lee Han was struck by a sudden sense of emptiness.
All this time, he had thought the plants thrived thanks to the staff—only to realize it was just a placebo effect.
He had simply believed they grew well because of the staff, so the effects of his scattered mana were amplified by that belief.
"I thought I was using the staff's power."
"H-Hey, cheer up. We all make that kind of mistake sometimes. So, what exactly did you substitute it with?"
"Apparently, I was unconsciously scattering my own mana. I believed the plants grew well because of the wooden spirit's help, but it was just..."
"......"
Varglios took a subtle step back, staring at Lee Han as if he were a madman.
If Varglios had been a spirit, he would have answered 'Yes' to the question, 'Did you avoid him out of fear?' 'What the hell is this guy?'
Of course, since magic was a discipline where change was wrought through a mage's unshakable will, this could technically be considered a form of Primitive Magic.
But there was a reason why Primitive Magic had the word "primitive" in it.
It was unstable and weak—which was why modern magic was cast differently.
To create change through sheer subconscious suggestion without any incantations required an absurdly vast amount of continuously scattered mana.
Varglios couldn't believe a single mage had been expending that much mana.
"What about the last power—Fortitude?"
"Simple but useful. It helps the staff endure—shocks or powerful spells."
"I definitely used this one."
"Slow down. I wouldn't be so sure. Did you fail to manifest the power of Fortitude?"
Cruelly, the answer came back negative.
Lee Han shouted in outrage.
"After all the battles I fought, how can you say that?! Did you forget the Ghoul King or the Frost Giant King?!"
"...What king??"
"Never mind. Senior, please ask again."
"Won't change the answer. But there's only one reason you couldn't manifest Fortitude. Are you... still lacking?"
Affirmative.
When the answer came, Lee Han, baffled, asked:
"Lacking in what?"
"Uh... It means you haven't cast spells powerful enough to make that ability worthwhile."
"......"
Lee Han stared at the staff as if it were insane.
"Well, chin up! The wooden spirit doesn't hate you, right? Just make sure to put it to good use from now on."
'Is that even possible?'
After the lecture, Lee Han stood up despondently, receiving the orc senior's consolation.
He had learned a lot, but it felt like he had gained nothing.
All this time, he might as well have not used the spirit's power at all.
"There's no need to overcomplicate it. If you don't have opportunities to use the Recovery Authority, just connect it to another authority. There must be authorities that require mana recovery."
If the wood spirit wanted to restore mana, all they had to do was incorporate spells that continuously consumed mana into the staff. In fact, any mage would welcome such a feature.
Of course, the crafting difficulty would increase accordingly...
"Similarly, you can connect the Life Authority to another authority as well."
"What about the Tenacity Authority?"
"Frankly, I don't see any solution for that other than you casting stronger spells."
"...Thank you, Senior. You must be incredibly busy, yet you took the time to teach me so kindly."
Lee Han expressed his sincere gratitude.
Everyone was swamped with their own lectures, and seniors—being a year ahead—were undoubtedly even busier.
For someone to help this diligently wasn't something just anyone would do.
"Haha. You're not just anyone—you're a junior from the same family."
"Are you from the Blue Dragon Tower?"
"No? I was talking about the Summoning Magic faction. See you in Summoning Magic class, junior."
"......"
Come to think of it, among the seniors present, at least one shared the same magical faction.
Thanks to that, he could receive help, but Lee Han felt strangely bitter.
'Why does this leave such a bitter taste?'
"Hey, Wardanaz!"
From a distance, Angrago spotted Lee Han and came running.
"Hurry! If we don't go now, we'll miss it!"
"Miss what?"
"You're seriously asking because you don't know?! Ugh. Just follow me! Quickly!"
"No, I genuinely have no idea."
Angrago practically shoved Lee Han forward as they sprinted.
"You're a club member too—how do you not know?!"
"Well, the club I joined... Never mind. What club are you talking about?"
"Obviously the Polo Club! What else would it be?"
Angrago's voice brimmed with excitement.
One of the things he'd eagerly anticipated all last year was joining the Einrogard Polo Club.
"Right now... 'That' creature is here. Can you believe it? We actually get to see it."
"What are you talking about? A griffin? A basilisk?"
At Lee Han's question, Angrago gasped in horror.
"What kind of monstrous nonsense is that?! Of course not! Don't you know what the Polo Club is? They bring rideable creatures!"
"Griffins and basilisks are both rideable creatures."
From within his sleeve, someone made a shushing noise, as if in agreement.
Angrago ignored it, likely assuming Lee Han was spouting nonsense.
Glancing around nervously in case anyone overheard, the White Tiger Tower student lowered his voice.
"...Right now, a professor is tending to a unicorn!"
"Ah."
Lee Han finally understood and nodded.
Since they'd rescued an injured unicorn during winter break and brought it to Einrogard, seeing one here wasn't surprising.
"That makes sense."
'Does this guy have ice-cold mana running through his veins or something?'
Angrago stared at Lee Han in disbelief.
For a decent polo player to react so indifferently to the mention of a unicorn was unthinkable.
Anyone with a heart wouldn't react like that.
"Wardanaz. Today, I'm going to see the unicorn with my own eyes. And I'm going to ask it something."
"What?"
"Whether it wants to play polo with us."
'That might be the dumbest question you could ask a unicorn.'
Lee Han thought it but kept it to himself, seeing how excited his friend was.
"Sure. It's your right to ask. What about your lecture?"
"Ah. Of course."
Angrago answered with steely resolve.
"I'm skipping it. The unicorn is more important."
"......"
Lee Han kicked his friend and sent him back to the lecture hall.
The Polo Club members watched the unicorn from a distance with bated breath.
A short, grumpy-looking professor was desperately pleading with the creature, wailing.
"Let me take care of you!"
"Professor! The unicorn clearly needs us!"
"Shut up, you noisy, ugly creatures! Scram!"
Professor Bendozol unleashed a barrage of spells at the club members. They swiftly scattered, as if they'd expected this.