Episode 730
Episode 730
Hormasi sighed as he sensed his junior's distrust.
"You just can't believe it because it's the Blue Dragon Tower, can you!"
"It's not because it's the Blue Dragon Tower, it's because I've personally experienced—"
"Fine. I guess I'll have to go in first and bring it out myself."
"Stop!"
Professor Bendozol sharply called out to stop Hormasi.
"You're making them walk this distance in the desert in this weather?"
"That much should be fine, right?"
"You only say that because you don't even know the meaning of 'fine'! Shut up and stay put! I'll bring it myself!"
Professor Bendozol huffed and strode across the desert sand.
Watching his retreating back, Hormasi muttered sullenly.
"Professor Bendozol always cares more about the animals. If he'd just spared 1% of that affection for students, he'd be more popular than Professor Garcia."
"I agree."
"Wait! Junior, your year didn't have Basic Mounted Combat with Professor Bendozol, did you?"
"No. Professor Lightning Step taught us."
"Damn it!"
Hormasi was so furious he nearly stomped his foot.
Noticing Lee Han's gaze belatedly, Hormasi declared boldly:
"What? I only brought it up because I wish you guys could've experienced Professor Bendozol's teachings too."
"Ah... I see."
"Really. Every time I see this desert, it reminds me of my first year..."
"Did you race here?"
"Yeah. But we ran while carrying our mounts."
"......"
Lee Han resolved to thank Professor Lightning Step properly when he saw him this week.
Thud, thud, thud.
A monster appeared on the distant horizon, its heavy footsteps resonating.
It did look vaguely dog-like.
But... 'Wait, isn't it a bit big?' Upon reflection, a normal dog wouldn't be this visible from here.
The approaching canine was easily two to three times a lion's size, with heads two to three times...?!
"That's Cerberus?!"
A magical beast with mixed-dimensional lineage—Cerberus!
Seeing the three-headed monster breathing fire from each mouth, Lee Han was dumbfounded.
And they called that a puppy?
What next—calling dragons lizards?
"Yep. Cerberus. Why?"
Hormasi asked back as if puzzled. Truly an audacious senior.
"You said it was a puppy, so I thought it'd be smaller and cuter."
"Hmm. Isn't it cute?"
"Generally speaking, Cerberus aren't considered cute."
"Pfft. You're one to talk. People don't usually raise griffins or basilisks either."
"......"
For the first time, Lee Han was at a loss for words.
As expected, seniors were on another level. To ruthlessly target his weakness like this...
Hormasi began removing the coat and cloak wrapped tightly around him. His uniform was covered with flat weights attached like medals or insignias.
"??"
"Weights, increase."
Ignoring Lee Han's confusion, Hormasi randomly increased the weight of the attached weights.
As if that wasn't enough, he amplified the weights under his long skirt and boots too.
"Uh... what are you doing?"
"Ah. My puppy plays a bit rough. It's easier to endure if I increase my weight beforehand."
Even without magic enhancement, the weight would've been considerable—seeing him multiply it several times left Lee Han utterly flustered.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"My training lets me handle it. Professor Ingoldel... ah, you wouldn't know."
"I take Professor Ingoldel's classes too."
"...I see."
Trembling at his junior taking extra courses across disciplines, Hormasi said:
"...Anyway, I was top of Professor Ingoldel's class."
"Ah. Me too."
"......"
For the first time, Hormasi thought he should pay more attention to the White Tiger Tower juniors.
"What on earth happened here?"
'Indeed.'
Lee Han couldn't help but feel slightly impressed when he heard that the senior was the top student in swordsmanship classes.
The mana manipulation following sword techniques, plus various Enhancement Magic applications.
Just seeing those weighted accessories he wore made it clear the senior's achievements were no small feat.
"So you'll be joining the knight order after graduation?"
"No. I'm joining the Polo Club."
"...I see."
As they spoke, the Cerberus approached closer.
Professor Bendozol summoned clouds in the air to provide shade for the Cerberus to escape the sun, and cooled the scorching sand with frost magic to make it comfortable to tread on.
The Cerberus yawned loudly with all three heads, completely indifferent to the mage's efforts.
"My puppy! Here! Carnella!"
"Ah. So the Cerberus's real name is Carnella?"
"Carnella is my name."
"My apologies."
"No need to apologize. I prefer being called by my family name anyway. I don't particularly like my given name."
Carnella of the Hormasi family said seriously.
Lee Han grew cautious, wondering if there was some untold story behind this.
"I'll be careful not to—"
"It's the name of a player who made a critical mistake in the Western Polo Finals 63 years ago."
"...Ah. Understood, Senior."
Carnella failed to notice he'd just been relegated to a similar status as the Gainando in his junior's eyes.
The Cerberus excitedly rushed over upon spotting its owner.
As the three heads competed to lick him, Carnella staggered.
"Stop licking so much! You're not exactly nutritious prey—you'll just hurt your tongue!"
Carnella said, ignoring the slobbering.
"This is my mount. Raised him since he was a pup."
"Indeed... Wait, how did you bring him here if you raised him since childhood?"
"Smuggled him in, of course! Those were tough times."
"You went through a lot. I had a really hard time too."
"Yeah. Really..."
As Carnella reminisced about those difficult days, he paused at his junior's words.
Didn't he just say he'd also struggled?
"A bit lean but healthy overall. Should get him more meaty prey though."
"Professor. He's already on the chubby side."
"Looks scrawny to me!"
"So he's healthy. Here, junior. See why I wanted to show you first? Cerberus require special attention when running together."
"That's certainly true."
"Though I'm sure you'd scoff hearing this, raising a basilisk and griffin as you do."
"...Wouldn't the Cerberus be more threatening? What do you think, Professor?"
"All three are lovable creatures. The real threats to the Empire are brats like you."
Lee Han immediately followed his senior's example of ignoring Professor Bendozol's remark.
"So I need to get accustomed to this Cerberus."
"Right."
"Um. Could I play defender instead of attacker?"
"No way!"
Carnella shouted urgently as if this was non-negotiable.
They were already short on strong attackers—losing a junior who could ride griffins, unicorns and basilisks to defense was unthinkable.
But from Lee Han's perspective, the Cerberus was an extremely threatening monster.
He was already risking his life enough as it was—he had no desire to gamble further.
"Sure he's fierce. But once befriended, he's loyal!"
"More likely to take a bite or two first... And monsters aren't exactly things you can force friendships with."
Lee Han warily approached the Cerberus with a stiff expression.
The Cerberus suddenly flinched, quickly lowering its tail and turning all three heads simultaneously—then proceeded to push each other toward Lee Han.
"...What are you doing?"
Lee Han muttered in disbelief.
This completely contradicted what he'd just said.
But the Cerberus just blinked innocently, maintaining its docile posture without reacting further.
Belatedly realizing, Carnella let out a roar of joy and exclaimed.
"Exactly! I told you! This Hormasi has been waiting for a junior like you! You were born to be an attacker! You have the talent to command monsters!"
"Nonsense! This 'King of Monsters' nonsense is just that—nonsense!"
Professor Bendozol refuted with a voice full of irritation.
Carnella, puzzled, asked back.
"What do you mean?"
"It's just some nameless hunters' superstition!"
Professor Bendozol grumbled about how the hunters had praised Lee Han as the 'King of Monsters' during winter break.
These hunters love their superstitions so much that they casually spout such ridiculous tales.
"Even better?? That's perfect. Junior. You might just fill the void completely."
Though Carnella was usually the type to easily sweet-talk fellow club members without actually expecting much, at this point, she couldn't help but start to feel hopeful.
Could they really have gotten such an amazing attacker?
"Hormasi Senior. I have a question."
"What is it?"
"What's the name of this technique?"
"<Player Drop>! You're joking, right? You don't know the name of this technique?"
Though it was an advanced technique, it was so famous that Carnella was utterly shocked her junior didn't know it.
"I really haven't played much polo."
"...It's fine. You can start now!"
"Senior. To be honest... isn't a herd of deer led by a lion stronger than a pride of lions led by a deer? Even if I'm close with the griffin, wouldn't it be better for someone actually good at polo to take the attacker position?"
Despite Carnella listing all the perks and bonus prize shares for attackers, Lee Han was slowly leaning toward becoming a defender.
The occasional glint of madness in his senior's eyes reminded him too much of Gainando during Wizard Card matches.
People with that kind of look in their eyes were capable of anything.
"Hey. Junior. Do you know what this club's goal is?"
"...Isn't it polo?"
"Right. The goal is to play polo honorably and enjoyably while socializing. Winning is nice, but losing isn't the end of the world. That's why all the members are satisfied."
"Sounds good. It aligns with the purpose—"
"Good?! What's good about it?!!"
Carnella screamed with boiling hatred. Stomping her feet, the dark elf senior wildly pointed at the polo club building.
"I don't care about the other members! I want to win!! Even the decent attackers are gone, and now you want to bench the newly recruited King of Monsters as a defender?! Not while I'm still breathing! Junior. Just do your part! Just your part! I'll do anything for you! I'll even cut off Perse Senior's head for you!"
'This is bad. This person has already lost it.' Lee Han inwardly panicked.
He'd thought she was a kind person for securing his funding, but of course, nothing in this world comes free.
"Here we go!"
A practice dummy mounted on a straw golem charged from ahead. Lee Han whispered to the griffin.
"Ponlig. Don't push yourself. Overdoing it won't help."
There was no need to strain just to meet a madwoman's demands.
The intelligent griffin nodded as if it understood.
"Coming!"
Thudthudthudthud!
The griffin dashed across the ground in an instant, stomped on the straw golem's knee, and leaped high into the air.
As the practice dummy came within reach, Lee Han instinctively swung his long polo mallet and knocked it down.
Originally, <Player Drop> involved one side distracting while the other exploited an opening to attack—but Lee Han's griffin had charged in alone and finished the job before Cerberus could even intervene.
Watching this, Carnella let out a triumphant scream.
"That's it!! That's exactly it!! Junior! You are the Einrogard Polo Club's attacker!!"
"......"
Lee Han, having landed, stared blankly at Ponlig. The griffin broke into a nervous sweat under its master's gaze.
It definitely hadn't overexerted itself—so why...??