Episode 738
Episode 738
"One of the few perks of Einrogard is getting to see rare monsters like this. Hahaha!"
Professor Bendozol continued excitedly, oblivious to the students' changing expressions.
Even if he had been angry moments ago, the mere mention of monsters could instantly make him happy.
The students exchanged glances, unsure who should speak first.
"Well then, shall we all go meet the Nightmare Magpie?"
"Professor."
Lee Han raised his hand and called out. Bendozol's face immediately twisted into undisguised displeasure.
"What? Don't tell me you don't want to meet it? How often does a worthless human like you get the chance to encounter a rare monster like the Nightmare Magpie?!"
"Here..."
Lee Han pulled a small monster from his coat pocket.
It was the Nightmare Magpie, still trembling from its poisoned state.
"......"
Professor Bendozol was so shocked he couldn't even respond. He just blinked rapidly, staring at the shivering Nightmare Magpie.
Nilia whispered in a slightly expectant voice:
'Is he about to collapse from a heart attack?'
But Bendozol barely managed to recover from the shock.
"Th-this... this is absurd! Who—who caught the Nightmare Magpie?! You! You caught the Nightmare Magpie?!"
"Professor! The Wardanaz didn't do it!"
Seeing the professor's demonic expression, his friends quickly lied.
If left unchecked, they feared the professor might attack Lee Han.
Not that there hadn't been professors who attacked Lee Han before, but there was no need to add to that number.
"Think about it! How could a Wardanaz defeat a Nightmare Magpie?!"
"We're just second-years!"
The students shouted, growing more confident as they convinced themselves their lie was plausible.
Admittedly, the idea of a second-year defeating and bringing back a Nightmare Magpie did sound strange.
Unfortunately for them, Bendozol had been observing Lee Han since winter break.
"Shut up! Where else in the Empire would you find a second-year like him?!"
"......"
Lee Han was speechless.
Sure, he had defeated the Nightmare Magpie, but... 'Isn't this too much?'
"You should've realized it the moment you arrived first without getting caught by the evil spirits! That you'd kill the Nightmare Magpie!"
"It's not dead yet..."
"Ugh... I'm sorry! It's my fault! My fault!"
Ignoring the students, Professor Bendozol shed glistening tears as he wailed at the Nightmare Magpie.
Then, he snatched the bird from Lee Han's hands and began examining its condition.
"Wait. This poison...?"
Lee Han had no choice but to confess.
"Actually, my pet basilisk bit it."
"Oh? Well, nothing to be done about that."
Bendozol nodded as if accepting the inevitable laws of nature.
The students stared at him like he was insane.
"Don't worry too much about it."
"Yes. Thank you."
"I wasn't talking to you! I was talking to the basilisk!"
As the professor shouted, the basilisk hissed in displeasure—clearly identifying him as a threat to its master.
Bendozol panicked like a mage witnessing the sky collapsing.
"I'm not your master's enemy!"
Whether he meant it or not, the basilisk kept hissing.
Tears welling up, Bendozol glared at Lee Han.
He was absolutely furious.
"You... you're my prized student!"
"??"
"Who else would it be?! You, you brat!"
The professor muttered angrily. Hearing this, the basilisk reacted again.
Bendozol gritted his teeth at Lee Han's obliviousness. Now was not the time to lose his temper.
"You... you're my treasured student. Haha."
-......
"Here. Look at this. Haha. We're close."
Though he despised contact with the filthy human race, Bendozol swallowed his pride and slung an arm around his student's shoulder in a show of camaraderie.
Even after seeing that, the basilisk still looked suspicious.
"Professor. How long do we have to keep this up?"
"Until the basilisk stops being suspicious!"
The professor growled.
Regardless, Lee Han asked coldly. If they didn't sort this out now, an Einrogard student wouldn't survive.
"Then how about we all gather together for the next lecture?"
"...You... you little...!"
Professor Bendozol was horrified by his wicked student's suggestion.
Truly, he was as vile as only a human could be!
As the basilisk began hissing again, the professor hastily agreed.
"Fine! We'll all gather together!"
"How about we also discuss in advance which animals we'll be meeting?"
"Son of a... Fine!"
"Haha. We're so close."
Lee Han and Professor Bendozol awkwardly laughed while keeping their arms around each other's shoulders. Only then did the basilisk lower its guard and quiet down.
After barely neutralizing the baby basilisk's venom with some potions and magic, Professor Bendozol let out a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, it was the venom of an immature basilisk, and the Nightmare Magpie itself was an exceptionally strong monster.
Had it not been for the Nightmare Magpie—born from condensed nightmares and spirits—it would have been impossible to withstand such potent venom.
'This cute little thing isn't even fully grown yet, so why is its venom so strong?'
Professor Bendozol gazed affectionately at Lee Han's sleeve. Displeased, Lee Han hid it away.
"Since the Nightmare Magpie has recovered somewhat, let's begin the lecture."
"...Huh! Right. Lecture time, wasn't it?"
"I was briefly wondering why we were even doing this here."
Only then did the students remember they were in class and pulled out their books.
Carefully placing the Nightmare Magpie on the ground, Professor Bendozol began.
"One of the most beautiful features of this Nightmare Magpie is its gem-like eyes. When living beings meet its gaze, they fall under powerful Illusion Magic..."
[Note when hunting Nightmare Birds: Beware their eyes. They possess innate Illusion Magic. Dangerous!]
"When it flaps its wings, it wildly summons the evil spirits dwelling within! The way its colors shift brilliantly when light hits them is truly magnificent!"
[When the Nightmare Magpie flaps its wings, beware the surge of evil spirits. Prepare countermeasures against spirits.]
"If this creature settles in a forest for too long, spiritual monsters gradually multiply—this is part of its process of preparing to lay new eggs! If left unchecked, this adorable creature will devour the accumulated spirits and turn them into eggs!"
[If a Nightmare Magpie takes root in a forest, exterminate it as quickly as possible...]
The students listened to Professor Bendozol's lecture with utmost seriousness.
To survive in Einrogard, one had to be well-versed in all kinds of dangerous monsters.
At the very least, students who didn't learn how to flee, avoid, or identify their origins wouldn't last long.
Though few people took as deep an interest in their prey as hunters did, Professor Bendozol was an exception.
"It seems the little one is sleepy. Let it rest for a while."
The professor gently draped a makeshift magical blanket woven from leaves over the Nightmare Magpie.
It was enchanted with magic to restore stamina.
As the professor approached, Lee Han subtly flipped a page in his notebook.
If he had been caught reading 'How to Hunt a Nightmare Magpie,' Professor Bendozol might have had a heart attack.
"How often have you been tending to the unicorn?"
"Pardon?"
"The unicorn! The unicorn!"
"About once every two or three days, I think..."
"T-Two! Th-Three days!!"
As Professor Bendozol made a face like he was having another heart attack, Priest Nigisor beside him looked puzzled.
Was he afraid of dates or something?
"You should be visiting five times a day, you cursed—I mean, beloved student!!"
"That's impossible. I can't even visit the griffin that often."
No matter how much the professor raged, Lee Han remained unmoved.
If he had actually done everything the professor demanded, Lee Han would have mastered Word Magic back in his first year.
"Stop making excuses! You clearly have some free time. Take out your schedule!"
Lee Han pulled out his schedule with some skepticism.
Even Professor Bendozol probably couldn't squeeze out more time from this, but then again, he was a professor.
Perhaps he could see something Lee Han couldn't.
"......"
Contrary to expectations, Professor Bendozol couldn't respond immediately and instead groaned while clutching his head.
Like an extremely complex puzzle, this class schedule didn't allow for even the slightest gap.
"Here's some free time... Damn it. There's a club. Then here's free time... Griffin duty... Here's free time... Damn it, damn it!! Why the hell are you taking so many classes?!"
The students behind them unconsciously nodded in agreement. Fortunately, Lee Han didn't notice.
"What's this 'garden maintenance'? Is it a class?"
"It's not a class. It's taking care of Professor Thunderstep's cabin."
"Then I'll take this. Use this time to go meet the unicorn!"
"Uh... Well, I guess that works, but are you sure that's okay?"
From Professor Thunderstep's perspective, this would be extremely awkward.
Having another professor come to his cabin to do chores.
"What! What's the problem now?!"
"No, no. If that's what you want, Professor, I'll yield it to you."
"And what's this 'Visiting the Evil Beaver'?"
"Ah. Must've written it wrong. It's going to Professor Verdus's workshop to prepare materials and do groundwork."
"Is this a class?"
"Does this look like a class?!"
"Then I'll take this too! Use this time to go meet the unicorn!"
"!"
For the first time, Lee Han felt a slight fondness for Professor Bendozol.
He was volunteering to deal with Professor Verdus in his stead!
"If that's what you wish, Professor..."
Professor Bendozol scraped and clawed at every possible gap in the schedule.
Whenever he found a replaceable chore, he pulled it out with maximum effort.
'Wait. Did I really do this much work?' Even Lee Han himself was surprised each time one came up.
Had it really been this much?
After barely securing time for the unicorn, Professor Bendozol flung the schedule aside and stood up.
"Now. Next is how to befriend the Nightmare Magpie."
"B-befriend it?"
"I don't want to befriend it, though..."
Professor Bendozol ignored the students' complaints with a face like granite.
"Even for dangerous and ferocious monsters, blindly choosing only combat is foolish! A mage must be flexible in any situation. Learning how to befriend a monster means understanding it at its deepest level."
"True. It'd help with hunting too."
At the White Tiger Tower student's reply, Professor Bendozol glared with eyes that could burn someone alive. The student, terrified, hid his face behind his notebook.
"The best way to befriend a Nightmare Magpie is through Transformation Magic. Luckily, there are a few animals this creature feels friendly toward. By next class, learn how to transform into one of them! Even if you can't fully transform, at least change an arm or something!"
"Professor. I don't specialize in Transformation Magic?"
At the student's question, Professor Bendozol responded with a bored expression.
"What do you want me to do? Figure it out yourself. Get a potion or a scroll. That's part of being a mage too!"
"......"
Having gotten a good grasp of the professor by now, the students stopped asking pointless questions and instead consulted among themselves.
"Small insect-type monsters, bird-type monsters... Surprisingly, even snake-type monsters? They say it feels friendly toward those."
"Snakes would be better than insects."
"Ugh. I hate both."
'Would a basilisk work?' Lee Han pondered internally while considering which animal to transform into.
Last year's 2nd-Circle spell, <Lesser Transformation>, was magic that changed part of the body.
Given his experience with this spell, meeting Professor Bendozol's demands shouldn't be too difficult.
"Arm. Become the foreleg of a beast."
Since it had been a while since he'd used it, Lee Han lightly cast the spell to check.
Poof!
At the sight of his student's arm transforming into a basilisk's head, Professor Bendozol hesitated slightly—should he just let this one pass?
For the Nightmare Magpie's safety, he might really have to.