Episode 739
Episode 739
'Even if Transformation Magic Works Best with Familiar Animals...'
Among transformation magic, the spells that allowed a mage to transform themselves into another living creature were particularly high in difficulty and notoriously hard to control.
After all, maintaining one's own spiritual identity while altering only the physical form naturally made it more challenging than other types of magic.
Because of this, transformation magic tended to work best with animals the mage was familiar with.
It was common in transformation training for a mage who grew up tending sheep in a pasture to attempt turning into a shark, only to end up as a sheep with fins instead.
Given that the boy from the Wardanaz family had been raising a baby basilisk, transforming into a basilisk itself was theoretically possible.
But...
'A basilisk isn't some worm-like creature!'
Regardless of the mage's familiarity, the stronger the magical beast, the exponentially higher the difficulty of transformation became.
A monster wielding immense power meant it had condensed vast amounts of mana within its body.
Even for a mage, perfectly replicating such a physical form was no easy feat.
Yet, this Wardanaz—barely a beginner in transformation magic—was already managing to turn one of his arms into a basilisk's head.
It was impossible to predict just how far he could go once he got used to it.
"Basilisk might not be the best choice, Wardanaz."
"Right? I actually thought the same. It's so hard to control—really uncomfortable."
"Stop complaining when you're already full!!!"
Unable to hold back any longer, Professor Bendozol shouted loudly before storming off.
The students, bewildered by the outburst, began murmuring among themselves.
"Why is he acting like that?"
"Probably wanted to turn into a basilisk himself. Who knows?"
"Right. Wardanaz, just ignore him."
"......"
Lee Han watched his friends coldly dismissing Professor Bendozol and wondered if this was really okay.
They were adapting way too quickly...
'Once this is over, it's finally the weekend.'
The first week of the semester had felt as long as eternity.
And this was before the lectures had even fully started.
If this was how it felt now, he couldn't help but dread how endless the semester would seem once classes were in full swing.
'Could there be some time magic cast over Einrogard?'
The lecture, <Elemental Magic and Its Applications>, was held in the Room of Elements on the fourth floor of the main building.
As the name suggested, it was an advanced course delving deeper into elemental magic.
Though Lee Han wasn't usually one to be overconfident, he felt a little assured about this one.
'After all that I went through under Professor Voladi...'
No one could have drilled the fundamentals of elemental control as thoroughly as he had.
Even upperclassmen probably wouldn't surpass him in this aspect, right?
"Good day, Wardanaz."
"Princess."
Spotting the sister of Gainando, Lee Han greeted her lightly.
When they first met, he had been cautious, wary of provoking her and ruining his post-graduation life. But after over a year together, he'd realized she wasn't such a bad person.
She was just someone who loved food, much like Gainando.
Unaware that the Wardanaz boy was internally thinking something wildly disrespectful, Adenart also greeted him warmly.
Unlike the stiff and formal manner of her other followers, Lee Han was far easier to interact with.
At first, she had misunderstood him when he claimed he'd only take easy lectures, but after over a year together, she knew better.
The boy before her was far more obsessed with the study of magic than she was.
Though she wasn't one to easily admit being outdone in diligence or responsibility, this was something she had to acknowledge.
Predicting the futures of all second-years was impossible, but when it came to the Wardanaz boy, everyone unanimously agreed—
'He'll definitely stay in Einrogard.'
Unaware that the Princess was internally thinking something wildly disrespectful, Lee Han spoke up.
"Lucky you. Is <Elemental Magic and Its Applications> a second-year lecture?"
"No. It's a third-year lecture."
"......"
Lee Han's face fell.
It seemed Adenart had also been forcibly dragged into a lecture a year above her level.
"Princess, you must be having a hard time too."
"Huh? What do you...?"
"Aren't you angry about having to take a third-year lecture?"
"I consider it an honor."
"......"
Only then did Lee Han realize his mistake.
Come to think of it, Adenart probably didn't have to take many third-year lectures.
At most, just one or two! 'Wait. Shouldn't she still be angry even about one or two?' Lee Han looked at Adenart with pity.
This was clearly a situation that called for anger, yet she saw it as an honor.
"Princess. When you should be angry, you need to get angry."
"I... I don't quite understand..."
Adenart was flustered, not understanding what Lee Han meant.
Meanwhile, an upperclassman pushed past them to open the door to the Room of Elements.
About a quarter of the upperclassman's body was petrified by a curse, making stone-clinking sounds with every movement.
"......"
"......"
Clink "Hey. Mind helping? Clink"
"Of course."
At the stone-clinking upperclassman's request, Lee Han quickly opened the door. The upperclassman nodded gratefully (or rather, attempted to nod, only managing the motion in spirit).
"!"
The Room of Elements was a bizarre space where dozens of environments coexisted simultaneously.
Within this clearing-sized area, countless elemental forces converged, creating endless transformations.
Behind the lizardfolk upperclassman flowed lava and flames; at the feet of the human upperclassman beside him, streams and waterfalls; and in the corner everyone avoided, thunder and lightning...
Even in Einrogard, overflowing with all manner of strange places, this was a rare and peculiar sight that left Lee Han and Adenart awestruck.
"Still haven't broken that curse?"
Clink "Says it'll take time. Clink"
"Told you not to mess with relics carelessly."
Clink "Got it. Clink"
"That'd be Professor Benmalpa, right? I find him a bit... turtle-ish."
"Me too."
"Eh. Still better than most others."
"?"
Lee Han focused intently on the upperclassmen's conversation.
To survive safely in perilous Einrogard, one had to always keep an ear out for such information. 'Professor Benmalpa?' Lee Han didn't know this professor.
Truth be told, unless they were as approachable as Professor Garcia, Einrogard professors rarely interacted with ordinary students.
For professors teaching unrelated courses, some students might graduate without ever meeting them... 'No idea what his personality's like.' "Good afternoon, seniors."
"Oh! Second-years?!"
"Second-years taking this lecture... impressive."
The upperclassmen seemed pleased to see Lee Han and Adenart.
And the Blue Dragon Tower seniors immediately began boasting.
"See? This is what tradition and lineage—"
"Then why didn't you, blessed with that tradition and lineage, take this in second year instead of now?"
As the seniors began bickering, Lee Han quietly asked his question instead of intervening.
"Seniors, what kind of lecture is this?"
"Hm? Exactly what the name says."
The Empire's magical schools were currently classified more for convenience by imperial mages.
Long ago during the Three Kingdoms era, magic schools had been divided by elements, but modern imperial mages considered such classification highly inefficient.
Even within the same fire element magic, it branched into enchantment, summoning, illusions, transmutation, and more—making alternative classification methods far more rational.
Thus, unless they had specific reasons, Einrogard students didn't typically specialize in just one element to master everything within it when studying elemental magic.
Rather, it was common to learn the necessary elemental magics and their applications as needed, aligning with one's goals and magical research.
<Elemental Magic and Its Applications> was a lecture designed to assist with that purpose.
The Room of Elements was filled with energies of numerous elemental affinities to encourage students not to fixate on just one but to flexibly experiment with various elements and freely expand their ideas.
'Wait. This sounds... way too normal?'
For Lee Han, who had been relentlessly attacked last year just to learn a single elemental application, this sounded far too reasonable—so much so that it was almost bewildering.
"Then, Senior, what's your reason for taking this class...?"
"I signed up to practice linking water and earth elements. There's something I'm researching, but my elemental control keeps falling short, so I keep failing midway."
"Water element... Are you referring to multi-controlling water orbs, instantly altering water's form, or perhaps deepening additional enchantments like the rotation attribute?"
"...Uh, I wasn't planning to delve that deeply..."
The senior was taken aback by Lee Han's question.
He had only intended to lightly practice a few water-element transformations necessary for his research and move on...
"But wouldn't you need those skills eventually?"
"Unless you're planning to kill monsters using just water magic, probably not?"
"......"
At the senior's words, Lee Han's expression darkened.
It occurred to him that the lectures he took last year might have been more pointless than he thought.
Listening now, it seemed the seniors weren't obsessively mastering a single element but rather learning only what they needed, as needed...
Was this the right approach?
'...'
No. Going in-depth isn't bad. It'll definitely help when handling other elements too.'
If it didn't help, Lee Han might've ended up grabbing Professor Voladi by the collar.
"Junior, why did you sign up for this class?"
"Hmm..."
Lee Han hesitated, thinking 'Because an artifact told me to' wasn't a great answer.
Meanwhile, Adenart answered first.
"I enrolled to enhance my control over rare elemental attributes and strengthen my overall proficiency."
"Ah. Me too. And also the common elements."
Deciding this was a good response, Lee Han quickly adopted it.
In truth, Lee Han was an unusual case—he handled rare elements like darkness, lightning, and frost far more frequently than common ones.
Because of this, he still tensed up every time he used fire magic...
Hearing the juniors' answers, the senior assumed Adenart must have better grades than Lee Han.
Given that Lee Han mentioned needing to strengthen even basic elements, it was clear he still had many shortcomings.
"Everyone, to your seats!"
A vigorous, commanding voice rang out as the professor from the Benmalpa family entered.
The human professor sported a stylish, seagull-shaped mustache, paired with a distinctively gentlemanly outfit that made him look like the chairman of a high-society club in the Empire.
Among Einrogard's professors—many of whom dressed eccentrically—this was a rare sight, leaving Lee Han puzzled.
'Is this why the seniors were uncomfortable?'
"Greetings, everyone! I am Zorjik of the Benmalpa family. The man who will become Einrogard's next headmaster!"
"?!"
While Lee Han and Adenart were still stunned, some seniors who were seeing Professor Zorjik for the first time blurted out in shock:
"Are you the headmaster's successor?!"
"No!"
"...But you just said you'd be the next headmaster?"
"One doesn't need to be the successor to become the next headmaster, my friends! Someday, by His Majesty the Emperor's decree, I shall replace Gonadaltes and ascend as Einrogard's headmaster!"
"......"
"......"
With his ambitious gaze and tone practically announcing a coup, Lee Han finally understood why some seniors found Professor Zorjik unsettling.
And then, he thought to himself:
'He's even crazier than Professor Verdus.'
This was absolutely not someone to get close to.