Episode 744
Episode 744
"Haha. Then I'll go first, seniors!"
The music magic students began drawing lots in an orderly line.
"Huh?"
"What's wrong?"
"Lucky me? It's a pan flute piece. No lyrics either, so it should be easier."
The senior who drew a piece related to their confident instrument shone with joy in their eyes.
The next senior also drew a trumpet piece they were interested in and looked satisfied.
'Huh?'
Lee Han, who was watching, felt puzzled.
It would be understandable if it was just one person, but seeing them continuously draw pieces that suited them so well felt strange.
Moreover, when he focused his senses sharply to examine the drawing box, he could feel a complex flow of mana inside.
"Illeg senior. Could this box possibly..."
"Shh."
Illeg raised a thick finger and gestured for silence. Without realizing it, Lee Han immediately closed his mouth.
The bear-kin senior with glasses winked and said:
"As expected, you're talented? To notice this. Yes. This isn't an ordinary drawing."
This box contained the principles from Yukveltire's Calendarium.
Being a fifth-year himself, Illeg had borrowed magic from Yukveltire to construct this simple drawing box.
Though it couldn't calculate countless lectures like the Calendarium could, it was more than sufficient for a drawing box.
"Wouldn't it be better to tell the seniors about this?"
"No. It's much more satisfying for them to think they drew it by their own luck."
"!"
Lee Han was impressed by the senior's thoughtfulness.
He had prepared this little deception to let the other students experience a sense of achievement.
'Wait. Why does Phoenix Tower have such a fifth-year?'
Come to think of it, the fifth-years of Black Turtle Tower and Phoenix Tower were admirable enough to put most professors to shame.
In contrast, the fifth-years of Lee Han's tower were like Verdus's prized disciples...
'...'
I wish the White Tiger Tower fifth-years were just as messed up in personality.'
Lee Han stood before the box, entertaining wicked thoughts.
—Escape to the Shadow Fortress, Violin
'Dark element again?'
Lee Han glanced at Ifadur. As if waiting for this, Ifadur explained the piece.
"<Escape to the Shadow Fortress> is quite a famous piece. Wardanaz student. You've drawn a good one."
"Is it a dark element enhancement piece?"
"Probably not... The shadow fortress here is metaphorical, not an actual fortress of shadow magic practitioners."
Ifadur slowly explained the origin of the piece.
<Escape to the Shadow Fortress> was based on an old fable, depicting a young prince—a brilliant mage—fleeing to a fortress to escape death chasing him.
The young prince used various tricks to confuse the fortress's layout, and in the end, death dared not enter and retreated...
"...How does that suit me?"
"W-well... Because it's a violin piece?"
Lee Han collected the sheet music with a blank expression.
Of course, anything would be fine if he could play it, but he had hoped for something more practical.
'I wanted something like luck or intelligence.'
Truthfully, Lee Han couldn't even guess why this piece had been drawn.
Was it preparing him for the perilous second-year life?
"Everyone. Study your chosen sheet music well. And let's meet during lecture time starting next week."
"Yes!"
The students gathered for music magic nodded and rose from their seats.
Due to the unique nature of music magic, they had gathered separately today—normally, there was no reason to meet like this on weekends.
"See you next week."
"Wait. Wardanaz."
Illeg stopped Lee Han as he was about to leave last.
Despite having done nothing wrong, Lee Han stiffened nervously and paused.
"What is it?"
"Don't come to next week's music magic lecture—rest properly. You've worked hard alone today."
"...Senior...!"
Despite the dark night, Lee Han stepped forward with a warm heart thanks to Illeg's parting words.
'To think such a person exists in this world.'
He felt almost guilty for the complaints he had harbored while preparing for Music Magic.
Lee Han vowed to pledge his loyalty to Senior Illeg from now on.
δόξα βασιλείας...
"!"
A faint humming from somewhere.
Screams, shouts, and incantations were common in Einrogard. Unlike last year, Lee Han no longer stopped at every little noise.
But the sound he heard now was fundamentally different from the usual clamor of Einrogard.
This was...
'Word Magic!'
The sheer presence imbued in the voice alone was shaking reality.
As far as Lee Han knew, only Word Magic could achieve such a thing.
And in this school, there was only one person he could think of who would casually hum Word Magic while strolling around late at night.
No—there shouldn't be anyone like that.
"...Headmaster?"
No answer came.
Lee Han swiftly drew his staff, activated the spells stored within, and began preparing the Enhancement Magic he could wield.
Yet, despite his flawless movements, his instincts screamed at him.
His innate, extraordinary sensitivity to mana was warning him of the overwhelming power standing before him.
Tap.
As if out for a leisurely stroll, the humanoid Skeleton Principal emerged from the bushes beside him.
But Lee Han could instinctively tell—this was not the same Skeleton Principal he knew.
Sure, the usual Headmaster was unpredictable and quite mad...
But the one before him now exuded a chilling aura that felt utterly inhuman.
"You...?"
"Who are you?"
Instead of answering, the figure flicked his hand lightly.
The mist swirling around them and the thick ice shield were torn apart in an instant, and an invisible, intangible force struck the spot where Lee Han had been standing.
BOOM!
Barely managing to glimpse a second ahead with Divination Magic, Lee Han flung himself out of the attack's range.
'This...!'
Even a casual attack from this opponent was terrifyingly powerful.
He could feel cold sweat trickling down his back.
Relying on the Divination Magic he had cast, Lee Han strained to predict even a single one of the enemy's moves.
Yet, unlike Lee Han's heightened vigilance, the Skeleton Principal's deranged doppelgänger continued to stare at him with an inorganic gaze.
"I came because I heard Music Magic, only to have my ears defiled. How do you intend to repay the trouble you've caused royalty?"
'Is this guy insane?!'
Lee Han immediately understood why this was a mad doppelgänger.
He had come because he heard Music Magic—'Oh, Music Magic?'—only to throw a tantrum over 'such pitiful quality!'
Even the real Skeleton Principal wasn't this shameless and devoid of conscience.
"I don't understand what you're saying."
For now, Lee Han feigned ignorance.
Even if he denied using Music Magic, what could the other do?
But this time, Lee Han's expectations were wrong. Madness, after all, defied prediction.
BOOM!
Another Telekinesis-based spell came flying at him.
Despite having Divination Magic active, this time, he saw nothing. Lee Han realized that, in that brief moment, the opponent had detected his Divination Magic and begun using it as well.
Once two mages both employ Divination Magic, prediction becomes nearly impossible.
Had he not gathered all his mana at the moment of impact to block, he would have been completely incapacitated.
"Kgh...!"
Lee Han thanked his past self for enduring swordsmanship training last year.
Had he relied solely on magic and neglected physical conditioning, he would have been helpless against such an ambush.
'I need to extend the duration of my Divination...!'
Even as he lay sprawled on the ground, Lee Han's mind raced.
He didn't know if his opponent was letting his guard down, but he had to find an opening—any opening—to escape.
To achieve that, he needed to extend his one-second foresight duration just enough to momentarily throw off his opponent's divination.
'Divination Magic is highly draining. The opponent probably only used it briefly to block me, not maintaining it for long. Just a brief opening...'
"Your foresight is quite decent."
With those words, the Skeleton Principal's clone severed Lee Han's divination.
Lee Han realized his Divination Magic had been blocked.
Since the opponent had already read the future and thoroughly blocked all possibilities, Lee Han's delayed foresight came to a complete halt.
'...This is how they'll counter.'
And then Lee Han moved again.
As an enormous amount of mana was sacrificed, the duration of <Bagrak's Instant Foresight> momentarily extended.
The Skeleton Principal's clone, realizing his opponent had slipped from his grasp, narrowed his eyes coldly.
"Darkness, sweep away!"
Lee Han desperately scattered Dark Element before casting an Ice Element clone to create distance.
Kuh-kuh-kung!
—The surrounding earth suddenly rose all at once, transforming into a stone wall. Lee Han, trusting his mana, cast a rock-disintegration spell.
By the time he broke through, the outer side of the stone wall had already turned into quicksand. Before he could even step forward, the sand surged up, attempting to bind him.
Fortunately, Lee Han had already cast <Gonadaltes' Quickening Agility>.
Combining Enhancement Magic, he explosively channeled mana to his feet and kicked off midair, leaping away.
Finally breaking free from the encirclement, Lee Han was stunned to see the mad clone standing right in front of him.
It had teleported without giving him a chance to react.
"Though your Music Magic is disgraceful, your other spells are passable. Good. I shall take you as my disciple."
"...What?"
BAM!
The mad clone lashed out with an irritated attack at the disciple who kept committing blasphemies.
Answering questions with questions, lying, forgetting to show reverence...
No matter which family he came from, such behavior was unusually barbaric.
"...!"
But this time, Lee Han didn't get sent flying—he barely held his ground. For the first time, the mad clone looked at him with surprise.
"Was that spell cast instinctively just now?"
"......"
Even Lee Han himself didn't understand what he had done.
He had only strongly felt the need to block instinctively after predicting the attack's power and trajectory—yet somehow, he had managed it.
"A decent shield spell. Don't forget to research it further."
"Th... thank you?"
Even in this situation, when the opponent analyzed his move and advised him to refine it into a proper spell, Lee Han absentmindedly replied.
Swoosh!
The mad clone tore open a dimensional rift in the air and, with a single gesture, flung Lee Han through it.
Thud!
As the clone itself vanished beyond the rift, nothing remained on Einrogard's forest path.
It felt as though the fierce battle that had just taken place had been nothing but a lie.
"Sit."
"......"
Lee Han tried his best to remain composed.
He couldn't tell exactly where he was, but it seemed to be somewhere within Einrogard's territory.
'Mountains? All I see are cliffs and peaks—no giants or sheep in sight.'
Lee Han glanced at his ring, thinking of summoning the Skeleton Principal.
But the mad clone gave him no opportunity.
Uncertain how far ahead the opponent had foreseen, Lee Han instinctively knew that any attempt to use the ring now would be blocked.
"You must be wondering why I'd take a worthless brat like you as a royal disciple."
"...Yes!"
"Simple. I need a successor to bring glory to my name."
"May I ask a question, if it's allowed?"
"As long as it's not a pointless one."
The mad clone made it clear that pointless questions would be punished.
Lee Han cursed inwardly before asking,
"Um... don't you already have many illustrious disciples, Your Highness?"
"What nonsense? I have none."
"......"
From that answer, Lee Han realized the clone didn't count the Skeleton Principal's other disciples as worthy.