Episode 76
Episode 76
"Thank you all for such a warm welcome."
Professor Millay, the Summoning Magic instructor, stepped inside, slightly puzzled by the heated atmosphere in the lecture hall.
Despite her advanced age, Professor Millay maintained an upright posture, and anyone could tell at a glance that she hailed from one of the Empire's prestigious noble families.
Those from great noble houses carried an unmistakable air in their walk and speech.
'Well, the Blue Dragon Tower brats are a bit of an exception now.'
Of course, students starving while trapped in the tower were exceptions. Whether noble or not, once people became desperate, they lost all dignity.
Professor Millay adjusted the monocle resting on one eye. She looked every bit the strict perfectionist.
But Lee Han wasn't intimidated.
'Anyone would be better than Professor Voladi.'
Professor Garcia began a brief explanation from the side.
"Like Black Magic, proper Summoning Magic is also a field you'll study starting in your second year. However, the reason we've invited Professor Millay here today is not only because it's a good opportunity to learn what Summoning Magic is but also because..."
-■■■■■
Right on cue, a Summon that had escaped from the school grounds outside roared. The windows rattled violently.
"...we thought it would be helpful given the current situation at the school."
"Professor Garcia...!"
"You're our only hope, Professor!"
A few students pulled out handkerchiefs to wipe their tears.
Professor Millay observed the scene without a flicker of emotion. Then, in a stiff voice, she spoke.
"Professor Garcia. May we begin?"
"Yes. Please proceed."
"Now, are there any students here interested in Summoning Magic?"
Every student raised their hand. Lee Han raised his too. He couldn't explain why Professor Mortum's sorrowful face flashed through his mind just then.
'But Summoning Magic is truly a great branch of magic.'
Just as Black Magic branched into various fields—curses, elements, undead summoning, and negative energy—Summoning Magic, despite its name, encompassed countless disciplines within it.
Spirit summoning, demon summoning, monster summoning, artifact summoning, magical object summoning, and so on.
Since it covered everything from living beings to inanimate objects (and even overlapped with Black Magic in some areas), its applications were limitless.
Old fairy tales told of wizards who, after a lifetime of hardship, contracted with an exceptional Summon and lived happily ever after (and lazily, at that).
Of course, fairy tales couldn't be taken entirely at face value, but it was true that mastering Summoning Magic could make life much easier.
"Thank you. But I doubt even one of you here is qualified to learn Summoning Magic."
"......"
"......"
Professors, as a rule, had a talent for dousing enthusiasm. Professor Millay was no exception. She spoke sternly.
"I won't mince words. Summoning Magic is difficult. If you lack the aptitude and force yourself into the second-year lectures, it will only bring you hardship."
'Now that's a proper professor.'
Lee Han was impressed.
If a student lacked the ability to learn, a professor should dissuade them or wait—not taunt them with, 'Why can't you learn? Think you'll die before you ever manage?' That wasn't teaching; that was just being a bully.
"Summoning Magic cannot be learned with knowledge from just one field. Spirit summoning requires deep understanding of spiritual studies, demon summoning demands expertise in demonology, and monster summoning necessitates thorough knowledge of monster studies. Even the relatively easier inanimate object summoning is no simple task. So let me say it again—if you lack confidence, it's best not to pursue Summoning Magic."
Yet, the students only grew more intrigued.
At their young age, how many would back down just because something was difficult? Their expressions brimmed with even greater determination.
This was the complete opposite of Black Magic, which had left students indifferent no matter how easy it was claimed to be.
Professor Garcia whispered softly,
"They're all talented students. Could you give them a chance?"
Professor Milley nodded.
Snap!
With a flick of her wand, scrolls inscribed with intricate magic circles suddenly appeared before the students.
These weren't single-use scrolls meant to be torn and activated, but fixed scrolls already unfurled, with magic circles permanently engraved upon them.
"I assume you're all taking <Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic>."
"Yes."
At the mention of the course name, the students' expressions twisted as if they'd bitten into a frog.
Few could endure the torture of relentless numbers—neither magic nor general studies, but pure torment.
'Honestly, it's on the easier side, though.'
Lee Han swallowed the thought that would've made his friends throw stones at him.
"It's too difficult!"
"Then you have no chance of learning Summoning Magic."
"......"
Gainando, who had barely spoken a word, promptly shut his mouth, realizing he'd just disqualified himself from Summoning Magic.
"All of you, do well in <Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic>. Drawing and calculating magic circles are essential in Summoning Magic."
Lee Han examined the magic circle.
Unlike Gainando, whose eyes were already spinning in confusion, Lee Han could discern what kind of magic circle was drawn.
'I see. So, mana flows like this...'
A magic circle was a kind of circuit.
If an electrical circuit carried current, a magic circle carried mana—that was the difference.
Any mage who had cast magic firsthand would know: spellcasting was truly difficult.
And the higher the spell's complexity, the harder it became.
Not only did the required mana increase, but the structure of the spell itself grew more intricate.
Beyond a certain level, it wasn't for nothing that people said, "This isn't magic a human can perform."
Magic circles were what aided such mages.
Amplification in one part, reduction in another, bypassing here, blocking there—they circulated mana in various ways to lessen the caster's burden.
As Lee Han mentally calculated and visualized the mana flow along the circle, he suddenly saw the illusion of a quill pen.
'...What?'
In the world of magic, there were no coincidences.
Lee Han realized the quill he'd just seen was connected to this magic circle.
"This magic circle is for summoning a quill pen."
"A quill pen?"
"Summoning... a quill?"
The students looked baffled.
Even if it had been a dagger, summoning something as mundane as a quill made them think, 'Why bother?'
Lee Han shook his head in disbelief.
'Ungrateful brats.'
If this kept up, would they take responsibility when Professor Milley cleared the desks, threw down a demon-summoning circle, and said, "Summon it unless you want to die"?
Fortunately, Professor Milley wasn't like Professor Voladi. Her voice remained stiff and unchanging as she spoke.
"It's a magical quill composed of mana. Since what you summon won't last long, focus solely on the act of summoning for now."
The moment her words ended, the students waved their wands, activating the magic circles.
"Quill pen, appear!"
"Oh Magical Quill, heed my call!"
Incantations rang out as magic circles burst into flames or scrolls tore apart.
Though the circles were designed to withstand mana, they could still be ruined or shattered by a mage's mistakes.
Having anticipated this, Professor Milley flicked her wand.
The broken circles vanished, replaced by new ones.
About thirty minutes passed.
Students who had summoned something resembling a quill began to emerge.
The Blue Dragon Tower had the highest number of successes—Yoner, Adenart, Ashan, and others—while the Black Turtle Tower and Phoenix Tower also had a fair share.
The White Tiger Tower had the fewest, but even they had some talented students who managed to conjure quill-like objects.
Professor Garcia forced a bitter smile as he watched the students beaming with delight.
'They really shouldn't be happy about that.'
In reality, Professor Millay's face remained completely motionless, standing stiff as a carved statue.
This was precisely what made Summoning Magic so demanding.
'A roughly summoned object' was essentially a failure!
While Elemental Magic could still be considered a near-success as long as one managed to produce something—even with differences in size or form—Summoning Magic was the exact opposite.
Unless it was perfect, it meant nothing.
There was no helping it. As a discipline that imbues summoned objects with will, even the slightest mistake could result in the summoned entity attacking the mage.
At least it was just a quill pen...
"D-Damn it, this bastard Dalkard attacked me with a magic quill!!"
"Ow, hey! Gainando, your quill moved on its own! Besides, it's just a quill!"
"This is an assassination attempt on royalty! Royal assassination, I say! Lee Han, help me!"
"I told you it's just a quill! What are the odds of dying from a quill?!"
Of course, even those quills were enough to cause quite a commotion.
Angrago of the Alpha Family, a resident of the White Tiger Tower, swelled with pride as he gazed at the perfectly formed quill he had summoned.
Given his status, he often felt left behind in many magical disciplines, but Summoning Magic was different.
Perhaps he was even more skilled than Giselle.
"!"
Angrago smirked smugly when he noticed Lee Han sitting in front of him.
There was nothing—no quill or anything else—in front of Lee Han.
For the first time, he felt he could humble that arrogant boy from the Wardanaz Family, the so-called prodigious dark mage. So, Angrago called out to him.
"Wardanaz. Did you fail the summoning?"
"......"
"Wardanaz! Don't ignore me! Look at my quill!"
Yoner, sitting nearby, retorted in Lee Han's stead.
"Didn't you have a quill at home? Are you really bragging about a quill?"
"I said, look at my quill—"
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion rang out. Angrago, thinking Lee Han had unleashed Black Magic in a fit of rage, cowered in fear and dropped to the ground.
Above Lee Han's magic circle, magic quills began raining down in droves.
"......"
Lee Han stared blankly at the fluttering quills with a bemused expression.
'I failed.'
Though Angrago was chattering away behind him, Lee Han didn't hear a word. He had been that focused.
Channeling mana into a fragile magic circle to complete a Summoning Magic spell.
While it was merely difficult for other students, for Lee Han, it was excruciatingly hard.
The moment his control slipped even slightly, the surge of mana would tear the magic circle to shreds.
That was why Lee Han had already half-given up when others were just starting.
'Maybe Summoning Magic isn't suited for me.'
Perhaps Lee Han's destiny lay in Combat Magic, like Professor Voladi.
...Yet, surprisingly, the magic circle remained intact.
Even Lee Han was astonished.
'Was I capable of this?'
A perfect understanding of magic circles.
And his recently (forcibly) improved mana control.
When these two factors combined, Lee Han succeeded in not destroying the magic circle.
It was an astounding result.
'Oh no. The assignment was summoning, wasn't it?'
Caught up in the thrill of channeling mana without destroying the magic circle, Lee Han snapped back to reality.
The assignment wasn't about not breaking the magic circle—it was about summoning a magic quill.
"Appear, O quill."
With a simple murmur, Lee Han swung his wand.
BOOM!!!
In that instant, accompanied by another deafening explosion, magic quills rained down in droves above the magic circle.
Professor Garcia, startled by this unprecedented and bizarre failure, turned his gaze aside.
He had never seen Professor Millay's eyebrows rise so high before.
"Lee Han has always had an abundance of mana, so failures like this—"
As Professor Garcia attempted to explain, Professor Millay calmly restored his expression to normal and spoke.
"That is not a failure, Professor Garcia."