Episode 761
Episode 761
Professor Mortum, sensing that the visiting professor from Kallarogard was regarding him strangely after their long-awaited reunion, hurriedly explained.
"He's a second-year, but not your ordinary second-year. He's a second-year who's like a third-year—no, more like a fourth-year!"
"......"
Professor Taswan was baffled by Professor Mortum's unconvincing words.
What on earth had happened to this Einrogard professor since they last met? To seriously argue that 1+1=3 like this...
"It's the truth. Please believe me."
Professor Mortum wanted to reveal that Lee Han was the Skeleton Principal's disciple, but he held back, fearing it might backfire.
Telling someone still suffering from the Skeleton Principal's curse about his disciple probably wouldn't end well for either of them.
"Hmm... Alright. If you insist..."
Unable to ignore Professor Mortum's earnest demeanor, Professor Taswan had no choice but to relent.
As a guest at Einrogard, he couldn't outright dismiss the host's goodwill.
But he couldn't stop himself from thinking: 'Could it be that the Einrogard Black Magic School is also short on students?'
Surprisingly, Professor Taswan had grasped the truth with sharp insight.
* * *
"Seniors are tougher than I expected."
Lee Han clicked his tongue after climbing the embankment to survey the fields.
A lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit.
And right now, their opponents weren't fellow students or juniors—they were Einrogard seniors.
It wouldn't be strange if these mages, who had survived this hell for one or two years longer, had some hidden tricks up their sleeves.
'The best method is a quick, decisive strike.'
Professor Voladi's philosophy on magical combat had always emphasized speed.
No matter how powerful a mage was, if they were struck before casting a grand spell, they'd be cornered.
That was also why a mage's level didn't necessarily correlate with combat prowess.
Maintaining focus and flawlessly casting spells in chaotic, high-pressure battles required consistent magical combat training.
Though he wasn't sure how experienced the seniors were in magical combat, underestimating them wasn't an option—he wanted to ambush them as swiftly as possible.
But since not a single one had left the mushroom field, taking them all out with a surprise attack seemed difficult.
"I was wrong. I thought at least one or two would have left, but they're all huddled in sleeping bags or wrapped in blankets, holding their ground."
"Wow! No wonder they're seniors."
Siana set up a makeshift cauldron and placed an alchemist's smoke screen over it—to prevent the colorful fumes from her potion-making from alerting the seniors.
"What are you making now?"
"Arlkan's Ferocious Beast Potion."
Yoner answered in her stead.
Holding a book emblazoned with the Maykin family crest in one hand, Yoner was staring at the cauldron with unwavering focus, as if determined not to make even the slightest mistake.
"Arlkan, you say..."
Arlkan Maykin.
A great alchemist who had earned fame centuries ago—and one of Yoner's ancestors from the same family.
"You mean the great alchemist who created the prototypes for Maykin Family's Sweet Pan Chocolate and Maykin Family's Magical Chocolate Éclair?!"
"Well, yes, but... Out of all his great potions, why bring up those in particular?"
Siana looked slightly bewildered by Lee Han's choice of examples.
Of all the legendary potions developed by the alchemist, he had to cite chocolate and éclairs?
"What are you talking about, Priestess Siana? Do you have any idea how much income those two creations have brought the Maykin family?"
"No? Who would know that?"
"It was in the Imperial Newspaper!"
"The Imperial Newspaper reports the Maykin family's income?!"
"Well, not directly, but if you read the economics section, you can estimate..."
Yoner said irritably.
"Both of you, quiet down."
"Sorry."
"My apologies."
The two lowered their voices to whispers.
"So, is that book something like Arlkan's secret manual?"
"Yes. It seems she's been seriously researching it since this year. I also brought a few secret manuals from the Flemeng Order."
Siana waved a small booklet engraved with the order's emblem.
Even within the same Alchemy School, the paths of mages inevitably branched into hundreds of directions.
Yoner pursued her family's secrets, Siana followed the order's crafting methods, and seniors like Ilendil sought to create artificial spirits to complete the Forest of Death...
'Wait. That last example might be a bit odd.'
Seeing how even second-years were rapidly preparing by finding their own paths, Lee Han felt a slight pang of impatience.
"I think I've been too passive, just following along with the lectures."
"What kind of nonsense...? S-sorry."
"......"
Seeing his friend's hurt expression, Siana apologized again.
"Everyone's bringing their family's secret techniques or temple's esoteric knowledge to research in their own way, but I'm just..."
"I've been attending all the lectures for my school of study."
"...Right. I think I spoke out of turn."
"If you're feeling uneasy, why don't you learn <Arlkan's Ferocious Beast Potion> with me? Maykin teaches it really well."
Siana had expected Lee Han to refuse.
Even now, he should be resting, but wasn't he forcing himself like this because of alchemy lectures?
With so many other lectures to attend, why would he need to learn an unrelated potion...
"Would that be alright? Thank you."
"......"
Siana looked at her friend with the eyes of a priestess gazing at an incurable patient.
"What's wrong?"
"Haha. It's nothing."
rustle rustle rustle
From below, a skeletal mouse came darting like an arrow and transformed into a bone fragment upon arriving before Lee Han. It was a message from someone.
Guest arrived from Kallarogard. Need trustworthy Black Magic school student. Return immediately.
Professor Mortum
"??"
"What's the message about?"
"They say a guest has arrived from another magic academy."
"Wow!"
Siana's eyes sparkled with intense interest.
A guest from another magic academy!
"Wait. It's not Baldrogard, is it?"
"No. Kallarogard."
"Whew. What a relief. As long as it's not Baldrogard."
Lee Han wanted to ask the priestess what she meant by that, but there was something more pressing.
"Why are they here?"
"Hmm. Since it's a Black Magic school... maybe they're gathering all the Black Magic students for an exchange opportunity?"
Siana made her guess based on experiences at the temple.
When priests from other orders visited with gift baskets, the younger priests would all come out to greet them and discuss matters of faith.
Hoho. So this is how it's done, then?
Amazing, Priestess Siana of the Flemeng Order! To be so knowledgeable about alchemy at such a young age!
Rather than this, let me write you a recommendation letter. To Einrogard! Priestess Siana should study at the Empire's finest magic academy!
But our Priestess Siana is still young, and the path to becoming a mage is harsh...
It's fine! I can definitely handle it!
'...Huh. Come to think of it, that was a mistake.' Siana made a slightly bitter expression.
A suddenly remembered painful memory had surfaced.
Because priests from other orders praised her so much, she got too excited and worked hard to prove her abilities—only to end up enrolling in Einrogard because of it...
Siana consoled herself that she would have ended up at Einrogard anyway.
"What's wrong? You look troubled."
"I was remembering the day I enrolled in Einrogard."
"Ah. I see. That's understandable."
"How did you end up enrolling in Einrogard, Wardanaz?"
"I volunteered to become an imperial official after graduation."
"Aha."
The snake beastkin priestess nodded.
And then she thought to herself, What kind of lie is that? If he didn't want to talk about it, he could've just stayed silent—what a strange lie.
Hearing it was an exchange meeting, Lee Han brought Gainando, Imirgue, and Lafadell along.
"Gainando. I can't make contact with you right now because of the prophecy. Got it? If you come too close, I'll attack."
"Th-this isn't because I skipped studying to go have fun, is it?"
Gainando, confused whether this was a real prophecy or just his friend being upset about him slacking off, cautiously gauged the situation.
Lafadell nodded as if he'd expected this.
"Keep provoking him, and this is what happens. Brat. Should've studied when we told you to instead of fooling around."
"Y-yeah."
Even Imirgue agreed, leaving Gainando on the verge of collapsing from sheer injustice.
"I only slacked off a little!"
"All three of you, shut up. It's not because you didn't listen—it's the prophecy. It says misfortune comes if I interact with royalty."
Lee Han briefly explained what he'd learned from his Divination Magic lecture.
As they listened to the story about divination magic, which was considered the most peculiar and bizarre among all the schools of magic, everyone was fascinated.
"Don't interact with the imperial family?"
"Got it! Adenart!"
Gainando clapped his hands as if he had an epiphany.
"So Adenart is the one bringing misfortune to Lee Han! Not me!"
"H-how could the Princess...?"
"Well? Does she steal all of Lee Han's meals by herself?"
"That sounds more like something you'd do."
The looks in Lafadell and Imirgue's eyes grew increasingly suspicious.
No matter how they thought about it, among the imperial family, this prince seemed the most likely to bring misfortune to Lee Han.
"That's not it...!"
Cough. "What? Why are you all here?"
Professor Mortum, who had been waiting in front of Black Rock Hall, looked puzzled as the second-year students swarmed in.
"Didn't you say guests from Kallarogard were coming? Since it's an exchange meeting, I brought my friends along."
"What? Cough. It's not an exchange meeting... Well, there is one, but it's only for the Wizard Card Club. They came to trade reagents and a few magic books."
At the professor's explanation, Lee Han grew even more confused.
"Then why did you call me?"
Cough. "I need someone to guide them around Einrogard."
"......"
"......"
"U-usually, that's something the seniors should do...?"
Imirgue asked in a timid voice that didn't match his massive frame. Professor Mortum let out a deep sigh.
"Correct. Originally, Diret was supposed to handle it. But Diret is a fifth-year now."
"Professor, do you... not know how to count past three and four?"
Gainando muttered under his breath.
It was the kind of remark one could only make if they thought the professor only knew the numbers one, two, and five.
Instead of panicking, Lee Han calmly accepted the list of tasks from Professor Mortum.
A seasoned Einrogard student knew better than to waste time being shocked—they got straight to work.
'Oh, there's a mushroom garden too.'
While pondering how to efficiently handle the tasks, Lee Han spotted the "Wizard Card Club Exchange Tournament" and called out to Gainando.
"Gainando. Perfect. Looks like the guests are interested in Wizard Cards too."
"Mm."
Gainando answered with a sullen expression. The three of them were stunned by his reaction.
"What's wrong with the prince??"
"I-Is it some incurable disease...?"
"Maybe he's pretending to be sullen because he's afraid of getting hit if he shows excitement?"
But surprisingly, Gainando remained sullen. Lee Han, unable to understand, asked,
"Isn't the Wizard Card Club Exchange Tournament the opportunity you've been dreaming of? What's wrong?"
"Lee Han... Actually... I didn't join the Wizard Card Club."
"???"
The three of them tilted their heads in confusion. If their friend, who had been singing the Wizard Card Club's praises since first year, hadn't joined it, where else would he have gone?
"Then where did you join?"
"The Wizard Card Collectors Club."
"Isn't that the same thing?"
At Lafadell's question, Gainando flared up in anger.
"It's different! One is a club for enjoying Wizard Cards, and the other is..."
"What is it?"
"...A club for collecting expensive Wizard Cards and reselling them at even higher prices..."
"......"
"I joined the wrong one by mistake..."
"Oh. That's not a big deal."
Their friends immediately lost interest.
While Gainando cursed furiously in the background, Lee Han listened to the rest of Professor Mortum's explanation.
Cough. "This is the <Scepter of the Black Magic School>. A useful artifact in combat situations."
The bone scepter-shaped artifact radiated a powerful Yin energy.
Though it was cracked in places and some parts were broken, making one wonder if it was even safe to use...
"And this is the key to the school's storage. Cough. Take whatever you need from there. And this is the vault key. What's inside is your payment."
"Thank you."
Though Professor Mortum might not know how to count past three and four, he wasn't the type to exploit students without compensation.
Pleased, Lee Han used the bone key to open the vault.
Click!
Inside was a handful of imperial gold coins. Just as Lee Han was about to take his payment, he froze.
"...Professor. Does our school have another vault?"
Cough. "No. Why?"
"......"
Lee Han gathered the school's entire fortune, squeezing his eyes shut to avoid looking at the cobwebs in the corner of the vault.