Episode 768
Episode 768
'This bastard. He didn't trust me.'
Lee Han realized this after seeing the other's reaction.
It was clear that BeaverPenguinFox had also questioned the other members in that brief time.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for such a reaction.
Gonadaltes: "Judging by this, it seems BeaverPenguinFox advised that such magic couldn't be implemented immediately in the current situation?"
Iactus: "Ah, no. I actually recommended doing it."
Gonadaltes: "Don't lie."
In truth, Iactus had indeed recommended it.
The problem was that he had used sarcasm...
Gonadaltes: "In comparison, Bakwantalana's insight is a step above. Iactus. You should reflect on yourself."
Beaver
-Penguin
-Fox: "Actually, Bakwantalana also said it sounded like a lie."
Gonadaltes: "......"
Bakwantalana: "Publicly sharing each other's private conversations doesn't seem like a good habit."
'There's no one to trust here.' Lee Han grumbled inwardly.
Of course, it might have seemed a bit far-fetched, but still—he was a new member. He hadn't expected everyone to be criticizing him behind his back like this.
The club was called Watchers of Einrogard, but their behavior was closer to that of skeptics.
Beaver
-Penguin
-Fox: "I'm busy, so I'll take my leave now. Anyway, Gonadaltes, thank you once again."
Gonadaltes: "It wasn't particularly difficult. Unlike someone, at least. Well then, I'll be going too."
Iactus: "......"
Bakwantalana: "......"
Iactus: "He's really not the Headmaster, right?"
Clack.
Agdung's jawbone rattled from the impact.
"Ugh. That really startled me. What kind of magic was that?"
The Peach Wood Staff artifact left by Professor Taswan was protected by a fairly sturdy magical barrier.
Given the nature of the magic involved, if it had malfunctioned, headlines like "Kallarogard Professor Terrorizes Einrogard!!" or "Suspected Motive: Humiliation from the Night of Black Mages Seven Years Ago..." could have ended up in the Imperial Newspaper.
But to break through the protective magic with psychokinesis...
Psychokinetic magic was typically used for fine manipulation at low output—using it for combat significantly increased its difficulty.
Not only did it consume a large amount of mana, but it also drained mental energy. Even combat mages usually only applied it as a supplementary measure.
They either pre-enchanted items with it before battle or used it as a distraction to break the opponent's focus...
But this disciple of the Magic Tower had clearly shattered the protective barrier with pure psychokinesis and pulled the staff toward him.
At this distance, to produce that level of destructive force—?
'What kind of magic was that again? Among psychokinetic spells... <Summon Tiny Fist> wouldn't have enough power. <Minor Shockwave> wouldn't work either...'
"<Wardanaz's Telekinesis>."
"Ah. A family's secret art, then?"
Only then did Agdung somewhat understand.
The world of magic was vast, and within it, there were occasionally secret arts that defied the limits of circle ranks and unleashed absurd power.
What Wardanaz had just used must have been one of those.
Among the famous anecdotes of the Wardanaz Family Head was the time he moved an entire body of seawater to create a reservoir.
"Family? Well... I suppose you could call it that..."
"Can I ask what circle rank the spell is?"
"5th Circle."
"?"
Agdung doubted his ears.
"5th Circle?"
"Yes. To generate that level of destructive force with psychokinesis, you'd need at least 5th Circle for stability."
"Uh, uh. But that's not what I meant..."
It seemed the Magic Tower's disciple had misunderstood Agdung's "5th Circle?" as "You really needed to use a 5th-Circle spell just to pull that off?"
"...Do you remember <Begone, Contaminated Ones!> and <Resolve Toward Corruption>?"
"Huh? Yes."
One was a 3rd-Circle, the other a 4th-Circle black magic defensive spell.
"You hadn't learned either of them back then?"
"That's right."
"What did I say to you at the time?"
"Sorry for not having learned the spells yet?"
"...No! I told you I couldn't learn it because I was only a second-year!!"
For the first time, Agdung lost his temper with the Spirit Offering Hall Master's disciple. Lee Han was slightly taken aback.
"My... my apologies?"
"Ah, no. Sorry... forget what I just said. Anyway, I told you I couldn't learn it because I was a second-year!"
"Yes."
"But the spell you just cast was 5th Circle!"
"Senior. While it's true that mages typically learn spells suited to their level, there are times when they might learn spells one or two circles beyond their rank if it aligns with their aptitude."
"......"
When the other party brought up the Empire's official magical doctrine, Agdung felt so irritated he could die.
Of course, it was technically correct, but that only applied to relatively easier spells—the 5th Circle magic he had just cast was absolutely not something that fell under that category.
"Right. I must've forgotten that..."
Agdung clenched his jaw firmly. He had almost slipped up again.
'When I get back, I'll have to make sure to exclude Wardanaz from the records.'
At this point, there was no way to phrase it diplomatically. It seemed better to just erase the records entirely to prevent the juniors from feeling discouraged.
Whoooosh!
"!"
The massive mass of corruption began to burn.
As the earth and water churned and the corruption revealed itself, the seniors from the Exile Village rushed over.
-Those confident with fire magic, over here!
-Priest! Can you use Divine Magic?
-The only Divine Magic I can perform is turning water into alcohol...
"Einrogard mages! Let's step back for now."
Agdung gestured for the juniors to retreat.
With reliable reinforcements arriving, Lee Han and his friends could now step back and rest.
"Senior. Do you happen to have any spare Contaminated Being Cloaks?"
"I do, but why?"
"Would you be willing to sell one to me?"
"??"
Agdung was taken aback by the sudden proposal.
"You're not planning to resell it in a village or city later, are you? Just so you know, Contaminated Being Cloaks don't sell well...Actually, they don't sell at all."
For the sake of his pride, Agdung initially phrased it carefully, but then, worried that the Spirit Offering Hall Master's disciple might actually believe him and try to buy one, he decided to be brutally honest.
"I was thinking of selling them to the seniors over there."
"Hmm. Do you really think they'd buy it?"
Though Agdung took pride in the Contaminated Being Cloak developed by Kallarogard students, he wasn't confident it would sell well.
Fundamentally, Black Magic school mages tended to lose all confidence when it came to selling anything.
"First of all, they're mages too, so they probably know how to deal with Contaminated Beings. The design isn't very refined, and now that I look at it, it kinda smells bad..."
'That's the complete opposite of what you were saying earlier.'
Lee Han was slightly dumbfounded.
Just moments ago, he had been so confident in its performance, but the moment selling came up, he deflated.
"Have some confidence, Senior Agdung. This Contaminated Being Cloak is definitely an effective item."
"R-really?"
Lee Han nodded, then approached the seniors preparing to purify the corruption.
After exchanging a few words with them, he returned.
"How did it go, Lee Han?"
"They said they don't need it. That they can handle it just fine without such a sme—... without such an item."
"Ugh. Why do mages have to know how to use magic? So annoying."
Gainando also got angry at the seniors' rejection.
Mages, as a whole, were just too versatile, making it hard to sell them anything.
"I'm going to look around for a bit."
"Huh? Why? Where are you—"
While his friends looked puzzled, Lee Han left the mushroom field.
30 minutes later.
Hordes of Contaminated Beings appeared simultaneously from multiple directions. And Lee Han, having dispelled his Invisibility Magic, returned to the mushroom field.
"There sure are a lot of Contaminated Beings."
"......"
"I'll go ask the seniors again."
"...Wait, Lee Han, don't tell me—"
"Shh. Keep it down."
Lee Han approached the seniors once more.
The seniors, who had been annoyed by the horde of Contaminated Beings, listened to Lee Han's proposal with much more cautious and attentive attitudes than before.
'If we act now, we might actually survive...'
'Is that so...'
After the conversation ended, Lee Han returned.
His friends asked with expectant expressions.
"Did you sell it?!"
"Not yet. I turned them down this time."
"Huh? Why?!"
"I think we can get a higher price if the number of Contaminated Beings increases. Senior Agdung, by any chance, could you teach me about luring Contaminated Beings too..."
"......"
"Everyone! Let's fight for the forest!"
"Waaah! It's Senior Ilendil!"
"......"
Ilendil clicked his tongue as he watched the fleeing students.
Even if he had occasionally attacked juniors who were cutting down trees in the forest, he hadn't expected them to run away in a situation like this.
Still, fortunately, the sources of contamination were rapidly decreasing.
The students in the Exile Village were all excellent mages, so they had quickly realized this was a good opportunity.
"Huh...?"
Ilendil, who had been leading the spirits out, was delighted to see a familiar junior resting in the mushroom field with a student from Kallarogard.
This was the kind-hearted junior who had warmly comforted him last time, even when the Dark Element spirit had gone berserk.
"You..."
"Se-Senior Ilendil...!"
Imirgue muttered in a terrified voice. Lee Han found the reaction puzzling.
Of course, Senior Ilendil was known for attacking juniors who entered the forest and creating artificial Dark Element spirits that ran wild...
'Hmm. I suppose he is someone to be afraid of.'
Even by Lee Han's standards, Ilendil fell into the category of a sinister senior.
After all, he was favored by spirits that had strayed from the righteous path.
"What's wrong?"
"The other seniors warned us about Senior Ilendil. They said he's... really dangerous."
"Eh. He doesn't look it."
Gainando, who didn't know much about Ilendil, scoffed.
Frankly, judging by appearance alone, Ilendil—a dryad hybrid—looked far more harmless than Imirgue, who was a giant hybrid.
"No. Senior Ilendil really is dangerous."
"That's right, Gainando."
Siana and Yoner chimed in with serious expressions.
Both being from the Alchemy School, they had already heard the rumors from other seniors.
"They say he's the most dangerous in the Alchemy School."
"What's so dangerous about him...?"
Ilendil, who had approached, tilted his head in confusion. The two second-year alchemy students nearly screamed.
"We were just discussing how Professor Thunderstep's greed is the most dangerous thing."
Lee Han answered in their stead. Ilendil nodded in agreement.
Though an outstanding alchemist, Professor Thunderstep had been far too greedy for the forest's resources.
"Are the spirits doing well...?"
"Uh, um, yes. More or less."
"And here...?"
"We were helping purify the sources of contamination."
To be precise, they were helping purify while making a profit, but Lee Han kept it brief.
No point in elaborating when it'll just bore the other person.
"See! I knew I was right about you!"
Ilendil welled up with tears, moved just like last time. Not wanting to upset the sinister senior, Lee Han silently nodded.
"What brings you here, Senior?"
"I was helping with the purification too."
"Ah, of course..."
Thinking about it, as a higher-year student who cherished the forest, there was no reason he wouldn't participate in something like this.
'Huh?'
As he nodded, Lee Han sensed something odd.
Someone who cherished the forest, owned multiple forests, and was eccentric and ill-tempered...
'!'
The Watcher Club's BeaverPenguinFox flashed through Lee Han's mind.
There were likely many seniors in the area, so it wasn't certain yet—but the possibility seemed quite high.
"Senior, come to think of it, I've been seeing a lot of animals around Einrogard's territory lately."
"Oh?"
"What kind of animals do you like, Senior?"
"I like foxes... or penguins...?"
"I see."
"And beavers, I suppose...?"
"Ugh. Why would anyone like that professor?!"
When Gainando recoiled in disgust, Ilendil scowled and snapped.
"I said beavers, not beaver beastmen! Can't you even tell humans from apes apart?!"
"S-sorry..."