Episode 772
Episode 772
Shock and Silence.
Diret fully understood the shock his junior was experiencing, so he waited patiently for him to recover from it.
"......"
"H-How does that even make sense?"
"Which part? The White Tiger Tower fifth-year? Or the zero schools?"
"All of it is confusing... How can someone who failed advance to fifth year?"
The common joke among lowerclassmen at Einrogard—"If you keep failing, won't you end up in fifth year?"—was far from reality.
Einrogard was not kind or gentle enough to promote students to the next grade just because they failed.
If a student failed, they usually ended up in the Punishment Room.
By staying in the Punishment Room during vacations instead of going outside, most failures could be resolved. Of course, students aiming to graduate in their fourth year wouldn't be satisfied with that, but that was a matter of graduation. Generally, the standard process was: fail -> Punishment Room -> overcome.
But to not only endure continuous failures but also reach fifth year?
"Well, that bastard Jahan... spent every vacation in the Punishment Room."
"......"
Lee Han suddenly felt chills.
A person who had never stepped outside and had been trapped in Einrogard since enrollment...
Even a sane person would turn into a monster like the Skeleton Principal after such an ordeal.
"T-That's too cruel, isn't it?"
"That's just how things are at Einrogard, junior. Not just me—even Yukveltire and the professors tried to teach him, but..."
Without realizing it, Lee Han gulped.
This felt even more nerve-wracking than encountering the Skeleton Principal's Mad Clone.
"......"
"They failed. Jahan didn't understand even the slightest bit of the calculations or laws required for magic. It was as if he was cursed by numbers."
"I-I see."
Lee Han nodded.
Magic was fundamentally an advanced discipline that required sensing mana, manipulating it, performing mental calculations, and maintaining focus—things that couldn't be done by instinct alone.
Even if someone luckily grasped a few spells, they couldn't progress further.
If Catten of the Jahan family was truly cursed by numbers, as Diret said, it wouldn't be strange for him to fail repeatedly.
"Wait. Then how did he become a fifth-year?"
"Because his swordsmanship was exceptional."
Catten's swordsmanship was unmatched, not just among his peers but even when compared to senior White Tiger Tower students.
Not only could he manifest aura with mana, but he also employed various secret sword techniques to somehow compensate for his lack of magical ability.
—Student Jahan. The exam clearly asked you to create a wall of water...
—I did, Professor.
—This is swordsmanship... Of course, creating a water wall by swinging your sword is impressive, but... What kind of sword technique is this?
—It's a secret technique I developed to pass exams in the Punishment Room. I swung my sword all day to materialize the water wall.
—...Wouldn't it be better for you to just join the knight order?
Moved by his dedication and talent, the professors—including the Skeleton Principal—suggested, "Why not graduate early and join the knight order?" But Catten firmly refused.
Catten himself had a passion for magic.
—A man of the Jahan family does not abandon his resolve once made, Headmaster. Since swordsmanship is also a technique that manipulates mana, reaching its pinnacle might reveal a connection to magic.
—I know a thing or two about swordsmanship myself, but regardless of any connection, improving in swordsmanship won't grant enlightenment in magic...
—Headmaster. Didn't you say we shouldn't impose limits on magic?
—How cowardly, throwing my own words back at me. Brat.
In the end, the Skeleton Principal, worn down by Catten's stubbornness, allowed him to advance to fifth year.
Fine! If you're going to insist that much, then produce results through swordsmanship research!
The result was the birth of a monster known as the "Zero-Faction Fifth-Year Student."
"...Wouldn't it be better for him to just join the knight order?"
"Junior. I, his seniors, and his juniors have all said that to him at least a hundred times."
From what he heard, Catten was a swordsmanship prodigy on par with Giselle's older sister, Jiklin. It was baffling why he was still at Einrogard pursuing this path.
Wouldn't dedicating himself solely to swordsmanship be a boon for the Empire's swordsmanship community?
But no matter what others said, in the end, his own will was what mattered. Catten was convinced that if he delved deep enough into swordsmanship, he would eventually attain enlightenment in magic.
"I see. Hmm. At least he's not a senior with a bad or strange personality, right?"
"After hearing that conversation, you still have to ask if he's a strange senior?"
"...But he's not as weird as Professor Verdus or Senior Yukveltire, right?"
"He's not like those guys. But... hmm... no. I don't think I should say anything more about this."
"......"
Lee Han wanted to say, 'Senior, do you know there are two ways to make people angry?' but he held back.
Because the senior in front of him was too pitiful to get mad at.
"Understood. Then I'll go and listen carefully."
"Good. Work hard."
"Oh, right. When should I come to assist with the Similarity Substance research?"
"It's still a long way off."
"Then I'll go this weekend."
Lee Han bowed and stepped outside.
"Did he not hear me say it's still a long way off?"
Diret grumbled at the back of the junior's head.
When a junior was too sharp, even lying became difficult.
'Right. I should stash some gold coins.'
After Lee Han left and Diret was alone in Black Rock Hall, he approached the safe.
The Black Magic faction was notoriously poor, so Diret sometimes secretly contributed his own funds.
With the likelihood of zero new students this year already worrying him, he figured he should loosen his purse strings a bit...
-!!!!!!
A shrill scream erupted from Black Rock Hall.
The <Sword and Life> lecture was held in the Hell's Edge Lecture Hall on the sixth floor.
'At least the sixth floor has a toxic swamp—that's fortunate.'
Lee Han passed through the miasma emanating from the swamp bare-bodied and opened the door to the Hell's Edge Lecture Hall.
Inside, lava flowed like a river, accompanied by scorching heat.
"......"
The urge to close the door was overwhelming, but Lee Han endured it.
'Wait. The Elemental Magic lecture was like this too. All of Einrogard's lecture halls are unique. You can't hastily judge the lecture content based on the classroom's quirks.'
Of course, the professor in charge of <Elemental Magic and Its Applications> had set Lee Han on fire, but he tried his best to take it positively.
'...'
Why is there no one here?'
Seeing no one amidst the lava and volcanic rocks, Lee Han once again felt the urge to retreat.
'No, Professor Verdus's lecture was like this too. The seniors might just be running late because they're so laid-back.'
Unlike second-years like Lee Han at Einrogard, third and fourth-years were people overflowing with leisure.
So it was possible they were just late.
"Ah, is that you, junior? Come in."
A short cat beastman student noticed Lee Han's arrival and waved cheerfully.
The male student had a strong animalistic appearance, and Lee Han instinctively flinched upon seeing him.
'Beastmen with cute appearances... based on experience, they've been dangerous.'
In Lee Han's experience so far, beastmen with cute appearances often had severely flawed personalities.
He privately referred to this as the <Beastman Personality-Cuteness Inverse Proportion Hypothesis>.
The most fitting example was, of course, Professor Verdus.
If not for his appearance—thick with animal traits and evoking sympathy and cuteness—Professor Verdus wouldn't have survived this long.
'Among beastmen with broken personalities, only those with thick animal blood and cute appearances survive. It's a somewhat convincing hypothesis.'
"Are you perhaps Senior Catten of the Jahan family?"
"That's right! Junior."
'Damn it.'
Lee Han inwardly lamented.
At least if he were a senior taking the same lecture, it might have been okay even if he was a bit dangerous—but this senior was the one conducting the lecture.
"How did you know my name?"
"Ah... The other seniors told me."
"I see. I know your name as well."
Catten took off his wide-brimmed hat and smiled with satisfaction. Lee Han flinched.
"Huh? How do you know?"
"Aren't you Lee Han of the Wardanaz family? I've been wanting to meet you ever since I heard the rumor that you're attending all the lecture courses. But I never expected you to come to this one."
"......"
Lee Han regretted not clinging to Diret's ankle earlier to get more information about this senior.
Given how the other was acting, it was genuinely terrifying.
'He wouldn't be trying to retaliate against me just because I'm attending all the lecture courses, would he?'
To make matters worse, Lee Han was from the Blue Dragon Tower, and the other was from the White Tiger Tower. If the second-years had been whining and begging for revenge...
"When will the others arrive?"
"Others?"
"Yes."
"There are no other students attending this lecture."
Catten blinked and stared at Lee Han.
"...How do you know that?"
"Well, aside from you, all the students taking this swordsmanship lecture are from the White Tiger Tower. And I already asked all the White Tiger Tower students."
"......"
Lee Han vowed to grab the collars of the White Tiger Tower students the next time he saw them.
If a crazy senior had been going around asking about the lecture, they should've shared that information! How could they just let it slide?!
"Should I try persuading them again? It feels like a waste for me to attend this lecture alone."
"No need, junior. And I was the one who stopped them from coming."
"Huh?"
Lee Han was startled by the unexpected response.
Was it really acceptable for a professor to go around threatening students not to attend?
'That's an innovative method.'
If Professor Verdus found out, the consequences would be terrifying.
Threatening students beforehand to keep them from attending a lecture...
"It seems there's a qualification required to take this lecture. I told them that if they didn't meet it, they shouldn't bother coming."
"A qualification... in swordsmanship?"
Lee Han was puzzled.
Of course, Lee Han had exceptional swordsmanship among his peers, but if even Giselle and Durgyu—not to mention the seniors—had given up, there was no reason for him to be the only one attending.
"Ah... Could it be that I haven't taken the test yet?"
Lee Han cautiously asked, wondering if failing here would let him leave the lecture hall.
But Catten shook his head.
"There is a test, but it's not about swordsmanship. It's closer to wisdom. Here, junior. Take this."
Catten handed Lee Han a book.
It was Beginner Fire Magic, an older textbook but well-explained—one that first-years had found useful back in the day.
"?"
"Page three in the back. Lesser Flame Barrier. Do you know this spell?"
"Yes."
"Can you explain it?"
"Huh?"
Catten urged him to go ahead.
Lee Han hesitated slightly, unsure how to explain.
'Hmm. The senior probably hasn't learned many spells.'
According to Diret, aside from a few beginner spells Catten had picked up instinctively, he relied mostly on swordsmanship.
Lee Han decided to explain as if Catten were as clueless as Gainando with numbers.
"Well, first, Lesser Flame Barrier is a spell that uses the Fire Element and form manipulation. Since the Fire Element has phenomena like backfire, precise calculations are essential. But sometimes, if your mana is too abundant or you can't perform the calculations, you have to use alternative methods. I'd recommend casting a protective spell first before using it. Even if it seems reckless at first, with repetition, you'll find that many parts can be substituted intuitively—"
"You pass, junior."
"??"
"Let's work well together."
"Wait, what do you mean?"
"I'll teach you swordsmanship. And you'll teach me magic. Hmm. A mutually beneficial arrangement, don't you think?"
"......"
Lee Han was starting to understand what Diret had been about to say earlier.