Episode 785
Episode 785
"There was... such a senior?"
"Huh? Yeah."
Carnella thought the junior's voice sounded slightly excited.
'Must be imagining things.'
"How could I not have known about such a senior until now?"
"Like I said, he's unsociable and eccentric?"
"At Einrogard, are unsociable and eccentric people rare? That's not even a flaw. I think this senior is the type who doesn't waste time on trivial matters and focuses intensely on his own work."
"Professor Verdus is like that too, and no one likes him—"
"How dare you say such a thing!"
"S-sorry, man. You were in the Enchantment Magic department too, right?"
Carnella belatedly recalled that the junior was also part of the Enchantment Magic department and apologized.
To be precise, Enchantment Magic practitioners didn't get angry just because someone insulted Professor Verdus.
They got angry simply because mentioning his name in any context was considered ominous and unlucky.
"......No, Senior. I lost control of my emotions. I apologize."
"Anyone would react like that when it comes to Professor Ber Mo. Don't worry about it. This Hormasi doesn't care about such things at all."
"Then, shouldn't we prepare a gift before meeting that senior?"
"......"
Carnella felt slightly disgruntled.
He was also a senior from the Transmutation Magic department—why was only that crazy, eccentric senior getting all the respect?
* * *
If the Einrogard territory had a major mountain range, the 7th-floor area had a minor one.
Of course, from the students' perspective, there wasn't much difference between major and minor. Reducing the number of peaks didn't make the climb any easier for those ascending.
Fortunately, the 7th-floor area had some climbing aids prepared by the students.
Rumble!
After entering the basement of an abandoned house and boarding a minecart, Carnella tapped the side three times.
Immediately, the minecart began speeding along the rails on its own.
"Living deep in underground caves... He must be a frugal and humble person."
"I-is that so...?"
Carnella gave the junior a disbelieving look as they clutched their precious bundle tightly.
No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't understand why they needed to bring such a gift to the senior they were about to meet.
Thud!
The minecart stopped after a few minutes. It was so dark that it was impossible to tell how deep they had descended. The only visible things were the faint glimmers of plants and minerals shining dimly in the distance across the underground valley.
Stopping in front of a large cave, Carnella stretched his hand out in front of Lee Han.
"Junior. Don't move recklessly from here on out. You might trigger a trap."
"Fortifying his workshop so thoroughly... He must be extremely security-conscious."
"......Senior Zarun! Senior Zarun! Hormasi is here! Open the door!"
No sound came from inside.
Carnella cursed under his breath before shouting again.
"Senior Zarun! It's lecture time! If you don't come out, I'll set this place on fire!"
Still, no response.
Carnella spat and muttered.
"Every time I come here, it's like this... O fierce flames, transform into mice and slip inside!"
The powerful flames pouring from the bottle transformed into mice and scurried inside.
How much time passed?
From within, flickering flames, curses, and shouts erupted.
"Hormasi, you damned bastard! I'll file a compensation claim!"
"Take it up with the professor! He's the one who ordered it!"
"The professor won't pay!"
Amidst the angry grumbling, a short dwarf burst out from inside.
His beard and hair tips were singed, likely from putting out the fire, and the rest of his appearance was as shabby and wretched as that of a reclusive hermit.
This was Senior Zarun, a dwarf from the western Steel Shoe family.
Zarun, gripping a hammer-shaped staff, rolled his eyes as he scanned the surroundings warily, as if expecting other attackers.
"Where are the others?"
"There aren't any. Senior Zarun! We came because of the lecture!"
"Hmph. That's what you say before ambushing me to steal my gold. You think I haven't fallen for that before?"
As he spoke, Zarun took a step back.
Among Einrogard students, there were quite a few who would say things like 'The lecture's started, Zarun, come out haha' to lower his guard before attacking and plundering his gold.
Seeing this, Carnella muttered in an utterly exasperated voice.
"Completely insane. That senior. At this rate, he'll never graduate and remain Einrogard's eternal lunatic."
"That's not true. Senior. Senior Zarun just has many scars."
"...Junior, have you met that senior before?"
Lee Han's unusually favorable attitude toward Zarun was something Carnella couldn't comprehend.
No student had ever shown such goodwill toward Senior Zarun before...
"No, I haven't."
"Then why do you like him so much?"
"It's just respect. Like how I respect you, Senior."
"Hmm. Seems like you respect him even more than you respect this Hormasi."
Carnella eyed Lee Han suspiciously. 'Sharp observation.' Of course, Lee Han preferred a senior who hoarded gold over one who checked his basilisk's bowel movements.
"Let's hurry and start the lecture."
"...Tell them to self-study today. I have things to do."
"Are you going to the Punishment Room again?"
"If I go, I go! Don't interfere!"
Seeing the senior being unusually stubborn today, Carnella flicked her riding crop against the wall in frustration.
"I came for work too. So let me in. I need to see what's going on to make excuses to the professor."
"What? No way! You're just after my gold!"
"Ah, Senior Zarun! I have zero interest in your stinky rocks! What kind of assets are these when you don't even keep a single pet mouse? You think everyone's as obsessed with yellow, shiny rocks as you?!"
Lee Han flinched slightly.
Zarun seemed to find some merit in Carnella's words and hesitated before pointing at Lee Han.
"What about him? Who's that guy? Never seen him before. How can I trust him?"
"Sigh. Senior Zarun. He's from the Wardanaz family. Attends all lecture branches. Has the least interest in gold. Just another magic-crazed bastard!"
"......"
Lee Han had much to say but maintained a harmless, gentle expression while standing still.
He really wanted to go inside.
Carnella's outburst seemed effective, as Zarun flinched.
"He... attends all branches?"
"Yes!"
"Isn't that guy insane?" 'That's too harsh.' Lee Han felt slightly wounded.
Ignoring this, Carnella defended her junior.
"Like you're one to talk? Just open the damn door already. I need to check what you're doing to report back."
Grumbling, Zarun began deactivating the long line of spells set up inside the cave. 'What's he muttering?' —Hormasi that bastard... might have teamed up with gold-thirsty bastards... mustn't let my guard down... that guy next to him... seems crazy too... all branches, seriously...
"......"
Lee Han pretended not to hear.
Finally, at the end of the cave, an iron door came into view. Zarun opened it and stepped inside. 'What is this...?' It was a bizarre space—half a mage's workshop, half a miner's digging site. Mix the two, and this might be the result.
On one side, small golems diligently mined ore while holding excavation tools. The extracted ore was immediately loaded onto carts and transported to the workshop.
There, the transported ore was shattered by transmutation magic, then submerged in alchemical solutions to extract essences.
"Gather, my children."
As Zarun chanted, pure ingots began forming from the molten essences of the dissolved ore.
Even to Lee Han's untrained eye, the finished metal ingots appeared remarkably pure and flawless.
"Ugh. Why call rocks your children?"
Carnella muttered in disgust. Zarun shouted back with clear displeasure.
"At least I'm better than you, treating an ugly wyvern like a child!"
"Are you insane, Senior? How dare you compare the cutest creature in the sky to these lumpy rocks?!"
"Senior Hormasi. Does Senior Zarun do this work every day?"
Lee Han, who had been surveying the workshop, cautiously asked. Carnella nodded in response.
"He does nothing but this until he drops dead."
'Good heavens!'
Now Lee Han understood why Einrogard was said to have the most outstanding talent for amassing wealth.
Einrogard was the Empire's most prestigious Magic Academy, but it was also the territory richest in reagents.
If one abandoned lectures entirely to roam mining regions and extract resources, just how much wealth could accumulate by graduation?
'This senior... I want to get close to him!'
Unaware of Lee Han's excitement, Carnella clicked her tongue in irritation.
Here they finally got a promising junior, and this so-called senior was only doing things that would scare him away. It was impossible not to be annoyed.
"Other dwarves welcome juniors by brewing fine liquor and stuffing them until they burst—what the hell is wrong with you, Senior?"
"That's the eastern dwarves, you fool! I'm a western dwarf!"
Zarun snapped back irritably.
Unlike the sociable, alcohol-loving, and hospitable eastern dwarves, western dwarves preferred quiet and solitary mining.
Though Zarun was admittedly a bit excessively introverted even by their standards...
"Senior. I'd like to assist you with your work."
"What?"
Zarun was slightly taken aback by the junior's sudden offer.
"You want to help me?"
"Yes. I'm familiar with Transmutation Magic, and I've also worked in an alchemy workshop before."
"Hmph. Still just a brat. Turn this into sand."
Zarun pulled out a solid rock and handed it over.
Rock-to-Sand Transmutation was a basic transformation spell, but it was enough to gauge one's skill.
The fineness and uniformity of the sand revealed how proficient one was in transmutation.
If Lee Han couldn't manage this, there was no point in letting him help. Forcing it would only lead to unnecessary losses.
Pfft!
"...Not bad. Can you handle <Component Amplification> or <Component Transmutation>?"
"I can."
"What's the most difficult potion you've handled in an alchemy workshop?"
"I assisted in the brewing of Dobruk's Soul-Returning Potion."
"...!!!"
Zarun stared at Lee Han in shock.
A mere second-year at this level? It was unbelievable.
'As expected, not just anyone gets into every discipline...!'
"Senior Zarun. So, what's keeping you from attending lectures? Tell me."
"...Follow me. I'll show you."
Zarun stomped forward with heavy steps.
At the back of the workshop sat a golden sphere the size of a fist. Lee Han instinctively fixed his gaze on it.
"What is this... Wait, it's expanding?!"
Carnella shrieked in surprise.
Current Empire transmutation magic could not create gold from nothing. At best, it could produce temporary or fake gold—that was the limit, due to gold's inherent perfection.
Yet here was gold, slowly but surely increasing in volume.
Did this mad senior just break through the Empire's magical limitations with a new discovery?
"You created gold?!"
"Don't be stupid. How could I create gold? I applied dimensional linkage."
Zarun scoffed at his junior's assumption.
While creating gold was impossible, retrieving it from another dimension was not.
Zarun had constructed a magic circle that linked to countless shifting dimensions, observing and securing gold whenever it was detected.
Even Carnella couldn't help but gasp at its sophistication.
"Amazing, Senior. With this, graduation should be a breeze."
"It's far from complete. Stabilizing it requires a lot more materials. Today was just the first test run. So, you still want to help me?"
"Yes!"
Lee Han answered eagerly, filled with the desire to learn under this admirable senior.
Zarun glanced at him sidelong before adding,
"I can't pay you, though."
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
Suddenly snapping back to his senses, Lee Han glared at his senior with icy disapproval.