Episode 786
Episode 786
What Lee Han liked were seniors who had lots of gold and knew how to share it generously with their juniors, not seniors who tried to exploit them for free labor.
How could someone who had become a senior at Einrogard commit such shameless and heinous acts?
"Ah, no. Junior. Senior Zarun has always been crazy about gold. He's always been like this."
When the junior glared coldly at Zarun, Carnella, flustered, jumped to his defense instead.
The reason Zarun was unmatched in his ability to accumulate wealth wasn't just because he spent all his free time mining.
If that were the case, there were plenty of other students who could earn high incomes through magical research.
What made Zarun special was his unparalleled, fanatical dedication to frugality.
Not a single penny was ever wasted!
-Zarun. The Kitchen Club's menu today is good. You should go eat.
-I don't need it.
-Why? It's noodles generously filled with serpent meat for just one gold coin. When do you think an opportunity like this will come again? Do you want to spend a gold coin on rock bread stuffed with salted meat instead?
-Hmph. If I don't buy anything at all, I won't spend even one gold coin.
Zarun's legendary tales didn't end there.
-Zarun. Stop being stubborn and just buy the reagents! If you don't pay for them, you won't finish the semester!
-I'd rather go to the Punishment Room than spend money on this!
Refusing to buy reagents, refusing to use his staff for fear of wearing it down, hanging golden ornaments in midair to admire them instead of wearing them...
These were all well-known, outlandish incidents among students of the Transmutation Magic school.
Carnella, growing increasingly indignant as he spoke, raised his voice.
"Do you know what happened last time I came to pick him up? The chair was gone, the chair! When I asked, that damn senior had removed it! He said it was a waste because it would wear out if I sat on it!"
"Hmph. Did you think the chair was free?"
Zarun grumbled.
Even now, he still regretted the chair that had worn out because Carnella sat on it.
'So that's why there's no chair here.' Lee Han finally understood why this workshop lacked seating.
"Senior Hormasi. I fully acknowledge that Senior Zarun is... frugal."
"Hey. This isn't frugality—it's insanity."
Lee Han ignored the remark and continued.
"But that's beside the point. I've always been compensated for my work. Even by Professor Verdus."
"...!"
Carnella was stunned.
He knew this junior had a genius-level talent for magic, but to think he had even managed to extract payment from Professor Verdus... 'A-Amazing! How?!' Even Carnella, who wasn't part of Verdus's school, found the story fascinating enough to want to know how he'd done it.
"Th-That's impressive... but like I said, Senior Zarun wouldn't bleed even if you stabbed him. He's the type to use Transmutation Magic to suck his own blood back in because he thinks it's a waste."
Carnella wasn't just speaking metaphorically—he had actually stabbed Zarun with a needle once.
He and other Transmutation Magic students had ambushed Zarun.
Even in the midst of that chaos, Zarun had stubbornly used Transmutation Magic to collect every drop of his spilled blood before fleeing, unwilling to waste even that.
A person like that would definitely...
"He'll just reject your proposal outright."
"Grrrrgh."
"?!"
Carnella jumped in surprise at the pained groan coming from behind him.
"Grrrrrrgh..."
Zarun was groaning as if suffering from a serious illness, his face twisted in agony.
"What's wrong, Senior Zarun? I told you not to skimp on food! The Kitchen Club's meals have been good lately!"
"It's not hunger, you idiot! It's pain!"
"Of course you're in pain if you don't eat!"
"It's my heart that hurts!"
Zarun growled in anger.
It was all because of his junior's cruel, heartless, and utterly outrageous proposal—demanding that he pay in gold coins.
The proposal itself was painful, but the reality that he couldn't refuse it was even more bitter.
To proceed with his current research, he needed a competent assistant. 'The progress is too slow. I started the first trial run today, but at this rate, completion is impossible. I do need an assistant...' And the junior before his eyes was undoubtedly a rare talent hard to come by.
Not only had he perfectly mastered all necessary magics, but he'd even assisted Dobruk in brewing the Soul-Returning Potion in the alchemy workshop.
Such talent was difficult to find anywhere. Especially since most upperclassmen at Einrogard were too busy with their own research. 'If I think of it as an investment for my research... Ugh. That's absurd. How can I deceive myself with such a contradiction? But I need an assistant. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.'
"Junior. Maybe you should just leave. Senior Zarun seems to be malfunctioning."
"Understood. I'll come back later—"
"...Wait!"
Zarun called Lee Han back with a voice as grating as metal scraping against metal.
"I'll... pay you... compensation...!"
"Is that really something so agonizing to say, honestly?"
The dark elf student shook his head in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
The negotiation, which started at three and a half gold coins per hour, had to pause intermittently due to Zarun's agonized screams every time the amount increased.
Nevertheless, Lee Han pushed through the negotiation without changing his expression.
No compromises!
'I think I've grown too.'
For the first time since entering his second year, Lee Han felt he had matured a bit.
He had always been tricked by professors, but now, for the first time, he had successfully asserted himself.
"...Look at this."
Zarun spoke in a hoarse voice from all the screaming.
His heart ached, but that only made him more determined to proceed quickly. Having already agreed to pay in gold, every minute and second felt precious.
"My current research, this... <Gold, Come Out, Clink Clank> is—"
"...Isn't it called the Dimensional Transformation Gold Observation and Collection research?"
"What?"
"Senior. Listen to your junior here. I think that name is better. The current one is at a level where it'd get ignored no matter where you submit it."
Zarun grumbled a bit but eventually changed the research name. Meanwhile, Lee Han and Carnella, being students of the Transmutation Magic school, observed the research intently.
Unlike their initial fresh shock upon first seeing it, they now began noticing flaws in the research.
"Hey, isn't the speed of transforming connected dimensions gradually slowing down?"
"Right. You've got a good eye. And this supporting device... looks too fragile. If we run it for another hour or two, it'll break."
"If we want to meaningfully secure gold, we'll need to significantly increase the number of connected dimensions and boost the transformation speed to expand the collection scale."
"But can we afford the cost if we do that?"
"You're both right."
Zarun let out a sigh.
"This <Dimensional Transformation Gold Observation and Collection> research is too slow, and the device's wear rate is severe. I started the first trial run today, but it'll stop soon. Now that we've confirmed the speed... we'll need to improve both stability and speed."
"How are you planning to improve it, Senior? Do you have a method?"
Carnella, who had been questioning him, suddenly clapped her hands as if she'd had an idea.
"Ah. Let's replace the support device with <Paldar Leji's Gold>. Then it'll withstand the dimensional transformation shocks much better."
"D-don't talk nonsense!"
Zarun made a face as if he were about to have a heart attack at his junior's words.
Paldar Leji's Gold?
He couldn't even begin to imagine how much of his accumulated gold coins he'd have to spend to obtain that.
"Why not? It's still gold, technically."
"It's a metaphor, you crazy fool! How is that gold?!"
'Hmm. I shouldn't make gold-related jokes in front of Senior.'
Lee Han thought to himself as he watched their exchange.
After fuming for a while, Zarun barely managed to calm down and spoke again.
"I've been racking my brain to find a way to make this work. Until now, I've been scavenging discarded materials from Einrogard's workshops and recycling them."
"......"
'Ah. This is so damn embarrassing.'
Carnella glanced sideways at Lee Han while listening.
There probably wasn't a more mortifying place in all of Einrogard's schools.
"But even recycling scrap has its limits. So I'm trying to create a few new materials."
"Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?"
Altering the properties of materials to create new ones was the specialty of transmutation mages.
Armor made from flowing river water.
Books crafted from the air of hell.
Of course, none of this was remotely easy.
Even temporarily changing properties was challenging enough, but finding stable domains where the transformations could be permanently maintained was far more difficult.
If one could discover such properties and create new materials where the transmutation remained stable...
'...Wouldn't it make more sense to just make that your graduation project?'
"It's not easy. But I've already narrowed down a few directions."
Zarun's Inelastic Rubber.
Zarun's Membrane Lava.
Zarun's...
"!"
Lee Han grew intrigued as he read the list of new materials Zarun was researching.
They were far more practical than he'd expected.
For instance, <Zarun's Inelastic Rubber> was a material that removed rubber's elasticity while maximizing certain other properties—once it made contact, it spread like a swamp, entangling any foreign material.
'How about using this for traps?'
Even experienced mages would likely be caught off guard by such a trick at first.
"Your job is to keep experimenting in this direction, casting spells and recording the results."
"Senior. Hate to burst your bubble, but it's not 'you guys.' It's just this junior here."
"...Got it?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
Lee Han nodded after carefully noting Zarun's instructions.
"Understood, Senior. I'll proceed accordingly."
"Good. Then I'll leave it to y—"
Knock knock knock.
"?"
Zarun froze at the sound from outside.
"Who is it, Senior? Another visitor?"
"No. More importantly... I reactivated the barrier after you guys came in. Who the hell is it?"
"Looks like someone's here to steal your gold. Should we teach them a lesson?"
"How dare they?!"
Flames of greed flickered in Zarun's pupils. Gripping his hammer-shaped staff, he stormed toward the door in fury.
Bang!
"Come at me, you thief!"
"......"
Standing at the door was Professor Yonlamo Leji, who oversaw Transmutation Magic.
The professor stared at Zarun before asking,
"What are you doing skipping class?"
"...Ah, well, you see, Professor."
Zarun's eyes darted around before he quickly tried to shut the door.
At that moment, Professor Yonlamo's cloak split into dozens of tentacles and swallowed Zarun whole.
Gulp!
The professor let out a deep sigh.
"I wonder why all my students are like this whenever I check what they're doing instead of attending class. Don't you agree, you two?"
"...Yes!"
"I concur, Professor!"
Lee Han and Carnella answered swiftly, afraid the professor's anger might turn on them.
They worried he might ask why they hadn't brought Zarun back and what they were doing here instead.
"By the way, what were you two doing here?"
"Uh, assisting with magic."
"Hormasi? That's unexpected."
"No. Me."
"......"
Professor Yonlamo stared intently at Lee Han.
He had assumed this boy from the Wardanaz family was being pressured by the Headmaster and a few other professors due to his innate talent, regardless of his own wishes...
'Could it be that he genuinely loves magic?'
For a moment, he doubted himself—perhaps it wasn't just external pressure, but actual passion.
Shrugging, the professor said,
"Then finish up and come out. Today's lecture is canceled anyway."
"Uh..."
Lee Han wanted to ask, 'Since the senior's gone, does that mean no gold coins? Should we just leave?' But the memory of the professor's cloak transforming into tentacles flashed in his mind, and he couldn't bring himself to say it.