Episode 79
Episode 79
However, for a trap, the Bone Hand's posture was excessively polite.
As Lee Han took a step forward, the Bone Hand trembled violently and rolled backward, lying flat.
As if trying to prove it bore no hostility.
"...?"
Just as Lee Han was about to fall into confusion, Professor Mortum spoke up.
"Cough. It's easy to be deceived by the beautiful and majestic appearance of Undead Summoning, but in truth, summoning the undead is anything but simple."
Mages who studied Summoning Magic to conjure inanimate objects often found themselves plagued by this dilemma:
—Do we really have to summon inanimate objects? Can't we just summon something with a will of its own?
Even when summoning a single magic sword, one had to meticulously design what attributes it would possess and how it would move autonomously.
At higher levels, it required nearly artificial intelligence-level autonomy, making it easy to imagine how torturous Summoning Magic studies could be for mages.
Why do we have to program everything ourselves?
Why can't we just summon something with a will from the start?
Of course, the downside of summoning sentient beings was obvious, which was why they designed things this way.
Having a will meant there was a chance the summon wouldn't obey the summoner.
And undead monsters were generally slightly more disobedient than other monsters.
Their very nature was fundamentally opposite.
Summoners were mostly alive, while the undead were all dead.
It was only natural that bonding with them was difficult.
Thus, Black Mages employed all sorts of methods to befriend the undead.
Living in graveyards, smearing rotting substances on their bodies, fashioning necklaces out of bones and rotting flesh to wear around their necks...
These weren't the actions of perverted Black Mages.
They were tearful efforts to conceal the vitality of the living and grow closer to the undead.
"......"
"......"
The students listening had faces as pale as the undead, but Professor Mortum didn't seem to notice.
"Cough. So for now, try befriending the Bone Hand by any means necessary. If you can befriend a Bone Hand, you'll eventually be able to bond with other undead monsters."
Spending time intimately with undead monsters would inevitably stain one's soul with their aura.
If one could coexist with low-tier undead like the Bone Hand, they would eventually gain the ability to handle more powerful undead monsters.
"Professor."
"?"
Lee Han, who had been quietly waiting for Professor Mortum to finish speaking, raised his hand to call the professor.
"Are there undead that are... somewhat cowardly?"
"??"
Undead monsters were generally fearless.
It was only natural, given that they weren't alive.
Professor Mortum scoffed as if to ask what nonsense he was talking about—
—until he noticed the Bone Hand trembling violently in front of Lee Han and froze in shock.
"?!"
Professor Mortum stared at the Bone Hand he had summoned with utter disbelief.
What was it doing when it was supposed to be intimidating the students?
The Bone Hand bowed its head before Professor Mortum as if ashamed.
'Can't it just approach him already?'
Despite Professor Mortum's command, the Bone Hand trembled and refused to get closer to Lee Han.
The professor wondered if there was something wrong with the reagents he had used.
Slap! Slap!
Another Bone Hand was enthusiastically smacking Gye Nando's cheeks as he approached. All the others were perfectly fine.
'Did it sense familiarity because of the Bone Summon he's been around? No... That wouldn't explain why it's scared.'
Only one conclusion remained.
Professor Mortum was inwardly horrified.
Could it be...?
"Cough. Try summoning one yourself."
"Am I allowed to?"
"Of course. This is where Black Magic surpasses Summoning Magic—it gives you hands-on experience. If this were Summoning Magic, they'd make you study for a whole year first."
"......"
Professor Mortum tossed him a bone fragment required for the spell and carved a Magic Circle onto the floor.
Lee Han gripped his staff and focused. It was impossible not to feel uneasy when Professor Mortum was acting like this.
'He seems to be pushing the curriculum too hard just to prove Black Magic is better...'
The only consolation was that even if the Bone Hand attacked, Lee Han thought he could subdue it.
Lee Han began chanting the incantation.
"Appear, Bone Hand!"
As he swung his staff and threw the bone fragment, the piece swallowed his mana and began transforming into a Bone Hand amidst eerie smoke.
This wasn't the same Bone Hand summoned earlier—the one Professor Mortum was controlling with ironclad precision.
This was a brand-new Bone Hand summoned by Lee Han himself.
While the summoning spell acted like a chain around the undead monster's neck to control it, novice mages typically struggled to handle that chain properly.
Professor Mortum kept a close eye on the Bone Hand.
If it overcame the chain and attacked Lee Han, he planned to banish it immediately.
Thud thud thud—
"......"
"......"
The newly summoned Bone Hand prostrated itself even more fervently than the one Professor Mortum had summoned earlier.
The Bone Summon hanging from Lee Han's belt shook its body in jealousy.
"You have far too much mana," the true Professor Mortum calmly explained.
Looking back, the signs had been there since the curse lesson.
He just hadn't realized it was severe enough to make undead monsters cower in submission like this...
Lee Han asked with the solemnity of a patient receiving a terminal diagnosis.
"I see. Professor, is there any way to fix it?"
Cough. "Why would you fix it? It's a blessed talent."
"??"
Lee Han was baffled.
Well...
Because it makes casting spells difficult and spirits flee?
Cough. "With a talent like that, you don't even need to befriend undead monsters. Just crush them under your power. What a wonderful gift."
Black mages didn't roll around in graves for fun.
They did it because they had to find ways to befriend undead monsters.
But what if that wasn't necessary?
In Professor Mortum's eyes, subduing undead monsters was a higher level of control than befriending them.
It was just harder to achieve.
"But Professor, while undead monsters can be summoned and subdued, spirits won't respond that way."
Before befriending a spirit, it wouldn't even answer a summoning call—so having an intimidating aura was useless.
Professor Mortum kindly answered Lee Han's question.
Cough. "There's a good solution."
"What is it?"
"Give up on summoning spirits."
"......"
Lee Han was grateful for the desk.
Since his hands were under it, he could clench his fists without being noticed.
But Professor Mortum was dead serious.
Cough. "Why try to graze on grass when you have such fine fangs and claws? Black Magic suits you best. I don't usually say this, but... you have a genius-level talent for it."
"Ah. I see."
"?!"
Lee Han's indifferent reaction left Professor Mortum flustered this time.
It was rare, precious praise—something he truly didn't give often—yet the student remained utterly unfazed.
Perhaps coming from the Wardanaz family made his reactions unpredictable.
'My days of falling for professors' flattery are over.'
Professors often doled out praise when it suited them. In unpopular fields, one had to be especially wary.
Getting swept up in their compliments could ruin a life.
Lee Han changed the subject.
"But Professor, my excessive mana makes spellcasting difficult."
"You'll get used to it in time. Cough. I'll help you practice."
'Damn. Professors really are no help.'
They just drag students along to serve their own ambitions.
Is this really how professors should...
...come to think of it, they've always been like this.
"Ah... Thank you very much."
Lee Han finished controlling his expression and nodded.
Of course, he hadn't definitively decided to pursue Black Magic as his path yet, but he still needed to prepare for the possibility that he might fail at all other magic and only have Black Magic left in the future.
Considering that possibility, there was no benefit in making a bad impression on Professor Mortum.
Professor and student exchanged satisfied smiles while harboring completely different thoughts.
"You bastard! I'll break you!"
Gainando, his cheek swollen, gripped his staff and swung at the Bone Hand.
Raphael wasn't faring much better either—he had drawn his wooden sword and was striking the Bone Hand.
The only one still unscathed was Imirg.
He had managed to physically restrain the attacking Bone Hand by sheer strength but was now floundering, unsure what to do next.
Perhaps sensing Lee Han's disbelief, Professor Mortum spoke up.
Cough. "Having talent in Black Magic doesn't necessarily mean you'll quickly befriend the undead. That's not the right approach. It's a classic mistake young Black Magic practitioners make."
"But wouldn't beating them like that make the undead monsters respect their summoner more?"
Professor Mortum stared at Lee Han as if he were looking at a madman.
Lee Han suddenly felt unfairly judged.
'You're the one who said submission was the right method...'
When the extra lesson ended, Gainando grumbled while applying the ointment Professor Mortum had given him to his swollen cheek.
"Ugh, these ungrateful undead monsters... Lee Han."
"Hm?"
"Let's hurry to Summoning Magic class. If they're not undead monsters, it should be better."
"......"
Would it really?
'Aside from spirits, demons are probably even fiercer than undead monsters, and regular monsters are naturally wild by default.'
As Lee Han pondered this, Raphael shouted with his puffy face.
"You wicked Black Magic bastard. Just you wait. I'll be keeping an eye on you."
"Now, now. I think there's been a misunderstanding between us. As fellow Black Magic students, must we really fight?"
"You bastard! You just slapped my cheek earlier!"
"That was an accident."
While the others struggled to befriend the undead monsters, Lee Han, following Professor Mortum's instructions, tested the extent of commands he could issue to them.
When he even succeeded in making one destroy itself, Professor Mortum was so impressed he applauded.
But there had been a mistake.
Midway, due to a command mishap, the Bone Hand Lee Han had summoned ended up slapping Raphael's cheek—prompting the latter to grumble, "You wicked Black Magic bastard."
A regrettable accident.
"Come on, why won't you believe me..."
"Lee Han. He's already left."
"What a shame."
Gainando stared at Lee Han with eyes full of wary fear.
...Is this why undead obey him so well?!
"Imirg. See you next class."
"Uh, yeah. Lee Han... Just not outside, okay..."
Lee Han felt slightly hurt but didn't show it.
The Spirit Offering Hall.
Professor Milley's workshop and tower, the Spirit Offering Hall, had an atmosphere completely different from the Black Rock Hall.
'It looks like a library.'
Ironically, the actual Magic School library resembled the chaotic storage room of a bankrupt company, while the Spirit Offering Hall looked more like a library than a library.
The path leading to the tower was neatly paved with bricks, and nearby were even a pond and walking trails for leisurely strolls.
'Well, the Black Rock Hall had a pond too.'
Though it was a purple pond with toxic bubbles rising to the surface...
Gainando stood before the Spirit Offering Hall's door and knocked cautiously. Then he turned to Lee Han and asked,
"Wait. What should we say?"
"Just the truth."
"That we got slapped by an undead and that's why we're late...?"
"...Let me handle it. Professor Milley! We apologize for arriving late. Another professor held us back with an alchemical lesson..."
"If it was an alchemical matter, there's nothing to be done. No need to apologize."
Professor Milley replied thus as she opened the tower door.
Having walked down to the first floor to greet the late arrivals, Professor Milley raised an eyebrow upon seeing Lee Han.
Almost as if she was surprised he was here.
'...What's this about?'
Lee Han suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.
Surely Professor Mortum hadn't gone around telling the other professors something like, 'This one's going to be my disciple, so everyone else back off,' right?