Episode 790
Episode 790
"Professor. Actually..."
Filled with indignation, Lee Han reported everything that had happened to Professor Willow.
The tree spirit dwelling in this staff was truly an unreasonable bastard.
Fine, it was an exceptional spirit possessing multiple Authorities—he could accept that much.
But once it took residence in a staff, shouldn't it at least consider its mage's circumstances?
Even after Lee Han fought the King of Frost Giants and the Ghoul King, it still grumbled that he "wasn't good enough yet."
At this point, it wasn't a tree spirit—it was a spirit of ruin. It probably wouldn't be satisfied until Lee Han was completely destroyed.
"I-I see..."
Professor Willow was taken aback when the boy from the Wardanaz family practically put his own staff on trial and lodged a complaint.
He had merely asked a single question, thinking the staff spirit might still be dissatisfied about not being awakened yet—he hadn't expected such a lengthy tirade in response.
"Of course, maintaining good relations with spirits is difficult... Even I, with spirit blood in my veins, sometimes feel at a loss. But if you listen carefully, you can understand a spirit's thoughts."
"For example, my destruction?"
"...It usually doesn't go that far. Hmm. In my opinion... this spirit must have been quite a high-ranking one."
Professor Willow scrutinized Lee Han's staff as he spoke.
Multiple Authorities and an intense desire to prove its own abilities—this was typical behavior of a high-ranking spirit.
"But Professor, I don't quite understand. High-ranking spirits aren't usually like this, are they?"
Lee Han pressed the question, still confused.
Though unpopular among mid and low-tier spirits, Lee Han was well-acquainted with powerful high-ranking spirits, so he knew the difference well.
The stronger a spirit became, the more its sense of self, intelligence, and overall existence elevated—not just its raw power.
Just look at Perkuntra.
Unlike other spirits, it possessed a true name, titles, and even subordinate spirits, territories, and Authorities.
In contrast, the spirit in Lee Han's staff had never spoken a single word or demonstrated any distinct Authority.
And yet, it was supposedly high-ranking?
That was like calling Gainando a grand sorcerer of the Black Magic school—it sounded absurd.
"True, it's not the norm."
Professor Willow gently tapped the leaves that resembled his beard as he continued his explanation.
"But exceptions exist. High-ranking spirits that have been sealed, imprisoned, or lost their power. Such spirits retain their dignity even after losing their strength."
"!"
Lee Han was startled by the professor's words.
He had carelessly assumed the spirit in his wooden staff was just a low-ranking one—yet it might actually be a high-ranking spirit with a true name.
"That could also explain why it keeps demanding you awaken its Authorities. Through resonance with its master, it can regain its power."
There were many ways for a severely weakened spirit to recover, and one of them was through the assistance of its contracted mage.
If a mage borrowed and utilized the spirit's remaining faint Authorities, that power would gradually amplify over time.
Though it would be a long journey, once a critical threshold was crossed, the spirit could reclaim its original strength in a powerful resonance.
'Huh. Hearing it like this makes me feel a little guilty.'
Lee Han reflected on Professor Willow's words.
He had thought the staff was just being stubborn and difficult—not that it couldn't help it.
From the spirit's perspective, it must have been incredibly frustrating. As its master, Lee Han should have been repeatedly using and strengthening its Authorities to help it recover bit by bit—yet he hadn't.
"Wait a minute, Professor. Setting other things aside, in the case of the Authority of Tenacity, the spirit insisted I had to use its power rather than substituting my own mana. Shouldn't it have used its Authorities, even weakly, if it wanted to recover?"
"If it could wield its Authorities that flexibly, it wouldn't be a sealed spirit. For a high-ranking spirit to restore its proper existence, its mage must also demonstrate corresponding ability."
The Tree Spirit's Authority was difficult to wield.
As a compromise, instead of weakly using the Authority of Tenacity, Lee Han had to master stronger spells and face stronger enemies to awaken the Authority of Tenacity.
'Hmm. I take back feeling sorry.'
Lee Han immediately withdrew his earlier remorse.
This wasn't Lee Han's fault—it was the Spirit's.
What kind of lunatic expects something like this from a second-year student at Einrogard?
'At this point, it really does seem like a Spirit of Destruction rather than a Tree Spirit.'
"Indeed. Thank you, Professor."
"You shouldn't rush to awaken this."
"Haha. Yes. I'll keep that in mind."
Since Lee Han had no intention of rushing anyway, he readily agreed with Professor Willow.
"Sealed Spirits like these are particularly violent and vicious, you see."
"Indeed... Wait a minute, Professor. Aren't all high-ranking Spirits violent and vicious?"
Take Perkuntra, for example.
Spirits with power are generally arrogant and violent by default.
"That's not true. Spirits have varied dispositions. For instance, the Thunder King you contracted with is quite refined, isn't he?"
"...?!"
Lee Han was stunned to hear Perkuntra described as refined.
Perkuntra was considered well-mannered among Spirits??
'That's absurd. What the hell are Spirits even like?'
"Was it the oak trees who gave you this gift? If the oaks were overseeing it, then this Spirit must have been sealed by other Spirits."
Sealed Spirits were usually divided into two types.
Those sealed after battling evil foes, and those sealed by their fellow Spirits.
The former often consisted of perfectly normal Spirits, but the latter were mostly violent and vicious.
Just how much havoc and destruction must they have wreaked for their own kind to seal them away?
"A... Spirit of Destruction!"
"?"
Professor Willow tilted his head at Lee Han's words.
It was a Spirit he'd never heard of before.
"Wait, why would they give this to me? Do those oak trees have some grudge against me?"
"Ah, no. That's a misunderstanding. They must have given it to you thinking that after a long period of reflection, its temper would have mellowed—so it could accompany a young mage, assist them, and atone."
"......"
Even after the explanation, Lee Han wasn't particularly pleased.
If they wanted to reform a troublemaker Spirit, they should handle it themselves—why drag him into it?
"From what I see, with your abilities, you should be able to persuade and befriend this Spirit just fine. Haha..."
"Haha, haha, hahaha."
Lee Han forced a laugh and made a firm decision.
'When I make a new staff, I'm ignoring this Spirit's opinion...'
"Wardanaz. This is a red maple."
"I see."
"This is a blue maple. This is a black maple. This is a jade maple..."
"...Do we really need to memorize maple trees in such meticulous detail...?"
Nilia, too excited about explaining the greenhouse, ignored Lee Han's remark.
"What surprised me was finding trees here that you'd normally only see in the northern mountain ranges. Let's go over there, to the cold, dry climate zone!"
'I should've come with someone other than Nilia.'
After showing him around to her heart's content based on her favorite plants, Nilia finally seemed satisfied enough to start a proper explanation.
"During the last lecture, we were each assigned a plot in this garden. We'll be tending to them all semester. Last week, your friends divided up Wardanaz's plot since you weren't here."
"Nilia!"
Lee Han was slightly moved by his friends' consideration.
Even in the cold halls of Einrogard, such friendships existed.
This kind of camaraderie always moved people's hearts...
"...Wait. Aren't these mandragora seedlings???"
True to his reputation as the top student of the year, Lee Han recognized the plant just by the shape of its leaves in the garden plot.
Nilia was impressed by his skill.
"That's amazing! How did you guess?"
"......"
Instead of being pleased by the praise, Lee Han glared at Nilia with betrayal in his eyes.
"You planted mandragoras in my plot while I was gone? That's going too far, don't you think?"
Even though Lee Han attended lectures at a difficulty level higher than his peers, he never expected his friends to start acting like professors too.
This truly felt like a betrayal.
"Huh? N-no! It's a mandragora for me too!"
Nilia, who had been misunderstood in the most absurd way, jumped up in denial.
The other friends had also planted mandragoras in their garden plots.
From the beginning, the seedlings Professor Willow had given them were mandragora seedlings...
"Ah. So the semester assignment was just growing mandragoras. Wait. Nilia. Earlier you said you barely did anything."
-Barely did anything. It was the first lecture, so he just explained what the course was about and showed us some rare and interesting plants...
Lee Han recalled Nilia's earlier words and questioned her.
Nilia answered with a puzzled expression.
"We barely did anything, right? We just received the seedlings and planted them."
"...Nilia, you've really gotten used to Einrogard, haven't you? Calling planting mandragora seedlings 'barely anything.'"
"...!!!"
When Lee Han sighed and spoke as if pitying her, Nilia nearly collapsed from sheer indignation and frustration. 'Hey! For you of all people to say that...!' Even though the Crazy Doppelganger was lurking outside the estate, her friend who had simply concluded with 'We should be careful' was now saying such things—it was utterly unfair.
"Grrrr...!"
"What's wrong?"
"...It's nothing. Look, I'll teach you how to care for the mandragora seedlings."
Lee Han nodded and listened attentively.
Though he had learned from books, hearing it directly from Nilia, who had been taught by Professor Willow, would be far more useful.
"First, you water them like this."
Nilia scooped water from the bucket into a watering can and began sprinkling it over the mandragora seedlings.
"Watering... them."
As Lee Han took notes, he suddenly felt puzzled. 'Couldn't she just use water magic?' Unlike Gainando, who wasn't skilled in water magic, Nilia had a spirit and knew basic water spells.
So why was she going through all this manual effort?
"I see. Mandragoras prefer pure water, not water touched by magic. Didn't know that."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Nilia pricked up her ears, not understanding what her friend was saying.
"You didn't summon water with magic and instead carried it from the stream with a bucket, so..."
"Oh. That."
Having already emptied the watering can, Nilia stretched her back once before refilling it.
"You have to water them five times with this bucket, so I'm saving mana. They drink so much water it's a waste to use magic."
"...I'll just summon the water myself."
When Lee Han summoned water, Nilia gave him a look that said he was being adorably helpful.
As always, the moments when the boy from the Wardanaz family made the biggest impression were during such simple, repetitive tasks.
Splash!
The mass of water summoned from the air continuously filled the bucket. The work progressed swiftly.
"Whew, whew. Alright. This should be enough to quench the mandragoras' thirst."
Nilia spoke while dripping with sweat.
Though the mandragora leaves had become moist, Nilia herself seemed slightly parched in the process.
"Why don't you drink some water first?"
"Ah, I'll drink after finishing. No time now. Here, next we have to catch the mana aphids. They appear after the mandragoras drink all the water. These little guys are transparent, you see? So we have to make this potion to reveal them."
Nilia, who had prepared the potion in the watering can, began searching for the pests hiding near the seedlings.
Watching Nilia move tirelessly in the greenhouse's hot, humid air, Lee Han shook his head in disbelief.
"This lecture is unusually tough, isn't it?"
"What are you talking about? This is an easy one."
"You've been working nonstop since before the lecture even started, and you say that?"
"But Wardanaz, you take way harder lectures than this. Last year, you managed garden plots and stables every dawn. This year, you joined multiple clubs..."
"......"
Lee Han, struck by his friend's retort, turned the watering can's spout toward Nilia.