Episode 810
Episode 810
The Crazy Doppelganger shot a look full of contempt at the lackluster response, but the students from the other magic academies seemed deeply moved by it.
"I understand. The sight of exceptional spells clashing makes a mage's heart race, doesn't it?"
'These lowly, stupid trash worse than insects dare to talk about something exceptional...'
"Shh. Master. Please be quiet. If they find out I'm learning from you, imagine how jealous they'd be."
Lee Han whispered just loud enough for the staff hidden behind his back to hear.
Of course, the Crazy Doppelganger didn't listen.
'These jealous vermin... I should just hide it.'
"While a mage must maintain cold and rational reason, without such aspirations, one cannot reach higher realms!"
The Kallarogard students seemed quite pleased with this statement, as the Baldrogard students cheered and applauded.
"Well said!"
"Magic comes from the heart!"
The Kallarogard students warmly reciprocated the enthusiasm of their former enemies from just moments ago.
"Shut up."
"Who asked for your input?"
"......"
The deep-seated resentment between their magic academies made it impossible to transition into a heartwarming atmosphere.
The Kallarogard students, in particular, had no intention of tolerating any remarks about magic from the Baldrogard students.
"How dare they!"
"These rude, vulgar bastards! We showed them respect, and this is how they repay us!"
"Unforgivable!"
When the Baldrogard students drew their staves, Lee Han was slightly surprised.
'Oh? So they do have something?'
It was a very impolite thought, but the fact that Baldrogard students were actually drawing their staves to cast spells was surprising in itself.
'Well, by fourth year, even Baldrogard students must have achieved some level of magical proficiency...'
"Sir Garal! Teach them a lesson!"
"Make them regret it!"
"......"
"......"
Lee Han and Garal exchanged silent glances.
Garal's eyes seemed to say, 'Don't pity me.'
'Understood.'
He was right.
Who was Lee Han to pity a mage walking his own path?
Besides, Lee Han wasn't exactly in a position to sympathize with others either.
From Einrogard's eccentric professors to an ancient madman trying to kill him, and Professor Verdus...
'Ah, I should've listed the Crazy Doppelganger after Professor Verdus. My mistake.'
He had meant to list them in order of horror, but he'd messed up.
"Summon the Black Emperor's Crown. Make them kneel."
While Lee Han was lost in thought, the Crazy Doppelganger spoke again.
Lee Han, who had no idea what the Black Emperor's Crown was, tilted his head in confusion.
'The Black Emperor's Crown...?'
'Surely you don't mean to say you don't know what it is?'
"...No, I don't."
"If you don't even know the Black Emperor's Crown, I have no idea what kind of magic these trash are teaching you. Follow my instructions. I'll teach you."
The Crazy Doppelganger commanded Lee Han to prepare the spell as instructed.
Lee Han wanted to ask what kind of magic this was, but he could sense the Crazy Doppelganger's patience was wearing thin, so he tread carefully.
'If it's a summoning spell based on the Dark Element... But it looks far too complex and difficult.'
As Lee Han swung his staff and traced the magical structure as instructed, a sudden doubt crept in.
Could he really pull this off?
The spells the Crazy Doppelganger demanded were, by nature, extremely high-level.
Just the fact that it had been raging about mastering 5th Circle spells was proof enough.
Judging by the structure, this spell was anything but simple...
'These characters look like they're from the Three Kingdoms era.'
The inscriptions woven into the magic circle were written in the script of the Three Kingdoms period.
Though he couldn't fully decipher them, as a second-year, Lee Han could vaguely grasp their meaning.
This was a mechanism designed to suppress and restrain an immensely powerful entity.
"Master. Can I really cast this magic at my current level?"
Instead of answering, the Crazy Doppelganger ignored him.
It seemed the Crazy Doppelganger was gradually learning how to handle his disciple. Lee Han grumbled inwardly.
"...May the purest darkness alone be offered in sacrifice..."
As the magical formation roughly took shape, dark-element flames bloomed at each point of the nearby defensive perimeter, and the space trembled. It was the typical sign of summoning magic.
Lee Han was shocked as he felt his mana draining away like a raging torrent.
While it wasn't surprising in itself—since mages often offered mana as a price when casting summoning magic—the sheer volume was staggering! 'What kind of ridiculous amount is this?!' Even Lee Han, who was accustomed to wasting mana extravagantly, was taken aback by the quantity.
Only then did Lee Han realize why the Crazy Doppelganger had insisted on this spell.
The Black Emperor's Crown summoning wasn't necessarily difficult in terms of technique—rather, once the preparations were complete, the rest could be handled purely with raw mana capacity.
It was a spell perfectly suited for someone with extraordinary mana reserves. Lee Han couldn't help but feel a flicker of admiration. 'I didn't expect such consideration. Honestly, I thought he'd force me to cast something beyond my capabilities.'
"Not bad for a first attempt. Keep going."
Perhaps due to the nature of the magic, even the Crazy Doppelganger seemed quite satisfied. Lee Han cautiously took the opportunity to ask,
"Master, what kind of magic is this?"
"A spell that will shut the mouths of those vermin who claim to be dark mages..."
"...That's a metaphor, but I meant what the spell actually is."
The Crazy Doppelganger stared at the summoning taking shape amidst the dark flames before shifting his gaze. "What do you think it is?"
"Dark-element based, with this complex structure, and a summoning spell... Hmm. I don't know. A Black Dragon?"
"Not bad."
"Was that a good answer?"
"No. The answer itself was nonsense. Utter garbage. But I'll humor your intention to summon a Black Dragon."
"That wasn't my intention..."
"The Black Emperor's Crown is a vessel that seals an artificially created Demigod."
"??"
Seeing his disciple's confusion, the Crazy Doppelganger—as befitting someone who prided himself as the most outstanding teacher in the Empire—patiently explained.
Just as some eccentric mages (including the Skeleton Principal and the Wardanaz Family Head) believed that divine magic stemmed not from the gods themselves but from the faith offered by priests, the Crazy Doppelganger was of a similar mind.
But he took it a step further.
If priests could create divine magic by offering faith, why couldn't he achieve something similar?
Of course, there would be limitations—after all, he had to substitute the faith of millions alone—but...
In the end, the Crazy Doppelganger perfected this secret art.
An artificial Demigod summoned not by faith, but by offering the purest dark element.
That was the Black Emperor's Crown.
"......"
Lee Han was overwhelmed. As a mage himself, he was stunned not just by the power or difficulty of the magic, but by the sheer audacity of the Crazy Doppelganger's concept. 'Is this what ancient mages were like? Creating something akin to a god through magic and summoning it? Not even contracting with beings from another dimension, but crafting an artificial existence purely through a mage's own power... No, wait—was this spell being cast just to humiliate dark mages?'
It dawned on him belatedly why they were casting this spell now. It was all to show off to the dark mages of Kallarogard.
"Wait. But why a 'crown'?"
If it was an artificial dark Demigod, shouldn't it be called "Black Emperor Summoning" instead of "Black Emperor's Crown Summoning"? Unless... was the intention to unleash the artificial Demigod freely?
"Is it dangerous?"
"No."
"Whew. That's a relief. Did you make it benevolent, then?"
"The magic itself isn't dangerous. It's the mage wielding it who puts himself in danger. Is the sun dangerous?"
'You damn brat, of course it's dangerous...' Lee Han nearly brought up the tragic tale of the mage who flew too close to the sun but stopped himself.
It seemed this artificial demigod was indeed an extremely dangerous being.
The Kallarogard students, who had momentarily forgotten Lee Han's interruption while bickering with the Baldrogard students, suddenly froze mid-argument.
The Baldrogard students, thinking their words had finally gotten through, puffed up with confidence.
"Finally understood, have you? Your frivolousness—"
"..."
"What the hell is that?"
Even Garal, sensing something amiss, turned his gaze away from the quarrel. During the commotion, a second-year Einrogard student had summoned something bizarre.
A massive black coffin composed entirely of dark element!
"???"
"What is that?"
The Baldrogard students tilted their heads in confusion, only seeing the coffin's exterior. Its appearance was utterly unlike standard summoning magic. Normally, when summoning beings from other dimensions or inanimate objects, the purpose should be immediately apparent...
But this enormous coffin's purpose was completely incomprehensible.
The Kallarogard students, however, reacted differently. As mages specializing in black magic, they instinctively sensed something deeply unsettling and ominous about it.
'The density of dark element is absurd! What in the world did they summon?!'
Shiiik—
In an instant, the undead standing beside a Kallarogard student was forcibly reverse-summoned without any attack or warning.
"???!"
"What the—?!"
"...B-Black Emperor's Crown! It's the Black Emperor's Crown!"
Among the Kallarogard students was one who majored in ancient black magic research. Though reluctant to believe it, they recognized the spell.
They'd heard rumors—in ancient times, an unnamed archmage created this forbidden art, which spread like wildfire across kingdoms, ensnaring countless black mages.
A spell that created an artificial dark demigod, sealed it within a coffin, and controlled it!
"That kind of magic exists?!"
"Why haven't I heard of it before? If that's real, I'd love to learn it too!"
Even if it was a half-baked existence, trapped in a coffin, and artificially created—a god was still a god. The idea that a mage could impose new rules upon reality and twist it to their will was undeniably alluring.
In this case, the demigod inside the Black Emperor's Crown clearly possessed the Authority to control all nearby undead.
"Well... It's such dangerous magic that even in ancient times, it was outright banned..."
The amount of dark element required for even a single, brief summoning—let alone a permanent one—was beyond imagination. To gather this much, black mages had no choice but to resort to vile forbidden arts.
And even after summoning, problems arose.
While the demigod remained quietly sealed inside the coffin, things were manageable. But if the coffin shattered mid-battle and the trapped demigod crawled out? The consequences were utterly unpredictable.
The mage might have created the demigod, but they weren't its master. Ancient history was littered with cases where demigods, born with the Authorities designated by their creators, emerged from their coffins and laid waste to everything around them.
And yet, someone had not only rediscovered this dangerous magic but cast it so boldly.
Truly, Einrogard's madness was in a league of its own.
"Why would they use such a lost spell?"
"I... I really don't know. Einrogard bastards really are on another level of crazy..."
"Everyone. Do you see it now?"
Lee Han, who had summoned the Black Emperor's Crown, spoke up, oblivious to the other mages' shock. To satisfy the Crazy Doppelganger, it was time to end this dispute.
"Will anyone here challenge this magic? If not, I dare declare victory!"
The Kallarogard students shot him looks of utter disgust. Their eyes conveyed one message:
You lunatic!
Just to show off, you'd boldly pull out a forbidden, lost spell like it was nothing? The sheer audacity and brutality of it sent chills down their spines.
One Kallarogard student, shuddering at Lee Han's ruthlessness, suddenly froze while scrutinizing his face.
"Wait. You... are you Lee Han of the Wardanaz family? The one Senior Agdung mentioned?"
"Huh? Wardanaz family?"
At this, even the Baldrogard students reacted.
"That fourth-year?"
"Wasn't he fifth-year?"
"You fools. Sixth-year. If you can't even count, what hope is there for you?"
"......"
Garal stared at the Baldrogard students in sheer disbelief.
He knew they were idiots, but this was just...?!