Episode 816
Episode 816
Unfortunately, Diret failed to notice that his junior's opinion of him had just slightly dropped.
He was too focused on summoning and controlling the Toad Demon.
Croak! Mage! I'll only trap three at most!
"Got it. I'll keep my promise, so don't worry. I'm only putting one person in anyway."
Gururuk! Mage, you have honor! I trust you!
'He must summon this thing often...'
While Lee Han was having this pointless thought, Yukveltire spoke up.
"Let's begin."
"Understood."
Lee Han took a light breath and cast Enhancement Magic: <Gonadaltes' Quickening Agility> and <Bagrak's Instant Foresight>.
Both were spells that provided significant advantages in close-range magical combat.
"Can you also manage Dark Vision?"
"Yes."
When Diret asked, Lee Han also cast <Gonadaltes' Dark Vision>.
Intrigued by this, Yukveltire added another question.
"Can you do invisibility as well?"
"Yes."
As Lee Han cast <Gonadaltes' Invisibility Cloak>, Yukveltire gave a small nod and scrutinized him carefully.
Normally, a mage couldn't cast spells indefinitely due to the limits of mana and concentration. But even if one could, layering multiple spells was nearly impossible.
Each additional spell would interfere with the existing ones, causing disruptions.
To cast more than a few spells simultaneously required exceptional and precise control, as well as an immense and pure mana pool that could disregard the waste from such conflicts.
Yukveltire already knew that this junior possessed mana of the highest purity and quality she had ever seen, but witnessing just how far he could push it was always a fresh surprise.
"That's enough."
"Can you also add Flame Resistance to that?"
"......"
Lee Han shot his senior a glare before casting <Lesser Flame Resistance>.
Diret would have stopped them if he could, but he was too busy negotiating with the Toad Demon to pay attention to the two.
Croak! If a fight breaks out, participating wasn't part of the deal!
"That's why I'm offering an extra sacrifice—five bull heads this time..."
Gururuk! I don't want to fight! Mage battles hurt!
"You don't have to attack. Just protect us."
Croak! All the mages?
"No. Just that junior over there. You don't have to help the other one."
"Also, <Lesser Frost Resistance>..."
"No."
Lee Han flatly refused, his expression turning stern at the repeated demands.
Frankly, after seeing those White Tiger Tower students, even Flame Resistance seemed unnecessary.
"Why not?"
"Look at those seniors. The elemental attributes I sense from their mana are mostly wind-based. Neither Flame nor Frost Resistance will be of any use."
His answer, based on innate perception, was perfectly logical and reasonable. Yukveltire felt a pang of regret but couldn't argue and nodded in agreement.
Finally, Diret, having finished his negotiations with the Toad Demon, approached the two.
"Sorry, that took longer than expected. You're all set, right? You didn't cast Frost Resistance?"
When Diret asked casually, Yukveltire tried to explain.
"They're mostly win—"
"Yes. I'll cast it now, Senior."
Without another word, Lee Han cast <Lesser Frost Resistance>.
Yukveltire stared blankly at the now-invisible junior.
"...That was completely illogical just n—"
"Let's go, Senior! I'll lead the way!"
For the first time in her life, Yukveltire felt her fingertips tremble with an unfamiliar emotion.
Though she didn't realize it yet, that emotion was rage.
'See, if you want respect, you should treat people better...'
Diret sighed inwardly, watching from the side.
Yukveltire usually treated ordinary mages like pebbles on the roadside, so their words rarely affected her. But she was oddly vulnerable to harsh words from mages she actually respected.
"Diret might have pitied him and gone easy, but this junior—having faced all sorts of wicked foes at Einrogard—retorted sharply the moment his opponent spouted nonsense."
"Yukveltire. If you're that angry, why not just do as I said—"
"What nonsense? I'm not the slightest bit angry. A trivial emotion like rage has no effect on me."
"...At least hold your staff while saying that."
Thwack!
"It's an ambush!!"
As the corridor plunged into darkness in an instant, Ivanna's gang reacted immediately.
Even by their third year at Einrogard, they knew from experience that such anomalies didn't just happen without reason.
"Protect the barrel!"
The White Tiger Tower students had already begun casting spells in preparation for battle.
Some among them had even enhanced their hearing with echolocation, catching the echoes of sound waves bouncing back.
"Above the stairs! Above the stairs!"
"O walls, block the path!"
"Guard the barrel and fall back!"
'Truly, they're seniors. There's no comparison to Baldrogard.'
Lee Han couldn't help but admire their seamless coordination the moment the ambush unfolded.
The mages moved with precision, as if they'd rehearsed this countless times—not a single moment wasted.
Now he understood why White Tiger Tower students, despite being slightly lacking in magical research or grades, were notorious in commissions and chaotic battles.
Though often mocked—called simplistic, lacking creativity, or dismissed as mere subordinates to Enchantment Magic—there was no denying their efficiency in combat.
'So they're enhancing their hearing to catch sound waves. Since Illusion Magic primarily targets sight, they're countering it.'
Their swift situational assessment and flawless execution made them resemble a well-oiled machine.
The seniors in the rear pulled bricks from the corridor walls to create cover, then drew their swords and charged forward with a battle cry.
Having already provided cover for their comrades, it was time to engage the enemy and buy time.
"Go."
Yet the two fifth-year seniors remained unfazed. As members of the Blue Dragon Tower and Black Turtle Tower, they were no strangers to clashes with White Tiger Tower.
Screeeeech—
Longswords materialized from thin air, emitting a sound eerily similar to Siren's voice as they flew forth.
Though they didn't harm Lee Han, the White Tiger Tower students groaned in pain upon hearing it.
"Guhk—!"
"Ugh—!"
While their Enhancement Magic protected their bodies, the Illusion Magic targeting their heightened hearing immediately threw their senses into disarray.
"Stick together!"
The White Tiger Tower students abandoned their charge, retreating behind cover and raising their shields.
Their plan was to defend until they could counter the Illusion Magic.
Then Yukveltire pulled out another artifact—a stone mirror (not glass).
As it emitted multicolored beams, a deafening explosion erupted in the corridor.
"......"
The opponents were formidable, but this side was overwhelmingly overpowered.
An Enchantment mage who came well-prepared with artifacts was akin to a mage with infinite mana.
"Damn it! It's Junior Verdus!"
"Of all people, a fifth-year?!"
"'Junior Verdus?'"
The sheer firepower that flattened the corridor—cover and all—seemed to have tipped off the White Tiger Tower students to their identities.
Rather than counterattacking, they focused on retreat.
"Diret."
"Got it."
Diret, who had been waiting, waved his staff and chanted an incantation.
A massive curse surged forth like a torrent, sweeping violently from the opposite end of the corridor.
The White Tiger Tower students, who had never imagined a curse manifesting like a flood, panicked.
"What the—?!"
Lee Han might have brute-forced his way through, but the White Tiger Tower students were sane.
"What kind of curse is this? They couldn't just throw themselves into the raging current without knowing."
"Now. Hand over the wooden barrel."
"Ugh...!"
"Diret. Let's just subdue them and—"
"You stay quiet."
Diret already felt slightly guilty about taking the peacock from the juniors, so he didn't want to resort to excessive force unnecessarily.
"Senior! Enemies approaching from behind too!"
"?"
"?!"
The two seniors were startled by Lee Han's shout. Their senses hadn't detected any enemies yet.
But Diret, who knew of Lee Han's talents, reacted faster than his friend.
"From the hallway?"
"Yes."
"How many?"
"Just one, but their mana feels unusual..."
Before he could finish speaking, a student appeared from around the corner at the end of the hallway.
At the sight of the impeccably dressed cat beastman student, Diret and Lee Han both sighed simultaneously.
This was the last person they wanted to encounter in this situation.
"Oh? Junior?"
When Catten, the senior from the Jahan family, greeted them cheerfully, Lee Han was taken aback.
The entire hallway was pitch black, and...
Lee Han was currently in an invisible state. 'How?!'—Don't answer.
Diret sent a telepathic message.
—Given the situation, even they aren't sure. They're just testing us.
"......"
Lee Han shuddered. 'As expected, all fifth-years have no conscience!' At this point, they might as well be professors.
To deceive a junior so casually with such an innocent and adorable cat face—it was truly shameless.
Diret was right. In this situation, no matter how sharp a swordsman's senses were, it would be difficult to pinpoint Lee Han's exact location.
Most likely, Catten had thrown out that question to confirm the vague sensation they had vaguely sensed.
"Jahan. You don't even have a sponsor to spend it on. Don't come any closer."
"That voice... Diret, is it? I'm jealous. You even know how to darken the hallway like this."
"...Second-years can do that too—"
"All I can do is swing a sword. Hmm. But this time will be different. Junior Ilendil promised full support for potions to aid my magic studies if I catch the peacock for him."
"......"
"......"
Lee Han and Diret cursed Ilendil in unison.
What a cowardly trick!
—We've secured the peacock. Let's retreat.
After quietly stuffing the wooden barrel into the Toad Demon's mouth, Yukveltire sent a telepathic message. The two nodded.
At that moment, Catten moved.
The instincts of a swordsman who had reached a high realm were truly sharp—even in complete ignorance of the situation, they moved purely on the slightest sense of incongruity.
"Block them!"
The undead summons and artifacts Lee Han had deployed just in case lunged from the rear toward Catten.
Catten twisted their sword at an odd angle, then stomped repeatedly on the hallway floor like a drumbeat. At first, Lee Han didn't understand what they were doing—but soon, his eyes widened.
'Spa... spatial magic?!'
"Haah!"
With a shout, Catten tore through space with their sword, blinking forward in an instant.
They had executed short-range spatial teleportation—a spell Lee Han still couldn't cast alone—as a secret swordsmanship technique!
'Are they actually insane?!' Lee Han couldn't help but swear.
Why bother learning magic when they had skills like this?
It felt like watching his second brother, Arsil—a sense of deprivation washed over him.
Diret seemed to think similarly, as curses immediately burst from his lips.
"Insane!"
"I'll hold them off! Retreat first!"
As the invisible junior accelerated toward them from the darkness, Catten cautiously slowed their movements.
Without fully grasping the enemy, they couldn't just charge through.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Azure Rock Sword? A junior from the Wardanaz family?"
"...Wrong. I'm from the Moradi family!"
"Hmm? The Moradi family doesn't use... Ah. A trick, was it? Junior, you're quite clever."
Catten took two steps back, circulating mana throughout their body to heighten their senses.
Since the opponent had the advantage, they had to wait briefly to adapt to the situation.
"But, junior. I don't know why you're here, but you seem to be under one misconception. What senior would abandon their junior and escape alone?"
"Haha. It seems Senior Catten doesn't know yet! Senior Yukveltire is utterly heartless—she'd ditch me and escape without hesitation!"
"......"
Yukveltire, who had been about to support Lee Han from behind, froze.