Episode 833
Episode 833
'Honestly, an ordeal would be better at this point.'
Generally, ordeals might be difficult and dangerous, but they always had an end.
No matter how tough it was, you could at least guess what you needed to do to reach the finish line.
But right now, the Sacred Grove was just telling him to find a branch that suited him—no explanation, no context, nothing.
Even if wizards were professionals at making the impossible possible, doing this without any clues whatsoever was...
"Is there anything that might help?"
"It told you to wander around until you're chosen, didn't it?"
"Hmm. Understood."
Lee Han ignored Lagesa's words.
He pondered which divination magic he had learned might be useful.
The Stone Divination seemed too weak, while the Spirit Gold Coin Divination or the Five Demons Divination might be necessary.
'Spirit Gold Coin Divination is impossible.'
Since it required five specially crafted gold coins (and you even had to offer the ones that landed face-up to the spirits), the Spirit Gold Coin Divination was too difficult to use.
The Five Demons Divination seemed the most manageable. Even if you failed to identify the two false prophecies and got cursed with terrible misfortune, it was still better than the Spirit Gold Coin Divination.
"Divination magic? That's dangerous, brat. Countless divination wizards have fallen to ruin, intoxicated by the thrill of peering into the future..."
"Hmm. Understood."
Lee Han ignored her again and checked his reagents.
Mushrooms harvested during the full moon, bone fragments collected from the demon realm between dimensions, a syringe, and so on.
Lagesa, realizing Lee Han was brushing off her warnings, grumbled.
"Once you get seriously hurt from divination magic, you'll stop acting like this. What an arrogant little brat!"
"No, don't misunderstand. I'm not necessarily planning to use it now—I was just checking."
It wasn't that Lee Han was fearless. In fact, he was more cautious than most students.
If things went wrong, he'd suffer from terrible misfortune for a while—how could he not be afraid?
He was so wary of divination magic that whenever Gainando got too close, Lee Han would swing his staff to shoo him away.
The problem was that right now, wandering aimlessly through the forest to find the right branch seemed utterly hopeless!
'First, I should see how the others are doing.'
After finishing his reagent check, Lee Han observed what his friends were up to.
If someone was lucky enough to find a suitable branch, he could use that as a reference.
Whoosh!
The student who had earlier caught the mirage was actually better off.
As students wandered through the Sacred Grove searching for the right branch, they gradually realized just how bizarre this forest was.
Pop!
Forget breaking off a branch—the moment they touched one, they'd suddenly be teleported somewhere else in the forest.
Splash!
Or the clouds would suddenly part, dropping them into a massive puddle below.
"Did... did you guys see that? I just went somewhere weird! Some spirits led me into a maze!"
Others found themselves trapped in endless labyrinthine illusions.
Though there were no hostile monsters, this forest held mysteries so twisted that even Einrogard's surroundings paled in comparison. No wonder it was cultivated by the Mad Spirit King.
"..."
"Everyone, tie yourselves together with rope. Don't wander too far apart. Mark <Ally's Imprint> on the back of your hands."
Unable to stand the chaos any longer, Giselle gathered the disorderly White Tiger Tower students.
Even as wizards, fully controlling this forest was impossible, but they could at least prepare a few countermeasures.
They tied themselves together with ever-extending magical ropes and cast the Ally's Imprint spell, which would track each other's locations until the mark faded over time...
"Indeed. This method would be advantageous for long-term exploration."
"What are you evaluating!? Get over here and give orders too!"
Giselle shouted in exasperation.
The guy who should've been beside her giving orders was instead sitting on a cloud, watching with interest like, 'Ah, so this is how White Tiger Tower students move.' It was absurd.
Lee Han, who had wanted to observe a bit longer, quickly defended himself.
"I'm from the Blue Dragon Tower, so I was just watching from the sidelines without interfering."
"Gasp. Is that so?"
Angrago, listening nearby, found it somewhat plausible.
It was true—if you were from another tower, it'd be awkward to step in and start giving orders...
"And you're saying that NOW?"
"Lee Han. Even to me, that doesn't sound very convincing..."
Starting with Giselle, who scoffed as she spoke, even Durgyu—who usually took Lee Han's side—looked displeased.
"Booooo!"
Some White Tiger Tower students outright jeered.
"Wardanaz, stop talking nonsense and give orders like usual! We want directions!"
"Yeah! Wardanaz, just do it like you always—urk, ack!"
Giselle kicked the friends who were shamelessly making a scene.
No matter how accustomed they were to following orders from students of other towers, that was just too embarrassing.
"Hey. Come here."
"Alright, alright. Everyone, split into groups of three. I'll cast Water Breathing and the Enchantment of Truth's Light... What else do we need? Probably don't need Contaminated Being defenses, right?"
Lee Han swiftly cast a barrage of low-circle Enchantment Magic spells in one go.
Angrago, who had been hesitating, raised his hand.
"Wardanaz. I have something to say."
"Oh? What? A magic recommendation?"
"No. You told us to bring our friends, right? I was thinking... maybe we should call the other tower guys quickly too..."
"......"
Under Lee Han and Giselle's contemptuous stares, Angrago hastily defended himself.
"N-no! I don't mean anything bad! It's just that we should share this opportunity with our friends from other towers too!"
"Sure you do."
"Tch. Next time, we should make them compete for the privilege of being brought along."
"But isn't Angrago your vice-leader?"
"Shut up."
The White Tiger Tower students went around each dormitory, spreading the joyous news to their friends.
"Oh, friends! While helping Wardanaz, we happened to meet the benevolent Spirit King of Trees! The Spirit King said, 'Call your friends and have them take branches!' We truly hope you'll come and take a branch too! This place is really beautiful and mystical!"
"How is this not exciting!? The Spirit King personally invited us and opened his domain!"
Gainando turned to Yoner with a look of disbelief. Yoner tried to calmly explain.
"So, you see—"
"Guys! Yoner says she's not happy at all! She's such a genius she doesn't even need the Spirit King's gifts!"
"Booo! Boooo!"
Yoner pulled out a potion bottle and swung it at her cousin's head.
A short scream later, Gainando flailed around, silenced by the potion. The jeering friends quickly shut their mouths.
"I was just teasing Gainando."
"Right, Maykin."
"...I was just trying to say we shouldn't celebrate too soon."
"Why's that?"
At Salko's question, Yoner replied in a worried tone,
"The Spirit King isn't the type to give gifts without expecting something in return."
"That's true... but that doesn't mean it's not good luck. Maybe we've been too steeped in Einrogard's ways and are ignoring the spirits' goodwill."
"...R-really?!"
Yoner faltered slightly.
Even the most confident students wavered upon hearing the magical words: "Maybe you've been too Einrogard."
"Exactly, Maykin! When will we get another chance like this? And Wardanaz is on good terms with the spirits, right?"
"???"
"????"
Yoner and a few others who knew the truth had question marks floating above their heads.
On good terms with the spirits?
"You've arrived. Welcome, everyone."
"I wanted to share this sight with you all. Haha."
As they passed through the rift into the Broad-Eyed King' domain, the waiting White Tiger Tower friends greeted them with exaggerated smiles.
Seeing this, Yoner's wariness only grew.
This is weird...
"Why's the prince acting like that?"
"No idea. Probably ate something strange again. Remember last time with the hiccup mushrooms?"
"Ughhhh!"
"Alright, everyone, follow us this way! We'll explain!"
Ushering the awestruck students from other towers into the Sacred Grove, the White Tiger Tower students quickly gave their explanation—then promptly vanished.
"...So that's how we got this opportunity. Well then, we've got to go look for ours too. Good luck!"
"Strange. Feels like... a lot of the story was left out."
Even Salko was starting to sense something odd.
It was true that the Spirit King had invited them and given them this chance, so why did it feel like so much had been omitted in between?
One hour later...
"Where the hell did those White Tiger Tower bastards go?!"
The furious Black Turtle Tower students wandered around searching for the White Tiger Tower students who had guided them and then disappeared.
Having just been hanging from the treetops moments ago, they were all in a sorry state.
Of course, the White Tiger Tower students had already gone off somewhere in the Sacred Grove to look for their own branches.
"Damn it! We've been tricked! Surely Wardanaz's name wasn't a lie too, was it?"
"That can't be."
"Why not?"
"No matter what, they wouldn't dare lie using Lord Wardanaz's name. They'd face terrible retaliation later."
At Ratford's sharp reasoning, Salko had no choice but to concede.
"That makes sense. Damn it. This is too overwhelming. Divination magic isn't working well either... Wait, Wardanaz!"
The Black Turtle Tower students spotted their exhausted friend in the distance and shouted loudly.
"Wardanaz, no matter how good the opportunity is, lying is too much!"
"What are you talking about?"
"You should've told us this place was like this!"
"I told you to explain it."
"......"
"......"
Salko swore to himself that he'd hang those White Tiger Tower bastards who delivered the message upside down later.
Lee Han spoke in a weary voice.
"Seems the White Tiger Tower bastards left out a few facts. Pointless of them. Even if they hadn't said anything, we'd have come anyway. We're all mages—no way we'd miss an opportunity like this."
"?"
Some students tilted their heads in confusion...
Is that so?
I think I would've hesitated a bit if I'd known beforehand...
"Right, everyone?"
"Uh, uh? Of course."
"Everyone would think the same. Wardanaz!"
The Black Turtle Tower students and Salko exchanged glances and quickly spoke up.
"First, I recommend setting up tracking methods in case we get separated. Keep in touch periodically. There's nothing dangerous, but it's exhausting. No idea how long we'll have to wander around."
"Wardanaz. Have you tried divination magic? We tried it too, but it's not working at all."
Salko placed his hopes on his friend, the top student of the divination magic school, and asked.
Lee Han nodded slowly and answered.
"I did. I tried the Five Demons Divination."
"!"
The Black Turtle Tower students were startled. A second-year was already attempting such a high-level divination spell?
But before even a second passed, they immediately accepted it.
Well, Wardanaz has always been like that.
Honestly, why am I even surprised?
Lee Han, slightly puzzled by his friends' brief shock, continued.
"I tried, but it failed."
"Of course. It's a high-difficulty spell, after all..."
"No. The spell succeeded, but the demon returned the offering. Said this forest is shrouded in the Spirit King's madness, so it can't tell me anything."
"......"
"......"
The students' mouths fell open at the unprecedented rejection of an offering.
Then—
"—The prince found a branch! The prince found a branch!"
"—Wait, that guy wasn't even wandering around! Why him!? What's so great about him!?"
"!"
"!!!!"
Everyone was shocked when the first person to obtain a branch in the forest appeared.
"That way! Let's go!"
Lee Han and the others hurriedly ran over.
A few Blue Dragon Tower students had gathered to watch Gainando. Gainando was clutching a fluttering branch and shouting.
"Lee Han! Look at this! I got a branch!"
The branch, as large as a person, flapped wildly and smacked Gainando's head repeatedly.
Lee Han, alarmed, called out to Lagesa.
"Is that... okay?"
"Materials like that are picky about their owners, you know. It's fine. If he weren't a match, it wouldn't have chosen him in the first place. If he endures, he'll earn its recognition. By the way, isn't that brat a royal? Even with noble blood, finding it first is something."
"Huh? Isn't finding it first a good thing?"
Lagesa cackled and finally revealed the truth.
"Where you search in the forest doesn't matter. What matters is how much you wander around."
"...?"
"Narrow-minded mages are quickly found by the forest. Since there's no point watching those who give up too soon, it sends a suitable branch to take their hand. On the contrary, the more broad-minded a mage is, the longer the forest watches them. It's testing how long they can walk and wait. Kihihi. Didn't I tell you to keep wandering until you're chosen?"
"Ah. I see."
"Lee Han prepared to open the Echo Stone and summon the Crazy Doppelganger."
It seemed he would have to ask about how to threaten the crazy forest after all.